Cousins Day

July 24 is Cousins Day. I have many first cousins and spent time with all of them when I was growing up, even though not all of them lived near me. Although they lived on the other side of the country, my cousins from California visited New Jersey almost every year and I was especially close to them.

This cousin tree shows different types of cousins.

Cousin tree. Public domain image, available from Wikimedia Commons.

Wednesday's Child: Botilla Troedsdotter

Death/burial record for Botilla, January 1862. Grevie FI:2 (1861-1894), image 11.

Botilla, the youngest child of my 3rd-great-grandparents Troed Andersson and Christina Jacobsdotter, was born on 12 December 1861 in Grevie, Skåne, Sweden. She lived for only a few weeks. Botilla died on 3 January 1862 and was buried on 6 January 1862.

Tombstone Tuesday: Louise Amanda (Tarkington) Whitman

Louise Amanda Tarkington was the youngest child of my 3rd-great-grandparents Joseph Tarkington and Amanda Russell. She was born in Tennessee on 24 March 1873. On 3 March 1897, she married Albert Powell Whitman in Davidson County, Tennessee. Louise and Albert had four children: Amanda Mary (born 5 February 1898), Finner Dupree (born 13 December 1903), Joseph Tarkington (born 31 March 1905), and Walter William (born 23 March 1908). Louise died in Nashville on 13 February 1915. On 15 February 1915, she was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, section 13 lot 75.

Mappy Monday: Nashville, Tennessee, 1919

Map of Nashville, Tennessee, 1919. Automobile Blue Book, vol. 6, 1919. Available from the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection.

This map, published in 1919, shows some of the roads and locations in Nashville, Tennessee. Many of my ancestors lived in Nashville. Although my direct ancestors were no longer living in Nashville in 1919, other relatives, including ancestors' siblings, still lived there.

52 Ancestors: #29 Ola Peter Troedson

Ola Petter Troedsson, the brother of my great-great-grandfather Andreas Troedsson, was born on 11 December 1841 in Grevie, Skåne, Sweden, and was baptized on 14 December 1841. He was the first child of Troed Andersson and Christina Jacobsdotter. Household examination records list him as Sjöman (seaman) Ola Petter Troedsson.

On 12 April 1871, Ola Petter boarded the ship Friedeburg in Hamburg, Germany, headed for Australia. The passenger list showed that his previous residence was Copenhagen, Denmark (which is near Skåne, Sweden). He arrived at Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia on 12 August 1871. The 15 August 1871 issue of the Brisbane Courier contains an account of the voyage. The text is faded and difficult to read, but additional information about the voyage can be found on a Web page about Jørgen Berthelsen's voyage to Australia. He traveled at the same time as Ola Petter.

After immigrating to Australia, he modified his name slightly and was known as Ola Peter Troedson. He married Rosina Catharine Louise Walter on 20 August 1878. Rosina was an immigrant from Pfedelbach, Württemberg, Germany. She had come to Australia with her family in 1865, when she was eight years old. The couple lived in Brisbane and had nine children: Theodore Christopher (born 17 October 1879), John Frederick (born 17 July 1881), Annie Christina (born 25 January 1883), Alfred William (born 3 August 1884), Ellen Louisa (born 26 July 1886), Peter Henry (born 4 August 1888), George Arthur (born 12 April 1890), Matilda (born 1 August 1891), and Otto Edward, later known as Edward Otto (born 20 January 1893).

Ola Peter took an oath of allegiance on 18 July 1901. Three years later, he lost two members of his family almost at the same time: his son John Henry died on 5 June 1904, and his wife Rosina died on 11 June 1904. Two of his other children also predeceased him: his daughter Annie Christina (Troedson) McDonald died on 20 January 1916, and his son Peter Henry died on 16 May 1923.

Ola Peter died at his home in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia on 12 May 1926. He was buried in Toowong Cemetery.

Birth/christening record for Ola Petter, 1841. Grevie CI-5 (1837-1861), image 27.

Birth/christening record for Ola Petter, 1841. Grevie births, 1829-1874. Page 47.

Household examination. Grevie AI-13 (1864-1869), image 80.

 Household examination. Grevie AI-14 (1870-1876), image 80.

Brisbane Courier, 5 June 1926

Photo by Terry McMahon

Sibling Saturday: Carl, Martin, and Ellen Dahlquist

My great-grandmother Ellen Victoria Dahlquist (8 September 1886 - 26 April 1986) is pictured here with her brothers Carl Frederick (10 January 1888 - 14 October 1966) and Martin Luther (22 February 1891 - 30 July 1919).

Funeral Card Friday: John Schneider

Memorial card for my great-grandfather John (Johann) Schneider
Born 6 December 1878, Remagen, Ahrweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Died 11 June 1955, St. Louis, Missouri