Surname Saturday: Boe

My mother's maiden name, Boe, comes from the name of the farm that my ancestors lived on in Bø, Telemark, Norway.

One very frustrating thing about searching for the surname Boe is that when I search the Internet, I get many results that are about the Board of Education!

My ancestors who used Boe as a surname are:

My mother

Grandfather: John Boe
born 28 April 1908, St. Louis, Missouri
married Margaret Ann Schneider 25 September 1939, Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana
died 24 November 1977, New York, New York

Great-grandfather: John Boe
born 15 March 1876, Swift Co. Missouri
married Signe Olson 21 March 1897, Swift Co., Minnesota
married Kathleen Graham (my great-grandmother)
married Anna Mae Gamble 22 August 1934, St. Joseph Co., Indiana
died 27 June 1940, Norwalk, Los Angeles Co., California

2nd-great-grandfather: Jorgen Jorgensen Boe
born 18 November 1850, Bø, Telemark, Norway
married Aaste Halvorsdatter Otterholt 17 December 1873, Rock Dell, Olmstead Co., Minnesota
died 17 December 1900, West Bank, Swift Co., Minnesota

3rd-great-grandfather: Jorgen Pedersen Boe
born 13 February 1820, Bø, Telemark, Norway
married Ingeborg Torsdatter Vatner 13 June 1848, Bø, Telemark, Norway
died 30 July 1902, Swenoda, Swift Co., Minnesota

Earlier ancestors used Bø as a farm name, but it was not a true surname. Names stayed with the farms, not the families. If a family moved to another farm, they would be known by that farm name.

Friend of Friends Friday: Joe, Slave of James Wynn, Deceased

North Carolina Magazine or Universal Intelligencer, 6 July-13 July 1764, page 48

RAN away from my Saw Mill on Slocomb's Creek, a Negro Fellow named Joe, belonging to the Estate of James Wynn, deceased. He is a well sett Fellow, aged about 45, and has a very ill Look. 'Tis supposed he is harboured at Core Sound, where he is well known. Any Person that shall be found to harbour or entertain him, will be prosecuted with Rigour.

                                                                                   James Davis

Eiffel Tower Opens

The Eiffel Tower was designed to be the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair (Exposition Universelle), which was held in Paris, France from 6 May - 31 October 1889. On 31 March 1889, a dedication ceremony was held at the Eiffel Tower. Engineer Gustave Eiffel led members of the press and government officials, including French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard, up the tower. The elevators were not yet working, so they had to walk up 1710 steps. Most of the group did not go all the way to the top; among those that did were structural engineer Émile Nouguier and reporters from the French newspapers Le Figaro and Le Monde illustré. When they reached the top, Eiffel raised the French flag. At the time of the inauguration, the Eiffel Tower was the world's tallest building. It is still the tallest building in Paris.

When I flew back home from Germany in January 2005, I had a one-day layover in Paris. I had the chance to do a little sightseeing, and I visited the Eiffel Tower.

References
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower opens
Exposition Universelle (1889)
History of the Eiffel Tower

Wednesday's Child: Claus Halvorsen Sønstebø

My 5th-great-grandparents Halvor Eriksen Sønstebø and Kari Jorgensdatter Grave became the parents of a son, Claus, on 6 May 1792 in Bø, Telemark, Norway.

Telemark county, Bø, Parish register (official) nr. 5 (1785-1815), Chronological list 1792, page 59. http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20061208060249.jpg

Claus died in March 1798 (I think the record says that he died on the 7th) in Bø, two months before his sixth birthday.

Telemark county, Bø, Parish register (official) nr. 5 (1785-1815), Chronological list 1798, page 112. http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20061208060276.jpg

Knights of Columbus Founder's Day

March 29 is Knights of Columbus Founder's Day. On 2 October 1881, Father Michael J. McGivney, the assistant pastor of St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut, gathered a group of men from St. Mary's Parish and and proposed that they establish a Catholic fraternal benefits society. The first meeting of the Knights of Columbus took place on 6 February 1882. The Order was officially incorporated on 29 March 1882.

My great-grandfather John Schneider was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Lafayette Council, No. 1940 in St. Louis, Missouri. Lafayette Council No. 1940 was founded in March 1919. Rev. John F. Stevens, the pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, was one of the founders. John Schneider was also a member of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 14 June 1955, page 5C

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 16 November 1919, page 9

References
Biographies S - St. Louis County, Missouri Genealogy Trails
Founder's Day - March 29
History | Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus

Matrilineal Monday: Elisabeth Arzner

My 5th-great-grandmother Elisabeth Arzner is my earliest known ancestor in my direct maternal line. She was born about 1758. On 26 April 1787, she married Oswald Altbuez (or Albiez), a widower from Oberwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany. Oswald and his first wife Maria Elisabeth Lüttin had six children: Oswald (born 3 September 1774), Marzell (born 4 January 1777, died 15 January 1777), Regina (born 11 January 1778), Cornelius (born 13 September 1780), Elisabeth (born 6 November 1782), Thaddaeus (born 5 July 1784), and Fridolin (born 7 January 1787). Maria Elisabeth had died on 30 January 1787. Elisabeth gained an instant family when she married Oswald.

On 20 October 1787, Elisabeth's stepson Oswald died at age 13. But just after Christmas, there was a happier event; Elisabeth gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Ottilia, on 28 December 1787. More sad times followed a month later, when Elisabeth's stepson Fridolin died on 19 January 1788, less than a month after his first birthday. Elisabeth gave birth to her second child and first son, Anton, on 11 June 1789.

Elisabeth's next two children died young. Katharina was born on 2 March 1791 and died on 18 March 1792. Oswald was born on 10 June 1793 and died just one day later, on 11 June 1793.

Elisabeth gave birth to Maria Clara on 17 August 1794, and gave birth to my 4th-great-grandmother Maria Anna on 2 July 1796. She then had two more daughters that died young: Rosa (born 21 May 1799, died 14 December 1799) and Agatha (born 18 January 1801, died 21 January 1804). Her last child, Johann, was born on 11 July 1803.

Elisabeth's husband Oswald died on 13 April 1805. Elisabeth still had young children to take care of when she became a widow. Other than her children, I have not yet identified any of Elisabeth's relatives. I hope she had family support at this difficult time. Perhaps her older children and stepchildren helped.

Elisabeth died in Oberwihl on 26 September 1815.

Death record, Elisabeth Arzner, 26 September 1815. Staatsarchiv Freiburg L 10 Nr. 5794, Bilder 22-23. Permalink: http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-498395-22, http://www.landesarchiv-bw.de/plink/?f=5-498395-23. Standesbücher / 1810-1870 > Waldshut; Amtsgericht > Oberwihl, Görwihl WT; Katholische Gemeinde: Sterbebuch 1810-1869 / 1810-1869.

Easter 1945

My father, Easter Sunday, 1 April 1945, Chicago, Illinois