Mappy Monday: Map of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad and Connections

Map of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad and Connections. From East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad Company. Guide to the Summer Resorts and Watering Places of East Tennessee. Memphis: Memphis, S.C. Toof, 1880. Available from Flickr and Wikimedia Commons. 

This map shows the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad in its connections.

Church Record Sunday: Baptism of Theodor Mandius Eriksen

Theodor Mandius Eriksen, the son of my 2nd-great-grandmother Marthe Elisabeth Eriksdatter/Erickson's brother Svend Jacob Eriksen/Erickson and his wife Laura Thomsen, was baptized at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Chicago, Illinois on 9 March 1884.

Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, Chicago, Illinois. Ancestry.com. U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. ELCA, Birth, Marriage, Deaths. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Chicago, Illinois.

Theodor was born on 20 December 1882.

The baptismal sponsors were Jorgen and Antonetta Thompson, Andreas and Martha Anderson (my 2nd-great-grandmother Marthe Marthe Elisabeth Eriksdatter/Erickson and her husband, my 3nd-great-grandfather Andreas Troedson/Andrew T. Anderson, and Hans Olson.

Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider's 140th Birthday

Paulina Gersbacher, 1895

140 years ago today, on 13 August 1876, my great-grandmother Paulina (Gersbacher) Schneider was born in Niederwihl, Waldshut, Baden, Germany.

Friend of Friends Friday: Runaway Slave of Mark Edwards, Petersburg, Virginia

Virginia Gazette,4 July 1777, page 8

                                                                   PETERSBURG, June 8, 1777
RUN away from the Subscriber, the 25th of May, a Negro Fellow named POMPEY, about 5 feet 4 Inches high, he is very tender footed, about 40 Years of Age, the Corner of his right Eye Lash is off; he had on when he went away an Osnabrug Shirt and Breeches. The above Slave was bought of Julius Allen about 5 months ago Whoever will bring the said Negro to me in Pocahantas shall receive Twenty Shillings Reward, besides what the Law allows.
             #                                                            MARK EDWARDS.

Those Places Thursday: West Bank, Swift County, Minnesota

My 2nd-great-grandparents Jorgen Jorgensen Boe and Aaste Halvorsdatter Otterholt lived in West Bank, Swift County, Minnesota.

On 19 July 1878,  C. J. Norby and twenty-seven others formulated a petition to request that a new town be organized. The town was to be called Springdale, but when the petition was granted, the name was changed to West Bank. The name comes from its location west of the Chippewa River.

West Bank's total area is 36.2 square miles.

The town's first election took place on 11 March 1879.

The citizens of the town helped to create a good system of roads, ditches, and bridges. Jorgen, his brother-in-law Erick Halvorson, and L. S. Saterlie were the men on the committee to view the bridge across the Chippewa River, between the towns of West Bank and Swenoda.

General Laws of the State of Minnesota Passed During the Thirtieth Session of the State Legislature, Commencing January Fifth, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven. Page 179. Delano: Eagle Printing, 1897. Available from Google Books.
 

General Laws of the State of Minnesota Passed During the Thirtieth Session of the State Legislature, Commencing January Fifth, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven. Page 180. Delano: Eagle Printing, 1897. Available from Google Books.

The town's only church, the West Bank Lutheran Church, was organized in 1892. The building was completed in 1897. It burned down in 1907, but it was rebuilt, and the new building was dedicated in 1913.

There are three cemeteries in West Bank: the West Bank Lutheran Church burial ground, the Golden-Olson Cemetery on the Golden Brothers farm, and a cemetery on the John Tvedt farm.

At the time of the 2000 United States Census, the population of West Bank was 200. There were 74 households and 54 families. The population size was about the same as it was in 1880.

Saint Paul Daily Globe, 30 July 1880, page 2

References
General Laws of the State of Minnesota Passed During the Thirtieth Session of the State Legislature, Commencing January Fifth, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven. Delano: Eagle Printing, 1897. Available from Google Books.
Minnesota's Population. Saint Paul Daily Globe, 30 July 1880, page 2.
Swift County Historical Society. Swift County Minnesota: A Collection of Historical Sketches and Family Histories. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing, 1979.
West Bank Township, Swift County, Minnesota

Missouri Statehood Day

State flag of Missouri on Public Domain Images

On 10 August 1821, Missouri became the 24th state. The request for statehood had initially been submitted in December 1818, but because Missouri had requested admission as a slave state, there was a delay. The Missouri Compromise, passed in 1820, allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state. The balance between free and slave states was maintained, since Maine was admitted as a free state. Slavery was also prohibited in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude line, except in Missouri.

My ancestors did not arrive in Missouri until much later. The first relative came in the 1870s. My direct ancestors arrived in the 1880s, 1890s, and 1900s.

A celebration is held at the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site every year. There are special demonstrations, an open house, and interpreters in period dress.

References
History of Missouri
Primary Documents in American History: Missouri Compromise
Statehood Day | Missouri State Parks

Travel Tuesday: Susan and Jesse Tarkington Visit Lewisburg, Tennessee

Nashville Tennesseean and Nashville American, 29 July 1915, page 4

In July 1915, Susan (Culley) Tarkington (the widow of my 2nd-great-grandfather's brother Joseph Tarkington) and her son Jesse traveled from Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee to Lewisburg, Marshall County, Tennessee.

While they were there, they visited Susan's daughter and Jesse's sister, Jennie Mae (Tarkington) Hooten. Jennie had married Walter Scott Hooten in 1911, and the couple lived in Lewisburg. Jennie and Walter's first child, Mary Kathryn Hooten, was born on 10 January 1913. At the time of the visit, Mary Kathryn was Susan's only grandchild.