52 Ancestors - Week 4: Invite to Dinner

Week 4: Invite to Dinner

There are dozens of ancestors I’d like to invite to dinner, but the first invitation would go to my Grandma Sullivan, Mary Josephine Bednorz. I have so many questions.

Marie Josephine Sullivan aka Grandma Sullivan

I know a bit about her young life from census data, my own research, and research done by Aunt Winona, her daughter-in-law, but not from any stories she told me. She never lived in the past.

Mary Josephine Bednorz was born on October 30, 1893 in Waverly, Wright County, Minnesota. Aunt Winnie’s information notes she was baptized in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Waverly. Her parents are listed as Andrew Bednorz and Frances Marketon. But I don’t have either her birth or baptism records to confirm this information. Drat!

Her parents, Andrew and Frances immigrated to the US from – well, it varies from census to census. Andrew is listed as from Germany, Schleswig-Holstein, or German Poland. Frances is listed from Poland, German Poland, Germany and Szczedrzyk, Opole, Poland. National boundaries changed frequently in this era which may be the cause for the confusion. Family lore says Grandma was Polish. Better documentation is needed to sort out where exactly Andrew and Frances are from. At any rate, they arrived in March 1886 and Andrew worked as a blacksmith and farmer his whole life. The family lived most of their lives in and around Marysville, Wright County, MN except for a stint as a farm hand in Cass, Buffalo County, North Dakota. (1900 Census).

Marie, as she liked to be called, is with her family in census records up to 1905 and then she goes missing until her first son, Lucius Arthur, is born in Minneapolis, MN on June 11, 1915. A couple of intriguing census records for 1910 have Mary or Josephine Bednorz entries, one as lodger in St. Paul, the other as servant in Buh, MN. But neither of these records can be offered as proof. Furthermore, though family lore says Marie married William Augustine Sullivan June 6, 1914, in Minneapolis, MN State records has no entry for this marriage. Another family story tells how Marie met William when she was working at the restaurant in the Golden Rule Department Store in Minneapolis. But again, no confirmation.

Marie Josephine Bednorz around 1910

So my first questions would be about her family – where they came from, why they came, what were they like? What was your life like growing up? And I would ask about the period of her life when she left the family and then met and married our grandfather.

I know they were in Minneapolis for the birth of their first two children, Lu and Edwin (b Apr 8, 1917) and then were transferred to Le Pas, Manitoba, Canada for at least 2 years, maybe as many as 4 or 5 years. Grandpa Sullivan was a lumber grader and salesman and traveled much of the time. The Midwest was just being cleared of first growth forests and timbering and lumber were large industries.

William Augustine Sullivan, 1930s

Just how did a boy raised in Marshfield, WI, become a lumberman and how did he get to Minneapolis to meet and marry Marie Bednorz?

According to Grandpa’s WWI Registration Card (dated Sept 20, 1918 and signed by the Police Magistrate of Le Pas), he was a lumber inspector for Finger Lumber Co. Strangely, he lists his mother as his next of kin and his permanent address as his parents’ home in Marshfield, WI.

Why, Grandma? Why not you, his wife?

Two daughters, Mary Catherine (b Feb 9, 1919) and Dorothy Gertrude (b Apr 12, 1920) were born in Le Pas.

What was life like living in Le Pas? Did Grandpa travel while you were living there? How did you manage 4 small children? What were your living accommodations?

When they returned to the States before the birth of their 3^rd daughter and 5^th child, Ann Elizabeth Whelan Cecelia (Jan 20, 1922), they moved to Oshkosh, WI.

1924, Oshkosh WI. Marie Sullivan with Lu, Eddie, Virginia and Sylvia

From that time on, the facts of their lives are pretty well known and traceable. More children – 6 in all – were added to the family until Marie and William A. divorced in 1936. The youngest child, Gerry, was only 6 months old when they separated. He says his Mom told him that “Arthur” as she called him was an alcoholic and drank all his earnings. Toots (eldest daughter, Mary Catherine’s nickname) thought the stresses of making ends meet during the Depression may have played a large role.

What happened, Grandma? Was Grandpa the scoundrel Gerry describes? Or simply a man overwhelmed? Or something in-between? How did you manage the stress of being Catholic and needing to get a divorce?

She met and lived with Al Chappa sometime after her divorce. She and her kids moved in with him on his farm in Redgranite for a time and then they all moved back to Oshkosh around 1943 when Grandma bought her house on 747 High Street in Oshkosh, having received an inheritance from her sister. I believe Al and Marie married in 1951 and divorced in 1954.

The 1951 City Directory for Oshkosh, WI, shows Mrs. Marie Chappa living at 747 High St with Albert Chappa of the same address. Marie is a presser for a dry cleaning company and Al is a blacksmith with Wisconsin Axle. I know Grandma had this job for many years, doing clothing repairs and alterations for the dry cleaners.

What are the stories here? I’m hoping Grandma would be willing to share them with me, although I expect she would wonder why I felt these things were important. I wrote about Marie’s life when I first started this blog in 2013, but my knowledge of this part of my ancestral family has not advanced since that time. I wish I knew more.

But this dinner is not just about grilling my Grandma for names, dates and places. I would also want to share back with her the ways her genes and her legacy have affected and to this day still influence my life.

First, I would thank her profusely for making me dresses and tell her that my all-time favorite dress was the pink princess seamed polished cotton dress with the lace and black velvet ribbon. 

Lynn and Nancy wearing our Grandma Sullivan pink polished cotton dresses

I would tell her how I learned to sew, sewed many of my high school and college outfits, and continue to sew – clothes for my grandchildren, quilts, and gifts. These are gifts of love to my family, just as those dresses were gifts of love from my Grandma.

I would tell her how special her house was to us – the magical carved doors to the front parlor, the great play space and reading nook that was the porch on High Street, the little pantry kitchen, spooky basement, and the claw-foot tub in the bathroom.

Grandma's house looking toward the front parlor . Grandma is second from left.

I would remind her that, like her, I love to play cards – sheepshead in particular. And that I loved that she allowed us to be kids in her house and regularly shooed us outside to explore the neighborhood around her house – the museum across the street, the river area, and even walks down toward campus. And that we never lost anyone or behaved badly because, if we did, we’d be tarred when we got back.

I would show her a photo of her great-great granddaughter who looks like me, who in turn looks like my Mom, who all look like Grandma Sullivan. 

I would tell her that, as I look back from my adult perspective, I was lucky to have such a strong and resilient woman role model in my life.

Marie Josephine Bednorz Sullivan, about 1955

Grandma, you raised and nurtured your own kids and your grandchildren as well. I am doing my best to pass on this legacy to my kids and grandkids. I thought you'd like to know.

Love you Grandma.  

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2018: Week 2: Favorite Photo

Week 2: Favorite Photo

This writing prompt is impossible. I can think of dozens of favorite photos. How do I pick one? The photo below jumped out of the files at me. Why?

This photo was taken Christmas Eve, 1962. Santa always came when we were in church on Christmas Eve. It took till about 1960 for me to figure out how this feat was accomplished, even though Nancy and I had often climbed into the attic where the presents were hidden to sneak a peak at the year’s gifts. (The ruse was horribly simple as it turns out. We would all be sitting in the car in the garage, waiting for Mom, who was always so slow. Dad would go in to find her while we waited impatiently in the car and somehow, none of us ever suspected who the Christmas elves were.)

1968 after decorating the tree - Sharon Dale and Yvonne

So first we went to church at St. Paul Ev Lutheran, our family church. I loved these services. We would be dropped off at the school to be walked over to the church as a class. (There was a cool underground tunnel from the school to the church so we didn’t have to go outside.) We would walk down the main aisle to our assigned pews, youngest to oldest classes, where we would fidget excitedly until the service began. Each class had part of the service, a recitation and a song. The congregation sang a carol in between each class recitation. The church was, and still is, beautiful. Soaring German gothic inside, two immense decorated Christmas trees on either side of the chancel, dimmed lighting and a creche at the front of the altar.

This photo is before my time - the church had been repainted and modernized since this photo, but it's still pretty close to our Christmas experience.

The whole service was awe-inspiring about God’s love for us in the form of a small baby. I still get teary-eyed at Christmas Eve services. And I can still sing most of the carols, all verses, by heart.

At the end of the service, we filed to the front of the church to be handed a paper sack full of goodies. Not too much candy, but nuts and tangerines and of course a candy cane. We filed through the chancel doors on either side and followed our teachers back to our classrooms where parents would meet us and pick us up.

By now the anticipation was practically unbearable as we knew that when we got home, we could open our presents. Of course, we tore into the house and directly to the tree, shedding coats as we went. We had to wait for my parents to get organized, for the camera to be brought out – although we never took a family photo, a great loss.

Hanson Christmas Tree 1989

Around the time of this photo, I started to notice that my Dad was not happily engaged with the gift opening. He seemed downright grumpy and morose. He sat in one of our swivel chairs and frowned the whole time. I never knew why. Worried about the cost of the gifts? Upset he didn’t get something he would like? Just worn out and cranky from trying to support us all? I never dared to ask.

At any rate, the photo at the top of this post was taken right after attacking the presents in 1962. I was in 9^th grade (14) and for the first time sat with the adults in the back of the church for the service. The suit I’m wearing was purchased for a 9^th grade dance I went to at Roosevelt Junior High School. (Everyone went without dates, I don’t remember it being much fun)

Nancy would have been in 7^th grade (12), Carl in 3^rd (8), Sharon in Kindergarten (5) and Dale would have been 3. At least I’m pretty close. The 3 littles each have one of their toys in front of them. Dad captured Dale’s crafty look perfectly. He always was and always will be a little imp.

2302 N. McDonald St. Appleton WI

The 1962 photo was taken in our dining room (kitchen behind and notice the wall mounted phone – the latest technology) in our house at 2302 North McDonald Street in Appleton. (By the way, the door heading out to the garage is on the right side of the photo behind me.)

Pat Hanson, 2012, Christmas is still a big deal

Christmas was a big deal at our house as it was for some of our Hanson cousins in town. I wonder how it was for others of my cousins or perhaps for Aunt Toots?

Sister Augustine aka Aunt Toots

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2018: Week 1 Start

Í'm going to start this 2018 Challenge to respond to 52 weekly writing prompts about my ancestors. I don't usually do this because I never complete challenges in any part of my life. (Stubbornness?) But my cousin Carin has nagged and encouraged me to start. So starting I am with the aptly named first challenge.

Week 1: Start

Dave and Lynn Dosch family with Katie, Michael and Christie

Who am I? Where do I come from? The older I get, the more I’m intrigued by these questions. I want answers for myself but I want my kids to have this information about who they are as well. I think I see this as my gift, my legacy to leave them when I am gone.

I am lucky. I grew up in close proximity to my extended family and never thought twice about it. I thought everyone had Sunday dinners with their grandparents, spent Thanksgiving with hoards of uncles, aunts and cousins, visited 5 families on Christmas day to wish them a Merry Christmas (and play with their new toys!) But by my teen years, in spite of having this swirl of relatives around me, I was mostly interested in escaping the “smallness” of my world to explore places far away. Looking back 70 years later, I regret the time I lost with close relatives. Hintz family reunions in Alicia Park were so much fun!

Oshkosh City Museum

Running around the Oshkosh Public Museum with Miller and Beutler cousins, playing cards, and (yuk!) gathering black walnuts from Grandma Sullivan’s tree was all part of the fun of being on High Street.

747 High Street, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Grandma Sullivan's home; Pat Hanson talking to a renter in 2010. The house is owned by the University and is rented out as rooms.

It’s funny, I discovered an interest in my heritage when I was farthest away from home, living in Germany. My Dad knew he was from somewhere in Germany, but he thought the town no longer existed and didn’t seem interested in his German roots when he came to visit us in Germany. Husband Dave’s family, on the other hand, had a single clue – the name of a Swedish parish – and were very interested to find Lorna’s family. So when they visited, we traveled for a week to Norway and Sweden and, miracle of miracles, came face to face with family records in the church and then in government archives back to the 1600s.

Anderson family departure from Hassjo parish church

Not only that, but we found a living relative in a nearby town. I was blown away by the idea that you could actually trace your ancestors. The seeds of genealogy research were sown at that time, but only much later, when we finally moved back to the Midwest in 1992, did I begin to seriously consider the heritage of my children.

I dabbled at first, joining Ancestry and putting what I knew on that site. Lorna’s information was easiest to access. Her brother had done family group sheets (a list of a married couple and their children with birth, marriage and death dates). And Lorna is a great story-teller with a huge store of family history. Like my family, the Wilsons (Lorna) and Dosch’s had large extended families who gathered for birthdays, anniversaries, and homecomings. These families mostly stayed within close geographical distance of each other, so I came to know many of them over the years.

As I approached retirement, I had more time to explore. And by some lucky star, we decided to retire to Wisconsin and moved back to the state where I grew up and felt most at home. This hobby of genealogy suddenly became a passion.

Lots of things started to fall into place. I found Greg Sutherland online at Ancestry. I was 18 the last time I saw him. The Sulli Cuzzins got back together thanks to Facebook and plans for a Chicago reunion in 2011. Stories and photos continue on that family site to this day. I began to explore the Sullivan ancestry for my Mom who was beginning to show signs of dementia. I knew we were Polish and Irish, but not much more. Neither did my Mom to my great sadness. But bringing together my Mom, Aunt Monica, and Uncle Gerry at the reunion gave them all so much happiness and animation. And I met cousins I had only known by name. I re-met cousins I hadn’t seen since my teen years.

Sulli Cuzzins reunion in Chicago, July 2011. Siblings Gerry, Patricia and Monica seated in front row. Gerry's grandkids in front and assorted Sulli Cuzzins behind.

I found a place where I definitely belong, with people who make me smile and feel comfortable. And I began to accept that I am who I am because of the genetics, the history, and the nurture of these families. And that’s OK!

We made a trip to Williamsburg with my Mom in 2012 and stopped in Jamestown Tennessee on the way back for a fabulous visit with Greg, Susan, and best of all, Mom's sister, Bernice Sutherland.

Sullivan sisters: Bernice Sutherland and Pat Hanson, 2012

My Mom was so excited. And I realized how genealogy had led me back to my family. What a cool thing.

When my Mom died in 2013 (and Bernice just 3 weeks earlier), I coped with my mourning by diving into the Sullivan family history. For 3 months, I spent all day, every day doing Sullivan genealogy. It let me think about my Mom and not about her death. It created a legacy of family that I could hold on to even in her absence.

The web of family I have uncovered, both living and deceased, sustain me, define me and provide solid footing for me as I accept a new role as a family elder. I do not stand alone, but am supported by my cousins and my family whose nurturing is now part of my soul. I hope I live long enough to do justice to their stories.

William Sullivan is AWOL in 1850

I have spent all day trying to find the William Sullivan Family in 1850.  With no luck.  But some leads.  Let me explain: 

William is my great great-grandfather, married to Susanna Lambert.  I know William and Susan both emigrated from Ireland, probably in the mid-1830’s. 

1-Lynn Anne HANSON (19xx- )

2-Patricia Ethel SULLIVAN (1927-2013)

3-William Augustine SULLIVAN (1877-1957)

4-Michael SULLIVAN (1847-1929)

5-William SULLIVAN (1818-1893)

            Married abt 1843

5-Susanna LAMBERT (1822-1904)

From their obituaries, we learn what they and/or their children remember about their early years. 

As written in his 1893 obituary, William:

•       landed in Baltimore in 1836
•            lived in Rochester NY
•       moved to Canadaigua, Ontario County, NY for 5 years where he married  Susanna Lambert on January 20, 1843
•      arrived in Milwaukee Wisconsin fall of 1843 [Author’s note: Margaret was  born Nov 1843]
•      bought 80 acres in Erin, section 23, where he lived for 50 years [Author’s  note: This implies he lived on land starting in 1843]
•      was appointed County Commissioner in 1844 and served for 2 years
•      was the first chairman and treasurer of his town
•      served on the Board of Supervisors for several years
•           bought land for the county farm in 1845

As written in her 1904 obituary, Susanna

•          was born in Ireland Jan 1824,
•          emigrated to Quebec, Canada at age 9 [Author’s note: about 1833]
•          went to New York City “when she was old enough to leave home” [Author’s note: perhaps about 1840]
•          met and married William in New York City in 1842
•          came to Wisconsin that same year
•          stayed in Milwaukee for a short time
•          moved to Erin
•          lived for 50 years on the farm now owned by Michael Powell [Author’s note: They would have sold the farm about 1892]

Do you see some contradictions in stories?  Hoo boy….  Presumably, William’s obituary was written with input from Susanna and almost 10 years earlier when she was just shy of 70 years old.  Susanna’s obituary may well have been written by her children who weren’t around in her early life.  Neither obituary is particularly reliable information as it is written well after the facts we’re looking for.

In 1850, William is about 32, Susanna, about 26. They have 4 children: Margaret (about 7), Mary Ann (about 5), Michael (about 3) and James (about 1).  Government land records list a William Sullivan as purchaser of parcels of land in 1844 and 1849 in section 23 of Erin, Washington County, Wisconsin.

So, it would seem the logical first place to look for the family is in Erin township.  They probably own land, their obituaries both mention they have lived for 50 years on the same farm (which for William’s death date, would have to have been purchased about 1843). Finding historical records of county and township officers would provide confirmation of location as well. 

With this information as background (taken with a grain of salt), I have searched every page of the 1850 Erin Township census rolls (luckily, only about 25 pages in 1850) and printed out pages that contained Sullivan family names.  There are 5 Sullivan families living in Erin Township in 1850.    One family is just a couple.  Another has only 3 children, all boys, all born in New York, including a set of twins. And a third family has parents that are too old, has 6 children whose names and ages don’t match our family.  So, 3 families are eliminated pretty easily.

The last 2 families look like this:

•          Wm. Sulivan, age 31 Male, Farmer, land valued at $1,000, born in Ireland     
•          E.  Sulivan, age 28 Female, born in Ireland     
•          Marthy Sulivan, age 6, female, born in Wis.        
•          Elen Sulivan, 5, F, Wis.        
•          Daniel Sulivan, 3, M, Wis.        
•          John Sulivan, 1, M, Wis.        
•          Sarah Sulivan, 3/12 [3 months old] F,Wis.        
•          M. Dunivan [Sullivan?], 50, F, Ireland     
•          J.   Sulivan, 27, M, Labourer, Ireland     

This family starts with a William, of the correct age, whose wife and children also are about right with the exception of the child named Sarah.  I currently have a best guess birth date for William’s 5^th child, a daughter named Catherine, as Feb 1851.  This child would be a almost a year older than that, born in June of 1850. The two adults at the end were undoubtedly living and working on the farm, not at all unusual to find in farm census data.  The biggest problem is the names of the wife and children.  Not one of them matches the names we know are right for this family.  Marthy could be Margaret, but the others aren’t even close.  

Looking for this family in records going forward might help eliminate or prove them as our William Sullivan family.  Also finding the elusive birth records for the children would help confirm their birth location and dates. But for now, I have to consider this family not a match.I’m not too concerned about the ages being off a bit.  Census records are notoriously inaccurate in these. I can imagine all sorts of scenarios where those interviewed might mis-state ages or enumerators mis-hear or mis-write what they hear. 

The last Erin Sullivan family also holds possibilities.  The original page has what appears to be a piece of tape (rectangular strip darkened differently than the page written on). It happens to cross over the Sullivan head of household and his wife, obscuring the text.  To exacerbate the issue, this enumerator didn't gather first names, just wrote the last name for each person.  So we have:

•          T. (?) Sull**** ?, Male, Farmer, property valued at $2,000, born in Ireland [Age unreadable]
•          --Sull**** 35 Female, Ireland     
•          --Sullivan, 10 Male, born in Mass.       
•          --Sullivan, 8 Female, Mass.        
•          --Sullivan, 4 M, Wisconsin   
•          --Sullivan, 2 F, Wisconsin   

Here we have the right number of children, approximately the right age and sex, except for the oldest child.  The mother is also significantly older than we would have expected. And two of the children were born in Massachusetts.  This is not likely our family either.  But the same further checking as above applies here too. 

In addition, looking at surrounding families and plat maps might shed some light on where within the census process our Sullivan’s might have been expected. Census takers went from house to house in geographic order, as much as possible and the census documents this order by using dwelling numbers and family numbers and in cities, names of streets and house numbers. 

For the moment, I have given up on finding William in the census and have made some quick checks for possible online records about early township officers and birth records for the children.  Nothing surfaced at all – no records anywhere.  Ugh! 

It looks like trips to Wisconsin Vital Records and the Wisconsin Historical Society, and probably Hartford's History Center, are in order.  I’m not too good at doing on-site research yet, but it looks like I’m going to learn. 

And it’s possible that this may have to wait till after Christmas.  I’ve given myself one more week to work on this research and then it must be put aside for some sewing and scrapbooking, some cooking and decorating. Christmas is just around the corner if I want to make something personal for gifts.  Yikes!

Looking for Marie Josephine Bednorz via the Census

Here's a look at Marie's nuclear family: her parents and siblings.

1895 Minnesota State Census

The first census the Andrew Bednorz family appear in is the 1895 Minnesota State Census.  At this time they are living in Waverly, Marysville Township, Wright County Minnesota, just 37 miles due west of Minneapolis.

As of June 5, 1895, Andrew Badnorz (note misspelling of last name) is 43, Frances is 42, John (10), Henry (8), Francis (6) and Mary (1).  That’s our Marie Josephine!  The census document tells us that Andrew, Frances, and John were all born in “Germany” and the family has lived in Waverly, Minnesota for 9 years and one month.   (That fits with the immigration information we have from the Ship Suevia’s 1886 passenger manifest.) Henry, Francis, and Mary were all born in Minnesota.  Andrew is working as a blacksmith. 

1895 Minnesota State Census Andrew Bednorz Family in Marysville, Wright County MN

1900 US Census

We meet the family again in the 1900 US Census where the family is listed as Bednore, living in Buffalo Township, Cass County, North Dakota.  (Buffalo Township is almost straight west of of Fargo on the western edge of the county.)  How or why they got there is a mystery.

The family now consists of Andrew (age 47) and his wife, Frances (46), who have been married for 29 years; their sons, John (15), Henry (13) and Paul (4); and their daughters, Frances (11), Mary (6) and Gertrude (2).  The census notes that Frances has had 12 children, 6 of whom are living.  The family is living on the William Metzger farm as are Metzger’s wife, daughter and mother, 3 female servants and 8 other single men working as farm laborers.  Andrew lists his occupation also as farm laborer and sons John and Henry are listed as day laborers. Frances and Mary are at school. 

Random Analysis notes

A Plat map of Buffalo Township from 1893 shows a William Metzger property of 171 acres in the northeastern corner of the town.  This fits with the census information of 1900.

This census lists an immigration date of 1885 for Andrew, Frances, and John and notes they have been in the country for 15 years. (Interestingly, the census taker lists John as being born in Minnesota, which contradicts both his own writing and previously known information.) Other discrepancies with this census are the births of Paul and Gertrude.  Paul’s birth is listed as June 1895 and he is 4 years old.  The Minnesota Death Index and the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) list his birth date as March 14, 1896.  Gertrude’s discrepancy is similar: the 1900 Census lists her birth as June 1897 while SSDI and MDI list her birth as November 11, 1897.  Birth certificates (probably from Waverly, Wright County MN) are needed to clear up these discrepancies.  While it's not unusual for birth years to be off in census documents, it is unusual for the birth month to be off.

1905 Minnesota State Census

Andrew and family are back in Minnesota, in Marysville Township, Wright County where they have lived for 4 years and 8 months.  

He claims he has lived in Minnesota for 19 years 1 month, which doesn’t square with the 1900 census where they were in North Dakota.  (ND became a state in 1889, so it wasn’t part of Minnesota.  One question to ask is how long the Bednorz family remained in ND.) The data implies that the Bednorz family left ND about 4 months (September)  after the 1900 US Census. 

In Marysville, Andrew is farming at 53 years old. John Joseph is no longer at home, but Henry (18), Frances (16), Marree (notice the misspelling)(11), Paul (9) and Gertrude (7) are at home with their mother Frances (51). 

1910  Marysville, Wright County, Minnesota

By the 1910 Census, Henry (24), still single, is now the head of household on a Marysville farm which he owns by mortgage.  Andrew (58) is listed as his father and Frances (56) as his mother.  Andrew and Frances have been married 30 years and have borne 11 children, 6 of whom are living.  They are listed as immigrating in 1886 and Andrew is a naturalized citizen. He is also a blacksmith with his own shop.  Andrew and Frances report their parentage as “Ger. Polish”.  Henry’s sisters Frances (22) and Gertruid (note misspelling) (12) and brother Paul (14) are living with the family.  John and Mary, or Marie Josephine as we know her, is not living with the family.

Where's Waldo  Mary Josephine Bednorz? 

Buh Township?

We do find a single, 16 year old Josephine M. Bednor in Buh Township, Morrison County, Minnesota, about 100 miles north of Marysville.  She lists her parents as from “Austria (Ger)”.  This Josephine is a servant on the farm of John Premersberger (who, according to a 1907 Plat Map of Buh Township in Morrison County, owned 180 acres in section 35). The census document spells his name as Preimesborger.  He and his wife are 53, have been married 33 years, had 14 children of whom 11 were living.  They and their parents were from “Austria (Ger)”.  In 1910, seven sons ages 10-25 were living and working on the farm with their parents.  Could this be our Marie Josephine?

1910 US Census  Buh Township Morrison County MN - Josephine M Bednorz

Minneapolis?

We know that Marie’s brother John marries Mabel Christianson of St. Paul (Ramsey County MN), possibly around 1919, and in 1930 they are living in St. Paul.  Is it possible that John and Marie are living in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area in 1910?  Family lore says Marie meets William (who calls himself Arthur) while working at the Golden Rule store in St. Paul.  And they marry in Minneapolis.  So Marie had to be in Minneapolis before 1914 if family lore is even partially correct.

In searching the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for John, we find a  Mary Bednorz (or Bednorg)  living at 2305 Bloomington Ave in Minneapolis (Hennepin County).  This Mary is a lodger with the French-Canadian Joseph Payette family who have lived at 2311 Bloomington Ave for many years.  Based on previous census information for this family, they have never had a daughter named Mary.

This Mary Bednorz is 20 years old, in school with no occupation.  She was born in Minnesota, but parentage is listed as Canada-French for both parents.  It’s possible that the census taker first assumed Mary was a Payette family member as there is the horizontal line left of her name, indicating Payette as the last name.  Bednorz (or perhaps Bednorg) is written over the line.  Is it possible the census taker completed Mary’s line assuming relationship to the Payette family and was then corrected and didn’t follow through with changing the parentage?  Could this be our Marie Josephine, padding her age in an adult world? 

1910 US Census - MN Minneapolis (Hennepin) - Mary Bednorz

A mystery to be sure.  Especially since Marie and William now disappear from the records.  So far I have not found their marriage license.  The vital statistics clerk for Hennepin County  looked for all sorts of combinations of Sullivans and Bednorz to search her records and none come up at all. We have found a birth registration for Lu, but not for Edwin.

And we know that in 1920, Marie and WmA along with sons Lucius and Edwin are living in Le Pas, Manitoba, Canada.  Therefore there will be no 1920 US Census data for them.  We won’t see them on a census until 1930 when they are living in Oshkosh (Winnebago WI). What was going on in their lives between 1910 and 1930?  We have family lore, digging up family documents will be harder.  

There are still many holes to plug in understanding Marie Bednorz’ background before and just after her marriage to William A. Sullivan.  Sigh.  I wish someone had saved these important  documents for Marie and William.  

Using Census Data to Find Grandma

We, the Sullivan descendants, have a family lore about Grandma and Grandpa’s life.  We have birth and death dates, a few notes written by Sullivan siblings, and Sulli Cuzzin stories to accompany photos posted on our family Facebook page.  But how do we know any of these second hand stories are true?  How do we know what Grandma and Grandpa’s lives were really like?  Collecting as much information as possible from as many sources as possible is the first step in documenting our family story.  The second is confirming the facts of the story.  That means finding the family in vital records, in newspaper clippings, on plat maps, in cemeteries and any other documented sources we can find.  This part is both fun and frustrating.

One very useful source is the US Census.  The census is taken every 10 years and has been since around 1800. Census documents are kept private for 70 years before being released publicly.  The most recently released census is 1940, too early for any of the Sulli Cuzzins to be recorded.  The 1950 census will be released in 2022.  I hope I live that long!

1900 Census for Andrew Bednorz Family, Buffalo Township, Cass County, ND

Sadly, there are only 6,000 records remaining of the 62,000,000 records gathered in the 1890 census.  The original records were damaged and some destroyed in a 1921 fire in the Commerce Building in Washington, DC.  The remainder were destroyed by act of Congress in the 1930s.  That 20 year gap can be hard to fill in.  However, in Wisconsin and Minnesota, there were State censuses taken in 1895 and 1905 which can help fill in the missing information.

Finding people in the Census is not always an easy task.  Census takers wrote the information by hand, sometimes in illegible handwriting, often misspelling names.  For that matter, people changed their names seemingly at will.  Grandpa Sullivan appears in census documents as William, Augustine, or Wm A.  Grandma was listed in various census documents as Marie, Mary, Marree, or Josephine.  Bednorz was spelled Bednor, Bednar, Bednarz….well, you get the picture.  Then there are the indexers – people who read the census to create an index of the names found, making the information searchable in a database.  Without an index, you would have to page through all the documents for a town to look for your ancestor’s name.  Not too hard in 1850, but the population was significantly larger in 1940.  Indexers make mistakes too.  For example, Marie was indexed as Mance in one census.  But with some idea of where families were at a given time, some creative searching, and a lot of patience, you can be rewarded with a snapshot of the family at a given moment in time.  

Nancy and I have been working at finding out about the early lives of Grandma and Grandpa - Marie Josephine Bednorz and William Augustine Sullivan.  Check out the next post for what we've found so far for Marie.