April 7 to 13

My mother called her grandpa ‘Boppa’. Harry Wilhelm Tolf was my mother’s maternal grandfather born April 7, 1884, in Batavia, Kane, Illinois. Harry’s parents were Swedish immigrants who raised their three children in the far west suburb of Chicago. The family was tightly knit; when Harry’s job took him to the city, his parents and siblings followed.

Harry’s first wife was Julia Christine Thompson. Julia’s grandfather is my 3rd great-grandfather Tønnes Christensen who was born April 9, 1814, on the Mysse farm in Sokndal, Rogaland, Norway. Tønnes became a merchant who lived and worked on a small river that flows into the North Sea. He and his wife Else had nine known children. All the children who lived to adulthood immigrated to the United States.

Julia’s daughter Harriette Kathlyn Tolf married John George Walton April 12, 1930, in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. By all accounts it was a happy marriage. My grandmother Harriette died shortly before their silver wedding anniversary. My grandfather never remarried.

My Grandpa John was a kind and wonderful man who died April 8, 1980. He had a dry sense of humor which I’ve inherited and because of him I love the aroma of a good cigar.

One of Tønnes Christensen’s immigrant children is Peter Thompson, my great-great grandfather. Peter must have missed his life in Norway because he moved back and lived there for many years. At the age of 80 he attempted to return to the States but died at Ellis Island April 10, 1938.

As I was writing this post, I realized all the significant-to-me dates for this week are in some way connected to the maternal grandmother I never met. But I followed in her footsteps and chose a kind and wonderful mate who reminds me in many ways of my grandfather. Except the cigar.