Peter Swanson 1848-1937

From the July 1, 1937 edition of the St. Charles (Illinois) Chronicle; “PETER SWANSON The passing of Peter Swanson of 1042 4th street south Friday, after an illness of several weeks, removes an olden time and respected resident who has lived in this vicinity for nearly 70 years. Mr. Swanson was born in Sweden 88…

Carolina Fredrika Tolf 1855-1930

From page 1 of the Thursday, February 6, 1930 issue of the St. Charles [Illinois] Chronicle: “OBITUARY Mrs. Peter Swanson Mrs. Peter Swanson passed away at her home on Fourth St. south at 10 p.m. Thursday, January 30. Her death was the result of a paralytic stroke which she suffered on the previous Monday. Mrs.…

First Cousin Twice Removed

What a great smile! That’s the first thing I thought when I saw this picture of Marie Agnes Duha, my first cousin twice removed. Her mother was Agnes Magnheld Clarin (1891-1959), the middle of three daughters born to my 2nd great-grandparents Carl Larsson Clarin (1863-1924) and Bengta Johnson (1866-1895). Marie was born in Chicago 14…

Peter Tolf and Augusta Landstrom Marry

At first we thought there were two couples; Peter & Christine Tolf and Adolf & Augusta Sandstrom. Isn’t that what it looks like? But it was actually only one couple, Peter Tolf and Augusta Landstrom. They each brought a sibling to act as witnesses when Peter and Christine’s brother Frans Tolf married Matilda Peterson on…

Oh Those Beautiful Hats!

Their fathers Peter (1858-1929) and Frans Tolf (1852-1928) were brothers. And so Ranghild Katarina Henrietta (1889-1973) and Eva Mathilda (1891-1957) were first cousins. Eva had a sister named Pearl May (1883-1967). The three women got together often. As a matter of fact, Pearl lived with Ranghild and her family in the 1910 census. Then in 1913 Pearl…

William John McBane 1877-1938

Could William McBane point me toward Jacob’s birthplace in Switzerland? Talk with me about my family tree and there’s a chance you’ll hear me go on and on mention that I’m obsessed with interested in finding the birth place of my 2nd great-grandfather Jacob Koebe Mueller. Without this specific piece of information, I am at Brick Wall squared.…

Fun with Genealogy Files Part 1

Mr. W2L4A and I downsized earlier this year. Our smaller home came equipped with a smaller space for storing genealogy records. Okay. This is the perfect opportunity to tackle overflowing files I’ve been meaning to get to for years. And make liberal use of cloud storage. And arrange my genealogy files in such a way that…

I Forgot My Cemetery Kit

As a result, I couldn’t fix this: Husband and I recently took a genealogical road trip to Illinois. First Stop – Judy Russell. The Legal Genealogist spoke at the Chicago Genealogical Society meeting in Arlington Heights. That was a day well spent. Next up – locate the final resting place of two of my Tolf ancestors.…

Wesley Tolf; Bowler Extraordinaire

The following article, which appeared in the April 12, 1929 issue of the Batavia [Illinois] Herald, gave me some insight into the life of Wesley Lambert Tolf (17 Sep 1894-Dec 1969), a 1st cousin thrice-removed; “Batavia Bowlers Get in Prize Money at Ottawa Sunday – Frank Thomle and Wesley Tolf, prominent Batavia bowlers, shot into the…