March 1910 (2010)

FIRST -- while I think of it, here (above) is the photo that went missing from the end of the February posting, the displays of MaryOP's birth family faces. Her parents and other siblings were shown there; this is the brother born just a couple years before MaryOP was -- Christian August Olsen (1850 Denmark --1929 Albert Lea MN.) The photo date is unknown. His wife Marie died in 1911 so this solo studio portrait of him could've been taken in his widower stage, 1911-1929; I'm guessing in the 19-teens . His wife and he had 7 children -- only the three daughters survived childhood. More on them another time. Back to the 1910 diary now.
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Mrs. Clark does specialty sewing for MaryOP and The Girls so I suspect she's communicating about their Springtime new clothes needs. Will and Olga were gone 2 wks, by train (I hope!)

Olga's Nilson parents and some siblings live in Bisbee, north of Cando a piece. The offspring's last name had changed to Nelson by this time, or soon, as they wished to better fit in. The family photo below shows Jacob and Kjirstine (Jacobson) Nilson with their-surviving children -- the first few were born in southern Norway, several died in illness epidemics. Standing L-to-R is Olga (Will Paulsen's wife), John, Clara, Marie and Othilde (Tillie, Henry Paulsen's wife); in front, little Emma is between her parents. All had married and stayed in the area. Jacob and Kjirstine were big on community bolstering. They had Bisbee's first hotel, were storekeepers and 'built up things' -- a Church in Bisbee, a Seminary School for young ladies, in Fargo. Jacob returned to Norway mulitple times to bring half (3) of his his siblings to USA (including brother John E.N., Fargo ND father of the spouses for MaryOP's George and Lill) as well as to escort 16-18 yr. old young women who wanted to emigrate and become servants, eventually wives, in North Dakota. This includes Hilda (mentioned below in Mar.3 entry) and her sister. I know a bit more about Jacob and Kjirstine than I do of other families as they are my Great-Grands and Tillie (1890-1990) my grandmother. The photo was taken about 4 years before this MaryOP diary.

She orders the Danish "Bud og Hilsen" periodical ['message(s) and greetings'] -- a paper designed to connect the Danish immigrant 'diaspora' via uplifting news of a religious nature. I believe T.A. Olson is the minnister of the Cando Methodist-Episcopal Church. Hilde is an immigrant from southern Norway (see entry for Mar.2) who had been a house servant among Paulsens [and their met Rasmussens] and had in 1909 married Will Rasmussen, younger brother of Lena and Anna's husbands, Ras and James. MaryOP stays in regular contact with at least three of her previous house-helpers. Here's Hilde (Fjare) Jenson (1889-1968)-- an immigrant establishing herself in North Dakota before marrying.

Will is fifth of the six Rasmussen sons who immigrated from the same small region of Denmark on the island of Fyn from which the Paulsens came. I'm strongly thinking the Paulsens and Rasmussens knew each other there, but haven't any proof yet. Most (4) of the Rasmussen sons married MaryOP's daughters or previous servants, so she knows more than a bit about them as being sons-in-law and husbands! Here is Will & Hilde's wedding photo, November 1909:

Do you suppose they had A Little Spring Fever as they shoveled the snow? Check out the temperature!

At 35 degrees it's 73 degrees warmer than just 9 days earlier! (Feb.23)

C.C. Clausen was a traveling preacher from Denmark who first went to Norway before coming to the Midwest as an itinerant. In 1910 his Oregon address is in her address list. There was a Rev. Clausen in the southeast MN area where they lived before ND -- perhaps a son of CCC, or ??

She looks over the papers "igjen" which is 'Dan-glish' for again. Modern Danish spells it 'igen.' Dagny (1882--1963) was a former servant [of MaryOP's or of her daughter Lena, or both] who married yet another Rasmussen brother, Christian in nearby Egeland 1900 before heading to Kalispell in 1904. There they lived in the Albert-built home which MaryOP had vacated after Albert died in a yard accident there. Here's Christian & Dagny (Jorgenson) in about 1907 with 3 of their 6 children. (Darn -- I just deleted it. Well, I'll include it in April.)

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John Nelson of Bisbee is most likely Olga and Tillie's brother -- photo near top.

MaryOP and Albert's 4th-born Lena tells her of her 4th-born, Walter, that he was "so frightened he fell down straight (?) from upstairs." Starkweather transactions are BIG. See March expenses after these diary pages. While renting it to folk and making $ on that and the harvests, MaryOP had now 5 years to pay it off at $300 a year which was a considerable truckload of cash, back then. -- $6823 annually, plus interest.

Here's a [circa 1907] photo of Ras & Lena when Walter was the littlest. Their youngest, Agnes, will be born later in this year:

Five dollars for the banker's 'trouble' -- maybe George's convoluted transactions ?
You may remember that Annie Krogstead is a daughter of MaryOP's brother Christian (see top of this posting) who asked MaryOP about a place Mary and the Girls stayed a while in Texas in 1904, betwixt Kalispell and returning to ND.

Feeling poorly, I'm glad she had the 3 youngest girls at home to help with mangling, etc.

Among other things that day MaryOP paid for a mouse trap -- 10 cents.

Ole J. Amundson seems to be 'deputized' re: MaryOP's realty ownings.

"Truth" is the word on the penultimate line.

MaryOP is sick and looking for a Call or release to join Jesus and her departed dear ones, so we can see how Psalm 84 would be a great comfort, esp. verses 2, 3, 5, and 8-12. Her husband Albert suddenly died 6 years earlier when MaryOP was 50, two of their little children in 1875 and 1888, her sister Petrine in Denmark (1907), her parents, father Ole (1874) shortly after they immigrated to so MN, her mother Henriette (1893 in MN) ... and many more dear ones.

Off to seamstress Clark to get her measurements taken. The next day she spent $9.60 on a dress form, likely to those dimensions which were not skimpy. Spring attire is in the works, house cleaning is rising to exhaustion and the men are discing fields in their Spring prep.
Here below is "Freds" --MaryOP's 5th-born Fred, his wife Myrtle (Forney) Paulsen and their two children, Albert and Jeanette, ca 1907.

I think MaryOP had a Ton of studio family photos made in about 1907.... I've seen lots.

>>>> "The big Flies" ?? Any ideas about what kind of big flies could be around in 20 degree weather in March in northern North Dakota? Do advise me: mapptree@gmail.com

"It is Summer today." - - - After a northern ND Winter, 20 degrees is Yes.

Maybe her thermometer is broken, or she doesn't record temps 'til the next Winter.

MaryOP and Lillian bake up a storm for the WCTU event the next day.
Will, Olga and Lena go north by buggy to hire a female helper to share, between houses.

The First Geese flying North ! -- a thrill for many of us. "The Hall" was Cando's community center, stage and gathering place. The town was known as being an atypically cultured one for its size & on the prairie, with various music, literary, dancing, theatre, opera, choruses and more.

"Summer every day." My apologies (maybe) if I over-enthuse about their March warming weather but here a century later I'm giddy about the same. Winter weary cardinals [males] outside my window are trying to out sing the other for territory and the Lady birds.

Theirs was a huge laundering task of multiple steps-- a heavy process which the 'young' among us with our handy push-button washers & dryers cannot fathom.

Her safety deposit box was likely a bustling place of action with all her business matters.

I can see why she twice mentioned the odious task of picking over cellar potatoes -- Glad to be done with it! Last month she bought 20 Easter postcards at 1/2 penny each. The Girls have been choosing their Spring/ Easter hats and coats via catalogs -- notice the nearly 270 dollars she mails to companies four days later! and probably locally Lillie gets a nice new (Easter?) hat for $5.oo. That's $100+ these days! so that must've been Some Hat. She'll marry Edwin Nelson within the year so appearances (and hats) might indeed be of extra-pretty purpose!

This simple image takes me there: "Raining tonight enough to lay the dust."

She goes visiting the Powells as old widow Grandma Powell died (1834-1910) that day. MaryOP is especially compassionate toward her fellow widows including her friend the widow Mrs. Phoebe Powell (1857-1940), the elder Powell's daughter-in-law with whom MaryOP had life situations and timelines in common.

She writes to Albert's little sister -- another widow Mary --Mrs. Mathias PaulsOn in Blooming Prairie MN.

Of course, M.& W. Co. is Montgomery Ward -- [mail-order].

"Scarf, bias binding and ruching" (a decorative frill of gathered or pleated fabric.) She is ripping or disassembling her 'Cravenette' to create a pattern of her size in order to make a new one. The Cravenette process was used to waterproof especially woolen fabrics, so I'm thinking she's making a new wool coat.

Will would later buy into Bisbee's auto shop -- if my memory serves.

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MaryOP's March expenses:

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Now a look at Albert Paulsen's parents & a grandparent --

Here is a pre-1901 photo of his mother, Anna Marie (Nielsen) Fredrickson [1832 Denmark--1901 Blooming Prairie MN] and his father, Paul Fredrickson [1826 Denmark--1907 in 'Blooming'] -- his first name gave to the Danish patronymic name of "Paul-sen."

They had 14 children. The eldest stayed behind in Denmark, the 13th died on board as a small baby while they traveled to 'Amerika' and was buried at sea, and their youngest died in MN, born when Anna Marie was in her 40's. Below is a 1989 stone-rubbing of Anna Marie & Paul's grave marker in Danish Baptist Cemetery-- a couple miles outside of 'Blooming.' In the middle of the inscription is the Danish adaption from the scripture Revelations 14:13: "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." And they had labored a Lot with all those children and he with road construction and farming. Interestingly, when the Fredricksens boated across the Atlantic in 1872, MaryOP (then Maren Olsen) had the very next ticket number for boarding. I'm supposing that she helped with the child care of her intended/ 'promised' Albert's youngest siblings. Albert and his next younger brother Hans had come separately the year before (ages 19 and 18) to scout southern MN for their own family and the Olsens to come.

Lastly -- a pre-1872 image of Anna Marie's father (Albert Paulsen's grandfather), Niels Nielsen, a weaver. This was most likely a daguerreotype originally, but some Readers might know otherwise -- and advise me about that, please? I found and photographed a photo printing thereof in Denmark, 1990. (My Dad Everett Paulsen subsequently disseminated copies of this to various Paulsen relatives if it looks familiar to some of you.) Anna Marie's mother was Maren Mortensdatter who died in Denmark in 1849 when Anna Marie was about 17. Niels remarried two years later-- to his niece Ana Elisabeth Christiansdatter (27) who lived down the road. This is she in the photo. Niels outlived both of his wives. AECN died in 1872

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That's it for this month. Do let me know if you have ideas about the "Big Flies" (Mar 16) or the nature of the original pre-1872 image above. Or any other contributions / comments! I like hearing from you so that I know someone is "out there."

- - -- - Marsha Paulsen Peters mapptree@gmail.com