May 1910

Who is this dapper Danish soldier? -- and what is he doing in MaryOP's diary? Well, okay, he's not in the diary. He is Hans Hansen, circa 1866, but he'll emigrate to MN and marry Albert Paulsen's kid sister (MaryOP's sister-in-law) Karen Kirstine Poulsen a.k.a. Carrie Paulson, eventually. Stay tuned.

Usually I show MaryOP's Cash Out page at the end of the month's entries -- but this month I'm trying it here before the diary pages to see what expenses she'll have as the days unfold.

By the way -- the $220 she spent a century ago in May translates to between $4000 and $5000 today, depending on what conversion indicator(s) one uses. If you wish, tap onto http://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/ to learn further of these indicators or to try a $$ conversion between then and now.

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May 1910 diary entries:

While she ongoingly asks God to 'save Georges' [her 10th-born & wife Annie(Nelson)] she in fairness also bids help for Us All.

With a growing Spring in mind, MaryOP buys four Climbers or blooming vines -- maybe 'clematis'?-- for her porch trellises.

This day she bought 2 dozen coat buttons at a store in town (75 cents) so affixes such.

I'LL BET she slept well after all this spading, raking, seeding of the garden and Pounding all the rugs -- then acknowledging help of The Girls and God. "They grained the floors" ... In an on-line page about the basics of faux graining woods tells that such became very popular in the 19th century. Only the wealthiest could afford the beautiful hardwoods so softer woods like pine were often 'faux' grained to simulate all kinds of ritzier woods. A handy and cost-saving technique. If interested, see http://hubpages.com/hub/Faux-Graining-Wood for a page about a woman's adventures restoring their 1910 house.

"... and painted the chimney." ['Thimny" is likely how she pronounced it in her 'Dan-glish.']

It's becoming more evident that The Girls are better known now as the TWO youngest children of MaryOP now, as the third-from-youngest, Lillie is 19 and being courted by Edwin Nelson (Annie Nelson Paulsen's bro) and will marry in about 8 months. Ya, the next youngest, Hannah ('now' 17) will also marry -- the same day as Lillie does -- in a double wedding held at their/ MaryOP's home in Cando. Hannah's beau, Evan Jones, becomes more evident in the coming months of 1910.

Pounding the winter's dirt and dust from 19 curtains and blankets! That is very manual labor, using stiff wire rug-beaters -- all outside, of course.

Clogged sewer pipes (she often spells 'they' as 'the') and picking over stinky potatoes long stored since the 1909 harvest, some now softening & rotting. Two odiferous events; One day. . Maybe she dealt with stink-o old potatoes and cellar cleaning because the air already stank from the clogged pipes.

"I settled with the Painters" -- $78 this day and $25 a few days earlier; that's worth a LOT in today's equivalent!

MaryOP ever served as unofficial Bank & Loan director -- at least to her family members. Here {her eldest/ MaryHP's husband} Carl Fredlund pays off the final payment of a larger loan, now marked PAID through the notice documenting the loan in the back pages of her diary book.
A racetrack a century ago in or near Cando? I found on-line in a genealogical report (unrelated to us) of a young fellow who came through Cando from TN, in 1905, stayed a while, loved all things horses and treasured a Cando racetrack photo for the rest of his life! I can't reach the Cando Pioneer Museum about the old racetrack-- and now I'm curious. Surely the Girls' brother-in-law Ras S. Rasmussen knew about it as he was a big horse enthusiast, collector and breeder for a while ... so, savvy Rasmussians -- or any reader out there: Cando racetrack? Email me please.

'Rasmusses' -- that's MaryOP's daughter 4th-born Lena (Paulsen) and husband Ras S. Rasmussen, and 'Jims' -- Lena's sister, 6th-born Annie (Paulsen) and husband, Ras' brother James Rasmussen come to visit and all is well. Many a time siblings married another family's siblings back then; way more than nowadays. And these two families (then with 7.5 children, all told) leave the next day:

The Tyler boys are sons of Mr. Tyler who hauls the sewer water. The lads haul off the ashes and brush from Spring cleaning and garden prep. The 'Henry's' are her ninth-born, Henry and wife Othilde/ Tillie (Nelson) now 5 months pregnant with Everett-to-be (my Dad, 1910-2006.) Yah-- Paulsen brothers Henry and Will are married to Nelson sisters, Tillie and Olga.

This Norwegian Celebration is "Syttende Mai" [17th of May] and all Norsk folk world-wide know of or observe this holiday of Independence in honor of 17 May 1814 when a new Constitution of a Norway (free of Denmark and Sweden's rule) was adopted. Such then failed - but finally was victorious, signed and sealed in 1905 -- within this diary's recent past. For more about Syttende Mai, see http://www.bosque-norsemen.com/Significance.htm There are Norwegian immigrants all over Towner County, incl. Will's wife Olga and her younger sister (Mary) Marie Nelson who've come down from Bisbee for the festivities.

Peter F.M. Miller is MaryOP's nephew, eldest of her Albert Paulsen's sister Dorothea, a fellow widow to whom MaryOP writes often. He's come from Blooming Prairie in s.e. MN to visit his sister Mary (Miller) Fredlund, known to extended family as 'Mary Sanders.' Being married to Sander Fredlund, she had that nickname since there was a Mary everywhere one looked. Marys and Annies-- every family seemed to have multiples of them. Peter and sister Mary are seen below in a view cropped from the photo of Dorothea (Paulsen/ Paulson) Miller and adult children, shown previously. I imagine the photo was taken in an Albert Lea or Owatonna studio, likely because 'Mary Sanders' was home from NDak visiting the Miller family -- so a group document thereof would surely be made. Peter and Mary-S are respectively 32 & 29 in this photo of circa 1909-1910:

A bleak day -- [vomited twice.]

She finished her Coat of many buttons! VERY rarely does MaryOP mention any birthdays of anyone. So this is cool that she mentions her current 57 yrs (May 19th, 1853-1910) and His mercy throughout.

Peter has been visiting his sister Mary-Sanders but comes to see his mother Dorothea's dear friend and sister-in-law MaryOP as well. Below is a photo taken in the parlor of Mary & Sander Fredlund's home -- see Mary-Sanders seated at table in the far room, and her young daughter Clare in the front? Photo of circa 1913 in Egeland ND. On the left wall and the hutch are framed photos incl. Mary-S's Paulson-Ditlevsen cousins (LARGE familly) a decade earlier, s.e. MN, and a fresh picture of 1913 newly wedded couple Emma (Paulsen, Albert & MaryOP's youngest) and John Hanson, a wedding likely held in MaryOP's home in Cando. More re: the Fredlund clan in next month's photo feature.

A 'wrapper' is a comfortable housedress she makes for herself.

Music lessons paid for in full: $14.30 -- I wonder how many lessons that covered? MUCH musical skill and talent were enjoyed by most of Albert & Mary O.Paulsen's offspring, for generations to come. Innate abilities amplified by training and such lessons, no doubt.

John Segerborg is the fellow with whom Albert & MaryOP and 8 children stayed when first arriving in NDak from MN about 22 yrs earlier, while awaiting lumber and materials so that Albert could build their first NDak home. They bunked in the Segerborg barn (that's what I've been told) -- sturdy pioneers that they were!

Here's her 5th-born Fred, his wife Myrtle (Forney) and children Albert and Jeanette. circa 1906.

Weds., May 31, 1910
Unfortunately, I forgot to download this page's scan and, without starting all over, can't add it now. But here's what she wrote re: her busy day --with my italicized notes in (parens) :

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"North, sun.

Jesus Stilling the Tempest. Matt.8: 23-27.

I been up to the Deapod (depot) to see aboth (about) the bills from the Boston Store, and I been over to the Lords Girls (in Curt or his brother Harry Lord's households), and down to see Mrs. Larsen and over to the Gillets to see if I could get a Girl (house servant) for Lena. Father I thank Thee for this blessed day. bee Thou with us through the Night for Jesus sake. Amen."

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Here is our young soldier again, age 21, freshly graduated from Danish Military School,
approx. 1866. Within the next 13 yrs he emigrates, lands in Steele County, s.e. MN and buys 80 acres of Section 4, Blooming Prairie Township [at least that's where the county's 1879 plat map has him] which land is only about 1 1/2 miles from where Paul & Anna Marie Fredrickson (and family) live in Sect. 20.
In 1879 Hans is 34 and the young Paul-datter is 16. The next year they marry, maybe at the Danish Baptist Church down the road a 1/2 mile. She joins him in Section 4 where he is established. Here's Carrie in about 1887 :

Carrie and Hans had 8 children, 7 of whom survived childhood. Here they are in a highly polished studio pose, circa 1902 -- the eldest is Mary Ann, 20; the baby Gladys, 1. (remember her baby face for a moment...) By this time, they have doubled their acreage, still in Sect. 4. Hans & Carrie are 57 and 39 at time of this photo:

Little Gladys, 87 yrs later (Gladys Phelps Newhall) welcomed a Paulsen cousin from NDak to her Owatonna MN home -- my Dad Everett -- when we went visiting in 1989. Truly, I've decided to not use 'current' photos in this Blog, just really old ones, but I just had to show how baby Gladys grew into her cuteness. Besides, 'artistic license' or editorial disgression allows me to show Dad, whenever!

That's all for this month. Email comments, corrections, stories and scanned Old photos (full rezz) to me: mapptree@gmail.com Do you know (or know of) any of the many southeastern Minnesota Paulson/ Paulsen relatives?

-- Marsha Paulsen Peters

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