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Have you ever
tried to trace your ancestry when your relatives didn't keep good
records (or
lost them)? If so, you will understand my dilemma. Like most people
born
in America, I have mixed European blood in my veins (Swedish,
English,
German,
and Scottish).
My ancestors, like most, came to the USA to find a better life and
pursue the "American Dream". While I have only just begun tracing my
roots, I have already found that early records here in the USA can be
scarce--some birth certificates just don't exist. It is also possible
that naturalization papers do not contain all the important information
(i.e, birth city, etc) which is necessary in such a quest. To further
complicate matters, the two oldest members of my family, my
grandmothers, seem to only want to discuss future plans (anxiously
awaiting the arrival of great-grandchildren I guess) and dislike
discussing the past. This may explain why I am researching this
information on my own. I have provided a Family Tree
or text List
on the
bottom (for a visual). This text List supplements what you see on the
Family
Tree.
  SWEDISH (maternal family name: Johnson) Johnson is a Swedish surname, which stems largely from Johanson. My Swedish heritage comes from my mother's (father's) side. My grandfather, Howard Victor Johnson, was born in in 1920 in Somerville, MA to parents Frank Waldo Johnson & Helen Ranghilde (Johnson). For the record, my grandfather is not connected with the Hotel/Restaurant chain! :-)
My younger brother Andy ('Drew') chose to spend a semester abroad in 2000 in Sweden (studying, or should I say making igloos and excited to see women in hot pants, at the University in Linkoping), giving my mother and I the motivation to realize one of our dreams: visit the Scandivanian motherland! We met Drew in Sweden, and raced through Sweden, Norway, and touched upon Denmark as well. What was neat was that we were able to visit the summer palace ("Sofiero" in Helsingborg) where my ancestors Pehr & Maria Johnson met and fell in love, as well as combed through their birth records ourselves in Kalmar. Imagine the challenge though: trying to read handwritten Swedish, written in the 1800's, on microfische!!!!!! The Swedes have a funny way of listing professions or trades, rather than the needed pertinent information, like birthdates of parents, however!  ENGLISH
(maternal family name: Dodge) Dodge is an English surname. My English heritage comes from my mother's (mother's) side. My grandmother, Ruth Eleanor (Dodge) was born in 1920 in Stoneham, MA to parents Albert Dodge & Mary Jane (Holden).
I can trace back the
ancestors
of Arthur Dodge (above) to 1806 and the ancestors of his wife Sarah
Avery (below) to 1557. The last known relative on Sarah's side is Sir
William Herrick (born 1557) in England (lived in Leicester and
London
who was a member of Parliament from 1601-1630! Sir William's son
(Henry
~ born 1604) settled in Salem, MA and founded the 1st Church in
Salem (dissenter from Church of England) in 1629! Mapping these
details is too cumbersome for this simple text page....
 GERMAN (paternal family
name: Simpter) Simpter is a German surname. My German heritage comes from my father's (father's) side. My grandfather, Roger Urban Simpter, was born in 1921 in Greenfield, MA to parents Charles E. Simpter, Jr.& Clara D. (Bittner).
It's a shame that when I was in Germany in 1994 I didn't think to try to track the birthrecords of these ancestors. But then again, maybe another trip to Germany is in order now that I am older and wiser. ;-) 
SCOTTISH (paternal
family
name: Crosby) Crosby is a Scottish surname. My Scottish heritage comes from my father's (mother's) side. My grandmother, Marjorie (Crosby) was born in 1923 in Stoneham, MA to parents Wendell Franklin Crosby & Ruth Ester (Spear).
List If you have any information that would supplement what I have already found, please email me and help fill in the holes of the mystery! Thanks! |
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