After searching for more than ten years for a tip that would lead my mother-in-law to the birth family she always wanted to know, a post on Ancestry.com made the connection. Join me as our family tree grows and enjoy the musings of a bi-cultural perspective. I enjoy researching and finding gems in my own Swedish/Irish/German tree and love the challenge of searching through online archives of Mexican primary documents, seeking the few names we know on my husband's tree.
On Wednesday, my mom invited a Swedish friend from work for dinner. After a wonderful meal, he read aloud the first chapter of Sagor ur Skogen, the book of short stories written by my third great grandmother, translating it line by line from Swedish into English. I transcribed what he read and you can read … Continue reading First Chapter of Sagor ur Skogen, “Fairytales From the Forest”
My mother-in-law Martha has a special Mother’s Day card tucked away for safekeeping. She bought it many years ago for her birth mother she hadn’t seen in 66 years. Martha wrote in the card about how she was appreciative that her mother had given birth to her. She wrote about yearning to know her mother … Continue reading Dia De Las Madres
My great great grandparents John and Augusta Anderson (born in 1865 and 1873 respectively, both in Sweden) built this log cabin on their land in Foley, Minnesota. I’m not sure in what year, but it was before my great grandfather Elmer was born in 1902. He was born in this house and it’s where the … Continue reading The little Anderson house on the prairie
The thing is, if we go back far enough on anyone’s family tree, we are all related to someone notable. Stories, connections and details are what make our trees come alive with relevance. And finding new gem of information to follow is just so darned exciting (queue many late nights at the computer)! I’m not … Continue reading If you go back far enough…
That is what I owe my two grandmothers for instilling in me respect and curiousity about our family history. My parents as well, but as the matriarchs of our families, these two women have kept alive very important aspects of our family and culture. Grandma R started the Christmas Eve tradition of a typical Swedish … Continue reading Debt of gratitude
My great-great-great grandmother, Maria Bjorkman, had several claims to fame. First, she was a published author – winning awards at several World’s Fairs (according to the article below). Second, she and her husband Hampus were quite well known in Sweden and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Below is a link to one of Maria’s publications, … Continue reading Sagor ur Skogen (Tales From The Forest)
The sweet boy in the photo below is my grandpa Gerald Robinson, born in 1933. He is pictured with his father Glen Robinson born in 1912, his grandfather William Robinson, born in 1892, and his great grandfather Samuel Robinson, born Dec 22, 1858. The three younger Robinsons were all born in Minnesota, USA and Samuel, … Continue reading First generation
Martha doesn’t own anything tangible that belonged to her birth mother. I’m not sure any of Librada’s children have posessions of hers. In another post I’ll explain why. Martha has vivid memories of a dress she wore when she was 3 years old, around the time she was separated from her mother. She has always … Continue reading What we own
Since I met my husband I have known that his mother, Martha, was adopted and didn’t know much about her birth family. I asked if she was interested in finding them. Claro que si!!! In the twelve odd years since we met, I have made it my mission to find more information for her. My … Continue reading Finding a needle in a haystack
What if my husband never took the “leap” and moved to the USA? Our sweet boys wouldn’t be here today. What if my great-great-great-great grandparents hadn’t gotten together? None of their progeny, now counting in the hundreds, wouldn’t be alive today. It’s mind-blowing. It’s also one of the main reasons why I find genealogy so … Continue reading In the beginning…
Crossing Fronteras 