News and new developments
February 2, 2006
Shortly before Christmas, one of my grandmothers passed away, at the age of 85 -- Carol Quackenbush Beck, granddaughter of Daniel and Agnes Freeman, first Homesteaders in the U.S. My grandma grew up on her grandparents' homestead, in Nebraska (her grandmother Agnes Freeman was still alive during her childhood). My other grandmother is now 96, and we had all hoped that Grandma Carol could live a lot longer, as well, as her health had seemed pretty good and she was in good spirits after moving in with my sister and her family. However, she was diagnosed with cancer, and passed away within about 2 months of the diagnosis. She had time to notify her friends and relatives, and received many wonderful letters and phone calls, saying goodbye. My children and I were also able to take a trip out to see her, and she was still sitting up in her chair for most of our stay there, talking to us about the old times and so on. Goodbye Grandma, and I love you!
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February 2, 2006
A quick note about where my direct ancestors were in various census years ...
* 1930 * - Oregon (7), California (3), Nebraska (4)
* 1920 * - Oregon (6), California (5), Utah (1), Colorado (2), Nebraska (4)
* 1910 * - Oregon (3), California (8), Utah (2), Nebraska (6)
* 1900 * - Washington? (1), California (6), Utah (4), Nebraska (8), Finland (3)
* 1890 * - Washington? (1), California (3), Kansas to California (2), Montana (3), Utah (9), Nebraska (9), Iowa (1), Illinois (1), Finland (5)
* 1880 * - Oregon (1), California (3), Utah (10), Kansas (2), Nebraska (8), Iowa (3), Illinois (2), Finland (8)
* 1870 * - California (3), Utah (9), Kansas (3), Nebraska (5), Texas? (1), Iowa (3), Wisconsin (3), Illinois (2), Finland (8)
* 1860 * - Mississippi to California (3), Utah (9), Kansas (2), Texas? (3), Iowa (4), Wisconsin (3), Illinois (6), New York (2), England (3), Finland (many)
* 1850 * - Iowa (7), Wisconsin (2), Illinois (3), Missouri or Texas (3), Mississippi (2), New York (5), Rhode Island? (1), England (10), Finland (many)
* 1840 * - Iowa (2), Illinois (4), Texas? (2), Mississippi? (1), South Carolina to Mississippi (1), New York (7), England (12), Finland (many)
* 1830 * - Illinois (3), Ohio (2), Ohio to Illinois (1), Texas? (2), Mississippi? (1), South Carolina (1), New York (10), England (11), Finland (many)
* 1820 * - Ohio (8), New York (8), Connecticut (1), England (9+), Finland (many)
* 1810 * - Ohio (6), New York (9), Connecticut (3), England (many), Finland (many)
* 1800 * - data is insufficient, however - Ohio (3), New York (several), Connecticut (3), Vermont (2), England (many), Finland (many)
* 1790 * - data is insufficient, however - Pennsylvania (2), New York (several), England (many), Finland (many),
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April 24, 2005
I had an exciting visit to my parents' house and aunt and uncle's house last month, as well as a trip to the Kannastos' old stomping ground -- Rocklin, Placer Co., California!
We had a wonderful reunion with other Kannastos, and together visited the old cemetery, and found the graves of the uncle and aunt of my great-grandfather, John Kannasto. My great-grandfather himself had left the area and moved his whole family to Oregon, but his uncle John Kannasto and aunt Emma Loopakka Kannasto, along with her second husband John Gutzen, were buried in Rocklin. We also saw the gravestones of several members of the Anderson family, including my great-great-grandparents Oskar and Ida Anderson, with two of their sons. Oskar and Ida were born in Finland, and their daughter Mary Anderson (born in California), was my great-grandmother, married to John Kannasto. She and John died in Oregon.
We all had our photos taken by the Kannasto Street sign -- the street runs along one side of the cemetery, and was named after the uncle John Kannasto mentioned above, and his family.
The Kannastos and Andersons were among many Finnish residents of Rocklin who owned and operated small granite quarries, and we saw two or three of the old quarries, including one which was reputed to be the Andersons', along with their house. Along the road near the quarries, we met a man who had lived in Rocklin for 59 years, and is now 60 years old. He told us a lot about the quarries, for example that they were up to about 90 (or was it 190?) feet deep, and that one had been drained partially and they had found a railroad engine and car at the bottom. They are now completely filled with water, and look like medium-sized ponds, with grasses and other greenery growing all around. He also told us about the Rocklin Historical Museum, and we hurried over there.
The museum was just closing, but the Rukhala brothers and sister who run it welcomed us kindly, and let us stay as long as we wanted (about 40 minutes). They showed us around, and seemed happy to meet some Kannastos! They remembered Kannastos living near them when they were young, and told us that we still have some relatives elsewhere in California that they know of. The Kannastos that lived near them were actually the family of the uncle John Kannasto and his wife, Emma Loopakka. They had four children, Helmi/Hilma, Mamie, Elma, and Albert, who have all passed away.
The Rukhalas were an important family in Rocklin granite quarrying, and continued quarrying up until recent years. The three Rukhalas we met looked to be in their 70's or 80's, and I believe they are three of the children of the original Rukhala immigrant from Finland. They have done a wonderful job on the museum. One interesting thing I saw there was an 8x10 print of an old black and white photo showing the railroad engine and car that fell into a quarry, taken as they dangled down into the quarry from a broken track, still attached to and held up by several other cars at the top. They either fell in afterwards, or were cut loose from the other cars when it was determined that they could not be rescued. It was a dramatic sight.
Next was a visit to my parents', where I finally saw the package of old photos and family documents which belonged to my grandfather's favorite cousin, Roy Martin. Cousin Roy had passed away in Alaska in 1997, leaving no children and no known relatives. Kind friends of his had stored a cigar box full of his family mementos, and had gone online to find relatives to send it to. A Google search led them to this website, and they sent us the old things!! I could hardly believe it when they emailed. Later I heard from my uncle that we are indeed the only relatives Roy knew of, and that he had planned to send my uncle those same things before he died. He had mentioned it to my uncle, but he must not have had time to send them before he passed away. He was 93 when he died. Among the things were an invitation to the wedding of my great-grandparents in California, Stephen and Minnie Martin. Also there was a photo of my great-grandfather Stephen Martin with one of his grandchildren, my uncle (as a baby). I color photocopied all these treasures, and plan to make a scrapbook with the copies and the photos I took at my aunt and uncle's house.
The last great family history adventure of the trip was at my aunt and uncle's house, where my uncle kindly spent the whole weekend with me, looking through a couple of old boxes of family photos and other things belonging to the Martins. We looked at countless old snapshots, many of them from the 1910's it would seem, many made in the form of postcards. Many showed scenes of hunting and other outdoor activities. There were also beautiful, large old studio portraits, in excellent condition. One showed my great-grandmother, Minnie Martin, perhaps in her 40's, wearing a black dress and standing against a dark background, looking striking with her dark hair and fair skin. She was standing with her hands resting on a sort of podium, holding a book open.
We also looked through the old family bible of Minnie Martin's family (her maiden name was also Martin), which had been presented to her father John H. Martin by his sister. We learned that the maiden name of Minnie's mother was Martha V. Shirley -- this explained the origin of my grandfather's middle name, Shirley! There were some lists of births, deaths and marriages in the big old bible, as well as many old photos of relatives (with no names on them). The photos seemed to mostly date from the 1800's. For lack of a better alternative, I took photos of many things with the compact camera I had with me. Some of the photos came out alright, and many are blurry but still recognizable. They can be added to the scrapbook mentioned above.
On coming home, I looked again at the Shirley/Martin family I had found in the 1880 census of San Antonio township, Los Angeles Co., CA. I am quite sure it is the right family, showing my great-great-grandparents John H. and Martha Shirley Martin, living with the rest of the Shirleys. The only problem is that their 3 children should be listed (they were born between 1875 and 1880), but they are not. There are a few possible explanations for this, and I do still feel sure that it is the right family. There is one database on the Rootsweb World Connect Project which connects to this family, and has information on the Shirleys back to England.
Another nice photo at my aunt and uncle's place showed my great-grandmother, "Minnie Mama" Martin, as a child of about 10-12 years old, with her brother and sister. It was a studio photo, and must have been taken around 1885 to 1888 I guess, based on how old the children look. Other things included an 1860's tax receipt for an E. Martin in Texas (where John H. Martin's family came from), and an old dictionary for elementary school children, dated 1857 and signed by a William E. Martin -- I think he may have been a brother of John H., based on the dates.
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