The Premption Act and Tree Culture Act were in a book we found on Archive.org when Larry searched "railroad". This chapter talked about how much land a railroad was granted (24 miles on either side of the track!), so they graciously included the procedure for claiming your 160 acres.
I'd never heard of the "Tree Culture Act", but if I understand correctly, in Prempting you had to CLEAR trees from the land, but if there were no trees on your land, you had to PLANT 'em.
Yeah, this wasn't Buckman and didn't involve us, but what were they doing here? What was the ceremony or feast day, and the intent of the procession? (Notice: boys first, by size...then girls, by size--weirdly typical, huh? ☺)
The usual prize'll be given for correct answers!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ More about St Mary's in Sleepy Eye, Mn:
YAY! Thank you, Internet! Here's the view from the other end of the street--the kids were processing from the school to the church that Sunday, March 30, 1913. We don't know why, but we can speculate--the Bishop was visiting, or they were dedicating something (a bell or statue?) Kids were a nice touch when they filled the front pews (boys on the right, girls on the left), and this day was certainly ceremonial...
Being Sunday, it couldn't have been Corpus Christi, OR a Rogation day.
◄More background ☺
Sorry, nobody won the big prize, but the ONE answer deserves credit...and some sorta indulgence,too, probably....
This was mom's favorite and only sister, Loretta. She was 2 years younger than mom, and she died at 21 years old. I think mom missed her all her life.
Yesterday, at the Minnesota History Center in St Paul, I found her death certificate. Mom always said Loretta died of rhumatic fever, and I suppose some of the symptoms corespond with what's written on the certificate, but acute nephritis is kidney failure.
Any medical types reading this could leave a comment, ok?
Here's a photo of the brand new church in Buckman, c 1908 or so. You can tell the printer didn't know the name of the saint it was dedicated to, because it's the "German Catholic Church in Buckman, Minn" and the alternate design below is "St Mickels"...
Anyway, it's kinda fun to compare the original look with todays building, inside and out. By the way, the banner hanging over the aisle there says "The Communion day is a feast day of your soul", and isn't it cool that we can zoom in?
First, the outside of the church--what happened to that bellfry? Maybe it was struck by lightning or a windstorm took it. It's different now, anyway, and the small cupola in the middle of the roof is gone too. Was it a vent, or a skylight?.......I remember Fr Leo Brandl was helping re-shingle the roof when he fell off, and lost part of his leg. (I always admired the fact that he had a built in ashtray in a hole in his prosthesis)......The north door looked like that until a ramp was added stretching toward the back of the church. Mom refused to use it even when the front steps were daunting, because it was too obvious, I think. Now tho, there's an elevator, inside the new Hall.
Inside--former florist that I am, I zoomed in on the plants--these seem to be palm trees, which means they proudly heated the place all winter. Palms are tolerant, but I expect it was still relatively cool in there ☺.
When was the fancy pulpit removed? I think I remember it as shown, so maybe it and the communion rail vanished at the same time, in the 60s.
Do you realize how unusual the statue of St Michael is? He's holding a spear in his left hand and he's standing on a dragon. The dragon has a collar, with a chain held in St Michael's right hand (very few statues include chain ☺) Looking at the photos, there's something missing--ah, the Heavenly Host wasn't painted on the ceiling yet. ►
Kilian and Adela's grandson Mike sent this today. It was read by Gene Brandl (Ed and Sadie's son) last summer at a gathering honoring Florence Brandl at St Michaels Church in Buckman. There's a lot of history and a lot of love in it:
It is nice to be here, for several reasons. It is nice to have a gathering of the clan for a joyous occasion not a funeral. It is also nice to be back here again. This church has had a recurring presence in our family. I was thinking on the drive up here that the series of family events have been like mileposts in a lifetime. I remember my Aunt Leona’s wedding was the first wedding I ever attended. I learned about pew rental here and my Aunt Adela telling me to be sure to sit in a particular row. I have never been more scared to go to church. I was afraid I’d sit in the wrong place and be struck by lightening if not struck by an angry parishioner. One of the earliest sad days of my life was the first time I was a pallbearer, for Leona’s baby. Mary Lou Zenner’s wedding was the social event of the year. I have been in this sanctuary before, 50 years ago when I would be visiting Terry Zenner and we were mass servers. I remember Debbie Brandl’s wedding and Alvina and Charlie’s funerals. The last time was for our Grandmother’s funeral. As I will tell you, she is the main reason the Brandl’s are gathered here today. On behalf of the extended Brandl family, we would like to thank you for your recognition of Florence. I would also like to applaud your choice of improvements to help this institution mark another century of events. When we told your church council about her gift, they asked if it would be okay to use it for tearing down the old hall. Florence had fond memories of the hall and had wondered about restoring it. We told her it was probably beyond repair and we told the council that an improvement would be a better use of her gift. I think she would be pleased with your church improvements that her gift funded.
Since there aren’t any Brandls left in the area, I have been asked to say a few words about who they were. My name is Gene Brandl. Florence was my aunt. And across the street in the cemetery, those Brandls and Jansons were my ancestors. I mention the Jansons because they are the reason the Brandls were here. Like most of the early settlers, they were encouraged to come here by Father Pierz. He must have been quite a salesman to get people to uproot. He had come over from Germany and established a mission church. In the 1880s and 90s he wrote back to German Catholic newspapers extolling the life here. Unlike Europe, in America there was land for homesteading or buying at reasonable prices, the countryside looked a lot like central Germany, the church was established and the people in this area all spoke German so they would feel right at home. The Jansons came from a small farm community just south of Heidelberg. My great grandparents with 4 small children and one on the way, came over and settled about 1 mile east of Buckman. After a couple years they left their oldest son Sebastian to run the farm and moved to the state of Virginia. My grandmother said they didn’t find the people very friendly. I suppose the fact that they didn’t speak German contributed to the Jansons feeling out of place. They moved back and settled west of Buckman on what is now the Reine Janson heritage farm.
The Brandls were from Bohemia, that area where Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic meet. My great grandfather was a leather worker and first settled in St. Paul. The Irish had a monopoly on the leather trade so he moved first to St Bonifacius, about 20 miles west of Minneapolis, and then to New Munich in the middle of Stearns county. The link to this area was the railroad. The Soo line ran thru New Munich and Genola. My grandfather John Brandl as the oldest son had learned the leather trade. At the age of 20 he married Frances Janson and set up shop across the street. He sold and repaired shoes but primarily he made harnesses. If your only machine is a horse, the only way you get work from it is with harnesses. You need them to ride, pull a plow or pull a cart or carriage. But our grandfather was farsighted and realized that he wasn’t just in the leather business, he was in the transportation business. And when he realized that the car and tractor were going to replace the horse, he got one of the earliest Ford motor company franchises and started Brandl Garage later to be renamed Brandl Motors. His brother Joe Brandl joined him in the business and also in the family.
Joe married my Grandmother’s sister Rose Janson. So the Brandl brothers John and Joe married the Janson sisters Frances and Rose. Joe and Rose lived across the street from here on the corner. John and Francie built the house 2 doors down from the hall. They each had 6 children and each had 3 boys and 3 girls. 10 of the children graduated from Cathedral High School in St. Cloud and the 2 youngest, Florence and Lois, were among the first graduates of St. Francis in Little Falls. Of the 12 children 3 remained in the area.
My aunt Adela married Killian Zenner and they ran the General Store in what had been the Brandl Leather Shop. It was a mainstay on the corner across the street for 40 years. The 2nd one to stay in the area was my uncle Roman Charles Brandl. I think only his family called him Roman, to the rest of the world he was Charlie. Charlie Brandl was a one of kind. He was fluent in 3 languages, English, German, and a vocabulary all his own that was always special and often unique. My Grandfather died in 1945 and Charlie took over Brandl Garage when he came back from the army. He ran it until his son and son-in-law took over. The other Brandl in the area was Ervin . During the depression when Brandl Garage couldn’t support 2 families, Joe became the postmaster. His son, Ervin, took over and for nearly 50 years Joe and then Ervin were the Buckman Postmaster.
Florence was the youngest and left Buckman for Minneapolis and worked at the Northern ordinance plant during the 2nd world war and then as a beautician in Minneapolis, Chicago and back again in Minneapolis where she retired. She never married and lived with my grandmother. My Grandmother had some of the Janson pioneering spirit. At the age of 65 when most people are retiring, she sold her house and moved to south Chicago to live with Florence. We think this invigorated her because she lived to within a few weeks of her 100th birthday. The 2 two of them were avid supporters of the Catholic missions and so her final gift was a logical conclusion to a generous life. So I’d like to thank you again for your recognition of Florence. She was a little shy but I think she would have been honored by your recognition.
FINALLY, a family connection who had their photo taken AND who paid to be in a book.
YAY, Stephen & Margaret Zenner!
Kilian's father, Math Zenner, was Stephen's brother (Kilian married Adela Brandl, mom's first cousin), so this couple would have been Kilians' Aunt Margaret and Uncle Stephen. Here, in 1915, he (Math) was still farming in St Augusta, Mn, just south of St Cloud.
The map below is Buckman township in 1920--ah, yes, theres "M. Zenner", in section 16 and 17 ☺.
Greetings to Mike and Pat--and THANKS for e-mailing!!
Grandpa's brother Sebastian was 10 when the family arrived here from Germany in March, 1883. He was old enough to help with chores and farm work, and probably goofed around with his brothers there, too. In about 1892, some new neighbors moved to Buckman by the name of ROOS (the Dutch and Swiss German word for 'rose'....(also de Roos): habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a rose. OR metonymic occupational name for someone who grew roses, from roos ‘rose’...OR perhaps, someone with a ruddy complexion).
The 1895 Minnesota census shows Henry & Louisa Roos and a daughter named Mary, 13, the oldest of six kids.
Sebastian was 8 years older than Mary. They were married in Buckman October 10th, 1898.
They farmed all their lives--first in Buckman, then Farmville, Virginia, and then in Leaf River, Wadena County, Mn, before moving to New Munich, Stearns County in about 1918.
Mary (Roos) Janson died on Christmas day, 1947 in Stearns county, and we really NEED a picture of her and Sebastian!
Another found pic (HOW can they be so scattered in one small house?) of my grandpa's brother Wendelin. This was most likely in his back yard on Casanova Street in Los Angeles. Wendelin died in 1958, and his face from this photo was used on the funeral card. The little boy was probably a neighbor.
To read about the Solano district in LA, click the above link, ok?
BTW, I'd really love to hear from someone who knew him out there. It wasn't so long ago--the kid in the photo would only be about 58 now....
The back of this photo says "On the Catalina" and "OCT 1939". That summer, mom and friends (in a tour group) took the train across the country to the World's Fair in San Francisco. The story mom told about it was that she really wanted to go, but didn't have the money ($200.00). Her dad, not wanting her to miss the opportunity, said, "Borrow the money--just GO!" Mom said she was forever grateful that he insisted.
"The milling thousands laugh and play!"
I think those 4 women stayed friends for years--certainly, they visited every once in awhile, because I remember this picnic, and that Marjorie Albright brought chocolate covered donuts ☺. (I think she's second from the left in the lower half of the photo below...and I think that link HAS to be her).
Actually, I'm hoping that someone will google "Marjorie Albright" and see the photos. Maybe well be able to figure out who all three were for sure. I think the woman next to mom at the picnic was Flora...?
(Right) The tour group with chaperones. Notice how all of 'em have swollen ankles from wearing heels and sitting on the train? Whew.
(Left) Clowning in the Grand Canyon ☺
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Marion emailed to say she remembered Flora's last name, and that sparked a memory for me. I think the four women were:
MARJORIE ALBRIGHT, FLORA HAUSER, MARIE KLINKERT AND (mom) LINDA JANSON.
Thanks, Newb!!
Here's the plat map of Pierz in 1920...a considerably larger town than Buckman five miles to the south. At the time, local folks thought of it in terms of South Pierz and North Pierz. The divide was St Josephs Catholic Church, there in the middle.
A little history here: Pierz was one of the towns in Minnesota that was embroiled in a dispute over schools. Benedictine nuns taught in many of these towns, but all children were welcome. The local Catholic church supported the school, more or less, but it was a burden. Of course, prayers were said during the school day, and there were crucifixes in every room....but did nuns and icons make it a Catholic school? The state supported public schools, but not parochial schools. The question, then, was fairness. Pierz had a particularly bitter fight over the issue, and it raged for at least 50 years....including dynamite left on the priests' front porch at least twice--in 1902 and in 1951....
In this enlarged section--church property in 1920 included a parochial AND a public school building. How did that happen? Did two schools make the problem worse, or was it a solution? Those Catholics who chose to send their kids to the public school were in trouble with the church because now they refused to help pay for the Catholic school. Families were divided over the issue, and so was the town. I don't know if this was the source of "North" and "South" Pierz, but at least figuratively, the church was definitely in the middle.
8 October 1902 St Paul Globe: Deadly Feud At Pierz, Minn.
In 1916, evidently grandpa Janson decided to go into purebred Berkshire hogs--who knew? According to the American Berkshire record, Volume 53 that Larry found at Google Books, he bought six of them:
If you look through your own family photos, you'll probably find some with a cardboard frame and the inscription "Nelson Photographic Studio, Little Falls, Minn."
THIS was the guy...lol
If you want to see the issue of Nichol's "Headlight" mentioned there, click here. It's Little Falls boosterism from 1899, and it's pretty interesting. Evidently, the Nichol's company was a subsidiary of (or paid for by) Northern Pacific Railway, cuz the whole 31 page booklet is peppered with references to where ELSE you might go by rail... ☺
I found this very damaged photo among mom's pics, and I have no idea who they are, but the details might give us hints: the groom has a lazy left eyelid, and he was a farmer, since he has a white forehead ☺ The bride looks confident; I like her smile. We guess it was taken in 1915-1920. Any ideas WHO they are?
(I'll post it on Hesch history too, just in case...)
This was 1900, and all the sisters who lived and taught in Buckman came outside for a photo ☺ You'd think they'd have been named in the census that year, but the enumerator was particularly zealous, and recorded them by their pre-convent names. In the 1905 Minnesota census, tho, 4 sisters WERE named, tho I doubt they were these women...
In 1905, the sisters in Buckman were Sr. Walburga, age 28, Sr. Marina, age 26, Sr. Michael, age 42, and Sr. Germana, age 26....so WHO these four were remains a mystery.
I think the caption is correct as to the names and the year, but I'm of course not sure about "Vera's mom" (Mrs Weidenbach). Just think, tho..Anton was born in 1880, Katherine in 1881, and those little girls in the wagon are in their 60s now. That's 130 years. Wow.
We've added a new utility (top, right) so you can translate the whole page right here. It's fun to see these words in German, tho there are a lot of other languages there too. Mostly, it's there for Janson relatives who're still in Europe, so they can catch up on what we've been doing for the last 120 years!
Another "found" photo--Alphonse "Dick" Janson, and his wife Pauline (Schwieters) Janson on a trip they took to Germany. I don't know the year, but it looks like they had a ball. Part of the trip was genealogical:
Here's Pauline in front of the Janson house (I believe)...it would have been in Deilheim, Horrenburg, Germany. I think I remember Dick telling me it was, and me not paying attention...sigh!
Blogging about my dad's side of the family, we realized that mom's was almost neglected. Even tho the Janson family tree's been done back to the 1500's, we know surprizingly little about Jansons in the past 200 years. This blog is an attempt to flesh-out those minimal facts, and to record what we discover. The cool part of blogging about family history is that writing it down forces a certain clarity--facts need to be checked, dates need to mesh--and if I make mistakes, they can be changed later. It's a win-win! :::::::: By the way, "WE" is Larry, researcher extrordinaire, and Marlys, grandaughter of Anton Janson & Margaret Naber Janson.
