Very very pregnant X 2

Occasionally, it pays to go back over documents just to see if there's anything new to be gleaned from them--stuff we didn't notice or appreciate with the limited knowledge we had then.

THIS is one of those documents.  Larry asked if I knew for sure when Joseph and Franziska Janson arrived in Buckman?  I thought Spring, 1883.  So, we looked for documentation in our files.

My ships lists showed Johannes and Joseph and their families arrived in Philadelphia from Antwerp in March 1883 on the Zeeland, and grandpa's book only said it was "early spring" when they arrived in Buckman from Little Falls.

Neither Larry or I realized before tonight that Josephs wife Franziska AND John's wife Maria were pregnant on the boat trip, and that both were due very soon.
Anton's sister Anna was born April 16, and Maria gave birth to little Francisca on April 22 that spring.  Both couples came here with 5 kids each, and now there were two more babies, in a tiny log cabin in a "garden size clearing in the woods".

St Michael's Church book, Births, 1883.  Stored in Pierz.

How grocery stores have changed

This is the kind of historical fact I love:

"...One of the biggest factors in the growth of the supermarket was the invention of the automobile ignition switch. Previously, housewives had to limit their shopping to store within walking distance; it was too difficult and dangerous to turn the starter crank to get the car started. But once their was an easy way to start the car, housewives were set to travel miles to get a bargain.

This led to another significant innovation: the free parking lot. For the first time, parking was available right in front of the store and customers didn’t have to look for a space on crowded streets".

HERE'S the whole article, with pictures ☺!

A Janson Wedding!

When this lovely bride was born, she was the first female Janson since Loretta, over 70 years earlier...and yesterday, she was married, at St Michaels Church in Buckman.  It was a lovely ceremony, and as one of the con-celebrants said, it was way better than selling sweet corn...☺

(BTW, I'm not mentioning names because most people prefer not to be google-able.  If you're related, you already know these people, right?)
Congratulations, K & G!!