Wendelin Janson--The Mystery Years

The last time we re-visited the "Wendelin saga", we did a short synopsis of what we'd learned about him (through records published online, mostly).  I smugly thought we had about all the info there was on the life of one obscure, never-married, German immigrant. (But wait--Larry kept digging!)
Wendelin was my grandfather's eldest brother.  When the family came here in 1883, he was 12, and on the trip across the ocean he had the humiliating duty of being in charge of the family chamber pot.  As he grew up on the claim in Buckman township, Morrison County, Minnesota, we expect he had an unfair share of the work, since he was oldest. 

By 1895, when he was 24, he probably wanted OUT of farming.  That's when he joined the army at Ft Snelling, in Minneapolis. He served honorably for a three year stint (ending in 1898), but most men who joined the army at the time expected adventure in the Spanish-American War, in the Philippines or Cuba.  We found Private Wendelin Janson re-enlisting in May, 1899.  We knew he deserted 3 months later, but we didn't know that it was in the  Philippines or that he deserted at Bacoor, Luzon. (See above).  By then, he was 29.  
Did he see connections between his own childhood oppression in Germany with the local people near the battles he was in, was it too hot, or did he just  reconsider this "adventure" thing?  Anyway, according to the page above, he went AWOL in August.  With luck (and Larry on it), we'll find out more of what happened, before he shows up again in St Paul in the 1905 Minnesota census. Stay tuned!

Whoa, thanks, Larry!

German farmers in Virginia--early 1900s

A piece from the Sunday paper of the day, about the excellent German farmers who were buying up land in Virginia in 1903....about the time our Jansons decided to return to Minnesota.  Click each section to enlarge, then read between the lines...

Benedictine Vows

I assume that most orders of nuns require something like this from each postulant: the written-out vows a sister agreed to when she joined an order.  This is the form for Benedictines in St Joseph, Minnesota.  It's a copy of Sr Mamerta's vows, from July 1918.

Another Janson Wedding

The Minnesota Official Marriage System,  with the silly miss-leading acronym MOMS, is an online index of marriages recorded in the state from each counties' earliest almost to the present ("excludes this month").  When Sue sent these photos, I didn't connect them to each other, but look closer.  It must be the wedding of Elizabeth Janson to Alois Brucher, on June 23, 1928, in Hennepin county.  Looks to me like Sophie was her sisters' bridesmaid.  The groomsman looks familiar too, but ?

The wedding party of Elizabeth Janson and Al Brucher--
Attendants were Catherine Janson and Larry Daniel.

I like Elizabeth because she obviously didn't worry about 1920s wedding 'traditions' like big bouquets or fussy veils.  Theirs was a thoroughly lovely small wedding with only the required photos.  I bet she was like that all her life.

Pictures from a NEW Janson cousin-YAY!

A quick review:  Two Janson families arrived in Buckman, Minnesota in April 1883.  One couple was Joseph and Franziska Janson, my great grandparents.  The other was Joseph's cousin Johannes and his wife Maria (Sauer) Janson.  Both families had five young kids, and both wives were pregnant.
  
If you want more of a review, we've done quite a few posts on them, partly because they TOOK LOTS OF PICTURES thru the years--hooray!--and partly because the rift between the two families from back then seems to be faded, finally.
Early this week, I heard from a great great grandaughter of Johannes and Maria Janson.  Her name's Sue, and she had even more mystery photos to share.  Let me show you a couple, after a chronology of the pics we already have of Johann & Maria's family.  This is so COOL!

C 1895

 Sue's lineage comes thru Sophia Janson, who married a neighbor boy, (Henry) Nicholas Daniel, in 1907, in Buckman, Minnesota.

In the 1895 photo, I think Sophie is the girl on the left, and she's named in the oval portrait...in 1925, she's on the right, for a change.

A very interesting thing about this batch of sibs is that they seemed to get together often during their long lives, and from the pics, they seemed  to be good buddies, too.  Almost all the informal photos have arms around each other, or they're holding hands...like they were delighted to see each other again.  
Anyway, in the interests of getting to bed early tonight, let's go on to some of the new pics from Sue, ok?

This is Nick and Sophie Daniel in 1907, on their wedding day, and in about 1947, since the portrait was taken for their 40th wedding anniversary according to Dophie's sister Dorothy. (Thanks, Dorothy!☺).  
Maybe you can get a feel for their faces, to see if they're included in this next picture:




We've studied this pic for a couple evenings, trying to figure out who the adults are, and what year it was.  Maria, who died in 1926, is not in this pic, but Johann, who died in 1929, is, so it's reasonable to think the gathering was between those years (also, the ages of their kids in the pic are right for those years).

I think at least eight of the Janson sibs appear in this photo. (Read the comments--Carrie Portlance says fewer, and that the children and young adults are, of course, cousins).

Looks like it may have been same day that this four person pic was taken, too...at first, L to R, I thought they were Catherine, Peter, Regina and John Janson, the four youngest of Johann & Maria's kids, but no--they're Mike's boys and aunts, maybe?

There are more pics from our 'new' cousin Sue, but I have grandkids to see tomorrow, so you'll just need to wait for a day or two.  

Trust me, it'll add excitement and the

an-ti-cip-payayay-shun is GOOD for you ☺

THANKS for these, Sue.  

We're so glad you found us! 

The week mom was born

MINNESOTA REFLECTIONS, our state online history center,  has been digitizing the Pierz Journals, first from 1909 to 1913, and this week adding 3 more years--1914, 1915 and 1916.  Larry and I are thrilled, and we expect if you're here, you think it's cool, too....but really, it was a little town weekly paper with mostly local news and local ads.  Sure, it developed over time, but at first even death notices were hit and miss, depending on when the person died.  Elizabeth Naber's death was written up on the front page, but Joseph Janson's was mentioned only in passing since his funeral was old news by the time the paper was published the next week.  
This link will take you to the July 8, 1915 issue of the Pierz Journal...the week Orlinda Janson, first child of Anton and Margaret (Naber) Janson, was born. 

 Yeah, Math Hesch got the date wrong, but he took advantage of grandpa's expansive mood.  Just look at the mileage he got when he interspersed Janson news into his Buckman Correspondence column that week. Wow! ☺

Anton Janson marries Margaret Naber

The May 22, 1913 issue of the Pierz Journal carried this wedding announcement.  Probably written by Math Hesch, it seems to be worded delicately, since everyone knew Anton Janson was just a little prickly....  


"We have the pleasant opportunity this week of relating to the marriage, which took place in out village last Monday at 9 a.m., when Miss Margareth Naber and Anton Janson were united in marriage by Rev. J. B. Brander at the St Michael's church, in the presence of relatives of the couple and a large number of invited guests.  The bridesmaid was Rose Janson, sister to the groom, and John Naber was best man.  Music was furnished by the choir.  After the ceremony, the couple were showered with hearty congratulations.  The happy newweds were the recipients of many presents.  They will make their home on the grooms farm in Buckman".


Cool, huh?