.

Here, gathered in our beloved South Dakota, are a few members of our Williamson / Mattson Clan. Charles and Luella are to be blamed (be kind, they didn't know what they were doing). We're generally a happy bunch and somewhat intelligent (notwithstanding our tenuous grasp on reality). I'm also proud to say that most of us still have our teeth.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Yes, What Looks Like a Baby Girl in the Picture is Actually Grandpa Mattson


From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Family,
I'm walking to the other end of the campsite to sit down with the Mattsons. How is everyone doing? I've spent the last several posts with the Williamson side of our family and thought it best to post something on the Mattson's. Remember, I'm slowly working my way through all of Mom and Dad's pictures and documents.

The Queen Mother (Luella) is enjoying her life of leisure. She reads, watches TV, reads, drives her mobile living room around town (her Lincoln Town Car) eats, reads, goes out with her friends, eats, reads, plays sudoku, reads and talks to the TV and claps when she likes what she sees. With all this free time you'd think I could get her to sit down and write something.......

(Interruption: I was about to say that Mom has all the time in the world to write family history so I can post it but getting her to do it is something else. Well she just came upstairs with a file full of family history documents on the Mattson side. Mind you, she just dumped them into my lap but at least I can claim PROGRESS!)

OK. Today's Picture above.

This is a picture of Grandpa Mattson (Mom's Dad) sitting on the lap of his mother Ida. The woman standing behind them is Josephine Mattson Lidman, Albert Mattson's sister. The relationship follows:

Albert Mattson and Ida Thornberg
Josephine was Albert Mattson's Sister. That makes her our Great Great Aunt. She came over from Sweden before Albert, found work and helped to bring the rest of the family over.
to
Walter Mattson - Violet Pierce
to
Luella
to
Us

The picture was taken in Lead, South Dakota where the family lived at the time. The picture was taken in April 1912 to celebrate Grandpa Mattson's Baptism into the Lutheran Church.


Now, I don't speak Swedish and I don't know anyone that does, but I believe this is Grandpa Walter Mattson's Baptismal Certificate. It is religious and it is dated in April. Grandpa would have been three months old at the time. Lutheran's baptise babies so, put it all together and you get a baptism and a picture (although I think Grandpa may look older than a 3 month old baby. I'll let you moms out there correct me on that one).

This is the Marriage Certificate for Albert Mattson and Ida Thornberg

These are the signatures of the witnesses to the wedding.

OK, Have I done my bit for God and Country? I think so. I pronounce enough for today. There is so much to post and write about this American Dynasty it will take more than one life time. I'm hoping others out there will catch the spirit and start writing family history (I know some of you are doing it now). If you have written history (photos awesome too) please send it along so I can post it. I'm happy to type it into the computer if all you have are handwritten documents. I've got a computer scanner so if you send pictures or documents I'll scan them and return them.

Simply,
Victor

More Williamson Ties to England. Our 13th Great Grandparents, The Peases.


From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Williamsons!
Beautiful day in Pleasant Grove. Cloudy skies and warm temperatures prevail. Today in our virtual family reunion around our digital campfire we’re going to explore one of our English ancestral families, the Peases. Pull up a log, have a seat, pour yourself something hot to drink and get comfortable. ’m going to tell you the story of one of our family lines.

We start with a brief history of our Pease family.
The Pease family lived in Essex County in the eastern part of England. They were Saxons who came to England in 1000. They first came as raiders, but later stayed and then fiercely resisted the Vikings. The coat of arms was granted to their Saxon ancestor during the reign of Otto II, Emperor of Germany from 972-981.
They lived in the village of Great Baddow, 30 miles NE of London and just 2 miles from the city of Chelmsford. The road continued NE to Ipswich, the nearest seaport. During the Saxon era Great Baddow belonged to Algar, Earl of Mercia, but in 1071 it was seized by William the Conqueror following a Saxon rebellion. There were 3 manor houses in Great Baddow that at one time each belonged to three Pease brothers: Barnes Manor, Cutin Manor, and Pease Manor (at one time consisted of 100 acres). The present Pease Hall was built in the 1500s and across the field from it is St. Mary's Church where many Pease family members were christened, married and buried. The earliest Pease record that survived in the church records are the burial of Joan Pease (daug of Robert) in 1540.

[info from Pease Family History, by Phillip J. Rice, 1982]

OK, here we go with the oldest member of this family line found so far. We start with my generation’s 13th Great Grandfather and Grandmother, Robert and Joan Pease.

St. Mary's Church today in Great Baddow where the Pease family originated. Many Peases are buried here.

13th Great Grandparents
Robert Pease "the smythe", born 1485 in Great Baddow, England (NE of London). He married Joan ? and died in 1547 in Great Baddow, the same year that Henry VIII died. Joan died in 1552.
Robert Pease & Joan had 3 children:
  • John Pease, born 1510 (our ancestor)
  • Margaret Pease, d 1545
  • Joan Pease, died 1540
12th Great Grandparents John Pease "the smythe" was born in 1510. He married Ann? He died Oct 13, 1556 (age 46) in Great Baddow, England during the reign of Bloody Queen Mary. Bloody Mary had nearly 300 protestants burned at the stake during her last three years, ending in 1558. Ann died in 1591.
John & Ann Pease's children were:
  • John "the clothier" Pease, born 1540, Great Baddow, England. Married Margaret Hykes
  • Lettis Pease, d 1567
  • Alice Pease, married John Taft in 1560
  • Edward Peasem, d 1580
  • Robert Pease, d 1552
  • Margaret Pease, married John Byekinir in 1564
11th Great Grandparents John Pease "the clothier", born 1540 (baptized 1540) in Great Baddow, Essex County, England and died there in 1616 (age 76). John's childhood was a very turbulent time for England as they swung from Protestant to Catholic and back to Protestant. His father died in 1556 when he was only 16. He married Margaret Hykes (1540-1612), daughter of Richard Hyckes. He and Margaret both lived to a ripe old age of 76 & 72. Children:

  • Robert Pease, b 1565. His wife and 2 sons, Robert Jr & John moved to the American colonies.

  • Richard Pease, m ? Prott & Susan Wither

  • John Pease

  • Alice Pease, m John Clark

  • Joan Pease

  • Thomas Pease, m Sara ?
  • 
Mary Pease, m Benjamin Carter
10th Great Grandparents Robert Pease was born 1565. Both he and his parents survived the plague of 1603, the year King James I was crowned. 30,000 people died of the plague in London alone in 1603. King James began his reign by proclaiming that he would make people conform to the state religion or drive them out of the land. Rober married Margaret King (b. 1574 at Great Daddow Essex England. She died in 1644. 
Robert's parents died about 1612. 
His will of 1613 was proven in 1623. His wife Margaret King moved to the American colonies in 1639, following her sons who had moved there in 1634.
Children of Robert & Margaret:

  • Pease, b Dec 10, 1587

  • Robert Pease, Jr., b Oct 28, 1589. He came with his brother John to America in 1634.

  • William Pease, b 1591; d 1623

  • John Pease, b 1593; d 1600

  • Mary Pease, b 1600
 (Married Henry Willis)
  • Elizabeth Pease, b 1602

  • Richard Pease, b/d 1607
8. John Pease (see below), b 1608. He came with his brother Robert to America in 1634.
The Rest of the Family line to the present:
to
Henry Willis and Mary Pease my 9th Great Grandparents.
to
John Willis
to
John Willis
to
John Willis
to
John Willis
to
Bennett Willis
to
Jonathan Willis
to
Margaret Ann Willis - George Matthew Williamson
to
William J. Williamson
to
The Nine Williamson Children (our parents and grandparents)
to
Charles Williamson
to
Me.

Whew! That is enough for one day wouldn’t you say. Time to stand a bit and refill you cup. Tracing that line had one serious bump in the road: Mary Pease. Half the records give her a birth as 1600 and the other half as 1632. She is the mystery. A few of the records (very few) have her married to someone other than Henry Willis. This makes me think that somewhere along the line one Mary Pease was swapped with another Mary Pease by someone tracing their own family lines. After a few days and several hours search through everything I could find on Grandmother Mary I feel very confident that what you have before you is correct.

Tracing family lines is detective work. You get a good lead and it fizzles out. You put it aside and move on. Sometimes your conclusions are a mixture of facts that you must put together yourself to draw a conclusion. Have a great day.

Simply,
Victor