A Quiet Evening with our Swedish Ancestors

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Today, an old Lutheran hymn sung in Swedish, one of the languages of our Tornberg and Mattson ancestors. This scene comes from the Academy Award winning film "Babbett's Feast".

Over the last few days I discovered that many of our Swedish and Finnish ancestors were Lutheran pastors and priests. Faith played a major role in their day to day lives. The people of that time, as they do now, relied on their faith to see them through life's dark times.

In my mind's eye I see our ancestors sitting in this room on a dark cold Scandinavian night enjoying each other's company in word and song.



Oh, watch the day
once again hurry off,
and the sun bathe itself in water.

The time for us to rest approaches

O God, Who dwelleth in heavenly light;
Who reigns above in heaven’s hall.
Be for us our infinite Light,
in the valley of night

The sand in our hourglass will soon run out.
The day is conquered by the night.
The glories of the world are ending;
so brief their day,
so swift their flight.

God, let Thy brightness ever shine!
Admit us; Thy mercy divine.

A Few Stories about our Tornberg Ancestors

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
I've been in email contact with Pertti Ervasti, my 9th Cousin on the Tornberg family line, from Finland. He has been extremely helpful in helping Angie and I trace the Tornberg genelogy. We are into the 1600's now.

There are a few interesting stories about the early Tornbergs I'd like to share with you translated from Finnish into English by Google Translation. So... the stories are as good as the translation makes possible.
__________________________________________________________

Our 9th Great Nicolaus Nicolaii Ulopolitanus Tornberg b. 1605 d. 1676. married Maria Nilsdotter Falk b. 1610.

It appears Nicolaus was a mayor or alderman of the city of Oulu, Finland. The city had just been founded. Nicolaus was a chaplain in Hietaniemi in 1637-1641 and a priest and pastor at another location until his death.

Maria's father (Nicolaus Philippi Falkia) was the priest of Yitornion from 1625 to 1638. In the Autumn of 1636 the parsonage burned along with the residential Buildings, stables and warehouses. The impoverished family received a two year exemption from taxation. Maria's father died in 1638. Fortunately our 9th Great Grandfather Nicolaus married his daughter Maria and saved the family from ruin.

to

8th Great Grandfather Johannes Nicolai Nilsson Tornberg b. 1640 d. 3 Jan. 1717. married Brita Isaksdotter Curtelia b. 1651. d. 6 April 1740 in Hietaniemi Lappi, Finland.


The walking stick in the picture above was owned by our 8th Great Grandfather. He was the minister of Övertorneå congregation. The cane's silver knob is missing, replaced with wooden knob.

Russian cossacks were visiting Övertorneå in 1717, during the last years of "the Great Wrath" (a twenty year war between Russia and Sweden fought on Finnish soil). The cossacks attacked the city, killing many and stealing everything of value. They broke into Johannes' Church (he was also a Lutheran Pastor) and tried to force him to tell them where he had hidden the church's valuable silver and gold. Johannes refused to tell. The cossacks took our Great Grandfathers walking stick and beat him with it, then stole the silver knob. Johannes Nicolai died from his wounds three days later.

to

Our 7th Great Grandfather Isak Johanneson Tornberg b. 1677 d. 29 Sept. 1743 and Magdalena Hermannindr (?) Kempe b. 1678 d. 24 Sept. 1755.

Isak Johanneson Tornberg was a Lutheran chapel assistant from 1718-1743. He was ordained a priest. In 1710 he became the pastor to the ironworks at Köngäksen.

Rapids on the Torne River between Sweden and Finland in Lapland

Our Grandfather's life as a child was full of adventures, many of which could have killed him. One of the earliest is when his father was a vicar in Kautokeino and the whole family was traveling in the summer. The family had to cross a river. While passing through the rapids, Isak fell off the reindeer's back he was riding upon and fell into the swirling water. The family didn't realize he was missing for a few moments and when they did the power of the rapids carried him downstream quite a distance.

And so we learn more about our ancestors day by day. Consider how the daily occurrences in our life's can have such profound influence on the future. If our Great Grandfather had drowned in that river, which he could have easily done so, then none of us would be here today! Entire possible futures disappear with many actions and decisions we make day to day.

Simply,
Victor

Charlie's Bridge

The Keystone Wye Bridge on Highway 16.

The Black Hills of South Dakota (Click to Enlarge)

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

This is the Keystone Wye bridge on Highway 16 taking you to the town of Keystone and Mt. Rushmore from Rapid City, South Dakota. It was built in 1967. The Federal Govt. sponsored a highway beautification contest in the late 1960's. Each of the 50 states could submit one highway for consideration. Highway 16 was South Dakota's entry. The Highway and bridge were designed in the State capital. The plans were sent to the regional Highway Department in Rapid City. Charles Williamson was appointed chief surveyor for the project.

This photo is taken on the deck of the lower bridge with a view of the higher arch bridge. These bridges are unique, they feature Glue Laminated (aka Glulam) Timber construction.

The Keystone Wye is a trumpet-style three-way interchange for the two divided highways, constructed in 1966-67 as part of the project converting US 16 to a four-lane, divided highway from Rapid City, South Dakota to Keystone for visitors to Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

The high bridge is supported by three 20-meter wooden, single-hinged arches; six separate glulam pieces are used in the construction. Three more pieces were built but failed quality assurance tests; they were assembled into an interesting pyramidal sculpture which for years was located just off US 16 on the then-south edge of Rapid City (a site today occupied by a motel and convenience store), and which was moved to a new location on US 16 near Sitting Bull Crystal Cave in the mid-1990s.

The Wood beams creating the arches of the bridge were designed and built in
Washington State and trucked to the Black Hills.

Charles Williamson surveyed the expansion work for Highway 16. He surveyed all the roads leading into the interchange. He did the survey work and supervised the placement of the concrete pads anchoring the wooden arches. If his work wasn't spot, on correct the arches wouldn't have fit.

The project took two years to complete from beginning to end.

Charlie (SeeBee) Williamson, Back in the Day.

The interchange was designed before computers and calculators. Charles used a slide rule for some of his calculations but not the bridge. Slide rules were not accurate enough for five or six decimal places. Instead he used trig tables, pencil and paper.

Charles remembers that the blasting of the hillside, in preparation for the bridge's foundations and the widening of the road, brought up chunks of quartz rock with small embedded veins of gold. The Holy Terror Mine Gold Mine was down the hill from the bridge in the town of Keystone. The gold in the quartz was all part of the larger vein of gold that supported the mine.

Ray Sanders, an old nut from Rapid City, originally owned the land where the bridge sits today. He refused to sell the land to the State of South Dakota. The State had no choice but to take the land from him when he refused to accept their best offer. He was angry, and on the first day of construction, just as the bulldozers started to clear the land, he climbed a nearby hill and shot at the construction equipment below. Charles remembers hearing the pinging of the bullets as they bounced off the tractor's blades. The sheriff was called, came out, and took him to jail.

Simply,
Victor

New Information on our Great Grandmother Ida Tornberg from Our New Swedish Family Connection

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All!
You will all remember my discovery of the Tornberg Family Association in Sweden and Finland. Well, I found several email addresses of Association members on their web site and wrote to them explaining our problem in researching the family past Ida's parents.

Success! I've been in email contact with a member of the association named Bertie in Sweden. I sent him the information we had and asked if he knew anyone that could help us break through the barrier.

Today I received a response. Using a new online Swedish Genealogy Database, Bertie found our Great Great Grandfather Isak and his wife Maria. We can now trace our Tornberg family back further and he promises more information in the coming days.

This is what he sent today:

Hei,

I've found the connection through Arkiv Digital Online:

Isak Wilhelm, b. 9.12.1844 Pajala

He married 15.4.1883 Maria Brita Johansdotter b. 28.6.1855

His father was

Karl Henrik Tornberg b. 31.10.1819 in Köngänen, Pajala

His father was

Isak Cristian Tornberg b. 4.4.1791 in Köngänen, Pajala

His father was

Isak Tornberg b. 24.8.1755 in Hietaniemi

His father was

Isak Tornberg b. 29.8.1721 in Hietaniemi

His father was

Isac Tornberg b. 1677 in Koutokeino

His father was

Johannes Tornberg b. 1640 in Övertorneå

His father was

Nicolaus Nicolai Ulopolitanus b. 1605, might be in Oulu.

More information in coming days,

Br

Bertie

I'm very grateful to Bertie for his assistance in our search for our Swedish and Finnish family ties.

With the information sent by Bertie and a new email from cousin Angie giving me the correct link: (http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=/eng/search/ancestorsearchresults.asp). to track the family back (Thanks Angie!!) we can now display the full family line of the Tornbergs from Today back to the 1600's. There is also the following link with addtional information: http://www.annelikotisaari.net/N.Ulopolitanus.htm#Taulu%20320

Tornberg Relationship Chart

Nicolaus Nicolaii Ulopolitanus Tornberg b. 1605 d. 1676. married Maria Nilsdotter Falk b. 1610

Children:
Anders Tornberg b. 1625
Israel Tornberg b. 1627 d. 28 Feb. 1657
Nils Tornberg b. 1629 d. 1675
Anna Tornberg b. 1630
Olof Tornberg b. 1632
Johannes Tornberg b. 1640
Brita Tornberg

to

Johannes Nicolai Nilsson Tornberg b. 1640 d. 3 Jan. 1717. married Brita Isaksdotter Curtelia b. 1651. d. 6 April 1740 in Hietaniemi Lappi, Finland.

Children:
Johan Tornberg b. 29 Jan. 1670
Michel Tornberg b. 1670
Helena Tornberg b. 1676
Isac Tornberg b. 1677
Henrik Tornberg b. 1680
Olaus Tornberg b. 1684 d. 9 Mar. 1738
Margeta Tornberg b. 1686

to

Isak Johanneson Tornberg b. 1677 d. 29 Sept. 1743 and Magdalena Hermannindr (?) Kempe b. 1678 d. 24 Sept. 1755.

Children:
Brita Tornberg. b. 1707
Johan Tornberg b. 25 July 1709 d. 18 Feb. 1740
Abraham Tornberg b. 1710
Margareta Tornberg b. 27 Dec. 1711
Magdalena Tornberg b. 16 Feb. 1718
Elisabeth Tornberg b. 17 April 1720
Isac Tornberg b. 29 Aug. 1721
Catharina tornberg b. 8 April 1724

to

Isak Isaacss Tornberg. b. 29 Aug. 1721 Hietaniemi, Norrbotten Sweden. d. 30 June 1786. Married 11 Dec. 1750 to Anna Margareta Henridr (?) Niewardt b. 1727. d. 3 April 1803.

Children:
Magdalena Tornberg b. 3 Oct. 1751
Anna Margareta Tornberg b. 31 Aug. 1753
Apollonia Tornberg b. 16 Nov. 1753 d. 1829
Isak Tornberg b. 24 Aug. 1755.
Henrik Tornberg b. 3 Oct. 1756
Katarina Tornberg b. 11 Oct. 1757 d. 6 Nov. 1758
Eva Tornberg b. 8 Feb. 1759
Johannes Tornberg b. 27 April 1760 d. 11 May 1760
Elisabet Tornberg b. 22 May 1761 d. 21 June 1761
Abraham Tornberg b. 21 Aug. 1762
Jakob Tornberg b. 5 Sept. 1763
Salomon Tornberg b. 23 Oct. 1765
Ulrika Tornberg b. 30 Nov. 1766 d. 20 March 1767
Kuolleena Syntynyt Tornberg b. 3 Jan. 1768 d. Same Day

to

Isak Isakss Tornberg b. 24 Aug. 1755. d. 24 Oct. 1824. married Eva (Elsi) Olofsdr. Pietila Vitsaniemi b. 4 March 1765. d. 3 Dec. 1832

Children:
Anna Greta Isaksdr Tornberg b. 20 Oct. 1786. d. 1786
Anna Breta Isaksdr. Tornberg b. 1788 d. 24 May 1790
Isak Christian Isakss Tornberg b. 4 April 1791. d. 14 June 1879
Eva Lovisa Isaksdr Tornberg b. 27 Nov. 1793 d. 19 July 1794
Stina Frederika Isaksdr Tornberg b. 15 Dec. 1795. d. 1798
Johan Henrik Isakss Tornberg b. 20 Nov. 1797 d. 29 Sept 1798
Wilhelmina Isaksdr. Tornberg b. 2 August 1799 d. 8 Oct. 1799
Erik August Isakss Tornberg b. 20 Aug. 1800
Eva Maria Isaksdr. Tornberg b. 24 Jan 1803
Hedvika Johanna Isaksdr Tornberg b. 7 April 1804 d. 22 Oct. 1806
Sofia Wilhelmina Isaksdr Tornberg b. 29 Oct 1805 d. 17 July 1809
Alexander Isakss Tornberg b. 5 Dec. 1807. d. 24 Nov. 1809

to

Isak Christian Isakss Tornberg b. 4 April 1791, Pajala Konkanen, Norrbotten Sweden.
14 June 1879. married Anna Karolina Karlintytar Humble b. 5 May 1795. Married in 1815, Pajala Norrbotten Sweden

Children:
Isaac Wilhelm Tornberg b. 15 Feb 1817. Pajala.
Carl Henric Tornberg b. 30 Oct 1819. Pajala
Johan Fredric Tornberg. b. 4 July 1822 Pajala.
Gustaf Tornberg b. 23 April 1825
Anna Maria Tornberg b. 29 May 1828
Kuolleena Syntynyt Tornberg b. 11 May 1830

to

Carl Henrick Isakss Tornberg b. 30 Oct. 1819. d. 5 April 1892. and Sofia Johanna Olofintytar b. 1820. d. 7 Sept. 1885 Karl Gustav Parish, Norrbotten Sweden. (marriage 1844. Pajala, Norrbotten, Sweden)

Children: All Born in Karl Gustav Parish, Norrbotten, Sweden.
Isak Wilhelm Carlss. Tornberg b. 9 Dec. 1844
Johan Frederik Carlss, Tornberg b. 18 Sept. 1846
Carl Gustaf Carlss. Tornberg b. 19 Sept 1848
Henrik Carlss. Tornberg. b. 6 Sept 1850
Ida Johanna Carlsdr. Tornberg b. 19 Dec. 1852. d. 24 Dec. 1884
Maria Josefina Carlsdr. Tornberg b. 16 Aug 1854
Frans Oskar Carlss. Tornberg b. 22 Oct. 1856 d. 31 Jan. 1857
Matilda Carolina Carlsdr. Tornberg b. 31 Jan. 1858 d. 31 Dec. 1863
Hjalmar Carlss, Tornberg b. 4 Feb. 1859. d. 18 Dec 1862
Frans Levi Carlss, Tornberg b. 4 Feb 1859 d. 3 Dec. 1889
August Alfried Carlss. Tornberg b. 12 Aug 1864.

to

Isak Wilhelm Tornberg b. 9 Dec. 1844 Pajala , Norrbotten, Sweden married Maria Brita Johansdotter b. 1855.

Children:
Levi Lorens Isakss Tornberg b. 1884
Ida Josefina Isaksdr Tornberg b. 1886
Anna Alexandra Isaksdr Tornberg b. 1890

to

Ida Josefina Tornberg b. 1886 married Johan Albert Mattson b. 6 Aug. 1873, Fjaras, Halland, Sweden

Children:
Walter Albert Mattson b. 31 Jan. 1912 Lead, South Dakota, USA
d. 3 Feb 1973

to

Walter Albert Mattson b. 31 Jan. 1912 d. 3 Feb 1973 married Violet Mae Pierce b. 12 June 1918 d. 11 Sept. 1987.

Children:
Luella Mattson Living
Linda Mattson Living
John Mattson Living
Marvin Mattson Living

to

Luella Mattson married Charles Williamson in 1956

to

Kim, Victor, Kevin, Janice, Jon, Jilane, Lisa, and Annette.

Simply,
Victor

The Hunt is Afoot! The Search for Missing Ancestors. The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Family,
We are on the hunt. The horn is sounded and cousin Angie, astride her mount, has quickly moved ahead. The dogs pick up a scent and lead her toward the forest. I follow.
______________________________________

Angie sent an email with a possible lead to a missing ancestral line today. Of course, being the every curious, I had no choice but to join in the search and decided to let you all see the joy and agony that comes from searching for ancestors.

This is a step by step accounting then of my afternoon.

12:05 P.M. Email from Angie stating a possible clue to the identity of Grandma Violet's Grandparents on her father's side. We start with the Relationship Chart

The family line continues for Eldora Elizabeth Fiddler. The family line ends on the Pierce side with Edwin.

Angie finds a Edwin Pierce in the 1880 Census and sends the link to me. (Click to Enlarge)


I look at this entry in the Census for Coles County Illinois and see Edwin is listed as 15 years old at the time and living with a (Male) Pierce aged 24 and his wife, Emma Pierce age 20. In addition there is a 7 month old baby named Maude Pierce. According to this entry, Edwin was born in Illinois around the correct year of his birth. Our Great Great Grandfather was also born in Illinois. One source records his birth as 1862. This census would make his birth year 1865 (if this is truly the correct Edwin Pierce). I had trouble reading the name of the male head of household. After a bit more searching I found another source for the Census.

This is the same 1880 Census information but typed out by Ancestry.Com. Now we see the name of the head of household. If this is our Edwin, then I assume from this information that Gregory must be Edwin's older brother. He is living away from his parents.

My next step was to try to find the parents of Gregory Pierce. I found them all listed again in the 1870 Census (click to enlarge)


I was correct but we see an error in the record. The Census taker records him as Edward not Edwin. The good news is that we have the parents listed. If this is our G G Grandfather then his parents were Harrison and Lavina Pierce.


In this entry we learn the birth place and date of Harrison's birth.


And in this entry we see the listed information for Lavina Pierce. Of course, is this Edwin (Edward) really our Great Great Grandfather? Well, the birth year is off by a couple years but the Census records Edwin's birth as "about" 1865. This Edwin was born in Illinois as was our GG Grandfather.

The jury is out. What we have is a possible lead that must be investigated further.

Then hunt is on!

Simply,
Victor

The Culture of Our Great Great Grandmother's Finland

Our Great Great Aunt Josephina and the Mattson's of Sweden

Carl Lidman and our Great Great Aunt Josefina (Walter Mattson's Aunt)

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Mattsons,
A short post today with additional information on the family of our Great Grandfather, John Albert Mattson (or Albert John Mattson. He changed it to Albert John when he immigrated, saying there were too many Johns in this country). I thought it might be prudent to discuss our other Swedish family (the Mattsons), considering the recent posts on the Tornbergs.

Let's begin with the Relationship Chart (Click to Enlarge)

As you can see, our Great Grandfather Mattson had nine brothers and sisters. You'll also notice two Carl's. The second born Carl died in San Fransico in 1883. The youngest Carl was born in Sweden in 1884 and named for his brother who died the year before.

The eldest child was Josefina. She came to America first and worked to help her siblings immigrate. According to Luella, all the brothers and sisters came to the United States except for Walfrid. He died in Sweden in 1945.

Our Great Great Aunt Josefina married Carl Lidman in Lead South Dakota. They had one child, Carl Jr. Carl Jr. married a woman named Rose. Together they had seven children. Luella knows the two youngest, they are both alive, one living in Montana and the other in Colorado.

Simply,
Victor

The Williamson Family Picnic, 2010

Williamson First Cousins

Del Williamson and Kids

Second Cousins

The Gathering,

I think we had a good turnout considering it was well over 90 degrees. I don't have the actual count with me, but I think were were between 35 and 40 there. It was a good day for the youngsters to play in the creek.

For me, the best part of the day was seeing Kriss Williamson Seidel and Kathy Mauch Kinsall, both healthy after their cancer treatments. They were both blessed with a lot of prayers.

Another highlight for the day was the "guest book" from the old family reunions. My Mom and Dad had a guest book she started in 1958, everyone signed the book every year. Before my Mom passed away, she turned the book over to our cousin Teresa. When Teresa died, I thought the book was probably gone, but Teresa' son, Lee Madison had the book and made sure it got to the picnic. Everyone had fun looking through the old names.

It was a great day catching up and enjoying our family. Hope to do it again next year.

Corlis

A Post on the Williamson Family Reunion 2010?

A Real Time snapshot from the deck of the Fortress. A Storm is Looming.
I Must Type Fast.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello Williamsons,
My parents and sister tell me the Williamson family reunion was delightful. Sadly I wasn't able to attend. As I keep reminding my family "Some of us have to work for a living" (Said with tongue in cheek). I was neck deep in Space Campers between the ages of 10 and 14, not to mention a staff of teens and young adults - all needing attention and direction.

That is all done. The Center is closed until August 20th. I have three blessed weeks of vacation. I don't want to hear space, talk space, think space, eat space, or breath space during this time (yes, even if it were discovered a large asteroid was hurtling toward Earth capable of wiping out all mankind and we had two weeks to live. Even then, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW).

I'm hoping someone out there took pictures at the reunion and is willing to share them with us. I asked my parents, but trusting either of them to master the art of click and shoot would be too much to ask. You must understand that they both suffer from technophobia and find anything with a blinking light terrifying. You should see the way Luella controls her digital TV and Dish Network Satellite Receiver. She understands "On" and "Off". She comprehends "Volume" and the "Up and Down Channel Arrows". She is clueless about everything else and relies on multiple phone calls and visits to fix her reception when she accidentally pushes one of the other 100 buttons on the remote and suddenly finds herself watching the Chinese Broadcasting Network instead of her beloved CSPAN.

In addition to the pictures I'm hoping someone would be willing to write something postable about the gathering for the rest of the family to enjoy. Remember this blog is rated PG so leave out the pictures of Charles flipping the bird in two photo shoots. God bless him - he is in his 70's you know and has trouble remembering the difference between flipping someone off and giving someone the Thumbs Up!

Wow, close lightening strike. Wait for it......... YES, the thunder rattled the windows. I'd better seek shelter indoors. Standby.......

OK safe and secure inside the Fortress.

Also, it was mentioned at the reunion that many are enjoying the blog. I'm grateful for your kind words and encouragement. It was also mentioned that many Williamson's (me included) have an interest in the family's current events. Granted what happened 1000 years ago may be interesting but learning how our little cousin saved the life of his Grandma was awesome. I'm wanting to post current family news. That's where YOU COME IN. I need at least one person from each branch of the family to send me your current family news: Weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs, arrests, trials, graduations, honor rolls, and other items of general interest. I've asked for family trivia in the past and got nothing but an empty email box.

So, I'm asking once again. Please send current family news. Let's keep in touch with each other so when we have our next gathering we won't all be such strangers to each other.

I'll sleep tonight knowing that you'll have something waiting for me in my email IN box in the morning :)

Simply,
Victor

The Tornberg Family and the Sami, the People of the North

The Sami, People of the North
(Lapland. Great Grandmother Ida's Home)

From the Fortress of Solitude
Pleasant Grove

Hello All,
Today we spend more time with our Great Grandmother, Ida Tornberg. You remember that Ida was the wife of John Albert Mattson. Walter Mattson was their only child. In the previous post a few days ago we found her hometown in Sweden. Today have more information on her family thanks to cousin Angie Mattson Berntsen.

After several hours of research, Angie located the Swedish Census of 1900. I have the translated pages below:

This entry is for Ida's father Isak. (Click to Enlarge)

This entry is for Ida's Mother Maria (Click to Enlarge)

This Entry is for Ida's Brother Levi (Click to Enlarge)

This Entry is for Ida

This Entry is for Ida's Sister Anna

The picture above (Click to Enlarge) is the application Ida made for life insurance in 1926. In it we learn more about her family.

• She was a store clerk in Sweden before coming to America.
• She lists delivering Grandpa Walter Mattson as her only disease :) and that it occurred 16 years ago. She goes on to say that it took 10 days to recover.
  
• Her health was perfect. She said she hadn't been to a doctor in the previous 5 years.
  
• She says she has not used any form of wine or spirits. In other words, according to this document Ida never used liquor.
  
• She lists her father deceased due to an accident.
  
• She lists her brother Levi deceased due to accidental drowning when he was 18 years old.
• She lists her mother alive and 70 years old and in good health.
• She lists her sister in good health and 30 years old.

Great Grandma Ida holding Luella (Summer 1940)
Great Grandma Vesta (Violet's mother) is on the right. Ida loved the name Christina
and called Luella "Stina" for a nickname.

Roxie Jacobson, Luella, and Great Grandmother Ida. Roxie was once a neighbor of the Mattsons in Montana. She moved to Belle Fourche and ran a boarding house. The Mattson family were regular visitors.

I asked Luella for one story about Great Grandma Ida to accompany this post.

Grandma Ida was the one that always called us in for supper and bed when we were children on the ranch. Our fist stop was the wash basin that sat on top of the buffet (a piece of furniture that held the fine dishes, linens and silverware) . I remember a picture of the gleaners hanging over the buffet the whole time we lived on the ranch.

Grandma Ida had us wash our hands and faces before we ate or went to bed. I remember that while we washed Grandma would lean on the buffet, resting her head on her right hand. She always had her eyes closed. I thought she closed her eyes because she was so tired. She worked from the moment she was up until she went to bed.

After she died I remember telling Grandpa about her leaning on the buffet with her eyes closed while we washed. He told me that she wasn't resting when she had her eyes closed. She used that moment every day to pray for each of her grandchildren individually.

And, to finish this post:

• Two pieces of traditional music from Lapland - Ida's home in Sweden, taken from the film "Pathfinder", a story told by the people of the north for over 1000 years.
• And the Flag of the Sami (Lapland).
  

From the film's opening credits. The Music of the North

This is the Sami Flag (Flag of the Association of the Sami People). The Sami (also called Lapps, although they consider this word derogatory) inhabit Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia but also the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway.



And again, from the film's closing credits. The hauntingly beautiful music of the Sami.

Simply,
Victor