Sunday 18 September 2016

Ancestors In Living Color! (#3): Sarah Jane McGinn's Wedding Day

Yesterday, I asked the people over at the Random Acts of Kindness Photo Restoration Facebook group to add some color to my great-great-grandmother Sarah Jane McGinn's wedding photo from February 25, 1897. The photo is a "tintype." Seated in the middle is Sarah with her parents, James F. McGinn and Rachel (Ellsworth) McGinn, beside her. Below is the original:


Now here it is in color:


Whether those were the actual colors or not that day I'll never know but seeing these old photographs with color added to them sure does bring greater life to moments like these.

Special thanks again to the folks over at Random Acts of Kindness Photo Restoration Facebook group for doing this!

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae

Tuesday 5 July 2016

On This Day In Family History (July 5):

1953: Great-grandmother Lucile Rebecca (Garfield) Anderson passed away in Brockton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA, aged 37.


Great-grandmother Lucile holding her sons, Frederic and David (right; my grandfather).

Brockton Daily Enterprise
Monday, July 6, 1953
Page Two


Mrs. Henry R. Anderson

   Mrs. Lucille R. (Garfield) Anderson, 37, of 215 Copeland street, wife of Henry R. Anderson, died Sunday morning at a local hospital. She had been in failing health for the past three months, and her death brings great sorrow to her family and friends.
   Mrs. Anderson was born in Medford, and had resided in this city for 36 years. She was a woman of pleasing personality. Mrs. Anderson was a member of the South Congregational church. Besides her husband, she is survived by two sons, Frederic R. Anderson and David W. Anderson; her mother, Mrs. Mary L. Garfield of this city; one brother, Henry A. Garfield of this city; three sisters, Mrs. Gerald Glover of California, Mrs. Leroy Carlson and Miss Edith Garfield, both of this city; also several nieces and nephews.
   Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 1:30 from the funeral home at 647 Main street. Rev. James A. Davidson, DD, pastor of the First Baptist church will officiate, and interment will be in Pine Hill Cemetery, West Bridgewater.

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae

Saturday 2 July 2016

On This Day In Family History (July 2):

1835: 1st cousin 6x removed Brita Maja Andersdotter was born in Frestersbyn, Järn församling, Älvsborgs län, Dalsland, Sweden.

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae

Friday 1 July 2016

On This Day In Family History (July 1):

1916: Great-grandmother Lucile Rebecca Garfield was born in Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. 



1916: 2nd cousin 3x removed Dagny Ingegerd Karlsson was born in Angered Stom, Angered församling, Älvsborgs län, Dalsland, Sweden.

Thursday 30 June 2016

On This Day In Family History (June 30):

1907: Great-grandaunt Edith J. Wild was born in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA.

1938: 3rd cousin 1x removed Ronald F. Holmes, Sr. was born in Brockton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA.

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae

Wednesday 29 June 2016

On This Day In Family History (June 29):

1958: 7th cousin 1x removed Jan Anders Eriksson was born in Frändefors församling, Älvsborgs län, Dalsland, Sweden.

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae

Tuesday 28 June 2016

On This Day In Family History (June 28):

1904: 1st cousin 3x removed Roger Everett Pearson was born in Easton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, USA. 

1904: 2nd cousin 3x removed Karl Ivar Bertil Sköldberg was baptized in Tyskerud, Ör församling, Älvsborgs län, Dalsland, Sweden.

1955: 1st cousin 1x removed Cynthia Lee Meagher was born in Brockton, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA.

1986: 3rd cousin Lindsay Russell was born.

1988: Uncle Raymond Allan Anderson passed away from injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA, aged 28. 



The Brockton Enterprise 
Wednesday, June 29, 1988 


Raymond A. Anderson, Brockton resident, 28
  
  BROCKTON — Raymond A. Anderson, 28, son of David W. and Helen P. (Meagher) Anderson, died Tuesday due to injuries suffered in a work-related accident in Bridgewater.  
   Born in Brockton, Mr. Anderson attended Brockton schools. He was a lifelong resident of this city. 
   He was employed as a construction laborer with local carpenters.  
  In addition to his parents, he is survived by two sisters, Joyce M. Anderson of Easton and Cheryl L. Anderson of Brockton; his maternal grandparents, Frederick and Edna (Benoit) Meagher of Brockton, and aunts, uncles and cousins.  
  The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday from the Dahlborg-MacNevin Funeral Home, Chapel for All Faiths, 647 Main St., Brockton. Interment will be in Pine Hill Cemetery, West Bridgewater.


Raymond Allan Anderson

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae

Friday 26 February 2016

Ancestors In Living Color! (#2): Fredrick Joseph Meagher

Today's post features a portrait of my great-great-grandfather Fredrick Joseph Meagher (1876 - 1933). I asked the members of the Random Acts of Kindness Photo Restoration Group if they could colorize the portrait. According to Fredrick's World War I Draft Registration Card, his eyes were blue and his hair was gray. 

Here is the original:


And here is the finished result: (I quite like it.) 

Photo Credit: Andrew Heaps

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae

Wednesday 24 February 2016

Ancestors In Living Color! (#1): Martin & Augusta

Many of the photographs I have of my ancestors are in black and white. I recently joined Random Acts of Kindness Photo Restoration Group on Facebook in the hopes of getting seeing what some of my photos would look like colorized. The first photograph I submitted to the group for colorization was one of my 3rd-great-grandparents, Martin (Andreasson) Anderson (1841 - 1915) and Augusta Andersdotter (1848 - 1903) from Sweden. 


For their eyes and hair, I don't have any specifics on what color they might have been while they were alive. When asked, I instead gave the colors for Martin and Augusta's sons August and Aaron, thinking along the lines of genetics and that August and Aaron might have inherited some of their features from their parents. According to their World War I Draft Registration Cards. According to August's, his eye color was "blue" while his hair was "lt brown" (light brown). Aaron's eye color was given as "dark" while the color of his hair was said to be "brown." 

Below are the finished results:

Photo Credit: Melanie Bevill Arrowood

Photo Credit: Dick Williams

The next one is not colorized but rather a cleaned up and slightly darkened version of the original that a member of the group did. I felt it should be included.  

Photo Credit: Melanie Bevill Arrowood

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae

Tuesday 9 February 2016

The Ancestry of Martin (Andreasson) Anderson & Augusta Andersdotter

This post was written for Dorothy Grube, Julia Marvel, Andrea King Wells, Julie Anderson as well as others who descend from Martin and Augusta or are interested in their ancestry. This post is a basic write-up of verified information I currently have regarding the ancestry of Martin and Augusta. After reading this post, if there are questions regarding the information provided in this post or the sources used to find the information, please do not hesitate to ask. 


Martin's Ancestry:

Prior to his arrival in the United States, Martin Anderson's surname was Andreasson. Martin was born on October 28, 1841 in Lärje Månsgården, Angered församling, Älvsborg län, Sweden. He was both the third child and son of Andreas Andersson & Maja Helena Börjesdotter.

Paternal Side:

Andreas Andersson was born on December 12, 1805 in Kullen, Östad församling, Älvsborg län, Sweden. He was the sixth and final child as well as third son of Anders Petersson & Catharina Jonsdotter.  He married Maja Helena Börjesdotter in the mid-1830's and had seven children, Adolph Viktor (1835-1919), Johannes Edvard (1838-1907), Martin (1841-1915), Augusta Mathilda (1845-1847), Carl Bernhard (1849-1854), August (1854-1884), and Carl Bernhard (1857-1915). Andreas died on October 3, 1892 in Angered Stom, Angered församling from Ålderdom (old age).

Anders Pettersson was born on March 14, 1762. He married Catharina Jonsdotter on January 3, 1793. They had six children, Karin (1793-1860), Kjerstin (1796-?), Anders (1799-?), Johannes (1802-1804) and Anna Brita (1802-?) (twins), and Andreas (1805-1892). Anders Pettersson died on May 18, 1851 in Kullen, Östad församling.

Catharina Jonsdotter was born on November 22, 1768 in Östad församling, Älvsborg län, Sweden. She was the first child of Jon Andersson & Kjerstin Bengtsdotter. She died on September 21, 1816 in Kullen, Östad församling.

Jon Andersson and Kjerstin Bengtsdotter were married on January 6, 1768. They had four children, Catharina (1768-1816), Anna (1771-1846), Britta (1774-?), and Andreas (1777-1780). Kjerstin died April 11, 1779 in Kullen, Östad församling from Kallbrand. Jon died on February 12, 1809 in Kullen.


Maternal Side:

Maja Helena Börjesdotter was born on October 28, 1810 in Angered församling. She was both the second child and daughter of Börje Andersson & Annicka Jacobsdotter. She married Andreas Andersson in the mid-1830's and had seven children, Adolph Viktor (1835-1919), Johannes Edvard (1838-1907), Martin (1841-1915), Augusta Mathilda (1845-1847), Carl Bernhard (1849-1854), August (1854-1884), and Carl Bernhard (1857-1915). She died on April 12, 1869 in Angered Stom, Angered församling.

Börje Andersson was born on January 1, 1773. He married Annicka Jacobsdotter and had four children, Anna Britta (1807-1883), Maja Helena (1810-1869), Nils (1815-1856), and Andreas (1820-1896). Börje died on April 25, 1839 in Bergsgården, Angered församling.

Annicka Jacobsdotter was born in 1783 to Jacob Nilsson. She died on January 19, 1849 in Bergsgården, Angered församling.

Jacob Nilsson was born in 1755. He had two children, Annicka (1783-1849) and Britta Catherina (1790-1853). He died on April 25, 1823 in Bergsgården, Angered församling.


Augusta's Ancestry:

Augusta Andersdotter was born on April 15, 1848 in Angered Storegården, Angered församling, Älvsborg län, Sweden. She was the fifth and final child of Anders Jonsson and Catharina Olsdotter. 

Paternal Side:

Anders Jonsson was born on May 1, 1816. He was the second child and first son of Jon Olofsson & Annicka Ambjörnsdotter. He married Catharina Olsdotter on January 12, 1840 in Angered församling. They had five children, Anna Maria (1840-1840), Johan (1841-1854), Albertina (1843-1925), Aron (1846-1847), and Augusta (1848-1903). He died on November 22, 1849 as a result of freezing to death. 

Jon Olofsson was born on April 21, 1780 to Maja Arfvidsdotter. He married Annicka Ambjörnsdotter and had three children, Johanna (1803-1857), Anders (1816-1849), and Andreas (1819-?).

Annicka Ambjörnsdotter was born on April 12, 1775 in Hjällsnäs Gategården, Stora Lundby församling, Älvsborg län, Sweden. She was the daughter of Ambjörn Andersson & Marit Olofsdotter. She died on April 20, 1848 in Angered Stom, Angered församling.

Maja Arfvidsdotter was born on March 13, 1752 and died on September 23, 1834.

Maternal Side:

Catharina Olsdotter was born on April 10, 1806 in Angered församling to Olof Olsson & Britta Larsdotter. She married Anders Jonsson on January 12, 1840 in Angered församling. They had five children, Anna Maria (1840-1840), Johan (1841-1854), Albertina (1843-1925), Aron (1846-1847), and Augusta (1848-1903). Catharina died on October 4, 1882 from dropsy.

Olof Olsson was born June 14, 1777. He married Britta Larsdotter and had five children, Ingeborg (1804-1843), Catharina (1806-1882), Ingrid Lena (1808-1856), Olaus (1811-1847), and Anna Sophia (1815-1868). Olof died on October 23, 1842 in Linnarhult Nedergården, Angered församling.

Britta Larsdotter was born in 1780. She died on October 13, 1852 in Linnarhult Nedergården, Angered församling from Ålderdom (old age).

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae

Saturday 6 February 2016

On This Day In Family History (February 6):

1960:     Uncle Raymond Allan Anderson was born in Brockton, Massachusetts.

Raymond Allan Anderson (June 1964) 

Raymond Allan Anderson

2014:     3rd cousin 1x removed Henrik Adler was born in New York City, New York.

Copyright © 2016, David J. McRae