From Whence I Came

[Ole and Marie Olson - my great-grandparents. Date unknown.]

Maria is doing a project for Geography where she has to trace a set of ancestors who emigrated to the United States. Always up for a challenge, Maria decided to avoid the easy route which would have been to follow my father-in-law's forebears. As a Mayflower family they are very well documented - going back to the 1300s or something in England.

No, instead she has chosen to document my mother's grandparents (my great grandparents) Ole Olsen and his wife Marie. Not a lot is known about them - in fact we don't even know when they immigrated. Ole was born in 1866, Marie in 1864. Their first child was born in the United States in 1884 - so he was 18 years old and in the U.S. But when did he arrive? Was he married? Did they leave the old country as a married couple, or meet up here?

Little is known - he was dead by age 34 - and only two pictures survive. This picture of he and Marie taken in Willmar, and separate head and shoulder shots that appear to be taken the same day, based on their dress and general physical appearance.

Assuming our great grandchildren will still be able to access the media our lives our are stored on, let's hope their future geography projects are much easier.