A Farmer from Sweden: Louis Leander, Knox County, IL, ca. 1870

This image, inscribed on the back, “Louis Leander,” was found used bookstore in Victoria, BC a few months ago. Sorensen’s Books is a great place to find unusual and interesting books, and as it turns out, carte de visite photos.

The cdv was photographed by Edgar Codding of Knoxville, Illinois. I would date it to around 1869-1873, which nicely lines up with the research I’ve done into E. Codding and his Knoxville Studio. According the very helpful reference book, Pioneer Photographers from the Mississippi to the Continental Divide, by Palmquist & Kailbourn, Codding’s Knoxville studio was in operation from approximately 1868 to 1888.

Louis O. Leander (born Jan 1847) came to the US from Sweden in 1869,  and went to work on the John Johnson farm in Knox Township, Knox County, Illinois. In February of 1877, he married Anna C. Anderson in Knoxville. He continued to make his living from farming. Six children were born to the couple and five survived infancy: Lorenna, b. 1878; Henry Albert, b. May 1881; Sarah, b. Apr 1884; J. Edval, born 1888; and Frank, b. Dec 1889.

Anna Leander died in 1922, in Knoxville. I was unable to find information about Leander’s death. If you have additional information about the Leander family that you'd like to share, I would love to hear your comments.

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"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXV7-S78 : 15 September 2017), Louis O Leander, Knox, Knox, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district ED 140, sheet 238C, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,220.

"Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3NW-8J3 : 8 March 2018), Lewis Leander in entry for Anna Leander, 14 Feb 1922; Public Board of Health, Archives, Springfield; FHL microfilm 1,556,730.

"United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS4G-4YX : accessed 12 October 2019), Louis O Leander, North Henderson Township, Mercer, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 76, sheet 7B, family 149, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,330.

"Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFVB-M5W : 4 November 2017), Lewis O. Leander in entry for Henry A. Leander and Katherine J. Willett, 15 Feb 1911; citing Knox, Illinois, United States, county offices, Illinois; FHL microfilm 1,412,066.

"Illinois Births and Christenings, 1824-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2L4-BJQ : 10 February 2018), Louis O. Leander in entry for Henry Albert Leander, 05 May 1881; Birth, citing Knox, Knox, Illinois; FHL microfilm 1,412,125.

"Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK9L-R4J5 : 15 October 2017), Lewis O Leander and Anna C Anderson, 28 Feb 1877; citing Knox, Illinois, United States, county offices, Illinois; FHL microfilm 1,412,046.

"United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M64Y-RZB : 11 June 2019), L C Leander in entry for John Johnson, 1870.

The Anderson Children from Holdrege, Nebraska, Circa 1896-1897

From the back of the photo:  "Arvid Anderson, standing.  L to R:  Laura Anderson, Oscar Anderson, Myrtle Anderson 1896 (crossed out) 1894"

I think I'm going to disagree with the person who wrote the identification on the back of this cabinet card.  I think they got it right with their first guess of 1896.  Aren't the children charming in their white lace collars?

I found the Anderson family in the 1900 census, living in Holdrege, Nebraska.  The family was headed by Louis Anderson (b. 1848, Sweden) and Ida C. Anderson (b. 1855, Sweden).  Their children are listed as:  Arvid F. Anderson (b. Mar. 1890), Mathilda/Myrtle (b. May 1892), Laura (b. Nov. 1894) and Oscar (b. Aug. 1895)¹. 

Oscar, being the youngest, is the key to dating this image.  His WW1 US Draft Registration Card gives his birth date as 22 Aug 1895².  In the image above he looks to be about one year old, give or take a few months.

The Anderson family moved to Riverside, California sometime between 1900 and 1910, where Louis worked on an orange farm³.  In 1920, Louis (Lewis), Ida and Arvid are living with  Laura and her husband, Wm K. Cornelius in West Riverside⁴.

I'm tempted to research each and every one of the children, but that would be a bit time-consuming and quite a lengthy blog post.  There's a lot of information on this family out there, and it looks like there are a few branches stemming from these children.  I think the chances are good a descendant will be able to find this post.  I hope so.

For information about Holdrege, Phelps County, Nebraska you may wish to check out the following book, A History Of Phelps County, Nebraska 1873-1980. 

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1 "United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M3BT-P87 : accessed 30 July 2012), Louis Anderson, ED 151 Holdrege Township Holdrege city Ward 1-2, Phelps, Nebraska, United States.^↩
2 World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005, entry for Oscar Walter Anderson, citing original record Registration Location: Millard County, Utah; Roll: 1983885; Draft Board: 0.^↩
3 "United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MVL2-TCV : accessed 30 July 2012), Lewis Anderson, Riverside Ward 4, Riverside, California.^↩
4 "United States Census, 1920," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MHWM-65T : accessed 31 July 2012), Wm K Cornelius, West Riverside Township Unincorporated, Riverside, California.^↩

From the Jones Studio in Silverton, Oregon: Slethammer/Steelhammer?

This photograph isn't identified per se.  It has a name on the back, "Mrs. Stethammer" (or it could possibly be Slethammer, Steelhammer, or Shelhammer).  It was taken at the W.L. (William L.) Jones Studio in Silverton, Oregon circa 1890.  I am basing the date on the little research I did on the Jones Photo Collection Website (http://www.jonesphotocollection.com), which provides access to some of  W. L. Jones' photographs as well as to the Jones Family history.  This particular photographer's imprint seems to have been used in the 1890s.  W. L. Jones operated the studio in Silverton from 1880 to 1913, when the family moved the business to Grays Harbor.

I searched the censuses for any of the surnames I mentioned above and came up with one match in the Silverton area.  I'm going on record as saying this is a crazy long shot, because it's unclear what the name printed on the back means.  Was the photo ordered by Mrs.  S****hammer, Silverton, or was she the recipient?  Impossible to say.  There is other ordering information by her name, such as the dimensions of the photo ordered, 16 X 20, which leads me to believe that she may have had something to do with the ordering, since the pencil inscriptions seems to be in the same hand for both the name and the ordering information.

I found one match for a Steelhammer family:

1900, June 21; Marion Co, OR; North Silverton Pct, p 68
Andrew G. Steelhammer, 53, Jan 1847, Swe, Swe, Swe, mar 29 yrs, to US 1869,
Christina, wife, 49, Aug 1850, Nor, Nor, Nor, mar 29 yrs, 9 children-8 living, to US 1869  
Carl G, son, 25, Nov 1874, MN, Swe, Nor, single, blacksmith  
Lars R., son, 17, June 1882, ND, Swe, Nor, single, grocery salesman  
Arthur E, son, 13, Feb 1887, ND, Swe, Nor, farm laborer  
George W, son, 11, Feb 1889, ND, Swe, Nor, farm laborer  
Henry W, son, 9, Jan 1891, ND, Swe, Nor, att. school  
Arliss G, gr dau, 4, Feb 1896, OR, PA, MN

Further information turned up in the book A Portrait & Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley, Chapman Publishing Company, 1903 for Andrew G. Steelhamer. It says that he and his family  came to Silverton in 1892 from Winona, Minn.

Mr. Steelhammer was united in marriage with Miss Christina Anderson...Of their union, the following named children have been born; John F.,  a resident of Salem, Ore. [became Mayor of Woodburn, Oregon 1916-1918]; Carl G., Deceased; Helma, wife of A. P. Allen, San Francisco, Cal.; Oscar Adolph, connected with the Military Bank at Salem, Ore.; Louie R., of Salem, Ore.; Artie E.,  living at home; George W., at home; and William H., living with his parents, plays in the Silverton band.

There are several Steelhammers in the Silverton Cemetery, Silverton, Marion County:
Steelhammer, Andrew G., b. 1847, d. 1937, s/w Christine A. Steelhammer
Steelhammer, Carl C., b. 1874, d. 1902
Steelhammer, Christine A., b. 1850, d. 1936, s/w Andrew G. Steelhammer
Steelhammer, Jennie M. Goode, b. 1878, d. 1925, "Mother", Wife of J. F. Steelhammer
Steelhammer, John F., b. 1872, d. 1962, "Father"
Steelhammer, Oscar A., b. 1878, d. 1935

I have looked for portraits of Steelhammers online, and did find one of John F. at the Oregon State Library Photo Website.  What do you think?  Is there a resemblance?

Another Weatherald Connection: Yours Truly, J. C. West, 1910s

While there isn't a photographer's imprint or place name provided on this photograph, we do have the subject's signature on the front, which reads, "Yours truly, J. C. West."  Normally, I wouldn't hold out much hope of figuring out who this individual was because of the fairly common surname, and the lack of a given name.  But provenance is everything with a photo like this.

I found Mr. West (and several other pictures of him) with a grouping of photographs that I've already blogged about:  Miss Maud Weatherald, and the Marwoods.  On a hunch I searched for a link between the Weatherald family and the West family and found one.  Maud Weatherald's sister, Edith Marion Weatherald (b. abt. 1868) married a man named John Charles West on the 19th of June 1918 in Hamilton Co, Wentworth, Ontario.  The marriage record tells us that John West was a widower, and 47 years old at the time of the marriage.  Edith was 50.  John's parents are listed as John West and Jeannette Anderson and he is said to have been born at "St. George."  His occupation is "traveler."

I located John's first marriage in the Ontario Marriages database on Ancestry.  His first wife's name was Ella Christie, born in Smithville, Ontario in 1873, daughter of Robert and Caroline Christie.  John West's occupation at that time is listed as photographer.  He was living in Buffalo, NY at the time, but the marriage took place in St. Catharines, Ontario, Christmas Day, 1895.

Ella and John lived in Buffalo, at least at the time of the 1910 US Federal Census.  John's occupation is listed as "Commercial Traveller, Kodak Co."

At some point between 1911 and 1916 the Wests moved back to Canada.  Ella passed away from heart failure in 1916 in Essex, Ontario.  Her parents are listed as Robt. Christie and Caroline Turney.  J.C. West is the informant.

According to the entry I found in the Ontario Deaths, 1869-1938 database, John Charles West died on 14 July 1936 in Toronto, Ontario, at the age of 65 years.  His birth date is provided:  June 9, 1871 as well as his occupation ,"Demonstrator, Canadian Kodak Co."  These details were provided by his second wife, Mrs. Edith West.  J.C. West was buried in Park Lawn Cemetery, July 16, 1936.

Update (from Facebook) January 4, 2011:   Ontario Genealogy Society, Toronto Branch member Jane MacNamara has tracked down a death notice in the Toronto Daily Star (16 July 1936) that confirms the WEATHERALD connection and tells us a bit more about the WEST family. The notice reads:

WEST - Suddenly, at his residence, 10 Alhambra Ave., Toronto, John C. West, beloved husband of Edith M. Weatherald and brother of Christina, Agnes and Robert West of Paris, Ontario, aged 65 years.
Remains resting in Wm. Speers chapel, 2926 Dundas street (near Keele). Service in the chapel, Thursday, 3 p.m. Interment Park Lawn Cemetery.

Thanks so much, OGS Toronto & Jane MacNamara for tracking down the obituary for us!

2nd UPDATE September 17, 2014:  All of the Weatherald/West/Marwood family photos have been reunited with a direct descendant in Saskatchewan.