Friday, August 13, 2010

Friday Findings - Discovering the Details

I am changing Follow Friday to Friday Findings so I can share some of my search processes in the hope that it will help someone else in their efforts. Leopold is a very unusual name Swedish name so I thought tracking my husbands great-grandfather and his wife would be an easy task.  Not so much.

Leopold Peterson and Caroline Neilson appear in the 1880 census as a married couple living in Chicago with their 3 children, Annie, John, and Frank.  According to the census, Leopold and Caroline had both been born in  Sweden and immigrated 1870 and 1871 respectively.  Daughter Annie was born in Massachusetts in 1875.  In 1892, on the Chicago voters registration, Leopold indicated that his naturalization papers were filed in Boston.

As I searched for more information,  it became apparent that the answers were in Massachusetts, probably Boston.  I looked for Leopold and/or Caroline in the 1870 census without much hope since they had said their arrival was in 1870 and 1871.  Next I ordered the Massachusetts Marriage records for 1872 and 1873 from the Family History Center.  I selected those years based on both the immigration dates and the birth of Annie in Massachusetts.  I found the marriage record of Leopold and Caroline in the LDS film # 1433032.  They were married 11 Aug 1873 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.  According to the record, Leopold was a 22 year old cabinet maker and Caroline was 26.  Leopold's parents were Peter and Anna, Caroline,s parents were Neils and Kare, Rev. George S Noyer officiated.  After searching the Boston City directories for 1872/73, I found that Rev Noyes was associated with the the Bethel Church at North Square in Boston.  It was a Methodist Episcopal Church organized in 1828.

I have found Caroline's birth record and her parents but I am still looking for Leopold's birth and parents.  Finding the parents first names at least tells me that they followed the standard Scandinavian naming practices.  Now how do I find Peter and Anna the parents of Leopold?  Any suggestions out there?

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