A page for Ada Richardson, Cornelia's daughter by her first marriage, is missing from this record. Her information is sketchy and I'm still trying to sort it out; her page will be added later. A DNA page will also be added. Last week I received my DNA information from Ancestry.com and will share that as soon as I understand it.
Thank You
I thank the generations of people who helped create this record: John Johnson and his parents Ingebregt and Helene who were brave enough to sail across the ocean in a small sailing ship. Mary Ray Johnson and Cornelia Richardson Johnson, for spending money on and gathering photos, and Cornelia for keeping those photos safe in an album on the journey from Wisconsin to Kansas. Minnie Johnson German for her wonderful photo album. My grandfather, Harold D. German, for sitting down with me and telling me about the people in Minnie's album.
I thank Karen Hulford for sharing photos and information about Ingebregt and Helene in Norway and Wisconsin. Erma Luckey, Steve Richardson, Ginger Thull, Dorothy Reling and Ray Terry of the North Central Kansas Genealogical Society, Cawker City, KS have searched for newspaper articles and encouraged me to send for probate records. And I never would have thought to try to put this together without the example of Doug German whose site, Our German Family in America, is amazing.
The information on Ancestry.com has been invaluable!
My greatest thanks goes to my mother for hanging photos of ancestors on the wall when I was growing up, for carefully preserving and identifying the old photos, and for keeping the stories alive.
About the Photos
I first became interested in family history when I was in college in the 1970's. In the 1980's I spent hundreds of hours looking at rolls of microfilm and old books in genealogy libraries. Today, more records are available online than I ever thought possible.
In the 1990's I made copies of many of the old photos my mother had carefully cared for and cherished over the years. In 1997, I compiled a family history using those copies, and gave 2nd generation copies to my parents and siblings. Those copies were much poorer quality than what we can make today using just a home scanner and a good copy machine.
In her declining years, my mother gave away most of the original photos. She even took many copies of copies I had made for myself and gave those away. Many of the photos you see in this record are 3rd or 4th generation copies. I no longer have even a poor copy of some of the photos.
What I do have is Minnie's original photo album, which I inherited after my mother passed away. Many photos have been removed from that album. I also have the little old brown album, which I was unable to confidently identify as the John Johnson family until I recently found a few photos which Karen Hulford so generously shared online. Beyond that, I have a few snapshots of people my mother was unable to identify.
What I have I am sharing with you here, as sharing information is one of the most exciting parts of family history. Hopefully, this will inspire others to share their photos as well. It's so easy today.
I Believe Families are Eternal
I believe families are eternal... that when we pass to the next life we will have the opportunity to meet our ancestors and journey on with them, and with those who come after us, through the eternities.
I believe that as we learn about our family history, we become part of the fulfillment of the prophecy in Malachi 4:5-6.
I will send you Elijah the prophet... And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers...Plus, learning about family history is just plain fun. It's like decoding a great mystery that reveals why we are the way we are, and why we believe what we believe.
Dedicated to
Phyllis, Cecil, Minnie, Eva, Cornelia, Mary, Sabina, Huldah, Helene,
and all the other courageous women
who taught our family to be strong and have faith in the Lord.
who taught our family to be strong and have faith in the Lord.