2004 QUERIES

BUTS LOUIS WATSON'S FIRST WIFE
Gust Watson, whose second wife was Gertrude Mae Smith, had a first wife but we can't find anything about her. Possibly she is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery. If you have information, please contact me. Connie

MARTHA JANE AND ROBERT DOWNEY
I am seeking the Birth location of Martha Jane Downey, who was born 27 April 1881 to Mr. & Mrs. Robert Downey who were listed on the 1880 census at McGregor Switch, Aitkin County, MN. He was the railroad section foreman at that location. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Howard Emery

HENRY & ELIZABETH (SHOCKMA) DIETRICH
I am looking for information on the family of Henry and Elizabeth (SHOCKMAN) DIETRICH. Henry was b. 1862 Germany, d. aft. April 1930, probably Sawyer Co., WI. Elizabeth was b. 5 Aug 1875 IN, d. 15 Jan 1971 in Sawyer Co., WI. There were three known children in this family (the first two may be from an earlier marriage of Henry's).

1. Fred W. Dietrich b. abt. 1902 WI, d. aft. Jan. 1920
2. Joseph F. Dietrich b. abt. 1904 WI, d. aft Jan. 1920
3. Elden H. Dietrich b. 4 Mar 1916 MN, d. 9 July 1996 in Mille Lacs, Aitkin Co., MN

I am interested in finding marriage and descendant information for any of these three children. I have significant ancestry for Elizabeth's line that I would be happy to share. I would also like to find Elizabeth and Henry's burial location if possible.

Thank-you for any help you are able to offer! Karla Staudt

DORTHY EMILY GOMALL
6/24/2004 I am trying to help my cousin to find the last will and testiment of her mother, Dorthy Emily Gomall: DOB/1-28-1919, DOD/10-1-2003 who lived in (or near) Pillager, MN. Her spouse was Carl Gomall (deceased). Can you help? Mary Ann Zvanovec

ERIC O. & BERTHA BROWN
I'm married to Oliver Engman Brown Jr. who was born and raised in Aitkin. I'm trying to find out more information on his grandparents, Eric O. & Bertha Brown, who died 1903 in the flu epidemic and are buried at Forest Cemetery in Kimberly. Their death left six children homeless and at the loving mercy of other families in and about Aitkin.

I would be grateful for any information or remembrances of the Browns. Thank you ~ Shirley

GODE ~ GABRIELSON
I am researching my mom's tree and can't seem to find any information about Othelia Theodora Gode. She was born in Norway and died 17 Mar 1917 in Aitkin, MN. She married Anton Christian Gabrielsen (b. 2 May 1857 Rytsvatsbugt, Hattfjelldal, Nordland, Norway, d. 19 Aug 1932). They had 8 children: Jenny (my g-grandmother), Mary Frederikka, John, Otta, Emma, Martin, Christian, and Arthur.

If you have any information regarding Othelia (Otillia) Theodora Gode, please let me know. Thank you, Christie

RESPONSE TO GODE ~ GABRIELSON
I found a death certificate for her, with a different spelling and a different date of death (20 March 1917), at the Minnesota Historical Society:

GABRIELSON, OTHILIA THEODORA
CertID# 1917-MN-000096
Date of Birth: not indexed
Place of Birth: not indexed
Mother Maiden Name: not indexed
Date of Death: 03/20/1917
County of Death: AITKIN

You can order a copy of the death certificate for $10.00 from the Minnesota Historical Society, or if you're near enough to visit them, you can make a copy of it there which will cost a fraction of the cost. I've ordered death certificates for several of my (Finnish) relatives, & even the stuff they haven't indexed is often there, so it might give you some leads to pursue. It looks like some of your other Gabrielsen/Gabrielson relatives are also there.

There are some Gabrielsons listed for Aitkin County at the Iron Center Research Range, which has a database of alien registration & naturalization papers (which you can order). Some of those are for "GABRIELSON, ANTOINE," which might be an misspelling of Anton's name. If he is indeed your relative, his naturalization papers might also state the place of birth of his wife (that's how I found my g-grandmother's birthplace). An Arthur and an Alfred Gabrielson are also listed in the naturalization papers, and a Christian Arnold.

The Norwegian government has an digital archive, which includes an English front-end (along with an Norwegian one), which includes emigrant passenger lists; parish baptism, confirmation, marriage, etc. records, and lots more. Although it would be easier to search if you knew which parish she was born in, you might be able to find her just by plugging away at it and going through each parish in turn.

You can also check Ellis Island for passenger records (though they may have come through some other port).

I found several of your relatives in various U.S. censuses through my subscription at Ancestry.com. It seems that most records spell it Gabrielson rather than Gabrielsen. Be sure to try variant spellings for any of the databases you search.

Hope this helps, & good luck! Mel

SUTTON
My name is Laural Virginia Sutton Green and I'm searching for any relatives of Christopher Columbus, Glen Wellington, Ralph, or Richard Christopher SUTTON. My father was Richard and I would like to find out more about him and his family as he and my mother were divorced when I was just a baby. My mother and Richard have both passed on now and I would like to get in touch with some of my fathers family.

Looking forward to any replies. Laurel

HYATT
I'm looking for my family: HYATT, Almansor b. Quebec, died 28 Oct 1897 in Aitken, possibly at home of son James Hyatt b. abt 1863. Anything you might find would be wonderful. Thanks. Elizabeth Larrabee

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