I am starting this work week off by transcribing a document that is important to my family research. When I found this record I started to do a "Happy Dance." Then as I carefully read it, I realized some questions answered; but more answers to find.
Amanuensis Monday is a weekly blog theme that was started by John Newmark, the author of TransylvanianDutch blog. John defines Amanuensis as "A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another." I also appreciate the good work and format examples of San Diego genealogist Randy Seaver of the blog Genea-musings. Thanks guys.
This record is a real treasure as it shows the original middle names of twin boys born to William C. Johnson and Maria Julson. The twin named Alfred M. Johnson was my paternal grandfather. Until this document was found, I had no idea what the middle name was for his twin Albert.
I have been enjoying the items from Ancestry.com found in the Evangelical Lutheran Church records. In this case, I was following a shaky-leaf hint for the record of Alfred and Albert's sibling when I moved to the year 1893, there the twins were, indexed as JOHNSEN. I have since entered requests to correct the last names due to a "transcription" error. Which is a good reminder that work at transcribing has to be done correctly.
Early on in my family history research I was told for Alfred that the "M." stood for Mariam. In my mind I questioned the use of Mariam as it is typically used for a female, but things like this happens all the time, so I went with what I was told. In truth, most of the records for Alfred only show the initial "M." for his middle name.
Last week I transcribed Alfred's death certificate. You can read that document through this link http://homefolktales.blogspot.com/2016/03/amanuensis-monday-death-certificate-of.html. This document clearly gave his name as Alfred Marem Johnson. Since I received the death certificate first, I thought at that time that his middle name was a phonetic spelling. The informant to the information contained on the death certificate was William Johnson, Alfred's father. He should know his son's name, right?
My current thinking is that I should continue to use Mariam for Alfred's middle name. This is how the family believes it to be and that was confirmed by his father, but I am pleased to offer Myron as an alternate name in my family tree database. I am also pleased to update the name of Alfred's twin to my family tree database to Albert Walter Johnson (1893-1896). In the meantime, for additional input I need to send a letter of inquiry to this family's oldest living descendant as soon as I can and go back through all the research and notes I have on Alfred to try and clarify further his middle name.
For format, once again I cannot follow the appearance as closely as I would like. In order to keep the font to a size that is readable, I need to change the horizontal layout into a vertical list. I will present the handwritten information in italics. Also this document is a combination of English and Norwegian; I am trying my best at translation, but I could be wrong. The translations and my comments are presented in square brackets [ ]. My Norwegian-speaking followers are welcome to post corrections in the Comments area. Since there is only a little in Norwegian, I hope I have right.
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| IMAGE: Full page view - pgs 16 & 17; showing births and baptisms for 1892-1894, Lake Preston Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lake Preston, Kingsbury Co., South Dakota.[1] |
Snippet view of this record:
-------- transcription begins --------
[page] 16
Döbte i Aaret 1892
[Baptisms in the Year 1892]
[actually contains dates from late 1892, all of 1893 & early 1894]
Fødsels Dato
[Date of Birth]
14 2/12/93 [December 2, 1893]
15 2/12/93 [December 2, 1893]
Daap Dato
[Date of Baptism]
[14] 24/12/93 [December 24, 1893]
[15] 24/12/93 [December 24, 1893]
Barnets Navn
[Child's Name]
[14] Alfred Myron Johnson
[15] Albert Walter Johnson
Foreldrenes Navne
[Parents' Names]
[14] Wilhelm Johnson, Maria Johnson
[15] " " " "
1892 [page] 17
Faddernes Navne
[Godparents' Names]
[14] J. Lange, Anna Lange, John Julson, Emma Strand
[15] " " " "
Fram.
[Remarks]
[14 & 15] Tvillinger
[Twins]
-------- transcription ends --------
Source:
1. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America,"U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940" database and images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 February 2016), entry for Alfred Myron Johnsen and Albert Walter Johnsen, lines 14 and 15, 2 December 1893.
The URL for this post is: http://homefolktales.blogspot.com/2016/03/amanuensis-monday-birth-record-of.html
Please comment regarding this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then use the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Or contact me by email at dsteff4246[at]gmail[dot]com. Glad you stopped by today. My "happy dance" is finished now.
Copyright (c) 2016, Darlene M. Steffens. All rights reserved.
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