My husband is descended through his daughter, Elizabeth (Neely) Snyder/Snider.
Clark County IN Will Book E, pages 43-45
Know all men by these presents that I Alexander D. Neely of the County of Clark and State of Indiana, being in good health, and in my usual state of mind do hereby make this my last will and testament.
First I hereby appoint James Neely my son my Executor. I hereby will to my daughter Elizabeth Snyder, the sum of Two Hundres dollars, in money in be paid to her out of my estate, by my said Executor. I also hereby will to my daughter Lucinda Lewman, Two Hundred dollars in money to be paid by my said Executor out of my estate. I do hereby will my daughter Sarah Stierheim, the sum of Two Hundred dollars, to be paid by said Executor out of my estate. I also will to my daughter Mary Johnson, the sum of Two Hundred dollars to be paid by the said Executor out of my estate. I also will to my son James Neely, the sum of Two Hundred dollars, out of the estate. I do also will my grandson John Williams, the sum of Fifty dollars provided he comes forward and proves his heirship, and it is my will further that my wife Sarah Neely is to be well taken care of and provided for during her natural life and it is my Will that James my Executor, shall see she is provided for properly and in a proper manner.
It is also my will that all my funeral expenses be paid by said Executor and whatever balance of money may be over the amount I have herein specified and willed and order I wish and will that my Executor James Neely to have descresionary power over and to disburse it in a proper manner amongst the members of my family as it would seem right and just,–as withness my hand and seal this 26 day of Octiber 1861.
Alexander D. Neely
Subscribed by the testator in our presence and by us subscribed as withnessed in his presence and at his request Oct. 26, 1861.
C.P. Ferguson
J.D. Rodgers
PEDER A. MELHUS FUNERAL MONDAY
Body of Former Resident Who Died at Rochester, Minn. is Buried Here
The body of Peder A. Melhus, formerly a Franklin resident who died at Rochester, Minn., on Thursday of last week, was received here on Monday this week for interment in Franklin Lutheran cemetery. Funeral services were held at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, May 8, at St. Luke’s church in Franklin, Rev. Henry Rydland, pastor of the church, conducting the last rites for the dead. The church had been beautifully prepared for the funeral, members of the Ladies Aid society and old friends of the Melhus family having brought plants and flowers for the occasion. The funeral was directed by C E Freeman.
Peder A. Melhus was born in Indreoen, Norway, April 8, 1838. He received baptism in his home parish and was later confirmed there in the Christian faith. Later he had the sad misfortune of following his first wife to the grave only a comparatively short time after their marriage. To their union was born a son, Peder Andrew, who at present resides at Dunsith, N.D. In 1874 he was united in marriage with Anna Margrethe Quam. They immigrated to America in 1888 and located at Franklin, Renville county, Minnesota, where they resided until his wife passed away on August 28, 1916. The death of his faithful life companion bore heavily upon him and in 1917 he left Franklin, selling the old home, to live with his daughters in Minneapolis. After considerable illness, he died at Rochester, Minn., on May 4, 1922, while there seeking medical aid.
To the second marriage five children were born and all remain to mourn the loss of a kind and faithful father. Mrs. Robert McAloney, Mrs. T. F. Sanchez, and A. M. Melhus of Minneapolis. J.C. Melhus of Drady, N.D. and P.M. Melhus of Minot, N.D.
Peder A. Melhus was a member of the former Trinity church of Franklin and as such was honored and respected for his good confession both in word and deed. The sympathy of this community is freely extended to the mourning children and relatives.
The children attending the funeral were Mr. and Mrs. T.F. Sanchez, Mrs. Robert McAloney, and A.M. Melhus of Minneapolis, and P.M. Melhus of Minot, N.D. Pall bearers were: J.H. Elstad, A.O. Lund, John Jacobson, Oscar Johnson, Ed H. Anderson and Hans Jensen.
I know that St. Lucia Day isn’t until the 13th, but I thought that by posting this early, maybe some of you could enjoy it this year!
Ever since seeing this picture of my grandma – Eleanore Sonia Bergman (she is the 4th girl from the left), I have been intrigued by St. Lucia Day. I had actually never heard of it before and I initially wondered what on earth this was a picture of. It didn’t take much web-searching before I found what I was looking for. Gotta love Google. St. Lucia Day is a very popular occasion in Sweden, although not an actual holiday.
Eleanore’s parents were from Sweden, and they lived in the very Scandinavian neighborhood of Ballard in Seattle, WA. I am assuming that this picture was taken in the Ballard area. I never knew my grandmother to be religious, but perhaps she went to church growing up – or maybe this was done at a community center. She was born in 1922, so I’m assuming that this picture was taken around 1940. It’s hard for me to tell how old she is here, but they all look to be teenagers to me.
The picture is very typical of what I’ve seen online. Girls in white dresses with wreaths on their heads and candles in their hands. One girl chosen as St. Lucia with the candles on her head. The only thing that I notice is “missing” are the red sashes that are typically worn around their waists.
The thing I find odd about the photo is the guys in the background with the funny hats. They look like cooks or something. Were they selling hot dogs on the street and just came in for the picture?
After some more searching online, I found many videos of St. Lucia Day. I think that just about everything has been You Tubed. 🙂
I noticed that the boys in the videos are wearing what looks like wizard hats. Tall, pointy, with stars on them. I guess that the guys in the above picture were simply wearing a version of that.
The song that they sing is absolutely beautiful. I had heard it before, but hadn’t realized that it was sung on this particular day.
Isn’t it a beautiful tradition? There is just something so calming about the music and the candles on one of the longest nights of the year.
Sorry I included so many videos, but I just couldn’t choose. I will definitely be adding this song to my Christmas playlist. 🙂
Here is some information on St. Lucia Day in Sweden (from www.whychristmas.com):
Around Christmas time in Sweden, one of the biggest celebrations is St. Lucia’s Day (or St. Lucy’s Day) on December 13th. The celebration comes from stories that were told by Monks who first brought Christianity to Sweden.
St Lucia was a young Christian girl who was martyred, killed for her faith, in 304AD. The most common story told about St Lucia is that she would secretly bring food to the persecuted Christians in Rome, who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city. She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. Lucy means ‘light’ so this is a very appropriate name.
December 13th was also the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the old Julian calendar and a pagan festival of lights in Sweden was turned into St. Lucia’s Day.
St. Lucia’s Day is now celebrated by a girl dressing in a white dress with a red sash round her waist and a crown of candles on her head. (Normally electric candles are used for safety!) The crown is made of Lingonberry branches which are evergreen and symbolise new life in winter. Schools normally have their own St. Lucias and some town and villages also choose a girl to play St. Lucia in a procession where carols are sung.
A national Lucia is also chosen. Lucias also visit hospitals and old people’s homes singing a song about St Lucia and handing out ‘Pepparkakor’, ginger snap biscuits.
Small children sometimes like dressing up as Lucia (with the help of their parents!). Also boys might dress up as ‘Stjärngossar’ (star boys) and girls might be ‘tärnor’ (like Lucia but without the candles).
A popular food eaten at St. Lucia’s day are ‘Lussekatts’, St Lucia’s day buns flavoured with saffron and dotted with raisins which are eaten for breakfast.
I would really like the opportunity to attend a St. Lucia Day ceremony. I wonder if any of the local Lutheran churches celebrate it. I would much rather watch it in Sweden though. 🙂 Have any of you ever seen this ceremony before?
As much fun as I had last night scanning in old slides from my childhood, I think that I’m having even more fun today.
I pulled out a box of negatives – many of which I’ve never seen the pictures to. They are a larger format than my scanner takes (it is made for 35mm film), but I was able to fit them in anyway. The only problem is that I can’t scan the entire picture in at one time. It’s fine as long as the picture isn’t a close up and there isn’t anything important around the edges.
I have noticed that I seem to scan them in upside down about 75% of the time. All of the letters/numbers in my pictures are backwards. I suppose I should take my time and do it again the correct way. Now that I own the scanner, I can do that. I was just too excited to take my time this scanning session. I wanted to see what I had!
I just wanted to cry when I saw some of these pictures though. Like this one of my grandfather:
And this one of my grandmother:
I’ll be sharing more of my great finds over the coming weeks!
December 10 – Christmas Gifts
What were your favorite gifts, both to receive and to give? Are there specific gift-giving traditions among your family or ancestors?
I must have been quite the nerd as a kid. I know it. I suppose I still am. 🙂
One of the gifts that I remember as being amongst my favorite was a full-sized globe that had a light in it. I seriously thought that was the coolest thing on earth. Come to think of it, I wish I still had it. I’d plug it in right now and stare at all of the places I want to travel. 🙂
As I got a bit older, I always did the shopping with my mom and most of the surprise gifts were gone. I was usually there when she bought my present. 🙂 No anticipation for Christmas Day, huh? I guess that’s what happens when you’re the oldest. You get recruited into shopping and present wrapping and envelope addressing duty.
