Family History.....

So here it is, all my thoughts regarding finding my paternal great grandmother. 

The story goes that my grandfather was born in 1900, and came to the US in 1903 from Sweden, as his mother had gotten pregnant and apparently decided to split for greener pastures.  (there's a story that says she was knocked up by one of the Royalty, but he couldn't marry her because she was a peasant girl.... ok.)  So I'm obsessed with finding the truth, because my grandmother was very sketchy about details.  Checking all the incoming records accessible for 1903 and the years surrounding it, I cannot locate Christine Hendrickson.  Only one who fits the time frame arrived in 1897- alone.  But her birth year doesn't match up. 

According to "facts" - my great grandmother Christine is listed as born in 1865.  That means she was 35 when Harold was born.  And if she's unmarried, why did she give him the last name "Danielson" ?  Because he was Daniel's son - which is how they came about the name?  And if so, did she lie and say she was a widow or something so she wouldn't be looked down upon by the townfolk?    Oddities.

Searching the US Census records for 1900, 1910, 1920,  I show my grandfather in the 1910 Census as a 9 yr old boy.  However, his mother isn't listed in that census at all.  Hmmm.  Was he living with another family at the time, for the time being, because she was off looking for work elsewhere?  There is a Christine Hendrickson listed in another county where the data seems to match up better.  Oddities.

The only Christine Hendrickson that appears to match up logically with grandpa shows her birthdate in 1877, making her only 23 when she had grandpa.  All these crazy facts that don't line up, and no one left to confirm or deny.   I know my grandmother and grandpa lived with her during her last years ... perhaps this was in another county?  More investigations need to be done.   *sigh*  in some ways, I wonder why i even care... it doesn't matter now, most of them aren't here any longer.    But I just know in my heart there's something more to the story, because of how sketchy Grandma always was when I wanted to ask questions.  

OK... time to shower, then maybe a little more time researching on the internet. 

Happy Monday!