The voyage of the TradeWind

Last October Tripp and I made a pilgrimage to Decorah, Iowa so that we could explore the trails and bluffs … Continue reading The voyage of the TradeWind

More family mysteries solved!

Last fall I spent a couple days in my mother’s hometown of Madison, Minnesota trying to find answers to two … Continue reading More family mysteries solved!

Today, October 11, 2021, is Indigenous Peoples Day as declared by the Governor of Minnesota and the President of the … Continue reading In Minnesota we are all living on stolen land

Some years ago I wrote about my maternal great-grandfather, John Martinus Femrite. The post was titled “What ever happened to … Continue reading The life and times of J. M. Femrite, pt. 2

The other day I realized that I’ve written much more about my grandfathers in this blog than about my grandmothers. … Continue reading Josephine Katherine Tryggeseth

I have become the family historian for both my nuclear and my extended family. In my father’s generation, the family … Continue reading Climbing the family tree

A quarter of my ancestors’ families first arrived in North America in the early to mid-18th century. My paternal grandmother … Continue reading The transatlantic crossings of our immigrant families

I’ve written before about the mysteries and misfortunes inherent in family history and I’ve written a couple of times about … Continue reading ‘Killed by gunshot from landlord’