RootsChat.Com
Research in Other Countries => United States of America => US Lookup Requests => Topic started by: Mumfy on Sunday 16 September 12 05:37 BST (UK)
-
Hi
I am trying to find this lady in Richmond Valley, Stratton Island (I presume now Staten Island) in 1928. My husband's ancestor (Arthur M. Nelson) travelled from Sydney, Australia in 1928 to visit her. She is noted in the Immigration records as being his sister and the reason for his visit to the US. He is aged 67 at the time and I am trying to find out which of his sisters this might have been.
One possibility is a lady named Frederikke Frandsen who arrived in New York in 1890 aged 21 years. If she married a Mr Matson (or Madsen) then this might prove that she is the one. But so far I haven't been able to trace any record of a marriage.
Any help would be much be much appreciated as I think I've hit a brick wall with this.
Mumfy
-
Mercy!!!
Just to get my thinking wrapped around this one.
Arthur arrives in Vancouver Canada in 1928.
Now the silly questions:
How many sisters did he have? Were they all born in Denmark?
Maureen
-
Hi Maureen
Thanks for such a rapid response!
Arthur (Anton Martinus Nielsen) left Denmark as a young man and emigrated to Australia. I found a number of 'possible' members of his family in Denmark in the IGI - parents and three brothers all born in Aarhus.
Then I found a genealogy website in Denmark which seemed to indicate that there were three sisters born to this same couple (who had the four boys) but the girls, who were also all born in Aarhus, have the surname Andersen not Nielsen.
From that website it would appear that Arthur's father dies and his mother remarries. Frederikke Frandsen b. 1869 is the child of his mother's second marriage and his half sister. And given that I have found a record of a Frederikke Frandsen arriving in New York in 1890, it seemed plausible that she might have married a Mr Matson/Madsen and become the lady living in Richmond Valley, Stratton Island who Arthur travelled all the way from Australia to visit.
Mrs Matson may also have lived in Philadephia. The death notice for Arthur's wife, who dies in Sydney in 1943, says that she has been to New York and Philadelphia.
In 1928 Arthur arrives in Seattle/Vancouver and Victoria and is then said to be traveling on to New York. I guess the boat journey from Sydney via Auckland, Suva and Honolulu took him to the west coast.
Cheers
Mumfy
-
Mumfy,
Wasn't the Fred* Frandsen woman arriving in NY married with children?
Have you found Arthur's wife on any arrival records?
Maureen
-
Hi Maureen
The Frederikke I found arrived on the Lahn on the 3 May 1890 aged 21. The column indicating whether people are married doesn't indicate she's married. It's noted "Calling" and someone else further up the list has "Wife" written against her name... Frederikke has 'none' written against hers.
I can't find any trace of Arthur's wife (Emily) arriving in the USA but then I don't think the records that I have access to are comprehensive.
Cheers
Mumfy
-
A possibility on the New York City bride's index on www.italiangen.org:
Freda Frantzen & John Matsen married on 25 Aug. 1896 in Manhattan
-
I wonder if this might be that Freda from the bride's index: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MSLY-X96 It says they had been married for 4 years, and Freda had 2 children (presumably the youngest two).
On the death index on italiangen.org, there is a death for John Matsen in 1904 that may fit this man.
-
Thanks Shelly for taking a look at this conundrum.
I've just had a quick look at the family search link to the Census page and got quite excited about it but there are a couple of hiccoughs: firstly this lady is born in April 1867 but the person I was looking for was, I think, born 4 Apr 1869. I guess there could be an error here on someone's part and she could still be the one but the other thing is that the census shows her arrival in the USA as 1894 when I think she arrived (or did she go away and come back again??) in 1890.
I'll take a look at the other link asap.
Cheers
Mumfy
-
Seem to have drawn a blank with this lady as it appears that the Frieda Frandsen who marries Mr Matsen dies in 1907, not long after his death in 1904. So she wouldn't have been there for a visit in 1928.
I'll double check to see if I can find her death but there are two trees on Ancestry showing this.
Mumfy
-
Maybe we need to consider that Mrs. Matson might have been one of Arthur's other sisters.
-
While family trees can contain incorrect information, and ages on census returns aren't always correct, it does look like Frieda may have passed away prior to 1910. This may be Frieda's son:
1910 Preston, Caroline County, Maryland
Rosman Matsen, age 10, "Home boy", born New York. Living with a Harris family, the family was born in Maryland. Comments for parents' birth are Norway, but looking at the image, it could actually be Not Known.
After a quick search, I can't find Rasman/Rosman in 1920.
You mentioned Arthur had several sisters. Are there other names that you can give us, to start a new search, please?
Sorry - thinking and typing, while Shelly posted her question.
-
Looking for one of his other sisters certainly seems like a good idea.
I first found Anton Martinus Nielsen in the IGI, born 1860 in Aarhus, Denmark along with four brothers but not a sister in sight ??? But the baptism in 1860 and the place of baptism Aarhus, tallied with information on his records from the ship Friedeberg on which he travels to Brisbane, Australia - departing Hamburg 22 June 1878 aged 18, previous place of residence Aarhus and country Denmark.
Here are the four boys with their parents from the IGI: Parents: Niels Andersen Moller and Mette Jensdr and their sons baptised in Storring: Anders 1856 / Jens 1858 / Anton Martinus 1860 / Jens Christian 1863 - all with the surname Nielsen.
Later on I came across a genealogy website in Denmark which seemed to indicate that this couple (Niels Anderson Moller and Mette Jensdatter) had other children born prior to those listed, it included Anders and Jens but not the two younger boys. Here are the names included on that website:
Andersen, Ane Sofie 1849 (there's a christening for Ane Sophie Andersen on the IGI 18 Nov 1849)
Andersen, Ane Mette b. 15 Nov 1851 (christening on the IGI 11 Jan 1852)
Andersen, Jensine b. 10 Jan 1854 (christening on the IGI 4 May 1854)
Nielsen, Anders b. 27 Nov 1855 (christening on IGI 1 June 1856)
Nielsen, Jens b. 25 Apr 1858 (christening on IGI 6 June 1858)
This website indicated that Niels Andersen Moller dies 11 Sep 1864 and following her husband's death, Mette Jensdatter marries Soren Frandsen on 11 Nov 1865. Frederikke Frandsen b. 4 Apr 1869 is the only child of this marriage noted here on this webpage and she's the Freda/Frieda Frandsen/Frantzen I was hoping to find in Richmond Valley Staten Island in 1928.
I guess I'd better double check that website and make sure there are no other daughters from the second marriage! Otherwise I'm looking for Ane Sofie Andersen, Ane Mette Andersen or Jensine Andersen who married a Mr Matson.
Cheers
Mumfy
-
Thank you for the added information.
Is there a street address in New York (on the 1928 passenger record)?
-
Hi Lisa
The Seattle Washington Passenger and Crew Lists just had "Sister Mrs Matson, Stratton Island, New York". But the boat seems to have travelled on to Vancouver and the Canadian Passenger List says: "Thru to New York sister Mrs Matson Richmond Valley Stratton Isld New York".
When I saw other census records with street names and numbers, I realised how much more helpful it could've been with an actual address!
Cheers
Mumfy
-
Unfortunately, I'm not yet finding anything.
Have you tried looking for his return to Australia? Maybe he gave a full address then?
-
Is there a chance Arthur's brothers may have visited their sister? Have you tried looking for a passenger list for his brothers?
-
The only information I could glean about his departure was that someone appears to have written in pencil/pen on the passenger arrival record "Left US at New York 8.1.28" which I presume means 1 August 1928 and tallies with the comment that he was planning to stay 2 - 3 months. He arrived 31 May 1928.
However, he must have visited on more than one occasion and his wife Emily (called 'Nelson' as he was in Australia) made the journey too but I have not found any more passenger records in or out of the USA or Australia.
Cheers
Mumfy
-
I don't know much at all about Arthur's brothers. Had presumed that he was the only person to travel to Australia. It is possible that one or more of the others travelled to the USA either to live or to visit.
Cheers
Mumfy
-
Last question for the night. Do you know when and where Emily was born, please?
-
Emily was born in Deniliquin New South Wales, Australia in 1861.
Cheers
Mumfy
-
I'm not very familiar with the US Census records having only just started to look at them. Can someone please tell me if it's possible to find the records for Richmond Valley on Staten Island in say 1930 and then wander up and down the streets? (I've done this before with UK records, where it's possible to search by address, or when it's been hard to find someone for whom the entry has been mis-transcribed or missed out altogether.
Cheers
Mumfy
-
I don't know if there's really strict border for that neighborhood as there would be for a town or city. This gives some description of it - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Valley,_Staten_Island
There are some results here for the 1930 census for Richmond County for people born in Norway and named something similar to Matson: http://www.rootschat.com/links/0r8d/
-
Thanks for the link. I just tried to find Richmond Valley on a google map and now have a vague idea where it is in relation to other places nearby, eg Pleasant Plains. This might help! Am on a learning curve in how to work with the US Census records which is something new to me.
Mumfy