Tilda Nelson
In the 1885 Nebraska state census of Burt county, the household of my great-grandfather, August Anderson, there appears a nine-year-old girl, Tilda Nelson, whom the census records as August’s “nephew” (presumably actually “niece”). Minnie Cunanan, one of August’s daughters, told me in a 1974 interview: “Dad’s mother’s sister came to this country and had two children. Or was it three? Anyway, she decided she couldn’t take care of them, so she gave them away. And the oldest girl, Tilda, was then, oh, twelve, thirteen years old. And Dad said no, he didn’t want her given away, he’d take Tilda. So Tilda stayed at home until they left Nebraska. I used to write to her. She wrote, but pretty soon I didn’t get any answer. Tilda Nilsson was her name before she was married. I don’t remember what her married name was.”
August Anderson’s mother was Sara Maria Persdotter. Swedish parish records show that she was one of at least eight children. One brother was Franz Otto, known in America as Otto Peterson; the sister to whom Minnie referred was Johanna Charlotta Persdotter, b. in Ulrika, Östergötland, Sweden 4 Mar 1841. Swedish records indicate that she was married to Nils Gustaf Svensson in Ulrika 27 Dec 1867, and that they had at least five children: Anders Petter Oskar Nilsson (b. 31 Jul 1868), a stillborn daughter (25 Nov. 1871), Tilda Karolina (b. 22 Aug. 1876), Carl Axel Emil (b. 18 Feb 1880), and Sofia Kristina (b. 23 Oct 1882). These children were all born in Malexander, Östergötland, Sweden. Nils Svensson died 21 Jan 1883; apparently his widow came to the United States some time not long thereafter. She has not been located in the 1885 Nebraska state census.
The question is: what became of Johanna, her daughter Tilda, and the one or two other children that Minnie remembered?
The brother of Johanna and Sara, Otto Peterson, died in Cuming co. NE 8 Jan 1916. In his obituary in Oakland Independent (21 Jan 1916), he is said to be survived (besides his wife and children) by sister, Mrs. Hannah Nelson, of DeKalb, Illinois. In the DeKalb Daily Chronicle there appears, on 1 Feb 1919, an obituary for Mrs. Hannah Nelson. It says that the “nearly 78” year old woman “spent her early life in Sweden, being born there in 1841. She was married at her home in the foreign country, her husband having passed away a few years after her marriage. A few years later she came to this country and for the last 15 years has made her home here with her daughter [Mrs. William Murray].” The obituary indicates that she died “last night”—i.e., 31 January 1919.
The DeKalb county death certificate for Johanna Nelson, on the other hand, indicates that she died 4 Feb. 1919—clearly (and oddly) wrong, since her obituary had appeared three days earlier. It gives her birthdate as 4 Mar 1844—again apparently not correct, since the Swedish records indicate 1841. However, it should be noted that the informant on the death certificate is William Murray, her son-in-law, who may simply not have known accurately her date of birth. Her father’s name is not listed, but her mother’s maiden name is listed as “A. Anderson”—again, incorrect, though Anderson was her married name. But both of Johanna’s parents died many years before Murray married Johanna, and he likely never knew them.
Johanna’s obituary lists her survivors as her daughters, Mrs. William Murray of DeKalb, and Mrs. Althea Geisler of Nebraska, and a son, F. E. Nelson of Macon, Missouri. Mrs. William Murray seems clearly to be the “Tilda Nelson” who lived with the August Anderson family. Her obituary in the DeKalb Daily Chronicle 14 Oct. 1957 states that she was born in Linkoping, Sweden 22 Aug. 1876, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nels Swensen. The date and parents’ names are a match; she was actually born in Malexander parish, but Linkoping is the closest city of any size. The obituary names her children, as well as a sister, Mrs. Althea Geistler [sic] of Nebraska.
This Althea Geisler is apparently the Sofia Kristina listed in the Swedish records as the youngest daughter of Nils and Johanna. She was born in 1882, shortly before her father’s death, and so was just an infant when her mother brought her to the United States. Her obituary in the Fremont (Nebraska) Tribune appeared 10 Oct. 1966. It states that “she was born Oct. 23, 1882 in Sweden but came to live in the Oakland vicinity one year after birth.” In the 1885 Nebraska state census, there is an Althea Nelson listed as a daughter in the household of John N. and Ingrid Nelson; she is three years old (i.e., b. ca. 1882). In the Social Security Applications and Claims Index, her name is given as Althea Nel[son?] Geistler, and her parents are listed as Nels Nelson and Johanna Peterson—again, not quite right (her father was Nils Svensson), but an understandable confusion if the family all went by Nelson in America. In the 1900 census of DeKalb county IL, there is an Althea S. K. Hubbill, age 17, b. Oct. 1882 in Sweden, listed as the daughter of Lusina C. [?] Hubbill (b. 1820 in New York). This Althea Hubbill married Wallace Geisler in DeKalb county 6 Mar 1901 (according to Geisler’s obituary). The Geislers appear in the 1910 census of DeKalb county, and Lucina C. Hubil is in their household, age 88, listed as “mother-in-law” of Wallace. Note the initials in the 1900 census—S. K. for Sofia Kristina? Was Sofia “adopted” by another family and given the name “Althea”? Were the John and Ingrid Nelson in 1885 related in some way to this family? Who were the Hubbills? (Lucina Hubbell [sic] died 27 Apr 1910 “at the home of her daughter” in DeKalb, according to her obituary.)
Who is the F. E. Nelson, named as a son of Johanna in her obituary? I have not been able to find him in Macon MO or elsewhere. The two known sons of Johanna and Nils are Anders Petter Oskar, b. 1868, and Carl Axel Emil, b. 1880; but how do either of those names translate to “F. E.”? Or did they have another son who has not been found in the Swedish records? There is an F. E. Nelson in DeKalb co. IL in the 1910 census, just two households away from the Geislers. He is 30 years old, born in Sweden—so could conceivably be the son born Carl Axel Emil. In his household is his mother Anna, age 70—could she be an “adoptive” mother, or could that actually be Johanna?
Why was Johanna known as Johanna Nelson? The only explanation that occurs to me is that, since her children were surnamed Nelson (because their father was Nils), it was just simpler for her to take that name as well—but why would that be important if she had “given them away”? Or is it possible that she married again in America to a Nelson (though no such marriage is hinted at in her obituary)?
