I'm looking for Jennie Miller Sorenson/Swanson b1843.
I am looking for my 2nd great grandmother Jennie Miller nee Swanson/Sorenson. She immigrated in 1854 from Norway with her family. She was born in October 1843. She married Joseph Miller in 1863 and had her first child Joseph Jr. in 1864 in Grand Haven Wisconsin. Her parents might have been Harris Sorenson and F.M. Sorenson as listed on a marriage record to Joseph Miller in Portage, Columbia County, Wisconsin.
She has been a dead end and I'm hoping for find some information.
Thanks
Answers
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Is this person in Family Tree? Do you have all the sources you have found attached to her there? They are going to need to be scoured for clues and everything in the US about her needs to be found.
This is a very hard problem for several reasons.
I have seen the name Jennie in Norwegian records in the early 1900s but never in the mid-1800s so this has a high likelihood of not being her name in Norway.
Her possible father, Harris, does not have a Norwegian name either.
In the 1840's she probably would have been going by her patronymic and not Swanson or Sorenson.
Being born in 1843 and emigrating in 1854, she missed the major censuses in Norway. And emigration records are not very good in the 1850s. Also, I have seen a lot of instances where there are major differences between birthdates in US records and a person's actual birthdate in the Norwegian parish records.
It seems that often, not always, when people took a new name in the US that they kept the same initial letter. If that is the case here, then your actual problem is to find:
J. H...datter maybe born Oct 1843, with parents H. Sørenson and F. M. somewhere in Norway.
It looks like this is one record for her in Family Tree:
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GQ6N-T9F
Is there another one that has the marriage record? Have you found her in all possible US census records? If she immigrated when she was 11, she probably came with her parents and if she got married in 1863, she is probably with her parents in the 1860 census. That might have some clues.
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The links below seem to be a correct series of census records for your Joseph Miller and Jennie. None of them are attached to anyone in Family Tree so if these are the family you are working on, they need to be properly attached with all the children put in so people trying to help can get a full picture of this family and so the automatic routines can start working for you.
US 1870: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD4R-HQW (questionable but consistent with the 1875 census)
Minnesota 1875 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKN1-MB8
US 1880: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZ9R-BFY
Minnesota 1885: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQFJ-578
Minnesota 1895: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQDS-37X
US 1900: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M93Z-CK4
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This must be the marriage record you are referring to:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRL9-P2R
If you are confident this is the correct marriage record for them, then that makes me happier about the 1870 census where Jennie is also called Jane. What is the evidence you have that this is the correct marriage record? If it isn't, using Jane's parent's names from here will take you far astray.
Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any 1860 census records for a Harris Sorensen. It's too bad there is not an image for the marriage record. The microfilm it is on has not been digitized yet. His name may not be Harris.
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Hi Gordon,
You are amazing
Thank you. I have my data in Ancestry and am trying to figure out how to upload it into Family Search. Regarding the marriage certificate you mention above; I have the original on order from Wisconsin but it's taking a while due to covid
I'm hoping there might be additional information. I do believe this is the correct Jane/Joseph. WRT Jennies father Harris, I agree not a Norwegian name however looking through the early census records I belive they were "Americanizing" so to speak, their names. So there is a possiblity that Harris could have started out as Hans. There is strong evidence that Jennie is actually Christine and I'm trying to get my hands on her burial records as I'm not seeing where I can order a death certificate from Minnesota. This is who I think she is...https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5655209/christina-miller
Hans Sorensen (KH7Y_WDW) and Anna Maria Gjersdatter (KNHZ_LVN) had a daughter Ragnil Kristine Hansen (KHTP-GDB) which would fit. This family is my focus at the moment to see if I can get any clarification on Ragnil. As you mention...source is everything and I treat all family tree information as suspect until I can make a clear connection.
Diane
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At the death of Jane/Jennie's child, Joseph, the record indicates his mother is Jennie Swanson. I agree with Gordon, this is a family that would be very difficult to find.
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Oh my, Ragnil Kristine Hansdatter with father Hans Sørensson becoming Jennie Sorensen with father Harris Sorensen. I've seen worse.
That is an intriguing headstone. Age 62 in 1908 gives a birth year of about 1846 which isn't too far off. I see the back of the headstone has Joseph Miller died 26 Dec 1913 age 74, so a calculated birth year of 1839 which is again off a couple of years. Hope you can get death records of both of these two.
So this Joseph should be alive in the 1910 census but I see him right off hand.
Since this Joseph and Christina are buried in Red Lake County, Minnesota, first assumption would be that they died there. You can order death record information from that county for 1875 on from their county government website here:
(I just googled "Red Lake county death records" to find this.)
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Joseph Miller 1931 death certificate. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6X4Y-HS
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Swanson/Sorensen would be an easy mistake to make when a wife is trying to remember her mother-in-law's maiden name twenty five years after that mother-in-law had passed away. (I know it was something Norwegian starting with S, but what was it exactly?)
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Thank you! I do have the death record of both Joseph Sr. and Joseph Jr. I have an email into the Holy Trinity Catholic Church to see if they have any more detail. His original burial was
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32810616/joseph-miller
I also have an email into the Red Lake Falls Historical Society to see if they know anything. In my searching I was being too big picture and didn't even think about lookiing in the country record for Jennys Death Certificate (DOH!) Thanks so much Gordon for pointing me in this direction, i'll be ordering today.
I have always belived that Jennie was a nickname as she was Jenne, Jennie, Jane, etc in all of the census I could find and it would be close to Jensdatter (which was my original thought). And then with Christina Miller in Red Lake Falls and my 2nd great grandfather being moved there, my focus became Christine Swanson. Swanson was the only name I could find on her for quite a while as it was listed on my great grandfathers death certificate which Shari so kindly posted above. So then Swanson (amreicanized IMHO) became Sorenson/sen, Svendson/sen, Svendson/sen, etc. The 1900 census states that she immigrated in 1854. I could only find one ship log coming into New York and the probability she came through Quebec with her family is high.
I belive she lived in Wisconsin in 1860 but census records for that time are sparce from what i can see. With the marriage license of Jane/Joseph (currently on order) I am doing a deep focus of the Portage Wisconsin area for infomation on both Miller/Sorenson. I also have on order some books about the Norwegian Immigration and where they settled. Am anxious to see if there is any mention there about the villiages and names I am looking for.
I've hit a brick wall which is why I've started posting as it's always good to get a fresh perspective and insight. My family is very interested in genealogy only as so far as I serve up data so it's fun to be chatting with people that have the same passion as I do.
Back to digging.... Will update my post if I find anything interesting.
Diane
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Sounds like you've done a lot of hard work!
More confusion to deal with though. If the Joseph Miller that you posted was here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32810616/joseph-miller with death date 19 Dec 1912
was moved to Red Lake and is the person on the back of Christina Millers headstone you posted was here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5655209/christina-miller
with what appears to be the back of it being here:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5655211/joseph-miller
why does this Joseph Miller headstone have a death date of 26 Dec 1913?
Once again, I wish you the best sorting all this out.
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Exactly! Hoping the documents I order from Red Lake Falls County will shed some light.
Thanks again for your expertise Gordon
Diane
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