Early Romanian Immigration Video Project

Everyone has a story to tell, and I am involved in a project that attempts to share some of them.

Over the past year I have been deeply committed to two projects related to Romanian immigration to Saint Paul and South Saint Paul, Minnesota. Through funding provided by a Minnesota Legacy Grant, in 2013 I worked with a team to record and preserve oral histories of eleven people who are first-generation Romanian immigrants or their children, who came to Minnesota in 1930 or earlier. A subsequent grant in 2014 allowed us to create a documentary video based on those interviews and my own historical research. I worked with other members of Romanian Genealogy Society (www.romaniangenealogy.com) and Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in Minnesota (www.hora-mn.org). You can view a clip about the project here: http://vimeo.com/88775412.

For thirty years I've been fascinated by the study of genealogy. One of the most challenging lines to research is my dad's Romanian branch of the family tree. I've written before about my quest to find more about my great-grandfather, Ilie Moisescu, who was born in 1875 in a place called Nagy Szent Miklos, in what was then Austria-Hungary and is now called Sannicolau Mare, Romania. My ex-husband is also of Romanian descent, and his family came from a town called Nagy Torak, Hungary which is a place near what is now Bececj, Serbia.

When I exhausted available records about the Moisescu and Albu families, I started looking at other Romanian families who came to Saint Paul and South Saint Paul, Minnesota. There were practically whole villages of Romanian people who came to Minnesota in the early 1900s! Most came from the regions of Banat and Transylvania, and they came to this area because of plentiful jobs in the met packing industry, railroads, and foundries. By 1925-1930, some estimate that around 2,000 ethnic Romanians were living in the cities of Saint Paul and South Saint Paul. One newspaper reported that the Eastern Europeans outnumbered the Germans and Norwegians 2:1. Usually men came first, and women followed-- whether to help earn money to go back, or to plant permanent roots here. One thing that surprised me was that many - in fact, I would learn, most - of them went back to Romania. Some families traveled back and forth, when they could afford it and when immigration policies allowed it. Others were never able to reunite with loved ones who were left behind.

Some of the family names mentioned in our interviews are Sarafolean, Evasku/Ivascu, Stoi, Choban, Logajan, Popa, and Stoi. The stories of these early immigrant families are filled with emotions ranging from heartbreak to triumph. Some accounts can be found in newspapers and a few were documented by family members, but the collection of stories and traditions that were documented through the oral history process are priceless now and will be for future generations. I just wish we had started this project about twenty years ago, when the parents of the people we interviewed were still living!

The documentary video will be completed this summer, and a premiere viewing is planned for sometime in September 2014.  We will offer copies of DVD and Blu-ray discs for sale, and it will be aired on local cable TV channel 14 in Northern Dakota County. The program will certainly be of interest to anyone with immigrant roots, regardless of your ethnic heritage, and to those who live or have lived in the Twin Cities.

Hungarian postcards

I have these postcards which are about 100 years old and written in Hungarian, and I wonder if anyone can help to translate them.

The first postcard is addressed to "Tek Mojszezku Iles" in Torontal, Nagy Szent Miklos, Hungary (now Sinnicolau Mare, Romania.) My great-grandparents were Ilie Moisescu from Sinnicolau Mare and Gizela Bartusek from Pest. I believe the card was written by Ilie's brother-in-law Feri (Ferenc) Bartusek who lived in Budapest. It appears to mention his nephew Bela and niece Valeria "Vali."

The second one is addressed to my grandmother Valeria Mojszeszku (the Hungarian spelling of Moisescu) and I am wondering if the address is near Budapest. I'd like to learn what it says, and who it is from. Valeria was only 2 years old in 1911; maybe her father sent it to her from New York? (I say this because I know he immigrated to the U.S. first, and the rest of the family followed in November 1911.)

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Oscar and Anne Hagen, Norwegian Immigrants in 1904

The other day, I found some forgotten notes I made in 1986 when I was talking with my Grandma Hooper, who is now deceased. While Mom and I were visiting Grandma in Oklahoma with my 9-year-old son, and I was pregnant with my daughter, we talked about Grandma's parents who immigrated from Norway in 1904. So it was wonderful to find a reminder of that special visit. 

Grandma Helen with her mom and some siblings near Duluth, around 1908? They look so poor!

 

Friends Agnes Andersen and Helen Hagen in St. Paul, early 1920s.

Oscar and Anne Hagen on 50th wedding anniversary, Washington State, 1955. They immigrated to the U.S. from Norway and were the parents of thirteen children.

Grandma's maiden name was Helen Mary Hagen. Her parents were Oscar Oleson Rustadhagen Hagen (1884-1959) and Anne "Annie" Karine Dybdal (1883-1958), immigrants who went back and forth across the ocean more than once. "My mother's father was a bricklayer in Norway. His family was sort of wealthy until the Germans came; they took her silver," Grandma told me. "The Hagens and the Dybdals lived in Toten, Norway. Grandfather Ingvar Dybdal was 'a character,' and his wife Helena was very stern and strict...  Dad (Oscar) had two sisters there—they took me on a sleigh. Also, in Norway, Mother had a cow. She milked it and made cream and butter and sold it to the neighbors..." Besides stories told by Grandma, we are lucky to have the family history research done by my mom (the source of most of this post). The Hagens' story makes it clear just how very hard our ancestors worked to achieve the "American Dream."

In Norway and in the U.S., Oscar Hagen was  painter. The 1900 Norwegian census shows Annie working as a seamstress. How and where they met is unknown, but family lore has it that Annie’s parents disapproved of her relationship with Oscar and perhaps that’s one reason they left Norway for America. Anne came in the spring of 1904 -- it took 14 days from Oslo to Liverpool to Boston-- and she came to Mabel, Minnesota where she probably had relatives, and worked as a housekeeper for a judge.

Oscar Oleson Rustadhagen would follow in October 1904. Oscar and Annie were married in Mabel, MN on June 8, 1905.  His name as shown on the marriage certificate was Oscar Hagen so he must have dropped the Rustad when he got to America.  Witnesses to the marriage were Karen Mynvold (Annie's friend from Norway) and Erick Grøtberg.  (Some of the Dybdal family used the surname Grøtberg.) No doubt he was a relative of Annie’s.

From 1905 to 1908, the Hagens lived in or near Duluth, Minnesota. Their first child, Oscar "Oskey," was born in November 30, 1905. On November 14, 1906 Helen Mary was born; November 12, 1907 Olney Harold "Pee Wee" arrived; and on November 24, 1908 twin boys were born but died shortly afterward.  The first, Ewald, died on February 9, 1909 from starvation, according to his death certificate, and we don't know if the other child survived long enough to be named. They were living in Proctor, MN, a small town near Duluth. After the death of the twins, Annie and Oscar took their children back to Norway.  She must have been very depressed and homesick.  They lived in the house called “Nystuen,” very near “Bergli" on the old Grøtberg property where Annie’s father was living.

On March 15, 1910 Oscar again left Norway, headed for Duluth on the ship Megantic out of Liverpool, arriving in Boston on March 23.  The U.S. census for 1910 shows him living in Duluth as a boarder and working as a painter for the railroad. Another boarder at the same household is Even Strand who had accompanied him on the ship from Norway. He must’ve returned to Norway once more at least by December of 1910, because  Alf W. “Snick” Hagen was born in Norway on September 16, 1911.

On April 17, 1912 the family with four children left Norway once more on the ship Oslo for Hull, England, took the train to Liverpool and sailed on the Arabic, arriving in Boston on May 3, 1912. It’s hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for them to travel back then, especially with little kids.  First, they had to get from Toten to Oslo somehow; train/bus?  Then, after arriving in Hull, they had to take the train to Liverpool.  None of the modern day conveniences were available and they had to bring their trunks with clothing, food, and whatever else they required with them.  Besides that, Annie was already pregnant again!  Their destination as reported on the ship’s manifest was Duluth, to join “Uncle” Hans Ostdahl.  They took a train to Minnesota.  

On September 6, 1912 Myrtle was born in MN.  Esther was born in Parkland, WA on May 29, 1914.  How in the world did they get around like that? Lester’s birth occurred January 8, 1916 and Edward "Eddie Boy" was born November 3, 1920, both in St. Paul, MN.  Eddie Boy died in a car accident near Forest Lake, MN on August 3, 1933 at the age of 12.  Vivian entered the world on November 23, 1921 in St. Paul and was delivered by Dr. Bartholomew Leahy.  Dr. Leahy was the head of the family for whom Helen would work a few years later. The Hagen residence as shown on Vivian’s birth certificate was 779 No. Snelling Ave. which was where Grandpa’s painting/decorating business was located.  Forrest "Guy" was born April 1, 1923, and Annie June "Junie" completed the family on June 6, 1925.  Guy and Junie were both born in St. Paul.  

 

On June 30, 1916 Oscar Hagen filed Declaration of Intention papers in St. Paul, MN indicating his desire to become a citizen of the United States, but citizenship was not granted until February 15, 1922. Immigrants who were not naturalized were considered "aliens." The Minnesota Alien Registrations of 1918 show Oscar Hagen residing at 153 University Ave. in St. Paul, MN, having lived there for two months.  He was 33 years old and his wife was living 90 miles away at Barronett, WI where they had a farm.  It indicated he had taken out naturalization papers in St. Paul in 1916; he owned no land in MN, but had land in WI with equity of $150.  In 1986, Helen Hagen said, “Later we moved to Wisconsin for what we thought would be just for the winter. The next winter we moved to either Duluth or St. Paul again. When we lived on a farm in Barronett, Wisconsin, Dad worked in St. Paul. Mom had a miscarriage and went to (the hospital) in Cumberland.”

The 1920 census shows Oscar is living with Annie and the children in Lakeland Township, Barron Co., WI next door to the Gust Dahl family.  According to the 1930 census Oscar and Annie were still living on Wellesley Ave. in St. Paul with all of the children except Olney “Peewee” and Helen.  Peewee had married Hilda Brinkman by that time, and Helen was working as a domestic servant for Dr. Bartholomew Leahy who lived on Fairmount Ave. in St. Paul.  Grandpa Hagen and son Oskey were working as independent painter/decorators and Myrtle was a typist. Snick is unemployed and the others are too young to work.

Around 1941, Oscar and Annie Hagen left for Washington, where they finally stayed put and he continued to work as a painter.  We don’t know if the kids who ended up there went at the same time or not.  The only ones who stayed in Minnesota were Helen and her brother Lester.

Making a living in the early 20th century involved a lot of hard work and determination. Today, Oscar and Annie's descendants are spread across the U.S. We try to stay in touch via letters, e-mail and Facebook, but it is very hard to keep up!

 

 

 

Romanian festivities

On Saturday and Sunday this weekend, I reconnected with my Romanian roots by attending the festivities of the 100th anniversary celebration of St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I can't say with certainty whether our Romanian ancestor, Ilie Moisescu, attended this church, but I think he must have. His family lived in a house at 1031 Farrington Street (the Rice Street area) around 1918, so they must have attended St. Mary's Church, less than a mile away, built in 1913. At any rate, the 100th anniversary is an important event and one not to be missed, so my trusty Romanian genealogy sidekick Dorrene and I were there!
 
Romanians know how to party, so don't think you can just show up for an hour or two. Plan for an evening, or a daylong activity. Saturday night was a banquet and dance for several hundred people at St. Katherine's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Arden Hills; the Sunday afternoon banquet (with somewhat fewer attendees) was held at the church hall. My favorite parts of the weekend celebrations were the PowerPoint presentation on the history of the parish, developed by Father Mircea Vasiu (he did an excellent job!), and the music and dancing. Besides the wonderful Izvorasul Romanian folk dancers led by John Omorean, there was musical entertainment by an orchestra from Chicago on Saturday night.
 
And the food! Sunday's banquet was amazing. While we waited for everyone who came from the church to be seated, we were served baskets of bread. The servers were running back and forth between the downstairs kitchen and the tables upstairs, carrying their their serving trays and food. (Who knows what mayhem went on in the kitchen down below.) We quickly ate all the bread, and someone at our table asked for more. Bread was soon on its way, along with buttery yellow potatoes with parsley. Then the servers - all volunteers from the church - brought sarmale (cabbage rolls), and they were delicious! The cabbage leaves were soured just slightly, and wrapped around tender pork and rice. On top was savory sauerkraut and chunks of partially-rendered bacon fat. I am telling you, this stuff was good! No sooner than we finished we heard the cry, “We haven’t got any meat!” from one of our fellow diners. In a few minutes we were passing around several platters of very moist roast pork loin containing lots of garlic and mushrooms, and served with “mushroom sauce,” which was really a rich gravy. (Calling it “sauce” makes it seem so much healthier, you know.)
 
In case anyone was lacking protein, a while later we were served platters of baked chicken. The dishes were passed around again, and again. When practically nothing was left, the dessert platters were delivered. Immediately, hands grabbed for the choicest treats. Apricot-filled and powdered-sugared cornulete pastries, flaky baklava, walnut-filled breads, cream puffs, and all sorts of chocolate treats were piled high on paper plates, but quickly devoured.
 
After we had eaten all we could, and then some, it was time for the presentations. The time really flew by, and we were all surprised when the clock showed four o'clock.

Afterwards, we were privileged to be part of a group who were invited to present to the Romanian Consul General from Chicago about the work of our organizations. Dorrene and I were able to talk about the goals of Romanian Genealogy Society, and we hope we made a good impression.
 

Bill Moisescu, Romanian immigrant engineer

This week I was fortunate to have a Romanian-speaking friend accompany me to the Immigration History Research Center ("IHRC") at the University of Minnesota. We looked at several primarily Romanian-language collections. For my personal research, I wanted to find the copy of "America" newspaper that mentioned my great-uncle's graduation from the U of M in 1929. I had the date of publication, so it was easy. Here is the story we found, including a photo of Great Uncle Bela (who used the names "Bill" or "William" in the U.S.) Moisescu:

The date of the newspaper is 2 July 1929. "America" was a national newspaper published in the Romanian language in Cleveland, Ohio and widely read by Romanian immigrants in the early 1900s. I am sure that his parents were extremely proud of his achievement. Loosely translated, it says, "A New Roumanian Engineer.  Mr. William Moisescu graduated on June 17 with a diploma in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He is originally from Sannicolaul Mare, county of Torontal, and immigrated with his parents in 1911, living in St. Paul and now in South St. Paul, Minnesota." I don't speak Romanian and I neglected to have it translated properly (I will do so), but I believe it says that he was offered a job at Bucyrus Erie Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and that he was the first Romanian in Minnesota to graduate from that university. By December 1929, however, Bill was working as chief architect at the Swift & Co. meat packing plant in South St. Paul, where he lived until he moved to California in 1970. He never had any children.

In 1984, Bill wrote, "All I can hazily remember going to school at the U for 5 days to 6 days a week, hiking down the hill from 9th Avenue, taking street car to St. Paul, transferring, taking another one to Minneapolis. Riding the darn things for 1-1/2 to 2 hours each way. Carried a lunch, had a bowl of baked beans and a slice of buttered bread for 15c at White Castle for supper. I didn't buy any books, studied at Engineering Library came home on darn street car at night."

Bill and his younger sister, Valeria, my "Grandma Val," both graduated from South St. Paul High School in the Class of 1925 when she was only 16. In later years she told me how she resented her brother for being able to attend university. It must have been a huge financial investment by the family (their father Ilie or "Eli" was a barber, and mother Gizella didn't work outside the home), and Valeria certainly had to contribute her earnings to her brother's schooling. "I was just a girl," she said angrily, "Going to work was good enough for me." But more about her later...

Samuel Lockwood Young, 1827-1895 Kentucky

OK, so I didn't get off to a very good start. Here I'd like to talk about one of my many elusive ancestors, Samuel Lockwood Young. He is my dad's paternal great-grandfather, and I don't know very much about him, except that he was the father of Edward Allen Young (1873-1831), who was the father of Paul Young (1904-1958) who married Valerie Moisescu.

I believe Samuel was born (1827) and died (1895) in Pendleton County, Kentucky. He was the son of Henry Young and Catherine "Kitty" Ellis (both born in 1806, and married in Pendleton County in 1826). Pendleton County is tobacco country; they were farmers. Samuel and Elizabeth had Edward Allen Young (1873), Elmon Tilden Young (1876), and Ivy Ann Young (1879) in Kentucky. Our ancestor, Edward, would eventually move to Missouri.

Samuel's middle name, Lockwood, according to E. E. Barton's Collection of interviews conducted in the 1930s, information provided by Ivy Young (his daughter), was for a Baptist preacher. They said that Samuel Lockwood Young went to California in the Gold Rush of 1849 and "staid there 25 years. He went overland with a wagon train. He married after his return to Kentucky,"  Ivy said.

I can't find Samuel Young in the 1850 or 1860 census.

In the 1870 census Samuel Young can be found living with his maternal grandfather, William Ellis, in Pendleton County, Kentucky. Samuel was 43 years old at the time. He married Elisabeth Ann Wellman, almost 20 years his younger, around 1872. Ivy, interviewed in the 1930s recalled, "Sam Young said he could have done better in marrying, but that he didn't have time to look around." He had a wry sense of humor, I guess.

According to Barton's collection, "the Samuel Young farm is on Licking river below Concord (KY) and owned (in 1944) by Ezra(?) Burris at present time."  Elmon Young told Barton, "The Youngs came from Va. to Fal. (Falmouth). Samuel is a family name among the Youngs. The family of Youngs in Bracken Co. are prob. kin i.e., Gilbert, Oscar, and Frank.  The latter m. a daughter of Dick Gosney." (I have not been able to determine any relationships between "our" Youngs and these other Youngs.)

Part of the problem is that prior to 1850, the census records do not show family members' names and relationships. I know that Samuel's parents were Henry Young (possibly "James Henry Young") and Catherine "Kitty" Ellis. See Pendleton County Deeds for descriptions of the lands that belonged to Samuel Young; presumably he inherited the land from his grandfather William Ellis, but records have not yet been searched to document this.

It's interesting because my great-uncle Don Young said that the Youngs originated in Pennsylvania. I hope to learn more, and to prove or disprove that theory.

Starting my history and genealogy blog

Today I finally took the plunge by making my first post on my new blog. There are so many reasons why I've wanted to do this, and now I find that it is hard to decide where to begin. I want to:

• Make connections with others who are researching my and my children's family lines including Albu, Bartusek, Curry, Derr, Ellis, Ferguson, Fowler, Hagen, King, Losen, Moisescu, Mylius, Young, and others. Our ancestors include a Transylvanian barber, Norwegian painters, German-Hungarian manufacturers of knives and furniture, Kentucky tobacco farmers, a Mormon follower of Joseph Smith to Nauvoo and beyond, and a Midwestern teenager who stole a bread truck.
• Learn and share about genealogy research techniques, especially related to Romanian ancestors. My great-grandfather was among the early Romanian immigrants to Saint Paul and South Saint Paul, Minnesota, but I know very little about him. I've become practically obsessed with Romanian immigration history, which has led me to help found two organizations that I'll tell you more about later: Romanian Genealogy Society www.romaniangenealogy.com and Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in Minnesota (HORA) www.hora-mn.org.
• Offer a better understanding of the past and a bit of entertainment by sharing unusual stories I come across. Sometimes they are quirky, occasionally they are hilarious, and often they are just plain sad. I agree with the person who said, "Truth is stranger than fiction." In fact, I think history is far more interesting than anything we could make up.

I chose the name, "History Sifter," because that describes what I love to do. The dictionary definition of "sift" is "to go through especially to sort our what is useful or valuable." I seek to find things that others may have missed-- the puzzle pieces that don't seem to fit, the unpolished gems, the untold stories. Through this blog, I hope to share my findings with family members and others.