The Tanner Family Daguerreotype: Boy in Back — First Possibility

In this continuation of a long-running series about a daguerreotype now in the Church History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, we look at the identity of the boy standing in the back of the picture. For previous installments of the series, see the links at the bottom of this post.

This picture was handed down through the Myron Tanner family, so the most obvious identity for the boy standing in the back would be Myron Tanner himself.

If the picture was taken in 1844, Myron would have been 18, which looks plausible. If it was taken around 1850-1851, he would have been too old to be the boy in the picture.

Close-up of the boy standing in the back.

Myron's presence would tend to date the daguerreotype more than any other person in it. Here is a brief biography, emphasizing the movements that place him at the correct locations to have been in this picture.

Myron Tanner was born in New York in 1826. He accompanied his parents, John and Elizabeth Beswick Tanner, to Kirtland, Missouri, and Iowa, where they lived across the river from Nauvoo, Illinois.

Myron Tanner, freighter, sometime before his marriage in 1856.

Myron enlisted in the Mormon Battalion (Company D) in 1846. He was taken ill and left the Battalion, overwintering in Pueblo, Colorado, and was with the group that entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 29, 1847, five days after Brigham Young arrived.

Myron immediately turned around and traveled to Winter Quarters, now North Omaha, Nebraska, where many of the Saints were living in makeshift homes. He spent a year working for George A. Smith, and then headed west in 1849 with the George A. Smith/Dan Jones Company. The company arrived in Salt Lake in October 1849 and Myron continued to work for George A. Smith. Before long, he found out that his father was very ill in South Cottonwood, so he went to help with his father's care in the final days before he died on April 13, 1850.

Myron Tanner, wedding photo, 1856.

Myron spent several years in California working in the gold fields with his brother Seth Tanner and then joined the family in San Bernardino in the fall of 1852.

Myron traveled several times between California and Utah Territory and finally returned to Utah  in 1856 and married Mary Jane Mount, a minor figure in the literary history of the state of Utah. He spent most of the rest of his life living in Payson and Provo, serving as a bishop in Provo for many years, and also marrying Englishwoman Ann Crosby.

Myron Tanner.

As previously mentioned, this daguerreotype remained in the Myron Tanner family, which would suggest that he is one of the subjects of the picture, but the fact of possession alone is not enough to make the identification, so we will continue to explore other possibilities in subsequent posts.

Links to Posts in the Tanner Family Daguerreotype Series

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: We Meet the Tanners
Part 3: What is a Daguerreotype?
Part 4: Technology Meets the Tanners
Part 5: Woman at Right
Part 6: Woman in Center
Part 7: Boy in Back: First Possibility
Part 7: Boy in Back — Additional Possibilities
Part 8: Man at Left — John Tanner?
Part 8: Man at Left — Options
Part 9: Summary

Review: The Wessman Family in Sweden

An old house at a historical open-air museum in Tanum, Sweden.
From Christophe Dayer at Flickr.

After posting several rather technical snippets about the Wessman family, here is a quick review of the family history.

Our Wessman ancestors were farmers and farm workers from the countryside near the Swedish coast between Göteborg, Sweden, and the Norwegian border. 

View Larger Map

(On this map, "A" is Göteborg, the city where Johan and Amanda Wessman lived before they emigrated to America. "B" is Romelanda, Johan's birthplace, and "C" is Tanum, Amanda's birthplace.)

I have previously written a summary of the family history. It explains things like the Swedish naming system (patronymics) and the family origins. Here is a link to the history. It's in five parts but is fairly brief. (The Wessmans in Sweden.)

This fan chart shows the current state of the genealogy. It is presented here in some of the the colors of Swedish folk art. Additionally, don't miss a cool collection of pictures of Scandinavian folk art to give an idea of the cultural background of the area.

Much of the original work on the family lines was done by Johan and Amanda's granddaughter, Edna Amanda Olsen Taylor. Others in the family have gone back and checked and corrected some of her work. I am now entering my sources and corrections into FamilySearch Family Tree. With the explosion in internet resources, there is plenty more work that can and will be done on the history of the Wessman family in Sweden.

Amanda Mathilda Hall from Rungstung, Tanum, Göteborg och Bohus, Sweden

I haven't done any work on Amanda Mathilda (or Matilda) Hall's family and wanted to know how difficult it was.

First, I brought up her beautiful birth and christening record, which my mother sent a number of years ago.

Födde och Döpte år 1848...
Amanda Mathilda. 7./16. Anders Hall, E. M. Bruhn (21) u. Rungstung.
Sv. Andersß, Cath. Rasmdr i Rungst., Johs Hall på Grbßt, Ana Br. Olof i. Forsh.

Born and Christened in 1848...
Amanda Mathilda, born April 7, christened April 16th. Father Anders Hall, Mother Edla Maria Bruhn (21 years old) from Rungstung.
Witnesses: Sven Andersson, Catherine Rasmusdotter from Rungstung, [uncle] Johannes Hall from Grebbestad, Ana Brita Olofsdotter from Forshalla.

The information I wanted was the name of the farm where she was born. It was Rungstung. Here it is, at the end of this unpaved road:

View Larger Map

Here is the first place she shows up on a clerical survey.

County:  Göteborg och Bohus; Parish:  Tanum; Volume:  AI:19b; Record Type:  Husförhör (Household examination); Year Range:  1844 - 1850; Roll/Fiche:  XY-751; Handwritten/Stamped Page Number:  0/181.

The family's entry is in the right column.

It says:

Död
No. 268
Rbm. Man. And. Rasm. Hall Svbg. 1828 31/1. 1, K. dd
Hust. Edla Mar. Bruhn Udv. 1827 7/1. 1. 11 dd
Dott. Amanda Mathilda. Tan. = 48 7/4.
T. M. Svarteborg = 49

Dead
No. 268
Ropemaker Mr. Anders Rasmusson Hall, from Svarteborg, born January 1, 1828, ?.
Mrs. Edla Maria Bruhn, from Uddevalla, born January 7, 1827, ?.
Daughter Amanda Mathilda, born in Tanum April 7, 1848.
? Svarteborg in 1849.

"Dead" here refers to Edla's death about a week after the birth of her second child, Berta Carolina, in 1850.

Thanks to my mother and a helper at the Family History Library in Salt Lake for deciphering Anders Hall's profession.

The Forshälla Husförhör and Helje Andersson

One of the Swedish church records that is useful for genealogical research is the clerical survey or census known as Husförhör.

The Forshalla Church shown here replaced the earlier medieval church in 1855. So it was on this site that our ancestors would have worshipped, but in a different building. From Wikipedia.

Looking at the parish of Forshälla, a location mentioned yesterday in the post about Per Andersson, there are clerical surveys starting in 1809 and going through 1890. This may be after our family left the parish, but there may have been members of the Anders Olofsson and Ingrid Olofsdotter family living there into the 19th century.

I don't have immediate plans to read the Forshälla Husförhör. The reason I brought it up was to find a list of the farms in the parish, to help decipher Per Andersson's birth record.

And here's the list. (Apologies for not straightening the images. That's how they show up in the record, so it's a touch of realism.)

As you look at the index, you can see that the extra Swedish characters ä, å, and ö are shown in their proper place at the end of the alphabet rather than next to a and o.

When I glance at the 1809 entry for Helgeröd, I see an entry for a man named Helje Andersson, the right age to be Per Andersson's youngest brother, together with his wife Maret Persdotter and son Per and daughter Margreta. Helje's family should be added to our genealogical record.

As you can see from this example, the Husförhör can be a valuable source.

Pehr Andersson of Helgeröd, Forshälla, Göteborg och Bohus, Sweden

Just one record today. This is the birth record for our Wessman ancestor Per Andersson of Forshälla, the father of Bengt Persson and grandfather of Johan Bengtsson Wessman.

The handwriting takes some getting used to. Here's a translation of the parts I can read.

1756 

January 18 

Helgeröd 

Anders Oloffson and wife Ingrid Olofsdotter ??. Son Pehr born on the 15th.

Witnesses: Nils Andersson from Helgeröd, Olof Hansson from Arneröd, Jens Andersson from Helgeröd, Mrs. Marin Olofsdotter from Forshälla, Miss Karin Olofsdr from ?, Miss Gunnilla Olofsdr from Helgeröd.

The farm where Per was born now seems to be spelled Häljeröd and since 1998 has been in the county of Västra Götalands. This was not the case before January 1, 1998, so the county should be listed in the genealogy as it was at the time, Göteborg(s) och Bohus, even if the genealogy program suggests otherwise.

View Larger Map

The Google Map includes some beautiful pictures of the adjoining lake. (Häljeröd)

The Marriage of Johan Westman and Amanda Mathilda Andersdotter

Yesterday's post with the birth record for Henry Wessman gave a clue for finding his parent's marriage record. I read through the Göteborg marriage records on Ancestry until I found the correct record book.

Here's the page showing their entry:

A close-up picture:

Excerpts from the 1873 Marriages for Gustavi Cathedral parish in Födra Dom Deanery for Göteborg Diocese and County. Page 19. ... Number 51. March 30, Westman Johan, sailor and Andersdotter Amanda Mathilda, young lady. Born 1840/1848.

So far, every single record I've seen spells Johan's surname as "Westman."

* * *

Here are the birth records for Johan and Amanda's seven children. 

Fanny Constantia

Gustavi Domkyrka, Göteborg. 1873. May 5. Fanny Constantia (...) Illegitimate. Westman Johan Sailor. Andersdotter Amanda Math/a. Mother not married. [Incorrect in record. They were married, but perhaps Johan was off at sea.]

Bertha Maria

1876. Gustavi Domkirkr, Göteborg. No. 224. February 23. Bertha Maria. Legitimate. Father Westman Johan, Sailor. Mother Mrs Andersdotter Amanda Mathilda. Mother married. Age 35/27.

Gerda Hildegard

Gustavi Dom, Göteborg, 1877. No. 42. December 28. Female. Gerda Hildegard. Legitimate. Westman Johan Sailor. Mrs. Andersdotter Anna Mathilda. Mother married. 37/29.

Anders Johan Herbert

1880. Gustavi Domkyrke. No 534. May 16. Male. Anders Johan Herbert. Legitimate. Westman Johan, Sailor. Mrs. Andersdotter Amanda Mathilda. Mother married. Age 40/32.

Johan Herbert

1882. Gustavi Domkyrka. Göteborg. No 1200. October 14. Male. John Hereberth. Legitimate. Father: Westman Johan Sailor. Mother: Mrs Andersdotter Amanda Mathilda. Mother married. Ages 42/34.

Harry Richard Emanuel

Entry 71. February 7 [1885]. Male. Harry Richard Emanuel. Legal status: legitimate. Father: Westman, Johan, sailor. G [probably marriage date] 30/3/73. Mother: Anna Mathilda Andersdotter. (O.H. 34.) Mother: married. [Ages?] 43/36. Medical attendant: "ex."

Josef Harold Moroni

No. 235. April 23, 1888. Male. Josef Harald Marone. 7th [child]. Legitimate child. Father: Westman, Johan, sailor. G 30/3/73. Age: 48. Mother: Mrs. Anna Mathilda Andersdotter. O. H. 8 ? 20. Mother married. Age 40. Medical attendant: "ex."

* * *

I have looked through all the Göteborg parishes and other jurisdictions but cannot find the death records for the two children who died in 1881, Gerda and Anders.

More Exciting Developments at TheAncestorFiles

The introduction of our first additional blogger, James Tanner, has been such a great success, that we decided to continue expanding our franchise. We're excited to announce our newest blogger, cousin Emily Wessman.

Fun times at the Wessman home. Clockwise from lower left: Marie, Eliza, Melinda, Heidi, Emily, Macrame Owl, Amy, Tiffany.

Emily has been working on the Glade and Wessman family history for quite a few years now. She has been able to collect and provide to the family an amazing number of wonderful family pictures and  letters and other memorabilia.

More happy times at the Wessman home in Sugar House, Salt Lake City, Utah.

One of Emily's family history interests is our ancestor, Elizabeth Ann Pugsley Hayward. Emily may have the opportunity to do some original research in the Utah State Archives and share some of that information here.

Additionally, Emily and I have been working together to have a gravestone placed for Amanda Matilda Hall Wessman. We will be posting more information about that soon.

Such exciting times! Welcome, Emily!

A Surprising Birth Record: Harry Richard Emanuel Westman

It's been more than 20 years since I've done any Swedish research, but when my mother mentioned that she was going to have a chance to look into the Swedish records, I decided to add my research to FamilySearch Family Tree. Back in 1991, I did a painstaking look through microfilm after microfilm of Swedish records for a Scandinavian Sources class, mostly concentrating on the direct paternal Wessman line.

One thing I never got around to was finding the birth records from the Johan and Amanda Wessman family.

Now with access to Swedish parish records on Ancestry, I decided to look for the birth record of my great grandfather, Henry Richard Emanuel Wessman and answer, once and for all, the question of the spelling of his third (baptismal) name. I ended up finding more than expected.

The family records stated that he was born in Göteborg, so I started reading through the parish records for 1885. Luckily he was born in February, so it did not require reading through each entire record book. Fourteen record books later, I found this.

Here is a close-up of his record:

Entry 71. February 7 [1885]. Male. Harry Richard Emanuel. 6th [child in the family]. Legal status: legitimate. Father: Westman, Johan, sailor. G [probably marriage date] 31/3/73. Mother: Anna Mathilda Andersdotter. (O.H. 34.) Mother: married. [Ages?] 43/36. Medical attendant: "ex."

Observations

First, "Harry"?

Second, this marriage date may provide a clue to finding Johan and Amanda's marriage record.

Third, why the spelling of "Westman"? (With Amanda's name being spelled "Anna" I wouldn't worry that this was a serious alternate spelling.)

Fourth, Amanda is still going by her patronymic name of Andersdotter at this late date, rather than "Hall." I just added a note to that effect to her Family Tree entry.

Fifth, Henry's baptismal name is spelled "Emanuel."

Finally, here's the heading from Henry's birth record, showing that the family was living in Haga, a district of Göteborg, the geographically smallest parish in Sweden, and at the time one of the poorest and toughest.

In those days after the dissolution of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, it would have taken a monumental effort for this poor Swedish family to leave that environment for America.

History of the Southern States Mission, Part 35: President Spry's Baptism By Fire

The Stonewall Jackson House in Rockbridge County, Virginia, where Elder Edmund Taylor was serving when he died. From Wikipedia.

I previously posted many installments of the History of the Southern States Mission, as found in the Southern Star. (Index.) I will resume posting the histories, probably weekly, through the end of the series, and add them to the index.

The month of July, 1888, was very quiet as for mob violence. Many of the Elders were sick in the field some having to be released in order to preserve their lives. Encouraging reports, however, of the progress of the work was received from different conferences.

Joshua Tanner and the Elusive Reed's Corner

See additional information on this topic at Genealogy's Star. (Surname books and the Reed's Corner Mystery.)

Year: 1790; Census Place: Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island; Roll: M637_10; Page: 44; Image: 0076.

Joshua Tanner (b. 27 July 1757, d. 12 September 1807) is the father of the relatively well-known John Tanner (b. 15 August 1778, d. 13 April 1850). Joshua Tanner married Thankful Tefft (b. 11 March 1757, d. 18 November 1822). Both Joshua and Thankful were born in Hopkinton, Washington, Rhode Island. Joshua is reported to have died in Reeds Corner, Washington, New York. However, this is not substantiated. The John Tanner Family book[1] (known as the green book) gives Joshua’s death location as “Joshua Tanner removed to Washington Co., N. Y., and died near Reed’s Corners Sept. 12, 1807. The following epitaph is from his tombstone:

“When in this yard my grave you see,

My dear wife, weep not for me,

My time was come, and blessed is he

That called my to eternity.”

John Tanner is listed as his second child.