Tragedy (#52Ancestors, Week 12)

The official prompt for this week was “Popular,” but I really didn’t have any inspiration for that one. Instead, I will tell the sad story of John and Evelyn Swanson’s three daughters.

Evelyn was my paternal grandmother’s sister. She died before I was born so I didn’t know anything about Evelyn or her three daughters until I started researching the family. Here is what I found.

Evelyn was the youngest of the four Johnson sisters. She married John Swanson on the 23rd of December, 1925, in Chicago. The Swansons lived in Chicago when their daughters were born. Phyllis was born 5 August 1926 and her twin sisters Bernadine Ingrid and Joanne Ingrid were born on 27 November 1927. Sadly, baby Bernadine only lived three days. I imagine that the medical help available for multiple births at that time was a little lacking compared to what is available today.

At some point after 1930 Evelyn and John moved their family to Princeton where the rest of Evelyn’s family lived. In 1934 tragedy struck again when little Joanne, seven years old and in the first grade, died on May 11 from a severe case of pneumonia after “fifteen days of brave and patient endurance.”

Then on December 19, 1940, John and Evelyn’s last daughter Phyllis died. She was 14 years old and had just started Princeton High School.

I wrote in an earlier post about the “long line” of faith in my family. It is certainly seen in the lives of these three sisters. If there is anything to be gained by reading about the tragic deaths of the Swanson daughters, it is the presence of faith in their lives and the lives of their family and friends.

I don’t know if Bernadine was baptized, but this church record indicates that she was a member of the church. Often church membership was based on baptism.

First Lutheran Church record book, Princeton, Illinois, 1927

At Joanne’s funeral, two young women sang two of her favorite songs, “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know” and “I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb.” Joanne's obituary gives an insight into the spiritual life of this little one:

Bureau County Republican 17 May 1934, p. 6

Phyllis, who died at 14, also lived a life of inspiration to others.

Bureau County Republican, 26 December, 1940, p.3.

I haven’t found Evelyn’s obituary yet, but I can only imagine that it would contain a rendering of her faith as well. Surely her daughters learned their faith from their parents, and only a deep faith would enable Evelyn to live without bitterness after losing three daughters and then her husband.

As I write this post we are in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. I look back to my family that has gone before and find comfort in the strength of their faith that saw them through so much. I trust that the Lord will walk beside me through this crisis as well.


(Headstone images taken from FindAGrave, Oakland Cemetery, Princeton, Illinois)

Luck (#52 Ancestors, Week 11)

Good luck, back luck, sometimes it’s hard to tell.

In the summer of 1985, after we graduated from college, my friend Trish and I traveled around Europe for six weeks. It was a dream come true. We traveled with our Eurail passes and so sometimes we slept on the trains but most of the time we spent the night in a hotel or pensione. (The exchange rate was fantastic that summer!) Our itinerary included France, Italy, Greece, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium but the details of the trip were flexible.

Unfortunately, terrorism reared it ugly head that summer. Bombs went off around Europe, and TWA flight 847 was hijacked in Athens. Greece had been on our itinerary but we prudently decided to cancel that part of the trip. This opened up some extra days to fill so after talking it over we decided to travel north to Sweden. We also decided we should let our parents know about our change in plans.

Remember, this is 1985. There were no cell phones then. In order to make a phone call home we had to go to a phone station and wait our turn. When I got through to my parents, they suggested that we try to meet up with my Swedish relatives. They gave me Aunt Helen’s phone number, because she had been to visit the Swedish relatives and would know how to contact them.

Marie

As luck would have it, I was able to connect with a “cousin” named Marie Larsson. She met us in Malmo and took us around to where my great-grandfather Herman Peterson had lived.

The back of the photo reads,
"Where Dad P was born."

Trish and I in front of the home
in 1985

Marie shared some lunch with us and we did our best to communicate—she in broken English and we in no Swedish at all.

A Swedish lunch

I feel regret when I look back now, knowing that I had this fabulous experience in 1985 but have not kept up with my relatives in Sweden at all. If I had it to do over again…. Nevertheless, I’m so grateful that we were able to connect and that I was able to walk “the old sod.” Maybe one day luck will be with me again and I can reconnect with my family in Sweden...but without the benefit of an international crisis.

Strong Woman (#52Ancestors Week 10)

At first glance I see no strong women in my family tree—there are no women who owned their own business, or farmed, or became famous, or overcame great obstacles. But after some thought I have decided that all women are strong in their own way, because we all have obstacles to overcome, whether great or not. So this week I’m going to write about a woman who overcame the obstacles in her life, someone whose birthday we just celebrated, although she is no longer with us to celebrate.

Sarah Margaret Falk was born the only child of Burton and Verna Falk in Berwyn, Illinois in 1938. She had a happy childhood, got through high school, and met the love of her life at Augustana College. She married Stan Peterson in 1961. They spent part of their honeymoon traveling from Illinois to Portland, Oregon where Stan spent his third year of seminary as an intern at a Lutheran church and she taught junior high school English. By the time they returned to Rock Island for Stan’s last year in seminary, Sarah was pregnant with their first child.

Sarah’s first obstacle was taking care of a colicky baby in a small apartment while her husband studied and worked. Her mother was far away and she had no close friends. It must have been a lonely, scary, frustrating time for her. However, her inner strength, fueled by her faith and her love for her husband, must have told her that this was temporary and things would get better. They eventually did. Stan and Sarah, both only children, ended up with four children of their own, and by the time the fourth one came along, Sarah had the mothering thing down pat.

Sarah and Stan spent 8 years serving at a small Lutheran church in a medium-sized Indiana town. In 1970 Stan decided to continue his education at Butler University in Indianapolis and spent two years studying for a master’s degree in counseling. The family of six lived in a three-bedroom townhouse in a crowded neighborhood of townhouses. The two oldest children were in school and the two youngest were at home with Sarah. Not long after they settled into the townhouse, Stan began his first semester of school with practical work at a rehabilitation center for alcoholics in Madison, Wisconsin. Every Sunday night he drove 350 miles from Indianapolis to Madison, Wisconsin, and then on Friday evening he drove back to Indianapolis for the weekend. During the week Sarah was at home with the four children but without a car, just a little red wagon to transport the two youngest when they needed to go to the store or just get out of the house. Sarah knew practically no one at first. During this time Sarah also had a bout with pneumonia and her youngest child spent several days in the hospital with croup. There was no money for frivolities—barely enough for the necessities—and yet her children remember these years fondly. Sarah took her children to the nearby library branch during the summer for the summer reading club, she served as cookie mom in her daughter’s Girl Scout troop, she took the oldest two to piano lessons, and found solace in the local Bible Study Fellowship. Again she found her strength in her faith and the love of her husband. 

A third major obstacle in Sarah’s life was when her son developed a brain tumor when he was 29. He was married, later divorced, but Sarah was there for him whenever he called. He lived for 10 years until the tumor took his life. Amazingly, Sarah delivered a eulogy at his funeral that was full of warmth and love. She never displayed any bitterness over her loss.

Sarah met the last obstacle of her life when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Over her last ten years the disease slowly took her away until she finally succumbed last year. During all that time, however, she rarely complained or made a fuss. I believe that the depth and strength of her faith and the love that permeated her life carried her through those days of uncertainty and forgetfulness. Sarah could not overcome this final obstacle but she met it with the faith and grace that defined her life. Because of the way Sarah lived her life until the very end, she is my strong woman for this week. Thank you, Mom.