Are Anna
& Gertrude Boyum Twins?
NEW MYSTERY CREATED IN SOLUTION --
Read Below
|
Is this Anna and Gertrude Boyum? Are they twins? |
Sevath and Caroline Boyum had two
daughters that may have been twins. Anna M. and Gertrude A. Boyum. This mystery originates from the genealogical research of Dr. Johnson who reported that Anna was born on March 6, 1865 and Gertrude was born in 1865. Nobody has been able to confirm this so far and some have said they were not twins. Indeed, there are no instances of twins anywhere else in the family that I know of. This photograph is believed to be of
two of the Boyum girls possibly Anna and Gertrude. They certain look a lot alike! The photo is taken between 1881 and 1900. If it is Anna and Gertrude, Anna may already be pregnant with one of her first children. She was the first bride married in the new town of Mayville, ND. Some have speculated that the girl sitting down may be pregnant. Were Anna and Gertrude twins and if so, were they identical twins? Is this a picture of Anna and Gertrude or two of the other Boyum girls? When was this
photo taken and is Anna pregnant in it? We may never know the answer to this great mystery but maybe one of you knows now. Share your thoughts.
The Answers:
- This is not Anna and Gertrude -- It is Gertrude and Marie!
- Anna and Gertrude are not twins -- neither are Gertrude and Marie.
- Gertrude is likely not pregnant.
The Evidence
- The Boyum Family Photo from North Dakota
- My father's cousin, Jere Hopkins, allowed me to digitally photography
the picture below. Jere had a picture, which cousin Erik (see below
has also) of
the Boyum family, apparently in North Dakota as Marie and Gertrude are both in
the photo. Based on the identification of Ida (who appears to be 10-12
years of age in the photo), I'd guess the photo was taken some time between
1890-1894. As the girls look older in this photo, I would guess that the
photo above is more likely in the 1885-1892. All of
this assumes that the inscriptions on the back of this photo correctly
identify the members -- which I am not convinced is true. If the girls
are really Gertrude and Marie, there is 4 years difference in their age.
Also, Ella in this picture appears younger than Serene while Serene is
actually 5 years younger. However, we will assume the inscription is
correct until we can learn more -- perhaps cousin Erik can provide more
details. The back of the photo included the following:
L-R
Ella Reese, Cora Foster, S.E. Boyum, Anna Johnson, Ida Boyum, Ed Boyum, Kari,
John,
Serene Ritchie, Gertrude Zigler, Marie Boyum, George Boyum (Click
on the family picture or here to see it enlarged)
From this, it is clear that the photo of the girls is of Gertrude and Marie
and the timelines establish they are not twins and Gertrude is probably not
pregnant. However, the date discrepancies in Dr. Johnson's data remained
until with received emails from cousin Erik
and Audrey.
-
Marie's tombstone and Franklin Hildebrand's articles
-
My Third Cousin, Erik Boyum Anderson, contributed the following:
- Regarding the twins question, my grandfather Leslie Watson, who was married to Thelma Boyum, daughter of Edward Erik (or Eric Edward) Boyum, son of Sevat Ellingson Boyum and Kari (Caroline) Johnsdatter Langetieg, did some geneological research in the mid-1940-1950 era. Following the death of Eric Edward (for whom I, Erik Boyum Anderson was named), Les wrote my mother and aunt documenting the family history of Sevath E Boyum as related to him by my great grandfather. I have both Les's letter, and a copy of some notes he took, which give the birth dates for Anna Maria as 3-6-1864 and Gertrude Andrine as 8-19-65. I also have the following from the 1880 census for Rushford, Fillmore County MN, as transcribed in a note to me from the Fillmore County Historical Society: Annie - 16, Gertie A - 14, which would have been their ages between March and August 1880 given the above birth dates.
-
Another Cousin, Audrey Boyum
Sotendahl,
provided the following:
- I have been updating my genealogy and found
your "Boyum" site. I am a descendant of Erik Arneson Boyum (ca. 1771
- 1853) through two sons, Arne and Ole. My grandmother, Brithe Arnesdatter
Boyum, and my grandfather, Erik Olson Boyum, were first cousins. They lived in
Arendahl township in Fillmore county, but attended the North Prairie Lutheran
Church--not the Arendahl Church where Arne Ellendson (or Ellingson)was
pastor.
I am really writing in response to your
"mystery" about Anna M. and Gertrude A.--Sevath's daughters. Just
recently a new site has been added to the Norwegian Digitalarkivet. Lars E.
Øyane has provided a transcript of baptisms from Norwegian Lutheran
churchbooks in Fillmore County from 1858-1884. I believe all of Sevath's
children born there are listed: John (February 24, 1863), Anne Maria (March 6,
1864), Gjertrud Andrine (August 19, 1865), Ellen (March 10, 1867), Mari
Bertine (January 5, 1869), Maria Bertine (December 31, 1869), Sirrine Caroline
(January 12, 1872), Erik Edvard (March 17, 1875), and George Martin (February
23, 1877). The daughters Cora D. and Ida L. were probably born in Mayville,
ND, and are not listed. I believe the dates shown are actual dates of
birth--not baptism. (I have photocopies from church records of two of my
relatives born about that time showing both birth and baptism dates. The dates
shown on the internet for these relatives are the dates of birth, not
baptism.) The internet address begins (just
follow this link) and continues on and on.
I spent a week this past June in Mayville,
ND, attending an Elderhostel on Norwegian culture sponsored by Mayville State
University. It was a great experience. Mayville is a lovely--if very
small--town filled with friendly people.
-
New Mystery:
Is the first Mari Bertine (January 5, 1869) the
child Dr. Johnson listed as Died in Infancy?
- Cousin Audrey introduces a new mystery,
however, with the listing: Mari Bertine (January 5, 1869) and Maria
Bertine (December 31, 1869). In Dr. Johnson's original work, he listed an
unnamed / undated infant. As it was Norwegian custom to name the child of
a given sex after a child of the same sex who had died previously, it seems very
likely that Mari Bertine born January 5, 1869 is the child that died in infancy
that Dr. Johnson had listed. Does anyone have a death record for Mari
Bertine prior to December 31, 1869? If so, does it list the cause of
death?
Disclaimer:
Of course, with everything in genealogy, new evidence may arrive to revise
the prior evidence. If you know more about any of the data discussed here,
please send us email and share it with
the family.
Copyright © 1998-2017, Michael Todd Boyum. All rights reserved.
Boyums of America - Release 2.013
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Last Updated: Monday, January 22, 2001 11:45:00 PM