An announcement about new records on Ancestry.com caught my eye today – records from the Evangelical Covenant Church.
The records are organized by State, and then by city (or church community) within each State. There’s not much there for Nebraska, but one of the Kansas communities happens to be Randolph.
The records for Randolph include a church history plus some assorted ledgers with church members and household records.
I quickly located the record for the Louis Hanson family. Note wife Lisa S. (this would be Lisa Stina) and several barnen (children). The birthplaces for Louis and Lisa Stina are correct. Oldest daughter Emma must have been married and out of the house by the time this record was made. Oldest son Franklin is identified as born in Altona, Illinois. Altona is in Knox County and is exactly where we found the Louis Hanson family before they moved to Kansas. Son Cornelius is actually Edward Cornelius, my great-grandfather. His birthplace is listed as Randoph, Kansas and this confirms that family lore about his birthplace.
On this same page, I was thrilled to also find the Hans Hanson family. I have long been aware that there was a Hans Hanson family in Randolph but hadn’t been able to prove whether or not Hans was the brother of Louis. At least, I have proof!
Here is the record from the Covenant Church about Hans Hanson in Randolph:
His birth date is listed as 7/4 1826 – this means 7th April 1826.
Going back to the household examination records in Hanebo, Sweden, the place of Louis Hanson’s birth, I find the following family record – and there is indeed a Hans with a birthdate of 7/4 1826. The family also includes a daughter Karin (born 1829), our Lars (aka Louis, born 1830) and a son Olof (born 1833).
I now intend to trace the descendants of Hans Hanson and see if I can find some more cousins!
References:
From Ancestry.com: Covenant Archives and Historical Library; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Swedish American Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, and Burials; Parish: Randolph Mission Church; CAHL Film: 327; SSIRC Film: S-488
From ArkivDigital: Hanebo (X) AI:9a (1828-1834) Image 88 / page 83 (AID: v135179.b88.s83, NAD: SE/HLA/1010063)
Great work!!!!