Hemmingsen-Mathisdatter: Mathisen-Hemmingsdatter

7/20/2025 Second update: The original post explained the organization of the blog, which has changed. This deletes superseded and unnecessary information. Any new data bears a letter reference, while previous references remain as numerals.

HEMMINGSEN-MATHISDATTER

Our father was John Oliver Hemmingsen and mother, Mary Margaret Dickson. John was son of Mathias Hemmingsen and Margaret Alexander. Mathias was son of Norwegians, Ole Mathias Hemmingsen and Berit Has Mathisdatter. Ole and Berit are subject here and some of their siblings.  

Another researcher posited that we share a relationship through Matias Martinus Matisson, of Norway, known as Mathias Mathison, in America. This speaks to that connection even if it fails to tie up all loose ends. The two family composite of the 1865 Norway Census below, shows Matias in the left queue. The graphic has been updated for visual clarity.

The connection furthered our own work. Dad wrote a family history in 1999, with the assistance of genealogists who identified his grandmother as Bertha Mathisen (1860-1887).¹ She was actually born in 1853, as Berith Hass.² Her surname, Mathisdatter, derived from her father’s first name, Mathis. His name was Mathis Bentsen/Bendigtsen, and his wife was Merith Jonsdtr. Berit’s death date remains unverified, but is likely correct within a year later.^A

Here is a picture of Ole Hemmingson which the family thought was of his graduation in Norway as a Civil Engineer. However, current Norwegian blogsters tell that the clothing was normal wear for the day. His son, Mathias, had only the fourth grade education of his Norway youth. Such posed no deficiency as seen in “From the Logging Camps” a series on this blog.

MATHISEN-HEMMINGSDATTER

Ole wed Berit wed on October 30, 1875. Their farms were near each other. As the researcher noted, the families merged again, in 1883, when Mathias Martinus married Anna Oline. 

Here is the new family about to embark to America, in 1888. Note, Elen is cited as their youngest child.

Many ancestors who immigrated in the years around the destroyed US Census 1890 became lost to follow-up. Our researcher sent us to Iowa for this family.

The events captured in their US Census 1900 at Ancestry.com, seem to be connected to knowns, yet seemed “off”.³ Mathias is data-similar across our four documents. Three children, Matias, Mildred and Ellen, appear consistent with the out-migration of 1888. We had the right family, but the drill down page on the census is blue for Anna Mathison. She is not Anna Oline. 

The graphic shows the child order as it was on the actual census. It usually goes oldest to youngest. This suggests the younger two, were of the second wife.

That made child Gerda interesting. She was unlikely Anna Oline’s, if she were born in Norway.  New-Anna immigrated in 1889. Perhaps Gerda’s age is off a year, and was this Anna’s child. Perhaps she was Anna Oline’s, but, born in Iowa.

Gerda’s true identity teased. Berit died around a year into her immigration, but after the birth of her sixth child, George. Her sister-in-law, Anna Oline, seems not to have fared better, but it was not clear when she died.

10/24/2019 First Update: Findagrave.com shows that Gerda, Gertrude M. Mathison Myers, was born in 1890 in Estherville IA. It further confirms that her mother, Anna Oline died in 1892. Mathias re-wed about 1895 to Anna Sabo.^{4, 5}

Henrietta Olsdatter/Hemmingson/Etta Church (1874-1965)

This connection also provided a wonderful story on another of ours. It shows the Norwegian sense of family and the lengths our immigrants went to, to assist one another.

The researcher solved the Anna Oline/Gerda question. Her records also included information on Ole and Berit’s daughter, Henrietta: “Etta Church left Emmet County, in October 1892, after helping with the children, following the death of her Aunt Anna”.

Etta married William W Church in Wisconsin and lived there, until shortly after 1900. They migrated to Washington State shortly thereafter. The couple had no children.

The scene with Aunt Anna adds to Etta’s story as a loving caregiver. (Brother Matt, two years her junior, mistakenly cited Nebraska for this mission, in his Memoirs).^B Matt gave her great credit on his own care; the two had emigrated alone when Etta was just twelve. Their sister, Marie, died of TB around age 19. Etta was likely her main caregiver, given timing and family dynamics that were poor at the time, according to Matt. She was guardian of her pre-teen brother George, at her 1900 Census.  

Granddad was devoted to Etta and named his first child, Margaret Henrietta. Their conversations were long from his cozy den in British Columbia, to her home in Washington State. He would lean forward from his wheelchair, because the phone attached to the wall by a plug had no leeway. That was back in the day, when a call of that sort was long-distance, with a hefty per minute toll. Oh, to be a fly on that wall again.  Their reminiscing would include these very events, under study here.  I would be stroking Tuffy, the Siamese cat.

Posts authored by Doublegenealogytheadoptionwitness are copyright © Marilee Wein 2018. All rights reserved

^{Notes and Sources:}

A On this blog “Uproar at Groli Farm, Hattfjelldal, Christmas 1880, PART III”

B Memoirs of Matt Hemmingsen (1876-1967) cited on this blog.

<sup>1. The Hemmingsen Family Collection, including “John O Hemmingsen/Mary Margaret (Dickson) Hemmingsen” authored in 1999 by John Oliver Hemmingsen. All materials posthumously published at this blog are protected by copyright © Marilee Wein 2018. All rights reserved.
2. The National Archives of Norway, the Digital Archives https://media.digitalarkivet.no Norway Census 1865 RA/S-2231 of Nordland, Hatfjelldal, Church book for Vefsn parish 1851-1854 SAT/A-1459/820/L0292 [Berith Hass] Church book for Hatfjelldal parish 1860-1878 SAT/A-1459/823/L0324 [Marriage Hemmings/Mathisdr 30OCT1874 counter 100/156]
3. Documents Accessed at Family Search https://familysearch.org © 2017 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
United States Census Data for 1900 Emmet CO. Iowa, for Anna Mathison  Affiliate and data custodian: The United States Archive and Record Administration (NARA) https://www.archives.gov College Park, MD.</sup>

^{4 Find A Grave, database and images (findagrave.com: accessed database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 24 October 2019), memorial page for Gertrude M Mathison Myers (22 May 1890-4 Apr 1921) Memorial 61006137 , citing Oak Hill Cemetery, Esterville, Emmet County, Iowa, USA}

^{5 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 24 October 2019), memorial page
for Mathias M. Mathison (24 Feb 1859–20 Aug 1915), Find A Grave Memorial no. 78520458, citing East Side Cemetery, Estherville, Emmet County, IA, USA}