There are many ways to interpret negatives. The obvious is negatives from film or slides. I don’t really have any of those from ancestors. Another is negative life events. There are any number of those to chose from, childhood death, early adult death, hospitalization, losing their home, lawsuits, literally losing their farm. You can also have negative reactions from your living family members when something you learn doesn’t fit with the stories they’ve been told.
I decided to focus on a family member of my husband this week. Hein Hartje arrived in New York in 1868 from Hamburg. Rebecka, his wife, and four of his sons were also on the voyage. The boys were Jacob, Heinrich, Hinrick, and Peter. Jacob was seven, and Peter, my husband’s great grandfather was less than a year old. By 1870 they have a farm in southern Minnesota and have added one more son John Frederick. Their real estate is valued at about $1500, which seems to be average for that location. There were a few other farmers in the same area from Hannover which may be why the Hartje family settled in this location.
By 1880 they have added one more son and three daughters. The youngest daughter Emma was born in 1876. Things must have been going well for them, I recently found a news article that mentioned a Hartje Hall in this location. I am hoping to go to this area of Minnesota at some point to do a little more research. Hein did not live to be part of the 1880 Census, he passed away June 24, 1879. Rebecka was left with a farm and nine children. According to the Federal Mortality Schedule he was 55 when he passed and had only lived here for four years. It is sad to me that he probably worked very hard to bring his family to America but didn’t live long enough to fully enjoy what he achieved.
Rebecka may have had a very lean year with her nine children. I would love to find out more about where they were living at the time. I found a couple of notices about the estate of Hein Hartje being up for sale. Notice I said ‘a’ very lean year. By 1980 Rebecka was remarried to Andrew Henke, who was also from Hannover, so maybe they already knew each other before arriving in America? The oldest son Jacob had moved out but they have all eight of the remaining children as well as Andrew’s mother living in their home.
I just recently received a copy of the marriage license for Rebecca and Andrew. We also found their graves on a trip to North Dakota. I find gathering all these bits and pieces of their lives helps to bring them more into focus for the descendants they leave behind. The hardships our ancestors faced to make a better life for themselves and their children are the negatives when I realize they never really had the chance to enjoy what they created.
have a fun journey learning about your ancestors.
My Tree in the Forest 