As told to EDNA H. FRISK by her husband RALPH A. FRISK in 1979
 with special thanks to their son and his wife, JACK and VI, for typing and copies.

Our thanks go to other family members who also contributed information.

Because this is written about Albert Frisk and Matilda Lindholm, their ancestors and descendants, its purpose is solely to help satisfy the curiosity of the present descendants and also promote a feeling of pride in the faith and stability of their ancestors. It is intended only for those of kin, but may be read by anyone who feels they may find enjoyment in the reading, but is not to be published.

Any error found in the reporting of any incident is entirely unintentional and we hope will be forgiven.

The above families originated in Sweden and later came to America to make their home.

The population movement by the Swedish people to America was greatly influenced by the American letters written home by those who bad ventured out first. These letters depicted very lavishly the advantages found in America. Swedes were impressed by the report of a generous supply of corn, hog, and pumpkins, and that doors need not be locked for there were no beggars in America. The climate was healthier and more invigorating than their native Sweden, and that there was no artificial class distinction in the land across the Sea. One Swedish-American wrote, "There are no large Estates whose owner can take the last sheaf from his dependents and then turn them out to beg." Ministers and Churches were said to be less worldly in America and there was a constant striving to spread the healing salvation of the Gospel. Hired men and maids ate at the same table with their employers and wore clothes of the same style. It was no disgrace to work here for both gentlemen and day laborers work. No one was degraded by humble toil.

Of course not all the letters that came from immigrants in America were so optimistic as these just cited. One Swedish Pastor immigrant observed that, "The American competes with the mosquito to bleed the immigrant." Some American letters expressed bitter regret for having yielded to the lure of the New World, but the great majority were enthusiastic descriptions of a land of unlimited opportunity in contrast with what was available to the poor at home. These letters were read and re-read and discussed in the home, among relatives and friends, at the Market Place, in Church, at the County Fairs and were often printed for wider circulation in the Newspapers. Such American Letters were sufficient stimulus to spread the "America Fever" through an entire Parish or district.

The foregoing paragraphs were taken from the book, entitled, "The Saga of the Immigrant" by Carl Wittke, but were not copied verbatim.

In the 1800's in Sweden there was a Government Law, requiring each teen-age male citizen to enroll in Military Training. This was the country's method of preparedness to combat any uprisings or an attempted invasion from another country.

Many men in the Military had the same family name, which was confusing for the records as well as mail distribution, so the Government sought to eliminate this problem by assigning new family names to individuals.

For instance, there were many families of no blood relation, named Johnson. The Johnson family of whom I am writing was assigned the name Frisk. When a man was discharged from the Service, he was privileged to revert back to his original name or retain his assigned name. The name "Frisk" in the Swedish language means, "healthy."

The Government of Sweden imposed a heavy tax on their citizens, the purpose, they said, was to build roads and improve living conditions for All, but was used primarily to enhance the living conditions of the powerful and the wealthy. For those who were financially poor, this was a great burden. Most of these people lived on small farms from which they were expected to grow their own fruit and vegetable supplies. They were allowed a limited number of sheep cattle and swine and if they could manage to have a few head not needed for their own consumptions they were permitted to sell them to help supplement their household needs. But if the family was large in numbers there was seldom any surplus. The only means these people had for paying their taxes was for the head of the household to work for the Government. Eventually, the taxes were increased to the point that it required the entire daily working hours of the householder to make the tax payments. Therefore, his wife and children were left to operate the farm as best they could. That meant, of course, they must plow, plant and reap the crops. Many of the men resorted to the trade they had learned from their parents, when they were children at home, such as Tailoring, Furniture making, Weaving etc. This work had to be done at night after a long hard day of road construction, but in this way they were able to eke out a modest living for their families.

About 97% of the population of Sweden was listed as Lutheran and that was the State Church. Swedes were born into the State Church and could leave it only by formal action. Everyone was taxed for its support, although Separatists paid less then members. The Separatists were those who had taken the formal action necessary to permit them to delete their membership. The Methodist Missionaries were influential in organizing other Church groups, yet their members were never released from paying taxes to the State Church. It was very difficult to financially support both Churches. The Church Organization in which the Johnsons and the Larsons of whom I am writing, placed their memberships, was called "Mission Friend."

These were the conditions in Sweden when Inga M. (family name unknown) was born near Lindschuping, and in the same vicinity, later, Pierre Charles Johnson was born. Of course Pierre Charles was drafted into Military and when he had completed his term and returned to his home he was married to his sweetheart, Inga. They remained living in the same community of Lindschuping, where their three children were born. Below is the record.

Inga M. (family name unknown) - born August 13, 1826 - died April 16, 1897 (Internment, Swedish Cemetery, Mountain Grove, Missouri)

Married about 1854 to

Pierre Charles Johnson - born in Lindschuping, Sweden, December 3, 1836 - died December 3l, 1899 (Internment, Swedish cemetery, Mountain Grove, Missouri)

Their children:

Charlie - born 1856 - died about 1940 (Internment probably in New Mexico)

Albert Claus - born May 29, 1858 - died September 3, 1899 (Internment, Swedish Cemetery, Mountain Grove Missouri)

Augusta - born 1860 - date of death unknown (Internment, probably Springfield, Missouri)

Pierre had a brother and a sister, but we are unable to learn their names. The brother came to America soon after Pierre had arrived. He spent a few days with his brother and family then departed and never again made contact with anyone in the settlement. The sister married a man named Reberry, but we have no information on that family except we were able to learn the names of four of their children, who lived in the vicinity of Mountain Grove, Missouri. They were: Charley, Albert, Otto and Dave.

After Pierre and their children were established in America, they found that there were many other Johnson families, from Sweden, who had also come to America to make their home. So the same problem of names arose, as with the Military in Sweden. There was such a mix-up with the mail, as well as confusion with legal papers, it was decided to take the name Frisk that had been assigned to Pierre in the Swedish Military. From now on, in this discourse, this Johnson family will be called Frisk.

Charlie Frisk married Eva Norling. The names of their children were: Ida, Emil, Clara, Esther, Norling and Ruth. While most of their children were still living at home, the family all moved to New Mexico and we lost contact with them. In recent years we have been told that none of them are still living.

Uncle Charlie visited in and around Mountain Grove, Missouri in 1928. He was probably in his late seventies, but was very alert and active. He liked to have you know that he had always been ambitious, even as a child. He would relate how it was that when he came with his parents to this country, he was too young to work on the railroad with his father and the other men, so he got a job as water boy. It was really a very tiresome job when the weather was so hot, but he was earning a little money so he stayed with the job. One really couldn't blame him to be proud of his ambitions.

While Uncle Charlie was visiting in our vicinity, he came to spend a few days in our home. Our baby son, Jack, was very ill with the flu, and Uncle Charlie was so kind and helpful to Edna that she always remembered his kindness and loved him for being so thoughtful. Following that visit we were never privileged to see him again.

Aunt Augusta married a man named Henry Gruenberg, who worked as a painter in the Frisco Railroad Shops in Springfield, Missouri. All of their children were born in Springfield. We have the names of only 3 of their 5 children. They were: Olga, Edgar and Pauline. We visited in the home of Olga at one time and had a lovely visit, but after an exchange of a few letters, we neglected to keep in touch.

We are very sorry that we have no more information on the family of my Grandfather and Grandmother Frisk and their families. We could have gleaned some data from Uncle Charlie and also Olga, but we were not thinking at that time of ever writing any kind of a history of the families. I do feel that there are more important things to do than to write of ones ancestors, but I promised a long time ago to attempt a story, and I am just now getting my promise fulfilled even though it may be a meager account.

Albert Claus Frisk married Matilda Joy Lindholm on December 24, 1881, but we will relate something of the Lindholm ancestors before writing of Albert and Matilda's family.

Living conditions were much the same all over Sweden and so it was under the same conditions, as stated at the beginning of this discourse, in the vicinity of Gutenberg, that Kajisa Jahans was born. About a year later, in the same vicinity, Carl John Larson was born. When he was old enough, Carl John also had to serve in the Military. The Larsons met with the same problem as the Johnsons, of having too many Larsons, so Carl John Larson was assigned the name Lindholm. We have not been given a meaning for the name Lindholm. After becoming discharged from the service, Carl reverted back to his original name of Larson.

Perhaps Carl and Kajisa had been sweethearts before he had to enter Military Training, but anyway soon after he returned home, they were married. Below is their personal record.

Kajisa Jahans - born July 5, 1836 - died June, 1911 (Internment, Swedish Cemetery, Mountain Grove, Missouri)

Married about 1858 to

Carl John Larson - born August 23, 1837 - died November 4, 1901 (Internment, Swedish Cemetery, Mountain Groves Missouri)

After they were married Kajisa and Carl moved to a little village in Sweden, called Skjovede, and it was there that their two children were born.

Their children:

Matilda - born October 28, 1860 - died June 23, 1959 (Internment, Burwood Cemetery, Escalon, California)

Emma - born August, 1865 - died July 16, 1915 (Internment Swedish Cemetery, Mountain Grove, Missouri)

Emma was a cripple from birth, probably from a misplaced hip, but doctors, in that time, had not learned to correct such an injury. A person with such an injury had to endure it through life.

Like the Johnsons, the Larsons found that many families by the name of Larson had also come to America to make their home. It was almost impossible to keep legal matters correct and to get proper distribution of mail, so they adopted the name Lindholm as had been assigned to Carl in Sweden. Now we shall address this Larson family as Lindholm for the remainder of our discourse.

My Grandfather Carl Lindholm had three brothers. They were: Andrew, Peter and Gus. Andrew was the Grandfather of John Donelson; Peter was the father of Bert Lindholm and Anna Lindholm Russell; Gus was the father of Charlie Lindholm.

Andrew and Gus must have accompanied Carl to America with the group of men who came ahead of their wives and children. Peter accompanied my Grandmother Kajisa Lindholm and her children Matilda and Emma. Peter helped to pay the expenses for Grandma Lindholm and her children but later he was reimbursed by my Grandfather. I don't recall hearing anything else about my Grandfather's brothers.

When the men arrived in New York, about 1868 or ‘69, they applied for citizenship but it was five or more years before any citizenship were permitted to be granted. These Swedish immigrants came to New York by boat and then further west by train. There was such an influx of immigrants from many countries to America that there was always men meeting the ships, such as Real Estate Agents, Plantation Managers, Business men, and there were many men seeking common day laborers. Of course, most immigrants were to a disadvantage because they were unable to speak the English language well, nor could they understand it well. So they would be glad to accept most any job available until they could get better acquainted and better established in the American ways.

The men, of whom I am writing, accepted jobs working on a railroad that was being built from Springfield, Missouri to St. Louis, Missouri. They went by railroad to Marshfield, Missouri where they worked from until the railroad was completed.

After the men had accumulated enough money they sent for their families. They sold their farms and personal possessions in Sweden. Grandma Lindholm was able to total $1,600 for what she sold, but I don't remember hearing how much Grandma Frisk was able to get. Grandma Lindholm's $1,600 was not sufficient to pay all expenses and that was why Uncle Peter had to help out.

While waiting for their families to arrive, the men went to Springfield and applied for homestead rights. They didn't have much choice as to the locations for once a Real Estate Agent became involved with the immigrant, he (the agent), would place the immigrant where he wished. So this group of Swedes were located about three miles west of Mountain Grove, Missouri, where they were allotted quite a large acreage of land on which they could homestead. It was five years before they could prove up on their homestead.

I think that perhaps all my readers know that to prove up on a homestead, there are certain improvements to be made, such as building a house to live in and some other necessary buildings. Also there was a specified amount of fence to build, and a certain amount of acres to clear and cultivate each year for the first five years. Altogether, it took a lot of time to complete the improvements required. It was 1875 or later before the citizenship papers and deeds, to their homesteaded farms, were granted. It-was then that these Swedish people began to really feel at ease and at home in America.

I'm sure that all these families, including the Frisks and Lindholms, did not cross the ocean in the same ship nor did their men folk all travel together but the men likely got grouped together in New York where they were seeking work and locations. In any case they all reached the same destination to make their homes.

The Swedes are described as even-tempered, serious-minded individuals, and have a strong sense of ownership, so they stayed with their ambitions and adapted themselves to the American conditions. They are law-abiding and willing to work and they came to America to stay.

Swedes are also neat and clean and save for a rainy day. They have an unsurpassed devotion to education and send their children to school. The rate of illiteracy among them is very low.

My Grandfather Lindholm was a very ambitious man and very honest.

He never had debts, but he was always the first in his area to buy new equipment. He had the first farm wagon in his community and he used it to help his neighbors. He harvested lots of corn and hay and if a neighbor ran short, so that he was in need of feed, Grandpa would load up some of what he could do without and deliver it to this neighbor. He would never accept any pay for it. He was so kind and generous.

Now we will join together the immigrant Swedish families of Lindholm and Frisk, by the marriage of my Mother and Father.

Matilda Joy Lindholm and Albert Claus Frisk were married at Hartville Missouri, the county seat of Wright County, on December 24, 1881. She was 21 and he was 23. Mother told often of the special words spoken, to the two of them, by the minister who married them. Taken from the 23rd. Psalm, he had spoken to each of them in turn, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."

"That was for me," she would say.

"And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

"And that was for him."

Below is the personal record of Matilda and Albert Frisk.

Matilda Joy Lindholm - born October 28, 1860 - died June 23, 1959 (Internment, Burwood Cemetery, Escalon, California)

Married December 24, 1881 to

Albert Claus Frisk - born May 29, 1858 - died September 3, 1899 (Internment, Swedish Cemetery, Mountain Grove, Missouri)

All their children were born at Mountain Grove, Missouri, and were:

Anna, Marie - born December 1, 1882 - died August 2, 1924

Matilda Joy Lindholm Frisk, age 95

Henry Charles - born May 12, 1884 - died January 26, 1976 (Internment, Burwood Cemetery, Escalon, California)

Alvin James - born January 16, 1886 - died July 4, 1970 (Internment, Swedish Cemetery, Mountain Grove, Missouri)

George Richard - born February 5, 1888 - died October 23, 1974 (Interment, Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, Nampa, Idaho)

Hattie – born June 16 1890 – died April 20, 1979 (Internment, Dundee Cemetery, Dundee, Oregon)

Ethel Clara - born September 3, 1892 - died September 28, 1968 (Internment, Burwood Cemetery, Escalon, California)

Harry Edward - born March 22, 1895 - died February 4, 1967 (Internment, Oaklawn Memorial Park, Oakdale, California)

Ralph Albert - born March 28, 1897

Lawrence Elmer - born September 28, 1899 - died July 12, 1972 (Internment, Burwood Cemetery, Escalon, California)

I have only a little remembrance of my father, Albert Frisk, who died of typhoid at age forty-one (9/3/1899), when I was very young, but I recall a couple of stories told about him.

One night my father thought the horse had broken into the cornfield, because he heard her whinny. Not wanting the crop destroyed, he rushed outside to corral her. He had only gone a few steps from the kitchen door when he felt a sharp sting on the inside of his ankle. He went back into the house to get a light, as he suspected he had been bitten by a snake. Going back outside he was bitten again on the outside of the same ankle, by the same Copperhead snake. He killed the snake, then tried to suck the poison from the bites, but of course, could not reach the bite on the outside of his ankle. He then got dressed, saddled the horse (who had apparently made the noise because of the snake), and rode to a neighbor’s house. Together they rode into town to see the doctor. I am not sure how else the doctor treated the bites, but, I am told, he gave my father a pint of whiskey and told him he had to drink it down fast. Strangely, my father did not get drunk, but he did recover from the snakebite and was back home the next morning.

My father, Albert, was a very hard worker. I remember being told about him shucking a wagonload of corn during the day, and then he would go out and kill a wild turkey at night. The next morning he would take the corn and the turkey to town and sell them. He got about 50¢ for the turkey and I don't know how much for the corn. There was no game law at that time and turkeys were so plentiful, that it was all right to kill them at any time. Albert's family became so tired of eating wild turkey, that they preferred selling the turkey and perhaps buy something else to eat. I was only two and one half years old when my father died and my brother Lawrence was born less than four weeks later, September 28, 1899. Of course my mother had to be busy caring for her nine children, so I feel sure she had little time to tell us of her childhood in Sweden.

Here are a few of the stories recalled by myself and some other members of the family.

My mother, Matilda, was nine years old the day she left Sweden, but it wasn't a very pleasant birthday for her or any other passengers on the ship. They had to cross the North Sea and it is such a rough treacherous Sea, that they all got so sick that they thought they would die. They could not afford to buy first class tickets, so they didn't get much attention and no water, so that made it doubly sickening for them. But they did all survive.

For a child of nine, my mother was very adept at learning and understanding the English language. She could also speak it quite well. Oftentimes she was asked to accompany her elders when they went for some legal work, or even to buy merchandise. She wanted to get some work with the Americans to earn a little money, but most she was anxious to learn the ways of them and be able to understand them better. A Mrs. Hayes in Mountain Grove learned of Matilda’s wishes, so she employed Matilda to help with her housework. Mrs. Hayes was so kind to Matilda and invited her to join her Sunday School class at the Methodist Church in Mountain Grove. Because Matilda learned so fast, Mrs. Hayes presented her with a King James Version of the Bible written in English. Soon Matilda was reading her Bible, but often times she would enjoy reading her Swedish Bible. During haying season she would help with the loading and unloading of the hay. When she walked behind the wagon, as they came from the fields she carried her New Testament and she would read from it as she walked.

When Matilda was about sixteen, she determined to go to work in order to help out with family expenses. There was a prospect of work in Springfield, and it was arranged that she should go there. Her uncle was taking a load of lumber to Springfield, so Matilda, with a girl friend went with him to the city. They did not ride, because the oxen were so overloaded, but walked the entire journey of sixty-five miles beside the slow moving oxen. For many months, she worked here for two dollars per week, all of which she sent home to her family. She later said, that she was so homesick during her time in Springfield, that she cried herself to sleep every night.

Two other stories of my mother's childhood, as she told them to her granddaughter, Vera and Vera told them to me.

In order to help out in paying her Uncle Peter for helping to finance the family's trip to America, Matilda was assigned to baby-sit Uncle Peter’s baby son, Bert. When she couldn't get him to sleep for his nap, she would carry him out in the sunlight and that would cause him to close his eyes so he was soon asleep.

When Matilda was about ten or eleven years old, she was assigned to plant beans between the rows of corn. She was tired, so after a few were planted, she found a hollow tree stump and she put the remainder of the beans in the hollow of that stump. She kept watch and when the beans in the stump sprouted, she destroyed them. She told Vera that that was the only mean thing she ever did.

Because of the difficulty of the Swedish people to understand ministers and Bible teachers who spoke in English, they longed for a Church of their own people. There was a Lumber Mill in Douglass County; about twenty-five miles south of Mountain Grove, but this Mill did not have a Planer. The closest Planing Mill was at Springfield, about sixty-five miles west from Mountain Grove. The men drove team of oxen into Douglass County, to the mill, and then brought their loads of lumber to Mountain Grove; then on the sixty-five miles further to the Planing Mill in Springfield; then the planed lumber back home again. A trip of one hundred eighty miles for the lumber to use in building a place of worship for the Swedish people of that community. This church building became known as Stony Point Church. They did, so much, enjoy worshipping in their own language.

As the younger ones attended school and became able to speak and understand the English language, this language began to be used in their worship service, and their American neighbors began to join them in their worship. Everyone was always made so welcome at Stony Point.

After some years the original church building burned, but another building was erected on the same foundation and this building still stands. Although, with the modern transportation, it is seldom used today for any type of meetings.

At the time of their marriage, my mother and father homesteaded the farm, of 160 acres, in the Swedish Community. Later they added another forty acres. There was useful timber on the land, including walnut trees. These walnut trees produced lot of nuts, and the lumber was very valuable. They never sold the nuts, but did enjoy eating them, as they were very good.

The two of them made the necessary improvements, of erecting fences and buildings, also clearing and cultivating the land, in order to acquire the deed. This was their home, and where their children were born, for the eighteen years that my father lived after their marriage,

After my father's death, my mother continued living on the farm. We all had to work, to make ends meet. My oldest brother was fifteen and as the older boys became teenagers they would find work elsewhere. In the planting and harvesting seasons they would find work in Kansas. During the winter months, they attended school, but there were always chores to be done after school and on Saturdays. Then, too, they had to cut wood from the timber on the farm for our winter fuel. Sometimes it was necessary to hew out a few railroad ties to sell for some extra money for taxes and repair on buildings etc. So there were times when it was necessary for the boys to miss school to work. We milked cows and mother sold butter. After a few years we bought a cream separator, so we had cream to sell. Then we had chickens and had eggs to sell. As the older ones grew older and married, the next one younger would assume the responsibilities of the older one. This went on until all the children were grown and married. My sisters did housework for others when such work was available. Every one did their part to help earn a living.

Perhaps the most tiring task we had was the making of molasses in the fall. It was a twenty-four hour a day job, so when it was started there was no stopping until it was finished. We did stop work on Sunday in order to attend services and to get some rest. Then on Monday morning we had to start over again in our molasses making.

To make molasses, we extracted the juice from the cane by crushing it in a roller mill. Then the juice was processed or cooked, in a vat having three compartments. When the juice in the first compartment was cooked properly, it was run into the second compartment. After cooking sufficiently there, it was run into the third compartment where it was cooked to the finished product. There was a fire kept burning under this vat day and night, so each vat had to have juice in it at all times. That meant keeping a continuous flow of juice going in at all times, both day and night. To do this we had a mill with rollers to crush the cane to extract the juice. The mill was operated by a sweep, which was a long slender pole above the rollers. A horse was hitched to the end of the pole, and had to travel in a circle to keep the rollers grinding. One person had to keep feeding the cane into the mill. The making of molasses lasted for several weeks. Some people bought molasses from us, while others brought their cane for us to make up. Some wanted us to make it on the shares for them. That gave us a surplus of molasses, but we were usually able to sell the surplus.

Grandpa Lindholm bought a sewing machine for my mother. Of course with a family of nine children she certainly made use of it. She also used it to sew for many others. She would never charge for sewing for others.

Then Grandpa Lindholm bought her a loom so she could weave rugs and rag carpets, She did charge something for her weaving, but her work was done so well that she got more orders than she could fill in a short time. Her customers were willing to wait; for they said that her weaving was so firm and strong that it was worth waiting for.

We also had sheep, which we would shear, and then mother would wash and card and spin the wool. She used the yarn to weave blankets and to knit stockings and other garments.

And so it was, we were never cold or hungry but we could not have many luxuries.

After my Grandfather Lindholm died in 1901, my grandmother and Aunt Emma moved into my Mother's home. My grandmother was blind and, as mentioned before, Aunt Emma was a cripple. She never married. The two of them wanted and did do many things to be helpful. Even though grandma’s eyesight was gone she could, and did, knit stockings. One job she claimed to be her special own job was to shell the dry beans. People at that time had not learned how to can green beans. No one at that time knew how to can vegetables, but we did can a lot of fruit. We produced peaches, apples, plums, and grapes, and had several varieties of each. We canned fruit, made jelly and preserves, and also dried some peaches, pears and apples. We would bury apples deep into the ground by digging a hole, then put straw into the hole, place the apples on the straw, then cover with more straw, then cover them over with dirt. The apples kept beautifully without freezing, but it was really a task to dig them out in cold weather. The fresh apples tasted so delicious during the winter weather. We, sometimes, buried the apples in the hay loft but couldn't keep them so long there, for the hay had to be fed to the stock, of course taking the hay covering off the apples.

My Aunt Emma did not like to do housework so well, but she loved to work in the garden and grow flowers. And so it was that all worked and at times we all played. My Mother said it was really a gala day for us children, if our Grandmother and Aunt would go away for a day. We would run and halloo, and be as noisy as we wanted to be for we knew we were not disturbing anyone. If Mother was disturbed, she did not say anything, for it made her so happy for us to have that freedom sometimes.

My sister Anna married soon after my father's death. They lived for a time near us, and then moved into the area of what is now the Lake of the Ozarks. After a number of years, my sister became ill and realized she did not have so much more time on this earth. She expressed the desire to move into town where the children would have better advantages of school and other things. So the family moved into Versailles, Missouri. In 1924 my sister, Anna, died, leaving a family of a son and ten daughters. The son Albert, was twenty-three and the oldest. The youngest was a daughter only nine days old. Then about two years later tragedy struck again. Their father was killed in a wood saw accident. Albert took over the finances and became head of the household while the girls did their part in keeping the house and caring for the little children. As an older girl went out to work on a job, or got married, the next one younger would take over. And so it was until the girls were all married. Albert demanded the best from each girl, as she was qualified. If her report card showed that she was capable, and then maybe suddenly her grades dropped, he would make inquiry and if she were just playing around, he would restrict some of her freedom to go places until her grades were improved. Even though they might have become a little miffed at him at the time; after they were grown they had the highest regard for him and really loved him. They were really such a co-operative family and there is still much love between them. Albert married late in life, and even though he had no children of his own, he was always considerate and kind to his wife's four grown children, and he treated his sisters much as if they were his children.

My other two sisters got to help with cooking and housework for the neighbors during harvest seasons. They got little pay and oftentimes not any, but it was good training for them and taught them the joy of serving others. I’m sure they were repaid many times by kindnesses to them by others as they went through life. Jesus taught that service to others is the most rewarding service of all.

Many times my mother was an angel of mercy. She was often called at childbirth, as well as for other illnesses and deaths. She always accepted the call to go any place at any time, day or night. She would get paid $1.00 to deliver a baby. On one occasion, the father did not have a dollar to give to her, so he gave her a big yellow cat. That seemed funny to we kids, but to mother it was a very welcome gift. For some reason, we didn’t know what, we had run out of cats and were being deluged with mice and rats. This cat was such a good mouser, that soon we were almost free of rodents.

My mother always took her family to worship services on Sunday, and for years she taught a Sunday School class. She conducted daily devotions in her home and when any of her children departed on a journey, she would have a prayer with, and for them, before their departure. She was a woman of great faith, and it is by faith and faithfulness that we are promised a home in Heaven.

My mother had a special gift, perhaps because of her complete faith and love of Christ, She often times knew events before they happened. On Christmas day, of 1889, my mother was drawing a bucket of water from the well, when she had a vision telling her that her husband would soon die, but not to worry, she would be able to care for the family alone. Several months later my father, Albert, became ill. For awhile they were unable to determine what was wrong, but then his illness was diagnosed as walking typhoid. On September 3, 1899, eight months after mother's visions, he died of typhoid fever.

Then at a later time, my mother seemed to walk around in a dream for about three days. Suddenly she said to me, "He is coming back," I asked her, "Who is coming back?" She smiled at me and answered, "Harry! He has been very, very sick but he is better now and getting well." Mother was so happy and completely back to herself again.

This was during World War I, and my brother Harry was overseas. He served in the General’s Bodyguard, which was the 89th, Division of the A.B.F. He was at the front during the most severe fighting of the war, fighting at the Argonne and at Metz Hill where huge contingents of French and Americans lost their lives. In these engagements, he was shell shocked and gassed. Later he had influenza and complications and was in various hospitals he did not know where, but somewhere in France, for six months. Harry told us later how sick he had been, that he knew be was dying. That for three full days and nights they had kept the sheets pulled around his bunk, as they knew the end was near. He remembered feeling that his bunk was going down and down, as though he were fading away into nothingness. Then it was as though Mother had entered the room, she was so sweet and calm.

Harry heard her say, "Son, I have come to take care of you." Her presence seemed to linger in the room, and he felt as though his bunk was slowly rising up again. From that point on his recovery was rapid. We, at home, knew he had been hospitalized but nothing more. It was after Harry returned home that we heard his story and realized that the night that he thought mother was with him, was at the time she told us that he would come back. Mother had other visions, and though we did not completely understand, we felt that it was her trust in God that made them possible.

In 1917 my brother Alvin's wife died, leaving four small children. Mother went to Kansas to do what she could for them, and then brought the three-week-old baby, Grace, home with her to care for. Two years later she also took Vera, who was about two when her mother died, into her home. Ray the oldest one and Hazel the next one, were six and four years old respectively, stayed with other relatives and were shifted from one to another until they were grown.

My Mother was fifty-seven years old when Grace and Vera came to live with her. The two girls were a lot of comfort to their Grandma and made their home with her until after all her children were married. Even at her age she would accompany the little girls to worship services at night, and also go with them to parties until they were old enough to have boy friends for escorts. They too, grew up and got married and moved into homes of their own.

In 1937, my sister Ethel and her family moved to California. They persuaded my mother to move with them. She was never privileged to see her Missouri home again. My mother was seventy-seven, and had lived for fifty-six years on the farm that she and my father had homesteaded together. The move to California may not have been easy, for her, but she was a person who could adapt to any situation, and she remained happy and active for many years. She made her home with Ethel, and her family, until her death in 1959. She was nearly ninety-nine years of age, and left behind two hundred thirty-four descendants.

It was with regret that within a few years, after mother's death, we felt we must sell the old homestead. And homestead it was. My parents homesteaded it in 1881, as they began their life together, and it was the home where all of us, their children, grew up.

This report is far from perfect, in both literary style and content, but we hope it may answer a few questions you may have concerning your original families.

We are assigning your personal records to a sheet for each family. If there are errors we pray for your forgiveness, and if there is anything you wish to change or add, it is your privilege.

May God bless each one who reads this, and if we all meet in Heaven, what a wonderful big reunion that will be.  Hope to see all of you there.

By Ralph and Edna Frisk at home in Reardan, Washington, 1979

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