Family History Notes and Photos by Bob Mesenbrink

I am always amazed at the distances our ancestors traveled at a time when it was not very easy. Immigrants would come across the ocean, spending weeks on boat, oftentimes in horrible conditions. And then they would travel by horse and wagon, stagecoach, river boat, or train to their new homes. Karen Marie Kjeldgard was my wife's great grand aunt. She is the best example I have found of an immigrant who made major moves. She was born in Skarp Salling, near Aalborg, Denmark, May 11, 1857 to Peder Kjeldgaard and Mariane Jacobsdatter. Peder was a tailor and no doubt passed his knowledge on to his daughter, Karen. They left Denmark in 1875 and settled near Elk Horn, Iowa. Karen Marie Kjeldgaard Hollenbeck Karen married Coleman Edward Hollenbeck May 10, 1879. What is remarkable about the marriage is where they married - Fort Fetterman, Wyoming. Fort Fetterman was in cold and remote northern Wyoming, near present day Douglas, and in the 1870s, was actively involved in indian s...

I have updated this since first publishing it in 2015, adding the last paragraph discussing Martha's possible Indiana origins. There are too many ancestors, even relatively recent ancestors, who it seems nearly impossible to know anything about. Martha A. Brennan is one of those. I believe she came from Ireland, died young, perhaps even in childbirth. Her daughter was Lillian Davis (Stephenson), my great grandmother. Martha was the first wife of William Davis, marrying him in Jefferson county, Iowa, 18 December 1862. The Davises had settled in that area, which explains why William married there. I'm not sure what lead Martha there. Their daughter, Lillian Evelyn Davis, was born 15 April 1864, Galesburg, Illinois. William Davis became a railroad worker, and perhaps got his start in that industry in Galesburg, which was a major railroad hub as the railroads expanded west across the Mississippi during that time. And perhaps Martha had family there as well. If Martha was from I...

It seems like Ireland has always had a lot going on, and often not much to the benefit of the Irish. The Squibbs, many of whom were wealthy, landed, gentry in England, had a presence in Ireland as well, although for just a brief time in the long history of Ireland. Of particular interest to me are the ones that were in southern Tipperary, in lands between Cahir and Clogheen. A Col. John Squibb was listed as a co-owner of Castlegrace, just east of Clogheen, in Pender's Census of 1659. Castlegrace is reported by the Down Survey website (http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/) to have been owned by Thomas Butler, who held the title Baron Cahir, both in 1641 and 1670. So, why is John Squibb listed as running the place in 1659? History is essential to understanding genealogy. In the 1640s "Adventurers" from England and Scotland invested money in Cromwell's army and navy to invade Ireland and replace the Irish with English settlers. In return for their investments and back pay, the ...

The following is a story that I added to one of my trees on Ancestry. I thought by posting it here, I'd get a few more readers. David Brady was my 3rd great grandfather.Another post on David Brady is at  http://mesenbrinkphotos.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-twenty-children-of-david-brady.html . The information on David Brady's origin is sketchy. He is said to have been born in 1785 in Sussex county, New Jersey. When he died on July 12, 1878, he was 93 years, 1 month and 14 days of age according to his death certificate. Based on that, he was born May 28, 1785. His ages from the 1850, 1860 and 1870 censuses, when you consider the actual enumeration dates, confirm that birth year exactly. His obituary gives his birthplace as Sussex county, New York (not New Jersey). But there is no Sussex county in New York, so this is clearly an error. A biography in Glover's 1906 county history states his birthplace as Sussex county, New Jersey. Otherwise, there isn't a lot of evide...

William Combs was my 3g grandfather. He has many descendants and the Combs name isn't uncommon. But his origins have always been a question for me and others. He was born in Pennsylvania ca.1789, married Barbara Baum in Ross county Ohio ca. 1808, lived in Crawford county, Ohio, Buchanan county, Missouri and Madison county, Iowa, where he died in 1872. It is  common for people to trace him back to Job Combs of Shenandoah county, Virginia and Jefferson county, Tennessee. But I don't know what evidence there is for that. It seems reasonable. William claimed to have been born in Pennsylvania, not Virginia. But Shenandoah county was only 50 miles or so south of Pennsylvania, across the Maryland panhandle. Families were somewhat mobile. It is possible that Job Combs lived in Pennsylvania for a time, when William would have been born. But I haven't found evidence of Job Combs being in Pennsylvania. It is also possible that William was wrong about his birthplace. We really aren...

Cyrus Van Gundy, or Vangunda as he would later be called, was my great great grandfather. Born in Ohio, he grew up in Iowa, and homesteaded in Kansas and Colorado. The lure of cheap land and the new possibilities of the frontier, led his father, John Van Gundy, to take his family from rural Sycamore, Ohio to Jasper county, Iowa, near Prairie City. And Cyrus, likewise, was moved to leave that area for northwestern Kansas, and then again for eastern Colorado, and yet again for northwestern Colorado. So when he came home for a visit to Prairie City Iowa in 1915, it was fitting that he described himself as "An Old Man Looking Toward the West" to the Prairie City newspaper. Cyrus was born February 3rd, 1835 in Crawford county, Ohio, in the part that would later become Wyandot county. His father was John, and his mother was Susannah Combs, daughter of William and Barbara Baum Combs. The Van Gundys moved with William Combs and his family to Andrew county Missouri where they lived ...

1931 Class Photo - Palo Alto County, Iowa - Highland Township, Section 1 Back Row - L to R: Arnold Maiden, Kathryn Brown, Allen Maiden, Maytha Smith, Ruth Iverson, Bob Brown. Middle Row - L to R: Edith Iverson, Lela Larsen (Jones), Betty Morck. Front Row - L to R: Esther Iverson, Dick Brown, Elliott Larsen, Rose Brown, Leo Wikert, Roland Wikert. Mary Doyle taught this class. The school was located on the southwest corner of section 1, Highland Township, about 4 miles east and 1 mile north of Ruthven, Iowa. You can see the Browns and Iversons on this 1929 plat map. Larsens purchased the Sullivan farm.