Charlottaís marker
This genealogist found puzzles and surprises when he went down the family history path
By MaryHelen Swanson According to the dictionary, a genealogist is a person who traces or studies the descent of a person or families. Speak with a genealogist - theyíre the ones with the portfolio of papers, pictures, maps and clippings under their arms - and youíll discover that they are also people who often uncover very interesting surprises. One such person is Jim Shetler who has been trekking around Chisago County doing some of his genealogical footwork. The fruit of hours of research resulted in the recent installation of a grave marker for his great-grandmother in the Wm. Taylor Cemetery just southeast of Rush City. Now, the family is not 100 percent sure that Charlotta Zackrison is buried in the cemetery, but months of study point to an eternal resting place at that peaceful site and thatís where they have marked a grave for her. With the help of Rush City area resident Doris Colliander, the descendants of Charlotta determined that the appropriate place to put the marker was next to the grave of Lillian Zacherson, located about midway into the cemetery and near the southern border. Had Charlotta lived, Lillian would have been her daughter-in-law, according to Shetlerís research. The mystery unfolds To the familyís surprise, when they arrived at Taylor Cemetery May 26 to install Charlottaís marker, they found fresh artificial flowers on Lillianís grave. This puzzled Shetler who had no knowledge of any relative who would be visiting the grave.
Shetler and his family were curious, not knowing who in Rush City knew Lillian, or of her, to put out the floral remembrance. Eager to solve the mystery, Shetler left a note wrapped in plastic on Lillianís grave. But he wasnít sure anyone would ever see it. Thatís when he contacted the Post Review for some help. He wanted to know how to place a notice or ad so the flower donor would come forward. Shetler was expecting to perhaps find a new branch of his family tree. A date was set for a reporter to meet with him at the cemetery for a picture and some background information to help find the secret donor. But the night before the meeting Shetlerís mystery was solved when he learned that one of Lillianís nieces, who lives in the Twin Cities, was the one remembering the aunt. Shetler remembers hearing the womanís name a lot. She was a friend of his motherís, he said. But she was no relation to him or to this part of his family. Apparently, Shetler said, Lillian came from a large family, eight or nine siblings and they left quite a number of descendants. A very interesting story Mystery solved or not, the story of Charlotta Zackrison is still very interesting. Hereís a bit of it, as relayed by Shetler, so you can see what the study of genealogy can do for a family. Charlotta Larsdotter left Sweden in the spring of 1886. Her sister and husband, Lovisa and John P. Sjogarstrand were living near Harris and she came to join them. She met a widow named Carl Zachariason. He soon began going by the more American name ìCharlesî and they married Dec. 29, 1886, making their home on land near what is now Government Road and County Road 56. They had a son, John, in spring 1888 and a daughter, Hulda, in winter 1891. Charlotta died nine days after Hulda was born of complications from the birth. A note in the Rush City Post of March 9, 1891 read: Mrs. Zachariason, living on the St. Croix bottoms near Chippewa Hill, died last Monday. Charles, or Charley, who further Americanized his name to Zackrison, could not care for his infant daughter and gave her to an old friend, Anna Rodbom Stark, to be raised. Anna and her son, Andrew, bought land and lived adjacent to the Zackrison farm. Through a series of events, Hulda eventually ended up living with Annaís son John and his wife in northern Minnesota. In 1910, Hulda married Ole Hoglund. They had nine children and 32 grandchildren. In honor of the 100th anniversary of Oleís arrival in the United States (1902), his descendants decided to have a reunion this summer in the Twin Cities. Getting ready for the reunion Shetler began researching the family genealogy to prepare for the reunion; he is the 25th grandchild of Hulda and Ole. His research led him to Rush City where he found the homestead where his grandmother was born and where it is presumed that Charlotta died. He located descendants of the Sjogarstrand family in the Rush City area and learned that his great-grandfather, Charley Zackrison, died in 1906 in Minneapolis. He also learned that there have been many different spellings of the Zacherson name, depending on where records are found: Zachariason, Zachrison, Zacherson and even Sacherson. As Shetler discovered, ìnothing is ëeasyí in the world of genealogy.î With all this family information in hand, Shetler still had not found Charlottaís grave. He said he searched cemeteries from Sunrise to Harris to Fish Lake. It was while wandering through Taylor Cemetery that he found graves of two people from his familyís history. One was Adelia Rodbom, John Starkís daughter who died of an appendicitis attack in 1902, and the other was that of Lillian, the wife of John Eric, the son of Charley and Charlotta. Although Lillian and John lived in Minneapolis, when she died in 1918 of influenza John brought her back to Rush City to bury her in the Taylor Cemetery. She was a native of Rush City. Shetler said after extensive research, he and his family concluded that Charlotta must have been buried in Taylor also. They surmised that since Adelia and Lillian were buried in this cemetery it must have some importance for the family. Additionally, it is about one mile due north of the Zackrison farmstead. Shetler contacted John and Lillianís surviving son, Clarence, who lives in the Twin Cities. When he told John of his research, John agreed that Taylor Cemetery was the most likely final resting place of Charlotta, his grandmother. And he agreed that the unused grave next to Lillian could be used to place a marker honoring her. Charlottaís husband Charley was buried in Maplewood, also without a marker. The family took up a collection and put markers on both their graves. Resting in peace Taylor Cemetery is a peaceful place where the wind whispers secrets about the past through tall pine trees. There are a lot of old graves at this cemetery, some so old the words are being lost to the elements on markers that lean this way and that. But itís a well-kept cemetery and people make an effort to remember some of the people, at least, with artificial flowers and American flags. Whether Charlottaís remains lie there or not, it is good place to honor the memory of a great-grandmother. The meeting at Taylor Cemetery was held last week. Shetler said, ìMy mystery has been solved, but maybe thereís still some interest in how the new marker got there, in case anyone up there ever notices.î
Top of Page
©ECM Post Review
6448 Main Street
North Branch, MN 55056
Telephone: 651-674-7025
Fax: 651-674-7026
E-mail: editor.postreview@ecm-inc.com
|
