Introduction

John Robert and Helen Pauline (Creger) Nielsen, my parents, were the first genealogists in our family. While it began simply enough for them, it ultimately became the center of their retirement years. Never did they imagine that genealogy would take them back to the very beginning of our country, that they would work on it for over 30 years or that they would write a book that to this day is cited by today's genealogists.

As a first generation American, Dad knew his family’s origins. His father, Jørgen Martinus Nielsen, was born in Denmark. George Martin, as he came to be known, arrived the U.S. in 1890 where he joined his brothers who were living in Chicago, Illinois. Dad’s mother, Ida Maria Larsdotter Westlund, was born in Sweden. Ida and her sister Emma came to the U.S. in 1900 where they joined their older brother Eric who was living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Mom frequently joked that her family was a Mulligan stew because her family came from all over. Family stories hinted that they had roots in England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Germany. There was also some rumors of Native American ancestry. However, there wasn’t a lot of documentation to prove that any of these stories were true. Thus it was that Mom and Dad set out to find Mom’s immigrant ancestors. 

They took to family research like a duck takes to water. I’m not sure which of them enjoyed it more. They thrilled at discovering records for each known or new ancestor found in the microfilm at the LDS Research Library in Portland, Oregon - frequently with me in tow. They loved the countless hours spent pouring over books and records at a library or a genealogical society office. They thoroughly enjoyed each trip they took across the U.S. following in the footsteps of Mom’s ancestors and stopping at local courthouses to access the trove of musty records that had yet to be microfilmed. They truly were partners in this endeavor. And they loved sharing the stories about all that they had learned. 

Anyone who attended the Creger/Blayden family picnics in the 1970's-1980's will likely remember how Mom and Dad would go to the trunk of their car and bring out the Blayden, Creger, Edgington or Houlette notebooks so that they could share the information they had on a particular ancestor. If you visited their home in southeast Portland, it is likely you also saw them bring out those same notebooks so that they could share the latest discovery.

Mom was really the “social secretary.” She hand wrote each letter and card to the many 1st and 2nd cousins she had known since childhood and each new cousin they met along the way, no matter how distant. She loved building those relationships. Their files are full of the many cards and letters they received over the years - nothing was ever thrown away. 

Dad was the “recording secretary.” He typed a family sheet for each ancestor and for each succeeding generation to document their birth, death, and marriage dates and those of each child. He carefully documented each source they used whether it was a census record, a will, a book or a letter from a distant cousin. He created a numbering system for each family sheet that allowed anyone to find a descendant’s family sheet in the notebooks he created for direct ancestor’s surname. He also established a filing system for the file cabinets they bought for storing the backup documents they acquired for each direct ancestor and their family. 

In 1980, Mom and Dad wrote and self published the book “Historical Background of the Brickey - Slinker - Houlette Families.” Dad typed each of the 318 pages which they had photocopied and spiral bound at the local print shop. They donated copies of the book to local libraries and genealogical societies in those areas where Mom’s ancestors had lived and they also provided a copy to the Library of Congress. While they self-funded its publication and these donated copies, they asked other genealogists to pay for their copying and shipping expenses. Genealogists continue to use this book as a source for their own family research. I myself used it as the basis for the publicly shared “Nielsen & Creger Families” family tree that I currently manage on ancestry.com and which anyone can view after subscribing for a free Ancestry account.

As caretaker of their genealogical research, my first goal is to preserve the documents they assembled for future generations. At the same time, I find that I enjoy researching our ancestors and so my hope is that I'm able to find more of our elusive immigrants ancestors. With the addition of DNA analysis, I have a new tool that will hopefully I'm now able to confirm our connection to known ancestors, uncover new ancestors and, in some cases, learn of possible mistakes in our family tree. 

And now, through this blog, I hope to bring you along on this journey as I dive into the lives of our ancestors. 

Feel free to post your comments on this blog or you can email them to me directly at knjacobs@yahoo.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Kathi Nielsen-Jacobs