Franklin County, Nebraska

For Another Day

Editor's note: The story of Mary hill is a common one to people with Franklin county ancestry: her ancestors came from states back east; families were large; many families moved numerous times; many infants died when young; parents remarried and created new families, and one's lineage can become confusing. The following articles trace the life of Mary Georgia (Anderson) Hill of Bloomington.

Alfred Carlos Anderson, the son of William and Mary (Talkington) Anderson was born November 30, 1868 in Decatur County, Indiana. He will be the father of Mary Hill.

While he was a youngster, his family moved to Nodaway County, Missouri. Nothing is known about his early life. However, in 1891, Alfred C. Anderson married Francis Cossins and they had two children; Glen Orville, born December 25, 1894, and Mable Etta, born April 7, 1897. After Francis Anderson died of tuberculosis. Alfred was sent to Arizona for the air to avoid catching the same disease. Alfred C. Anderson is Mary Anderson Hill's father.

Chapter 3

On his return from Arizona, he stopped in Franklin County. Alfred got a job working for the Harrison Shively. There, he met the Aaron Olsons, who lived just three fourths of a mile east of the Shively farm. Aaron Olson and his wife, Jessie May, lived in Farmers Township, section 26, the SW *. This farm is now owned by Lyle Johnson, who is Aaron Olson's great grandson. The Olson farm is on highway 136, 3.6 miles west of Bloomington.

Aaron's wife Jessie May (Trevett) had a royal lineage that has been traced back to Biblical times. She was the daughter of Albina and Hyman Trevett. They had 18 children, but only 7 lived to adulthood. The Trevetts lived in Erie County, New York, and then moved to Madison, Wisconsin. In 1871 they moved to Smith County, Kansas and homesteaded in the Thornburg and Reamsville area. They lived there until their deaths and are buried in the Thornburg Cemetery. Jessie's line goes back to Alice Southworth. The Southworth line goes back to Adam and Eve of Biblical times. Jessie Trevett was a direct Descendent of Richard Warren, a signer of the May Flower Compact. From tentative investigation, it appears she is also related to John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. It would take many many pages to print Jessie Trevett's lineage back to Adam and Eve.

Jessie, the object of this article, was born Mary 22, 1857, in Erie County, New York and married Aaron Olson from Arendal, Norway. Aaron was the son Of Ole Jacobsen Olson and Helga Arneson. Ole and Helga came from Madison, Wisconsin, when Aaron married Jessie. Old is buried here, but I don't know yet where they lived. Aaron and Jessie were married October 31, 1876, and had 10 children, 8 of whom lived. One of those children was Anna Mae Olson, who was born July 6, 1885, 3.5.miles west of Bloomington. It was Anna Mae who married Alfred Carlos Anderson. They are the Parents of Mary Anderson Hill.

Chapter 4

What a happy day it must have been when family and friends gathered on Christmas day 1904 at the home of Aaron and Jessie Olson, west of Bloomington, along the now Highway 136, to witness the marriage of Alfred Carlos (or A.C. as most people called him) to Anna Mae.

Part of the Olson's house stood until several years ago. The only buildings that are standing in 2001 are a barn where the house was and up on the hill, to the northwest, is an old washhouse. The ruts of many driveways up and out of the farmyard are still visible today and will be forever, unless heavy equipment renders them level again. I have ridden down that rough driveway with my friends, Lyle and Delores Johnson, I ask them, " tell me what you remember. Where do you think the sod house was?" I learned from Lyle a building sat east of the house in the bottom field and the trees to the east are not as old as I would like them to be. As we talk about the past, the windmill up on the hill to the west goes round and round, still pumping water for the cows, the same way it pumped water for Aaron and his family. I visualize a cold winter Christmas day in 1904 on this very farm: coming out of the home of Aaron and Jessie are their newly married daughter, Anna Mae, and her husband Alfred. They get into a buggy and cover up with wraps and drive away, as all wave good bye with happy wishes. They traveled one half mile east, turned south and went two and one fourth miles to a sod house owned by Wallace Fish. This was to be A. C. and Anna Mae's first home.

Aaron Olson was to live only two and a half years more. He died June 4, 1907. Jessie Olson died April 7, 1921.

If only one had taken the time. To tell, who, what, where, when, these faces of my heritage would come to life again. Unknown

Rena Donovan, For Another Day

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