The final chapter of Ole Travland's life following the death of his wife Daisy (Bagely) is probably more common than we would like to believe and an unfortunate commentary on how we treat each other. The previous chapters of Ole's life can be viewed by clicking on the following links:
Following the death of Daisy, at some point Ole Travland was sent to the Clinton County Home in Washington township, Clinton county, Iowa. Here is the 1930 US Census for Ole. His entry can be found on line 53.
.jpg)
The Clinton County Home was a 'poor house'. I do not know who came up with the term 'inmate' for people that have fallen upon bad times. Apparently they viewed poverty as a crime and an indication they did not believe in people's dignity. More about the Clinton County Home can be found here.
This final census for Ole Travland is more accurate than all the documents I've encountered since 1900. This census lists Ole's age as 76, indicating he was born in 1854. While not quite accurate, it's much closer than the years shaved off in the previous census records. Ole was 74 at the time this census was taken on April 11, 1900. It still states he was born in Illinois even though he was born in Norway. They do list his parents correctly as Norway being their place of birth.
Contrasting the 1930 US Census with Ole's first wife, Mary Ann (Olson) it is interesting that following the death (or divorce?) of her second husband, she reverted to her first married name, Travland.
I do not know how long Ole lived at the Clinton County Home but the following year, Ole Travland passed away on June 30, 1931. Note the spelling of Ole as 'Olie'.
According to the death certificate, it appears the medical examiner wrote the cause of death was due to old age and much of it is illegible but appears at the end of the statement, 'way he lived prior to entering County Home'. One might get the impression the M.E. was attempting to avoid any culpability should the Clinton County Home be responsible for Ole's death.
Ole's age was unknown and they estimated his birth year on the death certificate as 1861 and age as 70. They also listed his profession as "common laborer'. Even until the very end they were unwilling to lend any dignity to his life.
Ole Travland was born January 3, 1856 near the Finnøy parish, Rogaland county, Norway. He was the youngest child born to Taletta Larsdatter and Peder Pederson Travland. The Travland family traveled from Norway on May 8, 1868 to Quebec, Canada arriving on June 22, 1868. From Quebec the family traveled to America and settled in Milan, Milan township, DeKalb county, Illinois.
Around 1877, Ole married Mary Ann (Olson) possibly in DeKalb county. Mary and Ole Travland had 6 children: Lena Josephine, Clara Marie, Peter, Otto, Martin and Wesley. By 1894 or 1895, Mary and Ole had divorced. Ole remarried on April 19, 1900 to Daisy (Bagley) in Sycamore, DeKalb county, Illinois. They moved to Clinton Iowa around 1903 where they remained for the rest of their lives.
Ole Travland's memorial can be viewed here. I have requested the memorial for his son Peter be linked. It can be viewed here.
*I've not been able to confirm Adolph Sheveland's date of death or any documents pertaining to him after 1924. He also inexplicably went by the name of Peter for a period of his life.
No comments:
Post a Comment