Different ancestors heard from

January 19, 1931 - Emmett went back to Tilden today.  Studied late tonite.
January 20, 1931 - To Social dancing with Aunt Mildred and Helen.  Studied until late this evening.
January 21, 1931 - Grussmother is 78 years old today.  Studied late again tonite.

Eek.  Not much to work with here, but since Grandma mentions Grussmother, I have an excuse to use this photo that I like very much.  I am not exactly sure why I am so fond of it, but here are my first impressions.  It is nice to see Grandma Anna looking so young and relaxed.  Not that she wasn't normally relaxed, but it is a nice pose and posture she has there.  Her hands look rather pretty as does her hair for what appears to be a candid shot.  And look at Ola's (Grussfather's) hands.  Those are the hands of a working man, to be sure.  I think he looks grand.  And there's Dorothea (Grussmother) almost smiling.  As some of you know, most photos have her looking serious and borderline grim.  She looks here to have a sly (or shy) smile just starting to come out.  The photo was taken in 1938 as per the notation on the back; it is the closest I have to 1931 where I know the year without having to guess.

And, speaking of Grussfather . . . Mom and I got an email just today from the other cousin from the DNA website, the one who listed only Swedish names.  He believes he knows how we are related, not generation-by-generation or with great detail, but given where his ancestor was from and what he found (and we knew) about where Ola came from, he believes the relationship is through this cousin's great-great grandmother.  In looking at Swedish archives, he said Ola was born out of wedlock, which was not uncommon during that time.  He said he believed it was a reflection more of the dire poverty and harsh social structure in Sweden at the time, as opposed to the moral character of the people involved.  I thought that was a very nice thing to add.  He had the names of Ola's mother, and her parents, her parents being born in Sweden in the late 1700's.  More interesting information on a branch of the family we knew little about, genealogy-wise.

I guess it is okay that Grandma didn't give me much to work with -- I managed to make a pretty good go with what I had.