Do You Have Any Memories of Willard Fredrick Rasmussen?

I haven't posted anything on this blog for awhile but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy.  On Aug 7 & 8 my cousin Duane came to visit.  I thought he had come to conjure up memories about Gpa and Gma Rasmussen.  I wanted to delve into his amazing memory and discover wondrous tales of sheep herding, temple going, and daily life but Duane had a different purpose which he accomplished.  Thanks, Duane, for listening to that still voice inside and following those promptings.  You brought blessings into our home in the form of bread crumbs leading us to . .  .  Well, we really don't know where the path will lead but the bread crumb was a helpful talisman on the path.

Willard & Inez Rasmussen

Another cousin, Alan came to visit us on Aug 12 -16.  During Alan's visit we accomplished quite a bit of genealogy and life story nuggets.  A cousin of both our fathers came over Sat. and enthralled us with stories.  Thank-you Janis for sharing a few of your memories.  I will be visiting Janis again soon, I hope.  Cousin Brent has 90 more pictures he is going to send that belonged to Gma Inez.  I'm thrilled.  Janis remembers staying the night with Gma after Edna went to work in Fielding for the summer.  She would help Gma milk the cows and do a few chores then stay the night and then help with chores in the morning before riding her bike back home.  For entertainment some evenings they would look through Gma's box of pictures.  I'm going to take my computer and pictures over to Janis so she can help date and label them.  Her memory is amazing, too.  Since the Lord saw fit to pour untold blessings upon my head but not a good memory, I am glad he provided me with good resource people who do have a memory.

Janis helped me date and label several pictures that Brent had sent earlier.  I have been working on those earlier pictures and have made significant progress.  I should just be finishing up with those before the next batch arrive.   BTW, the picture of Willard and Inez included in this post has no date -- any ideas? 

Alan had stopped to visit with Brent before coming out to my house and he had taken notes.  Alan and I went over those notes and I was bit chagrined at some of the things.   It seems Gpa was quite childish at times. When he lived with the Collett's shortly before his death, he would eat sugar by the spoonful and eat jam straight from the jar.  Uncle Vene had to put a stop to those practices.  Sometimes Willard would get mad and said he wasn't be treated right.  He took off down the street and Vene would have to go get him and bring him home.

I want to excuse gandpa's behavior because of his lack of education and the years of solitary work as a sheepherder.  He had a few near-fatal experiences up on the mountain that could have also contributed to his behavior.

Aunt Mary shared with Brent that Gma and Gpa did not have much in common, that they just sat and looked and each other.  She thought that if they were married in our time they may not have stayed together.

After living with Mary and Vene, they got an apartment around the corner.  Brent remembers one occasion when Inez went to Vernal to visit her sisters and Brent was left in charge of Gpa.  He was given instructions for "sailing the ship of state."   Brent burned the hamburger and Gpa wouldn't eat it.  One time Gpa fell on the lawn and broke his hip.  He got Brent up lots of times during the night.  Mary thought he was just being ornery.

When Gpa broke his hip when he fell on the lawn he was put in a nursing home because he was not a good candidate for hip replacement surgery due to his age and physical state.  He wouldn't talk to Inez or his daughters, Mary and Edna.  Willard died Sep 7, 1963.

The other day my brother Steve mentioned that Gpa lived with our family for a time when we lived in Lincoln.  I had absolutely no recollection of this.  I called my sister who is 5 years younger and she vaguely remembers that.  I emailed 3 siblings and only 1 remembered.  How can this be?  I'm not the only one with a bad memory and who was self-absorbed!

If any of you have little snippets of memory about Gpa or Gma please include what you remember in the comments.  I will be writing some more things about Gpa Willard in an upcoming post.  This one is already too long.

Ada May Rasmussen Nash Cook

I have several pictures of Ada Rasmussen but I couldn't find her on any of my family group sheets.  I vaguely remember hearing mention of Aunt Ada but that was when I was younger and didn't care much about my ancestors.  So last night when I came upon this picture I wanted to know how Ada May fit in with the Richard George Harrison family.

Back- Almira, Arthur, & Richard George Harrison, Ada May Rasmussen, Mary, Garth & Inez Rasmussen Front-Heber, Hannah, & Marie Harrison circa 1921

My first thought was that Ada married one of Mads Peter Rasmussen's children but she didn't show up anywhere as a spouse to the Rasmussen children.  I did some searching online and found out her parents were Mads Peter Rasmussen and Mary Peterson (or Ahlgreen).  If that was the case why didn't she show up on that family group sheet I copied from Mary Collett?  She should be on there as Willard's sister and Inez's  sister-in-law.

To support the idea that she was Willard's sister I found this picture in the lot Brent Collett sent.  Here's Ada  with at least 4  of Mads Peter Rasmussen's children.  If she is Mads' daughter why isn't she on the family group sheet?

Emily R. Collett, Ada R. Cook, Willard Rasmussen, Alice R. Bascom, X, Mary Rasmussen in front.  Picture was taken before 1941 when Mary died.

I also have a picture I received from Brent Collett showing Ada Rasmussen and Mark Cook.  As I looked at that picture I recalled my mother telling me about my father's aunt who married a  Nash boy and then married a Cook boy.  I couldn't understand why she wasn't on the family group sheet. 

Using this picture for a springboard I tried a search for Ada Cook with Mark Nuttall Cook as her husband.  I found a death certificate verifying Mark as her husband but her parents were listed as Carl Helstren and Mary Allgreen.

I went back to the family group sheet where I discovered that Anna Marie Peterson (Willard's mother) went by Mary and was raised by a step-father with the last name Ahlgren (or Allgreen).  Also, after Mads Peter died in 1886 (3 years before Ada's birth) Mary married Carl Fredrick Hellstrom on Sep 1, 1888.  They later divorced.  When I read that, I again remembered something I'd heard years ago - The Hellstom guy didn't stay around so Ada went by the same name as her step-siblings: Rasmussen.  If I only had a brain!  That's one reason I'm writing this down so I don't have to go through this identical search in a few years.

One mystery cleared up, I next hoped to discover the truth about Ada's marriage to Edwin Junius Nash and Mark Nuttall Cook.  According to my remembrance of the story my mother told me - Ada was engaged to Edwin Nash but he died in an accident before they were married.  So a friend of both Ada and Edwin stood in as proxy for Edwin who was sealed to Ada in the SLC temple.  That friend, Mark Cook, was then married in a civil ceremony within the temple, on the same day, to Ada.  Astonishing!  And mind-boggling!

My searching didn't reveal as much as I'd hoped.  I did find evidence of Ada being married to both men but the date of her marriage to Nash varied from 1909 to 1919 on family search.com.  There is evidence that they were sealed in the SLC temple on 2 Oct 1919, which is the same day that Ada received her endowments.   And that is the same day she was married to Mark Cook.  But there are so many variations in dates and info that I don't know if we will ever know the truth.  Suffice it to say Ada is sealed to both Edwin Nash and Mark Cook.  Have any of you heard this story before?  

Willard & Inez were married in 1918, one year before Ada married her two husbands.  Inez and Ada were only 4 1/2 months difference in age and were school buddies long before Inez married into the Rasmussen family.  Ada was probably over to Inez's house many times while they were growing up, thus the tie in I was looking for at the beginning of this post to the Richard George Harrison family.

***Added note - Last night when I was searching Ada Rasmussen Cook, Myke asked if she was Morris Cook's mother.  In an all-knowing voice I said no.  But earlier today I found a 1930 census that listed Mark and Ada Cook as the husband and wife with Morris and Lea (I believe) as children in the home.  After writing the post earlier today I decided to find out if Ada was Morris' mother.  I found a record showing Morris' father as Mark Nuttall Cook and his mother as Amy Amanda Remington.  Amy died in 1918, the same year as Ada's fiance, Edwin Nash.  That somewhat explains why Mark Cook was willing to stand in proxy for Nash to be sealed to Ada, because Mark was already sealed to Amy Amanda.  This way Ada had a husband, someone to take care of her, and Mark had a mother for his children.  Very pragmatic people.

Long Legs

Granddad sure has long legs.  I had heard that he had a really long stride and could walk fast and far. After seeing these pictures, I can believe it.

I need help with a date on this first picture.  If I had a family group sheet for Mary's family I could estimate the year, but I don't know birth dates.  It's such a good picture - so much crisper and clearer than most.  In the picture are Scott, Inez, Brent, Arlene, Willard, Don, and Mary Collett is in the back.

**Added note 8-13-2011  I had this picture mislabeled in my original post but I have fixed it - the baby is Scott.  Thanks Brent for sending me a fgs.  The date is 1953, probably on a warm October day because Scott was born Sep 28, 1953. 

The second picture is in 1957 and shows Willard and Inez with Scott, Don, and Arlene Collett.

Please correct me on dates or names if I am wrong.

Who is in This Picture

I dated this picture 'summer 1953' based on the outfit I am wearing.  I have other pictures from that summer in Utah wearing that criss-cross short set. So I'm 99% sure that darling little girl on grandpa Willard's lap is me but I'm not sure who everyone else is.  That's where I need your help.

I'm including a picture with numbers and one without.  Remember to click on the picture to enlarge it.

Welcome

This blog was started by Cheya Rasmussen Weber as a hub for genealogical research.

Let's keep each other abreast of what we are working on, questions we encounter, pictures that need names and dates, etc.  I have found that it's quite easy to find information on the internet about those of our relatives who have died but I want to know more about my relatives who are still living, such as birth dates & places, marriage dates & places, new members who are being born into the family, etc.

This blog can host many contributors, so any of you who would like to write a post, let me know and I will add you in the contributors.  That way you can write your own posts with pictures, questions, or whatever you would like to share.

Make a note of the site address:
willardandinez.blogspot.com

Comments for improvement are most welcome and needed.