My Great Grandma Thelma's biological father, Hugo Robertson, died from tuberculosis in 1911 when she was not even three years old. Signe Robertson, Thelma's mother, did not marry again until 1923, and her new husband was Simon (Sam) Erickson, pictured above. Great Grandma Thelma was already 15 by then and probably wouldn't have been blamed for not forming a close relationship with her stepfather, but all evidence suggests that he treated her as his daughter (he had no biological children of his own), and she treated him as her father.
In 1930, Thelma was still with her mother and stepfather, but she married my Great Grandpa Oscar in 1931. In 1940, Sam and Signe were living with my great grandparents, and in 1950, even though Signe died in 1948, Thelma's stepfather, Sam, was still living in my great grandparents' home. My mom remembers "Grandpa Sam," as she calls him, and says that he lived with his stepdaughter for the rest of his life. He enjoyed spending his time at the Swedish Club, and Great Grandma would often opine that he was "drinking and gambling" down there, and then she would send my Great Grandpa Oscar to retrieve him.
No comments:
Post a Comment