Tag: Medine

Bio: Gustaf and Lena Medine

This is an excerpt of a compiled genealogy of Gustaf Medine and his descendants. The full compiled genealogy includes a longer biography of Gustaf Medine, and biographies of three generations of his descendants. See the full document on this page. 

Gustaf and Lena Medine were my great-great grandparents. Gustaf emigrated from Sweden, met Lena in Germany, and then they immigrated together to the United States. They settled in DeKalb County, Illinois, where many of their descendants still live. This is a brief biography of their lives in the United States.

Gustaf Andreasson (known after 1882 as Gustaf Medine), was born 7 November 1853 at Mexarp, Mistelås parish, Kronoberg County, Sweden; died 30 June 1927 at Sycamore, DeKalb County, Illinois. He married about 1880 in Germany, Katharina (Lena) M. Schrader, daughter of Ralph Schrader. She was born 1 December 1862 in Schönberg, Holstein, Germany, and died 17 September 1940 in Sycamore. Continue reading “Bio: Gustaf and Lena Medine” →

Calling all Medine cousins!

 

Medine family photo at the Pleasant Hill farm
The only known photograph of the Gustaf Medine family, taken about 1911 at Gustaf’s Pleasant Hill farm in Mayfield, IL. Photo Source: Drake family photos

I’m looking to reconnect with any relatives of the Medine family from DeKalb County, Illinois!

This semester, I took an online Genealogy course at University of Illinois with genealogist Nicole W. Miller. I feel like I learned so much about developing trends in genealogy, and I developed better practices for researching and sourcing my own family history. One of my accomplishments was writing a formal compiled genealogy for the Medine family. I realized that there are still some close Medine cousins that I know very little about! Continue reading “Calling all Medine cousins!” →

From Mexarp to Mayfield

This semester I’m elated to be taking a course in Genealogy and Library Services. As part of the class, I’ll be focusing my research on the Medine family in Illinois. An introduction to their story is below.

Our family has been researching our roots for over 15 years now, and most of our ancestral lines have been traced back to the immigrant ancestor. I’ve just started doing some research on our ancestors in the Old Country. Lately, I’ve been tracing the lives of my great-great grandfather, Gustaf Medine, his siblings, and his parents in Sweden and America. This has certainly been a puzzle!

Medine family photo at the Pleasant Hill farm
The only known photograph of the Gustaf Medine family, taken about 1911 at Gustaf’s Pleasant Hill farm in Mayfield, IL. Front row: Katharina (Schroder) Medine, Gustaf Medine, William Medine, Jesse Scott Bowen. Back row: Fred Medine, Julia Medine, Augusta (Medine) Bowen, Emma (Medine) Drake, Charles Drake. Source: Personal family photo

Continue reading “From Mexarp to Mayfield” →

The Underground Railroad at Pleasant Hill

When I was young, I’d go driving with my grandfather Ed Drake, and he would often point out local landmarks and tell me little tidbits about each place. When we would drive on Pleasant Hill Road, we’d pass his old family homestead. He had fond memories of growing up there. He would mention getting into mischief with his brother, and raising chickens and other animals. Just recently, I remembered that Papa had mentioned that he and his brother discovered some hidden spaces in the barn. At the time, he didn’t realize their significance. Looking back now, it appears that our old family farm was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. Continue reading “The Underground Railroad at Pleasant Hill” →