Do You Believe the Family Story? Emma, A Woman’s Story from Immigration to Homesteader by Jean Adams

 Jean Larson Adams is a member of Columbine Genealogy and the current Membership Co-Chairman. During her academic career, she earned BS and MS degrees in Science from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Indianapolis. In 2011, Jean retired and moved to Colorado to be near her family. Genealogy became her new hobby and passion. During the winter months, Jean resides in Lone Tree, where she volunteers at the Lone Tree Arts Center, Cherokee Ranch and Castle, Columbine Genealogy, and the Swedish Genealogical Society of Colorado. In the summer, Jean lives in Breckenridge and volunteers with the Summit Historical Society as a schoolhouse museum docent and historical boat tour guide.

Join Jean Larson Adams as she explains the complicated research into a family story about Emma Bengtsdotter, a Swedish woman who is not Jean’s ancestor. It all started with Jean’s research into the Swedish immigrants in Summit County, Colorado, and their occupations. One stood out – Emma (Bengtsdotter) Ballif, whose occupation was listed as a hay farmer in the 1910 census. A family story claimed that a man owed Emma $12.00. When he realized he couldn’t pay, he gave Emma his homestead. Would you believe that story? Jean’s research started in Swedish records, then she went down the rabbit hole of US Federal Censuses, newspaper articles, oral histories, land records, maps, and cemetery records. The struggles to homestead land in the Rocky Mountains are documented in Emma’s Bureau of Land Management Application and Final Proof Statement. Jean discovered some fascinating twists to Emma’s homestead story and a connection to living relatives in Sweden.

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