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Genealogical Charts

Children and Descendants of HW and Elizabeth Mankell

HW and Elizabeth Mankell had nine children. The eldest 4 daughters were born in Northfield MN. Hulda was born in St. Cloud MN; the youngest four were born on the Mankell homestead. This web page will include all the children (Oscar has his own web page), and highlight some grandchildren.

1. Jenny (1858-1948) m. Andrew Gordhamer
2. Mary (1860-1887) m. Johnny Young
3. Anna (1862-1914) m. Nels Quam
4. Amanda (1864-1947) m. Julius Landquist
5. Hulda (1866-1931) m. Hans Melgaard
6. Oscar (1868-1936) m. Minnie Swenson
7. Otto H. (1872-1839)
8. Sophia (1870-1894) m John Quam
9. Esther (1874-?) m. Gustav Erickson

In a December 1868 letter to his sisters Hermina and Augusta, who lived in Sweden, HW Mankell writes about his children (6 of 9 had been born at the time of the letter). Here are some excerpts and it is evident that HW is proud of his children:

Betty has selected all the girls' names, and for the last one I am responsible...When the boy Oskar was baptized, your names were given as godmothers...Later we had the christening of Hulda and Oskar, after which coffee was served...We had prepared Hulda so that when the Pastor asked what her name should be she could say it. Hulda is short in stature, dark hair, dark eyes, healthy and cheerful. Mary is paler, a little bashful and somewhat sickly. She has large, dark eyebrows and is a steady worker. All have dark eyes except Amanda. Their hair is light when they are small. Anna is large and plump and has lots of energy...Amanda is the biggest and the plumpest, and she has a good disposition. Hulda is most amusing nowadays. And the boy, his mother's darling, weighs almost as much as Hulda. The children are all well-behaved and obedient, especially when I ask them something.

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JENNY (1858-1948) AND ANDREW GORDHAMER (-1934)

On June 24, 1876 pioneer settlers and neighbors gathered at the Mankell homestead for the wedding of HW and Elizabeth's oldest child, Jenny, and Andrew Gordhamer. In his Willmar Tribune Pioneer Kid column, Gabriel Stene wrote in 1926, about this wedding. It was on this "Midsummer Day...we had a good pioneer time running around a midsummer pole decorated with midsummer June flowers." He later wrote that the "pole was planted in the front of the house and decorated with wild flowers from bottom to top. A good old settlers time was indulged in during the day and the pioneer kids enjoyed a good time...singing" and playing "Drop the Hankerchief. Being a fine evening, the enjoyment lasted the most part of the night." Stene continues his writing about Jenny and Andrew's 50th wedding anniversary:

Many of the good old settler and familiar faces of those days of their wedding 50 years ago were not present, but a group of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were there, more than I am able to enumerate. A group of strangers to us--so an old pioneer would be tempted to ask: "Is this the good old Norway Lake country or what part of the world is it?" But they were all busy entertainers to help promote the entertainment given in honor of parents, grandparents and great grandparents and another day of merriment was spent for the honor of the venerable couple, reminding us of the good old time of fifty years ago.

After an elaborage dinner where about 100 were seated in a tent enjoying a good meal, the toastmaster, L.A. Tjosvold of St. Paul, called on Rev. Baalson for a speech who also handed a purse of gold to Mr. and Mrs. Gordhamer...When the Pioneer Kid took leave he told them that to judge from conditions they were good for another run of 50 years and wished them good luck and Godspeed for many more years to come.

Jenny Mankell Gordhamer died on May 26, 1948. She was the eldest of nine children and the last one to pass away. Funeral services were held at East Norway Lake Lutheran Church, located 1/4 mile from the Gordhamer home in the small community of Jericho (just 2 miles west of the Mankell homestead). She and Andrew (and son Austin) are buried in the church cemetery, section K.

Jenny and Andrew had 12 children:

1. Dena m. S.O. Tjosvold
2. Mary m. Oliver Halvorson
3. Johanna (Thea) (1881-1941) m. L.A. Tjosvold
4. Jeannette m. Hoaglund (Hoglund)
5. Harry (1883-?)
6. Theoline (Tella) (1885-1962) m. Gilbert Anderson
7. Austin (1893-1969)
8. Eddie (1895-?) m. Esther
9. Axel (1895-1981) m Clara (Byrdie)
10. Joseph (1898-1976) m. Christine
11. Victor (-1944)
12. Walter

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MARY (1860-1887) AND JOHNNY YOUNG

Married in the spring of 1881 and had 3 children:

1. Frank
2. Dorothy
3. Alice

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ANNA (1862-1914) AND NELS QUAM (1859-1937)

In 1878, when Nels Quam was 19 years old he and his parents moved to the east side of Swenson Lake (southwest of the Mankell homestead). He served as a State Representative for Kandiyohi County in the Minnesota House, 1889-1890. He also served in varous township offices, was a school board member and was mayor of New London (1899-1904, 1906-1907, 1911-1912).

Anna and Nels married in 1879 and lived in the Norway Lake area until 1895, when they moved to New London. Nels owned a general merchandise store until 1916. Son Andrew was a business partner with his uncle, Otto Mankell (see entry below). In New London, Anna worked at a boarding house and later as the landlady of the Great Northern Hotel which she and Nels owned. (This building was located on the northwest corner of the main intersection in town; it was torn down in 1955.) In 1912, with Anna's health failing from cancer, they sold the hotel. Anna died in 1914.

Anna and Nels had six children; a daughter died in infancy. They also raised a niece, Sophie Quam, daughter of Sophia Mankell (sister of Anna) and John Quam (brother of Nels). Sophia died in childbirth. It was not uncommon at the time for a motherless child to be raised by relatives.

1. Andrew Neptune (1880-1936)
2. John William
3. Edward Lawrence (1883-1974)
4. Estella Amanda m. Hans Johnson
5. Oscar Arnold (1887-1969)

Oscar Quam, Minnesota craftsman of duck calls and duck decoys:

Oscar Quam was well known for crafting wooden duck decoys and duck calls. An excerpt from "Duck Calls: Yesterday and Today" written by Jerry Thoms. (From Dakota Outdoors, August 2003) notes the work of Oscar Quam. In this article, Thoms cites a book called Minnesota Duck Calls, written by Doug Lodermeier, which has a section devoted to Oscar Quam.

In Minnesota Duck Calls, Lodermeier, a life-long waterfowler and collector of all things having to do with hunting ducks and geese, records the past and present status of waterfowl call-making craftsmen in the state. The results of his three year long full-time research are amazing stories of Minnesota craftsmen who handmade thousands of call some of which have achieved world-wide distribution and international fame.

Other call craftsmen from the past and present may not have had great commercial success or immediate recognition for the significance of their products, but, none the less, they have made interesting and important contributions to the development and tradition of call making in the state.

Among the more easily recognized and readily available waterfowl calls reported on in Minnesota Duck Calls are those by Oscar Quam. "Calls by Quam were probably the most widely to be owned by the average waterfowl hunter because Quam made lots of these products and sold them for a reasonable price," Lodermeier point out. "He never charged more than "2.50 to $3.50 for his calls and asked only $15 for the fancy inlaid ones. And he made thousands of calls." "The commercial success of Quam calls was greatly increased in the early 40’s. Montgomery Ward ordered 10,000 of his $3.50 calls. That, along with teaching duck calling techniques on a variety of radio shows for many years, helped to establish Quams' international reputations," Lodermeier adds. Called the "professor of duckology," Quam also wrote about duck calling and hunting for a variety of outdoor magazines.

"A Quam call is fairly easy for the novice call collector to find, not just in Minnesota but nearly anywhere in the country," Lodermeier points out. "Though his calls are fairly common their value has appreciated especially the early ones and some of the few fancier type. Expect to pay $15.00 to $25.00 to a dealer for an ordinary Quam call in good condition and a lot more for a rare old one in nice shape.

Here is an MP3 file of Oscar demonstrating various Duck Calls of the Mallard Duck: Greeting Call, Come Back, Lazy Hen, Lonesome Hen, Chatter and Chuckle. Quam then demonstrates the calls of the Bluebill, Redhead, and Canvasback ducks. A web page about the Lodermeier book has a photograph of one of Oscar's wooden duck calls.

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AMANDA (1864-1947) AND JULIUS LANDQUIST

Married in the spring of 1881. The family moved to Minneapolis in 1892. Amanda died at the age of 82. Amanda and Julius had 5 children:

1. Lillian (1884-1963) m. M.E. Trainor
2. Helen (1889-1936)
3. Herman J. (1891-1960) m. Ellen Christopherson
4. Alfred m. Alma Helling
5. Austin

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HULDA (1866-1931) AND HANS MELGAARD

In the summer of 1890, a year after her father's death, Hulda sailed to Gothenburg (Göteborg) Sweden where she had many relatives including Aunts, Hermina and Augusta. She also traveled to Stockholm, the home of her Uncle, Otto A. Mankell. (Here is brief summary of a much longer love story, documented by many letters.) When Hulda left on this voyage she was engaged to a businessman (Charles Reese) from Minneapolis; when she returned to the US in August 1891, still engaged, she fell in love with another man, Hans Melgaard, a Norwegian whom she met on board the steamer ship, "Bothnia". Hans wrote to Hulda in September 1891:

I shall never forget the ocean trip on the "Bothnia"... I enjoyed your company so much, and the time seemed to pass away so fast and pleasantly that I was almost wishing that the voyage would last twice as long as it did.

Hulda remained engaged to Reese after her return to the US. Yet, Hans continued his courtship of Hulda. Hulda and Hans married in May, 1893 in New London MN. They moved to Argyle Minnesota where Hans was a banker. He organized the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Argyle in 1886. This was the first bank in Marshall County. Their home was called "Bothnia". (Charles Reese married in 1894 and lived in Willmar.)

Hans died in 1923 at their home in Minneapolis. Eight years later Hulda passed away. Hulda's granddaughter, Jane Pejsa, writes about Hulda's last years:

Hulda's financial situation had been deteriorating for two years, and along with it her heatlh. In a decline that began soon after the stock market crash of 1929, Hans' banks, his land, and his farms were all in foreclosure. Worse yet, even Hulda's Minneapolis home and her cottage at Maple Lake were in jeopardy. Still, she continued to put up a brave front as the hostess with the mostest. Especially at Christmas, Hulda still included into her "Swedish Jul" celebration all the lonely and abandoned ones from her large friendship circle. In early December of 1931, Hulda suffered a massive stroke. She lived a number of days after that, but was fully paralyzed on one side. On Christmas Day, Hulda Mankell Melgaard died at home. Her last words were, "Be sure to have Christmas here and invite those who are alone."

Hulda and Hans had 6 children:

1. Agnes (1894-1984)
2. Irene (1896-1990) m. Walter Hauser
3. Ruth (1898-1994) m. Frederick Sill
4. Mildred (1901-1996) m. Caradoc Rees
5. Harold (1903-1986) m. Josepha Knutson
6. Carmen (1912-1999) m. Leon Holman

Thomas Mankell Rees was a grandson of Hulda and Hans; he was the son of Mildred Melgaard and Caradoc Rees. Thomas was born in Los Angeles, fought in World War II in General George Patton's 3rd Army in 1944 and 1945 as they advanced across Europe. Later he served as a politician in the Democratic Party: the California State Assembly (1954-1962), the California Senate (1962-1965) and the US House of Representatives (1965-1977) where he worked on international trade, housing and banking concerns. During his years of public service he was known for advancing land-use planning, environmental issues, and civil rights causes. He was against the Vietnam War and became vocal in his opposition, so much so that President Lyndon Johnson wanted to "throw him off Air Force One" according to Thomas' son, James Rees (San Jose Mercury News obituary, December 16, 2003).

Rees actively campaigned for Robert Kennedy's presidential bid in 1968 and was present at RFK's assassination at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. If you see pictures or film clips of RFK's final speech (Part 1 ; Part 2) at the hotel on June 5, 1968, Rees (tall and in black glasses) stands behind RFK's right shoulder and behind Ethel Kennedy.

The California State Archives has a 1987 oral history interview of Thomas Rees (OH 88-9) in its collection. Quoting the abstract: "Rees discusses his family background, education, World War II service, conversion from the Republican to Democratic parties in the early-1950s, agricultural implement business in Mexico, participation in national Democratic party conventions from 1956 to 1968, activities as a member of the California State Assembly, California State Senate, and the United States House of Representatives, and comments on a wide range of individuals and issues involved in California and national politics from the 1950s to 1987."

For more information about Thomas Mankell Rees, please link to these two web sites:
Wikipedia entry
Congressional Biography

Jane (Hauser) Pejsa is the daughter of Irene (Melgaard) and Walter Hauser, and the granddaughter of Hulda (Mankell) and Hans Melgaard. Over the past 20 years Jane has written several books, historical fiction and non-fiction, many of which pertain to European history.

There is a website which has a biography about award-winning author Jane Pejsa and a list of her books. Here are some of her publications:

• The Molineaux Affair , published in 1985, is a novel set in New York City.
• Matriarch of Conspiracy: Ruth von Kleist 1867-1945 published in 1991, is a story of a family's connection in the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
• Gratia Countryman: Her Life, Her Loves and Her Library , published in 1995, is a biography of a leader in Minneapolis and her work with the public library system.
• The Final Encounter--Rommel, Patton and Zhukov , published in 2007, tells the story of the three WWII generals meeting in heaven. Here is a review.
• A Remarkable Journey into the Heart of Europe , published in 2008, takes the reader with Jane Pejsa as she and her husband travel in Germany and Poland, connecting the present with the past.

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OSCAR AND MINNIE MANKELL

My great grandparents, Oscar and Minnie, have a separate web page (under construction).

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OTTO MANKELL (1868-1936)

Otto was born on the family homestead in 1868. He died in 1939 at the Abbott Hospital in Minneapolis and is buried at the Lake Florida Mission Church cemetery. He and business partner of Andrew Quam (son of Nels and Anna Mankell Quam) owned a general merchandise/grocery store in New London: Quam and Mankell. This store which existed from 1913-1932 was located on Main Street. The building, origianally known as the Samual Adams Building, later housed a jewelry store and then the New London Variety Store. The building no longer exists; it was demolished in the late 1970s to make room for the expansion of the Big Store.

In the late 1880s Otto played baseball on the Norway Lake team. Also on the team were Nels Quam, married to Anna Mankell; Johnnie Quam, married to Otto's sister Sophia; Otto's brother Oscar; Swen Swenson, son of Gunder and Gemine Swenson; and Lewis Christopherson, brother of Cora Mankell. According to an article in the August 25, 1939 edition of the New London Times the team played on a ball diamond in the Stene pasture. A few years later the team played on a ball field located on the south shore of Norway Lake. Eben Lawson writes in the article "The players have no gloves, no mask, no body or knee protectors. A tip foul...was often just too bad for the catcher. A broken nose or broken fingers were common."

During the last 20 years of his life Otto lived on the north shore of Norway Lake, just west of the cabin owned by Millie Christopherson Bergan and sister Ellen Christopherson Landquist. Ellen married Herman J. Landquist, the son of Otto's sister Amanda and Julius Landquist. Otto was also related to Millie. She was the sister of Cora Christopherson Mankell, married to Otto's nephew Herman Mankell. Otto was known for the many bird houses he built.

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SOPHIA (1870-1894) AND JOHN QUAM

They married at the Mankell homestead in June of 1893. Sophia died in childbirth and is buried at East Norway Lake. John served as mayor of New London (1904-1905) and later moved to Washington state. John and Sophia had one daughter: Sophie Leontine. After her mother's death Sophie was raised by her aunt and uncle, Anna and Nels Quam. Sophie married Andrew Danielson. Their son Andrew W. Danielson is a retired Senior Judge of Hennepin County.

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ESTHER (1874-?) AND GUSTAV ERICKSON

Gustav (Gustave Erixon) was from Irving Township, east of New London. Esther and Gustav married in June 1899, lived in Oklahoma and had two daughters, who would often spend summers at the Mankell homestead, playing with cousins Edna and Alice:

1. Lillian (1900-1994) m. Lewis Meyer
2. Mercedes (1903-?) m. Delbert Hoshell

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