Our visit to the Grass Valley Museum, August 25, 2023. Pictured are Patti (Boothby) Alden, Margaret (Hansen) Boothby, Stephanie (Boothby) Efstratis. Picture taken by BettejeanS.
I am happy to report that another genealogy project on my "to do" list was checked off several weeks ago! My Mom, sister and I visited the wonderful staff at the Grass Valley Museum located at the St. Joseph's Cultural Center on May 25, 2023 and made two donations to share with the community.
Back in May a picture surfaced that was found in the archives at the Grass Valley Museum; it was posted on a local Facebook site and I immediately recognized it as we had a photograph just like it that was in our Hansen family picture collection. I wrote about what discoveries were made that explained the picture on May 6, 2023 (John Hartwig Hansen and the Last Days of Pompeii...May 1900). The museum reached out to me and asked for help to restore the badly damaged picture they had; I ended up having our copy digitally saved and then reproduced at a local stationery business. The nice young man (with a man-bun) that helped me was very intrigued by the picture and the story that went with it and we had a great conversation about my Great Grandfather John Hansen. It's always nice to share family history with strangers! And I was glad to help the museum out. They will frame the copy to present to the public.
The museum copy above, our copy below.
Pictured: Patti (Boothby)Alden, Margaret (Hansen) Boothby and Stephanie (Boothby) Efstratis. Photograph by BettejeanS. August 25, 2023. Grass Valley Museum.
Our next donation was something a little larger....
Back (way back) on January 2, 2021, I posted about the Hurd cradle and the story of my great great grandmother Elizabeth Jane Hurd's trip with her family from Pennsylvania to Nevada City, California in 1851. Elizabeth Jane took one more trip back to Pennsylvania with her family before she came out west for the last time, settling in Grass Valley around 1875. She married Alexander Burrows and he taught school "on the ridge" (North San Juan) before becoming a lawyer. It is believed that this cradle was made in either North San Juan or French Corral per family stories. Initially I thought it may have been used by Elizabeth Jane's mother, Harriet Hurd, which is entirely possible as she had 5 children born in Nevada City from 1857 to 1869, but after researching and comparing dates I believe it was made for the Burrow's children beginning in 1875 when Alexander was teaching. (January 2, 2021 Gold Country Stories Unverified Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows Surviving Panama)
The cradle had been kept in a crawl space at the home of my great grandmother Vere Burrows Hansen on West Main Street, probably since her mother Elizabeth Jane moved from Grass Valley to the Bay Area after 1900. It quite possibly was used for Vere and Jack Hansen's children Hulda, Jack, Robley and Harold.
After WWII my Uncle Jack lived with "Grandma Hansen" at 418 West Main Street until she passed away in 1974 and he continued to live there until his death in 1986. Mom (Margaret) began to clear some items out of the home in the late 70's and the cradle was rediscovered. It was identified by her father, Harold Hansen as the family cradle. Also found was the little handmade black child's rocker (happily now in the possession of JackF.) and a black valise belonging to Alexander Burrows (now in my possession).
The cradle has been at Mom's home on Banner Mountain since then. I do remember using it in my bedroom to hold all my dolls and stuffed animals for a few years. I was just a geeky kid interested in antiques and pioneer history and the cradle fit the bill. It went with the Victorian iron bed and antique dresser in my room. After I moved out the cradle got moved to the laundry room and held all sorts of odds and ends (and dust) for years. I declined to use it for my children when visiting, as it was "not up to code". I wish I had known its history at the time!
In the process of writing down our family stories over the last few years I began to make connections to objects that I had grown up with. This cradle was one such object. The only history passed on was that it was made in either North San Juan or French Corral and was the family cradle. As I went further back on the family tree I became fascinated with the story of Elizabeth Jane and her life; fleshing her story out with research, pictures, newspaper articles, timelines and DNA matches became an obsession for about a year. Her daughter Vere had literally kept everything and thankfully took lots of photographs. My Auntie Claire lovingly began to organize these items as they were handed down to her, and then they eventually came to reside at my house where I continued piecing together this part of our family history. Things were coming into focus. The cradle had a history.
I began researching in earnest during the pandemic. This is what I discovered about my Great Great Grandmother and her connection to the cradle....
Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows led a remarkable, complicated life. She lived during a time of intense change in the country; she traveled from one end of the United States (Pennsylvania) to the "west" not once, but twice, lived in the newly formed town of Nevada City, California as well as the newly formed town of Virginia City, Nevada during the gold and silver rushes, waited as an Uncle fought in the Civil War, earned the right to practice law as one of the few women to do so in California in the mid 1800's, had a total of twelve children (all born in Grass Valley, Ca.), experienced the deaths of 6 children as well as the institutionalization of one son, divorced her husband and continued to provide help and support to her remaining family as she aged.
In my blog post from November 8, 2020 (The Life Story of Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows) I go over my research on her life. If you are interested in what living in Grass Valley and Virginia City was like at the turn of the century, I added many articles from The Morning Union which were valuable sources of information and helped flesh out her early life raising her children in a small town. I was also fortunate to gain access to the following pictures of a young E.J. as I did not have these in our family collection.
Elizabeth "Lizzy" Jane Hurd taken around the 1870's.
Picture shared by MimiS on Ancestry.com
Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows
Picture taken in Virginia City probably at the time of her mother's death in 1893.
Shared by the William Nankervis Archive on Ancestry.com
My post from July 26, 2020 (A Hurd of Burrows) details the lives of Elizabeth Jane and Alexander Burrows' children. There were twelve of them!
I think E.J. became the strong woman she was from watching her mother Harriet traverse the country twice, endure her husband's death in the Ophir Mine in 1876, forge ahead as a widow with 7 children under the age of 18 and continue to live in the community of Virginia City until her death. Several of E.J.'s sisters became teachers at the Fourth Ward School to help support the family after their father's death. There was a strong emphasis put on education in that family, especially for the girls. It was fun to discover how many teachers we have had in our family and how we continue to put a high emphasis on education. Elizabeth Jane's daughter, Vere Hansen, put a high priority on education; she did sign for my Mom's first library card which Mom took great advantage of by reading as many books as she could. I did not know that residents outside of the city limits were not able to obtain a library card unless someone inside the city limits signed for them in the 40's. I'm sure that has changed by now! Mom became a teacher, as did her sister and myself. I think Harriet and Elizabeth Jane would be proud of their legacy.
Why did we decide to donate the cradle? Once I discovered its history and context, it was an object that became important. Yes, we had some memories of it, but it wasn't something that was treasured per se. It was big, bulky, and it collected dust and SPD grocery bags. No other family member wanted it in their home! But looking at the hand hewn boards and square nails, you could almost imagine someone lovingly piecing it together to give to a new family. There was a bigger picture and story to tell. It was made in Nevada County by an unknown craftsman when many new families, including the Burrows, were making this area their home. We realized its history was woven in with our local history and we felt it should stay in the area and be shared with the community. To me, its legacy represents family, resiliency, building of community, and gives all of us a unique sense of place.
Grass Valley was a town that grew together as a community in the 1800's; it grew together from many different cultures, languages, traditions and religious backgrounds. It was primarily a working town from the miners to small business owners and to people who provided needed services such as Alexander Burrows who became a prominent lawyer and eventually Grass Valley Attorney. But it also grew as a community by the very hard work of many mothers who raised their children and kept their homes while serving in the church or doing other important service work in the community. I think the cradle represents those mothers whose work and influence was just as important, or maybe even more important. What do you think?
Grass Valley continues to be a strong knit community. While mining is no longer the primary economic driver it is still a community of small business owners, service providers and now artists, thinkers and creators. It is a community I love coming back to visit often.
I would like to thank all the staff at the Grass Valley Museum for working with us and letting us share our wonderful family history with the community. Because now it is the community's history!
Margaret (Hansen) Boothby on the left sharing stories of Grass Valley with the staff. Picture by Patti Alden August 25, 2023.
Picture by BettejeanS.
Relationship Reference: Me->Margaret->Harold Hansen->Vere Burrows Hansen->Elizabeth Jane Hurd Burrows