The Fransen GenWeb

Who Is This?

Unknown Fransen's that have been found. Who are they and more importantly - who's family do they belong to?

While doing research at the South Dakota State Library in Pierre I came across a book titled South Dakota County School Days - I found a teacher named Edna G. Pederson Fransen. Following is the article.

"After graduation I took an examination and received a South Dakota Second Grade Teacher's Certificate. I was seventeen years old.

My first school was One Road #4 in Roberts County, South Dakota. It was one room with an entry, three windows on each side, and a pot belly coal stove in the middle. The fire was always out when I got there in the morning and we would have to sit around the stove to study until it was warm enough to go to our seats. Sometimes in the winter, snow had to be shoveled so we could get into the schoolhouse and the outhouses had to be shoveled out too.

I received $75.00 a month for the school term of 1927 and 1928. I paid $20.00 for room and board.

For our art class in the spring we made many kinds of kites. We tied one on each corner of the schoolhouse. Many people stopped to see our kites flying high.

A young man from Norway (brother of a school board member) who was older and better educated than I, attended school to learn English words. The children thought it was strange to see such a big boy in the first grade readers. I had to whistle once to get him to know that word.

I taught 28 years in South Dakota of which 25 years were in one-teacher schools. Many interesting things happened in my teaching career - some good and some not so good.

Aaltje FRANSSEN, born before 1830 in (?) Ijsselmuiden, Overijssel, Netherlands, husband was Jakob VAN DER KOLK born before 1826, Ijsselmuiden, Overijssel, Netherlands. One child listed as Trijntje VAN DER KOLK, born 31 May 1852, Ijsselmuiden, Overijssel, Netherlands, died 2 Apr 1884 Ijsselmuiden, Overijssel, Netherlands

Aaltje FRANSEN, born before 1864 in Mappel, Drente, Netherlands, one child listed as Lambertus TROOST, born 26 Jun 1886, Mappel, Drente, Netherlands, died 31 Oct 1972 (no location given)

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