I have hit a brick wall with my Hanson ancestors. Only been able to trace back to Andrew Hanson b. 1850.

Question

Andrew was born about 1850 in Norway.

Mary Elizabeth Hawkes Hillsboro, New Brunswick (1855 - 1936).

My gggrandfather Andrew was married to Mary Elizabeth Hawkes. They married 16 Dec 1876

They had three boys - John, Fred, & William

Answer 1

Andrew Hanson's father was Hans Hanson born in Norway as was his mother. Birth date for Andrew was 11 Jul 1850. He died 24 April 1915 at Chicago, Cook, IL. Burial was at Mt. Olive Cemetery.

Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1994, database FamilySearch

Comments

Frank, thank you so much. I appreciate your efforts. I just want to know how I can confirm that this is the same Andrew Hanson/Hansen. To my knowledge he came to Albert County from Norway. I believe he may have abandoned his ship as he may have been in their version of the Navy. On this document I see that his ethnicity is American. On marriage and birth certs his ethnicity is listed as Norwegian. I believe he wandered off after the last boy was born in 1889 Albert County, Hillsboro, New Brunswick. I have had a hard time finding him on any Albert County Census Records. I do have his marriage info from the Albert County Records Office. That's about it. Thank you so much!

Answer 2

Tammie, sometimes the only way to go up is to go sideways. If you concentrate on adding sources to the people you already have, and add the relatives you come across along the way, you might find it easier to get past the brick wall

Answer 3

Unfortunately, I can find no trace of a Norwegian named Andrew Hanson living in New Brunswick during the correct timeframe. There is a very large gap between John and Frederick. Mary Elizabeth shows up in census records but is always with her mother never with her husband.

It is entirely possible that there may have been an Andrew Hanson who fathered John but he is unlikely to be the father of the other two boys or he could be a total figment conjured to give Mary Elizabeth some cover for her pregnancies which happened a lot. 

Here is Mary Elizabeth living with her mother and 2-year-old John in 1881. No sign of Andrew Hanson.

M. E. Hanson

Canada Census, 1881

Name	M. E. Hanson
Event Type	Census
Event Date	1881
Event Place	Hillsborough, Albert, New Brunswick, Canada
Event Place	Hillsborough, Albert, New Brunswick, Canada
District Number	23
Gender	Female
Age	25
Nationality	English
Race	English
Religion	Bapt
Birth Date	1856
Birthplace	New Brunswick
Head of Household Name	George Fergason
Page	13
Family Number	48
Volume	19

Household	Role	Sex	Age	Birthplace
M. J. Hocks		F	44	New Brunswick
M. E. Hanson		F	25	New Brunswick

Citing this Record

"Canada Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MV63-NNT : 4 October 2018), M. E. Hanson in household of M. J. Hocks, Hillsborough, Albert, New Brunswick, Canada; from "1881 Canadian Census." Database with images. Ancestry. (www.ancestry.com : 2008); citing George Fergason, citing Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

View the original document. The original may contain more information than was indexed.

Canada Census, 1881

Comments

Thank you Deb. It is interesting that Andrew gave birth to three boys and he is never listed on the Census . . . . . .   whomever the biological father is I have confirmed DNA matches with each of Andrew and Mary's three boys. I am a descendant of Fred H. Hanson and I have connected with DNA relatives of William, and very recently John A. Hanson. Thank you for your help :-)

Answer 4

What is the source for their marriage?

Comments

Hi Vidar. This summer I visited the Albert County Museum where I looked up their marriage information in the register. I attached it to my tree today on Wikitree (I am just beginning, but have my tree on Ancestry). This is from the Marriage Register Book 1846 - 1887.

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Andrew Hanson - 5978

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Hi Tammie, the documents the Marriage Register Book 1846- 1887 are based on might give more info about this couple.

What does 5978 refer to?

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Hi Vidar, this is what she refers to

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hanson-5978

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Thanks