Kate Opened the Gate
In her mature years my great-aunt Elsie Johnson wrote her memoirs and in 1972 published them in her book
Kate Opened the Gate,
named after Kate the family horse who was immortalized by opening a gate.
The book covers 3 areas of interest:
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1972 was the 100 year anniversary of the settlement of Becker County, Minnesota, so the book describes 100 years of history and progress (and I use the word loosely!).
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It lists the descendants of her grandparents, who immigrated from Norway and Denmark. I have made two versions of the book, an internet version and a CD version. The internet version munges birthdates for privacy to those still living. The CD version is for sharing privately and includes all information in the original book for posterity's sake.
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It describes the values of the sturdy pioneers who settled this great nation and the modest yet progressive character they inherited from their ancestors.
About the Kate Opened the Gate pictures:
I have scanned pictures selectively from the book, omitting the more recent ones. All pictures of historical value were scanned. Please note that these are low quality images as the book was printed in low resolution. If you are in possession of the originals for any of these photos please contact me so I can arrange to get high quality scans of your photographs to add to the collection! Elsie may not have reproduced the pictures well, but in the years to come as the originals turn up her work will enable us to identify the people and places they refer to.
If you are looking at the CD version of this page, you can open the CD at this directory:
Peterson CD/KateOpenedtheGate/Images
In the "Raw Scans" window you can view the full size images not available in the browser window. You may need special image viewing software to expand the photos to 100% size. Windows users can use
IrfanView,
Mac users can use Preview to expand to 100% size.
The Genealogy Files
Three genealogies prepared relate to the people in the book. You can explore the genealogies online at the Worldconnect website:
Appreciations to Ethelmae Duenow of Detroit Lakes and Diane Rae Scheflo of North Dakota for filling in many of the blanks in the Peterson family history. Much gratitude to Iris Collette Holten and Yvonne King for preparing the Holten genealogy. You saved me a lot of work. Thanks to Dena Maggi Cook of Bonners Ferry for the Maggi family information.
I have included on the CD the relevant GEDCOM files. GEDCOM is the standard file format for sharing genealogical data. You may view the file as a text file but it will be difficult to read and nonsensical. There are many GEDCOM viewers out there for those who want to download and install the software. You may then view the Peterson.ged file in its intended format, as an interactive tree.
Immigrants in the book
Finding the link to your people in the old country is always the high point of your genealogy research. Here are the references to people whose origin is known:
Join the fun!
Please feel free to make your own GEDCOM file of your own family tree and send it to me, I will then include it in the file relevant to your family. Genealogy can be a fun and rewarding activity and I hope there is someone in your branch of the tree that can participate. The Peterson.ged file contains all the genealogical data in the "Kate Opened the Gate" book, (and much more) painstakingly transcribed by myself, Gnarlodious. Please inform me of errors and omissions
at this email address.
Copyleft
This research is a work in progress and may be superceded at any time by a newer version. It was made to inform, enjoy and honor the memory of my great-aunt Elsie Johnson. Feel free to copy it and pass it along.
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Harry and Elsie Johnson, 1978
Becker County, Minnesota resources
