2 Hartje/Alfred William Hartje

We left Alfred at 3 years of age in 1900.  Today we are jumping to 1910 and Alfred is 13 years old.  His family has grown, he has 3 more younger sisters.  Ida is eleven.  I'm not sure why she wasn't listed in the 1900 census.  They were the last family listed on the page and sometimes you need to look at the next page to find other family members but she wasn't there either.  Adeline is 9 and Ethel is 7.  Gustie, his step-sister, is no longer living with the family.  George, his step-brother, is 21 and working on the farm.  Emma, 19  and John, 17 are both still living with the family.

His father Peter, 42 is still farming on rented land.9  ( this link is for an article about what farming was like in the early 1900's) This time, the census says Peter and his parents were born in Germany and his farm is a grain farm.  Amelia, his mother, is now 50.  She has had 12 children, 8 are still living.  At some point, I would like to find her older children from her first marriage.  She and Peter have been married for 20 years.  Amelia and her parents were also born in Germany.  It's amazing how much information is packed into these Census forms.

1910 U.S., Federal Census
Pembina County, ND1

The 1910 Census also lists Hensel as the name of the 'Incorporated Place' where they were living.  Here is a map of Hensel from 1928 (I couldn't find an older map).

1928 Platte map
Hensel, ND2

While digging through old newspapers, I found this article under "County News from Hensel" in the November 30, 1900 copy of The Pioneer Express.  Peter rented land from Charley Taylor so now I need to figure out where Charley Taylor's land was in the county.

I found this cool link with photos of Hensel8 and an explanation of why sometimes I see Canton City listed where Hartje relatives were living rather than Hensel.

In 1910 the population of Pembina County was beginning to swing away from the growth surge.  There were 14,749 people in Pembina County in 1910 which was down 17.9% from 19003.  Other parts of the state may have seen some growth as the advent of the railroad into the Dakota's brought opportunities for new jobs.  Mining was opening up in other parts of the state.

The 1915 Census for North Dakota State doesn't give us a lot of information but we can see who is still living with the family unit and what their ages are at the time. Peter, Alfred's father, is now 47, Amelia, his mom, is listed as Millie and age 52.  This appears to be a little white lie since she was 50 in the 1910 census.  John is 22, Alfred is 18, Edith 16, Adeline is 14 and Ethel is 12.  So, Gustie, George and Emma have all moved on, or are deceased.

1915 North Dakota Census
Pembina County, ND4

The next big event for Alfred is the WWI draft registration.  He registered on June 5th, 1918 in Cavalier, ND.  His home address at the time was Crystal, ND and it says he was born in Hensel, ND.  It has the name of his employer as Pete Hartje (his dad) and the place of employment is Crystal, ND.  Where they were farming conflicts with some prior information.  According to the draft registration his birth date is Aug 12, 1897.  This conflicts with other sources which is why I am trying to get his birth record.  The back of the form shows us that Alfred had blue eyes and light brown hair.

Alfred Hartje WWI draft Registration5

Here is a Platte Map for Crystal, again this is from 1928 so the property may have changed hands from 1918.  I don't see any Hartje names.  This gives you a little idea of the community.  When my husband lived in Crystal, their home was by the City Park.  The creek behind the house caused flooding every spring.  Here is a link to a book I found about the history of Crystal.  It has some awesome photos too.  It is available through the North Dakota State Library.7

1928 Platte Map of Crystal, ND6

We'll stop here for today, Alfred is now 21 years of age and ready to branch out on his own.  See you next week to find out what is new in Alfred's life.

Happy Discoveries to you from one Ancestral Explorer to another,
Janet

Sources:
1.   'Alfred Hartje' 1910 U.S., Federal Census, Hensel, Park Township, Pembina, North Dakota; Sheet 9A, Line 10; Ancestry.com online.
2.    'Hensel, North Dakota',  Brock & Company.  Standard atlas of Pembina County, North Dakota:  including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county, map of the state, United States and the world:  patrons directory, reference business directory and departments devoted to general information, analysis of the system of U.S. land surveys, digest of the system of civil government, etc.etc.  Chicago: Brock & Co, 1928. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2007626719/.
3.     en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembina_County,_North_Dakota.
4.   'Alfred Hartje' 1915 North Dakota State Census, Pembina, North Dakota; Roll 6869; Line 291, Ancestry.com online, North Dakota Territorial and State Censuses, 1885, 1915, 1925.
5.   'Alfred Hartje'  U.S., WWI Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918; Registration State:  North Dakota; Registration County: Pembina; Roll: 1819450; Ancestry.com online, 2005.
6.    'Crystal, North Dakota",  Brock & Company.  Standard atlas of Pembina County, North Dakota:  including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county, map of the state, United States and the world:  patrons directory, reference business directory and departments devoted to general information, analysis of the system of U.S. land surveys, digest of the system of civil government, etc.etc.  Chicago: Brock & Co, 1928. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/2007626719/.
7.   'Crystal, North Dakota,'  North Dakota County and Town Histories Collection, North Dakota State Library.

8.  'Hensel, North Dakota:  A Town With Two Names', Ghosts of North Dakota; Troy Larson, 2011.

9.  'Making A Living:  Farming:  Homestead Farms'  State Historical Society of North Dakota; NDSTUDIES.GOV/GR8.