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John Harrison Backster[1]

Male 1891 - 1985  (93 years)


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  • Name John Harrison Backster 
    Birth 8 Oct 1891  Kewanee, Henry, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Gender Male 
    HEAL John died of peritonitis following surgery of the small intestine , at Swedish Hospital, Seattle, WA. 
    Death 3 May 1985  Seattle, King, Washington Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3
    Burial 7 May 1985  Seattle, King, Washington Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Buried, John is buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
    Notes 
    • Baxter was original last name until his mother changed it when he was a young boy.

      Irving Smith notes: John remembered as a small boy in Kewanee, Illinois that his mother once received a letter from Scotland. He was 7 or 8 at the time , and the letter was from some Baxter clan relatives in Scotland who offered his mother a small amount of money if she would sign a relinquishment of some property rights. The amount of money was so small that his mother became angry and wouldn't sign. John wasn't sure of the amount of money involved, nor the type of land. He was in the kitchen at the time, and did remember his mother's reaction to the letter. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent, while his mother, Permilla Ake, was Pennsylvania-Dutch.

      1920 US Census, North Dakota, Divide, Fertile Valley, John H. Backster, 28, born IL, farmer, with wife Ruth E. 24, born WI, daughter Beatrice 3/12, born ND, hired help Axel Harrison 17

      1930 US Census, North Dakota, Williams, Grenora, John H. Backster, rents home for $35 per month, age 38, married age 27, born IL, oil station salesman, with wife Ruth E. 34, children Bearice C. 19, Elloise 5, Cecelia 1-11/12, not-named daughter 0/12

      1940 US Census, Washington, Snohomish, Clearview, John H. Backster, owns home valued 200, 45, education 8, born IL, lived in same house on 1 Apr 1935, laborer roadwork, wages 524, wife Ruth, 44, education H4, born WI, daughter Beatrice, 20, education H4, born ND, daughter Eloise, 15, education 7, born ND, daughter Cecelia, 11, education 5, born ND, daughter Joan, 10, education 2, born ND, son Knighton, 8, education 2, born ND, son Richard, 5, born WA [4, 5, 6]
    Person ID I135  Mindrum
    Last Modified 30 Sep 2014 

    Father George Baxter, Jr.,   b. 4 Nov 1842, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 24 Feb 1896, Kewanee, Henry, Illinois Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 53 years) 
    Mother Permilla Olefa Ake,   b. 23 Apr 1849, Bedford, Bedford, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 10 Oct 1927, Grenora, Williams, North Dakota Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 78 years) 
    Marriage 23 Apr 1867 
    • Notes of Irving Smith: George Baxter taught school as a young , man,and also was a homesteader. John recalled that , hismother, Permilla, spoke of living in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was , then asmall town, and one where George possibly homesteaded.
    Family ID F45  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Ruth Eloise Olsen,   b. 17 Jun 1895, Medford, Taylor, Wisconsin Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 6 Apr 1975, Seattle, King, Washington Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 79 years) 
    Marriage 31 Dec 1918  Minot, Ward, North Dakota Find all individuals with events at this location  [7
    • John Backster first met his wife, Ruth, in 1916, about two , yearsbefore their marriage. They met at a barn dance at the farm , home ofRuth's father, Charles Olsen, near Stady, ND. , , In 1916, Ruth was a twenty-one year old school teacher, who taught , atsmall rural schools in the Stady, Zahl, Hanks, and Grenora area., , Her father, Charlie, contracted with Fred Baxter , tobuild a new barn on the farm site. Fred was a carpenter who had , movedto Grenora, along with brothers George and John, and filed an , originalhomestead near the new town of Grenora., , Charlie Olsen and his neighbors celebrated the completion of the , newbarn by holding a barn dance, a custom of the times. John , attendedthe barn raising celebration and dance, and while there, he , first metRuth., , John and Ruth were married on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1918 at , theCongregational Church in Minot, ND . They
    Children 
     1. Beatrice Carol Backster,   b. 6 Oct 1919, Grenora, Williams, North Dakota Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 4 Nov 2008, Seattle, King, Washington Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 89 years)
     2. Eloise Miriam Backster,   b. 4 Dec 1924, North Dakota Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 6 Aug 1957, Orange Co., California Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 32 years)
     3. Living
     4. Joan Angela Backster,   b. 15 Mar 1930, Grenora, Williams, North Dakota Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 27 May 2000, Olympia, Thurston, Washington Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 70 years)
     5. Living
     6. Richard David Backster,   b. 3 Jul 1934, Washington Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 21 Sep 1995, Contra Costa Co., California Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 61 years)
    Family ID F30  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 30 Sep 2014 

  • Sources 
    1. [S13] Mindrum GEDCOM file imported on 25 Jan 1999 from Addy Monsen.

    2. [S16] Social Security Death Index.

    3. [S443] Washington Death Index, 1940-1996, www.ancestry.com.

    4. [S441] 1920 US Census, North Dakota, Divide, Fertile Valley, District 48.

    5. [S442] 1930 US Census, North Dakota, Williams, Grenora, District 24.

    6. [S895] 1940 US Census, Washington, Snohomish, Clearview, Enum. Dist. 31-15, sheet 2A.

    7. [S851] Ancestry Public Tree, Jack Hall Family Tree, www.ancestry.com.