Notes for Mary May JENSEN

Thurtell and Related Families Thurtell and Related Families

Notes for Mary May JENSEN

Social Security records for Social Security number 506-28-3975, which was issued in Nebraska, show Mary Thurtell was born August 17, 1890, and died in February 1970 while a resident of Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California 90301.

Information provided at the 1999 Thurtell Family Reunion by her daughters, Dorothy Thurtell Richardson, and May Thurtell Thomas, confirmed that Mary May Smith Jensen was born August 17, 1890, in Iowa, but grew up in Nebraska on farms around North Platte. She and her husband, Frank Thurtell, separated about 1927 or 1928 in Jefferson, South Dakota. She had told her daughters that they were divorced, but neither of them had ever seen divorce papers nor were they sure at all that there was any divorce. Mary Thurtell took in washing and raised a garden to support herself and her children in Jefferson, South Dakota. On March 19, 1930, on the birthday of her son, George Thurtell, she and her three children moved to Nebraska. Mary Thurtell rented farms in Nebraska and ran them with the help of her children. They had around one to ten cows, pigs, chickens, and raised corn and grain. Her daughters recalled that Mary Thurtell never remarried.

Additional information about Mary May Jensen, her first husband and descendants by him, and her ancestors and siblings was received from her granddaughter, Jane Ward, later in August 1999.

A copy of the inside of the back cover of Mary May Jensen Thurtell's Bible was sent to Susan Miller by May Thomas in September 1999. The original Bible was in May Thomas' possession. Her letter showed that the name and address in the front of the Bible, John S. Johnson, 363 Park St., Bellflower, California, was not a relative. The names and dates of birth appear to have been written by the same person at the same time, probably Mary Jensen Thurtell, sometime after she was an adult. It shows: "Family Record. Mrs. Mary C. Jensen - Mother, Born Dec. 3, 1855. Mr. John Jensen - Father, Born July 27, 1861. Married July 27, 1882. Minnie Jensen, Born April 23, 1883. Nicholene Jensen, Born July 4, 1884. Peter Richard Jensen, Born August 4, 1887. Annie Jensen, Born April 9, 1889. Mary Jensen, Born August 17, 1890."

In a very different handwriting below the names and birth dates the Bible shows "Mothers Registration Number 1930513 (or it might be 1938573 or 198513) United States Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service Alien Registration Division, Washington DC." In a December 1999 letter, May Thomas wrote that examining the original entry on the Bible with a magnifying glass, the number appears to be 1930513.

In a December 1999 letter May Thomas recalled that she thinks that her mother, Mary Jensen Thurtell, was raised in the Mapleton area, but is not sure. When she and her sister, Dorothy Richardson, visited cousins in Wessington Springs, South Dakota, a few years earlier, they had been shown a house that was still in very good condition where their grandmother worked for several years. They did not know if she was a live-in domestic or possibly came every day to cook and clean. May Thomas was not sure where her parents met. Her older siblings Dorothy and George were both born in Missouri where their parents had a farm. She was born in Jefferson, South Dakota, and was pretty sure that was where her parents went when they left Missouri.

The marriage certificate for Frank Thurtell and Mary Smith shows they were married in Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa, on June 4, 1920, and the record was filed July 12, 1920. The groom is shown as age 69 and born in Wisconsin, and the bride is shown as age 31 and born in Mapleton, Iowa.

The California death index found on the internet at RootsWeb.com in June 2000 showed that Mary M. Thurtell was born August 17, 1890, in Iowa, and died February 13, 1970. No other information was on this index.

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