Notes for Olive E. THURTELL

Thurtell and Related Families Thurtell and Related Families

Notes for Olive E. THURTELL

Olive Thurtell is shown as age 2 and born in Wisconsin in the U.S. Census Soundex for 1880 for Webster County, Elkhorn Township, Iowa (Vol. 32, E.D. 220, Sheet 23, Line 25). She is shown as living with her parents, Frank and Eva Thurtell, her sister Mary age 4, and her brother Frank age 1. This record showed both parents and both of her siblings were also born in Wisconsin.

In the U.S. Census for 1900 for Iowa (Volume 60, ED 102, SD 11, Sheet 5, Line 71) Olive E. Thurtell is shown as age 22, born in Wisconsin in October 1877, living in Elkhorn Township, Plymouth County, Iowa, with her parents, Frank and Eva S. Thurtell, and seven of her younger brothers and sisters on her father's farm. Her occupation is shown as at home.

Family information showed she was born in Webster County, Iowa, and that her nickname was Ollie.

A database of Bureau of Land Management Records for Meade County, South Dakota, was found on the internet in July 1999 at ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/sd/meade/land/mead-t.txt. This database lists a Belle Travis obtaining land May 8, 1901, in Meridian 7, Township 006N, Range 009E, Section 31, of 160 acres, type 251101 (Homestead), Case Type patent, document identification number 2390. There is another listing in this database for Amy Belle Travis obtaining land May 29, 1913, in Meridian 7, Township 007N, Range 006E, Section 20, of 160 acres, type 251101 (Homestead), Case Type patent, document identification number 337982. These two listings pertain to Belle Thurtell Travis, who was widowed prior to 1901. This same database has a listing for Heirs of Olive E. Thurtell obtaining land June 11, 1912, in Meridian 7, Township 007N, Range 006E, Section 20, of 160 acres, type 251101 (Homestead), Case Type patent, document identification number 273698. This listing pertains to this Olive E. Thurtell.

The file from the above homestead record shows that Olive E. Thurtell was single at the time she originally made her homestead application. She had originally been approved for a homestead for the North East Quarter of Section Fifteen, Township Five North, of Range 6 East, Black Hills Meridian, having filed for this homestead on September 7, 1904, H. E. Number 8705. She made her settlement on this land and erected a house and then learned that the exact same property had been granted as a homestead on August 22, 1904, H. E. Number 8661, to a Martha Berkvam. Olive Thurtell was then approved after delays lasting several months for a second homestead since she had had to relinquish the first one. The second homestead was for 160 acres in the Northwest Quarter of Section 20 in Township 7 North of Range 6 East, Black Hills Meridian, Homestead Entry Number 0391. Her homestead affidavit signed October 30, 1905, showed she was Olive E. Thurtell of Sturgis, So. Dak., over 21 years of age and a single woman. She signed the registry return receipt for delivery of paperwork on March 15, 1906, as Olive E. Thurtell, and began living on her homestead in March 1906, with a home built on the land at that time. She apparently married Charles E. Thomas shortly afterwards, and he moved to her homestead, giving up the homestead claim he had previously filed himself. Olive Thurtell Thomas died in 1906 per family records. The paperwork completed in 1911 by Charles E. Thomas as the heir of Olive E. Thurtell showed that he had continued living at the homestead after the death of his wife, Olive, and that as of November 15, 1911, he was married with three children. The same affidavit showed that he was age 36, with a post office address of Vale, South Dakota, and that he was born in Maine. By 1911 he had about 110 acres of the land unter cultivation and improvements valued at $1500. The land patent number 273698 was finally approved June 11, 1912. The afffidavits to support Charles Thomas' claim were all completed on November 15, 1911, in Newell, Butte County, South Dakota, within the Belle fourche land district, the nearest and most accessible qualified officer in the district in which the land is located. The file also contains the affidavit of Peter Felion, age 57, of Vale, South Dakota, who lived on the adjoining land and confirmed that he had known Charles Thomas for about 5 1/2 years and the land for 25 years and confirmed that the original entrywoman was dead and that her husband, Charles Thomas, had not been absent from the homestead and had over 100 acres under cultivation, and that he was not related to the claimant. An affidavit from John S. McGill, age 55 years, of Vale, South Dakota, confirmed he lived on the land just across the road and that he had known the claimant and the land about six years and that Charles Thomas had about 100 acres under cultivation and that he was not related to the claimant.

Jane Ward advised in January 2000 that her records showed that Olive Thurtell was born October 6, 1879, in Lewisburg, Meade County, Wisconsin, and died October 9, 1906. This record of hers listed no sources. Lewisburg, Wisconsin, is in Grant County, Wisconsin, and is probably where she was born. Meade County, South Dakota, is where she died. She also advised that she showed that Olive's grandson was the personal pilot to the governor of South Dakota.

Their Meade County, South Dakota, marriage certificate shows Olive E. Thurtell (shown also as Olive B. Thurtell in the same document), age 28, and Charles E. Thomas, age 30, both of Sturgis, Meade County, South Dakota, were married December 28, 1905, in Sturgis by a minister, J. S. Dimwitt (that's what the last name looks like, but it could be Dimmitt or something similar). Witnesses were Mary M. Newell and D. J. Newell. They got their license December 27, 1905, and the record was filed January 6, 1906.

Her death certificate confirms Olive E. Thomas, a married white female age 28, died October, 9, 1906, in Sturgis, Meade County, South Dakota. The cause of death was Puerperal Eclampia. The medical certifier was J. H. Naftzger, MD, and the death certificate was filed November 1, 1906, on Page 1, Book A, in Meade County, South Dakota.

There is no record of a baby born to Olive and Charles Thomas on file in either Meade County or at the state office based on a search done in January and February 2000. However, the cause of death almost certainly means Olive had a baby. Information that had been received from Robert Johnson as part of a family record showed Olive Thurtell was stillborn. It seems quite likely that it was her baby that was stillborn, since the only child living with Charles E. Thomas and his second wife by the 1910 census was born after Olive Thurtell Thomas died.

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