Nov. 21, 2021. Janelle Molony. All rights reserved.
Marion County, IA on Sarah Rousseau’s Iowa Residency and Lineage-Legacy
Carl Nollen, genealogist and historian shares records and memorabilia on the Rousseau-Anderson families in early Marion County, Iowa history in the October 2020 Marion County Genealogical Society Newsletter.
Nollen is a member of the Pella Historical Society and editor of the Marion County Genealogical Society’s newsletter. Through his research, he has helped identify key details about the Rousseau’s history in Iowa, with the research aid of family descendants, Janelle Molony (g-g-g-granddaughter) and Evelyn Anderson-Straight (granddaughter, 1862-1938), and through the collected records of Iva Erena Roorda (1895-1980), as written in 1942.
Interestingly, Iva Roorda was the grand-niece of Isaak Epke and Gerrit Epke Roorda. These brothers settled in Marion County in the 1840s, then departed in a wagon train to Oregon at almost the same time as the Pella Company (Sarah Rousseau’s wagon train). In the Roorda family papers (housed in the archives of Central College, IA) is published Gerrit’s “day book,” a daily log of the “Oliver Train” (as called by Sarah Rousseau), and their journey. In this, he identifies traveling in sync with The “Curtis Company” (as called by the Roordas) on at least nine occasions.
Now available! In the Autumn 2021 issue of The Annals of Wyoming, author Janelle Molony, reveals an inextricable connection between the Roorda, Earp, Curtis, and Rousseau families as they travel on the Platte River Road from Fort Laramie to (the soon-to-be) Fort Caspar. Click here for more info on that publication.
Spoiler alert: Members of the Pella Company train help rescue and bury the deceased from the Kelly-Larimer massacre of July 12, one member in the company ends up with a “volley” of arrows in him and is buried alongside the victims, and Nicholas Earp’s granddaughter is hidden in a trunk to protect her from being hurt or captured during an Indian attack… all while the Earp family must maintain a false pretense that Virgil Earp is already dead! (A special thanks to Mr. Nollen for the critical review of the material to ensure accuracy, per his area of expertise.)
Carl Nollen identified the source image (right) of Sarah Rousseau’s daughter, Elizabeth, as being printed in the Thursday, April 19, 1934 Knoxville Journal-Express. Considering Lizzy died in 1931, and Knoxville family researcher Evelyn Anderson-Straight died in 1938, it begs the question: Who in the family sent the wagon train photo into the paper? Unfortunately, the Knoxville Journal (originally established by Gov. William Stone in 1855) shut down permanently in May of 2020 due to strains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is also through the wonderful assistance of Nollen that rumors of legacy connections to Beethoven and Samuel Morse, the wealth of the Rousseau family, and the lineage’s eligibility for both the Daughters/Sons of the American Revolution and the National Huguenot Society ( and other stories) can be confirmed by the written account of the Daglish sister’s granddaughter, who may have heard these oral histories first-hand.
Be on the lookout! The DAR publications and genealogical letters from Mrs. Anderson-Straight will be featured in an upcoming peer-reviewed journal publication that features how “You can take the woman out of Victorian England, but you can never take the Victorian out of the woman.” (More information to be announced soon!)
For further reading:
Lost Towns of Lake Red Rock Brochure
https://marioncountyiowa.gov/maps/historical/LostTownsOfLakeRedRock_Brochure.pdf
Marion County Genealogical Society
http://iagenweb.org/marion/tools/MCGS/
What was it like on the wagon train ride? Click here to read “A Day In The Life…”
To follow along with the development of the story, characters, fashions, and civil war events, please connect with @RousseauProject on Facebook or Instagram.
Special thanks to the Marion County Genealogical Society (http://iagenweb.org), Pella Historical Society (https://www.pellahistorical.org/) and San Bernardino Historical and Pioneer Society (http://www.sbhistoricalsociety.com/) for your cooperation and support!