Otto and Anna Traasdahl Family Reunion 1948

Traasdahl Family Reunion 1948

Back Row: Edith with Kareen Traasdahl, Harvey with Jerry Pence, Mary Louise with Mike Pence, Newell King, Irene King, Jeanne Traasdahl, Carl Traasdahl, Maynard Swenson; Middle Row: Sonja King, Laree Stewart, Frosty Traasdahl, Anna Pauline Traasdahl, Otto Birger Traasdahl, Ann Swenson, Judy King, Rick Traasdahl; Front Row: Max Swenson, Madeline Traasdahl, Roger Traasdahl, Michael Traasdahl, Ron Swenson


August 1948 Traasdahl Family Reunion Boulder City


Otto Birger and Anna Pauline Traasdahl Family

Hazel Draper and Lawrence Eugene Pence

Ida Mae Pence Whetsel

Georgia Lenora Pence Wheat and Wilbur Clark Wheat

George Corner Pence and Nora May Smith

Harvey - Mitze: 5 Sons

Merry Christmas! I had a chance here in Iowa during Christmas break to do some family history work. I have scanned several images to add to the blog and website. Some are family pictures and others are of individual grave markers.

“How very much I love our family-each and every one-
Dad and I shared a wonderful life on our Iowa farm.
I couldn’t have a better companion, or more choice sons
than Jerry, Michael, Steve, Gary, Rick-and then five
beautiful, talented, special daughters-Gayle, Renee, Christie,
Debbie, Kris. Also 25 healthy beautiful grandchildren-
Dad and I take great pride in our family. See you in heaven.”
Mom-Mary Louise Traasdahl Pence Devey

Letter From Mike

I hope everyone is doing well (especially Gary) and Jeff on his mission. Thanks for all your prayers for our boys and their families. I just wanted to report we had a great day at the Cardston Temple yesterday. We had a youth temple trip and Renee prepared a list of names on the new temple ready program (she is amazing at doing all this stuff). She had a couple from her family and mostly from the Pence family (actually Smith/Boyer). There were 9 men and 12 women. It was a great experience to do the confirmations for each of our great and great/great aunts and uncles included on the temple ready list. There was Harvey Alonzo, Daniel Elias, Ervin Jasper, Ruth, Myrtle, Aretha, Augusta, Mary, Bessie Ida, Elizabeth, and Ada Smith (all brothers and sisters). I met some of these family members when I was a kid including Daniel, Ruth, Bessie, Ada, Myrtle, Agusta and Ada that I can remember. Several of them were from Indiana - I remember Uncle Dan visiting us on the farm. We also had the Boyer family names including David, John, Abraham, Hiram, Daniel, Rudolph, Mary, Hannah, Eliza and Susan. After the baptisms and confirmations, Renee and I each did the initiatories. It was a pretty amazing feeling when I sat there for Harvey Alonzo Smith and had those ordinances performed as well as with the other Smiths and Boyers. I did not realize Dad was named after his Uncle Harvey Alonzo Smith (maybe some of you knew that). It seemed like a pretty thin veil as I could picture and feel Dad in my mind and it brought some tears. I sort of figured all this work had been done for these more recent family members, but appreciate Renee lining this up so I could participate in starting the work for these wonderful family members. We will be going to Cardston soon to start doing the endowments for all of these family members and sealings that will follow. So if anyone wants to come up or over to Montana, we can take you up to help out on getting this work done. We are in a bigger house now so have plenty of room for a nice vacation spot for you. I just thought some of you would be intersted in hearing about the great experience we had yesterday with our Pence/Smith/Boyer family (thanks again Renee!!). Love you all, Mike

Marriage License for Victoria Pence and JC Green, October 10, 1877 in Bartow County Georgia.

I was able to get a copy of this death certificate for Victoria Ann Pence Greene. She was the daughter of Noah Pence.

Harvey Alonzo Pence

Some old Pence family pics with Grandpa in them.

Thanks Rick!!

Thanks to Rick for getting this scanned!

I was searching for information on the death and burial of Nancy Clee Pence, wife of Noah Pence, and found these affidavits and pension applications for both Noah and Nancy at the Georgia Virtual Vault website. It was exciting to find and interesting to learn more about who my great-great-great-grandfather and grandmother were. Noah Pence was a soldier in the civil war from 1861-1864 as part of the 10th Regiment, Virginia Volunteers. There is a record of Noah Pence as a soldier serving as part of the E company (National Park Service Website).
I have posted all the documents on the Noah and Nancy Pence web pages.

During Grandma Pence's funeral I was motivated to start doing more family history work in order to remember Grandma and Grandpa Pence better and to be able to tell my own children about their great-grandparents. I miss Grandma Pence, but am grateful for the memories that I have of her. Remembering her has gotten me interested in recording those memories here as part of our family history so that everyone can enjoy and remember them too! I hope the genealogy bug will spread!

This blog is meant to be a portal for information exchange. This site is for all of us to share stories, photos, documents, or other information focused on family history. It is a place to celebrate who we are and the heritage that has been left us. If you have information, photos, etc. that you would like to post, please do!

P.S. If you will send me an updated email address I can add you as an author.

Mary Louise Traasdahl Pence Devey

We were happy to be able to go to Utah and to Iowa to celebrate Grandma Pence. We love her and will miss her. We are grateful for the wonderful legacy and example that she left us. The funeral was beautiful and all the Uncles did a great job describing the life of this amazing lady. I felt privileged to be part of it, Claire de Lune was Grandma's favorite. She always wanted me to play it for her whenever we would visit her and Ranald. She really loved beautiful things. And most of all, she loved her family and she loved God, and hoped in a glorious resurrection; it is great to know that she is with Grandpa Pence again.

It was great to see so much family, and to catch up on everything that has been happening. Hopefully we can get together again soon.

This was the obituary printed in the Daily Herald in Utah:

Mary Louise (Mitze) Pence Devey passed away April 18, 2008 in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Mitze was born on December 13, 1924 in Grace, Idaho. She was the seventh child born to Otto Birger and Anna Pauline (Erickson) Traasdahl. She was always pleased to tell people that her parents had immigrated from Norway. Her family moved when she was a little girl to Ogden, UT where she grew up and graduated from Ogden High School. Mitze married Harvey Alonzo Pence on June 6, 1946 in Ogden, UT following an extended letter-writing courtship while Harvey was stationed in England during WWII. They spent their married life together on a farm near Eldora, IA where they raised their five sons. They were sealed in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on August 18, 1953. Mary Louise was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many positions throughout her life. Harvey and Mitze also served a mission to the Chicago Temple. She loved being the wife of a farmer and was thrilled to be the mother of 5 boys. She was especially pleased to be a Grandma and was very proud of all her family. Her interests included music, cooking, and gardening. Her yard was always beautiful and very colorful in the summertime because of all the flowers she would plant (especially her four o'clocks). She moved to Alpine, UT following the death of her beloved companion, Harvey. While living there she met and married Ranald Devey, also of Alpine, on September 16, 1995. Mitze is survived by her five sons: Jerry (Gayle) Story City, IA; Michael (Renee) Kalispell, MT; Steve (Christie) Eldora, IA; Gary (Debbie) Waukee, IA; and Rick (Kristine) American Fork, UT, 25 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren, her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Howard and Hazel Pence of Eldora, IA, sister-in-law, Dora Pence of Newton, IA along with nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her two husbands, her parents, her brothers and sisters. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in the Olpin Family Mortuary Chapel, 494 South 300 East, Pleasant Grove. Friends may call Tuesday evening from 6-8 at the mortuary and on Wednesday one hour prior to services. Interment will be in Eldora, Iowa. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.olpinfamilymortuary.com. The family extends a special thanks to Sharon, Brittney and Justin Niswander at Lakeview Elderly Care Estate for their kind and loving care for our dear Mother and Grandmother during her last 4 years. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be given to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. Published in the Daily Herald on 4/20/2008.