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William Bjornstad (#47016546)
 member for 4 years, 11 months, 7 days
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Bio and Links
Bio Photo I was born in South Bend IN and raised in Elkhart IN, and moved to southwestern Illinois, near St Louis MO, after a four-year tour with the Air Force when I graduated from high school. I have always been fascinated by cemeteries ever since I was a young child, especially small family cemeteries. In the last 30 years, I have delved into my family genealogy on my father's (Bjornstad) and mother's (Denson) side. My paternal grandfather, Kristian Bjornstad, immigrated from Norway in the early 1900s, eventually settling in eastern North Dakota. His oldest brother had an interest in the Bjornstad genealogy and he compiled the family record into a book and had it published in Oslo Norway in 1943, which traces the family origins to the first king of Norway. I have used it as a reference when submitting memorials for my father's ancestors on Find A Grave. On my mother's side, a distant cousin, Dr. Marion E. Denson of Columbia TN (now deceased) published a genealogy book in 1997 on the Denson families in America, tracing them back to the mid-1600s, when a William Denson came from England and settled in southern Virginia, near the present-day city of Norfolk. This book has been a great source of reference for my Find A Grave memorials pertaining to my Denson ancestors. Additionally, I want to give special thanks to Ronald C. Denson of Birmingham AL (now deceased) who also compiled a genealogy of my Denson ancestors which was very helpful.

I also want to give special thanks to my wife, Angela Bjornstad, for her help in formatting the photos that I have posted to Find A Grave.

I am acceptable to transferring memorials on Find A Grave to anyone who requests them and who is a direct descendant of the person whose memorial I have posted. If I have incorrectly stated any information for any memorial that I have posted, please contact me through the Find A Grave message board and I will gladly make the necessary correction(s). Also, I do not object if anyone posts pictures to any memorials that I created and still manage.
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Contributions to
Find A Grave
 • 545 Memorials Added
 • 493 Memorials Managed
 • 2 Memorials/week
 • 744 Photos
 • 1 Photo Request
 • 2 Volunteer Photos Taken
 • 1,840 Virtual Flowers
 • 4 Virtual Cemeteries
 • 244 Famous Bios
 • 4 Sponsorships
 • 10 Friends
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First NameLast Name

Virtual Cemeteries
Elkhart High School Class... (24)
My Direct Denson Ancestor... (11)
My Wife's Family/Relative... (21)
Sacred Harp (82)
Find A Grave Friends
Angela Wentz Bj..., Bob Hufford, Lucy Caldarelli, Meredith Mitche..., Phillip Parris, Ruggero, Shaton Jackson, Shirley Cates T..., stac541, Travis Denson
Messages left for William Bjornst... (48)[Leave Message]
K
Edwin R. Beardsley
Hi William,

I found some info on Edwin and his wife I thought you might be interested in knowing. Edwin died in Waldron, Illinois on March 13, 1913. He was 89 years old. His wife, Olive A. Beardsley was born in March 1832 in New York. She was still alive when Edwin passed away. His obituary appeared in the Elkhart Daily Review on March 21, 1913 but no cemetery. I can see if I can find anymore information.

The obit reads-
Edwin Beardsley of Waldron, Ill.
Edwin Beardsley of Waldron, Ill., oldest and last surviving son of Dr. Havilah Beardsley, founder of Elkhart, died at the age of eighty-nine years, March 13. The first knowledge received here of his death came in a paper received by Mrs. J.R. Beardsley, this morning. Mr. Beardsley is survived by a widow, three daughters and a son, all of whom have visited here. He was a brother of the late J.R. Beardsley, Mrs. B.L. Davenport, Richard Beardsley and Charles Beardsley.

I also found Ernest M. "Ernie" Hays.
HAYS, ERNEST MILBURN
ETN2 US NAVY
DATE OF BIRTH: 01/01/1935
DATE OF DEATH: 10/31/2012
BURIED AT: Section 1JJ-B, Site 2209
JEFFERSON BARRACKS NATIONAL CEMETERY
2900 SHERIDAN ROAD ST. LOUIS, MO 63125
(314) 845-8320

K (genea11@live.ca)
Added by K on Apr 25, 2013 7:08 PM
Eddie K
Correction
Per previous message, father's name is Ira Marvin Gurley. Oops!
Added by Eddie K on Apr 04, 2013 9:24 AM
Eddie K
Added info
Name is Helen Marie (Gurley) Brown, change her memorial to show name as "Helen Marie (Gurley) Gurley Brown" so as to get Amazon to recognize her. Her burial is Sisco Cemetery at Osage, Carroll, Arkansas. David Brown also buried there. Link her to parents Ira Marvin Brown (46148081) and Cleo Fred Sisco (23766725). Tks
Added by Eddie K on Apr 04, 2013 9:21 AM
Sherlocks Cousin
Nellie Stanford
All updated for you and I added her obituary:)m Thanks for the family link.
Added by Sherlocks Cousin on Apr 03, 2013 8:13 AM
Ruggero
Happy Holidays!
Hi William. I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Happy holidays. Many greetings from Italy.

Ruggero
Added by Ruggero on Dec 25, 2012 10:10 AM
Ruggero
RE: Robert Stanford Ovshinsky
Dear William,

Many thanks to you too. Thank you for your compliment and for adding me as your friend, I did the same with you a long time ago. Congratulations once again. I added a photo on the memorial created by you. I hope you do not mind. Thank you again.

Ruggero
Added by Ruggero on Dec 11, 2012 2:12 PM
Ruggero
Robert Stanford Ovshinsky
Hello William. I am following for several months what you write in the biographies for memorials added by you. I want to congratulate you for the excellent biography that you wrote for Robert Stanford Ovshinsky. Really a great job. Well done!

My best regards.


Ruggero
Added by Ruggero on Dec 10, 2012 2:24 PM
cjc47
Stanford R Ovshinky
Hi,

I deleted my memorial for Stan Ovshinsky, but I added the Family Link for his wife, Iris Miroy Ovshinsky, so she will still be connected to his memorial that you put in Find A Grave.

Clarice Coleman cjc47 at Find A Grave

Added by cjc47 on Dec 07, 2012 8:39 AM
Meredith Mitchell Clapper
Burdettes
Granddad's brother, Wm Thomas Mitchell, went by a childhood nickname, Pan. So, if you've ever heard anyone mention Uncle or Cousin Pan that's the guy. When they were little, William was called "Little Man" which my Grandfather couldn't say very well and it came out Pan. Then it stuck.

I will email you directly next.
Meredith
Added by Meredith Mitchell Clapper on Nov 17, 2012 3:05 PM
Meredith Mitchell Clapper
RE: James Alexander Burdette
Yes, I am. James Alexander Burdette (Uncle Jimmy) was an older brother to my Eliza Frances (Ida) Burdette. She & her husband, Thomas Mitchell, died in 1884 of typhoid along with her father, Wm Howard Burdette. They are all 3 buried together in Heflin, AL though the Mitchell graves aren't marked. Their 2 sons were split up and Uncle Jimmy raised my Grandfather, Edwin Dayton Mitchell; Amanda Symington Burdette Denson raised Wm Thomas Mitchell. My Grandfather really knew more about the Burdette family than he ever did the Mitchells. He was 6 when his parents died.

Where do you fit in?
Meredith
Added by Meredith Mitchell Clapper on Nov 16, 2012 12:20 PM
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