home » stories » by mesearch within stories
Family Stories
A potpourri of stories about various family members or events
We are Immigrants
If you randomly choose someone currently living in the United States, the probability is very close to 1 that this person is an immigrant, or an ancestor within 4 to 8 generations (sometimes longer), was an immigrant. That is just the nature of how our country developed.
I am going to list my 8 great-grandparents, talk about their immigrant status, and then give a summary of each. I will also show a photograph of these people. For each person with a link attached to their name (hover over the name to see the link), this link takes one to another page on this site that gives additional information about the person. At this new page, all of the known details regarding birth date and place, marriage date and place, and death date and place are given. In addition, there will be a link to the person's page on FamilySearch.org, a website to collaborate on families and their connections. I am attaching other photos and information to these members on FamilySearch.org, so you can go there for additional information, if interested. If you do not have an account, you can create one at no charge and no hassle or solicitation (but the account is necessary to use the link).
My father’s side
My father’s father’s father
My father, Edmund Arthur Hibbard, had Jesse Edmund Hibbard as his father. In turn, Jesse’s father was Howard Horatio Hibbard. Howard was born in 1854 in Stockholm, New York and died in 1932 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. So, Howard was not an immigrant himself. His father, Horatio Hiram Hibbard most likely was born in Quebec (since he was baptized there 7 months later), but the father of Horatio H. (also named Horatio) was born in the United States. He descends from the first Hibbard to arrive in this country, Robert Hibbard, and he came from England between 1632 and 1637. Howard’s photo, with his wife (discussed next), is shown below.
Howard Hibbard and Rose Ann Doran
My father’s father’s mother
My father’s paternal grandmother was Rose Anne Doran. Rose was born in 1857 in Havre de Grace, Maryland and died in 1947 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. So, she was not an immigrant herself. Her father, William Doran (1822-1887), however, was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. sometime before 1858. Rose is shown above with her husband and also below in a photo from about 1870, as a youngster. She is shown here with her aunt (her father’s sister), Mary Doran Mulligan (1832-1908). This aunt, with her husband, Hugh Mulligan, took her in when she was about 10 and took care of her until she married Howard in 1876. The Mulligans lived a little bit east of the Elk River, and that is likely how she met Howard.
Rose Ann Doran and aunt Mary Doran Mulligan
My father’s mother’s father
My father’s maternal grandfather was William Johann Westphal (and sometimes known as John William or JW). JW was born in 1860 in Prussia (Germany) and came to the United States in October 1864. JW died in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1935. His father, August, was born in 1831 in a portion of Prussia that is now part of Poland. Two older siblings of JW and one younger sibling came with his parents, and then he had ten additional siblings who were born in Minnesota (after the family moved there, after first settling in the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin). Below is a photo of JW in front of his St. Paul house, where he lived for many years.
John William Westphal
My father’s mother’s mother
My father’s maternal grandmother was Magdalena Wittmer, but known as Ella or granny. Ella was born in 1862 in Colmar, Alsace (held by France or Germany, depending on the year), and came to the United States about 1863. Ella died at the Jesse Hibbard home in 1954. Her father, Jacob Taylor Wittmer, was born in the same region of Alsace in 1832. Two other siblings were also born in the Alsace region and came with her parents, and then she had two additional siblings who were born in Deerfield, Illinois (now a northern suburb of Chicago, but they were farmers then). For an unknown reason, they moved to SW Minnesota (Lake Benton region) in about 1884. Below is a photo of Ella in her later years. This may be her son Arthur’s house in California. Below her is a picture of her parents, Jacob Wittmer and Magdalena Huser, taken in Lake Benton before 1897.
Ella Wittmer Westphal
Jacob Wittmer and wife Magdalena Huser
My mother’s side
My mother’s father’s father
My mother, Virginia Mae Smith, had George Jacob Smith as her father. In turn, George’s father was Jacob George Smith (Smidt). Jacob was born in 1866 in Forreston, Ogle County, Illinois, and died in 1938 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (though a resident of Fergus Falls before his death). Thus, he was not an immigrant himself. His father, Geert (George) Smidt (later Smith) was born in 1839 in Rorichum, Ostfriesland (Prussia - Germany), today in the part of Germany adjacent to the northern Netherlands. (It is known as Ostfriesland since it is east of the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen. I visited Rorichum in April 2023.) The first photo below shows Jacob George Smith and his wife (discussed next) in the front row, with him on the front left and his wife on the front right, with the rest being their children (with my grandfather George in the upper right). In the second photo, Jacob is the middle child in the back, where his parents and siblings sit for a photo in 1910 (likely taken in Sheldon, Iowa as that is where most of them lived at this point).
Jacob George Smith family
Siblings and parents of Jacob George Smith
My mother’s father’s mother
My mother’s paternal grandmother was Trientja Beving but known as Tena or Tina (and sometimes spelled Trientje). Tena was born in 1877 in Grundy County, Iowa and died in 1956 in Klamath Falls, Oregon. So, she was not an immigrant herself. Her father, Dirk Everts Beving, known as Dick or Richard (1849-1846), was born in the same general area as the Smidts were born, in a village named Holthusen in Ostfriesland (Germany), and he came to the U.S. about 1872. (I biked to Holthusen in 2023, after first biking to Rorichum the day before.) Tena is shown above with her husband and family, and also below in a photo from 1942, where she is with some of her children. The second photo below is a four-generation photo with my mother in front, my grandfather behind, my great-grandmother on the right (Tena), and my great-great-grandfather Dirk on the left.
Tena Beving Smith with some children
Tena Beving Smith with her father (Dirk), son (George Jacob), and granddaughter (my mother)
My mother’s mother’s father
My mother’s mother was Eva Mable Goodale and her father was Clark Baker Goodale. Clark, from whom my middle name was chosen, was born in 1866 in Genoa, Illinois and died in Fertile, Minnesota in 1943. His father, George Washington Goodale, was born in New York, and other ancestors are also from New England. I have not verified the details yet, but the Goodales came from England in the early years of this nation. Below is a photo of Clark with his wife, Anna Witty. The location and date for the photo are unknown (but a guess of 1933, plus or minus 10, in Fertile). The second photo is of Clark as a boy, likely in Illinois (though they did move to MN by 1881).
Clark Baker Goodale and wife Anna Witty
Clark Baker Goodale
My mother’s mother’s mother
My mother’s maternal grandmother was Anna Christine Witty. Anna was born in 1875 in Le Sueur county, Minnesota and died in 1966 in Twin Valley, Minnesota. While Anna was not an immigrant, her father Henrich Witty (1844-1884) was born in Ostfriesland (not verified yet), as the Smidts and Bevings above. Anna is in the photo above with her husband. She is also below in another four-generation picture where she is standing on the left next to her son Arthur Lloyd Goodale and her mother, Maria Hardt is holding Anna's grandson, Lloyd Arthur Goodale.
Anna Witty Goodale with son, grandson, and mother
In summary, two of my eight great-grandparents (Hibbard, Goodale) came from English stock and have been in the US for many generations. One (Doran) came from Ireland, and she was the first in her line to be born here. The other five came from Germany-related regions, including Alsace, which bounced back and forth between being German and French. Two of these five were actual immigrants (Westphal and Wittmer), while the other three were first generation, with their parents having immigrated (Smith, Beving, Witty). We are all immigrants from somewhere at some time.
Published 2021-01-19. Revised 2025-08-09
If you find any errors in the text, please let me know. Thanks. Contact me with errors or comments using hibbardac@gmail.com. [Back to the top] [About the author, Al]