Hi Mary!
Two years later, after a rather long hiatus, I'm back to being obsessed by my search for Frank's parents. I've gotten a lot better at this, subsequent to my setting it all aside, and found your reference to Frank in NY in 1920 with father born in Canada (speaking Scots) and mother in Iowa. My sister in law recently said she believes she heard that Frank "went east" so that ties in. If you have any guidance to your history on the Neilsons you were chronicling being among the first to emigrate to Canada I'd love to follow that trail. It has to follow that Frank's father, somewhere before 1875 when he was purportedly born, moved to Iowa and met the love of his life (Frank's mother, born there). The problem with Iowa birth records is that there aren't any before 1880 - and also at that time all babies weren't registered unless in church records, making finding Frank being born, which would lead to his parents' names, impossible to find. In the meantime, I have traced my husband's family back to 1589 in Ireland, and back in time in Germany, Sweden and Denmark. My only missing piece are the Neilsons/Nelsons presumably from Canada, and before that from Scotland. Thank you again for all your suggestions and help!
Anyway, wanted to say thank you for your work - it is pretty certain that Lavina Mattson was Frank's wife - my husband remembers meeting her. He never heard of Frank, and never met his grandfather, Myles, even though they both lived in Minneapolis at the same time. And I have enough documentation on Frank and Lavina and Myles to be certain they are "the ones."
Thank you again - Lynn
