Clifford Ambrose Gilsoul (1914 - 1993)

Born 1 Sep 1914 in Esplee, Minnesota, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Evelyn Isabel (Carrier) Gilsoul — married 14 Nov 1934 in International Fall, MN

Descendants

Died 8 Feb 1993 at age 78 in Cle Elum, WA, USA

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Biography

Clifford's birthplace of record was Esplee township, Marshall county, Minnesota in 1914. The family farm homesteaded by Cliff's father Anthony was just east, in Lee township, Beltrami county, so this could have been the actual birthplace. The area is a sparsely populated farming community in far NW Minnesota, just north of the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Soon after his birth (1915-1917), parents Anthony & Ida moved the family from the farm in Lee township, to the border town of International Falls, Minnesota. Anthony took a job as foreman of the railroad roundhouse.

Cliff's mother Ida died in 1918, when he was just 3 yrs old. Anthony was unable to care for the children at home, so Cliff and 3 of his siblings were sent to St James Orphanage in Duluth, and show up there in the 1920 US Census.^[1][2] (note that the orphanage record spans several pages)

At some point in the 1920s, with the children a little older, they returned to International Falls to be closer to their father, although the details aren't clear.

Cliff shows up as a 15 yr old in the 1930 US Census, (with last name misspelled as Gilsaul). He and siblings Denny and Izzy (Isabelle) are living as stepchildren under the roof of Ernest Therriault.^[3]

In 1934, Cliff at age 20, married 16 year old Evelyn Carrier, and they settled in International Falls.^[4] They originally met as a result of Evelyn being best friends with Cliff's little sister Izzy.

The couple's first child, daughter Marilyn Ann, was born on Oct 1st, 1935 in International Falls.^[5]

In 1937, 2nd daughter Evelyn Rose was born.^[6]

The Gilsouls show up in the 1940 US census as a family of 4, with Cliff's father Anthony, the retired railroad man, living right next door. Anthony was on a disability pension due to losing a leg in a rail accident. Cliff is listed as 25 yrs old, working as a "Steam Hoist Engineer" at the paper mill. Also listed are wife Evelyn, and 2 daughters, Marilyn age 4 and Evelyn Rose age 2.^[7]

Cliff & Evelyn's son Anthony (Tony), named after Cliff's father, was born in 1941.

In September of 1942, Cliff enlisted to serve in WWII,^[8][9] and the family temporarily moved to Richmond, Virginia, where there was a naval base. He was specifically recruited due to his skill in the operation of the huge steam cranes he used to load pulpwood at the paper mill in International Falls. His skills were then put to work for the war effort, loading & unloading equipment and materials used to construct runways in the South Pacific. He served over 3 years in the 95th Construction Battalion (the Navy SeaBees)^[10][11], and received an honorable discharge in 1945. At war's end, the family returned to Minnesota.

In 1947, the family bought a farm overlooking the St Croix river valley near Somerset, and relocated to western Wisconsin. Cliff raised dairy cows, pigs, and chickens for eggs, and also planted feed crops.

Cliff and Evelyn went on to have 3 more children, as follows: Kathleen, born in 1949, Jerome 1951, and Patrick 1952.

The 1950 US census shows the Gilsoul family living on a farm near Somerset, Wisconsin.^[12]

Tragedy struck the Gilsoul family in 1952, when a fire caused extensive damage to their farmhouse. Cliff's wife Evelyn was home with 2 of the younger children at the time, while the others were in school. Mrs Gilsoul heard a noise coming from upstairs and went up to investigate, where she saw the fire coming from inside the attic. The children were quickly gotten outside and she called the fire department. The cause was most likely faulty wiring.^[13] The family was taken in by friends and neighbors while the home underwent repairs.

In the 1950s, Cliff took employment in Stillwater, Minnesota, just across the St Croix river. He was employed as a control room operator at NSP (Northern States Power), the largest power generator in the area.

In about 1960, Cliff began working as a power control room operator for the Corp of Engineers. Through the 1960s, Cliff worked in a series of jobs that took the family to various locations in the United States. In 1962 it was Coolidge, Arizona, then on to Elephant Butt, New Mexico, and Fort Peck, Montana. In 1967, the family finally relocated to Chelan, Washington, where Cliff worked at the Wells Dam, and eventually he retired there in 1976.

Cliff passed away in 1993, and is buried in Chelan, WA.^[14]

Research Notes

• The 1920 census info that was collected at the orphanage has some glaring errors. In the box for place of birth, Cliff, and many other children show NS, which has been transcribed as Nova Scotia. This is absolutely Not correct in Cliff's case, and I suspect all others are wrong also. Maybe it means "Not Stated" or some other census term. Also the parents place of birth says France, NOT correct, Cliff's father was Minnesota, and mother was New York.
• The official place name of Cliff's birth may be spelled in various ways, Esplee, Esplie, Espelie, depending on which source you're looking at. The actual, true spelling is not known, due to the variety of official records, maps, news reports, etc that disagree. Also, the local courthouse burned down, so all records were lost.
• 1935 Birth record should read Marilyn, not Marilym.

Sources

1. ↑ US Census MN 1920 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GR6P-N2C?i=21&cc=1488411
2. ↑ St James Orphanage https://zenithcity.com/archive/historic-architecture/st-james-orphanage/
3. ↑ US Census MN 1930, 15 yr old Cliff Gilsoul https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RHV-XHT?i=42&cc=1810731
4. ↑ Certificate # H 1 Minnesota Official Marriage System https://moms.mn.gov/
5. ↑ "Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VCPG-JHC : 6 May 2014), Clifford Gilsoul in entry for Marilym Ann Gilsoul, 01 Oct 1935; from "Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2004); citing Koochiching, Minnesota, United States, Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis.
6. ↑ "Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VCLX-7NS : 6 May 2014), Clifford Ambrose Gilsoul in entry for Evelyn Rose Gilsoul, 11 Jul 1937; from "Minnesota Birth Index, 1935-2002," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2004); citing Koochiching, Minnesota, United States, Minnesota Department of Health, Minneapolis.
7. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSL7-5HS : 25 November 2019), Clifford Gilsaul, Ward 1, International Falls, International Falls City, Koochiching, Minnesota, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 36-17A, sheet 2B, line 70, family 44, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1931.
8. ↑ "Minnesota, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLF9-G76R : 3 March 2020), Clifford Ambrose Gilsoul, .
9. ↑ Eveleth Clarion, Sept 17, 1942, pg 4, col 4 https://www.mnhs.org/newspapers/lccn/sn90059178/1942-09-17/ed-1/seq-4
10. ↑ Navy Sea Bees info https://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/american&military_history/Rogers-SeabeeOps-WW2-Aug2011.pdf
11. ↑ Cruise Book, 95th Construction Battalion https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/museums/Seabee/Cruisebooks/wwiicruisebooks/ncb-cruisebooks/95th%20NCB.pdf
12. ↑ "St. Croix, Wisconsin, United States Records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHN-PQHW-2XY2 : April 25, 2022), image 22 of 34; United States. Bureau of the Census.
13. ↑ (Hudson Star-Observer Apr 1952)
14. ↑ Obituary https://books.google.com/books?id=_lZUAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=Gilsoul&

Additional Sources

• Family knowledge.
• FamilySearch profile for reference, may contain errors. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/LYP3-5YN
• Find-A-Grave Memorial for Cliff Gilsoul https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24307644
• History of International Falls, MN https://www.ci.international-falls.mn.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/History-of-International-Falls-Revised.pdf