Thanks again to Curtis Jensen, grandson of Ed Troudt for this amazing audio!!
Transcription of audio recording of Ed Troudt’s family history interview conducted by Leslie & Leone Troudt. Also interviewing is Yvonne Troudt Knehans. Circa 1970's
"Ed: I’ll begin with them coming over. A little baby that they were carrying when they settled in this home in Nelson here. He became sick and the doctor said it was because of over exposure. Just a bad case of pneumonia and the little fella died. His name was Johnny and then when the
next baby was born, that was our brother John, Leslie’s dad.
Leslie: They named him John, too, didn’t they?
Ed: And they called him Johnny. Then I’ll go ahead and tell you of the over-exposure. On the ship, I think this is interesting for young people to know this, on the floor that our folks were on there were some little folks that were very sick, no clothing. And our father said, "Mother, I’m gonna go around over our floor and see if I can’t get a little clothing for those children." And he didn’t get a stitch of clothes. And Mother had two changes for this baby. Two diapers. And Dad says, "What’ll we do Mother? We got two changes. Couldn’t we give them one? Mother says, "Yes, Dad, we’ll give them one." They came over with one change for that little baby. Well you know how he’d have to be dressed part of the time. Then when they got off of the train here in Nelson, some of this between the ship and the train is not just exactly to be repeated, But when they got off the train in Nelson, there was an old fella that lived there told me with his own mouth, he’d seen our folks get off of the train and he said "I thought they was the strangest people I ever saw."
And I’ll bring this in also, the most treasured possession they had in Russia was Mother’s spinning wheel and she would not entrust anyone with it. She carried that spinning wheel and when they got off that train in Nelson, she had the spinning wheel on one arm and the baby on the other.
Leone: Now, what kind of a boat did they come over in? A cattle boat, wasn’t it?
Ed: That I’m unable to say.
Leone: I think mother had told us it was a cattle boat.
Ed: I’m unable to say. It could be. It could be. A Stock boat.
Les: I understood it was but then...
Leone: Well, I think Leslie’s mother had told me this. Now we were discussing...Was George and Alice married over in Russia before they came over. George and Alice.
Ed: They were. They were.
Leone: And then was the other sister married when she came over.
Ed: Lizzie, sister Lizzie, was married over there.
Leone & Les: To Con Henry, to Uncle Con.
Leone: Now those four came over first?
Ed: They, They, no our folks were the means of them getting over here.
Unknown: Katie was the one that came first, wasn’t she? Who was the first one who came?
Ed: A half-sister, Emma. Should I give you how our folks were able to get over here?
Leone: Yes.
Ed: We had----our father married and had two children, Chris and Emma. Half brothers. I don’t think Leslie even seen either of them.
Leslie: No, I never but I heard them talk about them.
Ed: And there were some folks coming over and they had enough money that another one could come. And they wanted to know if our half sister, Emma, wanted to come with them. Of course, this money wasn’t give to her, she had to pay it back. The same as they did the other. And she talked with the folks and what they thought might be possible. She could get over here and be the means of getting her folks to America. So she came over here, and seemed like a number of those people settled in the Nelson vicinity. She came to Nelson, and she worked for a man that had a dry good store and his name was William Voight.
Leslie: Billy Voight.
Ed: Billy Voight. And Billy Voight with his own mouth, told me this. And mother also. This Emma was working for them and what the figure was she was getting a week was very little and it would take a $1000 to get our folks over from Russia and she was gonna try to earn that. Well, she had this debt to pay that she owed. It took a long time to pay that. She wanted the folks to come over. She went to Mr. Voight, and she said, "Mr. Voight," she says, "I’d love to get my folks over here--that’s why I’m here. Would you loan me $1000 to get my folks over." And she says, "If they get over, my Daddy will pay you. And if they don’t get over, I’ll work till my dying day to pay you." And he said (Ed:I can hardly keep from crying) he said, um, he let her have that $1000, not a scratch of paper. And our folks came over. And when they hit Nelson, they had 25 cents left. And Dad says, "Mother, we should have stayed there. How will we ever pay off the $1000?" He got a job in the brickyard. He helped make many of the bricks that are in the buildings in Nelson. Helped build some of the buildings, the courthouse. And Mother took in washings. And just in no time they paid off this $1000. This I’m going to include-------while she was taking in washings, there was a kid, his name was Guy Miner, and in his adult age when he’d come to visit us, this is what he would talk about. This kid would, (our boys went to get these washings in a little wagon) he wouldn’t bother the dirty clothes, but after our Mother had washed them, he’d upset their wagon and dump those clothes in the dirt. And it made Mother so angry and those boys (there were two of them and either one of them were stronger than this kid) but they was afraid of them. So one day they started with the washing and he was down the road a little ways and, Mother, she had her wash stick and it was a hickory broom stick at that time and she hollered, "Guy, don’t you do that!" He stood there and she said to the boys, " Go on"(they was afraid) and she says "Now you go on and if he tries to do anything you catch him and hold him." So they went and he upset the wagon and they grabbed him (either one of them could have held him) and they held him and Mother went down there and she beat this kid with that hickory wash stick and he was in bed three days after that!! And that cured him from upsetting those clothes. And in his later years whenever he’d visit us, he would talk to we boys about this and he said, "That’s the best lesson I ever got in my life." Now that is what correction does to a kid. Don’t you see? And I’ve included that just to show you some of the hardships that they underwent and .....
Leone: Now, when did Alice and Con[Collin?]Henry come? At the same time?
Ed: After our folks paid their debt and acquired enough money to send and get them to come over. That’s the way it was.
Leslie: Was it just Chris and Emma in the first marriage, Uncle Ed? Just the two?
Ed: That’s right. Yes.
Leslie: I thought there was more than that?
Ed: No. That’s my half-brother and sister.
Leslie: Should have that written down. What the matter with me?We got things going. You’re in the limelight, you’re going to be on tape, here. See. We appreciate this. I remembered a lot of this from when I’ve heard, you know, George Jacoby and Uncle Collin and you guys talk. But heck I don’t remember it. I had a awful time remembering all their names. I don’t think I’ve got them all yet!!
Leone: Okay, that’s Chris and Emma
Leslie: Name them in order for age, Uncle Ed. That’s what I’d like to know.---------------
Ed: Now, those that came over was Katie, Louise
Leone: Now these were the ones with your folks.
Ed: That came with the folks: Katie, Louise, Brother Henry, Brother Adam, Brother George, and Brother Cooney, then came this Johnny that she was carrying as a baby.
Leslie: Then Dad was born then next to Uncle Cooney, then wouldn’t it be?
Ed: This one that died, they called him Johnny and he followed Uncle Cooney. And these children were each about two years apart. Then between Cooney and brother John, that’s Leslie’s daddy, there’s four years because this one died in there. Yes.
Leone: Alright then, the oldest one ....?
Leslie: Then it would be Uncle Ed and then Uncle Bill....Where does Aunt Maggie come in?
Ed: She came in following brother John.
Leslie: Oh, and then you?
Ed: Yes
Leslie: And then Uncle Bill.
Ed: Yes, that’s right.
Leone: Okay now, where ... The oldest was Chris and Emma and then who was the next born in the family? Alice or ....
Ed: Chris and Emma are the half brother and sister....then daddy married our mama which was a sister to the first wife. We, after this half brother and sister Emma, we are all of the same blood.
Very closely half brother and sister.
Leslie: You couldn’t be any closer to them.
Leone: Okay now, then who is the first one up there then?
Ed: Sister Katie is the first one that was born. She’s the oldest one that was born.......
Leone: Katie, now that’s the one living in Wyoming. She’s the oldest?
Ed: Louise
Leone: That’s the next?
Ed: Then brother Henry. Then Brother George..no wait, brother Henry, then brother Adam.
Leone: Alright, wait a minute. Where’s Alice and Lizzie come in?
Ed: Alice and Lizzie were born from the second wife but they were born over there.. They were married over there.
Leone: Yea, but they’re older than a....
Ed: They are older than Katie.
Leone: Katie and Hank...
Ed: Yes
Leone: That’s what I was gonna say. Now, which one is the oldest?
Ed: Uh, I can’t say, I believe, that Alice is the oldest of the two.
Leone: Then Lizzie, that’s the one that married Adam Cole. That is the one married Con{Collin?] Henry....then who married.....
Family History Conversation interrupted.- On the tape..........................
Leone: What all did Grandpa Troudt do? They lived right there in that little house north of Fritz Wehrman’s but then where else did they live. Didn’t they live out on the farm out northwest of town?
Ed: Yes, 6 to 8 years, something like that. Then they moved down in the southeast part of Nelson and that’s where he died. He died right there north of where you lived.
Leone: Did he always stay with the bricklaying or what?
Ed: Oh, well, he was on.....he went to farming you know. And then Father failed in health.
After he moved he moved to the farm, and that’s why they moved back to town.
Unknown: And you were ten years old, weren’t you....when he died?
Ed: Probably about ten years old when we moved back to town.
Unknown: I thought you were nine when he died, if I remember right. But maybe I....
Ed: I may be wrong there as to age. Yvonne reminded us that I was nine when he died and I believe that’s so.
Yvonne: I know you told us kids that several times.
Ed: And brother Billy was six - he was the youngest.
Yvonne: What took him, what did he, was it his heart or what failed him?
Ed: It just seemed as though it was just a plum run-down condition and the doctor said that it was just from over-exposure and all his work over there in Russia. He would freight over there and it would get as cold as 40 below zero in Russia with not very much clothing on and his condition when he died was all the results of that extreme cold on his system and the different exposures.
Leone: Now, did they come, now it was my understanding, I guess Les’ mother, we talked an awful lot about this, did they live in that country that was between Germany and Russia called Prussia? Is that where they come from? Or was it the real Russia?
Ed: They told us that they came from Norga, (Norka,) Russia. That’s about all the information I can give you. Where it was located, I cannot say. And at least where they located in Russia
was a territory of land that was opened for settlement and it became overpopulated and those people were very much oppressed and our people were included in that.
Leone: Now, how many brothers do you know, how many brothers and sisters your mom and dad had?
Ed: All I know is the relatives that came to this country and they were mothers relatives. I know of no close relatives of the father that came over here. Mother had two brothers.
Ed: (This part of the conversation is fragmented.)
Mostly punky welders. There was some fellow that was running a repair shop. And the tests and stuff -- I would say to myself, " How can you repair for people?" I would say it to myself, you know.... and this seeing these welders, I understand welding you know what I mean, I formed this opinion of doctors. If it’s that way in the welding field, it is that way in the doctors field. Then if we’re operated on, and the good doctor does the work, fine and well, but if one of them punks that outnumber the good doctors a mile, that’s where your reaction comes and it’s just there and I verified it by this other that I know what I’m talking about don’t you see?
(Much more conversation not family history related and not transcribed).
Ed: Finally got to where we scratched together 10 to 15 cents to buy a little rubber ball and when we made a ball with that rubber ball in the middle we thought we was -- it was Sunday. And we wrap that with string out of socks, sew it with cord string. And our bat we would go to the timber, sometime we’d start out to get a ball bat, we’d go early in the morning and when we come to the creek we’d see a tree that we’d say Boy, that’ll make a dandy bat. And we would hunt all day and may in the evening we’d come back and cut that tree down.
Ed: (More conversation not transcribed.)"
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