7/52 - Immigration Records are not Always Easy to Come By
I’ve written about my maternal grandfather, John Oliver Manson, on a number of occasions (see https://www.searchformygrandparents.com/)
I am sure John Oliver was born in Sweden (as Otto Johann Mansson), and reasonably sure he was still in Sweden in 1884.
By 1912, he was in New York and married.
But how and when did John Oliver a) leave Sweden and b) immigrate to the US?
Usually, finding an immigration date is pretty straightforward; arrival information via ship manifests is very well-indexed and easy to find. However, the immigration date for John Oliver is complicated for three reasons. First, he [almost} always listed his birthplace as Australia, which was untrue. Second, as a mariner and sea captain, he entered the US many times, and the records are often sketchier for crew members than for passengers. Third, John Oliver had an often tenuous connection to the truth.
As an example, here are some of the multiple records associated with John Oliver’s entrance into the US:
1915 NY census -- Immigration year = 1895, Born in Australia
1918 application for Seaman's Protection Certificate -- Immigration year = 1894 via Alaska, Born in Australia, father born Sweden, mother born in Scotland
1920 census -- Immigration ear = 1904, Born in Australia, father born Sweden, mother born Scotland
1925 -- July 11, 1925, entered NY from Nassau on SS Munamar with son John, indicating he was born in San Francisco, CA
1930 census -- Immigration year = 1898, Born in Australia, father born in Sweden, mother born in Scotland
1930 -- March 7, 1930, entered Key West from Havana, Cuba, indicating he was born in Australia and "his father was a US citizen."
1936 -- December 18, 1936, entered Miami from the Bahamas on SS Grampus, indicating he was born in Melbourne, Australia, and "his father was a US citizen."
1939 -- February 7, 1939, entered Miami from Bahamas on SS Blue Mist II, indicating he was born in Melbourne, Australia, and "his father was Lars Manson, naturalized 1882 in San Francisco."
There are also varying reports of whether he was EVER naturalized. He had a 1914 Naturalization Petition that was denied. At other times, he claimed that he was naturalized at some indeterminate point along the way or that he was a citizen by virtue of his father's status (who never left Sweden).
So, at some point, he wound up in the US. But where was he between 1884 (in Sweden) and 1912 (in New York)?
I found a couple of interesting tidbits in a 1941 evaluation from the VA Hospital in Reno, Nevada. The report notes that John Oliver was hospitalized in 1897 in Rio de Janeiro for yellow fever and also that he was "accidentally shot, age 18 [that would be in 1898], while in South Africa (left side of the chest). If true, he certainly got around.
A 1928 Miami Herald interview with John Oliver provides some clues (which may or may not be true!). According to the article, John Oliver was part of two Nevada gold rushes - Goldfield (1904) and Rawhide (1907) - and one in Ontario - Porcupine (1911).
From 1903 to 1910, Goldfield was the largest city in Nevada. From 1903 to 1940, Goldfield's mines produced more than $86 million. Major fires in 1905 and 1906 destroyed several businesses in the town. Another portion of the town was destroyed in l913 by a flash flood, and 1923 a fire leveled 54 square blocks. (https://www.accessesmeralda.com/communities/goldfield.php)
Rawhide was a mining town that exemplifies many of the towns that sprang up in Nevada during the silver and gold rushes in the state's history. Rawhide was less a town born on the actual finding of large silver or gold deposits and more on manipulating greed and desire for "the next big thing." That there was silver and gold in the hills surrounding Rawhide is indisputable. Still, the town itself existed more on promotion, self-serving aggrandizement, and showy displays by the promoters and developers of the town, alluding to wealth and success that didn't exist relative to the town's size. Fueling this was stock manipulation by unscrupulous mining stock brokers that funneled millions into the accounts of the manipulators but provided little return on investment to the stockholders. (https://westernmininghistory.com/towns/nevada/rawhide/)
The Porcupine Gold Rush was a gold rush that began in 1909 in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. The Porcupine district has produced over 67 million ounces of gold since 1910. The Hoyle Pond underground mine is responsible for about 60% of the gold produced in the area. The Porcupine mining camp, later called the Timmins mining camp, is considered Canada's most significant gold producer. If discovered today, the gold from the Timmins goldfields would be worth an estimated $100 billion. (per Google Bard)
John Oliver also claims to have been with Tex Rickard "in the Klondike" before all that. Tek Rickard is an interesting character in his own right. Rickard was a well-known gold speculator and gambler in Alaska in the early 1900s, and his presence in Alaska and Nevada around the same times and places as John Oliver suggests that there truly may have been a connection between them.
George Lewis "Tex" Rickard (January 2, 1870 – January 6, 1929, was an American boxing promoter, founder of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), and builder of the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden in New York City. During the 1920s, Tex Rickard was the leading promoter of the day, and he has been compared to P. T. Barnum and Don King.[citation needed] Sports journalist Frank Deford has written that Rickard "first recognized the potential of the star system." Rickard also operated several saloons, hotels, and casinos, all named Northern and located in Alaska, Nevada, and Canada. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Rickard)
Rickard organized some of the most iconic fights in the history of the sport:
Jack Dempsey vs. Georges Carpentier (1921): This fight, known as "The Fight of the Century," was among the most highly anticipated boxing matches ever. Dempsey, the reigning heavyweight champion, faced off against the French light heavyweight champion Carpentier. The fight occurred at Boyle's Thirty Acres in Jersey City, New Jersey, and drew a crowd of over 80,000 spectators. Dempsey won the fight in the fourth round by knockout.
Jack Dempsey vs. Luis Firpo (1923): This fight was another highly anticipated heavyweight championship bout. Firpo, known as "The Wild Bull of the Pampas," was a formidable opponent for Dempsey. The fight occurred at the Polo Grounds in New York City and drew a crowd of over 80,000 spectators. Firpo knocked Dempsey down seven times in the first round, but Dempsey rallied to win the fight in the second round by knockout.
Gene Tunney vs. Jack Dempsey (1927): This fight, known as "The Long Count Fight," was one of the most controversial fights in boxing history. Tunney, the challenger, faced off against Dempsey, the defending heavyweight champion. The fight occurred at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, and drew a crowd of over 100,000 spectators. In the seventh round, Dempsey knocked Tunney down and began celebrating prematurely. The referee, Dave Barry, did not start the count until Dempsey returned to a neutral corner, giving Tunney extra time to recover. Tunney went on to win the fight in the 10th round by decision.
Jack Sharkey vs. Max Schmeling (1930): This fight was a heavyweight championship bout between Sharkey, the challenger, and Schmeling, the defending champion. It took place at Yankee Stadium in New York City and drew a crowd of over 60,000 spectators. Schmeling won the fight in the fourth round by knockout.
Max Schmeling vs. Joe Louis (1936): This fight was a heavyweight championship bout between Schmeling, the defending champion, and Louis, the challenger. The fight occurred at Yankee Stadium in New York City and drew a crowd of over 70,000 spectators. Schmeling won the fight in the 12th round by knockout, becoming the first German to win the heavyweight championship.
So my guess is…Odds are John Oliver came to the US for the first time on the West Coast sometime in the early 1900s, and before returning to his maritime roots, quenched his gambler's instincts in Alaska and Nevada.
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This is part of a series of posts designed to keep me busy and off the street. Hopefully some of these musings will contribute to a successor to Immigrant Secrets (https://www.amazon.com/Immigrant-Secrets-Search-My-Grandparents/dp/B0B45GTTPP).
You can get the posts directly HERE (https://www.searchformygrandparents.com/subscribe) or use the subscribe button on this page (https://authory.com/johnmancini).
