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Heirlooms: Antique Cabinet

Writer's picture: TheFormidableGenealogistTheFormidableGenealogist

By Jen


My great grandparents, John Jensen and Agnes Paulson, were married near Canton, South Dakota, in December 1897. They'd only been married for a few months when they moved west to Lake Andes, South Dakota and were homesteading in this small cabin in spring of 1898. I'm not sure who the couple are in this photo, but the young girl is Agnes' sister, Amanda.

South Dakota homestead, 1898
South Dakota homestead, 1898

This cabinet was the first piece of furniture they ever bought. This cabinet stood in that tiny cabin. They were so proud of it that they even kept the tag. It's in one of the drawers and says Stedronsky Bros. Furniture, Lake Andes, South Dakota and it shows that it was made in Burlington, Iowa.

Antique cabinet
Antique cabinet from South Dakota homestead

Obviously this wasn't just a decorative cabinet. It was very much used. The shelves in the cabinets underneath are very stained from meat and other food storage. The drawers don't particularly open very well anymore, but it was really built to last. It's hard to imagine such a nice looking piece of furniture in a tiny cabin 124 years ago on such a barren landscape.



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