The bigamist and the optimist
After my grandmother gave birth to her ninth child, my grandfather ran off with another woman. They were caught living together in a small town 250 miles away. This presentation will describe the three main characters and what happened next.
The bigamist and the optimist
Wed, Nov 12, 2025, 10am
“The Bigamist and the Optimist” is the title of the story Mike Amidon will share when UMRA’s Family History Interest Group meets on November 12. Here is his brief description of the story: “After my grandmother gave birth to her ninth child, my grandfather ran off with another woman. They were caught living together in a small town 250 miles away. This presentation will describe the three main characters and what happened next."
On February 11, Jim Kurle will present “What did grandfather find in America?” Here’s his preview: “The story of Swedish immigration to America is dramatically portrayed in novels like Vilhelm Moberg’s The Emigrants and Ola Larsmo’s Swede Hollow. In these novels, emigration to North America is often explained by population pressure in Sweden and the availability of rich agricultural land in America. The Emigrants ends optimistically. Swede Hollow is much darker. What was my family’s experience? When I investigated my grandfather's story, I found that it included escape from poverty as a homesteader, a complicated and challenging religious odyssey, pacifism and avoidance of military conscription, and an idealistic vision of a new society tempered by homesteading in western North Dakota.”
Both presentations will be from 10 to 11 a.m. via Zoom. A Zoom invite will be emailed to all UMRA members one month before each meeting, and a reminder email one week before.
We hope you can join us.
—Lynn C. Anderson and Craig Swan, FHIG co-chairs