I will start with a story that has been passed down from generation to generation.

My story starts with a man named John Frederick Cornelsen( Johann Frederich Cornelsson) . At the age of 8 -12 years old, He somehow was stowed on a boat from Germany or England headed for America by his mother (rumored to be a margaret Menk/ Moenk). He was discovered by a ships captain named potentially behrens/ Gehlsen/cassen/ or Cornelsen. He was either adopted,or orphaned and indentured or smuggled into this country as someone else.

Johann Freidrich Cornelsen is born about 1862 in Germany. Upon arriving in America he ends up in Iowa. He married a Women named Maria Behrends in Iowa in 1885. we know her Mary Gretchen Behrens. Born about 1861-1865( 1863 is her favorite alias birthdate.) to this union were a boat load of children were Born Eventually i think its 18 when all said and done. One of these children is my husbands Grandfather Henry Burns. B: 1888 in Pierson Woodbury Iowa

Our Man John gets into some kind of trouble down in Iowa and is jailed for supposedly 6 months and acoording to handed down family information was suspected of watering down milk and skimming the rest for his family. I am not sure if this is the truth or if they are hiding something else. Anyhow a variant of last and first names ensues as they flee for Canada using his wife maiden name behrens/burns cornelsen. Some of the last names used as alias are as follows:
BEHRENS
BERRNS
BERNNS
BERENS
BARONS
BERNUS
BEHRENDS
BURNS
CORNELSON
CORNELSSON
CORNEILSEN
OSTRANDER
and many more im sure....that I have not even discovered yet.
They take up land in Saskatchewan and some stay here for about 8 - 10 years. Then the majority of them (change their names wither through marriage or intentionally and re enter the U.S.
This continues on over a course of almost 100 years. Many families involved downline to this.

Our Mary in the story has a mother, whom dies at the home of her Son Anton Eden Behrends in Nevis Minnesota and is then transfered to Pierson Iowa to be buried beside her first husband and son Jacob. After the death of her husband in 1898, she is recorded as Marrying Horace Lincoln Ostrander of Pierson,Iowa in 1903.. She is listed in the record as ANNIE Behrens age 19. Parents Fred and Grace Johnson. Horace Ostranders first wife was Mary Brindley D:1901. I have rec'd documents from the other family memebers , whom were wise to this story earlier on, in around 1975 when an Eleanor Englehardt and a Ruth(wheeler) Gronberg start conversing about wierd occurances in their familes as well. These women are im sure long gone, however may have told one of their children about this story. Yellowed documents being taken from deceased peoples chests (on more than one occurence and by more than one family line). Documents being burned. So many name changes" were these womens story. I will List the children as best I can, please remember not all the names are yet converted to their proper german origins so you may not recognize these people I do however have a record of the child born as grace Ida( real identity is Antonia Hargg Cornelson...according to county birth records.) This is difficult to trace as my ancestors are intentionally changing their names to run from something or someone.



These 18 childrens names are as follows:

Grace (Ida?) B:1886 Jone co Iowa marries a davies
Frederick Edwin Berrns/Burns B:1887Jones Co Iowa marries a Grier/ then and Ostlie
Henry (carl charles) Burns B:1888 Delaware county
Minnie B:1889 Rutland Co Iowa
Emma Annie B:1890 Plymouth co Iowa
John Lyle Berrns B: 1892 Woodbury Co
Augusta (Gusta/Gusty) Woodbury Co Iowa
Martha B:1895 Canada
Mira?
Benjamin Franklin B:1896 Canada
Lille B: 1900 Canada
Ernest (ernie) B:1901 Canada
Emer B:1902 Canada
Morris(Maurice) Canada
Nellie Patrica Canada
Frank B: Canada
2 children reportedly died one drowned, he fell off the wagon crossing a lake in Saskatchewan in 1910, and i beleive tthe died in a farming accident.

Any help you may have in truley identifying a badly broken family, I would appreciate. THis family was in the Iowa area primarily in Woodbury between 1881-1884
Many relations may have been living in the area or still reside as descendants whom might know of this man or this story. Some of the other suspected family names that may be related would be as follows: Im just not sure how they are related yet.

Bohlken, Hayen, Harms,Siebels, Engelbardts, Clarks, Eilers,Janssen,Seehusen,Herren, cassens,Zimmermann,Moenk