Person:Bernie Teninga (1)

Bernie Teninga (as I can decipher it from the handwriting on the photo, but it could be "Bennie" also, and derivations of Terringa etc., but there is clearly a "g" and an "a" at the end of the name) has been my hardest case to crack in this adventure. At first I thought he was Barney son of Margaret (transcribed as Genning in 1900, but a stretch could make it Teninga), living in the right place in Riverdale in 1900. But then Genning morphed to Jenning in the 1910 census, and then I lost track of all of them. It didn't feel right somehow.

Although I should have been long done with this project I eventually went back and searched out the Teninga surname in that area, and found another possibility. One Hilbrandt Teninga who in later years used "Benjamin" as his name, jumped out as possible, the right age, and in the right location a few years later. Unfortunately, he was in Indiana in 1900, and while in Thornton by 1920 (and all his relatives in the general area), I've never found any of the family in 1910. So I have no way of knowing if this was him, but in my gut I think so. Maybe some relative will find this and verify my theory.

Finally, there is a "Ben Toonenga" who registered for the WWI draft in Chicago but not close enough to Riverdale to be a good contender (and no other records on him), but he too is a possibility for this spot.

Of course, it could be someone else entirely, but I find it hard to imagine that there would be no records that even approximate a person the right age and general name for this kid...

If anyone stumbles on this in years to come and can positively identify Bernie, I'd love to know, I've spent a lot of time on him...

As always, my disclaimer applies to the information about all the above-mentioned people.