The Many Occupations of Hans B Christensen

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Growing up, I didn’t know very much about my mother’s mother’s family. I knew that my Grandmother Helen was born in Brooklyn, had grown up in Iowa, and then her family moved to Penn Yan, New York where they lived on a farm. Both her parents, Hans B Christensen (1867-1938) and Henriette Ostergaard (1876-1963), immigrated from Denmark, and her father was a blacksmith and had worked on the railroads before he got married.

When I looked at all the records listing Hans’ occupation across his lifetime, I was surprised at the number and variety of occupations I found. 

In February 1890, Hans Christensen, was working as a smedesvend or journeyman blacksmith in Saedinge, Fulse, Maribo, Denmark. He lived in the household of Hans Jorgensen, a local blacksmith[1].

That summer, Hans left Denmark for the United States. On July 9, he was approved for emigration from Denmark. He stated that he was 23 years old, a blacksmith, and that his intended destination in America was Randolph, Wisconsin.[2] Hans traveled from Denmark to Glasgow, Scotland, where he sailed for New York on the Devonia on July 24. He was identified as a laborer on the ship’s passenger list leaving Scotland[3]. Hans arrived in New York on 6 August 1890, where his occupation was listed as blacksmith, and his final destination listed as New York.[4]

And then Hans disappears from the records for the next eleven years.  Presumably it was during the years between 1890, when he arrived, and 1901, when he declared his intention to become a U.S. Citizen, that Hans traveled the country working for the railroads.[5]

By 1903, Hans had settled in Falmouth, Cumberland County, Maine. He listed his occupation as blacksmith on his 1904 marriage license, and his daughter Eva’s 1905 birth record.[6] Family stories say that Hans was one of 6 men who built a Danish Lutheran Church in Westbrook during their time in Maine.

By 1907, the family had moved to Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, where the next three children were born. Hans listed his occupation as a peddler of coal and wood in 1907 when daughter Lillian was born[7]. A year later, he still listed his occupation as peddler when daughter Helen was born.[8] By 1910, Hans was building houses on his own account.[9]

A year later, the family moved to Iowa where Henrietta’s brother Peder was living. In 1912, Hans was working as a carpenter when his son Arthur was born in Latimer, Franklin County.[10] Within a few years, the family moved to Pleasant Valley, Cerro Gordo County, where Hans worked as a blacksmith in 1915 and 1916[11]. By 1920, Hans worked as a laborer in a drain tile factory.[12]

In the early 1920’s, the Christensen family moved to Penn Yan, Yates County, New York, where Hans and Henrietta purchased a small farm. During his years in Penn Yan, Hans worked both as a farmer and as a blacksmith. In 1925 and 1930, he listed his occupation as a farmer.[13] In 1927, Hans worked as the head blacksmith at Whitfield & Sons, Inc., an automotive body building company in Penn Yan.[14]



And finally, in 1938, Hans died on the job of a heart attack while working at the Liberty St Plant of Penn Yan Bodies, Inc., which made school buses.[15]

Clearly, Hans B Christensen was a man with many skills. His main occupation was blacksmithing, which he learned in Denmark, and continued until his death. His father was a carpenter, so he used the skills he likely learned from his father when building houses, the church and working as a carpenter. And as for being a peddler - clearly, he was willing to do what he needed to do to provide for his growing family in Brooklyn.

 



[1]. 1890 Denmark Census, Maribo, Fuglse, Saedinge, 1 February 1890, Hans Christensen; digital image, MyHeritage (https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10188-1291051/hans-christensen-in-1890-denmark-census : accessed 16 January 2023), image 595 of 985.

[2]. Copenhagen Police’s Immigrant Protocols,” Det Danske Udvandrerarkiv, 9 July 1890, contract 4906, Hans Christensen, (http://www.udvandrerarkivet.dk/udvandrerprotokollerne/ : accessed 16 January 2023).

[3]. Passenger List, Scotland, Glasgow, Devonia, 24 July 1890, line 868, Hans Christensen; digital image, “Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960”, FindMyPast  (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=TNA%2FBT27%2F0003%2F00%2F0097%2FP%2F0009F&parentid=TNA%2FBT27%2F0003000097%2F00478 : accessed 16 January 2023).

[4]. Passenger List, New York, New York, Devonia, 6 August 1890, page 6, line 772, Hans Christensen; digital image, “New York, U.S. Arriving Passenger and Crew lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_552-0525 : accessed 15 January 2023), image 6 of 13.

[5]. Declaration of Intention, Superior Court,  Maine, Cumberland County, 16 September 1901, Hans Christensen; digital image, “Maine, U.S. Federal Naturalization Records, 1787-1991,”  Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2899/images/007765280_00603 : accessed 18 January 2023), Circuit Court, Maine > Naturalization Records, V-Morris, 1903-1904, images 603-604 of 2136.

[6]. "Record of a Marriage," Maine, Cumberland, 8 January 1904, Hans Christiansen and Henrietta Ostargaard; digital image, “Maine, U.S. Marriage Records, 1713-1922,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1961/images/31515_204268-07064 : accessed 15 January2023) image 47-48 of 155. "Maine, U.S. Birth Records, 1715-1922," Maine, Cumberland County, 30 April 1905, Female child of Hans Christensen and Henrietta Ostergaard; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1960/images/31515_204268-07082 : accessed 13 January 2023), image 113 of 383.

[7]. Department of Health, Certificate and Record of Birth, New York, New York, no. 11509, Lillian Christiansen, 10 April 1907; digital image, "Historical Vital Records," New York City Municipal Archive, NYC Department of Records & Information Services (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/1868853  : accessed 12 January 2023) image B-K-1907-11509

[8]. Department of Health, Certificate and Record of Birth, New York, New York, no. 20004, Helen Elizabeth Christiansen, 15 June 1908; digital image, "Historical Vital Records," New York City Municipal Archive, NYC Department of Records & Information Services (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/1985873  : accessed 12 January 2023) image B-K-1908-0020004.

[9]. 1910 United States Census, New York, Kings, Brooklyn, population schedule, ED 147, page 28B, lines 69-73, Hans Christensen family; digital image, Ancestry.com, (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884: accessed 12 January 2023), image 56 of 96.

[10]. "Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935," Iowa, Franklin County, Register of Births,  volume 4, 1909-1913, page 21, 15 April 1912, Arthur Christensen; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-632Y-JB and https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-632T-GQ : accessed 13 January 2023),  FHL number 00426613, item 4, DGS  number 4265570, image 572-573 of 776.

[11]. "Iowa, U.S. State Census Collection, 1836-1925," Iowa, Cerro Gordo County, Thornton, 1915, Hans B. Christensen; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1084/images/IA1915_84-5115 : accessed 13 January 2023) image 75 of 288. Iowa, Cerro Gordo County, Birth Record Vol 4, 1915-1917, page 25, 1916, July 8, Edith Henrietta Christinsen  Christensen; digital image, “Iowa County Births, 1880-1935,” FamilySearch, ( https://FamilySearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DCPS-QTX : accessed 18 January 2023), image 202 of 694.

[12]. 1920 United States Census, Iowa, Cerro Gordo, Pleasant Valley, population schedule, ED 44, page 4A, lines 26-33, Hans Christensen family; digital image, Ancestry.com, (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4300685_00548 : accessed 13 January 2023), image 7 of 26.

[13]. 1925 New York Census, Yates County, Jerusalem Township, population schedule, Assembly district 1, Election District 4, page 4, lines 14-21, Hans Christensen family; digital image, Ancestry.com, (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2704/images/32849_b094400-00065 : accessed 13 January 2023), image 3 of 8.  1930 United States Census, New York, Yates County, Jerusalem Township, population schedule, ED 62-10, page 5B, lines 78-83, Hans Christensen family; digital image, Ancestry.com, (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4638884_00877 : accessed 13 January 2023), image 10 of 16.

[14]. For information about Hans Christensen see, "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," New York, Penn Yan, 1927, page 35, Hans Christensen; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/1982905 : 13 January 2023), image 20 of 93. For information about Whitfield & Sons, Inc, see "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995," New York, Penn Yan, 1927, page 121, Whitfield & Sons (Inc); digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/1982948 : 13 January 2023), image 63 of 93.

[15]. "Deaths in Western New York Area ," Democrat and Chronicle, (Rochester, New York), 1 March 1938, p. 13, col. 2, Hans Christensen; digital image,  Newspapers.com, (https://www.newspapers.com/image/135804454/ : accessed 13 January 2023).

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