July 2017
I noticed a lot of graves had names like Jens Jensen and Lars Larsen and Peter Petersen. I just thought their parents weren’t particularly creative in the name department but my brother-in-law told me about a show he saw on the History Channel where people came to Ellis Island with names that were hard to pronounce by the people registering them so they simplified matters.
So Nohr, Villum or Laurits might become Jens or Lars. Jens was a Norwegian immigrant so no telling what his name actually was.
After Cordova we
drove out to the Johnson Creek Cemetery in Friends, NE to visit the grave of
Marie Jensen, Jens’s wife and their Great-Grandmother. The couple was buried in
2 different cemeteries in 2 different towns, a controversy still, in the Jensen
family. It seems Marie was married to a man named Andrew Larsen first. He died
and left her a widow with 2 young children when she was only 33. She remarried Jens
Jensen a few years later, had several more children, including Larry’s
Grandfather. She lived a long and by all accounts, happy life with Jens. When
she died her 2 oldest children insisted that she be buried with their father,
her fist husband. The worst part for the Jensen clan was they had her buried as
Marie Larsen even though she was Mrs. Jensen for most of her life. Apparently no one ever
asked poor Marie what her wishes were. Someone, no one knows who and no one is
taking responsibility, took it upon him or herself to correct the gravestone.
At least they did a professional looking job… sort of.
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| Note the Jensen added at the bottom left. |
Two things struck me
as I walked through the cemeteries. First: in the Zastrow Cemetery it seemed as
though half the people buried there are Jensens! Where I come from I frequently
have to tell people how to spell it, they always want to put and “o” at the
end. I read somewhere that the most common sir name in NE is Jensen so it seems
right to have so many gravestones with that name on it. But it was a bit
disconcerting for me. It kinda felt that they were all grabbing at me, trying
to get me to join them.
The second thing I
noticed, which you might have too from the pictures I’ve already posted were
the number of infant and small children who were buried in both cemeteries. It
kind of broke my heart. In one corner of the Johnson Creek Cemetery there were
4 small graves, all siblings and only 2 of them had their lifetime overlap!
This poor woman had a baby, he died, then she had another baby, he died, then
she had another baby, 4 years later had another baby and 2 years after that
both little girls died! I can’t even imagine living with that kind of grief! A
dear friend told me a man told her that it wasn’t like today. He said parents
just didn’t get attached to their children until they were around 5 years old
and had a better chance of living! Well that’s just total crap! No way do I
believe that! Loosing a child has got to be the worst thing! As a mom my heart went
out to that mom who lived so long ago who I didn’t even know!
Getting in touch with their roots!
The day was hot and
humid so we decided to stop off at a little bar in Cordova and quench our
thirst. The original Cordova jail is still standing right next to the bar. That
must have been convenient for the local sheriff.
After the visit with
the Ancestors we went back to Kerry’s in McCool Junction to meet up with a
whole bunch of live Jensens! There were cousins and Aunts and Uncles galore!
Some I had met, some not. Most of them Larry hadn’t seen for a very long time!
The room was loud with conversation, laughter, and love!
I know the pictures
aren’t the normal gorgeous scenery shots I normally post
but I hope you find
this interesting!
Remember if you’re
enjoying our journey press the follow button at the bottom
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message!
I love walking through cemeteries so I enjoyed the tour of Larry's ancestry. It is a myth about Ellis Island officials giving immigrants changed or different names. The majority of immigrants in earlier times were often illiterate and could not speak English. That combined with the accents of their fatherland often made it difficult for Immigration Officials to determine proper spellings. They did use interpreters when available. Secondly Jens Jensen was more than likely your husband's ancestor's name. In Scandinavian countries surnames were patronymic. They are the father's first name with son or daughter at the end. Jens was actually named for his father so his first name is Jens and his surname is Jensen or "son of Jens." A daughter would have been named Anna Jensdatter or Anna, "daughter of Jens." They may have also had a middle Christian name that was just unrecorded. Another naming custom was to use what were called "farm" names. In my family my great grandmother was Oliane dofter Stene. Dofter Stene being a farm name. In earlier centuries most Norwegians lived on farms, and each farm had a name. A few hundred years ago all the farms were listed in a land register ('matrikkel' in Norwegian). Some of these names are a thousand years old.
ReplyDeleteThat is so interesting! Thanks so much for posting!
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