|
|
||
| In
America When Lauritz emigrated, he had to make his way to Hamburg, Germany, the port from which he embarked on the SS Frisia. The ship made a stop in LeHavre, France, and after a crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean, docked in New York City. |
||
| Lauritz would have been processed
through the immigration station at Castle Garden. (This was prior
to the existence of the immigration station on Ellis Island.) Castle Garden New York City |
|
|
| Family tradition
suggests that Lauritz then made his way to the forests of Wisconsin,
where he was said to have worked briefly in a logging camp in order
to earn money to bring his family to America. By early 1881, Lauritz was living in Omaha and had been joined by his wife Sophie and baby Chris. (Note: No record has yet been found of their leaving Denmark or arriving in the United States.) In time, several of Sophie’s brothers and sisters also came to the United States. It is not known what drew Lauritz to Omaha, Nebraska, but the 1883-84, Wolfe's Omaha City Directory (page 115) shows Lauritz Christiansen [sic] working as a laborer for the Chicago Lumber Company and living at the corner of South 16th and Hickory Streets. Perhaps his work for the Lumber Company provided an opportunity to settle in Omaha, which had a growing Danish community. Soon after his arrival in America, Lauritz took the appropriate steps to become an American citizen. He was obviously proud of his citizenship and kept his naturalization certificate all his life. The 1889 certificate includes:
According to official railroad records, Lauritz obtained a job as a mail clerk with the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in 1883. [The B & M RR was incorporated in Iowa in 1852. It was developed to build a railroad across the state of Iowa and began operations in 1856. It was acquired by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1872.] His daughter Anne related the circumstances years later: “He came to this country knowing no English, went to the C B and Q RR Headquarters, and asked for a job. When asked if he knew English, he said he did. He got an American dictionary when he was hired and his first bluff kept him working at the headquarters for 46 years.” Omaha city directories from 1884 to at least 1914 show him working for the B & M RR (Burlington and Missouri River Railroad). Lauritz’s job was variously listed in the city directories as: messenger, postal clerk, mail clerk, and clerk. The Omaha city directories show the Christensen family living at several addresses: cor S 16th and Hickory 1362 S 16th 1318 S 16th 1416 S 18th 1316 S 18th Lauritz and Sophie Christensen had settled in Omaha with only their Danish-born son, Chris. In the years following, they had at least seven more children. Of these, only two survived into childhood, Annie and Carrie. Anna or "Annie", the first child born in the United States, was baptized at what was then the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church (today called Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Omaha). Baptism records for the other children of Lauritz and Sophie have not been found. On 3 June 1885, Niels Sørensen Fischer, the father of Sophie (Nielsen) Christensen, passed away in Denmark. His widow, Ane Kirstine Jensdatter, apparently needed the permission of her children to retain use of the family home. Each of the Nielsen children—and their spouses—sent letters to give her that permission. The letter from Lauritz and Sophie Christensen, dated 20 July 1886, can be seen here. |
||
|
By 1892, the family
was living at 1469 Phelps Street, where they lived for many years.
A photograph that was taken about 1893 shows the Christensen family
in front of their Phelps Street home. A larger image can be viewed here. |
|
| This is
the only known photograph of Sophie Nielsen Christensen. The photograph also includes her three surviving children: Chris, Anna (“Annie”), and Karen (“Carrie”) with kitten. A larger image can be viewed here. |
|
|
| On 6 January 1902, Sophie
Christensen died. (The cause of death listed on the death certificate
was “asthma.”) She was only 49 years old. She was buried in Omaha’s
Laurel Hill Cemetery, where it is believed her young children may
also have been buried. |
||
|
Her tombstone in Laurel Hill Cemetery
reads: SOPHIE Wife of L. CHRISTENSEN Born Oct. 21, 1852 Died Jan. 6, 1902 A larger image can be viewed here. |
|
| When
Sophie died, her youngest surviving child, Carrie, was 14 years old. Go to next section: Marriage to Martine Knudsen |
||
|
Last updated August 2007. Patricia O'Brien Hellmers To contact with comments or suggestions, send email
to: |
||
|
|
||
