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| Life
in Denmark Lauritz Christensen was born on Monday, 10 January 1853 in Stobberup Skov near the Danish village of Stobberup (known today as Stubberup), which was in Løsning sogn, Hatting herred, Vejle amt. Denmark at that time was divided into counties [amt]; each county was divided into districts [herred]; and, each district was divided into parishes [sogn]. A parish served a number of surrounding towns and villages. A map of Denmark showing the counties is here. A map showing Løsning sogn in Hatting herred within Vejle amt is here. |
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| In 1936, Lauritz sent a remarkable
letter to his daughter, Carrie, giving the exact places of birth for
him and his wife, Sophie. |
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| Four days after his birth, Lauritz—as was often the custom in Denmark—was baptized privately at home. Later, his baptism was announced at the Lutheran Church in the town of Løsning. (A jpg image of the baptism record—No. 2 in 1853—in Løsning is available here.) | |
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Parish church at Løsning
in which Lauritz Christensen was baptized and confirmed. (A larger image of the church, courtesy of Kirker i Danmark. is available here.) |
| Lauritz
was the son of Christen Laursen (born 3 February 1824 in Merring) and
Karen Jacobsdatter (born 22 August 1826 in Stobberup). Lauritz was
the oldest of their nine children. His parents were married in the
Lutheran church in Løsning on 16 October 1852, when they were
both 26 years of age. Lauritz’s father, Christen, was a “Husmand.”
(A Husmand was a landless farmer who worked a small portion of someone else’s
land.) In the 1860 census of Denmark, Lauritz is listed as age seven with his family. Presumably as a child and young man, Lauritz would have helped on this farm. He had little education in Denmark, apparently only one year of formal schooling. Lauritz was confirmed in the Lutheran church in Løsning on Sunday, 14 Apr 1867. (A jpg image of the confirmation record in Løsning—No. 5 in 1867—is available here.) By the time of the 1870 census, when he would have been 17, Lauritz was no longer at home. Perhaps he had already moved to the larger city of Horsens (about nine miles from his home) to find employment away from the farming life of his family. [The 1870 census could be searched for Lauritz.] With no land and little prospects for improvement in his circumstances, Lauritz sought a better life elsewhere. Go to next section: Marriage to Sophie Nielsen |
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Last updated August 2007. Patricia O'Brien Hellmers To contact with comments or suggestions, send email
to: |
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