|
|
||
| Marriage to Martine Knudsen Left with a family to care for, Lauritz soon remarried. His second wife was Martine Knudsen; they were married in Omaha on 26 November 1902, at the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church (today’s Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church). Martine was a Danish native, born to Knud Christensen and Inger Ane Andersdatter on 1 June 1862 in Dalsgaard Mark in Mygdal parish. She was baptized soon thereafter in the parish church in Mygdal (Vennebjerg herred, Hjørring amt). (A png image of the baptism record in Mygdal—No. 6 in 1852—is available here.) She was later confirmed in the same church. (A png image of the confirmation record in Mygdal—No. 2 in 1876—is available here.) |
||
| Parish church at Mygdal in which Martine Knudsen was baptized and confirmed. A larger image of this photo, courtesy of Kirker i Danmark, can be found here. |
|
|
| A historical map of the area around Mygdal, showing the locations
associated with Martine Knudsen and her parents can be found here. In the 1880 census of Denmark, she is listed in another household as a 17-year-old “Tjenestepige” (servant). In Denmark at that time, teenage girls often lived with other families so as to relieve their own families of taking care of them and to earn money of their own. In April 1889, when she was 26 years old, Martine left Denmark. At the time, her occupation was given as a “Mejerske” (dairymaid). She traveled on the ship Aurania, which arrived in New York on 29 April 1889. Her ultimate destination was Turin (Monona County) Iowa, where her younger brother Chris was already living. Another brother, Fred, immigrated to the same town in 1891. Martine may have been previously married
to a man named Martin Wood, but no marriage record has been found.
She had a daughter, Ruby, born
|
||
|
Postcard from Ruby to her mother,
Martine Knudsen Christensen, sent while visiting in Turin, Iowa. Postmarked 13 July 1910. and Ruby's message to her mother can be read here. |
|
|
| Martine may
have lived for some time in Turin (Monona County) Iowa, as
her two brothers lived there. Also, her daughter Ruby was later adopted
by her brother Fred after Martine's death. They lived in Turin, Iowa.
How Martine came to be in Omaha or how she met Lauritz is not known. Lauritz and Martine lived at the Christensen home at 1469 Phelps Street in Omaha for just over six years. They had no known children. Sadly, in November 1906, Lauritz lost one of the three surviving children from his first marriage, when Annie died just short of her 25th birthday. Martine died on 22 December 1908 of unknown causes. She was 46 years old. Her death was recorded at the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church. |
||
|
Martine was buried in
Laurel Hill Cemetery, where her tombstone reads:
A larger image can be viewed here. |
|
| Go to next section: Marriage to Anine Raun |
||
|
Last updated August 2007. Patricia O'Brien Hellmers To contact with comments or suggestions, send email
to: |
||
|
|
||
