Friday, March 31, 2017

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They lived in Mason which was on the South side but I seem to have forgotten their house number. The house that they lived in was owned by an old bachelor who lived in the front part of the house while they occupied the back. Each had their own entryway. They took in a young boy from the orphanage, but he was quite ill when they got him and he died soon after. Back then Jørgen worked in Green Bay and I think that it was him who paid for the funeral. The boy was buried in Preble in Aldrich's cemetery. A short while later they took in another boy from the orphanage and since they were unable to figure out if he had been baptized or not, so they did it again and gave him the name Artey Rockwell. They then left there and moved further East, to the North side of Mason Street. During their time there is when Sofie Peter Andersen stayed with them while she underwent an operation on her chest. Later on they moved to Van Buren street where they lived for about a year. Then Rockwell journeyed to Iowa to a place where he had been before and after a while Fred Rockwell and I drove all of their belongings down to the train depot. Hanne left to join him but they soon returned and stayed in Preble for a short while.



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They then traveled to Galesburg in Shawano County where they bought 40 acres of land. They built a house on the property and lived there for a year. It so happened that they managed to have a son of their own, but he only survived a few days past his birth. Hanne didn't seem to be able to recover and as a matter of fact she grew worse. In July it was decided that she should be brought to Green Bay and on her way there she stopped by Frank Barne's place who lived on the West side. One day, Rockwell stopped by and told us that Hanne required an operation but that he lacked the $30 that it was going to cost. I went and saw Ferdinand Vittig and borrowed the money which went straight to Rockwell. The operation didn't help and after she had lain there for a while she was moved to the St. Vincent's Hospital. She had been there for a while before mother and I made it to go see her. She suffered much but remained convinced that she would be able to return home soon. So I asked her if perhaps it wouldn't be a better idea if she came and stayed with us until she felt a little stronger. Truth be told that was exactly what she wanted to do and that was the "home" she was referring to.


















Wednesday, March 29, 2017

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right next door to them. She was therefore home alone a lot but often came to our house to complain and we in turn did our best to calm her down. Also almost every time I ended up having to bring her back home as well as having to procure everything she needed on a daily basis. This went on for eight months until she moved back in with us. 
When they got married he was in possession of a 40 acre farm but when they got divorced he no longer had the farm. So what ever little in possessions she had when she went in was exactly what she had with her when she left again. We gave her a cow and then immediately turned around an bought it from her again for $35.00. I then borrowed $75.00 from Stefen C. Petersen based on liquidating her belongings because she needed to sell most of her things to put some money in her pocket. This is also how Petersen ended up getting his money back. She was faced with having to find a job again and for some time she was in Oconto, Crystal Falls and Green Bay. For a couple of years she was also a member of the Salvation Army. During her time there she became friendly with another member, a George L. Rockwell, and they eventually got married. However, they needed to leave the Salvation Army, because the organization's religious roots forebad a divorcee to remarry.  



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Before she got married to Rockwell she was legally divorced from her first husband. It so happened that three years after that they had gotten separated and while she had kept to herself that there was a widow whom Peter Nielsen had gotten acquainted with who was eager to get remarried. So he approached Hanne and asked if she might be interested in divorcing him to which she of course said yes. Peter even offered to pay for any and all expenses connected to the process. A few days later he returned and asked if she wouldn't please be the one to file for the divorce because he simply couldn't to which she agreed as well. At the time she was unaware that he had another woman lined up, otherwise she probably wouldn't have said yes, let alone offered to help him with the proceedings. yet she did, and a few days after that he remarried. Not long after that she got married to Rockwell. Even though I believe that they had a decent life together we were still the ones that ended up having to feed and clothe them afterwards. I also ended up driving several loads of firewood down to them while they lived in Green Bay. He worked in Enock's broom factory and even though he made a few dollars a day it simply never seemed like it was enough.

Monday, March 27, 2017

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There were three members from the Ansgar lodge and three from the Foresters who carried him to his grave. I put a tombstone on his grave which cost me $32.50. I also placed a marble border around the grave on the 24th of November 1903 which cost me $32.00. On the same day we put a similar border around Hanne's grave, even though the previous year another border had been placed around her grave costing me $15.00. Back when Jørgen had died and was buried and I had settled his affairs I gave $25.00 to Sine out of Jørgen's money. I did so because she had been so good to Jørgen during his sickness. So when the time came to put a tombstone on his grave I asked Sine if she wanted to kick in the $25.00 to help put a tombstone on Hanne's grave as well, to which she agreed. So one day, mother, Albert and myself  went to green Bay and ordered two tombstones that were to our liking. The cost for Hanne's tombstone came out of Jørgen's money which was the same as saying that I was paying for it.


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Hanne was weak from birth, both in body and soul. and had a very difficult time learning and comprehending things. She did see the priest for two years and did manage to get confirmed. She was large and stocky and appeared a lot stronger than she was. She also suffered from catarrh and asthma and was therefore unable to do much of anything. Furthermore, every time she attempted something she would approach the problem in a backwards round about sort of way.
Then when she had gotten confirmed she was forced to head out and earn a living because we were such a large family with many mouths to feed. She acquired a position as a servant with Hans Nielsen in the town of Eaton where she remained for one summer. After that she went to Green Bay as well as a number of other places, but she remained unable to remain anywhere for very long. When she was twenty years old she married her nephew Peter Nielsen. She had mentioned that the first morning together she had made breakfast and he reamed her out because it wasn't good enough. It even got so bad that he hit her, sometimes so hard that it brought her to her knees. She later testified to that in court when they were getting a divorce. 
He only stayed with her for a short while before he left her and stayed with his parents who lived 

Friday, March 24, 2017

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and I sent him $15.00 to cover his return trip home. During the summer of 1900 he fell ill, which got him $65.00 in payout from his medical insurance through the Ansgur Lodge and was brought to him by Jørgen Larsen. It then happened that in the fall of 1900 that Carl Marcusen, who was a fire insurance agent, journeyed on to the next life. Time kept speeding towards the 1st of January and towards a meeting where they were to elect someone to replace him. So I asked Jørgen if he thought he was able to fulfill the responsibilities of an insurance agent. 
What good does it do to think about that, he says. I'm sick and I'm not in any shape to walk anywhere. I don't have a horse to get me where I need to go so why bother wasting another thought on it. I told him to consider the job since they already had the horses and that he would be able to take one of them whenever he wanted to. When there were only a few days left I implored him to get out there and campaign for the job. He simply brushed me aside saying that campaigns cost money which was another thing that he didn't have any of. I tell him that we can fix that. I hand him $2.00 and tell him to go and put the horses in front of the wagon. Then he should head to town and visit the saloons where he'd be able to find people with whom he could speak about his desire to become a fire insurance agent. 



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He had to face facts. He wasn't well and couldn't engage in any sort of hard labor. However, if he went out there and bought people a few drinks I was certain that it would all turn out alright. So forth he went and everything worked out. So in the beginning of January 1901 he officially became an agent and even won a reelection in January of 1902. However, at the end of 1902 he gave up and couldn't do it anymore. The pay that resulted from him taking this job was not enough to cover his expenses and I constantly had to help him financially. I will say though that it seemed to be benefiting him since it gave him something to do and acted as a distraction from his ailments. I ensured that his associations and insurances remained in good standing for several years. If I hadn't done that they would have lost all of their value and I was earning pretty good interest off of my investment. It was towards the summer of 1903 that he asked if his medical insurance money was all gone. He was referring to the $65.00 he had gotten some time ago but I ignored him because I couldn't stomach telling him that it had run out some time ago. Then one day he tells me that it would be best if he gets the land he he owns signed out of his name before he dies. So on the 18th of July 1903 Albert got the deed for the land and Jørgen died a few months later on the 29th of September 1903.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

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and a few days later they both journeyed up there. Jens was only there for the duration of the winter but Jørgen stayed there for several years, until 1892 I believe. Later on he went to Iron Mountain and stayed there for several years. While he was in Marinette he joined a lodge that belonged to the Coalition of Danish Organizations from which he received 2 payments of $65 while he was sick and meant to help offset medical expenses. From the same place he also received $50 to assist with funeral expenses. He was also a member of Foresters where he was insured for $1000 which was made payable to me following his death.
On the 1st of May 1895 mother and I sold the 40 acres of land to Jørgen. We had the papers drawn up at home and I then traveled to Iron Mountain where I had him sign them. At the same time I got a lease on  the land for the duration of my life or fifteen years. I took the papers back home with me and brought them to the court house so that they would be officially on record. Back then Jørgen was boarding with Peter Andersen and Sofie. One time when he was in Iron Mountain he wrote to me asking me if I could find him som land for $2-300. I did find him something and he took a mortgage in Julius Mathisen's farm in the amount of $200.


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In the meantime he had gotten tired of working on the railroad which is why he returned home for a while. He got a job working in Kemvitz's Furniture Factory in Gren Bay. However, he wasn't a well man and was forced sell his mortgage to Goldsmit's daughter after which he traveled to Chicago to stay at a hospital. On the 6th of April 1898 he paid $100 to Doctor Demer along with another $100 on other expenses. He returned back home for a short while and later got a job with Eearnelius Conley in Green Bay where he was building vehicles. This Conley had a brother who was the secretary for the Forester's lodge in Green Bay. He, along with Doctor Tippedo whom Jørgen had sought out for help, both pulled strings to assist Jørgen in becoming a member of the Forester's lodge and he was consequently insured for $1000. All of this took place in the summer of 1899. Immediately after getting accepted into the Foresters he got the idea in his head that he would travel to Canada to see Maria and Rasmus. However, he got sick in route and required medical care which used up the rest of his money and he consequently abandoned his travels. He sent a telegram to Hans Christian asking for money for his journey home, but only got enough to make it to Iowa to Jørgen Andersen's place where he wrote a letter to me 

Monday, March 20, 2017

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I told him that I had no right to pursue such an avenue and that it was up to Lars's brother and my children. He tells me that once I have spoken with them we can talk further. I then wrote a letter to Jørgen Andersen who in turn gave me power of attorney to act in his place and I was of course acting on my children's behalf. So when I was ready to talk to Britton again, I headed back to town and met with him at his office. However, as soon as we started talking I realized that he now was singing a different tune. He told me that he had paid for all of the funeral expenses and that this ought to be sufficient. As for he bridge, he admitted building it, but he did so according to the guidelines set forth by the city council and they bore some responsibility as well. So if I wanted to sue someone I would have to sue the city. He also chose to share a few words regarding Lars's character and I didn't want to hear any of it. I considered saying something but chose instead to bite my tongue. During this conversation I also learned that Lars once had found


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a rope that had a cow tied to it at the other end. However, Black was back then a member of the city council in Fort Howard and he had been a friend to Lars. Black spoke with Johan Hylsenberg who in turn wrote to me about sending money to pay for a ticket for Lars. I did so immediately and that was how we got Lars away from the city. This is the same time I had discussed earlier, when Lars came to Negaunee, but at the time I was unaware as to why he was there. Britton was also a member of the city council, as was Hans Hansen from New Denmark  was also in attendance at Lars's funeral and the priest doing the service spoke and sang in German.
In the winter of 1887-88 Jørgen was in Negaunee and was confirmed in the spring of 1888, to be precise I think it was on the 15th of May.
On the 19th of September 1888 mother and I went to Negaunee for a short trip and it also happened to be the same time as John Larsen's birthday, so there was a lot going on. We were there for about a week and since we both had many old acquaintances in the area we ended up having a great time there. On our way home we ran into Niels Christensen at the train depot in Marinette and he in turn told us that he needed both Jørgen and Jens to come work on the railroad. 

Friday, March 17, 2017

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On the 9th of September 1887 Lars Andersen died in Green Bay in an accident that involved a walking bridge which crossed the street by Britton's Cooper Shops. He was driving a bus for Andrew Reise and had been on the North side of town with passengers that he had picked up at the train depot. He had driven the route plenty of times and just as he was passing the bridge he made the decision to stand up from his seat. The bridge was so low that he got his head stuck between the bridge and the top of the cart. He very likely died on the spot. I had been in Green Bay with a load of barley and had just returned home when John Bartolene approached me and shared this story with me. He wanted me to return to the city because they were looking to bury him that same night. I declined but told him that I would go there first thing in the morning instead. So, at 2:00 AM, in the middle of the night Jens and I drove back to town and arrived there around breakfast time. Lars Andersen was then burried before noon on the 10th of September 1887 in the cemetery South of Green Bay. I believe Monroe Avenue could take you straight there. The grave has the number 127 (127) on it and it is just inside the gate on the right hand sight, right up against the fence 



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on the northern side of the cemetery. We were back at Reis's hotel around noon and had lunch there. After we had finished the dining room filled up with people and I bought them all two rounds of drinks and thanked them all on Lars's behalf. Reis sent a a bottle of booze for me and Jens and Britton payed for the funeral.
That afternoon much talk circulated around Lars's funeral. There were those who thought that his body might not be allowed to remain in the grave. They thought so because everyone was asked to mount their wagons and leave as soon as he had been lowered into the ground. This assertion was based on the idea that a couple of doctors might have bought the rights to his body from him while he was still alive. Other were discussing how easy it would be to get Britton to pay damages since his bridge was obviously way to low. So I decided to head out to the cemetery to see if the grave still stood open, but it had been filled in to I quickly returned. I then headed over to speak with Britton and ask him if he didn't think he might end up paying damages because of his bridge being too low. He told me very politely that if it was decided that this was his duty then he'd be more than happy to do so. He then tells me that I was more than welcome to try and sue him.