Historian’s Corner
Danish Influence and Your Story
by Donna Christensen Thomas, National DSS Historian In what ways does your Danish ethnic background influence your life? How have you practiced the traditions in your life and family life? In our Sisterhood meetings we may insert a sentence or two of our personal experiences or Danish traditions. Have you intentionally shared this information in depth with your children and grandchildren? I urge you to record for your family members as well as your Danish Sisterhood lodge your Danish heritage as much as possible. A place to start is documenting what you know and what you might be able to research further with your significant level of knowledge about your family. Keep in mind that your family and descendants are likely to know far less than you do about your family--less than you might think and perhaps take for granted that they know. This also applies to identifying the photographs if they are not adequately identified. That may be a place to start as you write about the people and events surrounding the photograph as it triggers memories and takes you to an earlier place and time. You are the expert! Some call it America's fastest growing hobby. Genealogy, the study of family ancestry, is booming. With the availability of DNA testing kits, and an ever-expanding number of genealogy websites, the average person can now trace family lines back hundreds of years. A good place to start is with what you know. Start with yourself and move backwards. Who were your ancestors: their names, important vital statistics (i.e. birth, marriage, and death dates and places) which distinguish one person from another? This is especially important with our Danish ancestry as the names are often very similar to one another. Also include their known nickname or commonly known by name? They may have a much longer name as my grandfather did than was commonly known. Many times, they used their second name (or middle name as we may know it) as the first name was usually given to honor another family member. So they already had at least one maybe more people by that name. For instance, the first son born to a couple was usually named after the paternal
grandfather, the second the maternal grandfather. The same for the girls, first after the maternal , second after the paternal grandmother. If all the children in the family had followed this pattern... whew! Perhaps that's why most genealogists have grey hair!! My Danish great grandmother's siblings were almost exactly the children's names of her own children! Often they had a descriptive adjective or other identifier to distinguish them from others. I grew up in southwest Iowa which has many Danish descendants. My immigrant grandfather always insisted that he be called "Ed K" shortened for Edvard Kristian Valdemar Andersen, as there were other Edward or Edwin Andersens in the area which could be confusing in business, mail, peoples' conversatons or other important ways. My sister, Diane Kay, as a little girl was certain that she was named after Grandpa. She cried when she learned that it was "Kay" instead of just "K" like Grandpa. What other names do you know from the family and where they lived, their spouses, etc. That "wider net" form of research not only gives you a more complete picture of the family, but also helps to ensure that you have the right "Edward Andersen". Also, the place names are often very similar as well as repeated in more than one county or area of Denmark. Be as specific as you can. Sometimes nicknames have to be explained or researched and hold additonal clues to figure out. My mother said, "I think Kitty Pete was her sister." For some years I was puzzled, "Huh?" Although they were neighbors of my grandparents, they were not well-known to the family. Upon further research, the Danish immigrants Christina (nee Petersen) (1883-1979) who was married to Peter Lassen Hansen (1879-1967) of Audubon, Iowa. As I recently untangled the truth. It was Pete who was the brother of the Danish immigrant sister who married one of my family members. So it wasn't precisely correct, but held a clue to further information. Often family stories hold the kernel of truth which may, like the "telephone game" in which 9
Danish Sisterhood News, October 2021
