Who is the correct biological father of my great grandmother?
I am thinking about Jens Christian Mikkelson, the biological father of our great grandmother Jensine Mikkelsen Anderson (FamilySearch ID KWC4-RG7)
I am not convinced that the individual (Family Search ID LJ28-FYX) linked
to her in Family Search is her actual father for three reasons.
1) His age at the time of the birth of Jensine- 1857- Family Search ID LJ28-FYX would have been 62 years old. Inger Marie, Jensine's mother was 20 years old as listed in the christening record (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9ZX-9WCD?i=66&cc=2078555). From other family lore, my feeling is that her biologic father was involved in her life, that he tried to convince not to go to Utah by offering her money and that she knew him and wanted to be sealed to him instead of her stepfather, Ola Svenson. However, I find that kind of conversation with a 81 year old man unusual.
2) A family narrative,
(https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/38679340?p=18760500&returnLabel=Jan%20Sine%20Jensina%20Michelsen%20(KWC4-RG7)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FKWC4-RG7) in the says in the 3rd paragraph, 5th sentence, that Jensine's father was "a German soldier and was in the German Army stationed in Schleswig, Holstein, of Southern Denmark, later possessed by Germany." Whether or not this is a true statement, I do not know, but I would like to explore the possibility that it is true.
3) The christening record says he was from Aarhus - perhaps a younger Jens Christian Mikkelsen from Aarhus might be a more likely candidate. Maybe a young Dane from Aarhus who joined or was conscripted into the German Army and stationed at Schleswig, Holstein may have met Jensine on leave - The distance between Aarhus and Randers is 24 miles.
If any of you have any ideas of how best to research this please let my know. Thank you very much.
Gratefully,
Doug Anderson
Answers
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The marriage record attached to Jens Christian Mikkelsen (LJ28-FYX) lists him as Jens Michelsen Windelew and as marrying Karen Marie Pedersdatter. I found his family in three Danish censuses: 1834, 1850, 1880 (images attached), and in each one he's listed as married to Karen Maria Alrøe (in one, Michelsen is incorrectly transcribed as Wilhelm, and in the last one, his widow is listed with their daughter). The children on FamilySearch--Juliane Marie, Mathilde Jensine, and Christine--are listed in the censuses as well, with the correct ages, and they are all in Århus. There are a couple of additional siblings (Johanne, ). The children are listed with the Windelev surname, not Michelsen (the father has both names).
I agree it's unlikely that he is the father of Jensine Mikkelsen; she does not go by the surname Windelev like his other children, he is listed as Jens Michelsen Windelev in the records (not Jens Christian Mikkelsen), and he would have been much older than the mother.
The problem is that we only know, from Jensine Mikkelsen's birth record, that her mother gave the father's name as Jens Christian Mikkelsen in Århus--but there are many parishes in Århus, and we don't know his age.
Do you have the book "Family History of Niels August Anderson and Jensine Mickelson Svenson and Their Descendants"? The following quote from Jens's FamilySearch page is from page 25 of that book:
"My grandma , Jane Sine Anderson was really christened Jensine Mickleson after her own father Jens G. Michleson. He was a German officer at Sledgwig Holstein. I went to that church in 1961 with my son and saw the record of his family in the registers. He had a wife and 3 daughters and then at the bottom of the page it stated. Another child born Jensine---Mother Inger Maria Jensen. which proved that he was the right Mickleson."
I'm wondering if it mentions which church "that church" from the quote is; does a previous sentence or a preceding paragraph specify that? If we could get ahold of a copy of whatever church register Doris Virginia Anderson Hunsaker Matkin states she saw, that should help clarify who the father Jens Christian Mikkelsen was
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charlotte,
I am still trying to study through the material you have referenced.
I have the book "Family History of Niels August Anderson and Jensine Mickelson Svenson and Their Descendants" (FHNAAJMS) . I recently posted the pages of the book in Niels August Anderson's FamilySearch memories section. Unfortunately I don't see any reference to the exact Church she references.
An interesting note is that on Jensine's page in FamilySearch there is a source that shows a trip on a boat in 1880. This is probably when she left Denmark for Utah. The narrative in FHNAAJMS recounts that Jensine's father was trying to persuade her not to leave.
I am starting to contact the descendants of Doris Virginia Anderson Hunsaker Matkin to see if they know more about the Church referenced, in hopes that she may have given written records and notes to someone in the family.
I am not able to actively work on this today.
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@Utah Family History Research
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