Guidance on Christ Nielsen search
My husband's great grandfather immigrated from Denmark in 1893 or 1894. He changed his name to Chris Nelson from some form of Christ Nielsen. His birthday was July 24, 1875 or 1876. Different census reports give different dates for both his immigration year and birth year. I've hit a road block since this name seems to be so common in Denmark. We have a picture of him when he served as a guard so I thought I might be able to get more information from this. Thank you!
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What a wonderful photograph! I'd like to help you, but I'd need a bit more information if possible. Can you give a relationship of Christ Nelson, maybe his wife or a child? The birth date is of course helpful, but there could honestly be several men born with that name and date because it is so common. Let's start with this man in America, his residence, all censuses, etc. children, death if you have it.
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Shari,
Thank you for your speedy reply! Christ married Alfreda Othelia Amelia Paulson (immigrated from Denmark in 1903) on October 25, 1904 in Minnesota. They had three children: Teodore Nelson (1905-1997), Walter Nelson (b. 1907) and Edith Mae Nelson (1914-1982). His wife, who went by Emilie, died in 1927. He lived most his adult life in Wisconsin, where he died in 1955. This is the only other photo we have of him. Thank you!
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I see you have this family in the FamilySearch tree, it is so helpful to share this information. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LJ18-9HH
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Do you have an idea what the source is for birth of 24 July?
We are lacking firm death information, a date and place. If we find a death certificate that could be very helpful.
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Thank you for locating the immigration record for his wife! My mother-in-law is a seamstress as well so she'll love learning this about her grandmother, who passed away before she was born.
Christ's birthday isn't from an official record, but we found it in a list of birthdays his daughter, Edith, had in her journal. He died in Hudson, Wisconsin in 1955 so I was hoping to locate an obituary that might give me more clues, but I haven't had any luck with that.
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It seems a little bit odd to me that he was supposed to emigrate in 1894 (1920 US census) and he was born in 1876, this would make him 17 years old. I don't think he would be seen in a military uniform that young. What are your thoughts?
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Here is a uniform somewhat similar, the website is very interesting.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Danish+military+uniforms&safe=active&sxsrf=ALeKk02uCSbDSYDzuykIBEAQx4q4nZrm3A:1612880838879&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=_JBAVCIG1qBJYM%2CMrgZ1ue1ebm0YM%2C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTSS7rhbflXyr25Z7Y_SWKvbWFNiQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjUgt2rgd3uAhUX7J4KHQsNA6wQ9QF6BAgMEAE&biw=1280&bih=625&dpr=1.5#imgrc=_JBAVCIG1qBJYM
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In the 1905 MN census Christ and Emily are in Minneapolis and it says he has been in the state 8 yrs.
That's an 1897 emigration which is more likely?
Name: Christ Nelson
Age: 29
Census Date: 26 Jun 1905
County: Hennepin
Locality: Minneapolis Ward 1
Birth Location: Denmark
Gender: Male
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1876
Race: White
Father's Birth Location: Denmark
Mother's Birth Location: Denmark
Line: 27
Roll: MNSC_120
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A friend has suggested the uniform is from the Lifeguard Drum Corps. Young boys who came from good homes 14 years old could be admitted as a student. https://da.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livgardens_Tambourkorps?fbclid=IwAR2brsIfUdTbZGCxatc4GQmVZTvzhVU4rfnCWqyqY7VtuTXwWVZGatz6I_
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Its typically hard to find a person across the ocean without first knowing the hometown. Have you tried ordering his death certificate? Usually you cannot find those on websites such as FamilySearch or Ancestry. They must be ordered from the county archives of wherever he died but it could give a place in Denmark or the names of his parents.
He may have attended a Danish American church and that church might have records showing where in Denmark he came from. Again those are going to be in an archive and not online.
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Thank you Tanner for additional help. I do have a potential match for a christening but I really want everyone to use caution in assuming this is the correct person. I know multiple people are born with the same name and birth date. Here is a christening that matches. But I would need to find a way to follow and make a good connection. https://www.sa.dk/ao-soegesider/da/billedviser?bsid=359672&fbclid=IwAR2VHn8gvwfmyghS1yagFxVW5NFsKGc7zh99nuxWSBXwrhcqZ1hpXShH6XY#359672,70509614 We don't yet have specific death information.
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I just learned from my mother-in-law that he was a King's Guard at the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. I found a good website detailing it. den-kongelige-livgarde-the-royal-danish-guard
As for his birth year, the 1920 census lists him as 44 and the 1930 census lists him as 55 so I know it's in the ballpark of 1875-1876. It does make more sense that he came over in 1897ish
Another member suggested I try to obtain a death certificate and perhaps that would provide a city of origin in Denmark. Also, I wonder if the Royal Danish Guard has records? Thank you for all your help.
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The person @Shari Duce found is a strong possibility. He was born 24 July 1875 and emigrated 16 January 1894 at the age of 18.5. The record says he is going to Avoca, Iowa, but he could have then gone to Wisconsin. This Christen also had an older brother Anders Christian Nielsen who had emigrated 5 years before to Neola, Iowa.
I would still recommend a death certificate or a church record in America to really prove this is the right Christ but it looks really good.
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Danish friends have reported, The Royal Danish Lifeguard (Den Kongelige Livgarde) is the same as the King's guard at the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen.
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@Tanner Blair Tolman I really appreciate your help.
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1889 Confirmation record in Fovlum. https://www.sa.dk/ao-soegesider/da/billedviser?bsid=359682#359682,70509716
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Thank you for your help. I've ordered his death certificate.
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Thank you so much! I hadn't located this census so this is very helpful. 1897 does seem more plausible.
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Shari,
The two different christening records you shared seem to be the same person, but different entries. What does that mean? Also, are you able to tell where his parents are from? Also, what do the third and fourth columns mean? Again, thank you so much. This is very exciting to finally be making some headway.
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I'm very excited about the progress we've made and I've learned a lot along the way (military uniforms are new to me). The Kontraministerialbog is a copy (book) of the original record (stored in a different location, made for safety reasons and one should always look at both records). The 1890 census above shared by Tanner indicates his parents ages (thus birth years) and parish of birth. On the christening record we see the place name of Stistrup, this is the little farm/village where Christen is born. Remember, we are feeling fairly confident about this but not totally there just yet. The emigration records are really excellent find and are key to helping make the case for this being the correct person. If we were to read a newspaper obit for Christen and siblings are named that match the family we see in the census record that would also be solid evidence. I don't have access to GenealogyBank.com but it could be the tool to find an obit.
If this person is solidly proven to be your ancestor then there is a lot that can be done to take the family back further generations. Danish census records are the simple place to start and then next is church records which are one of the mail tools for the research. When I help other with projects I like to make sure the information is added to FamilySearch so that others may also have the opportunity to find their family, it's a gift of great happiness.
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@NVoskuil NVoskuil I'm hoping you'll share the death certificate information with us. I'd really like to see if our theory of who this individual might be is correct. I asked a Danish friend if it would be unusual for a young man to come from Aalborg county to serve in the guard, he said no. He stated that more young men came from the peninsula than near Copenhagen to serve. It was a prestigious work and may have been done for only a few months.
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One last entry, we do see Christen Nielsen b. 24 July 1875 in the FamilySearch tree with siblings and parents. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/MH4X-MN2
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Shari,
Thank you for all your help with this. I will most certainly share the death certificate information with you once I receive it. I'm going to wait to attach the Christen Nielsen who is in FamilySearch until I am certain it is him. Thank you!
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I certainly agree. You are very welcome. It was a great project to improve skills and experience. I really enjoyed it.
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Shari,
I received a reply in regards to Christ Nelson's death information. Unfortunately, there was no information regarding his parents. However, since our last correspondence, a cousin informed my mother-in-law that Christ had a brother named Andrew who had immigrated here from Denmark as well. Also, Christ lived in Iowa before moving to Minnesota and then Wisconsin. Both of these facts seems to substantiate the immigration records of Anders and Christ whose destination was Iowa.
Date of Death: 11/14/1955
Date of Birth: 07/24/1875
Marital Status: Widowed
Occupation: Retired farmer
Father and Mother’s name: Unknown
Cause of Death: Coronary Occlusion & carcinoma of tongue
Burial on Nov. 19, 1955 at Sunset Memorial in Woodville WI.
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Thank you for your message. I thoroughly enjoy the story of your ancestor and it helped me keep my skills sharpened. Wouldn't it be interesting to find out what happens to Anders.
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Possible match for Anders.
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Thanks, Shari
I know he ended up in Minnesota as well. I wish the name was more unusual!
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It doesn't help the search in the US but just for interest sake and an explanation of why Anders/Andrew and Kresten/Christen/Christ emigrated...
Anders Christian and Christen's father was Niels Christian Andersen as previously noted in the birth record above.
In Feb 1883, Niels Christian died at the age of 50 leaving Maren Jensen with 5 children between 7 and 15
Maren married Anders Christian Andersen, a widower from the nearby parish of Hyllebjerg in August of 1883 and Anders Christian had 5 children of his own aged 5 to 20 at the time.
When the families merged like this there are now too many male children for the farm to support and the boys from the maternal side of the family in particular would have no prospect of inheriting a place to make a living. That makes emigration much more appealing.
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I was unable to locate the marriage in Hyllebjerg for Anders C. Andersen and Maren. I did find this record in Fovlum that appears to be a match. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9ZN-R93J-Z?cc=2078555&personaUrl=/ark:/61903/1:1:QGWX-RC9M
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