Maren Kirstine Nielsen

Notes:

The birth record for her children identifies Maren as "Maren Kirstine Nielsen." Her father was Nels or Niels Pedersen, but at this time children received the father's first name, with "sen" after it, as a surname.

Maren married Josias Nicolaisen Abt 1875. Josias (son of Nicolai Nicolaisen and Maren Knudsdatter) was born 11 Feb 1841, Jersore, Denmark; died 9 Mar 1896, Klinte, Odense, Denmark; was buried 13 Mar 1896, Klinte, Odense, Denmark. [Group Sheet]

Anna — Rasmus Andersen Hornebo. Rasmus (son of Anders Jorgensen and Caroline Nielsdatter) was born 7 Dec 1861, Haarby, Odense, Denmark. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

His gravestone has his name as "Nicolaj Nicolajsen." The parish birth record spells it Nicolai Nicolaisen.

Nicolaj — Marie Kirstine Unknown. Marie was born 22 Feb 1879; died 13 Nov 1956. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

As a young man, Peter Nils Nikolaisen (Katherine Sorensen's father), went to stay with his Uncle Jorgen for two years. He told how all the corn was harvested by hand. A couple of years later Jorgen's brother, Uncle Hans, got a harvesting machine. Every morning the cows were brushed. It was considered a shame to take out a horse with dirt on it.

Peder and Katrine came to America in May 1911, and were married later that year.

Niels married Ann Katrine Bothilde Sorensen 19 Sep 1911, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN. Ann (daughter of Soren Sorensen and Ane Katrine Brahe Christensen) was born 24 Jan 1888, Tved, Mols, Denmark; died 6 Aug 1974, Minneapolis, Hennepin Co., MN; was buried 10 Aug 1974, Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN. [Group Sheet]

Kirstine — . Unknown [Group Sheet]

Dagmar — Christian Jensen. [Group Sheet]

Anders — Astrid Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Nicolai married Inge Jorgensen abt. 1932. Inge was born 31 Dec 1911, Denmark; died 15 Dec 1988, Valencia, Venezuela. [Group Sheet]

Karla — Alfred Christensen. [Group Sheet]

Karla married Alfred Christensen Abt 1934, Denmark. [Group Sheet]

Rasmus — Agnes Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Niels — Anne Johanne Unknown. Anne died 2003. [Group Sheet]

Magna — Korgaard Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Soren married Beulah Genevieve Wheeler 2 Mar 1933, Chicago, Cook Co., IL. Beulah was born 3 Sep 1914; died 5 May 2001, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Co., UT. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The surname in Denmark and on her marriage license is spelled Nicolaisen. However, the family name in America was spelled Nikolaisen. An alternative spelling in Denmark is Nicolajsen.

Katherine married Paul Brahe Sorensen 15 Jan 1950, Ormslev Kirke, Denmark. Paul (son of Julius Marinus Sorensen and Hilda Katrina Christiansen) was born 18 Jan 1914, Aarhus, Denmark; died 2 Jun 2007, Providence, Providence Co., RI; was buried Jun 2007, Quidnessett Memorial Cemetery, North Kingstown, RI. [Group Sheet]

Hans — Joyce Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Hans married Ruth L. Bennett Abt Dec 1958. [Group Sheet]

Hans married Thelma Unknown Aft 1960. Thelma was born Abt 1918. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Julia died from appendicitis at age 9.

James married Lorraine M. Pihlstrom 4 Oct 1946, Minneapolis, Hennepin Co., MN. Lorraine (daughter of Thorwald Pihlstrom and Jennie Berquist) was born 12 Jun 1922, Minneapolis, Hennepin Co., MN; died 27 Oct 2008, Minneapolis, Hennepin Co., MN. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Svend was active in the Danish resistance during World War II, was captured by the Germans, and died in Neuengamme Concentration Camp .

"The Neuengamme Memorial keeps only very few original documents, because the SS ordered all files to be destroyed shortly before the end of WW II. Thus there are large gaps in our knowledge about former prisoners. We do keep, though, some information about your relative in our archives.

". . . his date of death (25.02.1945) and the place (Bad Sassendorf/Soest), where he died. You also can find this information on our website about the Register of Deaths 1940-1945 (http://www.kz-gedenkstaette-neuengamme.de/en/history/death-register/deaths-1940-1945/ ). He worked in Bad Sassendorf as 11th SS Railway Construction Brigade. You can read here more about it ( http://www.kz-gedenkstaette-neuengamme.de/en/history/satellite-camps/satellite-camps/bad-sassendorf-11-ss-eisenbahnbaubrigade/ ). Maybe the archives in Soest has more information about Svend Nikolajsen ( stadtarchiv@soest.de)."

From Wikipedia:
"The Neuengamme concentration camp was a German concentration camp, established in 1938 by the SS near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, Germany. It was operated by the SS from 1938 to 1945. Over that period an estimated 106,000 prisoners were held at Neuengamme and at its subcamps; 14,000 perished in the main camp, 12,800 in the subcamps and 16,100 during the last weeks of the war on evacuation marches or due to bombing. The verified death toll is 42,900. After Germany's defeat in 1945, the British Army used the site until 1948 as an internment camp. In 1948, the facility was transferred to the Hamburg prison authority which tore down the camp huts and built a new prison cell block. After being operated as two prisons by the Hamburg authorities from 1950 to 2004, and a period of uncertainty, the site now serves as a memorial. It is situated 15 km southeast of the centre of Hamburg."

Last place of residence in DK was Kobenhavn.

Svend — Valborg Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Rasmus — Rita Ines Rivera. Rita was born 21 Jan 1930, Cucuta, Colombia. [Group Sheet]

Inge married Kristian Schou 1958. Kristian was born 19 Feb 1926; died 22 Feb 2007, Denmark; was buried , Bogense, Denmark. [Group Sheet]

Vera — Svend Hornebo. Svend was born Abt 1940; died Abt 1985. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Erling & Hanne live in Randers, Denmark.

Erling married Hanne Unknown 1983. Hanne was born 1954. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Beatrice was adopted and her name became Waldtraut (Traudy) Schwenk.

Notes:

At age 75, Kearns man finds sister in Michigan

By Katie Drake
The Salt Lake Tribune
Published September 30, 2009 11:56 pm


Like many children, Arnold Nikolaisen was not happy to learn he wasn't going to remain an only child. However, the shock for him was worse than most -- he found out at 75. Nikolaisen was raised as an only child, never knowing he had an older sister adopted away before he was born.

It was quite a shock to get a call from Traudy Schwenk, who claimed to be his sister. Nikolaisen refused to believe the evidence until a DNA test proved she was telling the truth. Now the Kearns man is embracing the sister he never knew he had, including paying a visit to her Hesperia, Mich., home. Nikolaisen took his wife, two children and granddaughter to meet Schwenk, and it became immediately clear she was a missing piece of the family.

"It was like my mother-in-law all over again," said Gayle Nikolaisen. Schwenk shared her mother's voice and mannerisms, and even the twinkle in her eyes when laughing.

The family brought several albums full of photographs and a genealogy back to the 14th century. For Schwenk, the discovery provided some closure to the mystery of who she is. Schwenk learned about the adoption when she was 30, while planning a family trip to Germany. Schwenk needed a copy of her birth certificate to obtain a passport, and her mother wrote to ask for one. Schwenk found the certificate and confronted her mother, who had never planned to tell her of the adoption.

Schwenk found a copy of her adoption papers when cleaning out the house after her mother's death. She hoped to learn more about her birth family, but in the days before Google, finding them was not easy. She was finally able to track down the family using a public records search at the local library, which led her to Nikolaisen.

"Even now, I can hardly grasp what's happened," Schwenk said.

For the Nikolaisen family, the discovery has raised more questions than it has answered. Why did the Nikolaisens give their daughter up for adoption, and why did they never tell anyone? Jennifer Nikolaisen, Arnold's granddaughter, is happy to have a new great aunt, but cannot imagine the stress on her great-grandmother from keeping such a secret. She is sad her great-grandmother never felt she could tell anyone, especially after adoption became more socially accepted in recent years.

Though both Arnold Nikolaisen and Schwenk agree it is difficult not to have their parents in the picture, both believe they know why the couple gave up their first child. It was 1933, the depths of the Great Depression, and most people struggled to feed themselves. Schwenk believes her parents gave her up thinking she would live a better life. Schwenk and Nikolaisen hope to solve some of the mystery by getting the original adoption papers, which are currently sealed by a court in Cook County, Illinois. Schwenk has retained an attorney in hopes of getting the records and learning more about her birth parents. She holds out hope that her birth mother wrote a letter or some other evidence suggesting why the family was divided.

Since the reunion, the Nikolaisens have stayed in close contact with their long-lost relative. Gayle Nikolaisen talks to her sister-in-law several times a week, and the family hopes to visit again next summer. Schwenk's initial anger at the situation has cooled. She is not upset she was adopted, but rather that it remained a secret for so many years.

"If you have a kid, tell them, 'We loved you, so we adopted you,' " Schwenk said. She hopes other families can be open about adoption and allow their children insight into who they are.

Schwenk is making progress. For her 76th birthday, the Nikolaisens sent her a framed photo of her birth mother and father.

kdrake@sltrib.com

Arnold married Gayle Schulz 18 Jul 1952. Gayle was born 11 May 1936, Watertown, SD; died 1 Dec 2019, Utah. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I have a copy of his birth certificate.

Richard married Lois Edna REMINGTON 16 Jun 1973, North Kingstown, RI. Lois (daughter of Norman Chester REMINGTON and Edna Virginia BERRY) was born 1 May 1951, Providence, RI. [Group Sheet]

Sheryl married Mark Joel Marty 14 Jun 1986, Minneapolis, MN. Mark was born 20 Feb 1961, Minnesota. [Group Sheet]