The Schrøder Family
Like the Rasmusens, this is a very new name on my family
tree. One that I only discovered because of records on Family Search. My
great-grandmother's mother was a dead-end for her line until I found her birth
record, which listed Ole Larsen and Birthe Marie Schrøder as her parents. I've
since learned quite a lot about Birthe.
Birthe was born in the early part of the 19th
century. I believe her parents' names were Henrich Schrøder and Anne Sorensdatter.
I have several records on her. The first is her birth certificate, which lists
her birthdate as 1819. I have found two records listing a Birthe Marie Schrøder, but I believe this one fits closer to the other records I have found.
The other record lists her birthdate as 1825, which when I compare it to her wedding
records seems a bit too young, so I've chosen to assume the 1819 Birthe is the
Birthe I am looking for.
She married twice. First to a Niels Olsen in 1844, which
would make her twenty-five at the time, then again to Sofie's father, Ole
Larsen in 1851. Neils and Birthe had at least two daughters who I found records
of at Family Search as well: Christine Marie, born in 1845, and Anne Kirstine,
born in 1847. According to the records I have found, Neils died sometime before
1851, as that was when Birthe remarried.
Unfortunately, this marriage was not to last either. About
this time, there was a great wave of Scandinavians who headed to America. Ole
Larsen was apparently among them. We are not entirely certain when he left, but
their daughter was born in 1855, so it wouldn't have been much earlier than
that. From the stories the family told, it seems it probably was not much
later, either. When my great aunt went to meet her cousins in Denmark on this
side of the family, she asked about her great-grandfather, and was told that he
"left [Birthe] with a gift," and that was the last she heard from
him. The implication being, of course, that he had left her with child, or with
an infant, and never returned or sent on money to help. It was an unfortunately
common occurrence at the time. Many men traveled to America with great dreams,
promising to send for the wives they left behind, but never did so. Apparently
Birthe was one of these. So she was left with three young daughters and little
income.
I know little else about this branch, but this story
fascinates me. It feels like something I read in a book, but this is something
that touched my family only a few generations ago.
Of Birthe's family before her, I have little more than
names. But I continue to look in hopes of finding more.
My Schrøder line, for those interested:
* Henrich Christian Schrøder was born 1790 in Slots-Bjergby,
Denmark. He married Anne Sorensdatter 1817, and they had at least three
children, Birthe Marie, Niels Henrichsen, and Caroline Henrichsdatter. As you
can see, they were named in the old way. I do not know when he died.
* Birthe Marie Schrøder was born probably about 1819 in
Slots-Bjergby, Denmark, and married twice. First to Niels Olsen in 1844, with
whom she had two daughters, then to Ole Larsen in 1851, with whom she had one
daughter. I do not know when she died.
* Birthe and Ole's daughter was Maren Sofie Olsen. She was
born 1855 in Slots-Bjergby, Denmark. She married Rasmusm Hansen in 1881, and
the two had six children together. Their descendants are listed with his
family's surname post, so I will not name them here. Maren died in 1923,
survived by two sons and two daughters.
What I don't know:
* I would love to know more about Birthe Marie's life, and
her daughter Maren Sofie's. I have heard that she was sent out to earn her keep
helping other farms, but at this moment, I'm not sure if there would even be a
record of such things. I have attempted to find her in the Danish Censuses of
her life, but before her marriage to Rasmus, it is difficult to determine if I
am finding the correct Maren in the records.
* I would also love to know if Birthe Marie had any other siblings,
and what her father's parents names were, as I have been unable to locate any
further records on this family.
More on this line:
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