Name: Julie Oline
Hansen
Called by Grandkids:
While she never got to meet her grandkids, I have learned that my father and
his siblings would have possibly called her Mormor.
Birth: 1886,
Fjenneslev, Denmark
Death: 1929,
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Spouse: Holger
Hansen
Marriage: 1918,
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Children: Margaret,
Marilyn, Torben
Parents: Rasmus
Hansen and Maren Sofie Olsen
Siblings: Herman,
Maren Hansine, Hans Kristian, Johanne, Ole
About: Oline was
born in Fjenneslev, Denmark, just about in the center of Sealand, which is the
large island on the east side of the country which has Copenhagen as the
most-eastern point. Her father owned a farm, Stubbegaard, which he had
inherited from his father, and which was passed on to his eldest son when he
came of age.
At the age of 8, her father died, and so she and her two
elder siblings helped out on the farm. She did not particularly like working on
the farm, so eventually she went to those in their town who could afford to pay
for help, and began to work as a maid, cook, and seamstress. She ended up with
a job with the agriculture minister at the time, and moved with the family to
Fredericksburg, just outside of Copenhagen, and lived there for a few years.
Soon after, her younger brother Hans decided to travel to
America and find his way there. After a short time, Oline followed him,
eventually settling in Chicago doing much the same work she had done in
Denmark.
On a trip back to Denmark in 1916, she met another young
Dane traveling back to visit with his family. The two spent much time on board
together, and when a blockade prevented their return to the US for a time, he
sought her out in Fjenneslev, and courted her there. Upon their return to
America, he moved to Cleveland, and she soon followed. They were married
shortly before the end of the war. My grandmother was born about a year later.
Oline had two more children, and made their home comfortable
and happy while Holger built houses. He built the home they lived in, and Oline
cooked, washed, and made clothes. Often their family came to visit or even to
stay for a time. Her brother Hans was fond of stopping by for supper.
Unfortunately, like her father before her, she caught a respiratory ailment,
and in early 1929, it became pneumonia, and she died.
Holger sent his children to live with his younger brother,
and moved them to a new home. He couldn't stand the thought of staying in the
home where she had died.
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| Oline, Maggie and Holger, ca 1920 |
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