Birth: 26 Sep 1882 in Forslev,Haslev,Soro,Denmark
Death: 19 Dec 1959 in Little Falls,Morrison Co,Minnesota
Burial: 22 Dec 1959 Oakland Cemetery,Little Falls,Morrison Co,Minnesota,USA

Note: The biography is a work in progress. Please contribute or correct any mistakes. Thanks, Martha-Lisa Mode Flinsch
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From; a tombstone in Oakland Cemetery, Little Falls, Minnesota.
"Jennie Chrestensen 1882-1959"

From; LITTLE FALLS DAILY TRANSCRIPT, Monday, December 21, 1959.
"MRS. JENNIE CHRESTENSEN
Mrs. Jennie Chrestensen, 77, route 4, died Saturday in St. Gabriel's
hospital. Originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, she had lived in the Clear
Lake and Sandstone areas before coming here in 1926. She was a member of
the Assembly of God church.

Surviving her are three daughters, Mrs. John (Alice) Viste, Winton;
Hazel Chrestensen, Little Falls and Mrs. Howard (Ethel) Lang, Minneapolis;
two brothers and four sisters Waldemar, Harry, and Nora Hansen, and Mrs.
Christine Petersen, Clear Lake; Mrs. Fanny Mode, Steele, N.D. and Mrs.
Anna Christianson, Cando, N.D. There are two grandchildren and five great-
grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Assembly of God
church, the Rev. Kenneth Freiheit officiating. Burial will be in Oakland
cemetery. Friends may call in the Shelley-Thompson Funeral home, and there
will be reviewal previous to the service."
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Note from Verna Harris June 25, 1990:
(Jenne) Christiane Sofie Hansen Born 1883 most likely Haslev, Denmark. Came
to Becker Spring of 1892 with her parents, borthers and sisters. Married Nels Chrestensen, farmed near Sandstone a few years, then moved to Little Falls. I remember going to see Jenne And Hazel in the 1940's.
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Condensed from Verna Harris's story of her mother "Anna" Hansen and the Hansen family:
Ane "Anna" Hansen Christianson Daughter of Jens Hansen
Verna Marian Christianson Harris Grandaughter of Jens Hansen

... She ["Anna" Hansen"] was 16 years old when they came to the new land, so she remembered it well. It must have been a nearly impossible hardship for mother Maren [Maren Sophie Jeppesen Hansen Wife of Jens Hansen] to get ready a family of 11 [nine children, 2 parents] for moving. And she was to leave her homeland and her own family behind. Mama said they lived in a long low house, and Maren's mother, Grandmother Jeppsen lived in a couple rooms at one end. She was blind and all the children loved her. They quarreled with each other about taking a bowl of soup that their mother had made for her. For the chance to go over to sweep her floor or do little chores for her. Mama often got to go because she was older. I have wondered who cared for her after the family left.

If it were a hardship for grandmother Maren. It must have been a most challenging task for grandpa Jens, who had to have a sale, keep and pack the most necessary clothing, tools, and household goods for 12 people, one a small baby. He bought 11 tickets so I assume the baby was carried on. Aunt Fanny [Fanny Emilie Hansen Mode Daughter of Jens Hansen] was the baby. I suppose that they boarded a liner in Copenhagen, and it was large, a 5-deck ship.

Mama talked about the trip over durinq our Cando winters, and I wish now that I had asked more questions. They had a space on the third deck with their trunks and belongings packed around them. Her mother had brought two large kettles along and each day made a large pot of soup or stew. Grandpa could buy supplies at the ship's store, and there was a huge coal range that the passengers could use. I'm sure that they had to carry their own water and dispose of their waste which went overboard in those days. People couldn't keep very clean, and Mama said the smells were almost overwhelming. They were even worse when they went by the 4th deck stairs and bilge area. They were not supposed to go up on deck. But Mama said they did sneak up for a breath of fresh air when they could. Their crossing was not too rough, but most of the passengers got motion sickness anyway. It lasted over two weeks and then they were quarantined at Ellis Inland for three days. That was as bad or worse than the voyage, Mama said.
...
Jenny was the next daughter. She married a Dane, too, Nels N. Chrestersen. He was never well. They went to a little farm near Sandstone, for the first few years. It was poor sandy soil, and after a devastating forest fire, they moved to Little Falls, to a few acres on the river. They had a big flock of leghorn chickens and sold eggs in town. Nels's health failed and he spent his last years in bed. Jenny nursed him and he was not an easy patient. Aunt Nora told Mama about it. He had asked to be dressed in a shirt and tie one morning after his bath. When Aunt Jenny left the room, he tied one end of the tie to the bedpost and pushed himself off the bed. He strangled before she got back in. They had four daughters; Alice, Hazel, Sidsel and Ethel. Alice had two children. Hazel was retarded but worked in a greenhouse near their home and stayed with her mother until the end.
...
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