    
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Administrative
Information
Scope and Content Note
Biographical Information
Lineage
Selected Search Terms
Partial Interview Transcript
|
Information
Resources
Robert A. L. Mortvedt Library
Pacific
Lutheran University
Tacoma, WASHINGTON 98447
Phone: (253) 535-7586 E-mail: archives@plu.edu
New Land
New Lives Oral History Collection
Anne Schmidt Hansen
A Guide to Her Oral History Interview |
|
Administrative
Information
Creator:
Hansen, Anne Schmidt
Collection Nr: t251
File Content:
|
|
3 file folders
1 photograph
1 sound cassette
0 compact discs
|
|
|
Processing Information:
|
|
The
interview was conducted using a cassette recorder. A research
copy was also prepared from the original. To further preserve
the content of the interview, it is now being transferred
to compact disc. We deliberately did not transcribe the
entire interview because we want the researchers to listen
to the interviewee's own voice. The transcription index
highlights important aspects of the interview and the
tape counter numbers noted on the Partial Interview
Transcription are meant as approximate finding guides
and refer to the location of a subject on the cassette/CD.
Interviewed
by Janet Rasmussen
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky
Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good
|
Restrictions:
|
|
The
collection is available for research.
|
|
Preferred Citation:
|
|
[Collection
Number, Collection Title]
New Land New Lives Oral History Collection
Scandinavian Immigrant Experience Collection
Robert A.L. Mortvedt Library
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
|
Go
to top |
This
interview was conducted with Anne Hansen on July 16, 1983 in
Ephrata, Washington. It contains information about family background,
emigration, marriage and family, homesteading, and Danish heritage.
Also available is a black and white photograph of Anne at the
time of the interview. The interview was conducted in English.
|
|
Anne
Hansen was born on November 15, 1888 in Aastrup, Denmark, which
is located on Jylland (Jutland). Anne's parents were Peder Jessen
Schmidt and Olena Andersen, and Anne was one of twelve children.
Peder was a farmer, and all of the children had to work on the
farm. Anne's mother died of cancer when Anne was fifteen, and
Anne then began living on other people's farms. While working
for a butcher from Fyn, Denmark, Anne met her husband, Holger
Hansen. Holger had been living with relatives in Minnesota,
and when he came to visit from America, Anne wanted to go back
with him. Anne was twenty years old at the time, and they were
married in Albert Lea, Minnesota. They then went to Stratford,
Washington, near Moses Lake, and got a homestead from somebody
who had to give it up to the government. The homestead was a
wheat farm, and they also raised potatoes and onions for their
own use. Holger worked in the harvest fields, and in the winter,
he trapped coyote and sold the fur. Anne and Holger had three
children: Henry (Hank), Charlie, and Linda. Anne and Holger
spoke Danish in their home, so all of the children can understand
the language. Holger passed away in 1968, and Anne continued
to live on the homestead for as long as she could. Charlie then
took over the farm, raising cattle and sweet corn. Anne is proud
of her Danish heritage, but she also feels she is a "true American."
Go to top |
|
|
Full Name: |
Anne Kirstine Hansen
|
|
Maiden Name: |
Anne Kirstine Schmidt
|
|
Father: |
Peder Jessen Schmidt
|
|
Mother: |
Olena Andersen
|
|
Brothers and Sisters: |
Mikel Schmidt
Anders Schmidt
Ingeborg Marie Schmidt
Kirsten Marie Schmidt
Mette Marie Schmidt
Petrine Olena Schmidt
Mikelina Schmidt
Jess Schmidt
Three other brothers died when young.
|
|
Spouse: |
Holger Hansen
|
|
Children: |
Henry (Hank) Hansen
Charlie Hansen
Linda Hansen
|
Go to top |
This collection is indexed under the following headings
|
|
Personal Names |
|
Hansen, Anne
Schmidt, Peder Jessen
Andersen, Olena
Hansen, Holger
Hansen, Henry (Hank)
Hansen, Charlie
Hansen, Linda
|
|
Family Names |
|
Hansen family
Schmidt family
Andersen family
|
|
Geographical Names |
|
Aastrup (Denmark)
Fyn (Denmark)
Stratford (Wash.)
|
|
Subjects |
|
Family -- Denmark
Emigration and Immigration -- Denmark
Naturalization
Homesteading (Moses Lake, Wash.)
Danish-American -- Ethnic identity
Lusitania (Steamship)
Poetry
|
|
Occupations |
|
Farmers -- Danish-Americans
Homesteading -- Stratford, Wash.
Trappers -- Danish-Americans
|
|
Genre/Form |
|
Oral history
|
|
Institution |
|
Pacific Lutheran University. Scandinavian Immigrant Experience
Collection
|
Go
to top |
The
partial interview transcription highlights important aspects
of the interview. Numbers on the left may be used as guides
to important subjects. Two numbers separated by a slash indicate
that the first number is for cassette and the second for CD.
051 ANNE KIRSTINE SCHMIDT. Maiden name was German. Her parents
lived near the German border. Anne thinks they might have changed
their name to a German name so they could get along better.
Anne was born in Aastrup, Denmark on November 15, 1888. Aastrup
is located on Jylland (Jutland).
138 PARENTS: Peder Jessen Schmidt and Olena Andersen.
160 BROTHERS AND SISTERS: six boys and six girls in the family.
Anne is the youngest and the only one still living. Ingeborg
Marie, Mikel, Anders, Marie, Kirsten, Mette, Petrine, Anne,
and three younger than Anne. Mette came to America and lived
near Anne.
211 FATHER'S OCCUPATION: Farmer. He was a "gårdmand." He had
his own farm. Quite a bit of land. They had dairy cattle. They
all had to work on the farm. The buildings on their farm were
shaped in an angle. Building on bigger farms often formed a
square.
319 SCHOOL: Had to go half a Danish mile to go to school. If
they came late, they'd have to stay after school. Anne started
school when six years old. Finished when fourteen years old.
Anne's mother was sick for three years. Anne was allowed to
stay home from school when helping her mother, but generally,
the rule was that a student would pay 3 øre the first day he
missed and 6 øre the next.
369 MOTHER'S ILLNESS: Mother had cancer. Suffered awfully. Died
before Anne turned fifteen. Had already been confirmed by this
time.
412 WORK: Worked in the fields. They raised beets for the cows.
She could outwork anybody in the fields. Lived on other people's
farms. Sometimes paid by the month and sometimes by the year.
One of Anne's older sisters worked for a neighbor for 180 Dkr
per month. She didn't want to work for them so Anne got the
job. They didn't pay Anne as much because she was just a kid
out of school. Anne did this kind of work until she was twenty.
She came to America then.
463 REASONS FOR COMING TO AMERICA: The man who was to become
her husband came home from America. Anne wanted to come to America
so he took her.
471 MEETING SPOUSE: Anne was working for a butcher from Fyn,
Denmark when she met her husband. Holger Hansen was also from
Fyn. He was two years older than Anne. Holger had brothers and
sisters in Minnesota. He went to stay with relatives in Minnesota
before he was grown up. Eventually, he settled in Stratford,
Washington, near Moses Lake. Anne and Holger's homestead is
still there. They were given 160 acres and later were allowed
to take additional land. Holger settled in central Washington
because his brother was there. His brother, Hans raised wild
horses. Anne's sister, Mette came to America after Anne and
married Hans.
580 MARRIAGE: Anne and Holger got married in Albert Lea, Minnesota.
Holger had an uncle there. Anne was 20 years old then.
587 TRIP TO AMERICA: Wonderful, a chance to travel. Took a boat
from Esbjerg, Denmark across the North Sea. Landed in Liverpool,
England. Took the Lusitania across the Atlantic. Lusitania owned
by the same company that owned the Titanic. Left home on May
5, 1908. Arrived in Minnesota on May 17, 1908.
628 NEW YORK: No problems with immigration. Her husband spoke
English. Traveled by train to Minnesota.
645 LEARNING ENGLISH: Learned from hearing other people speak
English. Could have learned better English but she was by herself
a lot on their homestead. Holger had to work to make a living.
655 HOMESTEADING: They couldn't make a living on the farm because
they didn't have the machinery. Anne looks at homesteading as
"climbing a mountain, starting on the steep side." First house
had two rooms. They had a big blue and silver stove from Montgomery
Wards. They were progressive and lucky. They burned sagebrush
for cooking and heat.
HOMESTEADING: Gathered sagebrush in the fall and stacked it
up by the house. Lasted all winter. Got water from neighbors
who had an open well. Had to carry the water they needed. Holger
would haul water in barrels for washing when he was home on
Sundays. Eventually they had a well drilled on their place.
They lived in their two-room house for eighteen years. They
got their homestead from somebody who'd to give it up to the
government. The homestead already had a little barn.
788 HUSBAND'S OCCUPATION: Worked in the harvest fields. In the
winter trapped coyote and sold the fur.
797 CLIMATE: Wasn't a hindrance. "I guess I was a tough old
egg, always."
807 CHILDREN: Always had good help. Never had to have doctors
when the babies were born. Anne's three children were all born
at home. She still had her two boys. Her daughter died of cancer
when in her early thirties. Eldest son, Henry lives in Ephrata.
He's an electrician and a handyman. Also makes jewelry out of
rocks. Charlie, the youngest son, runs the family farm. Raises
cattle and grows sweet corn. Daughter's name was Linda.
838 DANISH LANGUAGE: Anne and her husband spoke Danish at home.
Linda could speak it. Could also read the letters they received
from Denmark. Anne doesn't hear from Denmark anymore. The boys
understand Danish but they feel foolish when they speak it.
Somebody from Denmark came to visit once. Charlie could understand
him and speak to him but he felt foolish.
868 FARMING ON THE HOMESTEAD: (See also I-655) Didn't have much.
Raised dry land potatoes and onions in a little place. Otherwise
it was a wheat farm. In Denmark, they harvested wheat and rye
with a scythe and then tied the bundles. Anne used to tie the
bundles. They had to use different methods in America. Farming
was smaller in Denmark.
900 TRIPS INTO TOWN: Didn't go to town very often. Walking was
their only means of transportation. Once they were established
they got their own horses. They would raise potatoes and haul
them into town in the fall. They would then buy supplies like
flour and sugar.
916 NEIGHBORS: Knew her neighbors then much better than she
knows her neighbors now. She hardly knows her neighbors across
the street now. Before she knew all of her neighbors for miles
around. Some of her Norwegian neighbors, such as Greta Odegard,
were her best neighbors. There weren't many Scandinavians in
the area.
937 CUSTOMS: Anne used to make dark rye bread and white bread.
Baked Danish pastries too. Daughter doesn't bake pastries because
she doesn't like to eat sugar. They eat a lot of beef now because
her son raises beef cattle.
985 TRIPS BACK TO DENMARK: Has never been back to Denmark. Would
have liked to visit Denmark when younger but couldn't afford
it then. Sister never went back either. Couldn't afford it.
Anne's sister never liked it here in the US. Anne made herself
like it here. She couldn't make much money but she could make
friends. The Norwegians she met were wonderful people. Like
her own people.
1012 METTE'S FAMILY: Got along with Anne's family. Anne and
Mette spoke Danish with each other most of the time.
1024 AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP: Became a citizen by marriage her
husband who was an American citizen.
1034 MARRIAGE: Didn't really have a Danish wedding. They didn't
have much money. She didn't get a ring until their 50th wedding
anniversary. At the time they got married, all of their money
went into their homestead. Anne's husband passed away 15 years
ago.
1076 WHAT IT MEANS TO BE DANISH: "I'm not ashamed of being Danish,
but if they tell me I'm not American, that hurt my feelings
because I'm a true American…I've lived to see that my kids didn't
have to struggle."
1098 HOMESTEAD: (See also I-655, I-868) Lived on the homestead
until she could no longer live alone. Their land had the best
soil. They raised berries and vegetables.
SIDE II
084 CHILDREN: (see also I-807) Gave birth to her children at
home. A neighbor helped with the first one. Tells about a neighbor,
Ellen, who Anne helped gave birth. A doctor was there too. They
had to take Ellen to Ephrata. Ellen gave birth while in their
car. Anna cut the cord with the doctor's pocketknife. Most women
didn't call for doctors when giving birth in those days. Women
gave birth at home. Anna was all alone when she gave birth to
her last child. Her two boys were age 8 and 6. Henry was in
school and Holger was with the cattle. Anne sent Charlie out
to get Holger.
304 LIFE CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVED: Her son, Charlie now has 200
new calves on the homestead.
336 KEEPSAKES FROM DENMARK: Couldn't bring anything with her
when she came.
350 HANDWORK: Has made apple dolls. Has done lace work and crocheted
to pass the time.
375 ENTERTAINMENT: They had school programs.
388 POETRY: "Ode of the Dried Apple Dolls," a poem Anne has
written is read by the interviewer. Anne wrote this poem after
she started making apple dolls. She could never get anything
out of the story of Johnny Appleseed so she wrote her own poem
about the apple dolls. She started making apple dolls when 80
years old.
492 Speaks in Danish.
558 Anne's father got the highest honor that a soldier could
get, dannebrogsmand, from the war he fought in 1848-50.
Go to top
|
Maintained by archives@plu.edu
© 2002-2003 Pacific Lutheran University
|