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“We Are A Very Happy Family”: 19th-Century Familial Power Dynamics, Stella A. Ress

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This article examines the roles of family members in the mid-19th century in America, using the Willard family as a case study. Ultimately, this thick description of the Willard family demonstrates that power within the family structure was neither intrinsic nor static; moreover, one person did not control the family and its decisions at all times. Instead, each family member, depending upon circumstances, situations, and his or her own nature, negotiated and laid claim to power through various sources of authority. Josiah Willard’s authority stemmed from his role as father and husband; society crowned him king of the household, and …

Male Hypergamy And Social Status, Cedric N. Floyd

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

Male hypergamy, a social pattern rarely observed, has been prevalent throughout history as a symbol of social status for men. Hypergamy is the act of marrying into a higher social class or caste. This paper analyzes a few exemplary men ranging from the Italian Renaissance to Twenty-First Century America to make note of this pattern and attempts to understand how it affects the social order in middle-to-upper class society. The research, gathered from various books on class and society, presents an idea of various men who have, in some way or another, used their marriages as a social asset and …

The Jensens Came To America, Guy D. Johnson

The Bridge

My grandparents, Niels and Ane Jensen, moved to America in 1870. They started from Denmark in 1870 and landed in Nevada, Iowa, on July 14, 1870. They had two children, John, my father and Aunt Annie. Grandfather's brother, Morten, and his wife and a man they called Tabby came with them.

Jens And Karen Jensen's Pioneer Story, Gladys Johnson Heghin

The Bridge

Jens Jensen was born ... in 1827 at Rodby not far from Varpelev. Jens became a soldier and a farmer. He fought in the Slesvig-Holstein War. Karen Jensen was born in 1839 in the parish of Kongsted near the village of Eskilstrop .... They were married in 1855. When Karen's foster-father died, Karen and Jens inherited his good farm.

The Travel Diaries And Letters

The Bridge

At the dockside in Copenhagen on 21 March 1894, a worried father stood and waved goodbye to his eldest son, who had made the big decision of his life at the age of seventeen and was setting out to realize his dreams in the vast, unknown land of America. "Write soon, Christian," was the father's last word to his son. The very next day, Christian wrote his first letter

For The Want Of Ten Dollars: The Development Of The Terra Cotta Industry In New Jersey, Thorvald Hansen

The Bridge

When the Mathiasens, Karl and his father, left Thisted, on Denmark's northeast Jutland peninsula, for America in 1872, the intention of the elder Mathiasen was to go to Michigan where he had a sister living. When they arrived in New York the father totaled up the funds he had and discovered that the trip thus far had cost more than he expected. He lacked ten dollars of having enough to travel farther west. On the advice of a kindly Dane they walked the few miles to Perth Amboy, New Jersey where they were told they could probably find work. It …

Becoming American: The Autobiography Of C. P. Peterson, D. D. S. (1867-1958), J. R. Christianson

The Bridge

In the western parts of Hvejsel parish in the nineteenth century, the fertile, rolling moraine landscape of eastern Jutland gave way to an immense, sandy plain covered by heath, bog, and streamside meadowland. Settlement was much more scattered on these moors than in the village farmlands of the east. Shepherds sang to the wind and knit their woolen yarn into stockings as flocks grazed on the open heath, and cattle grew fat in the meadows by lonely manor houses.

From Vejle Amt To Iowa In 1868: An Immigrant's Christmas Letter, Christian Poul Christensen

The Bridge

Discontent was rife in nineteenth-century Denmark, to be sure, but why would a prosperous, locally prominent individual like Christian Poul Christiansen choose to take his wife and family and leave their native land forever? Economic necessity did not drive them out into the wide world. "It was asserted that Christiansen brought along from Denmark around $20,000," wrote Rasmus Jurgens in Danske i Amerika in 1908.1 "This family is very wealthy. Through their influence, Randall Station was established, three miles north of Story City, in Hamilton County, [Iowa]. They built a store here and ran a general store, later a lumber …

My Danish Background, Waldemar Westergaard

The Bridge

Editor's Note: This essay brought back fond memories for me, because I had the opportunity, some forty years ago, to meet Professor Waldemar Westergaard (1882-1963) in his pension in Store Kongensgade, near Kongens Nytoro in Copenhagen. It was the summer of 1962. My graduate school advisor, Professor Lawrence D. Steefel, was an old friend of his and recommended me to him. Professor Westergaard was eighty years of age but full of energy, charm, and good stories. He gave me the names of all kinds of people to contact in Copenhagen. The cordiality and intellectual acumen that characterize the following memoir …

A Trip To Denmark In 1906, Lois Eagleton

The Bridge

In the spring of 1906, Niels Pedersen and his wife Minnie Oensen) traveled to Denmark to visit relatives and friends and to see the homeland. Niels had left Denmark to go to America, apparently to avoid having to join the King's army. There he met and married Maren Jensen (who preferred to be called "Minnie").

Recollections From Our Voyage To America, Soren Pedersen

The Bridge

We departed from Limskov in Norup Sogn May 6, 1862,

to visit my sister, my brother-in-law, and my mother on my

home farm, and were there a couple of days before we took

leave of the whole family never to see them again in this life.

It was both a serious and a sad time.

Reminiscences At The Celebration Of My Folks' First Seventy Married Years, 1911-1981, Axel Nielsen

The Bridge

"Reminiscences" is the title ascribed to the talk that Axel Nielsen made at the celebration of his parents' 70th wedding anniversary. His sister-in-law, Enola Nielsen writes, "He wanted to say something for the folks at the anniversary so he started writing a little in a yellow spiral-ring notebook. He'd write a little bit more each evening and it just kept going. I've seen the handwritten notebook, and he just filled up the page from top to bottom without ever scratching out a word or changing anything. No outline, no overall plan - not at all the 'right' way to write! …

Grandfather Rasmus B. Nielsen's Written Account Of His Life From Birth Until He Emigrated From Denmark To The United States, Harald R. Jensen

The Bridge

Born the 4th of August 1851. Son of Niels Kristensen and wife, Karen Marie (born Rasmussen). I have very few recollections from my childhood. Father, I can remember, but only faintly. However, I can remember the birth of a little sister and can recall she was very sick and weak. She suffered from a contagious sickness, which was very dangerous. After she fell ill, I was sent to my grandparents in Sk0rring. I don't know how old I was then, but that is where I grew up. I shall try, from memory, to picture the character and life of my …

Recollections Of Two Immigrant Sisters, James D. Iversen

The Bridge

My father's family were among those thousands of Danes who made their decision to emigrate to America in the last decade of the nineteenth century. On March 28, 1893, Peter Iversen and wife Kirstine and children Christine, 12 years, Karen, 10, Katherine, 8, Marie, 6, Mikkel, 5 and Laura, not quite 3 years old, sailed from Copenhagen on the "Thingvalla." The came first to Sioux CIty, Iowa, where Kirstine's brother Graves Mikkelsen had settled earlier. Times were not prosperous in 1893 in Sioux City, however so the family soon moved to a homestead site in Buffalo County, South Dakota, about …

Laurs Christian Laursen, Betty Laursen Miller

The Bridge

When my younger brother and I were little, our mother often sang to us, and soon our voices would be joining in with "Venter Paa Far"--Waiting for Father. This song is about two little blueeyed children who press their ' noses against the window pane as they eagerly await their father's homecoming. It ends with a happy rush to the door when they hear him approaching, and the words change to a joyous shout of "Her Kommer Far"--Here Comes our Father.

Danebod Family Recreation Camps, Otto G. Hoiberg

The Bridge

"The family that plays together , stays together !" Implied conversely in this generalization , one finds at least a partial explanation of the troubled waters presently navigated by the family in America. Whereas in years gone by , much recreational activity was enjoyed jointly by the various members of a family , in this day and age each member tends to go his own way to satisfy his leisure time needs and desires. After the dinner hour , Dad has a bowling engagement , Mom goes to a meeting of her Study Club , Susie heads for a Girl …

A Midsummer Day, Amy R. Thrall

The Bridge

"Where was Chris?; Why didn't he hurry?" He knew Greta was to be the overseer of the dinner. It was Midsummer's Day; she had to be in Linden by nine o'clock to organize the work in the kitchen. The four girls, up since dawn, harassed her with questions; too young to understand that "sol er oppe" meant "sun is up," signifying a blessing to the earth in bringing life to the crops and flowers. The sun doesn't set in Denmark on June 24th until eleven at night and rises at two in the morning. Having lived through the long and …