Clarence & Loretta (Krause) Vollmer
Clarence Reinhold Vollmer [Parents] was born on Jul 13 1909 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. He died on May 8 1999 in Yountville, Napa County, California. He was buried on May 12 1999 in San Joaquin National Cem, Gustine, Merced, California. He married Loretta Krause.
Clarence & Loretta (Krause) Vollmer
Other marriages:, Margaret
Janet Betty Jacob [Parents]
They had the following children:
F i Ruth-Ann Esther Philip F ii Sandra Jean Philip M iii John Earle Philip M iv Lewis Lorin Philip M v Dale Lee Philip M vi Noel James Philip F vii Kristina Lyn Philip F viii Melissa Ann Philip M ix Chad Lawrence Philip F x Valerie Jean Philip
Johannes Jacob was born on Mar 7 1874 in Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin. He died on Jun 7 1958 in Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin. He was buried in Caledonia Memorial Cemetery, Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin. He married Johanna Peters on May 18 1913.
Obituary of John Jacob, June 7, 1958
Other marriages:Vollmer, Magalona
Johanna Peters was born on Sep 12 1893 in Germany. She died on Aug 31 1983. She married Johannes Jacob on May 18 1913.
Obituary of Johanna Jacob, August 31, 1983
They had the following children:
F i Gerda Jacob M ii Carl Jacob M iii Norbert Jacob
Hans Mikkel Ritzow Henriksen [Parents] was born on May 21 1840 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. He died on Apr 7 1929 in Adams County Wisconsin. He was buried 1 in Mt. Repose Cemetery, Adams, Adams, Wisconsin USA. He married 2 Karen Marie Larsen on Jun 9 1861 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark.
Hans Mikkel & Karen Henriksen, circa 1895
Hans Mikkel Ritzow Henriksen had at least two half brothers, one of them being Ole Olsen, who seems to have been the first to have immigrated to the United States and settled on a farm near Arkdale, Wisconsin.
Hans Mikkel had some blood ties with a German army official hence the name "Ritzow" was part of his name. Has was a strong, husky, hard working man with reddish hair and whiskers. It has been told that when harvesting hay or grain on the big farms where Hans worked, he would be placed first because he could use the scythe faster and take a bigger swath than the other men, so they had to work harder to follow him.
Then in 1862 to 1864, the German army invaded Denmark, and Hans and two half brothers were inducted into service. German soldiers outnumbered the Danes and their weapons were quite superior. I remember Grandpa Hans (as he was to me) tell about a mean and stubborn commander riding on a horse, giving the command to a unit of Danish soldiers to charge ahead. The commander was a good target for a German cannon, and was shot off the horse, wherby the Danish unit yelled "Hurrah" and retreated.
A war song that I learned from Grandpa through much repetition of his sort of monotone singing is as follows:
Den gang jeg drov af sted, (TRANSLATED): The time I went away
Min pige vilde med My girl wanted to go also
Det kan du ej min ven That you can't my friend
Jeg gaar i krigen hen Because I go away to war.
Men vist jeg, ikke falder But if I don't fall
Saa komer jog nok hjem igen. I'll come home again.
Hurrah - hurrah - hurrah. Hurrah - hurrah - hurrah.The result of that war was that Germany took possession of what is known as Schlesvig Holstein. After World War I, Denmark was given back part of this territory.
Soon after returning from service, Ole Olesen, as stated previously, left for the grand opportunity of the United States.
Hans returned home and began work on the big farms near Nakskov as before. Hans and Karen were blessed with six more children as follows in their order of birth - Hannah, Ramsey, Walter, Hans & Harvey (twins - September 1870) and Christine.
Now whether Hans Mikkel developed a desire for gambling or drinking after his army service or before, I don't know, but he did get in with the wrong companions in Nakskov. Often when he went to Nakskov for groceries he would come home empty handed and his money gone. As a result, the house they were given in the marriage bargain was lost, and they had to move to another place. Those were difficult days and hard time for Karen, to wash clothes, knit articles of clothing, cook, and walk to and from work on the big farms. She would often have to walk home two or three miles during the day to check on the children or nurse the baby.
(Hannah, Ramsey & Walter emmigrated to the US before the rest of the family.) Now there were five left of this Henriksen family in Denmark: Hans Mikkel, Karen, and their children Hans, Harvey and Christine. How the fare was accumulated for the passage of all five, I don't know, but in 1888 this group sailed for over two weeks in the tiny ship name "SS Hekla", one of the sister ships (SS) of the Thingvalla Line, which included SS Thingvalla, SS Geiser, and SS Island. (It was the only shipping line which sailed directly from Copenhagen to New York.) They arrived in the Port of New York on June 1, 1888. It was a stormy voyage and Karen was so seasick that there was some doubt if she would make it to the United States alive. A short time after this trip, the ship "Hekla" sank during a storm in the Atlantic Ocean.
It seems that the group of five went to Stone City, Iowa, where they started a boarding house for quarry workers. About twenty men could be roomed and boarded but it was a lot of work for mother Karen whose main theme was cleanliness and to serve good food, and the problem of not understanding English. Daughters Hannah and Christine helped with the cooking, service, cleaning and washing, but after a year or so it was given up as a loss because Hans and Karen lacked experience in management and Karen served steak too often.
Perhaps through the help of brother Ole Olsen a farm was found near his farm, that was bought at a reasonable price, and to this place, Hans and wife (Karen) and son Harvey moved. Soon Hannah and husband, Martin Madsen, and Christine and husband (Gustave Weylandt) found farms near their parents home. Now four of their children were on farms within an area of seven miles (Ramsey married and stayed in Iowa, Hans Jr traveled a bit before settling in Arkdale, WI.)
Grandma Karen was a feisty little lady, and overcame her fear of the Indians who came to barter for a couple of chickens with their woven baskets. When she was displeased or her anger was aroused she would slam the doors unusually hard, and complained of headaches about five days out of the week, maybe as a means of keeping grandchildren quiet, when they were not in school.
Religion was not forgotten in this Danish community near Arkdale where many Norwegians had also settled. Danish services were held in the various homes by an itinerant pastor in the forenoon, followed by a bounteous dinner.
The pleasures and enjoyment of Grandfather Hans Mikkel and Grandma Karen were simple as when their children, grandchildren, or friends came to visit on Sunday, or they hitched up a horse to a buggy and went to visit them. Once, I believe they took the train to visit some relative in Red Wing, Minnesota, but Grandma Karen never saw her sister that settled in Bereford, North Dakota (?Rasmussen). These grandparents had the pleasure of celebrating their golden wedding anniversary June 9, 1911 at which 5 children and 16 granchildren attended (Ramsey was unable to come). Pastor Thisted gave an appropriate sermon, whereafter 75 guests in all partook of a bounteous meal. The honored couple both well and lively, joined in the dance later in the evening.
When Grandpa Hans Mikkel was about 75, he became sick, and the doctor diagnosed the case as stomach trouble but recommended him to go to the hospital. Harvey went with his father to Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he was operated on for obstruction of the bowel by Dr. Gunderson. Grandpa recovered and was hale and hearty with no evidence of any surgery. In the course of 3 or 4 years Grandpa had two more operations but each time seemed no worse for the strain.
In the early part of 1924, Grandma Karen seemed to stay in bed longer or would take longer naps. A doctor was called but could find nothing special wrong. The vital organs of this pioneer woman were just worn out and she passed away April 5, 1924, almost 89 years old. Grandpa Hans at that time made the wish that he could live that long, and he did, almost to the day, on April 7, 1929. Both alert and sound of mind to the last, not even stooped from years of hard work, but left a legacy of honesty, cheerfulness, and gratutude for their many blessings. ("Our Henriksen Roots", Agnes (Henriksen) Cappalletti, June 11, 1983.)
Karen Marie Larsen [Parents] was born on Jun 11 1835 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. She died on Apr 5 1924 in Adams County Wisconsin. She was buried 1 in Mt. Repose Cemetery, Adams, Adams, Wisconsin USA. She married 2 Hans Mikkel Ritzow Henriksen on Jun 9 1861 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark.
Karen, like her sisters, was slight of figure and perhaps never weighed more than 130 pounds. She parted her brown hair in the middle and combed it down flat to each side and rolled it into a neat bun in the back.
No doubt Karen became acquainted with the young hired men who worked on the big farm where she worked as well as neighboring farms, but when Karen gave birth to a little boy (Knuth), it was father Larsen who approached Hans Mikkel Ritzow Henriksen and asked him to marry Karen. A bargain was made if he would marry Karen, they would be given a house to live in, so they were married in June of 1861. ("Our Henriksen Roots", Agnes (Henriksen) Cappalletti, June 11, 1983.)
They had the following children:
(back l to r) Hans, Walter, Ramsey, Harvey, (front)Hannah & Christine (1895)
M i Knuth Henriksen was born about 1860 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. He died about 1874 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. The cause of death was drowned in a canal near home..
Knuth lived to the age of 14 when he met his death by drowning in the cold waters of a canal near his home. (from "Our Henriksen Roots", Agnes (Henriksen) Cappalletti, June 11, 1983.)M ii son Henriksen was born about 1861 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. He died about 1863 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark.
Hans and Karen had a son (after they were married) that died young, perhaps no more than two years old.F iii Hannah H Henriksen M iv Ramsey Henriksen M v Walter Henriksen M vi Harvey Rasmus Henriksen M vii Hans Henriksen F viii Christine Laurine Henriksen
Martin Madsen [Parents] was born in Feb 1864 in Denmark. He died in 1947 in Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin. He was buried in Mount Repose Cemetery, Friendship, Adams County, Wisconsin. He married Hannah M Henriksen on 1 Mar 1894 in Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa.
Hannah M Henriksen [Parents] was born in Jul 1860 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. She died on 3 May 1929 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, of post-operative complications. She married Martin Madsen on 1 Mar 1894 in Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa.
They had the following children:
F i Mary Ellen Madsen M ii Hans Herbert Madsen was born on 25 Sep 1896 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa. He died in 1925 in Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin. F iii Hazel M Madsen F iv Carrie L Madsen
Ramsey Henriksen [Parents] was born on 28 Nov 1863 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. He died on 14 Feb 1958 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa. He was buried on 16 Feb 1958 in Riverside Cemetery, Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa. He married Hulda B about 1894 in Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa.
Other marriages:, Jenny
Holm, Anna Johanna
Hulda B was born on 4 Jun 1873 in Talya, Sweden. She died on 27 Mar 1900 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa. She was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Anamosa, Fairview Township, Jones County, Iowa. She married Ramsey Henriksen about 1894 in Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa.
They had the following children:
F i Mabel Frederika Henriksen was born on 14 Jun 1895 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa. She died on 17 Dec 1896 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa. She was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Anamosa, Fairview Township, Jones County, Iowa. F ii Mary Henriksen was born in Jun 1897 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa. F iii Lillian H Henriksen
Ramsey Henriksen [Parents] was born on 28 Nov 1863 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. He died on 14 Feb 1958 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa. He was buried on 16 Feb 1958 in Riverside Cemetery, Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa. He married Jenny about 1905 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa.
Other marriages:, Hulda B
Holm, Anna Johanna
Jenny was born about 1865 in New York. She married Ramsey Henriksen about 1905 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa.
They had the following children:
Ramsey Henriksen [Parents] was born on 28 Nov 1863 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. He died on 14 Feb 1958 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa. He was buried on 16 Feb 1958 in Riverside Cemetery, Anamosa, Jones County, Iowa. He married Anna Johanna Holm.
Other marriages:, Hulda B
, Jenny
Anna Johanna Holm [Parents] was born on 22 Feb 1877 in Denmark. She died on 26 Jan 1948 in Fairview, Jones County, Iowa. She was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Anamosa, Fairview Township, Jones County, Iowa. She married Ramsey Henriksen.
Jorgen P Johansen was born on 4 Jun 1858. He died on 7 Oct 1887 in Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin. He was buried in Edwardson Cemetery, Adams County, Wisconsin USA. He married Annstena K Larson about 1881 in Denmark.
Annstena K Larson [Parents] "Stina" was born on 29 Sep 1859 in Moens Clint, Denmark. She died on 2 Apr 1949 in Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin. She was buried in Strongs Prairie Cemetery (Edwardson or Henriksen?), Adams County, Wisconsin, USA. She married Jorgen P Johansen about 1881 in Denmark.
Other marriages:Henriksen, Walter
They had the following children:
F i Hannah Metha Johnson F ii Mathea J Johnson M iii Jorgen A Johnson
Harold Clifford Henriksen Jr [Parents]
They had the following children:
F i Laura Beth Henriksen F ii LeeAnn Renee Henriksen
