I made a visit to Denmark in 1997 to see where my great-grandmother Ida Kate Christensen’s family had lived and immigrated from. In preparing for the visit, my mother gave me a travel guide - with a postcard tucked into it. That postcard, mailed in 1929 and posted later on this page, was from Marie Christensen Kruger in Denmark - inviting her siblings in America to her 50th wedding anniversary. When the Christensens and seven children immigrated to America in 1872, including my then four year old great grandmother Ida Kate, the oldest child Marie remained behind.

After getting the postcard, I thought I didn’t have anything to lose by writing to the return address of that 1929 postcard and inquiring about our family - even though it had been 68 years since it was written. Much to my amazement, I got a letter back saying that my family hadn’t lived there for years, but they were in touch with them - and they would like to meet me.

Through that exchange I met Ida Schubert, granddaughter of Marie Christensen Kruger - and my mother’s second cousin. We visited the house in Koge where Marie lived, then went to the town of Torslunde where the Christensens were from, and visited a small local history center there. Ida even wanted to talk to my mother, and we called her from her house to talk. Ida provided family information, and it opened the door to the Danish wing of the Christensen family. This webpage tells what I know of the story of Marie Christensen, her husband Otto Ferdinand (O. F.) Kruger, and their family.

Ida Schubert lived in Lyngby, which was a little outside of Copenhagen. Below she is photographed in front of her house during the 1997 visit. In the photo at the top of this page, which was taken 68 years before my visit, she was the girl in the middle in the front row. I lost touch with her a few years after the visit, and I assume she is gone now. I will always be appreciative of her hospitality and the information she shared about our common ancestors.

Marie Christensen and Otto Ferdinand (O. F.) Kruger and Their Family

I will begin by sketching out Marie’s family - and then move to a chronological history of her life as painted by surviving photos, records, and letters.

Marie was the oldest child of Hans Christensen and Christiane Rasmusdatter.  Marie Bergette Sophie Christensen was born on March 15, 1857 in Torslunde, remained in Denmark when her family immigrated in 1872, married Otto Ferdinand Kruger in 1879, and died after 1940.  Otto was shown in abstracted Danish records as born on March 18, 1852 and christened June 6, 1852, both in Nysted, Maribo, Denmark – his parents being Vilhelm Carl Heinrick Kruger and Caroline Cathrine Henrikke Petersen. [I will refer to him on this page as Otto, but he seemed also to use his initials O. F. as his name as an adult.] I believe he died in the 1930’s sometime after the mention of him in a 1932 letter but before 1938 when Marie’s brother Chris visited Denmark, but do not have that precise information. Marie is clearly alone when her brother Chris visited in 1938, and in the 1940 census.  

Otto and Marie had five known children: 1) Hilda Augusta Marie, born August 11, 1880 in Nysted, Lolland, Denmark, and died in 1972, married Cornelius Praest, two children; 2) Ida Cathrine Caroline Christiane, born November 21, 1881 in Nysted, Lolland, Denmark, married to an Anderson, died young, no apparent children; 3) Anna Jensine Frederikke, born May 25, 1883, married to Axel Holm, four children; 4) Hans Vilhelm Quist, born October 9, 1884 (Ida Schubert’s record below lists his birth date as 1882, but his baptism record is in 1884) in Nysted, Lolland, Denmark and died in 1949; married Gerda Lomholdt, three children; and 5) Joachim Quist, born March 13, 1889 in Nysted, Lolland, Denmark, married to Clara, one known child - shown in some records below as Quist.

This listing of the family is largely based on the document below - provided by Ida Schubert - listing the children of Marie and Otto and their family, and is validated by the chronology of records shown later on this page.

Ida Shubert's listing of the family shows that Hilda married Cornelius Prest, died in 1972, and had two children, Bertel Prest, born November 20, 1907; and Helge Prest, born April 10, 1910.  Ida married to someone named Andersen and died young. Anna married Axel Holm and had four children, Edith, Nikolai, Rigmore and Hans Christian. Hans married Gerda Lomholdt and had three children, Paul, Ida (Ida Shubert), and Otto.  And Joachim married Clara, and had a child, Ragnhild.

The photo above, used as the header for this page, was taken in 1929. The photo key is noted as the 50th anniversary of Marie and Otto’s marriage and is posted just below - identifying each family member in it. It is posted here in the family section so that the names in the photo can be matched to Ida Schubert’s family listing just above. [Since the original posting, I came into a second key - in my mother’s effects - which is posted below the first key.]

In matching the listing and the photo for Otto and Marie’s five children - Ida lists the oldest child Hilda and her husband Cornelius Prest with two children, Bertel and Helge - and all four are in the photo. The second oldest child Ida is shown in the listing as having died young, and is not shown in the photo, which matches. Axel Holm and the third oldest child Anna Kruger Holm are shown in the listing as having four children Nikolai, Edith, Rigmor, and Hans Christian - and all six are shown in the photo. Ida’s listing shows the fourth oldest child Hans Wilhelm and his wife Gerda as having three children Povl [Paul], Otto, and Ida (Ida Schubert), and all five are shown in the photo. And the listing shows the fifth oldest child Joaquim Kruger with his wife Clara and their daughter Ragnild and all three are shown in the photo. So Ida Schubert’s chart shows twenty people including Otto and Marie and their children and grandchildren (not counting their child Ida who had died by 1929) - and the photo has the same twenty people in it. Thus the Ida Schubert listing and the family members in the photograph are a complete match.

A second key was found among my mother’s things when she passed away in 2023 - along with another copy of the photo. The significant difference about this key - compared to that of Ida Schubert’s - is that it lists the age of parentage of many of the people in the photo. This second key does match the first in content - but with fuller names and ages.

Ida Schubert also provided a chart of her own family, which I have posted below. I do not fully understand the meaning of the note at the bottom about “Brochmandsjev planed in 1918”. That’s the street name of the house where they moved in Koge. It’s possible it was planned in 1918, built, and then ready for their move in the early 1920’s.

Marie and Otto - The Chronology of their Lives as documented by church and census records and old photos and letters

Overview. Otto was born and raised in Nysted. Marie was born and raised in Torslunde (about ten miles from Nysted on the island of Lolland in Denmark) where she lived until her family immigrated to the United States. Ida Shubert picked up the story of her grandparents after that, writing: "When the Christensen Family emigrated to Amerika, my Grandmother Marie was left behind at a Farm ‘Egholm’.  When my Grandparents were married, the owner lent them a house [in Nysted].  They moved to Koge, when I was a little girl.  I do not know when." Ida Shubert was born on May 17, 1919 – which probably means that her grandparents moved from Nysted to Koge in the early 1920’s.  I do not have death dates for the Krugers. The last reference I have found for Otto was in a 1932 letter, and the last I have found for Marie was in the 1940 census.

The Chronology of Marie and Otto’s lives as presented by records, letters, and photos. Marie Christensen is shown in the Torslunde Church birth records, posted below, as having been born May 16, 1857 and baptized in the church on June 14, 1857.  Her parents were Hans Nicolai Christensen of Torslunde and Christiane Rasmusdatter, age 31.  Also listed were Madam Lund of Egholm and Christen Rasmussen and possibly his wife Margrete (Christen Rasmussen was Christiane’s brother, and his wife was Inger Margreth), although Signe Maasberg is also listed (Frederik Maasberg was Hans “foster father”, unclear is there is a relationship).  Madam Lund was likely who Marie was left with in 1872 - and was Marie and her husband’s landlady in Nysted. Her listing in Marie’s baptism indicates a historic relationship that lasted the rest of Madam Lund’s life.

I have been unable to find Marie in both the 1860 and 1870 censuses – she is not shown with her family in either census. Otto is shown in the 1860 census at 18 Adelgade in Nysted with his family:

Vilhelm Carl Heinrich Kryger 42 Husfader, Slagter (Head - Butcher); Caroline Cathrine Pedersen 40 Kone (Wife); Henrikke Dorthea Marie Raden 19 Steddatter (Step Daughter); Henrikke Terese Lovise Kryger 15 Barn (Child); Franciska Cathrine Dorthea Kryger 12 Barn (Child); Ida Vilhelmine Caroline Kryger 9 Barn (Child); Otto Frederik Kryger 8 Barn (Child); and Valdemar Carl Ludvig Kryger 3 Barn (Child). This listing was taken from the ancestry.com entry. The entry is posted just below.

Egholm.  It is stated above that Marie was left at the Farm Egholm when the rest of her family left for America.  In various baptism records, Egholm is mentioned, as is Madam Lund in Marie’s baptismal record. Madame Lund appeared to have a major role at Egholm and appears with Oscar and Marie in the 1880 and 1890 census records, as well as some baptismal records. 

An online history of Egholm states: “The manor Egholm was established in the early 1700s on the remains of a village of the same name with seven to eight farms. The establishment of the manor house was conducted by Emerentia von Levetzau, widow of Johan Otto Raben, who in the 1720s made a massive acquisition of manor farms and land in the Nysted area. As a daughter of a Jutland grove owner, Emerentia von Levetzau was a skilled woman who managed to collect enormous goodness in Lolland. In 1734, Emerentia von Levetzau had so much landgoed that she could set up the county Christiansholm of Aalholm, Bramsløkke and the newly built hirer Egholm for his oldest granddaughter. A county was a so-called majorat that caused the goods to be tied up. The goods could not be sold, shared or pledged. 

Egholm was initially designated as a tenant farm under the county where eight farms were incorporated. During the 1700s and 1800s the farm continued to be a breeding farm under the county operated by a lessee.  A breeding farm was an independent manor house with underground farms, but was part of larger estates and often had no main building. . .” The history goes on to talk about a liquidation in 1919 and becoming under Aalholm as a tenant farm.

Marie’s father Hans was taken in by a “foster father” Frederik Maasberg ca 1840. Hans was shown with him in censuses, and when the Christensens (minus Marie), immigrated to America in 1872, the Copenhagen police exit records listed the surname of Hans and the family as Maasberg. In Ida’s photos was a photo of Marie and Frederik Massberg. Posted below, it is undated. It is unclear whether it was before or after her marriage. The photo has been enhanced and colorized.

[I have wondered if the relationship of Marie with Madam Lund was similar to that of Hans to Frederik Massberg. While Ida’s history says her grandmother Marie was left at Farm Egholm, she might well have been left with Madame Lund, which was at Farm Egholm.]

The photo above has hand-written in pencil on the back "Sister Marie & Father's foster father in Denmark."  [It is likely that this is Ida Christensen Nash’s handwriting, since the photo came through her and she referred to Marie as her sister and Hans as her father.] Printed on the back is "Albums Photograph". That does not appear to have been a studio.

The photo below is of a young Marie. It is unclear if it was before she married Otto or after. It was in my mother’s photos passed through her mother from her grandmother. The photo has been colorized and enhanced. It was taken in the T. B. Sidenius studio in Nykjobing, which is seventeen kilometers northeast of Nysted. The modern day spelling is Nykobing. The back of the photograph is posted below as well, with “Sister Marie”, likely written by Ida Christensen Nash, on the back. There is another posted a bit below, of Otto, looking at an age older than Marie in this photo - but was also taken in Nykobing.

It appears that this photographer J. B. Sidenius started his career ca 1864, and was in Copenhagen ca 1865, and then to Nykjobing, with a photo studio there until the late 1880’s. That places this photo somewhere about the time Marie was married and maybe when she was having her children. More about J. B. Sidenius at the webpage about early photographers.

Marie Birgette Sophie Christensen and Otto Ferdinand Kruger were married in the Nysted Church on October 24, 1879.  The record is shown below, with Marie and Otto’s marriage being the third record listed. He is shown as born in Nysted on March 18, 1852 and she is shown as born in Torslunde on May 16, 1857.

Marie and Otto are shown in the 1880 Danish census at 199 Ostergade in Nysted, in an entry dated February 1, 1880.  They are enumerated with Ane Kathrine Lund, female, 76, widow, no occupation listed, appears to have been born in Assens [This is likely “Madam Lund”].  Otto Ferdinand Kruger is 28, married, butcher, born in Nysted, with Marie Birgitthe Sophia Christensen, 22, wife, born in Torslunde.

Between August 1880 and March 1889, five children were born to Otto and Marie. The Nysted church records contain the birth record of each of their children. The first, Hilda Augusta Marie Kruger, was born August 11, 1880. Otto and Marie’s full names are listed, she is shown as 23 years old, and the birth happened in Nysted. As best as I can translate, the column on the right page is headed: “sponsor's name, state and place of residence”. It is hard to make out some of the names in that listing, but Anna Maasberg and O. Moller appear to be two. Anna Maasberg was Marie’s sister, who returned to Denmark after immigrating, and O. Muller [Oscar Miller?], Anna’s husband (they were married in 1879). There was also Waldemar Kruger, likely the brother of Otto. Anna and Oscar were listed as of Nysted. Anna and Oscar are shown in Copenhagen police exit records in 1881 - Anna was shown with her family in 1872 coming to America - she must have returned to Denmark and then left again.

The second child, Ida Katrine Caroline Christiane Kruger, was born on November 24, 1881 in Nysted. Ida Katrine was the name of one of Marie’s sisters; Christiane was the name of Marie’s mother, and Caroline was the name of Otto’s mother. Waldemar Kruger was the one family member I recognized as a godparent.

The third child, Anna Jensine Frederikke Kruger, was shown below as born May 25, 1883; Marie and Otto are listed with their full names, of Nysted, and Marie is listed as 26 years old. There are three godparents, one of whom appears to be Henriette Kruger, the same name as a sister of Otto.

The fourth child Hans Vilhelm Quist Kruger, born was shown as October 9, 1884; Marie and Otto are listed with their full names, she 27 years old, of Nysted, and Otto is listed as a “master butcher”. One of the four godparents is a Masberg, but I can’t make out the first name, but my best shot is Partiknlier. All godparents were shown as of Nysted.

The fifth child Joachim Quist Kruger, was shown as born March 13, 1889. Otto and Marie are listed as parents with their full names, of Nysted, Otto is listed as a “master butcher” and Marie is listed as 31 years old. Three godparents, all of Nysted, one V. Kruger, and a Henriette.

The marriage of Otto and Marie, as well as the birth and baptism records for each of their children above, were all done at the Nysted Church. I visited the church in 2023 - and a photo of it is posted below. It’s a short walk from where their home was.

Otto and Marie are shown in the 1890 census on Adelgade in Nysted (the larger description was Nykøbing Sjælland, Ods, Holbæk).  Shown is Otto Ferdinand Kruger, 37, head; Marie Bergette Sophie Kruger (f. fodt-born? Christine or Christiane), wife 32; Hilda Augusta Marie Kruger, daughter, 9; Ida Catrine Caroline Christiane Kruger, daughter, 8; Anna Jensine Frederikke Kruger, daughter, 6; Hans Wilhelm Quist Kruger, son, 5; and Joaquim Quist Kruger, son, 0.  Also in the entry was Ston (? - in the 1880 census Madam Lund’s first name was listed as Ane) Cathrine Lund (Fodt – born Mollder), 86; Fritz Christen Christensen, 19; Henrik Olsen, 15; and Karen Gapa (?) Petersen, 27. The actual entry is posted below.

It shows the entry was taken on February 1; the family is shown at 103 Adelgade. Otto is listed as a butcher. Fritz Christensen was the son of Christiane’s brother Christen - making him Marie’s first cousin. He was shown as born in Torslunde. Christen, Fritz’ father, was listed in Marie’s birth record above.

Below is a photo, colorized and enhanced, of Otto and Marie and their young family - which was among my mother’s items after she died - passed on to her from her mother who got it from her grandmother. The youngest son looks like he is two or three years old. He was born in March 1889, so it indicates that this photograph is likely from the early 1890’s. The studio was the Rasmus Nielsen Studio in Nysted, where the family lived at the time. This photo also shows what Otto looked like as a younger man. As a result, I posted a photo below that is of Otto individually - able to be identified because of is image in the family photo.

It appears that Rasmus Nielsen, the photographer listed below, photographed in Nysted from 1878-1897. That photo timeframe below, the early 1890’s, falls within the time that Nielsen was a photographer in Nysted. More about Rasmus Nielsen at the Danish early photographers page.

The photo below is of Otto (O. F.) Kruger, Marie’s husband. It looks of the vintage to be taken at a time similar to the time of the photo above. The studio is Chr. [likely Christian] Jorgensen of Nykjobing, the same city where a photo above of a younger Marie was taken. There is a similar photo of Otto among the other family photos, and I could not identify who it was - now we know.

In the directory of early Danish photographers, there is a page for Chr. Jorgensen of Nykjobing. That page indicates that Chr Jorgensen took photographs between 1889-1891, and was the successor to I. B. Sidenius - who took the photograph of Marie in Nykjobing.

Ida Schubert wrote: “When my Grandparents were married, the owner lent them a house [in Nysted]”. This census entry is the first one showing Otto and Marie on Adelgade in Nysted, which is that house. When I was in Nysted in 2023, I went to the library and found a book that listed who had lived/owned houses in Nysted. The entry for Adelgade 50 is shown below - it shows that Madame Lund owned the building and lists her with Egholm. She apparently either died or sold the house about the time that the Krugers moved to Koge. Listed below is the book’s cover, the narrative on Adelgade 50, and the list of the owners from the book.

Marie sent a post card of the Adelgade house in Nysted to Ida - years after Otto and Marie moved to Koge. The photo of their house, which shows a shop sign for O. F. Kruger on the side, is posted below. I do not know if any of the children in the photo are Krugers. This postcard has a reference to O. F. Kruger, Nysted on the message side - just like the one posted below dated 1913. I’ll post the message side again ca 1929 - because the message relates to Otto and Marie’s fiftieth anniversary that year. But since the Krugers left Koge in the early 1920’s, it is likely that this photo is of that period, even though it was sent in 1929. This image is posted at the bottom of the cover page for this website.

The same scene in black and white in 2023 when I visited Nysted. The front section of the house now was a therapist’s office, where Otto’s shop once likely was. The open space to the right was a small lane down the hill The house was long and deep behind where the shop was. The cityscape has not changed dramatically in the roughly hundred years that passed between the photos.

The 2023 view in color.

Otto and Marie are shown in the 1901 census in Nysted, with the entry posted just below.  Otto Ferdinand Kruger was shown as head, with the residence note of Adelgade, born on March 18, 1852, married in 1879; with Marie Kruger (fodt. Lund - “born Lund”), wife, married in 1879 born on May 6, 1857; with Anna Kruger, single, daughter, born on May 25, 1883; “Quist” Kruger [Joaquim], single, son, born on March 13, 1889; and Andrew Jorgenson, single, born on April 19, 1879.

Otto and Marie are shown in the 1906 census in Nysted, which is posted just below.  Otto Ferdinand Kruger is shown on the Residence location of Slotsgade (as with everyone in the entry), married, born on March 18, 1852.  Also in the entry is Marie Sofie Bergitte Kruger, female, married, born on May 16, 1857; Hilda Augusta Kruger, female, single, born on August 11, 1880; Anna Jensigne (sic) Frederikk Kruger, female, single, born on May 25, 1888; and Fredrikke Murray, female, single, born on June 14, 1890. This was the last census entry for Otto and Marie with any of their children at home.

Cornelius Praest and Hilda Kruger married in 1907 in Nysted. The church record of their marriage is posted just below.

Otto and Marie are shown in the 1911 census in Nysted on Slotsgade.  Shown is Otto Ferdinand Kruger, born in March 18, 1852, born in Nysted, under profession is listed as a retail butcher; with Marie Sophie Birgitte Kruger, born on May 16, 1857 in Torslunde. This is the first census entry where their children are gone from home. The actual record is posted just below.

At one point I googled O. F. Kruger, Nysted - and it popped up the postcard below. I ordered the post card from an online dealer in Denmark, who had dated it as 1913. The credit in red on the message side states “O. F. Kruger, Nysted”. This matches the same notation on message side of the postcard of the Adelgade house sent by Marie in 1929.

The notation at the bottom of the photo reads Aalholm Slot, Nysted. Slot is the Danish word for castle. The Aalholm Slot is right across the small channel from Nysted and is visible from much of Nysted. There is a reference to Aalholm in the section above on Egholm. These two postcards must indicate that O. F. Kruger was also a photographer.

Otto and Marie are shown in the 1916 census in Nysted on Adelgade, which is posted below.  Shown is Otto Ferdinand Kruger, born on March 18, 1852 (it looks like 1851 is crossed over), with Marie, born on March 16, 1857.  He is listed as a butcher and it’s unclear what her listing is. Cornelius and Hilda are shown in Koge this year with two young children.

Otto and Marie are shown in the 1921 census in Nysted on Slotsgade, which is posted below.  Marie Kruger born Christensen is listed first, born in Torslunde on March 16, 1857; with Otto Kruger, born March 18, 1852 in Nysted, butcher. This is the last census entry showing Otto and Marie in Nysted.

In this period, Otto and Marie moved from Nysted to Koge. Ida Schubert wrote: “They moved to Koge, when I was a little girl.  I do not know when." [Ida Shubert was born on May 17, 1919 – which probably means that her grandparents moved from Nysted to Koge in the early 1920’s.]  A postcard of the house was given to me - I assumed it was from my great-grandmother’s items as a note refers to “Sister Marie” - but there is another notation that refers to the house of “my grandfather and grandmother”.

I visited the house in 1997 with the then-owners who had introduced me to Ida Schubert, and then swung by the house on my way to Lolland in 2023. There had been some improvements since 1997.

Otto and Marie are shown in the 1925 census for the first time in Koge, on Brockmandsvej, posted below.  Otto Ferdinand Kruger is shown as male, married, born in March 18, 1852, born in Nysted, and under occupation is listed butcher with four other words – I cannot tell if it lists that he’s retired.  With him is Marie Sofie Birgitte, born on May 16, 1857 in Torslunde.

A postcard from sister Marie in Koge is dated December 1927 and is addressed to Mrs. James Nash, Platte, South Dakota - and refers to little sister in the salutation. It is signed by your old sister. It's in Danish, and I have not been able to clearly discern the handwriting to translate. There is also a reference to brother Fred in the note. The photo is of a monument in Koge - which is still there, although I don’t believe I visited it when I was there in 1997 and 2023.

A postcard from sister Marie in Denmark was addressed to Mr. C. A. Christensen at 4155 Cedar Ave in Long Beach.  It was from ca 1929 and refers to the golden wedding anniversary on October 24.  It refers to her other brothers and sister.  It is signed Marie, and the return address is M. Kruger, 12 Brocksmanjev, Koge, Denmark - even though the card is of Otto and Marie’s house in Nysted. I have posted the photo side of the card above in the section on the house in Nysted, which lists a credit of O. F Kruger, Nysted. Below is the message, which is about the 50th anniversary celebration.

In 1929 Marie sent a letter to her sister Ida, dated December 11, 1929 - the letter and envelope is posted below. She asks of Fred, refers to herself as “old sister”, also refers to a photograph, and asks Ida to visit Denmark.

At the head of this page is the family photo taken at the 1929 50th anniversary festivities of Marie and Otto. Everyone that I am aware who was alive as a child or grandchild was included in that photo. In my mother’s items found after her death - was a different key to that photo. Also found was a photo of Otto and Marie and their four children - which I believe was taken ca 1929 - but has no date on the photo. Posted below are the photo and the key on the back.

Each of the two sons had “Quist” as their middle name. In the key, one was listed as H. William and the other as Quist. that means the youngest, Joachim, was listed as Quist.

On the back of the photo is also listed addresses of members of the family. Otto and Marie were in Koge, as was the son H. William. Joachim (Quist) was listed as in Copenhagen. Anna Holm was listed in Horsens, where her husband was listed elsewhere in this page as a prison chaplain.

Otto and Marie are shown in the 1930 census in Koge on Brochmandsvej 12, posted below.  Otto Ferdinand Kruger is shown as born on March 18, 1852 in Nysted and Marie Sofie Kruger is shown as May 16, 1857 in Torslunde.  This year Joaquim and his family were in the census in Næstved, Sankt Peders, Tybjerg, Præstø. Cornelius and his family seemed to be in Næstved as well. Marie’s letter below in 1932 states that her daughter Anna’s son Axel Holm was a “vikar” in Horsens, and the 1930 census shows Axel and Anna in Horsens.

A 1932 letter to Ida Nash adds information about Marie: the envelope was addressed to Mrs. James Nash, Platte, S. Dak. America, postmarked in Copenhagen on March 30, 1932, with the return address of Marie Kruger, Brackmandsvej 12, Koge, Denmark. Both sides of the envelope are posted below. This is my last known reference to Otto being alive.

The letter is transcribed: “Koge, 24th March, 1932

My dear sister Ida:

Thank you very much for your letter. It was very interesting for me to learn so much about your life.

We have spent a very nice Christmas with our youngest daughter Anna and her family in the town of Horsens [An internet search shows a prison in Horsens from 1853 until its closure in 2006. It is on the east coast of Jutland. Axel and Anna Holm and children are shown in Horsens in the 1930 Danish census.] (Anna's husband is vikar at a big prison there, but perhaps I have told you that earlier) We stayed with them for 5 weeks, and were present at their silver-wedding, it was a lovely day! All their four children were at home on this occasion. There are 2 daughters and 2 sons, whereof 2, a daughter and a son are studying in Copenhagen.

I see from your letter, that things are not better in America, than here in our country; it is awful how many people here that are unemployed.

We are living very well, my husband was 80 years old some days ago (the 18th March) and I am 75 in May (the 16th).

We receive rather often a letter from my brother Chris in California. He writes that he should like to visit Denmark, but thanks to the bad times he is not able to do so.

Hoping to hear from you again we send you and your family our kindest regards.

Yours sincerly(sic)

sister Marie

Please send the kindest regards to Oscar Miller” [It is likely Marie did not know that Oscar Miller had died six months before.]

Marie’s brother Chris Christensen, who lived in Long Beach California, traveled to Denmark to visit Marie and her family in 1938. He traveled with his nephew John C. Christensen (the son of Hans’ brother Niels) and John’s wife Alice. Amazingly, Chris brought his car on the ship so that he could drive around Denmark. The ship was of the Swedish American Line – M. S. Gripsholm.

I had a few photos passed down from my grandmother of that visit. The first, posted just below, shows Marie and Chris visiting the location of their birth. There is no sense of where this photo was taken, although the family lived in Torslunde at the time each one of the Christensen children was born. I posted the identification from the back of the photo as well.  I also colorized the photo.

A second photo of the same location - but from farther back to see more of the building, and with John C. Christensen’s wife Alice in it is posted below, following by a post of the backside identification. I also colorized this photo.

Also in the same style of the photos above, and likely from the same trip, is a photo of “Mother’s Grave”. This would be Christiane, who returned to Denmark from the United States in 1902 - and for whom I have yet to find a further record. I colorized this photo. When I was in Denmark in 2023 I walked the cemetery in Torslunde - and this does not look like it. There also was not a big house in the background with the chimneys, as in this photo. There is no location listed for this photo. I also posted the back of the photo with the identification.

Marie was shown in the 1940 census in her home in Koge with the following entry: Name: Marie Kruger, housewife; Gender: Female Birth: May 16 1857, Thorslunde Maribo Amt; Residence: Nov 5 1940, Brockmannsvej, Køge, København, Denmark; Age: 83; Marital status: Married; Also in the entry was Hanne Kristine Nielsen, housewife, born Sep 9 1864.

I do not know when Marie died, obviously it was after the 1940 census entry. It means she lived in Denmark while World War II was going on. When I visited Koge in 2023, I walked the cemetery, seeing if I could find a grave but was unsuccessful.

As with everything on this website, I welcome any additional information or corrections.

John Laird

February 2024