The Fourth Child of Hans and Christiane.   Charles “Charley” (Rasmus) Christensen – The fourth known child and second son of Hans and Christiane.  Of the eight children, what happened to him after 1890 is a mystery.  He came with his family to the United States and was with them in Kansas. He was named Rasmus at birth, likely for his mother’s father Rasmus, but took the name “Charley” after he immigrated to the United States.

The last known references to him that I can find were two - the first a Leonardville newspaper reference of March 1, 1888, the article stating that Charlie Christensen left on Monday morning’s train for Wydmore, Nebraska, stopping for a week or two in Marysville, Kansas on the way.  He is then shown in an 1890 family letter – the family letter, from John Christensen to his sister Ida in February 1890, states that “Chas,” is going to start a butcher shop somewhere, and might get married.  John doesn’t say where.  This is the last known record of Charlie. In brother John’s 1903 obituary in Oklahoma, five brothers and sisters are listed as surviving John - and while Chris is the only one named, by location reference are mentioned Marie, Fred, Ida, and Henry - inferring that Charlie had died by 1903.

Chronology of “Charley” Christensen’s Life

Charley (Rasmus) is first shown in Torslunde church records (posted below) as Rasmus Christensen, born on February 15, 1862 and christened in church on June 1, 1862, the son of Hans Nikolai and Christianne (sic). It appears that this child is the second son to Hans and Christiane, born in Torslunde in 1862, who was named Rasmus after his grandfather.  His name was anglicized to Charley when they came to the United States.

Rasmus Christensen is shown with his family in the 1870 Danish census dated February 1, 1870, in Torslunde, Maribo - at age seven, the son of Hans Nikolai Christensen and Christiane Rassmussen, born in Torslunde.

He arrived with his family in Quebec in the summer of 1872 on the S. S. Prussian of the Allen Line, where is shown in the passenger record as Rasmus, 8.  The handwriting is not totally clear, but matches Rasmus. Charley (Rasmus) is not shown with his family in the 1875 Kansas State Census in Shannon Township, Pottawatomie County, Kansas.  It is unclear where he was in this year’s census, and there is no apparent record of him with any other family.

He is shown in the 1880 census with the family in Wisconsin as Charles, 18.

Chris Christensen's scrapbook includes a printed calling card for "Charley Christensen", posted below.

An undated photo of him exists from Kansas - meaning it was taken sometime in the 1880’s - and is posted at the heading of this page. There are a few photos that Chris Christensen took that appear to include his brothers - but where there is no identification of who is in the photos. I have posted two below - each has the same unidentified person, with his hair parted as in the Charlie Christensen photo at the top of this page. It is possible that it is Charlie. 

It is clear to me that the second from the left above is Chris (although he was an identical twin to John and there’s always the chance that it’s John), the second from right appears to be Henry, and the one that COULD be Charlie is the one on the far right. He would have been two years older than Chris. The identity of the person on the left is not known.

In the photo above, taken by “C. A. Christensen, Artist”, includes three men. The one seated below left is Chris (or John?), and the one seat at right is the same unidentified person from the photo just above it, possibly Charlie.

In the Leonardville Monitor of Thursday, October 21, 1886: “Charlie Christensen returned last week and is now with the boys again in the beautiful city”. By this point, only Christensen brothers - Chris, John, and Henry - were in Leonardville, as was their mother - and it is possible that this is what is meant by “the boys”.

In the Leonardville Monitor of Thursday, March 1, 1888: “Charlie Christensen left on Monday morning’s train for Wymore, Nebraska.  He will stop a week or two at Marysville in this state.”  Wymore is in Gage County just into Nebraska from Kansas, roughly seventy miles north of Leonardville.  I have searched records there, and except for finding a letter to pick up at the Beatrice post office (the Gage County seat) in 1910, which is seven years after Charley was not listed as a survivor in his brother’s obituary - I have not found a Charley Christensen record there.

There is a reference to Charles in the letter below from his brother John to sister Ida ca 1890, indicating he may be starting a butcher(?) shop somewhere, money and not telling mother are mentioned, and he may be getting married.  The letter is posted is three parts - from the same page. This is the last record of him presently known. Ida was married in South Dakota in 1888, Charles had left ca 1888, so it is in that era after that period.

NOTE: There is a Charles Christensen in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, where the Christensens lived for a period between Kansas residence - that Charles married in 1889, shown as born in Wisconsin with his parents born in Denmark, and shown as born in 1866, four years after our own Charley. However, he is listed in records as having lived until 1941, and with other parents listed in his grave records. A false lead.

Charles’ brother John died in 1903 in Oklahoma, and his obituary mentions the surviving siblings - and does not mention Charles, nor does it mention any children of his. It is therefore likely that he died between 1890 and 1903 in a place away from Leonardville, Kansas - and if he did marry, he did not have children. I will always keep looking for more clues of what happened to him in this period.

John Laird - Prepared in December 2022.