Jensen
Hearing Voices
Armed with only Grandpa’s name and the names of his parents and siblings, I went searching for my family ancestors. Several hours later, I found him, Harold McDowell, in the 1920 census. He was thirteen and lived with his parents and five siblings in Iowa.
Since that day, ancestors from more branches than you can imagine have been begging me to tell their stories. I love listening to them as I uncover their secrets.
I hope you, too, will enjoy hearing what they have to say…
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When your ancestor’s name is John Smith…
Or, in my case, the Danish equivalent of John Smith: Jens Jensen, my paternal great-grandfather. I know almost nothing about him: he came to the United States in 1900 with my great-grandmother, Thyra Amalia [1] Martinsen, and their son Oscar; by 1910 [2], he was farming in Platte, Nebraska and supporting a family of five–wife…