The Christensen Family From Old World Denmark to New World Wisconsin and Minnesota

"The Christensen Family: From Old World Denmark to New World Wisconsin and Minnesota" is the story of the author's Danish family, whose great-grandparents left behind poverty for a better life in America. Using Danish and U.S. records, Marsha Ann Matson weaves the lives of fictitious and real ancestors into the histories of Denmark, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. She describes the momentous events in Denmark and the United States, which pushed her great-grandparents, Marie and James Christensen, to leave their homeland in 1883, the year of peak Scandinavian immigration to America. Relying on support from Madsen, Jensen, and Skafte relatives who immigrated before them, Marie and James undertook a grueling ocean and overland train trip with three small children. They struggled to farm, educate their children in a rural one-room schoolhouse, and adjust to a new way of life. Biographies of the Christensen children, who grew up to became parents, teachers, farmers, and a judge, are examples of the success of Danish-Americans in America.