Birth: 23 Oct 1884 in Forslev,Haslev,Soro,Denmark
Death: 30 Jun 1958 in Monticello,Wright Co,Minnesota
Burial: Abt Jun 1958 Danish Cememtery,Becker,Sherburne Co,Minnesota,USA

Note: The biography is a work in progress. Please contribute or correct any mistakes. If old family stories are off on a date or small detail, that in itself, is part of family history. Thanks, Martha-Lisa Mode Flinsch - Great Grandaughter of Jens Hansen
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About my Great Uncle Christian by Martha-Lisa Mode Flinsch, October 2014

Christian's story is special to me because Christian was Jens and Maren Hansen's special needs child. He was born with a developmental disability. With what little information I have about him, the following is speculation. But I do know about special needs children. I do know something about the genetics in my family. I did hear that he was taken to the Mayo Clinic and according to the state of science in those days, they may well have thought he was mentally retarded, they had other terms then that were full of stigma, and they often thought the cause might be when a child's skull bones fuse too soon not allowing for growth. They were doing primitive surgury at that time on smaller children. They do it today. But this is a rare condition, and if Christian had it, he would have had an obviously smaller head at age 15 than he does in his photograph. He also would not have lived a full life.

Christian's Mother, Maren, when on her deathbed, asked her son Jens P. Hansen to promise to always take care of his older brother Christian and Jens P. did just that. I was told that Christian did not go to school, that he spent much time with his Mother. Yet the census records show that he could read and write (presumably English). If he was taught at home, he probably could read and write both Danish and English. The family says he spoke Danish. His younger sister Fanny, likely helped her Mother with Christian and the younger children and may have developed a love for teaching from this experience. Charles J. Mode recalls that his Mother Fanny would buy Children's books for Christian at Christmas because he loved to read but did not read at an adult level. Because he could read and write, because Jens and Maren reportedly discovered his disability when they tried to send him to school, I think likely that Christian had at least normal intelligence but he was in the Autism Spectrum. There was no special education in those days. It is a remarkable accomplishment of his mother Maren and the Hansen family that he was taught to read and write at home. It is also a remarkable feat that he was not placed in an institution but cared for all his life by his family, until the end, when he went to a nursing home. He apparently was high functioning enough to work on his brother's farm, and be quite a help.

Christian's story is important, even in the 21st century. Families are still told that they cannot handle their special needs children, that families do not know best and the professionals do. Christian's story is a triumphant story of a family dealing with a special needs child, giving him a productive life that included him in family and community life. Much of this can be attibuted to Maren who taught all her children be nice to Christian (recalled by Charles J. Mode from his mother Fanny). Jens and Maren did everything they could to make sure he was cared for by family for his life. Jens P. and his wife cared for him with some help from Christian's other siblings.

No doubt Christian was surrounded by love, and very talkative people, especially in his early childhood. This is exactly what experts say today is ideal for a child in the Autism Spectrum. Living on a farm would have provided him with many of the sensory experiences a child with Autism or any developmental disability needs.

1930 Census, Minnesota, Sherburne County, Santiago Township, ED 71-19, 5 April, Page 3B
(267), Dwelling60.
Hansen, Christian, Brother, Liver on Farm Yes, Age 45, Single, School No, Read & Write Yes, Born Denmark, Father Denmark, Mother Denmark, Language before coming to USA Danish, Imm. 1892, Na, Occupation Farm Labor.
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Condensed from Verna Harris's story of her mother "Anna" Hansen and the Hansen family:
Ane "Anna" Hansen Christianson Daughter of Jens Hansen
Verna Marian Christianson Harris Grandaughter of Jens Hansen

... She ["Anna" Hansen"] was 16 years old when they came to the new land, so she remembered it well. It must have been a nearly impossible hardship for mother Maren [Maren Sophie Jeppesen Hansen Wife of Jens Hansen] to get ready a family of 11 [nine children, 2 parents] for moving. And she was to leave her homeland and her own family behind. Mama said they lived in a long low house, and Maren's mother, Grandmother Jeppsen lived in a couple rooms at one end. She was blind and all the children loved her. They quarreled with each other about taking a bowl of soup that their mother had made for her. For the chance to go over to sweep her floor or do little chores for her. Mama often got to go because she was older. I have wondered who cared for her after the family left.

If it were a hardship for grandmother Maren. It must have been a most challenging task for grandpa Jens, who had to have a sale, keep and pack the most necessary clothing, tools, and household goods for 12 people, one a small baby. He bought 11 tickets so I assume the baby was carried on. Aunt Fanny [Fanny Emilie Hansen Mode Daughter of Jens Hansen] was the baby. I suppose that they boarded a liner in Copenhagen, and it was large, a 5-deck ship.

Mama talked about the trip over durinq our Cando winters, and I wish now that I had asked more questions. They had a space on the third deck with their trunks and belongings packed around them. Her mother had brought two large kettles along and each day made a large pot of soup or stew. Grandpa could buy supplies at the ship's store, and there was a huge coal range that the passengers could use. I'm sure that they had to carry their own water and dispose of their waste which went overboard in those days. People couldn't keep very clean, and Mama said the smells were almost overwhelming. They were even worse when they went by the 4th deck stairs and bilge area. They were not supposed to go up on deck. But Mama said they did sneak up for a breath of fresh air when they could. Their crossing was not too rough, but most of the passengers got motion sickness anyway. It lasted over two weeks and then they were quarantined at Ellis Inland for three days. That was as bad or worse than the voyage, Mama said.
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Christian was next. He was not really retarded, but childlike. Grandpa told Mama that if he had been born in this country, doctors could have treated his condition at birth. He was born with a skull that was too tight. It would have been a simple thing to saw the bone open so that the brain could grow. As it was, he had only room for a six-year old brain. They discovered the handicap when he started school and by then it was to late. He spoke Danish and was short in stature. He was quick and did a mans work, choring around from morning to night. I don't know what Aunt Vangie would have done without him. Grandpa had it in his will that Jens was to get his share of the estate and always take care of him. He more than pulled his weight and was no care to the end. Aunt Nora always visited him and told Mama that Jens and Vangie took good care of him as long as they could. He got cancer and they had to put him in a nursing home where he died. He lived in to his 60s.
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From Verna Harris June 25, 1990"

Hans Christian Hansen (Christian) was born April 3, 1889 in Haslev, Denmark. I can remember him at Jens P. Hansen's place before they moved to Litchfield, (1940) and after they moved, I saw him when we went to uncle Jens and Vange. He did chores on the farm. He died in the Monticello nursing home June 30, 1958. He never married.
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