Jens Karolius Jenson was born on the 19th of June 1897 in the small fishing village of "Tennskjær" in Northern Norway. He was the forth child of 7 children born to Jens Karolius Lorentsen and Temelie Johanne Oliasdatter. The other children included Louise, Olaf, Johannes, Gina, Astrid and Hjalmar. Tennskjær is located on the end of a peninsula in Troms county, the nearest city is Tromsø. Troms county is the second northernmost county of Norway. It is well above the arctic circle which means winter snows deep enough to cover automobiles and darkness for all but about 1 hour each day in the winter. The bright side of living in such extreme conditions is the brilliant and beautiful Northern lights decorating the night sky. The summer is the exact opposite. It is the land of the midnight sun. The sun literally never sets in the summer months witch creates a beautiful, all night sunset, but also makes it difficult to sleep!
Jens did not speak much about his early years in Norway. He quit school after the 6th grade and went to work on his father's fishing boats. He spoke of long voyages to Vladivostok , Russia where they would sell their catch of fish. He also talked about catching huge halibut fish at sea. He was once chased by a bear in his childhood and amazingly got away untouched. One of his favorite activities was playing the accordion. He regularly played for local dances. After emigrating to America he never owned an accordion, but would play one whenever he got the chance. I always wanted to get him one as a gift, but it never worked out.
On November 22, 1915 at the young age of 17, Jens embarked on a great journey. He left Trondheim Harbor, Norway, aboard the ocean liner "Kristianafjord." The ship stopped in Bergen, Norway and left harbor for America on November 24, 1915. According to the emigration record, his ticket was purchased in America and his destination was Elendale, North Dakota. His mother's brother Markus and her sister Oline had emigrated to Elendale with their families several years prior, in 1895. He arrived at Ellis Island on December 4, 1915. Jens had very little money and could not purchase food while on the ship. His sweet mother Temelie had packed him a suitcase full of pancakes and waffles to eat through out the 12 day voyage. He rode in the steerage class, which was the cheapest way to travel. It provided sleeping accommodations below deck in the bottom of the ship. He never returned to Norway.
When Jens came to America, it took seven years for emigrants to obtain U.S. citizenship. In order for the U.S. to recruit soldiers for World War I, the government instituted an incentive program which provided citizenship for all those who enlisted in the military and received an honorable discharge. Jens enlisted in the Army. He received his training at Camp Dodge, Iowa and shipped back to Europe in late 1917. He fought on the front lines in France until the end of the war and returned home in the early part of 1919. Jens returned fiercely patriotic. He changed the spelling of his last name from Jensen to Jenson because it was the American spelling. He also changed his birthday to June 14th because it was Flag Day in America. This fact no one knew about until many years after his death when his birth record was found listing his birth date as June 19th. He had no tolerance for any foreigners speaking their native language in America. Whenever he heard anyone speaking a foreign language (which was often in Minnesota, known as "little Scandinavia") Jens would approach them and say "Hey, you are in America now! Speak American!" It was very rare that either he or his wife spoke in their native tongue in their home.
Jens did not speak much about his early years in Norway. He quit school after the 6th grade and went to work on his father's fishing boats. He spoke of long voyages to Vladivostok , Russia where they would sell their catch of fish. He also talked about catching huge halibut fish at sea. He was once chased by a bear in his childhood and amazingly got away untouched. One of his favorite activities was playing the accordion. He regularly played for local dances. After emigrating to America he never owned an accordion, but would play one whenever he got the chance. I always wanted to get him one as a gift, but it never worked out.
On November 22, 1915 at the young age of 17, Jens embarked on a great journey. He left Trondheim Harbor, Norway, aboard the ocean liner "Kristianafjord." The ship stopped in Bergen, Norway and left harbor for America on November 24, 1915. According to the emigration record, his ticket was purchased in America and his destination was Elendale, North Dakota. His mother's brother Markus and her sister Oline had emigrated to Elendale with their families several years prior, in 1895. He arrived at Ellis Island on December 4, 1915. Jens had very little money and could not purchase food while on the ship. His sweet mother Temelie had packed him a suitcase full of pancakes and waffles to eat through out the 12 day voyage. He rode in the steerage class, which was the cheapest way to travel. It provided sleeping accommodations below deck in the bottom of the ship. He never returned to Norway.
When Jens came to America, it took seven years for emigrants to obtain U.S. citizenship. In order for the U.S. to recruit soldiers for World War I, the government instituted an incentive program which provided citizenship for all those who enlisted in the military and received an honorable discharge. Jens enlisted in the Army. He received his training at Camp Dodge, Iowa and shipped back to Europe in late 1917. He fought on the front lines in France until the end of the war and returned home in the early part of 1919. Jens returned fiercely patriotic. He changed the spelling of his last name from Jensen to Jenson because it was the American spelling. He also changed his birthday to June 14th because it was Flag Day in America. This fact no one knew about until many years after his death when his birth record was found listing his birth date as June 19th. He had no tolerance for any foreigners speaking their native language in America. Whenever he heard anyone speaking a foreign language (which was often in Minnesota, known as "little Scandinavia") Jens would approach them and say "Hey, you are in America now! Speak American!" It was very rare that either he or his wife spoke in their native tongue in their home.
Jens Karolius Jenson was born on the 19th of June 1897 in the small fishing village of "Tennskjær" in Northern Norway. He was the forth child of 7 children born to Jens Karolius Lorentsen and Temelie Johanne Oliasdatter. The other children included Louise, Olaf, Johannes, Gina, Astrid and Hjalmar. Tennskjær is located on the end of a peninsula in Troms county, the nearest city is Tromsø. Troms county is the second northernmost county of Norway. It is well above the arctic circle which means winter snows deep enough to cover automobiles and darkness for all but about 1 hour each day in the winter. The bright side of living in such extreme conditions is the brilliant and beautiful Northern lights decorating the night sky. The summer is the exact opposite. It is the land of the midnight sun. The sun literally never sets in the summer months witch creates a beautiful, all night sunset, but also makes it difficult to sleep!
Jens did not speak much about his early years in Norway. He quit school after the 6th grade and went to work on his father's fishing boats. He spoke of long voyages to Vladivostok , Russia where they would sell their catch of fish. He also talked about catching huge halibut fish at sea. He was once chased by a bear in his childhood and amazingly got away untouched. One of his favorite activities was playing the accordion. He regularly played for local dances. After emigrating to America he never owned an accordion, but would play one whenever he got the chance. I always wanted to get him one as a gift, but it never worked out.
On November 22, 1915 at the young age of 17, Jens embarked on a great journey. He left Trondheim Harbor, Norway, aboard the ocean liner "Kristianafjord." The ship stopped in Bergen, Norway and left harbor for America on November 24, 1915. According to the emigration record, his ticket was purchased in America and his destination was Elendale, North Dakota. His mother's brother Markus and her sister Oline had emigrated to Elendale with their families several years prior, in 1895. He arrived at Ellis Island on December 4, 1915. Jens had very little money and could not purchase food while on the ship. His sweet mother Temelie had packed him a suitcase full of pancakes and waffles to eat through out the 12 day voyage. He rode in the steerage class, which was the cheapest way to travel. It provided sleeping accommodations below deck in the bottom of the ship. He never returned to Norway.
When Jens came to America, it took seven years for emigrants to obtain U.S. citizenship. In order for the U.S. to recruit soldiers for World War I, the government instituted an incentive program which provided citizenship for all those who enlisted in the military and received an honorable discharge. Jens enlisted in the Army. He received his training at Camp Dodge, Iowa and shipped back to Europe in late 1917. He fought on the front lines in France until the end of the war and returned home in the early part of 1919. Jens returned fiercely patriotic. He changed the spelling of his last name from Jensen to Jenson because it was the American spelling. He also changed his birthday to June 14th because it was Flag Day in America. This fact no one knew about until many years after his death when his birth record was found listing his birth date as June 19th. He had no tolerance for any foreigners speaking their native language in America. Whenever he heard anyone speaking a foreign language (which was often in Minnesota, known as "little Scandinavia") Jens would approach them and say "Hey, you are in America now! Speak American!" It was very rare that either he or his wife spoke in their native tongue in their home.
Jens did not speak much about his early years in Norway. He quit school after the 6th grade and went to work on his father's fishing boats. He spoke of long voyages to Vladivostok , Russia where they would sell their catch of fish. He also talked about catching huge halibut fish at sea. He was once chased by a bear in his childhood and amazingly got away untouched. One of his favorite activities was playing the accordion. He regularly played for local dances. After emigrating to America he never owned an accordion, but would play one whenever he got the chance. I always wanted to get him one as a gift, but it never worked out.
On November 22, 1915 at the young age of 17, Jens embarked on a great journey. He left Trondheim Harbor, Norway, aboard the ocean liner "Kristianafjord." The ship stopped in Bergen, Norway and left harbor for America on November 24, 1915. According to the emigration record, his ticket was purchased in America and his destination was Elendale, North Dakota. His mother's brother Markus and her sister Oline had emigrated to Elendale with their families several years prior, in 1895. He arrived at Ellis Island on December 4, 1915. Jens had very little money and could not purchase food while on the ship. His sweet mother Temelie had packed him a suitcase full of pancakes and waffles to eat through out the 12 day voyage. He rode in the steerage class, which was the cheapest way to travel. It provided sleeping accommodations below deck in the bottom of the ship. He never returned to Norway.
When Jens came to America, it took seven years for emigrants to obtain U.S. citizenship. In order for the U.S. to recruit soldiers for World War I, the government instituted an incentive program which provided citizenship for all those who enlisted in the military and received an honorable discharge. Jens enlisted in the Army. He received his training at Camp Dodge, Iowa and shipped back to Europe in late 1917. He fought on the front lines in France until the end of the war and returned home in the early part of 1919. Jens returned fiercely patriotic. He changed the spelling of his last name from Jensen to Jenson because it was the American spelling. He also changed his birthday to June 14th because it was Flag Day in America. This fact no one knew about until many years after his death when his birth record was found listing his birth date as June 19th. He had no tolerance for any foreigners speaking their native language in America. Whenever he heard anyone speaking a foreign language (which was often in Minnesota, known as "little Scandinavia") Jens would approach them and say "Hey, you are in America now! Speak American!" It was very rare that either he or his wife spoke in their native tongue in their home.
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