Christian Jensen Papers

The Christian Jensen Papers consist of a translated journal Jensen kept during his journey from Christiania, Norway, to the U.S. on the boat Dröbak. Also included is a short biography of Jensen and a list of offspring. These documents are all photocopies of originals. Jensen's journal of his trip begins April 20, 1861, the day he boarded the Dröbak. The ship did not depart from the harbor at Christiania until two days later. The main entries in the journal include travel details such as the wind, storms, the direction of the ship, and landmarks. Births and deaths that occurred during the voyage were also noted. Of the 14 deaths he reported, all but one of them occurred on the ship. Most of those who died were children, including all infants born at sea. During the third week of the trip, the first mate of the ship also died. The ship arrived July 3 in Canada and, after a period of quarantine which the journal briefly describes, Jensen continued by train from Quebec to Wisconsin. Along with the journal is a detailed list of his travel expenses from Norway to where his sister, Kjersti Larson, lived in Mud Branch, Wisconsin. The list of children born to Christian and Kari includes, where applicable, nicknames and married names, and the years of birth and death, and the ages at death. Also included are brief notes about the translation of the journal. The journal was translated from the Hadeland dialect by two of his grandchildren in 1971. Lastly, there is a photocopy of an old family photograph.