It all started with my inclination to research more into Ane Jensdatter, the third cousin of my 3rd great-grandfather on my Sørensen Danish family line. I had put her family togther a about six-weeks ago and we sealed her to her parents in the Hamilton, New Zealand temple about ten days later. I did not have any information about her later life nor possible marriage and family.
Today, I thought I would take a closer look to see whether she had any family.
In the process, I found her confirmation record (age 14), so I knew that she lived at least to that age. Nothing else could be found in the records I usually searched.
Now the fun begins...
It occurred to me to take a look at probate records. These death records are not often helpful, in general, for serious searching. This is mainly because they are not indexed much. Plus, not everyone ended up in these records. Most of the time I find nothing. However, thanks to a wonderful person, named Aurelia Clemons, there are web searchable files of information she extracted from many of the probate records in the areas I sometimes search, including this area. I have a number of her files downloaded on my computer, so I can do a simple text search on the ones I have searched before.
Bingo.
I found the probate record for her father, Jens Christophersen in 1836. She was listed in the record as one of the heir children. She was 18 years old at the time. Included in the line with her name I found in parentheses: (d.8 Dec 1836 pg 37).
That led me to find her death record in Stenmagle in 1836 which exactly matched her information! No wonder I could find nothing else.
OK. There is not anything more I can do for her. She had no marriage nor family.
However...
I noticed that her aunt, Anne Christophersdatter (sometimes spelled Ane), was someone I had searched earlier, and found nothing beyond her being listed in the 1787 census record. I had added her to FamilySearch back in October, with the little information I had on her.
Today, I thought I would push a little harder.
My normal searches came up with nothing I could really work with, especially with her common name: Anne or Ane. Oh well.
Then I thought, why not try the probate records for her?
Sure enough, I found Jens Christophersen with his sister and the two other siblings in a 1829 probate record for their father: Christopher Jørgensen. These records often include spouses and sometimes even more.
... and indexed by Aurelia Clemons:
Christopher Jorgensen gmd i Steenlille 18 Mar 1829 pg 339 341
CH: Jens Christophersen 50 gmd i Steenlille
Hans Christophersen 46 hmd i Rude-Eskildstrup
Ane Christophersdtr = Hans Jensen gl. gmd i MunkeBjergbye
Karen Christophersdtr = Herman Ovesen hmd i Saltofte
[Soro Akademi-Holbaek amt; Bk 25 1820-1830; film 52302]
Ane is listed as married to Hans Jensen in the nearby city of Munke Bjergbye.
From there I searched and found her with her husband and children in the 1834 census records:
Sorø, Alsted, Munke Bjergby, Munkebjergby, en gaard, 14, FT-1834, C6972
Navn: Alder: Status: Stilling i familien: Erhverv: Fødested:
Hans Jensen 48 Gift gaardmand
Ane Christoffersdatter 54 Gift hans kone [ his wife ]
Jens Hansen 20 Ugift deres barn [ their child ]
Maren Hansdatter 22 Ugift deres barn [ their child ]
Karen Sophie Hansdatter 17 Ugift deres barn [ their child ]
Bodil Hansdatter 14 Ugift deres barn [ their child ]
Niels Hansen 8 Ugift deres barn [ their child ]
This led me to start searching for information about those children, which I hoped would give me directions to search for her marriage to Hans Jensen.
I knew that birth (and any records in general) in Denmark prior to 1814 are more difficult to read and search, so I looked for confirmation records in the more readable files for these older children, particularly Maren Hansdatter, the oldest.
I looked for and did not find Maren's confirmation record. However, as I went backward and forwards in these records, I happened to notice a confirmation record for a Karen Nielsdatter in 1825, christened in 1810. The reason it caught my eye (as I was not looking for Karen, nor for a Nielsdatter), the record showed her parents as stepfather Hans Jensen and mother Ane Christophersdatter. These are the parents I am looking for!
Hmmm.
I searched the birth/christening records in the more difficult older records and found Maren Hansdatter in 1812 records, with Hans Jensen and Ane Christophersdatter as parents.
It appears that these two must have married about 1811 or 1812.
I found the marriage record for them in 26 Sept 1811. He was listed as a bachelor at the time of their marriage and she as the widow of deceased Niels Sørensen.
I then took a chance to see whether he showed up in the 1801 census, just to see how old he might have been ( if I was so lucky). Sure enough, I found him listed there in the same city of Munke Bjergby. What surprised me was that Anne Christophersdatter was already listed as his wife, her age: 20. I thought she would have been too young to be married at that point. Most marriages in Denmark in those times were when the parties were over 20. (Note: "Gift" means "Married.")
From there, I searched for their marriage record in Munke Bjergby and found nothing in the few years before 1801.
I then tried the parish where Ane was born, Stenlille. Sure enough, I found a marriage record, but it was not very informative. It listed Niels Sørensen of Munkebjergbye, widower, as husband and the wife as the daughter of Christopher Jørgensen. Her name was not even given! She would have been about 18 or 19 at the time. Niels was about 47 and had children already, as shown in the 1801 census.
Thinking back. There would have been no way I could have found her original marriage record, had I started there, since her name was not given. However, because I started where I did, it all fell into place and I found what I needed to get her connected to her husbands and children.
Ane is my second cousin, six-times removed. We can now work to have temple ordinances completed for them, unting them as an eternal family.
I am sure have been led by influence from them from the other side of the veil. These people want to be found and connected to family. I love the process, but especially the results!
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