Peder Christian HENRICHSEN & Marie JACOBSDATTER of Dronninglund, Denmark

Last week we looked at their grand-daughter Mathilde Marie Lorentzdatter. I wanted to take a closer look at her mother's family, and have discovered some new information, including additional siblings.

Peder Christian Henrichsen was baptized March 10, 1799 in Dronninglund kirke. His parents were Heinrich IVERSEN and Maren PEDERSDATTER of Aså Mølle.

I have not located Marie Jacobsdatter's baptism. She should have been born 1800-1803, according to her age at marriage and death. Her parents were Jacob PEDERSEN and his wife Maren NIELSDATTER, of Aså Mølle.

The couple were married September 28th 1821 in Dronninglund, when Marie was 18 years old.

Their first child was my 3rd great grandmother, Marthe Marie Pedersdatter, baptized November 1821 in Hellevad, Dronninglund.

Between 1822 and 1832 the couple baptized seven more children.
in Hellevad:
 - Jakob Henrik 1822 (died Sept 1829 in Ørum)
 - Mariane Marie, 1824 in Hellevad
 - Wilhelmine Kirstine, 1825 (died March 1827 in Ørum , four months before the birth of her sister)
the rest in Ørum:
 -Wilhelmine Kirstine, 1827
 - Hansine 1828
 - Jakobine Henriette 1831
 - Petrine Kristine 1832

I suspect that Jakobine and Petrine both died as infants. They do not appear in the 1834 census.

Marie Jacobsdatter died in Ørum in 1832, shortly after the birth of her youngest daughter Petrine. Petrine's death record immediately follows her mother's (opslag 189 in the parish records online).

I cannot find a death record for Jakobine in Ørum. A search of the census records revealed a surprise.

After Marie's death, her young family was separated.

Jakobine Pedersdatter, the youngest surviving child, was fostered by the family of Lars Pedersen and his wife Johane Hansdatter, in Aså By. She was likely taken in shortly after her mother's death, at the age of one. She appears with them in the 1834, 1840, and 1845 census records. She is no longer with them in 1850, when she would be 19 years old.  I cannot find her elsewhere in 1850.

The eldest child, Marthe Marie Pedersdatter was taken in by her maternal grandparents, Jacob Petersen and his wife Maren Nielsen. At her mother's death, Marthe Marie would have been eleven. Her sister Hansine Pedersdatter, who would have been four years old, was fostered with her. Jacob Petersen was the miller at Aså By. So Marthe Marie and Hansine lived close to their youngest sister Jacobine.

By 1845, Hansine no longer appears in the census with her grandparents. I have not yet found her death record, or evidence of her leaving the parish. Marthe Marie is unmarried at age 24 with her grandparents in 1845. By 1850, Marthe Marie, still unmarried, has a daughter Mathilde Marie Lorentzdatter, by Lorenz Carstens.  In 1860, Martha Marie has married Jens Christian Jensen, also of Aså Mølle, and moved with him and their family to Øster Brønderslev, Børglum. Cannot find any of them in 1870.

The widower Peder Christian Henrichsen kept two of his daughters with him in Ørum. Mariane Marie Pedersdatter and Wilhelmine Pedersdatter appear with him in the 1834 and 1840 census records.  Peder Christian Henrichsen remarried in 1834 to Johanne Marie Christensdatter, a dozen years his senior. She must have died prior to 1840, since she does not appear in the census with her husband. There is no sign of Mariane Marie or Wilhelmine in 1850, when they would have been 27 and 23 years old respectively. 1850 is the last census where Peder Christian Henrichsen appears.

Need to find:
- death of Peder Christian Henrichsen aft. 1850 in Orum (no), or Dronninglund
- death of Mariane Marie / Wilhemine Pedersdatter aft 1840 in Orum,(no) or Dronninglund
- death of Johanne Marie Christensdatter, between 1834-1840 (no)
- deaths of Martha Marie, Jens Christian Jensen, Jacob Jensen in Øster Brønderslev, Børglum after 1860.
- death of Hansine Pedersdatter in Dronninglund after 1840

Up until two months ago, we believed Marthe Marie Pedersdatter was an only child. We thought her parents died prior to 1834, she was raised by her maternal grandparents, bore a child out of wedlock and died young and unmarried.

Now we know that her mother Marie Jacobsdatter had eight children during her eleven year marriage, and three of them predeceased her. Two were fostered by her parents, two remained with their father, and one was fostered near her parents.

There is always something new to discover, going to the source (parish records) for a second or third or fourth look can be extremely valuable.