Anders Sorensen & Anna Alminde

Anders Jensen Sorensen ⊛ Anders and Anna sometime in the 1940s. was born on June 22, 1868 in Pindstrup, a small village about 20 miles outside the city of Randers in Denmark. He was baptized at Marie Magdalene, the local Lutheran church, on September 6 in the presence of his parents, dairy farmers Frands Gyldenløve Sørensen and Kjerstine Sorensdatter Jensen. The record also lists four godparents: Karen Jensen, Anders Sorensen, and Poul Andersen of Bendstrup and Christian Sorensen of Ryomgård(?).

Many details of Anders’s life are recounted in the genealogical research of his granddaughter, Ruth Spencer (née Schmidt). According to her:

Anders grew up tall and strong on his father’s dairy farm, and in his late teens he had to serve in the Danish Army. A photograph of him in uniform shows him to be a very handsome fellow with curly light brown hair, blue eyes, and… very good manly features. He was about six feet tall, muscular, and very erect. Anders was much taller than his two brothers.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate the photo she mentions, but I assume it was taken in about 1886, when Anders was 18. Records of his military service almost certainly exist, but I have not yet been able to track them down.

Anders’s mother Kjerstine died in 1880, when he was only 12. Four years later, his 52-year-old father married Ane Pedersen, a 25-year-old woman from a neighboring town. According to Ruth Spencer, this caused some conflict in the family; Ane was only four years older than her oldest stepchild. Consequently, most of Anders’s siblings moved to the United States, and Anders himself left for Philadelphia on April 21, 1892 at the age of 24.

Anna Kirstine Alminde ⊛ Anna Alminde in about 1892. was born on May 20, 1875 in or near Stepping, a village in what is now southern Denmark. She was baptized at the local Lutheran church on June 27 in the presence of her parents, Jens Hansen Alminde and Cecelia Marie Jensen, and her godparents, Marie Christine Lind, Ingeborg Tostlind(?), and another man named Christian.

The region where Anna was born, Schleswig, was the center of a very complex geopolitical dispute during the nineteenth century. While it was historically Danish, there had been a large German minority there for hundreds of years, and many Germans wanted the territory to become part of Germany. The “Schleswig-Holstein Question” resulted in war at least twice before Schleswig finally became part of the German Empire in 1872—just three years before Anna was born.

Although they technically lived in Germany, I’m relatively certain that the Alminde family was ethnically Danish, and I suspect this caused problems for them. According to Ruth Spencer, Anna’s school sometimes taught Danish and sometimes taught German, and when the Almindes initially arrived in America they listed Germany as their country of origin. In 1880, the Danish census records the family in Øster Vamdrup, which was a “border town” at the time. Their entry here would indicate they were on the Danish side of the border, although Germany was probably only a few miles away.

Years later, Anna reported that she came to the United States through the port of Baltimore on May 15, 1889, just days before her fourteenth birthday. Her parents and siblings followed the next year, and the entire family settled in Pennsylvania before 1893, living in a house at 2319 Harlan Street in North Philadelphia.

Anders and Anna must have met in Philadelphia, probably through the Danish immigrant community. They married on January 13, 1894, when Anders was 25 and Anna was 18.

They had five children: ⊛ Anders and Anna’s children in about 1906. From left to right: Christine(?), Elmer, Frands (rear), Marie(?), and Agnes.

• Christine “Stina” Sorensen was born on July 27, 1894, six months after her parents’ wedding. She married musician Otto Carl Schmidt in 1912 and had three children: Ruth Marion, Stanley Stanton, and Eleanor Anna. She died in 1971.
• Marie Fredericka Sorensen was born on September 30, 1896. She married ice dealer and fish market owner Aaron Miller Oland in Wilmington, Delaware in 1915 and had two children: Carl Louis and Norman Aaron. She died in 1963.
• Frands Gyldenlove “France” Sorensen (also known as Frank) was born on December 3, 1898. Ruth Spencer reports that he was the manager of a taxi company, and I believe he also worked as a mechanic for many years. He married Annie Violet McKeag in Elkton, Maryland (a popular place for eloping couples to get married) in 1920. They had four children: Frances Violet, Patricia Ann, Grace Joan, and Glenn Allen. He died in Miami, Florida in 1973.
• Almor Gyldenlove “Elmer” Sorensen was born on August 21, 1901. He worked as an organ tuner before becoming an assembly line supervisor for the Philco Company. He married Florence Elizabeth Heydon in 1928 and had one son, Elmer Heydon. He died in 1992.
• Agnes Sorensen ⊛ According to Ruth Spencer, Agnes was the only one of her siblings to graduate from high school. was born on December 22, 1902. She married cookie and cracker salesman Raymond J. Smith in 1922 and had one child, Raymond. She divorced him in about 1927 citing spousal abuse and fled to her parents’ home with her son, later getting a job at as a stenographer. She married a second time in 1932 to Thomas Francis Holz, an engineer in the US Army. Through her husband, she became very active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization. She died in Southern Pines, North Carolina while visiting her daughter-in-law’s family in 1977.

Marie Alminde (born February 1894), Anna’s niece, also became a presence in the household after the death of Anna’s brother in 1896 (according to Ruth Spencer). Marie’s death certificate describes her as a “hosiery maker.” She died in 1913 at age 18 in the “Home for Consumptives” in Chestnut Hill.

“Bertha” (born ca. 1903) is also mentioned by Ruth Spencer, and a seven-year-old “boarder” named Bertha Yensen is listed on the 1910 census with Anna’s mother and father. Bertha was born in Pennsylvania to Danish parents, and she probably lived with Anders and Anna for a brief period. Her origins and fate are unknown.

Anders filled out citizenship paperwork on November 7, 1898, listing his address as 1426 North 24th Street in North Philadelphia. Sometime between 1905 and 1909 the family moved less than a block away to 2348 Harlan Street, across from Anna’s parents. Before 1912, they moved again to 1434 North 24th Street, just four doors down from their first house.

By 1920, Anders, Anna, and their children were living in a more permanent home at 2518 West Allegheny Avenue. According to Ruth Spencer, this was so Anders could walk to his job at the Budd Company factory at 2450 West Hunting Park Avenue.

Directories and censuses list Anders’s occupation as a “driver” or “rigger,” and Ruth Spencer recounts that he became a skilled teamster and carriage driver during his youth in Denmark. She goes on to claim that Anders helped transport Philadelphia City Hall’s statue of William Penn in 1893 (something I find unlikely) ⊛ Every other source I can find credits a driver named Nick Tomlinson with transporting the William Penn statue. Perhaps Anders helped move some of City Hall’s other sculptures. before getting a job at Hale & Kilburn Iron Works at North 18th Street and West Lehigh Avenue. A 1910 atlas also places a “Girard Iron Foundry” at 1400 North 22nd Street, which would have been much closer to the Sorensens’ home at the time.

From the 1920s until his retirement, however, Anders worked for the Budd Company, a metal fabricator known for manufacturing automobile bodies and train cars. Ruth Spencer claims that Anders was a personal friend of the Budd family and that his nephew Frands Clemmensen took care of company founder Edward Budd’s automobiles. She discusses her grandfather’s work life:

[Anders] was on his feet about 12 hours daily to earn a living. He walked [to and from work] in all kinds of weather, taking his lunch pail, and the factory was cold in winter and stifling hot in summer. Andy, as his coworkers called him, was quiet and hard-working and came to be known for his reliability as a rigger. He could hoist huge pieces of heavy equipment, using chain falls, ropes, and pull lifts, and he seemed to know instinctively about balances and strains. When something expensive had to be moved, the foreman in charge would be willing to wait for Andy to do the rigging.

Ruth also writes that Anna ran a dry goods store out of the family home, something censuses and directories indicate she did from about 1910 until sometime after 1916.

Anna applied to become an American citizen on June 27, 1929 after living in the United States for 40 years. Anders was still working according to the 1930 census, although he was now 60 years old; he retired before 1940.

Anna died on September 3, 1948 at the age of 73 after having a stroke. Anders died nine months later on July 31, 1949 at the age of 80 (Ruth Spencer claims he had cancer, but his death certificate lists “cardiac failure” as the cause of death). Both are buried in Whitemarsh Memorial Park in Ambler, Pennsylvania.

Further reading

Ancestry

Anders Jensen Sorensen’s and Anna Kirstine Alminde’s entries on my Ancestry.com tree (requires a subscription). A few additional sources (mostly Philadelphia city directories) are visible here.

FamilySearch

Anders Jensen Sorensen’s and Anna Alminde’s pages on FamilySearch (requires a free account).

Biography

Ruth Marion Spencer (née Schmidt), Anders and Anna’s granddaughter through their oldest child Christine, wrote a brief biography of her grandparents which contains a lot of interesting details about the family’s life and work. A scanned PDF of this document is viewable here.

Sources

“Danmark Kirkebøger, 1484–1941,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGDJ-G1S4 : 16 June 2020), Anders Jensen Sørensen, 1868.

Spencer, Ruth Schmidt. “My Maternal Grandparents, Anders J. and Anna K. Sorensen.” Self-published. Undated.

“Danmark Kirkebøger, 1484–1941,” ⊛ I believe this is Anders’s vaccination record, but I’m not sure. database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGDV-KGXR : 16 June 2020), Anders Jensen Sorensen, 23 Sep 1869; Unspecified, Marie Magdalene, Randers, Danmark, , Rigsarkivet, København (The Danish National Archives), Copenhagen.

“Denmark Census, 1870,” ⊛ Anders is listed here as “Anders Jensen Frandsen.” This was probably before the people in Denmark began adopting fixed surnames. Also present in the house are two or three teenage farm workers. database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL81-2ZF4 : 15 October 2017), Anders Jensen Frandsen in household of Frands Sorensen, Marie Magdalene, Sønderhald, Randers, Danmark; from “1860 Denmark Census,” database with images, MyHeritage. Citing Marie Magdalene, Sønderhald, Randers, Danmark, Census, Rigsarkivet, København, Danmark (National Archives, Copenhagen), Denmark; FHL microfilm 103918742.

“Denmark Census, 1880,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL64-YQ6W : 31 July 2019), Anders Jensen Sørensen in entry for Frands Sørensen, Marie Magdalene, Sønderhald, Randers, Danmark; from “1880 Denmark Census,” database and images, MyHeritage, film 10027; citing Rigsarkivet, København, Danmark (National Archives, Copenhagen, Denmark).

Ancestry.com. 1880 Denmark Census ⊛ The Almindes in the 1880 Danish census. [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2021. Original data:1880 Folketælling, The Danish National Archives - Rigsarkivet, København, Danmark. Rigsarkivet: Danish National Archives; Danmark. Description: Ribe: Anst, Seest-Ribe, Vilslev. Link (requires subscription)

“Danmark Kirkebøger, 1484–1941,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG83-TJ36 : 11 June 2020), Anders Jensen Sørensen, 16 Apr 1882; Confirmation, Marie Magdalene, Randers, Danmark, , Rigsarkivet, København (The Danish National Archives), Copenhagen.

“Denmark Census, 1890,” ⊛ Anders appears here with his father Frands, his stepmother Ane, his half brother Peder, and a 12-year-old farmhand. His occupation is listed as “Karl,” which means “youth” or “farmhand.” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL6G-3BPJ : 17 October 2017), Anders Jensen Sorensen in entry for Frands Sorensen, Marie Magdalene, Sønderhald, Randers, Danmark; from “1890 Denmark Census,” database and images, MyHeritage, film 01041; citing Rigsarkivet, København, Danmark (National Archives, Copenhagen), Denmark.

Ancestry.com. Web: Denmark, Emigration Index, 1868–1908 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. The Danish Emigration Data Base. The Danish Emigration Archives. Accessed 24 August 2014. Link (requires subscription)

Ancestry.com. Denmark, Church Records, 1812–1918 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2019. Rigsarkivet; Danmark; Kontraministerialbog; Reference: 8010650481. Link (requires subscription)

Spencer, Ruth Schmidt. “Family Group Record-114 Documentation.” Self-published. January 4, 1980.

Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1795–1931 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. The National Archives in Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States; Record Group Number: 21. Description: (Roll 355) Petition Numbers 100751–101128. Link (requires subscription)

“New Jersey Marriages, 1678–1985,” ⊛ This record indicates that Anders and Anna’s wedding took place in Camden, New Jersey, but this is probably incorrect. database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZG5-MW5 : 27 August 2020), Andrew J. Syronson [sic], 1894.

Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1795–1931 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. The National Archives at Philadelphia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States; Record Group Number: 21. Declarations 1001–1500. Link (requires subscription)

“United States Census, 1900,” ⊛ In 1900, the Sorensens were sharing their home with saleslady Emma Casey and her nine-year-old son John. database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M372-WVS : accessed 22 December 2020), Andrew J. Sorensen, Philadelphia city Ward 29, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 743, sheet 8B, family 180, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,471.

“United States Census, 1910,” ⊛ This census lists Anna’s occupation as “business” and her industry as “rations” or “notions.” 15-year-old Christine was working as a dressmaker in a factory. database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MG7W-PKP : accessed 22 December 2020), Anders Sorensen, Philadelphia Ward 29, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 669, sheet 7B, family 169, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1399; FHL microfilm 1,375,412.

“United States Census, 1920,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MF1N-R5V : 11 December 2020), Anders J Sorensen, 1920.

“United States Census, 1930,” ⊛ Anders and Anna had two boarders in their home in 1930: millwright Christian Heningsen (probably Anders’s nephew or brother-in-law) and electrician Franis Splain. database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHWP-V7S : accessed 22 December 2020), Anders Sorensen, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Beeskow-Storkow, Brandenburg, Germany; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 773, sheet 26A, line 9, family 458, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 2125; FHL microfilm 2,341,859.

“United States Census, 1940,” ⊛ Agnes’s second husband, Thomas Holz, was living with his wife and her parents in 1940. database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQWT-1GZ : 6 May 2020), Anders Sorensen in household of Thomas Holdz, Ward 38, Philadelphia, Philadelphia City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 51-1421, sheet 9A, line 32, family 180, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790–2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3732.

Death Certificate of Anna K. Sorensen. ⊛ Anna’s death certificate does not have a cause of death (just a stamp reading “inquest pending”). Ruth Spencer recalls that she died suddenly of a stroke. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906–1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, PA; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates, 1906–1968; Certificate Number Range: 081751–084300. Link (requires subscription)

Death Certificate of Anders J. Sorensen. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906–1967 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, PA; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates, 1906–1968; Certificate Number Range: 064951–067500. Link (requires subscription)

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 04 January 2021), memorial page for Anders J. Sorensen (1868–1949), Find a Grave Memorial no. 69428062, citing Whitemarsh Memorial Park, Ambler, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by Mary Beth (contributor 46929024). Link

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 04 January 2021), memorial page for Anna K. Sorensen (1875–1948), Find a Grave Memorial no. 69428119, citing Whitemarsh Memorial Park, Ambler, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Mary Beth (contributor 46929024). Link