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As a boy, Martin attended school , helped on the family
farm, served an apprenticeship in cabinet making learning
those carpentry skills that he would ultimately use to
support his family . His brother, Nils had sent glowing
reports about America telling about the freedoms, economic
opportunities and affordable land. Shortly after the
completion of his apprenticeship, in 1905, with his
grandfather's or older brother's financial assistance,
Martin left Melhus, Norway traveling by train to Oslo, by
sea to London, overland to Liverpool, by steamer to New York
City (Ellis Island), and finally by train to Chicago . All
told, the trip took about 2 weeks. He was approximately 17
years old and spoke little or no English when he left Melhus
and had limited supplies for the trip . At Ellis Island, he
used his name, Martin Hansen (Hansen because he was Hans'
son) with the farm name, Voldhagen (Woldhagen) as his last
name. When he arrived in Chicago, he did not have money to
buy land so he looked for work and stayed with his brother,
Nils. He was turned down when he applied for a job as a
streetcar conductor, because he did not speak English well
enough . Fortunately, his carpentry training enabled him to
find work as a journeyman cabinetmaker for the Treiber Piano
Co., and later the Kimball Piano Co., making piano cases.
Return to top Kamilla (b. 2 June1891) was the fourth child of Karl
Karlsson and Petra Mortensen's children. The first, a son
Karl, died at age seven, followed by three daughters, Anna,
Karoline, and Kamilla. This may sound like a small family,
but Petra had been a widow before this marriage and already
had 10 children . They lived on a hill overlooking the Oslo
fjord next to the prestigious Seamans School. Karl was a
furniture finisher from Sweden and Petra Mortensen took care
of her home and children. Their home was located near the
king's palace and when he went by in his carriage, Kamilla
would go to the gate and wave at him . Kamilla also enjoyed
music and attended concerts on the fjord. She had trained to
be a hat maker in Oslo although it is unclear whether or not
she worked as a hat maker there. Her older sister, Anna (and
perhaps Karoline, also) had already migrated to the USA .
With Anna's financial assistance, Kamilla decided to take to
visit her sister, Anna, and see if she, too, could find a
good job. (Kamilla also had an aunt and uncle, the
Martinson's, in Chicago but it is unclear when they came to
the USA.) She migrated in 1909 at the age of 18 and made a
trip similar to Martin's again without English fluency . At
first, she probably lived with one of her sisters , and
initially found work in the millinery trade (making hats).
Later she found a better paying position as a domestic help
with a successful family in Chicago. Kamilla enjoyed music and had a beautiful alto voice and
was in demand as a singer. Additionally she was a good
dancer. Return to top In his free time Martin joined a Norwegian Social (Dance)
club (The Eidsvold Club). He was very popular and ultimately
was elected President of the social club. Although he was
short, he was such a fine dancer that he became a dance
instructor. Mildred remembers that he taught his daughters
to dance. It was at the social club that he met Kamilla. While she
was in Chicago, she accompanied her friends to the same
Norwegian Social club that Martin attended. They entered and
won a waltz contest during which the heel of the feet could
not touch the floor. Chalk was placed on the heels of the
participants' shoes and any contestants who left a chalk
mark were disqualified . They married in Chicago on March 17, 1911 at the
Norwegian Lutheran Church in Chicago on the northwest corner
of Logan Square . (Den Norsk Lutherske Mindekirke).
Return to top Like many Norwegian families, they moved to Minnesota
where the farming land was reasonably priced, the climate
was similar to their homeland, and there was a large
Norwegian American population. They started their trip by
train to Duluth where the purchased supplies including a
horse and buggy and other bare essentials. They drove their buggy to their farm, Sunny Hill, in
Normanna Township &endash; 15 miles outside of Duluth. It
was near a lake in a densely wooded area that had to be
cleared by hand. Their first "home" on the farm was a root
cellar and that sufficed until they were able to build a
small house. There were wagonloads of rock that need to be
moved before tilling the land. Martin would spend the week
in Duluth, living in a rooming house, and come home on
weekends. Ironically, the city girl, Kamilla, tended the
farm while the farming boy, Martin, was in the city. Six of
their children were born at Sunny Hill farm with the help of
neighbors and midwives . At the time that Helen was born,
the family used a horse and wagon but by the time that
Esther was little, they had their first car, a Model
&endash; T . In the autumn of 1918 there was a very dangerous forest
fire . Martin put his children in a large hole in the ground
and put a wagon over the hole to protect them. (Norman
remembers thinking that it was funny.) Tante Karoline,
Kamilla's sister visited at least once when the family lived
here. The picture of her, during her visit shows Esther as a
baby. By 1922 they had moved to a different farm which was in
the township of Gnesen. Ray was born on at the second farm,
Schultz Lake. While the family lived here, Martin built a
rowboat . The climate in Minnesota did not agree with Martin so
they decided to move to a warmer climate. (According to
Ray's information, he had something called "rheumatism of
the stomach".) In 1925, they packed up a used 7-passenger
Lexington (car) with 7 kids, a chest for food, and a few
household items including a tent and themselves, and left
Wisconsin. The move to the Tampa area took 6 weeks. Brandon FL Martin bought a plot of land in Brandon and built a house
for his family on this land. This house had at least 2
bedrooms and a sleeping porch. Martin and Kamilla had one
bedroom, Helen and Margaret, the other and the rest of the
kids slept on the sleeping porch. He also bought a truck and
had his business information painted on the side. All of the children were encouraged to play musical
instruments. On Sundays, the family would go for rides in
their car and sing songs from song books. Mildred really
enjoyed those "sing-a-longs", especially when her mother
harmonized by singing alto. Other special memories are the
visits to Bullfrog Creek for swimming and attending the
Brandon Methodist Church where Helen, Margaret and Mildred
sang in the choir. (The children always attended
church.)
his family,
and Norwegian home
her family,
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homes,
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Florida
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