Family tree of
Søren Nielsen & Lene Dræby Kottal

News: The Juhl Family

Updated information about Frederik Pedersen Juhl and his wife Maren Jensen

My grandmother Jenny Kristine Juhl’s great-grandparents Frederik Pedersen Juhl and Maren Jensen were both from Southern Jutland in Denmark, but their living descendants are spread throughout Denmark, and some of them even live in the USA. The information about Frederik’s and Maren’s ancestors and descendants have been checked via church and census records as far back and forth as these are available, including the most recent release of Danish census records from the 1930 census.

Especially census records reveal interesting information about the family members. For instance the farm Stenagergård in Folding parish was owned by the family for many years. My 4th great-grandfather Thomas Jensen’s brother Hans Jensen was born in Tiset in Gram parish and also started his family there, but in 1831 after 15 years of marriage he and his wife and their only child moved to Nørbølling in Folding parish. There he bought Stenagergård.

In 1841 the daughter Kirstine Hansen was married to Johannes Nielsen Knude, who took over Stenagergård after his father-in-law. Kirstine’s and Johannes’ youngest daughter Cathrine Margrethe Johannesen was married at only age 17. Thereafter her husband Hans Mogensen Pedersen owned Stenagergård. Cathrine Margrethe died young, i.e. at age 21 after barely 4 years of marriage. However, the farm remained within the family, because her widower Hans was later married to her great cousin Line Kathrine Juul – the sister of my 2nd great-grandfather Thomas Jensen Juhl.

Line Kathrine and Thomas experienced the change of the border between Denmark and Germany in 1864. At that time the family lived in Rurup in Schleswig, which became part of the German Confederation, which meant that Frederik, Maren and their children were suddenly Prussian citizens. The family stayed in Rurup until 1876, when they applied for suspension of their Prussian citizenship, and after they were granted that suspension, they moved within the new Danish border.

This shows that Frederik Pedersen Juhl wanted to live in Denmark, but his brother Peder Jensen Juhl actually left Denmark voluntarily. Peder’s son Peter Nissen Juhl offset the emigration of the family to the USA in 1887, and his remaining siblings and his parents followed in the years to come. The information about the descendants in the USA are quite limited, but they will be updated as new information is gathered.