Anna Sophia Nielsen
Jensen
born Flensburg, Denmark

Anna Sophia Nielson was born in Flensburg, Denmark in the area known as Schlesvig-Holstein. When the Germans invaded Denmark this area became part of Germany.

Anna Sophia was born to parents Nels Nielson and Johanne Maria Jacobsen. Johanne Marie Jacobsen was born about 1830 in Vejle, Denmark.

Anna was the third of three daughters, born February 19, 1859. Her sisters were Chatrine (Cathrine) and Maria, born Dec. 13, 1857 .

She married Nels Jensen in Denmark on November 6, 1883 in the "Kirke" (Church) of Vejle."

The five children of Nels Jensen and Anna Sofia Nielson Jensen were:

  1. Johanna Maria Christina (later legally changed to "Joe"), born July 9, 1884 in Denmark.
  2. Marie Katrine Jensen (Mae), born December 30, 1887 in Peterton, Kansas.
  3. Anna Bodelle Kjestine Jensen, Born January 3, 1890 in Osage, Kansas
  4. Nora Evelyn Alfrieda Jensen, born October 29, 1897 in Astoria, Oregon
  5. James Edward Jensen, born January 14, 1899 in Astoria Oregon

Anna and Nels came to America to escape her overbearing mother-in-law. Anna and Nels raised their children in Astoria, Oregon where she ran a grocery store at Smith's Point. Anna always knew what she was about. When her granddaughter Jane Dempsey had to stay after school one day because she had spelled her name incorrectly, Anna marched up to school and told the Principal that if "Miss Utsinger" the teacher, kept Jane again, that she would personally come to the school and mop up the floor with her (Miss Utsinger). Jane said she never had to stay after school again.

But Grandma Jensen was also a very stern disciplinarian herself. When the grandchildren were in trouble she made them go out and find their own twigs which she used as switches to spank them with. If the switches were not strong enough she sent them back out to find better ones that would hurt more.

There is a story that when she and Grandpa (Nels) Jensen were planning to come to America she had all of her teeth pulled ahead of time because she thought America was so primitive she wouldn't be able to find a dentist.
Grandma spoke and wrote English as if she were speaking the sounds of Danish. It was "vell" for "well" and "vuz" for "was." She loved to crochet and made her great-grandchildren little bags to hang on the Christmas tree. Into these she put a silver dollar saying as long as we had these we would never be poor.

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