Now I told you that there was a story behind all this. See it starts
with Grandma & Grandpa. Grandpa hid out under a cargo ship to get to the
United States (said the Germans had killed his family and that is why he refused
to join that military).. This was October 1913 when he came over. Now
he had a brother Chris and a sister (name unknown). Brother Chris went to
Montana and worked in a copper mine. His sister went to North Dakota. It is
unknown what has become of her. He never really talked about her at all.
Chris lived out in the what they call the bayou, by himself. He was murdered
and robbed. Chris is also buried at this same cemetery. When Grandpa
stopped in Hampton, Iowa to find work he met Grandma. He got his
citizenship in Little Rock Arkansas. In 1919 Grandpa was called for service.
(sometime between this date he was sent to France to Camp Dix or Dixon)
They were married 2/26/1920. They bought some property in Coulter which is
where the church stands today. Somehow they cut a deal and sold it to
someone that promised to build a church and give his family 4 plots. When they started having
kids they moved into the city of Hampton Iowa. They only had two kids.
My father and my Aunt.
Now there are other Hansen's buried here and I am wondering if they are
actually related in some way. If any of these names look familiar please
email me and let me know.
This first one says Peter M. Hansen, Private 1st class, 43 Infantry, 15
Division, June 29th 1938. Then the second one you can read for
yourself. Third one you can read but also along with Erhardt, to the
right there is a little head grave that says infant daughter with no name on
it. Last one you can read also.
First one you can read, second is Egidie & Hans C. Now the third on is
Elna F. and Jacob A. but they were married in Quebec Canada on May 16th
1910. Last one is Rosa A. and N.P. Edward (Could that be Nels Peter?)
The last
Hansen that is buried at the Church is Irma K & Russel C. Now on this
one it says they were married 3/18/41. Over Irma's name there is
musical bars. Was she a singer? Maybe played music? Now here is
the kicker; underneath the ring in the center, there is something written
but I can't really tell what it is. It almost looks like kids names or
something. Maybe it is a foreign language. I don't know. Let me
know if you can make it out because I can't!
Now my Grandmother (Sarah Kibsgaard), I do have a somewhat trail on
because thanks to her sister (Dagmar Kibsgaard Olk) and herself, I received
a book on this that was put together by the family. So here is the
story of the Kibsgaard.
The roots are traced to Denmark. It is there where Sophia Mette
Hansen married Stephen Anderson-Kibsgaard on 1/4/1895. Sophia was from
the town of Odense which was located in the state of Eyn. Her parents
were Lars and Kathryn Hansen. Stephen was from the town of Karby.
It is said that Stephen's family was quite wealthy. When Stephen's
father (Stephen) died, his mother (Christine) remarried. Her second
husband had a drinking problem & lost the family's money. It was the
custom in Denmark at that time for the family living on a farm to take the
farm name. In the case of our family, that name was Kibsgaard.
Our family name was changed from Anderson to Kibsgaard when Stephen & Sophia
moved to America because the double name "Anderson-Kibsgaard" was too
cumbersome in their new country.
When Stephen & Sophia came to America, the family they left behind in
Denmark consisted of Stephen's mother, 7 sisters, and 1 step brother.
Sophia left her mother, 1 sister and 6 brothers. There was also 1 son
John who died at the age of 6 months. He is buried in Denmark.
Stephen & Sophia came to America by ship in 1906 with their 5 children,
John (6months), Alfred (4yrs), Sara (6yrs), Peter (10 yrs.), and Kathryn (11
yrs).
Upon arriving in the U.S., they journeyed to Nebraska where they were
taken in by Stephen's uncle, Claus Clausen. Stephen had been a mail
carrier by profession while living in Denmark, but upon arrival in Nebraska
obtained employment in a brick yard until he was able to start farming.
While living in Minden, Nebraska, five more children were born: Oscar,
Karl, Viggo, Mildred and Dagmar.
In January of 1914, the Kibsgaard family moved to Hansell, Iowa.
The move was made by train. Stephen, Peter, and Alfred rode in a box
car along with the personal possessions, machinery, and farm livestock while
the other nine family members rode in a train. The last son, Harold,
was born while the family lived in Hansell.
The family moved several more times. Their homesteads included
Albert Lea Minnesota, Heartland Minnesota, and eventually the
Latimer-Coulter area of Iowa. It is here that the Kibsgaard family put
down its final roots and grew.
To the best of our knowledge, the only other Kibsgaard family members to
settle in the U.S. were Mrs. Andrew Jenson, Stephen's sister. She
lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts and her family roots can be found in that
area today. Chris Madsen, Stephen's nephew, came from Denmark and
settled in Franklin County, Iowa. Nels Kibsgaard Anderson and family
settled in Oregon. Nels was also Stephen's nephew.
The very first page of my book states that it was put together by Sara
Kibsgaard & Dagmar along with the whole family living here in the U.S. But,
Grandma made a big statement & here it is:
"While we were not able to obtain some of the dates necessary to make a
complete chronology, we hope that the information we have compiled will not
only be of interest to family members at this time but will be a resource to
future generations in obtaining family history information."
I think that says it all & if you think you are connected in some way,
please by all means contact me so we can keep this book going.
At this time I am awaiting a snail mail letter from my Aunt to update
what information she can give me to add to this book. Once I get that
information, I can then put it onto the website to help everyone out.
The first one
is of my Grandparents on my fathers side. Sara Kibsgaard (I have most of her
background) and Nels Peter Hansen. They were both from Denmark and came
over on a ship because my Grandfather would not fight with the Germans in their war there.
He came to the states and fought with us during WW 1. The second picture
is my father: Alton Peter Hansen and he was in WW 2 and was born in Iowa.
The third picture is my brother. He was born in Coo's Bay Oregon. (My Mom
was cremated per her request). I have a half brother out there
Texas. I have met him, I know his name and he is in music, has a great band
and quite a few people have got their CD's. I have old cassette tapes of
him. He knows who he is but why introduce yourself
and then just leave my life? How rude is that???? FYI: Music runs in
this family. Singers, writers and players. Oh and lets not forget dancers!
This is St.
Johns Lutheran Church in Coulter Iowa. This is where my family resting
area's are. To the left of the church and behind it is where everyone is
and to the right is a parking area, playground and what use to be the home of
the pastor. There was also a meeting room (building on the right).