From cousin Grant Sorensen -
On July 2, 1862, Ole was a soldier of the 18th Battery. He fought in the 1864 war between Denmark and Prussia and Austria over the provinces of Schlesvig and Holstein. Denmark lost the war and Prussia took Schlesvig and Austria got Holstein. The king of Denmark was the duke of these provinces -- they were never a part of the kingdom of Denmark. However, many Danes lived in both provinces. Following World War I, in 1919, the northern third of Schlesvig elected to return to Denmark.
Ole was a prisoner of war for a while and for torture was forced to carry straw from one pile to another with a one tined pitchfork. Ole was also wounded during the war and afterwards served as a messenger and guard at the royal palace.
Ole came to America with his brother Fred, soon after he was 25 years old. He was never really healthy and always looked old. He was baptized by Mr. Martin Nelson, a layman who came from Wisconsin. In Denmark Ole had been raised and baptized a Lutheran.
Ole and his wife Anna moved to Alberta in 1912, they lived with their son Samuel Allington, or as he was known, Alex, on the NW 1/2 of Section 28-43-13 W 4th. While they lived there Alex got married and moved to another farm. They stayed on until Ole passed away in 1917 and then a small house was built for Anna on the corner of Henry's farm, the SW 1/4 of Section 35-43-13 W 4th. Here she was close to Andrew and Nels, also her sons. Some people remember that Ole could witch for water and that he received a small pension from Denmark.
Marion Lindstrom, who is over 83 years old, remembers her Grampa Ole as a very industrious and religious man. She remembers him working til 11:00 at night and starting at 4:00 in the morning. He wasn't the best of money managers though, 'My mother Christiana told me that he could have been the wealthiest man in Cottonwood County, but he homesteaded, made several starts, and in the county seat of Windom were loansharks who would come to Ole and encourage him to borrow some money form them and instead of putting it in a crop, just go on building instead of living in a dug-out to start with and having grain to sell. Those 'land men' were so sweet and Grampa so trusting and honest himself, he soon had to foreclose and make a new start. They ended up with 7 acres on the shore of Double Lake, East of Westbrook. Grampa Ole was a godly man, he visited the sick and preached to them, and I remember when I was a little girl I spent some time with them on the farm at Double Lake and I loved to be there. But the pancakes were cooling off while Grampa with his sons around the table took lots of time for family devotions. It sure paid off, for someday we will meet the whole clan in glory.'
Marion also remembers that her mother, Ole's eldest, said she had a cousin - Christ Hansen and his Mother was Ole's sister; who is buried along with Ole's Father, baby Nels, and Florence, Ole's youngest, in the graveyard on the quarter of land that Ole homesteaded. His Father and son Nels were probably the first ones buried there. Ole donated the land for what is now a large graveyard.
Ole was a maker of baskets. He always liked to live by a lake so he could get wood for making baskets, some of them are still in very good condition today, having been passed on to his grandchildren.
1880 Cottonwood Co Minnesota Census, page 64D:
Ole Sorenson, Self, Married, Male, W, 40, Denmark, Farmer, Denmark, Denmark
Anna Sorenson, wife, Married, Female, W, 24, Norway, keeping house, Norway, Norway
Magreth Sorenson, dau, single, female, W, 3, Minnesota, Denmark, Norway
Nels George Sorenson, son, single, male, W, 1, Minnesota, Denmark, Norway
Frederick Sorenson, brother, single, male, W, 27, Denmark, laborer, Denmark, Denmark
Patent Deed Record D, Cottonwood County, Minnesota
Filed for record January 4, 1892
Homestead Certificate No. 3965 for the north east quarter of Section 24 in township 107 North of range 38 West of the fifth principal meridian in Minnesota containing one hundred and sixty acres.
Recorded in Volume 8, page 206
Deed Record O - File No. 7953 - December 14, 1891, Land Department of the Winona & St. Peter Railroad Company for the North half of the Northwest quarter and the Southeast quarter of the Northwest quarter of Section 15, Township 106, North range, 38, containing one hundred and twenty acres.
Patentee Name: OLE SORENSEN
Land Office Code: NEW ULM
Document Number: 3965
Miscellaneous Document Number: 10264
Title Authority: HOMESTEAD
Signature: Y
Signature Date: 1881/02/10
Aliquot Parts: NE
Section Number: 24
Township: 107 N
Range: 38 W
Base Line: 5TH
Total Acres: 160.0000
Fractional Section: N
Subsurface Rights Reserved: N
Metes and Bounds Description: N
Canceled Document: N
Multiple Patentee(s): N
Multiple Warantee(s): N
Warantee Name:
Accession Number: MN1360__.206
Image Name: 00002739
Volume ID: 530
Image Type: P
Remarks:
Westbrook Sentinel, Thursday, September 6, 1917, page. 6
'Mrs. J. P. Nelson received a telegram the first of the week from Killam, Alberta,
Canada, stating that her father, Ole Sorensen, had died there Friday afternoon and
was buried Sunday. Mr. Sorensen was one of the early settlers in this vicinity
having settled here nearly a half century ago and continued his residence here until
about four years ago when he moved to Canada.' (died August 31, 1917 - buried September 2, 1917)
Died 2: 31 August 1917, Killam, Alberta, Canada9
Baptism: 13 September 1840, Sæby Parish, Holbæk Co, Denmark
Burial: 02 September 1917, Killam Cemetery10
Census: 1880, Cottonwood Co, Minnesota
Confirmation: 1854, Sæby Parish, Holbæk Co, Denmark
From cousin Grant Sorensen -
Anna Erickson came to Highwater township, Cottonwood County, as a young child, with an uncle of hers, in 1868. The boat trip took about seven weeks.
Marion Lindstrom talking - 'My Grandma Anna made delicious cheese, my mouth waters when I think about it. There was a box with a screen door, on the outside of the north wall of the house. There was always some hunks of homemade cheese in cheese-cloth, ripening there. It was cool in the shade. Also outside in the shade was a very large crock with some brine, sort of a spicy pickle brine and in it chunks of meat, prepared and ready to eat. This was head cheese. Below the hill on the lakeshore stood another crock. Really it was a large tile over a spring. Water was always covering it, it was always cool and always full of gallon jugs of ale. Grandma kept making this for Grampa Ole, she used hops and some grain. We often took the jug out, all had a drink form it, put the cork in good and put it back in the cool spring water.'
In the early days Anna was called 'Ann-Ole' or 'Ole's Anna.'
From 'Cottonwood County History'
In the 1880's Mrs. Ole Sorensen was one of those forthright, dauntless pioneer women who, though she had seven children of her own, could always be depended upon when a neighbor needed help. On an old fashioned wash board she did washing for others. She is best remembered for her skill in caring for the sick. Even in the early days this self trained practical nurse instinctively knew the importance of antiseptics and used a carbolic acid solution in hot water for washing her hands, and as a disinfectant in the sick room. With the nearest doctor 30 miles away, Anna Sorensen delivered many babies without the assistance of a doctor.
She was often called to the sick beds of those in the terminal stages of cacner and tuberculosis. In the last few days and nights when relatives could no longer endure tending and watching over their loved one, Anna Sorensen would care for the patient. Ofter, after death had brought its relief, she 'laid out' the body for burial. She helped in emergencies and in the care of the sick until 1912, when she and her husband moved to Killam, Alberta. Here she continued her busy life of service to others. She celebrated her 100th birthday in 1956. Among her treasured mementos of that happy occasion were a congratulatory message from Her Majesty, the Queen of England, and greetings from her early home church, the Storden Baptist Church, of which she was the only living charter member in 1956.
From The Edmonton Journal, Thursday, August 2, 1956
Killam Woman 100 years old
Among the many tributes paid to Mrs. Anna Sorensen, who recently marked her 100th birthday, were messages from Her Majesty, the Queen, Prime Minister St. Laurent and Premier Manning. In honor of the occasion, an open house was held in the Baptist Church hall at Killam, where tea was served by women of the Baptist and Pentecostal churches.
'Grandma' Sorensen, as she is affectionately known to all her friends, has for the past few years resided at the Bethany Sunset Home in Camrose. The high esteem in which she is held was shown at the open house when friends and relatives in very large numbers called to congratulate her. In spite of her age, Mrs. Sorensen spent five hours receiving a steady stream of handshakers and good wishes. Many pictures were taken of 'Grandma' Sorensen and the three-tiered birthday cake and flowers she received.
Among the many greetings was a letter from Mrs. Sorensen's early home church at Storden, Minnesota, of which she is the only living charter member. Mrs. Sorensen, a resident of Killam since 1912, was born in Sogn, Norway, and came to Highwater County, Minnesota, in 1868. She was married in 1875 and raised a family of four sons and three daughters. Mr. Sorensen died in 1917.
Three of Mrs. Sorensen's sons, Nels, Andrew and Alex, live in Killam. The fourth, Henry, died in Killam in 1944. Her three daughters, Christina, Mary, and Florence, all of whom lived in the United States, are dead. She has 25 grandchildren, 61 great grandchildren and 29 great great grandchildren.
Burial: January 1957, Killam Cemetery
Marriage: 30 April 1875, Westbrook, Cottonwood Co, Minnesota
