In the book's own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
Born 1855
From History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota : its people, industries, and institutions : with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families (1916)
HANS JENSEN.
Hans Jensen was born in Denmark, January 17, 1855, the son of Martin and Maria (Christiansen) Jensen, both of whom lived and died in their native country.
Martin Jensen was a miller by trade and served in the War of 1848. He and his wife were the parents of three children, namely, Hans, the subject of this sketch; Anna, who died young, and Adolph, who went away on a sailing vessel as a sailor and who was never again heard of. Hans became a sailor just after his confirmation at the age of fourteen, sailing the Atlantic Ocean and North Sea. Traveling by steamboat and sailing vessels he made from ten to twelve trips to America and finally in 1873 decided to live here. He worked as a sailor up and down the coast and 1 in the ( great Lakes. Starting from Duluth, he worked on farms and drifted southward and in 1902 arrived in this county. Liking the looks of the land, he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Eastern township where he still lives. This is in the northwest quarter of section 32. At the time of the purchase it was covered with timber. The land has been cleared and cultivated and on it stand a number of good, substantial, modern buildings. Mr. Jensen is a well-known breeder of purebred White Leghorn chickens and of graded Holstein cattle and Poland China hogs.
Mr. Jensen has been twice married, his first wife being Carrie Sophia Thorsen, a native of Denmark, and to her he was married in St. Paul. She had come to America and located in that city in 1882. She died in [890 leaving one daughter, two older children. Ophelia and Arthur having died in infancy. Vivian, the remaining daughter, was born in 1887. She is a violinist, having received her early training from her father, who started her on her musical career at the age of six. He modestly calls himself a "fiddler." Later Vivian received her musical education at St. Paul and Minneapolis. In the former city she was graduated from the high school and later attended college. She now has her own studio in Silver City, New Mexico, and has attained such prominence as to fill musical engagements all over the country. Among these was her successful appearance at the fair in San Francisco in 1915. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Jensen, in 1892, married Minnie Schroeder, who was born in Germany and who came to this country with her parents in 1860 when she was only two years of age. This family are affiliated with the Lutheran church in which they take an active part.
Mr. Jensen has been painstaking, industrious, energetic and frugal, and has earned all the good fortune that has come his way.
As printed in History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota : its people, industries, and institutions : with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families (1916). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
The printed record stops around 1916. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.