Jennie Gundersen Olsen

When my grandma Dagmar came to Chicago in 1924 she followed her husband, my grandfather Paul. Paul chose Chicago as he had an aunt here who had immigrated many years before. The young couple lived in a small apartment in the basement of her home. Through my genealogy work I have found that Dagmar also had family in Chicago that had come before her. I do not know if she was even aware of that. Neither she or my mother ever mentioned having family in Chicago. Dagmar had a cousin Jennie, a Gundersen who like she,  settled in Chicago and raised a family there. It is quite likely that there are Gundersen cousins within a few miles of me today. Where are you my cousins?

My great grandfather Nils had an older brother, Anders Martinius Gundersen. His daughter Jennie Marie was born April 23, 1893 in Eidanger, Telemark, Norway. Jennie, my grandmothers cousin, left Norway for Chicago in 1910. She married a Norwegian immigrant named Hans Karelius Olsen and they settled in Chicago having three children, Roy Vivian and Mildred.

Here is Jennie. Look how she resembles her cousin, my grandmother Dagmar!

           

                    Jennie Marie Gundersen                             Dagmar Gundersen

Would Jennie be your ancestor? We are cousins. Contact me if you would like to share information, photos or memories.

Just a shot in the dark - Ranae