This is a photo of Henry Christensen, born about April 1891 in Illinois, who lived in Plymouth county about 1903-1914. His parents were Matt/Mathias and Dora/Dorothea/Dorothy Christensen. He was their oldest surviving child. His siblings (in birth order) were: Anthony/Anton, born about June 1886 in Illinois; Magdelena/Martha, born about February 1889 in Illinois; Dora/Dorothy, born about 1901 in Illinois; and Esther, born about 1903 in Iowa. This photo was probably taken in 1912, shortly after a visit from his Chicago cousin, Johanna Magdelena Christensen Larson, and her husband, Edward Larson. If you have any further information about Henry or his family, please contact me.

This is what Henry Christensen wrote to his Chicago cousin, Johanna Magdelena Christensen.

These girls are Henry's younger sisters. Magdelena/Martha is the tall girl in the middle. On her right is Dora/Dorothy and Esther is on her left. Magdelena married in 1920, probably in the Sioux City metropolitan area, to Alfred F. Kramer, born in Wisconsin. They had two sons in Iowa, Milton W. and Dwight F., before moving to Fresno County, California. At the time of the 1930 U.S. Census, Magdelena's mother, Dora/Dorothy, lived with her. Dora/Dorothy married in 1925 to Hubert Ratliff, born in Iowa. They moved to Los Angeles, California, and had two sons, Donald W. and Douglas B., both born in California. Esther's fate remains a mystery for now.

Matt Christensen, seated in carriage, married Dora/Dorothea/Dorothy Schultz on 2 November 1889 in Chicago. By 1910, the couple lived in Hungerford Township, Plymouth County, with their five surviving children, two older boys and three young girls. The family had moved to Sioux City by the time of the 1920 Census. We believe that Matt died in Chicago while Dora may have died in California. We are not sure if the couple stayed married or divorced.

This is a message that Dora/Dorothy Christensen sent to her Chicago cousin, Johanna Magdelena Christensen Larson, not long after Larson's 1912 visit to the Dora's family farm in Hungerford Township, Iowa.

This is a message sent by Esther Christensen to her Chicago cousin, Johanna Magdelena Christensen Larson, not long after Larson visited Esther's family farm in Hungerford Township, Plymouth County, Iowa, in 1912.

We're not entirely sure which Christensens are in this photo. It could be Matt Christensen and his four brothers (Hans, James, Anton and John) and his sister, Anna Belle, at Matt's farm in Hungerford Township, Plymouth County, Iowa. If you have any more information about this photo, please contact me, Erica Jacobson.