Maren Rasmussen & Soren Poulsen ~ Aarhus, Denmark

For most of my genealogical searching years (over 30 yrs) I didn't have any information on my great grandfather's (Andreas Rasmussen) siblings. When my grandfather (Robert Rasmussen) was alive, for some reason, I didn't think to ask about them.  That was odd for me because I was always asking about family that had passed.

So now fast forward many years.  I found a wonderful photo of my great grandfather's sister and her family who lived in Denmark.  I was lucky to find this photo via another distant family member who has a family tree on ancestry.com.   That photo gave me the opportunity to get to know my Great Grand Aunt, Maren Rasmussen, and her family.  Through this photo,  and further research, this is what I learned.

est. 1915

The woman at the bottom left is my Grand Aunt Maren Rasmussen. To her right would be my Grand Uncle Soren Poulsen.  Behind are five of their children. L to R, Anders Johan Poulsen (b.1888), Johanne Poulsen (b.1893), Rasmus Poulsen (b.1898), Margarethe Poulsen (b.1895) and Christian Poulsen (b.1887).  I'm estimating this photo to have been taken around 1915.  That is based on their birth dates and the ages they seem to appear.

Maren Rasmussen (May 2, 1856 - June 2, 1941) married Soren Poulsen (June 19, 1859 - May 5, 1938) on July 29, 1882.  The census records indicate the family lived in Aarhus, Denmark. 

The Poulsens, had already experienced some of their children's passings. At the estimated time of this photo,  they had a son, Rasmus Poulsen (Sept 26, 1884 - Nov 29, 1888) who had died at the age of 4. Then they had another son, again named Rasmus Poulsen who only lived a few weeks (Apr 1, 1889 - Apr 14, 1889). Then in 1902, their child Paul Cort Poulsen (Aug 24, 1882 - Aug 25, 1902)  died, at the age of 20.

Here is the 1901 Denmark Census that shows the family.  Father, Soren Poulsen, is working as a "thatcher".  Mother, Maren, stayed in the home.  This census shows where each of them were born.

I wonder what that gathering was for, in the photo above.  They seem to be dressed in black.  Well, mother is dressed in black. It's actually hard to tell the colors they are wearing with the black and white film.

So on this Father's Day, I'm happy to be sharing a photo of a father and his children.  A father that worked as a Thatcher, had eight children, lost at least three before him, and lived his life in Aarhus, Denmark.

Happy Father's Day,  Soren Poulsen

Warm regards,