by Gayle Stuart
WE HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME. ARE WE RELATED?
My cousin Peter attended a funeral a couple of months ago in my home town of Little Falls, Minnesota and a lady, whom he did not know, came up to him and said, “I think we are related.” She went on to say that she was related to Rasmus Larsen. Well, now, my grandfather Christian Larsen had a brother Rasmus who was born on August 20, 1845 in the area of Nørre Lyndelse, Denmark, which is located on the Isle of Fyn. Rasmus’ and Christian’s parents were Lars Rasmussen and Anna Marie Madsdatter.
So, being our family historian, I traced the other Rasmus Larsen lineage and found he was born in Minnesota on Feb. 17, 1883 to Christen Larsen and Marthe Larsen. Christen was born in Nordlundle, Maribo, near Kopenhagen, Denmark. This family was located on the east side of Denmark and my family was from the west side. This family did end up in Elmdale, Minnesota, where my family was also. Elmdale was a very Danish community early on.
GBS
[Ed Note: Coincidentally, Jim and I were also working on a Rasmus Larsen, who is buried in the Graceland Cemetery at Avoca, Iowa. He was married to Emma Therese Hansen, a sister of Jim’s great-grandfather Peter H. Hansen. KH]