| HOME | Bohn/Petersen |
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Our great Grandmother, Caroline Petersen, was born in the fishing village of Nexø, Bornholm, in 1853. She was the youngest of six children. (Photos of
her family). See an outline, or stamtavle, of the
Descendants of Mogens Peter Henningsen (Bohn), Caroline's grandfather. She sailed to America in about 1869 and lived in Warren, PA, with her older brother, Niels Mossin Petersen (photo below). This seems to have been a destination for Bornholmers, and maybe other Danes, so I guess there was an enclave. After doing domestic work for several years, she took a train (we have her 1878 diary of the trip ) to California where she met and married "James Koford" (aka Jens O.A. Kofoed, or Kofod. See the Kofoed page.) They stayed in Oakland for the first years of their marriage. |
| Hennea Christine Caroline Petersen |
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Caroline's father, "Henning Peter Mogensen"* (also called Henning Mogensen Bohn) was born in 1810, in Nexø. He was a seaman, as was his father (Mogens Henningsen, b. 1783) and grandfather(Henning Hansen Bohne b. 1755). Caroline's mother, Christine Marie Møller (b. 1813), is on the left. Although her "bonnet" looks almost bovine to us, but this was the normal head covering for that day and place! (*Note: Most surnames were derived from a system of "patronymics" based on one's father's given name:Danish women traditionally kept their maiden names when married in the early days.) |
| Christine M. Møller & Henning M. Bohn (Henning Peter Mogensen) |  Return to
Home Page |
| Feb 2010: the Bornholm Museum has put up a YouTube video showing photos in an album belonging to Dorthea Marie (Petersen) Larsen. We recognize most people on the first 5 double pages (Dorthea's family and Johannes Hansen's family), but then there are some mysteries...especially the men. who are they? |
Caroline's family :
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brother, Jeppe JorgenPetersen, (b. 1840), with Caroline | brother Niels Mossin Petersen, (b. 1844,
aka Nels Peterson), & wife, Josephine Payne in Nebraska? |
Karen Marie Jensdatter, Caroline's maternal grandma, or mormor (b. about 1788) |
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| The Bohn family, c. 1885, Nexø, Bornholm,mother, sisters, brother Mossin? and niece Dagmar. | Photo labeled "Aunt Martha". It may be Marthe Kristine Bohn born 1823, sister of Henning. ...or maybe not. |
Most photos were taken by photographer Johan Hansen, or his daughter, Magdalene Hansen.
Page created by Lorna Koford Wallace
e-mail questions/comments to: lornakw at hotmail )
updated May 2011