Harald Hansen
| Harald Hansen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1889 Kristiania (Oslo), Norway |
| Died | 1964 Fort William |
| Partner | |
Harald Hansen (1889 – 1964) was a Norwegian immigrant who came to Fort William in about 1926. His wife and five children followed in 1928. His sons Knute and Tor founded the Little Norway ski hill on Mount McRae, which became Big Thunder.[1]
Family and descendants
Marriage and emigration
Harald Hansen, a mason's worker born in Kristiania (now Oslo) in 1889, married Sigrid Sofie Mørk, a weaver born in Kristiania on 30 September 1890, at Sagene church in Kristiania on 19 March 1911.[2][3] Their sons Arne and Erling were baptised at Sagene in 1911 and 1913. A daughter, Astrid Eleonora (later Esther Eleonora Mackereth), was baptised in 1917 at Rjukan, Telemark, where Harald worked at the saltpetre factory. Thor (Tor) was born in 1921.[4]
Harald appears to have gone to Canada first, in about 1926.[5] Sigrid followed in 1928: she sailed from Oslo on the Stavangerfjord on 31 August 1928, travelling "to her husband" with all five children.[6] By the 1931 census, Harald and Sigrid were living in Fort William.[7]
Children
The couple had five children, all now deceased:[8][6]
- Arne Hansen (1911–1983)
- Erling Hansen (1913 – before 2007)
- Knute Hansen (1915–1988)
- Esther Eleonora Mackereth (née Astrid Eleonora; 1917 – before 2007), who went by the anglicized name Esther in Canada.
- Tor Hansen (1921–2016)
The brothers were ski jumpers. Knute and Tor founded Little Norway, the hill that became Big Thunder, and at least two of Arne's children later skied at the Little Norway club or helped to develop it.[1][9][10]
Descendant count (as of October 2026)
As of October 2026, published obituaries and newspaper indexes identify at least 79 descendants of Harald and Sigrid Hansen across five generations:
- 5 children
- 16 grandchildren
- 23 great-grandchildren
- 28 great-great-grandchildren
- 7 great-great-great-grandchildren
Twelve of them are known to have died: all five children and seven grandchildren, among them the actor and director Kim Hansen (1953–2019). That leaves at least 67 presumed living.[8][9][10][11][1][12][13][14]
| Branch | Grandchildren | Great-grandchildren | Great-great-grandchildren | Great-great-great-grandchildren |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arne | 5 | 9 | 19 | 7 |
| Knute | 5 | 10 | 2 | – |
| Tor | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| Esther | 5 | 3 | 7 | – |
| Erling | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 16 | 23 | 28 | 7 |
Thunder Bay: only one living descendant is documented in a published source as living in Thunder Bay: a granddaughter in Arne's line, named in a 2023 obituary. Most obituaries do not say where survivors live. Others are documented in British Columbia, Brantford, Ottawa and Winnipeg. The Knute and Arne branches kept the closest ties to Thunder Bay: Margaret Hansen's 2007 memorial service and the 2018 funeral of Arne's son-in-law were both held in the area.[10][8][11]
Caveats: these are minimum counts, known from published obituaries (2006–2023) and from Thunder Bay Public Library newspaper indexes. They are not a complete genealogy.
- Several branches publish no children at all, including Erling's and those of a number of grandchildren. Births after each obituary's date are not counted.
- 22 of the counted descendants come from a 2018 obituary in Arne's line that gives numbers rather than names ("15 grandchildren; 7 great grandchildren").[11]
- "Presumed living" means the person was named as a survivor in the latest obituary found, with no later death notice in Chronicle-Journal indexes. It is not confirmation that they are alive.
- Names of living descendants are given on Curriepedia only where they have been published.
Dates
Find a Grave links "Harald Hansen, 1889–1964" as the father of Arne Hansen.[15] The Thunder Bay Public Library's index of Fort William deaths lists a "Hansen, Harold", aged 74, who died in Fort William on 5 April 1964 (Fort William Daily Times-Journal, 6 April 1964, p. 3). The age and year fit, and he is probably the same man, but this has not been confirmed from the notice itself.[16]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Tor Hansen" (obituary). TBNewsWatch / The Chronicle-Journal, 26–27 July 2016 (also at Legacy.com and Everest of Thunder Bay).
- ↑ "Harald Hansen and Sigrid Sofie Mørk, married 19 March 1911", Sagene parish church book 1898–1911 (0301M19), p. 242 no. 28. Digitalarkivet (National Archives of Norway). Groom: mason's worker, born 1889 in Kristiania, son of Lars Hansen; bride: weaver, born 1890 in Kristiania, daughter of police constable Olaf Nilsen Mørk.
- ↑ "Sigrid Sofie Mørk, confirmed 16 April 1905", Sagene parish church book. Digitalarkivet. Gives her birth as 30 September 1890 in Kristiania, parents Olaf Nilsen Mørk and Anna Dortea Strand.
- ↑ Digitalarkivet baptism and birth entries naming Harald Hansen and Sigrid (Sofie) Mørk as parents: Arne, Sagene, baptised 16 July 1911; Erling, Sagene, baptised 30 June 1913; Astri Ellionore (Astrid Eleonora), Tinn parish (Dal), Rjukan, baptised 25 August 1917; Thor, Sagene birth register, born 1921.
- ↑ "Harald Hansen, born 25 April 1889", Oslo police district emigrant protocol no. 35 (1923–1927). Digitalarkivet. A building carpenter from Rjukan who left for Canada on 29 September 1926 via Bergen and England. The occupation matches the one given for Sigrid's husband in 1928, but the identification is not certain.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Sigrid Hansen, born 30 September 1890", Oslo police district emigrant protocol no. 38 (1927–1931). Digitalarkivet. Departed 31 August 1928 on the Stavangerfjord for Canada, purpose "til sin mand" (to her husband), from Rjukan, with Arne (b. 28 May 1911), Erling (b. 18 April 1913), Knut (b. 26 November 1915), Astrid (b. 4 August 1917) and Thor (b. 20 September 1921).
- ↑ "Harold Hansen", MesAieux index of the 1931 Census of Canada ("Harold Hansen & Sigrid Hansen", Fort William).
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Margaret Helen Hansen" (obituary). The Chronicle-Journal (via Legacy.com), 15 November 2007.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "John Hansen" (obituary). The Chronicle-Journal (via Legacy.com), 8 July 2006.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Gilbert Hansen" (obituary). The Chronicle-Journal (via Legacy.com), 29 September–3 October 2023; and a second family notice, 3 October 2023.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Everett Morton" (obituary). TBNewsWatch, 26 February 2018.
- ↑ "Kim Hansen" (obituary). TBNewsWatch, 27 December 2019.
- ↑ "David Taylor Mackereth, 1946–2010" (obituary). Winnipeg Free Press, 16 October 2010.
- ↑ "Ted (Edward) Mackereth, October 21, 1947 – February 14, 2018" (obituary). Winnipeg Free Press, 24 February 2018.
- ↑ "Arne Hansen (1911–1983)", Find a Grave memorial 154466572, Mountain View Cemetery, Thunder Bay (inscription "HANSEN ARNE 1911 - 1983 MYRTLE 1915 - 2006"; parents linked as Harald Hansen, 1889–1964, and Sigrid Hansen, 1890–1969).
- ↑ "Index of death notices, obituaries, In Memoriams and estate notices published in the Fort William Daily Times-Journal 1900–1972". Thunder Bay Public Library.