My name is Bent Jessen. I am born in 1941, and I live in a little village called Broballe, not far away from Nordborg, on the little island Als in the southern part of Denmark.

I am very interested in genealogy and the story about my roots, and in that search, I found that most of the family to my grandfather Rasmus Peter Jessen immigrated to USA.

My grandfather, Rasmus Peter Jessen, was a son of Rasmus Peter Jessen and Ellen Samuelsen, and they lived in Nordborg, Denmark in 1855 to about 1887

My great grandfather died in Nordborg on September 12, 1876 and he was buried in the Nordborg cemetery on September 16, 1876 leaving my great grandmother Ellen together with their 7 children.

Her daughter Ane Kirstine Jessen fell in love with a son of her cousin, Christen Jorgensen, who had a farm in Iowa, and Ane Kirstine left Denmark and got married to Christen in Tama County.

Later, I believe it was in July 1887, on request of her daughter and son-in-law, my great grandmother traveled to America to pass her reclining among them, and together with her, she had her youngest son Hans Christian Jessen.

After that, the rest of her children, except my grandfather Rasmus Peter Jessen and his younger brother Jens Peter Jessen, came to America. First it was her oldest son Jorgen Peter Jessen, who came to Garwin, Iowa in 1891, together with his wife Anna, and their children Elina Marie Dorthea Jessen, Asmus Peter Jessen and George Peter Jessen.

After that her daughter Christine Dorothea Birgitte Jessen and her son-in-law Anton Christian Jessen emigrated to USA on June 4, 1892, together with their 3 children: Anna Marie Jessen, Ella Jessen and Christine Marie Jessen. They also settled in Garwin. Together with Christine and Anton were also her daughter Elene Jessen and her little son Peter Jessen.

In America, my great grandmother got consumption and that was the cause of her death. She died September 25, 1898 at the age of 64½ years at home by her daughter and son-in-law Ane Kirstine and Christen Jorgensen. The funeral occurred at the Rock Creek church in Carlton Township, Tama County, Iowa and there she is resting inn the cemetery.

On the next page there is a family picture from about 1911, with brothers, sisters, brothers-on-law and sisters-in-law, to my grandfather, and on that picture you can click on a person to get more knowledge about the individuals.

I hope it will be possible in that way, to get contacts to some of the descendants after the family to my grandfather so that I can get more information’s about them.