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Karen "Mary" Kjeldgaard - From Denmark to Iowa, Wyoming and New York City

I am always amazed at the distances our ancestors traveled at a time when it was not very easy. Immigrants would come across the ocean, spending weeks on boat, oftentimes in horrible conditions. And then they would travel by horse and wagon, stagecoach, river boat, or train to their new homes.

Karen Marie Kjeldgard was my wife's great grand aunt. She is the best example I have found of an immigrant who made major moves.

She was born in Skarp Salling, near Aalborg, Denmark, May 11, 1857 to Peder Kjeldgaard and Mariane Jacobsdatter. Peder was a tailor and no doubt passed his knowledge on to his daughter, Karen. They left Denmark in 1875 and settled near Elk Horn, Iowa.
Karen Marie Kjeldgaard Hollenbeck

Karen married Coleman Edward Hollenbeck May 10, 1879. What is remarkable about the marriage is where they married - Fort Fetterman, Wyoming. Fort Fetterman was in cold and remote northern Wyoming, near present day Douglas, and in the 1870s, was actively involved in indian skirmishes. My guess is that Fort Fetterman, being so remote, needed non-military workers of all kinds, including seamtresses. After moving to Iowa from Denmark, perhaps the allure of a job in the wild west appealed to her. Or perhaps it was just a good opportunity to work in her field.

Coleman Edward Hollenbeck was a teamster. He was a soldier and was at Fort Fetterman, where he and Karen were married. In 1880, they were in Iowa, where their first son, Walter Emil Hollenbeck, was born. In 1885 they were at Fort Omaha (Nebraska). By 1890, they were in New York City, where he was listed as a driver. Their son, Edward, was born there that year. But Coleman Edward died in 1896. Karen died in 1917.

Throughout all the moves, Iowa was home. She was back in Iowa to live after Wyoming, and even after she moved to New York City she kept in contact with her family there, writing letters and sending presents. Her son, Edward, visited her family in Iowa while passing through on the way to California in the 1920s.

So here is this young woman from Denmark, who became a seamstress, immigrated to Iowa, moved to Wyoming and Nebraska forts during the Indian conflicts, and then to Manhattan where she no doubt continued her trade in the garment district. When I think of all the diverse places, and cultures that she experienced, I wish she had written a book. No doubt lots of interesting tails. She was such a strong woman.


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