Leaving The Old Country... …

For Generations, the Jensen Family Had Lived on The North Sea Island of Fohr

Early Jensens, shortly after 1800, came from Denmark to the Friesian Islands, in the North Sea.

The Jensens and their neighbors - farmers and sailors -  lived off the German / Danish coast. They suffered great storms, pestilence, and innumerable invasions.  By 1820, there were 4,763 inhabitants on Fohr. Many young men left the island so they would not have to go into the military.

Erich Jensen left his home in Fohr, in 1860.  He sailed to C alifornia around the Horn, arriving in San Francisco.   Erich' s brother, Jens, left Fohr by boat to Hamburg, thence to Hull, England; by train to Liverpool, by steamer to Portland, Maine; then by train to New York, by steamer to Panama, across the isthmus by train, and to San Francisco by steamer, where he landed in 1864.  He had traveled two month.

Click here to follow the Jensens' arrival in America