Jens Kristian Brandi was baptized on 21 May 1888 in Sennels (Parish), Hillerslev (District), Thisted (County), Denmark.
10 He appeared on the census of 1 February 1901 in the household of
Soren Brask Jensen Brandi and
Elvine Marie Brandi in Sennels (Parish), Hillerslev (District), Thisted (County), Denmark.
11 Jens Kristian Brandi was confirmed on 5 October 1902 in Sennels (Parish), Hillerslev (District), Thisted (County), Denmark.
6 He appeared on the census of 1 February 1906 in the household of Soren Brask Jensen Brandi and Elvine Marie Brandi in Sennels (Parish), Hillerslev (District), Thisted (County), Denmark,
Household in 1906 Census
# Name Gender Birth Marital status
10. Brandi, Søren Brask M Oct 30 1854 G
11. Brandi, Elvine Marie K Nov 15 1856 G
12. Brandi, Kirstine Marie K Apr 16 1882 U
13. Brandi, Jens Kr M May 8 1888
14. Brandi, Agnes Oline K July 22 1892
15. Brandi, Alfred M Aug 17 1895
16. Brandi, Holger M Aug 14 1895
17. Brandi, Elvine Sørine K Dec 1 1896.
12 Jens Kristian Brandi emigrated on 5 May 1909 from Denmark to the United States. Jens sailed from Liverpool, England, on 27 February 1909 on the ship Lusitania. and arrived at Ellis Island, New York, on 5 March 1909. There were five people from the Sennels, Denmark, area traveling together, all bound for Iowa:
Jens Brandi, 20, last residence Sennels, single. a laborer, father: Soren Brandi of Sennels;
Marius Sorensen, 24, last residence Copenhagen, a joiner, mother: Karen S??? of Sennels;
Kirstine Marie Brandi (Jens' older sister), 26, last residence Sennels, single, a servant, father: Soren Brandi of Sennels;
Thomas Christian Thomsen, 24, last residence Sennels, a laborer, father: Thomas Thomsen of Sennels; and
Christian Korsgaard, 21, last residence Hillerslev, a laborer, father: Niels Korsgaard.
Jens and Marius were going to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Kirstine, Thomas and Christian were going to Guthrie Center, Iowa. Presumably they knew someone who had already emigrated from Denmark to Guthrie Center. There is no record that Jens actually went to Council Bluffs, and he is subsequently shown in Guthrie Center.
13,14 Jens Kristian Brandi appeared on the census of 1910 in Baker Township, Guthrie County, Iowa, which lists Jens Brandi [mis-indexed as Brande], 21, born in Denmark and single.
15 He was a hired man on a farm in 1910.
16 Jens Brandi apparently returned to Denmark sometime 1915, because he sailed back to the U.S. in February 1916.
He appeared on the census of 1 February 1916 in the household of Soren Brask Jensen Brandi and Elvine Marie Brandi in Sennels (Parish), Hillerslev (District), Thisted (County), Denmark,
Name Gender Marial Stateus Born Relation to HeardSoren Brask Brandi Male Married 30 Oct 1854 Head
Marie Brandi Female Married 15 Nov 1856 Wife
Jens Brandi Male Single 08 May 1888 Son
Agnes Brandi Female Single 22 Jan 1892 Daughter
Alfred Brandi Male Single 17 Aug 1895 Son
Synne Brandi Female Single 01 Dec 1890 Daughter.
17 In 1916, Jens Kristian Brandi traveled back to the United States from Denmark, departing Copenhagen on 6 February 1916 on the ship Frederick VIII and arriving at New York (Ellis Island) on 23 February 1916. Jens was traveling in steerage, 27, single, a farm laborer, Danish, his last permanent address was Sennels, Denmark, his father was Soren Brask Brandi of Sennels. His final destination was Anita, Iowa, and he had a ticket to get there, he had paid for the passage himself, he had $25 with him, he had previously been in the United States from 1909 to 1915 at Anita, Iowa, he was going to join his sister [illegible, but perhaps Chris?] Sorensen at Route 3, Anita, Iowa, and he was born in Sennels, Denmark.
Jens was making his second Atlantic voyage, and it was the first trip for Kristoffer. Kristoffer’s older sister Mette Poulsen would follow them to Iowa in July 1916 where she and Jens would be married on 12 September 2016.
18,19,20 Jens Kristian Brandi was naturalized on 14 April 1916 in Atlantic, Cass County, Iowa.
21 Jens Kristian Brandi registered for the draft for World War I on 5 June 1917, while living at Route 4, Guthrie Center, Guthrie County, Iowa, reporting he was employed by himself as a farmer in Baker Township, Guthrie County, Iowa. He was 28 years old, born in Thisted, Denmark, on 8 May 1888, and a naturalized U.S. citizen. He claimed an exemption from the draft because of a dependent relative, his wife Mette (who was pregnant with their son Osvald).
22 He witnessed the birth of
Osvald Soren Brandi on 20 September 1917 in Baker Township, Guthrie County, Iowa.
1,23 Jens Kristian Brandi and
Mette Katrine Brandi appeared on the census of 2 January 1920 in Baker Township, Guthrie County, Iowa, which lists Jens Brandi, 31, born in Denmark; his wife Mette [mis-indexed as Mittie], 30, born in Denmark; their son Oswald S. Brandi, 2 & 2/12, born in Iowa; and a farm laborer.
Household
# Name Relation Gender Age Marital status1. Brandi Jens Head M 31 Married
2. Brandi Mette Wife F 30 Married
3. Brandi Oswald S Son M 2 years, 2 months Single
4. Daus Hub O None M 35 Single.
24 He was a farmer, renting his farm in 1920.
1 Jens Kristian Brandi and Mette Katrine Brandi emigrated in 1921 from Iowa back to Denmark with their son Osvald, sailing from New York on 19 Nov 1921 on the ship Frederick VIII. Their U.S. Passport Applications stated that it was a trip to visit relatives in Denmark and that they planned to return to the U.S. in one year, but they did not. All three of them were U.S. citizens.
25 Jens Kristian Brandi and Mette Katrine Brandi appeared on the census of 5 November 1930 in Sennels (Parish), Hillerslev (District), Thisted (County), Denmark,
Household
# Name Relation to head Birth1. Brandi, Jens Kristian Head May 8 1888
2. Brandi, Mette Housewife Dec 15 1889
3. Brandi, Osvald Søren Son Oct 20 1917
4. Brandi, Herlüf Kristen Son Nov 7 1923
5. Brandi, Egon Lüdvig Son Mar 28 1925
6. Brandi, Holger Rickard Son Aug 14 1927
7. Frokjær, Anders Kristen Apr 22 1904
8. Hyldgaard, Kristiansen Erna Helene Feb 23 1911.
26 He was a landmand (farmer) in 1930.
26 Jens Kristian Brandi and Mette Katrine Brandi appeared on the census of 5 November 1940 in Sennels (Parish), Hillerslev (District), Thisted (County), Denmark,
Household
# Name Relation to head Birth1. Brandi, Jens Kr Head May 8 1888
2. Brandi, Mette Katrine Housewife Dec 15 1889
3. Brandi, Holger Richart Child Aug 14 1927
4. Brandi, Arne Marius Child Apr 17 1933
5. Jensen, Ellen Margrethe Maid Oct 22 1921.
27 His wife, Mette, died on 30 May 1951 in Sennels (Parish), Hillerslev (District), Thisted (County), Denmark, at age 61, leaving him a widower.
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