Welcome to the Mortensen Branch of Our Family. Ted's mother was Lillian Mortensen. The surname has been found recorded as Mortenson, Martinson, and simply Martin.
DNA: Ted and his brother have had their DNA tested late in 2016. Some of our ancestors have been verified by finding other descendants that have also had their DNA tested.
Lillian's father, Rasmus Mortensen, was born in Haarby Denmark. He and his brother Lars immigrated in 1887 to Marcus, Iowa via the port city of Boston. After working off his passage in Marcus he moved to nearby Sioux City where he met Anna and lived the rest of his life, except for a couple of years in New York state. Lars moved to Nebraska and then to New York. They had two sisters that came to the USA; Christina in 1886 and Dosine in 1889. They also had 4 sisters and 1 brother that stayed behind in Denmark. [We found 2 letters in Danish from the brother in Denmark, Peder, to Lars asking for assistance.]
Lillian's mother, Anna Johansen, was born in Nordre Land, Norway and immigrated in 1888 to Pomeroy, Iowa via the port city of New York. After working off her passage she moved to Sioux City, Iowa where she met Rasmus.
A word about surnames in Denmark and Norway:
Prior to the mid 1800's the Danish and Norweign surnames followed a patronymic system. A father's given name was typically used for his children's surname. For example Lillian's great-grandfather Rasmus Hansen's children had the surname Rasmussen (son of Rasmus) or Rasmusdatter (daughter of Rasmus). Morten Rasmussen, Rasmus's son, gave his children the surname of Mortensen (male) or Mortendatter (female). Birth records in the church did list the full names of each of the parents, but it has been a challenge to research these ancestors.