Pedersen, Therese

3 file folders
4 photographs
1 sound cassette

The interview was conducted with Therese Pedersen on April 7, 1981 in Tacoma, Washington. It provides information on family background, emigration, employment, marriage, community activities, and Norwegian heritage. The interview also contains photographs of Therese as a young woman, Therese and her husband Oluf, and Therese at the time of the interview. The interview was conducted in English.

Folder Contents

Box 7, File 18 Personal and Family History
Tape Archive Sheet, Family Background, and Tape Index

Box 7, File 18A Correspondence and Forms
Release Form
Letter from Janet Rasmussen regarding Mrs. Pedersen’s participation.
Handwritten Tape Archive Sheet and Family Background

Box 7, File 18B Photographs
Four photographs

Interviewed by Inger Nygaard Carr
Transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky Husby
Encoded by Kerstin Ringdahl & Amity Smetzler
Recording Quality: Good

Biographical Note

Therese Pedersen was born on November 25, 1895 in Bodø, Norway to Emil and Ingeborg Jancen. Emil was German and Ingeborg was Norwegian, and they met through their fathers. Both of their fathers were in the herring business and did business with each other in Norway. Therese had six siblings: Lars, Einar, Bergitte, Fritjof, Eilef, and Karl. The family was raised in Norway, but Therese visited Germany on many occasions. Therese was confirmed in January 1911, after which she went to Germany for a few years. She left Germany when the war broke out and then went to 'husmor' school in Oslo. There, she also got a job caring for six boys. She worked for this family for five years.

In 1921, Therese's mother decided that she should go to America, which Therese did not want to do. Ingeborg arranged for Therese to stay with her friends, Mr. and Mrs. Strømma, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Therese helped the Strømmas with their housework for a while and then got a job with the Carpenter family, in which she took care of their children. After ten years, she visited Norway for a year and then returned back to Minneapolis.

Once she was back in Minneapolis, Therese met her husband, Oluf Pedersen, at a Nordland's Club gathering in 1936. Oluf was originally from Vesterdal, Norway but had come to stay with his brother in Minneapolis. They were married on April 16, after which Oluf went west to go fishing in Alaska. Therese stayed in Minneapolis until September and then moved to Tacoma, Washington. In Tacoma, she continued to take care of children, and Oluf fished every summer. In 1950, Oluf was paralyzed from a stroke, and he passed away peacefully in 1956. They never had any children.

In America, Therese has maintained the cooking and baking of Norwegian foods and has also belonged to Nordlandslaget and the Daughters of Norway. She has returned to Norway on several occasions, and although she is also half-German, Therese thinks of herself as Norwegian and is proud of her heritage.

Lineage

Full Name: Therese Louise Jancen Pedersen
Maiden Name: Therese Louise Jancen
Father: Emil Jancen
Mother: Ingeborg Månson Jancen
Paternal Grandfather: Franz Johnson
Paternal Grandmother: Maria Johnson
Maternal Grandfather: Lars Månson
Maternal Grandmother: Katrina Engelsdatter Månson
Brothers and Sisters: Lars Jancen, Einar Jancen, Bergitte Jancen, Fritjof Jancen, Eilef Jancen, Karl Jancen
Spouse: Oluf Pedersen.