John Hartwig Hansen Larger Than Life (Hansen)

Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not it's twin.
Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

  

  The stories go like this..............

  John Hartwig Hansen was born in Norway; ran away to sail the seas on clipper ships when he was 12 years old; jumped ship in Eureka, California, worked for awhile as a farm hand in Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, enlisted in the Spanish American War and after his service somehow found his way into the Sierra Foothills and mining country, ending up in Grass Valley, California.  His knowledge of rope splicing made it easy for him to get work as a cable splicer in the mines.  In Grass Valley, putting down roots, he taught elocution which led to participation in local theatrical productions.  He gave dance and physical fitness instructions (he worked out with Indian clubs all his life).  He swept Clara Vere Burrows off her feet because he was such a good dancer!

  John H. enlisted in the U.S. Navy during the Spanish American war.  It was said that he sailed under Robley "Fighting Bob" Evans (hence the name given to his middle son Robley "Bob" Evans Hansen).   His obituary stated that he was present at the raising of the American flag in Manila. He was present at the raising of the flag over the Iolani Palace in Hawaii.   He tried to enlist for active duty during WWI, but was kept in the active reserves.  He was a very patriotic citizen, participated in events of patriotism, and always hung out the American flag for appropriate occasions. 

  In 1910 he embarked on the  steam ship  "City of Para" to El Salvador where he accepted a position with the Pullinger and Butters Co., which operated a number of mines in Central America.  He spent 3 years there, and wrote down his adventures as a collection of stories filled with tales of monkeys, dogs and mules, numerous close calls with nature and difficulties with employees and natives alike. The last few months of his tenure  he was joined on his adventure by his wife, Clara Vere Burrows Hansen and their oldest son, Jack Klemmet.  They left their two youngest sons at home in California. When the President of El Salvador was  assasinated it was time to come home.  

  He spent the remainder of his life  ranching and raising three boys in Grass Valley with the love of his life, Clara. They built their final home on West Main Street, and he saw his three boys off to serve in WWII.   He served on the Grass Valley City Council for 4 years and was eventually elected mayor of the city for which he served two years. 

  John Hartwig Hansen  was indeed a colorful character, and seems almost larger than life to me.   The story of his life is put together from pictures,  family memories, newspaper articles and information provided in his obituary.  There are his memoirs written down of his adventures in Central America.  But.... are these memories, tidbits of information and stories accurate?  I am finding that genealogical research can sometimes be a difficult thing when it comes to matching memories with actual fact.  Gay Hansen Sandberg, Bob Hansen's daughter, edited John Hansen's memoirs.  She added in her introduction that.."It has to be remembered that he was quite a spinner of tales". 
 Memory is indeed a complicated thing. I will try to provide some relative truth, but it will never be it's twin. 


  John H. Hansen's family applied for a headstone for Military Veterans after his death in April of 1945.   This application gives the date of his enlistment as July 1, 1898 and his discharge as November 11, 1898.  He was 33 years old when he enlisted. According to a July 4, 1984 article in the Reno Gazette Journal, Bob Hansen talks about his father's early years.  The article states that "As a teenager the late John Hartwig Hansen ran away from home and went to sea aboard a clipper ship.  After exploring a large part of the globe in the 1880's he decided to settle in the United States--but he didn't give up the sea.  When the Spanish American War started, Hansen presented his brand new citizenship papers to the U.S. Navy and was assigned to the USS Mohican as an Able Seaman.  That's how he happened to be aboard when the Mohican sailed to the Hawaiian Islands to raise the American flag over the Iolani Palace in Honolulu, officially annexing the islands to the United States.  Since Hansen was an expert rope splicer, he was sent ashore with the landing party and was one of the sailors who hoisted the flag into place.  After the ceremony, each sailor in the flag raising party was given a 12-inch piece of the rope and a certificate telling about their part in the annexation of Hawaii." 

  The article goes on to tell how the piece of rope grew smaller.  "Without really recognizing the value of his memento, Hansen sold half of it for $20 when he was short of cash.  Later, he sold half of what was left.  The remaining snippet of rope, no bigger than a cigarette, he wore as a watch fob. Now, 86 years after it was cut from the line that raised the American flag over Hawaii, that tiny piece of rope is one of Robley Hansen's treasures.  He loves to tell his granddaughter the story of the piece of rope and why her great-grandfather wore it as a reminder of his role in a chapter of American history." 

  
  This part of John H.'s story is probably the most accurate of his war stories.  In researching Robley Dungliston Evans I found that he was commanding the USS Iowa in Cuba early summer of 1898.  The raising of the flag in the Philippines was August 13, 1898.  The formal flag raising ceremony to mark the annexation of Hawaii over the Iolani Palace was August 12, 1898.  I believe that John H. possibly idolized Robley Evans from his previous war exploits (he was a colorful character) which is why he named his second son after him.  I also believe that in the retelling of the Spanish American war and his part he played, possibly the flag stories got mixed up resulting in a piece of information in his obituary telling of his role in the Philippines.  He was actually in Hawaii serving on the Mohican.   That is my interpretation.  It is always open to revision.  
  
  John H Hansen was found living in Grass Valley in the 1900 US Census. He was living on Neal Street as a single boarder in the household of George Hill and his wife. His occupation was listed as miner. He was listed as being 33 years of age. In reality he was 35 years old.  One of his fellow boarders was a Florence Garrison, aged 32.  Her occupation was listed as "Teacher of Elocution".  That is an interesting connection, and may be where his skills as an elocution teacher came from! I wonder what he and Florence were collaborating on.  He lists his date of immigration as being 1883, which would have  made him 18 when he entered the United States. Since most of the 1890  US Census is not available due to fire, we really do not know what he was up to prior to 1900, with the exception of his war service in 1898.  He certainly could have been working in various parts of California, especially as a farm hand, since he grew up on a farm in Norway.  Later in life, he worked a small ranch near the Idaho-Maryland Mine.  In 1900,  Clara Vere Burrows was 17 years old and  living on the west side of Townsend Street in Grass Valley.  He and Clara would marry in 1904.  It sounds like both John and Clara had a busy social life in Grass Valley and could very well have met at a theatrical production, or during dancing lessons!  

  The 1910 Census lists the Hansen family as living at 418 Main Street (in the old house..before the new house was built).  John Hansen was listed as a miner, working in a gold mine as a ropeman.  He and Clara had experienced the death of their first child, Hulda Hansen in 1905.
  The Union Tuesday April 25, 1905......Hulda Elizabeth, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hansen passed away yesterday morning at 5 o'clock, after a week's illness.  The child was only thirteen days old.  A severe attack of congestion of the lungs was the cause of death.  The funeral will be held this afternoon at 2 o'clock, from the family residence, and will be private.

  Jack Hansen and Robley Hansen are listed on the census.  Harold Hansen was born October 11, 1910, after the census was taken.  

  In his memoirs, John Hansen talks about Clara and Jack meeting him in El Salvador and staying with him for a short period.  I did find the Passenger and Crew List for their return trip home from La Union which lists their arrival date in San Francisco as 2 March 1913 which coincides with the story of the assassination of the president in February of 1913.  

  
  I also found a U.S. Passport Application for John Hansen requesting a passport to Nicaragua in June of 1921. 

  

     His obituary mentioned that he was a gold miner in Nicaragua and Guatemala. Indeed, he was!

  I chronicled the rest of John H.'s life with his family in the last blog post, using his obituary as my source along with family pictures to fill out his life in Grass Valley.  I believe I am closer to the truth of John Hartwig Hansen, but I will never truly know him as I am generations removed from when he lived and made his mark on the world.  He was a unique person who left his mark on our family in many, many ways.  


Some pertinent information on Indian Clubs....

"Indian clubs, which originated in the Indian subcontinent, are a type of exercise equipment used to present resistance in movement to develop strength and mobility.  They consist of bowling-pin shaped wooden clubs of varying sizes and weights, which are swung in certain patterns as part of a strength exercise program.....they were used in carefully choreographed routines in which the clubs were swung in unison by a group of exercisers, led by an instructor, similar to 21st century aerobics or zumba classes.....when the 19th century British colonists came across exercising clubs in India, they named them Indian clubs."  Wikipedia.
 

                            St. Pauls Young Mens Society Indian Club Swinging Team, Ipswich, 1890's