52Ancestors52Weeks Week 48 Theme: Strength......The Man with the Hands of Iron: More Photographs Discovered of John H. Hansen

      

" Hansen....The Terrible Viking....The man with the HANDS OF IRON....A Raw Potatoe--Crushed to a Pulp...Meets all Comers in Feats of Strength".....pen and ink drawing on cardboard from the Hansen Family Collection, date probably around 1912-13.  John was working as a mine supervisor in San Salvador in Central America at that time.   It is easy to imagine my Great Grandfather participating in such contests.  I would love to know more about this particular picture and how it came to be!

  The theme for this week is Strength...strength comes in many forms; either physical, emotional or spiritual.  What ancestor demonstrated a particular strength?  My Great Grandfather was extremely proud of his physical strength throughout his life.  I recently discovered even more pictures of John H. Hansen at a Hansen cousin's house this past summer.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!  John Hartwig Hansen was indeed a very strong person, not only physically, but he also had a particularly strong personality.  I find myself coming back to his life story over and over.   These new pictures add even more depth to his life.  I am so glad they still exist! 

  This picture was taken in 1898 in Grass Valley, California.  John Hansen arrived in Grass Valley after gaining his citizenship in Colusa County, California in 1894.  He was born in Christiana Norway on February 2, 1865, worked on sailing ships out of Norway from a young age and jumped ship in either San Francisco or Eureka before he made his way to Colusa to work as a laborer on a farm. In Grass Valley he worked in a mine as a ropeman, using the skills he learned working aboard ships.  

  While he was in Grass Valley, John joined up to participate in the Spanish American War, at the age of 33 years. I also discovered this photograph that my Great Grandmother Vere Hansen had saved.  He served in the Navy, where  he continued to use his skills as a rope splicer.  See my previous post of May 9, 2020 John Hartwig Hansen Larger Than Life for more details on his participation in the flag raising in Hawaii during the war...

  John Hartwig Hansen Spanish American War, Navy.  1898.  See my previous post of May 31, 2020   Documents for John Hansen; Birth, Citizenship, The Spanish American War and the Laundry Business Explained for more in depth information on his life and participation in the war. 

  This one is dated 1899 and was taken in San Francisco, after the Spanish American War.  

  Another picture I discovered this summer!  Date unknown, but it must have been taken around the turn of the century, sans mustache.  John Hansen was certainly proud of his physique.  He worked out with Indian clubs, which were all the rage at the time.  

John Hansen, far left.  This was a theater production he was involved in in Grass Valley, around the turn of the century.  Notice his large forearms!  He participated in theater to practice his elocution skills.  He was working on loosing his Norwegian accent.  

  John Hansen with his sons Jack (holding hands) and Robley (on his shoulder) around 1909-10.  Grass Valley, California.  From the Hansen Family Album shared by Skip Hansen.  John was a loving father to all three of his boys (Harold, my Grandfather, was born in 1910).  I can just imagine the strength in John's arm as he proudly held up his son for this picture.  And compare the size of his hand to the size of Jack's hand! Fatherly strength and fatherly tenderness in one picture.  

John H. Hansen San Salvador 1913.  He worked for the Pullinger and Butters Company which ran mines in Central America.  This must have been his supervisor pose.  He looks very sure of himself here. 

  Another pen and ink drawing on cardboard found with things saved by my Great Grandmother Vere Hansen and discovered this summer.   This could have been from San Salvador, also.  The forearms certainly look like John Hansen's!  He often went by the name Jack. 

  Caption on back..  "Dad with boom erected by him Idaho Maryland Mine".  John Hansen worked at the Idaho Maryland Mine in Grass Valley after he came back from San Salvador.  Did he erect the boom all by himself?  One wonders.  He certainly could have!

  John Hansen on far right posing with his three boys Harold (my Grandfather), Robley and Jack at the reservoir near the Idaho Maryland Mine in Grass Valley sometime in the mid to late 1920's.  John kept his athletic physique as he aged through swimming, skiing and skating; all great Norwegian sports!  He encouraged his boys to be active and athletic, also. 

  I posted John's obituary earlier in my blog (May 3, 2020 John Hartwig Hansen) which gives the basic outline of his colorful life.  I am sure there will be many more posts to come on John Hartwig Hansen, especially now that I have a small collection of pictures taken in San Salvador and the actual manuscript he wrote detailing his time in Central America.  These were also found at Cousin Skip's this summer. 

   It was fascinating to find pictures that visually told the story of John Hansen's physical strengths.  His strong personality continues to challenge me to write down the rest of his story.... 

Relationship Reference:  Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Harold Lloyd Hansen->John Hartwig Hansen m. Clara Vere Burrows Hansen