Thursday, January 29, 2004
UNCLE ROBERT
We come to the last of seven brothers. Robert Erik Andersen was born March 19, 1906. He came along after grandma and grandpa were through adding to their farms. He was frail and sickly, of slender build and not like the other boys. Grandma protected him from the hard work and kept him at the house. Of the seven boys Sophus and Robert always stayed with someone. When grandma and grandpa moved to Fremont, Blair and Omaha, respectively, Robert and Sophus stayed at the farm. Emil stayed with them until mom and dad were married and farming the old Boston farm. Emil tired of watching after the boys and moved to Blair. Mom and dad then moved to the Andersen farm at Fontanelle and were there until the farm was lost in the depression.
After the farms were lost, grandma and grandpa moved to Omaha taking Robert and Sophus with them. They remained together but times were not good. Losing the farms and the bank closing with their money was a bitter blow in their old age. After years of sacrifice and hard work they were unable to cope with their losses. One day grandpa got up from his chair and went down under the front porch and hung himself. He was 84-years old. Robert drove over to our house to tell us and we hurried to console grandma. She was now left with two sons to care for and the sorrow of grandpa’s death.
All the years of Robert’s falls and seizures were finally diagnosed as epilepsy. His spells were getting worse and he had fallen and broke his arm. He was admitted into the hospital during one of his worst seizures. The next day my mother called the hospital to see how he was doing. She was told that he apparently got up and put his clothes on in the night. He and his clothes were gone….they assumed he went home.
Of course my parents didn’t believe this and called the other brothers to help look for him. They got everyone they could think of to spread out from the hospital and search the area for him. They called the police and put an article in the paper. They looked for days to no avail. My dad always thought that uncle Robert died that night and they took his body for science. The hospital had asked Dad to sign a paper when he admitted Robert. It was to release Robert’s body to scientific study in the event of death. Epilepsy was just beginning to be diagnosed and they needed more data for study. Dad refused.
There was never any closure for the family. In all these years since he has not been seen or heard from. If, like dad thought, he was taken for science I hope his life benefited others who were helped by the study of epilepsy. He was last seen on May 8, 1943. He was 37 years old.
The Andersen family had their share of triumphs and defeats. Grandma and Grandpa came to this country with dreams of owning the land they farmed. Like many before and since, they came through Ellis Island, viewed the Statue of Liberty from the railing of a ship and worked hard to live their dream. They succeeded in a land they couldn’t speak the language of nor understand. They raised seven sons and accumulated sections of land. They were rich in substance but the boys were raised with the mind-set of a dominate father. Grandma and grandpa didn’t have the social problems of fitting in like their children did. Whereas the boys had to blend in with other immigrant children and those born in this country, grandma and grandpa were surrounded by Danish friends and neighbors. They made several trips back to Denmark and narrowly missed boarding the Lucitania once. A
ship that was torpedoed on it’s crossing by a German submarine.
The boys were taught English but at home grandma and grandpa continued speaking Dane, getting the Danish newspaper, and reading a Danish Bible. There was always a separation of Dane and English for the boys growing up. They were dressed like Danes and the boys hated it….they wanted to be like the others they associated with. Once living away from home that was the first order…..to buy clothes that didn’t broadcast their foreign heritage.
After grandpa and Robert were gone grandma was never the same. Dad brought her home to live with us and uncle Emil took Sophus. When we moved to Missouri we brought Sophus with us. Grandma died two years later in Nebraska. She was 87-years.
To conclude, my cousin Dale and I are the only two left of seven men and their families. There may be one cousin left, in Florida, but we don’t know if he is still living. We only know he retired in Florida some years ago. Dale and I have always been close but closer still knowing we are each other’s link to the past. Danish blood runs in our veins mixed with the pride of being born in America………………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
After the farms were lost, grandma and grandpa moved to Omaha taking Robert and Sophus with them. They remained together but times were not good. Losing the farms and the bank closing with their money was a bitter blow in their old age. After years of sacrifice and hard work they were unable to cope with their losses. One day grandpa got up from his chair and went down under the front porch and hung himself. He was 84-years old. Robert drove over to our house to tell us and we hurried to console grandma. She was now left with two sons to care for and the sorrow of grandpa’s death.
All the years of Robert’s falls and seizures were finally diagnosed as epilepsy. His spells were getting worse and he had fallen and broke his arm. He was admitted into the hospital during one of his worst seizures. The next day my mother called the hospital to see how he was doing. She was told that he apparently got up and put his clothes on in the night. He and his clothes were gone….they assumed he went home.
Of course my parents didn’t believe this and called the other brothers to help look for him. They got everyone they could think of to spread out from the hospital and search the area for him. They called the police and put an article in the paper. They looked for days to no avail. My dad always thought that uncle Robert died that night and they took his body for science. The hospital had asked Dad to sign a paper when he admitted Robert. It was to release Robert’s body to scientific study in the event of death. Epilepsy was just beginning to be diagnosed and they needed more data for study. Dad refused.
There was never any closure for the family. In all these years since he has not been seen or heard from. If, like dad thought, he was taken for science I hope his life benefited others who were helped by the study of epilepsy. He was last seen on May 8, 1943. He was 37 years old.
The Andersen family had their share of triumphs and defeats. Grandma and Grandpa came to this country with dreams of owning the land they farmed. Like many before and since, they came through Ellis Island, viewed the Statue of Liberty from the railing of a ship and worked hard to live their dream. They succeeded in a land they couldn’t speak the language of nor understand. They raised seven sons and accumulated sections of land. They were rich in substance but the boys were raised with the mind-set of a dominate father. Grandma and grandpa didn’t have the social problems of fitting in like their children did. Whereas the boys had to blend in with other immigrant children and those born in this country, grandma and grandpa were surrounded by Danish friends and neighbors. They made several trips back to Denmark and narrowly missed boarding the Lucitania once. A
ship that was torpedoed on it’s crossing by a German submarine.
The boys were taught English but at home grandma and grandpa continued speaking Dane, getting the Danish newspaper, and reading a Danish Bible. There was always a separation of Dane and English for the boys growing up. They were dressed like Danes and the boys hated it….they wanted to be like the others they associated with. Once living away from home that was the first order…..to buy clothes that didn’t broadcast their foreign heritage.
After grandpa and Robert were gone grandma was never the same. Dad brought her home to live with us and uncle Emil took Sophus. When we moved to Missouri we brought Sophus with us. Grandma died two years later in Nebraska. She was 87-years.
To conclude, my cousin Dale and I are the only two left of seven men and their families. There may be one cousin left, in Florida, but we don’t know if he is still living. We only know he retired in Florida some years ago. Dale and I have always been close but closer still knowing we are each other’s link to the past. Danish blood runs in our veins mixed with the pride of being born in America………………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
