Frederik immigrated to Missouri Circa 1905 Age 18. Stayed with the families of his Madsen uncles—brothers of Bodil Kirstine in Missouri for a few months. He got bored and decided to go on to SF to be with Martin—2 years older.

Arrived in SF About April 1 and earthquake April 15 1906 on his birthday. After earthquake, went to Stockton islands driving horse & wagon. Went back to SF circa 1907 or 08 and worked building boats. Went to Shaver lake and cut timber. became good friends with cook. Winter went to Fresno and leveled land for irrigation—1-2 years.

C 1909-1910 opened with other Danes a delicatessen Market & Haight St. Factory workers bought noon meal there.823

Family Story of Fredrick Christiansen 813 as interpreted by Hulda Christiansen

The family has two sides--from Haldagermagle and Krummerup District between Slagelse and Naestned and one from Humble District in Langlelard (Island off coast of Denmark). Humble family left Langeland about 1850 and went to Haldagermagle and all members of the next two generations in both families were born in Haldagermagle with the exception of the Humble family whose first child was Bodil Kristine, Fred Christiansen's mother. Bodil Kristine was born in Humble shortly before they moved to Haldagermagle.

It's a shame that the church books from Krummerup district from that violent period were damaged by fire, water, or eaten by mice or rats. In any case, the essential half of each side, most often the margins contained facts at Kristal--probably district records. In any case they found at Rigsarkivet (official recorder) copies of the church books and also a copy of the census books way back to the year 1700 and in many instances even before. Here one can find details of people's age, birthplace, their faith and beliefs, what they did for a living and birthdates.

As one can see, in Denmark in 1985 there have lived four generations with the name Christiansen or Kristiansen.

The following is information from Jonathan Couchman:787

Frederik went to school for seven years. When he was 7 years of age, he worked for another farmer herding pigs and moving cattle that were staked to chains. One winter, he went to high school, boarding there.

His sister, Lena, was the first to come to the US, followed by Martin. Frederik left third, in January 1906, to see his uncles and aunts, Anders, Hans, Marie and Marta Madsen, in Missouri. Finding little economic opportunity in MIssouri, he continued on to San Francisco in April.

The day after his arrival, he was awakened by his bed sliding across the floor during the great earthquake and was so frightened that he left for the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where he worked in lumber mills near Shaver Lake in the summer. In the winter, he and brother Martin wintered on the farm of some Danes called Jensen in Eastin, near Fresno, working in the vineyards, scraping land. This was where he learned to play poker.

The next summer, he worked on a farm on Jersey Island in the San Joaquin/Sacramento Delta and then for Spreckels Sugar in Crockett. Hulda recalls also that he worked for a while building ships in San Francisco and driving a delivery
wagon in the Delta.

He and a partner bought a grocery store in San Francisco, then sold it. He bought a grocery/butcher shop on Market Street, called Jensen, Jacobsen and Christiansen, a partnership they formed for $750 each. He next rented a delicatessen on Pacific Street off Fillmore and Jackson Streets from a Mr. Hahn, and his sister, Lena, went to work for him, making pies and hot fruits, although only for a short time.

Kirsten Ween, who followed Lena to San Francisco, came to work for him, too. Fred and Kirsten soon married. Fred bought 48 acres of land south of Turlock in the Tegner School district, across the road from Chattom Ranch. They had to buy horses, implements and furniture. Carl, Arne and Jamie were born there.

Fred became disgusted and sold out, then returned to SF in 1913, renting an apartment on Jackson St. for $25/month. He searched the streets daily for work but could find none. They returned to the area near Turlock, living on Kristoffertson Lane near Monte Vista, then moved to another house near Carpenter and Bradbury Roads, where they rented 40 acres next door to the previous farm and built a 2-room cabin. After a year, they got back the 48 acres.

During this time, he worked weeks in Empire, walking home to Turlock on the weekends. They were reportedly so poor that Kirsten could not even afford a postage stamp to write to her brothers to ask for a loan.

After the World War I started, times got better, and they moved to Modesto. In 1917, Fred traded his place for 140 acres on Tuolumne road in Modesto--where Hulda was born--and a house in San Jose. He sold the house for $800. In 1919, he moved to Carpenter Road, where he lived for the rest of his years.

Finally, from an unknown source:

Fred Christiansen came from Denmark in around 1904. He started in Missouri then went to San Francisco in 1906, arriving just before the earthquake. He spoke of pulling his trunk to a tent where he could stay after the quake.

Kirsten Ween immigrated to the U.S. in about 1906. She started in Brooklyn where she lived with the mother of Ellen Knudsen. Then she went to Chicago, Ill., Evanston, Illinois, and Beacon Hill in Boston. She met Lena (Fred’s sister) in Evanston and traveled to San Francisco with her. In Evanston, Lena was a cook and Kirsten washed dishes for the same family 3 to 5 times a day. She was also a chambermaid and cleaner chamber pots and rooms.

Around 1910, Fred opened a delicatessen on Hayes Street, just to the right of Market St. in San Francisco, in about 1910. Kirsten was one of his employees. They married in January of 1912.