Sorensen Names…

Well this can be a mess, or quite easy, depending on how flexiable you are toward the changing names of the family. What are the real names of these people?

I note the Danish names and use of same, but I use the American versions. They all applied for and recieved citizenship and with the patronymics of Denmark in flux at this time as well. I suppose just take your pick.

Peter Sorensen's Danish Military document has his last name as Nicolaisen, which had we stayed in Denmark might have been our name.

Passenger Listing at Liverpool—

The Sorensen family as listed in the Emigrants Registry of the British Mission. (I have cut-and-pasted this image to provide the headings at the top of the page, along with our family information. I removed the two people above us, so as to make this a easier to use graphic.)

— Emigrants Registry of the British Mission —

Our family members named above were also noted in this record as being from the Copenhagen Conference, as being “Dane” and having paid 61 English pounds for the passage of this group (Ticket No. 8) to America. Please note that Nicolai also brought with him Nils Otto Jorgansen, who was an apprentice in his work shop in Haverup, Sorø, Denmark. He is also a full brother to Catherine S. Sorensen's husband, Andrew Andersen. (Their family has some of the same problems with names and patronymics as we do. Catherine will follow the rest of her family to Utah in 1858 with Andrew Andersen’s father, Jorgen C. Andersen and family.) The names as they appear above were written down by a Englishman as best he understood their Danish, and show some of the diversity in names that we deal with.

Note the spelling of Isaac Sorensen below, here it is spelled as we know it today. The Isaak Sorensen Danish spelling from the Copenhagen Passenger Listing has been Americanized. Also, form this listing the names would continue to be changed in spelling and use. For example, Jacob took Frederik (Fredrick) as his middle name in America. Abraham and Isaac did not use the Frederik at all. For the girls, Ingeborg Kirstine Larsine Sorensen, our Seny had the most drastic change and spelling makeover. Her name comes form Larsine… as Seny. Nicolai calls her Stine from Kirstine and no one used the Ingeborg, much like the boys with Ole or Frederik…

Name	Age	Occupation
Nicolai Sorensen	57	Carpenter
Lina Sorensen	49	Wife
Ola Peter Sorensen	24	Carpenter
Kirsten Sorensen	20
Frederik Abraham Sorensen	19	Wheelright
Frederik Isaac Sorensen	16	Wheelright
Frederik Jacob Sorensen	12
Karen Maria Sorensen	14
Soren Christian Sorensen	10
Henrik Carl Sorensen	5
Ingeborg K. Sorensen	2
Nils Otto Jorgensen	19	Wheelright

1. Emigrants Registry of the British Mission, Family History Libary, Film Number 025,691