Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

which cause a man to be regarded with
respect and affection by his neighbors and
fellow-citizens.
HANSEN, John M.,
General Contractor.
A nation cannot be measured by its
physical boundaries. Her area may be
small, she may not be numbered among
the Great Powers of the earth, but Denmark
has given to greater nations, in the
sons of her soil, the sturdy qualities of
mind and soul without which all nations,
whatever greatness they may have at-
tained, will crumble to the dust. In the
Scandinavian countries, where the rigors
of the Northern climate test every man,
the rugged, active virtues become estab-
lished characteristics. Thrift and indus-
try are learned in the cradle, so to speak
the hard conditions make mutual helpful-
ness the accustomed attitude, and bind
men together in a universal brotherhood.
This public spirit, these homely qualities,
so vital to the social welfare, are brought
to us by the young men who seek our
shores, and in the homes they build among
us are perpetuated, becoming a part of
the very fabric of our civilization. John
M. Hansen, the progressive contractor of
Greenwich, Connecticut, ably exemplifies
this accession of new and wholesome
blood.
In Mr. Hansen's name survives the
time-honored Scandinavian custom, still
in vogue in many sections, through which
the surname given to a child is composed
of his father's Christian name and the
suffix, "son," or, with the same meaning,
"sen." Thus the son of Jens becomes
Jensen ; the son of Hans, Hansen.
Mr. Hansen comes of a family of high
character, whose members held positions
of trust in the community. In the famous
old city of Lubeck, by the river
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
357
Trave, nearly a hundred years ago, Hein-
rith Moos, Mr. Hansen's grandfather,
watched over the city from a quaint old
tower while the people slept, and any who
chanced to be wakeful heard his call,
hour after hour, and knew that all was
well.
Hans Henrick, his son, was born in
Lubeck, in 1834, and died in 1912. He
was ambitious to enter some active field
of labor, and while still quite a lad went
to Denmark and learned the trade of
brick making. He worked hard, and de-
nied himself every luxury, and soon after
completing his apprenticeship managed to
start a brick yard of his own. He began
in a small way, but the excellence of his
product and his natural business sagacity
gave him success from the very start. It
was located in Aalborg, Veusysel, Denmark,
and after a few years he took one
of the young ladies of the town for his
wife, Lena Maria Emerson. They were
the parents of three children : John M.,
whose name heads this review ; Chris,
now also a resident of Greenwich, Con-
necticut; and Fred, who still resides in
Veusysel. The parents were faithful and
earnest members of the Danish Lutheran
church up to the time of their death.
John M. Hansen, the well known contractor
of Greenwich, Connecticut, was
born in Aalborg, Veusysel, Denmark, November
23, 1865, the oldest son of Hans
and Lena Maria (Emerson) Henrick. He
received his early education in the pub-
lic schools of his native town. This pe-
riod of his life was closed at the age of
fourteen, but being active, observant, always
on the alert for knowledge from the
least important matter to the great issues
of the hour, Mr. Hansen supplemented the
formal education of his boyhood with the
live, practical information which is so
potent a factor of success. On leaving
school the boy entered his father's brick