DNA helps find Christiana's brother

Prior to the trip to Peshtigo, I had noticed that about seven matches on AncestryDNA were all shared matches.  I had done a Nelson/Nelsen surname search and found three trees that had a Rasmus Nelson.  My maternal cousin was also a match to them. According to the trees, Rasmus Nelson, who was born in 1841 in Denmark, died in Denmark, Brown County, Wisconsin.  I emailed the administrator to one of the trees and actually got a reply back!  In my email, I had mentioned Peshtigo and found out that Rasmus had also lived in Peshtigo at the time of the fire. At this point, I couldn't say for sure that the two were siblings, but armed with this hint and Christiana's birth date and place, I searched Danish church records and found both Christiana's and Rasmus' birth/baptism records.  They were both born in Gudme, Denmark, to Niels Hansen and Kirsten Jorgensdatter.1  Christiana's birth date matched an ELCA church record and although Rasmus' birth month and date were the same on his gravestone, his birth year was 1842 on the Danish records but 1841 on the gravestone.2 I have since researched Rasmus and found that his age (both given and implied) on the U.S. censuses corroborate the year on the Danish records.  Here is the 1900 U.S. census for Rasmus Nelson and family:

3

As one can see, Rasmus' birth month and year was May 1842.  According to the Danish church records, Rasmus was born 1 May 1842 which corroborates the information on the 1900 U.S. census.4  Also, R. Nelson of New Denmark,Wisconsin, attended Christiana's funeral in 1918.5 The obituary in the Marinette Eagle, the ELCA and Danish church records, DNA evidence, and the 1900 U.S. census, all verify that Christiana and Rasmus were siblings.4



1 “Churchbook, 1833-1863, Gudme NY udgave”, pg. 49, Christiane Nielsen; database with images, Danish Family Search (https://www.danishfamilysearch.com/sogn1571/churchbook/source132607/opslag14247459  : accessed 18 Jan 2019). Also,“Churchbook, 1833-1863, Gudme NY udgave”, pg. 12, Rasmus Nielsen; Danish Family Search (https://www.danishfamilysearch.com/sogn1571/churchbook/source132607/opslag14247459 : accessed 18 Jan 2019). 
2 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, 1800-1946, ELCA film no. A211-214, SSIRC Film No. A213, Christiana Peterson.; database with images, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com : accessed 29 November 2019). Also, Find A Grave, Rasmus Nelson, memorial 83537228, 28 July 1935, West Danish Cemetery, Denmark, Wisconsin; database with images, Findagrave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83537228 : accessed 30 June 2020); gravestone photo by Joanne Morehouse.  
3 1900 U.S. census, Brown, Wisconsin, population schedule, New Denmark, SD 6 (penned), ED 29, Sheet 5, p. 195A, dwelling 91. family 93, Rasmus Nelson household; database with images, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com  : accessed 29 November 2019); citing NARA microfilm publication T623. 
4 “Churchbook, 1833-1863, Gudme NY udgave”, pg. 10, no. 2, Rasmus Nielsen; database with images, Danish Family Search (https://www.danishfamilysearch.com : accessed 18 Jan 2019). Also, 1900 U.S. census, Brown, Wisconsin, population schedule, New Denmark, Rasmus Nelson household.   

5 Marinette Eagle, “THE DEATH ROLL   Funeral of Mrs. Peterson,” Christiana Peterson, 3 October 1918; Stephenson Library, Marinette, Marinette County, Wisconsin.

4 Ibid. Also, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, 1800-1946, Christiana Peterson. Also,Churchbook, 1833-1863, Gudme NY udgave”, pg. 49, Christiane Nielsen. Also, Churchbook, 1833-1863, Gudme NY udgave”, pg. 49, Rasmus Nielsen. Also, 1900 U.S. census, Brown, Wisconsin, population schedule, New Denmark, Rasmus Nelson household.