Soren Jensen Uhrenholdt was born on August 14, 1857 in Borup, a small village near Aalborg in northern Denmark. Soren Uhrenholdt's parents, Jens Sorenson Uhrenholdt and Dorothea Olesdatter, never married. Soren was raised by his mother and had several half-brothers and half-sisters from both of his biological parents. The circumstances of his birth left him with no legal status to own land in Denmark which made it not only necessary but imperative to relocate. In 1882 Soren immigrated to the United States. Soren first settled in central Wisconsin, and after several years of saving he purchased a small farm near Waupaca, Wisconsin.
While establishing himself in Wisconsin, Soren frequently corresponded with his future wife, Christine Thorn. Unlike Soren, Christine Thorn came from a well established Danish family that offered strong prospects of a good life in Denmark. The union between Soren and Christine was opposed by Christine's father, Andreas Thorn. Through Soren's persistence, Christine agreed to marry Soren despite her father's objections. In 1887, Soren sailed to Denmark and married Christine in Copenhagen; soon afterwards the couple left Denmark and returned to Soren's farmstead in Wisconsin.
In the late 1890s, Soren and Christine Uhrenholdt faced hard times and were forced to sell their farm near Waupaca. Intent upon owning land, Soren purchased 160 acres in Seeley, Wisconsin (a small town located north of Hayward), from a railroad company unloading land at bargain prices. In 1900, Soren and Christine moved their young family to their small home in Seeley. Soren, with the help of his eldest son Jens, worked vigorously clearing and farming the land.
While many farmers failed in northern Wisconsin, often selling their land to lumber companies, Soren found it possible to balance both timber and agricultural interests on his land. Soren selectively cut timber on his property to help his family survive, while allowing the forest to grow even stronger. Soren Uhrenholdt's farm became a model of efficiency in northern Wisconsin, and Soren became a well-known and well-respected farmer and conservationist. Soren was recognized for his achievement by the State of Wisconsin and represented the state at several national agriculture conventions in the early twentieth century.
Soren and Christine had eight children: Jens, Christine, Johanna, Andrew, Soren, Christian, Elizabeth, and Marie. Soren and Christine's second eldest son, Andrew, studied agriculture at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. After graduating, Andrew enlisted in the army and joined a machine gun battalion during World War I. During World War I Andrew was mortally wounded, died, and was buried in England.
The second eldest daughter of Soren and Christine, Johanna, also went to college and eventually earned a Master of Arts degree in public health from the University of Michigan in 1940. Johanna served on a number of boards, associations, and councils during her career. Most notably she served as the executive secretary of the national tuberculosis association between 1923 and 1927, was a regional director of the American Red Cross between 1944 and 1946, was the regional health educator for the Pennsylvania Department of Health from 1955 until 1958, and was a fellow of the American Public Health Association. In addition to her activities with these organizations, Johanna was also a dedicated teacher.
Soren and Christine's second youngest daughter, Elizabeth, eventually fell in love with and married naturalist Sigurd Olson. Olson first came to know the Uhrenholdt Family while attending Northland College with Andrew. Andrew invited Sigurd Olson to the family farmstead for Easter vacation in 1917. Following the close of the academic year, Sigurd returned to work at the Uhrenholdt farmstead during the summer of 1917 during which he developed a close bond, and frequently conversed with Elizabeth Uhrenholdt. During the following academic year Sigurd would often take the train to the Uhrenholdt farmstead on weekends to meet with Elizabeth. In 1921 Sigurd Olson married Elizabeth Uhrenholdt. The strong influence of the Uhrenholdt family, especially Soren, on Sigurd Olson would play a major role in his career as a naturalist.
Rather than sell the farm after Soren could no longer manage it, a joint management was arranged between several of Soren and Christine's children. As it became known, “the partnership” included Sigurd and Elizabeth Olson, Jens and Blanche Uhrenholdt, Johanna and Willis Johnson, and James and Marie White. The partnership maintained the farm and timberland that was carefully preserved by Soren Uhrenholdt for over forty years.
After Soren Uhrenholdt passed away in 1947, his children donated a large tract of land to the State of Wisconsin to serve as a memorial to their parents. The Uhrenholdt Memorial Forest encompasses a total of 119 acres comprised of mainly red and white pine and balsam fir. As his children requested, 14 acres remain pristine and undisturbed. The remainder of the forest is managed as a demonstration forest. The demonstration forest displays how proper management of a forest can conserve the forest's integrity while still being a profitable plot of land.
Genealogy
- Soren Jensen Uhrenholdt (1858-1947) m. Christine (Thorn) Uhrenholdt (1857-1931)
- ch. Jens Uhrenholdt (1888-1981) m. Blanche Ruth (McCombs) Uhrenholdt (1893- )
- ch. Andrew Curtis Uhrenholdt (1920-1941)
- ch. Betty Lou (Uhrenholdt) Raymond (1922- ) m. Joseph Raymond
- ch. Curtis Joseph Raymond (1952- )
- ch. Dale Ann Raymond (1954- )
- ch. Russell Uhrenholdt (1932- ) m. Ruth Blanchford
- ch. David Andrew Uhrenholdt (1960- )
- ch. Anne Christine Uhrenholdt (1961- )
- ch. Kenneth Eugene Uhrenholdt (1964- )
- ch. Christine (Uhrenholdt) Thompson (1890-1984) m. John A. Thompson (1889-1967)
- ch. Richard Arnold Thompson (1918-1918)
- ch. Jeanne Elizabeth (Uhrenholdt) King (1920-1968) m. A. Paul King
- ch. Paula Jeanne King (1950- )
- ch. Thomas John King (1952- )
- ch. Marjorie Andrea (Uhrenholdt) Sanzi (1921- ) m. George A. Sanzi (1919-1995)
- ch. Lauren Christine Sanzi (1945- )
- ch. Sue Margaret Sanzi (1947- )
- ch. Amy Elizabeth Sanzi (1950- )
- ch. Andrea Jo Sanzi (1954- )
- ch. Carla Joy Sanzi (1955- )
- ch. John A. Thompson (1925-1925)
- ch. Christine Lucille (Thompson) Tschudy (1926- ) m. Albert J. Tschudy
- ch. Margaret Ann Tschudy (1951- )
- ch. Kenneth Allen Tschudy (1953- )
- ch. Ted Andrew Tschudy (1955- )
- ch. Marilyn Louise Tschudy (1956- )
- ch. Janet Marie Tschudy (1962- )
- ch. Johanna (Uhrenholdt) Johnson (1892-1976) m. Willis Gresham Johnson
- ch. (stepdaughter) Phyllis Katherine Johnson
- ch. Andrew Uhrenholdt (1894-1918)
- ch. Christian Uhrenholdt (1896-1963) m. Frederica (Morgan) Uhrenholdt (1894-1965)
- ch. Dorothy Louise (Uhrenholdt) Artlip (1923-2005)
- m. Alvin Siekert (first husband, divorced 1950)
- ch. Alvin Drew Siekert (1943- )
- ch. Christian Curtis Siekert (1945- )
- ch. Charles Thomas Siekert (1946)
- m. Stanley Dahlgren (second husband, divorced 1959)
- ch. Robert Erland Dahlgren II (1952- )
- ch. Bruce Brooks Dahlgren (1956- )
- m. Millard Artlip (third husband)
- ch. Soren Uhrenholdt II (1896-1962) m. Mabel Peart Uhrenholdt (1896- )
- ch. Barbara Marie (Uhrenholdt) Ellison (1926-1982) m. William G. Ellison
- ch. Margaret Barbara Ellison (1949- )
- ch. William David Ellison (1951- )
- ch. Steven Robert Ellison (1952- )
- ch. Elizabeth JoAnne Ellison (1955- )
- ch. Soren Uhrenholdt III (1927- ) m. Joycelynn (Hoppenen) Uhrenholdt
- ch. Beth Diane Uhrenholdt (1957- )
- ch. Soren Victor Uhrenholdt (1959- )
- ch. Amy Marie Uhrenholdt (1961- )
- ch. Elizabeth Uhrenholdt (1898-1994) m. Sigurd Olson (1899-1982)
- ch. Sigurd Thorne Olson (1923- ) m. Esther E. (Tjader) Olson
- ch. Gregory Thorne Olson (1946- )
- ch. Robert Thorne Olson (1951- )
- ch. Robert Keith Olson (1925- ) m. Yvonne (Urbank) Olson
- ch. Burnham Keith Olson (1948-1973)
- ch. Derek Keith Olson (1954- )
- ch. Marie Uhrenholdt (1901-1997) m. James White
- ch. Gail Joanne (White) Fisher (1930- ) m. Jackson Fisher
- ch. James Minor Fisher (1958- )
- ch. Jackson David Fisher (1960- )
- ch. Jonathan Sennett Fisher (1962- )
- ch. Dane Christy (1965- )
- ch. David White (1936- ) m. Nancy Jo (Sembla) White
- ch. Wendy Marie (1963- )
- ch. Christopher Howard (1966- )
- ch. Audrey Jane (White) Webb (1939- ) m. Richard Dale Webb
- ch. Todd Scott Webb (1963- )
- ch. Alexis Webb (1969- )
