LAURITZ (Louie) LAURITZEN 1867-1954 (An Informal Biography) Lauritz Lauritzen was born on October 6, 1867 in the town of Gjenner: province of Slesvig (Schleswig), Germany. He was the second child and only zon of Laue and Meta Lauritzen, having an older and younger sister. He also had a half-brother, born of Laue's second marriage. Laue Lauritzen was a merchant seaman by trade, and left his homeland at the age of 14. He visited practically every major country of the world before he returned home to stay at the age of 35. Meta Lauritzen died in 1869 when Lauritz was three, and Lane married Anna Bertram two years later. It was of this marriage that Lauritz' half-brother was born. Lauritz enjoyed little time with his father, except during vacations from school when he accompanied his sea-faring parent on short voyages within the-Lillebelt of the Kattegat. Despite these brief periods, - - Lauritz retained many memories of Laue throughout his long life, and as will be noted later followed Lauels advice in his own adult career. Lane died in 1877 when Lauritz was 10 and the family life he had known practically di sintregated. Uhdor the Lutheran custom then followed in Denmark and northern Germany, male children usually attended school until the age of 145 at which time, except in the case of wealthy families, they were apprentlced to trades of their parentst, and infrquGntly, their own choice. The final six months of school werG knoim as the period of confirmation, and after Lauritz was confirmed he was apprenticed in the blacksmith trade to Frederick Ahrensberg in Barsmark. The choice of this trade apparently was determined by the great strength of Lauritz' hands and arms, although his body and legs were comparatively slight. At the age of 14 he was already nearly six feet tall but weighed only 145 pounds. As is the custom even in modern times, apprentices spent four years in learning their trades, and Laurit;z was no exception. Most of this learning period was rewarded only with his room, meals and clothes and very little actual pay until he entered his fourth and final year of training. It was during .this fourth year as an apprentice that some of his father's advice returned to encourage him toward self-betterment. In the course of his travels around the world, Laue had heard and been attracted by tales of the great gold rush in western America. Consequently, when his ship called at San Francisco, Laue went ashore and remained there when his vessel pulled out for Australia. Laue remained in California for the balance of that year (1849) and part of 1850, and while he did not gain the sudden wealth that was frequently typical of those days, he was deeply impressed with opportunities of the new land, and in turn described to his son the advantages possible as compared to the limited opportunity o f the "Old Country". Laue' s words were never forgotten by young Lauritz, and as he neared the end of his apprenticeship, he resolved to quickly earn and save his fare and make his way to this new land. Upon completion of his training, Lauritz received his journeyman card and obtained a job with Chrls Sorensen near Bar smark, remaining at this shop until he was 20 and was called into the German army. It should be explained at this point that the pro- vince of Slesvig (Schleswig-Holstein) has been through history Page 1 , OCR Text: LAURITZ (Louie) LAURITZEN 1867-1954 (An Informal Biography) Lauritz Lauritzen was born on October 6, 1867 in the town of Gjenner: province of Slesvig (Schleswig), Germany. He was the second child and only zon of Laue and Meta Lauritzen, having an older and younger sister. He also had a half-brother, born of Laue's second marriage. Laue Lauritzen was a merchant seaman by trade, and left his homeland at the age of 14. He visited practically every major country of the world before he returned home to stay at the age of 35. Meta Lauritzen died in 1869 when Lauritz was three, and Lane married Anna Bertram two years later. It was of this marriage that Lauritz' half-brother was born. Lauritz enjoyed little time with his father, except during vacations from school when he accompanied his sea-faring parent on short voyages within the-Lillebelt of the Kattegat. Despite these brief periods, - - Lauritz retained many memories of Laue throughout his long life, and as will be noted later followed Lauels advice in his own adult career. Lane died in 1877 when Lauritz was 10 and the family life he had known practically di sintregated. Uhdor the Lutheran custom then followed in Denmark and northern Germany, male children usually attended school until the age of 145 at which time, except in the case of wealthy families, they were apprentlced to trades of their parentst, and infrquGntly, their own choice. The final six months of school werG knoim as the period of confirmation, and after Lauritz was confirmed he was apprenticed in the blacksmith trade to Frederick Ahrensberg in Barsmark. The choice of this trade apparently was determined by the great strength of Lauritz' hands and arms, although his body and legs were comparatively slight. At the age of 14 he was already nearly six feet tall but weighed only 145 pounds. As is the custom even in modern times, apprentices spent four years in learning their trades, and Laurit;z was no exception. Most of this learning period was rewarded only with his room, meals and clothes and very little actual pay until he entered his fourth and final year of training. It was during .this fourth year as an apprentice that some of his father's advice returned to encourage him toward self-betterment. In the course of his travels around the world, Laue had heard and been attracted by tales of the great gold rush in western America. Consequently, when his ship called at San Francisco, Laue went ashore and remained there when his vessel pulled out for Australia. Laue remained in California for the balance of that year (1849) and part of 1850, and while he did not gain the sudden wealth that was frequently typical of those days, he was deeply impressed with opportunities of the new land, and in turn described to his son the advantages possible as compared to the limited opportunity o f the "Old Country". Laue' s words were never forgotten by young Lauritz, and as he neared the end of his apprenticeship, he resolved to quickly earn and save his fare and make his way to this new land. Upon completion of his training, Lauritz received his journeyman card and obtained a job with Chrls Sorensen near Bar smark, remaining at this shop until he was 20 and was called into the German army. It should be explained at this point that the pro- vince of Slesvig (Schleswig-Holstein) has been through history Page 1 , Heritage Society of Pacific Grove,Historical Collections,Names of People about town,E through F File names,L through M File Names,Lauritzen,LAURITZEN_002.pdf,LAURITZEN_002.pdf 1 Page 1, Tags: LAURITZEN_002.PDF, LAURITZEN_002.pdf 1 Page 1