Engbæk's Hjemmeside Engbæk's Familie
Søren Splidsboel Ane Rasmine Christiane Schmidt Jørgen Christian Nielsen Munch Henriette Cathrine Hansine Hansen
1851 - 1902 1852 - 1930 1856 - ? 1855 - 1937
Niels Christian Splidsboel Johanne Marie Munch
Født: 9. september 1881 i Store Ryde Mølle, Ryde Sogn Født: 20. juli 1887 i Mørke Sogn
Død: 16. august 1949 i Portland, Oregon Død: 27. juli 1969 i Maywood Park, Multnomah, Oregon
Gift: 1911
Børn: Wilma Splidsboel, gift Horellou; Lorraine Splidsboel, gift Bryant

 

Niels Christian Splidsboel blev født den 9. september 1881 og døbt den 18. september 1881. Forældrene var købmand Søren Splidsboel og hustru Ane Rasmine Christiane Smidt, 29 år, i Store Ryde Mølle. Faddere var snedker F. Klock og hustru i Skive, frøken Katrine Smidt i Skive, samt købmændene Christian Splidsboel i Sevel og Niels Splidsboel i Holstebro [Ryde Sogn, kirkebog for 1877 - 1891 side 9 opslag 10] Johanne Marie Munch blev født den 20. juli 1887, hjemmedøbt kort efter fødslen af lærer Christensen i sognepræstens fravær og døbt fastelavns søndag den 12. februar 1888. Forældrene var Jørgen Christian Nielsen Munch og hans hustru Henriette Cathrine Hansine Hansen, 32 år, af Mørke Station. Fadderne var kalk brænder Marius Nielsen og hans kone, Mørke Station, Petrea Nielsen Munch af Thorsager, saddelmager C. Nielsen, samt barnets fader, alle af Mørke Station [Mørke Sogn, kirkebog for 1881 - 1891 side 219 opslag 94]
Ved folketællingen i 1890 boede familien i Hvidberg By, Hvidberg Sogn på Thyholm i Refs Herred, Thisted Amt:
Søren Splidsboel, 36 år, gift, husfar, købmand, født i Lemvig
Anna Splidsboel, 36 år, gift, husmor, født i Ålborg
Niels Christian Splidsboel, 8 år, barn, født i Ryde Sogn
Elma Marie Splidsboel, 6 år, barn, født i Ryde Sogn
Thora Andrea Splidsboel, 5 år, barn, født i Hvidbjerg
Peder Christian Pedersen, 14 år, ugift, lærling, født i Kallerup
Christine Karlsen, 17 år, ugift, lærerinde, født i Hjørring
Ved folketællingen den 1. februar 1890 boede tvillingerne Hans Henrik og Johanne Marie Munch hos mormoren og mosteren i Thorsager By [skema 1 opslag 6]:
Johanne Vilhelmine Jørgine Hansen, født Rosted, 69 år, enke, født i Hillerød, husmor, particulier, enke efter møller Hansen
Pouline Marie Jensine Hansen, 42 år, ugift, datter, født i København
Hans Henrik Munch, 1 år, plejebarn, født i Mørke Sogn
Johanne Marie Munch, 1 år, plejebarn, født i Mørke Sogn
Niels Christian Splidsboel blev konfirmeret den 6. oktober 1895. Forældrene var købmand i Ryde Sogn Søren Splidsboel og hustru Ane Rasmine Christiane Smidt. Forældrene var separerede. Moderen boede i Rantzausgade 2. Karaktererne for kundskaber og forhold var mg? og mg [Ålborg, Budolfi Sogn, kirkebog for 1892 - 1903 side 48 opslag 49]  
Christian Splidsboll ankom i juli 1903 fra Halifax, Canada til St. Albans, Vermont. Han var 22 år gammel, bager og havde $20. Han skulle til Chicago [Liste over grænseovergange] Johanne Marie Munch emigrerede til Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A med skibet "Norge" med forevisningsdatoen den 15. juli 1890 og ankomstdatoen den 4. august 1890 til New York
Niels Christian Splidsboel besøgte Danmark i 1906 - 1907, og rejsen tilbage blev beskrevet således:

N. Chr. Splidsboel, 23 år gammel, bager, født i Ålborg, foreviste billet den 4. april 1907 til New York City [Udvandrerdatabasen].

List or manifest of alien passengers for the immigration officer at port of arrival.
From Copenhagen April 4th, 1907, arriving at port of New York, April 16th, 1907:
This sheet is for steerage passengers.

N. Chr. Splidsboel 25 y old, single, baker, last permanent residence was USA, final destination was Chicago, he was in possession of $18, he has been in Chicago for 4 years before from 1902 to 1906, he has lost first joints on right hands 2 fingers, height was 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm), hair color was fair, eye color was brown, he had a scar on right hand, place of birth was Ryde, Denmark. He travelled with his sister Thora Splidsboel

Twelfth Census, enumerated on June 8th, 1900; Washington State, Clarks County, Cedar Creek Precinct

Jorgen C. N. Munch, head of household, born in July 1856, married for 13 y, immigrated in 1887, naturalized, farmer, owned at mortgaged farm
Henrietta Munch, wife, born in April 1855, 46 y old, 2 children, immigrated in 1890
Hans H. Munch, son, born in July 1887, 12 y old, at school
Johanna M. Munch, daughter, born in July 1887, 12 y old, at school.

-

Thirteenth Census 1910 population; Washington State, Clarks County, Cedar Creek Precinct

Christian N. Munch, 53 y old, maried for 25 y, immigrated in 1888, farmer at General Flour
Henriette H. Munch, 55 y old, married for 25 y, mother of 2 children, immigrated in 1891, none occupation
Hans H. Munch, 22 y old, farm laborer at home farm
Johannah M. Munch, 22 y old, chambermaid at private family.

Niels Christian Splidsboel og Johanne Marie Munchs børn var:

World War I Draft Registration Card

Name Niels Christian Splidsboel
Permanent home address 552 Rhone, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon
Date of Birth September 9th, 1881
Age in Years 37
Race White
Citizen Naturalized
Present occupation Business man; Billiard Hall
Employer's name Niels Christian Splidsboel
Place of business 25 N, 3rd, Portland
Nearest relative Johanna Marie Splidsboel, 557 Rhone, Portland
Description of registrant Medium height, stout build, brown eyes, brown hair
Has person lost arm, leg, hand, eye, or is he obviously physically disqualified? Finger
Date of registration September 12th, 1918

Fifteenth Census, enumerated on April 9th, 1930 population; Washington State, Multnomah County, Portland 
N. Chris Splidsboel
, head of household, owner of a house with a value of $11.000, 48 y old, 30 y old at first marriage, born in Denmark, immigrated in 1903, naturalized, owner of a restaurant
Johanna M. Splidsboel, wife, 42 y old, 24 y old at first marriage, born i Denmark, immigrated in 1891, naturalized
Wilma H. Splidsboel, daughter, 15 y old, single, born in Oregon
Lorraine A. Splidsboel, daughter, 13 y old, single, born in Oregon

Registreringskort til Den anden Verdenskrig
Nels Christian Splidsboel, 3635 S.E. Clinton Street, Portland, Oregon. 60 år gammel, har sin egen forretning: Valhalla Cafe i Portland. Højde: 5 feet 6inches (168 cm); vægt: 175 pund (79 kg), brune øjne, brunt hår, mangler pegefingeren på højre hånd
Nærmeste pårørende: Johanna M. Splidsboel
Den 26. april 1942

Niels C. Splidsboel died on August 16th 1949 in Portland [Oregon Dearth Index].

Johanne Marie Splidsboel visited Denmark in 1952.
List of in-bound Passengers, Tourist Class from Gothenburg September 26th, 1952 on M/S Gripsholm arriving at port of New York October 6, 1952
Johanna Splidsboel, 3635 South East Clinton Ave, Portland, Oregon, 65 y old, married, born i Denmark, 4 pieces of handbags

Johanne Splidsboel, afskeden i Frederikshavn 1952
Afskeden på kajen i Frederikshavn foran færgen til Gøteborg. Personerne var fra venstre: Kirsten Jensen, Jakob Jensen, Lisbeth Sanvig, Elma Splidsboel, Johanne Splidsboel, Poula Jensen, Jesper Jensen, Inger Sanvig og Jørgen Jensen

Johanna Marie Splidsboel died on July 27th, 1969, aged 87 y in Portland, Multnomah County [Oregon Dearth Index]


Niels Christian Splidsboel was born at "Store Ryde Mølle" in 1881. The family mowed from Ryde before 1890, and the day of his confirmation was celebrated in Ålborg i 1895. He travelled to Canada in 1902 and stayed in Chicago until 1906. He returned with his sister Thora in 1907

Johanne Marie Munch was born in 1887 in Mørke and she emigrated in 1890, celebrating her 3rd birthsday on the ship.


Chris Splidsboel - Valhalla

An account of Danish Portland would not be complete without mentioning Valhalla - the popular saloon and restaurant owned by Chris Splidsboel and located at Third and Burnside Streets.
Valhalla was not just a place to buy another beer. A centrally located restaurant, it was also a meeting place for the Danish seamen, loggers, and longshoremen who came to eat good food, relax, and let off steam after a day of heavy work. And Splidsboel was more than a bartender. He served as banker, counselor, and father confessor for strangers and friends who met there. Loggers, having wages in their pockets, did not trust the banks and would deposit their money with "Chris" for safekeeping - afraid that it might "disappear" if they were "rolled" or became too tipsy to care. Kind-hearted and generous, he would often loan money to a needy fellow, open the "free lunch counter," or advertise, "Buy a sandwich and get a free beer."
In a long room, thirty-six feet wide and over one hundred feet long, the bar, with lunch counter on one side, extended the full length of the room. A large, painted mural hung above the bar depicting buffalo standing in a semi-circle gazing at a dead Indian with an arrow in his chest. Toward the back of the saloon was a separate room for card-playing - a favorite pastime.
Valhalla became a landmark, as Splidsboel, having bought it in 1912, owned and operated it for thirty years. Like his father, who had died before Chris left Denmark, and his uncle, Andreas Splidsboel, who came to Portland at an earlier date, Chris was a baker at first. For a time after he settled in the city he worked first for his uncle at Consumer' s Bakery, located on Twenty-first Street, then for several years at Log Cabin (Continental) Bakery, which eventually sold out to Wonder Bread.
Not long afterwards he became associated with Petersen in the saloon, and when Petersen died a few years later, Splidsboel became sole owner in 1912.
An article published in a Portland paper and found among his mernoirs describes well the popularity of Valhalla:
One may buy first class beer at only three places. If all the rest closed up, these three pIaces would become famous and deservedly so, for the men who own and manage them know their business. They know good beer - how to keep it, how to draw and serve it. All the rest, we believe, are amateurs at the business and ought to be doing something else. . . We will name the three places, in order of their precedence.
The Valhalla, owned by Chris Splidsboel, near the corner of Third and Burnside. Chris and his bar men, Andy, Oscar, and Jack are past masters at the fine art of handling and serving beer. They have the advantage of thorough experience and matchless equipment. A glass of Blitz at the Valhalla is a real treat. The restaurant is excellent too. Good eats. You get your money's worth at prices to suit working men. Weinhard's Blitz is the best of all beers, by the way. . . . There is a science and artistry in the handling and serving of beer, best learned at the Valhalla.
Niels Christian Splidsboel, son of a miller, was born in 1881 at a place called Store Ryde Mølle, in Jutland, Denmark, where the mill, water wheel, and buildings are still standing (1982). He was confirmed in the Budolfi Cathedral in Aalborg. At the time his father died times were hard in Denmark, and Chris, a lad of nineteen, had to strike out for himself; so he migrated to the United States in 1900, settling in Portland, where his uncle Andreas lived.
He was married in 1911 to Johanna Munch, who was born also into a miller's family, in a small town called Mørke, near Aarhus, Denmark. At the age of three she came to the United States with her parents, her twin brother, Hans, a half brother, Niels, and half sister, Jennie.
Chris and Johanna Splidsboel, after living in several homes in southeast Portland, built a house on 37th and Clinton, where they raised their two daughters, Wilma and Lorraine.
Chris Splidsboel belonged to the Danish Brotherhood Lodge #167 and to Dania. Wilma remembers well the Danish Christmas parties she attended at Swiss Hall and Dania Hall.
In 1942 Splidsboel, in ill health, sold Valhalla, and it remained open for four or five years after that. But the Danish befriender and bartender passed away in 1949. His wife survived him by twenty years.

Reference: Ingeborg Nielsen MacHaffie: Danish in Portland. Past and Present. 1982.

Niels Christian Splidsboel og Johanne Marie Munch i 1938
Wilma Splidsboel in 1938 Lorraine Anna Splidsboel in 1936

 

© Frode Engbæk Web-editor: frode @ engbaek . com Sidst opdateret: 12-Aug-2016