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Hi, I was born in Germany in 1955. My father was an American GI named William Hanson from Engelwood NJ. He would be about 73 or 74 years old now. I know he had 1 brother ( older I believe). His family told my mother that he had died in a car accident when she was 3 months pregnant and getting ready to join him in the states. So anywho..... she waited and immigrated with me on her own when I was about 3 . Married a nice American GI who has been my Dad ever since......but I always wonder about any family I may have here in the U.S. I'm an only child and the only blood relatives I have now that my Mom has passed are still in Germany. Any help would be appreciated....
In order to research this more, I would need more information. Parents names, the brothers name if you have it. Ancestry.com has alot of info - but William Hanson is a common name and there are many in NJ.
I don't know much. He was stationed in Germany in 1954-55. I understand he had an older brother and possibly his father was in Maritme. ( Ship captain?)
I have pictures of him. 6 ft -plus. Blonde, blue eyes, sharp dresser. I know he was well educated and was about 21 yrs old in that time frame.
I searched the 1930 census (right before William was born) to find the Hansen's living in Englewood, NJ. I found 2 families:
Lenard Hansen b 1895 in Norway
Elsa Hansen b 1898 in Finland
Saga Hansen b 1917 in Finland (daughter)
Lenard's parents were fron Sweden and Denmark. Based on your description of him, this could be a match due to his strong Scandinavian looks.
This family immigrated to the US in 1922 and Lenard was an electrician.
The 2nd family:
John Hansen b 1896 New York (but his parents were from Sweden)
Elvira Hansen b 1901 in Italy (parents born in Italy too)
no children
John was a lineman for a telephone co.
I cannot find a probable match for William in the death records or Military records. I will keep searching though.
my mom said he was Swedish---- spelled Hanson with an O. If it has an E it's Norwegian... geez thanks for doing this!!!! I went on zabasearch and E-mailed several William Hanson's in N.J. that had birth dates around 1934.
It's a shame that I don't know enough info to do a proper search.
no, I don't. Wish I had more info. But he was definately in Germany in 1954 &55.
He was with my mom for a year before he got shipped back.She was living in Fussen
in the Alps.
Danielle ~ How about if you looked on classmates for his high school in Englewood, NJ. I don't think it costs too much to join. You'd be able to post his picture there and there could be someone who remembers him. If there is more than one school, then try them all. Since you know the town name, then that is more than likely where he went to school.
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william hanson
