Another part of the family story
Anna Mathilde Barski was Hans’s half-sister, as identified by our family. The 1920 census records an Anna Mathilde Barski, born on 21 January 1911, in the Larsnes household with Petter Albanus Barski, Anna Kattrine Barski and Isak Harjo.
Family information connects Anna with Andreas Henninen and their children. Their son Einar Henninen is John Harjo’s half first cousin: Anna and John’s father, Hans Kristian, were half-siblings. Isaac met Einar during his 2025 visit to Norway. Those visits and conversations are part of how we continue learning about this branch.
Hans, Anna and the wolves
This family story was passed down by Einar Henninen, Anna’s son. The account preserved in the family collection places it in Masjok in March 1913, when Hans was eleven and his little half-sister Anna had recently turned two.
Hans had taken Anna out on a sled from their home at Larsnes. They crossed the river toward the road and headed in the direction of Masjok bridge. Near the gate at Masjoknes, where Mathilde and Johan Abraham Salamonsen lived, the account says five wolves surrounded the children.
Johan Abraham’s hearing was poor, but he thought he heard cries for help. He went outside, saw the children and approached the wolves, shouting. The animals backed away. He brought Hans and Anna indoors and comforted them; later, with his rifle over his shoulder, he escorted them home to Larsnes.
The story preserves a vivid memory of Hans and Anna as children. It is presented here as a family account attributed to Einar, rather than as an independently verified report of the encounter.
Help tell this story
If you have a photograph, letter or memory to add, I’d love to hear from you. You can share things just for the family archive; nothing is published without permission.
Records behind this story
Family relationships and the 2025 visit: information supplied by Isaac, including Einar’s relationship to John. The wolf story is paraphrased from the Norwegian account “Da ulvene herjet i Tana,” preserved in “Hans Harjo Information and Stories.docx” and attributed there to Einar Henninen. Its original publication details remain to be established. Isaac identified the supplied portrait as the photograph accompanying that account; its date and photographer credit follow the account. These family sources are distinguished from the census evidence.