Hans Kristian Harjo

Hans Kristian Harjo was born on 6 January 1902 in the Masjok area of Tana, northern Norway, to Ludvig Harjo and Anna Kathrine, née Børresen. The parish record preserves his home baptism on 20 January and its confirmation in church on 30 June. [1]

His father died in 1908. His mother later married Petter Barski, and the 1910 census places eight-year-old Hans in their household at Larsnes, Tana. [2]

A story passed down by his half-sister Anna’s son, Einar Henninen, remembers Hans taking two-year-old Anna out on a sled in March 1913. Near Masjoknes, the children reportedly encountered five wolves before a neighbor brought them to safety. Read the family story of Hans and Anna →

Surviving endorsements trace Hans’s seafaring career to 1924. Employer references later document his work as a donkeyman aboard Birk and Hvoslef, followed by years aboard Harpon as a fireman, greaser and engineer’s assistant. [3]

His whaling years connected him with South Georgia. Letters headed Foca and an address at Grytvika describe catches, illness, sending money home and the separation from Alfhild and their children. The letters preserve a personal story alongside the service dates. [4]

During the Second World War, records connect him with Gunvor; accounts of its loss identify him as a survivor, although his precise rank remains disputed. His subsequent work as pumpman aboard Evita is repeatedly documented in crew lists. [5]

Hans married Alfhild Bergljot Johnsen in Sandefjord on 23 June 1932. Family photographs preserve their wedding portrait and views of the Sandefjord home. [6]

After the war, his work shifted ashore. A January 1953 recommendation from Framnæs credits him with about eight years in its machine-shop repair department. [3]

His son John remembered the family home at Sjuveengveien 17B in Sandefjord and his father cycling to Framnæs in all weather—a journey of about twenty minutes. It is a small memory of the working days that held family life together. [9]

In March 1953, Hans traveled from Gothenburg to New York aboard Stockholm with Hans F. and Liv. Alfhild and the other children followed aboard Stavangerfjord in May. Those passenger journeys belong to the family’s migration story, rather than Hans’s employment at sea. [7]

The family photographs and travel papers let us follow this change in their lives: a departure, time aboard ship, and the beginning of a home across the Atlantic.

This photograph, identified by the family as Hans and Liv on their journey to America, puts faces beside the passenger records.

Alfhild and the other children made the crossing in May. The family album includes a group gathered beside a bus before departure and a photograph identified as John, Lill and Alfhild aboard ship. Together, they preserve moments around the journey; the names of everyone beside the bus are still to be added.

John’s memories place the family at 44 Quinlan Avenue on Staten Island for about six years. He recalled that Hans, Hans F. and Liv had first stayed with Johnny Horgen while getting established. For the children, the move meant starting at P.S. 30 without knowing English. John remembered being placed a grade ahead of his younger brother Kjell and finding it difficult to catch up. He could no longer remember the process of learning English itself; looking back, it seemed to have happened quickly. [9]

Hans worked as an outside machinist at Caddell Dry Dock. A February 1959 reference praised his ability and dependability. [8]

A new beginning in Seattle

John remembered moving to Seattle in the summer of 1959. The family initially stayed at Philadelphia Church in Ballard, then moved to a house on Jones Avenue. His recollections connect those years with James Monroe and, later, Ballard High School. [9]

In Seattle, John recalled his father working at Isaacson’s, using a large lathe to make propeller shafts. These family memories help fill out the years beyond the surviving employment references. Hans died in Seattle on 5 October 1990, aged 88. [9] [8]

Later photographs bring us back to family life: Christmas with Alfhild and a visit to the Ballard Locks in Seattle.