Jens-Arians "Oak Dell Farm" 1881

plans and sketches of about 175 buildings, which he

used in preparing bids. The accurate and artistic attention

to detail shown in these drawings and specifications

is reflected in Jensen's construction. See Steve

Stroud's book There Used To Be, Volume 3, for excellent

examples from the estimate books. The entire contents

of Jensen's books are currently being digitized and

will soon be available online through the Illinois Digital

Archives.

Fortunately, Jensen's books have survived all these

years. In 2008 they were donated to the Elgin History

Museum by historian Mike Alft, to whom they were

entrusted by a person who bought them at a garage

sale. Though Jensen was not an architect, his books are

the closest items our Museum has to architectural

plans of early Elgin homes and buildings. Jensen

began his building career in the 1870s, so these books,

beginning in 1898, represent only the last part of his

career.

The very first home to receive the Henry Jensen

Award, just months ago, was the Queen Anne home at

359 Park St., directly across the street from our

Museum. Though Jensen did not build this home, the

beautiful and sensitive remodeling work reflected his

craftsmanship.

One of the best examples of Jensen's Queen Anne-style

homes is the Alfred Bosworth mansion at 705 West

Highland Ave., built in 1894 and designed by Smith

Hoag.

Jensen-built Queen Anne-style home, 705 W. Highland Ave

One of the best examples of Jensen's Prairie-style

homes is the Allen Retan home at 420 Douglas Ave.,

built in 1909-10 and designed by George Morris. Both

of these homes have been awarded historic plaques

and are excellent examples of their styles.

Jensen-built Prairie-style home, 420 Douglas Avenue

Henry (Heinrich) Jensen was born September 13, 1852

in Niebull, Schleswig, Germany, to Siegfried and Herrlich

Petersen Jensen. Henry was their second child,

born about two years after Peter. Herrlich died while

giving birth to Henry. Siegfried then married Hannah

Jensen (1820-1905). Siegfried and Hannah had four

children: Andrew, Friederike, Christian Detlef (died in

infancy) and James.

Henry immigrated to America in April 1871 and proceeded

directly to Elgin. Half-brother Andrew immigrated

in March 1872 and also came directly to Elgin.

In June 1874, the remainder of the Jensen family—

Peter, Friederike, James and Hannah—arrived in

America and joined Henry and Andrew in Elgin.

Henry's father, Siegfried, died in Germany in 1873.

The family is first listed in the 1875-76 directory as living

at 61 Franklin Boulevard, a home gone by 1910.

Friederike (1857-1935), Henry's half-sister, married

John Charles Jansen in 1876. By the 1900 census, Hannah,

now 79 years old, was living in Dundee with her

daughter Friederike and son-in-law. Hannah, Henry's

stepmother, died in 1905. Friederike and J.C. Jansen

had six children. The Jansen family bought the Wilcox

farm along Big Timber Road in the early 1900s and

later sold it to the Burnidge brothers, who subdivided

and developed it. Today the old farm site includes an

industrial park, a Metra commuter station and Century

Oaks West Subdivision.

Sometime in the mid-to-late 1870s, Henry built the

frame, cross-gabled home that still stands at 55 Seneca

St. By the 1880 census, Henry was living here with his

brother Peter, half-brothers Andrew and James, and

his stepmother Hannah.

Jensen family, c. 1900. L-R, top: Andrew, James and

Henry; bottom row: Friederike Jansen, Hannah and Peter

On January 20, 1881, Henry married Friederike

Krumm (1855-1929), a native of Mecklenberg,

Schwerin, Germany. Friederike immigrated to America

in 1872 and came to Elgin in 1874. She and Henry

had four children: Herman Peter (died at six months in

1882 of cholera); Emma May (1883-1921; a teacher at

Franklin School); Walter Paul (1887-1976; a carpenter

contractor); and Inga Elizabeth (1891-1917; a commercial

artist).

In about 1883 Henry built a home at 24 Warwick Place

for his brother Peter. This home, still standing, is one

of the earliest examples of the Queen Anne style in

Elgin. In 1887-88 Henry built his own Queen Anne

home next door at 18 Warwick Place. Peter Heine Jensen

(1850-1924) was one of Elgin's most expert and

artistic bookbinders, employed for 50 years at the

Elgin Daily News. In 1883 Peter married Minnie

Krumm, a sister of Henry's wife, and they had four

children.

In 1881, half-brother Andrew (Andreas) Fred Jensen

(1854-1944) bought a farm along Crawford Road in

Plato Township from his sister and brother-in-law. In

1883 he married Maria (Mary Lena) Rambow and they

had 12 children, including one who died in infancy

and another at eight years old. In 2006 Andrew's farm

(then owned by Mike Arians, a great grandson of

Andrew) was sold to the Kane County Forest Preserve

District, who restored it to its natural state. Today it is

the easternmost part of the Bowes Creek Woods Forest

Preserve.

Henry Jensen's home at 18 Warwick Pl. currently being

remodeled

Henry's youngest half-brother, James (Jens) C. Jensen

(1866-1948), a carpenter, married Dora Fritz in 1890.

They had no children. In 1889 Henry built a double

home for James, which still stands, at 478-80 Laurel St.

One of Henry's last projects was the building of the

four-home Laurel Court development in 1915-16,

located behind the homes at 470 and 474 Laurel St.

In 1878 Henry Jensen filed a “Declaration of Intention”

to become a U.S. citizen. However, he apparently

never filed the final document, the “Petition of Naturalization,”

to actually become a citizen.

Henry died July 14, 1918 at age 65 of myocarditis, with

pleurisy as a complication. He was buried in Bluff City

Cemetery. His obituary said, “he was a lover of trees

and flowers and gave most of his spare time to the

planting and cultivating of them. He was fond of reading

and a student of books of which he possessed a

handsome collection. [He] was a quiet, unassuming

man of a kindly disposition and possessed exceptional

artistic ability. Carved furniture and wall spaces in his

home, as well as many of his buildings, testify to his

handiwork.”

Acknowledgements: Mike Alft's books and newspaper articles;

probate files; federal censuses; city directories; naturalization

records; newspaper building reports; obituaries;

etc.; family photo and genealogical information from Kim

Miels, a half-great-grand-niece of Henry Jensen. All home

photos by Judy Van Dusen.