Object Record
Images
Additional Images [6]
Metadata
Accession number |
1991.042 |
Object Identification Number |
1991.042.041f |
Object Name |
Skirt |
Donor |
Hansen, Rita Neergaard |
Description |
Skirt. Part of a woman's folk costume (1991.042.041a-f). Ankle-length black cotton sateen skirt with three rows of ribbon trim (bright red, kelly green and bright red) in graduated size towards hem. Only the top edge of each ribbon is handstitched to the skirt. Material gathered and pleated at black velvet waistband. Proper back opening secured by two metal snap closures. |
Dimensions |
W-11.75 L-35.25 Cir-23 inches |
Made By |
Neergaard, Olivia Poulson |
Creation Date |
prior to 1930 |
Place Of Origin |
USA/WI/Kenosha |
Owned By |
Hansen, Rita Neergaard/Neergaard, Kirsten |
Used By |
Hansen, Rita Neergaard/Neergaard, Kirsten |
Material |
cotton sateen/velvet/satin/metal |
Associated People |
Hansen, Rita Neergaard Neergaard, Kirsten Neergaard, Olivia Poulson |
Search Terms |
Neergaard, Olivia Poulson Hansen, Rita Neergaard Neergaard, KirstenUSA WI Kenosha folk costume skirt |
Provenance |
This folk costume and folk costume 1991.042.040a-f were made Danish immigrant Olivia Poulsen Neergaard. The costumes were worn by Olivia's daughters, Rita (the donor) and Kirsten for parades and other events in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The donor's parents, Christian and Olivia Poulsen Neergaard, were both Danish immigrants. Olivia Poulsen married Christian Neergaard, the eldest son of Peder Neegaard. She immigrated with a friend named Maren Jensen, whom she worked with as a cook in Denmark. Maren Jensen was the sister of Peder Neegaard's deceased wife, Kirsten. (Peder, Kirsten and their three sons, Christian, Achton and Sophus, had all immigrated in 1888.) After Kirsten died in 1905, Peder had written to Maren, requesting that she come keep house for him and his three sons. Olivia, who had an adventuresome spirit, accompanied Maren to Kenosha, Wisconsin. Olivia worked as a cook at the Greenleaf Inn until she and Peder's eldest son, Christian, married in 1907. They had two daughters: Kirsten in 1908 and donor Rita in 1912. Olivia died in 1930. n 1937, Kirsten and Rita took Civil Serice exams and were called to work for the government in Washington, D.C. Christian went with them. In 1940, when the Nazis invaded Denmark, the U.S. government established a Consulate in Reykjavik, Iceland (at that time part of Denmark), and Rita was chosen to go there for two years. At that point, she was transferred to Stockholm, Sweden, and was there for a year before returning to Washington, D.C. In 1944, Christian died. When the war was over in 1945, Kirsten and Rita were asked to go to Denmark on separate assignments, so they went to Copenhagen. Rita met Roy Hansen at the Danish church in Kenosha, and married in December of 1950. Roy was in the Army at the time. Kirsten, Rita's sister, died in July of 1987. Rita died in the summer of 2009. |
Images |
125\1991042041f.JPG |
Date Received by Museum |
1991 |