Biographical |
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by Gregg Miner, as part of |
"What’s in a Name?" – Jean’s research into the Knutsen name.
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Who was Johan Christian Kammen? If you guessed "the inventor and builder of a unique line of harp guitar and Hawaiian family instruments," you’re right! The question is why did Johan change his name (apparently never legally) to Chris J. Knutsen? You're about to find out . . . In addition to the extensive biographical information in the Noe/Most book, Jean Cammon Findlay has provided much new information. It was her initial research into the genealogy of her family that led to the discovery that she was a cousin of Chris Knutsen, who’s real name was Johan Christian Kammen. Her fascinating story of the trail she followed to discover her roots was originally published in Ancestry Magazine in November, 2000, and is reproduced by permission at left. Jean has generously provided further information on family history, in additional articles below. Finally, she proofed my Timeline and drew up the Family Trees for this site, including those for Chris’ grandfather, his own family, plus Jean's family – so you’ll be able to correlate and place all the characters mentioned in her articles. But wait - there's more! Knutsen was always believed to be a one man operation . . .until the fall of
2002, when, out of the blue, an incredible untold story emerged. The revelatory
words jumped out of an unexpected email - "Dad made 200 instruments
for a man named Knutsen." |
Knutsen Family Trees:
Death Certificates: |
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