As he signed an email to me four years ago, he was “Jim Hansen, Reference Librarian, happily retired, Wisconsin Historical Society.” I was first introduced to this librarian at the Wisconsin Historical Society back in 1982 or 1983 during my first-ever genealogy research trip. One of many trips from Saint Paul to work in the North American history collection at then State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
This man could answer a reference question with a simple response similar to “go up to the 10th stack level, 3 aisles back on the right side, and it will be the blue bound book about five or six books in on the far side of that aisle.” Correct instructions? Of course.
He presented informative lectures at many historical and genealogical meetings, seminars, and conferences around the U.S. and Canada, always extolling the wonders of the WHS. The Draper Manuscripts, the newspaper collection, and early Native Americans and fur traders in the Midwest, were some of his favorite lecture and writing topics. He did not have overhead transparencies or PowerPoint slides, nor did he have notes on what to say. He excelled without those. During the National Genealogical Society (NGS) Conference in May of 1989 in Saint Paul, he and Joy Reisinger were the program co-chairs. It was sponsored by the Minnesota Genealogical Society. Jim presented at least two full-day seminars over the years for MGS. At the NGS Conference, he was doing a presentation, and the venue had a mirrored surface above the lectern. I looked up and saw the reflection, that he was again giving detailed information to the audience with no notes placed on the lectern.
One time when my husband and I were at WHS researching for a few days, Jim invited us to dinner with his wife, Jane. That was the start of many dinners at Pedro’s and other places in Madison, Wisconsin. Jane and I became friends on Facebook and remembered each other’s birthdays. Jim introduced us to restaurants on State Street in Madison during our lunch breaks. Later we would meet their two sons, Ron and Dave, at their home. Jim and I were able to collaborate on some tough, and a few easy, research issues over the years.
Fast forward four decades and I knew the cancer that had attacked him was not going away. Jane and I continued communication on and off over the years and during some of his illness. Back on 24 April, I received a message from Jim and Jane Hansen asking me if I would say a few words at his service but that they were “still a little fuzzy on the date.” Jim’s humor again. He did pass that on to his sons!
Jim Hansen died on 22 June 2025. His service was held on 12 July 2025 in Madison. A simple Celebration of Life, some music, words from his cousin George and me about Jim, and a nice luncheon. George spoke on the family stories, and I added the genealogy part with some stories. No, I did not tell all the stories I knew. I was honored to have been asked. At the viewing the evening before, as I walked into the funeral home one of the first people to greet me was his oldest son, Ron, with a big hug. I was touched that Ron remembered me and by name! Then I got more hugs from Jane Hansen and their son, Dave. I met Dave’s wife Ginger, and their daughter, Daphne. What a cute six-year-old and smart young lady! Lots of stories were shared by relatives and some of my fellow genealogists as we caught up on our own families.
Jim was born on 3 October 1948. He’ll always still be three months younger than I am and he reminded me of the age difference over the years. Jim was a prolific writer in historical and genealogical journals, an editor for some of those in the genealogy field, and was named a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists. ASG Fellows only number 50 living genealogists at a time. He won other awards in the field of genealogy. Those were displayed at the service along with photos of him, his family from Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, their wedding, the addition of their sons, and many others. When Daphne was born, the pictures showed a grandfather in love with that little girl. I saw that little girl spending a lot of time next to Jane on that Friday and Saturday.
Jim Hansen’s humor is reflected in the final piece of music to end his Celebration of Live. The link to the satirical piece, The Vatican Rag, is below along with some other links.
Jim’s Obituary: https://www.ryanfuneralservice.com/obituaries/12464/james-hansen
The final music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvhYqeGp_Do
Draper Manuscripts: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS4103
American Society of Genealogists: https://fasg.org/
