The story is not really fishy. Our lastname is actually a protected and bought last name but due to a later spelling error it has actually changed once again from Weismose to Vejsmose. But you are correct, since Weismose or Vejsmose is a protected name we are all related in one way or the other - but to be honest we are not that many.
We are less than a handfull all together with just that last name.
The Story of Niels Weismore
My father, Niels Weismose, never really spoke about his ancestry. Other kids had grandparents nearby but mine were back in Denmark. It never dawned on me to ask Dad about them. After all, I'd likely never meet them.
But after my parents died, I started wondering about them and our surname, Weismose.
What did the name mean? Why didn't any other Danish immigrants have it? Why didn't my brother and I know our family history––was there a skeleton in our closet? So I started searching and this is what I found.
Righteous Man or Scoundrel?
Dad was born in 1904 to Johanne and Lars Pedersen. He was baptized Niels Louis Munroe Pedersen.
It seems that, in 1912, Lars disappeared. Johanne told everyone she and Lars had intended to immigrate to America. Lars had gone first, aboard the Titanic.
I checked the Titanic's manifest. A few Pedersens were listed––but no Lars. Something seemed fishy.
Then I found something even fishier. After Lars disappeared, Johanne changed her surname. She took the name of a small hamlet on the island of Fyn (Funen) and changed it's spelling from Vejsemose (Vesemose) to Weismose. Translated, vej means street and mose means peat bog.
Here's what really happened. In 1912, Lars left Johanne for another woman and Johanne cleverly used the Titanic disaster to prevent a public scandal.
Why did Johanne change her name? Out of pride? To keep her children from being dogged by rumours of scandal? Or to prove she didn't need a man to make her way in life? We'll never know.
Weismose is an unusual Danish surname. If that's your name, you're probably my cousin.
Adapted from an article in the 2004 Heritage Book,with permission from the Federation of Danish Associations in Canada
More Immigrant Stories:
• Looking for your Danish ancestors? Find search tips at Genealogy
• Will Soren Norre embark on the Titanic?
