About Johann Berthelsen

  • Biography

    Johann Berthelsen (1883-1972)

    He was born in Copenhagen in 1883, the 7th of seven sons, to Conrad and Dorothea Karen Berthelsen. The parents moved in artistic and professional circles.  His father was a tenor with the Royal Opera and his mother was a nurse affiliated with a prominent physician.  A year before Johann's birth, his parents visited the United States, but the marriage was in trouble and they returned to Denmark to divorce.  In 1890, his mother brought the children to America, settling in Manistee, Michigan, with her sister's family.  They would eventually live in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, a city on the shore of Lake Michigan.

    As a teenager, Johann was actively involved in choirs and singing groups.  And always, he lov...

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