See below 
Thorkilds oldeforældre Marie og Jesper Nielsen fik i alt ni børn, hvoraf de tre ældste, Maren, Jens Elisius og Niels, udvandrede til New Zealand.
Her er et sammendrag om de seks, der blev i Danmark.
Kristina Augusta Nielsen (2/8 1876 – 13/9 1926)
Karl Nielsen (24/7 1878 – 4/5 1879) Han var opkaldt efter sin farbror, som var død tre år før.
Karl Nielsen (28/4 1880 – 19/4 1937) Han blev så opkaldt efter sin afdøde lillebror.
Peter Røjkjær Nielsen (21/12 1882 – 10/1 1945)
Søren Nielsen (25/11 1884 -10/7 1950)
Antonette Elisabeth Nielsen (9/11 1888 – 18/12 1932)
Kristina Augusta Nielsen blev gift med landmand Lars Marius Larsen den 22. maj 1906. Han overtog sine forældres gård i Bjerre, og hans forældre boede hos dem indtil de døde. Lars var meget politisk interesseret, og blev indvalgt i Folketinget for socialdemokratiet. Her ændredes navnet til Larsen-Bjerre, et navn, som børene også fik. Han spillede en fremtrædende rolle i husmandsbevægelsen, og var med til at arbejde for at store gårde blev udstykket til små husmandsbrug, som var meget populære på det tidspunkt.
Kristina Augusta og Lars fik fire børn:
….Minna Larsen Bjerre (22/2 1907 – 14/11 2000)
….Nelly Larsen Bjerre (26/7 1908 – ?)
….Hans Larsen Bjerre (8/4 1910 – 8/9 1999) Hans blev selv valgt til folketinget i 1960 og udnævnt til Fiskeriminister – Læs mere her.
….Kristian Larsen Bjerre (18/1 1918 – ?)
Efter Kristina Augustas død giftede Lars sig i 1929 med Abelone Maltesen (f. 1902). Hun havde været menighedssygeplejerske og passet Kristina Augusta under hendes sygdom. De fik et barn sammen (Mogens Larsen). På årsdagen for sin død rejste husmændene en mindesten for ham på Bjerre Kirkegård. Selv ligger han begravet på Vester Kirkegård i Horsens.
Karl Nielsen blev født i 1878 og opkaldt efter sin far Jespers bror Karl, der var død som 23-årig i 1875. Karl selv døde allerede 3/4 år gammel.
Karl Nielsen blev født knap to år efter sin bror Karl, der var død året før, og derfor blev han opkaldt efter sin storebror. Han var ansat ved landbruget, men måtte klare postruten Barrit – Rosenvold for sin far Jesper Nielsen i en periode på to år p.g.a. faderens sygdom, således han kunne beholde postturen til han blev pensioneret. Herefter kom Karl tilbage til landbruget, og blev gift med Emilie Pedersen fra Hornsyld, født 23/6 1888. Hun var datter af Jens Pedersen og Else Pedersen f. Sørensen.
Karl og Emilie blev viet i Nebsager Kirke den 11 nov. 1908. De købte nu en lille ejendom på Nebsager mark, der hed Gundelund, her var de i 6 år, hvor de to ældste børn blev født. Derefter de overtog en ejendom på 9 tdr.land, som havde tilhørt Emilies morbror. Senere købtes der jord ind, således at der nu var 14 tdr. land. Ejendommen var også tættere ved Hornsyld St.
Da Karl døde i 1937 solgte Emilie ejendommen og købte hus i Gramrode, hvor hun åbnede en manufakturforretning. Hun blev senere gift med Thomas Therp. (Se mere om Emilie Pedersen)
Karl og Emilie fik seks børn:
….Henry Kjærsgaard Nielsen (30/5 1911 – 16/12 2003)
….Erna Cordelia Nielsen (10/5 1913 – 10/8 1994) – Thorkilds mor.
….Rasmus Juel Kjærsgaard Nielsen (5/9 1915 – 1/1 2012) – Birgers far.
….Ida Nielsen (7/2 1918 – 18/1 2009).
….Gerda Nielsen (20/1 1920 – 24/1 1986)
….Viggo Kjærsgaard Nielsen (20/11 1921 – død i 2018?)
Peter Røjkjær Nielsen blev gift med Mette Kirstine Pedersen (25/11 1886 – 21/6 1956), som var en søster til Emilie Pedersen, der blev gift med Karl Nielsen – altså to brødre gift med to søstre. Peter og Mette Kirstine byggede et hus i Barrit Stationsby, og her fik de sønnen Charles Røjkjær Nielsen (19/2 1913 – 2/2 1943). Da Peters far Jesper blev alene, flyttede han optil dem de sidste år af sit liv.
Søren Nielsen var ugift og allerede som 25-årig fik han en alvorlig sindslidelse, som man dengang kaldte “ungdomssløvsind”, en art skizofreni . Han blev aldrig rask, men tilbragte 40 år på Viborg Sindssygehospital, hvor han døde som 65 årig. Han blev begravet i Jesper og Maries gravsted.
Antonette Elisabeth Nielsen blev gift med mejerist Karl Marius Madsen Damsted fra Fyn. Karl kom ud at tjene ved landbruget fra han var 10 år og til han var 15 år, hvorefter han kom i lære som mejerist. Han blev marinesoldat på Middelgrundfortet, hvorefter han kom på Dalum Landbrugsskole. Han blev mejerist på Horsens Mejeri, hvor han lærte Antonette Elisabeth at kende. Efter de blev gift den 19/4 1913 i Horsens Klosterkirke blev Karl bestyrer på Svendborg Margarinefabrik. Senere kom han til Vejen Margarinefabrik, men skiftede job til Statsbanerne i Esbjerg, hvor han også blev Remisseformand.
De fik tre børn:
….Edith Marie Damsted (29/9 1913 – ?)
….Oda Vibeke Damsted (5/8 1918 – ?)
….Svend Gjøde Damsted (17/2 1924 – 28/8 1980)
Da Antonette Elisabeth døde i 1932 blev Edith Marie husassistent hos faderen. Hun blev dog i 1936 gift med gartner Niels Axel Varmsted fra Lumby på Fyn. Hendes far Karl Damsted giftede sig igen med Alma Grønborg fra Esbjerg.
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They stayed in Denmark.
Thorkild’s great-grandparents Marie and Jesper Nielsen had nine children, the three elders, Maren, Jens Elisius and Niels emigrated to New Zealand.
Here is a summary of the six who stayed in Denmark.
Kristina Augusta Nielsen (2/8 1876 – 13/9 1926)
Karl Nielsen (24/7 1878 – 4/5 1879) He was named after his uncle, who had died three years before.
Karl Nielsen (28/4 1880 – 19/4 1937) He was then named after his dead little brother.
Peter Røjkjær Nielsen (21/12 1882 – 10/1 1945)
Søren Nielsen (25/11 1884 -10/7 1950)
Antonette Elisabeth Nielsen (9/11 1888 – 18/12 1932)
Kristina Augusta Nielsen married farmer Lars Marius Larsen May 22, 1906. He took over his parents’ farm in Bjerre, and his parents lived with them until they died. Lars was very politically interested and was elected to the parliament for the Social Democratic Party. Here his name was changed to Larsen-Bjerre, a name that the children also got. He played a prominent role in the small-farmer movement, and helped to make large farms submerged to small-farms, which were very popular at the time.
Kristina Augusta and Lars got four children:
…..Minna Larsen Bjerre (22/2 1907 – 14/11 2000)
…..Nelly Larsen Bjerre (26/7 1908 -?)
…..Hans Larsen Bjerre (8/4 1910 – 8/9 1999) Hans was elected to the parliament in 1960 and appointed Minister of Fisheries – Read more here.
…..Christian Larsen Bjerre (18/1 -?)
After Kristina Augusta’s death, Lars married in 1929 Abelone Maltesen (born 1902). She had been a church nurse and cared for Kristina Augusta during her illness. They got one child together: Mogens Larsen. On the anniversary of his death, the housewives raised a memorial to him in Bjerre Cemetery. He was buried in Vester Cementery in Horsens.
Karl Nielsen was born in 1878 and named after his father Jesper’s brother Karl, who died 23 years old in 1875. Karl himself died already 3/4 years old.
Karl Nielsen was born just two years after his brother Karl, who died the year before, and therefore he was named after his big brother. He was employed in agriculture, but had to take over the Barrit – Rosenvold post route for his father Jesper Nielsen for a period of two years due to his father’s disease, so he could keep the post job until he retired. After this, Karl returned to agriculture and married Emilie Pedersen from Hornsyld, born 23/6 1888. She was the daughter of Jens Pedersen and Else Pedersen born Sørensen.
Karl and Emilie were married in the Nebsager Church November 11th. 1908. They now bought a small farm on Nebsager Land, called Gundelund. Here they stayed 6 years and the two oldest children were born here. Then they took over a small farm of 11 acres, which had belonged to Emilie’s uncle. Later, land was purchased, so that it became 17 acres. The property was also closer to Hornsyld Station.
When Karl died in 1937, Emilie sold the little farm and bought a house in Gramrode, where she opened a draper’s shop. She later became married to Thomas Therp. (See more about Emilie Pedersen)
Karl and Emilie got six children:
…..Henry Kjærsgaard Nielsen (30/5 1911 – 16/12 2003)
…..Cordelia Nielsen (10/5 1913 – 10/8 1994) – Thorkild’s mother.
…..Rasmus Juel Kjærsgaard Nielsen (5/9 1915 – 1/1 2012) – Birgers father.
…..Ida Nielsen (7/2 1918 – 18/1 2009).
…..Gerda Nielsen (2071 1920 – 24/1 1986)
…..Viggo Kjærsgaard Nielsen (20/11 1921 – Died in 2018?)
Peter Røjkjær Nielsen married Mette Kirstine Pedersen (25/11 1886 – 21/6 1956), who was a sister to Emilie Pedersen, married to Karl Nielsen – two brothers married two sisters! Peter and Mette Kirstine built a house in Barrit Stationsby, where they got their son Charles Røjkjær Nielsen (19/2 1913 – 2/2 1943). When Peter’s father Jesper was alone, he moved up to them the last years of his life.
Søren Nielsen was unmarried, and at the age of 25, he suffered from a serious mental disorder, dementia praecox, a kind of schizophrenia. He never recovered, but spent 40 years at Viborg Psychiatric Hospital, where he died at the age of 65. He was buried in Jesper and Marie’s grave. – see photo.
Antonette Elisabeth Nielsen was married to a dairyman Karl Marius Madsen Damsted from Fyn. Karl worked in agriculture from the age of 10 and until he was 15 years, after which he was educated as a dairyman. He became a marinesoldier on Middelgrundfortet, after which he arrived at Dalum Agricultural School. He was employed as a dairyman at Horsens Dairy, where he met Antonette Elisabeth. After they married 19/4 1913 in Horsens Klosterkirke Karl became a director at Svendborg Margarine Factory. Later he went to Vejen Margarine Factory, but changed his job to the State Railways in Esbjerg, where he also became Depot Chairman.
They had three children:
…..Edith Marie Damsted (29/9 1913 -?)
…..Oda Vibeke Damsted (5/8 1918 -?)
…..Svend Gjøde Damsted (17/2 1924 – 28/8 1980)
When Antonette Elisabeth died in 1932, Edith Marie became a housekeeper at her father. However, she was married to a gardener Niels Axel Varmsted from Lumby on Fyn in 1936. Her father Karl Damsted got married again to Alma Grønborg from Esbjerg.
(Opdateret 5/11 2018)