When she was born, the midwife placed her on top of a trunk and said, “This baby will travel far.” And so she did.
Edna [Herr] grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Her father was Pennsylvania Dutch and one of ten children, so there were many relatives and large family gatherings. The marriage of Jacob Herr and Mary Davis had been arranged because Mary’s three sisters had all eloped.
Edna’s childhood was uneventful and gave no indication of what her future held. Unless it was her love of books, especially books about foreign countries.
When she was sixteen tragedy struck when her father, who worked for the railroad, was electrocuted while working in the roundhouse.
She graduated from high school, which was unusual for a girl in 1903. She was a gifted pianist and also played the organ in her church.
In the summer of 1904, she took the job of pianist at the little theatre in Kennywood Park, to help her mother and younger brother.
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Harry August Jensen was brought to America with his family from Denmark in 1888, when he was five years old. For a time they lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and then moved to Chicago. His father Peter changed the family name to Jansen. He said there were too many Jensens.
Peter was a carpenter and taught his son well. Harry loved classical music and decided he wanted to become a violinist. The dexterity he later developed in his hands undoubtedly came from this early training.
He left school early and was selling newspapers. When he saw posters of the magicians Herrmann and Kellar he became intrigued and some times was able to get a balcony seat and watch the show. Then he would hang around the stage door. He would demonstrate his coin tricks to Kellar, who was always very encouraging.
Harry was only sixteen when he gave his first magic performance at a W.M.C.A. minstrel show. He was hired to travel with a professional magic troup and began his first tour of this country.
In the summer of 1904, he was booked for one week, four shows a day, in Kennywood Park.
He was very impressed with the lovely, dark-haired piano player. She had large dark eyes and she spoke with a slight lisp which only added to her attractiveness. He only learned that later, because in that week they never exchanged a word.
After Harry left town, he made a decision. He wanted to ask her to join his act. But he didn’t even know her name! So he wrote a letter to “Miss Piano Player,” asking her to join him.
Edna quite shocked her family, especially her maternal grandmother, by accepting his offer.
She left her home and family and began her travels, fulfilling the prophecy made when she was born.
If Harry was slow in getting acquainted with Edna, he made up for it after she joined him. She was nineteen and he was twenty-one when they were married on January 27th, 1905.