The Hontvets

Maren's testimony brought the killer to justice

The marriage of fisherman John Hontvet to Maren Christensen may have been a traditional arranged union. Maren followed John to America after he had gained some success as a trawl fisherman. Both were from towns near modern day Oslo in Germany. John appears also to have paid passage for his brother Matthew (and later another brother both of whom died at sea) to work on his fishing boat. Maren's brother Ivan Christensen and his young wife Anethe later followed. After the murders, Maren and John moved from Smuttynose to Water Street in Portsmouth. John continued to be a successful fisherman on a series of schooners, surviving two wrecks. They had one child. Maren later moved back to Norway where she died, after which John remarried and eventually turned from fishing to farming.