California Biographies Source: History of Fresno County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present (1919) History By Paul E. Vandor Illustrated, Complete In Two Volumes Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1919 Notes: Missing+page1185-1186 Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm SOREN PAULSEN.� A member of an old Danish family that has be- come transplanted to California, and an American by adoption who may proudly boast of being the brother of probably the first soldier from Fresno County to make the supreme sacrifice in the late war, is Soren Paulsen, the well-known farmer who owns a fruit ranch of twenty acres two and a half miles west of Parlier. He was born at Ribe, Denmark, on November 5, 1881, the son of Paul Paulsen who was a farmer in Denmark, and also a musician. He died in his native country, in 1903, fifty-three years old, lingering long enough to permit our subject, who was then a journeyman cabinet maker at work in Germany, to return home and reach his bedside. Mrs. Meta Marie Paulsen, the mother, is still living at Ribe. Eleven children were born to these worthy parents, and of that number six are residing near Parlier, one in San Francisco, one is in Denmark and two are deceased. Marten, the rancher near Parlier, and Clause, a farmer in Denmark, are twins, and Anna, the oldest daughter, is the wife of Jess An- dersen, a rancher near Parlier. Inger is now Mrs. Ben Tobiasen, the wife of another rancher in the Parlier district, while the fifth in the order of birth is Soren, our subject, Maren died when she was two years old in Denmark, and Niels M. is a rancher near Reedley. Marius is a carpenter and builder at Del Rey ; Kristine is the wife of W. Kallerup, the restaurateur of San Francisco; Knud E. has been a corporal at Camp Stewart, U. S. A., in Vir- ginia ; while the youngest was Hans H. Paulsen. He was born in Denmark and came to Parlier only three years ago. He was single and made his home with Soren Paulsen. Anxious to do his bit in the great war, he entered the service as machine gunner and went to France in 1917. There he had an extensive experience in actual service, and in time was transferred to the celebrated "Rainbow Division." On July 27 he was struck by a high explosive shell and instantly killed � the first soldier from Fresno County to fall, so far as is known, in actual battle. A touching incident relative to the death of the young hero, Hans H. Paulsen, may here be narrated. Besides some other means of his own, he carried $10,000 worth of insurance on his life, and had made our subject his trustee. The last wishes of the deceased are now being carried out, and the money is being remitted to the aged mother, still living in Denmark, to whom, in her sixty-seventh year, it will prove a God-send in lieu of the affectionate son lost. Soren grew up on the home farm in Denmark, and when fourteen years of age was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. He was apprenticed at Ribe to the cabinet makers' trade, and served from 1896 to 1900, working for his room and board. Becoming a journeyman cabinet maker, he worked at Fyen and Langland, in Denmark, and at Hamburg, Hanover and other places in Germany, and at the end of two years, came home at the time of his father's death. Naturally athletic from the time when he was a boy, Soren Paulsen be- came a master coach or trainer at the gymnasium at Ribe, and when he traveled in Germany, he took a deep interest in German athletics. On his return to Denmark in 1906, he attended the athletic training school, the high school Ryslinge, and entering the Danish Army in 1904, served there for eight months. In 1907 he sailed from Copenhagen on the steamship, Oscar the Second of the Scandinavian-American line, and landed at New York on May 1, leaving almost immediately for the West and Parlier. He and his brother Marius worked as carpenters, but he had to borrow money to buy tools. He also learned the English language, and he can read, write and speak the Danish, English and German tongues. He has done much reading in general, and is well-informed. .He continued to work at his trade until 1912. In the meantime he and his brother had bought this place of twenty acres, in 1909, but after his marriage, in 1912, he bought out his brother's interest. He has fifteen acres in Muscats and the rest in seedless grapes and alfalfa, and has erected a dwelling house. He is a member of the California Raisin Growers Association. When Mr. Paulsen was married, he chose for his bride Miss Christine Andersen, a native of Pierce County, Wis., and a daughter of John and Anna (Pilegaard) Andersen, both of whom were born in Schleswig-Holstein. After marrying in Denmark, Mr. and Mrs. Andersen came to America and settled in Wisconsin. There they farmed and reared a family of six children, of whom Mrs. Paulsen is the fourth child in the order of birth. In 1906 they came to California and settled south of Parlier, where the parents are still living. Mrs. Paulsen was thirteen when she came to the Pacific Coast. Two children have been granted Mr. and Mrs. Paulsen: Ellen Marie and Evelyn Irene. Mr. Paulsen is a member of the Danish Brotherhood, of which he is a past president, and both he and his wife belong to and attend the Lutheran Church. He is a naturalized American citizen, and a Wilson Democrat.