History of Audubon County, Iowa - 1915

Audubon County >> 1915 Index

History of Audubon County, Iowa
H. F. Andrews, editor...Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915.

Unless otherwise specified, biographies submitted by Dick Barton.

Among the citizens of Hamlin township, Audubon county, Iowa, who have built up comfortable homes and surrounded themselves with valuable personal and real property, few have attained a higher degree of success than Dan E. Larsen, a well-known farmer of this county. With few opportunities except what his own efforts were capable of mastering and with many discouragements to overcome, he has made an exceptional success in life. Although a comparatively young man, Mr. Larsen has the gratification of knowing that the community in which he resides has been benefited by his presence and by his counsels. Mr. Larsen is descended from a well-known Danish family of this state and one which has been foremost in the civic, political and social life of Audubon county for many years.

Dan Larsen was born on July 17, 1883, in Lincoln township, Shelby county, Iowa. He is the son of Lars C. and Sena (Christensen) Larsen, who were natives of Denmark, and came from a district known as Jylland, which is near Germany. They arrived in the United States about 1870, and subsequently located north of Avoca, near Cuppy's Grove. They lived in Shelby county for a few years and later purchased new prairie land, getting their start in life as most early settlers did. Lars C. Larsen was first married to Christine Christensen, a sister of his second wife, and by this union there were five children. After his first wife's death, he married Sena Christensen and had five children by this marriage, of whom Dan E. was the second child and the eldest son, his sister, Sophia, being older than he.

Dan E. Larsen received a good education, having attended the Elkhorn College, the academy at Stewart, Iowa, and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. His father was a well-informed man and not only was a firm believer in education but was progressive along all other lines.

With the exception of one year which Dan E. Larsen rented land and boarded, he lived at home. The year before he was married, he rented eighty acres and cultivated until the fall when he operated a corn sheller. In June, 1906, he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in section 30 of Hamlin township, which was only partly improved and he has since added to the improvements a modern eight-roomed house, large barn, cribs, cattle sheds, garage, etc. The farm is one of the best improved in Audubon county and the house is by far the most modern and best constructed within a radius of several miles.

On February 20, 1907, Mr. Larsen was married to Edith Christensen, who was born December 9, 1886, in Oakfield township, Audubon county, Iowa. She is the daughter of Nels and Christina (Hansen) Christensen, natives of Denmark. Her father came to the United States in 1869, when seventeen years old, from Jylland and her mother came from Fynn, Denmark, in 1874, when eleven years old. Nels Christensen was killed in 1913 in an automobile accident and the mother died in May, 1914.

Mr. and Mrs. Dan E. Larsen are the parents of two sons, Floyd, born on February 24, 1910, and Harvey, born on April 13, 1912.

Mr. Larsen does general farming and stock raising. He feeds from one to two carloads of cattle each year and about sixty head of hogs. His family and his farm are his principal interests.

Mr. Larsen's father was killed in a runaway when Dan E. was six years old. He had just come from church and the minister was with him wearing a fur overcoat. The horses became frightened at the appearance of the coat and, bolting, threw Mr. Larsen out, killing him instantly. Mr. Larsen's mother, a few years later, married Peter Knudsen. It is a coincidence that Mrs. Larsen's grandfather on her mother's side was also accidentally killed by falling from a building. Her uncle in Denmark was killed in a runaway accident swoon after the death of Mr. Larsen's father. It seems that the family has been particularly unfortunate in suffering so many fatal accidents.

Dan E. Larsen is a Republican, although he has not held office and does not consider himself a politician. Mr. Larsen and family are members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church and are active in church circles. Mr. Larsen is a clean-cut, progressive citizen of Hamlin township and a man of sterling integrity.

Jens Larsen

Among the highly-respected citizens and retired farmers of this county, is Jens Larsen, who formerly owned a splendid farm of a hundred and twenty-one acres in Sharon township, which he sold in 1912 for one hundred and fifty-five dollars an acre. After selling this farm he retired and is now living in Kimballton, this county, in a splendid modern home which he has lately built.

Jens Larsen was born in Denmark on June 9, 1849, the son of Lars and Kirsten Jensen, both natives of Denmark, who came to America in 1882, and spent their last days in the home of one of their sons in Sharon township, this county. They were members of the Danish Lutheran church and reared a family of nine children, whose names follow in the order of their birth: Hans, a retired farmer of Kimballton; Jens and Maria (twins), the next born, of whom the former is the subject of this sketch, and the latter is the wife of Peter Rasmussen, of Elk Horn; Kirsten, who died in Chicago; Chris, who lives in Sharon township; Stena, deceased; Louisa, who married Hans Larsen, of Sharon township; Anders, a farmer in Sharon township, and Anemaria, who married Anton Peterson, of Elk Horn.

After attending the common schools of his native land, Jens Larsen began to make his own living at the age of eleven by herding cattle. Later he worked as a farm hand and in 1872, at the age of twenty-three, he came to America. For several years he worked at various places. In Wisconsin, Canada, Mississippi and Louisiana he was employed in railroad work, and for five years was located in Chicago, Illinois, where he had charge of the horses for the street car company at the Cottage Grove avenue barns. In 1880 he came to Audubon county and located in Sharon township, where he purchased eighty acres of land to which he later added an adjoining tract of forty acres. It was this farm that Mr. Larsen sold in 1912 for one hundred and fifty-five dollars per acre.

In 1876, in Chicago, Jens Larsen was married to Hannah Rassmussen, a native of Denmark. Eleven years after their marriage she died, and Mr. Larsen married, secondly, Carenstena Hansen, also a native of Denmark. To this union no children have been born.

Mr. Larsen is a Democrat, but has never aspired to office. He and Mrs. Larsen are members of the Danish Lutheran church at Kimballton, and both take a lively interested in the church work, being held in high esteem by their neighbors. Having started in life as a poor boy, with no financial assistance and without help of any kind, Mr. Larsen has worked hard to achieve a competence and has supplemented personal labor by careful and wise management of his business. He is a fine man to meet; is well known and enjoys the confidence of a host of friends in Audubon county.

Kristen Larsen

It is a pleasure to record in this history the admiration in which are held the law-abiding citizens who come to our shores from sturdy little Denmark. These people belong to one of the most industrious nations in the world; they are neither afraid nor ashamed to take up that which is first offered as a means of honest livelihood. They are not slaves to the social conditions, thus maintaining that independence of thought and action which give them distinctive individuality.

Kristen Larsen, farmer and stockman, of Douglas township, Audubon county, Iowa, was born on August 15, 1863, in Denmark. He is a son of Lars Larsen and Anna (Christiansen) Larsen. His early education was secured in the country schools of his native land. He left school at the age of fourteen and worked on a farm on a farm in that country, until he was twenty-nine years of age. Being ambitious, he made up his mind to see something of the world, as well as to seek a field offering more advantages than he could find in the land of his birth. On coming to America, he landed at New York, thence direct to Audubon county in 1891. He worked on a farm for one year, at the end of which he bought a farm of one hundred acres, for which he paid twenty-seven dollars an acre, in section 19, Douglas township. He sold this property in 1899, and moved to section 29, where he bought one hundred and twenty acres, and in 1907, he bought one hundred acres about one mile west of his place, and in 1911 bought eighty acres one mile north of his home, for which he paid one hundred and fifty dollars an acre. The improvements on the place have cost Mr. Larsen about ten thousand dollars. His principal crops are corn and small grain, the corn averaging about sixty bushels to the acre, and the small grain about thirty-five bushels to the acre, the most of which is fed to the stock raised on the place. Mr. Larsen offers for sale each year about one hundred head of hogs and one carload of cattle, all of which are of an extra good grade of stock. He is a member of the Danish Lutheran church, and holds the offices of school director and trustee at the present time. In politics, he is a Republican.

Lars and Anna (Christiansen) Larsen, parents of our subject, were born in Denmark, where they were also married, and were the parents of three children: Hannah, Gertrude and Kristen. The father was the owner of a small farm in Denmark, where he lived and died. He was in the German- Danish War of 1848.

In 1890, Mr. Larsen was united in marriage to Christina, daughter of Lars Jensen, of Denmark. They are the parents of eight children, namely: Lawrence, Louis, Anna, Katie, Mary, Arthur, Lilia and Otto, all of whom are still at home, with the exception of Anna, who became the wife of Martin Larsen. They reside about a mile from her father's home.

Lars P. Larsen

Success in any line of business requires patience and perseverance. Disappointments and unforeseen difficulties are continually presenting themselves for diplomatic handling, competition arises, and even the elements seem to join forces in testing the material of which a man is made. Success gained in the face of difficulties is all the more appreciated when it comes, and no man is better able to realize this than is the subject of this sketch, who is now in a position to sit back and enjoy the benefit and comforts of his well-earned home.

Lars P. Larsen, general farmer and stockman, Douglas township, was born on October 14, 1870, in Denmark. He is a son of Lars and Gertrude Larsen. Mr. Larsen attended school in his native land, but quit at the age of fourteen to work on his father's farm, where he remained until nineteen years old. He came to America alone on the German ship, "Weser," landing in Baltimore.

Arriving in Audubon county, Iowa, in 1890, he worked on a farm in Sharon township for one year, after which he went to Melville township, where he remained two years. From this place he went to Minnesota, worked on a farm one year, and then came back to Audubon, rented a farm of eighty acres near Hamlin for one year. Giving this farm up, he rented another in Sharon for two years, and later rented a farm of eighty acres in section 32 for two years, at the end of which time he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, to which he shortly afterward added another of forty acres, for which he paid thirty dollars an acre. Seeing an opportunity to reap a profit, he sold forty acres of his farm four or five years later, and bought eighty acres one mile north of his place. Mr. Larsen has put about six thousand dollar's worth of improvements on his farm, including drainage. The principal crops to which he gives his attention are corn and small grain, the corn yielding about fifty bushels to the acre, and the oats about thirty-five. He feeds about one hundred head of hogs and a car of cattle each year.

Mr. Larsen is a Baptist, and holds the office of Treasurer in his church, at which he is a regular attendant. He has also held some of the township offices, among them being treasurer for a term of five years, trustee four years, and was elected school director in 1915. He has always voted the Republican ticket.

The parents of our subject never came to this country, preferring to remain in the land of their birth. His father was a farmer in Denmark, and owned about eighty acres of land. He was a soldier in the war between Germany and Denmark. To him and his wife, Gertrude, were born five children, Anna, Lars, Nets, Christiana, Martin. Anna and Christiana live in Denmark. Martin lives on a farm in Douglas township, Audubon county.

In 1894, Lars P. Larsen was united in marriage with Mary Larsen, daughter of Martin Larsen, of Sharon township, at the home of the bride. They are the parents of six children, Esther, Alfred, Arthur, Gertrude, Stella, Myrtle. Esther received her education at the Des Moines College and is now teaching music. The other children are at home.

Isaac VanDorsey Lewis, carpenter and farmer, married Mary Jane White. He resided many years in section 26, Exira township, on the west side of the highway opposite from his brother, Thomas S., and, later, a short distance north in section 24. While living at this place, his house was burned. He has since lived many years with his son, Elbert, in section 22. He is a Democrat and has been a prominent citizen. He was one of the judges of election at the organization of the county, in 1855, and has been assessor, trustee, school director, school treasurer and county supervisor. He was a member of the first Methodist church society organized in the county, and the scribe, in 1855, and for many years a faithful worker and supporter of the church. A large amount of information concerning the history of Audubon county for this work was obtained from him. Mrs. Lewis died years ago. Their children are: Elbert, who married Elizabeth Slonaker; Edward, married Blanch E. Spry; Estella, married Ralph Hawk; Henry Clay, married Bertha Spry; William E., married Winifred Hawk; Malvina, married Charles Spry.

Richard Meek Lewis, who married Elizabeth Lewis, sister of Hon. William Walker, was a carpenter, who settled in section 26, now in Exira township, and sold his place to Whitman Wilcox. It is now part of the Benjamin F. Simpson estate. They then settled and lived many years in Oakfield; moved to Sheridan, Wyoming; thence to Casper, Wyoming. He was a class leader and prominent in the Methodist church many years. He died at Casper. Before marriage to Mr. Lewis, Mrs. Lewis had a daughter, Malvina, who married Thomas Roland, who settled in Audubon county. Mr. Lewis died in Casper. He had two daughters, Josephine, who married H. Moffit, and Albertine, who married William Allan Hamlin.

Thomas Shelton Lewis, married, first, Josephine B. Caylor, and, second, May Jorden. He was a farmer and a Democrat. He settled in section 25, Exira township. After the death of his first wife he moved to another place, about a mile west of his former home. He was the first county judge in 1855. In his official capacity he laid out the town of Dayton, as the first county seat of Audubon county, on July 9, 1855, on the land of his uncle Rev. Richard C. Meek, the east half of the northwest quarter of section 22, Exira township. His first farm adjoined that of his brother, Isaac, and for many years they were embraced in Audubon civil township as the county was originally divided. The township was overwhelmingly Democratic and it was his fortune for many years to hold the office of justice of the peace; and he also often served as judge of election. In early times, before he was admitted to the bar, he figured in actions before justices of the peace and inferior tribunals. Some amusing incidents transpired relative to him in his legal capacity. Once he was counsel for a party sued on a promissory note. The defendant, under oath, denied his signature to the note, and the affidavit was prepared by Mr. Lewis. The proof was overwhelming that the signature to the note was genuine, and the man was afterwards prosecuted for perjury before John A. Hallock, justice of the peace, for making the false affidavit, the present writer acting for the prosecution. Mr. Griggs defended and the defendant made an affidavit for change of venue, in which he swore that he could not obtain justice before Mr. Hallock, or Mr. Harrington, or Mr. Smart, who were justices of the peace, or before any other justice of the peace in Audubon county, except T. S. Lewis. And the case was sent to Mr. Lewis for trial. Of course, the state could not obtain a change of venue from him. The defense attempted to exclude from the evidence the false affidavit of the defendant, in which he swore that his name signed to the note sued on was not his genuine signature. The trial took up a day and part of the night, and the contest was over the admission of the affidavit in evidence. It was repeatedly offered and admitted, only to be stricken out on objection of defendant's counsel, the court being too ready to accept any subterfuge offered. The affidavit was not only false, but it compromised Mr. Lewis, who had prepared and filed it for the defendant. The situation was uncomfortable for the court, as well as for the defendant. Finally the court suggested - I believed to assist me - "Mr. Andrews, state your question thusly." And the interrogatory was framed accordingly. Mr. Griggs apparently supposed that the court was about to admit the evidence, but, out of abundant obstinacy and force of habit, objected, supported by the usual harangue, when, to the amazement of every one present, the court sustained the objection to his own question, cunningly observing: "I suggested the question to enable the court to be consistent with its former ruling." The laugh was certainly on me with a vengeance. Uncle Charley Gray, a bright old lawyer, present, exploded with laughter, and said that it was the most ridiculous performance he ever witnessed in court. The prosecution was abandoned in despair.

On another occasion, Mr. Churchill, of Atlantic, was trying a case before Mr. Lewis, where Mr. Griggs and John W. Scott were defending. The plaintiff sought to introduce the testimony of the wife of defendant against her husband, to which proper objection was made, and a heated discussion arose over it. The court ruled that the lady should answer, upon which Griggs directed the witness not to answer. But she said: "The court orders me to answer." "Never mind what he says. You are not compelled to testify against your husband. Observe my directions and I will protect you." The court informed Griggs that he was in contempt, and that he should fine him if he repeated his conduct. Mr. Griggs replied that he respected the court, but that he had utter contempt for his ruling, and the court fined him. The contest continued along the same line until Griggs was repeatedly fined, when an adjournment was taken. During intermission Mr. Lewis and Mr. Griggs, who were personal friends, had a private interview, and when court convened "His honor" announced: "I was not aware of the position of counsel in this matter, and the fines for contempt are remitted." Then Mr. Churchill interfered and objected to the order of court, when Mr. Scott took a hand, pointedly asked Mr. Churchill if it was any of his business, and offered to whip him on short notice. Churchill admitted that it was not his affair, and the case proceeded again, with ill temper between counsel. Another question arose and was discussed pro and con until the lawyers got weary and sat down, when the court inquired: "What is the question, gentlemen?"

Years ago there was a place near the center of Audubon township, called "Indian Grove," from the fact that it was a large tract of burr oak trees, which were desirable for fence posts and were slyly sought and appropriated by some of the new settlers in that vicinity by "jayhawking" them. Mr. Griggs was employed to prosecute the offenders and proceeded to the scene of action, accompanied by the justice of the peace, Mr. Lewis, and the sheriff, Mr. Comrardy. Arriving there, they surprised the trespassers at work and took them redhanded, cutting down trees and loading timber, causing a panic and stampede. Some of the bushwhackers escaped, but three were arrested, including a preacher, who in the "skeddadle" lost his plug hat and, in attempting to rescue it, was nabbed. Court was held on the field, occupying a stump for the forum. Fines and costs were assessed calculated to discourage further transgressions. The court and counsel returned well satisfied with their success. The affair was afterward styled "The Circle Court of Audubon County." Mr. Lewis was admitted to the bar along in the seventies. He moved to Atlantic, Iowa, where he died in 1904.

His children by his first wife were, Emery V., who married Mary _____; Eliza, deceased, who married Thomas Adams; Eldora, who married, first, Roland Strahl and, second, Smith Burton; Marilla, married Bert Poage; Minnie, married Samuel Crane. By his second wife, Mr. Lewis became the father of Herman, Thomas S. and Todd.

Thomas T. Lewis married Sarah G. Meek, a sister to Rev. Richard C. Meek. They lived in Wayne county, Indiana, whence they moved to Niles, Michigan, in 1833. The family then migrated to Jones county, Iowa; thence to Kansas. Mr. Lewis had died before the family came here, and Mrs. Lewis lived with her son, Isaac, afterwards. The family, consisting of three sons, Richard M., Thomas S., and Isaac V. D., and their families, and a married daughter, the wife of Dennis Parmeley, came to Audubon county in October, 1854.