USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 47
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In addition to his farming interests, Mr. Lauridsen also works a part of the time in the creamery at Elkhorn, in Shelby county, Iowa. He milks about ten cows and is engaged in general farming and stock raising.
The Lauridsen family are active and devoted members of the Danish Lutheran church. Mr. Lauridsen is a Republican, but has never held any offices, nor has he aspired to office. He is an enterprising and industrious citizen and entitled to the confidence and respect which are extended to him in unusual degree by his neighbors. He is a worthy representative of the great body of Danish farmers living in Audubon county, Iowa, who have helped to develop this county into one of the foremost agricultural counties of the state.
FRED J. WAHLERT, JR.
One of the most extensive farmers in Greeley township, Audubon county, Iowa, who is at present engaged in farming three hundred and twenty acres of land, comprising the home farm of his father, and who makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred Norman horses, is Fred J. Wahlert, Jr., who was born on December 18, 1875, in Hancock county, Illinois. He is the son of Fred, Sr., and Amy (Polm) Wahlert, natives of Germany, who came from the province of Holstein.
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Fred Wahlert, Sr., who was born on March 29, 1840, is the son of John and Arsby (Starmonn) Wahlert, natives of Schleswig-Holstein. He came to America at the age of twenty-six years in 1866 and, after working at various occupations in the state of Illinois, where he farmed for twelve years, he came to Audubon county in 1881 and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land. He was married to Amy Palm, August 18, 1862. Five children were born to this marriage, of whom Fred, Jr., is the eldest.
When the Wahlert family came to Audubon county, Fred J., Jr., was six years old. On March 16, 1897. he was married in Audubon county, Iowa, to Clara Porter, who was born on June 27, 1878, in Washington county, Iowa. She is the daughter of John and Jennie (Godel) Porter, natives of Ireland and Illinois, respectively, who came to Audubon county about 1883.
To Mr. and Mrs. Fred J. Wahlert, Jr., have been born five children : Clarence A., born on January II, 1898 : Elva V., September 7, 1900; Thelma V., March 16, 1903: Randall P., January 17, 1906, and Raymond F., Sep- tember 8, 1912.
Mr. Wahlert is independent in politics and declines to be attached per- manently to any party. He has never held office. Mrs. Wahlert is a mem- ber of the Congregational church and is active in the affairs of this congre- gation.
The Wahlert family is one of the very oldest in this section and Fred J. Wahlert, Jr., is a young man peculiarly equipped to uphold the traditions of the family. He is enterprising, industrious and popular in the community- a young man who, in every way, is entitled to bear the name of his venerable father.
ROBERT W. MULLENGER.
The science of agriculture, for it is a science, as well as an art, finds an able exponent and a successful practitioner in the person of Robert W. Mull- enger, of Hamilton township, this county, who is not only a successful farmer, but has made a distinct success as a breeder of fancy live stock. Mr. Mullenger is widely known in Audubon county and maintains a very produc- tive and valuable farm in Hamlin township. Mr. Mullenger is of English stock and comes from parents who immigrated to this country many years ago and who, early in life, settled in the state of Iowa. They played a con- spicuous part in the general development of this favored section of the country.
ROBERT W. MULLENGER AND FAMILY
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT W. MULLENGER
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Robert W. Mullenger was born on April 19, 1859, in Wisconsin, twenty miles from Milwaukee, the son of Willianı R. and Mary (Tyler) Mullenger, natives of England, born in the vicinity of London, who came to the United States soon after their marriage, about 1856. Soon after arriving in this country they located in the state of Wisconsin, but in the fall of 1863 moved to Iowa. On the journey from Wisconsin to Iowa, the family came down the Mississippi river to Sabula and then drove overland to Bear Grove, Guthrie county, where the family remained until the next March, the father in the meantime walking on to Council Bluffs. When the family finally arrived at Exira, in this county, there were but eight small houses or shacks in the town. The mother died in 1873 and her son, Robert W., then went to live first with Rudolp Kremming, later with H. F. Andrews, the author of the historical section of this volume, with whom he lived for two years, at the end of which time he went to work for Mr. Andrews' father, with whom he remained for a period of five years. At the end of that time lie rented land for one year, although he previously had bought a small tract of unimproved land. In 1883 Robert W. Mullenger moved to Audubon county from Cass county, where he had been renting, and in 1888, five years later, purchased one hundred and fifty-two acres of partially improved land in sec- tion 21 of Hamlin township. On November 28, 1907, the house on this farm was destroyed by fire and Mr. Mullenger then built a large eight-roomed house, with furnace, bath, gas lights and waterworks. The yard is sur- rounded with a beautiful grove of cedar trees, planted in 1890. Mr. Mull- enger has built several new barns, cribs, granaries, and other farm buildings, all of the most substantial quality.
On October 2, 1889, Robert W. Mullenger was married to Sadie Sizer, of this county, who was born on March 18, 1868, in Jackson county, Iowa, the daughter of Robert and Hannah (Davis) Sizer, natives of England and Canada, respectively, who came to the United States when children, moving to Iowa in the early fifties and sixties. The father was a soldier in the Civil War, serving in Company A, Twenty-fourth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, for three years during which period of service he never was wounded nor taken prisoner.
To Robert W. and Sadie (Sizer) Mullenger five children have been born, three of whom are living, Ethel C., born on October 25, 1891 ; Mabel L., July 6, 1896, and Robert T., September 27, 1904, all of whom are still at home. John and Bessie Mae died in infancy.
Robert W. Mullenger assisted in the organization of the Blue Grass (32)
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Creamery Company, of Hamlin, this county, and held the offices of secretary and director alternately since the organization of the company until the last two years. Mr. Mullenger makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred reg- istered Percheron horses and is a member of the American Percheron Society. He also makes a specialty of thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle, Duroc-Jersey hogs and Plymouth Rock chickens. His farm is known throughout Audubon county as "Evergreen Hill Stock Farm."
Until the campaign of 1912, Mr. Mullenger had been identified with the Republican party, but when Colonel Roosevelt organized the new Progressive party at Chicago in August, 1912, he identified himself with that party and has since been active in its councils in this section of Iowa. He has held no public offices of consequence, although he has always been active in civic and political affairs and is well known as an active and progressive citizen. Fra- ternally, Mr. Mullenger is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He has been prominent in educational affairs, having served as a school director for four terms and it was through his influence that the first modern school in Audubon county was erected.
NELS CHRISTENSEN.
One of the best-known and dearly-beloved citizens of Hamlin township, Audubon county, Iowa, during the last generation, was Nels Christensen, who ably discharged all the duties of honorable and upright citizenship, and who during the years of his struggle for a competence as a farmer of this county, was a power for great good in the community. For many years he was active in the agricultural life of Hamlin township, a prominent member of the Danish Lutheran church, one of the leading geniuses who promoted the organization of the West Hamlin Creamery Company, and a man of wide acquaintance throughout Audubon county. The late Nels Christensen was a man of kindly, charitable impulses, devoted to the welfare of his wife and family and well deserving the reverence which today attaches to his memory.
The late Nels Christensen was born on March 2, 1860, in Sjaelland, Denmark, and in 1882 came to the United States. After landing in New York city, and remaining there for a short time, he came direct to Avoca, Iowa, where he obtained work on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific rail- road. After having lived in Avoca about two years, he was sent by the com- pany to Shelby, Iowa, and remained there only a few months and was then
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sent to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he worked on the section for a time. Later, he was given employment in the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific round- house, and remained in this employment until about 1890, when he came to Audubon county, and purchased forty acres of land in Hamlin township. Here he lived, doing the duties of each day as they appeared to him, and saving a liberal amount of his earnings, which enabled him to purchase a hundred and twenty acres of land, comprising a well-improved farm, which was in his possession at the time of his death, December 15, 1909.
At the time Mr. Christensen purchased the land there were but two buildings upon it, a house, fourteen by sixteen feet, and a shed barn. During the first summer he owned the farm he built two additional rooms to the house, and in 1902, he built an addition, sixteen by twenty-eight feet on the north of that. In 1913 the family remodeled the house and now have one of the nicest homes in Hamlin township. They have also built good cribs, gran- aries, barns and other out-buildings.
On June 12, 1884, the late Nels Christensen was married in Harlan, Iowa, to Marie Rasmussen, who was born in Sjaelland, Denmark, and who is the daughter of Rasmus and Marie (Jensen) Hansen. Mrs. Christensen came to the United States in 1884, and was married shortly after her arrival in this country. She has been the mother of seven children, as follow: Jens P., born on June 13, 1885; Emil C., June 24, 1890, married Stella Jensen ; Lawrence C., November 19, 1891; Sophus V., April 25, 1895; Harvey, March 15, 1898; Marius, November 13, 1900, and Alice Marie, December 2, 1905. Jens P. lives at home and directs the operations on the home farm. Harry, Marius and Alice are also at home.
The late Nels Christensen was a Democrat in politics, but never held office : in fact, he was never a candidate for office. He was an active member of the Danish Lutheran church throughout his life, and helped built St. John's church in Oakfield township. He was an active contributor in support of the church, and also in support of the construction of the Exira church. All the members of the Christensen family are identified with the Danish Lutheran church. Mr. Christensen was a member of the Danish Brother- hood, and was prominent in that lodge.
A worthy citizen of this great county, an industrious and skillful farmer, a kind father and loving husband, the late Nels Christensen is remembered, not only by his family, who revere his memory, but by the host of friends he gained during his life in this county. Although he himself has gone, his work goes on, because his influence will not die.
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HANS J. NIELSEN.
Conspicuous among the representative farmers and public-spirited citi- zens of Audubon county, Iowa, is the well-known Hans J. Nielsen, of Hamlin township. He has made his influence felt for good in his community in Hamlin township and is a man of sterling worth, whose life has been closely interwoven with the history of this township. His efforts have always been to promote the material advancement of Audubon county, as well as the social and moral welfare of his fellow-men. Mr. Nielsen has won the respect and admiration of his fellow citizens, which entitle him to representa- tion in a biographical work of this nature. Like so many of his neighbors in Audubon county, Mr. Nielsen is a native of the splendid little kingdom of Denmark.
Hans J. Nielsen was born on July 6, 1862, in Jylland, Denmark. He is the son of Niels and Anna Nielsen, who were born near the same place in Denmark.
Hans J. Nielsen received a good education while a lad and served in the army of Denmark for about seven or eight months. At that time it was compulsory and all able-bodied young men were compelled to take a military training. Mr. Nielsen followed farming in the old country, working out by the year.
In March, 1887, Mr. Nielsen came to the United States, landing at New York city and, after spending a brief time there, came directly to Audubon county, Iowa. He worked out by the month for four years and during that period received fifty cents a day for his labor. He then purchased one hun- dred and seventy acres of land in Hamlin township, but later sold this farm and purchased eighty acres where he now lives in section 30. Mr. Nielson has added to his original eighty acres and now owns two hundred and nine- teen acres of the best land that can be found anywhere in Audubon county. The land was rather well improved at the time Mr. Nielsen purchased it and Mr. Nielsen has kept apace with the times, having built a large modern home with gas lights, furnace, waterworks, etc. His barn and sheds are all of thoroughly modern construction and bespeak the enterprise and progressive spirit of their owner.
On March 15, 1894, Hans J. Nielsen was married in Audubon county to Mary Jensen, who was born in Aro, an island off the coast of Denmark, and came to the United States three years after her husband arrived. Her parents, Klaus and Bertha Jensen, never came to this country.
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AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
To Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen have been born ten children, as follow : Alfred, Clara, Esther, Elmer, Albert, Rosie, Harvey, Violet, Thelma and Leonard. These children, who live at home, are all industrious and have been a great aid to their father and mother.
Mr. Nielsen does general farming and stock raising. He milks about sixteen head of cows the year round. Mr. Nielsen is a lover of his home and family and spends most of his time with them. The glamour and glare of official life have never appealed to him, as he is a man of modest temperament and thoroughly domestic habits. He is unassuming in manners and cordial in his relations with his neighbors and friends.
Mr. Nielsen is a Republican and while he votes this ticket, he is not active in politics because he prefers his home, his family and his farm. The family are all members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church.
HARVEY HIGHT.
An early settler of Audubon county, Iowa, and a man who gave nearly four years of his life to the service of his country and who is now a well- known farmer and stockman of Douglas township, Audubon county, is Har- vey Hight, who was born, June 22, 1832, in Ohio. Mr. Hight's parents, Nicholas and Phoebe Hight, were born in New Jersey and Ohio, respectively. After working for many years as a ship carpenter in Cincinnati, the father emigrated to Illinois, where he bought a farm of a hundred and sixty acres. Selling this farm after cultivating it for a few years, he came to Iowa, thence to Charles City, and retired at the age of seventy-four, having reared a family of four children, Mary, Daniel, Thomas and Harvey. Of these children, Mary lives in Charles City, and Daniel and Thomas are deceased.
During the boyhood of Harvey Hight, the educational facilities in the state of Illinois, where he then lived, were considerably more limited than they are at the present time, and he was compelled to quit school at the age of fourteen, and engage in farm work, at which he continued for a period of six years. A part of the time, a period of about two years, he spent in work- ing on the canal connecting Chicago and Peoria. Returning to the farm, he again spent two years in this vocation, but in 1861 enlisted in the Fifty- second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and became a private soldier in Company D. He served in the war three years and eight months, and after the war rented a farm of two hundred and forty acres in Illinois. During the seven years which he occupied this farm he was able to save considerable money.
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AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
In 1879 Mr. Hight came to Iowa, locating at Walnut, where he stayed, how- ever, only six months, at the end of which time he came to Audubon county and bought eighty acres of land for eight dollars an acre. Mr. Hight kept on adding to the original tract, until he owned two hundred and seven and sixty-eight hundreds acres near the Fiscus store. His part in improving the agricultural life of this community can be understood best, when it is recalled that he spent nearly ten thousand dollars in improving this land. During his entire career he has been accustomed to feed all of his grain to live stock raised on the farm. He sells about a carload of cattle every two years, and about fifty head of hogs every year.
In 1865, at the close of the Civil War, Mr. Hight was married to Mar- garet J. Dickey, daughter of Isaac and Lucinda Dickey, of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Hight have had five children. L. D., Belle, Charles, William and Elmer, the last two of whom are deceased. L. D. Hight married Dora Garrutt, and they live in Douglas township. Belle married Ed Haskens, and they live on a part of Mr. Hight's farm.
For many years Harvey Hight has been identified with the Republican party, and for twelve years was trustee of his township, and road supervisor for twelve years. He also served as school director for three years. Fra- ternally, Mr. Hight is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a secret society which he joined in the state of Illinois, but is not active at present. Religiously, Harvey Hight and family are members of the Christ- ian church. They are well known in Douglas township; are respected citi- zens, honored for their industry and admired for their success as progressive, up-to-date farmers. Mr. Hight retired to Audubon in 1909, but makes his home in the summer time for the last two years on his home farm.
ANDREW GUSTAF FORSBECK.
Among the enterprising and progressive farmers of Audubon county now living retired, none stands higher in the esteem of his fellow citizens than Andrew Gustaf Forsbeck, of Gray. He has long been engaged in agricultural pursuits in this county and the years of his residence here have served to strengthen the feeling of admiration on the part of his neighbors and fellow townsmen because of his honorable, upright life. He has set a worthy example for the younger generation and is therefore entitled, as one of the representative citizens of Audubon county to representation in this volume.
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AUDUBON COUNTY, IOWA.
Andrew Gustaf Frosbeck was born in Sweden on December 9, 1846, the son of Peter Peterson and Anna (Peterson) Frosbeck, the former of whom died in 1851, and the latter of whom died when Andrew Gustaf Fors- beck was a mere lad. Before Mr. Forsbeck reached his majority he became a sailor, sailing on the Atlantic ocean and on the Mediterranean Sea. His service expired January 30, 1874, and after this he came to America, locating in Whiteside county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming and on February 20, 1879, was united in marriage to Mary Antoinette Aikman, who was born on April 8, 1852, in Lyons, Iowa, the daughter of Robert and Sarah Aikman, natives of New Jersey and Canada, respectively, and old settlers in the state of Iowa. To Andrew G. and Mary A. (Aikman) Frosbeck three children have been born, Sadie, the wife of Chris Christensen, of Cameron township, this county : Ella, the wife of Lou Hansen, who lives on the home farm, and Carl D., county engineer of Audubon county, living in Audubon. Mr. and Mrs. Forsbeck have five grandsons, Nelson, Carl, Lyle and Roy and Ralph Christensen, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Christensen, of Cameron township.
Andrew Gustaf Forsbeck came to Audubon county on August 23, 1881, settling in Lincoln township. Previously, in 1879, he had come from White- side county, Illinois, to this county and had purchased eighty acres of raw prairie land in section 36, at sixteen dollars an acre. At that time there was no town where Gray now stands. Mr. Forsbeck erected there a house, six- teen by twenty-four feet, hauling the lumber all the way from Illinois. He still owns his original purchase of eighty acres. In January, 1912, Mr. Forsbeck retired from the farm and moved to Gray, where he erected a 'fine, modern home on a hill, which gives him a splendid view of the surrounding country.
Mr. Forsbeck is well acquainted with the early history of Gray, where he now lives. He relates that Doctor Warner was the first physician of Gray ; that George Schroeder was the first saloon keeper; that Will Johnson was the first merchant and that Mr. Reeves kept the first hardware store, later selling out to Stotts & Myers. The first store building was a rough board shack; the first drug store was kept by Doctor Hinsdale, and the first liveryman was a Mr. Eby.
Andrew Gustaf Forsbeck is one of the best-known citizens of this community. He is a Republican and has held various minor township offices and for years has been looked to for counsel and advice in local political matters. Although Mr. Forsbeck was reared as a Lutheran, the family attend the United Brethren and Methodist Episcopal church. Mr.
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Forsbeck is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Gray and the Woodmen of the World, in the affairs of both of which orders he takes a warm interest, and is held in high regard by all who know him.
HANS JORGENSEN.
A student interested in the history of Audubon county, Iowa, does not have to carry his investigations far into its annals before learning that Hans Jorgensen has long been an active and leading representative in its agricul- tural affairs. His labors have proved a potent force in making Audubon county a good farming region. During several decades Mr. Jorgensen has carried on farming, gradually improving his farm. While he has prospered in farming, he has also found ample opportunity to assist in the material development of Audubon county. His co-operation has always been of value and has been much sought by the people of his community with whom he stands very highly.
Hans Jorgensen was born on October 7, 1863, in Fynn, Denmark. He is the son of Peter and Birgitte (Nelsen) Jorgensen, who were also born in Fynn, Denmark. The father was a tailor by trade while living in the old country but, after coming to America, he followed farming. He was the father of ten children, of whom Hans was the eldest.
Hans Jorgensen received a good education in Denmark, which he sup- plemented by attending school at Oakfield, in Audubon county, after coming here. When he was seventeen years old, or in the spring of 1880, the family came to America, landing in New York city, thence coming direct to Atlantic, Cass county, Iowa.
After reaching this country, Hans Jorgensen went to work immediately on a farm near Elkhorn, in Shelby county. He worked out by the month until he was twenty-four years old and then rented a farm in Shelby county but lived there only one year. At this time he came to Hamlin township, Audubon county, where he rented land for two years more. In 1890 Mr. Jorgensen purchased eighty acres of land in Sharon township, where he lived until 1910. In 1888 Mr. Jorgensen's father had bought two hundred and thirteen acres of land in Hamlin township but, in the meantime, he had sold some of it, and at the time of his death, in 1906, he owned only one hundred and sixty-nine acres. In 1910 Hans Jorgensen purchased the farm of his mother, who is now living in Elkhorn.
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Hans Jorgensen was married on April 23, 1888, in Audubon, to Katie Bartelsen, who was born on April 20, 1870, in Schleswig, Germany. She is the daughter of Hans E. and Anna K. (Schelleiup) Bartelsen. They were of Danish blood and came to the United States in 1884, locating in Audubon county. Mr. and Mrs. Jorgensen have no children.
Mr. Jorgensen makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred registered Shorthorn cattle, of which he is one of the few breeders in Audubon county. He also raises and feeds about seventy head of hogs per year. Mr. Jorgen- sen is a stockholder in the Elkhorn-Marne Telephone Company. He has a clear recollection of the Strawl murder near Brayton, which was one of the first murders in Audubon county and occurred about the time the Jorgensen family came to Audubon county.
Hans Jorgensen is a Democrat, but he is not "hide-bound" in his politi- cal affiliations and generally votes for the man rather than for the party. He has served as road supervisor and justice of the peace in his township and has held other minor offices of trust and responsibility. Mr. Jorgensen is a good citizen, an industrious and capable farmer and is devoted primarily to his home and has always made it his chief interest in life.
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