USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 58
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Mr. McLeran, like his father, has built up a splendid reputation as a good, conscientious, successful farmer and stock raiser. His Poland China and Duroc-Jersey hogs and draft horses are among the finest in the county. He feeds as many as ninety head of hogs a year. Both he and his father are well read. and are progressive in their ideas. The father, though along in years, is strong and hearty, and well preserved. Their farm is a matter of
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pride to the neighborhood, so well is it kept and so scientifically is it man- aged. Such a family is a power in any neighborhood, for their lives go to make up that part of the community by which it is known, composed of the people whom the world does not forget when they are gone. William P. McLeran is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and stands high among his associates in that popular order. He is a Democrat and takes an intelligent interest in the political affairs of the county, being regarded as an excellent citizen.
ALBERT J. SHUPE.
Self-made men are so numerous in America that we have ceased to wonder at them. They are men whose courage and indomitable will power have been so great that for them difficulty and hardship simply did not exist. But most of such men have had the counsel and encouragement and love of their parents, even though they may not have had their financial help. His must have been a stout heart indeed, who, left without either father or mother at the tender age of eleven, could, by his industry, lay the foundation of a career which now places him in an enviable position among his fellow- men. And this notwithstanding the fact that early individual freedom was somewhat hampered by his being "bound out," a custom now obsolete. From a little apprentice lad, Albert J. Shupe, of Audubon county, has become one of its most prominent landowners, and lives in a beautiful home on a valuable tract of land consisting of two hundred acres.
Mr. Shupe was born on November 10, 1861, in Warren county, Iowa, being the son of Henry M. and Sophia (DeLong) Shupe, the latter being the first wife. Henry Shupe was a native of Pennsylvania, lived for a while in Ohio, and then located in Warren county, near Lacone, where he bought prairie land, built his home and lived until his death, in 1872. He became a farmer and stock raiser in this county in 1854. His death occurred when he was thirty-five years of age. His first wife died in 1865, having borne him ' four sons These were Madison, a farmer in Alberta, Canada; Hyram R., a butcher in Pocahontas county, Iowa, for twenty years, also a retired farmer ; Albert J., the subject of this biography ; and Arthur D., a farmer in South Dakota. His second wife was Levina Cooper. Children born of the second marriage were Lemme, who has been for a numbr of years engaged in agriculture in South Dakota; Annie, the wife of Levi Griffin, of Oklahoma ; Homer, also of this state, and a child who died in infancy.
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When Albert was a lad of four, his mother was taken away, and when only eleven his father died, and he lived for a few years with his grand- father, Jacob Shupe. Until the age of twenty he was "bound out," and therefore the education which he coveted was denied him, although nature, which became his daily close companion, taught him many things. His schooling consisted of a few terms in the country school, but he made the most of those advantages. For five years, beginning on September 10, 1882, he rented land one mile north and one mile west of Audubon, and at the end of that time bought eighty acres in Douglas township, where he has lived ever since.
A splendid modern nine-room house has replaced the old house that stood on the site when he purchased it, this being built in 1912. Eleven years prior to that, he built a fine barn, remodeling it in 1914. It is now thirty-six by eighty feet with twenty-foot post. His home is complete in all of its equipments, having hot and cold water, furnace heat and gas, and is one of the attractive residences of the neighborhood. Altogether, over ten thousand dollars' worth of improvements have made this farm one of the finest in the county. He now owns two hundred acres in sections 25 and 36 and has a tract of land in Alberta, Canada.
Besides his enterprise in agriculture, Mr. Shupe has attained success as a stock raiser, having on his place from forty to fifty head of Shorthorn cattle a year, seventy-five to one hundred head of Poland China hogs, besides fifteen draft horses of Percheron and Belgian breed.
Mr. Shupe has been twice married, his first wife being Lydia Mills, of Warren county, Iowa, who died in 1896, leaving two children, Roy, living at home, and Icle, who died at the age of eleven years. The second marriage of Mr. Shupe occurred on October 9, 1900, his wife being Christina Brandt, a widow, daughter of Bolser Thompson, of Sharon township Their children are William, Arnold, Gladys and Harold.
That the man whose name forms the caption of this sketch is held in honor by his fellow countrymen is shown by the fact that they have made him a trustee of Douglas township, and he has served in this capacity for several years. He was also school director for two years, and has been keenly inter- ested in placing the schools of his county on a high plane of excellence. In politics, Mr. Shupe is a Democrat.
Mrs. Shupe is almost as well known as her husband. What he has done for the schools and for the neighborhood in general, she has done for the church, being much interested in the work of the Lutheran denomination. She takes a very active part in all movements for human betterment, and is
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a great help to her husband, not limiting her energies to the duties of a house- hold, although these are never neglected. Both of these residents have become a part of the life of the community in which their lot is cast, and both have made it a better place in which to live.
REV. GOTTLEIB BENDER CHRISTIANSEN.
The church and the school are the two great forces which make for a broader and better civilization. Their mission is not to compete with the home in the matter of moral training, but rather to supplement its teachings. The man, therefore, who makes his life work the service of humanity through the church, is set apart from his fellowmen by a loftiness of purpose which not only transforms the lives of others, but which likewise puts his own character and conduct upon a higher plane. To the man who loves his work there is no compensation like the consciousness of having done that work well: when his mission is to uplift human life and minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the people, the plaudits of the multitude are unneces- sary, for he has his reward in the knowledge of priceless service well ren- dered. But the public is always interested in the life of a man devoted to its service, and for this reason, as well as for the intrinsic worth of the man, no one is more deserving of mention here than he whose name appears at the head of this chapter.
Rev. Gottleib Bender Christiansen, pastor of the Ebenezer Evangelical Danish Lutheran church of Audubon county, is one of the best-known men in the county. Not only as a minister of the gospel is he respected, but as the president of a theological seminary, he has won the esteem and admiration of students and faculty alike.
Gottleib Christiansen was born October 27, 1851, in Middlefast, Den- mark, and was the son of Christian and Elsie Cathrina (Dalton) Christian- sen, who were pious, hard-working people. They lived all of their lives in the birthplace of the subject of this sketch, the father being a successful farmer. All of their children were brought up according to the tenets of the Lutheran denomination. Gottleib's family circle was broken by the early leath of four unnamed children. The others were, in the order of their birth : Hans, now living in Denmark: Nels and Carl, both deceased ; Elsie Marie and Rasmus Carl, both residing in their native town.
Having graduated in the schools of his birthplace, the subject of this
REV. GOTTLEIB B. CHRISTIANSEN
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review studied to become a private teacher, a vocation which he followed for two years. But his ambition led the youth to desire a wider field, so he embarked for America when he was twenty-six years of age, and first matriculated in Augsburg College, Minneapolis, where he studied for four years. After his ordination to the ministry, in 1881, he preached in Council Bluffs, Iowa, for a period of four and a half years, and then for a similar length of time in Albert Lee, Iowa. He was then elected president of Trinity Seminary at Blair, Nebraska, serving in that capacity from 1890 until 1896. From the latter date until 1904, he preached in Omaha, Nebraska, leaving there to accept the call at the church in Audubon which he now serves. In 1896, a signal honor was bestowed upon Rev. Christiansen when the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran church was organized, and elected him to its presidency, an office which he still holds.
On June 23, 18SI, Rev. Christiansen was married to Miss Lena Larsen, of Denmark, who was born in the same town, attended the same school and was confirmed at the same time as the man who in after years became her husband.
Mr. and Mrs. Christiansen's children are seven in number. Herman, the eldest, is living in San Francisco, California, and is engaged in the furni- ture and crockery business. Julia became the wife of Berkhard Eskelsen, of Hampton, Nebraska. Carl is now a real-estate dealer in Elkhorn, Iowa. Christian is a well-known carpenter in Audubon. Johannas follows the painter's trade, and lives in Lincoln, Nebraska. Anna married Martin Kjn, of Audubon, and Joseph lives at Brush, Colorado. Realizing the value of an education, Mr. and Mrs. Christiansen gave their children the advantages of the schools in Blair and Omaha, Nebraska, and in Elkhorn, and some of their family graduated from high school.
The success of the modern preacher is in no small degree effected by the character and ability of his wife, for she plays a most important part in the life of the church to which he ministers. No sketch of the life of a minister is therefore complete without reference to the faithfulness and devo- tion of his wife, not only in the home, but also in the larger church home. Indeed, if she be not tactful and resourceful and unselfish, the work of her husband may be seriously handicapped It is fitting, therefore, that mention be made of the valuable services of Mrs. Christiansen, which, in spite of her large family and their demands upon her time and strength, extended to the wide circle of church members and friends to whom her husband was called to minister.
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On January 12, 1913, "Ridder of Dannebrug," a degree of honor for efficient service as a minister, was presented to Rev. Christiansen by the king of Denmark.
One would expect a man holding the position he has held as a leader in his denomination to be a student of life as well as of books, and Rev. Christ- iansen is both. He has the culture of the scholar, the refinement of the gen- tleman, and the nobility of the Christian. Having lived a life of altruism, it has now become a habit, and he finds his highest joy in service. The influence of such a man is incalculable, and not the least part of this good is in the countless little nameless acts of kindness which never reach farther than the person whom they help, and yet which give meaning and worth to the public career of the minister. Rev. Christiansen has been a power in the county where he now resides, and both he and his good wife have a host of friends, not only in their church, but in the wider confines of the neighbor- hood. To be able to diffuse so much good by active service and his own wholesome life, and to deserve and secure the respect and esteem of all who know him is better praise than words can convey, but the real tribute is in the hearts of those whom he has helped, and this tribute must ever be silent, for it can only be felt.
JENS P. SCHOUBOE.
Perhaps no man living in Audubon county has broke up more prairie sod than Jens P. Schouboe, a retired farmer and merchant of Sharon town- ship, who was born in Denmark, May 4, 1855, the son of Peter P. and Christina Schouboe, and who came to America in 1874, locating first at Oxford, New Jersey. Mr. Schouboe's father was a brick layer and carpenter by trade, and died in Denmark in 1906. His wife, the mother of Jens P. Schouboe, died four years previously, in 1902. Of their five children only three are now living, Jess, Jens P. and Marie.
Jens P. Schouboe received his education in the schools of his native land and after leaving school took up the carpenter's trade and also the mason's trade. After working at Oxford, New Jersey, at his trade for four years after his arrival in America, he removed to this county, located in Viola township in 1878, where he worked at his trade and as a farm hand. He was engaged in breaking up the tough prairie sod for a period of seven years, and during this period broke approximately twelve hundred acres in Audu- bon and Shelby counties. From his savings he was enabled to purchase
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eighty-seven acres of land at eleven dollars an acre in Jackson township, Shelby county, and here he farmed and broke prairie until 1890, when he came to Audubon county and purchased a hundred and sixty acres of land in Sharon township. Later Mr. Schouboe added eighty acres to the original tract and now owns two hundred and forty acres altogether. In 1908 he built a store in Sharon township, and calling the place Sharon engaged in the mercantile business for two years. Jens P. Schouboe has achieved a flattering success in a material way in his adopted country and he is one of the many citizens of Audubon county to whom America has spelled and rightly so the word "opportunity."
Mr. Schouboe was married in 1882 to Mary Michelsen, daughter of Chris Michelsen. They have no children. Mr. and Mrs. Schouboe are mem- bers of the Danish Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Schouboe is a Demo- crat. He has been more or less active in the councils of his party, serving as road supervisor for six years, and also as township trustee, a very import- ant office in this state. Mr. Schouboe discharged the duties of the office with credit to himself and to the people of his community. He enjoys an enviable reputation in the community where he lives and is a worthy citizen of the great state of Iowa, which has smiled upon him so benignantly.
MARTIN SORRENSEN.
Martin Sorrensen, a farmer of Greeley township, Audubon county, Iowa, was born on July 7, 1884, in North Jylland, Denmark. He is the son of Thas and Dorothy Sorrensen, also natives of North Jylland, where the former was a carpenter by trade. Thas and Dorothy Sorrensen, who never came to the United States, were the parents of nine children, five of whom are living, all in this country. Martin and Jens are the only ones living in Audubon county. In the spring of 1903, Mr. Sorrensen's sister, Katie, came to the United States and located at Hampton, Iowa. One year later Martin Sorrensen himself came to the United States, landing at Boston, Massachu- setts. He came direct to Iowa, stopping at Hampton, where his sister was living, but remained there only three months, when he went to Keokuk and there he lived for eighteen months. He then removed to North Branch, Guthrie county, where he rented land until the spring of 1914, when he rented his present farm in Greeley township, Audubon county.
About two years after his arrival in this country, on August 1, 1906,
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Mr. Sorrensen was married in Guthrie county, to Mary Davidson, who was borri on June 2, 1883. in North Jylland, Denmark, and who is a daughter of Martin and Jensena (Jensen) Davidson. They were farmers in their native land and still live in that country. Mrs. Sorrensen came to the United States in the fall of 1905, and, after landing at New York City, came direct to Iowa, locating in Guthrie county. Mr. and Mrs. Martin Sorrensen are the parents of four children, namely : Clara D., born on May 2, 1907 ; Esther J., November 1, 1908: Harry Thomas, July 3, 1910, and Frank M., April 19, 1913.
Mr. and Mrs. Sorrensen and family are all supporters of the Danish Lutheran church.
Mr. Sorrensen is engaged in general farming and stock raising and, since he is a comparatively young man and has already got a splendid start in the world, he promises to become one of Audubon county's leading farmers and citizens. He is at the present time operating between two hundred and three hundred acres of land and each year has been able to save considerable money from his earnings. Presently, Mr. Sorrensen will be able to purchase a farm of his own and by the 'time he has reached the prime of life, he will be thoroughly established in the agricultural life of Audubon county. Mr. Sorrensen is highly respected in the neighborhood where he lives.
MARINUS NIELSEN.
Marinus Nielsen, farmer and stockman of Douglas township, Audubon county, Iowa, was born in Denmark, December 25, 1881. Mr. Nielsen is one of a family of nine children, the others being Christiana, Marie, Sena, Nicka- line, Louis, Edmund, and two who are deceased. Besides Marinus, Louis and Nickaline are the only members of the family who are now living in this country.
Mr. Nielsen's career is not greatly different from that of many Danish lads, who have left home and friends behind to seek their fortunes in a new land He was compelled to quit school at the age of fourteen, and shortly after that he came to this country alone, remaining for two years in Hart- ford, Connecticut, where he had joined a sister. In 1899, at the age of eighteen years. lie came to Audubon county, and here he worked on a farm for seven years, or until his marriage.
After Mr. Nielsen was married he rented a farm in Sharon township
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for a year, and then purchased a hundred acres in that township. After owning and cultivating the farm for three years he sold out at considerable profit, and purchased a hundred and twenty acres of land in Douglas town- ship, which he still owns. Altogether Mr. Nielsen has invested about three thousand dollars in various improvements made to this farm. Practically all of the farm is tillable, and practically all of it is in a very high state of cultivation. He feeds a great part of the grain he raises to stock which is kept on the farm, and sells about sixty head of hogs every year, besides a few cattle. In 1906, at the age of twenty-six, Mr. Nielsen was married to Olga Jensen, the daughter of Christian Jensen. Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen are the parents of five children, as follow : Jens, Otto, Avall, Elma and Rudolph, all of whom are living at home. Mr. Nielsen is extremely happy that the chil- dren may enjoy in this country educational advantages which are in every way superior to those which were available to him in the old country.
The Nielsen family belong to the Danish Lutheran church, and Mr. Nielsen is a Republican in politics. His value as a citizen is not so much in the part he has taken in the political and civic life of Douglas township, but in what he has done to improve his farm, and thus to increase its productivity. In fact, herein is the debt which the next generation will owe to these sturdy pioneers who have by careful methods of farming brought up the raw prairie to a high state of cultivation.
CHRIST J. KNUDSEN.
Christ J. Knudsen, a well-known farmer and stock raiser of Douglas township, Audubon county, Iowa, and the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of fine farming land which is highly improved, was born on June 4, 1871, in Denmark. He is the son of Jens J. and Alice (Nelson) Knudsen. Jens and Alice Knudsen were both born in Denmark and were also married in their native land. He owned a small farm and was engaged in farming there until 1898, when he came to the United States. He lived with his son in Iowa for two years and then returned to Denmark, where, after living for a short time, he returned to the country and lived with his son, Christ J., until his death, in 1913. He was the father of four children : Nels J., Jens, Soren and Christ J. Soren lives in Denmark, Nels J. lives with Christ J. and Jens lives in Clarinda.
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Christ J. Knudsen was educated in the schools of Denmark but quit school at the age of fourteen and worked on the farm for three years, coming to America at the age of eighteen. The voyage was made on one of the ships of the Hamburg line. Mr. Kundsen landed in New York and came direct to Iowa, where he worked on a farm near Walnut for two years. He then rented a farm north of Walnut, comprising one hundred and twenty acres and lived there for one year, after which he rented land for three years. After this he went to Harlan, Iowa, and rented a farm there for two years. He also rented a farm near Erling for two years, coming finally to Audubon county, where he settled in Douglas township and purchased eighty acres of land. Keeping this tract for two years, he traded it for two hundred and forty acres in section 27, of Douglas township. Five years afterwards he purchased eighty acres more.
Mr. Knudsen was married on February 26, 1896, to Laura Sorensen, the daughter of Jens Jensen, a native of Denmark, who was married in Jackson- ville, Shelby county, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Knudsen have had six children : Edward, Houger, Soren, Alfred, Martin and Dagny. Soren is deceased, having died in 1909, at the age of seven years. The remainder of the family are at home and two of the children are attending school.
Mr. Knudsen's principal crops are corn and small grains. His corn averages about fifty bushels to the acre, his oats about thirty-five and his wheat about twenty-four bushels. Every acre of his three hundred and twenty acres has been under cultivation. Mr. Knudsen feeds all the grain he raises to his stock and sells two or three carloads of cattle each year and about one hundred and thirty head of hogs. He takes great pride in a pure- bred Percheron horse which he owns. Altogether it is fair to say that ten thousand dollars have been invested in improvements upon the farm.
A Republican in politics, Christ J. Knudsen has served as township trustee for five years and as assessor for three years. The Knudsen family belongs to the Danish Lutheran church and Mr. Knudsen is a trustee of this church.
Mr. Knudsen deserves to rank as one of the enterprising and successful farmers of Douglas township. Few men are better known or more highly respected than he. Scarcely in the prime of life, he has attained a success in agriculture which comes to few men of his age. He is, nevertheless, a man of modest and unassuming manners, wholly unaffected by his success, cordial with his neighbors and friendly in all of the relations of life.
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JOEL L. SWINEHART.
Joel L. Swinehart, a well-known farmer of Audubon township, was born on July 18, 1864, in Lagrange county, Indiana, the son of Samuel and Eliza (Sigler) Swinehart, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively, the latter having been born in Wood county. After their marriage in Lagrange county, Indiana, they lived until 1869 in that state, when they removed to Benton county, Iowa, and in 1874 they again removed to Guthrie, where the mother died in 1876. The father spent the latter part of his life with his son, Joel L., the subject of this sketch, passing away at his home in October, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Swinehart had six children, as follow : Charles, Mrs. Ella Matthews, Randal, Mrs. Savilla Ewing, Joel L. and Mrs. Minnie Spangler.
Joel L. Swinehart lived at home until his mother's death, at which time he was only eleven years old, and after her death he started out in life for himself, working for his board during the winter and attending school at the same time. After attending school until he was nineteen years old, he began working continuously at farm work, at which he was engaged until 1886, when he went to California and was engaged as a logger in the soft pine forests of that state. After being in California two years, in the fall of 1887, he returned to Guthrie county, where he worked until 1891, when he purchased eighty acres of land in section 36, of Audubon township. At the time it had only a small sixteen by twenty-two foot house, and a board stable, and there were only fifty acres under cultivation. In 1909 Mr. Swinehart built his present ten-room home, which is entirely and thoroughly modern. Most of the other buildings are practically new, the barn having been built in I90I.
On March 29, 1891, Mr. Swinehart was married in Adair county to Clarissa McClaran, who was born on October 5, 1874, in Pennsylvania, and who is the daughter of John and Rebecca (Hart) McClaran, natives of Ver- mont and Mercer county, Pennsylvania, respectively.
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