USA > Iowa > Audubon County > History of Audubon county, Iowa; its people, industries, and institutions > Part 79
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Charles Boehme lived at home until twenty-four years old, when he left home and worked at various occupations in different states. After his marriage, he and his wife located at Walnut, Iowa, where he rented land for three years. In the spring of 1889, they came to Audubon county and here he purchased eighty acres of land in section 14, of Greeley township. After living there for five years, he sold out and moved to Audubon town- ship, where he rented land again for six more years. In September, 1900, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 12, of Audu- bon township, and here he now lives. He has since added forty acres to the original farm. Mr. Boehme has made many improvements upon the farm and now has a fertile and highly productive farm, well equipped with all of the modern conveniences and highly suitable to successful farming.
On February 18, 1877, Charles Boehme was married in Montezuma, Poweshiek county, to Alice Kness, who was born on September 20, 1851, in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Martin and Hannah (Morehead) Kness, who were natives of Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, and moved to Poweshiek county in 1865.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Boehme are the parents of seven children, five . sons and two daughters, as follow: Otis W., born on May 7, 1878, married Jennie Baylor and has one child; Lowell B., was graduated from the phar- maceutical department of Drake University and now owns a store at Osce- ola, Iowa; Maud E., July 25, 1880, died on May 15, 1910, taught nine terms of school in Audubon township; Elmer, November 4, 1883, married Ethel Wheeler and has two children, Maud Evelyn and Carl Russell; Clyde, August 13, 1885, married Carrie Stephensen and has two children, Lois Elaine and Huriel Owen; Fred, August 21, 1888, married Susie Schwab and has two children, Thelma and Glen; Ray, June 17, 1891, married Dora J. Stephensen ; Mabel I., December 31, 1894, attended the Western Normal College at Shenandoah, Iowa, and the Highland Park College at Des Moines and now teaches school in Audubon township.
Mr. Boehme is a Republican. He has served as township trustee for six years and has also served as justice of the peace in Audubon township. Mrs. Boehme is a member of the Baptist church and her daughter, Mabel I.,
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is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Boehme is an adherent of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The Boehmes are highly respected citizens in this community and the family is popular socially in Audubon township. Charles Boehme is known as an enterprising and prosperous farmer and one who thoroughly under- stands the science of farming as it is interpreted and practiced today. He is a man of honorable and upright character and well liked in the community where he lives.
EDMUND H. STEERE.
One of the successful general farmers and stockmen of Lincoln town- ship, Audubon county, is Edmund H. Steere, who has done well his part in the work of transforming the raw Iowa prairie into its present highly- productive condition. Mr. Steere came to this county penniless, and the fine farm he now owns is the result of his well-directed efforts in this community.
Edmund H. Steere was born on November 15, 1856, in Minnesota. He is a son of Russell A. and Alice J. Steere. He attended the public school for two years in Minnesota, five years in a public school in Michigan, and later, attended the old Oak Field high school of Audubon county, Iowa, for two years. Quitting school at the age of eighteen, he went to work on his father's farm, remaining with him three years, at the end of which time he rented a farm south of Gray for three years, eighty acres of which he later bought for twelve dollars an acre. In 1892, Mr. Steers bought another farm of eighty acres adjoining his home place, for which he paid thirty-three dollars an acre. In 1906, he bought forty acres in Cameron township, at a cost of seventy dollars an acre, and again, in 1911, he purchased an additional forty acres, paying one hundred and thirty dollars an acre. Mr. Steere has spent about seven thousand dollars in improve- ments on his home place, including two miles of tiling. His principal crops are corn and small grain, all of which is fed to his stock. The corn yields about fifty or sixty bushels to the acre, and the small grain about thirty-five bushels. Mr. Steere is a regular attendant of the Methodist church at Gray, and always votes the Republican ticket.
Russell A. Steere was a native of Ohio, and his wife a native of Jacksonville, Illinois. They were married in Minnesota, and lived on a farm in that state for twelve years. They owned one hundred and sixty
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acres, which they sold, going from there to Michigan, where they bought a farm of eighty acres, on which they lived five years, and then went back to Minnesota. After remaining there about a year, they moved to the southern part of Audubon county, near Brayton, and bought a quarter sec- tion in Cameron township. They lived on this place fourteen years, where Russell A. Steere died in 1890, and Alice J. Steere died in 1910. To this couple were born six children, as follow: Edmund H., Ernest K., Lincoln R., Elanor, Alice and Herbert. Ernest died in Audubon county, in 1892. Lincoln is married and lives in Tennessee. Elanor is married and lives in Audubon county. Alice is also married, and lives in Audubon county. Her- bert lives in Wyoming.
Edmund H. Steere was married, in 1887, to Mary Mulloy, daughter of Coote C. Mulloy. Mrs. Mary Steere's father died at Carrollton, Iowa, near Coon Rapids, in 1872, and her mother died at Broadwater, Nebraska, in 191I.
To Mr. and Mrs. Steere have been born three children, Hazel, Ernest and Alice. Hazel spent two years in the high school at Gray, and after two years in the Audubon high school was graduated with the class of 19II, standing at the head of the class and gaining a scholarship. She is now teaching school. Ernest spent two years at the Gray high school and was graduated from the Audubon high school after two years. He is now working at home on the farm. Alice is attending high school at Gray.
CHRIS CHRISTENSEN.
Among the many well-known farmers of Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, who have made a conspicuous success of agriculture, jis Chris Christensen, the owner of two hundred and forty acres of splendid land. Mr. Christensen is one of the old-time residents of Audubon county, although he, himself, is scarcely past the prime of life.
Chris Christensen was born in Denmark, November 21, 1865, and is a son of J. C. and Mary Christensen, both of whom were natives of Den- mark, who came to America in 1879. J. C. Christensen was a mason by trade and followed that occupation until he came to America. After ar- riving in this country he located in section 30, of Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, where he purchased about forty-six acres of land for three hundred and sixty-seven dollars and twenty-eight cents. Later, he increased his land holdings to one hundred and forty acres, and improved his farm
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in many ways. He broke the raw prairie sod originally, which had never been previously plowed, and was engaged in general farming and stock raising until his death, February 22, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Christensen were the parents of the following children, five of whom are now living : Peter, Carrie, Chris, Mrs. J. J. Andersen, Sena, Martin C., and Andrew. J. C. Christensen was a soldier in the War of 1864 before coming to this country. After having lived a useful life and a life which was devoted to the welfare of her husband and family, Mrs. J. C. Christensen, the mother of Chris Christensen, died in 1895.
Chris Christensen, after having completed his education in the schools of his native land, resumed his studies on coming to America, and attended school here for a short time. He worked out by the month until he reached the age of twenty-four years, and then located on an eighty-acre tract of land which he purchased in 1884. He broke the sod and improved his place in various ways, and has enjoyed altogether a good record as a farmer. Mr. Christensen paid ten dollars an acre for the first eighty-acre tract which he bought from the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company, and he has invested ten thousand dollars in improvements on the place, making it now one of the valuable farms of the township. He is accustomed to raising an average of sixty acres of corn and forty acres of small grain each year, and feeds all of the grain raised on the farm to live stock, and is able to produce every year sufficient grain to feed one hundred head of hogs and a carload of cattle for the markets. He always keeps a very high grade of live stock, and has been very successful in this branch of agriculture. Mr. Christensen has three barns on his farm, one, sixty by fifty-six; one, fifty-six by sixty, and the third, fifty-six by forty, and is fully equipped for scientific and successful farming.
Chris Christensen was married in 1893 to Anna Sorensen, the daughter of Peter C. and Johanna Sorensen, and to this union five children have been born, Guy, Gaylor, Leroy, Hazel and Johanna, all of whom are living at home with their parents.
Chris Christensen is an independent voter and has been for many years. In fact, he has never permanently identified himself with any political party. although taking an active interest in all matters of public welfare. Al- though the Christensen family attend church, they are not actively identi- fied with any church organization.
Having only six dollars in cash when he purchased his first eighty acres of land, Mr. Christensen each year has saved something out of the profits of the farm, and today he is one of the substantial landholders of
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Sharon township, and while he has applied himself industriously to his voca- tion, he has never neglected the larger duties of life, and is an honored citizen of the township where he lives.
ERIK P. SIMONSEN.
It requires great strength of manhood and rare courage to sever the ties that bind one to home and native land and to seek a fortune in a new country. Erik P. Simonsen, a well-known retired farmer of Sharon town- ship, Audubon county, Iowa, and the owner of two hundred and twenty- seven acres of land in this township, came to America when twenty-eight years old, leaving behind him all that was near and dear and breaking all of the associations of childhood and youth. Mr. Simonsen was born on July 4, 1849, the son of Hans and Anna (Clausen) Simonsen, both of whom were natives of Denmark, where Hans Simonsen was a farmer, and where he lived all his life. Of their ten children, four are now living, but only two are living in this country.
Erik P. Simonsen received his education in his native land, and after leaving school worked as a farm hand until he came to America in 1877. Arriving in this country he located first at Bowmans Grove, Shelby county, Iowa, and remaining there for one year he then went to Cass county, and worked a year. After this he lived in Audubon county, and here he pur- chased a farm of sixty acres, for which he paid eight dollars an acre. Engaged in general farming, Mr. Simonsen prospered from year to year and, as new land was added, broke the sod and reduced the soil to an excellent state of cultivation. He was accustomed to feed about one hundred and fifty head of hogs every year, fifty head of cattle, and to raise ninety acres of corn. In 1913 his corn averaged sixty bushels to the acre, and in that year he also raised fifty acres of small grain, all of which was fed to hogs and cattle. Coming to America with only eight hundred dollars, Mr. Simonsen has been able to increase his wealth until he now owns two hundred and twenty-seven acres of fine farming land in Sharon township.
Shortly after his arrival in America, Mr. Simonsen was married to Carrie Albertsen, daughter of Knud Albertsen, and to this happy union nine children were born, as follow: Anna, Elena, Stena, Eugena, Hans, Alfred, Emma, Arthur and Amanda. Anna married Anders Jensen, and they are the parents of eight children, Elena, Dagmar, Astra, Gonda, Edna, Herluf,
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Elenora and Erna. Elena married V. S. Jensen and to them were born five children, Halvor, Thorwald, Arthur, Ydun and Thelma. Stena married T. G. Jensen, and they are the parents of four children, Areling, Amanda, Eva and Thelma Viola. Eugena married Hjalmar Rasmussen and to them were born four children, Edel, Veta, Hilga and Eva. The remainder of Mr. Simonsen's family are unmarried and live at home. Mrs. Simonsen, who was born in Denmark, came to America in 1878, and was married to Mr. Simonsen a very short time after her arrival in America.
Mr. and Mrs. Erik P. Simonsen are members of the Danish Lutheran church, and Mr. Simonsen is a trustee in the church. Politically, he is identified with the Democratic party.
Erik P. Simonsen is a well-known citizen of Sharon township, and during the active and productive period of his career while he was engaged in farming he was considered one of the most skillful agriculturists in this section of the county. His success is evidenced by the large increase in personal and real property since coming to America. Mr. Simonsen is a highly-respected and honored citizen of Audubon county.
REV. HERMAN L. JENSEN.
The Rev. Herman L. Jensen, pastor of the Bethany Danish Evangelical church of Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, has been a citizen of this county some fifteen years, having come to America after being educated in the schools of his native land, and after working at the blacksmith trade for a period of nine years. He also served fourteen months in the Danish army before leaving his native country.
Born in Denmark, March 14, 1876, the son of Jens and Anna (Emmick- sen) Jensen, both natives of Denmark, Rev. Herman L. Jensen has had an interesting career. His father was a laborer all his life and died in his native land, January 24, 1906; his mother is still living in Denmark. Of the fourteen children born to Jens and Anna Jensen, seven are now living, as follows: Mrs. Minnie Swanson, William F., Thorwald, Peter, Anna, Kristine, and the Rev. Herman L.
Herman L. Jensen, after coming to America, located in Lyon county, Iowa, where he worked on a farm for one year, and then as a blacksmith for two years. About 1903 he entered Dana College at Blair, Nebraska,
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and after completing the course of instruction there, and at Trinity Seminary, was ordained at Elkhorn, Iowa, June 6, 1909, as a minister in the Danish Evangelical church. Coming to the Bethany church immediately after his ordination, he has remained here since that time. In the meantime he has started a mission in Guthrie county, Iowa, which was begun three years ago with three families, and which now includes a congregation of twenty- two families. The congregation is in a thriving condition and contemplates the erection of a large church.
Rev. H. L. Jensen was married on June 16, 1909, to Marie Juhl, the daughter of Peter and Anna Juhl, and to this union have been born two children, Victor Julius and Anna Elvera.
There is no calling and no vocation in which the opportunity for service is greater than that of the ministry, and the Rev. Herman L. Jensen has improved upon his opportunities, and with sincerity of purpose and the zeal of the devout Christian, has carried forward his work in this part of Iowa with consummate success. Although devoted primarily to spiritual matters, Mr. Jensen is a good citizen in the largest sense of the word and has always taken a keen interest in public affairs, but in political matters, he is an independent voter. He is popular with his congregation of the Bethany church and well equipped to become in time one of the foremost ministers of the state in his denomination.
WILLIAM J. LANCELOT.
William J. Lancelot, the editor and publisher of the Audubon County Journal, has enjoyed a diverting and interesting career. He has been en- gaged in many enterprises, and the remarkable fact is that he has been conspicuously successful in everything to which he has turned his hand. The son of a well-known English sea captain, he has been a farmer, butcher, merchant, newspaper correspondent and, finally, the owner of a newspaper. The secret of Mr. Lancelot's success, perhaps, is the splendid education and training he received in his native land. Schooled in habits of industry and methodical, precise manners of doing work, Mr. Lancelot's career should serve as an example to young men of our day and generation, who are more or less inclined to be careless and indifferent to details.
William J. Lancelot, the editor and publisher of the Audubon County Journal, at Exira, Iowa, was born on December 4, 1849, in Falmouth, County
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of Cornwall, England. He is the son of William H. and Isabelle H. (Truscott) Lancelot, and was second in a family of six children. William H. Lancelot, the father, was for many years a sea captain in command of a ship which sailed on the waters of the Atlantic ocean, and for many years he was in the government service with headquarters at Falmouth, England.
William J. Lancelot, the subject of this sketch, having been educated in a select school in his native land, emigrated to America when eighteen years old, and landed in New York City, eventually came west and settled in Clayton county, Iowa, where for a time he engaged in farming. He had served an apprenticeship as a butcher in his native land, and followed this business after coming to Iowa. In 1876 he removed to Cameron Center, Audubon county, and farmed there until 1885, when he engaged in the grocery business at Ross, Iowa, in partnership with Frank Gleason, of Audubon. After a time Mr. Lancelot sold out and in partnership with F. P. Rees purchased the stock of W. P. Johnson & Company, of Gray, Iowa. Mr. Lancelot and Mr. Rees established their business in 1886, and for many years were engaged in the mercantile business at Gray, under the firm name of Lancelot & Rees.
In the meantime Mr. Lancelot had served as the Audubon county cor- respondent of the Des Moines Register. In 1893 he sold out his interest in the store at Gray and subsequently purchased the Audubon County Journal.
On January 1, 1905, the Lancelots came into possession of the Audu- bon County Journal, when the subject of this sketch became its editor, and for ten years has maintained a strictly independent and progressive paper, with one of the best equipped offices in the state.
GEORGE EAGEN.
Born in Johnson county, this state, reared as a farmer and with a suf- ficient experience as a farmer in Nebraska to convince him that Audubon county, this state, in which he had previously lived for a time, was the best spot on earth for the farmer, George Eagen, one of the well-known and substantial farmers of Greeley township, this county, is content to remain here the remainder of his life, enjoying the benefits and comforts of the fine home which he has created in Greeley township.
George Eagen was born on a farm in Johnson county, Iowa, May 22, 1861, the son of Thomas and Catherine (McTyge) Eagen, both of whom
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GEORGE EAGEN AND FAMILY
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were born in Ireland, the former a native of County Cork and the latter of County Mayo. Thomas Eagen came to America as a lad and for a time lived in New Jersey, where he worked on a farm. He married Catherine McTyge in that state, and in 1860 came to Iowa, settling in Johnson county, where he bought land. Selling out his holdings there in 1880, he moved to Shelby county, and in 1883 to Audubon county, but only remained here a year, not buying any land, moving on to Holt county, Nebraska, where he took a homestead claim, on which he lived for six years, at the end of which time he sold the claim and, in 1889, came back to Audubun county, where he bought eighty acres in section 10, of Greeley township, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring on April 7, 1906. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, John, George, Mrs. Catherine Kerwin, Thomas, James F., Mrs. Mary Campbell and William. James F. and Mrs. Campbell are residents of this county.
George Eagen lived at home until 1884, in which year he went to Holt county, Nebraska, and entered a homestead, which he sold in 1890 and returned to Audubon county, where he rented land until 1898, at which time he bought eighty acres in section 2, of Greeley township, which he improved, and where he since has made his home. In 1907 he replaced his original dwelling house with a fine eight-room house and has also built a good barn, garage and other substantial farm buildings.
On February 3, 1892, George Eagen was united in marriage to Corde- lia Parrott, who was born in Dubuque county, Iowa, December 31, 1868, the daughter of Perry and Barbara A. (Duel) Parrott, natives of Licking county, Ohio, who came to Audubon county in 1871 and homesteaded the land on which the county fair ground is now located, but were deprived of ownership through legal proceedings instituted by the railroad company, whereupon they bought land in Hamlin township, where they reared a family of eleven children: Mrs. Lizzie Sales, Samuel, Thomas E., Mrs. Ella Hensley, Cordelia E., John L., Arthur L. (deceased), Mrs. Flora Frederick, Mrs. Bertha Campbell, Horace A. and Mrs. Mamie Christian- sen, four of whom are living in Audubon county, the sons and Mrs. Fagen.
To George and Cordelia E. (Parrott) Eagen have been born three children : Eunice, born on November 8, 1892, died on January 10, 1893; Marguerite, March 28, 1894, who, on January 14, 1914, married August Dutler ; and George, June 7, 1897. The Eagens have many friends in the community in which they reside and are held in the highest regard by all who know them.
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CHRISTEN T. CLAUSEN.
Christen T. Clausen, who owns two hundred acres of highly productive land in Sharon township, is another native-born son of the little kingdom of Denmark, who has established a comfortable home and acquired a con- siderable fortune since coming to America. Mr. Clausen is one of the well- known citizens of Audubon county, especially well-known as a successful farmer and business man. During his career as a farmer, he has kept closely in touch with all of the modern phases of farm development and he employs only the very best methods in carrying on agricultural work.
Christen T. Clausen, a resident of Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, was born on March 18, 1872, in Denmark, and is the son of Claus and Christena (Madsen) Clausen, both of whom were natives of Denmark. The father, a blacksmith by occupation, followed this trade during all of the active years of his life, but is now living retired in his native land. He served in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864 and has a splendid military record, as a result of his service during the entire period of that war. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, eight of whom are still living. Only two, Christen T., the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Albert H. Jorgensen, are living in Audubon county.
Christen T. Clausen enjoyed the advantages of a good education in the schools of his native land and after leaving school, worked for one year in a brick-yard. However, he was not able to save very much money and when he was coming to America in 1888, at the age of sixteen years, he was compelled to borrow the money with which to buy his ticket to this country. After arriving in America, he came direct to Kimballton, Iowa, and worked as a farm hand for about ten years, during the first year, re- ceiving eight dollars a month for his services.
About 1898 Mr. Clausen was married and then purchased eighty acres of land in partnership with Albert H. Jorgensen, his brother-in-law. Later, he bought out Mr. Jorgensen and he now owns two hundred acres of well- improved land, all in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Clausen raises eighty acres of corn, which averages fifty bushels to the acre and thirty-five acres of small grain. The rest of his farm is sown in alfalfa and he is one of the most enthusiastic advocates of alfalfa as forage crop, and as a substi- tute for clover, to be found in Audubon county. He feeds all of his grain to his hogs and cattle. Mr. Clausen raises eighty head of hogs every year and at least a carload of cattle. He has invested about sixty-five hundred
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dollars in various kinds of improvements upon the place, such as outbuildings, fences, drains and roads. He has a cattle barn on the farm, fifty by fifty feet, and horse and cattle barn combined, thirty-six by seventy-six feet.
Christen T. Clausen was married in 1898 to Eynsena Caspersen, the daughter of Peter Caspersen. Mr. and Mrs. Clausen are the parents of nine children, all of whom are unmarried and all of whom live at home. They are: Casper, Anna, Solvyg, Tomena, Christena, Welberg, Amelia, Mads, and Marthene.
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