LARSON, H. P.

LARSON, FREDERICKSMAN, JORGENSEN, ZANKEY, PETERSON, ANDERSON

Posted By: Jean Kramer (email)
Date: 1/21/2004 at 13:03:48

Biography reproduced from page 368 of Volume II of the History of Kossuth County written by Benjamin F. Reed and published in 1913:

Among the prosperous farmers of Kossuth county there are many of Danish birth and parentage, who have brought their native energy and love of the soil to the cultivation of the rich and fertile sections of the state of Iowa. To their efforts much of the abundance of the grain harvests and the high quality of orchard products is due, and Kossuth county is always ready to welcome the sturdy sons of Denmark to citizenship. One of the most prominent men of this section is H. P. Larson, an extensive land holder in this part of the country. He takes a great interest in the development of agriculture along scientific and modern lines and has at various times during his career been appointed by the United States government to study conditions in foreign countries. He has traveled extensively in this capacity and has done brilliantly successful work for his adopted country.

He was born in Denmark on the 20th of May, 1844, and is a son of Lars and Anna (Larson) Fredericksman, both natives of Denmark, in which country they lived and died. They were the parents of two children: H. P., of this sketch; and Nels, operating the home farm in his native country.

H. P. Larson was educated in the public schools of Denmark and followed his father’s occupation of farming in that country until 1867. He came to America in that year, locating first in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he worked on a farm. In 1887 his long period of residence in Kossuth county began. He purchased two hundred and forty acres of slightly improved farm land in Plum Creek township and remained upon this farm for twenty years. He gradually improved his holdings and converted his land into a productive agricultural property. He gave all his time and attention to the work and made improvements along scientific lines. He is a practical farmer and has gained his wide knowledge of agriculture through personal experience. His theories are sound and well tested and his principles are never adopted until they are thoroughly proven. In 1907 Mr. Larson left his tract of land in Plum Creek township and came to Algona, where he is now residing in a beautiful home. He owns three lots of property and takes an active interest in municipal affairs. He also owns land in many townships of Kossuth county and is still active in its operation. He carries out his policy of farm development on his one hundred and sixty acres in Buffalo township, and has made one hundred and sixty acres which he owns in Portland township a model farm. At one period of his career he owned eighty acres of improved land near Montgomery in Dickinson county, Iowa, but eventually sold this to give all his energies and attention to this Kossuth county land. He has been an American citizen since 1876, in which year he took out full naturalization papers at Waterloo, Iowa. He is a patriotic citizen of his adopted country and interested in its public institutions. In 1900 he was duly commissioned by the governor or Iowa, Leslie M. Shaw, to investigate agricultural conditions in foreign countries. This duty he has fulfilled ably, bringing to its performance a wide knowledge of scientific farming, an intelligent mind and a sound judgment, combined with a practical knowledge of modern agriculture. He has traveled extensively in Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany and England, and has made a thorough investigation of farm conditions in those countries. He has taken the best ideas and the most approved theories from each country and has combined them in his reports by mail to the governor in an able and conspicuously scientific manner.

On December 7, 1872, H. P. Larson was united in marriage to Miss Johanna M. Jorgensen of Black Hawk county, Iowa, and to their union have been born seven children: Anna, the wife of Joseph Zankey who resides five miles northwest of Algona; Sophia Maria, who married Carl Peterson and is living on a farm five miles northeast of Burt, Iowa; Nettie, now Mrs. L. P. Anderson of Algona, Iowa; Charles, who makes his home on his father’s farm situated south of Burt; George, living on a farm in Buffalo township; Lewis, at home; and Alfred, who is a student in the State Agricultural College at Ames, Iowa.

On all national issues Mr. Larson affiliates with the democratic party but prefers to keep himself entirely independent in local affairs. He holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and was a Granger at one period of his life. He and his wife were reared in the Lutheran faith but now hold membership in the Presbyterian church.

Mr. Larson is one of the intelligent and liberal-minded men who are doing much to raise the standard of agriculture in the United States. Farming is no longer an occupation of hard and constant labor with barren or incipient result. It is now a modern science, evolved from definite principles, and Mr. Larson has contributed his broad intelligence and his specialized knowledge to this happy result.

Kossuth Biographies maintained by Linda Ziemann.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen