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Christian Hansen

    My grandfather, Christian Hansen was born in Schleswig-Holstein province, Germany on July 21, 1851. He settled in Cedar County in 1873. He came to this country by way of a cattle boat from England. Chris, as he was commonly called, left a wife, Margaret and baby daughter, Anna in Germany.

     For a short time he worked in the packing house in Chicago. Then he found a place on an Illinois farm. He stayed with the farmer during the fall and winter. Then, he felt the desire to go to Lowden, Iowa where his brothers, Claus and Henry had settled. He asked the farmer for his pay and the man gave him a silver dollar. Chris was so angry at the small amount tendered him, that he threw the dollar back. He said that, if it had hit the man, he thought it would have gone right through him, as he threw it with great force.

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    At Lowden, Chris found work on farms and earned enough money to pay for his wife and daughter's passage to America. He found a log cabin a mile east of Massillon. It was in the timber on the north side of the road and an evergreen tree is still standing near the spot where the cabin stood. Here he brought his family when they arrived.

     There were many people coming from Germany at this time, so no doubt mother and daughter traveled in the company of other friends or countrymen.

     It was here that Charles, Mary and George were born.

     Charles and George slept in the loft of the cabin between two feather ticks in the winter. Many mornings they found that snow had sifted through the opening between the logs, on their feather tick. Their shoes would be so cold and stiff in the mornings that they had to warm them in the oven of the cook stove before putting them on.

     There was a pond near the cabin, and the story has been told that Chris took the wheels off his wagon and put them in the pond to soak. The steel rims around the wheels would get loose when the wood dried out.

     Later, Chris found a farm to rent. The farm is directly west of the present Wilbert Stolte Farm.* It was formerly known as the Bill Goldsmith farm. Here Martha, Amelia and Gus were born.

     George Hansen told the story of their seven row corn picker. Three children picked on each side of the wagon. Charlie and George, the oldest boys had the outside rows. Anna, Mary, Louis and Gus the inside rows. Chris the father picked the down row behind the wagon.

     Another daughter, Ella, was born to this marriage. However, she died after only seven months.

     The family prospered and bought the Tom Elijah farm** of two hundred forty acres.

     When Chris retired and moved to Clarence, the farm was divided between Gus and my father, George. Gus put up a new set of buildings. Here they farmed for many years.

     Upon my father's retirement, my brother Harry farmed the home farm for several years. Then my brother, Leroy farmed the land until ill health forced him to retire.

     Harold Hansen, son of Gus still owns 120 acres of the original farm.

              Mrs. Walter (Eleanor Hansen) Geadelmann

     *W ½ SE ¼ Sec. 7, Massillon Twp., Cedar Co.

     **W ½ NW ¼ Sec. 20, and SW ¼ SW1/4, Sec. 17, Massillon Twp, Cedar Co.

* ~ * ~ *

I REMEMBER -

. . . . . my father telling that as a child the Indians did come to the door for food and my grandmother always gave them a loaf of fresh baked bread. This is the same spot that is my front door today.

              Mrs Leroy (Esther Strackbein) Boettger