OLE A. ROSLIEN

Ole A. Roslien, who follows farming on section 7, Lincoln township, Worth county, was born in Norway on the 14th of August, 1866, a son of Andrew and Lena Roslien. He was educated in the common schools and at twenty-two years of age he bade adieu to friends and native land and came to the new world. This was in the year 1888. He made his way into the interior of the country, settling in Houston county, Minnesota, where he was employed for a year as a farm hand, and in 1889 he came to Worth county and through the following four years worked by the month at farm labor. He next began farming on his own account and for a decade cultivated rented land. In 1903, however, having carefully saved his earnings until his industry and economy had brought him sufficient capital, he purchased his present home farm, comprising one hundred and seventeen acres, whereon he has since lived. His time and attention are given to the further development and improvement of this property, which he has now brought under a high state of cultivation. The fields annually produce rich crops and everything about the place indicates his careful supervision and progressive methods. His life illustrates what may be accomplished by individual effort if intelligently directed. He has worked diligently and persistently as the years have gone by and his labors have brought results which are most gratifying.

In 1895 Mr. Roslien was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Harmon, a native of Illinois and a daughter of Ivor and Laura Harmon, who came from Illinois to Worth county, Iowa, about 1878. To Mr. and Mrs. Roslien have been born eight children, seven of whom are yet living, namely: Lizzie, the wife of Reuben Hermanson, a farmer of South Dakota; and Emil, Ruth, Olga, Sadie, Ellis and Ida, all at home.

In his political views Mr. Roslien is a republican, having supported the party since becoming a naturalized American citizen. He and his family are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and are numbered among the respected and substantial residents of Lincoln township. It was no blind fate that led him to the new world. He deliberately chose America as a place of residence and he has always been loyal to its interests, for he has here found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has made steady progress, being now numbered among the substantial and well-to-do farmers of Lincoln township.

SOURCE: HISTORY OF MITCHELL AND WORTH COUNTIES, IOWA, 1918, VOL. II; Pages 567 & 568

Transcribed by Gordon Felland, October 15, 2006