Simon O. Roslien is the owner of an excellent farm property of two hundred and forty acres, from which he derives a substantial annual income as the result of the care and labor which he bestows upon the fields. His place is situated on section 13, Danville township, Worth county, and he is classed with the substantial citizens that Norway has furnished to this state. His birth occurred in Gudbrandsdal on the 16th of April, 1854, his parents being Ole and Anna (Larson) Olson. His boyhood was passed in Norway, where he was reared in the usual manner of farm lads. He continued a resident of that country until he reached the age of twenty-five years, when he determined to try his fortune in the new world, and bade adieu to family and native country and started for the United States. He landed safely on American shores and traveled into the interior as far as Houston county, Minnesota. He afterward worked on the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and later secured employment as a farm hand on the place of A. Lamb. There he remained for a year, after which Mr. Lamb sold that farm and bought property in Monona county, Iowa. Mr. Roslien accompanied Mr. Lamb to his new home and continued in his employ for six years-a record which indicates most clearly his faithfulness, his capability and his trustworthiness. On the expiration of that period he returned to Houston county, Minnesota, and later he removed to Danville township, Worth county, Iowa, where he was employed at farm work through the summer. In the fall he and his brother Han's purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 13, Danville township, a property that is now owned by Simon O. Roslien. They erected new buildings upon the place and continued the cultivation of the farm together for two years, at the end of which time Simon O. Roslien purchased his brother's interest in the place and has continued its further cultivation and development to the present time. In 1908 he made another purchase of land, becoming owner of an eighty-acre tract. He has today a very splendidly improved farm, lacking in none of the equipments and accessories of the model farm property of the twentieth century. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers' & Merchants' Bank and as a business man has ever displayed sound judgment and unfaltering energy.
On the 27th of December, 1888, Mr. Roslien was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Mary J. Hallan, a native of Houston county, Minnesota, and a daughter of John O. and Martha Marie Hallan. She passed away in 1895, leaving three children, Amanda, Josie and Cora. On June 14, 1897, Mr. Roslien was again married, his second union being with Miss Sophia Brosdal, a daughter of John and Anna Carolina (Boe) Brosdal. Mrs. Roslien was born in Norway and with a brother came to the United States, settling in Worth county, where she was married. To Mr. and Mrs. Roslien have been born seven children: Anna, Johnnie, Oscar, Selmer, Clara, Benny and Mildred, all of whom are yet under the parental roof. Mr. Roslien has always concentrated his efforts and attention upon his business affairs and his success is the merited reward of earnest, persistent labor.
Transcribed by Gordon Felland - October 10, 2006
Simon O. Roslien and Family