PETER H. ANDERSON.
Born December 28, 1856, in Denmark, Peter H. Anderson, a well-known farmer and stockman of Sharon township, and the son of Hans and Margaret (Jensen) Anderson, both of whom were natives of Denmark and who lived and died in that country where they were farmers, has made a phenomenal success of farming since coming to America in 1882. Mr. Anderson was educated in the schools of his native land, and after leaving school worked as a hired hand until he decided to come to America. He was one of nine children born to his parents, seven of whom are now living, but he is the only member of the family living in this county.
Arriving in America in 1882, he located in Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, where he purchased a hundred and twenty acres of land, for a portion of which he paid fifteen dollars, and for the balance, twenty-five dollars an acre. In the meantime, however, Mr. Anderson has added forty acres to his original tract, and now owns a farm of a hundred and sixty acres, upon which he has invested upwards of eight thousand dollars in general improvements, such as buildings, fences, ditches, etc. He is engaged in general or mixed farming; raises fifty acres of corn a year, which averages sixty bushels to the acre, and feeds a hundred head of hogs and forty-five head of cattle annually; he keeps only the very highest grade of live stock. Mr. Anderson has a one-hundred-ton silo on his farm, and was one of thefirst agriculturists in this part of Audubon county to erect a silo, an investment
that has proved very profitable. Since Mr. Anderson's silo was erected, many other farmers of the neighborhood have also erected and maintained silos.
Peter H. Anderson was married in 1881 in Denmark, one year before coming to America, to Anna Madsen. No children were born to this first marriage and. after her death, Mr. Anderson was married in 1899, to Carrie Hansen, daughter of Chris Hansen. To this second marriage three children have been born, all of whom are unmarried and who live at home with their parents; they are, Anna, Hans and Christena.
Mr. and Mrs. Peter H. Anderson are prominent and influential members of the Danish Lutheran church, in which Mr. Anderson has served as a trustee. He is an independent voter, and since coming to this country has never identified himself permanently with any political party. He supports measures and men rather than parties and party emblems, and in this way believes he can more worthily discharge his duties as an intelligent and alert citizen who has at heart the best interests of his neighborhood, his county and his state. Mr. Anderson is known in Sharon township where he lives as an enterprising farmer and valuable citizen; he is well liked by the people of his neighborhood and is admired and honored for his industry,
his skill and the good management of his farm.
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Transcribed from History of Audubon County, Iowa Its People, Industries and Institutions With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, by H. F. Andrews, editor, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915, pp. 850-851.
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