CHRIS CHRISTENSEN.
Among the many well-known farmers of Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, who have made a conspicuous success of agriculture, is Chris Christensen, the owner of two hundred and forty acres of splendid land. Mr. Christensen is one of the old-time residents of Audubon county, although he, himself, is scarcely past the prime of life.
Chris Christensen was born in Denmark, November 21, 1865, and is a son of J. C. and Mary Christensen, both of whom were natives of Denmark, who came to America in 1879. J. C. Christensen was a mason by trade and followed that occupation until he came to America. After arriving in this country he located in section 30, of Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, where he purchased about forty-six acres of land for three hundred and sixty-seven dollars and twenty-eight cents. Later, he increased his land holdings to one hundred and forty acres, and improved his farm in many ways. He broke the raw prairie sod originally, which had never been previously plowed, and was engaged in general farming and stock raising until his death, February 22, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Christensen were the parents of the following children, five of whom are now living: Peter, Carrie, Chris, Mrs. J. J. Andersen, Sena, Martin C, and Andrew. J. C. Christensen was a soldier in the War of 1864 before coming to this country. After having lived a useful life and a life which was devoted to the welfare of her husband and family, Mrs. J. C. Christensen. the mother of Chris Christensen, died in 1895.
Chris Christensen, after having completed his education in the schools of his native land, resumed his studies on coming to America, and attended school here for a short time. He worked out by the month until he reached the age of twenty-four years, and then located on an eighty-acre tract of land which he purchased in 1884. He broke the sod and improved his place in various ways, and has enjoyed altogether a good record as a farmer. Mr. Christensen paid ten dollars an acre for the first eighty-acre tract which he bought from the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company, and he has invested ten thousand dollars in improvements on the place, making it now one of the valuable farms of the township. He is accustomed to raising an average of sixty acres of corn and forty acres of small grain each year, and feeds all of the grain raised on the farm to live stock, and is able to produce every year sufficient grain to feed one hundred head of hogs and a carload of cattle for the markets. He always keeps a very high grade of live stock, and has been very successful in this branch of agriculture. Mr. Christensen has three barns on his farm, one, sixty by fifty-six; one, fifty-six by sixty, and the third, fifty-six by forty, and is fully equipped for scientific and successful farming.
Chris Christensen was married in 1893 to Anna Sorensen, the daughter of Peter C. and Johanna Sorensen, and to this union five children have been born, Guy, Gaylor, Leroy, Hazel and Johanna, all of whom are living at home with their parents.
Chris Christensen is an independent voter and has been for many years. In fact, he has never permanently identified himself with any political party, although taking an active interest in all matters of public welfare. Although the Christensen family attend church, they are not actively identified with any church organization.
Having only six dollars in cash when he purchased his first eighty acres of land, Mr. Christensen each year has saved something out of the profits of the farm, and today he is one of the substantial landholders of Sharon township, and while he has applied himself industriously to his vocation, he has never neglected the larger duties of life, and is an honored citizen of the township where he lives.
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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. 819-821.
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