THOMAS CHRISTENSEN.
Audubon county is indebted perhaps to the Christensen family as much as to any other, for its wondrous transformation to one of the choicest sections of the Hawkeye state. The members of this family have been leaders in agricultural, industrial and civic affairs since the early days. Each with a fidelity to duty and a persistency of purpose peculiar to the class of men who take a lead in large affairs, they have performed well their duties in all of the relations of life. While they have advanced their own interests, they have not been unmindful of the general welfare of their fellow citizens. Thus, the Christensen family rightly deserves a place in the history of this locality and among the well-known members of this family is Thomas Christensen, a successful farmer of Hamlin township. Thomas Christensen was born on November 2, 1855, in Jylland, Denmark. He is the son of Chris M. and Anna (Thompson) Christensen, natives of the same locality as their son, Thomas. They were farmers and the parents of four children, of whom Thomas was the eldest.
Thomas Christensen lived at home until he was old enough to work, when he was then hired out by his parents. In 1880 he came to the United States, landing at New York city, coming thence to Cass county, Iowa, but he did not stay long in this county before coming on to Audubon county. Mr. Christensen had no relatives or friends in the United States and was a total stranger. He first worked out for seven years and then rented land for ten or twelve years, and about 1900 he purchased eighty acres of land as a start. He has added to this land until he now owns two hundred and forty acres in the home place, which is located in section 19 of Hamlin township. Mr. Christensen also has eighty acres in section 18 of Hamlin township. The farm is well improved and Mr. Christensen is one of the largest landholders in Hamlin township.
Thomas Christensen was married on February 15, 1888, in Audubon to Sena C. Christiansen, who was born on March 7, 1868, in Schleswig, Germany, and who is the daughter of Nels C. and Bodel C. (Wind) Jensen, who were also born in Schleswig. Her father was a tailor by trade and lived in the town of Arnutland. He died when Mrs. Christensen was a small child and her mother later married again. In the spring of 1880 the family came to the United States, arriving on May 1, 1880, at Atlantic, Iowa, where they remained but a short time, subsequently moving to Elkhorn in Shelby county, where they lived until 1883. They then moved to Sharon township, Audubon county, where they lived until about 1905, when they retired and moved to Elkhorn.
To Thomas and Sena Christensen thirteen children have been born, nine of whom are living: Chris M., born on March 26, 1889; Nels S., July 8, 1890; Anna C., November 19, 1891; William H., September 27, 1893; Adolph, August 19, 1897; Agnes S., June 3, 1901; Henry H., October 23, 1904; Edith E., January 4, 1907; and Myrtle S., November 3, 1909. All of these children live at home. The other four children died in infancy.
Mr. Christensen does general farming and stock raising, and has applied himself diligently to dairying and at the present time milks about twenty cows on the home farm.
Mr. Christensen and family are all members of the Danish Lutheran church. He is a Republican but is not a politician and has never held office. Nevertheless, he has done much to advance the social and civic life of Hamlin township and is known today as one of its most substantial citizens.
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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. 487-488.
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