CHRISTEN T. CLAUSEN.
Christen T. Clausen, who owns two hundred acres of highly productive land in Sharon township, is another native-born son of the little kingdom of Denmark, who has established a comfortable home and acquired a considerable fortune since coming to America. Mr. Clausen is one of the well known citizens of Audubon county, especially well-known as a successful farmer and business man. During his career as a farmer, he has kept closely in touch with all of the modern phases of farm development and he employs only the very best methods in carrying on agricultural work.
Christen T. Clausen, a resident of Sharon township, Audubon county, Iowa, was born on March 18, 1872, in Denmark, and is the son of Claus and Christena (Madsen) Clausen, both of whom were natives of Denmark. The father, a blacksmith by occupation, followed this trade during all of the active years of his life, but is now living retired in his native land. He served in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864 and has a splendid military record, as a result of his service during the entire period of that war. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, eight of whom are still living. Only two, Christen T., the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Albert H. Jorgensen, are living in Audubon county.
Christen T. Clausen enjoyed the advantages of a good education in the schools of his native land and after leaving school, worked for one year in a brick-yard. However, he was not able to save very much money and when he was coming to America in 1888, at the age of sixteen years, he was compelled to borrow the money with which to buy his ticket to this country. After arriving in America, he came direct to Kimballton, Iowa, and worked as a farm hand for about ten years, during the first year, receiving eight dollars a month for his services.
About 1898 Mr. Clausen was married and then purchased eighty acres of land in partnership with Albert H. Jorgensen, his brother-in-law. Later, he bought out Mr. Jorgensen and he now owns two hundred acres of well improved land, all in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Clausen raises eighty acres of corn, which averages fifty bushels to the acre and thirty-five acres of small grain. The rest of his farm is sown in alfalfa and he is one of the most enthusiastic advocates of alfalfa as forage crop, and as a substitute for clover, to be found in Audubon county. He feeds all of his grain to his hogs and cattle. Mr. Clausen raises eighty head of hogs every year and at least a carload of cattle. He has invested about sixty-five hundred dollars in various kinds of improvements upon the place, such as outbuildings, fences, drains and roads. He has a cattle barn on the farm, fifty by fifty feet, and horse and cattle barn combined, thirty-six by seventy-six feet.
Christen T. Clausen was married in 1898 to Eynsena Caspersen, the daughter of Peter Caspersen. Mr. and Mrs. Clausen are the parents of nine children, all of whom are unmarried and all of whom live at home. They are: Casper, Anna, Solvyg, Tomena, Christena, Welberg, Amelia, Mads, and Marthene.
Although a Republican in politics and identified with the party which is generally dominant in Audubon county, Mr. Clausen has never taken an active interest in political affairs and has never been a candidate for office, devoting himself almost exclusively to farming. The Clausen family are all members of the Danish Lutheran church and are prominent in the affairs of the local conregation [sic congregation].
Christen T. Clausen is regarded as one of the best citizens of Audubon county. He is well-informed, intelligent, affable in manners and agreeable by disposition and therefore, he is popular in the neighborhood where he lives and, of course, is well acquainted throughout Audubon county.
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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. 826-827.
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