CHRISTIAN MARCUSEN.
In the respect that is accorded to men who have fought their own way to success through unfavorable environment we find an unconscious recognition of the intrinsic worth of character which can not only endure so rough a test, but gain new strength through discipline. Christian Marcusen, the gentleman to whom the biographer now calls the reader's attention, was not favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of influential friends; but in spite of this, by perseverance, industry and wise economy he has attained a comfortable station in life and has made his influence for good felt in Hamlin township, this county, where he resides and where he has long made his home. Because of the honorable career he has had in this county, Mr. Marcusen is eminently entitled to representation in this volume.
Christian Marcusen was born on March 12, 1868, in Sjaelland, Denmark, the son of Christian and Margretha (Jensen) Marcusen, the former of whom was born in the same place and the latter at Roskilde. Christian Marcusen, Sr., was a laborer in his native country and he and his wife were the parents of five children, all sons. The two eldest of these sons, Jens and Hans, came to the United States in 1880 and located in this county. They saved their money and in 1882 sent back to the native country the funds with which their father and mother and the other sons paid their passage to this country, Christian Marcusen, Jr., being then fourteen years of age. He had received a fairly good education in Denmark and attended school some time after his arrival in this country, but not a great deal. He commenced "working out" at farm labor as soon as he arrived in this county, and was thus engaged until he was twenty-three years old, at which time he purchased sixty acres of land from his brother in Sharon township, one mile east of Kimballton, his father having bought forty acres alongside this farm, Christian lived with his parents and tended both farms. The father died in 1895, after which Christian purchased the interest of the other heirs in the home farm of forty acres, his mother making her home with him and keeping house for him until her death, in February, 1899. Christian Marcusen was on a visit in Denmark at the time of her death. The senior Christian Marcusen and three of his brothers served in the war between Denmark and Germany in 1846, the former being severely wounded during one of the battles. In 1864 two of the brothers were compelled to enlist the second time.
In 1901 Christian Marcusen sold his farm in Sharon township and purchased one hundred and sixty-three acres of land in section 18 of Hamlin township, moving to this farm in the following spring. In 1913 he built a large ten-room house, modern in every respect; equipped with a furnace, bath, hot and cold water, piped for gas and wired for electric light. Mr. Marcusen has also built several new out-buildings and remodeled others until now he has one of the best-improved farms in that section of the county.
On December 21, 1899, Christian Marcusen was married to Christine M. Byriel, of Audubon, who was born on September 11, 1881, in Schleswig, Germany, the daughter of Mathias and Marie (Mortesen) Byriel, also natives of Schleswig, so far as is known, who came to America in 1884, Christine Byriel being then but three years of age. Her father died when she was only five years old and her mother when she was twelve, after which she was compelled to make her own living. To Christian and Christine (Byriel) Marcusen five children have been born, two sons and three daughters, namely: Arthur C., born on January 15, 1902; Orla M., November 2, 1903; Margretha M.. November 24, 1905; Lydia S., March 23, 1908, and Hilda M., January 30, 1910.
Mr. Marcusen is engaged in general farming and stock raising, feeding annually about one hundred head of hogs and milking about fifteen head of COWS. He is also interested in other enterprises and is a stockholder in the Elkhorn Telephone Company and the Sharon Creamery Company. Mr. Marcusen is a Democrat, but does not class himself as a politician and has never held office. His chief interests are confined to his family, his home and his farm. He is a member of the Danish Brotherhood, and he and his family are members of the Danish Lutheran church, active in the good works thereof and held in the highest esteem throughout that entire neighborhood.
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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. 535-537.
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