JORGEN MARCUSEN.
Very few young men born in the thriving little kingdom of Denmark, who have sought fortunes in this country, have failed to achieve a satisfactory measure of success; some, however, have succeeded to a larger extent than others. Among the most successful and enterprising citizens of Audubon county, who have come here from Denmark, is Jorgen Marcusen, a farmer of Sharon township and a well-known banker of this county. He is interested in many enterprises in this section of Iowa and, possessed with genius for good business management, has been eminently successful in his personal and private affairs. Many political honors have also come to Mr. Marcusen and in no case, has he ever failed in the performance of his duty, whether private or public.
Jorgen Marcusen, who, among other things, owns a splendid farm of two hundred and forty acres in Sharon township, is a native of Denmark, born there June 1, 1864. His parents, Christian and Margaret Marcusen, both natives of Denmark, came to America in 1882. The father was a laborer in his native land, who, after locating in section 28 of Sharon township, purchased forty acres of land for which he paid nine dollars an acre; he made many improvements on this farm and remained on it until his death in 1895, his wife surviving him until 1898. They had five children, Jens, Chris, Hans, Nick and Jorgen. Christian Marcusen served in the Danish-Prussian War, of 1848, the period of his enlistment having extended over three years.
Most of Jorgen Marcusen's education was received in the schools of his native land and, after he had finished his education, he worked as a farm hand; in fact, Mr. Marcusen has been practically self-supporting since he was seven years old. Immediately after coming to America, when seventeen years old, he worked as a farm hand for various neighboring farmers, the first year receiving ninety dollars for his services. In 1884 he purchased forty acres of land in section 28 and paid twelve dollars an acre for it. In the meantime, he had broken the sod and four years later he began farming for himself, dividing his attention between his father's farm and the forty acres which he himself owned. At the same time he was engaged in breaking the prairie sod for other people and continued to follow this occupation, saving something each year from his earnings, until he now has the two hundred and forty acre farm in Sharon township. Altogether, Mr. Marcusen has invested seven thousand dollars in improvements on the place; they consist of many outbuildings, good fences, good ditches and good roads. Ordinarily, he raises one hundred and twenty-five acres of corn each year and sixty acres of small grain, and feeds one hundred and twenty head of hogs each year and milks thirty head of cows.
Jorgen Marcusen was married in 1897 to Martha Larson, the daughter of N. C. Larson. Four children have been born to this union: Oscar, Laura, Clara and Orla. Mrs. Marcusen was born in Denmark and her parents are now living in that country. Her father is a government official, located at Fradenburg, Denmark; he takes care of the government timber land and has been employed in this work since he was twenty years old. N. C. Larson and wife have been the parents of fourteen children, eight of whom are living in this country: Mrs. Marcusen, Johanna, Walter, William, Axel, Anna, Sena and Karen. The other six children are living in their native land: Digny, Ingebort, Christian, Marie, Petra and Egner.
Aside from the two hundred and forty acres of land in Sharon township, which Mr. Marcus owns, he is a director and treasurer of the Atlantic and Northern Railway Company and is also a director in the Kimballton Savings Bank, of which he was one of the organizers. For a young man, who came to this country without any money whatever and who even found it necessary to borrow money to pay for his passage, it must be admitted that Jorgen Marcusen has achieved splendid success in his adopted country. Moreover, Mr. Marcusen's energy, his talent and his industry have been recognized by the people of Audubon county since many positions of trust and responsibility have been bestowed upon him. He has served as justice of the peace and as township clerk for six years. Formerly, he was treasurer of the Kimballton Creamery and is secretary of the corporation at this time.
Mr. and Mrs. Marcusen and family are members of the Danish Lutheran church. In politics, Mr. Marcusen is identified with the Democratic party.
There are no more patriotic citizens living in the state of Iowa than Jorgen Marcusen and no Danish lad has ever come to this country with a fuller realization of his opportunities and a sterner determination to succeed than he. Mr. Marcusen's family is popular in Sharon township and his children are regarded as worthy sons and daughters. Jorgen Marcusen is a man of charitable and kindly impulses, genial in his manners, frank and open in all of his dealings.
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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. 808-810.
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