NELS CHRISTIAN NELSEN SCHMIDT.
One of the most valuable farms in Douglas township, Audubon county, Iowa, is that owned by Nels Christian Nelsen Schmidt, a well-known farmer and stockman of this township. Mr. Schmidt was born on June 22, 1861, in Denmark, and is the son of Nels Nelsen and Maria Schmidt, both of whom were natives of that country, where the former was a farmer and a laborer. He died in Denmark in 1881 and two years later his widow, the mother of Nels Christian, came to America and lived with her son. They had four children, Peter, Else, Nels C. N. and Hans N. Peter and Else are deceased. Hans N. is a farmer in Douglas township, Audubon county.
Nels C. N. Schmidt received practically all of his education in the schools of his native land, having quit school at the age of fifteen, after which he worked on a farm for five and a half years. He then served his time in the Danish army. In 1882 he came to America, landing in New York and remaining there for one year. From New York he went to Shelby county, Iowa, where he worked for three years on a farm. From Shelby county he moved to Audubon county in 1887 and rented land for two years. He purchased eighty acres of land in 1889, for which he paid seventeen dollars an acre. This farm was located in section 22, in Douglas township. In 1901 Mr. Schmidt bought fifty acres adjoining the original eighty, for which he paid forty dollars an acre. In 1914 he bought sixty acres for one hundred and forty dollars an acre. In all he now owns one hundred and ninety acres. His principal crops are corn and small grains. The corn averages in excess of fifty-five bushels to the acre and the small grains about forty bushels. Most all of the grain is fed to live stock. Mr. Schmidt sells about fifteen head of cattle and from fifty to sixty head of hogs every year. He raises an extra good grade of stock and will have no other kind on the place.
In 1888 Nels C. N. Schmidt was: married to Maren Ludwig, the daughter of Soren D. Ludwig, a native of Denmark. Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt were married in Shelby county. They are the parents of four children, as follow: Karsen E. M., lives at home; Soren N., married a daughter of George Jensen and lives in Douglas township; Elena, Sr., died in 1894, and Elena, Jr., lives at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt belong to the Danish Lutheran church. Mr. Schmidt served as secretary of this congregation for a great many years and is also trustee. For one year he was school director in Douglas township. He is a Republican.
Mr. Schmidt is one of the well-known citizens of this section of Audubon county. He is known to be a man who pays strict attention to his own business, who is scrupulous in his dealings with others and whose word is as good as his bond. Naturally, Mr. Schmidt is a popular citizen of Douglas township.
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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. 666-667.
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