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Ben Ahrendsen
Born March 4, 1859 |
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| One of the representative German farmers of Madison township, who has proved the truth of the statement, believed in so implicitly by his brothers in the land of his birth: That the United States is a land of golden opportunities is Ben Ahrendsen. By his own exertions he has made success his possession and has gained a substantial and respected place in the world. A native of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, he was born 4 Mar. 1859, and is the son of Lawrence R. and Christina (Perterson) Ahrendsen. After their son had been over here about 4 years the parents came to the United States. The mother has since passed away, but the father is still living and makes his home with his son.
Ben Ahrendsen received his education in the public schools of Germany before he came to this land. Arriving in the United States in 1882, he made his way almost immediately to the west, where he secured work as a farm hand in Clinton county, Iowa. He remained there about two years and then came to Jones county, continuing to work as an employe for three years, when he believed the time ripe to engage in farming on his own responsibility. In 1887 he rented a tract of land in this county, and there he laid the foundation of the success that has attended his later efforts. For about nineteen years he lived there, and then in 1906 came to Madison township, where he purchased what was known as the A. N. Reade farm, a tract of eighty acres of rich land, well improved. This has been for the last six years his home and has afforded him ample opportunity to prove his skill as an agriculturist.
Mr. Ahrendsen has never married but a sister Louisa has lived with him and graced his home with the comforts that only a woman's presence can give. When he was given his papers making him a citizen of this republic, Mr. Ahrendsen straightway turned to the democratic party as his guide in the world of politics. He has since adhered steadfastly to its platform, which has seemed to him the better one for the government of the nation. Aside from casting his ballot at elections, Mr. Ahrendsen has not entered into public affairs, his life, however, by the example it sets of industry, thrift and good management, is sufficient warrant of the high character of his citizenship.
Source: History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 454. |
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