|
|
|
|
|
  |
August Carstensen
|
|||
| Among the farmers who have come to this country to make a place for themselves that would be impossible in the land of their birth and who have contributed to the sum total of prosperity that is characteristic of Madison township is August Carstensen. He was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and is a son of John H. and Bothilde (Albertson) Carstensen. The parents were also natives of Schleswig-Holstein and came to the United States in 1892, making their way to Madison township, Jones county, Iowa, directly after their arrival on our shores. After six or seven years spent in farming in this locality John H. Carstensen retired from active life and in 1907 passed away at the age of seventy-four. His widow is still living in Wyoming, Iowa.
In the public schools of Germany, before he came here, August Carstensen had received his education, but he had no other preparation for life and arrived in this country a poor boy. He had, however, the ability and the strong will to work and succeed, and his present substantial position is but another indication of what these qualities can accomplish. For several years he and his father worked together but by the fall of 1902 he had saved sufficient of his earnings to enable him to buy his present farm. It embraces sixty acres of excellent land, on which Mr. Carstensen carries on diversified farming. Fortune has smiled upon him, or rather, he has reaped a generous return for his many hours of tedious toil, and from poverty has attained to a competence and a substantial position not only in Madison Township and Jones county.
In 1901, Mr. Carstensen was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Peterson. Her parents, Martin and Elsape (Baudicksen) Peterson, had come from Germany and joined the farming community of Jones county, which became the birthplace of their daughter. They are now residents of Oxford township and have attained to a respected position there. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carstensen: Emma, Hattie, Herman and Martin.
When he became a citizen of this republic Mr. Carstensen decided that the platform of the Democratic Party was most in accord with his political views and has since given his support to its candidates at election times. He is liberal in his views, however and in local affairs votes for men and measures as he thinks right and for the greater good of the community. In the seventeen years he has been a resident of Jones county Mr. Carstensen has attained to an enviable position of prosperity, the result of his own unremitting labors united to a definite purpose. He enjoys the respect of those who have watched his progress, from the beginning, and the lesson of his life might well be emulated by men of all ages.
Source: History of Jones County, Iowa, Past and Present, R. M. Corbitt, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910, p. 543. |
||||
© Copyright 1997-2013, The Art Department, © Copyright 2014-2020, Richard Harrison.
| ||||