Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1921-12-01
HISTORY OF THE BIG
DANISH SETTLEMENT
COUNCIL BLUFFS HAD FIRST
DANE SETTLER IN SOUTH
WESTERN IOWA.


The first Danish pioneers in the
western part of the state was in all
probability Christopher Overgaard
MINISTER, who was born in Copenha-
gen June "a. 1896. In 1916 he emil
grated to America with his family,
locating as a merchant in Washing
ton, d. c., where he lived until 1850.
In that year he came to Kanesville
(Pottawattamie county, the present
Council Bluffs and bought large
number of claims of Mormon resi-
dents who were about to leave for
Utah. In the following year he re-
turned to Washington for his family.
He settled permanently in GAINESVILLE
where he died from the Asiatic chol-
era in 1852. The MINISTER family
were the only Danes in Kanesville in
that year. William A. MINISTER, a
well-known attorney of Council
Bluffs, was son of G. o. MINISTER.
He was born in Copenhagen in 1S43,
being years old when the family
settled in Kanesville. The family
name appears in "Mynster Park"
and in the MINISTER Addition" to the
city of Council Bluffs
While the MINISTER family formed
the original nucleus of the extern
sive Danish population of Council
Bluffs, 1t was many years before any
thing like colony can be said to
have been established here. The
state census of 1856 gives only three
Danes for Pottawattamie county
these residing in Kane township,
while in 1870 the population was
only 32S.
We have seen that there were only
three Danes in Pottawattamie coun-
ty in 1856. In that year, however,
Council Bluffs and vicinity received
material additions to its Danish pop
nlatlon in Mormon converts brought
from Copenhagen that year under
the leadership of John Ahmansor.
We now come to the so-called Elk
Horn settlement in which was cred
tied Danish population of five in
the stats census OF 1856.
In the year 1867, Peter Jensen,
born in Borglum diocese, Denmark,
came and settled In the same locality.
Christen Bertram Christesen came
from Jetsmark. Denmark, in 1859.
]. p. Sorensen is the founder of the
Danish Baptist church of Harlan,
the charter members of the Cuppy's
Grove Danish Baptist church
The first Dane to settle in Clay
| township was Christian Jensen, who
came there from Moline in 1885.
Soon after came Ole Jensen. The
former is from Hindesholm, near
Kerteminde, in the Island OF Fyen;
the latter from the Island of Moen.
In the following years many immi-
grants arrived from these two ISL
ands, as well as from Areo. Those
who came from Areo settled near the
northern end of Indian creek. While
the immigrants from Fyen and Moen
located near the southern extremity
OF the creek. In addition to these.
the settlement frequently received
accessions from earlier Danish set
Elements in Clinton county. Daven-
port, Racine. Wis, Chicago and In
dianapolis Later II became in turn
the distributing point for many col
onies In Nebraska, Minnesota, and
elsewhere. The settlement includes
the townships of Clay. Monroe, Fair
view. Jackson and Harlan, and ex-
tends into Sharon and Oakland town
ships in Audubon county. and down
into Brighton township, Cass county.
In Atlantic town there is consider
able Danish colony. as also in Knox
township, in Pottawattamie county,
just south of the Danish settlement
in Fairview township. Shelby coun-
ty.
This then. brings us down to the
year 1867. The Danish settlements
of Audubon and Cass counties are
subsequent to this year; they are in
fact an eastern and southern extern
sion of the Elk Horn settlement,
which as we have seen, had its orr
gin in Shelby county. Elk Horn Is
the largest and most progressive
Danish settlement in the state.
The Danish population Of Mar
shall and Hamilton counties dates
from the years Immediately follow
ing the period we have discussed
The Danish city colonies and rural
settlements in the northern and the
northwestern parts of the state are
of more recent formation. In late
years Danish immigration has been
very small, and no new settlements
have been formed in Iowa and rare
ly elsewhere in the country. The
chief influence of the Dane has been
in the southwestern counties of the
state. To their material develop
ments he has contributed large
share.