Danes in the Boomer Township Area Version 0 2016 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated 15 Jul '16. The Danish presence in Council Bluffs, Iowa and the rural area to the north has received little attention from historians. The settlement of Danes in Pottawattamie County has generally been ignored, with historians instead focusing on Shelby and Audubon counties 50 miles to the northeast. In fact, Elk Horn in southeastern Shelby County is home to the Museum of Danish America. Contents page About This Report 2 Contacting Me 2 Danes in Pottawattamie County 3 Danes in Northwestern Pottawattamie County 4 Pottawattamie County, its Townships and Incorporated Towns courtesy of Dennis Walsh, iowagenweb.org/pottawattamie BoomerDanes.docx 7/15/16
About This Report I have written substantially about early northwestern Pottawattamie County and especially the Danish settlers in the Boomer Township area. Much of this material is now on-line. The Pottawattamie County History on the Internet section of Pottawattamie County, Iowa - An Historical Overview lists the major on-line vital records indices for Pottawattamie County residents, some of which I used in this report. To view the initial version of this report on-line as of 15 Jul '16: Access the website kirstenpedersen.weebly.com. Under the Maggie's World item in the main menu, select Maggie's Neighborhood. This should open the Maggie's Neighborhood - Preface page, which contains lists of local history reports, most dealing with northwestern Pottawattamie County, Iowa. This report is named Danes in the Boomer Township Area. My old family church, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, was founded by Danish immigrants in 1881. It is located in Boomer Township west of Neola. You will find in the St. Paul's area of Maggie's World the following: St. Paul's Boomer-Neola - A Brief History. St. Paul's Boomer-Neola - World War II Veterans. St. Paul's Boomer-Neola - Early Families (this is a collection of 42 reports of different lengths). Contacting Me I would appreciate hearing from others who could help with the early history of rural northwestern Pottawattamie County. Danes in the Boomer Township Area 7/15/16 page 2
Danes in Pottawattamie County Numerically Danes in Pottawattamie County outnumbered those in Shelby or Audubon counties although the Pottawattamie County Danes were distributed among a much larger population and no Pottawattamie County jurisdiction ever had a plurality, let alone a majority, of Danish-ancestry residents. Omaha, Nebraska, across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs, eventually had an even larger number of Danes. The Council Bluffs area was one of the major jumping off places for immigration across the Great Plains and the western mountains in the period from 1847 to 1869 and especially for the Latter Day Saints (Mormon) migration to Utah. The overland migration of Mormons to Utah began with the arrival in the Council Bluffs area of exiles from Nauvoo, Illinois in 1846. Until rail travel to Utah became possible in 1869, many migrants to Utah passed through the Council Bluffs area in horse, oxen, or human-drawn vehicles. Some dropped out before making the arduous crossing. Others became disillusioned with aspects of Mormon life in Utah and became backtrailers, returning to the Council Bluffs area. Starting in the early 1850s, a sizable number of Danish citizens converted to the Mormon religion and migrated from Denmark. Those who ended up in Council Bluffs helped form the nucleus of a small Danish population. The first Danish Mormon family I know of to settle in Council Bluffs was that of Hans Wissing Michelson and Karen Sophie Nielsen who left Denmark in 1857, lived a year in Crescent north of Council Bluffs, and settled in Council Bluffs in 1858. Around 1872 the Michelson s acquired land in northern Boomer Township. Like many Apostate LDS members, Hans Michelson joined the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, now Community of Christ). After our Civil War ended in 1865, Council Bluffs was transformed by a massive railroad building boom. Danes, some with connections to the few Danish families already living in the area, began arriving in sizable numbers to join the expanding work force. The first railroad into Council Bluffs was the Chicago and Northwestern, which entered from the north in 1867. Some of the Danes in western Boomer Township and northeastern Rockford Township entered the area through Missouri Valley, north of Rockford Township in Harrison County. Missouri Valley, a division point for the Chicago and Northwestern, offered employment to a large number of railroad workers. The Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, which passed though Avoca and entered Council Bluffs from the east in 1869, facilitated the growth of the major Danish area of settlement in Iowa in Shelby, Audubon and Cass Counties. The Avoca area, and especially Fairview and Monroe Townships in Shelby County just north of Avoca, attracted a fair number of Danish immigrants. An early Danish Baptist Church at Cuppy's Grove in Monroe Township still survives. Danes in the Boomer Township Area 7/15/16 page 3
Danes in Northwestern Pottawattamie County The first Danish resident in rural Pottawattamie County north of Council Bluffs that I know of was Peter Peterson, a former California gold miner from the Stevns Peninsula south of Copenhagen. Peterson settled in southwestern Boomer Township in 1863 and soon thereafter married his housekeeper, a Civil War widow, Rachel (Cady) Shadden. In the late 1860s, a substantial number of Danish farmers began settling in northwestern Pottawattamie County, in the area centered on Hazel Dell and Boomer Townships. The concentration was heaviest in Hazel Dell Township, where in 1880 and 1900 about 15% of the residents were Danish born. There were no towns in the core area I am studying. However, several rural congregations in the area ministered to the spiritual needs of the Danish immigrants: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, in Boomer Township eight miles west of Neola, was organized by Danish immigrants in 1881. St. Paul s Lutheran Church is still active in 2016, with Rev. Norm Jelken being the current pastor. A more-recent copy is on-line at my website. Hans N. Hansen established a Reorganized Latter Day Saints (R.L.D.S) chapel for Danish speakers in Hazel Dell Township around 1882. The original chapel was located on the Hansen farm four miles north of Weston. Around 1930 the former Boomer Township RLDS chapel was moved from west of St. Paul's Lutheran Church to Hazel Dell Township to serve both rural RLDS congregations. In 1941 this congregation merged with the R.L.D.S. church in the town of Underwood, which also is still active in 2016. For some years starting in the 1880s the Weston Danish Adventist Church building was located on the Lars Rasmussen farm in Boomer Township just west of St. Paul's. In addition, the Boomer Danish Brotherhood lodge (lodge #137) met at the Boomer Township Hall, which was built in the early 1870s and is still standing in central Boomer Township. Since 1998 I have been studying the early history of rural northwestern Pottawattamie County with a focus on the Danish residents. Older area residents left behind a number of interesting personal histories. In addition, I have compiled a private database of over 35,000 individuals with connections to this area. Year Approximate Number of Danish-Born Residents in the Core Area Boomer Danish- Born Boomer Total Hazel Dell Danish-Born Hazel Dell Total 1870 32 * 611 * 56 * 1117 * 1880 91 870 133 972 1900 118 1023 162 1101 Above is aggregate data from ancestry.com May 2016. 1870 Hazel Dell figures include Crescent Township. 1870 Boomer figures include part of Neola Township. I am interesting in hearing from anyone who could provide me with additional information on the Danish community in northwestern Pottawattamie County. Danes in the Boomer Township Area 7/15/16 page 4
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