Christensen, N. C.

N. C. Christensen, born Nils Christian Christensen in Mou, Denmark, on February 1, 1854, became a highly prosperous peach and raisin grower residing near Selma, California. After marrying Juliana Sorensen at age twenty, the couple left Denmark for Queensland, Australia, where they survived great privations while raising corn and potatoes for over five years. They later immigrated to the United States and spent eight years enduring considerable hardships on a farm in Minnehaha County near Dell Rapids, South Dakota. Drawn by the promise of the Golden State, the family finally moved to California in 1892 and settled at Selma, where their tireless focus on their own agricultural interests brought them long-awaited financial success.

The couple raised a large family of eight children, including Christian, Annie K., Marie, Martha, Marcus, Alfred J., Elmer Adolph, and Walter C., all of whom grew up to be highly respected. Mr. Christensen developed into a virile and philosophic thinker who took an active interest in political issues, though he credited much of his achievements to his clear-intellectual wife. Together, they managed a finely cultivated thirty-acre fruit ranch and became dedicated, consistent members of the Danish Baptist Church of Selma. By 1919, they were living comfortably in their newly built bungalow home at 2222 Keith Street in Selma, enjoying the stable fruits of their industrious and conservative lives.