Jensen, Jesper

Born on the island of Fyen, Denmark, in 1858, Jesper Jensen emigrated to Quebec in 1879 before moving to Placer County, California, where he worked on local farms and operated threshing machines for seven seasons. Soon after arriving, he sent for his parents, Jens Clausen and Maren Jespersen, supporting them in California until their deaths. In 1890, Jensen relocated to Fresno County, working on various fruit and raisin ranches before marrying Sine Petersen in 1893.

Together with his wife, Jensen leased and developed several agricultural properties, including acreage in the Scandinavian Colony and a 40-acre ranch on Adams Avenue near Fowler. In 1918, he acquired a 13-acre improved fruit and raisin ranch on the Mill Ditch Road near Selma, where he resided with his wife and son, Clarence. Active in the Danish Lutheran Church—having previously helped organize a congregation at Easton—Jensen established a lasting reputation as a public-spirited, hard-working pioneer and devoted citizen of Fresno County.