Poulsen, Morten

Morten Poulsen was born in Ribe, Denmark, on September 12, 1875, to parents Paul Poulsen and Marie Sorensen. After attending local Danish schools, he spent twelve years at sea as a fisherman, merchant mariner, cable layer, and Danish Navy marine. His extensive global travels took him around Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, as well as to Alaska during the gold rush, before he permanently settled in California in January 1910.

In Fresno County, Morten purchased twenty acres a mile and a half west of Parlier in the Danish Colony to establish his home. On November 23, 1911, he married Kristina Jensen, a native of Ribe, with whom he had two children named Agnes Marie and Hans Hansen. He became an active community leader, serving as president of the local Danish Brotherhood and as a trustee for the Danish Lutheran Church near Parlier.