Merced-Stanislaus County CA Archives Biographies.....Jensen, William Carl 1881 - 
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Author: John Outcalt (1925)

WILLIAM CARL JENSEN

   A citizen of much worth and character, who is widely esteemed by all who know
him, is William Carl Jensen whose residence in Merced County really dates from
1897. He has made his influence felt for the best interests of the county and
has won a position of prominence among the successful stock-raisers in the
vicinity of Gustine. He was born on the Island of Foehr, in the province of
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on October 29, 1881, a son of William H. and
Caroline Julia (Paulsen) Jensen. The father was first mate on a sailing vessel
and spent his entire lifetime as a seaman. There were six children in this
family; Oluf W. was also a seafaring man and was reported lost at sea off the
coast of South America; Catherine M., still lives at Foehr; Meta C, now Mrs.
Hinrichsen lives at Foehr; John D., resides at Gustine, Cal.; Nahmen, deceased;
and William Carl, the subject of this review. The father lived to a ripe old
age; the mother passed away in 1922. William Carl Jensen attended school in his
native province until 1897, when he came to the United States and direct to
Newman, Cal., and worked for Peter Miller on a ranch in Stanislaus County in the
hills west of what is now the townsite of Gustine. Mr. Jensen attended school in
the Cleveland district school in Stanislaus County and worked on Mr. Miller's
ranch for several years. He then made a trip back to Germany and spent about six
months visiting his home folks.

   On August 29, 1905, at Newman, Cal., Mr. Jensen was married to Miss Gertie J.
Miller, a native of Germany, who was brought to California when an infant by
John H. and Johanna (Maas) Miller, her parents. Her father was a brother of
Peter Miller, who settled seven miles southwest of Newman and acquired a section
of land there. Mrs. Jensen was the only child born to her parents. The father
passed away at the age of forty-two years and the mother was forty-five years
old when she died. After his marriage Mr. Jensen leased the J. H. Miller ranch
until Mrs. Miller died, when Mrs. Jensen fell heir to the property. They lived
there until 1913 ; he still runs this section of land and leases besides 260
acres, making a total of 900 acres of hill land where he conducts an extensive
stock business. In 1911 Mr. Jensen purchased fifty acres at the northwest corner
of Gustine where he conducts a dairy varying from twenty to forty head of stock,
and has about 1000 laying hens, and also about fifty head of Poland China hogs.
Ever since 1914 Mr. Jensen has tested his cows for production, at first by a
private company, but for several years the testing has been carried on under the
auspices of the Merced County Farm Bureau, Mr. Jensen being a member of the
Cottonwood Center of that body. When the Cleveland school, of which Mr. Jensen
served as a trustee, was discontinued, he purchased the school house and
remodeled it into a comfortable farm house. He has been a member of the Newman
Lutheran Church since coming to California and is now secretary-treasurer of the
congregation. Politically, he is a Republican. Six children have blessed the
union of Mr. and Mrs. Jensen; Caroline Julia, John H., William H., Alma M., Oluf
N., and May Catherine.


Additional Comments:
From:

HISTORY OF
MERCED COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
WITH A
Biographical Review
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been
Identified with Its Growth and Development
from the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
JOHN OUTCALT

ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME
HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1925


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