An Illustrated History of Central Oregon, Western Historical Publishing Company, Spokane, WA., 1905, page 423 HANS HANSEN, of the firm of Hansen & Thomsen at The Dalles, is a well known business man of energy and good reputation. The firm does a large business and is operating a fine planing mill and a saw mill. The planing mill is at 410 Third street and is one of the best equipped plants in this part of the country. They make a specialty of manufacturing all kinds of fruit boxes, crates and so forth, and in addition do all kinds of shop carpentering, together with turning and so forth. Their saw mill is located on Chenoweth creek and has a capacity of fifteen thousand feet per day. Their pay roll includes from twenty-six to forty men. Hans Hansen was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, on March 4, 1855, the son of Hans and Maria (Iversen) Hansen, natives of the same place. The father came from an old German family who had dwelt there for many generations. They both died in their native land, the father in the early sixties and the mother twenty-one years later. After receiving his education in the public schools, our subject learned the carpenter trade and in 1878, came to Clinton county, Iowa. Two years later, he journeyed thence via San Francisco to the Hood River country and for one year labored there with Carl Jensen, clearing land. The latter had filed on a property now owned by Chris Dethman, mentioned elsewhere in this work. They became discouraged, as there were few settlers and no markets, and left the claim. Mr. Hansen then secured employment on the O.R. & N. until 1888, being foreman in their repair shops. At the date last mentioned, he quit the railroad shops and began general contracting and building, then was employed by Hugh Glenn, until he opened his present establishment in 1898 in partnership with John P. Thomsen. Their planing mill and factory are a large two story structure, fifty by one hundred feet, supplied with all the latest machinery known to that business. They have a thirty horse power electric motor which is operated to its full capacity almost all of the time. Mr. Hansen is a very skillful and enterprising man and is a master of the various departments in their business. On November 21, 1881, at The Dalles, Oregon, Mr. Hansen married Caroline A., the daughter of Carsten and Anna M. Friederichsen, a native of Schleswig-Holstein. She came to the United States in 1881 direct to The Dalles, where she married our subject on the day mentioned. Her parents came from old and prominent German families and are now living in that country. Mr. Hansen has the following named brothers and sisters: Hans M., Thomas, deceased. Jens C., deceased, Johannes, deceased, and Margretha, the wife of B. Hansen. Thomas served during the Franco-Prussian war and died at Weisenberg. He was three years in that war. In fact all of Mr. Hansen's brothers were in the same war. To Mr. and Mrs. Hansen four children have been born, Carl, now in Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Fred, in the mill, and Anna and Ella at school. Mr. Hansen is a member of the A.O.U.W., and the W.W., and has passed all the chairs of both orders. He has represented the former lodge three times at the grand lodge. Politically, Mr. Hansen is independent. He has been twice city councilman, twice water commissioner and is a member of the same now, and is often at the Democratic county conventions. In 1902, Mr. Hansen, accompanied by his wife and two daughters, spent four months at the old home in Germany. They enjoyed the trip immensely, especially as Mrs. Hansen's mother is still living on the old home place, being now aged ninety. Still, after visiting the various places to be seen in that journey, they were quite content to return to the good old Wasco county country, assured it was the best after all. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2005 by Jeffrey L. Elmer. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.