Nikolai Carstensen was born in Langstoft, Germany, son of Luci and Christian Carstensen. Nick came to America as a young lad and lived in the Hans Christiansen home near Odebolt. Hans was a brother to Anna Christiansen, who married Nick's father after the death of Nick's mother, making Anna Nick's stepmother.
     Nick worked as a farm laborer around Odebolt for a few years working for George Kessler. In 1909, Nick married Mary Katherina Hansen, who was born in Germany, daughter of Jens Peter and Lena (Johanson) Hansen.
     Mary came to America as a young woman before her parents and hadn't seen her younger sister, Martha (Mrs. Carl Gonnerman) until her parents came to America with the rest of their family. Mary worked for the Tom Down family near Odebolt.
     Mr. and Mrs. Nick Carstensen's children are Chris, married Irene Witte; Jules, married Evangeline Linman; Frieda (Mrs. John Collins); Elsa (Mrs. Paul Morgan); Sidney, married Rose Bennett; Nick Jr., married Jean Causland; Wallace, married Betty Fleuhr; and Leonard, married Fern Kessler.

[Note: The below appears to be taken from an earlier history, perhaps from the "News", which was a newspaper in Odebolt in the early years; however, there is no reference to the source or the year] 

     Intimately related to the history of Odebolt and Wheeler Township are the names of Mr. and Mrs. Abner L. Chandler. They were among the earliest settlers in the Odebolt territory.
Abner L. Chandler, born in Susquehann County, Pennsylvania, April 2, 1845, was the son of Ezra and Florinda Chandler. In 1850 the family moved to Lake County, Illinois, and six years later they removed to a farm near Fort Scott Kansas. Their farm home was one of the stopping places of John Brown while he was engaged in his anti-slavery activities in the then Territory of Kansas.
     Mrs. Ezra Chandler died in 1857 and Ezra Chandler followed her a year later. The family soon dispersed, Abner L. returning to Illinois, where he worked on a farm. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in Company D, 96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He served a three-year enlistment period and then re-enlisted in the 121st Illinois Veteran Infantry, from which he was not discharged until after the close of the war in 1865.
     He fought in several important battles during the war, including Resaca, Pine Mountain, New Hope Church, Franklin and Nashville. In the battle of Pine Mountain, he fought in the campaign, which led to the capture of Atlanta, and was severely wounded in the abdomen and reported dead. After his honorable discharge from the Union army, Mr. Chandler returned to a farm near Libertyville, Illinois. On December 1, 1867, he was married to Henrietta Dunn of Susquehanna County Pennsylvania. The date of her birth was October 21, 1847.
     In 1872 the Chandlers came to Wheeler Township where Mr. Chandler shortly became Superintendent of the Wheeler Ranch, a position he was to hold altogether for seven years, as has been mentioned in the historical account elsewhere in this issue. In 1879 he purchased his first land, a one hundred and twenty acre farm in Section 12, Wheeler Township, for five dollars an acre. Later he increased his holdings to a half section. In 1906 he disposed of a quarter section of his land and later sold the rest. The Chandlers removed to the town of Odebolt in December 1907 where they continued to reside for the remainder of their lives.
     Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Abner L. Chandler, of whom six are still living ["still living" - date not known]. Of these, Sydney L. is the eldest. He and his wife are the subjects of another sketch in this issue of the News. Olive F. is better known as Mrs. Charles H. Smith, residing east of Odebolt. Philip L., who married Etta Epperson of Odebolt, is a farmer near Pender, Nebraska. Arthur G. married Maggie McLean, resides on a farm near Lyons, Nebraska. Adelia B. is the wife of Sebastian Buehler, the son of Sebastian Buehler, Sr., mentioned in the historical account as a pioneer settler north of Odebolt. Forest H., a graduate of Morningside College, has made an excellent record in public school work. For several years he has been Superintendent of the Sheldon Public Schools and he is also head of the Sheldon Junior College, recently started.
     Mr. Chandler, after his remove to Odebolt, was an active participant in community affairs. For two terms he served as Mayor of the town and was in his third term when he died in September 1919. Mrs. Chandler had preceded him in death in March, 1918.

     Christopher C. Collenbaugh and wife, Rosanna Maxwell Collenbaugh, moved from Owen County, Indiana, about 1880, to Clinton, Iowa, and in 1883 moved to the farm north of Odebolt where Mr. and Mrs. Harold Ahrenholtz live [in 1977].  The Collenbaugh family consisted of John, Frank, Charles, Alice (Mrs. Albert Davenport), and Manie (Mrs. C. Glathers).  In 1903 Charles was married to Mary E. Rhule, who set up housekeeping on the farm, and Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Collenbaugh moved to Odebolt (where the present [1977] Alden Fineran house is).  He died in 1903, and she in 1918.  The family are all deceased and Charles, Alice, Manie, and Frank are buried in the Odebolt Cemetery.
     The family of Charles and Mary (Rhule) were Inez Buehler who died in 1973; Manie Ahrenholtz of rural Odebolt; Charles and Laura, both of Long Beach, Calif.

[Copyright Notice]