John McLean and his wife Christina (McQuistan) McLean
John Albert McLean and Christina McQuistan McLean moved to their 160 acre farm north of Odebolt immediately following their marriage which took place in Rockford, Illinois, in 1879. The young couple met while working in Rockford where each had settled following their emigration from their native county of Scotland. John was able to save enough money from his wages to purchase the land in Sac County, Iowa, from the Northwestern Railroad Company. Their original home was a small two bedroom wood house with a stove located in the center which heated the kitchen and living room. The only other building on the farm was a shed for a few cows and horses. The sod had to be broken with a hand plow hitched to three horses.
The couple’s first child, a son, John, was born in 1881.
Succeeding children were Margaret, Hughie, Edward and Jennie. Their first
sorrow occurred when they lost their little son, Edward, due to complications
following his illness with measles. However real tragedy struck the family
in 1893 when all but the youngest child, Jennie, contracted typhoid fever.
Little Hughie passed away first, soon followed by the father, John. This left
the mother, Christina, to raise her three surviving children and manage a
farm. This she accomplished with the children’s help and maintained
their homestead.
John, Jennie and Margaret McLean
Margaret McLean married Arthur Chandler and moved to a farm near Lyons, Nebraska. Jennie married George Krusenstjerna and lived on a farm north of Odebolt which was owned by Alfred Krusenstjerna. Years later John married Clara Mandernach and remained on the McLean farm where they made their home.
Christina McLean had only three grandchildren. They were Florence, Margaret and Mary Krusenstjerna, born to her daughter, Jennie, and son-in-law, George Krusenstjerna.
Christina passed away in 1935, her son, John, in 1949 and her daughter, Margaret Chandler in 1952. Jennie McLean Krusenstjerna became the surviving heir to the McLean farm and at the time of the Odebolt Centennial (1977) was a widow with three daughters and sons-in-law, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
(transcribed by B. Horak )