Christian Ellefson (also called Christen) (April 20, 1842 - 1925?) was an American farmer from the

Town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

, in

Vernon County, Wisconsin Vernon County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,714. Its county seat is Viroqua. History Vernon County was renamed from Bad Ax County on March 22, 1862. Bad Ax County had been created on ...

who served two separate one-year terms as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Greenback member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Background

Ellefson was born in Lyster (now called Luster), in

Sogn og Fjordane Sogn og Fjordane (; English: "Sogn and Fjordane") was, up to 1 January 2020, a county in western Norway, when it was merged to become part of Vestland county. Bordering previous counties Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland, the cou ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

on April 20, 1842; he received a common school education, and became a farmer. He immigrated in 1860 and ended up in

Dane County, Wisconsin Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

; moved to

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

in 1861; then to

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

, in 1864. He moved to Franklin in 1866, settling there.

Public office

When first elected to the Assembly in 1877 to represent the first Vernon County district (Towns of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, Christiana,

Coon Coon may refer to: Fauna Butterflies * Coon, common name of the butterfly ''Astictopterus jama'' * Coon, species group of the butterfly genus ''Atrophaneura'', now genus ''Losaria'' * Coon, common name of the butterfly '' Psolos fuligo'' Ma ...

, Franklin,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

, Sterling, and Wheatland), Ellefson had already been chairman and

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

of his town, and had held other local offices. While at one time he had been a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he ran as an "Independent Greenback." He received 813 votes, to 690 for Republican F. K. Van Wagner (Republican incumbent

Peter J. Dale Peter J. Dale (July 4, 1845 – April 20, 1935) was a Norwegian-American elected official who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Peter Jorgen Dale was born at Lyster in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He was one of six children bo ...

, also a native of Lyster, was not a candidate for re-election). He sought re-election in 1878 as a Greenback, but was unseated by Republican Jacob Eckhardt, who polled 939 votes to Ellefson's 804. During this same period, he served on the Vernon County

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

for 1876-1879. In 1881, he ran for the Fourth State Senate District, receiving 1719 votes to Republican Van S. Bennett's 2,166 and 572 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

J. A. Robb. He was elected to his old Assembly seat as an Independent Greenback in 1883, with 915 votes to 628 for Republican H. H. Morgan (Republican incumbent Torger Juve was not a candidate for re-election). He was elected chairman of the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

enrolled bill In the United States Congress, an enrolled bill is the final copy of a bill (law), bill or joint resolution which has passed both Structure of the United States Congress, houses of Congress in identical form. In the United States, enrolled bills a ...

s. He sought re-election in 1884 as a Democrat, but lost to Republican Philip Bouffleur, who won 1407 votes to 771 for Ellefson and 44 for

Prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

G. H. Battles. In 1892, he ran once again for what was now the only Vernon County Assembly seat, as a Democratic and

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

fusion candidate, losing with 1861 votes to 3077 for Republican Daniel O. Mahoney and 228 for Prohibitionist Gilbert Olson. He ran once more as a Democrat/Populist in 1896, this time losing with 1761 votes to 4264 for Republican Emilus Goodell.

Family

He married Lena Michael, like himself a native of Norway; they had six children.''History of Vernon County, Wisconsin: Together with Sketches of Its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History; Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Representative Citizens'' Springfield, Illinois: Union Publishing Company, 1884; pp. 149-150, 525

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellefson, Christian Farmers from Wisconsin People from Luster, Norway People from Vernon County, Wisconsin Wisconsin city council members Wisconsin Greenbacks 19th-century American legislators Wisconsin Populists 1842 births 1920s deaths Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly 19th-century Wisconsin politicians