Christian Franzen (December 11, 1845 – March 19, 1920) was an American politician, farmer, and businessman. Born in the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his ...

, which was functionally connected with Denmark, Franzen was a

cabin boy ''Cabin Boy'' is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film, directed by Adam Resnick and co-produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Resnick. Both Elliott and Resnick worked for '' Late Night with Dav ...

. In 1863, Franzen emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, went to

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, in 1870, and settled in

Marathon County, Wisconsin Marathon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,013. Marathon County's seat is Wausau. It was founded in 1850, created from a portion of Portage County. At that time the cou ...

in 1876. He was a farmer in the town 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 ...

. In 1903, he moved to

Stratford, Wisconsin Stratford is a village in Marathon County, Wisconsin, Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Wausau, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,578 at the 2010 census. History Stratford was platted in 1891 ...

, Franzen was in the insurance, telephone, and bank business. He served on the Marathon County Board of Supervisors and was chairman of the board. He also served as town school clerk and town assessor. In 1915, Franzen served in 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, ...

and was a

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 ...

.'Wisconsin Blue Book 1915, Biographical Sketch of Chris Franzen, pg. 519

Notes

1845 births 1920 deaths People from the Duchy of Holstein Immigrants to the United States People from Marathon County, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Wisconsin Farmers from Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin School board members in Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Stratford, Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Democratic-stub