Claus Lauritz Clausen (November 3, 1820 – February 20, 1892) was an American pioneer

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

minister, church leader, military chaplain and politician.

Biography

Claus Clausen was born at Borgnæs in Tranderup Parish, on the island of

Ærø Ærø () is one of the Denmark, Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of the Region of Southern Denmark, Southern Denmark Region. Since 1 January 2006 all of Ærø has constituted a single Municipalities of Denmark, municipality, known as Ærø M ...

, in Svendborg County,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Clausen was a lay minister in

Drammen, Norway Drammen () is a city and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and villages such ...

prior to immigrating to America in 1842. Ordained in 1843, he organized the first Norwegian Lutheran congregation that came out of the state-church tradition within the

Muskego Settlement The Muskego Settlement was one of the first Norwegian-American settlements in the United States. Situated near today's Muskego, Wisconsin, the Muskego Settlement covered areas within what is now the town of Norway, Wisconsin, Norway in Racine Cou ...

. Clausen also organized and served as pastor of several nearby churches including Heart Prairie Lutheran Church. Clausen accepted a call during 1846 from Norwegian-settlers in the Jefferson Prairie Settlement. Clausen relocated from the Muskego Settlement and made

Rock County, Wisconsin Rock County is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 163,687. Its county seat is Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville. Rock County comprises the Janes ...

the center for his activities among the settlements in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, remaining until 1853. Starting in 1850, Clausen was editor of the Norwegian language newspapers, ''Maanedstidende'' and ''Kirketidende'' as well as the successor newspaper ''Emigranten'', all published in Inmansville in Rock County. These Norwegian Lutheran endeavors at publishing mark the existence of the first print-shop in Rock County. From 1853 until 1861, he was founding pastor of First Lutheran Church of St. Ansgar in Saint Ansgar, Iowa. During 1853, Clausen was one of three pastors who organized the

Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. History In February 1853, several Lutheran ministers in ...

commonly known as the Norwegian Synod. Clausen was one of the leading members of a Synod committee appointed to supervise the creation of Luther College during 1857. Clausen was elected to the

Iowa General Assembly The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repre ...

during 1856–1859, serving in the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

. At the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he would serve as army chaplain from 1861–62 under the command of Colonel Hans C. Heg within the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment, more popularly known as the "Scandinavian Regiment". Clausen served as the Iowa Commissioner to the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Exposition Universelle (1867) The of 1867 (), better known in English as the 1867 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, Second French Empire, France, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. It was the List of world expositions, second of ten major expositions held i ...

. In 1868 he resigned from the

and helped organize the

Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America usually called the Conference was a Lutheran church body that existed in the United States from 1870 to 1890, when it merged into the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of Ame ...

becoming its first president from 1870 until 1872.''Claus Lauritz Clausen'' (Christian Cyclopedia. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Concordia Publishing House, 2000)

References

External links

*
The Norwegian Lutheran Church on Norway HillNorwegian-American Historical Association – The Promise of America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clausen, Claus Lauritz 1820 births 1892 deaths Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives People from Clinton, Rock County, Wisconsin Politicians from Rock County, Wisconsin 19th-century American Lutheran clergy Danish emigrants to the United States Union army chaplains University and college founders Place of death missing People from Norway, Wisconsin People from Ærø Municipality Editors of Wisconsin newspapers 19th-century American newspaper editors 19th-century members of the Iowa General Assembly

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links