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FRED HAGEN is farming on his estate in section 25, Union township, and nearly his entire life has been identified with the interests of Benton county. He was born, however, in Illinois, October 2, 1866, a son of Frederick and Fredricka Hagen, both of whom were born in Germany. They came to the United States about the year of 1863, and after spending some time in Chicago, Illinois, they began farming in that state, and in 1867 came to Benton county, Iowa, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of the virgin soil in section 24, Union township. They in time improved their land and spent the remainder of their lives there, Mr. Hagen dying in 1895, when seventy-two years of age, and his wife in 1884, at the age of sixty. They became the parents of twelve children, but only two of that once large family are now living, the elder being August, a resident of Van Horne, who owns the old homestead, which he rents.
Fred Hagen, the younger of the two surviving sons of Frederick and Fredricka Hagen, was but a year old when brought by his parents to Benton county, and at the age of twenty-two he married and left home, starting for himself on one hundred and sixty acres which now forms a part of his present estate. His farm now contains three hundred and twenty acres, where he has made many and valuable improvements, and he devotes considerable of his time to stock raising. He is a successful farmer and a splendid business man.
Mr. Hagen married on March 8, 1887, Anna Gensicke, who was born in Muscatine county, Iowa, January 28, 1863, a daughter of Christian and Elizabeth Gensicke. The family came to the United States in 1867, and stopping for a time in Chicago, Illinois, they came from there to Buffalo Rock in Scott county, Iowa, and later to Wilton Junction in Muscatine county. From the latter place they came to Benton county and purchased a farm in LeRoy township, and in 1905 Mr. Gensicke moved to Cedar Rapids, retiring from business, and he has reached the eighty-second milestone on life's journey. He is by trade a carpenter and wagon maker, and he followed those vocations until coming to Benton county. Mrs. Gensicke died in 1897, when seventy-two years of age. Five of their seven children are living, namely: Christian, whose home is in Polk county, Iowa; Henry, living on a farm two miles from Cedar Rapids; Sophia, the wife of William Reiser, of St. Clair township, Benton county; Anna, who became Mrs. Hagen; and Rebecca, the wife of Carl Kreiger, of LeRoy township. Three of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hagen are living, — Elsie, wife of George Kirk, of Union township, Fred and Lester. Mr. Hagen and his family are members of the German Lutheran church at Van Horne, and he is a member of the Republican party.
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