CHRISTEN "CHRIS" HANSEN
Sheriff from 1935-1941
Chris Hansen was born March 31, 1875 in Denmark to Hans Hansen and Karen Marie Nielsen. He was a member of the King's Royal Horse Guard (Calvary) of the Danish Army for two years and worked in the cryolite mines in Greenland three years before coming to America about 1900. He settled in Edmore where he lived until 1928 when he moved to Stanton. He worked as a stone mason. He was a member of the Stanton lodge, F & AM and the Danish Brotherhood of Edmore. He served Home Township as Treasurer, Justice of the Peace and Supervisor. Chris also served twelve years as deputy sheriff in Home Township and six years as under-sheriff to Francis M. Waldo before being elected sheriff in 1934. His career in law enforcement spanned twenty-four years and he was the first man to be elected as sheriff in Montcalm County for four consecutive terms. He started his seventh year in the office by solving the murder of Ben Perrien, a farmer who resided near Clear Lake. Chris also had the honor of having received the greatest vote ever accorded a Montcalm County sheriff at that time.
Chris was proud of the fact that he never had to draw his revolver in the line of duty in his 24 years of police work. He won the nickname "father of Montcalm County" because of the help he had given offenders, principally juveniles. He felt that wise counsel was better than sentences to juvenile offenders. He was liberal with his own money to those in need. And, while he didn't believe that prisoners should be pampered, he did treat them as human beings who made mistakes. In his years as sheriff he made an enviable record of obtaining confessions.
On September 2, 1941 Chris issued the following statement, "Because of ill health I find it impossible to carry on my duties as sheriff of Montcalm County and, while I am reluctant to lay aside the trust the voters of Montcalm County have placed in me, I believe it is for the best interests of the people of the county that I vacate the office so that a successor may be appointed. Please accept my resignation as sheriff of Montcalm County, effective September 30, 1931."
He married the former Anna Marie Cook, daughter of Jacob Cook and Caroline Weissenger, on March 27, 1906. They were the parents of six children - Dr. Carl Hansen, Sophie (Stackhouse), Amelia (Mills), Emma (McKinney), Freda (Sampson), Donna (Basom) and Richard, who died as an infant. Chris died March 30, 1942 at Stanton after being in failing health for several years. His funeral was held at the Coliseum Theater in Edmore where hundreds gathered to pay their respect. Among those present were thirty sheriffs from all parts of Michigan, state police who escorted his body to the cemetery, all the county officials and deputies and representatives from the FBI. The newspaper stated that it was one of the largest displays of floral offerings and attendance that had ever been present at a funeral in Edmore.
(Sources: Obituary file, White Pine Library; Ancestry.com, census; Stanton Clipper-Herald, 2-6-1938, 1-7-1941 and 9-5-1941) |
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