Chris Bahnsen, 78, of Rock Falls was instantly killed Saturday October 13, 1945 in an automobile accident at a country crossroad ten miles west of Osage. Five other persons involved in the two-car collision were injured. Mr. Bahnsen received a fractured skull and a broken neck. Mr. Bahnsen was riding in a car driven by Glen Gast, his son-in-law.

Funeral services for Mr. Bahnsen will be held Tuesday afternoon at the Rock Creek Lutheran Church in rural Osage. Officiating was Rev. C. Blaine Gunderson and burial will be made in the Rock Falls Cemetery.

Christian Carsten Bahnsen was born at Oehrstadt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany on May 28, 1867. He was one of a family of fourteen. He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran church of Germany before coming to the United States.

At the age of 23, he came to America and settled in Jones County, Iowa. On November 13, 1891, he was married to Margaretha Wohlert and to this union was born ten children, six sons and four daughters, all of whom survive him. These children include: Carsten, of Rock Fall, Iowa; John, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Margaret (Mrs. Gust Paulson) of Osage, Iowa; Bertha (Mrs. Dewey Deckard) of Franklin, Indiana; Hans, of Downing, Indiana; William, of Riceville, Iowa; Linda (Mrs. Arthur Troge), of Rudd, Iowa; Harold, of Ventura, Iowa; Ralph and Christine (Mrs. Glen Gast), both of Nora Springs, Iowa. Twenty-one grandchildren and two great grandchildren also survive him. His wife and one grandson, Wally Gast, preceded him in death.

Mr. Bahnsen farmed in Jones County, Cerro Gordo County, and Floyd County, before retiring to Rock Falls, Iowa where his wife passed away in 1933. Since that time, he has made his home with his children.

Waterloo Courier, Monday October 15, 1945
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Parents: Carsten Bahnsen (b September 14, 1822 Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, d May 15, 1902) and Margaretha Carstensen (b June 6, 1831).
(Paternal Grandparents: Peter Bahnsen and Brigitte Maria Conrads.)

Ancestry.com: The ship's list for Christian and his children: Carsten 9, Johann 8, Margarethe 6, Christina 4, (returning from a trip to Germany). Chr. Bahnsen: Departure Date: Okt 1, 1903; Birth Year: abt 1867; Age 36; Gender: männlich (Male); Marital Status: verheiratet (Married) ; Residence: Wyoming, IA; Ethnicity/Nationality: USA (American). Listed further down on same page is wife, Margaret and children, Bertha and Hans.
Ship Name: Blücher; Shipping Line: Hamburg-Amerika Linie (Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft); Ship Type: Dampfschiff; Accommodation: 2. Klasse; Ship Flag: Deutschland; Port of Departure: Hamburg
Port of Arrival: Southampton; Cherbourg; New York; Volume: 373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 148; Page: 2488; Microfilm Roll Number: K_1781.

Christian and Margaret visited Germany again in1927: Ship's record found on Ancestry: Christ Bahnsen; Arrival Date: Jan 24, 1927, Birth Year: abt 1868, Age: 59, Male,
Port of Departure: Hamburg, Germany, Port of Arrival: New York, New York, Ship Name: Deutschland.
Contributor: Deidre Badker (47589104)