Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

in support of the interests of this country
and its Allies.
Mr. Rome married, June II, 1912, Bertha
Michelson, daughter of Mrs. Ella Mich-
elson, of Boston ; they have one child,
Thelma Rose.
LARSEN, Niels,
Business Man.
The summons of opportunity carries
its meaning only to the man who hears.
The man who is alive to the possibilities
of life is quick to respond and eager to
follow. The summons comes to every
man, but only the few hear. These are
the men the world needs, for they build
not only paths for personal achievement,
but open the way for men of lesser abil-
ity to find at least a measure of success.
Niels Larsen, of Greenwich, Connecticut,
is one of these leaders of men. A worker
himself, full of the tireless energy of the
man who does things, he has become a
significant factor in the business life of
the town. Coming from Denmark, the
home of sturdy, wholesome manhood, he
made his start in America while yet life
lay before him.
The origin of the name of Larsen is
found in the ancient custom which ante-
dates the use of surnames, of calling the
son of John, John's son. In common
usage this gradually became Johnson.
Other surnames were evolved in the same
manner and one of them is Larsen. An
ancestor of this family lived near a laurel
tree, and was referred to as Laurence, be-
cause his home was thus located. In the
evolution of the name the son of Laur-
ence became Laurence's son, and in time,
Larsen.
The family home of this branch of the
Larsen family was for many generations
in Roskilde, Denmark. This city was at
one time the Capitol of Denmark, and a
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
395
city of great importance. The family was
well and favorably known throughout the
section, industrious and self-respecting.
Christian Jepson, Mr. Larsen's paternal
grandfather, lived on the outskirts of Ros-
kilde, and was a farmer by occupation.
He was upright and industrious, and
highly respected in the community.
His son, Christian Larsen, was an ambitious
youth, full of the spirit of adven-
ture, and left home at an early age to follow
the sea. He became a captain, and
in all followed this life for about twenty
years. Retiring to the home farm at the
end of that period, he became identified
with the public life of the city, and for
many years held the position which corresponds
with that of charity commissioner
in American civic life. He mar-
ried Ane Marie Anderson, who was also
a native of Denmark.
Niels Larsen was born in Roskilde,
Denmark, January 18, 1868, and is a son
of Christian and Ane Marie (Anderson)
Larsen. His educational opportunities
were limited, and he was more interested
in action and movement than in the tedi-
ous confinement and quiet pursuits of the
school room. He began his career by
going to sea when he was about eleven
years of age, and at the age of fourteen
was earning his own living on ship-
board. Travel is considered the broad-
est means of education, and it is certainly
no less so, in the most practical sense,
when it is at the same time a means of
livelihood instead of a pastime. So at
the age of eighteen, when Niels Larsen
came to make a home in America, he was
possessed of such an education as gave
him a practical working basis for material
success. That was in 1886, and he located
in Greenwich, Connecticut, entering the
employ of Henry Held, on whose farm
he worked for four years. Then he
worked for about two years for a coal