Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana Archives

Rev. Martin Frederick Sorenson

Rev. Martin F. Sorenson was born on 14 September 1823 at Vejleby Sogn, Denmark, the son of Rasmus and Caroline Christine Marie (Johansen) Sorenson. He immigrated to the United States and married Caroline Jensine Gasmann on 9 November 1848 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He began his career as a missionary in Wisconsin, serving churches at Toland's Prairie and Maysville between 1851 and 1852. In 1854, he arrived in Indiana and served two years as rector of St. Paul's, Mishawaka. From there he moved in 1856 to Illinois and became rector of St. Peter's Church in Sycamore. He later moved to Dodge County, Nebraska, and by 1870 was rector of St. Mark's Church in Waupaca, Wisconsin. His wife died in 1871, and he married (2) Jane (__). In 1880, he lived in Arapahoe County, Colorado. He died by suicide in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on 25 November 1889, when he slit his own throat with a pen knife. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Sycamore, Illinois.