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The first young Dane from the Inner Mission side that came to Augsburg Seminary to be educated for the ministry among his countrymen in the United States, was A. M. Andersen, now for many years editor of the Danskeren, a weekly Christian newspaper published by the United D. E. L. Church in Blair, Nebraska. Andersen came to this country in 1872 and after having completed his studies at Augsburg, in 1874, he was ordained pastor for a Danish congregation in Damsbray, Nebraska. He joined the Norwegian-Danish Conference aforenamed. Another young Dane, now Rev. H. Hansen, of Fresno, Calif., who came to the United States in 1865, had entered Augsburg Seminary before Andersen and was ordained also in 1874, to work among his countrymen in the state of Nebraska. And, to be brief, from 1872 to 1874, there were in all ten young Danes who studied at Augsburg Seminary and became pastors of Danish Lutheran congregations and joined the Norwegian-Danish Conference. Since 1877 these Danish ministers had their own Danish church paper, edited by Rev. A. M. Andersen, Racine, Wis.

  In September, 1884, at a meeting in Argo, Burt county, Nebraska, six ministers and some lay delegates agreed to constitute themselves a Lutheran church body, adopted a Lutheran constitution and took the name of "The Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church Association of America." The new church body agreed to start a theological seminary at Blair, Nebraska, with Rev. A. M. Andersen as president. At the meeting at Argo one candidate was ordained and two ministers admitted to the church. It should be added that before the meeting at Argo was held the ministers had through their secretary, corresponded with the officers of the Danish church and come to the conclusion that union with that body was out of the question.
 

 It has been stated above that the small church body, organized at Argo, Nebraska, in 1884 took steps to start a school for future ministers. In the fall of 1894 Rev. A. M. Andersen started such a school in his home in Blair with four students. The professor, students, and the professor's family slept under the same roof, ate at the same table as best they could. Rev. Andersen was on the lookout for a larger home for the school. An offer of $5,000 was given by the citizens of Omaha, on the conditions that the school be moved there and Andersen put up an equal sum. But money was not plentiful in those days, especially not among Danish church people, so Andersen declined the offer.
   The city of Blair made an offer of $3,000 on the same conditions. And Andersen mustered up courage to accept it, in hopes that he would be able to collect an equal sum among his church friends. He succeeded, although not without difficulties, and in the fall of 1886 a four story building, erected on the bluffs northwest of the city of Blair, was dedicated as the future home of Trinity Theological Seminary, the first school of its kind among Danish Lutherans in the United States. Before long it was found necessary to start a pro-seminary course, and also a course for those who wished to study English and common school branches in the English language, during the winter months. Still later it was found advisable to open a course for young ladies during three summer months.
   Rev. Andersen was president of the school till 1889, when he was succeeded by Rev. G. B. Christiansen, who held that position till 1896, when the school became the property of the United Church. Rev. G. B. Christiansen was elected president of the United Church, an office he still holds.
   During Christiansen's presidency a wing was added to the main building and, later, in 1903, another wing and also a ladies' dormitory and a gymnasium. Since the school, in 1899, became co-educational and a college department was added, its enrollment increased till about 150-175 a year, all told. It now comprises eight departments with a staff of ten instructors and some assistants. The value of buildings, grounds, and equipment is about $75,000. The school has no endowments of any kind.
   About 4,000 young men and women, mostly of Danish descent, have gone out from its halls to their different stations in life and are now spread all over our country. About 100 ministers have graduated from the theological school. About 100 graduates have been fighting on the bloody battle fields of France in the late world war. Some of our theological graduates have worked as camp pastors and one as army chaplain at the front, the Rev. James C. Peterson, a native of Nebraska, born and raised on a farm in Nuckolls county. Our oldest professor, C. X. Hansen, M.A., was one of the first students of the school. He is now principal of Dana College. P. S. Vig is head of the theological seminary, and Rev. L. A. Laursen president of the whole school.