R. O. (Rasmus Ove) Rasmussen was born March 22, 1855, to Ove Rasmusen Kuk and Else Margrethe Nielsen in Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark. In 1868, his mother took Rasmussen and his sister – Sena Maren Rasmussen – and emigrated to the United States and settled in Ephraim, Utah.

After the death of his mother’s second husband, Rasmussen attempted to take over the ranch. However, he was deemed too young, and the livestock was taken and incorporated into a large church herd. Rasmussen married Hannah Adelade Oviatt on March 23, 1874, with whom he had eleven children – Rasmus Henry, Herman Oskir, James Oliver “Ove”, Travis Beamon, Margaret Angeline, Zina Agnes, Katie Armanda, Ruby May, Rosel and Hazel (twins), and Newton Lee – all but three of whom survived to adulthood.

Rasmussen moved to Cleveland, Utah, for a short time before leaving. He soon returned to direct the building of the Cleveland Canal for two years, which he followed as watermaster for two years. He left Cleveland in 1900 and moved to Sunnyside, Utah, where he worked as a watchman for the Utah Fuel Company until his passing on March 10, 1920.