Andrew Anderson
For more than fifteen years Andrew Anderson has been a resident of Emmet county, where he has a large and well developed farm property, regarded as one of the finest farms of his section of the state. In March, 1917, however, he retired to Estherville, there to spend his remaining days in the enjoyment of a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. He was born in Norway, March 24, 1855, a son of Andrew Osmundson and Helga Peterson. They were the parents of a family of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, of whom five now lie buried in Norway, while six are yet living, four sisters of the family having come to the United States.
At the usual age Andrew Anderson became a pupil in the common schools of Norway, which he attended until he reached the age of fifteen. He worked for his father on the farm until 1870. Bidding adieu to friends and native land, he sailed for the new world and crossed the continent to Grundy county, Illinois, where he was employed at farm labor for three years. In 1873 he was joined by his parents in Grundy county and they lived with Mr. Anderson, who in that year purchased a farm. He prospered as time passed and ultimately became the owner of two excellent farms in that locality. In 1899 the parents removed to Hamilton county, Iowa, to live with their daughter, Anna, the wife of Thomas Thompson, and there both the father and mother passed away. It was in 1901 that Mr. Anderson severed his connection with Illinois and came to Iowa, establishing his home in Emmet county, where he purchased the northwest quarter of section 10 and the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of the same section. He is now the owner of two hundred and forty acres of rich and productive land, constituting one of the finest farms of the county. His place has been well tiled, affording excellent draining and thus greatly enhancing the productiveness of his fields. His farm is also well stocked with cattle and hogs and his live stock interests constitute an important source of revenue to him. He uses the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields and annually gathers good harvests, which are the reward of well directed effort and ability. However his farm does not constitute the sole evidence of his life of well directed thrift and industry, for other substantial business interests profit by his cooperation and financial support, as he is now a stockholder in the Farmers Savings Bank, the creamery and the Farmers Elevator at Wallingford.
In 1874 Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Miss Christina Iverson, a daughter of Iver Longland, of Grundy county, Illinois. They became the parents of eight children: Andrew N., now living in Winnebago county, Minnesota; Ed, a resident of Joliet, Illinois; Henry, whose home is in Jack Creek township; Olin, living in the same township; Julius, who is located in Twelve Mile Lake township; Bert, of Jack Creek township; Martha, the wife of Andrew Thompson, of Jack Creek township; and Anna, the wife of Henry Sievol, of Radcliffe, Iowa. The wife and mother of these children passed away in Grundy county, Illinois, and was laid to rest in a cemetery at Saratoga, that state. For his second wife Mr. Anderson chose Josephine Bravik Johnson, of La Salle county, Illinois, and they had a daughter, Clara, who passed away at the age of seventeen and was buried in Saratoga, Illinois, by the side of her mother. In 1897 Mr. Anderson was again married, at which time Johanna Jurgenson, a native of Norway, became his wife. There are three sons and a daughter of this marriage: George, now living in Estherville; and Alfred, Joseph, and Myrtle, all at home.
Mr. Anderson has always been desirous that his children should have good educational opportunities and for ten years he acceptably served as school director in High Lake township. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and his religious faith is that of the Norwegian Lutheran church. His life has indeed been an active and useful one and he is numbered among those who have aided largely in winning for Iowa its well earned reputation of being one of the foremost agricultural states of the Union.
Source: History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa, Chicago, Illinois: The Pioneer Publishing Company, 1917, pages 474 & 477.
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