Carl Gustav Lindstrom
| Carl ("Charlie") Gustav Lindstrom | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
January 21, 1868 Wada Socken, Stockholm, Sweden |
| Died | February 12, 1924 (aged 56) |
| Resting place | Moses Hill Cemetery, Phelps County, Nebraska[1] |
| Spouse | Wilhelmina Hedell (m. 1895–1924) |
| Children |
Lulu Wilhemina Lindstrom Harry Ferdinand Lindstrom Sidney Alfred Lindstrom George Delphin Lindstrom Margaret Lindstrom |
| Parents |
Gustaf Lindstrom Johanna Christina Carlsdotter |
| Relatives |
August Julius Lindstrom (Brother) Johan Robert Lindstrom (Brother) Anna Christina Lindstrom (Sister) Oscar Leanord (Brother) Otto Rudolf Lindstrom (Brother) Emil Willjam Lindstrom (Brother) August Edvall Lindstrom (Brother) |
Biography of Charles by his Daughter[2]
This story is about my parents, Charles and Minnie Lindstrom, and the early days of their life in Phelps County. My Mother and Father were born in Sweden; Mother in Lindskoping on February 19, 1870, and Father in Stockholm, on January 21, 1868. They, like many immigrants, arrived in the 1880s to this new country.
My Mother (Augusta Wilhelmena Hedell) renamed herself as Minnie, traveled by ship alone, at the age of 19, to New York. She then went to Seattle, where she was employed as a maid for a year. She came to Phelps County to visit her two brothers, John and David Hedell, who had preceded her. She met my father (Carl Gustuve Lindstrom, known as Charles, at a friend’s home. He had come at the age of 15 with his parents, Gustuve and Johanna Lindstrom and family to Phelps County in the 1800s. They were married August 8, 1894. They settled on a farm, a homestead my father had bought. The Lindstrom homestead is still in that name.
Hard times were endured during those early years. Storms, grasshoppers, drought, and poverty, and many sacrifices were experienced, but their dauntless courage never failed – in hopes to establish a home for themselves, and the family to come. My father helped start many civic projects. He became the director of Snowball District 66 school, duties which he fulfilled until his death, in 1924. The teacher boarded in our home all my school years.
Five children were born (three sons and two daughters). The oldest child, Lulu Wilhelmina, born September 5, 1895, married a young farmer, Verne Larson of Loomis. The first son of the Lindstrom family was Harry Ferinand, who became an asset to his parents on the farm. He married Leona Skoog, a daughter of a pioneer family near Holdrege. Sidney Alfred, born February 28, 1899, helped expand the growing farm. He met Alice Polhemus, a teacher in the home school. They were married, and moved to one of the farms. George Delphin, born June 15, 1906, married Aline Vaughn, and they became the second generation to live on the Lindstrom homestead. A daughter Margaret Teresa, born May 23, 1910, completed the family. She graduated from Holdrege High School and taught in a rural school two years. She married Milton Carlson, a farmer, May 7, 1930, and they moved to the former John Dahlstrom homestead, purchased by Milton’s father, Joseph Carlson. This is one of the first homesteads in Phelps County, and recorded as such.
To this union, was born four children: Stuart Milton, Lois Elaine, Stanley Dale, and Susan Anne.
Charles Lindstrom, while still quite young, died on February 12, 1924. Minnie, his faithful wife, lived to see great grandchildren, and died July 23, 1955, at the age of 84. My sister Lulu and her husband Verne, and my brother Sidney have since died. My husband Milton died on October 25, 1977. All loved ones are buried at Moses Hill Cemetery, as are Milton’s parents, Joseph and Emma Carlson, and my grandparents, Gustuve and Johanna Lindstrom. I will always be proud of my Swedish heritage. (Margaret (Lindstrom) Carlson)
Memory by Dean Lindstrom
According to Dean Randall Lindstrom: "I remember my grandmother, Minnie, very well. I was in high school sometime around 1950 when she died. I remember that Minnie's husband was always called Charles Lindstrom, but, his given name may have been Carl. My grandpa, Charles, died when my father, George, was a teenager in the 1920's, and before I was born in 1934. Charles and Minnie are buried in the Lindstrom family plot at Moses Hill cemetery northwest of Holdrege. Minnie's last name was Hedell before her marriage to Charles. She had a couple of brothers in Holdrege who I don't remember of ever meeting. Minnie and her brothers had a disagreement about something, and my dad, George, never communicated with his Hedell uncles or cousins. I don't know the names of Minnie's parents, and I don't know where they are buried."
Land
Charlie's farm was adjacent to his father Gustaf Lindstrom's original homestead. See Locating Gustaf Lindstrom's Homestead for a comparison of locations.
California
Around 1911, Charlie (around age 43) and Minnie loaded up their family and possessions, including an automobile, onto a railroad car at Elm Creek. They went to Richvale, California, on reports that land was cheap there and a farmer could become rich! On arrival, the family found that things were very different than Phelps County, Nebraska. The soil in Richvale was thick and heavy. The pioneers in Richvale were already growing rice, which required flooding the field. The Lindstroms could not manage the heavy muddy fields and returned to Phelps County in disgust and embarrassment about a year later.
Some other Phelps County residence also ventured to Richvale. The Lundbergs, who lived one mile north of Lee Vaughn's place, moved to Richvale in the 1930's, became very successful rice farmers. [3] Peter Olson's grandchildren also successfully migrated from Phelps County to Richvale.
Dean Randall Lindstrom recalls driving in 1948 to Richvale in his parents' Fraser Manhattan to visit the Olson cousins.
Photos
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| Charles and Minnie Lindstrom in front of their first home. Daughter Lula in buggy and son Harry in arms. |
Historical Records
- Carl's birth certificate: Stockholm > Vada > Födde (Births) > 1867 - 1867 (:240) > 2
- Charlie (age 27) and Minnie (age 23) were married on Aug 8, 1895 in Phelps County, Nebraska. The location of the wedding is listed as "the groom's residence". (Interestingly the parents' names are somewhat mangled. Charles' mothers name is given as "Johanna Karlson"; Minnie's mother's name is "Cathrin Karlson".)
- Charlie (age 16), parents Gustav (age 41) and Hannah (age 40), and siblings Robert (age 13), Anna (age 10), Oscar (age 8), Otto (age 4), and Emil (age 2) live in Williamsburg, Phelps County, Nebraska in the 1885 Nebraska Census.
- Charlie (age 32) and Minnie (age 29) live with children Lola W (age 4), Harry F (age 3), and Sidney A (age 1) in Center, Phelps, Nebraska in the 1900 Federal Census
- A 1903 Atlas of Center Township, Nebraska shows the location of Carl's plot, directly south of Gustaf's plot, and north of the Bragg place.
- Charlie (age 42) and Minnie (age 39) live with children Lula W (age 14), Harry F (age 13), Sidney A (age 11), and George D (age 3) in Center, Phelps, Nebraska in the 1910 Federal Census. Charlie's census listing is consecutive with his mother's, which indicates they are neighbors.[4]
- Charlie (age 52) and Augusta (age 49) live with children Harry F (age 21), Sidney A (age 19), George D (age 13), and Margaret T (age 9) in Center, Phelps, Nebraska in the 1920 Federal Census
