USA > Washington > Scandinavians on the Pacific, Puget Sound > Part 3
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he still resides, slowly wearing out the balance of his years.
CHARLES JOHN CHILBERG (not John Charles as shown under the illustration) .- White with a wealth of snowy locks, and seven-and-four scores of years hanging on his back, yet nimbly he frisks about on his beautiful farm at Pleasant Ridge, Skagit county. This aged pioneer of unusual endurance and grit, keen intellect and warm soul, was born in Halland, near Laholm, Sweden, 1813, came to America, 1846, and located in Iowa. In 1860 he visited Pike's Peak, Colorado, and in 1863 left his family again, a loving wife and children, for the West with a view to find a more congenial clime. For sometime he traveled in Mon- tana, crossed the Rocky, and came to Puget Sound, 1865. The sweet-scenting forest and the balmy heaven awakened his love for perambulation of the Pacific, from British Co- lumbia to the Golden State. He resolved to make his future abode west of the Cascades, and in 1869 returned to Iowa to remove his family to Washington, arriving at Pleasant Ridge the following spring.
Mrs. Charles John Chilberg and three of her sons, Joseph, John H. and Charles F., came to the Pacific in the spring of 1871, and Isaac and B. A. a few months later. James P. Chilberg has climbed the horizon of pioneer adventures. In 1859 he landed in California, in 1864 traveled in Oregon, and in 1870 beheld the rippling Sound and the Washington forest. In 1872 Nelson Chilberg took a survey of the Pacific and
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three years subsequent his brother Andrew threw his eyes upon the mighty ocean.
ANDREW NELSON .- A jolly fellow, familiarly known as Dogfish Nelson, was among the first Scandinavian pioneers. He was born in Denmark, 1832, and landed as a sailor at Port Ludlow in 1867. Like many others he was attracted by the country, and to drive away monotony took an Indian woman for wife, as white women were almost unknown on the coast at that time. Nelson has encoun- tered many obstacles in his cruising among the red skins and fierce brutes, but always managed to play the hero. He has been industrious and convivial, and a flowery nest in Brown's Bay bespeaks his rank.
HANS HANSEN, a Dane, who resides at Alki Point, near Seattle, has earned a footing among the early Scan- dinavian pioneers. His years on the Pacific reach pretty nigh two scores. Knut Knutson, a native of Norway, and also a resident of Alki Point, came to Puget Sound over thirty years ago, and has passed through days of sun and storm. C. E. Norager, likewise of Norse birth, places his disembarkation on the Pacifie about forty years back.
SCANDINAVIANS IN SEATTLE.
CHAPTER III.
Seattle, the metropolis of Washington, and the busiest city on the Pacific coast, has a romantic history, as well as a history of thrift and progress. Thirty-five years ago only a few log cabins set on the shore of Elliott Bay, inhabited by a handful of pioneers. Bears and cougars danced around their huts, and Indians skulked in lazy
FOLYMY
A SCENE IN THE HARBOR OF SEATTLE.
hordes at their threshold. How changed! to day the Queen city is spread over about fifty square miles of land, over- looking the melodious Puget Sound, and dots the green borders of three fresh-water lakes with snug cottages. She has a population of about 85,000, of which a large per cent are Scandinavians.
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The first Scandinavian that visited Elliott Bay, of which we have any authentic account, was Peter Friberg, formerly mentioned. Shortly after came C. E. Norager and others referred to in the previous chapter. Charles John Chilberg made a survey of the bay in 1865, when only a saw mill and a sprinkling of shanties marked the presence of white men. In 1869, Edward Gunderson, a native of Norway, crossed the Rocky to make Seattle his future habitation, which was then in its early embryo. The same year, Amund Amunds, born in Racine county, Wis., of Norwegian parents, removed to the city from Cowlitz county where he had disembarked two years prior. Amunds grew opulent and invited the love of all his associates. He was director and first vice-president of the Scandinavian-American Bank of Seattle, and heavily interested in real estate. He was an energetic worker in the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and received the highest honor-Grand Receiver of the jurisdiction of Washington. He died four years ago and his funeral was a solemn event.
In 1872, Nelson Chilberg, son of Charles John Chilberg, made an appearance, and three years later his brother An- drew was attracted to the coast, as referred to in the previous chapter, and started the first Scandinavian store in Seattle, in company with J. P. Chilberg. The prospect was glit- tering and ere a year had died Nelson joined them in grocery business, the firm being Chilberg Brothers. Andrew Chil- berg soon rose to popularity, became one of Seattle's most prominent citizens, and an honor to the Scandinavians.
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BAN
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SCANDINAVIAN-AMERICAN BANK OF SEATTLE.
He was born in Laholm, Sweden, March 29, 1845. When a lad of one year he crossed the Atlantic with his parents, settling near Ottumwa, Iowa, where he received his early
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education in the common schools. In 1860 he left Ottumwa with his father and older brother, Nelson, for Pike's Peak, Colorado, remaining two years, then returned to Iowa. In 1863 he crossed the Rocky with a wagon train, arriving in Sacramento after a journey of five months, September 24th. His health was harassed by exposure and hardship in cross- ing the plains, and as an alternative of recovery worked on a farm two years. Mr. Chilberg was anxious to complete his education, and in 1866 returned to Iowa via Nicaragua and New York. After taking a course in college he obtained a teacher's certificate and engaged in teaching, but abandoned the profession after three years of successful experience to enter a more lucrative position in Ottumwa. In 1857 he jour- neyed to Seattle, where he still resides, embarking in grocery business in company with his brother, the firm being Chil- berg Brothers. Three years subsequent to his arrival in the city, he was elected to the city council, in 1879 appointed vice-consul for Sweden and Norway, in 1882 chosen county assessor, and in 1885 intrusted with the responsibility of city treasurer. In 1886 he was named city passenger and ticket agent for the Northern Pacific Railroad, but resigned, 1892, to accept the presidency of the Scandinavian-American Bank of Seattle. In 1896 he was elected to the board of education, and the following year assumed the presidential chair. He was married to an estimable lady, Miss Mary Nelson, in Iowa, November 5, 1874. They have one son, Eugene, who is a young man of fine training, being educated in the Seattle
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High School, Washington Agricultural College and School of Science, and Washington State University.
Peter Wickstrom .- With the first brigade of Scandi- navians, Peter Wickstrom marched in the front rank. He was born in Sweden, 1837, arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota, 1868, and four years later beheld the city of Portland, Oregon, and the same year located in Seattle.
Louis and Henry Peterson .- The Peterson brothers were among the early Scandinavians and the first to engage in the art of photography in the city of Seattle. They were born in Norway but sailed for America while young boys, arriv- ing in Chicago, 1857, where they resided nineteen years, leaving for Seattle, 1876.
Martin C. Mortensen .- Mortensen was a native of Den- mark, and arrived in Seattle the same year as the Peterson brothers. He came to America, 1868, and two years later landed in San Francisco, spending six years in that city, then journeyed northward.
Christian C. Plough .- Vice-Consul Christian C. Plough is one of Seattle's most highly respected citizens. He was born in Denmark, 1825, and came to America, 1868, selecting Chicago for his first stopping place, but after two months of abode in the Windy City he removed to Nebraska, where he stayed one year. The Pacific was his aim and thither he went, disembarked in Olympia, via San Francisco by boat, 1872, where he remained three weeks. Portland, Oregon, had attracted considerable attention as a city of business prospect,
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and Plough again picked together his effects to resume an- other journey. He stayed in Portland three years then re- moved to Seattle. In 1883 he was appointed vice-consul for Denmark, served with honor until 1895 when he was com- pelled to resign on account of ill health. Christian Geerstsen, a man of honor and intelligence, came to America in company with Plough, and also arrived in Seattle together. He was born in Denmark, 1839.
Ben Jensen, now a resident of San Juan county, arrived in Seattle when a dense forest clothed the principal streets. He was born in Norway, came to America while a youth, and has proved a worthy factor to his adopted country. Ole Egge, also a native of Norway, has shared the hardships of the early Pacific. He is a man of intelligence, and enjoys the respect of his countrymen. His son Peter is a bright man of mechanical ingenuity, and landed in Seattle with his parents.
In the more recent years, Scandinavians in Seattle have made great progress in professional and business circles. In politics, too, they have commanded notice, and in science and letters attention. E. H. Evenson is the incumbent county auditor, and H. P. Rude councilman-at-large.
E. H. Evenson was born at Whitewater, Wisconsin, in the year 1852. His early life was spent on a farm in Wau- paca county, Wisconsin. At the age of 18 he began to teach in the common schools in his neighborhood, and with the money thus earned he started on a six years' course at Deco- rah College, Iowa, from which he graduated in the spring of
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'79. During all this time he taught common schools at inter- vals, and during vacations worked in the harvest fields of Minnesota and earned the money with which to pay his col- lege expenses. Having finished his course at Decorah College he entered the State University of Wisconsin, from which he graduated with the class of '81.
In the fall of the same year, Mr. Evenson secured a posi- tion as teacher in Milton College, Milton, Wisconsin, where he remained for three years; at the end of that period he re- moved to Madison, South Dakota, to fill a place as teacher in the State Normal School at that city, which position he occu- pied for two years ; he was then elected county superintendent of schools for Lake county, in which capacity he served two terms. At the close of the last term he made another mnove west, to Puget Sound, and settled on 40 acres of land near the town of Kent, where he now resides with his family. He is at present serving his second term as auditor of King county.
Mr. Evenson is a firm believer in the "single tax" theo- ries of Henry George; that is, in placing all taxes on ground rents. The justice of that method, he claims, is based on the following self-evident truths:
"Ist : That whatever theindividual produces, belongs to the individual, and whatever the community produces, belongs to the community.
"2d: That the general rise in land value, commonly called ground rents, is caused by the growth of the com-
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munity and its competition for work, and therefore, by right, belongs to the community.
"3d: That, as taxes are needed for the welfare of the community,it is only in accordance with natural and divine law that the community makes use of this common fund before it resorts to the confiscation of what properly belongs to the in- dividual.
"4th: That it is not only unjust in principle, but injuri- ous to the last degree in practice, that one man is taxed more for making land useful and employing labor on it, than an- other is taxed for holding land idle and keeping labor off it.
"5th: That to tax labor or its products, is to discourage industry.
"6th: That to tax land values to their full amount will compel every individual controlling natural opportunities to either utilize theni by the employment of labor, or abandon them to others; that it will thus provide opportunities of work for all men, and secure to each the full reward of his labor."
H. P. Rude, the fearless councilnan-at-large, of Seattle, was born in Toten, Norway, March 4, 1861. He graduated from the public school at the age of fifteen, later took a course in higher education at a private institution. From boyhood he manifested native pluck which his career plainly reveals. Unlike most boys, he spent his leisure studying and learn- ing the tailoring trade. Seeing that the seat of his birth being too narrow for cosmopolitan development, he planned for the national capital against the will of his father. In a
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H. P. RUDE AND FAMILY.
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confidential manner he obtained two crowns from his grand- father, and under veil of night walked forty-two miles, arriving at Dahl Station, Eidsvold, at ope of dawn, from whence he took the train to Christiania. Though only a youth of fifteen, he found employment in a leading tailoring establishment, and attended school during evenings. In 1881 he emigrated to America, after making a short stop in Chicago, he proceeded to Redwing, Minnesota, to visit relatives who lived fifteen miles out in the country, in the state of Wisconsin. Unable to articulate an English sentence, "but where there is a will there is a way," crossed the river with an Indian, found the road by means of a guide-post, and stalked the unknown dis- tance. After a pleasant reunion with friends and relatives, he returned to Redwing, worked for sometime at his trade, then embarked in business for himself. His next move was to Minneapolis, where he found employment in a fashionable store. He joined the Tailors' Union, having a membership of 200, and within a year became its president, and subsequently was chosen a delegate to the Trade and Labor Assembly. He resigned from the Union to engage in business of his own which he followed for some time. After disposing of his inter- ests in Minneapolis, he traveled in the surrounding cities, then crossed the Rocky, arriving in Seattle, 1890, during the transient boom of Anacortes, which attracted him to that place, but returned to Seattle ere long. He worked for awhile as cutter, then started a tailoring establishment of his own.
For years he had been alert to public affairs, and in 1896
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was elected councilman from the Sixth Ward, the fusion stronghold, with a large majority. He was renominated by the Republican party, but councilman-at-large, and elected with an increased vote. On resignation of Mayor Wood, he was instrumental in placing Judge Thomas J. Humes into the mayor's chair. To the credit of Mr. Rude it must be said that he has ascended to his political honors unsought, and that his record is emblematic of honesty and ability. He has been opposing the perpetuity of the gambling hells in the lower strata of the city in such a manner that even his polit- ical enemies had to commend his course. His famous reso- lution made the tenderloin district shiver with fear, while honest men and women bowed with gratitude. The following is taken from a leading daily of Seattle:
"H. P. Rude, councilman-at-large, is entitled to great credit for his endeavor to put a quietus to certain classes of crime so often indulged in the various places of resort in the lower part of the city."
Mr. Rude's influence among the members of the city council is made conspicuous by his representation on the several committees. He is chairman of the police license and revenue committee, and a valuable member on the com- mittees of finance, corporation, labor, public buildings and grounds, and harbor and wharf.
He was married, 1881, in Minnesota, to Miss Lina Sophia Larsen, a lady of lofty character, to whom he was betrothed in Norway. She was born in Eidswold, November 24, 1863,
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of highly respected parents, and emigrated to America a few months subsequent to the arrival of her husband. They have four children, Henry M. Rude, born in Wisconsin, March 14, 1883. The other three are natives of Minnesota, George A. Rude, born May 3, 1885, Lillie Palma Rude, February 24, 1887, and Morris O. Rude, April 10, 1889.
J. H. Ekstrand, a true son of Sweden, and an ex-minister of the M. E. Church, is a Seattle pioneer. He came to the United States more than two scores of years ago, and has been influential in both church and political circles.
E. A. Seaburg, a native of Sweden, has likewise given keen vigilance to public affairs, always a stalwart republican. As regards men of scholarly attainment, Rev. M. A. Chris- tensen ranks among the most polished on Puget Sound. He is an accomplished linguist and an eloquent pastor of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church. H. M. Korstad, a graduate of the University of Washington, is also master of several lan- guages and a deep student of ethics and psychology. He was born in the United States, but his parents hail from Val- ders, Norway. His sister, Bertha Korstad, is a prominent teacher in the public schools of Kitsap county.
N. B. Nelson .- Very few have been more successful in business than the personage in question-N. B. Nelson-of the firm, Frederick, Nelson and Munro. He is a man of a lucky mixture-business, integrity, and sociability. Mr. Nelson was born in Kristianstad, Sweden, July 31, 1857, and like most boys in that country received a thorough schooling.
SCANDINAVIANS IN SEATTLE.
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N. B. NELSON.
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SCANDINAVIANS ON THE PACIFIC.
From boyhood he had nursed a liking to see America, and in 1875 landed in Colorado, minus means, a stranger in a new world, and worst of all unable to converse with the general public, but picked up the language with marked rapidity. He bent his energy to farming, following the pursuit for
FREDERICK, NELSON & MUNRO ..
FURNITURE CARPETS, STOVESIE
TOMY GOODS;
RIALTO BLOCK. Occupied by Frederick, Nelson and Munro.
several years in Garfield county, but at the same time gave keen eye to public affairs, and served the people as county commissioner for three years. His attention was engrossed with the progress of the Pacific, and thither he journeyed, 1891, and shortly after embarked in furniture business on
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Pike street in a store less than twenty by sixty. At present the firm of Frederick, Nelson and Munro occupies the Rialto Block, in the very heart of the city, covering 105,400 square feet, more than two and a half acres of household goods. The traffic of the firm is immense, exceeding every establish- ment of its nature north of San Francisco. Mr. Nelson was married, 1895, to an accomplished young lady, Miss Teckla Johnson, born in Ronneby, Blekinge, Sweden. They have two boys, Frederick Creigh Nelson and Chester Munro Nelson.
Axel H. Soelberg, bank cashier and a respected citizen of Seattle, was born at Ness Hedemarken, Norway, on March 2, 1869. He received a comnion school education, graduating at the age of fourteen. In 1884 he secured a position in the store of Jevanord Brothers in Brumundalen, with whom he remained until in the spring of 1888, when he emigrated for America. He arrived in Minneapolis on the morning of May
17th. A short time previous, a number of Norwegian- American citizens of Minneapolis had organized the State Sash and Door Manufacturing Company, and Mr. Soelberg was offered the position as book-keeper a few days after his arrival in the city. He served in this capacity for about two years, then was elected secretary of the firm, and two years later vice- president. In the spring of 1892, when the Scandinavian- American Bank of Seattle was organized, he was tendered the position as book-keeper in the bank, and accepting, Mr. Soel- berg found himself in Seattle on one of the first days in April of that year. At the annual meeting in 1894, he was elected
.
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AXEL H. SOELBERG.
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SCANDINAVIANS IN SEATTLE.
cashier of the bank, which position he now holds. Mr. Soel- berg is a man of literary aptitude as well as of business capacity, has contributed largely to the Seattle Daily Times and other leading papers. He could have won laurels on the field of letters as well as business notice in the world of traffic. In January, 1898, he was married to Miss Olga Wickstrom, an accomplished young lady of Seattle. They have a beat- tiful home in one of the finest parts of the city.
Drs. Ivar and Eiliv Janson .- Every Scandinavian is familiar with the name, Kristofer Janson, the eminent Nor- wegian poet and novelist.
No less a halo of the minstrel car, Light brave Janson sows afar, At thy torch superstition weeps, Dogmas wilt in deftly labored heaps.
The God of nature, love and truth, Flash on thy wing to Age and Youth, With gilded rod and silver tongue, Thou riftst the creeds of ages long.
From "An Ode to the Land of the Vikings."
The two doctors in question are sons of this noble author, Ivar being born in Bergen, Norway, March 1, 1865, and Eiliv in Sel, Gudbrandsdalen, May 25, 1870. Both re- ceived their early education by private tuition, and in 1882 emigrated with their parents to America, settling in Minne-
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SCANDINAVIANS ON THE PACIFIC.
DR. ELIIV JANSON.
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SCANDINAVIANS IN SEATTLE.
apolis. They took advantage of the splendid school facilities offered by that city as preparation for the state university of Minnesota, where they graduated, 1892, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, M. D. Their collegiate records bespeak scholarly distinction which have been made more emphatic by subsequent years. Immediately after graduation, Dr. Ivar Janson was appointed assistant professor in the medical department at his alma mater, but resigned the chair to take a move westward, arriving in Seattle, 1895, where he enjoys an enviable practice, being recognized as a leading surgeon on the Pacific. His brother, Dr. Eiliv Janson, steered his fortune to Astoria, Oregon, in the fall following his gradua- tion, and soon rose to be one of the most beloved physicians in the city. His ability invited the attention of the public, and his practice grew immensely, being the largest in that part of the state. The last year he has spent study- ing at the universities of Europe, in Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Copenhagen and Paris, and will join his brother in Seattle next June. The two doctors have evinced the genius of their father, but in a different direction, the sire a poet, the sons surgeons and physicians. The former has climbed the ladder of fame, the latter are climbing it. They are both married to ladies of rare abilities and accomplishments. Mrs. Ivar
Janson is one of Seattle's most gifted vocalists. "Think for yourself" is a soul-inspiring motto, and is applicable to the Janson family. In spite of angry opposition and glittering pelf the rich mind of Kristofer Janson has scattered sun-
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C. N. SANDAHL.
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beams of truth and thought. He has sought to lift his countrymen upon the plane of reason and brotherly love. The sons have imbred their father's soul of thought and sym- pathy, which the public echo in more eloquent words than my pen.
C. N. Sandahl .- Washington is dependent on the science of horticulture, fruit is her future. Any man willing to bend his heart to the soil is a valuable exponent in the upbuilding of the country. Few men have done more in this line than the well-known floriculturist and nurseryman, C. N. Sandahl, of 1123, Second Avenue, Seattle. He was born in Horsens, Denmark, 1857; acquired his education in the public schools of his fatherland, and in the smiling book of nature, where real knowledge teems to an intelligent eye. In 1880 he emigrated to America, spent ten years in Ohio and Minne- sota, pursuing his chosen vocation, then journeyed to Wash- ington and located in Seattle. After a careful scrutiny of the country he engaged in floriculture and nursery, which occupa- tion he is following with notable ability. Mr. Sandahl is a man of business capacity as well as of scientific propensity, and honest and honorable.
Samuel S. Langland .- Quiet of disposition but deep in thought, modest in demeanor but aggressive in argument. The above words unfold Mr. Langland's characteristic, an able lawyer of Seattle, He was born near Stavanger, Norway, August 13, 1856, and emigrated with his parents to Minne- sota in the spring of 1867. His early boyhood experienced
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S. S. LANGLAND.
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the various hardships and vicissitudes incident to pioneer life. At the age of fifteen he launched out for himself, choosing as a means of support the apprenticeship of a tailor in Mancato, in which capacity he labored a year and a half. From whence he went to St. Paul, a stranger in an unwont sphere. English defied his tongue, but soon melted to his grasping intellect. He worked at his trade about two years, but to ascend to a higher stage of culture, he converted his energy to loftier aims, worked for his board and attended private school, paying for his tuition by doing janitor work, sweeping and keeping the schoolhouse in order. After two years of assidu- ous study in this institution, he entered the classical course of four years in the St. Paul High School which he completed in three. In the fall of 1881 he was matriculated in the same course at the state university, graduating with honor in June, 1885. At the commencement exercises he distinguished him- self by delivering the most thoughtful and eloquent oration of the class, his subject being "Is Man Advancing ?" for which he received compliments from the faculty and leading men of the state present on that occasion. His struggles at the university with poverty symbolize an indomitable will. He toiled evenings and Saturdays sawing wood and doing other manual labor, his vacations were spent canvassing, or in the harvest field. After darkness comes sunshine, and the year following his graduation he was appointed professor of English Literature in the Augsburg Seminary. In 1887 he studied law in St. Paul, was admitted to bar, and practiced
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