Eric Croft

CROFT, LARSON

Posted By: County Coordinator (email)
Date: 11/12/2006 at 11:32:39

Eric Croft, farmer, Sec 25, P O Sheldahl, was born in Alfta Geflegorgslan, Sweden, May 3, 1835, at the age of eleven years he with his parents, emigrated to this country, the voyage across the ocean was a long and stormy one, they came in a sailing vessel loaded with iron, and were very near shipwreck English Channel, it took twenty-one weeks to come from Gefle, Sweden, to New York, landing on March 8, 1847, being on the ocean all winter, as soon as navigation opened they continued the journey West by Hudson river, Erie Canal and the lakes to Chicago, from Chicago to Henry county, Illinois, where he received some education in the English language, that country was very thinly settled at that time and far between the school-houses, which were generally built of logs, and children had often to walk three and four miles to school, in 1856 he was married to Miss Martha Larson, who came across the ocean in the same ship, he lived in Knox county, Illinois, twenty-one years, his principal occupation being farming in summer and coal-mining in winter, in the fall of 1868 he , with his family, moved to Iowa, bought and settled on his present farm of 160 acres, which was then a wild prairie, but now is changed to a comfortable home, he has seven sons living: William, George, Alfred, Charles, John F, Edwin L and Joseph A, two children dead, Emma and Albert, he has been elected and held the office of justice of the peace in 1873 and 1874, has been township trustee, etc, in 1875 he took an active part in the building of a Swedish M E Church in Sheldahl, the first in that town and the only Swedish M E Church in Boone county to the present date, the church was built by subscription, he heading the list, and then circulated the subscription paper both in Iowa and Illinois, until a sufficient amount was raise, it is a frame building and cost about 1,100

1880 Boone Co History Book