SWANSON, SWAN J.

SWANSON, OLAVASON, BLOMGREN, JOHNSON

Posted By: Jean Kramer (email)
Date: 7/18/2003 at 22:33:06

Biography reproduced from page 510 of Volume II of the History of Kossuth County written by Benjamin F. Reed and published in 1913:

Swan J. Swanson is the owner of an improved farm in Swea township and is one of the most prosperous and prominent agriculturists of Swedish birth in that district. He was born in the province of Halland, in the town of Varberg, Sweden, January 2, 1848, and is a son of Swan and Johanna Christine Olavason. His parents were born in the province of Halland, where the father pursued his occupation of farming during his life and died in his native country.

Swan J. Swanson attended the district schools of Sweden and learned the blacksmith trade. He followed this occupation until he came to America in 1877. He located first in New Haven, Connecticut, where he worked at his trade until April, 1884. In that year he came to Kossuth county, Iowa, and bought the southwest quarter of section 10, Harrison township. His first holdings amounted to forty acres and this he cultivated and improved with remarkable success. He later added one hundred and twenty acres to that tract and developed one of the model farms of the district. He resided in Harrison township until 1903, when he removed to Swea township and bought eighty acres on section 4, where he is now residing, active in the cultivation of the soil. He has recently added to his activities by renting one hundred and eighty acres adjoining the land which he owned and upon this large farm of over two hundred acres he is now engaging in general farming, specializing in the raising of cattle and hogs. He received his agricultural knowledge in the efficient school of experience and is constantly adding to his learning along this line. He brings to the cultivation of the soil an instinct for land values, an intelligent and broadminded interest in his work and the accumulated knowledge of many years of hard and remitting labor. His farm is one of the most modern and prosperous properties in Swea township and is operated along scientific and up-to-date lines.

Mr. Swanson has been twice married. In 1882 he wedded Miss Carolina Christina Blomgren, a daughter of Peter and Christina Blomgren, both natives of the province of Nerike, Sweden. Mrs. Swanson came with her husband to Harrison township and lived in that district for some time. She died on May 30, 1897, in the Bethesda Hospital at Minneapolis, Minnesota. By his first marriage Mr. Swanson had four children: Annie Carolina, who died in New Haven, Connecticut, when an infant; Algot Leonard, whose sketch appears on another page of this work; Agda, born November 5, 1891, who is assisting in the work of the farm; and Albin Olander, whose birth occurred on march 20, 1893, and who is living at home. Mr. Swanson's second marriage occurred on April 3, 1903, when he wedded Mrs. Anna Johnson, a native of the province of Smalands, Sweden, and a widow of John Johnson. By her first marriage she became the mother of three children: Emma Marie, of Denver, Colorado; Alex, a prominent farmer of Sheldahl, Iowa; and Peter Henry, who makes his home with his mother and stepfather on the farm and who is following the trade of a tiler.

In his political affiliations Mr. Swanson is a firm republican and always votes the party ticket. He takes an intelligent interest in public affairs but has never been an office seeker. He is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church of Swea township and his wife and children are also devoted adherents of that faith. He is the owner of one of the modern farms of his district and has been engaged during practically all of his active life in the improvement and cultivation of the soil. He is well known among the Swedish residents of Kossuth county who are bringing to the district high and useful qualities of citizenship. Mr. Swanson has all of the virtues which are his national heritage and has brought to his work in America a sturdy and dominating purpose, an intelligent understanding and a true love for the soil.