His parents were Solomon and Anna (Hougeland) Erickson, who were natives of Imsland, Norway, where they were reared and married. In the spring of 1857 they arrived in Illinois, bringing with them their little daughter Anna. Establishing their home in La Salle county, they were residents of that locality until they came to Story county, Iowa, in the spring of 1868. Settling in Milford township the father devoted his energies to general agricultural pursuits until his death; which occurred January 12, 1889, when he was fifty-three years of age. His widow remained upon the farm until 1900, when she removed to Roland where she now resides. Mr. Erickson was the owner of two hundred and fifty-three acres of land, all of which was cultivated and improved by him, his labors converting it into one of the fine farms of the district. He was an active and devoted member of the Lutheran church, and his upright, honorable life won him kindly regard. The family numbered six children: Anna, now the wife of O. C. Hoagland, of Marshalltown, Iowa. Elizabeth, the wife of H. J. Amondson, of Howard township; Thomas S.; Ole J., who is living in Roland; Ira, a resident of Howard township; and Sarah, the wife of L. M. Olson, of Roland.
Amid the usual conditions and environment of farm life Thomas S. Erickson spent his youthful days. The public schools afforded him his educational privileges and he worked in the fields with his father up to the time of his marriage, when he removed to a farm adjoining the old home place, having in 1887 purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land. A laudable ambition to attain success prompted him to bend every energy toward the development and improvement of his place which he continued to cultivate until 1894, when he sold that property and invested in two hundred and forty acres in Warren township. There he resided until the spring of 1903, when he removed to his present place within the corporation limits of Roland. He has in this farm a quarter section of which one hundred and twenty acres lies within the corporation limits of the town. He also retains the two hundred and forty-acre tract in Warren township and is the owner of eighty acres of timber within the corporation limits of Story City, so that his possessions aggregate four hundred and eight acres. Both farms are well improved and indicate his careful supervision and progressive, practical methods. Moreover, he is a stockholder in the Farmers Savings Bank of Roland and his energy and determination have classed him with the representative business men of his part of the county.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Erickson was married May 25, 1893, to Maggie Hegland, who was born in Roland, March 19, 1875, a daughter of Michael and Carolina (Larson) Hegland, both of whom were natives of Norway but are now residents of Roland. The children of this marriage are: Stella, who was born August 1, 1894; Maurice, born October 12, 1896; Lester, who was born October 7, 1898, and died at the age of six months; Gladys, born December 12, 1900; Laurence, born Sep-