Merced County CA Archives Biographies.....Wickstrom, Oscar A. 1851 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 10, 2006, 5:07 am

Author: John Outcalt (1925)

OSCAR A. WICKSTROM

   A citizen of the strictest integrity, honorable and upright in all his
dealings with his fellow-citizens and a pioneer of the Hilmar Colony in Merced
County, Oscar A. Wickstrom was born July 17, 1851, at Jonkjoping, Sweden, a son
of Peter Anderson and Maria Larson, who were well-to-do farmers in Sweden,
owning 160 acres of land. They had three children. One son, Johan, is still
farming in Sweden. Oscar A. went to the thorough Swedish schools and was brought
up and baptized in the Lutheran Church. He remained in Sweden until May 3, 1871,
when he took passage on the old Anchor Line, passed through Scotland and
reembarked at Glasgow for America, landing in June. He went to Jamestown, N. Y.,
where he was employed at various kinds of work, principally as a laborer. He was
married in Jamestown, N. Y., March 12, 1876, to Miss Caroline Johnson, like
himself of Swedish birth, and who had come to this country in 1869, when she was
eighteen.

   After their marriage Mr. and Mrs.Wickstrom farmed at Fowler, Benton County,
Ind., on rented land; later they went to Iowa for two years, thence to
Beresford, Dakota Territory. In 1886 they went into Colorado and from there to
Knox County, Nebr. It had been the aim of Mr. Wickstrom to come to California
and this he did in 1902, and settled here with his family in February, 1903. He
was the seventh man to buy property in the Hilmar Colony and here he has forty
acres of land, well improved and in a flourishing condition, all through his own
efforts. His wife has proven a true helpmate and they have made a host of
friends since settling in the San Joaquin Valley. He bought land in this colony
for seven of his friends and was true to his trust and assisted them in every
way to get ahead. He supports the Swedish Evangelical Mission Church, although
not a member. He does jury duty and serves on the election board of Irwin
Precinct, also on the school board.

   Mr. and Mrs. Wickstrom have had six children: Arthur O.; Mrs. C. A. Mord;
Florence, widow of Elmer Ahl and the mother of a daughter, Evelyn; Minnie; Roy,
electrician in Los Angeles; Elmer is on the home ranch. All have been given the
best of educational advantages consistent with the means of their parents.


Additional Comments:
From:

HISTORY OF
MERCED COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
WITH A
Biographical Review
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been
Identified with Its Growth and Development
from the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
JOHN OUTCALT

ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME
HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1925


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