Rolluf Anderson Biography


	This biography appears on pages 820-823 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://usgwarchives.org/sd/sdfiles.htm


				ROLLUF ANDERSON. 

	Rolluf Anderson, who passed away on the 6th of October, 1898, was 
one of the first settlers of Dell Rapids township, Minnehaha county, 
and at the time of his demise owned five hundred and sixty acres of 
valuable land in that township. His birth occurred in Norway on the 
20th of May, 1842, his parents being Andrew and Ingeberg Anderson, the 
former a farmer by occupation. 

	Rolluf Anderson acquired his early education in the schools of 
Norway and spent the first twenty-four years of his life in the land of 
his nativity. In August, 1866, he crossed the Atlantic to the United 
States, locating with his brother in Wisconsin, where he attended the 
Albion Academy for four years. In 1869 he came to Minnehaha county, 
South Dakota, and preempted a tract of land on section 17, Dell Rapids 
township, also taking up a homestead claim on section 28 of that 
township. He made all the improvements on the property and continued 
farming successfully throughout the remainder of his life, owning at 
one time six hundred and forty acres and after giving a part of this to 
his daughter still had at the time of his death five hundred and sixty 
acres of rich and productive land Mr. Anderson was among the first 
settlers of Dell Rapids township and the first man to pay taxes, 
holding the first tax receipt. He underwent all of the hardships and 
privations of the early pioneer, experiencing the grasshopper plague, 
the drought and the severe winters. He and his wife began housekeeping 
in a stone house of but two rooms situated at the edge of the bank, and 
they experienced all of the hardships and trials of frontier life. As 
there was no coal to be had, they used hay and wood for fuel. He was 
chosen the first assessor of his township and ably discharged the 
duties devolving upon him in that connection. 

	On the 20th of September, 1871, Mr. Anderson was united in 
marriage to Miss Anna Forton, who came to this state with her parents, 
Ole and Anna Forton. To them were born the following children: Ida, 
deceased; Annie, the wife of A. J. Mortvedt; Lena, the deceased wife of 
J. J. Mortvedt; Robert, who is a medical missionary of the Lutheran 
church and has been stationed in China since 1907; Olai, deceased, who 
was a Lutheran minister and pastor of the home church in Dell Rapids; 
John Edward, who follows farming in Dell Rapids township; Edwin, also 
an agriculturist by occupation; Jessie, at home; and Elmer and Louis 
N., twins, who operate the home farm for their widowed mother, who 
resides there. All of the children are natives of South Dakota. 

	In politics Mr. Anderson was a populist. He held the office of 
township clerk for a number of years and also served on the school 
board, ever proving a most capable and trustworthy public official. He 
w as appointed the first county superintendent of Minnehaha county but 
would not accept the office. His religious faith was that of the 
Lutheran church, to which his widow and children also belong. His life 
was upright and honorable in every relation, and his memory is still 
cherished in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.