Gustavus Norgren Biography


	This biography appears on pages 82-85 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


				GUSTAVUS NORGREN.  

	Gustavus Norgren, who has represented his district in the state 
legislature from Turner county, is today a well known and progressive 
farmer of Clay county. He was born in Sweden in 1850, a son of Samuel 
and Elizabeth (Shoberg) Norgren, who were also born in that country but 
in 1868 emigrated with their family to America. The father took up a 
homestead in Clay county, South Dakota, and resided upon his quarter 
section of land until his demise in June, 1911. He had survived his 
wife for ten years. They were the parents of seven children: Augusta, 
who died in Sweden in childhood; Sophia, the widow of Peter Bystrom, of 
Centerville, this state; Gustavus; William, a fruit grower of 
Vancouver, Washington; Wilhelmina, the wife of Hans Quarnberg, of Belle 
Fourche, South Dakota; August, who resides upon the old homestead; and 
Johannah, who died when a young woman of nineteen years.  

	Mr. Norgren grew to maturity in his native land, assisting his 
father with the work of the home farm and attending the public schools. 
When he was eighteen years of age his father emigrated to America and 
five months later the family followed him to this country. Mr. Norgren 
of this review attended school for a part of two sessions after coming 
to the United States but devoted the greater part of his time to farm 
work in the employ of others, being thus engaged for three years. He 
then came to South Dakota and took up a homestead of one hundred and 
sixty acres in Clay county-the farm upon which he still resides He 
immediately began improving his land and has continued its development 
throughout the intervening years, so that it is now one of the best 
farm properties of Clay county. From time to time he has purchased 
other land and now holds title to one thousand and ten acres, all of 
which is under cultivation. His home farm comprises three hundred and 
seventy acres and is well provided with trees and has an excellent set 
of buildings. Mr. Norgren has planted all of the trees and erected all 
of the buildings upon his land, his residence being one of the finest 
in the county. When Clay county was still sparsely settled Mr. Norgren, 
in connection with another man, built and operated a flour mill at 
Centerville, but after twelve years sold out. He was one of the 
organizers of the First National Bank of Centerville and for a time was 
a director therein. His chief interest, however, has always been his 
farming and his land has yielded him large returns. He does general 
farming, although his chief crop is corn, and he feeds a large number 
of cattle for the market each year. He also raises Chester White hogs.  

	Mr. Norgren was married in 1876 to Miss Caroline Anderson, a 
native of Sweden and a daughter of Carl and Maria (Elberg) Anderson, 
both of whom were born in that country. Mr. and Mrs. Norgren have 
become the parents of the following children: Francis, who is engaged 
in farming in McCook county, this state, is married and has three 
children. Etta is the wife of John Finley, of Centerville, and they 
have five children. Ida married Robert Quarnberg, a fruit raiser of 
Vancouver, Washington, by whom she has one child. Phillip is residing 
in Montana. Carl is a mechanical engineer residing in Omaha, Nebraska. 
Adelaide is now Mrs. Olaf Polson, of Clay county, this state. Anna 
married Dr. John Struble, of Centerville.  

	Mr. Norgren is a republican and in 1899 represented his district 
in the state legislature. He was offered the nomination for a second 
term but refused, feeling that his private interests demand his entire 
attention. He has been a member of the school board of his township and 
during the ten years that he lived in Centerville was for six years a 
member of the city council. He has always been particularly interested 
in the welfare of the public schools and has done much to further 
educational advancement. His religious faith is that of the Free 
Mission church. His has been a life of useful activity and of strict 
adherence to high ethical standards and there is no more valued citizen 
in Clay county than Gustavus Norgren.