Gustav Oberg Biography


	This biography appears on pages 959-960 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				GUSTAV OBERG. 

	Gustav Oberg, mill foreman with the Homestake Company and a 
resident of Central City, was born in central Sweden on the 5th of 
January, 1841, a son of John Oberg, who was a manufacturer of that 
country, in which he spent his entire life. The son attended the 
elementary and grammar schools of Sweden and at the age of sixteen 
years started out in the business world on his own account by securing 
a position in a grocery store in his native town, in which he remained 
for three years. He came to the United States in 1865 and for a brief 
period lived in Chicago, after which he removed westward to Kansas 
City, Kansas, and still later lived in Junction City, that state, where 
he engaged in clerking in grocery stores until 1876. In that year he 
came to South Dakota, arriving in Deadwood on the 9th of August, having 
walked from Cheyenne. He then clerked in the mercantile establishment 
of Gardner & Thompson. The party with which he came to South Dakota had 
some difficulty with the Indians in the Cheyenne river canyon as they 
were attacked at night, one man being wounded and their horses being 
stolen. Mr. Oberg continued to clerk until April 1, 1877, when he began 
prospecting and was thus engaged until the spring of 1878. He then 
secured a position as bookkeeper with a transportation company in 
Deadwood, remaining in that connection for about five months, after 
which he removed to Rochford, twenty-five miles south of Deadwood, 
where he engaged in the grocery business for two years. In 1880 he 
began working in quartz mills, being employed at Blacktail until the 
spring of 1881 and afterward in the Lancaster mills for two years. In 
1885 he entered the employ of the Homestake Company, with which he has 
since continued, covering a period of about thirty years, and in this 
connection he has worked his way steadily upward until he is now 
serving for the eleventh year as mill foreman-a most responsible and 
onerous position, the duties of which he ably discharges. He is also a 
stockholder in the Rochford Oil Company and in the Homestake and 
various prospects. 

	On the 24th of August, 1872, Mr. Oberg was married to Miss Hannah 
Osterland, who was born in the southern part of Sweden. They have 
become parents of four children: Alma, the wife of Austin P. Holway, 
who is in the employ of the Homestake Company and resides at Lead; 
Julia, the wife of Jacob A. Tetrow, a locomotive engineer on the 
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad now living at Chadron, Nebraska; 
Gustav, a resident of Central City, who is employed as an amalgamator 
in the Homestake mill; and Albert, who resides at San Francisco 
Springs. 

	Mr. Oberg is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being connected 
with the lodge, commandery and the Mystic Shrine. His religious faith 
is that of the Lutheran church and in politics he is a stalwart 
republican. While he has not filled political offices, he is now 
serving as a member of the Central City school board and has been 
chairman of the board of trustees. Coming to America in early manhood. 
He has never had occasion to regret his determination to try his 
fortune in the new world, for here he has found the opportunities which 
he sought and with the passing years has gained for himself a 
creditable name and place in business circles and has borne an active 
and helpful part in the development of the northwest.