Andrew Olson Biography This biography appears on page 636 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 ANDREW OLSON. Andrew Olson, a farmer and stockman of Lake county, was born near Christiania, Norway, December 27, 1848, his parents being Ole and Helena Olson, who in 1869 left the land of the midnight sun and came with their family to the new world, settling in Winneshiek county, Iowa. The mother, however, was not long permitted to enjoy her new home, for her death occurred in 1871, the father surviving her until 1895, when he, too, passed away. They had but two children and Martin, the elder, is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. The younger, Andrew Olson, attended school in Norway and supplemented the education there acquired by an English course in the public schools of Iowa after the removal of the family to the new world in 1869. Later he remained upon the home farm and also worked for others until 1880, when he came to Dakota and took up a homestead in Lake county to which he added by purchase whenever opportunity has offered until he became the owner of seven hundred and twenty acres of valuable and highly improved farm land, a portion of which he afterward gave to his sons. His labors have resulted in the careful development of his fields, bringing to him substantial crops, and he is also well known as a breeder of registered red polled cattle. On the 10th of June, 1875, Mr. Olson was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Eggebroten, a daughter of Hans and Annie (Hegge) Eggebroten, of Winneshiek county, Iowa. To them have been born five children, namely: Henry; August; John; Helen, who is the wife of Julius Westaby; and Tillie. Believing firmly in the worth of education, the parents have given their children good advantages in that direction. The religious faith of the family is that of the Lutheran church, in which Mr. Olson is serving as secretary, and he has long been a liberal contributor to church, educational and charitable enterprises. In a word, he recognizes his obligations to his fellows and puts forth every effort to aid in the work of progress and advance the standards by which mankind is governed. He is a progressive citizen, advocating all matters of public improvement, and many valuable public enterprises owe their existence in considerable measure to his efforts. This is particularly true in regard to good roads and his district now has some of the best public highways in this part of the state. Throughout his entire life he has eagerly watched for available and advantageous opportunities and through the intelligent management of his business affairs he has won gratifying and well merited success.