John Strandberg Biography

	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. 
	Ogle & Co., Chicago, 1898. Pages 434-435

	Scan, OCR and editing by Joy Fisher, jfisher@sdgenweb.com, 1999.

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JOHN STRANDBERG, postmaster at Strandburg, Grant county, was born in 
Dalarna, Sweden, June 8, 1838. His father, John Strandberg, was also 
born in Sweden in the year 1806, and was a farmer by occupation.  In 
1831 he married Lena Carlson, of Sweden, and they became the parents of 
a family of seven children, one son and six daughters, four of whom are 
living. One sister is now living in Manistee, Michigan.

In 1861 our subject began the battle of life on his own responsibility 
and spent seven years with a surveying party.  In 1869 he came to 
America and located in Boone county, Iowa, where he bought a small farm 
near Moingona, Iowa.  In 1878 removed from thence to Republican county, 
Kansas, where he purchased forty acres of school land and made that his 
home for two years.  He then sold out and went to Grant county, South  
Dakota, and filed a homestead claim to the northeast quarter of section 
12, township 118, range 50, which constitutes the farm whereon he still 
makes his home.  This farm included what has since become the town site 
of Strandburg and our subject is still selling lots.  The railroad to 
this village was built in 1884.

Mr. Strandberg was first married, in 1859, in Sweden, to Miss Emma 
Johnson, and to this union three children were born: Emma, now the 
widow of Mr. Littleton, of Kansas; Tilda, wife of Mr. Rose, a farmer, 
living in Kansas; and Charles, a farmer, living three miles from 
Strandburg.  His first wife died November 26, 1869, and our subject's 
second wife was Miss Charlotte Anderson, of Iowa, to whom he was united 
in marriage in 1874.  To this union ten children have been born, of 
whom we have the following record:  Edward, Ebner, Albert, Selma, 
Wilhelm, Daniel, Amanda, Clara, Minnie and Hulda.  Of these Abner and 
Hulda died in infancy, and Wilhelm died at the age of nine years. Mrs. 
Strandberg is the youngest of a family of six children.  Her parents, 
Peter and Christina Anderson, were born in Sweden, where the father 
followed farming.  In 1869 he came to America with his family and 
located at Duluth where he worked on the railroad until 1875.  He then 
removed to Iowa and resumed the occupation of farming, and died there 
in 1880.  His wife, Christina, then went to Grant county, South Dakota, 
with her daughter, Charlotte Strandburg, and located a homestead near 
to that of our subject and made that her home until her death, which 
occurred in June, 1896.  Politically our subject is identified with the 
Republican party, and in 1888 he was appointed postmaster at 
Strandburg, and has held that office continuously since.  For the past 
seven years he has performed the duties of the office of school 
treasurer of the township and has been assessor for three years.  At 
the present writing he is serving as a justice of the peace.  He is a 
member in good standing of the Lutheran church, of which he is one of 
the officers.