My Genealogy Hound

AUGUST E. ANDERSON, the subject of this biographical memoir, is one of the rising young men of Kearney county, and was born in Sweden, December 21, 1859. His father, A. M. Anderson, an early settler of Kearney county, was born in Sweden on May 2, 1835, and is now living. His mother, Mary (Anderson) Anderson, was also born in Sweden, in 1839, and is now living in Kearney county. These were the parents of six children, three of whom are now living in this county. His paternal grandfather, Andreas Anderson, a farmer and carpenter by occupation, was born in Sweden in 1804. The paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Anderson, was also a native of Sweden, born in 1807. His great-grandfather on his father’s side was Nicholas Anderson, a native of Sweden, but beyond this nothing is known. His maternal grandfather, A. P. Nelson, a blacksmith and farmer by occupation, was born in Sweden in 1805, and died at the extreme old age of eighty-four years. His maternal grandmother, Carrie Nelson, was born in Sweden in 1810.

August E., the subject proper of this sketch, attended school in his early boyhood days, received a liberal education and also helped his father about the farm. Hearing flourishing reports from friends in this country and desiring to better his condition, he, in 1874, at the youthful age of fifteen, embarked for America. In 1876 he came with his parents to Kearney county, when there were but five dug-outs and shanties in sight. The country was new and work was scarce, so he went to Iowa and for three years worked on a farm near Mt. Pleasant. He afterwards worked for some time on a farm in Henderson county, Illinois, and after accumulating a small sum of money, returned to Kearney county and bought one hundred and twenty acres of railroad land, paying $4.00 per acre. This land was in section 35, township 6, range 15. He had about fifty acres broken out, when he sold it and in 1882 bought the quarter section on which he now resides, in section 28, township 6, range 15. He at once built his present neat frame dwelling and moved on the place, and now has his farm under a high state of cultivation.

Mr. Anderson married January 17, 1882, taking for a life companion Miss Gussie Peterson, who was born in Sweden October 14, 1862, and when only three years of age came to America. Their union has been blessed with four children, as follows — Arvid H., born May 11, 1883; Lillian M., born March 18, 1884; Elmer C. born June 5, 1886; Eber E., born May 1, 1888. Mr. Anderson and his excellent wife are both members of the Swedish Lutheran church.

Politically, Mr. Anderson is a stanch republican. He has held every office in his township, having first been elected road overseer in 1882, which office he held one year. He was elected assessor for three continuous years, town clerk two years, town treasurer one year, and is now serving his second year as a member of the board of supervisors. All these offices he has filled with credit to himself, and, notwithstanding his youthful age, he is already prominently mentioned as one of the coming candidates for the office of representative for his county in the state legislature.