Descendants of Samuel Jonsson Borgstrom

1.

Generation 1

SAMUEL JONSSON 1 BORGSTROM was born on 14 Aug 1842 in Lill Armsjo, Bjurholm, Vasterbotton,
Sweden. He died on 24 Jun 1915 in Innergard, Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden. He married (1) EVA
SOPHIA FORSLUND, daughter of Jacob Jacobsson Forslund and Anna Elisabeth (Lisa) Jonsdotter,
on 26 Jul 1865 in Degerfors, Vasterbotton, Sweden. She was born on 02 Mar 1846 in Degerfors,
Vasterbotton, Sweden. She died on 27 Oct 1877 in Vnns, Vasterbottens, Sweden. He married
(2) LISA KAJSA FORSLUND, daughter of Jacob Jacobsson Forslund and Anna Elisabeth (Lisa)
Jonsdotter, on 25 Aug 1878. She was born on 18 Nov 1843 in Helsingfors, Degerfors,
Vasterbotton, Sweden. He married (3) JOHANNA KATARINA KARLSDOTTER .
Notes for Samuel Jonsson Borgstrom:
Samuel Jonsson Borgstrom was born August 14, 1842, or maybe July 17. The 1890
Swedish Census gives his year of birth as being 1844.
Samuel Borgstrom married Eva Sophia Forslund on July 26, 1865 in Degerfors,
Vasterbotton, Sweden. He was 22 years old and she was 19.
Eva Sophia Forslund was born March 2, 1846 in Degerfors, Vasterbotton, Sweden.
Samuel and Eva Sophia had six children.
Sophia Johanna Borgstrom was their first born. She was born January 19, 1867. She
married and stayed in Sweden.
The second child born to Samuel and Eva Sophia was Johannes Borgstrom. Johannes
was born March 14, 1869 in Karlsberg, Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden.
The third child was Carl Anton Borgstrom. He was born June 9, 1871. He eventually
settled in Alberta.
Erick Borgstrom was the fourth child. His date of birth was June 5, 1873 in Vannas,
Vasterbotton, Sweden. He eventually settled in Montana.
Eva Borgstrom was born June 6, 1874. She immigrated to the USA and Alberta.
The sixth and last child born to Samuel and Eva Sophia Borgstrom was Jakob Borgstrom.
He was born December 6, 1876. He stayed in Sweden, but his son Holger immigrated to Alberta.
Eva Sophia Forslund Borgstrom died October 27, 1877 in Olofsback, Vannas,
Vasterbotton, Sweden at the age of 31. Samuel was left with children: Sophia 10, Johannes 8,
Carl Anton 5, Erick 3, Eva 2, and Jakob eleven months.
In August of that next year Samuel Borgstrom married Eva Sophia's older sister, Lisa
Kajsa Forslund. Lisa was born November 18, 1843. Samuel was 36 and Lisa was 34 when they
got married. To this union four children were born, bringing the total children of Samuel Borgstrom
to ten.
Oskar Borgstrom was their first born. He was born February 5, 1879 in Olofsback,
Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden. Oskar immigrated to Alberta.
Edvard Borgstrom was born January 17, 1881. He immigrated to Alberta.
Nels Borgstrom was born June 21, 1883. He immigrated to Alberta.
Jonas Albin Borgstrom was born March 18, 1886. He too, immigrated to Alberta.
When Lisa Kajsa died Samuel Borgstrom married Johanna Katarina Karlsdotter. They did
not have any children.
Samuel Borgstrom died April 24, 1915 in Innergard, Sweden.

Samuel Jonsson Borgstrom and Eva Sophia Forslund had the following children:
i.

ii.

SOFIA JOHANNA2 BORGSTROM was born on 19 Jan 1867 in Karlsberg, Vannas,

Vasterbotton, Sweden. She died on 27 Dec 1955 in Degerfors, Vannas,
Vasterbotton, Sweden. She married NILS NATHANAELSSON.

Notes for Sofia Johanna Borgstrom:

In the Swedish Census of 1890 it shows Sofia Johanna Borgstrom as being
married to Nils Nathanaelsson. At the time of the census they were living with his
mother and father, Nathanel Nathanaelsson and Greta Stina Nisldotter. Also in the
household were Johan, Nathanael, and Oskar. The residence was in Ramsele.
Sofia Johanna and Nils did not have children.
JOHANNES LUNDBERG BORGSTROM was born on 14 Mar 1869 in Karlsberg, Vannas,
Vasterbotton, Sweden. He died on 19 Nov 1942 in Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden.
He married (1) ERIKA VILHELMINA JONDOTTER on 05 Jan 1894 in Vannas,
Vasterbotton, Sweden. She was born on 28 Sep 1869. She died on 03 Dec 1896 in

Generation 1 (con't)

Karlsberg, Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden. He married (2) JOHANNA CHARLOTTA

FORSGREN on 02 Jan 1898. She was born on 25 Jun 1879.

Notes for Johannes Lundberg Borgstrom:

Johannes Borgstrom was the second child and oldest son of Samuel
Borgstrom and Eva Sophia Forlsund Borgstrom. Johannes was born March 14,
1869 in Karlsberg, Vannas, Vasterbotten, Sweden. In the 1890 Swedish Census he
was single and used the name Borgstrom. He was a farmer in Olofsback.
Johannes married Erika Vilhelmina Jonsdotter on January 5, 1894 in
Vannas, Vasterbotten, Sweden. Johannes Borgstrom changed his name to
Lundberg. It is thought this change is connected with his marriage.
Erika Vilelmina Jonsdotter was born September 28, 1869. Erika and
Johannes had one child, Johan Edvin Lundberg, born January 5, 1895 in
Olofsback, Degerfors, Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden.
Erika Vilhelmina (Borgstrom) Lundberg died December 3, 1896 in
Karlsberg, Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden when her son Johan Edvin Lundberg
was only two years old.
Johannes (Borgstrom) Lundberg married Johanna Forsgren on January 2,
1898. She had been born June 25, 1879.
Johannes and Johanna had seven children: Nils Emil, Jonas Albin, Gustaf
Erling, Fritz Helge,
Elsa Sofia Charlotta, Hugo Sigfrid Eugen, and John Oskar Sigfrid.

iii.

CARL ANTON BORGSTROM was born on 09 Jun 1871. He died on 21 Jun 1933. He
married Blenda Larson on 15 May 1900 in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. She was born on 23
Mar 1870. She died on 26 Mar 1929.

Notes for Carl Anton Borgstrom:

Carl Anton Borgstrom was the second son of Samuel Borgstrom and Eva
Sophia Forslund. He was born June 9, 1871.
C. Anton Borgstrom immigrated to South Dakota from Sweden. His father
Samuel Borgstrom gave written permission for Carl Anton to go to "Norra Amerika"
on April 16, 1892 to seek a new life and its experiences. Records at Ellis Island
indicate that Carl Anton and his brother Erick arrived at Ellis Island on July 11,
1892. Erick was 19 and Carl Anton was 21. They had departed from Gothenberg,
Sweden and then Liverpool, England. They sailed on the Etruria.
After leaving South Dakota, Carl Anton then moved to Canada in the spring
of 1899 and filed on a homestead (32-44-21) in the now Highland Park (New
Norway) area. He sent back to the United States for his fiancee, Blenda Larson,
and they proceeded with their hard pioneer living. Their first home was a little log
shack with sod roof and dirt floor.
Their possessions consisted of two horses, two heifers, and a walking plow.
The seeding was done by hand and later the grain was cut and tied by hand as it
was done in Sweden.
The nearest post office and store at Wetaskiwin could be reached only by
going over rough prairie trails. In 1900, a combined store and post office was built.
Later a church was built. Anton and Blenda became members of the Mission
Church in 1902.
In 1905, they sold their land and went back to South Dakota, but
dissatisfaction took over and they returned to Canada in 1907 and bought land
(31-43-20) east of Ferintosh. This is now known as Esther's land. Esther Almas
was the eldest daughter. Esther Alice Almas was born before her mother met Carl
Anton Borgstrom. Her last name was actually Holt.
When Big Four School was first built, only four pupils attended. They were
Signe, Tekla, and Oscar Borgstrom plus Sadie Smathers. Signe became Mrs.
Smith, Tekla became Mrs. Holm, and a younger sister, Annie Elvira became Mrs.
Turner.

Generation 1 (con't)

In those good old days there were lots of berries to be had. There were
saskatoons, raspberries, strawberries, and gooseberries. For meat, there were
prairie chickens. One year, Anton had seventy-five cents and that was spent to buy
shells to shoot prairie chickens.
Anton and Belinda's hard work and planning were financially rewarded.
Anton was one of the few farmers in the Ferintosh district to pay income tax. At the
time of the dispersal of his estate in 1933, he had 380 acres of land and $13,000 in
notes loaned out or co-signed by him. (There is no record of any cash given out to
his heirs at the time of his death. In fact, the land was farmed by members of his
estate to pay off some co-signed notes.) Anton had the house on the farm and
another house in the village of Ferintosh with extra lots and two cars.
Anton loaned money to his relatives, children, and neighbors. One loan
made by Anton to a family member and taken over by the estate came to $750 in
1939. This loan was reduced to $200 in 1941 by a Board of Review of the Farmer's
Creditors Arrangement Act of 1934, which caused some hard feelings amongst
some family members.
Mr. and Mrs. C. Anton Borgstrom are both buried in Highland Park
Cemetery, Alberta.

iv.

ERICK BORGSTROM was born on 05 Jun 1873 in Vnns, Vsterbotten, Sweden. He

died on 02 Sep 1941 in Great Falls, Cascade, Montana, USA. He married (1) MARY
(MARIA) HANSON, daughter of Carl Fredrick Hanson and Maria Maja Helena
Emanuelsdotter, on 01 Jan 1894 in Brandon, Minnehaha, South Dakota, USA. She
was born on 22 Sep 1873. She died on 08 May 1923 in Kandiyohi, Minnesota. He
married (2) HILDA BERGSTROM on 17 Sep 1924. He married (3) ESTER SWENSON.
She was born about 1879 in Sweden.

Notes for Erick Borgstrom:

Erick Borgstrom was born June 5, 1873. He was the fourth child of Samuel
and Eva Sophia Borgstrom of Olofsback, Vasterbotton, Sweden. The home parish
was Vannas.
Samuel Borgstrom gave permission for his son, Erick Borgstrom, to leave
Sweden for America on April 16, 1892. Erick Borgstrom was eighteen years old at
the time. Before leaving Sweden, Erick had worked as an apprentice shoemaker.
Records at Ellis Island show that Erick and his brother, Carl Anton
Borgstrom, arrived on July 11, 1892. They had left Sweden from Gothenberg and
traveled on the ship, Etruria, from Liverpool, England. Erick was 19 years old and
Carl Anton was 21.
Erick Borgstrom filed a declaration to become an United States citizen and
denounced the King of Sweden on October 25, 1892 in Menominee County,
Michigan. Erick was naturalized in 1897. He went to South Dakota where he
married Mary (Maria) Hanson in 1898.
Erick Borgstrom and brother, Carl Anton Borgstrom, arrived in the
Wetaskiwin, Alberta, area in the spring of 1899. Their wives followed a year or two
later.
Erick and Mary Hanson Borgstrom were two of the twelve charter members
in 1901 of the Highland Park Swedish Mission Covenant Fellowship Church. Mary's
parents were also charter members.
Carl Anton settled on NW 32; Erick owned NE 32 and SW 33.
Erick Burgstrom (misspelled on document) was naturalized as a British
Subject in Edmonton, Alberta, on November 9, 1903.
In 1905 both Borgstrom brothers sold their land and moved back to South
Dakota. Carl Anton and family returned to Alberta, but Erick and Mary stayed in
South Dakota.
From South Dakota, Erick and Mary Borgstrom moved to Kalispell,
Montana. By 1909, they were living to the west of the fairgrounds near present day
Kalispell. The Borgstrom's lived in many different places. They ran a hotel (three
stories, rooms and apartments) at Bay City, Oregon. Also in Oregon, they lived at

Generation 1 (con't)
Bay City, Oregon.
Oregon, they
Eugene and Scio. They also lived for a while in Richfield, Washington.
They had been living near Kandiyohi, Minnesota, for four years when Mary
Hanson Borgstrom passed away on May 8, 1923 at her home after a long illness.
She was only forty-nine when she died of Myocarditis and Hypothyroidism. Mary is
buried at Kalispell, Montana, in the Demersville Cemetery.
After Mary's death Erick remarried. He married Hilda on or about
September 17, 1924 in St. Paul, Ramsey County, MN. They moved to Kalispell.
Hilda reportedly shot at him and tried to take an ax to him while he was in bed. He
had not told her about his children! They divorced and Phoebe (Marion) had to
testify because she was up in a second floor room playing with her little brother
Robert when she heard yelling, then a gunshot, and looked out the window to see
her father Erick running across the yard. Hilda left the family about May 3, 1926.
They were divorced July 18, 1927. Her summons for the divorce was sent to her at
Rice Lake, Wisconsin.
Erick Borgstrom's third wife was Ester Swenson. After leaving Kalispell,
Erick and Esther lived in the Eden community south of Great Falls, Montana for 5
1/2 years. They were both naturalized as US citizens in Great Falls, Montana on
April 11, 1940.
Erick passed away Sept 2, 1941 at the age of 68. His death certificate lists
immediate cause of death as Hodgkins Disease (six months) and other conditions
as Secondary Anemia.
Ester Borgstrom passed away in 1951. Both Ester and Erick are buried at
the Highland Cemetery outside of Great Falls, Montana.
It is unclear as to when the name Borgstrom became Bergstrom. All of
Erick and Mary's children went by Bergstrom except for Albert and Gus who went
by Borgstrom.
Erick and Mary seemed to use both variations of the name. The Swedish
document dated April 16, 1892, where Samuel grants Erick permission to leave
Sweden, the name is Borgstrom. On Erick and Mary's marriage certificate in
January, 1894 the name is Erick Bergstrom. However, the birth certificate for their
first born child, Beda Maria, in December of that same year uses Borgstrom.
When Mary Hanson Borgstrom died her English obituary listed her as Mary
Bergstrom. Her Swedish obituary gave her name as Maria Borgstrom. Her grave
marker reads Mary Bergstrom.
Erick's death certificate gives his name as Erick Borgstrom and his widow
signed her name as Ester Borgstrom. His grave marker reads Erick Borgstrom.
The farm outside of Kalispell, Montana is at the corner of W. Spring Creek and 3
Mile Dr.
** It is unclear is unclear about Erick's naturalization in 1897. His naturalizations in
1903 as a Canadian citizen and in 1940 as a US citizen are documented.

v.

Erick used both the Swedish spelling, Borgstrom, and the English spelling
Bergstrom throughout his life. Some sons used Bergstrom, and some used
Borgstrom.

EVA BORGSTROM was born on 05 Jun 1874 in Olosfback, Vannas, Vasterbotton,

Sweden. She died on 29 Jun 1930 in Ferintosh, Alberta. She married Oscar
Forsberg, son of Natanael Natanelsson and Margareta Nilsdotter, in 1898 in
Sweden. He was born on 24 Dec 1879 in Tvaralund, Vasterbotton, Sweden. He
died on 06 Apr 1956 in Ferintosh, Alberta.

Notes for Eva Borgstrom:

Oscar Forsberg was born in Tvaralund, Vasterbotton, Northern Sweden in
1877. He apprenticed in Sweden to be a tailor which, at that time, was a
profession.
Eva Borgstrom was born in Olafsback, Vannas, Vasterbotton in 1874. She
was the second daughter and fifth child of Samuel and Eva Sophia Borgstrom of
Olofsback, Vasterbotton, Sweden. Her mother died when Eva was three years old.

Generation 1 (con't)

Her father married Eva's aunt Lisa Kajsa Forslund a year later and they had four
more children.
The Swedish Census of 1890 has Eva Borgstrom having left home at the
age of sixteen and living in Holmback, Vasterbotton, Sweden working for the Karl
Karlsson Bergstrom family as a maid. She immigrated to the United States when
she was 18. Records at Ellis Island report that Eva Borgstrom departed from
Liverpool, England enroute to New York on the ship, Gallia. She arrived at Ellis
Island June 29, 1893.
She worked in Chicago as a domestic maid until she returned to Sweden in
1897. When Agnes visitied the family home many years later, the family told Agnes
that her mother Eva was originally engaged to Nathaniel. They showed her pieces
of furniture that Nathaniel had made for her. However, she married Oscar and
Nathaniel never married.
On her return to Sweden, Eva married Oscar Forsberg and together they
came across the sea to Halifax and traveled by train across Canada to the Highland
Park area. Edwin was born there in 1900, during the two years that they lived
there. From there they went to Michigan where Oscar's brother Nathaniel and a
nephew named Arvid (child of another brother) lived. Nathaniel and Arvid had also
taken the surname Forsberg while they were in the army in Sweden. Their birth
name had also been Nathanielson, as was Oscar's. Some of the brothers changed
their last name to Jahanson.
While Oscar and Eva were in Michigan, they added four more babies to
their family: Ethel, Rueben, Agnes, and Esther (Astrid).
Oscar and Eva spent some time in Portland, Oregon where Oscar pursued
his career as a tailor. His health was indifferent (he had asthma and the cloth dust
exacerbated the asthma) and the doctors advised him that he should be working
out of doors. So he took up farming. The sequence of their relocations is unclear,
but it is known that they lived for a time in Montana and that is where Norst and
Emil were born, and also a baby named Franz, who died March 16, 1909. He is
buried at the Demersville Cemetery, Kalispell, Montana.
They moved to Sacramento Valley for a time. One day Eva, who had
wondered about what appeared to be a water line on the walls, inquired about what
it was. She was told, "Oh, that's where the water had come up to in the last flood!"
Eva decided then and there that the family was moving. From there they
moved to South Dakota and farmed near Garretson. Raymond and Rudy and
another baby boy, Vego who died of brain fever (meningitis), were born there.
Evelyn was the last baby of twelve that Eva gave birth to and she arrived in 1922,
also at Garretson, South Dakota.
Eva always wore long voluminous skirts. Evelyn remembers her mother
standing by the stove cooking and Evelyn would crawl under the skirt and sit there
like it was a tent. She was probably two or three years old at the time.
Oscar and Eva made their final move in March, 1923 when they moved up
to Canada to the farm they had purchased. By then Ethel was married and had two
children and she and her husband had settled on a farm in South Dakota. Edwin
also remained in South Dakota. The rest had come to Canada with their folks.
Some of the sisters and brothers later returned to the States.
Oscar decided to increase his property so he bought a quarter section of
raw land. This was the northeast quarter of the section just north of the home
place. Whe they came to Canada, Oscar had shipped their furniture and some of
the machinery and a truck and a Cleveland Crawler tractor. He traded that off for a
Rumley and Rueben proceeded to break up the land on the quarter section. Years
later, Rueben and Ellen lived on that piece of land. And also Raymond and Mabel.
And then Harvey and Evelyn lived on school land wihich was 1 mile east and 1/2
mile north of the Forsberg farm until 1955. The Forsberg farm has changed hands
a couple of times, but no longer in the family.
Agnes was the next one to get married after Ethel, who was married to Gus
Froseth in 1918. Agnes had come to Canada with the family in the spring of 1923.
She pitched bundles that fall to earn the money to go back to the States. When
Eva died in 1929, Agnes came back to Canada and in December of that year, she

Generation 1 (con't)

married Erick Karlstrom. Norst returned to the States when he was seventeen and
there he remained. Rueben and Emil also went back to South Dakota, but they
came back to Canada in 1930. Rueben married Ellen Hanson in 1935. They
returned to the States a few years later, with their two children, Donald and Gladys.
Rueben and Ellen are both buried in Canton, South Dakota. Esther married Ole
Karlstrom in 1938 and they are both buried in Creston, British Columbia. Raymond
married Mabel Lapointe in 1937 and they are buried at Dried Meat Lake Cemetery.
Emil married Alice Westling. He died in 1985 and is buried in Creston. Alice is still
living in Creston. Rudy married Jurdis Pearson. He died in 1952. Jurdis remarried
and died several years later. Evelyn married Harvey Hanson in 1938.
Oscar and Eva Forsberg were members of the Highland Park Church, and
that is where Mrs. Eva Forsberg was laid to rest in 1929, followed by Oscar in 1956.
Eva had died of a heart attack at home. Eva's headstone in the cemetery gives
her year of birth as 1873 and her year of death as 1930.

vi.

Biographical entry: Trails, Trials, and Triumphs, pg. 289, Edberg, Alberta, Canada,
community history book.

JAKOB BORGSTROM was born on 06 Dec 1876 in Vnns, Vasterbottens, Sweden.

He died on 04 Apr 1939 in Innergard, Vannas, Vasterbotten, Sweden. He married
Eulina Forsgren, daughter of Nils* Forsgren and Kajsa* Lovisa Johansdotter, on 29
Dec 1902. She was born on 30 Apr 1883 in Nygrd, Vnnsbygdens kbfd (AC).
She died on 19 Jan 1964 in 2:1, Innergrd, Vnnsbygdens kbfd (AC).

Notes for Jakob Borgstrom:

Jakob's last name was Borgstrom, but it may have changed to Innergard.
Jakob was a farmer. Innergard could be the farm name. It is not certain if his wife's
name is correct.
It is believed that Jakob stayed in Sweden while his brothers and sisters
came to the United States and Canada. Jakob's son Holger immigrated to Alberta
from Sweden before World War II.

Samuel Jonsson Borgstrom and Lisa Kajsa Forslund had the following children:
vii.

OSKAR (OSCAR) BORGSTROM was born on 05 Feb 1879. He died in 1946 in Meeting
Creek, Alberta, Canada. He married Hanna Marie Lindgren on 25 Mar 1904 in
Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden. She was born on 20 Jun 1883 in Harrsele, Vannas,
Vasterbotton, Sweden. She died in 1946 in Meeting Creek Cemetery, Meeting
Creek, Alberta.
Notes for Oskar (Oscar) Borgstrom:
The Swedish records spell his name Oskar, but he was known to his family
as Oscar.
Oscar and Hannah Lindgren Borgstrom and three children immigrated to
Canada May 6, 1911, from Vasterbotton, Sweden. They settled in the Highland
Park area where they bought a team of horses and a cow. At that time, the
Dunvegan Railroad was being built north of Edmonton. Oscar Borgstrom and his
brothers, Edward and Nels, with their horses loaded on the freight train at
Wetaskiwin, went to work on the railroad.
The women stayed home and took care of the children and the cow that
supplied them with milk. There weren't any fences so they had to keep an eye on
the cow so it wouldn't run away. Hannah Borgstrom said they worried most when a
rancher by the name of Pelter would come by in the spring and fall with his cattle
drive. It was a problem not being able to speak English so they would try to keep
the cow in the barn around that time.
In a few years, they moved southwest of Edberg, stayed there for a year or
so, then bought the farm from Mr. Forest, three and one half miles from Meeting
Creek. They drove with horses to Meeting Creek to do their shopping. Here also,
they joined the Swedish Lutheran Church in 1920. Although there were many
lonely times, there were also a lot of good times. The neighbors were very helpful
and friendly.

Generation 1 (con't)

As times got better, they milked quite a few cows and although the cream
cheques were small, they were certainly welcome. The chickens were also a help.
In the fall, before winter set in, they looked forward to the Eaton's catalogue, so they
could order their winter clothing for the family.
Oscar worked in the coal mine in Three Hills one winter to help put in the
crop the next year. The children were old enough to help with chores. Oscar
bought more land and things went quite well.
Oscar and Hannah lived on the farm until they passed away in the winter of
1946.
Research done in Sweden shows his name as Oskar
Bergstrom-Soderhjelm. All of his brothers and sisters are listed as Borgstrom. The
same Swedish records list his first three children as:
Ninnie Gota Linnea Bergstrom
Oskar Levy Bergstrom
Wega Magnhild Bergstrom
w's and v's were interchanged

viii. EDVARD (EDWARD) BORGSTROM was born on 17 Jan 1881 in Vnns, Vasterbottens,
Sweden. He died on 18 May 1962 in Camrose, Alberta. He married Selma Olivia
Erickson on 25 Sep 1910. She was born on 16 Sep 1886 in Bastutrask, Bjurholm,
Sweden. She died on 24 Jan 1932 in Calgary, Alberta.

Notes for Edvard (Edward) Borgstrom:

In the Swedish records his name is Nels Edvard Borgstrom. His headstone
at the cemetery has Edvard Borgstrom, and to his family he was known as Edward
Borgstrom.
Edward (Edvard) and Selma Erickson Borgstrom immigrated to Canada
April 6, 1911, from Vannas, Sweden and first settled at Highland Park near New
Norway.
John Alfonse was born on a midsummer day to them while they were
residents at Highland Park. After the baby's birth, they went working on the railroad
gangs north of Edmonton, then near Medicine Hat, and after that, Regina.
During the time in Medicine Hat, they both came down with typhoid fever,
but fortunately the young child never contracted the illness. After recovering from
this hardship, they continued to work on the railroad.
In December of 1912, Alex was born to them. They resided at the home of
Nels and Nora Borgstrom near Ferintosh during the winter months. They lived for
awhile on what was the Roeburg farm and Arnold was born there.
They bought their first quarter section of land from the Huolts. It was
heavily wooded and the children remember their father cutting brush and the young
sons cut brush every summer during school holidays. Three more children came to
join the household: Mildred, Fritz, and Doris. All attended Big Four School.
A new spacious home was built in 1929. Nels Johns was the main
carpenter and John Ericson was his helper - the family helped every opportunity as
well.
The happy and gregarious mother, Selma, did not live long to enjoy their
new home. She was stricken with tuberculosis and passed away at the sanatorium
in Calgary in 1932. Edward continued farming until he retired in 1940. He made his
home with his eldest son, Alfonse and family for over twenty-two years. The last
few months of his life were spent in Bethany where he passed away in May 1963 at
the age of eighty-one.
Biography entry: Trails, Trials, and Triumphs pg 282, Edberg, Alberta, Canada,
community history book.
Biography entry: Little Beaver Tales, pg 235, Ferintosh, Alberta, Canada,
community history book.

ix.

Notes for Selma Olivia Erickson:

Swedish records show her name as Selma Olivia Eriksdotter and her
birthday as July 16, 1886.

NELS LUNDGREN BORGSTROM was born on 21 Jun 1883 in Olofsback, Degerfors,

Generation 1 (con't)

Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden. He died in 1948 in Ferintosh, Alberta. He married

ELIZABETH ELINORA (NORA) HANSON. She was born in 1879 in Brandon, Minnehaha,
South Dakota, USA. She died in 1945.

Notes for Nels Lundgren Borgstrom:

Nels Borgstrom, who was born in Sweden in 1883, came to Canada in
about 1904, when he was about twenty-one years of age. He married Elizabeth
Elinora (Nora) Hanson of the Highland Park District. She was born in 1879.
They spent their first years in the Highland Park District living in a log
house. Their first two children were born there. They decided to go to South
Dakota, and while there, their little daughter passed away.
They and their son Edwin returned to the Highland Park District, and after a
short time, they bought land in the Big Four District from Mr. Almas. It was the NW
30-43-20-W 4th and they moved there in about 1909.
The house there was to remain their home for the rest of their lives, with
additions being made to it through the years. Five more children were born into the
family there: Edla, Elof, Adelia, Albin, and Jonas. They each attended the Big Four
School when they reached school age.
Nels and Nora Borgstrom were members of the Highland Park Mission
Covenant Church, but since they lived nearer to the Fridhem Baptist Church, they
and their family began attending Sunday School and church services there. Their
home was often a gathering place for the young people of the community.
Nora Borgstrom enjoyed playing the organ and singing. She had been in
the church choir at Highland Park in her younger years.
Nels Borgstrom raised horses, and served as a butcher as well as farming.
The fall of 1919 is remembered because the snow came early, the stooks had to be
dug out of the snow, and a hard winter followed. He and Charlie Howe were kept
busy vaccinating horses during the epidemic of equine encephalitis (sleeping
sickness) in about 1934 or 1935.
Nora passed away in 1945 and Nels in 1948.
In some of the Swedish records Nels Borgstrom is referred to as Nils
Lundgren. Several of the Borgstrom brothers used the name Lundgren while in
Sweden.
Biography entry: Little Beaver Tales, pg. 236. Ferintosh, Alberta, Canada,
community history book.

x.

Notes for Elizabeth Elinora (Nora) Hanson:

Norah got tuberculosis when her children were young. Dr. McLeod gave
her two weeks. All prayed for her recovery. Later on, x-ray showed healed scar
tissue.

JONAS ALBIN BORGSTROM was born on 28 Mar 1886 in Olofsback, Degerfors,

Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden. He died on 16 Dec 1895 in Olofsback, Degerfors,
Vannas, Vasterbotton, Sweden.