The first relative that we know of to have come to America was Olof's aunt Hannah (Olsdotter) Aveldson, who was one of the older sisters of Olof's father, Lars Olsson Nyman Ekberg. She was born in Onnarp, a small town a few miles west of Skivarp, in 1838. She married Ole Aveldson and together they and their first two children, Anna and Hilda, moved to Meeker County, Minnesota in 1871 where they farmed and reared their family of six children. Ole and Hannah had four more children in Minnesota after they arrived in the state; Tilda, Emil, August, and Albin. This family had been in America for 30 years before Olof emigrated to America. Olof's father had visited his sister and her family in Minnesota twice, in 1880 and again in 1886, before Olof left home for America. He no doubt brought back reports of opportunities in America to his children, since almost all of them eventually left Sweden for the New World. After Olof and Ida were married they and their family often visited with their Minnesota relatives during the early part of the century.
The next relative we know of to emigrate to America was Olof's older sister Anna Louisa Ekberg, who was born January 26, 1863. She left Sweden in 1889 and by 1891 she was married to Magnes Nelson and living in the Sweetwater district of Menard County, Illinois, near the town of Petersberg. She and Magnes had three daughters named Josephine, Ethel and Hildur (Josephine seems to have gone by Anna later in life). Olof and Ida stayed near Louisa in Menard County for several years after their marriage but by the time they moved to Bureau County in 1910, Louisa and her family had moved to Warburg, Canada, possibly without Magnes, who may have died. Their move appears to have occurred about 1907. According to information provided by Vivan Richmond a number of years ago, Anna Louisa died in Warburg and is buried there. Of the girls, Anna married Ernest Wybert and had one daughter named Dora. We have one picture of Anna Louisa, Anna Wybert and daughter Dora. By 1974 Anna and her husband were both dead and also buried in Warburg. Dora married Nels Mygen and had no children. Nels died about 1973 in Warburg. Ethel married Ralph Risser and had two sons named Carl and Rueben, both of whom had children and were living near Warburg in 1974. Hildur married a Rook and in 1974 was living, with some children, near Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. These relatives corresponded frequently with Olof, Ida and the family and several pictures of them appear in the old family scrapbook.
The Swedish relative probably best known to the family was Olof's older brother Lars Ekberg, who was born January 8, 1869 in Skivarp. He had been a soldier in the Swedish army. While in Sweden he married Johanna Hansson and they had two children, Anna and Hans, both of whom unfortunately died under the age of two years. In 1900, Lars left behind his pregnant wife and sailed for America. He arrived in New York on May 12, aboard the ship "Saint Paul," with only $4.00 in his pockets. Four weeks later he was in Menard County staying with his sister and brother-in-law and was counted in the county census.
In 1902 Olof emigrated. He had been in the Swedish merchant marine and upon his discharge at the end of 1901 made plans to leave the country. By March 1902 he was aboard the steamship "Teutonic", arriving in New York on March 22, 1902. He had $10.00 when he arrived. He gave his destination in America as Petersberg, Illinois and told immigration officials he was going to be staying with his sister there.
In 1903 Lars Ekberg's wife Johanna and their son, Erik, came to America. They were travelling with Lars' (and, of course, Olof's) father, Lars Olsson Ekberg, on the steamship "Hellig Olav," arriving in April 1903. They gave their destination as Walnut, Illinois, where they said Lars was staying with Hans Sandberg. Lars farmed in Bureau County, near New Bedford, for several years before moving to the area of Winner, South Dakota in 1913 to farm there for the rest of his life. Lars never changed the spelling of his name to "Eckberg," as his sister Louisa did before her marriage, and as Olof did shortly after his arrival in America. Their son Erik, who was "not quite right," died in 1921. Johanna died in 1940 and Lars died in 1942. They, along with son Erik, are buried in the cemetery at Winner, South Dakota. Olof made frequent trips to South Dakota to visit his brother, always by car and always with his sons doing the driving. In fact, Olof never learned to drive. They also corresponded and some of Lars' postcards to Olof have survived in Ida's photo album.
Ida emigrated from Sweden in 1904, but she did not travel alone. She was travelling with her cousin Emil Alm, the son of her sister Kjersti, who was married to Jons Alm. Jons Alm's original name had been Jons Olsson. He in fact was the brother of Lars Olsson Ekberg. Therefore Jons Alm was an uncle to both Ida Almstrom and Olof Ekberg! Ida and Emil arrived in New York on the ship "Celtic" on March 11, 1904. Emil said his cousin (presumably Ida) had paid his way, as he was only 16 years old. Ida was 21 at the time. Ida told immigration authorities that she was going to Sweetwater, Illinois to be with her friend Olof Ekberg. Emil told them he was going there also, to be with his cousin, Olof Ekberg. Emil apparently left Illinois shortly after his arrival and moved to Minnesota, as he is mentioned in letters from the Aveldson family. There he married and had a family.
It would also appear that Olof had at least one cousin in Greenview, Illinois at about the time they came to America as an item in Ida's scrapbook titled "Old Timers Here" states that Olof and Ida were visiting his cousin, Mrs. Mary Johnson, and that they had left the area (unspecified, but probably Greenview) 25 years previously. In the notice of Olof and Ida's wedding, it is stated that they were married in the home of Mr. and Mrs. James Johnson. It seems likely that his cousin Mary Johnson was Mrs. James Johnson, and that she probably had been in the Greenview area for a while if they owned their own home by 1905 when Olof and Ida were married. Whose daughter she was is unknown.
It is apparent that Olof and Ida did not come to America by themselves, and that they had relatives who came before and after their arrival. They kept in touch with these relatives for many years but as the families grew up, they also grew apart so that at this point we know little about where our other Ekberg relatives live or even who they are.
View My Guestbook