Andrew Anfinson

Andrew Anfinson came from Decorah, Iowa in the 1880s and as a young man his first business venture was in the grocery line. After a few years he became associated with the Straus Clothing Company and remained with that firm for over fifty years, until his death in 1941. He was a life member of the Elks Club.

Mrs. Anfinson, nee Anna Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Johnson, early day pioneers, moved to Valley City from Rushford, Minnesota, in the summer of 1883, along with her brother Gust, and her sister Carrie. She was a life member of All Saints Episcopal Church, the Pioneer Daughters and the Home Economics Club. She lived to celebrate her one hundredth birthday, and died in 1971.

Married in 1891, the Anfinsons raised a family of six children: three daughters and three sons.

  1. A daughter, Eva, was a school teacher in the Fargo Public School System until her retirement. She died in 1964.

  2. A son, Clifford, a Civil Engineer for the North Dakota State Department of Highways, closed a long and distinguished record of fifty years of service with his death in 1967. 

  3. Four children remain: Mrs. Ralph L. Barkley (Harriet) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the librarian for the Valley City Public Library before her marriage.

  4. Earl, for many years a nurseryman for the Northwest Nursery Company, resides in Valley City.

  5. George, of Bellevue, Washington, recently retired as Environmental Epidemiologist for the Seattle-King County Dept. of Public Health, Seattle, Washington.

  6. Mrs. Frederick Erb (Florence) of Aurora, Illinois, where she has taught in the Aurora Public School System.

Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 19