Gilbert Olson was born October 15, 1858, near Decorah, Iowa. His parents were Ole and Marie Bjornstad, but Gilbert chose to be called Olson rather than the name of the old home in Norway. He attended school from age eight to thirteen, but only about twelve months in all, because he usually had to work to help out with the family living expenses.
He grew up in Iowa and was married to Maria Anderson, at Osage, in 1879. In the spring of 1880, their first son was born. Soon afterward, they set out with a number of other settlers toward the northwest, as it was rumored that rich land was available there. They had four covered wagons and they used horses to pull them. Gilbert had a cow and three chickens. They had to keep the wagons spaced rather close in order to keep the cattle together. This proved difficult, because it rained virtually every day and night for two weeks.
The Caravan arrived in Mayville, Dakota Territory, on June 28, 1880, and stayed to celebrate the Fourth of July there. They tried to start a base ball game, but could not find enough interest, so they spent the day watching the racing events.
On July 5, they continued their journey to the Sheyenne Valley. The land was not yet surveyed, so the settlers were called "squatters, " that is, they made homes on the land, hoping to be able to claim it for their own after it had been properly surveyed. When the surveyors came the following year, the Olson claim was declared railroad land, but Gilbert Olson defended his claim and finally won out. When Grover Cleveland became president in 1898, he signed the deed to the Olson homestead.
Gilbert had to hire his first breaking done and in the spring of 1881 had seven acres prepared for seeding. In 1883 he bought a plow and harrow, but the seeding was still done by hand at that time. He planted two bushels of potatoes from which he received twenty-five bushels in the fall, while the wheat brought a yield of 32 bushels an acre. The prices were good considering the high value of money at the time, the wheat being sold for $.85 per bushel.
Buffalo bones were gathered in piles from where they were thrown up into wagons and hauled away to the nearest market - at Valley City. He only received half of what the bones brought, as the hauler got the other half. When the harvest and threshing season arrived, Mr. Olson walked down to Goose River and worked for two dollars a day.
Mr. Olson was the first fiddler in the Sheyenne River settlement so he was kept quite busy the first years playing for parties. In 1882 he took first prize in the running races at the Fourth of July celebration at Mardell.
In 1882, another boy was born to the Olsons. Both children became sick with diphtheria, and as the nearest doctor was in Valley City, nothing could be done to save them. Their grief was great, for this tragedy left them childless. The coffins had to be made of common lumber and there was no minister near at the time, so they had to arrange everything themselves as best they could.
After the deaths of their two sons, the Olsons had five more children, all of whom grew up to live in or near Cooperstown. They were:
Henry, Albert, Annie (Mrs. Lewis Hilstad):
Gena (Mrs. Peter Hogenson) and Clara (Mrs. Ole L. Midstokke).
Neighbors were few and they lived far apart. Bent Olson, Gilbert's brother, was his closest neighbor. Others were his parents, the Ole Bjornstads, also Andrew Nelson, Martin Olson, John Hogenson, Iver Seim, John Qualey, Andrew Knutson and John Dahl. In 1898, Mr. Olson moved one-and-a-half miles north of his original homestead to a location described as SW 1/2 Section 13 Township 147, Range 58.
Our grandfather, Gilbert Olson, died during World War II. To the best of our recollection it was in 1943. Since then his five children have also passed away. A son-in-law, Lewis Hoganson of Cooperstown, and two daughters-in-law, Mrs. Anna Olson (Henry's widow) of Cooperstown and Mrs. Clara S. Olson (Albert's widow) of Grass Valley, California survive.
Grandchildren of Gilbert Olson are:
Twins (deceased in infancy) born to Mr. and Mrs. (Gena) Lewis Hoganson:
a son, Leonard, born to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Hilstad (also deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Henry Olson had the following children:
Gilman of Cooperstown, Howard, Amy, Chester and Gordon. The last four all deceased, Gilman is the only remaining grandson of the Henry Olson family branch. Mr. and Mrs. Ole Midstokke's children are:
Louella of Oakland, California, Myron (deceased) Gene and Vernon of Cooperstown, Myrtice of Oakland, California and Joel of Cooperstown. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Olson are:
Garfield of Grass Valley, California, Alvin of Larimore, North Dakota, Sidney of Seattle, Washington, Harvey (deceased, killed in action in WW II), Marian of Grass Valley, California and Delores of Lyman, Wyo.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 402