Carl Albin Elmquist & the History of a Chisago Family Farm

Carl Albin Elmquist was born 1 March 1848 in Genestorp Österård, Nöbbele, Kronoberg, Sweden.  He immigrated to Minnesota in 1871.  He first lived in Minneapolis where he met and married his wife Maria Johnson, who was born 14 March 1846 in Ulsåkraholm Allgotstorp, Nöbbele, Kronoberg, Sweden.  She immigrated to Minnesota in 1871.  They were married in 1876 and had four children:

1. John William born 1876 in Minneapolis
2. Carl Edward (Eddie) born 1878 in Minneapolis
3. Sven Alfred born 1881 in Minneapolis
4. Lillian (Lilly) born 1887 in Minneapolis

Land records reveal an interesting history of the Elmquist family farm in Chisago Lake Township,  Chisago County, Minnesota.  It was originally part of a 120 acre parcel of bounty land awarded to John Leavitt for military service rendered in the Aroostook War of 1838-1839.  John Leavitt was a private in the Maine Militia, part of a company of riflemen commanded by Captain Stephen Leighton, Jr.  This "war" was a confrontation between Great Britain and the United States over placement of the international boundary between British Canada and the state of Maine.  In 1856 Leavitt assigned the parcel of land to Ozias Bailey of White Cloud, Kansas.  No purchase price is mentioned on the deed.

Ozias Bailey was born in Salem, New Hampshire in 1810.  He moved to Kansas in 1856 and settled in White Cloud in 1857.  He was president of the White Cloud Trust Land Company and operated a steam ferryboat in White Cloud during the 1860s.  In the 1870s he was on the board of directors for the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad.  It would seem that after the financial panic of 1873 Bailey was in need of cash, so on 6 November 1873 he sold 760 acres of land in Chisago County to a George B. Nichols of Boston, Massachusetts for $3,000.  Some of this was land that eventually became the Elmquist family farm.

George B. Nichols was a prominent businessman in Boston.  He was part owner of Nichols, Dupee & Co., wool dealers in Boston beginning in the 1860s.  He was on the City Council of Boston from 1888-1896 and was also superintendent of The Gavelston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway which had its executive office in Boston.  The assumption is that Nichols and Bailey had a business connection via the railroads which eventually led to the 760 acre land purchase in 1873.

In 1879, Nichols sold the property that became the Elmquist family farm to Carl Gren; 80 acres for $400.  In 1882, Carl and his wife Lena Cajsa sold the property to Carl Albin Elmquist for $640.  Where Carl Gren ended up is a mystery.  The 1880 US Census reveals a Carl Johan Green and wife Helena C., both born in Sweden, residing in Chisago Lake Township.  This may be the same as Carl and Lena in the land deed, but it's unknown what happened to them after 1882.

Another mystery is, when was the Elmquist family home built?  Carl Albin Elmquist purchased the land in 1882 and census records show that he and his family did not move to the farm land for some time.  The 1885 state census shows the family living in Minneapolis.  Daughter Lillian was born in Minneapolis in 1887.  The 1890 US census is lost and the 1895 state census shows the family living in Chisago County, Chisago Lake Township.  Church records from Zion Lutheran Church in Chisago City also indicate that Carl Albin and family did not move to Chisago County until 1895.  So, it would seem that even though he bought the land in 1882, Carl Albin and his family were not living on it until much later.  Many questions arise.  Did Carl Gren/Green build the house and farm buildings between 1880 and 1882?  Did Carl Albin Elmquist and family build the the house & buildings later?  If so, when were they built?  All of this is a mystery!

After Carl Albin Elmquist died in 1925 the property passed to his children.  Eventually John William, Eddie, and Lilly gave their shares to brother Alfred who owned and operated the farm from 1926 until his death in 1939.  In 1940 the property passed back to Alfred's brother and sister John William and Lilly.  They held onto it until 3 May 1943 when they "sold" the property to Randolph and Vinette Moody for  one dollar.

It's an amazing history!  Most fascinating is how the fate of a piece of land and a family farm was determined by obscure and wide ranging national events in American history, such as the Aroostook War, the railroad industry, and the financial panic/depression of 1873.  Learning this is a large part of what makes family genealogy a grand adventure!