In the book's own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
Born 1866
From An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota (1912)
OLUF G. OLSON (1901) is the manager and buyer for the grocery, shoe and furnishing goods departments of the L. Abrahamson store at Cottonwood. He was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, October 14, 1866. He is a son of Nels B. Olson, who homesteaded land in Monona county, Iowa, in 1861. The latter served in a Wisconsin company during the Civil War. After the war he returned home and later moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where he resided ten years and died in 1906. The mother died in 1903.
Oluf accompanied his parents to the West when he was but one year old and resided with them on the farm until eighteen years of age. Then he went to Beloit, Iowa, and attended Augustana College, after which he went to Sioux City, Iowa, and took a course in the Sioux City Business College. For the next seven years Mr. Olson was connected with the United States Clothing Company and then spent eight years as salesman for the Browning-King Clothing Company.
In the spring of 1901 our subject came to Lyon county and located at Cottonwood. In company with William B. Olson and A. O. Anderson, he opened a mercantile business under the firm name of the Anderson-Olson Company. They conducted the business three years and then reorganized and established the Cottonwood Mercantile Company, A. O. Anderson selling his interest and the new firm being composed of A. B. Anderson, O. G. and W. B. Olson. Mr. Olson was a member of that firm two years, when he sold his interest to Anderson Brothers. He then went to Normania, Yellow Medicine county, where, in company with M. S. Runsold, he opened a mercantile store and conducted it until 1908. They sold the business and our subject returned to Cottonwood and has since been associated with L. Abrahamson as buyer and manager.
Mr. Olson was president of the Cottonwood Commercial Club two and one-half years. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church and the Norden Mandskor, a vocal organization, of which he was secretary.
At Sloan, Iowa, June 4, 1887, occurred the marriage of Mr. Olson to Matilda S. Strand, a native of La Crosse county, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Olson are the parents of the following children: Ella M., Harry N., Ruth and Herbert. Their oldest child, Mabel, died at the age of four years.
As printed in An illustrated history of Lyon County, Minnesota (1912). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
The printed record stops around 1912. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.