Iron Mountain to Commonwealth to Caspian

Oscar wasn’t listed on the Commonwealth census in 1905, and Louisa and Willard were living with Claus and Julia Johnson on the family farm in Homestead in 1905. The census that year was a special Wisconsin census, and Andrew Lundwall, Sr., Oscar Lundwall, Teckla Ekquist, nor Emil Ekquist are not listed as living anywhere in Wisconsin on that census.

Andrew Jr. and his wife Inga, were still in Commonwealth at that time. Ida married Axel Osterberg in Iron Mountain on July 13, 1901, and perhaps Emil Ekquist and Teckla Ekquist were living with them. Four children were born to Ida and Axel between 1902 and 1907, in Iron Mountain but the first baby did not survive. Seven more children were born to Ida after 1907, six more were born later in Norway, Michigan just outside of Iron Mountain.

Oscar Lundwall married Teckla Ekquist on February 29, 1908 – leap year – in Iron Mountain , Michigan. Teckla’s brother Willard and Oscar’s sister Clara stood up for them. They were married by Reverend J. P. Sundstrom, the Baptist minister in Iron Mountain, Michigan. Oscar and Teckla lived in Iron Mountain for a short time, and that’s where Nancy Francis was born later in 1908.

From left to right standing are Willard Ekquist, Clara Lundwall, and Teckla Ekquist, with Oscar Lundwall seated. This is their wedding photo. Clara Lundwall Willard Ekquist

By 1910, Oscar was again working in the Commonwealth Mine as a machinist and according to the census report they were living in a rented house in Commonwealth, with Oscar as the Head of Household, Teckla his wife, Nanie his year old daughter, Louisa his mother-in-law, Emil Ekquist his brother-in-law, and Andrew Sr. his father. At the time, Teckla was expecting Ward, who was born premature on June 25, 1910. Weighing little more than 2 pounds, there are stories that he was kept in a cotton lined shoe box in the wood warming oven. Little Ward thrived with lots of tender loving care.

Andrew Lundwall, Jr., his wife Ingaborg, and 8 children moved from Commonwealth to Iron River in 1912. This may have been the motivating reason for Oscar to move his family from Commonwealth to Caspian, Michigan in 1916. By this time Emil Ekquist had married and was still living in Commonwealth with his wife; Louisa still lived with Oscar and Teckla in Caspian; Nancy said that “Grandpa Lundwall”, who “didn’t like children”and now there were seven of them, was living in a house across the street in Caspian. In 13 years, 8 children were born with 7 surviving before they left Caspian.

Nancy (1909), Ward (1910), Hazel (1912) and Doris (1915) were all born in Commonwealth; Margaret (1916), Violet (1918), Ray (1919) and Alice (1921) were born in Caspian, just outside of Stambaugh; Kenneth (1923), Lloyd (1926), Janet (1928) and Marlin (1929) were all born in Michigamme.

In 1918, Oscar took the older kids to see Santa Claus in Iron Mountain, and by the time they returned home, Hazel was quite sick. She died from pneumonia before the end of the year and she is buried in the Stambaugh cemetery. Another neighbor and friend of the Lundwall's in Caspian was Hulda Hughes and her husband who lived in the same block.

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