The Ekquist Family in Homestead (Little Popple)

Life was difficult in the early years of “Little Popple”. Transporting household supplies and food not harvested from gardens, the forest, or the rivers, was easier after a trail was blazed to the Menominee River across the river from Iron Mountain. This was closer than going to Florence. In the area where Aurora is now, a short way from the present bridge, the farmers had a raft tied and they would transport their belongings to the river and pole them across on the raft.

The settlers also banded together to build roads and bridges over the Pine and Popple Rivers to make it easier to get to both Commonwealth and Florence. The women and children were isolated and lonely, and endured many hardships. Pine snakes were plentiful, coyotes and wolves howled at night, porcupines gnawed on the wooden structures, mosquitoes were bad, and there were bears and other animals in the dense forest. There was more than enough incentive to blaze trails through the woods, to help each other, for children to play games with other children, and for the women to share a cup of Swedish coffee with each other. As immigrants in a new country, all speaking Swedish, the whole community was like one huge family. The early Homestead settlers were all Swedish with the exception of one French family, the Grimords. 

Many of their descendants intermarried and many great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchdildren, and great-great-great-grandchildren of the early settlers still live in the Homestead/Aurora community. Mrs. Elli Grimord and Mrs. Andrew Johnson assisted all of the women in childbirth. Evan Valdemar Ekquist was born on January 19, 1886, while Andrew was working at a logging camp. His baptismal certificate reads “Ivan Waldermear Ecrist.” In the winter of 1886, the Ekquist home was still a log cabin with a dirt floor and a Birch-bark roof. 

During the winter, with Andrew at the logging camp, Louisa and their children were alone in their cabin. The men usually went to the camps in November, some returned home for Christmas, but they stayed at the camp working long hours until after the spring thaw so logs could be transported down the river. A winter storm came up while the family was alone, which blew the Birch-bark roof off the cabin. Since Louisa couldn’t go for help with the small baby, she sat by the stove with her three year old and new baby keeping them warm, and she sent Ellen and Ida for help from a bachelor living nearby. When he came and found the Birch-bark laying in the snow, he proceeded to rebuild the roof for them. 

One day during the summer, Ida and her two sisters were picking blueberries. They had picked two large pails full when somebody from Florence passed by and took the berries. They were given $1, frightened they went home empty handed. Louisa was happy because she had canned blueberries that day without sugar. She would now be able to can more berries, this time with sugar. 

 Gustav Willard (Willie) Ekquist was born on August 12, 1887. Louisa’s parents, Olof Olson and Stina Anderson-(Matilda in Wisconsin) Olson arrived from Sweden in 1888 and lived with the Ekquist family. Olof Olson was born in 1819, and his wife Matilda (Stina) was born in 1824. The youngest child, our grandmother Teckla Matilda Ekquist was born on April 23, 1889. 

The following year when Ellen was 13, Teckla was a year old and with grandparents from Sweden living with the Ekquist’s, Ellen was the first to leave home in 1990, possibly to work as a housekeeper or to care for children in Marinette, Wisconsin, Three years later, Ellen married Charles Wilhelm Krans in Marinette, 4 days after her 16th birthday, on June 17, 1893. Their first-born, Evan Krans, was born in Homestead on June 14, 1894, at the Ekquist home. Andrew and Louisa sold Charlie Krans 40 acres of land for $300 in 1895 where they built a house. Many of the Krans’ descendants have lived in either Homestead or Aurora since. 

Ida left the family home in 1895 to work for another family. The first school house was built in the 1890's, and John Larson and Erland Peterson improvised blackboards by painting ordinary boards black. The children learned English in school since they all spoke Swedish at home. 

Julia married Claus Johnson in Iron Mountain, Michigan, on December 29, 1900 when she was 20. Ida married Axel Osterberg on July 13, 1901, in Iron Mountain. 

 Andrew Ekquist died May 21, 1903. Emil said they had been working in the field and came in for afternoon coffee, as all Swedes did. After coffee, Emil’s mother sent Emil on an errand to Louie Peterson’s and by the time he reached the Little Popple River, his brother Willie came running to tell him that their father had just dropped dead in the yard. Emil was 20, Evan was 17, Willie was 16, and Teckla was 14 at the time. 

 On May 24, 1904, the entire Ekquist family met with Claus Johnson at the Court House in Florence, Wisconsin, to finalize the sale of the home site. In the Florence County, Wisconsin 1905 census, Louisa Ekquist and her father, Olof Olson, were living with the Claus Johnson family in the original Ekquist family home. Willie, Emil, or Teckla are not listed as living anywhere in either Homestead or Commonwealth at that time. They may have now been living with Ida and Axel Osterberg and their two children across the river in Iron Mountain, Michigan. Olof Olson died in 1908. He was 89 years old. 

Teckla married Fritz Oscar Lundwall on February 29, 1908 in Iron Mountain. Willie married Ellen Nelson in Iron Mountain on April 2, 1910. Emil married Edith Colberg in Florence on September 21,1910 and they then lived in Commonwealth. According to the 1910 census, Louisa Ekquist and Emil were living with Oscar and Teckla, and baby Nannie, in Commonwealth. Also living with them was Andrew Lundwall, Sr., father of Oscar. Evan (Iver) (Ivor) married Esther Lundgren (born in Iron Mountain) in Chisholm, Minnesota on February 7, 1914. 

There are indications that Evan worked in the iron mines in Michigan before he went to work in the iron mines in Northern Minnesota and lived in Chisholm. On July 23, 1917 Ivor (Evan) Ekquist joined the Home Guard of Minnesota and was discharged December31, 1920. “Iver” (Evan) Ekquist died in a hunting accident November 22, 1932. His last job was a carpenter for the Chisholm Schools. He left four children under the age of 17. 

Ellen died on January 31, 1937, at their Krans farm home in Homestead, after a short illness and visiting a chiropractor. Apparently her appendix burst duriing an adjustment. Grandma Louisa died on June 8, 1937. Teckla Lundwall and Margaret Backstrom (who would marry Ward Lundwall on June 19, 1937) came from Palmer to help take care of Louisa during her last days. Louisa was now 90 years old and living with Charles Krans and his children Carl and Mae still at home in Homestead. Julia was still living in Homestead, and four adult children of Charlie Krans, and their families. were now living in Aurora in 1937. 

Today three of the daughters of Robert Krans still live in Aurora. Andrew and Louisa had a total of 8 children, and the 7 surviving to adults gave Louisa 61 grandchildren. These 61 cousins stayed relatively close during their lifetimes, and they had their last Ekquist Cousin Reunion at the Town Hall in Homestead (the old Brown School built in 1901). Many had gone to school there in the early days of Homestead. Ida earned her 3rd grade education by doing janitorial work at the Brown School. 

Ellen and Charlie Krans had 14 children

Ida and Axel Osterberg had 11 children

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Julia and Claus Johnson had 9 children

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Emil and Edith (Colberg) had 2 sons

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Evan (Iver) and Esther (Lundgren) had 5 children

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Willie and Ellen (Nelson) had 8 children

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Tekla and Fritz Oscar Lundwall had 12 children

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I didn't include photos since this post was so long. There are various photos in the Krans notebook that will later be posted.