CHRISTOPHER•ALLEN•SMITH•WINTON Family Tree - Person Sheet
CHRISTOPHER•ALLEN•SMITH•WINTON Family Tree - Person Sheet
NameSyver INGEBRETTSEN , GGG Uncle
Birth Date2 Feb 1845 [68], [5073], [8112]
Birth PlaceRingsaker, Hedmark, Norway
Bapt Date9 Mar 1845 [68] Age: <1
Bapt PlaceRingsaker, Hedmark, Norway
Emig Date27 Apr 1858 [1211], [61] Age: 13
Emig PlaceRingsaker, Hedmark, Norway
Immi DateJul 1858 [566]
Immi PlaceDetroit, Michigan
MemoAssumes he entered the U.S. at the same time as his sister Oline.
Census Date1 Jun 1900 [309] Age: 55
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2413 1st Av. So., 8th Ward
Retire Date1901
MemoSold his drygoods business to Powers.
Census Date1 Jun 1905 [6111] Age: 60
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2413 1st Av. So., Precinct 6, Sub-division E, Ward 8
Census Date15 Apr 1910 [2431] Age: 65
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo1st Ave. South, 6th Precinct, 8th Ward (probably same house number as in 1900 but cannot read it clearly)
Reside Date1912 [2495]
Reside PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2413 1st Av. So.
Reside Date1913 [2496]
Reside PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2417 Pleasant Avenue
Reside Date1915 [2494]
Reside PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2417 Pleasant Avenue
Census Date12 Jan 1920 [2432] Age: 74
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2417 Pleasant Avenue, 8th Ward
Death PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Burial Date9 Apr 1928 [2075], [5073]
Burial PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
MemoLakewood Cemetery: section 10, lot 66, grave 4. Verified in person.
Alias/AKASeaver Elbert OLSON [3455], [5075], [6111], [8112]
Alt.SpellingSever Elbert OLSON [5073]
Alt.SpellingSever Albert OLSON [2075]
Alt.SpellingS. E. OLESON [6111]
OccupationRetail merchant (”dry goods”) [309]
OccupationGold Mining [2431]
OccupationPresident, Federal Finance Co. and Grand Crossing Land & Improvement Co. [2494], [2495]
FatherIngebrett OLSEN STIGEN (1808-1885)
MotherKari SIMENSDATTER (1804-<1881)
Misc. Notes
Seaver was on the board of directors of the 1891 Minneapolis Industrial Exposition. [183]

On 03-DEC-1894, Seaver’s Minneapolis dry goods store hosted a demonstration of Thomas Edison’s new Kinetoscopes. [8066]

Seaver built a large (58’ x 72’) home at 2417 Pleasant Ave., Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although the construction permit was issued 14-SEP-1911, it appears that the Olsons did not move in until 1912 or 1913. The original construction and most of the improvements were done by outside contractors, but in one case in 1923, “S. E. Olson” was listed as the contractor for an 8’x8’ addition. In 1958 the house was converted to a duplex and in 1960 the duplex was split up into a total of five apartments. After Seaver died in 1928, his widow, Ida, lived there at least through the time of the 1930 census (12 Apr 1930). Ida died in 1938, in Portland, Oregon, so she must have moved out sometime between 1930 and then. The 1940 census shows that in that year, the house was being rented by a widow, Clara K. CARPENTER, but it does not say she was in that house in 1935, only that she was in Minneapolis in 1935. The 1935 city directory lists 2417 Pleasant Av. as “vacant.”
[2495], [2496], [2570] [2494], [5068]

He left a will, dated 9-FEB-1927. [212]
The appraisement of his estate showed that his automobile was a 1927 Gardner Imperial Sedan Model 6B. [335] Appraised value was $500 but the original list price of that model was $1695. [938]
The will authorized an expenditure of up to $3000 for his grave monument. [212]

••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The oldest of Ingebrett’s two boys, Seaver Olson, arguably achieved the greatest success in life of all his siblings. Though, depending on how you measure success, his younger brother Edward did very well up to the time of his premature death. Seaver helped his father with the farm for a few years and then went to La Crosse, where he obtained employment at Mons Anderson’s general store. In an attempt to get a college education and pay for it himself, he enrolled at Beloit College and obtained part time work to cover expenses. During this time he also attempted to join the Union Army in the Civil War, but his youth and small size disqualified him. His efforts to achieve his education goals also failed and he determined to work full time and fund his brother’s education instead. He started with a job at a store in Beloit. This lead to a management position at a store in Cambridge, Wisconsin. In 1865 his former employer in La Crosse gave him a job as bookkeeper, clerk and general manager. In 1867 he made the bold step of opening his own store in Rushford, Minnesota, under the name S.E. Olson & Co. Catastrophe struck only a month later when fire destroyed his entire stock. But he rebuilt and continued until 1870 when he sold out and returned to his former employer in La Crosse. In April, 1873, he formed the “Olson, Smith & Co.” dry goods store. This lasted until 1878 when Seaver took his portion of the partnership to Minneapolis, where he joined up with N.B. Harwood & Co. Competition was tough in Minneapolis and this venture collapsed in 1880. Not being one to give up, Seaver now teamed up with a Mr. Ingram and reorganized under the name “Ingram, Olson & Co.” with a store on Nicollet Ave. in downtown Minneapolis. This time the business was such a success that in 1887 Seaver was able to buy out Mr. Ingram’s interest, changing the name to S.E. Olson & Co. On the 9th of January, 1889, Seaver married Ida May Hawley, but they never had any children. In 1892 he leased the corner of Fifth Street and First Ave. South and built the famous “Big Store,” which opened in September of 1893. By 1900 the business had achieved annual sales volume of over $2 million. He expanded the store with frontage on Nicollet Ave. and an “arcade” connecting this to the “Big Store.” There was even a piece of music composed in honor of the S. E. Olson & Co. store, called "The Big Store March and Two-Step" composed by George Schleiffarth (1896). In 1901 he sold the store to the Powers Dry Goods Company (aka, Powers Mercantile Co.) and retired, with Powers providing him an annuity contract. In addition to his great wealth from his store, Seaver was also a major investor in real estate. It was claimed he was one of the “principal founders” (possibly an exaggeration but his land holdings have been confirmed) of Mobridge, South Dakota, having owned several large parcels of its land (some of which are now under water due to the damming of the Missouri River at Pierre). His prominence in Minneapolis was not limited to his retail businesses. He was involved in politics with the Republican party, acting as delegate to the 1900 convention in Philadelphia. At one time he was President of the State Bank of Minneapolis. In 1910, in his retirement, the U.S. Census reported his occupation was in Gold Mining (Reliance Gold Mining Co.) and later in the 1915 Minneapolis city directory, he was noted as President of Federal Finance Co. and Grand Crossing Land & Improvement Co. He was on the staff of three Minnesota governors. He was president and a founding member of the Odin Club. And he was a major proponent of the 1891 Minneapolis Industrial Exposition, which was credited with helping to make Minneapolis larger than St. Paul. His death on 05-APR-1928 made front-page news in the following day’s Morning Tribune (though they got his age wrong; they reported 73 but he was actually 83). [333], [334], [335], [3439], [2494], [3440], [3441], [3453, p.1361], [3454], [3455, pp.387-8]
Research
In 1940, who owned the house on Pleasant Ave.. to rent it to Mrs. Carpenter? When was the first time the house changed hands after Seaver died?
Spouses
Birth PlaceMichigan, United States
MemoOr 1862
Census Date9 Jun 1870 [6110]
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo1st Ward
Census Date2 Jun 1880 [7769]
Census PlaceOstego Twp., Wright Co., Minnesota, United States
Census Date1 Jun 1900 [309]
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2314 1st Av. So., 8th Ward
Census Date1 Jun 1905 [6111]
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2413 1st Av. So., Precinct 6, Sub-division E, Ward 8
Census Date15 Apr 1910 [2431]
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo1st Ave. South, 6th Precinct, 8th Ward (probably same house number as in 1900 but cannot read it clearly)
Census Date12 Jan 1920 [2432]
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2417 Pleasant Avenue, 8th Ward
Census Date12 Apr 1930 [2433]
Census PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Memo2417 Pleasant Avenue, 8th Ward, Block 75
Death Date28 Dec 1938 [1498, MEMORIAL# 196310664]
Death PlacePortland, Multnomah Co., Oregon, United States
Burial PlacePortland, Multnomah Co., Oregon, United States [1498, MEMORIAL# 196310664]
MemoRiver View Cemetery: Sec 01, Lot 11-A, Grave 1
Alias/AKAIda HOLLY [7769]
FatherWalter G. HOLLY (ca1832-)
MotherNaoma MARKHAM (ca1832-)
Misc. Notes
Ida’s parents were born in the state of New York. [309], [2431]
Research
As of 4-APR-1940, Ida was no longer living at 2417 Pleasant Ave., Minneapolis. Based on the 1940 census for that address, another family was renting the house (CARPENTER), though it would appear that family first occupied the house sometime after 1-APR-1935. [5068]
The last city directory which lists Ida at the Pleasant Ave. house, was the 1934 edition. [2576]
In the 1935 directory, there is an entry, “OLSON, Ida M Mrs. r 3514 Girard av N” with no mention of her being the widow of Seaver as in prior years. However, the “reverse directory” section indexed by street address, lists an “OLSON, Donald B.” at 3514 Girard av N., so this would seem to be a different OLSON family. The 1935 edition lists 2417 Pleasant Av. as “vacant.”

Possible death dates: 13 MAY 1939; 12 MAR 1943 (assuming Hennepin Co.). On 07-JUL-2012, I examined both of those certificates on microfilm (# 1939-MN-020250 & #1943-MN-019089) but neither was a match. The 1939 Ida was Swedish and married; the 1943 Ida was also Swedish and the widow of Hans OLSON.

Ruled out CERTID# 1935-MN-021312, “Ida OLSON” d.  01 SEP 1935, Hennepin Co.. because that Ida’s spouse was Edward ANDERSON.

Also, possibly she is “Ida HALEY”, 17, in Minneapolis (ED 243), in 1880, working as “Clerk in Store” — could it have been at S.E. Olson Co. ? Ida was born in Michigan and parents in NY.
Marr PlaceMinneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota, United States
Marr MemoAt the West Hotel. Court approval granted 8 Jan 1889. Hennepin Co. Certificate #00420087
No Children
Last Modified 8 Mar 2022Created 23 Jun 2022 using Reunion for Macintosh
First Published 22 Sep 2013. Revised 23 Jun 2022
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