Biographies - Crook-Youngquist Century Farm

(Source: “As Time Goes By”, Odebolt, Iowa 1877-1977, 
printed by The Odebolt Chronicle May, 1977) 

Crook-Youngquist Century Farm

The Crook-Youngquist farm is located southwest of Odebolt.  Swan Olaf Crook purchased his first land in Section 29 Wheeler Township Sac County from Iowa Railroad Land Company at four dollars and fifty cents per acre in 1873. Swan Olaf Crook was born July 4, 1847 in Skeane, Sweden. He came to America when he was twenty-one years old, to the home of his sister and her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Sandstrom. It was in their home he married Louise Larson.

Swan worked on the Wheeler Ranch and his first job was planting cottonwood trees all around the ranch. John Huldeen was foreman at the ranch and Swan borrowed a horse from him to look for land to buy. He was told to look for land where the white wild flowers were growing, as that would be the richest soil. After purchasing his land he lived in a sod house until he could build a cabin. He hauled the lumber for the cabin from Vail, Iowa with team and wagon. The first three children of Swan and Louise were born in this cabin and the cabin is still standing although three other houses have been built since. The stage coach from Denison to Storm Lake exchanged horses at this cabin. The highlights were letters from Sweden, sometimes bringing word of other emigrants who would come to live with them, until they found work.

One of the happiest times of Swan's life was when he could buy a sewing machine, as a surprise, for his wife. His saddest time was when many children died in the diphtheria epidemic and it was his job to make little caskets for them.

There has never been a public auction on this farm. The dinner bell and cow bell are still there, a part of the early days.

Mr. and Mrs. Swan Olaf Crook were parents of Albert, Louis, Florence and Martin. Martin Crook married Esther Anderson. The children born to them were Jayne (deceased) and Joyce, married Everett Youngquist, who died in 1962.

(Information on living persons removed.)

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