"History of Cottonwood and Watonwan Counties of Minnesota, 1916"



The well-known and successful contractor, Otto Wenstrom, of St. James, Watonwan county, is one of the large number of immigrants from Scandinavia who has succeeded in the great republic of the West through sheer courage and perseverance. He was born in Sweden, January 4, 1865, and is a son of Severn J. and Sophia Wenstrom, both born in Sweden, where they grew up and were married. In 1869 they removed with their family to Rockford, Illinois, and in 1870 came on to Watonwan county, Minnesota, where they took up a homestead of eighty acres on which the father spent the rest of his life, dying in 1909 at the advanced age of eighty-four years. The mother died in 1883 at the age of fifty-eight years. They were the parents of five children, namely: Annie, Claus, Charley J. (deceased), Emma and Otto. These parents were members of the Swedish Lutheran church. The father was a charter member of the first church of this denomination in Watonwan county. He was a trustee of the same for many years and a leader of the choir, also a deacon for a long time, in fact, was the main pillar in the church. Politically, he was a Republican, but never an office seeker.

Otto Wenstrom was four years old when his parents brought him to America. He grew to manhood on the home farm and was educated in the district schools. When eighteen years old he began railroad grading work, later turning his attention to the threshing business, which he has followed each autumn for the past thirty-five years and is one of the best-known threshers in the county, in which he has lived for a period of forty-five years, most of the time at St. James. He has noted wonderful changes "come over the face of the land" during that period, seeing the town of St. James grow from the start, and he has always assisted in any way he could in its development. He owns a fine home in the town. He has been very successful both as a contractor and in the threshing business. Politically, he is a Republican. He is a member of the Swedish Lutheran church.

Mr. Wenstrom was married December 31, 1891, to Ida Olson, who was born in St. James, July n, 1872, and she Js a daughter of Iver and Julia Olson, natives of Norway, from which country they came to Wisconsin about 1865, and in 1870 removed to St. James, Watonwan county, and here they still reside, Mr. Olson being seventy-seven years of age and his wife sixty-nine. She is a daughter of Andrew Bentrud and wife, who came to Wisconsin about 1852, then moved to Mitchell county, Iowa, and purchased a farm. They are both now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Olson the following children were born: Halver, Bertha, Mattie, Christie and Julia.

To Mr. and Mrs. Wenstrom the following children have been born: Harry, born November 7, 1893, was educated in the schools of St. James, graduating from the high school in 1911, and he is at home working with his father; Ruth, born on March 10, 1896, was graduated from the St. James high school in 1914 and is now a student in Carlton College; Evelyn, born on August 31, 1901, is attending the local high school. Mr. Wenstrom has been re-elected to the city council for the second term this spring.



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