O. P. Larson
O. P. Larson, for many years a resident of Whitehall, was one of the most successful men in Trempealeau County. Coming here as a poor boy, and working for many years under the handicap of poor health, he gradually built up a series of establishments which formed a chain of successful houses throughout the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. In building his own fortunes, he also aided many another man to achieve prosperity, and more than this, his stores and banks have had a part in the development of many a rural community. O. P. Larson was born on the estate of Eastern Piltingsrud, Begnadalen, Valders, Norway, April 15, 1849, and there received such education as his neighborhood and circumstances permitted. In 1866 he came to the United States and found his way to Trempealeau County, where he secured employment as a farm hand. His inclinations, however, turned to mercantile pursuits, and before long he was working in a store. His shrewdness, ability and courtesy won recognition, and it was not many years before he was at the head of an establishment of his own. The first store he owned was at Independence. After a while he looked to other fields, and gradually extended the scope of his activities. At the height of his career, he owned an interest in some twenty establishments, the most notable of which were the Bank of Eleva, Wis.; the Bank of Melrose, Wis.; the Churches Ferry State Bank, Churches Ferry, N. D., and the J. O. Melby & Co. Bank, Whitehall, as well as the mercantile stores of Larson, Melby & Co., Eleva, Wis.; Larson, Stevning & Co., Stephen, Minn.; Larson, Ringlie & Co., Binford, N. D., and Aneta, N. D.; Larson, Gravlie & Co., Adams, N. D.; Larson, Lander & Co., Fairdal, N. D.; Larson, Dokken & Co., Knox, N. D., and several others. To all of these concerns he gave considerable personal attention. His health, never robust, continued to fail, and in 1912 he went to Norway, in hopes that the land of his birth might bring to him restored vigor. But these hopes were not realized, and on Aug. 30, of that year, he died at Christiania, Norway. His body was brought back to Whitehall for burial. An obituary notice said of him : "Among the many hardy Northmen who have come to this country to share the blessings of our prosperous land, few have availed themselves of its privileges and opportunities more successfully than O. P. Larson. No one could spend an hour with Mr. Larson without realizing the intense energy of his mind, and his keen and almost intuitive analysis of any question or situation presented. For more than thirty years, always in delicate health, he wrestled with business problems, and the question of making his physical strength respond to his ever active mind, and as a sedative to his restless mental faculties and a stimulus to his lagging physical abilities, he traveled almost constantly. In pursuance of health and business he visited nearly every state in our Union. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean at least 24 times. He exemplified in the highest degree the power of mind over matter. He has left behind him sons and daughters eminently fitted to successfully carry on the many business enterprises which he established." Mr. Larson married Lina Waller, June 26, 1878. She was born in Snartingsdalen, Norway, Aug. 14, 1856, daughter of Ole Jacob Johansen and Martha Waller. Mr. and Mrs. Larson have had six children: Martha, Ohver, Lewis, Clarence, Julia and Manda. Martha married Bent Lander, a merchant of Fairdale, N. D., and they have two sons, twins, Bernhart and Reinhart. Oliver died March 27, 1900. Lewis is a merchant at Binfoi'd, N. D. He married Florence Ringlie, and they have one child, LuciUe. Clarence is a banker at Eleva. Julia married Christian F. Zoylner, a business man of New York, where they reside. Manda resides at home. Mrs. Larson was the help, encouragement and inspiration of Mr. Larson in all his undertakings. A lover of her home, and taking the greatest delight in domestic duties and the rearing of her children, she has nevertheless found time for much church and charitable work, and has taken an especially important and active part in the affairs of the Ladies' Aid Society. Few ladies have traveled more than she, her journeys with her husband for the benefit of his health having taken her to Norway half a dozen times, and to Colorado, the Pacific Coast states, and the gulf states. When but a mere child she lost her father in 1876, and was reared by her mother, receiving a good education, which her travels and experience has since deepened and broadened. In 1877 she came to America with her brother, Oliver Waller, and her sister, Kristina Waller, who became Mrs. Martin Nelson. She took up her home near Independence, with another sister, Ingeborg (Mrs. Sever Amundson), who had come to America some years previous, and there lived until her marriage to Mr. Larson.
(from HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY WISCONSIN
Compiled by Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Edited by Eben Douglas Pierce, M.D.
H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co.
Chicago and Winona 1917)
(from HISTORY OF TREMPEALEAU COUNTY WISCONSIN
Compiled by Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge
Edited by Eben Douglas Pierce, M.D.
H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co.
Chicago and Winona 1917)