My Genealogy Hound

OLOF M. HOOG, an enterprising and successful farmer of Phelps county, is a native of Sweden, and was born December 27, 1854. He is the fifth of a family of six children born to Mons and Karin Oleson, natives also of Sweden. His parents never came to this country but died in the place of their birth, the father passing away in 1875, at the age of sixty-six, and the mother in 1867, at the age of forty-three.

The subject of this notice was born near Karlstad, Sweden, and reared on his father’s farm, receiving a good common-school education and being trained to the habits of usefulness and industry common to farm life. He came to America in April, 1876, and made his first stop at Red Wing, Minn., and found his first employment in this country as a farm hand. He came to Nebraska the following year and settled in Phelps county, where, after working one year as a farm hand, he took a homestead, filing on the northeast quarter of section 34, township 7, range 18 west, and began farming for himself. He started in with very limited means, having only $29 when he came to the state, and, being unmarried, his first years were spent in “baching” and were marked by their great industry and hardships. He had the usual bad luck of the early settlers, losing his crops the first four seasons by the droughts, hail and other elements, but since that time has had reasonably fair success. He has most of his farm under cultivation and has it well supplied with all needed buildings, stock and implements. What he has, represents the fruit of his own industry and good management.

In February, 1886, he married Miss Louisa Backman, a daughter of S. P. Backman, she and her parents both being natives of Sweden. To this union have been born two children — Elsie Christina and Laura Alma.

Mr. Hoog is now serving his second term as assessor of his township. He is a member of the Farmers’ Alliance, a stock-holder in the Farmers’ Elevator Company and otherwise prominently identified with the agricultural interests of his community. In politics he is a republican, being a zealous supporter of the teachings of his party.