We are glad to add an account of the life of this substantial gentleman, since his life has been an industrious and worthy one and he is now one of the enterprising and progressive citizens of the reservation country.
Erlan Olson was born in Dalsland, Sweden, on December 7, 1863, being the son of Olla and Anna Olson, also natives of the same place. Erlan was educated in his native place and in 1884 he crossed the North Sea to Hull, England, thence to Liverpool and so on to New. York. Next we see him in Marquette County, Michigan, mining. Soon he went to Duluth, Minnesota, and later to Canada, where he worked on the Canadian Pacific Railroad. He returned later to St. Paul, and then made his way to Leadville, where he worked on a tunnel of the railroad, and then railroaded in the Coeur d’Alenes. Finally he settled down to farming near Rosalia, having also taken a trip to Portland.
On November 18, 1895, Mr. Olson came to the reservation country and selected his present place. It lies one mile west from Nez Perce, and as he was one of the very first, he succeeded in getting a good farm. Since that time Mr. Olson has given himself to the good work of improving and making valuable the estate and he has succeeded in an admirable manner, having now one of the most valuable places around.
On November 1, 1899, Mr. Olson married Miss Martha Fuller, a native of Kentucky. She came west with her parents in 1888, and they now live near Nez Perce. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Olson, Wilber Erlan, born January 29, 1901.
Mr. Olson is a member of the Maccabees, in Nez Perce. He is a man of good standing and a well respected and intelligent citizen, whose labors have been always in the line of substantial improvement and up building.
Back to: Nez Perce Biographies
Source: An Illustrated History of Northern Idaho, Embracing Nez Perce, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903