BIOGRAPHY
(By his granddaughter Gale Boetius Perez, Find a Grave Member 47724849)
Einer was my mother's father. I was almost five when he died in 1959 and have only one memory of him - one day, an ice cream truck came down the street where he and my grandmother lived in Santa Paula, and he stopped it to buy me an ice cream. It's a small memory, but a precious one.
Most of what I learned of him I've found on genealogical websites and in various local records. I've also included recollections from his children (my mother Shirley and her brother Ellsworth). I've tried to include details which would be of interest to his descendants.
1887 Birth in Norway; Emigration to the U.S.
Einer was born in Elverum, Hedmark, Norway, to 27 year old Oline Engebretsdatter Gammelmoen (Gammelmoen was the name of her family's farm) and 20 year old Ole Johnsen Houm (Houm was his family's farm; Find a Grave Memorial 119440840).
The Elverum Lutheran Church record contains interesting details of his birth. Løken was the name of the farm where his mother was working as a maidservant when he was born. He was baptized on July 1. One column asks whether the birth was legitimate or not - Einer's was noted as uægte (illegitimate) because his parents were not married. Births out of wedlock did occur sometimes and the word uægte was underscored with a wavy line. I have read that Oline would have been required to announce the name of the father in church, which would have been a humiliating experience even though children were sometimes born out of wedlock.
Three months after Einar's birth, Oline's brother Oluf escorted Oline and her baby son to the United States. Oluf had already emigrated in 1882, settled in Wisconsin, and attained citizenship. In the passenger list, Oline's and Einer's surnames were entered as Engebretsen, which was slightly unusual because conventionally, only Oluf would have had that name. Their father's name was Engebret Olsen (son of Ole). Engebret's sons would have been Engebretsen, sometimes shortened to Embretsen, and conventionally Oline and her sister would have been Engebretsdotter, Engebretsdr or Embretsdr. Oline's title on the ship's register was Mrs. Oluf was 34, Oline 28, and Einar three months. They had a "family" cabin (distinct from 1st, 2nd or 3rd class, and from "male" and "female" cabins). They had two pieces of luggage.
The Geiser was a Danish ship with one funnel and three masts, and served a route from Christiania (Copenhagen) to Christiansand (Oslo) to New York. It could accommodate 50 first class passengers, 50 second class passengers, and 900 third class passengers. The ship was in service for just seven years, from 1881-1888. On August 14, 1888, it collided with the Thingvalla off Sable Island (Nova Scotia), broke in two after five minutes and sank, killing 105 people.
Oluf, Oline and Einer boarded the SS Geiser on September 19, 1887,Oluf, Oline and Einer arrived in New York Harbor on October 14, 1887. They would have been processed through the Castle Garden immigration office as Ellis Island was not yet operational.
1887 - 1909 Wisconsin (Shawano County)
Both Oline and her brother Oluf evidently dropped "Engebretsen" and started using their father's patronymic (Olson) in the United States, because that is the name that appears on his marriage record in 1888, and hers in 1891.
Oluf married Marie Christine Olson on July 15, 1888, at the Norwegian Orphans' Home in Wittenberg. The town of Wittenberg and the Orphans' Home were founded by Rev. Even Johnson Homme (Find a Grave Memorial 73170676), who officiated at their wedding ceremony. They had no biological children but had one adopted son, Alex.
I have not been able to determine yet where Oline and Einer lived before she married Lars Olof Tullberg on January 6, 1891, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Morris. Rev. Homme also performed their marriage ceremony.
Lars was 19 years older than Oline and had four adult sons ranging in age from 36 to 24 (Gustave, Svend "Harry", Niels Henry, and Olof) with his first wife, Hadda, who had died in 1887. Three year old Einer assumed the Tullberg name, and Oline had three children with Lars: Carl, Alfred, and Hadda (named after Lars' first wife, as was not unusual).
In the 1900 census taken June 11, 12 year old Einar is living with Oline and Lars, his half-siblings Hadda, Carl and Alfred. and his step-brother Harry. Lars owns a mortgaged farm which the census taker assigns to farm schedule number 78 (produce and other output). Lars, Oline, and Einer can read, write and speak English. Einer has attended school for seven months that year (one wonders how that could be possible, unless someone misunderstood the question).
Einer's six year old sister Hadda died later that year of "dropsy" (which Einer remembered as pneumonia), and his mother Oline died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1901. Einer was now 14.
Meanwhile, Einer's biological father Ole Johnson Houm in Norway married Anne Pedersdatter Schulstad in 1898. Ole and Anne had three children (Ingrid, John and Per Pauli) who would be Einer's half-siblings. It seems very possible that Oline learned of Ole's marriage from her siblings who still lived in Elverum. None of Ole's children had children, so Ole's line ended there. Oline, however, would not only have four children including Einer, but many grandchildren who in turn would have children, so her line continues.
In the 1905 Wisconsin census, 18 year old Einer was lodging with his stepfather's great-niece Vere (Boldig) and her husband Christian Hansen in Morris. Vere was the granddaughter of Lars' older sister Johanna (Tullberg) Hansen. Christian and Vere's son Fred was a saw filer at a lumber mill, and Einer was a laborer at a mill. The picture posted on this memorial of two men sawing a log could have been taken about that time. The man on the left could be Einer.
1910 - 1915 North Dakota (Adams and Hettinger Counties)
The 1910 census, taken on May 18, shows 18 year old Einer living with his 69 year old stepfather Lars in an unincorporated area of Adams County, North Dakota (Township 131N, Range 092 West) between Hettinger and Mott. Einer was helping Lars to prove up a homestead claim on the southwest quarter of Section 20. They were employed as carpenters, building homes and had been fully employed that year - both replied that they had worked twenty weeks thus far.
The 1910 census shows that both Einer and Lars had begun the process of naturalization. Einer had filed his Declaration of Intent in Shawano County, Wisconsin on April 1, 1909. Einer's 1909 declaration of intention describes him as 5'5" and 148 lbs., with a light complexion, light brown hair and blue eyes. Lars had arrived in the United States on the SS Geiser (the same ship that Einer and Oline took in 1887) on November 29, 1883. The following year - on October 31, 1884 - Lars declared his intent to naturalize in Langlade County, Wisconsin. For some reason he did not file his Petition for Naturalization until June 22, 1911, in Adams County, North Dakota. In his Petition, Lars gave his homestead property as his place of residence, but now gave Einer's as in the nearby unincorporated town of Bentley. Einer's half-brother Carl was noted as living in Mott. Lars was naturalized on November 23, 1911 in Adams County.
Einer completed his naturalization paperwork in Hettinger County, filing his Petition for Naturalization on September 20, 1912 and becoming a US citizen on February 4, 1913. It seems likely that the portrait which my mother had and which is posted on this memorial of Einer with his half-brothers Carl and Alfred, and their father Lars, which is dated 1913 and taken in Mott, was taken to commemorate that event.
On May 23, 1912, Lars was granted his 160 acre homestead in Adams County (Patent No. 269046), which was supplemented in 1916 by a second patent (No. 518735) designating the homestead as non-coal. When Lars died in 1923, he left the North Dakota homestead to his son Henry, Einer, and his two sons with Oline (Carl and Alfred). Lars' other two surviving sons with his first wife (Gustave and Harry) had already received a share of his estate, presumably his farm in Wisconsin. Henry said at the probate hearing that the North Dakota homestead was a granary and he estimated its value at $3,000. A neighbor was renting fifty acres of the farm and paying $75 a year in rent. As of 2022 the farm was presumably still be in private hands, as it had not yet reverted to the Bureau of Land Management.
1915-1922 Montana (Custer & Garfield Counties)
On June 5, 1915, Einer registered for the WWI draft, spelling his name now as "Einer L. Tulberg" (rather than "Einar" or "Tullberg"). He is exempt from military service because he has flat feet. He is described as short, with medium build, dark hair and blue eyes. He is living in Cohagen on homestead property which will be finalized in 1919., and working in Miles City as a carpenter for Clearman & Co. The company was awarded the contract for the new city hall in Miles City in August 1914 and it seems likely that Einer helped build it. Fred W. Clearman of Miles City was one of a family of builders whose contracts included homes, hotels and other public structures as far away as Great Falls, MT.
Two years later, Einer had a very brief marriage. He married Narenia Straight (Find a Grave Memorial 19356005) in Miles City on August 4, 1917. Three months later, he later told my mother, she left him, taking everything he had. So far I have not found a divorce record, but that would not have been unusual in those days and conditions, and it's possible that one of them obtained a divorce in a nearby no-fault state (South Dakota).
Meanwhile, Einer had been in the process of proving up a homestead claim 59 miles northwest of Miles City, in Garfield County. On June 14, 1919, his claim was finalized, and he was granted three parcels (240 acres, 44.37 acres and 44.25 acres) at 15° North, Range 39° East, Section 18. Most of the land along rivers had been previously claimed, and in 1909 Congress passed the Enlarged Homestead Act to permit family claims up to 320 acres in dryer lands, especially in the Great Plains. Claimants still had to occupy and improve their land for five years and could not leave it for longer than six months at a time.
Einer's half-brother Carl John Tullberg also obtained a homestead patent in Montana, but in Rosebud County, on June 24, 1921.
In the 1920 census, 33 year old Einer was still recorded as living in Miles City, working as a building carpenter and now lodging with the Hiers family at 111 South Center Ave.. His marital status was Single. The Hiers, Jesse and Maude, were both 37 and had two children, Ruth (6) and Robert (6 months). Jesse was a county assessor.
Later that year, on Einer, Jesse, W.L. Mott and several others formed a new corporation in Miles City, the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), reported in the October 6, 1920, edition of the Butte Miner.
During his stay in Montana, Einer was part of the construction crew on one or more lodges at Yellowstone National Park.
1920 - 1930 North Dakota / Los Angeles
The 1923 Miles City directory shows Einer now residing at the Milligan Hotel, but by the time his stepfather Lars died on October 25, 1923, he was living in Long Beach, California. Until he married Amelia in 1929, he spent his time between North Dakota and southern California pursuing various employment opportunities.
Einer moved to the Los Angeles area in search of employment a few times in the 1920s. My mother remembered that he held stock in the oil fields at Signal Hill (that must have been Royal Dutch Shell), so perhaps he was employed by Shell to build oil derricks or work in the oil fields. In 1924, Einer lived at 4232 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, according to California voting records. He had registered as a Democrat and his occupation was a carpenter.
At some point, Einer moved to Turtle Lake, North Dakota. Turtle Lake was very close to Amelia's childhood home, and it seems possible that they met then, as her parents still lived there. The December 30, 1925 Bismarck Tribune (page 5) reported that Einer "returned home to Turtle Lake" after visiting with his half-brother Carl and Carl's wife Ella in Bismarck. Carl and Ella had married the previous year.
On January 20, 1927, Einer again left North Dakota to take a position in Los Angeles, stopping in Miles City to visit with friends (Bismarck Tribune, January 21, 1927).
In 1928 he is listed in the Bismarck city directory, at 409 5th St (next door to his half-brother Carl and wife Ella). The listing indicates that he was in a partnership, "Feltman & Tullberg." Paul Feltman (1899-1960) had married Johanna "Jennie" Steinert in 1924; Jennie was a cousin of my grandmother, his future wife Amelia Klein. That is another possible way that Einer and Amelia might have met.
1930-1942 Marriage, Children and Living in Bismarck
Einer and Amelia applied for a marriage license on December 23, 1929, and were married on Christmas Day. Einer was 42 years old, and Amelia was 21. They had a ten-day honeymoon to Minneapolis. Their son, my uncle Ellsworth, said "10 days is a long time to be off work in those days" as this was the time of the Great Depression.
The 1930 census shows that they initially lived with Carl and Ella Tullberg at 1021 Fourth Street, but later moved next door to 1017 Fourth Street. My mother (born in 1933) remembers that they lived in the basement. The census states that Amelia was a naturalized citizen, which must have happened by marriage to a naturalized citizen since she didn't become naturalized on her own until September 20, 1941.
They lived very close to the State Capitol. They had two children - Ellsworth Eugene, born September 13, 1930, and my mother Shirley Ann, born March 3, 1933 - the same day as her future husband Paul.
Einer continued working as a carpenter, and had his own construction company. Some of the photos we have posted show his truck with "EL Tulberg Builder Phone 1924" painted on the side. Einer's son Ellsworth recalls visiting the work sites now and then "and Dad would give me something to do to get me out of his hair such as: Go get me a 'board stretcher'. Obviously I would get frustrated after a while and leave."
Amelia continued working as a checker at the Capital Steam Laundry, where she had worked since leaving school after the seventh grade.
In 1933, Einer was part of the WPA construction crew on the new 21-story, Art Deco-style State Capitol, which was completed in 1934 during the Great Depression and replaced the earlier building which had burned to the ground December 28, 1930. The crew made $.30 per hour. My mother told me that he worked on the portion in front that is lower than the rest of the building (basement?). But on Thursday, April 13, 1933, five weeks after my mother was born, he suffered a 24 foot fall from the main floor to the basement, breaking several bones in his left foot and his left thigh bone. The Saturday, April 15 edition of the Bismarck Tribune carried Einer's story on the front page along with top international stories of the day – "Germany Objects to Chamberlain's Speech," and "Moscow Fears Jap Attack in May."
"Having suffered several broken bones in his left foot and a break in his left thigh bone just below the hip in a 24-foot fall while working on the new North Dakota state capitol, Einar Tullberg, carpenter, was in satisfactory condition at a local hospital Saturday. Tullberg fell from the main floor to the ground floor of the basement of the western wing of the structure. The mishap occurrerd Thursday forenoon. Tullberg resides at 1021 Fourth Street."
Einer's son (my uncle) Ellsworth said, "He was extremely lucky to survive the fall. He ended up with one leg shorter than the other so he had a limp for the rest of his life."
Einer of course could not work while he recovered from his fall, but fortunately they were still living with Einer's half-brother Carl and his wife Ella. Ellsworth was two and a half, and my mother Shirley was an infant.
On September 27, 1937, Einer began working for cabinetmaker Albert Stude of 811 Front Street, Bismarck. The Social Security Administration had been created in 1935 and started issuing cards in 1936. Einer applied on October 12 1937, giving his currently employer as Stude but adding that he had been a contractor (Employer No. 45-0204340). Einer made my mother a beautifully crafted cabinet to hold her doll dishes and perhaps made it during this time. His Social Security Card was issued on September 27, 1937.
By 1938 Einer and Amelia had moved to their own house at 1017 Fourth St., next door to Ella and Carl.
The December 19, 1939, edition of the Bismarck Tribune reported that Einer:
PROTESTS BRIGHT LIGHTS Einar Tullberg, 1017 Fourth St., appeared with a request that the police department enforce the automobile bright lights ordinance and ordinances against corner-cutting. The commission informed Tullberg it would direct the police to be alert to violaions of this kind."
On the same page were an ad for "San Francisco" starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Jeannette MacDonald, and an obituary for Mrs. Rudyard Kipling.
1942 - 1959 Santa Paula, California
On April 27, 1942, Einer completed his WWII draft registration card in Bismarck. Soon after that, Einer, Amelia, Ellsworth and Shirley moved to Santa Paula, California. Einer's step-nephews Arthur and Carl Tullberg (grandsons of Einer's step-father Lars) were carpenters for the Naval Construction Battalion Center (SeaBees) in Port Hueneme. For a long time Einer had wanted to move to southern California, and Port Hueneme would offer secure, full-time employment.
Einer was hired as a carpenter at Port Hueneme, and for two or three months they rented a house on Harvard and then moved to a duplex at 228 S 4th Street, where they remained. The duplex was across from Isbell Grammar School, which Ellsworth and Shirley attended. At one time, Einer's step-nephew Arthur Tullberg, wife Adelyne and their five children lived on the other side of the duplex and also rented one of the two upstairs apartments behind the duplex, above shared garages, where their two girls slept. Amelia managed both sides of the duplex and also the two apartments above the shared garages.
In 1955, the Navy awarded Einer a Certificate of Award for a suggestion he had made to accelerate the task of opening shipping crates. Einer's idea was to use a pry bar; any idea that could make the job faster and easier was welcomed. Einer's son Ellsworth said that Einer had not been able to serve in World War I because he had flat feet, and he always felt bad about not being able to serve; therefore, he was proud of his contribution.
In the late 1940s / early 1950s, Einer and Amelia, along with Einer's step-nephew Carl Henry Tullberg and wife Ethel, investigated homestead claims in 29 Palms, in the southern California desert. Ellsworth recalled that Amelia did not want to live in the desert, so Einer and Amelia never finalized their claim. However, Ethel and Carl did obtain a homestead, which was in Ethel's name. Some of the pictures posted here show the four of them out surveying the land.
As one of their 15 grandchildren, I remember their home in Santa Paula very well and describe it here for posterity.
When you walked in the front door of the duplex, you first noticed the lush red and green flowered wallpaper and wall to wall gray carpet of large leaf fronds. To the left (on the wall shared with the other side of the duplex) was a faux fireplace with tan tiles. A gilt mirror hung above the faux fireplace, with sconce lights on either side. They had a heater in the fireplace niche that Amelia painted silver, and which had a strong smell and smoked when it was used. Opposite the front door was a Murphy bed elegantly concealed behind glassed French doors with sheer, shirred curtains secured at top and bottom with a pocket rod. On the same wall were three scalloped, interlocking knick-knack shelves which held, among other things, Amelia's glass menagerie.
My mother Shirley remembers that Amelia had to wash the walls regularly due to the soot from the smudge pots which kept the fruit from freezing in the citrus orchards.
The television set was opposite the faux fireplace between two windows that looked out over the driveway. The kitchen door, opposite the front door, was one of those heavy older swinging doors, thick with many coats of glossy white paint. The refrigerator was an "icebox," the stove was of course gas which you had to light, and there was a cute Formica dinette. The laundry, just off the kitchen with a window to the driveway, consisted of what we would call a vintage washer – a round tub with a wringer attached – and a solar dryer (clothesline out back). My uncle Ellsworth and I recalled getting our hands stuck in the wringer when we were children. In the front, by the brick-red porch, Amelia used to plant geraniums (which she said "grew like weeds") but in later years, we saw she put plastic flowers in their place.
Einer was a typical father of the period, an easygoing man on the quiet side, and a hard worker to whom family was most important. Like many of his generation, his formal education didn't go beyond the eighth grade, but he was very intelligent – his son Ellsworth remembers Einer helping him with Algebra in high school: Einer "could figure out the answers, although not the way the teacher wanted." Einer was a loving and caring father and husband. He also a fun-loving side, with a good sense of humor and a mischievous streak – witness the tree-hugging picture taken at the park in Santa Monica where the last scene of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" was filmed.
Einer and Amelia loved to play cards with friends, and they enjoyed picnics at Steckel Park with Einer's step-nephew Carl and wife Ethel, his half-brother Carl John Tullberg and wife Ella, with Clara and Doris Tullberg, with step-nephew Art Tullberg and his wife Adelyne, and of course all the children. He enjoyed his cars - typical outings included driving to Castaic for breakfast pancakes on Sundays, and trips around the "triangle" – Santa Paula, Ojai, and Ventura.
Einer died on January 12, 1959, in Santa Paula, and is dearly missed by his family.
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TO LOS ANGELES
(Bismarck Tribune, Jan 21, 1927, p. 5 col. 2)
Einer Tullberg left Thursday evening for Los Angeles, Calif., where he has accepted a position. He plans to stop at Miles City for a few days' visit with friends.
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KLINE-TULLBERG VOWS SPOKEN CHRISTMAS DAY
(Bismarck Tribune, Dec 26, 1929, page 5, col. 2)
At a service read at 11 o'clock Christmas morning in the German Baptist church, Miss Amelia Kline, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kline, Turtle Lake, became the bride of Einar Tullberg, Bismarck. Rev. J. J. Lippart, pastor of the church. officiated.
The bride wore a dress of peach georgette with tan accessories, and her attendant, Miss Bertha Steinert, also wore a frock of peach colored georgette. Ray Shriner was best man.
A wedding dinner was served at the home of the bride's aunt, Mrs. Rose Steinert, 400 Thirteenth Street, after the ceremony.
Mr. and Mrs. Tullberg have gone to Minneapolis for a ten days honeymoon.
The bride has been employed at the Capital Steam Laundry for several years, and Mr. Tullberg is a carpenter.
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INJURED CARPENTER IN GOOD CONDITION
(Bismarck Tribune, April 15, 1933)
Having suffered several broken bones in his left foot and a break in his left thigh bone Just below the hip in a 34-foot fall while working on the new North Dakota state capitol, Einar Tullberg, carpenter, was in satisfactory condition at a local hospital Saturday.
Tullberg fell from the main floor to the ground floor of the basement of the western wing of the structure. The mishap occurred Thursday forenoon. Tullberg resides at 1031 Fourth St.
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E.L. TULBERG
(Santa Paula Chronicle, January 13, 1959)
Einer L. Tulberg, a resident of Santa Paula since 1942, died yesterday afternoon in a Ventura hospital. He was 71.
Born June 12, 1887, he had been a member of the Santa Paula local of the carpenters union.
Survivors are his widow, Amelia Tulberg, a daughter, mrs. Shirley Boetius, both of Santa Paula and a son, Lt. Ellsworth Tulberg who is stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Florida. He also leaves two brothers, five granddaughters and two grandsons.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later by the H. B. Skillin mortuary.
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EINER TULBERG
(Ventura County Star Free Press, January 14, 1959)
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday at the H. B. Skillin funeral chapel in Santa Paula for Einer L. Tulberg, 71, of 228 S. Fourth Street, Santa Paula, who died Monday. Burial will be at Santa Paula cemetery.
Mr. Tulberg was born on June 12, 1887, in Norway. He moved to Santa Paula 17 years ago and was a member of the carpenters union, Santa Paula local No. 2015.
He is survived by his wife Amelia and a daughter, Mrs. Shirley Boetius, both of Santa Paula; a son, Lt. Ellsworth Tulberg, with the air force in Florida; two brothers, Carl of Bismarck, N.D. and Alfred of Albert Lee, Minn.; five granddaughters and two grandsons.
(By his granddaughter Gale Boetius Perez, Find a Grave Member 47724849)
Einer was my mother's father. I was almost five when he died in 1959 and have only one memory of him - one day, an ice cream truck came down the street where he and my grandmother lived in Santa Paula, and he stopped it to buy me an ice cream. It's a small memory, but a precious one.
Most of what I learned of him I've found on genealogical websites and in various local records. I've also included recollections from his children (my mother Shirley and her brother Ellsworth). I've tried to include details which would be of interest to his descendants.
1887 Birth in Norway; Emigration to the U.S.
Einer was born in Elverum, Hedmark, Norway, to 27 year old Oline Engebretsdatter Gammelmoen (Gammelmoen was the name of her family's farm) and 20 year old Ole Johnsen Houm (Houm was his family's farm; Find a Grave Memorial 119440840).
The Elverum Lutheran Church record contains interesting details of his birth. Løken was the name of the farm where his mother was working as a maidservant when he was born. He was baptized on July 1. One column asks whether the birth was legitimate or not - Einer's was noted as uægte (illegitimate) because his parents were not married. Births out of wedlock did occur sometimes and the word uægte was underscored with a wavy line. I have read that Oline would have been required to announce the name of the father in church, which would have been a humiliating experience even though children were sometimes born out of wedlock.
Three months after Einar's birth, Oline's brother Oluf escorted Oline and her baby son to the United States. Oluf had already emigrated in 1882, settled in Wisconsin, and attained citizenship. In the passenger list, Oline's and Einer's surnames were entered as Engebretsen, which was slightly unusual because conventionally, only Oluf would have had that name. Their father's name was Engebret Olsen (son of Ole). Engebret's sons would have been Engebretsen, sometimes shortened to Embretsen, and conventionally Oline and her sister would have been Engebretsdotter, Engebretsdr or Embretsdr. Oline's title on the ship's register was Mrs. Oluf was 34, Oline 28, and Einar three months. They had a "family" cabin (distinct from 1st, 2nd or 3rd class, and from "male" and "female" cabins). They had two pieces of luggage.
The Geiser was a Danish ship with one funnel and three masts, and served a route from Christiania (Copenhagen) to Christiansand (Oslo) to New York. It could accommodate 50 first class passengers, 50 second class passengers, and 900 third class passengers. The ship was in service for just seven years, from 1881-1888. On August 14, 1888, it collided with the Thingvalla off Sable Island (Nova Scotia), broke in two after five minutes and sank, killing 105 people.
Oluf, Oline and Einer boarded the SS Geiser on September 19, 1887,Oluf, Oline and Einer arrived in New York Harbor on October 14, 1887. They would have been processed through the Castle Garden immigration office as Ellis Island was not yet operational.
1887 - 1909 Wisconsin (Shawano County)
Both Oline and her brother Oluf evidently dropped "Engebretsen" and started using their father's patronymic (Olson) in the United States, because that is the name that appears on his marriage record in 1888, and hers in 1891.
Oluf married Marie Christine Olson on July 15, 1888, at the Norwegian Orphans' Home in Wittenberg. The town of Wittenberg and the Orphans' Home were founded by Rev. Even Johnson Homme (Find a Grave Memorial 73170676), who officiated at their wedding ceremony. They had no biological children but had one adopted son, Alex.
I have not been able to determine yet where Oline and Einer lived before she married Lars Olof Tullberg on January 6, 1891, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Morris. Rev. Homme also performed their marriage ceremony.
Lars was 19 years older than Oline and had four adult sons ranging in age from 36 to 24 (Gustave, Svend "Harry", Niels Henry, and Olof) with his first wife, Hadda, who had died in 1887. Three year old Einer assumed the Tullberg name, and Oline had three children with Lars: Carl, Alfred, and Hadda (named after Lars' first wife, as was not unusual).
In the 1900 census taken June 11, 12 year old Einar is living with Oline and Lars, his half-siblings Hadda, Carl and Alfred. and his step-brother Harry. Lars owns a mortgaged farm which the census taker assigns to farm schedule number 78 (produce and other output). Lars, Oline, and Einer can read, write and speak English. Einer has attended school for seven months that year (one wonders how that could be possible, unless someone misunderstood the question).
Einer's six year old sister Hadda died later that year of "dropsy" (which Einer remembered as pneumonia), and his mother Oline died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1901. Einer was now 14.
Meanwhile, Einer's biological father Ole Johnson Houm in Norway married Anne Pedersdatter Schulstad in 1898. Ole and Anne had three children (Ingrid, John and Per Pauli) who would be Einer's half-siblings. It seems very possible that Oline learned of Ole's marriage from her siblings who still lived in Elverum. None of Ole's children had children, so Ole's line ended there. Oline, however, would not only have four children including Einer, but many grandchildren who in turn would have children, so her line continues.
In the 1905 Wisconsin census, 18 year old Einer was lodging with his stepfather's great-niece Vere (Boldig) and her husband Christian Hansen in Morris. Vere was the granddaughter of Lars' older sister Johanna (Tullberg) Hansen. Christian and Vere's son Fred was a saw filer at a lumber mill, and Einer was a laborer at a mill. The picture posted on this memorial of two men sawing a log could have been taken about that time. The man on the left could be Einer.
1910 - 1915 North Dakota (Adams and Hettinger Counties)
The 1910 census, taken on May 18, shows 18 year old Einer living with his 69 year old stepfather Lars in an unincorporated area of Adams County, North Dakota (Township 131N, Range 092 West) between Hettinger and Mott. Einer was helping Lars to prove up a homestead claim on the southwest quarter of Section 20. They were employed as carpenters, building homes and had been fully employed that year - both replied that they had worked twenty weeks thus far.
The 1910 census shows that both Einer and Lars had begun the process of naturalization. Einer had filed his Declaration of Intent in Shawano County, Wisconsin on April 1, 1909. Einer's 1909 declaration of intention describes him as 5'5" and 148 lbs., with a light complexion, light brown hair and blue eyes. Lars had arrived in the United States on the SS Geiser (the same ship that Einer and Oline took in 1887) on November 29, 1883. The following year - on October 31, 1884 - Lars declared his intent to naturalize in Langlade County, Wisconsin. For some reason he did not file his Petition for Naturalization until June 22, 1911, in Adams County, North Dakota. In his Petition, Lars gave his homestead property as his place of residence, but now gave Einer's as in the nearby unincorporated town of Bentley. Einer's half-brother Carl was noted as living in Mott. Lars was naturalized on November 23, 1911 in Adams County.
Einer completed his naturalization paperwork in Hettinger County, filing his Petition for Naturalization on September 20, 1912 and becoming a US citizen on February 4, 1913. It seems likely that the portrait which my mother had and which is posted on this memorial of Einer with his half-brothers Carl and Alfred, and their father Lars, which is dated 1913 and taken in Mott, was taken to commemorate that event.
On May 23, 1912, Lars was granted his 160 acre homestead in Adams County (Patent No. 269046), which was supplemented in 1916 by a second patent (No. 518735) designating the homestead as non-coal. When Lars died in 1923, he left the North Dakota homestead to his son Henry, Einer, and his two sons with Oline (Carl and Alfred). Lars' other two surviving sons with his first wife (Gustave and Harry) had already received a share of his estate, presumably his farm in Wisconsin. Henry said at the probate hearing that the North Dakota homestead was a granary and he estimated its value at $3,000. A neighbor was renting fifty acres of the farm and paying $75 a year in rent. As of 2022 the farm was presumably still be in private hands, as it had not yet reverted to the Bureau of Land Management.
1915-1922 Montana (Custer & Garfield Counties)
On June 5, 1915, Einer registered for the WWI draft, spelling his name now as "Einer L. Tulberg" (rather than "Einar" or "Tullberg"). He is exempt from military service because he has flat feet. He is described as short, with medium build, dark hair and blue eyes. He is living in Cohagen on homestead property which will be finalized in 1919., and working in Miles City as a carpenter for Clearman & Co. The company was awarded the contract for the new city hall in Miles City in August 1914 and it seems likely that Einer helped build it. Fred W. Clearman of Miles City was one of a family of builders whose contracts included homes, hotels and other public structures as far away as Great Falls, MT.
Two years later, Einer had a very brief marriage. He married Narenia Straight (Find a Grave Memorial 19356005) in Miles City on August 4, 1917. Three months later, he later told my mother, she left him, taking everything he had. So far I have not found a divorce record, but that would not have been unusual in those days and conditions, and it's possible that one of them obtained a divorce in a nearby no-fault state (South Dakota).
Meanwhile, Einer had been in the process of proving up a homestead claim 59 miles northwest of Miles City, in Garfield County. On June 14, 1919, his claim was finalized, and he was granted three parcels (240 acres, 44.37 acres and 44.25 acres) at 15° North, Range 39° East, Section 18. Most of the land along rivers had been previously claimed, and in 1909 Congress passed the Enlarged Homestead Act to permit family claims up to 320 acres in dryer lands, especially in the Great Plains. Claimants still had to occupy and improve their land for five years and could not leave it for longer than six months at a time.
Einer's half-brother Carl John Tullberg also obtained a homestead patent in Montana, but in Rosebud County, on June 24, 1921.
In the 1920 census, 33 year old Einer was still recorded as living in Miles City, working as a building carpenter and now lodging with the Hiers family at 111 South Center Ave.. His marital status was Single. The Hiers, Jesse and Maude, were both 37 and had two children, Ruth (6) and Robert (6 months). Jesse was a county assessor.
Later that year, on Einer, Jesse, W.L. Mott and several others formed a new corporation in Miles City, the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), reported in the October 6, 1920, edition of the Butte Miner.
During his stay in Montana, Einer was part of the construction crew on one or more lodges at Yellowstone National Park.
1920 - 1930 North Dakota / Los Angeles
The 1923 Miles City directory shows Einer now residing at the Milligan Hotel, but by the time his stepfather Lars died on October 25, 1923, he was living in Long Beach, California. Until he married Amelia in 1929, he spent his time between North Dakota and southern California pursuing various employment opportunities.
Einer moved to the Los Angeles area in search of employment a few times in the 1920s. My mother remembered that he held stock in the oil fields at Signal Hill (that must have been Royal Dutch Shell), so perhaps he was employed by Shell to build oil derricks or work in the oil fields. In 1924, Einer lived at 4232 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, according to California voting records. He had registered as a Democrat and his occupation was a carpenter.
At some point, Einer moved to Turtle Lake, North Dakota. Turtle Lake was very close to Amelia's childhood home, and it seems possible that they met then, as her parents still lived there. The December 30, 1925 Bismarck Tribune (page 5) reported that Einer "returned home to Turtle Lake" after visiting with his half-brother Carl and Carl's wife Ella in Bismarck. Carl and Ella had married the previous year.
On January 20, 1927, Einer again left North Dakota to take a position in Los Angeles, stopping in Miles City to visit with friends (Bismarck Tribune, January 21, 1927).
In 1928 he is listed in the Bismarck city directory, at 409 5th St (next door to his half-brother Carl and wife Ella). The listing indicates that he was in a partnership, "Feltman & Tullberg." Paul Feltman (1899-1960) had married Johanna "Jennie" Steinert in 1924; Jennie was a cousin of my grandmother, his future wife Amelia Klein. That is another possible way that Einer and Amelia might have met.
1930-1942 Marriage, Children and Living in Bismarck
Einer and Amelia applied for a marriage license on December 23, 1929, and were married on Christmas Day. Einer was 42 years old, and Amelia was 21. They had a ten-day honeymoon to Minneapolis. Their son, my uncle Ellsworth, said "10 days is a long time to be off work in those days" as this was the time of the Great Depression.
The 1930 census shows that they initially lived with Carl and Ella Tullberg at 1021 Fourth Street, but later moved next door to 1017 Fourth Street. My mother (born in 1933) remembers that they lived in the basement. The census states that Amelia was a naturalized citizen, which must have happened by marriage to a naturalized citizen since she didn't become naturalized on her own until September 20, 1941.
They lived very close to the State Capitol. They had two children - Ellsworth Eugene, born September 13, 1930, and my mother Shirley Ann, born March 3, 1933 - the same day as her future husband Paul.
Einer continued working as a carpenter, and had his own construction company. Some of the photos we have posted show his truck with "EL Tulberg Builder Phone 1924" painted on the side. Einer's son Ellsworth recalls visiting the work sites now and then "and Dad would give me something to do to get me out of his hair such as: Go get me a 'board stretcher'. Obviously I would get frustrated after a while and leave."
Amelia continued working as a checker at the Capital Steam Laundry, where she had worked since leaving school after the seventh grade.
In 1933, Einer was part of the WPA construction crew on the new 21-story, Art Deco-style State Capitol, which was completed in 1934 during the Great Depression and replaced the earlier building which had burned to the ground December 28, 1930. The crew made $.30 per hour. My mother told me that he worked on the portion in front that is lower than the rest of the building (basement?). But on Thursday, April 13, 1933, five weeks after my mother was born, he suffered a 24 foot fall from the main floor to the basement, breaking several bones in his left foot and his left thigh bone. The Saturday, April 15 edition of the Bismarck Tribune carried Einer's story on the front page along with top international stories of the day – "Germany Objects to Chamberlain's Speech," and "Moscow Fears Jap Attack in May."
"Having suffered several broken bones in his left foot and a break in his left thigh bone just below the hip in a 24-foot fall while working on the new North Dakota state capitol, Einar Tullberg, carpenter, was in satisfactory condition at a local hospital Saturday. Tullberg fell from the main floor to the ground floor of the basement of the western wing of the structure. The mishap occurrerd Thursday forenoon. Tullberg resides at 1021 Fourth Street."
Einer's son (my uncle) Ellsworth said, "He was extremely lucky to survive the fall. He ended up with one leg shorter than the other so he had a limp for the rest of his life."
Einer of course could not work while he recovered from his fall, but fortunately they were still living with Einer's half-brother Carl and his wife Ella. Ellsworth was two and a half, and my mother Shirley was an infant.
On September 27, 1937, Einer began working for cabinetmaker Albert Stude of 811 Front Street, Bismarck. The Social Security Administration had been created in 1935 and started issuing cards in 1936. Einer applied on October 12 1937, giving his currently employer as Stude but adding that he had been a contractor (Employer No. 45-0204340). Einer made my mother a beautifully crafted cabinet to hold her doll dishes and perhaps made it during this time. His Social Security Card was issued on September 27, 1937.
By 1938 Einer and Amelia had moved to their own house at 1017 Fourth St., next door to Ella and Carl.
The December 19, 1939, edition of the Bismarck Tribune reported that Einer:
PROTESTS BRIGHT LIGHTS Einar Tullberg, 1017 Fourth St., appeared with a request that the police department enforce the automobile bright lights ordinance and ordinances against corner-cutting. The commission informed Tullberg it would direct the police to be alert to violaions of this kind."
On the same page were an ad for "San Francisco" starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Jeannette MacDonald, and an obituary for Mrs. Rudyard Kipling.
1942 - 1959 Santa Paula, California
On April 27, 1942, Einer completed his WWII draft registration card in Bismarck. Soon after that, Einer, Amelia, Ellsworth and Shirley moved to Santa Paula, California. Einer's step-nephews Arthur and Carl Tullberg (grandsons of Einer's step-father Lars) were carpenters for the Naval Construction Battalion Center (SeaBees) in Port Hueneme. For a long time Einer had wanted to move to southern California, and Port Hueneme would offer secure, full-time employment.
Einer was hired as a carpenter at Port Hueneme, and for two or three months they rented a house on Harvard and then moved to a duplex at 228 S 4th Street, where they remained. The duplex was across from Isbell Grammar School, which Ellsworth and Shirley attended. At one time, Einer's step-nephew Arthur Tullberg, wife Adelyne and their five children lived on the other side of the duplex and also rented one of the two upstairs apartments behind the duplex, above shared garages, where their two girls slept. Amelia managed both sides of the duplex and also the two apartments above the shared garages.
In 1955, the Navy awarded Einer a Certificate of Award for a suggestion he had made to accelerate the task of opening shipping crates. Einer's idea was to use a pry bar; any idea that could make the job faster and easier was welcomed. Einer's son Ellsworth said that Einer had not been able to serve in World War I because he had flat feet, and he always felt bad about not being able to serve; therefore, he was proud of his contribution.
In the late 1940s / early 1950s, Einer and Amelia, along with Einer's step-nephew Carl Henry Tullberg and wife Ethel, investigated homestead claims in 29 Palms, in the southern California desert. Ellsworth recalled that Amelia did not want to live in the desert, so Einer and Amelia never finalized their claim. However, Ethel and Carl did obtain a homestead, which was in Ethel's name. Some of the pictures posted here show the four of them out surveying the land.
As one of their 15 grandchildren, I remember their home in Santa Paula very well and describe it here for posterity.
When you walked in the front door of the duplex, you first noticed the lush red and green flowered wallpaper and wall to wall gray carpet of large leaf fronds. To the left (on the wall shared with the other side of the duplex) was a faux fireplace with tan tiles. A gilt mirror hung above the faux fireplace, with sconce lights on either side. They had a heater in the fireplace niche that Amelia painted silver, and which had a strong smell and smoked when it was used. Opposite the front door was a Murphy bed elegantly concealed behind glassed French doors with sheer, shirred curtains secured at top and bottom with a pocket rod. On the same wall were three scalloped, interlocking knick-knack shelves which held, among other things, Amelia's glass menagerie.
My mother Shirley remembers that Amelia had to wash the walls regularly due to the soot from the smudge pots which kept the fruit from freezing in the citrus orchards.
The television set was opposite the faux fireplace between two windows that looked out over the driveway. The kitchen door, opposite the front door, was one of those heavy older swinging doors, thick with many coats of glossy white paint. The refrigerator was an "icebox," the stove was of course gas which you had to light, and there was a cute Formica dinette. The laundry, just off the kitchen with a window to the driveway, consisted of what we would call a vintage washer – a round tub with a wringer attached – and a solar dryer (clothesline out back). My uncle Ellsworth and I recalled getting our hands stuck in the wringer when we were children. In the front, by the brick-red porch, Amelia used to plant geraniums (which she said "grew like weeds") but in later years, we saw she put plastic flowers in their place.
Einer was a typical father of the period, an easygoing man on the quiet side, and a hard worker to whom family was most important. Like many of his generation, his formal education didn't go beyond the eighth grade, but he was very intelligent – his son Ellsworth remembers Einer helping him with Algebra in high school: Einer "could figure out the answers, although not the way the teacher wanted." Einer was a loving and caring father and husband. He also a fun-loving side, with a good sense of humor and a mischievous streak – witness the tree-hugging picture taken at the park in Santa Monica where the last scene of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" was filmed.
Einer and Amelia loved to play cards with friends, and they enjoyed picnics at Steckel Park with Einer's step-nephew Carl and wife Ethel, his half-brother Carl John Tullberg and wife Ella, with Clara and Doris Tullberg, with step-nephew Art Tullberg and his wife Adelyne, and of course all the children. He enjoyed his cars - typical outings included driving to Castaic for breakfast pancakes on Sundays, and trips around the "triangle" – Santa Paula, Ojai, and Ventura.
Einer died on January 12, 1959, in Santa Paula, and is dearly missed by his family.
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TO LOS ANGELES
(Bismarck Tribune, Jan 21, 1927, p. 5 col. 2)
Einer Tullberg left Thursday evening for Los Angeles, Calif., where he has accepted a position. He plans to stop at Miles City for a few days' visit with friends.
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KLINE-TULLBERG VOWS SPOKEN CHRISTMAS DAY
(Bismarck Tribune, Dec 26, 1929, page 5, col. 2)
At a service read at 11 o'clock Christmas morning in the German Baptist church, Miss Amelia Kline, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kline, Turtle Lake, became the bride of Einar Tullberg, Bismarck. Rev. J. J. Lippart, pastor of the church. officiated.
The bride wore a dress of peach georgette with tan accessories, and her attendant, Miss Bertha Steinert, also wore a frock of peach colored georgette. Ray Shriner was best man.
A wedding dinner was served at the home of the bride's aunt, Mrs. Rose Steinert, 400 Thirteenth Street, after the ceremony.
Mr. and Mrs. Tullberg have gone to Minneapolis for a ten days honeymoon.
The bride has been employed at the Capital Steam Laundry for several years, and Mr. Tullberg is a carpenter.
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INJURED CARPENTER IN GOOD CONDITION
(Bismarck Tribune, April 15, 1933)
Having suffered several broken bones in his left foot and a break in his left thigh bone Just below the hip in a 34-foot fall while working on the new North Dakota state capitol, Einar Tullberg, carpenter, was in satisfactory condition at a local hospital Saturday.
Tullberg fell from the main floor to the ground floor of the basement of the western wing of the structure. The mishap occurred Thursday forenoon. Tullberg resides at 1031 Fourth St.
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E.L. TULBERG
(Santa Paula Chronicle, January 13, 1959)
Einer L. Tulberg, a resident of Santa Paula since 1942, died yesterday afternoon in a Ventura hospital. He was 71.
Born June 12, 1887, he had been a member of the Santa Paula local of the carpenters union.
Survivors are his widow, Amelia Tulberg, a daughter, mrs. Shirley Boetius, both of Santa Paula and a son, Lt. Ellsworth Tulberg who is stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Florida. He also leaves two brothers, five granddaughters and two grandsons.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later by the H. B. Skillin mortuary.
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EINER TULBERG
(Ventura County Star Free Press, January 14, 1959)
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday at the H. B. Skillin funeral chapel in Santa Paula for Einer L. Tulberg, 71, of 228 S. Fourth Street, Santa Paula, who died Monday. Burial will be at Santa Paula cemetery.
Mr. Tulberg was born on June 12, 1887, in Norway. He moved to Santa Paula 17 years ago and was a member of the carpenters union, Santa Paula local No. 2015.
He is survived by his wife Amelia and a daughter, Mrs. Shirley Boetius, both of Santa Paula; a son, Lt. Ellsworth Tulberg, with the air force in Florida; two brothers, Carl of Bismarck, N.D. and Alfred of Albert Lee, Minn.; five granddaughters and two grandsons.
BIOGRAPHY
(By his granddaughter Gale Boetius Perez, Find a Grave Member 47724849)
Einer was my mother's father. I was almost five when he died in 1959 and have only one memory of him - one day, an ice cream truck came down the street where he and my grandmother lived in Santa Paula, and he stopped it to buy me an ice cream. It's a small memory, but a precious one.
Most of what I learned of him I've found on genealogical websites and in various local records. I've also included recollections from his children (my mother Shirley and her brother Ellsworth). I've tried to include details which would be of interest to his descendants.
1887 Birth in Norway; Emigration to the U.S.
Einer was born in Elverum, Hedmark, Norway, to 27 year old Oline Engebretsdatter Gammelmoen (Gammelmoen was the name of her family's farm) and 20 year old Ole Johnsen Houm (Houm was his family's farm; Find a Grave Memorial 119440840).
The Elverum Lutheran Church record contains interesting details of his birth. Løken was the name of the farm where his mother was working as a maidservant when he was born. He was baptized on July 1. One column asks whether the birth was legitimate or not - Einer's was noted as uægte (illegitimate) because his parents were not married. Births out of wedlock did occur sometimes and the word uægte was underscored with a wavy line. I have read that Oline would have been required to announce the name of the father in church, which would have been a humiliating experience even though children were sometimes born out of wedlock.
Three months after Einar's birth, Oline's brother Oluf escorted Oline and her baby son to the United States. Oluf had already emigrated in 1882, settled in Wisconsin, and attained citizenship. In the passenger list, Oline's and Einer's surnames were entered as Engebretsen, which was slightly unusual because conventionally, only Oluf would have had that name. Their father's name was Engebret Olsen (son of Ole). Engebret's sons would have been Engebretsen, sometimes shortened to Embretsen, and conventionally Oline and her sister would have been Engebretsdotter, Engebretsdr or Embretsdr. Oline's title on the ship's register was Mrs. Oluf was 34, Oline 28, and Einar three months. They had a "family" cabin (distinct from 1st, 2nd or 3rd class, and from "male" and "female" cabins). They had two pieces of luggage.
The Geiser was a Danish ship with one funnel and three masts, and served a route from Christiania (Copenhagen) to Christiansand (Oslo) to New York. It could accommodate 50 first class passengers, 50 second class passengers, and 900 third class passengers. The ship was in service for just seven years, from 1881-1888. On August 14, 1888, it collided with the Thingvalla off Sable Island (Nova Scotia), broke in two after five minutes and sank, killing 105 people.
Oluf, Oline and Einer boarded the SS Geiser on September 19, 1887,Oluf, Oline and Einer arrived in New York Harbor on October 14, 1887. They would have been processed through the Castle Garden immigration office as Ellis Island was not yet operational.
1887 - 1909 Wisconsin (Shawano County)
Both Oline and her brother Oluf evidently dropped "Engebretsen" and started using their father's patronymic (Olson) in the United States, because that is the name that appears on his marriage record in 1888, and hers in 1891.
Oluf married Marie Christine Olson on July 15, 1888, at the Norwegian Orphans' Home in Wittenberg. The town of Wittenberg and the Orphans' Home were founded by Rev. Even Johnson Homme (Find a Grave Memorial 73170676), who officiated at their wedding ceremony. They had no biological children but had one adopted son, Alex.
I have not been able to determine yet where Oline and Einer lived before she married Lars Olof Tullberg on January 6, 1891, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Morris. Rev. Homme also performed their marriage ceremony.
Lars was 19 years older than Oline and had four adult sons ranging in age from 36 to 24 (Gustave, Svend "Harry", Niels Henry, and Olof) with his first wife, Hadda, who had died in 1887. Three year old Einer assumed the Tullberg name, and Oline had three children with Lars: Carl, Alfred, and Hadda (named after Lars' first wife, as was not unusual).
In the 1900 census taken June 11, 12 year old Einar is living with Oline and Lars, his half-siblings Hadda, Carl and Alfred. and his step-brother Harry. Lars owns a mortgaged farm which the census taker assigns to farm schedule number 78 (produce and other output). Lars, Oline, and Einer can read, write and speak English. Einer has attended school for seven months that year (one wonders how that could be possible, unless someone misunderstood the question).
Einer's six year old sister Hadda died later that year of "dropsy" (which Einer remembered as pneumonia), and his mother Oline died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1901. Einer was now 14.
Meanwhile, Einer's biological father Ole Johnson Houm in Norway married Anne Pedersdatter Schulstad in 1898. Ole and Anne had three children (Ingrid, John and Per Pauli) who would be Einer's half-siblings. It seems very possible that Oline learned of Ole's marriage from her siblings who still lived in Elverum. None of Ole's children had children, so Ole's line ended there. Oline, however, would not only have four children including Einer, but many grandchildren who in turn would have children, so her line continues.
In the 1905 Wisconsin census, 18 year old Einer was lodging with his stepfather's great-niece Vere (Boldig) and her husband Christian Hansen in Morris. Vere was the granddaughter of Lars' older sister Johanna (Tullberg) Hansen. Christian and Vere's son Fred was a saw filer at a lumber mill, and Einer was a laborer at a mill. The picture posted on this memorial of two men sawing a log could have been taken about that time. The man on the left could be Einer.
1910 - 1915 North Dakota (Adams and Hettinger Counties)
The 1910 census, taken on May 18, shows 18 year old Einer living with his 69 year old stepfather Lars in an unincorporated area of Adams County, North Dakota (Township 131N, Range 092 West) between Hettinger and Mott. Einer was helping Lars to prove up a homestead claim on the southwest quarter of Section 20. They were employed as carpenters, building homes and had been fully employed that year - both replied that they had worked twenty weeks thus far.
The 1910 census shows that both Einer and Lars had begun the process of naturalization. Einer had filed his Declaration of Intent in Shawano County, Wisconsin on April 1, 1909. Einer's 1909 declaration of intention describes him as 5'5" and 148 lbs., with a light complexion, light brown hair and blue eyes. Lars had arrived in the United States on the SS Geiser (the same ship that Einer and Oline took in 1887) on November 29, 1883. The following year - on October 31, 1884 - Lars declared his intent to naturalize in Langlade County, Wisconsin. For some reason he did not file his Petition for Naturalization until June 22, 1911, in Adams County, North Dakota. In his Petition, Lars gave his homestead property as his place of residence, but now gave Einer's as in the nearby unincorporated town of Bentley. Einer's half-brother Carl was noted as living in Mott. Lars was naturalized on November 23, 1911 in Adams County.
Einer completed his naturalization paperwork in Hettinger County, filing his Petition for Naturalization on September 20, 1912 and becoming a US citizen on February 4, 1913. It seems likely that the portrait which my mother had and which is posted on this memorial of Einer with his half-brothers Carl and Alfred, and their father Lars, which is dated 1913 and taken in Mott, was taken to commemorate that event.
On May 23, 1912, Lars was granted his 160 acre homestead in Adams County (Patent No. 269046), which was supplemented in 1916 by a second patent (No. 518735) designating the homestead as non-coal. When Lars died in 1923, he left the North Dakota homestead to his son Henry, Einer, and his two sons with Oline (Carl and Alfred). Lars' other two surviving sons with his first wife (Gustave and Harry) had already received a share of his estate, presumably his farm in Wisconsin. Henry said at the probate hearing that the North Dakota homestead was a granary and he estimated its value at $3,000. A neighbor was renting fifty acres of the farm and paying $75 a year in rent. As of 2022 the farm was presumably still be in private hands, as it had not yet reverted to the Bureau of Land Management.
1915-1922 Montana (Custer & Garfield Counties)
On June 5, 1915, Einer registered for the WWI draft, spelling his name now as "Einer L. Tulberg" (rather than "Einar" or "Tullberg"). He is exempt from military service because he has flat feet. He is described as short, with medium build, dark hair and blue eyes. He is living in Cohagen on homestead property which will be finalized in 1919., and working in Miles City as a carpenter for Clearman & Co. The company was awarded the contract for the new city hall in Miles City in August 1914 and it seems likely that Einer helped build it. Fred W. Clearman of Miles City was one of a family of builders whose contracts included homes, hotels and other public structures as far away as Great Falls, MT.
Two years later, Einer had a very brief marriage. He married Narenia Straight (Find a Grave Memorial 19356005) in Miles City on August 4, 1917. Three months later, he later told my mother, she left him, taking everything he had. So far I have not found a divorce record, but that would not have been unusual in those days and conditions, and it's possible that one of them obtained a divorce in a nearby no-fault state (South Dakota).
Meanwhile, Einer had been in the process of proving up a homestead claim 59 miles northwest of Miles City, in Garfield County. On June 14, 1919, his claim was finalized, and he was granted three parcels (240 acres, 44.37 acres and 44.25 acres) at 15° North, Range 39° East, Section 18. Most of the land along rivers had been previously claimed, and in 1909 Congress passed the Enlarged Homestead Act to permit family claims up to 320 acres in dryer lands, especially in the Great Plains. Claimants still had to occupy and improve their land for five years and could not leave it for longer than six months at a time.
Einer's half-brother Carl John Tullberg also obtained a homestead patent in Montana, but in Rosebud County, on June 24, 1921.
In the 1920 census, 33 year old Einer was still recorded as living in Miles City, working as a building carpenter and now lodging with the Hiers family at 111 South Center Ave.. His marital status was Single. The Hiers, Jesse and Maude, were both 37 and had two children, Ruth (6) and Robert (6 months). Jesse was a county assessor.
Later that year, on Einer, Jesse, W.L. Mott and several others formed a new corporation in Miles City, the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), reported in the October 6, 1920, edition of the Butte Miner.
During his stay in Montana, Einer was part of the construction crew on one or more lodges at Yellowstone National Park.
1920 - 1930 North Dakota / Los Angeles
The 1923 Miles City directory shows Einer now residing at the Milligan Hotel, but by the time his stepfather Lars died on October 25, 1923, he was living in Long Beach, California. Until he married Amelia in 1929, he spent his time between North Dakota and southern California pursuing various employment opportunities.
Einer moved to the Los Angeles area in search of employment a few times in the 1920s. My mother remembered that he held stock in the oil fields at Signal Hill (that must have been Royal Dutch Shell), so perhaps he was employed by Shell to build oil derricks or work in the oil fields. In 1924, Einer lived at 4232 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, according to California voting records. He had registered as a Democrat and his occupation was a carpenter.
At some point, Einer moved to Turtle Lake, North Dakota. Turtle Lake was very close to Amelia's childhood home, and it seems possible that they met then, as her parents still lived there. The December 30, 1925 Bismarck Tribune (page 5) reported that Einer "returned home to Turtle Lake" after visiting with his half-brother Carl and Carl's wife Ella in Bismarck. Carl and Ella had married the previous year.
On January 20, 1927, Einer again left North Dakota to take a position in Los Angeles, stopping in Miles City to visit with friends (Bismarck Tribune, January 21, 1927).
In 1928 he is listed in the Bismarck city directory, at 409 5th St (next door to his half-brother Carl and wife Ella). The listing indicates that he was in a partnership, "Feltman & Tullberg." Paul Feltman (1899-1960) had married Johanna "Jennie" Steinert in 1924; Jennie was a cousin of my grandmother, his future wife Amelia Klein. That is another possible way that Einer and Amelia might have met.
1930-1942 Marriage, Children and Living in Bismarck
Einer and Amelia applied for a marriage license on December 23, 1929, and were married on Christmas Day. Einer was 42 years old, and Amelia was 21. They had a ten-day honeymoon to Minneapolis. Their son, my uncle Ellsworth, said "10 days is a long time to be off work in those days" as this was the time of the Great Depression.
The 1930 census shows that they initially lived with Carl and Ella Tullberg at 1021 Fourth Street, but later moved next door to 1017 Fourth Street. My mother (born in 1933) remembers that they lived in the basement. The census states that Amelia was a naturalized citizen, which must have happened by marriage to a naturalized citizen since she didn't become naturalized on her own until September 20, 1941.
They lived very close to the State Capitol. They had two children - Ellsworth Eugene, born September 13, 1930, and my mother Shirley Ann, born March 3, 1933 - the same day as her future husband Paul.
Einer continued working as a carpenter, and had his own construction company. Some of the photos we have posted show his truck with "EL Tulberg Builder Phone 1924" painted on the side. Einer's son Ellsworth recalls visiting the work sites now and then "and Dad would give me something to do to get me out of his hair such as: Go get me a 'board stretcher'. Obviously I would get frustrated after a while and leave."
Amelia continued working as a checker at the Capital Steam Laundry, where she had worked since leaving school after the seventh grade.
In 1933, Einer was part of the WPA construction crew on the new 21-story, Art Deco-style State Capitol, which was completed in 1934 during the Great Depression and replaced the earlier building which had burned to the ground December 28, 1930. The crew made $.30 per hour. My mother told me that he worked on the portion in front that is lower than the rest of the building (basement?). But on Thursday, April 13, 1933, five weeks after my mother was born, he suffered a 24 foot fall from the main floor to the basement, breaking several bones in his left foot and his left thigh bone. The Saturday, April 15 edition of the Bismarck Tribune carried Einer's story on the front page along with top international stories of the day – "Germany Objects to Chamberlain's Speech," and "Moscow Fears Jap Attack in May."
"Having suffered several broken bones in his left foot and a break in his left thigh bone just below the hip in a 24-foot fall while working on the new North Dakota state capitol, Einar Tullberg, carpenter, was in satisfactory condition at a local hospital Saturday. Tullberg fell from the main floor to the ground floor of the basement of the western wing of the structure. The mishap occurrerd Thursday forenoon. Tullberg resides at 1021 Fourth Street."
Einer's son (my uncle) Ellsworth said, "He was extremely lucky to survive the fall. He ended up with one leg shorter than the other so he had a limp for the rest of his life."
Einer of course could not work while he recovered from his fall, but fortunately they were still living with Einer's half-brother Carl and his wife Ella. Ellsworth was two and a half, and my mother Shirley was an infant.
On September 27, 1937, Einer began working for cabinetmaker Albert Stude of 811 Front Street, Bismarck. The Social Security Administration had been created in 1935 and started issuing cards in 1936. Einer applied on October 12 1937, giving his currently employer as Stude but adding that he had been a contractor (Employer No. 45-0204340). Einer made my mother a beautifully crafted cabinet to hold her doll dishes and perhaps made it during this time. His Social Security Card was issued on September 27, 1937.
By 1938 Einer and Amelia had moved to their own house at 1017 Fourth St., next door to Ella and Carl.
The December 19, 1939, edition of the Bismarck Tribune reported that Einer:
PROTESTS BRIGHT LIGHTS Einar Tullberg, 1017 Fourth St., appeared with a request that the police department enforce the automobile bright lights ordinance and ordinances against corner-cutting. The commission informed Tullberg it would direct the police to be alert to violaions of this kind."
On the same page were an ad for "San Francisco" starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Jeannette MacDonald, and an obituary for Mrs. Rudyard Kipling.
1942 - 1959 Santa Paula, California
On April 27, 1942, Einer completed his WWII draft registration card in Bismarck. Soon after that, Einer, Amelia, Ellsworth and Shirley moved to Santa Paula, California. Einer's step-nephews Arthur and Carl Tullberg (grandsons of Einer's step-father Lars) were carpenters for the Naval Construction Battalion Center (SeaBees) in Port Hueneme. For a long time Einer had wanted to move to southern California, and Port Hueneme would offer secure, full-time employment.
Einer was hired as a carpenter at Port Hueneme, and for two or three months they rented a house on Harvard and then moved to a duplex at 228 S 4th Street, where they remained. The duplex was across from Isbell Grammar School, which Ellsworth and Shirley attended. At one time, Einer's step-nephew Arthur Tullberg, wife Adelyne and their five children lived on the other side of the duplex and also rented one of the two upstairs apartments behind the duplex, above shared garages, where their two girls slept. Amelia managed both sides of the duplex and also the two apartments above the shared garages.
In 1955, the Navy awarded Einer a Certificate of Award for a suggestion he had made to accelerate the task of opening shipping crates. Einer's idea was to use a pry bar; any idea that could make the job faster and easier was welcomed. Einer's son Ellsworth said that Einer had not been able to serve in World War I because he had flat feet, and he always felt bad about not being able to serve; therefore, he was proud of his contribution.
In the late 1940s / early 1950s, Einer and Amelia, along with Einer's step-nephew Carl Henry Tullberg and wife Ethel, investigated homestead claims in 29 Palms, in the southern California desert. Ellsworth recalled that Amelia did not want to live in the desert, so Einer and Amelia never finalized their claim. However, Ethel and Carl did obtain a homestead, which was in Ethel's name. Some of the pictures posted here show the four of them out surveying the land.
As one of their 15 grandchildren, I remember their home in Santa Paula very well and describe it here for posterity.
When you walked in the front door of the duplex, you first noticed the lush red and green flowered wallpaper and wall to wall gray carpet of large leaf fronds. To the left (on the wall shared with the other side of the duplex) was a faux fireplace with tan tiles. A gilt mirror hung above the faux fireplace, with sconce lights on either side. They had a heater in the fireplace niche that Amelia painted silver, and which had a strong smell and smoked when it was used. Opposite the front door was a Murphy bed elegantly concealed behind glassed French doors with sheer, shirred curtains secured at top and bottom with a pocket rod. On the same wall were three scalloped, interlocking knick-knack shelves which held, among other things, Amelia's glass menagerie.
My mother Shirley remembers that Amelia had to wash the walls regularly due to the soot from the smudge pots which kept the fruit from freezing in the citrus orchards.
The television set was opposite the faux fireplace between two windows that looked out over the driveway. The kitchen door, opposite the front door, was one of those heavy older swinging doors, thick with many coats of glossy white paint. The refrigerator was an "icebox," the stove was of course gas which you had to light, and there was a cute Formica dinette. The laundry, just off the kitchen with a window to the driveway, consisted of what we would call a vintage washer – a round tub with a wringer attached – and a solar dryer (clothesline out back). My uncle Ellsworth and I recalled getting our hands stuck in the wringer when we were children. In the front, by the brick-red porch, Amelia used to plant geraniums (which she said "grew like weeds") but in later years, we saw she put plastic flowers in their place.
Einer was a typical father of the period, an easygoing man on the quiet side, and a hard worker to whom family was most important. Like many of his generation, his formal education didn't go beyond the eighth grade, but he was very intelligent – his son Ellsworth remembers Einer helping him with Algebra in high school: Einer "could figure out the answers, although not the way the teacher wanted." Einer was a loving and caring father and husband. He also a fun-loving side, with a good sense of humor and a mischievous streak – witness the tree-hugging picture taken at the park in Santa Monica where the last scene of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" was filmed.
Einer and Amelia loved to play cards with friends, and they enjoyed picnics at Steckel Park with Einer's step-nephew Carl and wife Ethel, his half-brother Carl John Tullberg and wife Ella, with Clara and Doris Tullberg, with step-nephew Art Tullberg and his wife Adelyne, and of course all the children. He enjoyed his cars - typical outings included driving to Castaic for breakfast pancakes on Sundays, and trips around the "triangle" – Santa Paula, Ojai, and Ventura.
Einer died on January 12, 1959, in Santa Paula, and is dearly missed by his family.
*********************
TO LOS ANGELES
(Bismarck Tribune, Jan 21, 1927, p. 5 col. 2)
Einer Tullberg left Thursday evening for Los Angeles, Calif., where he has accepted a position. He plans to stop at Miles City for a few days' visit with friends.
*********************
KLINE-TULLBERG VOWS SPOKEN CHRISTMAS DAY
(Bismarck Tribune, Dec 26, 1929, page 5, col. 2)
At a service read at 11 o'clock Christmas morning in the German Baptist church, Miss Amelia Kline, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kline, Turtle Lake, became the bride of Einar Tullberg, Bismarck. Rev. J. J. Lippart, pastor of the church. officiated.
The bride wore a dress of peach georgette with tan accessories, and her attendant, Miss Bertha Steinert, also wore a frock of peach colored georgette. Ray Shriner was best man.
A wedding dinner was served at the home of the bride's aunt, Mrs. Rose Steinert, 400 Thirteenth Street, after the ceremony.
Mr. and Mrs. Tullberg have gone to Minneapolis for a ten days honeymoon.
The bride has been employed at the Capital Steam Laundry for several years, and Mr. Tullberg is a carpenter.
**********************
INJURED CARPENTER IN GOOD CONDITION
(Bismarck Tribune, April 15, 1933)
Having suffered several broken bones in his left foot and a break in his left thigh bone Just below the hip in a 34-foot fall while working on the new North Dakota state capitol, Einar Tullberg, carpenter, was in satisfactory condition at a local hospital Saturday.
Tullberg fell from the main floor to the ground floor of the basement of the western wing of the structure. The mishap occurred Thursday forenoon. Tullberg resides at 1031 Fourth St.
**********************
E.L. TULBERG
(Santa Paula Chronicle, January 13, 1959)
Einer L. Tulberg, a resident of Santa Paula since 1942, died yesterday afternoon in a Ventura hospital. He was 71.
Born June 12, 1887, he had been a member of the Santa Paula local of the carpenters union.
Survivors are his widow, Amelia Tulberg, a daughter, mrs. Shirley Boetius, both of Santa Paula and a son, Lt. Ellsworth Tulberg who is stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Florida. He also leaves two brothers, five granddaughters and two grandsons.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later by the H. B. Skillin mortuary.
**********************
EINER TULBERG
(Ventura County Star Free Press, January 14, 1959)
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday at the H. B. Skillin funeral chapel in Santa Paula for Einer L. Tulberg, 71, of 228 S. Fourth Street, Santa Paula, who died Monday. Burial will be at Santa Paula cemetery.
Mr. Tulberg was born on June 12, 1887, in Norway. He moved to Santa Paula 17 years ago and was a member of the carpenters union, Santa Paula local No. 2015.
He is survived by his wife Amelia and a daughter, Mrs. Shirley Boetius, both of Santa Paula; a son, Lt. Ellsworth Tulberg, with the air force in Florida; two brothers, Carl of Bismarck, N.D. and Alfred of Albert Lee, Minn.; five granddaughters and two grandsons.
(By his granddaughter Gale Boetius Perez, Find a Grave Member 47724849)
Einer was my mother's father. I was almost five when he died in 1959 and have only one memory of him - one day, an ice cream truck came down the street where he and my grandmother lived in Santa Paula, and he stopped it to buy me an ice cream. It's a small memory, but a precious one.
Most of what I learned of him I've found on genealogical websites and in various local records. I've also included recollections from his children (my mother Shirley and her brother Ellsworth). I've tried to include details which would be of interest to his descendants.
1887 Birth in Norway; Emigration to the U.S.
Einer was born in Elverum, Hedmark, Norway, to 27 year old Oline Engebretsdatter Gammelmoen (Gammelmoen was the name of her family's farm) and 20 year old Ole Johnsen Houm (Houm was his family's farm; Find a Grave Memorial 119440840).
The Elverum Lutheran Church record contains interesting details of his birth. Løken was the name of the farm where his mother was working as a maidservant when he was born. He was baptized on July 1. One column asks whether the birth was legitimate or not - Einer's was noted as uægte (illegitimate) because his parents were not married. Births out of wedlock did occur sometimes and the word uægte was underscored with a wavy line. I have read that Oline would have been required to announce the name of the father in church, which would have been a humiliating experience even though children were sometimes born out of wedlock.
Three months after Einar's birth, Oline's brother Oluf escorted Oline and her baby son to the United States. Oluf had already emigrated in 1882, settled in Wisconsin, and attained citizenship. In the passenger list, Oline's and Einer's surnames were entered as Engebretsen, which was slightly unusual because conventionally, only Oluf would have had that name. Their father's name was Engebret Olsen (son of Ole). Engebret's sons would have been Engebretsen, sometimes shortened to Embretsen, and conventionally Oline and her sister would have been Engebretsdotter, Engebretsdr or Embretsdr. Oline's title on the ship's register was Mrs. Oluf was 34, Oline 28, and Einar three months. They had a "family" cabin (distinct from 1st, 2nd or 3rd class, and from "male" and "female" cabins). They had two pieces of luggage.
The Geiser was a Danish ship with one funnel and three masts, and served a route from Christiania (Copenhagen) to Christiansand (Oslo) to New York. It could accommodate 50 first class passengers, 50 second class passengers, and 900 third class passengers. The ship was in service for just seven years, from 1881-1888. On August 14, 1888, it collided with the Thingvalla off Sable Island (Nova Scotia), broke in two after five minutes and sank, killing 105 people.
Oluf, Oline and Einer boarded the SS Geiser on September 19, 1887,Oluf, Oline and Einer arrived in New York Harbor on October 14, 1887. They would have been processed through the Castle Garden immigration office as Ellis Island was not yet operational.
1887 - 1909 Wisconsin (Shawano County)
Both Oline and her brother Oluf evidently dropped "Engebretsen" and started using their father's patronymic (Olson) in the United States, because that is the name that appears on his marriage record in 1888, and hers in 1891.
Oluf married Marie Christine Olson on July 15, 1888, at the Norwegian Orphans' Home in Wittenberg. The town of Wittenberg and the Orphans' Home were founded by Rev. Even Johnson Homme (Find a Grave Memorial 73170676), who officiated at their wedding ceremony. They had no biological children but had one adopted son, Alex.
I have not been able to determine yet where Oline and Einer lived before she married Lars Olof Tullberg on January 6, 1891, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Morris. Rev. Homme also performed their marriage ceremony.
Lars was 19 years older than Oline and had four adult sons ranging in age from 36 to 24 (Gustave, Svend "Harry", Niels Henry, and Olof) with his first wife, Hadda, who had died in 1887. Three year old Einer assumed the Tullberg name, and Oline had three children with Lars: Carl, Alfred, and Hadda (named after Lars' first wife, as was not unusual).
In the 1900 census taken June 11, 12 year old Einar is living with Oline and Lars, his half-siblings Hadda, Carl and Alfred. and his step-brother Harry. Lars owns a mortgaged farm which the census taker assigns to farm schedule number 78 (produce and other output). Lars, Oline, and Einer can read, write and speak English. Einer has attended school for seven months that year (one wonders how that could be possible, unless someone misunderstood the question).
Einer's six year old sister Hadda died later that year of "dropsy" (which Einer remembered as pneumonia), and his mother Oline died of consumption (tuberculosis) in 1901. Einer was now 14.
Meanwhile, Einer's biological father Ole Johnson Houm in Norway married Anne Pedersdatter Schulstad in 1898. Ole and Anne had three children (Ingrid, John and Per Pauli) who would be Einer's half-siblings. It seems very possible that Oline learned of Ole's marriage from her siblings who still lived in Elverum. None of Ole's children had children, so Ole's line ended there. Oline, however, would not only have four children including Einer, but many grandchildren who in turn would have children, so her line continues.
In the 1905 Wisconsin census, 18 year old Einer was lodging with his stepfather's great-niece Vere (Boldig) and her husband Christian Hansen in Morris. Vere was the granddaughter of Lars' older sister Johanna (Tullberg) Hansen. Christian and Vere's son Fred was a saw filer at a lumber mill, and Einer was a laborer at a mill. The picture posted on this memorial of two men sawing a log could have been taken about that time. The man on the left could be Einer.
1910 - 1915 North Dakota (Adams and Hettinger Counties)
The 1910 census, taken on May 18, shows 18 year old Einer living with his 69 year old stepfather Lars in an unincorporated area of Adams County, North Dakota (Township 131N, Range 092 West) between Hettinger and Mott. Einer was helping Lars to prove up a homestead claim on the southwest quarter of Section 20. They were employed as carpenters, building homes and had been fully employed that year - both replied that they had worked twenty weeks thus far.
The 1910 census shows that both Einer and Lars had begun the process of naturalization. Einer had filed his Declaration of Intent in Shawano County, Wisconsin on April 1, 1909. Einer's 1909 declaration of intention describes him as 5'5" and 148 lbs., with a light complexion, light brown hair and blue eyes. Lars had arrived in the United States on the SS Geiser (the same ship that Einer and Oline took in 1887) on November 29, 1883. The following year - on October 31, 1884 - Lars declared his intent to naturalize in Langlade County, Wisconsin. For some reason he did not file his Petition for Naturalization until June 22, 1911, in Adams County, North Dakota. In his Petition, Lars gave his homestead property as his place of residence, but now gave Einer's as in the nearby unincorporated town of Bentley. Einer's half-brother Carl was noted as living in Mott. Lars was naturalized on November 23, 1911 in Adams County.
Einer completed his naturalization paperwork in Hettinger County, filing his Petition for Naturalization on September 20, 1912 and becoming a US citizen on February 4, 1913. It seems likely that the portrait which my mother had and which is posted on this memorial of Einer with his half-brothers Carl and Alfred, and their father Lars, which is dated 1913 and taken in Mott, was taken to commemorate that event.
On May 23, 1912, Lars was granted his 160 acre homestead in Adams County (Patent No. 269046), which was supplemented in 1916 by a second patent (No. 518735) designating the homestead as non-coal. When Lars died in 1923, he left the North Dakota homestead to his son Henry, Einer, and his two sons with Oline (Carl and Alfred). Lars' other two surviving sons with his first wife (Gustave and Harry) had already received a share of his estate, presumably his farm in Wisconsin. Henry said at the probate hearing that the North Dakota homestead was a granary and he estimated its value at $3,000. A neighbor was renting fifty acres of the farm and paying $75 a year in rent. As of 2022 the farm was presumably still be in private hands, as it had not yet reverted to the Bureau of Land Management.
1915-1922 Montana (Custer & Garfield Counties)
On June 5, 1915, Einer registered for the WWI draft, spelling his name now as "Einer L. Tulberg" (rather than "Einar" or "Tullberg"). He is exempt from military service because he has flat feet. He is described as short, with medium build, dark hair and blue eyes. He is living in Cohagen on homestead property which will be finalized in 1919., and working in Miles City as a carpenter for Clearman & Co. The company was awarded the contract for the new city hall in Miles City in August 1914 and it seems likely that Einer helped build it. Fred W. Clearman of Miles City was one of a family of builders whose contracts included homes, hotels and other public structures as far away as Great Falls, MT.
Two years later, Einer had a very brief marriage. He married Narenia Straight (Find a Grave Memorial 19356005) in Miles City on August 4, 1917. Three months later, he later told my mother, she left him, taking everything he had. So far I have not found a divorce record, but that would not have been unusual in those days and conditions, and it's possible that one of them obtained a divorce in a nearby no-fault state (South Dakota).
Meanwhile, Einer had been in the process of proving up a homestead claim 59 miles northwest of Miles City, in Garfield County. On June 14, 1919, his claim was finalized, and he was granted three parcels (240 acres, 44.37 acres and 44.25 acres) at 15° North, Range 39° East, Section 18. Most of the land along rivers had been previously claimed, and in 1909 Congress passed the Enlarged Homestead Act to permit family claims up to 320 acres in dryer lands, especially in the Great Plains. Claimants still had to occupy and improve their land for five years and could not leave it for longer than six months at a time.
Einer's half-brother Carl John Tullberg also obtained a homestead patent in Montana, but in Rosebud County, on June 24, 1921.
In the 1920 census, 33 year old Einer was still recorded as living in Miles City, working as a building carpenter and now lodging with the Hiers family at 111 South Center Ave.. His marital status was Single. The Hiers, Jesse and Maude, were both 37 and had two children, Ruth (6) and Robert (6 months). Jesse was a county assessor.
Later that year, on Einer, Jesse, W.L. Mott and several others formed a new corporation in Miles City, the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), reported in the October 6, 1920, edition of the Butte Miner.
During his stay in Montana, Einer was part of the construction crew on one or more lodges at Yellowstone National Park.
1920 - 1930 North Dakota / Los Angeles
The 1923 Miles City directory shows Einer now residing at the Milligan Hotel, but by the time his stepfather Lars died on October 25, 1923, he was living in Long Beach, California. Until he married Amelia in 1929, he spent his time between North Dakota and southern California pursuing various employment opportunities.
Einer moved to the Los Angeles area in search of employment a few times in the 1920s. My mother remembered that he held stock in the oil fields at Signal Hill (that must have been Royal Dutch Shell), so perhaps he was employed by Shell to build oil derricks or work in the oil fields. In 1924, Einer lived at 4232 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, according to California voting records. He had registered as a Democrat and his occupation was a carpenter.
At some point, Einer moved to Turtle Lake, North Dakota. Turtle Lake was very close to Amelia's childhood home, and it seems possible that they met then, as her parents still lived there. The December 30, 1925 Bismarck Tribune (page 5) reported that Einer "returned home to Turtle Lake" after visiting with his half-brother Carl and Carl's wife Ella in Bismarck. Carl and Ella had married the previous year.
On January 20, 1927, Einer again left North Dakota to take a position in Los Angeles, stopping in Miles City to visit with friends (Bismarck Tribune, January 21, 1927).
In 1928 he is listed in the Bismarck city directory, at 409 5th St (next door to his half-brother Carl and wife Ella). The listing indicates that he was in a partnership, "Feltman & Tullberg." Paul Feltman (1899-1960) had married Johanna "Jennie" Steinert in 1924; Jennie was a cousin of my grandmother, his future wife Amelia Klein. That is another possible way that Einer and Amelia might have met.
1930-1942 Marriage, Children and Living in Bismarck
Einer and Amelia applied for a marriage license on December 23, 1929, and were married on Christmas Day. Einer was 42 years old, and Amelia was 21. They had a ten-day honeymoon to Minneapolis. Their son, my uncle Ellsworth, said "10 days is a long time to be off work in those days" as this was the time of the Great Depression.
The 1930 census shows that they initially lived with Carl and Ella Tullberg at 1021 Fourth Street, but later moved next door to 1017 Fourth Street. My mother (born in 1933) remembers that they lived in the basement. The census states that Amelia was a naturalized citizen, which must have happened by marriage to a naturalized citizen since she didn't become naturalized on her own until September 20, 1941.
They lived very close to the State Capitol. They had two children - Ellsworth Eugene, born September 13, 1930, and my mother Shirley Ann, born March 3, 1933 - the same day as her future husband Paul.
Einer continued working as a carpenter, and had his own construction company. Some of the photos we have posted show his truck with "EL Tulberg Builder Phone 1924" painted on the side. Einer's son Ellsworth recalls visiting the work sites now and then "and Dad would give me something to do to get me out of his hair such as: Go get me a 'board stretcher'. Obviously I would get frustrated after a while and leave."
Amelia continued working as a checker at the Capital Steam Laundry, where she had worked since leaving school after the seventh grade.
In 1933, Einer was part of the WPA construction crew on the new 21-story, Art Deco-style State Capitol, which was completed in 1934 during the Great Depression and replaced the earlier building which had burned to the ground December 28, 1930. The crew made $.30 per hour. My mother told me that he worked on the portion in front that is lower than the rest of the building (basement?). But on Thursday, April 13, 1933, five weeks after my mother was born, he suffered a 24 foot fall from the main floor to the basement, breaking several bones in his left foot and his left thigh bone. The Saturday, April 15 edition of the Bismarck Tribune carried Einer's story on the front page along with top international stories of the day – "Germany Objects to Chamberlain's Speech," and "Moscow Fears Jap Attack in May."
"Having suffered several broken bones in his left foot and a break in his left thigh bone just below the hip in a 24-foot fall while working on the new North Dakota state capitol, Einar Tullberg, carpenter, was in satisfactory condition at a local hospital Saturday. Tullberg fell from the main floor to the ground floor of the basement of the western wing of the structure. The mishap occurrerd Thursday forenoon. Tullberg resides at 1021 Fourth Street."
Einer's son (my uncle) Ellsworth said, "He was extremely lucky to survive the fall. He ended up with one leg shorter than the other so he had a limp for the rest of his life."
Einer of course could not work while he recovered from his fall, but fortunately they were still living with Einer's half-brother Carl and his wife Ella. Ellsworth was two and a half, and my mother Shirley was an infant.
On September 27, 1937, Einer began working for cabinetmaker Albert Stude of 811 Front Street, Bismarck. The Social Security Administration had been created in 1935 and started issuing cards in 1936. Einer applied on October 12 1937, giving his currently employer as Stude but adding that he had been a contractor (Employer No. 45-0204340). Einer made my mother a beautifully crafted cabinet to hold her doll dishes and perhaps made it during this time. His Social Security Card was issued on September 27, 1937.
By 1938 Einer and Amelia had moved to their own house at 1017 Fourth St., next door to Ella and Carl.
The December 19, 1939, edition of the Bismarck Tribune reported that Einer:
PROTESTS BRIGHT LIGHTS Einar Tullberg, 1017 Fourth St., appeared with a request that the police department enforce the automobile bright lights ordinance and ordinances against corner-cutting. The commission informed Tullberg it would direct the police to be alert to violaions of this kind."
On the same page were an ad for "San Francisco" starring Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Jeannette MacDonald, and an obituary for Mrs. Rudyard Kipling.
1942 - 1959 Santa Paula, California
On April 27, 1942, Einer completed his WWII draft registration card in Bismarck. Soon after that, Einer, Amelia, Ellsworth and Shirley moved to Santa Paula, California. Einer's step-nephews Arthur and Carl Tullberg (grandsons of Einer's step-father Lars) were carpenters for the Naval Construction Battalion Center (SeaBees) in Port Hueneme. For a long time Einer had wanted to move to southern California, and Port Hueneme would offer secure, full-time employment.
Einer was hired as a carpenter at Port Hueneme, and for two or three months they rented a house on Harvard and then moved to a duplex at 228 S 4th Street, where they remained. The duplex was across from Isbell Grammar School, which Ellsworth and Shirley attended. At one time, Einer's step-nephew Arthur Tullberg, wife Adelyne and their five children lived on the other side of the duplex and also rented one of the two upstairs apartments behind the duplex, above shared garages, where their two girls slept. Amelia managed both sides of the duplex and also the two apartments above the shared garages.
In 1955, the Navy awarded Einer a Certificate of Award for a suggestion he had made to accelerate the task of opening shipping crates. Einer's idea was to use a pry bar; any idea that could make the job faster and easier was welcomed. Einer's son Ellsworth said that Einer had not been able to serve in World War I because he had flat feet, and he always felt bad about not being able to serve; therefore, he was proud of his contribution.
In the late 1940s / early 1950s, Einer and Amelia, along with Einer's step-nephew Carl Henry Tullberg and wife Ethel, investigated homestead claims in 29 Palms, in the southern California desert. Ellsworth recalled that Amelia did not want to live in the desert, so Einer and Amelia never finalized their claim. However, Ethel and Carl did obtain a homestead, which was in Ethel's name. Some of the pictures posted here show the four of them out surveying the land.
As one of their 15 grandchildren, I remember their home in Santa Paula very well and describe it here for posterity.
When you walked in the front door of the duplex, you first noticed the lush red and green flowered wallpaper and wall to wall gray carpet of large leaf fronds. To the left (on the wall shared with the other side of the duplex) was a faux fireplace with tan tiles. A gilt mirror hung above the faux fireplace, with sconce lights on either side. They had a heater in the fireplace niche that Amelia painted silver, and which had a strong smell and smoked when it was used. Opposite the front door was a Murphy bed elegantly concealed behind glassed French doors with sheer, shirred curtains secured at top and bottom with a pocket rod. On the same wall were three scalloped, interlocking knick-knack shelves which held, among other things, Amelia's glass menagerie.
My mother Shirley remembers that Amelia had to wash the walls regularly due to the soot from the smudge pots which kept the fruit from freezing in the citrus orchards.
The television set was opposite the faux fireplace between two windows that looked out over the driveway. The kitchen door, opposite the front door, was one of those heavy older swinging doors, thick with many coats of glossy white paint. The refrigerator was an "icebox," the stove was of course gas which you had to light, and there was a cute Formica dinette. The laundry, just off the kitchen with a window to the driveway, consisted of what we would call a vintage washer – a round tub with a wringer attached – and a solar dryer (clothesline out back). My uncle Ellsworth and I recalled getting our hands stuck in the wringer when we were children. In the front, by the brick-red porch, Amelia used to plant geraniums (which she said "grew like weeds") but in later years, we saw she put plastic flowers in their place.
Einer was a typical father of the period, an easygoing man on the quiet side, and a hard worker to whom family was most important. Like many of his generation, his formal education didn't go beyond the eighth grade, but he was very intelligent – his son Ellsworth remembers Einer helping him with Algebra in high school: Einer "could figure out the answers, although not the way the teacher wanted." Einer was a loving and caring father and husband. He also a fun-loving side, with a good sense of humor and a mischievous streak – witness the tree-hugging picture taken at the park in Santa Monica where the last scene of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" was filmed.
Einer and Amelia loved to play cards with friends, and they enjoyed picnics at Steckel Park with Einer's step-nephew Carl and wife Ethel, his half-brother Carl John Tullberg and wife Ella, with Clara and Doris Tullberg, with step-nephew Art Tullberg and his wife Adelyne, and of course all the children. He enjoyed his cars - typical outings included driving to Castaic for breakfast pancakes on Sundays, and trips around the "triangle" – Santa Paula, Ojai, and Ventura.
Einer died on January 12, 1959, in Santa Paula, and is dearly missed by his family.
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TO LOS ANGELES
(Bismarck Tribune, Jan 21, 1927, p. 5 col. 2)
Einer Tullberg left Thursday evening for Los Angeles, Calif., where he has accepted a position. He plans to stop at Miles City for a few days' visit with friends.
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KLINE-TULLBERG VOWS SPOKEN CHRISTMAS DAY
(Bismarck Tribune, Dec 26, 1929, page 5, col. 2)
At a service read at 11 o'clock Christmas morning in the German Baptist church, Miss Amelia Kline, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kline, Turtle Lake, became the bride of Einar Tullberg, Bismarck. Rev. J. J. Lippart, pastor of the church. officiated.
The bride wore a dress of peach georgette with tan accessories, and her attendant, Miss Bertha Steinert, also wore a frock of peach colored georgette. Ray Shriner was best man.
A wedding dinner was served at the home of the bride's aunt, Mrs. Rose Steinert, 400 Thirteenth Street, after the ceremony.
Mr. and Mrs. Tullberg have gone to Minneapolis for a ten days honeymoon.
The bride has been employed at the Capital Steam Laundry for several years, and Mr. Tullberg is a carpenter.
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INJURED CARPENTER IN GOOD CONDITION
(Bismarck Tribune, April 15, 1933)
Having suffered several broken bones in his left foot and a break in his left thigh bone Just below the hip in a 34-foot fall while working on the new North Dakota state capitol, Einar Tullberg, carpenter, was in satisfactory condition at a local hospital Saturday.
Tullberg fell from the main floor to the ground floor of the basement of the western wing of the structure. The mishap occurred Thursday forenoon. Tullberg resides at 1031 Fourth St.
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E.L. TULBERG
(Santa Paula Chronicle, January 13, 1959)
Einer L. Tulberg, a resident of Santa Paula since 1942, died yesterday afternoon in a Ventura hospital. He was 71.
Born June 12, 1887, he had been a member of the Santa Paula local of the carpenters union.
Survivors are his widow, Amelia Tulberg, a daughter, mrs. Shirley Boetius, both of Santa Paula and a son, Lt. Ellsworth Tulberg who is stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Florida. He also leaves two brothers, five granddaughters and two grandsons.
Funeral arrangements will be announced later by the H. B. Skillin mortuary.
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EINER TULBERG
(Ventura County Star Free Press, January 14, 1959)
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday at the H. B. Skillin funeral chapel in Santa Paula for Einer L. Tulberg, 71, of 228 S. Fourth Street, Santa Paula, who died Monday. Burial will be at Santa Paula cemetery.
Mr. Tulberg was born on June 12, 1887, in Norway. He moved to Santa Paula 17 years ago and was a member of the carpenters union, Santa Paula local No. 2015.
He is survived by his wife Amelia and a daughter, Mrs. Shirley Boetius, both of Santa Paula; a son, Lt. Ellsworth Tulberg, with the air force in Florida; two brothers, Carl of Bismarck, N.D. and Alfred of Albert Lee, Minn.; five granddaughters and two grandsons.
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