Crosby

Crosby

(Severin)

Biographies Alf. L. Scott and T. J. Westerberg

This Swedish community is located in the farthest southeastern part of Texas, twenty miles northeast of Houston along the southern Pacific Railroad and only eleven miles from the coast.

The community was first colonized by Swedes from Nebraska. This first group arrived in 1892. Three sections of land was bought through a land-brokerage, Edling and Hallgren from El Campo, Texas. The first Swedes were: Henry Wahl, Mr. Bratten, his son Andrew, Claus W. Pira, Joseph Anderson, Frank Larson, John Larson, and Mr. Lundstedt. Of those eight families, the widow Pira, the Wahls, and the Anderson children are still living in Crosby. Others, who arrived in the 1890’s were the F. Dahlquist and the C. A. Gustafson families from Hutto, Williamson County; Lars Nelson and A. Reidland from Iowa; and Henry Peterson from Nebraska. In the 1900’s quite a few people have settled here from different areas. The main products are cotton, corn and rice, but beside agriculture many Swedes are involved in business in the city. C. A. Gustafson is the owner of the Crosby cotton gin, sawmill and lumber-yard. The Crosby Mercantile Company is the most famous and largest in the town and is owned almost exclusively by Swedes.

The cultivation of rice has also been a lucrative business, in which many Swedes have been successful.

The Swedes have become used to using the country’s language both in church and in politics. There is no Swedish church in the area, but the church was built by Swedes. Since there was no Swedish religious organization with a serious effort to found a Swedish congregation, the people’s religious needs were met by those who visited the area. The Swedish Methodist church has lately organized activities here with meetings in the school auditorium and with services in the English language. Crosby has a fine school worth $20,000.

In this community as in other places, many Swedish young men have enlisted in the United States Army for service in the on going European war, and they are mentioned elsewhere.

Among those who are active in the war effort, we can mention Oscar Reidland, who is in charge of the Red Cross and the sale of war savings certificates. Mrs. R. J. Kenning is in charge of the Freedom Loan. Mrs. O. J. Nelson is President of the organization for women’s suffrage.

Extracted from: Swedes In Texas In Words and Pictures,

English Translation, 1838 - 1918