Oluf & Myrtle (Tuttle) Olson

Family of Oluf & Myrtle (Tuttle) Olson

(The following  article was republished in the Clark Co. Press, Neillsville, WI 

by Dee Zimmerman April 30, 2003 and contributed by Eileen Schwarze Krapf)

April 1958, Mr. and Mrs. Oluf Olson, who were married in Colby Township, Clark County, on March 27, 1901, observed their 57th wedding anniversary on March 27, 1958 at their home, in Neillsville.

Mr. Olson was born near Oslo, Norway, February 4, 1871 and came with his mother to America when he was 19 months old. They located in Greenwood, joining his father who had preceded them to America to earn transportation for the family. Eight months later, the family settled on a homestead located one mile north of Curtiss. There, Oluf Olson grew to manhood, attending a rural school in the wilderness for four years. The homestead farm is now operated by Wayne Olson, a nephew of Oluf's and who is also the son of Oluf's youngest brother, Otto.

As a youth Olson worked in a lumber camp, taking a man's place from the time he was 16 years old. When he was 30, he was married to Myrtle M. Tuttle, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Tuttle, at the Tuttle farm in Colby township. The bride was then 26 years old.

After the wedding, he took his bride to Medford, where he worked in a sawmill, guiding the mill carriage from April 4 to November 13, 190 1. Then they returned to the Olson homestead, north of Curtiss. During the next three years, Mr. and Mrs. Olson operated three different farms in Clark and Marathon Counties. In 1907, they moved to Abbotsford, where Olson became village marshal and served as section foreman on the Ashland-Spencer railroad for seven years. "I remember," states Olson, "carrying a ladder around the Abbotsford business district each evening to light the oil street lights. We didn't have to put them out in the morning as they usually ran out of kerosene before daylight." "We had a jail 14 by 14 feet on the Clark County side of Abbotsford, where we usually had some drunken lumberjacks sobering up," he continued. "We never fined them just for being drunk but if they got to fighting, they had to pay a fine before being released from jail. The most drunks I remember having in the jail at one time was seven." Four strangers came to Abbotsford during Olson's term as marshal, remaining on the Marathon side of the village for several days and one night they tried to rob the bank in Abbotsford. One of the robbers was apprehended at Merrillan Junction and after standing trial in Wausau, was sentenced to 10 years in the state prison. The men had gotten into the bank without difficulty, but had been unable to get into the vault. In 1914, the Olson family moved to Neillsville and lived nearly four years on South Hewett Street in the house now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Dahnert, just south of what was then the MacMillan residence. During the summer of 1918, they acquired a home on Court Street in which they have since lived. Olson took a position as building custodian of the Clark County courthouse, also serving as bailiff and deputy sheriff. For 36 years, he served in this triple capacity. Since 1950, he has worked as a part time employee at the courthouse and has continued as bailiff.

Mr. and Mrs. Olson are the parents of ten children, two of whom are not living. Francis died in infancy and Robert died at the age of 25. The living children are: Mrs. Maynard (Ellen) Johnson, who is teaching in the Wausau School system; Mrs. David (Barbara) Daniel of Cambria; Mrs. Ewald (Sarah) Schwarze, Greenwood; Gilbert, Rice Lake; Mrs. Albert (Fern) Holt and Kenneth of Neillsville; Mrs. Lowell (Mildred) Dorn, Abbotsford and Oluf, Jr., of Wisconsin Rapids. They also have 26 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

1918 Biography of Oluf & Myrtle Olson

Obituary of Oluf Olson;

Obituary of Myrtle (Tuttle) Olson; 

Tombstone of Oluf & Myrtle

Obituary of Sarah Olson Schwarze & her tombstone

Obituary of Mildred Olson Dorn;

Obituary of Robert Olson & his tombstone;

Obituary of Kenneth Olson & his tombstone;

Obituary of F. M. Tuttle

Obituary of Barbara (Shanks) Tuttle