BERGQUIST, Gustave and Oscar

Gust BERGQUIST [father of the Oscar]
Portrait & Biographical Record Winnebago & Boone Cos., IL. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1892, p 818

Gust BERGQUIST, Superintendent of the furnishing department of the Rockford Manufacturing Company, has held that position since its organization in 1889, and is a stockholder in the same.  For 19 years he was a painter for EMERSON, TALCOTT & Company, and this has been his principal occupation through life.  Since 1869 he has lived in Rockford [Winnebago County, IL], and he now has a comfortable home at No. 904 Seventh Street.   He is a man of push, enterprise and reliability, and a popular member of the company.

Mr. BERGQUIST was born in Vermland [Varmland], Sweden, 07 Jul 1836, and while growing up learned the painter's trade.  He is a brother of Oscar BERGQUIST.  [His biography follows.]  Our subject was married in this native country to Miss Mary SWENSEN, who was born and reared in the same neighborhood, and who was the only one of her family to set foot upon American soil.  Her mother was born in 1802 and died in Sweden in 1888.  The father, Swen OLSON, was born in 1799 and is still living.   He has been a member of the Swedish Lutheran Church all his life, and his wife was a worthy member of the same.  He has a son and two daughters living in Sweden, all quite aged now.

After marriage Mr. BERGQUIST and his wife lived in their native province until after the birth of three of their children, when they came to the U. S., settling in Rockford, IL.   Mr. BERGQUIST came over in 1869, and his wife with their children followed him in the fall of that year.  Since coming to this country they have had four children, seven in all, but two are deceased.  Mathias died when six months old in Sweden; a son, Fred L., a promising young man, died in Rockford when 17 years of age.  The children living are Emma, wife of August N. A. LARSON, who is a cabinet maker and assistant Superintendent of the Desk and Furniture Company of Rockford; S. Oscar, Secretary and Treasurer of the Desk and Furniture Company, of Rockford [his bio follows]; Gustaf A., a painter of the Skandia Plow Company, married Hilma JOHNSON; Axel T., at home, single; and Andrew W., at home, single.

Mr. and Mrs. BERGQUIST were among the early settlers of Rockford, and have witnessed the wonderful changes made in the city during their residence here.  They are honest, upright people, and are universally respected.  All the family hold membership in the Zion Lutheran Church.  Mr. BERGQUIST is active in politics, and casts his vote with the Republican party.

Oscar BERGQUIST [son of Gustave]
Portrait & Biographical Record Winnebago & Boone Cos., IL. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1892, pp 996-999

Oscar BERGQUIST, Secretary and Treasurer of the Desk and Furniture Company, located on North 2nd Street [Rockford, Winnebago County, IL], where the business was started in 1889, is a young man possessed of more than ordinary business acumen.  The company manufactures all kinds of desks, making a specialty of ladies desks, combination desks, bookcases, etc., and the greatest care is taken in the production of these goods, which, while being of attractive design and finish, also combine those qualities of strength and durability which make them extremely popular with dealers and customers.  Under the able management of A. P. FLOBERG, President, G. W. HAEGG, Vice President, and Mr. BERGQUIST, Secretary and Treasurer, the company has prospered, and is at the head of any establishment of ithe kind in the country.  It employs a staff of experienced and competent traveling salesmen, and its affairs are managed upon progressive and reliable principles.  About 100 men are employed at the time.

Oscar BERGQUIST was born near the city of Carlstad, Sweden, 20 Oct 1863, to the union of Gustave and Mary (SWENSON) BERGQUIST, both natives of that country.  In 1869 the parents came to the U. S., and subsequently settled in Rockford, where the father has been actively engaged as a painter, having followed that business all his life.  He is at present Superintendent and Manager of the Rockford Manufacturing Company, also a stockholder in the same, as well as in the Skandia Plow Company of Rockford.   Although about 55 years of age, he is energetic and enterprising, and one of the city's most prominent business men.  His wife, who is still living, is about the same age, and both are members of the Lutheran Church.  They have a good home at No. 904 Seventh Street.  In politics Mr. BERGQUIST is a stanch Republican.

Oscar BERGQUIST, the second in order of birth of the children born to Gustave and Mary (SWENSON) BERGQUIST, was but six years of age when he crossed the ocean with his parents, and he has been a resident of Rockford for about 22 years.  He was educated in the city schools, and learned the painter's trade of his father as he grew up.  He has followed that trade for 13 years, and is a successful workman.  For two years he was manager of the Rockford Paint Company.  He is a live business man, well informed, and is at present a Director and stockholder in the Skandia Plow Company, Rockford Paint Company, and a stockholder in the Rockford Manufacturing Company, and the *Posten* Publishing Company.

Oscar BERGQUIST was married to Miss Amanda A. NYGREN, a native of Sweden, born 07 Jan 1865, and the daughter of N. P. and Anna (MAGNUSOM) NYGREN, also natives of Sweden.   The family came to the States in 1868, and settled in Rockford, where the father's death occurred in 1885.  [p 999]  His widow is still living in Rockford, and is about 60 years of age.  She is a member of the Lutheran Church, and her husband also held membership in that church.  N. P. and Anna {MAGNUSOM) NYGREN were the parents of seven children, five daughters and two sons, and all but one are now living.  Three are married.

The union of Oscar and Amanda A. (NYGREN) BERGQUIST was blessed by the birth of two children, E. Wilhelmena and Emily M.  In politics Mr. BERGQUIST is independent, and in religion both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church.  They are well liked by all with whom they come in contact.

Submitted by Cathy Kubly.