Rev. G.S. Ohslund

"GIDEON SHEM OHSLUND,

pastor of the Bethlehem Swedish Lutheran Church in Chicago, was born in Rockford, Ill., November 15, 1872, where his father, Nils Ohslund, was acting pastor. His mother was Rebecka Ohslund, nee Bengtson. After graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., he served two years as principal of public schools in the State and passed his examination before the State Board, receiving a life certificate as teacher in the State of Minnesota.

"He felt, however, a strong desire to follow in the steps of his father, and after completing the prescribed course of study in the English Theological Seminary at Chicago and at Augustana Theological Seminary, Rock Island, where he received the degree B. D., he was ordained minister in the Augustana Synod in June, 1902. His first charge was at Akron, Ohio, where in five years he procured for his congregation a beautiful new church and parsonage, valued at $27,000. Owing to the urgent call of the Mission Board of the New York Conference, he accepted the mission field in Bronx, New York City, where he organized a Swedish Lutheran church with more than two hundred members after six months of hard work.

"On account of sickness in the family he was compelled to return to the West two years later, accepting the call to the Bethlehem Church. Chicago, in 1908. Here a beautiful church has been erected, as the fruit of his energetic efforts, at a cost exceeding $50,000, on which now rests only a small indebtedness. This is the only pure Romanesque architectured church, in the Augustana Synod. The Bethlehem congregation is the oldest in Englewood and the fourth in order among the Swedish Lutheran churches in the city.

"Rev. Ohslund is a director in the Swedish Historical Society of America, and a member of the Executive Board and secretary of the Chicago Lutheran Inner Mission Society. He is a Republican in politics and member of the Hamilton Club.

"On June 24, 1902, he was united in marriage to Miss Evelina Victoria Eckland, of Carlton, Minn. They have two sons and reside at 5755 Fifth avenue."

Ernst Wilhelm Olson's The Swedish element in Illinois: survey of the past seven decades, with life sketches of men of today (Swedish-American Biographical Association, 1917), available at GoogleBooks.

G.S. OHSLUND (1873-1949) was married to Evelina ECKLAND, daughter of A.D. ECKLAND and Hilma LARSON. Hilma was the sister of Anna Evelina LARSON (1854-1921).