One of our joys at Historical Marker is hearing from folks
across the country who inquire or comment about a story – or a photograph – and
occasionally share information on a particular topic.
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| John Lundberg ca. 1889 |
In May, we received an e-mail from Alabama author Linda
Alexander, whose great-grandfather immigrated to the United States in 1880 and
would spend several years in the Black Hills as a miner – and a successful one
at that. His name was John
Lundberg, and Linda was researching his years in this region.
Linda and her husband came to Spearfish in early May,
unexpectedly witnessing one of our spring snowstorms. She spent the better share of a week poring through
documents in libraries, the Lawrence County Courthouse, as well as the
Homestake Adams Research and Cultural Center (HARCC), where we were able to
meet and visit with her and her. Linda was well equipped for her research, having already
amassed considerable information and photographs, but she was looking for more.
Her abilities in research and writing have been honed through
years of work as an author, as well as her passion for genealogy. Among others, she’s written biographies about Nebraska's Robert Taylor (Reluctant Witness: Robert Taylor, Hollywood, & Communism) and actor Jack Kelly, who portrayed
Bart Maverick in the television series Maverick more than 50 years ago (A Maverick Life - The Jack Kelly Story).
And so now she’s on a course of assembling a biography that
hits close to home. John Lundberg
was not only Linda Alexander’s ancestor, he was a Swedish immigrant whose
exploits in mining earned him and his family a good living. In fact, he was co-owner of Lundberg,
Dorr, and Wilson mining in the northern hills. He married his wife in Keystone and they would eventually
buy a home in Terry, where there son was later born.
We’ll not give away any more of this story, since Linda
Alexander has kindly shared with us a “mini-biography” of John Lundberg – along
with some photos.
Here’s a link to her biographic sketch of John Lundberg.
By the way, you can find Linda Alexander's books at Amazon.com, Bearmanormedia.com, and -- I suspect -- a variety of other online sites.
