Swanty Nelson Life History

Swanty Nelson was born 15 Oct. 1853 in Helmsjo, Elfsborg, Sweden the son of Anders Nilsson and Anna Lena Jacobsson.  Their home was located where the ground sloped down to the lake.  In the winter Swanty could get on his home-made sleigh and ride down the slope and onto the lake.  Care was taken to see that the ice was thick enough to hold.  This sport was a source of great pleasure to all the children in the neighborhood.

Swanty’s father was a cobbler by trade.  Most of his work was done at night after the other work was done.  Pine sticks cut into long thin pieces were used as fuel for light and Swanty, being the oldest child, had to sit many hours holding these lighted sticks while his father mended or made shoes.

In 1862 Swanty was baptized into the church.  One time as he was leaving to get the cattle which was quite a distance from home, his parents told him to eat before he left so he wouldn’t have to eat until he returned home.  Barefoot he walked to get the cattle.  When he got there the people asked him if he had eaten or if he was hungry.  He said, “I ate a little bit.”

He had dark hair and blue eyes.  He received very little education.  Maybe 3 months out of a year.  He was a very mischievous child. 

While coming to America Swanty was 9 years old.  He had very many bad memories of the journey.  He and his mother walked most of the way to Utah because his father became very ill.

Swanty grew to manhood in Grantsville, Utah.  He freighted with his father to Salt Lake, driving ox teams.  The round trip usually took a week or more.

Charlotta and Swanty Nelson

He married Charlotte Johnson in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Utah on 23 Nov. 1874.  They made their home in Grantsville.  Four children were born while living here; Alice Josephine, Swanty William, Caroline, Annie Loretta.

In 1881 Swanty and seven other men went to Oakley, Idaho to look over the country and get some land for farming.  In 1882 he moved his family to Oakley by mule team.  The first year the family lived with john Anderson and his mother in a log house near the place where Chester Anderson now lives (1958).  The next year Swanty built a one room log house south of the present home.  In this log house two more sons were born: Jacob Raymond and Clarence LeRoy.  They moved into the log house on Christmas Eve and Charlotte thought his was the best Christmas she had ever had.

All the men who went to Oakley settled in the south end of the valley where they would be able to get wood and good water rights and where the water would not have to run so far after entering the valley.

Swanty grubbed the sagebrush with a grubbing hoe and fenced about 25 acres where he lived.  He did a great deal of freighting to and from Kamima and Kelton also in the spring and early summer he sheared sheep to get a little extra money.

A few years after arriving in Oakley he bought some sheep, going into the business with his younger brother Aaron Emil.  Some years later they sold the sheep to Ruben Price.  Emil moved to Preston and Swanty bought into the sheep business again with Eugene Curtis.  In 1904 Eugene was accidently show and killed and John Larson rented the sheep until Swanty and Mrs. Curtis sold out.

Swanty loved horses.  His favorite riding horse was “Old Nig” a beautiful black horse.  He had a grey team “Cap and Sharp”.  About 1908 he went in the cattle business on a small scale.  Since that time he and members of the family have had cattle as a source of income.

Between 1888 and 1890 while Rosel Hunter was on a mission to England, Swanty, with the help of his Swanty William, run the Hunter farm along with his own.  At that time all the plowing was done by following a horse-drawn hand plow.  All haying was bunched and hauled by hand.  The hay was pitched onto the wagon and then pitched onto the stack.  Later they built derricks so it was easier to unload the hay.

March 22, 1898 the oldest daughter Alice was married to Lars P. Larson by Bishop Adam G. Smith.  The same year Swanty William was called to the Southern States Mission and Jacob Raymond passed away.  During the winter a few years before typhoid fever broke out and Jacob contracted the disease.  He had a high fever for days.  They did not thin he would live but through faith and prayers of his Father, Mother and the elders he did recover.  However, the effects of the disease left him almost totally blind.  He could see only a little light.  Because of the physical strain on his body and trying to see he started taking convulsions when he was about twelve years old.

Swanty always told his children that “You’re going to church.”  He was very strict not using too much tact.  He was abrupt and there were never any ‘ifs’.  He spent Sunday’s reading and they also had many visitors.

Estella remembers how mad her father was when he found that she had taken his watch apart.  She would hide in the straw stack and read books to get out of work and her father would try to find her so she could help with the chores.

He loved to dance and was dance manager for many years.  After a dance one winter night Swanty and his wife were with some other couples in his sleight.  As they passed Charlie Eklund’s house Swanty decided to punish him for not attending the dance.  Of course it was all in fun.  Swanty yelled at Charlie and when he came to the door Swanty yelled, “Now pee and go back to bed.”  One time some drunk men made Swanty get on the roof and as they shot at his boots they made him dance.

Later Swanty built their home into a 3 bedroom home, and he used the one room log house as a blacksmiths shop.  They had a kitchen, dining room and living room and a porch.  They pumped their water and had a cellar.  He built this home with pride and it was beautiful.  It had a cement ceiling, carbide lights, carpet and he used beautiful wood.  He built a picket fence around the yard and had a grainery, smoke house, neat corrals and his farm was always clean.  They had honey locust trees in their yard.  He also built a fly catcher.  They also had an outdoor toilet.

His first car was a model T but he never wanted to drive so May (his daughter) always drove the car.  He was affectionate and always sang to his grandchildren.  The family was close and played games such as checkers.  Everyone loved Swanty and his family.

Lars Peter Larson and Lars Peter Larson

In 1929 he received a fracture of the right hip.  The accident occurred when the horse ‘Jeff’ he was driving turned a corned too sharp, catching the buggy wheel on a corner post and pulled Swanty from the buggy.  He was unable to ride horses again.  After that accident he never walked very well and used a crutch or a cane.  The grandchildren helped him by opening the gate and carrying his cane.  They took buttermilk to him and watched him lick it off his mustache.  He became feeble minded and died of old age on February 9, 1936 at 82 years old.  He was always a religious man and went to the temple whenever he got the chance.

Swanty Nelson and Robert Nelson (grandson)

Lars Peter Larson and Alice Josephine Nelson
on their wedding day

Swanty and Charlotte Nelson are buried in the Oakley Idaho Cemetary


Comments by Taren Tayler, granddaughter of Earl Swanty Larson and great granddaughter of Lars Peter Larson.  The Nelsons are her great great grandparents.  Earl Swanty (Hoolie) Larson was raised by his maternal grandparents: Charlotta and Swanty Nelson, since his mother, Alice Josephine Larson died 22 days after he was born and his father, Lars Peter worked on the railroad.  The Nelsons gave Earl the nickname of 'Hoolie' since he reminded them of a popular comc strip character: Hooligan.