Under Swedish tradition, Sven would have taken the surname, Jacobson,
which is what is shown in the family bible. However, to accommodate
American custom, Sven used Sven Jacob Olson as his name. But - Elmer
Rederburg quoted, "Through a request from the U.S. postal service (too
many Scandinavian names the same) Sven changed his name to Rederburg,
the name of a German officer in the Swedish army who had befriended
him on occasions."

Clifford Rederburg says the real reason Sven changed his name was that
he had been teased by someone who had mistakenly received a love
letter sent by Mary and which was intended for Sven.

Sven and Mary homesteaded in South Dakota in 1891. Elsie Olson died
in 1896 and Jacob went to live with them in 1901. He died in 1902 and
in 1903 the family moved to Midale, Saskatchewan and homesteaded there
until 1910. In 1910 the family left the farm and moved into a new
home in the town of Midale which Sven and all of his sons had built.
(The date of 1910 was mentioned by Rick in his autobiographical
article written for the Lake Alma history book)

A 10" x 30" board was found in the attic of the house when a new owner
bought it in the spring of 1987. In pencil on the board was
inscribed, "This house was built on December until First of March by
Clarence Rederburg, Herman Rederburg, Wallace Rederburg, S. J.
Rederburg, Oscar Rederburg, R. W. Rederburg" and was dated February
14. The man who found the board inquired whether there were any
Rederburgs around and was told there were in Benson. He phoned and
got Alfred. The man brought it to Alfred. Bernard Clarkson has set
it in a picture frame with a heavy piece of plastic to preserve it.

Oscar would have been 21 years old, Herman 19, Rick 15, Wallace 14,
Clarence 12 and Elmer 9 when they built the house.

Sven was a quiet man, never had much to say. One grandson, Alfred
Rederburg, said he heard people say that Sven was a very good man and,
if anyone were to get to heaven it would be Sven. Another grandson,
Clifford Rederburg, said Sven was very frugal. He liked to chew snuff
and would set his wad by his dinner plate and put it back in his mouth
after dinner. Sven was a handsome man. In pictures of him in his
later life his hair was thick and snowy white and so was his mustache.

• Married: 25 OCT 1887 in Cokato, Minnesota

1. Oscar Alfred Rederburg b: 29 MAR 1889 in Cokato, Minnesota
2. Herman Anton Rederburg b: 12 JUL 1891 in Cokato, Minnesota
3. Annie Amelia Rederburg b: 8 OCT 1892 in Wheaton, Minnesota
4. Richard Walter Rederburg b: 7 JAN 1895 in Wheaton, Minnesota
5. Wallace Morris Rederburg b: 19 AUG 1896 in Rosholt, South Dakota
6. Clarence Paul Rederburg b: 7 JUN 1898 in Rosholt, South Dakota
7. Elmer Willard Rederburg b: 25 MAY 1901 in White Rock, South Dakota

1. Abbrev: Linda Swoyer's info
   Title: Swoyer, Linda. Information from GEDCOM and emails. LSwoyer@comcast.ne t t t
   Name: Footnote
   Name: ShortFootnote
   Name: Bibliography