Tillie Olson (1885-1918)

Tillie Olson (1885-1918) aka Matilda Olson; Private Secretary at O'Connor and Goldberg Shoe Store in Chicago; Homesteader in Devil's Lake in North Dakota; Died during Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 (b. July 1885, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA - d. 1918, Devils Lake, Ramsey County, North Dakota, USA)

Birth: Tillie was the daughter of Otto Olson (1857-1921) a barber born in Farsund, Norway and Hannah E. Hansen (1864-1936) born in Oslo, Norway.

Siblings: Her siblings include: Harry Oliver Olson (1887-1964) who married Germaine X (1900-1920); Mabel Olson (1890-1971) who married Jesse Clay (1888-1976); Norman Otto Olson (1895-1977) who married Isabelle Wickman (1901-1931) and after her death married Eva Folkerts (1904-2000); and Helen Olive Olson (1900-1970) who married John Lozinski (1896-1980).

Chicago: In Chicago Tillie worked in an office in the O'Connor and Goldberg shoe store as a private secretary. The economist Milton Friedman worked at the same store in 1932. Tillie appeared in the 1900 US Census living at 147 Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. In the 1910 Chicago City Directory she is listed as a "clerk" working at 262 5th Avenue and living at 465 Milwaukee Avenue. Tillie's family would visit her mother's siblings in Dallas, Wisconsin.

Marriage: In Dallas, Wisconsin she met and married Norval Wintrone. Norval chose to become a homesteader in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, so he would not have to serve in World War I.

Death: Tille and Norval died within a few days of each other during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. Their youngest child also died. The influenza epidemic of 1918 killed 2,700 North Dakotans.

Hazel: Hazel Wintrone, her surviving daughter was then raised, first, by Hannah Hansen and later by Jesse Clay and Mabel Olson.

Burial: Tillie and Norval are buried in the New Scandinavia Cemetery in Wisconsin.