"Portrait and Biographical Record of Portland and Vicinity, Oregon." Authors: "a compilation of this work....by a number of writers". Chapman Publishing Co; Chicago, 1903. p. 589. CHARLES NIBLIN In that part of Sweden which is called Wasmanlan, near the Vesteras, the ancestors of Charles Niblin lived and prospered for many years. He himself was born in this locality, April 26, 1852, as was also his father, Erick, the latter of whom followed the example of his forefathers, and from earliest youth evinced a particular aptitude for military service. That his inclination was more than a passing one is evidenced by his subsequent career, for twenty-six years of his life were spent as a member of the Grenadiers in Sweden. After his honorable discharge from a meritorious service he came to America, where he lived with his son, Charles, until his death at the age of seventy-five years. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, and was a man of high principle and exhaustive knowledge of military tactics. On the maternal side also Charles Niblin claims distinct military associations, for his mother, Annie Sophia Pearson, came from a family many of the members of which had won distinction on Swedish battle fields. She was the mother of four children, of whom Charles is the oldest ; Ericka is the wife of Sven Anderson, of the vicinity of Portland; Alfred also lives near Portland, and Agnes lives on a farm in the vicinity of the capitol city. While being reared on the paternal farm in Sweden, Charles Niblin managed to acquire a fair common school education, and when twenty years of age, in 1872, came to America via Hull, England, and in Boston, Mass., worked in a cabinetmaker's shop for some time. He afterward worked in the mines of the Lake Superior region. Not having any too much confidence in the prospects of that locality, he removed to Wyoming in the fall of 1874, and after prospecting for a year came to Clackamas county and located on a homestead near Highland. This farm he partly improved, but not liking it, he settled in Portland, where he worked in a brickyard for one summer and then engaged in salmon fishing on the Columbia river. After four seasons of fishing, during which time he had also engaged in steamboating, he purchased a ranch, upon which he settled in 1877. This property was all in the bush, and necessitated arduous labor in taking out the stumps and preparing the land for crops. Mr. Niblin devoted his property principally to berry culture, and at the present time does a large business in this line, having six acres in strawberries, six acres in raspberries, and a number of acres in fruit and cherries. This model farm consists of twenty acres on Division street, two miles from Portland, and it is generally conceded to be one of the best equipped of its kind in the county. Mr. Niblin is an experimental horticulturist, and has brought the cultivation of his various kinds of fruit to a high state of perfection. The wife of Mr. Niblin was formerly Amy Anderson. She was born in Sweden, and died in America, leaving one child, Amy. Mr. Niblin is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Foresters of America. He is a Republican in politics, and is in religion a member of the Lutheran Church. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in June 2008 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.