Prosser, Col. William Farrand.  "A History of the Puget Sound Country, Its
Resources, Its Commerce and its People."  Vol. 3.  New York and Chicago: Lewis
Publishing Co., 1903.  p. 399.
 
BERTIL WILHELM BENSON

     Bertil Wilhelm Benson, who has been prominently identified with real estate
interests in Fairhaven, Washington, since 1889, and is one of the city's
prominent and substantial men, was born June 2, 1843, at Skien, Norway. He is a
son of Torkel and Kern K. (Anderson) Benson, the former of whom was a native of
Arendal, Norway, where he engaged in farming. His death occurred in 1884 and he
was survived but one year by his wife. She was born at Skien, Norway, and a
brother of hers, Oliver Anderson, is engaged in a mercantile business at St.
Paul, Minnesota. Our subject has one brother. Andrew T., a retired farmer of
Valley City, North Dakota.
     Mr. Benson attended the public schools of his own country until eleven
years of age, when he came to America, and spent one year in the schools at La
Crosse, Wisconsin. He then became a clerk in a dry goods store and continued
there until 1888, and then embarked in the same business for himself, continuing
until 1876. He then moved to Valley City, North Dakota, and engaged in a real
estate and banking business. He was one of the organizers of .the First National
Bank of Valley City and was its first vice president. This institution is still
doing business. He was also one of the partners of the bank of Lisbon, North
Dakota, which is also still engaged in business. At the time of his settlement
in North Dakota pioneer conditions existed in many portions of the state. In
1889 he sold his interests there and removed to Fairhaven, Washington, engaging
in a real estate business in which he has been interested ever since. He handled
all the water front property that was owned by C. X. Larabie and James J. Hill
of the Great Northern Railway, and he is now the owner of the Canfield
Investment Company estate in Whatcom county.
     Mr. Benson was one of the organizers of the Standard Real Estate and Trust
Company and was its president. This company has gone out of business, closing
out all its property. He was also one of the organizers of the Bellingham Bay
Fish Company, in 1894, which sold out to Oswald Steel.
     On August 15, 1871, Mr. Benson married Mary Hubbard Gould, who is a
daughter of Colonel Zabina and Mary (Reese) Gould, old and prominent residents
of Michigan City, Indiana. Mrs. Gould comes from Revolutionary stock, and was
born in Ashtabula county, Ohio. The children born to this marriage are: Mary
Hubbard, wife of F. W. Boulderick, who is a general freight and passenger agent
with headquarters at Spokane, Washington; Wilhelm Henry is a member of the firm
of Benson & Peters, linotypers, of Seattle; and Frederick Abbott. who is a
steamboat captain on Puget Sound.
     Mr. Benson is a Democrat in political sentiment, and has taken an active
part in politics, and in 1883, in Dakota, was a member of the territorial
legislature. In religious training he is a Lutheran, but is an attendant of the
Episcopal church at Fairhaven. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons.


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Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in July 2008 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.