Plumas
County
Biographies
ANDREW O. KNUTSON
Andrew (“Andy”) O. Knutson is one of
the best known men of the Walker mine, in Plumas County, and as boss of the
framing mill is an important factor in the successful operation of the mine. An expert carpenter by vocation, and a man of
great energy and good practical judgment, he is alert and constantly “on the
job,” so that the development and operation of the mine are carried forward
under the best conditions. Mr. Knutson
was born at Nordmore, Rosdals Amt, Norway, on the 29th of November,
1870, his parents being Knut and Marianna Pederson, the former a well-to-do
farmer in Ore Prostegjeld, Ramsdals Amt.
There he was reared to young manhood and received a good elementary
education. When he was thirteen years of
age his mother died, and he was shortly afterward confirmed in the Lutheran
Church, which is the state church of that country. Of the twelve children born to his parents,
he is the youngest. When fifteen years
of age, he bade adieu to his father, brothers and sisters and embarked from the
port of Chirstiansund on the 20th of August, 1885, on an old Anchor
Line steamship, which landed him at Castle Garden, New York City. He proceeded on to Janesville, Wisconsin, by
way of Chicago, by rail, and was there met by two of his brothers, John and
Christ Knutson, who had preceded him to that place by several years. There he was employed by the month on farms
for two or three years, after which he learned the carpenter trade under his
brother John, who was a carpenter contractor in Janesville. Later he worked for a contractor by the name
of McDougall, one of the most prominent builders in Janesville, and other
contractors in southern Wisconsin. Going
to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1902, he was employed at his trade there until
1906, when he came to California, locating at Oakdale, Stanislaus County, at
the instance of a firm of Wisconsin contractors, for whom he worked on the erection
of Lang Brothers canning factory. Later
he engaged in carpentering at Stockton, Modesto, Sacramento and Chico, then
came to the Walker mine, where he went to work on the construction of bunk
house No. 1. Having proved himself a
good carpenter and joiner, he was then given the position of timber framer for
this mine and now has four men under him
He also superintends the saw and planing mill in the course of his
framing work. In every respect he has
met the requirements of his responsible position and stands high in the esteem
of his employers.
While a resident of Janesville,
Wisconsin, Mr. Knutson was made a citizen of this country and has since given
his political support to the Republican Party.
He has served as judge of election in the Walker Mine precinct and is
personally known to practically every voter here. In point of years of continuous service Mr.
Knutson is probably the senior workman at the Walker mine. Though handicapped so some extent by the loss
of a leg, necessitating an artificial limb, he gets about very well. Because of his kindly and affable manner, as
well as his sterling personal qualities, he is very popular here and is one of
the Walker Company’s best liked employees.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3 Pages 295-296. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.