EDWARD ALBERT STENEBERG

Sacramento County

Biographies

EDWARD ALBERT STENEBERG

EDWARD ALBERT STENEBERG.--A nature-loving son of regal old Sweden who has more than made good in America is Edward Albert Steneberg, the well-known landscape gardener of Sacramento. He was born at Lund, Sweden, on July 6, 1862, the son of Carl and Caroline (Alstrom) Steneberg, worthy folks of the industrial world. The father was born in the province of Hanover, Germany; the mother was born in Sweden. Carl Steneberg worked in rattan and willow, and enjoyed a wide reputation as a skilled craftsman. He learned his trade in Germany, where he received an excellent education. His ancestors had for generations before him been men of education, expert craftsmen, and successful tradesmen. Because of his scholarship and the superior quality of his workmanship, and his qualifications in general, Carl Steneberg was tendered a position as instructor in a reform school in Sweden. He accepted the position and there taught the boys basket-making and rattan work; and this led to his becoming Sweden's first and foremost manufacturer in his line. He and his good wife worked hard, but lived well; and they kept before their family high ideals of life. As a result, when their son left the parental roof he was well prepared to take up life's responsibilities. In their family were three girls and four boys, among whom Edward Albert is the youngest, and the only one in America. Two brothers and two sisters are still living in Sweden. Both parents passed away in Sweden, the father at the age of eighty-seven years. Carl Steneberg was prominent in Masonic circles.

As a lad, Edward Albert Steneberg attended the Latin schools of Lund for four years, where he secured a good understanding of botany and horticulture. He served a four years' apprenticeship as gardener, at the same time continuing his study of botany, in which he took a two years' postgraduate course, thus laying the foundation for his later success as a landscape gardener. At the age of nineteen he came to America, sailing from Malmo on the old Thingvalla Line and landing at Castle Garden on April 30, 1882. He worked for the Havemeyers and McCormicks, and filled engagements in Lake Forest, Ill., and in various important municipal centers, where he planned and laid out much beautiful garden work. After a few years he started in business for himself at Riverside, a suburb of Chicago. Here he lived and prospered for twenty-five years; and here he built a residence and reared his family.

At Riverside, Ill., on May 1, 1885, Mr. Steneberg was married to Miss Emma Marie Schaper, born at Elmhurst, Ill., of German parentage. Her father was William Schaper of Elmhurst. He was a railroad man, and section foreman for the Northwestern Railway. Thrifty and enterprising, he saved his money, made some good investments, and became well-to-do. Both he and Mrs. Schaper lived to be more than eighty years old. Mr. and Mrs. Steneberg became parents of seven children who reached maturity, as follows: Carl William, a restaurateur at Fresno; Edward Albert, Jr., an expressman, residing in the Steneberg home at Riverside, Ill.; Florentin Schaper, a machinist, of Chicago; George St. John, of Sacramento, associated with his father in landscaping gardening; Harry Walter, in the mattress-renovating business, residing in Sacramento; Arthur Clarence, in the express business at Riverside, Ill.; and Elmer Herbert, a machinist, residing at Riverside, Ill. A daughter, Frances, died when ten months old. Mrs. Steneberg died at Riverside, Ill., April 2, 1910, at forty-one years of age. At the time of her marriage she was only sixteen years old, and Mr. Steneberg was then twenty-two. She was a true helpmate, affectionate wife and loving mother.

About four years after his wife's death, Mr Steneberg sold his property in Riverside to one of his sons. Since then he has traveled quite extensively in the United States, through the North, East, South and West. In July, 1920, he arrived in California. Coming to Sacramento, he became construction foreman for the Del Paso Country Club and laid out its golf course, putting in its golf greens and fairways. Since then he has been engaged in contracting, and has done a great deal of landscape gardening in and around Sacramento. His contracts have included work on estates of several of the city's most prominent families.

In politics, Mr. Steneberg is an independent Republican. In religious faith, he is a Lutheran, having been brought up in the Lutheran Church. Fraternally, he is an Odd Fellow, a member of Paxton Lodge No. 48, in Paxton, Ill. Mr. Steneberg is fond of hunting and maintains an active interest in this wholesome outdoor sport.

Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.

Source: Reed, G. Walter, History of Sacramento County, California With Biographical Sketches, Pages 874-877. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.