The following letter was sent to me from a cousin, Emmett Soren Wilson, before the 1991 Willads Willadson Family Reunion.   Emmett was not able to make it to the reunion due to health problems.   I had made plans to visit him in November of 1991 and hopefully get more information on the family.   Unfortunately, Emmett passed away just before our planned visit.

My name is Emmett Soren Wilson.   My father was Soren Peter Wilson, brother to Willads Willadsen.   There were three brothers in the family.   The father of the brothers was Peder (Peter) Willadsen.   I believe the law in Denmark changed in 1862.   The eldest son in the family was baptized and named Willads Pedersen, the next eldest son was Willads Willadsen.   My father Soren Peter Willadsen was the youngest son.   Willads Pedersen lived out his life in Denmark.   Willads Willadsen and my father, Soren Peter Willadsen, immigrated to the United States of America.   The circumstances I will explain later.   That sums up to the eldest brother going by the name Willads Pedersen, Willads Willadsen and my father, Soren Peder (Peter) Willadsen.

My father was a coal dealer in Council Bluffs, Iowa as per a profession or vocation and a land speculator as an avocation.   I am proud to say that my father did very well financially in both his vocation and avocation.   For business reasons, my father went by the name of Wilson.   The sum of it is that there were three brothers with different names, Willads Pedersen, Willads Willadson (uncle Willis retained his name but changed the spelling) and then my father Soren Peter Wilson.   Three brothers with different names.   I hasten to add -- "and none of it was to get away from the sheriff either".   As Moses Willadson is the sole surviving member of Willads Willadson's family, I am the sole surviving member of the Soren Peter Wilson and Kristine Marie Wilson's immediate family.   I was never able to find a lady who would have me, so please delete the Mrs Emmett Wilson as it gives me the whim-whams.
(Note: Moses also has Passed away since this letter was written.)

The father of the three brothers, Peder Willadsen, was crippled in one foot.   He was a tailor by profession.   He had a crew of tailors working for him.   Peder Willadsen would go from estate to estate to tailor for the landed gentry.   One estate was the Myrtue estate.   Peder Willadsen became enamored of one daughter, Matte Myrtue.   It was like putting a match to kerosene.   Peder Willadsen wooed and won Matte Myrtue.  

Matte Myrtue had a brother, Andrew Myrtue.   Andrew Myrtue had a farm bordering on the North Sea.   According to the laws of Flotsam and Jetsam in force at the time, all lumber and timber from wrecked ships belonged to the crown (King).   Andrew Myrtue took lumber and timber from a wrecked ship that came to his shoreline and built or repaired his farm improvements.   Lumber and timber was scarce in Denmark.   Andrew Myrtue was arrested and tried.   He was found guilty of converting the crown's lumber and timber to his own use.   He was given a sentence but was given three months to settle his affairs.   At the end of the three months, he was to surrender himself to the authorities.   It was a curse of too many people, too little land.

Andrew Myrtue sold his farm and emmigrated to America.   He settled on land near Harlan in Shelby County, Iowa.   As near as I can ascertain, Andrew Myrtue made three or more trips to Denmark.   The first trip he took Uncle Willis back to the USA with him.   This made my father 'sick' to come to uncle Andrew in the USA.   My father borrowed passage money from a farmer neighbor in Denmark.   Dad passed his sixteenth birthday on the ship enroute to this country and made his own way ever since.   Andrew Myrtue brought 5 or more nephews and some nieces to the USA.   Other cousins came first to Andrew Myrtue.

Many amusing events and happenings to my father and uncle Willis at Andrew Myrtue's.   I could tell many tales and events about the Myrtues.   One event about my dad.   Dad was hoeing weeds out of Andrew Myrtue's corn.   Dad hoed out the pumpkin plants that had been planted in the corn where he was hoeing.   There were no pumpkins raised in Denmark so Dad wasn't familiar with them.

To get on, Uncle Willis gravitated to Council Bluffs, Iowa.   My father did too.   There was a large Denmark community in Council Bluffs, in fact one portion was known as 'Little Copenhagen'.   Many jokes and sayings about Danes in Council Bluffs.   One comes to mind. -- "The Danes raise big families and they're still at it."   Not getting into how or when my father and Uncle Willis met their mates.

I must describe Council Bluffs, Iowa to you.   Two thirds of Council Bluffs is on the river bottom.   The hill district is in the eastern portion of Council Bluffs.   When I say hills, we've got some dandies.   The younger folks -- that includes myself -- have no idea how much 'fill' was taken from the hills and placed in the 'bottoms'.   For instance, the home we live in today has been 'raised' three times.   I talked to Ole Rassmusen, a Danish pioneer in Council Bluffs.   Ole Rassmusen told me about a house he built in the 700 block of south 8th.street.   That is 2 1/2 blocks from our home.   Ole Rassmusen said that he built the house to city specifications for 'grades'.   He built or erected the house with a 14 foot triple basement before building the house.   Ole Rassmusen said people laughed and kidded him about it sitting 14 feet in the air.   Rassmusen told me when the street was brought up to grade -- filled -- as specified by the city, there is only about 2 feet showing to the base of the house.   About 6 blocks south of this is the Rock Island railroad yards.   You should see the size of the yards.   There were tracks (switches) where the trains were made-up, storage tracks, interchange tracks (i.e. tracks to other railroads) and tracks to Omaha, Nebraska.   What I mean to tell you is it was a sizable railroad yard.

I bring this in because my father Soren Peter Wilson and his brother Willads Willadson took the contract to 'fill' the Rock Island Railroad yard.   Dad told me of the equipment used -- contractor dump wagons -- scrapers, etc.   The teams of horses, mules, etc.   Not saying they owned it all.   Dad told me of the number of men hired -- the number of teams -- I suppose some subcontracting.   How I wish I had written it down or that we had recorders, etc.   We have to be proud of Dad and Uncle Willis.   They got money from owners and real estate developers to grade lots and open roads or streets or for taking the dirt out.   They got money for the fill in the yards (R.I.R.R.).   Dad and Uncle Willis got the R.I.R.R. yards to grade fill.   They tried every which way to get the Civil Engineering Dept. of the R.I.R.R. to approve the project for final payment.   However, the Civil Engineering Dept. knew what they were doing and waited a month before inspecting the project.   Meanwhile the 'fill' settled and Dad and Uncle Willis had to put in another foot of 'fill'.   Anyhow, Dad and Uncle Willis made a fist full of money out of the project in a time when a dollar was a dollar.   My Dad was a coal dealer in Council Bluffs for over 50 years.   For years he had a pair of mastodon bones dug from the hills in the project exhibited on his dock at the coal office.   Dad finally donated the bones to the Council Bluffs Public Library.

Uncle Willis' family moved to Hallock, Minnesota before I was born so I don't have much memory of them.   In fact, my brother-in-law Alex J. Jensen and myself drove to Hallock, Minn.   We stayed with Uncle Willis and Aunt Lena for about a week.   We had a most enjoyable time.   Dad, brother-in-law Axel J. Jensen, Uncle Willis, Aunt Lena and myself drove on up to Winnipeg, Canada.   One might say that is all I saw of the place.   I remember attending the Hubbard County (Minnesota) Fair with them.   One thing I remember - what gosh awful tasting water in the territory.

May Willadson Martens 'took care' of my mother at our house (I was born there).   I was born April 15,1912 -- the day the ship Titanic sunk.   Extra (news) papers were being sold on the street when I was born.

There are many similarities in the Willadson and Wilson families.   One is Clara Willadson and May Willadson married brothers Henry Martens and Charles Martens.   Two of my sisters married brothers.   The eldest sister, Amanda K. Wilson married Oluf J. Jensen.   The second eldest sister, Viola B. Wilson married Oluf J. Jensen's brother, Axel J. Jensen.   The four children (adult) of Oluf and Amanda Jensen, and the child (adult) of Axel and Viola Jensen, are what we term "double cousins".

Andrew Myrtue and his wife had a son, Chris.   Chris never married.   Chris was a prosperous farmer and livestock man (fed and raised cattle and hogs).   A person could go down this road near Harlan, Iowa for a distance of two miles or so and Chris owned the land on both sides of the road -- some of the choicest and best land in Iowa.   Sometime following Chris' death an article in a Harlan paper said that he was 'frugal' though Chris was to say 'tight as the bark on a tree'.   I always thought it was the way Chris considered and thought of things.   For instance, we went out in the early 1930's and called on Chris.   Chris took us to his garage.   Inside was one of the finest cars available in that period -- a 1926 six cylinder Buick -- it had a sort of 'reverse' transmission (or shift) in it.   The car was 5 to 7 years old at that time.   It had 7000 or 8000 miles on it.   The car was spotless -- waxed and polished, clean windows, windshield, upholstery and all.   Chris kept it that way.   There was a tarpaulin that Chris kept on it at all times.   I've often wondered what happened to the car.   It would be worth big bucks now.   Chris drove around in a 6 speed International truck -- in which he hauled grain, hay, livestock, etc.   Chris also took a trip to Florida one winter.

Well, at the time when Chris was in the hospital answering the 'call' to come home, Harlan, Iowa just had a dwelling for a hospital.   (Chris died of cancer).   There was a room with 4 beds in it for bedfast patients.   Chris could see the need.   Chris willed his money, land and resources to establish a hospital.   As I remember, his land was auctioned off as well as his possessions.   Those were the days when a dollar was a dollar.   Chris stipulated the community had to contribute an amount of money equal to his contribution.   The Federal Government contributed the money.   All in all, I believe Chris' contribution in present day dollars would equate to $2,300,000.   I think of Chris looking with pride when he showed his Buick car to us.   Chris could look at the hospital he contributed to.   On the atrium of which is inscribed 'The Chris Myrtue -- Shelby County Memorial Hospital'.

Another Myrtue I would call to your attention is John Myrtue.   John Myrtue and his brother Soren Myrtue gravitated to Council Bluffs, Iowa.   John and Soren established one of the largest building construction firms in Council Bluffs -- if not in southwest Iowa.   John was elected 'President of the Danish Brotherhood of America'.   As President of the Danish Brotherhood of America, John Myrtue was knighted by King Christian of Denmark.   John Myrtue was elected Mayor of Council Bluffs, Iowa in the early 1930's.   At the time Council Bluffs had a population of about 42,000 persons.   The onliest thing about John was that he was a Democrat.   I don't believe that should be held too much against him.   The Myrtue family was and is a fascinating family.

Uncle Willis was a prominent and popular member of the Danish community in Council Bluffs, Iowa.   He farmed in and near Council Bluffs.   Many of the Danes would follow him and settle nearby.

The facts I set out are what I have heard from my Mother, Father and relatives.   I feel that they should be of record.

Respectfully
Emmett S. Wilson