Anders L. Wahlin

ANDERS L. WAHLIN is one of the successful farmers of Bethel, Kansas, who originally came from Sweden. Unless a man has enterprise and a determination to win out, he will as a rule stay in his own country and live in the old rut. The mere fact that Mr. Wahlin came to America shows that he was anxious to be something better and to do something more than would have been possible if he had remained in the old home. He has prospered and is greatly respected in the township.

He was born in Sweden November 20, 1840, and was the son of Lars Pearson and Ingre (Larson) Wahlin, both natives of Sweden. His father died in 1864, and the mother passed away later.

In 1869 he came to America via Cunard Steamship Company, and eleven days from date of sailing he landed at Boston. He went at once to Kansas City, Missouri, and for a time worked on the railroad, but in April, 1871, he came to Wyandotte county, Kansas, and farmed, at first in a small way, but he now has one hundred and thirty-two and one-half acres, he having given one-half acre for a Swedish cemetery. He engages in general farming and has a very large dairy, selling a high grade of milk. His brother, Ola, is living with him on the farm and his sister, Mrs. Olson, is living near him, in Kansas City.

November 20, 1868, the year before he came to America, Mr. Wahlin married Brita Pearson, a young Swedish lady who lived near his home and they came across the ocean together. Mrs. Wahlin was reared and educated in her native land of Sweden. She was a kind and faithful wife and an affectionate mother, and nobly did her part in aiding her husband to win for themselves a nice home. For forty-two years, or almost one-half a century, did Mr. and Mrs. Wahlin travel the pathway of life together, and it was on October 27, 1910, that she passed away. She was interred in the Swedish cemetery, which lies on part of their farm. She was a lady who was well beloved by all who knew her. They had six children, as follows: Andrew; Ida, who died when eighteen months old; Frank, who married Mary Stottler and is living in Kansas City, Kansas; Amanda; Hilda and Frida.

Mr. Wahlin is a Republican in political sympathies and is very much interested in politics, though he does not take any very active part. He and his daughter Amanda are members of the Swedish Lutheran church and they are all highly esteemed in the community in which they reside. He lives a quiet life on the farm he has obtained through his own efforts and abilities.