The Chilberg boys were born in Sweden and migrated to Afton, Minn., and then to Valley City and Barnes County. Two sisters remained in Sweden, daughters of Nils Kihlberg.

Source: Barnes County History, copyright 1967 by the Barnes county Historical Society, Inc.

CHILBERG FAMILY: Axel (Barnes County Homesteader)
by Earl. H. Kruschwitz

One of the early settlers in Barnes County was Axel Chilberg and his wife (Elna) Ellena Dorothea Schelin. They homesteaded on the SW of Section 1 in Getchel Township. His brother/homesteaded on the southeast & of the same section. Another brother, Magnus homesteaded on the quarter now occupied by Maryvale. Just south across the bridge serving Maryvale, the building plot is still discernible. The house was on the east side of the road and the other buildings were on the west side, near the river. Still another brother, John (Jake) Chilberg also came to Barnes county. He never married. It is not known whether he filed on a homestead or not.

They had migrated from Afton, Minnesota, perhaps as early as 1890. Axel farmed there in the homestead until the winter of 1890-91. In February, Axel became ill and passed away. The winter was very severe and his body lay in an unheated kitchen until later in the spring. when he was laid to rest in a plot in Hillside Cemetery. The grave and that of other members of his family are in a plot on the east one-half of the plot in which Walter Hoster and his wife are buried.

When the brothers first came to this country they lived in St. Paul. When Axel married Elna Dorothea Schelin about 1878 they lived on a little farm near Hudson, Wisconsin. That is where Hilda and Edward were born. Edith, Bernice and Grace were born in St. Paul and Edna was born in Afton, MN.

In her letter, Edith (Chilberg) said, "As far as I know I am the only person who would know anything at all about the Chilberg family. One day when I was very young I was telling Aunt Gotha (Schelin) —Uncle Magnus' wife and Mother's (Elna Dorothea Schelin) sister— how I loved the name Chilberg, and she (Gotha Schelin) told me that Chilberg was not a family name. I was dreadfully shocked but I believe she was right because I have the old family Bible that Mama gave to me long before she died and there it says that the Bible was given to Axel Lindberg when he was confirmed in the Lutheran Church."

The Axel Chilberg family lived in the St. Paul and Afton area and went to country school there. Dorothy Hoster Pfusch's mother, Hilda (Chilberg), told her that their father walked to school with the children each day because there were timber wolves in the area. He also walked to school in the afternoon to pick them up, and bring them home safely.

Axel and Elna Dorothea (Schelin) Chilberg brought their family to Valley City, ND, after Edna (Chilberg) was born. They lived near Axel's brothers who had moved to Getchel Township earlier. In February of 1891, Axel became ill and died. The winter was very severe, and his body lay in an outer shed/kitchen until the roads were passable. He was laid to rest in a plot in Hillside Cemetery. The grave and that of other members of his family are in a plot on the east half of the plot in which Walter and Hilda Hoster are buried.

Emphasis is placed, in this article, on Axel since two of his grandchildren are now residents of Barnes County, both living in Valley City. They are Dorothy Pfusch and Vae N. Kruschwitz.

Axel and (Elna) Ellena Schelin raised six children:
Hilda (Mother of Dorothy Pfusch) b. Nov. 21, 1879, Hudson WI, and passed away Nov. 22, 1934. She married Walter Stahl Hoster.
Edward ( b. 1881, in Hudson, WI) who passed away in the state of Washington.
Edith (Edie or Eda), (married to Henry Brown. b. 1886, St. Paul, MN), and who is now living in a rest home in Hemet, Calif.
Bernice, born in 1886 in St. Paul, MN and passed away in Ocola, FL. in 1933. Married to Billy Friend.
Grace (no middle name) born Oct, 20,1888 in St. Paul, MN, and passed away Nov. 22, 1939. She was married to Wilfred A. Nelson and is buried in the cemetery at Sykestown, N.D. She is the mother of Grace Eda Vae Nelson Kruschwitz, who resides at 431 6th Street S W in Valley City.
Edna, born Sept 5,1890 in Afton, MN. She Passed away in Medford, Ore. in 1968. She was married to Col. Oliver Overmyer.

After Axel passed away, Mrs. Ellen (Elna) Chilberg and her six children moved to Valley City and took in roomers. They lived in the house just across the street from the Cheyenne Apartments. The home is currently owned by Fred Schroeder. This house is one of the oldest homes in Valley City and is known as the "Padden House." Later they lived in a house, now torn down, which was located just across the street east of the Congregational Church.and just south across the street from the High School campus.

Axel Chilberg and his wife, Ellena Dorothea (Schelin) migrated from Afton, Minnesota to Getchell Township in the early 1880s. Axel's brothers, Otto and John, also homesteaded in Getchell township in Section 2. Magnus, a third brother, homesteaded the quarter now occupied by Maryvale.