Orwell Julian Olson

   Another name for Orwell was Orville.

  Research Notes:

birth1. Ancestry.com [ 30 Aug 2009 ]

- Public member tree - gives very little information; also lists a Private member tree
- contact is "gary olson"

- email sent today --- re; relationship


2. 1930 US Census for Tordensjkold Twp, Otter Tail Co

- under the household, John Lyng: lists Marwell Olson and Orville Olson, both age 5, as nephews to John Lyng, farmer
- why were they with their uncle??


3. 1940 US Census - Tordenskjold Twp, Otter Tail Co

-- household of Martha Lyng, age 55, born in Norway, widow;

- Orwell - age 15 born in MN; grade 8; recorded as grandson; worked 60 hours the wk Mar 24 for wages as a laborer on the farm; worked 52 wks in 1939, earned $100
- Marvel - age 15 born in MN; grade 8; recorded as grandson; worked 60 hours the wk Mar 24 for wages as a laborer on the farm; worked 52 wks in 1939, earned $100

4. Obit - 2008; Fergus Falls Journal on-line [ see copy in family directory ]

- birth as 24 Aug 1924; father Conrad Edward Olson and mother Olga Johanna (Lyng) Olson
- 12 years old when his father died
- twin brother, Marvel
- served with the US Navy as a Carpenter's Mate - floating drydock for repairing of ships - in the South Pacifc; [see Military Service event note also served on the USS Cleveland - in June 1944* was wounded; at age 82 he received a Purple Heart (a fire at the US Naval records had destroyed paperwork regarding his wounds)
- married 19 Aug 1946
- they lived in Fergus Falls and Fargo - Orwell was employed by Sorenson Company heating and plumbing
- they had lived for short times in Duluth and Devil's Lake; then to Mayville where he owned a shop, Olson Metal Shop (heating and air-conditioning
- moved to Fergus Falls in 1965 - worked for Knutson Heating - he, along with others owned the business after 1979
- retired in 1982 - moved to Silver Lake (near Battle Lake) and then later moved to Battle Lake
- preceding him in death - his parents; four brothers, Edgar (who died at age 21 in WW II), Marvel (twin brother), Herman, and Alvin; a sister, Ethelyn Martin; uncle Maurce; aunt Borghild Wilson

- survived by his wife; 5 children, Sharon of Hickory, NC [Cataweb Co, abt 100 kms north of Charotte]; Gary (Denise) Greenwood, Indiana [about 20 kms south of Indianapolis]; Gregory (Cindy) of Savage [ Scott Co, MN; about 25 kms southwest of Minneapolis ]; Keith (Barbara) of Durham, Maine [ in Androscoggin County; abt 50 kms north of Portland, Maine ] ; Carol (Ken Dickerson) of Norwalk, Iowa [suburb of Des Moines] ; 13 grandchildren [ records first names only ]; 3 great-grandchildren [ first names only ]; a sister, Orpha Olson of Fort Collins, CO [abt 100 kms north of Denver]; aunt Edna Miller Livingston, NT;


* see Military Service event note

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Residence 1930, 1 Apr 1930, Tordenskjold, Otter Tail Co, Minnesota, United States. ³²⁵⁹ Orwell and Marvel Olson are recorded as nephews to the household of John Lyng and his wife, Martha. Both are recorded born in MN and are age 5 (it is not clear why they were living with their mother's brother and not on the home farm).

2. Residence - 1935, 1 Apr 1935, Tordenskjold Twp, Otter Tail Co, Minnesota, United States. ³²⁶⁰ Enumeration 18 Apr 1940

3. Residence - 1940, 1 Apr 1940, Tordenskjold Twp, Otter Tail Co, Minnesota, United States. ³²⁶⁰ Enumeration 18 Apr 1940. Both Marvel and his brother Orville (age 15) are recorded in the residence of Martha Lyng (Martha is a Widow who was married to their uncle, John Lyng. Their mother Olga Olson and their brother Conrad Edgar and their 2 sisters, Ethelyn and Orpha had moved to Mayville, North Dakota some time after their father, Carl Edward Olson died (on 6 Aug 1945).

4. Military Service, 1943-1946, 1943-1946, United States. ³²⁶¹ The BIRLS file records his enlistement with the US Navy on 25 Mar 1943 and his release on 4 Feb 1946. According to the US Navy Muster rolls (27 Aug 1943), Orwell was a Seaman 2 (and later 1) on the Advanced Base Floating Dock, #1 (according to his obituary, he was a Carpenters Mate, 2nd Class). It set sail from San Franciso to the Southwest Pacfic (most likely to Espiritu Santo on the Vanata Island, New Herbrides (south of the Solomon Islands, east of Papua New Guinea). The floating dry dock was used to inspect and repair ships and during the war, were used in place of permament dry docks.

According to Orwell's obituary (2008) he also served on the USS Cleveland and he was wounded in June 1944. According to Wikipedia the USS Cleveland "...the Cleveland class was a group of light cruisers built for the U.S. Navy during World War II, and were the most numerous class of light cruisers ever built. The ships were designed with the goal of increased cruising range, anti-aircraft armament, torpedo protection, etc. Also according to a history of war website (http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_USS_Cleveland_CL55.html), the
The US Cleveland was one of the ships in the US Joint Task Force Fleet and with the fleet involved in the Battle of Philippine Sea from 19-20 Jun 1944. And from wikipedia, The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19'9620, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invasion of the Mariana Islands during the Pacific War. The battle was the last of five major "carrier-versus-carrier" engagements between American and Japanese naval forces

Orwell married Beverly Jeanne Tenny.