Anna Sofie Nelson née Martinusdatter Einen, (1850-1934)
Headstone GPS Coordinates:
Birth: 7 July 1850, Askvoll, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Death: 21 January 1934, Silverdale, Kitsap County, Washington
Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Andrew Nelson
American Revolutionary War Patriots*: None
Anna Sofie Martinusdatter Einen Nelson was born July 7, 1850, in Askvoll, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. She immigrated to the United States on May 26, 1887, sailing from Bergen with her brother Hans. Settling in Seattle, Anna worked as a domestic servant, building an independent life in a new country.
On July 7, 1899, she married widower Anders (Andrew) Nelson in Seattle. She then moved to his farm in Kitsap County near Silverdale, where she became part of a large Norwegian-American farming community. There, Anna helped manage the household and farm operations alongside her husband, contributing to the success and stability of their homestead.
By 1900, Anna was living on the Nelson farm with Anders and several of his children. She remained on the farm for decades, and according to the 1920 Federal Census, she was listed as a farmer and a naturalized citizen. Even after Anders’s death in 1917, Anna continued living on and working the property. Her sister, Christine Einen, later lived with her.
Anna died of pneumonia on January 21, 1934, at the age of eighty-three. She was buried in Seabeck Cemetery.
Her passing was noted in two local newspapers.
The Kitsap County Herald (January 26, 1934) reported:
“Anna Nilson, a resident of Silverdale for the past twenty-five years, died Sunday night, at the age of 83 years. She had made her home with her sister, Christine Einer. She also leaves a brother in California and some sisters and a brother in Norway. The funeral was held in the Silverdale Gospel Tabernacle on Thursday.”
The Bremerton News Searchlight (January 23, 1934) wrote:
“Anna Nilson, Well Known Silverdale Resident, is Dead
A resident of Silverdale for 25 Years, Aged Woman Leaves Many Friends to Mourn.
Anna Nilson, 83-year-old pioneer Silverdale resident of 25 years, died Sunday night at 9:30 at her home where she had been living with her sister, Christina Einer. She was born in Norway July 7, 1850, and leaves besides her sister here a brother, Hans, in California and three sisters and one brother in Norway.
Funeral services will be held Thursday afternoon at 1 o’clock at the Silverdale Gospel Tabernacle with Mrs. L. A. Engler officiating. Burial will be in Seabeck cemetery. Steltz and Son are in charge of the remains.”
Anna’s life reflects the experience of many immigrant women of her era—crossing the Atlantic as an adult, establishing herself through work, helping sustain a farming household, and becoming part of a close-knit pioneer community in Kitsap County.