Résumé

Edelsvärd moved around during his career many times, from coast to coast.

Partner, [John R.] Scott and Edelsvärd, Architects, New York, NY, c. 1902.

Draftsman, R.B. Young, Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1904. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1904, p. 412.)

Principal, Gustav Edelsvärd , Architect, Los Angeles, CA, 1905-1906. In 1906, he maintained an office in Room #814 of the Braly Building. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1905, p. 454.)

Partner, Van Siclen and Edelsvärd, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1906-1907; Partner, Edelsvärd and Sankey, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1908; this firm operated in Room #611 of the Peoples Savings Bank Building in Seattle. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1908, p. 543.)

Principal, Gustav A. Edelsvärd, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1909. He leased Room #311 of the Peoples Bank Building in 1909. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1909, p. 237.)

Principal, Gustav A. Edelsvärd, Architect, Youngstown, OH, 1917. His office was at 31 West Wood Street in Youngstown. (See Youngstown, Ohio, City Directory, 1917, p. 1439.)

Partner, Seligman and Edelsvard, Architects, Pine Bluff, AR, c. 1919-1920.

Partner, Edelsvärd and Fleming, Architects, Tulsa, OK, 1921. He and Fleming had offices in Rooms #603-604 of the Kenedy Block. (See Tulsa, Oklahoma, City Directory, 1921, p. 175.) He was not listed in the Tulsa City Directory of 1922. Principal, G.A. Edelsvärd, Architect, Tulsa, OK, 1923. He had an office in Room #608 of the 10-floor Kennedy Building in 1923. (See Tulsa, Oklahoma, City Directory, 1923, p. 838.)

Architect and Designer, William O. Sparklin, Architect, Fort Myers, FL, 1925. Sparklin operated his office in Room #213 of the Pythian Building in Fort Myers. (See Fort Myers, Florida, City Directory, 1925, p. 194.)

Principal, G.A. Edelsvärd, Architect, Houston, TX, (See Houston, Texas, City Directory, 1926, p. 2183.) He rented office space in Room #430 of the Commercial Bank Building in Houston.

Draftsman, G.A. Carlander, Architect, Amarillo, TX, 1927. (See Amarillo, Texas, City Directory, 1927, p. 295.)

Draftsman, Fitzhugh and Byron, Architects, Phoenix, AZ, 1930. (See Phoenix, Arizona, City Directory, 1930, p. 200.) The Phoenix City Directory misspelled his name as "G.A. Edelward."

Relocation

Born in Myssjö, Jämtland, Sweden, Edelsvärd apparently gained some of his professional training with the architect Adolf Wilhelm Edelsvärd (1824-1919), architect of the Swedish National Railway, 1855-1895. How much training he could have gotten is unclear, as he seems to have left Sweden at age 14, when he entered the US at Buffalo, NY, on 08/15/1884.

In 1899, he lived at 101-2 Place, Brooklyn, NY. He was naturalized on 07/12/1899 in US District Court, Brooklyn, NY. The witness at his naturalization was Joseph P. Powers (born 04/1861-d. 07/08/1947 in Queens, NY), of Rockaway Beach, Queens. He may have worked with Edelsvärd, and was listed as a superintendent in the building trades in the 1900 US Census, and later became an architect. Like him, Powers was an immigrant, born in the Balliboy and Killoughy Catholic Parish in Ireland, who had come to the US by 1870 or earlier.

In 1900, Gustav lived at 1383 Saint Marks Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. He lived at this address with his wife, Helen. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Brooklyn Ward 24, Kings, New York; Roll: 1062; Page: 28B; Enumeration District: 0425; FHL microfilm: 1241062, accessed 05/26/2017.)

Edelsvärd resided at 657 Degraw Street in Brooklyn, NY, in 1902. (See Brooklyn, New York, City Directory, 1902, p. 358.) It appears that he decided to leave New York soon after the death of his first wife, Helen in 1902.

In 1906, the Swedish portion of the International Directory of Los Angeles, 1906-1907, noted that Edelsvärd lived at 1129 Dewey Street in Los Angeles, CA. (See International Directory of Los Angeles, 1906-1907, [Los Angeles: International Publishing Company, 1906], p. 104.) He lived in Edendale, a neighborhood just southeast of the Silver Lake Reservoir, by 1905. (See Los Angeles, California, City Directory, 1905, p. 454.) He was not listed in the 1907 Seattle City Directory,but he was listed in the city directory of the following year, residing at 946 23rd Avenue. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1908, p. 543.) Edelsvard left Seattle by 1910 and was not listed in the city directory of that year.

Edelsvärd had settled in Tulsa, OK, by 1923. From Tulsa, he went to Fort Myers, FL, where he lived 118 Tournament Street. (See Fort Myers, Florida, City Directory, 1925, p. 104.) He had moved to Houston, TX, and resided in Room #15 of the Waverly Inn in 1926. (See Houston, Texas, City Directory, 1926, p. 744.)

He roomed in a house at 1507 Monroe Street in Amarillo, TX, in 1927. (See Amarillo, Texas, City Directory, 1927, p. 295.)

Edelsvärd moved west to Phoenix, AZ, by 1928, where he resided at 1315 West Washington Street. He lived here until at least 1929. Voter records in 1928 stated that he had been born in England. (See Source Information, Ancestry.com. Arizona, Voter Registrations, 1866-1955 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, accessed 05/26/2017.) In 1930, he lived at 1244 East Palm Avenue in Phoenix. (See Phoenix, Arizona, City Directory, 1930, p. 200.) He was not listed in the Phoenix City Directory, 1931.

Parents

His father was Johann Fredell Edelsvärd, his mother, Maria Wikén (born c. 1839).

Spouse

He married Helen E. Edelsvärd (born c. 09/1870 in NY-d. 08/26/1902 in NY) c. 1896.

He remarried in 1907 to Clarita Marie Elliott in King County, WA. In 1907, she boarded at 229 North Broadway in Seattle. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1907, p. 424.)

He remarried again on 03/01/1929 in Phoenix, AZ, to Gertrude Anna Alston (born 1902 in MA). Both bride and groom lived in Phoenix at the time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information, Ancestry.com. Arizona, County Marriage Records, 1865-1972 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, accessed 05/26/2017.)

Biographical Notes

In the wake of World War I, with its widespread animosity toward Germany, Edelsvärd referred to himself as "G. Alexis Edelsvard," a more Anglo-sounding name. (See Tulsa, Oklahoma, City Directory, 1921, p. 175.) In Tulsa, OK (1923), Fort Myers, FL (1925), and Houston, TX (1926), he called himself "George A. Edelsvard." His marriage certificate in Phoenix of 1929, listed his name as "George (Gustaf) A. Edelsvard."

According to his 1928 Phoenix, AZ, voter's registration, Edelsvärd was a Democrat and stood 6-foot, 1-inch tall and weighed 176 pounds. (See Source Information, Ancestry.com. Arizona, Voter Registrations, 1866-1955 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, accessed 05/26/2017.)

• Myssjö, Jämtland Sweden (Architect's Birth)
  Myssjö, Jämtland Sweden

  ---

  ---