Eidem Family History
John & Electa (Lectty) Eidem
John J. Eidem Jr.
Son of Ingeborg and John Eidem Sr., he was born September 11, 1869 in Brooklyn Township.
In 1894 he purchased a farm on 100st Ave N, Brooklyn Township. John died on November 21,
1956 at the age of 86. The farm is now the Eidem Homestead. John is buried at Mound
Cemetery, Brooklyn Center, MN.
Electa (Cotton) Eidem- Nickname Lectty
Daughter of Delwan and Sarah Cotton, she was born on April 29, 1872 in Hennepin Country,
MN. In 1892, on her 20th birthday she married then 22-year-old John Eidem. Two years later, in
1894, they moved to the farm where she and John raised two sons, Archie and Leland. Lectty
died in May 1950 at the age of 78. She is buried at Mound Cemetery in Brooklyn Center, MN.
Parents of John & Electa (Cotton) Eidem
Parents of John Eidem
John Eidem, Sr.
Born in Selbu, Norway in 1842, Eidem Sr. came to the U.S. in 1866 at the age of 24. In 1887, he
and his wife Ingeborg, purchased 100 acres of fine farming land in Brooklyn, MN where they
raised nine children- six boys and three girls. He belonged to both the Lutheran Church and the
Republican Party. Eidem Sr. died in 1928 at the age of 86 and was buried in Mound Cemetery,
Brooklyn Center.
Ingeborg (Hanson) Eidem
Born in Selbu, Norway on April 16, 1846, she came to the U.S. in 1866 at the age of 20 with her
husband John Eidem, Sr. She had eight surviving children, 20 grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren when she died in 1921 at the age 75. She is buried in Mound Cemetery, Brooklyn
Center.
Editor’s Note: It is understood that in Norway the family name was Johnson, but was changed to
Eidem upon arrival in America.
Parents of Electa (Cotton ) Eidem
Delwan Nelson Cotton
Born near Fort Ticonderoga (Winton County), New York, on September 18, 1826. At the age of
24 he married first wife, Katherine Riley. In 1850, the couple made their way to the pioneer
town of St. Paul. Ten years later he purchased land in Hennepin County. Katherine and her
baby died in childbirth. Delwan married again in 1862 to Sarah Jane Merrill. Together they had
seven children- three boys and four girls.
Delwan died May 16, 1917, at the age of 90, while visiting a son and two daughters who made
their homes in Glasgow, Montana. At the time of his death, Delwan left 18 grandchildren and
two great-grandchildren. During the last nine years of his life, he lived with his daughter Lectty
Eidem. His family calls it remarkable that he was able to stop smoking a year before he died,
since he had been smoking for more than 80 years. Family members maintain it demonstrated
his strong will power. He is buried at Mound Cemetery, Brooklyn Center, MN.
Sarah Jane Merrill
Born on October 3, 1838, she was the second wife of Delwan Cotton. She raised seven children,
three boys and four girls. She died on January 7, 1896 at the age of 57. She is buried at Mound
Cemetery in Brooklyn Center, MN.
Children of John, Jr. & Electa Eidem
Archie (Arthur) Eidem
Born on March 16, 1893 in Brooklyn Township, MN to Lectty and John Eidem, Jr. He began
farming with his father until he saved enough money to buy the farm next door, where from
1916-1943 he raised onions, and potatoes after that. He and his wife Anna Sachs (1893-1974)
had a son, Tyrus, and a daughter, Marlys. Archie died January 24, 1977 at the age of 83 and was
buried along with his wife in Mound Cemetery, Brooklyn Center, MN.
Leland Eidem
Born May 1897 to Lectty and John Eidem, Jr. He purchased the farm just west of his father’s
where he too grew onions and potatoes. Leland’s wife’s name was Beatrice. John, Jr. and both
his sons farmed their adjacent land together. Leland died in 1977 at the age of 80 and is buried
with the rest of his family in Mound Cemetery, Brooklyn Center, MN.
Grandchildren of John, Jr. & Electa Eidem
Marlys (Eidem) Johnson
Daughter of Anna (Sachs) and Archie Eidem. Wife of Robert Johnson.
Tyrus Eidem
Son of Anna (Sachs) and Archie Eidem. Tyrus lived in Brooklyn Park his entire life. He died
August 1999.
Lee (Bud) Eidem
Son of Leland and Beatrice (Bea) Eidem.