Hegborn-Nelson Family Collection

John P. Nelson was born in Sweden in 1858 and immigrated with his family to America in 1881. While they were living in Chicago, John met and married Betty Larsson on January 13, 1882. Betty had been born in Sweden in 1859 and had also immigrated to America with her family in 1881. John and Betty settled on the West Side of Chicago where John became involved in building construction. The couple had three daughters: Pauline (1882-1972), Martha (1890-1972), and Lillian (1892-1974). Pauline married Benjamin Hegborn on November 23, 1904. They were blessed with their first child, Harvey Nelson Hegborn, on November 24, 1905. Daughter Bernice Pauline Lillian Hegborn was born on October 20, 1908. Tragedy marked the family’s life as Benjamin passed away on May 3, 1911, forcing Pauline and the children to move in with her parents and her unmarried sisters. Bernice died of complications from appendicitis in 1929. Betty Nelson died on October 21, 1935 and John on March 9, 1946. Harvey worked at the Illinois Bell Telephone Company for thirty years before retiring in 1970. He lived with his mother and aunts until their deaths in the early 1970s. Harvey died on July 11, 1984.

This family appears to have been involved in the Republican Party; the North Park neighborhood association’s opposition to re-zoning; the Shriners.