Matrilineal Monday: Flour Sack Dresses–Ingrid Anna Gilberg

This is my paternal grandmother, Ingrid Anna Gilberg. She was born on November 5, 1913 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her parents were Carl Albert Gillberg and Hilda Maria Carlsson, both of whom were born in Sweden. Carl and Hilda immigrated to the United States in 1909 and 1910, respectively. Ingrid was the sixth of ten children:

1. Judith Maria  (b. 1898 in Sweden)
2. Margaret Limpea (b. 1902 in Sweden)
3. Carl Martin (b. 1904 – d. 1906 in Sweden)
4. Naomi Hildegard (b. 1907 in Sweden)
5. Ruth Katherine (b. 1911 in Utah)
6. Ingrid Anna (b. 1913 in Utah)
7. Helen Albertina (b. 1915 in Utah)
8. Ida Martina (b. 1916 in Utah)
9. Edith Elizabeth (b. 1916 in Utah)
10. Ruby Hilda (b. 1920 in Utah)


Ingrid shared her personal history vocally back in 1977. My dad, Jan Iverson, recorded this history.  It is so precious and in it Ingrid tells about her life and even sings Swedish songs. Here’s a little snippet from Ingrid’s life where she tells about wearing flour sack dresses in her own words:

“And I remember of (sic) mother taking flour sacks that father brought home and making clothing.  She would take these flour sacks and she would dye them.  And she would make dresses out of them.  She would crotchet around them….And she would make quilts out of these flour sacks.  My father was a very good provider and he worked very hard for his family.  But we were, to an extent, poor.  There were times when we didn’t have shoes to go to church.”

Carl’s occupation is listed as a baker in both the 1920 and 1930 censuses. In these census records, Carl's family was living in Salt Lake City, Utah and in Los Angeles, California respectively. The family relocated to Los Angeles because during the Great Depression Carl was out of work and couldn’t find employment in Salt Lake City.  Ingrid’s two older sisters were living in Los Angeles, so Carl went there to find employment. Once Carl saved enough money to support the family, Hilda and the rest of the family joined him in Los Angeles.

I can't imagine how difficult life must have been for my grandmother and her family during the Great Depression. I'm sure I sometimes take for granted the relative ease of my life compared with my grandmother's and others' lives during that time in history. After all, I have never had to wear dresses made from flour sacks or go to church without shoes.

It was while Ingrid was in Los Angeles that she met her future husband, Arthur Harry Iverson.  They were married in Ely, Nevada in 1931, where her parents had moved because of an employment opportunity.  I shared a picture from their wedding day in my post Wedding Wednesday - Arthur Harry Iverson and Ingrid Anna Gilberg.

Ingrid passed away on December 25, 2002 in Vancouver, Washington.

Thanks for reading!

Copyright © Jana Last 2012