Emma C. Anderson was born to Norwegian immigrant parents in southern Minnesota around the year 1873, although it may have been as late as 1876. She married William G. Magnuson, the son of Swedish immigrants, in 1897 in Cass County, North Dakota. William ran a saloon in Moorhead, Minnesota, with his brother Frank, called the Nickle Plate Saloon. When prohibition became law in Clay County in 1915, the brothers closed up their saloon. William was soon run out of town for embezzlement, due to the fact he wrote and signed a check in Frank’s wife, Ella’s, name. When he left Moorhead for California around 1920, he left behind Emma and the two children they had adopted, Warren in 1905 and Clara in 1906. In order to support her family without her husband, Emma turned to bootlegging, although her official occupation according to the 1920’s census was the owner of a boarding house. During prohibition, Emma was arrested numerous times for bootlegging and other alcohol related charges, with the first occurring in 1917.
Arrest record for Emma Magnuson, July 31st, 1928.
It is unclear what Emma did after prohibition ended in 1933. The 1940’s census lists no occupation for her, although shows she still lived in Moorhead with her daughter Clara, a granddaughter, Loretta, and one lodger. A 1942 city directory lists her as moved to Washington. Her son, Warren, had made quite a name for himself as a representative and later senator of that state and he moved her there in the early 40’s to an island off the coast of Seattle. He often brought home ladies to meet her, although many of them claimed a dislike for Emma, stating she was tall like a man (she was around 6 feet in height) and had rough manners and could see straight through them. However, the bond between mother and son was strong and in Seattle Emma remained, until her death at around age 70 on April 10, 1943.
Sources:
(I) 1910 United States Federal Census. William G. Magnuson. Moorhead, Clay County, Minnesota. p 3211 lines 73-76. May 5th, 1910. Retrieved from: http://interactive.ancestrylibrary.com/7884/31111_4330217-00451?pid=155806543&backurl=//search.ancestrylibrary.com//cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26db%3D1910USCenIndex%26h%3D155806543%26tid%3D%26pid%3D%26usePUB%3Dtrue%26_phsrc%3DFYj43%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26rhSource%3D6061&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=FYj43&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true
(II) 1920 United States Federal Census. Emma Magnuson. Moorhead, Clay County, Minnesota. p. 27, lines 85-8. January 27, 1920. Retrieved from: http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=FYj27&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-g&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn=Warren%20Grant&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Magnuson&gsln_x=0&msypn__ftp=Moorhead,%20Clay,%20Minnesota,%20USA&msypn=45836&msypn_PInfo=8-%7C0%7C1652393%7C0%7C2%7C0%7C26%7C0%7C648%7C45836%7C0%7C0%7C&MSAV=0&msbdy=1905&catbucket=rstp&uidh=y43&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=77849054&db=1920usfedcen&indiv=1&ml_rpos=2
(III) 1940 United States Federal Census. Emma Magnuson. Moorhead, Clay County, Minnesota. p. 28, lines 77-80. May 1940. Retrieved from: http://interactive.ancestrylibrary.com/2442/m-t0627-01914-00438?pid=96635375&backurl=//search.ancestrylibrary.com//cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DFYj43%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26gss%3Dangs-g%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26msT%3D1%26gsfn%3Demma%2520c.%26gsfn_x%3D0%26gsln%3Dmagnuson%26gsln_x%3D0%26msypn__ftp%3DMoorhead,%2520Clay,%2520Minnesota,%2520USA%26msypn%3D45836%26msypn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C1652393%257C0%257C2%257C0%257C26%257C0%257C648%257C45836%257C0%257C0%257C%26MSAV%3D0%26catbucket%3Drstp%26uidh%3Dy43%26pcat%3DROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3D96635375%26db%3D1940usfedcen%26indiv%3D1%26ml_rpos%3D1&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=FYj43&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true
(IV) Marriage License Index, 1873-1944. Cass County, North Dakota. William G. Magnuson. November 13 1897. Retrieved from: North Dakota State University Archives.
(V) Moorhead Police Record. Moorhead, Clay County, Minnesota. 1928-1937. Retrieved from: Minnesota Historical Society.
(VI) Moorhead Jail Record. Moorhead, Clay County, Minnesota. 1917-1927. Retrieved from: Minnesota Historical Society.
(VII) Scates, Shelby. Warren G. Magnuson and the Shaping of Twentieth-Century America. 2nd ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997.
(VIII) Select Death Certificates, 1907-1960-Washington. Emma C. Magnuson. April 10 1943. Retrieved from: http://search.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=FYj47&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&gss=angs-c&new=1&rank=1&gsfn=Emma%20C.&gsfn_x=0&gsln=Magnuson&gsln_x=0&msbpn__ftp=Minnesota,%20USA&msbpn=26&msbpn_PInfo=5-%7C0%7C1652393%7C0%7C2%7C0%7C26%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C&msdpn__ftp=Washington,%20USA&msdpn=50&msdpn_PInfo=5-%7C0%7C1652393%7C0%7C2%7C0%7C50%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C&mscng=Warren%20G&mscns=Magnuson&MSAV=1&uidh=y43&pcat=34&h=1085952&db=FS1WashingtonDeathCertificates&indiv=1&ml_rpos=1
(IX)) U.S. City Directory, 1822-1995. Moorhead, Clay County, Minnesota. Emma C. Magnuson. 1942. Retrieved from: http://interactive.ancestrylibrary.com/2469/13061032?pid=776384754&backurl=//search.ancestrylibrary.com//cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DFYj41%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26gss%3Dangs-g%26new%3D1%26rank%3D1%26msT%3D1%26gsfn%3Demma%2520c.%26gsfn_x%3D0%26gsln%3Dmagnuson%26gsln_x%3D0%26msypn__ftp%3DMoorhead,%2520Clay,%2520Minnesota,%2520USA%26msypn%3D45836%26msypn_PInfo%3D8-%257C0%257C1652393%257C0%257C2%257C0%257C26%257C0%257C648%257C45836%257C0%257C0%257C%26MSAV%3D0%26catbucket%3Drstp%26uidh%3Dy43%26pcat%3DROOT_CATEGORY%26h%3D776384754%26db%3DUSDirectories%26indiv%3D1%26ml_rpos%3D2&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=FYj41&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true
