Victor Anderson
and 
Gabriel and Frank ​Boberg 

Images and notes from the Hanna Basin Historical Society and Carbon Cemetery Association​

Victor and Nancy Anderson at the Carbon Cemetery (Image by Bob Leathers)

Victor Gabriel Anderson was born to Andrew Robert and Gertrude (Boberg) Anderson on December 1, 1930. When he was six months old, his parents filed on a homestead at Coyote Canyon near Walcott. Victor lived his 87 years and passed peacefully there on March 3, 2018.

He graduated from Saratoga High School, attended the University of Wyoming, and served in the United States Army. For many years he and his family ran the Coyote Springs Service, a familiar spot on US 30. Beginning in 1964, he ran a small cattle herd in the North Country and found his true vocation. Victor married Nancy Wilson at Encampment in 1966 and they welcomed daughter Rachel in 1969.

Victor was proud of his Swedish/Siberian roots, he happily declared himself an "Eskimo." Victor was a weaver of traditional rugs and worked with stained glass. Demonstrating hand-hewn tie making was one of his joys. One memorable experience was his spending an entire afternoon in the forest progressing from standing tree to completed tie, all filmed for American Experience's "The Iron Rood." His segment on PBS occupied but a few minutes, but there he was.

Victor was a charter board member of the Hanna Basin Historical Society initially formed in 1982 to secure a place for the snowplow locomotive. The group, with his active participation, restored the Community Hall and the Miner's Cottage and accumulated a significant archive of Carbon, Hanna, and North Country. Until his final months, Victor was participating in the construction of the new building, planning for the museum's future, and seconding every motion during meetings.

In 2002, Richard and Jeannette Fisher, Bill and Palma Jack, and Victor with wife Nancy, reestablished the Carbon Cemetery Association. The goals were to restore the original landscape, conserve the monuments, and gather and share information about the inhabitants of the cemetery, town of Carbon. Along the way Victor did his share of brush grubbing, visitor guiding, and advocating for preservation. All those who shared his commitment became his friends. (Hanna Basin Historical Society and Carbon Cemetery Association)

Victor Anderson (on the far right, in a brown shirt, sitting) at the 2003 Restoration Day at the Carbon Cemetery (Image by Gary Beaver)

Victor and Nancy Anderson at the museum working with a visitor that came all the way from Finland to visit the Carbon Cemetery and the Hanna Basin Museum (Image by Bob Leathers)

Victor and Nancy Anderson at the museum. (Image by Bob Leathers)

Victor and Nancy Anderson at the Hanna Basin Museum waiting for the Union Pacific Steam Engine 844 to stop in Hanna (Image by Bob Leathers)

Victor examining the Episcopal Church bell at the Hanna Basin Museum (Image by Bob Leathers)

The Boberg's of Carbon and Elk Mountain

Hanna Basin Historical Society and Carbon Cemetery Association

Gabriel Boberg, Victor Anderson's grandfather, and Frank Boberg, Victor's great-uncle, first arrived in America from Sweden in 1869 and later found their way to Carbon. Arriving in Carbon in 1872, Gabriel worked as a train car repairer and was also a deputy sheriff.

In 1881, Frank and a business partner built the Carbon House, a two-story hotel destroyed by the 1890 fire that also spread to twelve other businesses. Six years prior to the devastating fire, Gabriel purchased Frank's interest in the hotel and would ultimately become the sole proprietor of Carbon House.

In 1888, Gabriel married Victoria Tingwall who emigrated from Sweden with her parents, John and Dina Tingwall. Gabriel and Victoria had four children including Victor's mother, Gertrude. Their first child, Olga, was born in Carbon. Hard times fell on Gabriel and Victoria as the 1890 fire resulted in a reported $5,000 loss for Gabriel. Having lost his livelihood, Gabriel and his family moved to Elk Mountain where he became a rancher. Carbon Cemetery is the final resting place for many of Victor's family including Frank, his great-grandparents (the Tingwalls), and numerous cousins spanning several generations. (Hanna Basin Historical Society and Carbon Cemetery Association)

Old Carbon and Hanna Death and Burial Records

Anderson, Victor
Cemetery: Carbon
Born: Dec. 1, 1930
Died: Mar. 3, 2018
Age: 87 y's, 3 m's, 2 d's

Note: Victor Gabriel Anderson was born to Andrew Robert and Gertrude (Boberg) Anderson on December 1, 1930. When he was six months old, his parents filed on a homestead at Coyote Canyon near Walcott. Victor lived his 87 years and passed peacefully there on March 3, 2018. (Hanna Basin Historical Society and Carbon Cemetery Association, 2018)

(Image by Bob Leathers)

Anderson Plot, 2021 (Image by Bob Leathers)