I am really lucky to be blessed with a treasure trove of images that bring the lives of my ancestors to life. The picture above, from around 1909, is of Unknown Guy, Per Oscar Sand, alternately called called P.O. and Oscar, Another Unknown Guy, John “Slim” Sand, and Joe Mercer, in their store on the square in Georgetown, Texas.

Per Oscar Sand is my great-great uncle in-law, father to Irene Irma Sand Lundblad, John “Slim” Sand, and Margaret “Mug” Sand Swenson. He was married to my great-great-aunt Hilda Sandberg on February 11, 1896 (married by her half-brother-in-law August Wallin, a Methodist minister). Their first child, John, afterwards known as Slim, was born May 28, 1896, so, …um, …, their second child, Irene, was born in 1898, their third child, Mug, born in 1900. Hilda died in 1902, and we can assume that with that timeline, she perhaps died in childbirth.

Joe Mercer is the son of Joseph A. Mercer, who I talked about in my post on January 25th, and my great-great-grandmother Hedda Christerson. So that would make P.O. and Joe brothers-in-law. They also became widowers in the same year. Joe and his first wife, Anna Larson, had five children, Paul (1891), Frank (1893), Alma (1895), Joseph (1898), and Mildred (1900), so we can suppose that she also died in childbirth.

I found a number of references in the Texas Posten (this links to a description of the newspaper, which is a great resource, with a little help from Google Translate, for the Swedish Texan community in the early 20th Century.) about Joe working in various retail establishments in Taylor and Georgetown, Texas, including grocers and hardware stores. He always advertises his connection to the Swedish community and the fact that he can speak Swedish. In the fall of 1909, there is a notice in the Texas Posten about Joe and P.O. opening a store together.

“— Messrs. Oscar Sand and Joe Mercer sell groceries as cheap as any in town. When you are offered very cheap prices on groceries, come to us in Fosberg & Anderson’s old location and you will get the same old cheap prices.”

Texas Posten, October 7, 1909, p. 7.

But then there don’t seem to be anymore mentions of the two of them working together. In the fall of 1910, Oscar has teamed up with another fella and they have bought out someone else’s grocery stock and are moving premises

“We have bought Heard & Anderson’s grocery store on the southwest corner of the square, and have moved our warehouse from our old location in the Glascock building to Heard & Anderson’s location, making two stores in one. We want your business and will treat you right. If you pay in cash or if you want to buy on credit, come to us. All kinds of Swedish goods always in stock. Respectful, Oscar Sand, Ben Behrens”

Texas Posten, December 22, 1910, p. 13.

And then, in 1911, Joe went out on his own.

“— Note.—I have bought out the stock of the grocery firm of R. H. Chritzberg, Glasscock building across the street from the post office. I intend to continue the business in the same place and shall gratefully value the trade of my compatriots.
Sincerely,
Joe Mercer, Phone 343, Georgetown, Texas.”

Texas Posten, August 3, 1911, p. 5

Note to self here: I did some research to see where this Glasscock building might have been, and I think it is in the row of buildings on the north side of 7th Street, just east of the Square. The post office on 8th Street wasn’t built until the 1930s. In the early 1900s the post office was housed in the Masonic Lodge building, the one with the onion dome, on the corner of Main and 7th.

I’m so curious as to why their partnership fell apart and what happened in those few years. Before and after this time, Joe, particularly, continues to be employed as a clerk in other people’s businesses. He also appears in census records noting his occupation as a store clerk in groceries. I so appreciate having this visual proof of what he did to earn a living. Thanks, Aunt Diddie, for saving these and others from the burn pile (but that’s a whole nother post!).