The Leegard siblings


Today, we’re stepping into the early 1900s to look at three children perched in a photographer's studio. Meet Bertha, Myrtle, and Julian Leegard.

​The photo captures the Leegard siblings right as the rugged Upper Midwest was transitioning from wild frontier to established homesteads. Wearing the elaborate clothing of the era, they look very seriously at the camera. 

​But who were these children behind the formal attire?

  • ​Bertha L. Leegard (Born 1900): Standing on the left, Bertha was the oldest of the trio. Born in Minnesota just at the turn of the century, she was probably old enough to remember the family’s big move to the plains of North Dakota. 
  • ​Myrtle J. Leegard (1904–1979): Standing on the right, Myrtle would grow up to raise a family of her own in Iowa.
  • ​Julian Meyer Leegard (1906–2000): The tiny toddler perched on the wicker chair grew up to become a prominent local businessman and oil partner in Valley City, North Dakota, watching the world transform from horse drawn wagons to the digital age.
The children were born to Peter Jacob Leegard and Ida Martinson Loberg, Norwegian-American pioneers who married in the spring of 1900. Like many families of their generation, they left the comfort of settled areas in Minnesota to homestead in McHenry County, North Dakota.

​While a stray handwritten note on the back of an old photo can easily lead a researcher down a winding path, the true story of the Leegards belongs in the plains of the Upper Midwest. It shows just how a single image, preserved and cared for, can suddenly connect us directly to the people who helped shape the heart of the country.


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