Martin Westberg

Although not identified conclusively, it is likely that the M. Westberg and R. Westberg depicted on the postcard were brothers Martin and Robert Westberg, the two sons of James and Anna Westberg.

The Westberg family was large. Besides the two brothers, the family included seven daughters. Except for one daughter who stayed behind in Latvia, the family immigrated to the United States in 1899-1900.

It also is likely that these Westbergs were related to at least one or two other Westberg families in the Philadelphia and Bucks County areas. James was born in Kuldīga (Goldingen), as was George Westberg of Bucks County.

His 1909 Petition for Naturalization placed James Westberg and the family at 215 Simpson St., Philadelphia, but by the time of the 1910 federal census, he and Anna, along with Martin and Robert, were living in Wrightstown Township in Bucks County. Nearby lived Joseph and Elizabeth Kleinoff and their four children. Kleinhoff had immigrated in 1892. James and Anna Westberg later moved to Springfield Township, where several other Latvian families had settled.

Martin was born in Liepāja, Latvia, on November 30 or December 1, 1897. When he registered for the military draft in 1918, he was living at 634 N. Markoe St. in Philadelphia and working as a machinist.¹ Martin married Louis G. Pearson. In 1920, according to the federal census, the couple was living with her parents in Norristown, a suburb of Philadelphia.

Robert was born on May 9, 1901, in Philadelphia.²

Robert died in 1989; Martin died in 1990.