A.T.  (Anders Trondson) Ellingboe was born August 15,  1852, in Vang, Valdres, Norway.  He immigrated with his parents, Trond and Kjersti Ellingboe, and eight siblings, arriving July 14, 1862  in Goodhue County, Minnesota where he attended St. Olaf College.  A.T. moved to Wang Township, Renville County, Minnesota,  in 1873.  He married Berit (aka Betsey) Lien and the couple homesteaded in northwest Wang Township. They had six children when Berit died in 1897. A.T. then married Berit’s cousin, Marit Gjevre and they added three more children to the household.  They also fostered at least three orphans.  

A.T.  is listed in the census as a farmer but that term does not come close to the real story of the man who the census taker, sheep shearer, dentist, postmaster of the New Lisbon post office and stage coach stop, undertaker, township government officer, translator, justice of the peace, witness to documents and many other tasks.  He was known for his beautiful handwriting which appears in many documents of the period. How he learned photography is unknown but he pressed his daughter Bertha and his wife Marit into service as his assistants and they are included in many of his photos.  When A.T. Ellingboe died September 26, 1926, at age 88, his camera was still in his possession. He was buried in the Wang Church Cemetery among his many relatives.