Edvard Liljedahl received his degree from the Balestrand Teacher's School in 1864 and from the Stord Seminary in 1866. For a year, he taught school in Leikanger. He also worked as an office clerk for a justice of the peace. He was a teacher and a church choir singer in Kyrkjebø from 1867 until 1889. He then went on to become a member of the cabinet in Stockholm from March 6, 1889, until July 13, 1889. He later became a postmaster in Aalesund in 1891, and then in Bergen in 1901. After retiring in 1904 he moved to his property Røitehola in Kyrkjebø. He had cleared the land himself during his period as a parish clerk and a member of parliament and had rented it out when he lived in Ålesund and Bergen. On a visit to Vik, he purchased the Havnen farm from hotel owner Hopstock and moved to Vik in 1905. He sold the Røitehola property to a quartermaster sergeant named Mo.
Agriculture
When he took over the property, the Havnen farm consisted of only a barn, a summer cow barn, and a bathhouse. He had to build a farmhouse, cow barn, and a stall. Edvard cultivated more land in Havnen and planted a large number of fruit trees of which, about half were pear and the rest were apple and cherry. These trees became an important source of income for him in Havnen. In addition to Røitehola which had been cleared and planted with fruit trees, he also had another farm in Østrem which he sold, and an additional farm farther out in Sogn. In 1904 after his postmaster days were over, he went back to Kyrkjebø to live at the Røitehola property, and immediately purchased more land which he cultivated. After his employment as postmaster in Ålesund, he purchased the Vågenes farm in Borgund, but quickly sold it to his brother-in-law Magnus Ramslie, who was from Vangsnes. He then purchased the Spjelkavik farm, which was a large farm with several cottages, many forests, and mountain bodies of water. It ended up being too large and expensive to operate, so he sold it after a few years, and moved from Ålesund to Bergen. In addition to farming, he was interested in freshwater fishing and hunting. He started fisheries in many lakes in Sogn and also in the large lake of Uldalsvatn in Kyrkjebø. He also founded the Spjelkavik yarn and fishnet factory, which grew to be a large business which contributed to the construction of many buildings and homes in the area.
Community Involvement
In Kyrkjebø, Liljedahl was a community spokesman for many years, a member of the township board for 14 years, and a member of the election board. He was an arbitrator commissioner for 18 years. He was a member of Borgund's town council and Ålesund's city council. He was also a member of the school board in 1884 and the clergy salary board, and he enforced laws in Romsdal county. He was a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the constituency of Nordre Bergenhus amt from 1870–1891, for Ålesund 1895-1905, and Ytre Sogn from 1906-1909. He was President in the Odelsting from 1899-1900. He was a member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm in 1889, and Minister of Education and Church Affairs in the Bratlie cabinet from 1912 to 1913.
Education and Church
In 1868, the Kyrkjebø district opened its first school, which still stands. At the dedication of the school, some songs were sung that Liljedahl had written. He has written many songs. One of them is printed in Nordahl Rolfsen's school books. He also wrote a newspaper column in the local press about people. In Kyrkjebø he helped many people to write legal papers and took care of their legal matters while he worked for the justice of the peace. A colleague who attended school with Edvard Liljedahl in 1876 wrote "He was a pleasant man, full of life and desire. I was amazed at how the children clung to him with such high affection and respect." Those who had him as a teacher, say that he was unusually serious in school. He carried out his parish clerk duties in an honourable way which left a valuable impression. Many who remember his conversations with the youth on the church floor can still repeat portions of them. When the weather was bad and the pastor could not come from Lavik, Liljedahl spoke from his front porch to the congregation. He was a Commander of the Order of St. Olav, a Grand Cross of Legion of Honour, and a Knight of the Swedish Order of the Polar Star.
Personal life
On the 18 October 1869, Liljedahl married Barbra Ramslie. They were the first couple to be married in the newly built church in Kyrkjebø. They were the parents of Army generalEinar Liljedahl. While he lived in Kyrksjebø, he purchased some isolated land, called Røytehola, and cultivated it. It was later called Fredheim. He built a home there, cultivated the land, removed large rocks, and dug ditches. The land was located in an area where fruit trees thrived and he planted some which blossomed in just two or three years. At one time he also owned a farm at Austrem, Austremsgjerdet, but sold it after a few years. Liljedahl was buried in the Vik church cemetery.
Hobbies
Edvard Liljedahl was an outdoorsman. In his spare time, he went to the mountains to hunt and fish. At that time there were no fish in Uldalsvatn. His brother-in-law, merchant Andreas Ramslie, introduced fish to Uldalsvatn. This later became a source of income for Edvard Liljedahl.
Gardening
Edvard Liljedahl was very interested in gardening. He had planted many plants and started many gardens in Sogn, and tended the parish garden in Eivindvik.
