His father had died when Erik was young and his mother struggled to support the family.

In 1886, he married Mary Ann Smith, the daughter of a London tailor, and soon after, the couple moved to the United States.

[4][5][6] Lindblom invested the proceeds from his mining fortune in banks, transportation, and real estate.

He would become president of the Swedish-American Bank of San Francisco and vice-president of the Pioneer Mining and Ditch Company of Nome, Alaska.

[7] Lindblom was appointed Swedish Commissioner to the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition by King Gustaf V of Sweden and later was knighted by that monarch, being presented with the Royal Order of Vasa of the first degree.