Since 1911 May, 2009 Volume 29, Issue 2 Sigdalslag Sagasigdalslag.org/PDF/09_May_Saga.pdf ·...

7-Lag Stevne

June 25-28, 2009River Falls, Wisconsin

7-Lag StevneOverview

1

Stevne Schedule of Events& Registration

4-5

Sjøl-Jacob wooden statuefrom Eggedal

6

Nubberud ImmigrantLetter to Norway

8

Elling Enger - MinnesotaPioneer

9

Inside this issue:

Velkommen, nyelag medlemmer!

MARJIE GAUTHIER

Cherokee, Iowa

DAVID VINGE

Edmonton, Alberta

LILA HARP

Arvada, Colorado

CAROL BRUNNER

Green Bay, Wisconsin

CHRISTOFFER BYE

Hokksund, Norway

ALF JOHANNESSEN

Åmot, Norway

May, 2009

Volume 29, Issue 2

Serving Norwegian-Americans of Sigdal, Eggedal & Krødsherad ancestry

Sigdalslag Saga

Since 1911

The 2009 7-Lag Stevne will be held at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls

(UWRF), sponsored by Telelaget of America. River Falls is located in west central

Wisconsin on the east edge of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, about 30

miles from St. Paul. The University Center, where all activities will take place, is

a two-year old, state-of-the-art facility with excellent conference facilities. The

theme is “Bridging the Generations” with an emphasis on activities for both cur-

rent members and persons who have not had an opportunity to attend earlier

stevner. Classes and presentations are also being scheduled for Saturday to accom-

modate younger members and students who may be unable to attend on weekdays.

All college and high school students will be admitted free.

Air-conditioned, on-campus rooms are available at the new UWRF South Forks

Suites at $15 per night per person. Each suite contains four private single bed-

rooms and shared a kitchenette, living room, and bathroom. Please make room res-

ervations as you complete your registration.

River Falls provides these additional lodging options:Motels Campgrounds

America’s Best Value Inn (877) 477-5817 Kinnickinnic State Park (715) 425-1129Country Inn and Suites (877) 425-9500 Hay Creek Valley (651) 388-3998Kinnic Creek Lodge (877) 504-9705 Lake Pepin (877) 504-9705River Falls Motel (715) 425-8181Super 8 Motel (800) 800-8000

You may also contact the River Falls Chamber of Commerence at (715) 425-2305.

The New Richmond Heritage Center Tour departs by bus at 1:00 p.m. Thursday.Participants should gather at the lower level near the South entrance to the Uni-versity Center at 12:30 p.m. No ticket will be issued in advance. The park-likesetting at the Center contains an 1887 Norwegian immigrant log cabin, an 1884farmhouse, a 1891 Lutheran Church, a 1902 school house, and other farm build-ings. The bus will return at 4:30 p.m.

(Continued on page 3)

Dear Sigdalings,

Summer is just around the corner,or at least that is what the

calendarsays. With that season comes Sju Lag Stevne and I hope

that you will look at the great programand schedule

which Tele-

lag has put together, and choose to join us at River Falls, Wis-

consin,June 25-28

th, for visiting, learning

, studying, and tour-

ing. Along with this there will be great entertainment from the

Norwegians and our usual business

meetings, both for Sju (Seven)

Lag and for Sigdalslag. We will be planning

and voting in our

Lag regarding the 100

th Anniversary Celebrat

ion coming up in

2011.Our Lag is also in charge of organizi

ng the Stevne that

year, and that will mean that we need your creativeinput.

With

all the decisions that have to be made, it would be great to

have as many of you presentas possible

to find out what you

would like to see happen then.

MarilynMoen has agreed to be Chair for the Annivers

ary Commit-

tee and will be lookingfor members

to help her with advice and

maybe planningjobs. If we get organize

d early enough there

shouldn’t be any last minute scramble

. We are most gratefulfor

Marilyn’s willingn

ess to accept this position.

Book sales for our reprintscontinue

to go well, and there are

ways to go online now and check to see if your family is listed

in any of these books.Always interest

ing to see what our fore-

fatherswere doing.

I am amazed at how every once in a while I find something new on

the Internetor by paging through

a bygdebokwhich provides

in-

formation I had despaire

d of ever finding.I had a couple of

“Eureka”moments

this winter and was able to fill in many

blanks.Also heard from a Sigdalin

g 5th cousin here in America

with whom I thoughtI would never have had contact.

That has

been most rewarding. So I encourag

e you all to keep the faith

and join us for celebrations.

Make your reservations soon and we look forward

to welcoming you

and gettingto know more about you. See you all in River Falls,

Judy Sosted,Presiden

t

Fra Presidenten:

Sigda ls lag Saga Volume 29, Issue 2

2009 SigdalslagOfficers

JUDY SOSTED President1118 Lia CourtNorthfield, MN [email protected]

EARL O. KNUTSONVP 1/Membership

722 Second Street SWWillmar, MN 56201(320) [email protected]

RUTH MANNING VP 2/Culture4816 Ruggles StreetOmaha, NE 68104-3018(402) 455-7221

[email protected]

RODNEY PLETANVP 3/Technology

7414 W BroadwayForest Lake, MN 55025-8474(651) 464-6636

[email protected]

DR. DEAN SKADELAND Treasurer

7315 NW Barry RoadKansas City, MO [email protected]

AMY MICHELSEN Secretary18730 Roanoke St. NWAnoka, MN 55303-8971(763) 753-5484

[email protected]

GARTH ULRICH Genealogist3099 Dunn DrivePrince Albert, SKS6V 6Y6 [email protected]

DIANNE SNELL Historian31646 110th Pl. SEAuburn, WA 98092253-351-0926

[email protected]

SCOTT BRUNNER Saga Editor555 Hilltop DriveGreen Bay, WI [email protected]

ED ESPE [email protected]

Amy Michelsen, who maintains the membership data for Sigdalslag in our online database, wantedto report her excitement experienced when she was recording 2009 membership renewals. The rea-son? Many members pay for three years at a time, therefore, many have now paid for membershipthrough 2011. And what is the significance of 2011? YES! The centennial year of Sigdalslag!“Each time that I entered another membership paid through 2011, I thought, HURRAH! I startedenvisioning the long, distinguished list of people who will be in the 2011 membership roster, there-fore becoming part of the history of Sigdalslag in its centennial year.” The earliest member recordwe have is the 1914 membership list, printed in the Sigdalslag 1914 Book; it shows close to 400members. Today, we have 269 member addresses. Is it a stretch to imagine 400 member addressesin 2011? The 2011 membership roster has already begun. Hurrah!

News from our Secretary


(Continued from page 1)

Registration & the genealogy open house will both begin at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. Registration hours arelisted in the full stevne schedule. Registration will take place at the lower level of the South entrance to theUniversity Center. The genealogy room is located in the front section of the Riverside Ballroom.

The Opening Session on Friday will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. The session includes greetings from the River

Falls mayor, a UWRF official, and the Fellesraad President. Lag presidents will highlight their 2008-2009 activities.

Torgeir Straand (a prize-winning hardanger fiddler) and Tone Jorunn Tveito (a nationally-recognized Norwegian

folksinger) from the Telemark region of Norway will provide the entertainment.

The Hospitality Room will be open during most stevne hours. Located on the 2nd level opposite the Riverview

Ballroom, it will be closed during the opening session and the banquet. Coffee and cookies will be served.

The Vendor Area will be located in the Falcon's Nest Mezzanine Level opposite the Riverview Ballroom.

The General Session on Friday night will feature a speech by Jeff Mueller, president of the Midwest Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce, and LeRoy Larson’s popular Minnesota Scandinavian Ensemble Show Band.

The Banquet and Program will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. It will be held in the Riverview Ballroom.The buffet style banquet meal will feature roast duck or cod with lingonberry sauce, and several other Norwegiandelicacies. It again will feature the popular bunad parade and the Telemark musicians, Torgeir Straand and ToneTveito.

The Historical Church Tour departs by bus at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. Participants should gather in the lower levelat the South entrance of the Center at 8:30 a.m. The group will tour and attend a church service, and have coffeewith fellow worshippers at Mindekirken. They will also visit the Old Muskego Church and have lunch at Lu-ther Seminary. The bus will return to River Falls at 3:30 p.m.

A Wisconsin Area Research Center (ARC) is located near the University Center. Stevne registrants interested inobtaining census, naturalization, biographical records, and vital statistics from any of the other 13 ARCs shouldidentify them through www.wisconsinhistory.org and have them forwarded to the Area Research Center atUWRF.


2009 7-Lag Stevne Schedule of Events

Thursday, June 25th

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm Heritage Center Tour South Lobby - Lower Level3:00 pm - 9:00 pm Hospitality Room Game Room - 2nd Level3:00 pm - 9:00 pm Registration South Lobby - Lower Level3:15 pm - 9:00 pm Genealogy Open House Riverview A - 2nd Level7:00 pm Movie: “Heroes of Telemark" Kinnickinnic River Theatre

Friday, June 26th

7:30 am - 8:30 am Registration South Lobby - Lower Level8:30 am - 10:00 am Opening Session Riverview Ballroom - 2nd Level10:00 am - 1:00 pm Lag Meetings and Socials Classrooms - 2nd and 3rd Levels1:00 pm - 6:00 pm Registration Riverview Entrance - 2nd Level1:00 pm - 6:00 pm Genealogy/Vendors Riverview A - 2nd Level1:00 pm - 5:00 pm Classes (See Below)7:00 pm - 9:00 pm General Session Riverview Ballroom - 2nd Level9:00 pm NSI Board Meeting Wind River Room - 2nd Level

Saturday, June 27th

8:00 am - 10:00 am Registration South Lobby - Lower Level8:00 am - 3:00 pm Genealogy/Vendors Riverview A - 2nd Level9:30 am - 10:15 am New Attendee Orientation Riverview Ballroom10:30 am - 4:00 pm Classes (See Below)6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Banquet & Program Riverview Ballroom - 2nd Level

Sunday, June 28th

9:00 am - 3:00 pm Historical Church Tour South Lobby - Lower Level10:00 am - 1:00 pm Tour, Worship, Coffee Mindekirken1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Tour, Lunch Old Muskego Church/Luther Seminary

Class Schedule: Friday, June 26

Time St. Croix River Room Willow River Room Kinnickinnic Theatre

1:00 p.m. A Norwegian Family HistoryLloyd Svendsbye

World Heritage of SeedsǺsmund Bjørnstad

Norwegian Ski Legends(a movie)

2:30 p.m. Rosemaling History/DesignJanet Ritger

The Norway ProjectRoger Magneson

Sondre and Rannei NorheimDave Gunderson

4:00 p.m. Lefse Making DemoKane Viesselman

Family Treemaking SoftwareJoran Olson

The Norway ProjectRoger Magneson

Time St. Croix River Room Willow River Room Kinnickinnic Theatre

10:30 a.m. Lefse Making DemoKane Viesselman

Writing a Family HistoryJohn Haugo

The Immnigrant’s TaleRoger Hellesvig

1:00 p.m. Internet Searches for DataDixie Hansen

Family Treemaking SoftwareJoran Olson

Beginning Norsk VocabularyVerlyn Anderson

2:30 p.m. Rosemaling History/DesignJanet Ritger

Norwegian Church/Census

DataJohn Haugo

Norwegian Folk DancingElaine & Kjell Nordlie

Class Schedule: Saturday, June 27

Saturday night entertainment includesTorgeir Straand and Tone Jorunn

Tveito from Telemark


7-Lag Stevne Registration Form

F u l l n a m e ( s ) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ P h o n e _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ E - m a i l _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

S t r e e t _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C i t y _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ S t a t e _ _ _ _ _ Z i p _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Stevne R e g i s t r a t i on Fe e (En t i re Stevne) : Before May 15th - $27 per person X ______ person(s) = $ _________

After May 15th - $30 per person X ______ person(s) = $ _________

Admission to presentations, classes, entertainment and genealogy room sessions.

Stevne Registr . Fee (Sat , June 27 Onl y) : Before May 15th - $12 per person X ______ person(s) = $ _________

After May 15th - $15 per person X _____ _ person(s) = $ _________

Admission to presentations, classes and genealogy room sessions for Saturday, June 27 only.

Classes are designed for first-time attendees and students. Students will be admitted free.

Saturday Evening Banquet AND Program: $25 per person X ______ person(s) = $ _________

Sat Program without dinner (Begins at 8:00pm): $10 per non-regis tered person X ______ person(s) = $ _________

Cafeteria Meals: Please check which meals you plan to eat at the cafeteria.

Needed for p lann ing purposes . Do not include payment.

Breakfast ($5.50) Friday ______ Saturday ______ Sunday ______

Lunch ($7.50) Saturday ______

Dinner ($8.00) Thursday _______ Friday ______

Lag Meeting Box Lunch (Friday, June 26): $7.50 per person X ______ person(s) = $ _________

Box lunches will be served at the individual lag meetings. A beverage and choice of sandwiches will be included.

On-Campus Lodging: Furnished suites are available at South Fork Suites. $15 per person/night

Each air-conditioned suite contains four private single bedrooms and a shared Kitchenette (w/refrigerator and

microwave), living room, and bathroom. A bed spread, pillow, linens, and towels are included for each person.

I/we will be staying the following nights: Thursday ______ Friday ______ Saturday ______ X ______ person/night(s) = $ __________

I/we wish to share a suite with: _____________________________________________________________________

Heritage Center Tour: 1:00 PM, Thursday. $28 per person X _______ person(s) = $ _________

The bus tour goes to the New Richmond Heritage Center via motor coach.

Historical Church Tour: 9:00 AM, Sunday. $35 per person X _______ person(s) = $ _________

The bus tour goes to Mindekirken in Minneapolis and the Old Muskego Church in

St. Paul via air-conditioned motor coach. Lunch at the Luther Seminary is included.

Lunch at Luther Seminary Only: $10 per person X ______ person(s) = $ _________

This option is for those who will be participating in the tour, but elect

to provide their own transportation.

TOTAL = $ ___________

Make check, payable to: Sigdalslag

Mail form and check to: Earl Knutson, 722 Second Street SW, Willmar, Minnesota 56201

Please mail no later than Friday, June 5. There will be no refunds after June 12.

Sigdalslag


In the book “Norges Kirker – Buskerud” by Sigrid andHåkon Christie in 1981, we find information on the arti-facts from the old Eggedal Church, which can be found atvarious museums. In “Under Norefjell” we will discusssome of the treasures which at one time were in thechurches of the area. Here we find the following articleabout the wood sculpture which was called “Sjøl-Jacob” (Jacob himself). Sjøl-Jacob, from the Eggedalstave church, is in the Antiquities Collection at the Univer-sity.

Jacobus Major – Sjøl Jacob in birch. Presumably Norwe-gian work from the latter part of the 1200s. Frontal, stand-ing. Large eyes, straight nose, wavy hair with curl by eachear. Beard with small curls under chin. Hat with shell andtwo bands which are tied together over the chest. Floorlength cape with large cowl and slit for arm. The rightarm, which has held a staff, is thrust forward. The staff ismissing. Book in left hand. Hand bag with shell hangingfrom left arm. Remnants of the colors on chalk base; redunder clothes, green cape with blue in front, red book,black bag. Height 120 cm (about 3 feet, 10½ inches).

Jacob was the pilgrim’s saint and protector. He is symbol-ized by shell, cloak and pilgrim’s staff.

O. O. Bakken also writes about Sjøl-Jacob in BuskerudsBlad 4, January 1947:

Jacobus Major, from about 1300, which Eggedalers called“Sjøl-Jacob”, is an artifact from the middle ages from theold Eggedal church.

One can still find people in Eggedal who remember thewooden figure in the old church. It was called “Sjøl-Jacob”. This wooden statue is now gone, along with thechurch and other middle ages artifacts. But, although theother fixtures were sent directly to the antiquities collec-tion, Sjøl-Jacob landed in the attic of the new church.There he lay in peace and quiet for many years andbrooded about his hundred years wisdom. So, about 50years after he had been taken away from his old place inthe Eggedal church, he steps forward in the middle of thecapital city in 1930. Thereby, the then venerable “Sjør-Jacob” was preserved.

There certainly was not any special elegance in the sacredfigure, so it did not awaken any special attention in thatrespect. But, after it had found its place in the antiquitiescollection, it became the impetus for Dr. Eivind S. Engel-

stad to write a dissertationabout “Jacobus Major” in theannual report of the univer-sity’s antiquities collection in1930 – an article which laterwas published separately.Thereby, the Eggedalers’ “Sjøl-Jacob” from the mountain set-tlement’s 1300s church oncemore came to play a role. And,thanks to Dr. Engelstad’s thor-ough work, we can now viewJacobus from Eggedal and theother Jacob depictions in thiscountry in the correct manner.

“Sjøl-Jacob”, as the figure be-came known in Eggedal at thetime, had his place on thewomen’s side of the church,right by the pulpit. Accord-ingly, it was a depiction of St.Jacob. He was one of the 12apostles and a son of Zebedee.According to what Dr. Engel-stad writes, Jacobs began to be revered as an apostle, butfrom about 1200, only as the pilgrim’s saint. The largepilgrimage to St. Jacob’s grave in Santiago, on the coast ofnorthwest Spain, where, also, the saint’s own pilgrim’sstaff was preserved in the cathedral, clearly shows that St.Jacob played a considerable role through several centuries,And, that homage to that saint has been quite considerablein this country also, is evinced by the statue of JacobusMajor in the Eggedal stave church, a little church in a nar-row mountain valley far away from the large main roads.Even 600-700 years later, the road was not any better be-tween the sunny Mediterranean Sea and the deep valleyunder Norefjell. That the artist himself had stood by St.Jacob’s grave is not very credible, but it is fully certainthat he surely had knowledge of the circumstances aroundthese sacred statues. And the sacred figure certainly wasnot carved by chance. It had its mission. The verbal de-scriptions which had come from the Spanish coast cer-tainly also laid its torch over St. Jacob’s statue in the Egge-dal church. Dr. Engelstad says that there can be no doubtthat it is Norwegian.

The figure from Eggedal shows us Jacob standing, with a

Artifacts – Fixtures in the Old Eggedal ChurchArticle from Under Norefjell, by Sigrid Kvisle, 2008.

submitted and translated by Rosella Goettelman


long cape arranged in nice folds. High on his head he hasa narrow brimmed hat with a shell in front. That shell wasdecorated like the ones the pilgrims had with them fromSantiago as proof that they had visited the place. In theright hand he hold a staff and in the left, a book. A breadbag hangs at his left side. At a later time the statue hadbeen decorated with oil paint, and when it became faint, itwas apparent that the statue had not been polished after itwas carved. The knife marks were clearly visible. Thehair and beard are carved in an elegant manner.

Artistically, the figure from Eggedal does not stand outvery high, but it is of interest. Also, it joins in a worthymanner the other sacred figures from the middle ages. Lo-cally, it is of historical interest, because it is an importantfeature in the large whole which constitutes the completepicture of the Eggedalers’ praiseworthy God’s house.

Therefore we are thankful that Dr. Eivind S. Engelstad hasanalyzed the work and other similar items which are foundin our country on such an illustrated manner, because thenyou get a grasp of the things which were formed hundredsof years ago, alive and full worth.

“He was a good child scarer”, Andreas Mørch writes aboutSjøl-Jacob in Sigdal og Eggedal volume 5 page 844 andquotes from a conversation with Marte Båsen in 1928: “Inthe church there was a wooden figure, Sjøl-Jacob, he wascalled. He stood there in a floor length dress, with a hymnbook in this hand, and a staff. The dress was painted red.We were so afraid of Sjøl-Jacob when we were small. Wecertainly had our eyes on him when we were in church. Itwas as if he always followed one with his eyes.”

My name is Jon Nelson and this past fall, my wife Jill and I moved from Marquette, MI (after 37 years) to Hugo, MN to becloser to our three grandchildren. I am a retired college professor (from Northern Michigan University) and my wife is a re-tired elementary teacher. I was born in Minneapolis but lived here only one year, but know the Twin Cities well because mywife grew up here and we have been back many times over the years to visit family. My high school years were in Roland,Iowa. My wife and I graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD. I also lived in Rosemount, MN for two years (73-75) when I was doing graduate work at the U. of M.

I was a member of Sigdalslag in 2001-2002 (found it on the internet) when I was researching my great grandfather, MikkelKnudsen Haugrud (Noresund, Krødsherad) who immigrated in 1870 to Pelican Rapids, MN. Since then I have been doingSwedish, German, Irish, and Polish genealogy research for family and friends. I just completed some research for a neighbor'sNorwegian ancestors which led me to revisit my Norwegian research in 2001-2002, so I have joined Sigdalslag again. I havevisited Norwegian cousins on my father’s side near Trondheim and Swedish cousins on my mother's side near Umea. I hope toidentify if I have cousins on my mother’s Haugrud line, and would then plan another trip to Norway.

I was born and raised in Quesnel, British Columbia, with the exception of a five year stint inSaskatchewan where my parents came from. My parents were Mervin Clemetson andAgnes Palaghian.

My emigrant ancestors were Osten Clementson (Østen Clemetsen) and wife GunhildPalmesdatter. They immigrated with their first two children Nels and Kari in 1852, makinga short stop first in Wisconsin where a son Christen was born. They eventually settled near Wheeling, Rice County, Minnesota.This is where my great grandfather Ole was born, who eventually married Bella Springan (Ingeborg Knudson). Their son,Edward, my grandfather, along with two brothers moved to Saskatchewan circa 1910.

Osten Clementson and Gunhild came from the Glesne and Skinnes farms in Krødsherad.

One of the reasons I joined this particular organization is to learn more about the area that my ancestors came from and hope-fully find some “cousins” who share the same ancestry as me.

I can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected], Terri Schmitke

New Member Spotlight!


An Immigrant Letter to HomeText from Fra Amerika til Norge, volume 3 Norske Utvandrerbrev 1869-1874,

by Orm Øverland and Steinar Kjærheim. Solum Forlag, Oslo, 1993.

submitted by Michael Oiseth, translated by Julie Dragvold

From Nils Helgesen Nubberud

Rock Dell, Olmsted Co., Minnesota January 14, 1871

To Ole Gundersen Nubberud, Eggedal, Sigdal, Buskerud

Rockdel, January 14, 1871

To Olle Gundersen Nubberud

Now I must finally take up my pen in order to write a few short lines back again in response to your own letter oflast summer that came to me and which we happily received and read through and moreover we see that you areall in good health now to date. And I can greet you in return with the same good news and it is the best each of uscan wish for themselves here in the world.

And likewise I can tell you that I have had the farm to work this summer that I have my house on and we had agood summer here this year. At first this summer we had quite a little rain but it ended up to be a good year. Onthe farm I got 624 bushels of wheat, 165 bushels of oats, 100 bushels of corn and a few potatoes and a half shareof the grain belongs to the owner of the farm and the other half share belongs to me; and this summer I have hadmuch to do since I have not hired much help. I hired Kjersti Ereksdater Sansbraaten for 3 days in the fall and Igave her 2 dollars per day and I had Hellek Wasvigen for 3 days when I gathered wood and he gave me 2 dollarsper day and moreover I have gone along when they followed the reaper and I drove it with a pair of oxen and whenI drove the machine all day then I could cut around 9 acres per day. And the letter we got from you last summerwe received a month after it was sent and then I had gotten my threshing done about three weeks before, and Ihad the threshing machine 1 ½ days and that time I have many people. I had 11 men and 10 horses to pull themachine and a pair of oxen to pull the threshed wheat home, because here threshing floors are not used, ratherthey thresh the wheat out in the field, so therefore with this work there is nothing that needs help other than thosewho cut it and pick it up. And now this fall I have had steady work because I have rented the farm again and got-ten some other driving and those oxen that I have are quite young for working very hard yet. But I got it done ingood time and do not drive them too hard, so they are in fairly good shape yet. And I get to take care of the farmwork next year again and also, for the owner of the farm, I am going to work up 15 acres of new land for next sum-mer and for that I shall get 7 ½ dollars per week with which I plan to buy me a pair of oxen in the spring. And thiswinter I have one cow and one heifer, 19 hens and 1 pig and I have slaughtered 2 pigs for Christmas and last sum-mer I lost 1 heifer which was a loss of about 20 dollars. And the wheat price here this fall has been varied. Thisfall the average price was 70 cents per bushel but now it is 90 cents per bushel and certainly the war [betweenFrance and Germany] continues so the wheat price will be higher next summer.

And Asle [Fingarsen] Flaagan [the sender’s father-in-law, that emigrated in 1869] is here with me yet and he hasworked at Asle Ereksen’s place this summer and Ingebør [Asledatter, sender’s sister-in-law] has also been awaythis summer when Lille Ingebør [Torsteinsdatter, younger sister of the sender’s recently deceased mother-in-law]has been lambing with their brood. And I don’t deny that I have nothing further to report about other than Asle

(Continued on page 11)

Nils Helgesen Nubberud was born January 20, 1842, in Eggedal. Less than 2 weeks after his marriage in 1868, he and his

new bride went to America. They first settled in Rock Dell Township of Olmsted County, Minnesota. They lived there

about five years, and from here this letter was written. Later the family moved to Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. The fam-

ily went by the last name Helgeson in America. Nils died April 16, 1923, in Kandiyohi County.

The below text contains the original spellings/misspellings of proper names and places from Nils’ letter. Editor notes are

found in parentheses.


I entered the Minnesota Norwegian Statehood project a little late in the game,as I only became aware of it during the 7-Lag Stevne in July of 2008. Directdescendants who had proof that their ancestor(s) resided in Minnesota before itbecame a state in 1858 could apply for a Statehood Pioneer Plaque and Certifi-cate inscribed with the ancestor’s name.

The key word, however, was “proof”. You had to prove not only that you werea direct descendant, but also that the pioneer actually resided in Minnesota atthe time of statehood.

My first immigrant ancestor, Elling Pedersen Enger, came to America in 1854 -that was common knowledge - but since he was then a young and carefreebachelor the first few years of his history in America are a little on the fuzzyside.

Family stories indicate that he went to the gold fields in California for a time; some written accounts mention both SouthDakota, and Wisconsin. On his 1865 marriage license to Anne Ellingsdatter in La Crosse he was a resident of HoustonCounty, Minnesota. His parents, Peder and Aase Enger, and seven siblings arrived in America in 1861 and settled in SpringGrove, Minnesota, which made me think that Elling was living there at the time, but there is no Elling or Eling of his age ordescription that appears anywhere on the 1860 census. On the 1870 census he is listed as Eling Peterson on the AgricultureProduction Schedule for Houston County, and in 1880 he was living in Spring Grove, but where in the world was he in1858?

I was about to bag the project when I came across the 1895 Minnesota State Census, and I located Elling and family inWood Lake, Yellow Medicine County. That would not have been much help except for the fact that one question wasadded to that particular census which saved the day. How long a resident in the state? The answer - 38 years - whichwould put Elling in the State of Minnesota in the year 1857. EUREKA! Elling really was a Minnesota Statehood Pioneer,if only by one year! The 1895 census was acceptable proof for making application for the plaque, and on October 3, 2008, Iwas notified that my application was accepted. The plaque is now proudly displayed on my piano.

Another part of the Minnesota Statehood project was the issue Century Pioneer certificates for ancestors who resided inMinnesota between 1858-1908 and I was able to apply for certificates as a direct descendant of the following 13 ancestors:great-great grandparents Peder Ellingson Enger and Aase Ellevsdatter Tveiten, Spring Grove, Houston County, 1861; great-great grandparents Ellef Ellson and Rena Hansdatter, Norcross, Grant County, 1880; great-great grandmother IngridØstensdatter, Hanley Falls, Yellow Medicine County, 1861; great-great-great grandfather Hans Olson Torgersrud, Gorton,Grant County, 1878; great grandparents Martin Larson and Mathea Ellson, Hanley Falls, Yellow Medicine County, 1882;great-grandparents Elling Pedersen Enger and Anne Ellingsdatter, Spring Grove, Houston County, 1865; grandparents Ed-ward Ellingson Enger and Hannah Larson, Hanley Falls, Yellow Medicine County, 1898; and father, William D. Enger,Hanley Falls, 1899.

As a culmination of the Norwegian-Minnesotan Sesquicentennial and Pioneer Project a celebration was held at the MarriottHotel in Rochester, Minnesota, on October 18, 2008. Festivities included a “Norwegian Marketplace” with vendors anddemonstrators, an afternoon program and an evening and banquet to honor the pioneers and their descendants.

A book was published containing stories and photos of the statehood pioneers and a listing of the century pioneers is nowavailable for purchase on-line at www.cafepress.com/nspp/. The publication is entitled, “Celebrating Our Norwegian-Minnesotan Heritage, 1858-2008”, edited by Sigdalslag member Anne Sladky and published by the Norwegian StatehoodPioneer Project.

Elling Pedersen EngerMinnesota Statehood Pioneer

By Dianne Snell, Lag Historian

Elling Pedersen Enger


Member News ... Please share with us your families news of marriages, graduations, long

term anniversaries, significant milestones, and the passing of loved ones.

In Memory…

Herc Tolen

At 93, Herc (Russell) Tolen setsail on another voyage, depart-ing Fort McMurray on March18, 2008. A fourth generationpioneer of the Dakota Territoryand Saskatchewan, Herc was thesecond of three sons born toPeder and Lavina Tolen of Wa-dena, Saskatchewan, on Decem-ber 28, 1914.

Dad was a farm boy, gopher tailseller, big band musician, ship’sengineer, WWII soldier whohelped liberate Bergen-Belsenand Holland, and North Polemechanic. He first arrived alonein Waterways in 1930, spendinghis 16th birthday on the train thatthen ended at Draper. He sawmuch opportunity in the valley.

Dad helped his father and hisUncle Nils build the familyhome in Waterways in 1937-38.

He preferred traveling the backroads. Weeds were never al-lowed in Dad’s gardens and hehad a weakness for pastries,especially gooey butter tarts.

Retirement from Alberta Powerin Fort McMurray arrived in1980.

In his younger years, Dad wasknown as one of “the wild To-len boys of Wadena”, alongwith brothers Lawrence andRoy, and cousin Cliff. Notallowed to shoot firearms in thehouse, they propped up theirmother’s favorite calendar(because of the picture of abasket of kittens and yarn), satand shot through the open door,aiming at the eyes of the kit-tens, while their parents wereaway.

After being told to keep the firegoing, they stripped thebranches from a sapling, clam-

bered onto the roof and fed thebase of the tree down the chim-ney, which produced a chimneyfire that could be seen formiles.

There are a million storiesabout Dad’s friend CharliePawluk and Charlie’s trainedcow.

Dad loved telling stories andgood company, especially dearfriend Bob Duncan. Theywould hoist single malts tosunsets while aboard their ship,the MV Echo, cruising on theClearwater and Athabasca Riv-ers. They both loved and re-spected the North.

At 85, Herc clambered up therocks in Norway with hisgrandson, Rhys, four, visitedthe family home in Eggedal,which his Norwegian grand-mother left in 1874 at the ageof 23 with her parents, NilsHelgesen Bøle and wife Inge-borg Ellevsdatter Bøleshagan,for the Dakota Territory. Berit“Bertha” Tolen is buried at

Wadena, Saskatchewan.

Beginning in 1954, Dad wasmarried for 25 years to AlwynHarrison, formerly of Edmon-ton. The father of four riverrats, Rhondda (Bob) and sonRhys of Calgary; Richard(Brenda) of Fort McMurrayand sons, Tim and Geoff;Mark (Sara) of Fort McMurray;Alun (Donna) of Sidney, Brit-ish Columbia; and four great-grandchildren. He was prede-ceased by younger brother Royin 2006, and his parents. Olderbrother Lawrence resides in St.Albert, Alberta.

Dad did not want a funeral ser-vice. The closest the familycould get to a Viking farewellwas for Mark and Rhondda tosail with him down Hwy. 63where a cremation took placein Edmonton on March 19. Atea was held on March 29 at theGolden Years Society in FortMcMurray to share memoriesof Herc.

I was born and raised at Spalding, Saskatchewan, an areathat was settled by a large number of Norwegians that hadmoved there from MN and ND mainly to take advantageof the land available for homesteading, several of my an-cestors being among them. Thus, I grew up knowing mygreat-grandparents, their siblings, cousins and other rela-tives which, I suspect, played a large part in my develop-ing an interest in my heritage.

In 1987, when I was fourteen years old, I came into contactwith Marilyn Somdahl, then President and Saga Editor,and joined Sigdalslag. I remember at the time wanting toattend the stevne and trying to convince my parents of this,but they didn’t think that I was old enough to take off onthe bus bound for the States. It wasn’t until eleven years

later that I was able to attend a stevneand have since been to later stevner aswell.

I was elected Vice-President at the2000 stevne and held this positionuntil 2007, and then in 2009 was ap-pointed genealogist. From my predecessor, Lee Rokke, Ihave learned much - about my own roots in Sigdal, genea-logical research in Sigdal, and Sigdal in general - and felthonoured that she suggested that I take over the position. Iknow that I have big shoes to fill but together with com-mittee members, Donna Kuhlenkamp and Brigitta Meade,I look forward to assisting members with their genealogi-cal research.

Meet our new Lag Genealogist


Schedule of Events

May 15-17SYTTENDE MAI FESTStoughton, Wisconsinwww.stoughtonwi.com

May 16-17SYTTENDE MAI CELEBRATIONVesterheim MuseumDecorah, Iowa(parade, activities, and freemuseum admission)www.vesterheim.org

June 26-28HJEMKOMST FESTIVALInterpretive Center202 1st Avenue NMoorhead, MN(218) 299-5452

July 18, 2009KAFFEE STUEMount Horeb Community Center105 North Grove StreetMount Horeb, WI608-437-5468

August 9, 2009 7 p.m.SKÅL MUSIKVining Community CenterSoule StreetVining, MN

Surveys & library Contributions

Sigdalslag Surveys have been received from:

Beverly Emert, on the descendants of OLE OLSEN SKADELAND.

Terri Schmitke, on the descendants of ØSTEN KLEMETSEN GLESNE and GUNHILD

PALMESDATTER SKINNES.

Marjie Gauthier, on the descendants of OLE OLSEN SKADELAND.

Barbara Hurst, on the descendants of KRISTOFFER HANSEN ANFINRUD.

These have been added to the Sigdalslag library:

Winneshiek County, Iowa, Biographies 1996, gift from David and Lee Rokke.

Sigdalslag Web News:

The 2009 Stevne information has been posted. Listed in full are the stevne description, schedule

of events, and biographies of the stevne entertainers and class presenters. You can register on-

line and pay via PayPal, or print registration forms for mail-in registration.

Sigdalslag’s Emigrant List, over 5000 people who left Norway for America, is now located in the

Members Only section. This listing was compiled by our former genealogist, Lee Rokke.

Our farm photo project is now up and running, listed under the title “Ancestral Homes”. The

following farms are now featured:

1. Steinsvad Sigdal submitted by David Stensvad

2. Nordre Jellum Eggedal submitted by Lowell Torkelson

3. Søre Skare Eggedal submitted by Lowell Torkelson

4. Bøleshagen Eggedal submitted by Lowell Torkelson

Thank you to our above contributors. You can send your farm digital pictures to our Sigdalslag

Webmaster, Ed Espe, at [email protected].

(Continued from page 8)

Flaagan thinks I should marry again and it is with Anne, widow of Fingal Gullegsen Neg[g]en or Rølstadeie and shehas a daughter that I believe is around fourteen years old. And for that matter, I have heard for certain that MaretEbbesberg finds herself well and Mari Ebbesberg is not yet married and it is completely done now with Nils Erek-sen Rølsrud [Rolsrud] and her and the address for Maret Ebbesberg is Albertlea P. O. Fhriboren C.O. [FreebornCo.] Minnisota, North America. And our little Karoline grows and thrives well and is beginning now to talk quitewell.

And so, in closing, I would ask you if you would greet Halgrim E. Gresvig and Iver E. Flaaganeie and their familiesand Olle R. Flaagan with his family and Engebret Flaagan and family. And then all of you on the Nubberud farmreceive the friendliest greetings from me. Goodbye, live well in God, that is my wish. My devoted Olle G. Nub-berud write to me again when you get these lines in your hands and don’t put it off as long as I did when I didn’tanswer you until the end of the year, which I shouldn’t have done, but you must accept my pardon since beforeChristmas I have had much to do, and now in this Christmas season we have been in the pleasant company ofmany and so I just haven’t had time. Goodbye, live well.

N. H. S. Nubberud

Also I can greet you from your brother John, that he and his family are in very good health and a good state ofhealth now to date, and for the rest he doesn’t have anything new to report about other than all is now as before.And so you will receive from your brother John, and his family and likewise from me and my family the friendliestgreetings. Goodbye, live well. Write to me again.

N. H. S. Nubberud

MembershipAcross the Globe

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Serving Norwegian-Americans of Sigdal,Eggedal & Krødsherad ancestry

Sigdalslag SagaFIRST CLASS MAIL

We’re on the Web!www.sigdalslag.org

SIGDALSLAG SAGA IS PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY,

MAY AND OCTOBER

SIGDALSLAG EDITOR555 HILLTOP DRIVEGREEN BAY, WI 54301

Comments? Suggestions? SAGA solicits featurearticles, news, pictures & obituaries from members.E-mail [email protected], or contact theeditor (see Pg. 2).

Next deadline: September 15, 2009

Changed your mailing or e-mail address?Don’t miss an issue! Please contact Amy Michelsenat [email protected]

NOTE: the YEAR shown on the mailing label nextto your name indicates that your membership ispaid thru DECEMBER of that year.

JOIN SIGDALSLAG NOW! Date______________ Check if Renewal: or Gift:

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BUSKERUD Family Origin in (circle one) - SIGDAL EGGEDAL KRØDSHERAD

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Make check payable to Sigdalslag and mail to:AMY MICHELSEN18730 Roanoke Street NWAnoka, MN 55303-8971

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Write “Sigdalslag dues (3 yr or 1 yr)” on the memoline of the check. Dues in Canadian dollars shouldbe made in the amount equivalent to $10 US (1year) or $25 US (3 years) on the date written.

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Since 1911 May, 2009 Volume 29, Issue 2 Sigdalslag Sagasigdalslag.org/PDF/09_May_Saga.pdf ·...

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