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A HISTORY OF 
 
 THE NORWEGIANS 
 
 OF 
 
 ILLINOIS 
 
 A Concise Record of the Struggles and Achievements of the Early 
 
 Settlers together with a Narrative of what is now being 
 
 done by the Norwegian-Americans of Illinois in the 
 
 Development of their Adopted Country 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 WITH THE VALUABLE COLLABORATION OE 
 NUMEROUS AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS 
 
 COMPILED AND EDITED BY 
 
 A. E. STRAND 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 CHICAGO 
 
■;'T 
 
 LIBRARY of 00N6R£»S| 
 
 Two Ooplet RKeivttO 
 NOV 29 90? 
 
 CLASS C^ XXC, No. I 
 
 Entered According to Act of Cong:ress, in the ye;ir 1905, by 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washingtor, D. C. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In this work the rea(|er- will -find recorded the achievements of a 
 people, men and women, who by their enterprise, industry and honesty 
 have helped to bring those |ouritiesj t6\vlish|ps, cities, and villages, where 
 their work was and still is being dong; to! rank second to none among 
 those comprising this great and, noble State. From their own lips we 
 have the story of their lives ahcT'struggles. In this volume will be found 
 the names of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of coming gen- 
 erations. It will tell how most of them, commencing life in poverty, by 
 industry and economy have not only accumulated wealth, but by integrity 
 and sterling character attained the highest standing in their communities. 
 It will tell how others, with very limited advantages for securing an edu- 
 cation, have become learned, with an influence extending throughout the 
 land. It will tell of people in every walk in life, who have striven to 
 succeed, and records how that success has usually crowned their efforts. 
 It also will tell of many, very many, who not seeking the applause of the 
 world, have pursued the even tenor of their way, content to have it said 
 of them, "They have done what they could." It will also tell, how many 
 left the plow and the anvil, left every trade and profession, and at their 
 adopted country's call went forth to do or to die. 
 
 Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as 
 a sacred treasure from the fact that it contains much that else would 
 never have found its way into public records. Great care has been taken 
 and every opportunity possibly given to those represented to insure cor- 
 rectness in what has been written. 
 
 The faces and biographical sketches of many will be missed in this 
 volume. For this the compiler is not to blame. Not having a proper 
 conception of the work, some refused to give the information necessary to 
 complete a sketch, while others were indifferent. 
 
 Occasionally some members of the family would oppose the enter- 
 
A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 prise, and on account of such opposition the support of the interested one 
 would be withheld. 
 
 In the biographical sketches we have allowed each individual to 
 spell his name, both given and surname, according to his own custom. 
 We tried at first to correct the spelling of the Norwegian given names 
 in order to get them more uniform, but met with objections, and were 
 obliged to give up the attempt. 
 
 Considering the large number of contributors it is but natural that 
 the style of the book as a whole should be somewhat uneven, and we do 
 not claim much literary merit for it. That some errors and fallacies 
 will be found, we have no doubt. Errare humanum est. Our solace 
 is that we have done the best we could. 
 
 In addition to the historical part strictly in conformity with the ob- 
 ject of this book we also present a few articles, which in our opinion add 
 greatly to its historical value, such for instance as, "Our ancestors," 
 "Glimpses of Norwegian history," "Beginnings of Chicago," etc. This 
 we do for the benefit of our younger generations. As there can arise 
 no question as to the intrinsic value of these chapters, we did not hesitate 
 making them parts of the book. 
 
 A glance at the pages of this volume will, no doubt, convince the 
 reader that we have been painstaking in gathering data and facts. While 
 we regret to say that in many instances we have not met with the as- 
 sistance and encouragement expected, we can on the other hand gladly 
 acknowledge that many intelligent men have devoted both time and labor 
 in order to assist us in obtaining such information as we needed for 
 the book. 
 
 A most valuable and complete part of the volume will be found in 
 the detailed sketches of the various church denominations. 
 
PART I. 
 
HISTORY 
 
A people that take no pride in the 
 noble achievements of remote ancestors 
 will never achieve anything worthy to 
 be remembered by remote generations. 
 
 — McCaulev- 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Our Ancestors, by Kristofer Janson 17 
 
 Glimpses of Norwegian History 33 
 
 The Norwegian Pioneer, by Rev. A. Bredesen 38 
 
 The First Colony of Norwegian Immigrants 40 
 
 The Sloop Party • • 41 
 
 The "Sloopers" who came to Illinois • 43 
 
 Porter C. Olson 45 
 
 The First Farm owned by a Norwegian west of the Great Lakes 50 
 
 Claims and First Improvements 50 
 
 In What Condition did the First Norwegian Settlers find the Tract 
 
 on which they settled? • • 54 
 
 Shabbona • • • ■ ^5 
 
 Kleng Peerson ■•.... 59 
 
 Kleng Peerson's Dream 61 
 
 Prairie Fires •-.... 62 
 
 A Prairie Blizzard (Related by a Norwegian Pioneer) 63 
 
 A Cloudburst ••••■• 64 
 
 The Bandits of the Prairies 64 
 
 Indian Character and Customs 65 
 
 One of the Old Pioneers (Wier Sjurson Weeks) 67 
 
 The Third Norwegian Settlement ' 70 
 
 Mission and Miller Townships 73 
 
 Miller Township • "^6 
 
 Adams Township 77 
 
 The Village of Leland 78 
 
 Ottawa • ■ '^^ 
 
 Norway • • ^^ 
 
 Sheridan • • ^i 
 
 Big Grove Township ^^ 
 
 Newark • • ^^ 
 
 Nettle Creek Township, Grundy County 83 
 
1(1 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Page 
 
 Capron and Jefferson Prairie - 84 
 
 Lee County . 85 
 
 The Pontiac and Rowe Settlement 88 
 
 The Beginnings of Chicago, by Edwin Erie Sparks, Ph. D 93 
 
 Norwegian Churches in lUinois 
 
 The Norwegian Synod, \^ Page 
 
 by Rev. Alfred O. Johnson 98 
 
 Our Saviour's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chicago 103 
 The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lee County, 111., 
 
 by Rev. J. Nordby 148 
 
 The United Church, 
 
 Rev. George Tailor Rygh, Editor 104 
 
 Zion Church, Elgin, 111., by Miss Aagot Rovelstad 104 
 
 Aurora, III., by Miss Anna Bj^rseth 107 
 
 Covenant Church, Chicago, by Rev. C. O. Solberg 108 
 
 Pontoppidan Church, Gardner, 111., by Rev. Chr. Christiansen 109 
 
 Bethania Church. Gardner Prairie, 111., by Rev. Chr. Christiansen.... 110 
 
 Bethlehem Church, Morris, 111., by Rev. T. Aarrestad 112 
 
 Hauge's Church, Grundy County, 111 113 
 
 Trinity Church, South Chicago, 111., by Rev. Olaus Qualen 114 
 
 Pontoppidan Church at Gibson City, 111., by Rev. J. L0nne 115 
 
 Bethel Church, Chicago, 111., by Rev. C. E. Tiller.. 115 
 
 Freedom, 111., by Rev. P. P. Hagen 116 
 
 Big Indian Creek, 111., by Rev. P. P. Hagen 119 
 
 St. Timothy Church, Chicago, 111., by Rev. Lyle Halvorsen 121 
 
 St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Rowe, 111., by Rev. C. Michaelsen 5-^7 
 
 Zion Church, Chicago, by Rev. C. K. Solberg 125 
 
 Emmaus Church, Chicago, by Rev. O. N. Nelson 126 
 
 Bethlehem Church, Chicago, by Rev. George T. Rygh 127 
 
 Nazareth Church, West Pullman, 111., by Rev. Olaus Qualen 127 
 
 Evanston, 111., by Mr. C. Hendricksen 128 
 
 Lisbon, 111., by Rev. N. G. Peterson 128 
 
 Leland Congregation, Leland, 111., by Rev. Henry I. Noss 130 
 
 Pleasant View Luther College, Ottawa, 111., by Prof. L. A. Vigness 132 
 
 Trinity Congregation, Ottawa, 111., by Prof. L. A. Vigness 135 
 
 The Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home and Hospital, Chicago, 
 
 111., by Rev. H. B. Kildahl 135 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 11 
 
 Hauge's Synod, Page 
 
 By Rev. K. O. Eittreim 140 
 
 Trinity Church, Chicago 142 
 
 Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Church, at Norway, 111 144 
 
 Capron, 111 • • 144 
 
 The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church near Creston, 111.... 144 
 
 Rooks Creek Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pontiac 145 
 
 The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of the Unaltered 
 
 Augsburg Confession, Platteville 145 
 
 The Newark Evangelical Lutheran Church 145 
 
 I The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel Church, in Chicago 146 
 
 St. Paul's English Church, Chicago 146 
 
 St. John's Church, Creston 146 
 
 Ebenezer Church, Chicago 147 
 
 Elim Church, Chicago 147 
 
 Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, Chicago 147 
 
 Joliet 147 
 
 Sandwich, De Kalb County, 111 148 
 
 Norwegian Methodism in Illinois, 
 
 By Rev. H. P. Bergh 149 
 
 Norway 150 
 
 Leland 151 
 
 First Church, Chicago 152 
 
 Evanston 152 
 
 Maplewood Avenue Church, Chicago 152 
 
 Bethel, Chicago 153 
 
 Moreland, Chicago 154 
 
 Immanuel, Chicago 154 
 
 Kedzie Avenue Church, Chicago 154 
 
 Dwight, 111 154 
 
 Emmaus, Chicago 153 
 
 Bethany, Chicago • • . . 155 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish City Mission 155 
 
 The Camp-meeting 156 
 
 Statistics 157 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish Theological Seminary at Evanston, 111.... 157 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish M. E. Book Concern 158 
 
 The Young People 159 
 
 Doctrines 159 
 
 The Ministry of the Church and Church Government 159 
 
 Biographies of Some Prominent Norwegian-Danish Methodist 
 
 Pioneers 160 
 
 Rev. O. P. Petersen, Founder of Methodism in Norway 160 
 
 J. H. Johnson 162 
 
A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Page 
 
 H. H. Holland 164 
 
 O. J. Sanaker • • . . 164 
 
 O. A. Wiersen • • 164 
 
 Norwegian Baptists, 
 
 Bjr Rev. C. W. Finwall 165 
 
 The Theological Seminary, Morgan Park, III 167 
 
 Brief Sketches of Some Norwegian Teachers at the Baptist School, 
 
 Morgan Park, 111 16S 
 
 Prof. H. Gundersen 168 
 
 Prof. C. J. Olsen 169 
 
 Rev. E. L. Myrland 169 
 
 Prof. Edward Olsen, Ph. D 170 
 
 Rev. J. A. Ohrn 171 
 
 The Congregationalists, 
 
 By Prof. R. A. Jernberg • 171 
 
 The Seventh Day Adventist Church, 
 
 By Rev. L. H. Christian 176 
 
 The Lutheran Free Church, 
 
 By Prof. H. A. Urseth 177 
 
 Christ Norwegian Lutheran Church 178 
 
 The Church of the Veritans, 
 
 By B. C. Peterson 179 
 
 The Norwegians in Chicago 180 
 
 Early Norwegian Settlers in Chicago 181 
 
 What You may find in an old Directory 183 
 
 The Norwegian Old Settlers' Society 184 
 
 Early Norwegian Printers in Chicago 186 
 
 The Scandinavian Typographical Union 187 
 
 The Norwegian Old People's Home Society, 
 
 By Dr. N. T. Quales • 187 
 
 The Norwegian Lutheran Children's Home, 
 
 By Mrs. Sophie Michaelsen 191 
 
 The Hope Mission and Scandinavian Girls' Home, 
 
 By Mathilda B. Carse 195 
 
 The First Norwegian Total Abstinence Society, 
 
 By Mrs. U. F. Bruun 196 
 
 International Order of Good Templars, 
 
 By Henry Weardahl 197 
 
 (and in the supplement). 
 
 Scandinavian Young Men's Christian Association 199 
 
 Scandinavian Young Men's Christian Association of Chicago, West 
 
 Division 199 
 
 The Norwegian National League, 
 
 By Andrew Hummeland •. 201 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS I3 
 
 Page 
 
 The Nordmaendenes Sangforening 203 
 
 The Sleipner Athletic Club 206 
 
 Court Normania No. 174, I. O. F., of Illinois 207 
 
 The Norwegian Sick-Benefit Society "Nordlyset" 209 
 
 Scandinavian Women's Burial Benefit Association 211 
 
 Sick and Aid Society of the Bethlehem Congregation 213 
 
 Enigheden 213 
 
 Liberty Band 214 
 
 Biographical Sketches 
 
 of a few Chicago Norwegians departed from this world. 
 
 Andrew Nelson Brekke 215 
 
 Mrs. Laura Anderson 215 
 
 Jens Olsen Kaasa 216 
 
 Tver Lawson : 217 
 
 Dr. G. Ch. Paoli 217 
 
 Captain Christian Erickson 217 
 
 C. L. B. Stange 218 
 
 Canute R. Matson 219 
 
 (and in the supplement) 
 
 Knud Langland 219 
 
 Rev. John Z. Torgersen 221 
 
 Captain William Johnson 221 
 
 Christian Jevne 222 
 
 Bj^rn Edwards 223 
 
 Ole A. Thorp 223 
 
 Iver Larsen 224 
 
 Ulrich Daniels 225 
 
 Albart J. Elvig 225 
 
 Louis J. Lee 226 
 
 Berent M. Wold 227 
 
 Some Memorable Events in the History of the Norwegians in Chicago. 
 
 Dr. Fridtiof Nansen's Visit 228 
 
 The Viking Ship at the World's Fair 231 
 
 Norway at the Chicago World's Fair 233 
 
 Norwaj*'s Pavilion , 234 
 
 Norway's Building at the World's Fair 236 
 
 Leif Erikson • • 238 
 
 The Norwegian Student Singers 238 
 
 Norwegians in the Industrial and Financial Fields. 
 
 Johnson Chair Company 241 
 
 Torris Wold & Company 244 
 
 C. Jevne & Company 244 
 
 The Central Manufacturing Coinpany 245 
 
 A. Petersen & Company 245 
 
14 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Page 
 
 Sethness Company 246 
 
 The Independent Cracker IMachine Company 247 
 
 Architectural Sheet-Metal Ornaments 248 
 
 State Bank of Chicago 248 
 
 Ottawa Banking & Trust Company 250 
 
 Lee State Bank, Lee, 111 250 
 
 The First National Bank of Lcland 250 
 
 Farmers & Merchants Bank, Leland 250 
 
 Lee Advertising Company 251 
 
 List of Illustrations 
 
 (Other than individual Portraits.) 
 
 Page 
 
 Vikings attacking the fortifications of Paris ■ 19 
 
 Vikings landing in Southern Europe 21 
 
 Vikings in action 21 
 
 Viking dragons approaching the coast of Italy 25 
 
 Emperor Charlemagne observing the Vikings 26 
 
 Northern Vikings approaching a southern fortress 27 
 
 Old Viking castle 29 
 
 Russians (Slavs) paying hommage to Rurik, the Founder of the Russian 
 
 empire 30 
 
 A Bard singing to the warriors 31 
 
 Monument of Col. Porter C. Olson 49 
 
 Shabbona 55 
 
 Shabbona's Daughter, her husband. Chief Kick-Kock, and their Daughter 56 
 
 Dedication of the Monument erected in 1906 at Freedom, near Ottawa, 111. 57 
 
 W. S. Weeks' homestead 68 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Chicago 102 
 
 Our Saviour's Church, Chicago 103 
 
 Group of Ministers of the United Church 105 
 
 North Lisbon church at Helmar, 111 Ill 
 
 The Lutheran Church at Leland, 111 129 
 
 Pleasant View Luther College, Ottawa, 111 133 
 
 The Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home and Hospital, Chicago 136 
 
 A Group of Diaconesses 137 
 
 Deaconesses in Foreign Mission Work 138 
 
 Group of Sisters, Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Llome 139 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish M. E. Conference 150 
 
PORTRAITS IN THE HISTORICAL PART 15 
 
 Page 
 
 First Methodist Church, Chicago • • . . 151 
 
 Maplewood avenue M. E. Church, Chicago 153 
 
 The Methodist Tabernacle, Desplaines, III 156 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish TheologicaP Seminary at Evanston, 111 157 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish M. E. Boole Concern 158 
 
 Logan Square Norwegian Baptist Church, Chicago 166 
 
 The Theological Seminary, Morgan Park, 111 168 
 
 The Danish-Norwegian Department of Chicago Theological Seminary.. 172 
 
 Chicago Theological Seminary 173 
 
 The Hammond Library 175 
 
 Interior of Christ Chapel 178 
 
 Four generations • • 181 
 
 John Amundson's House 186 
 
 The Norwegian Old People's Home at Norwood Park 188 
 
 The Norwegian Lutheran Children's Home, Chicago 192 
 
 Harmony Hall •. 196 
 
 Scandinavian Young Men's Christian Association Building, Chicago.... 200 
 
 The Viking Ship at the World's Fair 232 
 
 Norway's Building at the World's Fair 236 
 
 The Artist's Model of Leif 'Erikson 237 
 
 The Leif Erikson Monument in Humboldt Park 239 
 
 The Johnson Chair Company's first building 242 
 
 The Johnson Chair Company's new buildings 243 
 
 C. Jevne & Company's building 244 
 
 The Central Manufacturing Company 245 
 
 A. Petersen & Company 246 
 
 Sethness Companj' 247 
 
 The Independent Cracker Machine Company 247 
 
 William Thoresen's new building 248 
 
 State Bank of Chicago 249 
 
 Building of Ottawa Banking & Trust Company 250 
 
 Portraits in the Historical Part 
 
 Page 
 
 Berg. Mrs. Anna 212 
 
 Christophersen, Mrs Christina 212 
 
 Daniels. Ulrich 225 
 
 Elvig, Albart J • . . . 226 
 
 Erickson, Capt. Christian 218 
 
16 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Page 
 
 Flage, Anders Larsen 182 
 
 Flage, Mrs. Anders Larsen 182 
 
 Hilleson, Amund 87 
 
 Hilleson, Mrs. Amund • • 87 
 
 Jevne, Christian 222 
 
 Johnson, Rev. J. H 163 
 
 Johnson, Capt. William 222 
 
 Kaasa, Jens Olsen . 216 
 
 Langland, Knud 220 
 
 Langland, Mrs. Knud 220 
 
 Larsen, Iver 224 
 
 LeCi, Louis J 226 
 
 Matson, Canute R 219 
 
 Michaelson, Thorstein 183 
 
 Myrland Rev. E. L 170 
 
 Nansen, Dr. Fridtiof 229 
 
 Olsen, Prof. Edward 171 
 
 Olson, Col. Porter C 46 
 
 Petersen, Rev. O. P 161 
 
 Thorp, Ole A ^ 224 
 
 Torgersen, Rev. J. Z 221 
 
OUR ANCESTORS 
 
 A Lecture, by Kristofer Janson. 
 
 I here speak of the weather-beaten Vikings of 
 the North, the Scandinavians, the Germans, the 
 Anglo-Saxons; in short, the forefathers through 
 whom we are mutually related, whether born on 
 the American prairies or in the rocky valleys of 
 Norway. I do not intend to boast of olden times 
 compared with modern. I am one of those who 
 believe in the eternal progress of humanity, and 
 therefore I assert that man is happier, more civ- 
 ilized, and in many regards better now than of 
 yore. Nevertheless I sometimes wish to revive 
 some of the rich though violent natural powers, 
 the strong impulses and feelings, the energetic 
 actions of that time and of that proud race- 
 
 The modern comfortable life in luxury and 
 amidst all conveniences is more agreeable, it is 
 true, but sometimes it enervates the race and 
 makes the you'ng people lazy and sluggish. And 
 still I would not like to exchange our cozy rooms, 
 with carpets and rocking chairs, stoves, and crys- 
 tal panes, gas chandeliers or electric lights, for 
 our forefathers' dirty shanties, or for their large 
 halls with the damp earthen floors, without win- 
 dows, the fire burning in the middle of the room 
 and the smoke scorching the eyes. Let us look 
 into their life. They cook, eat and sleep in the 
 same room; the warriors and laborers step in 
 with their damp clothes, throw them off, and 
 warm their wet backs at the fire, so that you are 
 nearly stifled in the close air. The food is served 
 in wooden vessels; they grasp slices of meat 
 with their fingers, and cut it with the knife which 
 always hangs at their belt. They spice their 
 meal by telling how many they have killed in 
 the last slaughter. In the old Norse sagas we 
 have descriptions of festivals at the royal court; 
 and it looks pretty rough there. The guests eat 
 and drink terribly. Intemperance in the pleasures 
 of the table and disgust at peaceful labors — 
 these were the chief sins of our ancestors, I 
 still think that we men from the North eat too 
 much. In Italy I saw working people toiling as 
 
 hard as might be done under a burning sun, and 
 yet they were satisfied with some bread, an onion, 
 and a glass of wine, while Scandinavian sailors 
 who had not worked at all stuffed themselves 
 with pea soup and corned beef as much as they 
 could. I have seen Englishmen eat roast beef 
 and drink porter, and I have wondered how their 
 stomachs were constructed. Martin Luther says 
 of his countrymen, "We Germans drink till we 
 nearly burst." And Misson, in his travels from 
 1700, says, "As you know, the Germans are very 
 fond of liquor; to drink in Germany is to drink 
 always." An old poet, who would tell what re- 
 markable change in customs took place by the 
 introduction of Christianity, says, "Then .the 
 Danes ceased drinking." I do not think the old 
 poet was right; they have not yet ceased — 
 neither have the other Scandinavian peoples. 
 
 Our ancestors felt a disgust at peaceful work 
 because it was considered a shame to till the 
 soil, this being a work for thralls and women, 
 not for free men. The only occupation becoming 
 a free warrior v/as to fight and ravage. And out 
 they dashed in their boats made of hides, or in 
 their war galleys with the gaping dragon head at 
 the prow; landed where it might happen; burned, 
 murdered, and dragged along with them cattle 
 and people. The world belonged to those who 
 could take it with fist or sword. Such were the 
 common ideas of that time. Yet it is inspiring 
 to read about those old vikings, because there 
 breathes such a defiant courage, such a vital 
 power from each page; but their life was often 
 horribly wild. Sometimes they raged as tigers 
 and lions coming direct from the woods. We all 
 know the prayer in the French Litania of that 
 time, "Lord, deliver us from the fury of the 
 Normans!" 
 
 "Of all the barbarians these are the strongest 
 of body and heart, the most formidable," says 
 an old author (Zozimos III., 147), Vikings were 
 found "who had never slept under the smoky 
 
18 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 rafters of a roof, nor ever drained the ale horn 
 by an inhabited hearth." They laughed at wind 
 and weather, and sang, "The blast of the tempest 
 aids our oars; the bellowing of heaven, the howl- 
 ing of the thunder hurt us not; the hurricane is 
 our servant, and drives us whither we wish to 
 go." A saga about King Half and his warriors 
 gives a lively picture of this youthful, swelling 
 defiance. The young king (he was only 12 years 
 old) would not take on board his ship anyone 
 who was not able to lift a certain big stone in 
 the palace yard. Strong men were searched for 
 through the wliolc country, but only twelve were 
 found who could perform that feat. The king 
 himself gave laws for his party, and among his 
 commandments were the following: Nobody was 
 allowed to carry a sword longer than two feet, 
 that he might be compelled to go close to his 
 enemy; nobody should groan with pain; nobody 
 should dress his wounds before the day after the 
 battle; they should never shorten sail when in a 
 storm, never seek harbor during a hurricane, never 
 hurt women or children, never attack peaceful 
 merchants. Once the ship sprung a leak, and 
 ■one of the men proposed that some of them 
 should jump overboard to lighten the vessel. 
 The king said they might cast lots; but it 
 proved unnecessary. The men jumped overboard 
 with a merry joke on their lips. With such men 
 you can conquer. And they conquered. The 
 Scandinavian vikings went like a consuming flame 
 through Scotland, England, Ireland, France and 
 Spain. They burned Bordeaux, they besieged 
 Sevilla; the French kings were at last obliged to 
 hire some of them to defend the kingdom against 
 their fellow-countrymen. 
 
 The idea that this wild warfare was the only 
 proper occupation for a free man had seized on 
 their minds to such an extent that the women 
 too shared it. When young Egil, son of Grim, 
 will take a seat near the daughter of a Danish 
 earl, she repels him with scorn, saying: "You 
 can not sit here at my side. Seldom have you 
 provided the wolves with hot meat, nor have you, 
 through the whole autumn, seen raven croaking 
 over the carnage." But Egil seized her and 
 sang: "I have walked with bloody sword, and 
 the raven followed me. Furiously we fought; the 
 fire passed over the dwellings of men; we sent 
 to sleep those who kept the gates." And then 
 she felt satisfied. Such was the conversation at 
 table at that time. 
 
 To die on the sick-bed was considered a shame. 
 Feeling dangerously ill, a man ought to dedicate 
 himself to Odin by "writing blood runes on his 
 breast," i. e., running a sword through his body. 
 
 It was impossible for them to thrive by peaceful 
 labor. Having settled in foreign countries, they 
 looked around for war, and, unable to find any, 
 they fought among themselves. Christianity 
 could not check their love of strife. Wild and 
 cruel deeds took place as often after its intro- 
 duction as before. And through the medieval 
 ages the gloomy castles with their loopholes and 
 moats and drawbridges bear witness that people 
 always were compelled to live on a war footing. 
 
 One evil followed in the tracks of our ancest- 
 ors' contempt for peaceful work — slaver}-. As 
 they did not till the soil themselves, they were 
 compelled to get others to do so. Therefore 
 they captured or bought thralls. In a biography 
 of Bishop Wolstan we are told that at Bristol, 
 at the time of the conquest, it was the custom 
 to buy men and women from all parts of Eng- 
 land, and to carry them to Ireland for sale in 
 order to make money. "You might have seen 
 with sorrow," says the old author, "long lines of 
 young people of both sexes, and of the greatest 
 beauty, bound with ropes and daily exposed for 
 sale." Many highborn people were in that way 
 sold as slaves, and compelled to drag on their 
 existence in a foreign country as the m^eanest 
 servants. In the old Norwegian "Laxd0la Saga" 
 we are told of an Irish princess, Melkorka, who 
 was sold to an Icelandic nobleman, and was made 
 his servant and concubine. Ashamed of her piti- 
 ful fate, she acced as if dumb, and only by chance 
 was it discovered that she was able to talk. 
 
 But let us not speak too loudly of the dis- 
 grace of slavery among our ancestors, we who 
 have tolerated this infamy among ourselves up 
 to so late a day, and made it lawful in the name 
 of Christianity! Let us not do our ancestors an 
 injustice! When we shudder at thinking of the 
 red stream of blood unceasingly winding its way 
 through the old sagas we ought to remember 
 that the olden times were rough; that the views 
 and nerves and manners of men were dififerent 
 from ours. What we would call politeness and 
 gentleman-like behavior they would have called 
 weakness and cowardice; and when we read 
 about the more civilized nations of the same 
 time, the Roman? and the Greeks, for instance, 
 we find that they were not better at all; but 
 cruelty and moral corruption and vice were with 
 them often hidden under a cover of hypocrisy 
 and smoothness. We must always remember to 
 mete the past with its own measure, else we 
 shall do injustice toward it. Under the crude 
 crust of raw instincts and wild actions our an- 
 cestors possessed many virtues, many noble dis- 
 positions which it would be a benefit to revive 
 
OUR ANCESTORS 
 
 19 
 
 Vikings attacking the fortifications of Paris. 
 
20 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 nowadays, and which enabled them to infuse the 
 Roman world with fresh, healthy blood and 
 moral strength. 
 
 Oii'r ancestors were trustworthy. Their en- 
 emies said of them that they were reliable. If 
 they said "Yes" they meant yes; if they said 
 "No" they meant no. The moving forces of their 
 life were an intense desire for independence and 
 a faculty to give themselves entirely to the choice 
 of their hearts or mind. At the time when they, 
 like other nomads, still moved along with their 
 wives and children and servants and cattle, they 
 settled for a while near a spring or a wood which 
 struck their fancy, and where they felt most in- 
 dependent. They hunted the beasts and defended 
 their goods with the sword. Increasing in num- 
 ber, they gathered together in small societies and 
 made laws. But the character of these laws is 
 thus described: "Each in his own home, on his 
 land and in his hut, is his own master, upright 
 and free, in no wise restrained or shackled. If 
 the common weal received anything from him, 
 it was because he gave it. He gave his vote in 
 arms in all great conferences, passed judgment 
 in the assembly, made alliances and wars on his 
 own account, moved from place to place, show- 
 ing activity and daring. If he bends, it is be- 
 cause he is quite willing to bend; he is no less 
 capable of self-denial than of self-independence. 
 Self-sacrifice is not uncommon; a man cares not 
 for his blood or his life." In the Norse sagas 
 are preserved some speeches made by peasants 
 before their king, and all of them breathe a 
 manly frankness and independent feeling. When 
 King Hakon the Good would force Christianity 
 upon the Norwegian people, one of the peasants, 
 Asbj^rn from Medalhus, answered him before 
 the whole court: "When we peasants chose thee 
 our ruler. King Hakon, and thou gavest us back 
 our old freedom, we believed that we had em- 
 braced heaven; but now we do not know how it 
 is: whether we have real independence or thou 
 wilt try to make us thralls again; and that in a 
 peculiar way, proposing that we shall reject that 
 creed which our parents and all our forefathers 
 had before us. They were much stouter than 
 we, and still this creed was sufficient for them. 
 We have bestowed upon thee so great a con- 
 fidence that we have allowed thee to write laws 
 for our country. Now it is the will of all us 
 peasants to keep the laws thou gave us, as we 
 promised; we will all of us follow thee and retain 
 thee as our king as long as any of us peasants 
 here present are alive, if thou, king, wilt use 
 some moderation and ask of us but what we can 
 fulfill and what is possible. But if thou wilst 
 
 carry this case through with such a vehemence, 
 and use force and violence against us, then we 
 peasants have agreed altogether to depart from 
 thee and choose another ruler, who will assure 
 u's that we undisturbed may have what creed we 
 like. Now, king, thou shalt choose either of 
 these terms before the court is through." That 
 is an independent man's speech. In the time of 
 Olaf the Saint there was a conflict between him 
 and the king of Sweden. The Norwegian leaders 
 applied to the Swedish peasantry for assistance, 
 and the chieftain of the peasants, Thorgny, spoke 
 to his king in the the following way: "The kings 
 of Sweden think otherwise now than in olden 
 times. Tliorgny, my grandfather, could remem- 
 ber King Eirik Eimundson, and told me that he 
 every summer went to war and conquered many 
 realms in eastern countries, but still he was not 
 so arrogant that he would not listen to people 
 who had important matters to lay before him. 
 Thorgny;, my father, was for a long time at King 
 Bj^rn's court and knew his way of behaving. 
 During his reign they proved powerful and suf- 
 fered no loss, and he was a good man to care 
 for the wants of his friends. I myself remember 
 King Erik the Victorious, and followed him on 
 many war expeditions. He extended the bound- 
 aries of Sweden, defended them with valor and 
 still took advice of us. But the king we now 
 have will not allow any man to speak to him 
 about other matters than those pleasing him. 
 Such questions he urges with all his might, but 
 loses his colonies from want of celerity and ac- 
 tivity. He desire? to subdue Norway, a feat no 
 Swedish king before him aspired to accomplish, 
 and all our troubles are caused thereby. Now it 
 is OUT will, the will of the peasants, that thou, 
 king, shall make peace with Olaf, the king of 
 Norway, and give him thy daughter, Ingeborg, 
 for a wife; and if thou wishest to re-conquer the 
 eastern provinces which your relatives and fore- 
 fathers once possessed, then all of us will help 
 thee thereto. But if thou wilt not agree to 
 what we propose, then we will attack thee, and 
 kill thee, and not bear any disturbance or unlaw- 
 fulness from thee. In a similar way our fore- 
 fathers have acted in times of yore. They took 
 five kings and plunged them into a well, because 
 they were too insolent, just as thou art at pres- 
 ent. Tell u's now, on the spot, which of these 
 conditions thou preferest." And the king was 
 obliged to give way. It is the descendants of 
 those peasants who now fill our western prairies 
 and forests. I think that they must carry with 
 them good materials for independent republicans. 
 What our ancestors could tolerate least of all 
 
OUR ANCESTORS 
 
 31 
 
 was a coward or a man shrinking from pain. 
 Among the laws of King Half was one com- 
 mandment that nobody should keep fellowship 
 with a man who would groan with pain. There- 
 fore we find that parents always tried to train 
 their children to endurance, and warriors die 
 singing and jesting at their lacerated bodies. In 
 the Saga of the V0lsung family (the German 
 Nibelungen-Lied) it is narrated that Signe 
 sewed the shirts of the male children to their 
 bodies and then tore them off, bringing the skin 
 also, in order to harden them. It is told of the 
 bard Tormod that, after the battle of Sticklastad, 
 he went into a hut where the wounded had been 
 
 pair of nippers, but could not, the body was so 
 swollen round the wound. "You take the knife 
 and cut and give me the pincers," Tormod said. 
 She did so, and Tormod pulled out the iron. 
 There were barbs on the arrow, so that red and 
 white shreds of flesh hung upon it. Tormod 
 smiled. "The king has given us plenty of food," 
 he said; "we are fat round the heart," and with 
 these words he dropped down dead. 
 
 The old warrior Starkad lies on a stone, quite 
 cut to pieces, with bowels protruding from his 
 wounds, but still he will not receive help, and 
 scolds every passer-by who is not a free man and 
 can use weapons. 
 
 Vikings landing in Southern Europe. 
 
 carried, with an arrow through his body. "Please 
 walk out and bring an armful of wood," said the 
 female surgeon who attended the injured, and 
 who had not observed how pale he was. Tor- 
 mod went out and came again, throwing the 
 wood in the corner. Then she looked at him. 
 "You are pale," she said. "Well," Tormod an- 
 swered, "I do not think that wounds make rosy 
 cheeks." The woman wished to give him some 
 porridge made of onions, that she might smell 
 whether the wound had reached the hollow of 
 the chest or not, but Tormod answered, "No, 
 thank you; I suffer not from porridge disease!" 
 The woman then tried to reach the iron with a 
 
 In the old country I once spoke with a physi- 
 cian about these stories, and expressed the opin- 
 ion that such horrible accounts were exagger- 
 ated. "No," he said, "I do not think so, because 
 I have met similar things in my own practice. 
 There was a farmer here who went to the forest 
 to chop wood. He slipped on the moss, fell 
 against the edge of his ax, and cut a hole in his 
 belly so that his bowels protruded. He was 
 many miles from help, and alone. He then crept, 
 dragging his bowels after him, to a hut built for 
 woodchoppers, and lay down on the bench, pati- 
 ently waiting for somebody to come. For two 
 days and nights he lay in that condition. Then 
 
22 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 two other woodchoppers happened to come, and 
 they immediately sent for me. I was obliged to 
 clean his wound and open it again with a knife, 
 and press the bowels tluough the hole; but he 
 did not utter a groan of pain. A month later I 
 met him. He was all right and worked with the 
 others in the field. Such people are physically 
 so strong and hardy that they do not seem to 
 have any nerves " 
 
 Perhaps those nerves of steel and that bodily 
 strength are indicative of undeveloped brains, a 
 sign of a lower level nearer to the animals. Be 
 that is it may, I would nevertheless wish that 
 our young people had more of that soundness of 
 body which is the distinguishing mark of our 
 Northern race. With that body of iron our an- 
 cestors had strong and tender feelings. They 
 were ardent and faithful in their love, as in their 
 friendship. Tlicre was none of the old nations 
 that had such respect for woman as the Teutonic 
 race. She associated freely with men at festivals 
 and on the playground. She uttered her opinion, 
 and the men li.'-tened to her. The woman was 
 among them a person, not a thing. The law de- 
 manded her concent to marriage, surrounded her 
 with guarantees, and accorded her protection. 
 Among the Anglo-Saxons, at least, she might in- 
 herit and own property, and bequeath it to whom- 
 soever she would. She was allowed to appear 
 in courts of justice, and to carry on a lawsuit. 
 In the Icelandic sagas it is very often the women 
 who, with their cold cou'nsels, stir up their hus- 
 bands to atrocities and revenge. 
 
 Marriage was pure among our ancestors. 
 "Amongst the Saxons adultery was punished by 
 death; the adulteress was obliged to hang her- 
 self, or was stabbed by the knives of her com- 
 panions. The wives of the Cimbrians, when they 
 could not obtain from Marius assurance of their 
 chastity, slew themselves with their own hands. 
 The men thought there was something sacred in 
 a woman. They married but one and kept faith 
 with her." When we read of King Harald, the 
 Fairhair, that he married nine or ten women, one 
 for almost every province he conquered, it must 
 be considered an exception, done mostly for 
 political reasons. And besides, kings are never 
 to be taken as a pattern in this matter. Tacitus 
 writes about marriage among the Germans: "The 
 wife, on entering her hu'sband's home is aware 
 that she gives herself altogether; that she will 
 have but one body, one life with him; that she 
 will have no thought, no desire beyond; that she 
 will be the companion of his perils and labors; 
 that she will suffer and dare as much as he both 
 in peace and war." The Anglo-Saxon King Al- 
 
 fred portrays a mistress of the house in the fol- 
 lowing way: "Thy wife now lives for thee — 
 for thee alone. She has enough of all kinds of 
 wealth for this present life, but she scorns all 
 for thy sake alone. She has forsaken them all 
 because she had not thee with them. Thy ab- 
 sence makes her think that all she possesses is 
 naught. Thus, for love of thee, she is wasted 
 away and lies near death for tears and grief." 
 
 Reading such words as these, we can under- 
 stand the saga of Hjalmar and Ingeborg, of 
 Sigrun and Helge. Ingeborg sits waiting for her 
 lover Hjalmar to return from the fight with An- 
 gantyr and his brothers. She hears footsteps out 
 on the porch; she pulls the door open — it is 
 his comrade coming alone. He shows Hjalmar's 
 ring. Then she understands all, and drops dead 
 on the floor. Or Queen Sigrun, who has been 
 married to the most glorious of all kings, Helge; 
 he is murdered by his own brother. She becomes 
 paralyzed from sorrow; she curses her brother, 
 and sits like a marble statue in her palace. Then 
 one day her maid servant comes running to her, 
 telling her that she has seen the dead king, and 
 that he waits he; in his barrow. Sigrun springs 
 to her feet, and hurries to the tomb, where the 
 dead husband sits. She flings her arms round 
 his neck and says: "I will kiss you, dead king, 
 before you' throw off your bloody cuirass. Your 
 hair, Helge, is covered with wine; my king is 
 sprinkled all over with the dew of battle; the 
 hands of the bold warrior are cold; how shall I 
 repair your injury?" Then he answers: "You are 
 the cause, Sigrun from Seva Mountain, that Hel- 
 ge is sprinkled with the dew of grief; when you, 
 golden-robed, sunfair maiden from the south, 
 shed cruel tears before you go to bed, every 
 tear drips like blood on my breast, cold as ice, 
 heavy with sorrow. But now nobody shall sing 
 mourning songs if he sees bloody wounds on my 
 breast, now women have come into the barrow, 
 dau'ghters of kings to us dead men." And Sig- 
 run leaned her head upon his breast and said, 
 "Now I will sleep in your arms as I did when 
 you were alive." And she remained in the bar- 
 row until dawn. Then she saw the king mount 
 his shadowy horse and vanish away in the sky. 
 The following night she started for the barrow 
 and gazed, and waited; but he did not come. 
 The next night she went there again, and looked 
 and looked to see whether the pale horses would 
 appear, but no one came. Every night she 
 walked to the mound, waited, and gazedj but he 
 did not come. One morning she did not return 
 — she sat on the barrow dead. Her heart was 
 burst with grief. 
 
OUR ANCESTORS 
 
 23 
 
 C 
 
 > 
 
24 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 We find the same violent passion when they 
 love as when they fight. The love is so strong 
 that it kills. We find similar traits in many of 
 the old sagas — for instance, in the story of Hag- 
 barth and Signe; of Bendik and Aarolilja; of Tyra, 
 the queen of Olaf Tryggvason, who mourned 
 herself to death after the battle of Svolder, where 
 her hero and husband fell. The remark of Taine 
 is true: "Nothing here like the love we find in 
 the primitive poetry of France, Provence, Spain 
 and Greece. There is an absence of gayety, of 
 delight; outside of marriage it is only a ferocious 
 appetite, an outbreak of the instinct of the beast. 
 It appears nowhere with its charm and its smile; 
 there is no love song in this ancient poetr3^ The 
 reason is that with them love is not an amuse- 
 ment and a pleasure, but a promise and a devo- 
 tion. All is grave, even somber, in civil rela- 
 tions as well as in conjugal society. The deep 
 power of love and the grand power of will are 
 the only ones that sway and act." If you read 
 the saga of Gisle Surson you will find a picture 
 of a woman who can both love and will. She 
 is the wife of the hero; Aud is her name. Her 
 boundless confidence in her husband is beauti- 
 fully shown in her simple words, "I go to Gisle 
 with everything that is too heavy for me to bear 
 alone." As her hu'sband is sentenced as an out- 
 law, she flees from all people and settles down 
 on a barren shore of a rocky fiord, in order to 
 assist him. Onlj' once in a while can he visit 
 her, and then she must hide him in a subter- 
 ranean dwelling. In that way she lives year 
 after year. Once his persecutors seek to bribe 
 her to betray her husband. She acts as if will- 
 ing, and lifts the bag, heavy with silver coins; 
 but suddenly she plants it straight in the face 
 of the man, so that the blood streams from his 
 nostrils, and asks him whether he believes that 
 Icelandic women will betray their husbands. And 
 at last, when they have found the homeless fugi- 
 tive and he fights his last combat, then Aud 
 stands at his side upon the mountain top, and, 
 wanting a sword, defends him with a stick. 
 
 This power tc give one's self entirely up to 
 another person appears not only in the relations 
 between man and woman; it seems to be still 
 stronger and more frequent between man and 
 man. There is no race that has been stronger 
 in friendship than the Teutonic. It was a com- 
 mon custom for friends to mix their blood to- 
 gether to signify that the same fate should strike 
 them both, and when one died the other should 
 follow him in death. We are told in Vatsd01a 
 saga that the old Icelandic chief Ingemund had 
 entered into friendship with a man called Sse- 
 
 mund. To this Ssemund came a relative named 
 Rolleif; but he behaved so badly that it was im- 
 possible for Saemund to endure it. Then Sse- 
 mund went to his friend Ingemund, and told him 
 how it was, and begged him to take Rolleif, "be- 
 cause you succeed with all people you take care 
 of." Ingemund answered that he did not like 
 to do it, because his sons were grown up and 
 unruly, "but if you still desire it I will try, as 
 you are my friend." So he tried; but his fore- 
 boding proved true; there was a daily quarrel 
 and fight between his sons and the rascal Rol- 
 leif, and he used all occasions to tease them and 
 do them harm. Ingemund built a house for Rol- 
 leif and his mother far off; but it was the same. 
 There was a river belonging to Ingemund's 
 property, very rich in salmon. He had allowed 
 Rolleif to fish there at times, when his own sons 
 did not use their nets; but Rolleif did not care 
 for this permission, but fished whenever he 
 pleased. Once Ingemund sent out his servants 
 to spread their nets; but Rolleif was at the river 
 and hindered them. They quarrelled with him 
 about it, and at last he called them thralls and 
 rascals, and threw stones at them, striking one 
 of them senseless. The servants came running 
 home as Ingemund sat at table. He asked why 
 they hurried so. They told him how Rolleif had 
 treated them. Then Jakul, the second son of 
 Ingemund, exclaimed, "It seems as if Rolleif were 
 the chieftain here in the valley, and will ill treat 
 us as he does all others, but never shall that 
 scoundrel bring us under the yoke." Torstein, 
 the oldest son of Ingemund, said, "I think it is 
 going too far now, but still it is best to act 
 quietly." The father advised them to do so, but 
 Jakul jumped to his feet and said, "I would like 
 to try whether or not I am able to drive him 
 from the coast." Ingemund said, "Son Torstein, 
 please follow your brother. I have most con- 
 fidence in you." Torstein answered, "I do not 
 know as I can keep Jakul back, and I will not 
 promise to stand still if he fights with Rolleif." 
 Coming to the river, the brothers saw Rolleif 
 fishing there on the opposite shore. Jakul cried 
 at a distance, "Begone, rascal! else we shall play 
 with you in a way you do not like." Rolleif 
 laughed, "If there were three or four such spar- 
 rows as you, I would continue my work in spite 
 of your piping." "You rely upon the windcraft 
 of your mother/' cried Jakul, and jumped out 
 into the river, but the water was too deep there; 
 he could not wade across. "Do your duty," said 
 Torstein, "and let there not be any quarrel be- 
 tween us." But Jakul cried, "Let us kill that 
 wretch!" Now Rolleif commenced to throw 
 
OUR ANCESTORS 
 
 25 
 
 stones at them, and the brothers responded in 
 the same vvaj'. Jakul tried another ford farther 
 up. Ingemund sat quietly at home, when a man 
 came running, telling him that his sons and Rol- 
 leif were stoning each other. Ingemund said, 
 "Make ready my horse; I will ride to them." He 
 was then very old and nearly blind. He had 
 cast a blue cloak over his dress. One of his 
 servants led the horse. When Torstein dis- 
 covered him he said, "There comes father! let us 
 retire; I am anxious for him here." Ingemund 
 rode down to the shore and cried, "RoUeif, go 
 away from the river and think upon your duty." 
 But at the same moment Rolleif got a glimpse 
 of Ingemund he flung his lance at him and hit 
 him in the middle of the waist. When Ingemund 
 felt he was stabbed, he turned his horse and 
 
 light any candle before his sons came home. 
 The servant hurried back to Rolleif, and said to 
 him: '"You are the meanest wretch in the world. 
 Now you have killed old man Ingemu'nd, the 
 best man in Iceland. He begged me to tell you 
 that you ought to leave to-morrow, because his 
 sons doubtless will seek your life. Now T have 
 advised you; but telling the truth, I should 
 rather have seen your head under the ax of the 
 brothers." Rolleif answered, "If you had not 
 brought those tidings, you would never have 
 gone hence alive." When the brothers entered 
 the hall it was dark. Torstein groped his way 
 forward, but suddenly he recoiled, "Here is 
 something wet!" he said. The mother answered, 
 "It has dripped from the cloak of Ingemund; I 
 presume it rains." Torstein cried, "No; it is slip- 
 
 Viking dragons approaching the coast of Italy. 
 
 said to his servant, "Lead me home!" Arrived 
 home, it was late in the evening. Dismounting 
 his horse, he said, "I am stifT now; that is the 
 way with us old folk; we get tottering feet." 
 The servant supported him, and then he heard a 
 peculiar sound, and he discovered the lance 
 through his master's body. Ingemund saith, 
 "You have been a faithful servant; now do as 
 I want. Go immediately to Rolleif, and tell him 
 to leave before dawn, because to-morrow my 
 sons will demand the blood of their father on 
 his hands. It is no revenge for me that he shall 
 be killed, and it is my duty to protect the man 
 I have taken into my house as long as I can." 
 With these words he broke off the spear shaft, 
 and leaning on his servant he went in and sat 
 ■himself in the high seat. He forbade them to 
 
 pery like blood. Light the candles!" They did 
 so. There sat Ingemund in his high seat, dead. 
 The lance still pierced his body. Jakul was first 
 to break the silence: "It is dreadful to know that 
 su'ch a man as father is killed by that rascal; let 
 us go and stab him." But Torstein answered, 
 "You do not know our father, if you have any 
 doubt that he has warned the wretch. Where 
 is the servant who followed father?" They said 
 he was not at home. "Then neither is Rolleif at 
 home," answered Torstein; "but that must be our 
 comfort, that there was a great difference be- 
 tween our father and Rolleif, and that will be to 
 his benefit before Him who has created the sun 
 and the whole world, whosoever it is." But 
 Jakul was so furious that they could scarcely re- 
 strain him. Ingemund was laid in his own boat, 
 
26 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Emperor Charlemagne observing the Vikings, the only warriors he ever feared. 
 
OUR ANCESTORS 
 
 and there was made a mound over him. But 
 when the sad tidings came to Ingemund's friend, 
 Eyvind, he said to his fosterson: "Go and tell my 
 friend Gant what I am doing;" and at the same 
 moment he drew his sword, threw himself on the 
 point, and died. When Gant heard of this he 
 said, "When such a man leaves us it is best to 
 keep his company," and with these words he 
 stabbed himself with his sword. 
 
 The same devotedness to friends our ancestor 
 showed also toward his chief. "Having chosen 
 his chief, he forgets himself in him, assigns to 
 him his own glory, serves him to the death." 
 
 honest men. T will sink down at the head of my 
 lord; thou, Hjalte, lie down at his feet. It is 
 nothing that ravens and eagles will peck our 
 corpses, when we fall as bold and valiant war- 
 riors on the battle field beside our king." To fol- 
 low their chosen chieftain and die for his sake 
 was the most glorious life they knew. This view 
 of life saturates their whole religion. God Odin 
 would not receive in his abode of Valhalla other 
 than those who had sunk down with wounds on 
 their breast, and beyond the grave they live the 
 same wild life again. They were to meet with 
 their friends and chiefs, and fight at their side. 
 
 Northern Vikings approaching a Southern fortress. 
 
 Tacitus says, "He is infamous as long as he lives 
 who returns from the field of battle without his 
 chief." It was on this voluntary subordination 
 that feudal society was based. Man in this race 
 can accept a superior; can be capable of devo- 
 tion and respect. "Old as I am," says one of 
 their old poets, "I will not budge hence. I mean 
 to die by my lord's side, near this man I have 
 loved." In the saga of Rolf Krake, as it is told 
 by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, Bod- 
 var Bjarke, the Norwegian warrior of the king, 
 says to his Danish champion Hjalte, when they 
 fight their last fight: "Let us, while the blood 
 still runs warm through our veins, try to die like 
 
 just as here on earth. The Greek heathen put 
 all weight upon this life, and urged the enjoy- 
 ment and happiness of earth. But the Scandi- 
 navian heathen raised the life of man from the 
 dead, and let it grow still stronger and greater 
 on the other side of the tomb. To him death 
 was only the entrance gate to a more glorious 
 life than the present, and, therefore, they could 
 die singing; could laugh at their wounds; mingle 
 in the bloodiest fight with cold contempt of in- 
 juries and death. Their harshest enemies, the 
 Romans, stood in wondering reverence before 
 that peculiar trait of character, and the Latin 
 poet Lucan sings of these barbarians: "Where 
 
38 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 we see only pale shadows through the foggy sky, 
 there the spirit builds before your eyes a new 
 hall. If we may reckon after your songs, death 
 only divides the stream of life, which in the next 
 world swells with new powers through every 
 limb. Question the people that live in the North; 
 are they in error in regard to this matter? They 
 have got rid of the worst fear on earth, the fear 
 of death. They have heroic courage; they are 
 the conquerors of death; they deem it paltry to 
 chaffer about a life they shall regain." And this 
 idea of the warrior's life under the standard of 
 a glorious chieftain as the most desirable life of 
 man was not extinguished by Christianity. 
 Rather obtained nobler aims and stronger vital- 
 ity. Jesus Christ was made the most powerful 
 chieftain that ever lived — greater than both 
 Odin and Thor, but carrying on the same fight 
 as they, the fight against the evil spirits, the 
 Jotuns, Satan and his angels. He broke down 
 the walls of death and hell, and rose as the glori- 
 ous victor on the third day, and his faithful fol- 
 lowers we shall be, suffering and fighting under 
 his banner, dying with him in order to be raised 
 with him. It was the same train of ideas as in 
 the heathen days, only changed to a Christian 
 foundation, with Christian names. That our an^ 
 cestors preferred to look at Jesus Christ as the 
 valiant hero we may see from the poems of 
 Csedmon, the oldest religious poems we have in 
 any northern tongue. Csedmon lived in North- 
 umberland, in the last part of the seventh cen- 
 tury. When he sings about the death of Christ 
 on the cross, it is not the suffering Christ, drag- 
 ged about the streets of Jerusalem to Golgatha, 
 powerless, bleeding, nearly sinking. No; it is 
 Christ as a young and vigorous hero, who volun- 
 tarily ascends in order to liberate us. He sings 
 thus; it is the holy cross itself which is speaking: 
 "The young hero, God Almighty, bold and val- 
 iant, girded himself and ascended the high gal- 
 lows courageously before many eyes, because he 
 would unbind the chains of the world." And un- 
 der the same aspect of vikings who are on the 
 warpath they looked upon the apostles. In an 
 old poem of Andreas the apostles are described 
 in the following manner: "Once in olden times 
 there lived twelve glorious champions, the thanes 
 of the Lord. When they struck their helmets 
 they never grew tired. They were famous men, 
 bold chieftains, courageous in warfare when hand 
 and shield fought for the lord on the battle field." 
 Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea are called 
 "the heroes of Hild;" .that is, the goddess of bat- 
 tle. Abraham and Lot roam about as vikings, 
 taking land where the country seems to be most 
 
 pleasant; Moses is "the famous chieftain" who 
 leads out the Hebrew warriors; their ramblings, 
 their encounter with Pharao are described as one 
 of their heathen bards would describe a war ex- 
 pedition of the old vikings. Thus Csedmon 
 writes: "They encamped and the tired warriors 
 threw themselves into the grass. The helpers in 
 the kitchen brought them food, and the men re- 
 covered their strength. They pitched their tents 
 on the hill-slopes, while the war-bugles sounded; 
 it was the fourth camp. Round the Red Sea 
 rested the shieldbearers." Then Pharao comes 
 persecuting them. "Look how it shines, yonder 
 by the forest! Banners wave, people march, the 
 spears are sharpened, the shields twinkle, war is 
 over our heads, trumpets sound. The coarse 
 voracious birds of battle, the black ravens, have 
 chosen their field and cry for corpses; wolves 
 howl their ugly evening song; they expect battle- 
 food. The breath of death blew wildly over the 
 people, and they were stopped." So the old poet 
 describes how the Egyptians perish: "The folk 
 were affrighted; the dread of the flood seized on 
 their sad souls; with a roaring came the ocean; 
 it bellowed death, it foamed gore, and the water 
 spouted blood on the mountain sides. The waves 
 filled with weapons, with screams, all wrapped 
 in fogs of death — the Egyptians rushed round, 
 fled trembling from fear and anguish; but against 
 them, like a cloud, rose the fell rollings of the 
 waves; nobody was saved; from behind fate 
 closed the gates with the billows; where roads 
 once lay, sea raged. The air was mixed with 
 smell of corpses; the breakers burst and rolled 
 and killed in their embrace. No one was spared; 
 not a single one of the nu'mberless thanes re- 
 turned with the sad tidings to the castle to tell 
 their wives about the fall of their chiefs." 
 
 This description reminds us of the wild war 
 songs which the Scandinavian vikings sang three 
 hundred years later, when they ravaged the 
 coasts of Ireland and England: 
 
 "Come and weave, come and weave 
 
 The texture of battle; 
 Of entrails of man 
 
 Is taken the warp. 
 With the skulls of man 
 
 It is strongly stretched out. 
 Bloody spears 
 
 Shall become the shuttles, 
 The beams are steel. 
 
 The reeds are arrows; 
 Make thus with the sword 
 
 The web of victory tight." 
 
 Now we may understand why Bishop Ulfila, 
 
OUR ANCESTORS 
 
 29 
 
 the first translator of the Bible into the Gothic 
 language, did not dare to include the Books of 
 the Kings, because he feared that his countrymen 
 would become too excited and too eager for 
 war. Now we may understand why the beauti- 
 ful and characteristic story of Saint Kristofer has 
 grown among his race — the giant who, strong 
 himself, would serve the strongest, and first ap- 
 plied to the emperor, but, discovering that he 
 feared the devil, went to him, and, seeing that the 
 devil was scared by the cross, went to the master 
 of the cross and served him humbly and patient- 
 
 lage? I may be a god like him. Stand by me, 
 strong companions, who will not fail me in the 
 strife. Heroes, stern of mood, they have chosen 
 me for chief; renowned warriors! With su'ch may 
 one devise counsel, with such capture his ad- 
 herents; they are my zealous friends, faithful in 
 their thoughts. I may be their chieftain, sway 
 in this realm; thus to me it seemeth not right, 
 that I in aught need cringe to God for any good; 
 I will no longer be his vassal. He is overcome, 
 but not subdued. He does not repent. He is 
 cast into the place "where torment they suffer, 
 
 Old Viking Castle. 
 
 ly till his death. It is the faithfulness to the 
 chosen chieftain which emerges in this legend 
 too; and they take with them into Christianity 
 all the heathen terms and names, so that they 
 dare call Christ the "Frey of the World," the 
 "Loving Balder" and the "King of Victory." 
 
 This swelling defiance and power, this endless 
 desire for becoming independent and rulers, 
 which is characteristic of our ancestors, has its 
 strongest poetic expression in the picture of Sa- 
 tan, Caedmon's masterpiece. He puts the follow- 
 ing words into the mouth of Satan: "Why shall 
 I for his favor serve, bend to him in such vasal- 
 
 burning heat in the midst of hell, fire, and broad 
 flames." At first he is astonished; he despairs, 
 but it is a hero's despair. Proud he looks 
 around: "Is this the place where my Lord im- 
 prisons me? It is most unlike that war that we 
 ere knew, high in heaven's kingdom, which my 
 master bestowed on me. Oh, had I power of my 
 hands and might one season be without — be one 
 
 winter's space — then with this host I! But 
 
 around me lie iron bands; presseth this ccrd of 
 chain. I am powerless! Me have so hard the 
 clamps of hell so firmly grasped." 
 
 In a poem, "Christ and Satan," he depicts Sa- 
 
30 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 tan in hell, lamenting, "Never with my hands I 
 heaven reach, never with my eyes I upward see, 
 never with my ears I hear the sweet tunes from 
 the trumpets of the angels, never in all eternity — 
 never! never!" "As there is nothing to be done 
 against God, it is his new creature man he must 
 attack. Vengeance is the only thing left him. 
 
 This strong, refreshing and encouraging view 
 of Christianity — that Jesus Christ, the chieftain 
 of the church is a hero who has burst open the 
 road to heaven, who has liberated us out of our 
 chains and leads us under his victorious stand- 
 ard — maintained its position until the church of 
 the pope came with its Latin and destroyed the 
 
 Russians (Slavs) paymg hommage to Rurik, the founder of the Russian empire. 
 
 and if the conquered can enjoy this, he will find 
 himself happy; he will sleep softly even under 
 his chains." 
 
 Beside this old poet Milton grows pale. But 
 they are related to each other, and they have 
 had their originals from the same race — Caed- 
 mon in the wild obstinate vikings of the North, 
 Milton in the sturdy Puritans. 
 
 national song and whipped the people with its 
 dogmatic rods. Today we have not yet shaken 
 ofif this yoke; orthodoxy has taught the descend- 
 ants of that proud race to walk along sighing 
 and looking at the dust, dragging along with 
 them their inherited guilt. It has taught them to 
 look at Christ as bleeding, su'fifering and dying, 
 hanging there on his cross, but not so much as 
 
OUR ANCESTORS 
 
 31 
 
 the risen, victorious, leading, progressive human- 
 ity, moving forward round the whole earth, loos- 
 ening the chains and doing good. The old, 
 healthy view of Christianity is an inheritance 
 from our ancestors, and we have not yet taken 
 possession of it. 
 
 What a singular people those old ancestors 
 were! What a natural power! What an imagi- 
 nation! What desire for adventures! Wliat in- 
 
 the sweetness of enjoyment and the softness of 
 pleasure? Endeavors, tenacious and mournful 
 endeavors — such was their chosen condition. 
 Strife for strife's sake — such is their pleasure. 
 With what sadness, madness, destruction, such 
 a disposition breaks its bonds, we see in Shake- 
 speare and Byron; with what vigor and purpose 
 it can limit and employ itself when possessed by 
 moral ideas, we can see in the case of the Puri- 
 
 A Bard singing to the Warriors. 
 
 tense feelings! What a childlike mind! As the 
 French king Clodwig listened to the story of 
 the suffering of Christ he exclaimed, "If I had 
 only been there with my Francs!" 
 
 How strange to see them place their happiness 
 in battle, their beauty in death! Is there any 
 people — Hindoo, Persian, Greek or Gallic — 
 which has formed so tragic a conception of life? 
 Is there any which has peopled its infantine 
 mind with such gloomy dreams? Is there any 
 which has so entirely banished from its dreams 
 
 tans. "When we see traveling English people 
 nowadays," says Carlyle, "we know the race." 
 "To climb all the mountain tops where nobody 
 else has been, to risk their lives in crawling over 
 precipices, to vie with each other in walking, in 
 rowing, in swimming — yes, in eating too, — that 
 is an inheritance from their ancestors, the race 
 of bodily strength, of tenacious will and defiance, 
 of contempt of death." 
 
 There is one thing more that should be men- 
 tioned in this connection, and that is their love 
 
32 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 of music and song. The bard must never fail, 
 either under the banner of the king, in the battle 
 or at the table in the hall, when the wine or 
 mead warmed their blood, the harp went round, 
 and they sang of the wild noise of war and of 
 faithful woman's love. The bard was a dear 
 guest. Where he went the gates flung open to 
 him, he was placed in the high seat and purple 
 cloaks and golden chains were presented to him. 
 Before the battle of Sticklastad, King Olaf asked 
 the bard Tormod to awake the sleeping camp 
 by an old war song, and in the battle of Hastings 
 the bard Toillifer rode before the army of Wil- 
 liam the Conqueror, sang and threw the first 
 lance toward the enemy. At the time of Charles 
 the Great it was the law in one of his countries, 
 "that the man who wounded a harpplayer in his 
 hand should pay one-fourth part more in fine 
 than if he had hurt another man:" The preacher 
 Oldhelm, when he could not get people to listen 
 
 to his sermons, dressed himself as a bard and 
 took his place on a bridge where the crowd 
 passed and repeated warlike and profane odes, 
 as well as religious poetry, in order to attract 
 and instruct the men of his time. The bard was 
 the teacher in religion, in history, in all sciences. 
 Even into the monasteries' the bard-song passed. 
 "In King Edgar's time," says an old historian, 
 "you heard mu'sic, song and dance from the mon- 
 asteries till midnight." They must have been 
 merry monks! This taste for music and poetry 
 gives reconciliation to the drinking parties; it 
 breathes spirit into the rough and brutish talk. 
 And we may proudly say that a society where 
 woman is respected, where marriage is holy, 
 which is founded on faithfulness and truth, on 
 devotedness to what is held dear, is a society fit 
 for development, a society destined to have 
 something to do in the world. 
 
GLIMPSES OF NORWEGIAN 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 While the Norwegian citizens of Illinois have 
 adapted themselves to their new surroundings, 
 and have become as much Americanized as any 
 of the State's foreign population, they all look 
 with peculiar fondness on the land of their birth. 
 They can not forget that country toward the 
 far North with its rugged mountains and deep- 
 blue fjords; its long, crisp winters and balmy 
 summers; its wealth of poetry; its honest, sturdy 
 men and its fair women. They are all fond of 
 recalling the time when the bold and adventurous 
 Norsemen played an important role in the his- 
 tory of the world, founding and destroying great 
 kingdoms. 
 
 The Norwegians, like other Germanic tribes, 
 are supposed to have come from Asia, near the 
 head of the River Oxus. The most hardy and 
 adventurous of these tribes penetrated to the far 
 North and West and populated Norway, prob- 
 ably several centuries before the Christian 
 era. Of their history during the first thousand 
 years we know but little. Each valley was an 
 independent state, with its own king or earl and 
 with its own "fylkesthing," or lawmaking as- 
 sembly, in which every man capable of bearing 
 arms for the defense of the community had the 
 right to be heard. The Norsemen, even in those 
 times, recognized the people themselves as the 
 source of authority. War was considered the 
 most honorable of all undertakings and the war- 
 like spirit was kept alive by the belief, which 
 was the cardinal principle of their religion, that a 
 man who fell in honorable battle was certain of 
 a welcome in "Valhalla," the home of the gods. 
 
 The history of Norway may be said to begin 
 with the last year of the eighth century, when 
 the hordes of Norse vikings began to sweep like 
 cyclones down upon the countries of western Eu- 
 rope. They made their way even to Rome and 
 to Constantinople, and everywhere the priests 
 
 prayed in their litania, "Deliver us, O Lord, from 
 the fury of the Norsemen." 
 
 The first king of all Norway was Harald Haar- 
 fager (the Fairhaired), who in the years 860-872 
 subdued all the other chieftains, and created a 
 united Norway to take her place among the na- 
 tions of the world. From him there descended 
 a long line of mighty kings. 
 
 Harald Haarfager in his old age gave each of 
 his many sons a province to govern and gave 
 to all the title of king, with Erik Blod^xe (Blood- 
 Ax) as over-king. He was a cruel man who, 
 spurred on by his evil-minded wife, slew many 
 of his brothers. But his bloody reign lasted only 
 five years. The people, tiring of his cruelty, 
 gathered around Haakon, the youngest son of 
 Harald, who ruled for 26 years with great wis- 
 dom. He restored some of the most prized 
 rights of the people that had been taken from 
 them by his father, codified the laws of the north- 
 ern and western parts of the country, created an 
 admirable military system and introduced many 
 other reforms. He made an attempt to christian- 
 ize the people, but failed. He lives in Norwegian 
 history as Haakon the Good. 
 
 In 995 Olaf Tryggvesson, a great-grandson of 
 Harald the Fairhaired, became king. He is Nor- 
 way's great national hero. Of him, as of the 
 earlier kings, we have minute and trustworthj"^ 
 accounts in "Heimskringla," or the "Sagas of the 
 Kings of Norway," the great historical work of 
 Snorre Sturlason, an Icelander of the thirteenth 
 century. The deeds of the heroes of these times 
 have also been immortalized by contemporary 
 poets or "skalds," notably so by Egil Skalla- 
 grimson, who flourished during the reigns of 
 Erik Bloodax and Haakon the Good. 
 
 Olaf Tryggvesson's youth and early manhood 
 
 (33) 
 
34 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 had been a series of the most romantic adven- 
 tures in Russia, Greece, England and Ireland. 
 He was 31 years of age when he returned to 
 Norway to claim his paternal kingdom. He is said 
 to have been the strongest and most handsome 
 man anybody had seen and to have borne a strik- 
 ing resemblance to Harald the Fairhaired. He 
 won all hearts and was made king of Norway 
 without striking a blow. In England he had be- 
 come a Christian, and the great aim of his life 
 was to persuade or compel his people to forsake 
 their pagan gods and accept "Christ the White." 
 In this he succeeded after a fashion, although 
 many who allowed themselves to be baptized, be- 
 cause to refuse was to be slain, remained pagans 
 at heart. 
 
 The year 1000 is an eventful one in Norwegian 
 history. In this year Olaf Tryggvesson sailed 
 with sixty ships to Wendland, the present Baltic 
 provinces of Prussia, to claim the estates of his 
 queen Thyra. On his return he was attacked by 
 a large fleet under the Danish king Svein Tvse- 
 skjseg (Fork-beard), and the Swedish king, Olof 
 supported by a large number of Norsemen under 
 Erik Jarl, who had been driven out of Norway 
 and had his possessions confiscated. These allies 
 lay in wait for the Norwegian king behind the 
 little island of Svolder. 
 
 When the greater part of the Norwegian fleet 
 had sailed by, the attack on the king's ship Or- 
 men Lange ("The Long Serpent") began. King 
 Olaf lashed his eleven ships together and fought 
 desperately. The Danes and the Swedes were- 
 each in turn repulsed, but finally Olaf was at- 
 tacked in the rear by Erik Jarl and was over- 
 powered by his foes. When the king, who was 
 himself severely wounded, looked over his ships 
 and found but nine men besides himself alive he 
 threw his last spear against the nearest of his 
 foes and then leaped overboard and was drowned. 
 There is, however, a legend according to which 
 he succeeded in swimming ashore and making 
 his way to the Holy Land, where he lived many 
 years as a hermit. 
 
 It was also in the year 1000 that America was 
 discovered by a Norseman. Of the chieftains 
 who in 872 had left Norway rather than submit 
 to the rule of Harald the Fairhaired many had 
 found their way to Iceland. It was Leif Erick- 
 son, a descendant of one of these men, who in 
 the year 1000 sailed to the new world, which 
 fourteen years earlier had been seen by Bjarne 
 Herjulfsson, and landed on the coast of the preS' 
 ent state of Massachusetts. 
 
 In 1006 a second expedition was undertaken 
 and a number of Norsemen sojourned for three 
 years in "Vinland the Good." 
 * * * 
 
 Another chieftain who left Norway during 
 the reign of Harald the Fairhaired was Gange 
 Rolf (Rollo the Walker), who became duke of 
 Normandy, and one of whose descendants, Wil- 
 liam the Conqueror, in 1066 became king of Eng- 
 land after having vanquished theJast Saxon king, 
 
 Harold. 
 
 * * * 
 
 After Olaf Tryggvesson's death the work of 
 christianizing Norway was continued and com- 
 pleted by Olaf den Hellige (the Saint). He was 
 a strong but rather arbitrary ruler and did much 
 to strengthen the crown and decreed that there 
 should be no more petty kings in Norway. He 
 founded cities, improved the administration of 
 justice and organized the church. But he won 
 hosts of enemies at home and abroad and was 
 compelled to leave the country. In an attempt 
 to regain his crown he fell at Stiklestad July 29, 
 1030. The people soon came to regret that they 
 had slain the great king, and legends wove a 
 saintly halo about his name. Around his shrine 
 in Nidaros (Trondhjem) rose the mighty cath- 
 edral, and churches were built in his honor in 
 Sweden, Denmark, England, and other countries. 
 He was canonized, and great pilgrimages were 
 made to his shrine on Olaf Mass Day (July 29)^ 
 raising Nidaros to the most important religious 
 center in the northern lands. 
 
 His son, Magnus the Good, ruled also over 
 Denmark until his death and repelled an attack 
 on Denmark by the Wends defeating them in the 
 great battle of Lyrskog Heath in Schlesvig. 
 
 * * * 
 
 The youngest brother of Magnus, Harald 
 Haardraade, the founder of Oslo (Christiania), 
 was a giant of will and body. He had won fame 
 and power as a viking chieftain in wars in the 
 Mediterranean countries, and his reign as ruler 
 was stormy and warlike. He tried to hold Den- 
 mark, but failed, although he always won in bat- 
 tle. In 1066 he set out to conquer England, and 
 had all but defeated the English king Harold at 
 Stamford bridge when his army, too eager to 
 pursue, broke their formation and was defeated, 
 and there fell Harald, "the last of the vikings." 
 
 Olaf Kyrre (the Peaceful), the founder of 
 Bjcirgvin (Bergen), made improvements in the 
 houses and social customs of the people; stoves 
 (of stone) came into use in Norway during his 
 reign. Magnus Barefoot conquered the isle of 
 
GLIMPSES OF NORWEGIAN HISTORY 
 
 35 
 
 Man. Sigurd Torsalafar went to the Mediterran- 
 ean with a strong fleet, destroyed heathen rob- 
 ber fleets galore, captured the city of Sidon, and 
 visited Jerusalem and Constantinople. Upon his 
 death followed a long period of tumult and in- 
 cessant wars between rival pretenders to the 
 crown. * * * 
 
 One of the greatest of the kings of Norway 
 was Sverre Sigurdson, who died in 1202. He de- 
 feated rival claimants to the throne and, leaning 
 upon the common people, curtailed the privileges 
 of the barons. He gave Norway many wise laws, 
 and broke the power of the priesthood, which 
 had become paramount. He was excommunicated 
 by the Church of Rome, but was a brave and wise 
 man, and defied all public opinion of his time. 
 He also distinguished himself by his work for 
 the promotion of temperance, a virtue which at 
 that time was almost unknown. Sverre was at 
 his death 50 years old, and it is a rather sig- 
 nificant fact that but one other Norwegian king 
 after Harald Haarfager had reached so great 
 
 an age. 
 
 » * « 
 
 Haakon Haakonson (the Old), a grandson of 
 Sverre, reigned 46 years (1217-1263). He was a 
 wise and progressive ruler, loved at home and 
 respected abroad. He wrought many reforms 
 and brought Iceland and Greenland under Nor- 
 way. The pope tendered him the crown of the 
 Holy Roman empire, but he declined it. His 
 reign is the golden age of Old Norway. 
 
 His son, Magnus Lagabjziter (Law-mender), in- 
 troduced a common code of laws for the whole 
 country^ which remained in force for 300 years. 
 Erik Magnusson, the Priesthater, curbed the 
 bishops, fought the Hanseatic league to a stand- 
 still and made long wars upon Denmark. Mag- 
 nus Eriksson was elected king of Sweden in 1319, 
 and then Sweden and Norway became united; 
 the union was dissolved in 1363. In 1349 Nor- 
 way was ravaged by the Black Death, which de- 
 stroyed over one-third of the population and 
 crippled the country for centuries to come. 
 * * * 
 
 Haakon Magnusson (died 1380) was married to 
 Margrete of Denmark; their son, Olaf, inherited 
 the crowns of both countries, and then Norway 
 and Denmark became united. Olaf died 1387 and 
 was succeeded by his able mother, who defeated 
 king Albrecht of Sweden in 1397, and united all 
 three of the Scandinavian countries by the so- 
 called Kalmar union. By the terms of the union 
 each country was to constitute a separate king- 
 dom; but Denmark, as the seat of the union gov- 
 
 ernment, soon came to exercise a leading influence, 
 especially after Sweden cut lose from the union. 
 In 1537 Christian III abolished the Norwegian 
 council of regency and abridged the liberties of 
 the people. His reign was notable as marking 
 the time when the Lutheran reformation was in- 
 troduced. The union with Denmark exposed 
 Norway to many needless and bloody wars with 
 Sweden. Apart from these regrettable wars there 
 is not much to say about this period of the his- 
 tory of Norway. Yet the people grew in strength 
 during their apparent sleep, and when a new day 
 dawned they were ready to face its problems and 
 take full advantage of its opportunities. 
 * * * 
 
 As one of the results of the Napoleonic wars, 
 the French Marshal Bernadotte was elected heir 
 to the Swedish throne, and by the treaty of Kiel, 
 Jan. 12, 1814, Denmark was obliged to cede Nor- 
 way to Sweden. This roused the old independ- 
 ent spirit of the Norwegians. They admitted 
 that the union king could lawfully surrender his 
 own rights to the crown of Norway; but main- 
 tained that his attempt to transfer the country 
 and its people to another power was a clear vio- 
 lation of the law of nations and hence of no 
 effect. The vice-king, Prince Christian Fredrik, 
 seconded their protest and called a council at 
 Eidsvold to consider a plan of action. He 
 claimed that he was the rightful heir to the 
 throne, but finally, on advice of Prof. Sverdrup, 
 waived all claims. 
 
 On May 17, 1814, the council at Eidsvold, re- 
 presenting the people of Norway, adopted a wise 
 and liberal constitution, which is still in force, 
 elected Prince Christian Fredrik king of Norway, 
 and prepared for war with Sweden, which they 
 foresaw was imminent. Bernadotte invaded Nor- 
 wa->^ but after a few unimportant skirmishes an 
 armistice was concluded at Moss, Aug. 4. The 
 storthing or parliament was called together and 
 negotiated a peace, by the terms of which Swe- 
 den and Norway should form a union under a 
 common king. The king of Sweden, Charles 
 XIII, was chosen king of Norway as well, on 
 condition that he recosfnize the independence of 
 the countrj' and agree to respect the constitution 
 which the Norwegians had given themselves at 
 Eidsvold. The relations between the two coun- 
 tries were defined and regulated by the "Act of 
 Union" of 1815, which states that the union was 
 brought about not by force of arms, but by mu- 
 tual good will for the purposes of safeguarding 
 the crowns of the united countries, and that the 
 union should be for all time. 
 
 Since this date, Nov. 4, 1814, Norway has 
 
36 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 steadily progressed by even stages of orderly 
 development. All titles of nobility w^ere abol- 
 ished in 1821, notwithstanding the vigorous op- 
 position of the king, and the liberties of the peo- 
 ple were gradually enlarged, and the Norwegians 
 are to-day the most democratic of all peoples. 
 
 The political development of Norway during 
 the union with Sweden was, however, marked by 
 stress and struggles. The people were deter- 
 mined to make their liberal constitution a living 
 reality; at every stage their efforts were stub- 
 bornly resisted by the crown; but by courage, 
 wisdom and patience the storthing always won 
 out. There were also many disputes between the 
 united countries, but such controversies were 
 gradually adjusted and the relations between the 
 "brother peoples" were constantly improving. 
 
 In 1886 Sweden made a change in her constitu- 
 tion, which brought the so-called "consular ques- 
 tion" to the fore. By the Act of Union the man- 
 agement of all foreign relations was left in the 
 hands of the union king; as he was as much the 
 king of Norway as the king of Sweden, Norway, 
 by this arrangement, had an equal influence with 
 Sweden, at least in law, upon the administration 
 of foreign affairs. But in 1886 Sweden, without 
 consulting Norway, changed the character of the 
 minister of foreign affairs from being a mere 
 clerk to the union king to a constitutional officer 
 responsible to the parliament of Sweden. This 
 important step, however justified from a Swed- 
 ish point of view, deprived Norway of any con- 
 stitutional voice regarding the administration of 
 the common foreign relations of the two coun- 
 tries. This injustice was especially felt within 
 the field of the consular department, which deals 
 mainly with shipping and trade. Inasmuch as 
 the merchant marine of Norway was about four 
 times larger than that of Sweden, and Norway 
 consequently contributed much the larger share 
 for the support of the common consular service, 
 Norway with growing unanimity and force de- 
 manded a "new deal." 
 
 Sweden did not deny the justice of the Nor- 
 wegian view; on the contrary, it was freely ad- 
 mitted by the official spokesmen of Sweden that 
 Norway had just cause for complaint. But the 
 Swedish government held that the remedy pro- 
 posed by the Norwegian government, separate 
 consular services, would dangerously weaken the 
 bond of union, and insisted that other changes in 
 the Act of Union must be made at the same time. 
 It is not necessary to follow these negotiations 
 in detail; the position of the union king was, of 
 course, extremely difficult, as he was required to 
 
 agree with both sides. Finally the task of work- 
 ing out a settlement was intrusted to a union 
 committee, of which Dr. Sigurd Ibsen and the 
 Swedish minister of foreign affairs, Lagerheim, 
 were alternating chairmen. The committee 
 worked earnestly and well and agreed upon a 
 new arrangement which received the support of 
 both the Swedish and the Norwegian govern- 
 ments. The people of the two countries hailed 
 these tidings with joy, as the end of all unpleas- 
 ant bickerings was now in sight. 
 
 In the fall of 1904 Lagerheim was forced to 
 resign by Prime Minister Bostrdm and replaced 
 by Count Gyldenstolpe. The Swedish ministry, 
 as reconstructed, repudiated the joint consular 
 agreement and submitted a new proposition that 
 was altogether unacceptable to Norway; and the 
 negotiations were discontinued. The Hagerup 
 ministry, which had fathered the conciliatory pol- 
 icy, resigned and was followed by the Michelsen- 
 L0vland cabinet. The storthing selected a spe- 
 cial committee, which drafted a consular law for 
 Norway. This bill met with the unanimous ap- 
 proval of the storthing and of the enthusiastic 
 people, whose demand was immediate action. 
 
 When the king stated that he would have to 
 veto the bill, the cabinet immediately resigned. 
 The king tried to form another cabinet but found 
 the task was impossible and so stated. The 
 country being then left without a responsible 
 government it became the duty of the stortjiing 
 to act; and on June 7th, 1905, the storthing unan- 
 imously adopted the following historic resolu- 
 tion: 
 
 Whereas, all the members of the government 
 , (cabinet) have resigned their offices; and 
 
 Whereas, his majesty the king has declared 
 himself unable to provide another government 
 for the country; and 
 
 Whereas, the constitutional royal power thus 
 has ceased to exist; be it 
 
 Resolved, that the storthing hereby empowers 
 the members of the government that resigned 
 to-day to assume, until further, as the Norwegian 
 Government, the powers vested in the king by 
 the constitution of Norway and laws now in 
 force — with such modifications as are made 
 necessary by the fact that the union with Sweden 
 under one king is dissolved in consequence of 
 the king having ceased to function as king of 
 Norway." 
 
 What followed later, the meeting of the Swed- 
 ish and Norwegian delegations at Karlstad, the 
 final agreement concerning the dissolution of the 
 union, the ratification of the Norwegian people 
 
GLniPSES OF NORWEGIAN HISTORY 
 
 37 
 
 of the action of the storthing on Aug. 13, 1905, 
 and the election of Prince Carl of Denmark as 
 king under the name of Haakon VII, his accept- 
 ance, the coronation ceremonies in Trondhjem, 
 etc., are so recent events that we do not deem it 
 necessary to describe them in detail in this lim- 
 ited space. 
 
 Throughout the whole controversy Sweden as 
 well as Norway exhibited remarkable calmness 
 and self-restraint, and both nations won the 
 esteem and applause of the whole civilized world 
 for their success in settling so grave differences 
 without a resort to war. 
 
 Norway has of late years contributed much to 
 science and literature and has won new laurels 
 in this for her comparatively new field. One 
 need only mention the historians, Munch, Key- 
 ser and Sars; the philologists, Ivar Aasen and 
 Sofus Bugge; the astronomer, Hansteen; the mu- 
 sicians, Ole Bull and Grieg; the painters, Tide- 
 mand, Gude and Thaulow; the mathematicians, 
 Abel and Lie; and the explorers, Nansen, Sverd- 
 rup and Amundsen, who recently relocated the 
 magnetic north-pole and cleared the northwest 
 passage; and the poets Bj0rnson and Jonas Lie, 
 
 and notably Henrik Ibsen, who was by some con- 
 sidered the foremost literary man and intellect- 
 ual giant of the age. 
 
 The valleys of Norway seemed during the past 
 century to become too narrow for the increasing 
 population, and many Norwegians have found 
 homes in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, 
 the Dakotas, and other states. It was on July 4, 
 1825^ that the first party of Norwegian emi- 
 grants left the city of Stavanger for the United 
 States. Hosts of others have followed these 
 pioneers, until now the Norwegians in America 
 and their children must number about 1,000,000 
 souls. Nearly all of them belonged in Norway 
 to the poorer class, and they emigrated with the 
 purpose of bettering their condition. The hard 
 struggle for existence had taught them habits of 
 industry and rigid economy, and this has been 
 of immense benefit to them in their new home. 
 Many of them have become wealthy, and nearly 
 all of them have won at least a comfortable 
 competency. They have built a large number of 
 churches and higher institutions of learning, and 
 they teach their children to fear God, respect all 
 rightful authority, cherish the memory of the 
 dear old fatherland, and love liberty as the most 
 priceless earthly boon. 
 
THE NORWEGIAN PIONEER 
 
 By Rev. A, Bredesen. 
 
 I have not the honor to have written the his- 
 tory of the Norwegian pioneers, but I maj^ say 
 that I have lived that history. My earliest rec- 
 ollections cluster around men and things in a 
 struggling frontier settlement in central Wis- 
 consin, more than fifty years ago. I have known 
 the Norwegian pioneer long and well, and in my 
 appreciation of him and regard for him I yield 
 to no one. 
 
 It is meet and proper that the Norwegian 
 pioneer have recognition. _ We all owe him a 
 great debt of honor and gratitude. Who was it, 
 for instance, that forty-five years ago, in a 
 frontier hamlet, called our alma mater, the 
 Luther College, into existence? Not, I trow, 
 some multi-millionaire in the East, some mer- 
 chant prince, coal baron or oil king, but the 
 horny-handed Norwegian pioneer on the prairjes 
 and in the backwoods of Wisconsin, Iowa and 
 Minnesota. And who but the Norwegian pio- 
 neer has been the best friend and patron that 
 our alma mater ever had? His good will was 
 for many years her only endowment. Very 
 little of material or moral support did the straig- 
 gling college receive from any other source. The 
 Norwegian pioneer of the past and the present 
 has contributed cheerfully and liberally from his 
 hard earnings to establish, equip and support our 
 alma mater, and has sent hundreds and thou- 
 sands of his brightest boys to fill her classes. 
 Luther College is the college of the Norwegian 
 pioneer, and stands today, and will ever stand, 
 a noble monument to his sincere devotion and 
 heroic endeavor in the cause of scientia vera et 
 fides pura (true science and pure faith). 
 
 The Norwegian pioneer deserves honorable 
 recognition, and at the hand of the whole Amer- 
 ican people, for the splendid service which he 
 has done in the advancement of civilization 
 throughout the Northwest. If there is anything 
 
 to which Americans of Norwegian birth may 
 well "point with pride" it is the Norwegian 
 pioneer and his achievements. I do not know 
 that the Norwegian-American has been a con- 
 spicuous and dismal failure in any respect — un- 
 less it be as a democratic campaign shouter. 
 His record as a thrifty, law-abiding, intelligent 
 and patriotic American citizen is very good. His 
 percentages of pauperism and illiteracy are as 
 low as the lowest. In the trades, in the learned 
 professions, in business and in politics he has 
 been reasonably successful. He has dotted the 
 whole Northwest with his churches, schools and 
 charitable institi.'tions. He is an excellent farmer. 
 He is "the American sailor" of today, and when- 
 ever Uncle Sam wants to beat the Britishers in 
 a sailing match he calls on his Norwegian sailor 
 boys to do it for him. If, perhaps, in some re- 
 spects the Norwegian-American has done only 
 passably well, as a pioneer he has certainly, as 
 was to be expected, been a splendid success. 
 The typical Norwegian is a born pioneer. With 
 his passion for ownership of land and a home 
 and his decided liking for adventure, combined 
 with physical stamina, courage and endurance, 
 he is the stufif that pioneers are made of. And 
 of this he has given abundant proof. Eighty 
 years ago when immigration from Norway set 
 in Chicago and Milwaukee were rough frontier 
 towns, and the great Northwest was an almost 
 unbroken wilderness, the haunts of wild beasts 
 and wilder men. As by a miracle, in the brief 
 space of eighty years, this vast wilderness has 
 been transformed into a splendid galaxy of 
 wealthy, enlightened and progressive states. In 
 the face of bloodthirsty savages and prowling 
 beasts and blizzards, and droughts, and dangers, 
 and difficulties, and hardships of every descrip- 
 tion, a grand army of brave and sturdy pioneers, 
 men and women, has advanced civilization from 
 
 (38) 
 
THE NORWEGIAN PIONEER 
 
 c9 
 
 the shores of the great lakes to the Puget Sound. 
 To that noble army the Norwegian-American 
 has furnished far more than his quota of men 
 and women, and they have not been camp-fol- 
 lowers, but have marched in the forefront and 
 borne more than their just share of toil, hard- 
 ships and dangers. On our western and north- 
 ern frontiers, after the fur-trader, with his "In- 
 dian goods," or the prospector, the timber thief 
 and the cowboy, the first settlers to come, as the 
 harbingers of civilization, were usually some 
 brawny descendant of the Vikings, with his 
 worthy helpmate and half a dozen tow-headed 
 children. The history of every state from Illi- 
 nois and Wisconsin to Washington will bear 
 me out in this; and the last national census 
 shows that the Norwegians have been least 
 given to huddling together in villages and in the 
 greater centers of population, and that, though 
 newcomers compared with other nationalities, 
 as owners of farms and homes they already out- 
 rank all other elements of the population, the 
 native American included. 
 
 In 1890, according to the national census, more 
 than 322,000 natives of the kingdom of Norway 
 were then living in the United States. To-day 
 the Americans of Norwegian birth or parentage 
 number probably not far from 750,000, or nearly 
 one per cent of the total population. Half a 
 century ago the number was probably somewhat 
 more than 5,000, of whom about four-fifths had 
 domiciled in southern Wisconsin and northern 
 Illinois. The oldest of these settlements was 
 that on Fox River, near Ottawa, 111., dating from 
 1834. The first Norwegian settlement in Wis- 
 consin was doubtless Jefferson Prairie, in Rock 
 county, and" Ole Nattestad, who settled there in 
 1838, seems to have been the first Norwegian 
 settler in Wisconsin. The Koshkonong, Muske- 
 go and Rock Prairie settlements all seem to have 
 had their inception in 1839. The three strong- 
 holds of our people fifty years ago were Kosh- 
 konong, with 700 or 800 souls; Muskego, in Ra- 
 cine county, with about 600, and the Fox River 
 settlement, with about 450. Wisconsin, now 
 populous and wealthy, was in those early days 
 still a territory and almost an unbroken wilder- 
 ness, the happy hunting ground of the Red Men. 
 There was not a mile of railway within its bor- 
 ders, and even passable wagon roads were few 
 and far between. Horses were scarce. I am 
 told that the seven or eight hundred Norwegians 
 on the Koshkonong prairies had one horse among 
 them, and that a poor one. "Buck and Bright" 
 and a KubberuUe or other primitive wagon were 
 about the only means of transportation, and Mil- 
 
 waukee or Chicago was the nearest market. Mil- 
 waukee was a city of about 7,000 inhabitants, and 
 Madison, the beautiful capital of Wisconsin, was 
 an ambitious village of 700, while the total popu- 
 lation of the state was about 35,000. 
 
 Out Norwegian pioneers were poor, but they 
 were not paupers. They had not come here to 
 beg or steal, nor to sponge on their neighbors. 
 It was not their ambition to be organ grinders, 
 peanut venders or ragpickers. They had come 
 to make by the sweat of their brows an honest 
 living, and they were amply able to do so. They 
 possessed stout hearts, willing hands and robust 
 health, and nearly all had learned at least the 
 rudiments of some useful trade. And the women, 
 our mothers and grandmothers, God bless them! 
 were worthy consorts of the men who laid low 
 the giants of the forest and made the wilderness 
 blossom as the rose. They girded their loins 
 with strength. They were able to stand almost 
 any amount of privation and toil. They were 
 not afraid of a mouse. They were in blissful 
 ignorance of the fact that they had nerves. They 
 knew nothing of "that tired feeling," and did not 
 need the services of the dentist every other 
 week. They did not have soft, velvety hands, 
 as some of us who were bad boys had reason 
 to know; but for all that they had tender, moth- 
 erly hearts. They could not paint on china, or 
 pound "The Mocking Bird" on the piano, but 
 they could spin, knit and weave. The dear souls 
 could not drive a nail any better than their 
 granddaughters can, but they could drive a yoke 
 of oxen, and handle the pitchfork and the rake 
 almost as well as the broom and the mop. Our 
 mothers and grandmothers did not ruin our di- 
 gestion with mince pie and chicken salad, but 
 gave us wholesome and toothsome flatbr0d and 
 mylsa and brim and prim and bresta, the kind 
 of food on which a hundred generations of Nor- 
 way seamen and mountaineers have been raised. 
 
 Our Norwegian pioneers were ignorant of the 
 language, the laws and the institutions of their 
 adopted country, and in this respect were indeed 
 heavily handicapped. They had not a single 
 newspaper, and, outside of a few struggling 
 frontier settlements, there was not a soul with 
 whom they could communicate. But though our 
 pioneers were ignorant of the English language, 
 they were not illiterates. They had books, and 
 could read thein, and by and by astonished na- 
 tives were forced to confess, that "Them 'ere 
 Norwegians are almost as white as we are, and 
 they kin read too, they kin." If in those early 
 Norwegian settlements books were few, a family 
 Bible and some of Luther's writings were rarely 
 
40 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 wanting, even in the humblest homes. If the 
 people were not versed in some of the branches 
 now taught in almost every common school, they 
 were as well grounded in the Catechism, the 
 Forklaring and the Bible History as all their 
 bright and good grandchildren are to-day. 
 
 The houses of our pioneers of seventy years 
 ago were log cabins, shanties and dugouts. Men 
 and women alike were dressed in blue drilling 
 or in coarse homespun brought over from the 
 old country in those large, bright-painted chests. 
 In 1844, I am told, not a woman on Koshkonong 
 prairie was the proud possessor of a hat. Some 
 of the good v/ives and daughters of those days 
 
 sported home-made sunbonnets, but the majority 
 contented themselves with the old-country ker- 
 chief. Carpets, kerosene lamps, coal stoves or 
 sewing machines, reapers, threshing machines, 
 top-buggies and Stoughton wagons were things 
 not dreamed of. 
 
 Among these pioneers of Norwegian immigra- 
 tion were also the pioneers of our Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 It is safe to say that this country never saw, 
 and never will see, more hardy, pushing, plucky 
 and successful pioneers than the sons and daugh- 
 ters of old Norway. 
 
 The First Colony of Norwegian Immigrants 
 
 Just as the Puritans had their Mayflower, in 
 1620, and the Swedes their Kalmar Nyckel, in 
 1638, so the Norwegians had their little sloop, 
 called Restaurationen, in 1825, in which the first 
 party of emigrants was carried to America. 
 
 Lars Larson of Jeilane was born near Stavan- 
 ger, Norway, Sept. 24, 1787. He became a ship 
 carpenter, and during the Napoleonic wars, in 
 1807, the Norwegian ship on which he was em- 
 ployed was captured by the English, and he and 
 the rest of the crew remained prisoners of war 
 for seven years. Together with the other prison- 
 ers he was released in 1814, whereupon he spent 
 a year in London, stopping with a prominent 
 Quaker widow, Mrs. Margaret Allen, whose two 
 sons held positions at the English court. During 
 his sojourn in England Lars Larson acquired a 
 good knowledge of the English language and 
 became converted to the Quaker faith. Some of 
 his Norwegian fellow-prisoners also joined the 
 Quakers. Having returned to Norway in 1816, 
 they all immediately proceeded to make propa- 
 ganda for Quakerism and to organize a society 
 of Friends. Two of them, Halvor Halvorson and 
 Enoch Jacobson, went to Christiania and made 
 an unsuccessful attempt at starting a Quaker so- 
 
 ciety there. Lars Larson returned to his native 
 city, Stavanger, and there he and Elias Tastad, 
 and Thomas and Metta Hille became the founders 
 of the Society of Friends in Norway. This so- 
 ciety is still in existence, and, according to the 
 latest statistics, numbers about 250 adult mem- 
 bers. The first Quaker meeting in "Norway was 
 held in Lars Larson's home, in 1816. He was 
 not a married man at the time, but his sister 
 Sara, who was a deaf-mute, kept house for him. 
 In 1824, at Christmas-time, he married Martha 
 Georgiana Persson^ who was born on Oct. 19, 
 1803, on Fogn, a small island near Stavanger. 
 
 At that time religious tolerance could not be 
 counted among the characteristics of Norway, 
 where also some separatism from the Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church began to show itself. In Stav- 
 anger amt the Haugeans were numerous, and also 
 the Quakers had quite a few followers. The lat- 
 ter differed so much from the teachings of the 
 established State Church that its officials began 
 a persecution of the dissenters. On complaint of 
 the Lutheran ministers the sheriff (Lensmand) 
 would come with his men and take the Quakers' 
 children by force, bring them to the regularly or- 
 dained minister, and have them baptized or con- 
 
THE FIRST COLONY OF NORWEGIAN IMMIGRANTS 
 
 41 
 
 firmed, as the case might be. They even went 
 so far as to exhume the dead in order that they 
 might be_buried according to the Lutheran ritual, 
 and if the Quakers did not partake of holy com- 
 munion as did the regular members of the church 
 they were fined; and they were assessed taxes to 
 the support of the State Church, whether they 
 visited it or not. 
 
 These cruel facts are perfectly authenticated, 
 and there is not a shadow of doubt that this dis- 
 graceful intolerance on the part of the officials in 
 Norway, as in the case of the Puritans in Eng- 
 land, was the primary cause of the first large ex- 
 odus to America. Of course there were eco- 
 nomic reasons also; the emigrants hoped to bet- 
 ter their material as well as their religious con- 
 ditions. 
 
 It should also be remembered that the common 
 people in Norway were displeased with and sus- 
 picious of the office-holding class. There were 
 many unprincipled officials, who exacted exorbi- 
 tant, not to say unlawful, fees for their services, 
 and with such officials ordinary politeness to the 
 common man was out of question. They were, 
 on the contrary, intolerably arbitrary and over- 
 bearing. Thus poverty, oppression and religious 
 persecution co-operated in turning the minds of 
 the people in Stavanger amt toward the land of 
 freedom, equality and abundance in the far West. 
 
 The man who gave the first impetus to the 
 emigration of Norwegians to America was, ac- 
 cording to all evidence, verbal and written, Kleng 
 Peerson from Tysvaer parish, of Skj0ld's preste- 
 gjeld, Stavanger amt, Norway. In the year 1821 
 he and his bosom friend, Knud Olson Eie, from 
 the same parish, left Norway and went by the 
 way of Gothenborg, Sweden, to New York to 
 make an investigation of conditions and oppor- 
 tunities in America. There is every reason to 
 believe that they were practically sent on this 
 mission by the Quakers. It is nowhere stated 
 that they were Quakers themselves, but it seems 
 to be established that they were dissenters from 
 the State Church. After a sojourn of three years 
 in America, which time they presumably spent in 
 the city of New York and in New York state, 
 they returned to Norway in 1824. 
 
 When Kleng Peerson's report about the new 
 country became known, many were caught by a 
 desire to emigrate. Lars Larson in Jeilane, the 
 man in whose house the first Quaker meetings 
 had been held in 1816, at once started to organ- 
 ize a party of emigrants. Being successful in 
 finding a number of people who were ready and 
 willing to join him, six heads of families con- 
 verted their worldly possessions into money and 
 
 purchased a sloop, built in Hardanger, which 
 they loaded with a cargo of iron. Also the skip- 
 per and mate were interested in this speculation. 
 Besides iron, they also carried whiskey. 
 
 The largest share in the enterprise was held by 
 Lars Larson, who with his thorough knowledge 
 of the English language became in all respects 
 the leader and had the general supervision of the 
 preparations for the voyage in his skillful hands. 
 The captain (Lars Olson) and the mate (Erick- 
 son) were engaged by him. 
 
 This little Norwegian "MayHower" of the nine- 
 teenth century was named "Restaurationen" (the 
 Restoration), and on the American day of inde- 
 pendence, July 4, 1825, this brave little company 
 of emigrants sailed out of the harbor of the an- 
 cient city of Stavanger. The company consisted 
 of the following fifty-two persons, chiefly from 
 Tysvaer parish, near Stavanger, as mentioned 
 above: 
 
 The Sloop Party. 
 
 Lars Olson, the captain. 
 
 Nels Erickson, the mate. 
 
 The following six families were the owners of 
 the sloop: 
 
 Lars Larson, from Jeilane, with wife. (Dur- 
 ing the voyage a daughter, Margaret Allen, 
 was born to them, Sept. 2, 1825.) 
 
 Cornelius Nelson Hersdal, with wife and four 
 children. 
 
 Thomas Madland, with wife and three children. 
 
 Johannes Stene, with wife and two children. 
 
 Oyen Thompson (Thorson), with wife and three 
 children. 
 
 Daniel Stenson Rossadal, with wife and five 
 children. 
 
 The other passengers were: 
 
 Knud Anderson Slogvig. 
 
 Simon Lima, with wife and three children. 
 
 Jacob Anderson Slogvig. 
 
 Nels Nelson Hersdal and wife (Bertha). 
 
 Sara Larson, a deaf-mute sister of Lars Larson. 
 
 Henrik Christopherson Harvig and wife. 
 
 Die Johnson. 
 
 George Johnson. 
 
 Gudmund Haukaas. 
 
 Thorstein Olson Bjaadland. 
 
 Endre (Andrew) Dahl, the cook. 
 
 Halvor Iverson. 
 
 Nels Thompson f Thorson), a brother of Oyen 
 Thompson. 
 
 Ole Olson Hetletvedt. 
 
 Andrew Stangeland. 
 
 When they landed in New York, at 10 o'clock 
 in the forenoon on the second Sunday in October 
 
43 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 (Oct. 9), they numbered fifty-three, Mrs. Lars 
 Larson having given birth to a girl baby on the 
 2d day of September. 
 
 Their fourteen weeks' journey across the ocean 
 was both romantic and perilous. When they 
 passed through the English Channel they ran in- 
 to a small port, Lisett, on the English coast, 
 where they took in fresh drinking water and 
 started to sell whiskey, which it was then pro- 
 hibited to import there. When they found out 
 how dangerous a business they had engaged in, 
 they speedily set sail and escaped. Either through 
 the ignorance of the captain or adverse winds we 
 next find them altogether out of their course, as 
 far south as the Madeira Islands. Here they 
 picked up a cask containing Madeira wine, which 
 was floating in the sea. They commenced to 
 pump and drink of its contents. The whole com- 
 pany was pretty well filled up, nobody steered the 
 sloop, and it came driving into the harbor like a 
 plague-smitten ship without cominander and 
 without any flag hoisted. A skipper of Bremen, 
 whose ship was anchored in the harbor, advised 
 them to hoist the flag instantly, or they would 
 have the guns of the fort trained on them. Those 
 were in fact already made ready for action. One 
 of the passengers, Thorstein Olson Bjaadland, 
 got hold of the flag, and with the assistance of 
 others, ran it up to the top of the mast, thus 
 averting the danger. Two custom-house officers 
 then came on board the sloop and made an in- 
 vestigation, finding everything in good order. 
 Much attention was paid to the sloop party in 
 Madeira. The American consul increased their 
 store of provisions and gave them also an abund- 
 ance of grapes, and before their departure he in- 
 vited the whole party to a grand dinner. They 
 arrived in Madeira on a Thursday and left on the 
 following Sunday, July 31, and as they sailed out 
 of the harbor, the fortress fired a salute in their 
 honor. Having experienced the above and many 
 other perils, they finally reached New York on 
 October 9. The voyage had lasted fourteen weeks 
 from Stavanger. However, all were in good 
 health when they landed. It caused a sensation 
 in New York when it became known, that the 
 Norsemen had risked their lives in so small a 
 vessel. Through ignorance or misunderstanding 
 the sloop carried more people for its tonnage 
 than the American laws permitted, and on that 
 account the skipper, Lars Olson, was arrested 
 and the vessel and its cargo of iron confiscated. 
 
 Whether the government officials out of -con- 
 sideration for our good countrymen's ignorance 
 and childish behavior raised the embargo and re- 
 leased the captain from arrest is not known. More 
 
 likely their American co-religionists, the Quakers, 
 exercised their influence in their behalf. The fact 
 is that the skipper was liberated from prison and 
 the owners got back their ship and cargo. In 
 the sale pi the cargo they were unfortunate, as 
 the ship and cargo did not bring more than $400. 
 The New York Quakers took up a collection with 
 which to help them on their way farther into the 
 country. Two families settled in Rochester; the 
 others bought land five miles northwest of Ro- 
 chester, in Morris county. Land there was held at 
 $5 per acre, but as they had no money with which 
 to buy, they got it on the installment plan, to be 
 paid in ten years. Each one got forty acres. The 
 land was heavily wooded and hard to clear up, 
 wherefore they had a very hard time of it during 
 the first four or five years. Not seldom they 
 were in real want and wished to be back in Nor- 
 way. But there was no means of getting there 
 except by sacrificing their last penny, and they 
 did not want to get back as beggars. Liberal- 
 minded neighbors, however, lent them a helping 
 hand and through their own diligence and fru- 
 gality they finally conquered their land and got 
 it in such a shape that they could make a living 
 — indeed much better than they ever could in 
 the old country. Kleng Peerson, instead of com- 
 ing in the sloop, had again gone by the way of 
 Gothenborg and was already in New York ready 
 to receive his friends. He had doubtless found 
 Quakers in New York, who were prepared to give 
 our Norwegian pilgrims a welcome and such as- 
 sistance as they needed. These Quakers showed 
 themselves in this case, as everywhere in history, 
 to be friends indeed. 
 
 The captain, Lars Olson, remained in New 
 York, while the mate, Nels Erickson, returned to 
 Norway. The leader of the party, Lars Larson, 
 also remained in New York to dispose of the sloop 
 and its cargo. Having been a ship carpenter in 
 Norway, he moved with his wife and daughter 
 to Rochester, N. Y., where he settled as a builder 
 of canal boats. He prospered, and when he died 
 in 1845 he left a handsome fortune. Thousands 
 of Norwegians on their way to Illinois and Wis- 
 consin during the following years, 1836-1845, 
 called at his hospitable home, bringing him news 
 from Norway and getting valuable advice in re- 
 turn. He went into business for himself, and 
 already in 1827 he was able to build a house in 
 Rochester, which house still stands on the origi- 
 nal site, and which probably is the oldest house 
 now in existence in America built by a Nor- 
 wegian. 
 
 (From R. B. Anderson's "First Chapter of Nor- 
 wegian Immigration.") 
 
"THE SLOOPERS" WHO CAME TO ILLINOIS 
 
 43 
 
 The "Sloopcrs" Who Came to IlHnois 
 
 Lars Larson had eight children by his wife 
 Martha Georgiana. Their oldest child was born 
 on the sloop "Restaurationen" in the middle of 
 the Atlantic Ocean, Sept. 2, 1825. This was a 
 girl, whom they named Margaret Allen, after the 
 Quaker widow with whom Lars Larson had 
 lived in London, and through whose influence 
 he had been converted to the Quaker faith. 
 Margaret Allen was in 1875 married to Mr. John 
 Atwater, at Rochester, with whom she afterward 
 moved to Chicago, where her husband became 
 a prominent lawyer and died in the '80's. The 
 famous "sloop-girl", Mrs. Atwater, who is now 
 in her 82nd year, is still alive and resides at 
 Western Springs, Cook county, 111., surrounded 
 by her family. Her son John has a printing 
 plant, and also serves as pastor of one of the 
 churches at Western Springs. 
 
 Another daughter of Lars Larson, Martha 
 Jane, was married to Mr. Elias C. Patterson, who 
 died in Rochester, N. Y., in 1879. She thereupon 
 moved to Western Springs, 111., where she is 
 still living. To Martha Jane Patterson belongs 
 the honor of being one of the first Norwegians 
 to teach in America's public schools. After hav- 
 ing taught school several years in the state of 
 New York, she came west in 1857, and became 
 a teacher in the public schools of Chicago. 
 
 As we have to deal only with those of the 
 sloop party who came to Illinois, we do not 
 mention Lars Larson's other children. 
 
 Cornelius Nelson Hersdal, born 1789, and his 
 wife Caroline (Kari), a sister of Kleng Pearson, 
 both from Tysva^r, Skj0ld, Stavanger amt, set- 
 tled in Kendall, N. Y., where he died in 1833. 
 They had seven children: Ann, Nels, Inger and 
 Martha, born in Norway and passengers on the 
 sloop; and Sarah, Peter C. and Amelia, who were 
 born in Kendall. In May, 1836, the widow, Kari, 
 came with her children to Mission township, 
 La Salle county, Illinois. She died there July 
 24, 1848. — The oldest daughter, Ann, died ten 
 years later. — The oldest son, Nels, was born 
 1816, and became a farmer in La Salle county. 
 He married Knud Iverson's daughter, Catharine, 
 and they had twelve children, of which seven 
 reached maturity. Nels died Aug. 29, 1893, at 
 Sheridan, 111., and was the last male survivor of 
 the sloop party. Inger was born in Norway, 
 Dec. 11, 1819. and was married in 1836 to Mr. 
 John S. Mitchell, of Ottawa, 111. On another 
 
 page we present a portrait and biography of her 
 son, Mr. Harley B. Mitchell, the prominent pub- 
 lisher, of Chicago. — Martha was born in Norway, 
 1823. She was married to Beach Fellows, who 
 in 1855 was elected county treasurer; afterward he 
 moved to Ottawa, where both of them died. — 
 Sarah was born in Kendall, N. Y., in 1827. In 
 1849 she was married to Canute Peterson Mar- 
 sett, who came from Norway in 1837 and later 
 became a Mormon. She seems to have been the 
 first one of Norwegian immigrants and their 
 descendants to teach public schools in America. 
 During the years 1845 and 1846 she taught district 
 school in the Fox River Settlement. — Peter C. 
 Nelson, the youngest son, was born in Kendall, 
 N. Y., in 1833. He moved from Illinois to 
 Earned, Kan., where he became a farmer, and 
 had nine children. One of his daughters, Carrie 
 Nelson, whose portrait and biographical data 
 appear elsewhere in this volume, is the wife of 
 Ex-Judge Henry W. Johnson, of Ottawa, 111. 
 Another daughter is married to Banker J. A. 
 Quam, of Sheridan, 111. 
 
 Oyen Thompson was born near Stavanger in 
 1795 and died in Rochester, N. Y., 1825. His wife, 
 Bertha Caroline, was born near Stavanger in 
 1790. The year following her first husband's 
 death she married his brother, Nels Thompson, 
 also a "Slooper," and in 1828 they moved to Ken- 
 dall, N. Y. In 1835 they came to Mission, La 
 Salle county, 111., where she died in 1844 in the 
 village of Norway. With him in the sloop Oyen 
 Thompson had three daughters. The oldest, 
 Sarah, was born 1818. With her family she came 
 to La Salle county, where her parents settled. 
 In 1837 she was married to Mr. G. Olmstead, 
 who died in 1849 from cholera. Until 1855 she 
 remained in Ottawa, 111., and was then married 
 to Wni. W. Richey, her sister Anna Maria's 
 widower. They moved to the neighborhood of 
 Marseilles, 111., and after eighteen years bought 
 a farm in Brookfield township, from where they 
 nine years later moved to Iowa. She was finally 
 divorced from Mr. Richey. She had eight chil- 
 dren — four boys and four girls; five by her first 
 husband and three by her second. One of Oyen 
 Thompson's daughters, Caroline, died in Ro- 
 chester. Another, Anna Maria, born 1819, was 
 married to the above-mentioned William W. 
 Richey, and departed this life in Mission, La 
 Salle county, in 1842. 
 
44 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Nels Thompson and Berthe Caroline had three 
 children — a daughter, Serena, died in Mission, 111., 
 1850; a son, Abraham, died at Marseilles, 111., 
 1866; and a daughter, Caroline, died in the same 
 township, 1858. Nels Thompson died in 1863. 
 
 Daniel Rosadal (Rosdal) with wife and children 
 came first to Kendall, N. Y., and in 1835 moved 
 to Fox River Settlement, where both he and his 
 wife died in 1854. They had five children with 
 them in the sloop — Ellen, Ove, Lars, John and 
 Hulda. In Kendall one child, Caroline, was born 
 to them. The son, Lars, was the first Norwegian 
 buried in the Fox River Settlement. This hap- 
 pened in 1837. One daughter, Ellen, was mar- 
 ried to Cornelius Cothrien. Ove died in Iowa, 
 but his remains were buried in Mission, La Salle 
 county. In the same township John died in 1893. 
 Ellen, Caroline and Hulda are also dead. Hulda 
 was married to Rasmus Olson, who died in 
 Sheridan in 1893. Caroline was married to Jens 
 Jacobs. They moved in 1865 to Rowe, near 
 Pontiac, in Livingston county. III., where Jacobs 
 had bought 240 acres of land. He died in the 
 fall of the same year, and his widow in 1894. 
 They had six children — five sons and one 
 daughter. The Rosadal families were Quakers. 
 
 Thomas Madland was born in Stavanger, Nor- 
 Norway, in 1778, and died the year after he came 
 to America, in 1826. He left three children in 
 Norway and brought his wife and three daugh- 
 ters with him in the sloop. These daughters were 
 Rachel, Julia and Serena. Julia, born in 1810, 
 married Gudmund Haukaas in Kendall, N. Y., 
 and died in Mission, La Salle county. III., in 1846. 
 Serena was born in 1814. She was married to 
 Jacob Anderson Slogvig, in 1831, in Kendall. She 
 came first to the Fox River Settlement and later 
 moved to San Diego, Cal. Both she and her 
 husband are dead. 
 
 Nels Nelson Hersdal stayed in Kendall from 
 1825 to 1835, when he went out to the Fox River 
 Settlement. He did not take his family there, 
 however, until 1846. Nels Nelson was known in 
 the Fox River Settlement as Big Nels. A number 
 of stories are related about his enormous 
 strength, and his language and manners are said 
 to have been somewhat lacking in refinement. 
 
 Jacob Anderson Slogvig and Knut Anderson 
 Slogvig were brothers. Jacob Slogvig came 
 from Kendall to the Fox River Settlement in 
 1835. He married a daughter of Thomas Mad- 
 land, and during the gold fever went to Cali- 
 fornia, 1850, where he became rich and died. 
 
 Knud Anderson Slogvig went back to Norway 
 in 1835 and married a sister of Ole Olson Hetlet- 
 vedt. He was instrumental in bringing about 
 
 the great emigration from Norway in 1836. He 
 returned from Stavanger in that year and in 1837 
 he is said to have gone with Kleng Peerson to 
 Missouri, where the latter tried to form a Nor- 
 wegian settlement, but things down there do not 
 seem to have pleased Slogvig, so he returned to 
 Fox River immediately. He later settled in Lee 
 county, Illinois, where he and his wife both died. 
 Gudmund Haukaas came to Kendall in 1825. 
 There he married Thomas Madland's daughter 
 Julia. They went to the Fox River Settlement 
 in 1834. He was a man of more than average 
 education and intelligence. The couple had ten 
 children. The wife died in 1846, and later Gud- 
 mund was married to Miss Caroline Hervig. In 
 Illinois he joined the Mormons and became an 
 elder of the Latter-Day Saints. He was also a 
 self-made physician and is said to have been of 
 great help to his countrymen who were sufifering. 
 He died on his farm, near Norway, 111., from 
 cholera, in 1849. One son, Thomas, became a 
 minister in the Mormon Church in La Salle 
 county, and Caroline, a daughter by his second 
 wife, is married to Dr. R. W. Bower, of Sheridan, 
 III. This couple had a son. Dr. G. S. Bower, who 
 was a physician in Ransom, about ten miles 
 northeast from Streator, La Salle county. Mrs. 
 Isabel Lewis, of Emington, Livingston county, 
 111., was a daughter of Gudmund Haukaas. 
 
 Thorstein Olson Bjaadland was born in Haa, 
 south of Stavanger, Norway, about 1795. He 
 lived five years in Kendall, N. Y.; went to Michi- 
 gan, where he learned the trade of a shoemaker; 
 returned to Kendall, and in 1834 joined the party 
 that went to the Fox River Settlement with 
 Kleng Peerson. Here he bought a few acres, 
 built a small loghouse, and prospered until the 
 Indians set fire to the prairie grass. The fire 
 consumed his loghouse together with all its 
 contents. He built another log house and re- 
 mained in Illinois until he moved to Dane county, 
 Wisconsin, in 1840, where he died a poor man 
 in 1874. 
 
 George Johnson came from Kendall to the 
 Fox River Settlement in 1835. He died from 
 cholera in 1849. He was married to a daughter 
 of "Dr." Johan Nordboe, who had taken up a 
 claim in De Kalb county, not far from Sycamore, 
 and which is still called Norwegian Grove after 
 him. George Johnson left four children. 
 
 The cook on the sloop, Andrew (Endre) Dahl, 
 first settled in Kendall, N. Y., and in 1835 came 
 to Mission, La Salle county. 111. There he mar- 
 ried Sven Aasen's widow. Later he went to 
 Utah, where he died. 
 
"THE SLOOPERS" WHO CAME TO ILLINOIS 
 
 45 
 
 Ole Olson Hetletvedt was born north of Stav- 
 anger. He went first to Kendall, thence to 
 Niagara Falls, N. Y. He dropped his surname 
 Hetletvedt in this country, and became plain Ole 
 Olson. When he came west he settled in La 
 Salle county, and about 1841 in Newark, Kendall 
 county, 111., where he died in 1849. He was the 
 first Norwegian settler in Newark. The next 
 ones were Knud Williamson and Herman Os- 
 monsen. He was an ardent Haugian and success- 
 ful lay missionary. Two of his brothers came 
 to America in 1836. One of them, Knud Olson 
 Hetletvedt, settled as a farmer in Mission town- 
 ship and died there from cholera in 1849. Hi's 
 other brother, Jacob Olson Hetletvedt, went to 
 Iowa, where he died in 1875. His widow was 
 
 married to Sven Kjylaa, and with him she moved 
 to La Salle county, Illinois. 
 
 Ole Olson had four children, three sons and 
 one daughter. The sons were Porter C, S^ren 
 L. and James Webster. The daughter's name was 
 Bertha. When the Thirty-sixth Regiment of the 
 Illinois Volunteers was formed. Porter C. got 
 together Company F., consisting mostly of Nor- 
 wegians. His two brothers enlisted in same, and 
 Porter C. Olson became its captain. He soon 
 advanced to the colonelcy of the regiment, and 
 at the time when he was killed in the battle of 
 Franklin, Tenn., he was acting brigadier-general. 
 His brother, S0ren L. Olson, was killed by a 
 shell at the battle of Murfreesboro. Their young- 
 est brother James came through the war scot free. 
 
 Porter C. Olson 
 
 Porter C. Olson, having been the most remark- 
 able soldier from Illinois of Norwegian descent 
 during the Civil War, we are going to give a 
 more explicit account of him. 
 
 As already mentioned, he was the oldest son 
 of Ole Olsen, the Slooper, and was born at 
 Manchester, near Niagara Falls, in 1831. His 
 mother was an American. When Porter C. was 
 a lad, his parents moved to Newark, Kendall 
 county, this state. His education was advanced 
 in the county schools, and he attended Beloit 
 College, Wis., during two years, 1856-58. 
 
 He then became a teacher of the district school 
 at Lisbon, 111., but when the war broke out, he ex- 
 changed the quiet of the county school house for 
 the strenuous life of the military camp. Through 
 his efforts a company was recruited among 
 the Norwegians around Newark, Helmar, Lisbon, 
 Norway, Sheridan and other places. A few of 
 the survivors are still living, among whom are 
 B. Thompson, a merchant at Sheridan, and Tor- 
 ris Johnson, a retired farmer at Newark. Arn- 
 old Schlanbusch died in March, 1906. The bi- 
 ographies of the latter two appear elsewhere in 
 this volume. The company was designated as 
 F and incorporated in the Thirty-sixth Regiment 
 of the Illinois Volunteers. They first camped on 
 the west side of Fox River, about two miles from 
 Aurora, at Camp Hammond, and started for the 
 
 seat of war on the 24th day of September, 1861. 
 Porter C. Olson followed his regiment and partic- 
 ipated in all of its bloody battles to the fatal one 
 at Franklin, Tennessee. 
 
 The above-named members of his company 
 were unanimous in expressing their appreciation 
 of and affection for their captain. They say he 
 was a modest and unassuming man of excellent 
 character. Major L. G. Bennett, who has written 
 the history of the Thirty-sixth Regiment, testifies 
 that "next after the lamented Miller none stood 
 higher or had a warmer place in the affections 
 of the men than Lieutenant-colonel Porter C. 
 Olson." 
 
 The records of this regiment state that Mr. 
 Olson commanded the regiment with great brav- 
 ery in the battle of Stone River, in December, 
 1862, and in January, 1863. In this battle General 
 Sill was killed, on Dec. 31, 1862. Colonel Greusel, 
 of the Thirty-sixth Illinois, took command of the 
 brigade, and Major Miller of the Thirty-sixth hav- 
 ing been wounded, the command of the regiment 
 devolved on Porter C. Olson. Captain Olson 
 made a full official report of the movements of 
 the regiment during those eventful days, and we 
 deem it both proper and interesting enough to 
 be preserved among the records of our early 
 Norwegian settlers, inasmuch as both Major 
 Bennett's history of the Thirty-sixth Illinois and 
 
46 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Prof. R. B. Anderson's First Chapter of Nor- 
 wegian Immigration, in which work the report 
 is copied, are out of print and consequently not 
 available for the present generation of descend- 
 ants of Norwegians. Captain Olson's report is 
 certainly a most precious historical document for 
 Norwegian-Americans. It reads as follows: 
 
 I 
 
 |;*r*' 
 
 
 ^^^HK''^ t^^l 
 
 W 
 
 i^l'S "^I^^^K 
 
 fl 
 
 i 
 
 ■'i 
 
 H 
 
 mk 
 
 .-'^^y-.-fybl-J'^^'' 
 
 Col. Porter C. Olson. 
 
 "Headquarters 36th 111. Vols., 
 
 Jan. 9, 1863. 
 "The 36th Illinois regiment, Col. N. Greusel 
 commanding, was called into line at four o'clock 
 on Tuesday morning, December 30th, 1862, and 
 stood under arms until daylight, to the left of 
 the Wilkinson pike, our right resting upon it, 
 five miles from Murfreesboro. At nine o'clock 
 a. m. we moved forward to Murfreesboro. Two 
 companies were deployed as skirmishers to the 
 right of the road and were soon engaged with 
 the enemy's skirmishers. When two miles from 
 Murfreesboro, the regiment was deployed in a 
 cornfield to the right of the pike and two com- 
 panies were sent forward as skirmishers, as 
 ordered by Gen. Sill. The regiment lay in line 
 in this field until 2 o'clock p. m. at which time 
 the whole line was ordered to advance. The 
 skirmishers kept up a sharp fire — the enemy's 
 line retreating and ours advancing. We drove 
 
 the enemy through the timber and across the 
 cotton field, a low, narrow strip stretching to the 
 right into the timber. A rebel battery, directly 
 in front of the 36th, opened a heavy fire upon 
 us. Our skirmishers advanced to the foot of the 
 hill near the cotton field and here kept up a 
 well directed fire. We were ordered to support 
 Capt. Bush's battery, which was brought into 
 position in the point of timber where our right 
 rested, and opened fire with terrible effect upon 
 the enemy. We remained as a support until 
 nearly dark, when Capt. Bush went to the rear, 
 the enemy's battery, or rather its disabled frag- 
 ments, having been dragged from the field. In 
 this day's engagement the regiment lost three 
 killed and fifteen wounded; total eighteen. We 
 occupied the hill during the night, and our 
 skirmishers were in line at the edge of the cotton 
 field. 
 
 "On the morning of December 31st, soon after 
 daylight, the enemy advanced in strong force 
 from the timber beyond the cotton field opposite 
 our right. They came diagonally across the field 
 and upon reaching the foot of the hill made a 
 left half wheel, coming up directly in front of 
 us. When the enemy had advanced up the hill 
 sufficiently to be in sight, Col. Greusel ordered 
 the regiment to fire, which was promptly obeyed. 
 We engaged the enemy at short range, the lines 
 being not over ten rods apart. After a few 
 rounds, the regiment supporting us on the right 
 gave way. In this manner we fought for nearly 
 half an hour, when Col. Greusel ordered the regi- 
 ment to charge. The enemy fled in great confu- 
 sion across the cotton field into the woods op- 
 posite our left, leaving many of their dead and 
 wounded upon the field. We poured a destruc- 
 tive fire upon them as they retreated until they 
 were beyond range. 
 
 "The 36th again took position upon the hill 
 and the support for our right came forward. 
 At this time Gen. Sill was killed, and Col. Greusel 
 took command of the brigade. A fresh brigade 
 of the enemy advanced from the direction that 
 the first had come and in splendid order. We 
 opened fire on them with terrific effect. Again 
 the regiment on our right gave way and we were 
 again left without support. Ii; this condition 
 we fought until our ammunition was exhausted 
 and the enemy had entirely flanked us on our 
 right. At this juncture Major Miller ordered 
 the regiment to fall back. While retreating, 
 Major Miller was wounded and the command 
 devolved on me. We moved back of the corn 
 field to the edge of the timber a hundred rods 
 to the right of the Wilkinson pike and two miles 
 
PORTER C. OLSON 
 
 47 
 
 from Murfreesboro, at eight o'clock a. m. Here 
 I met Gen. Sheridan and reported to him that 
 the regiment was out of ammunition and that 
 I would be ready for action as soon as I could 
 obtain it. We had suffered severely in resisting 
 the attack of superior numbers. I had now only 
 one hundred and forty men. The regiment 
 fought with great obstinacy and much is due to 
 Col. N. Greusel for his bravery in conducting 
 the regiment before being called away. Adjutant 
 Biddulph went to find the ammunition, but did 
 not succeed. I then informed Quartermaster 
 Bouton, that I needed cartridges, but he failed 
 to find any except size fifty-eight, the caliber of 
 most of the arms being sixty-nine. I was ordered 
 by Major General McCook to fall back to the 
 rear of Gen. Crittenden's corps. I arrived there 
 about ten o'clock a. m. I here obtained ammu- 
 nition, and dispatched the adjutant to report to 
 Col. Greusel the condition and whereabouts of 
 the regiment. He returned without seeing the 
 Colonel. Lieutenant Watkins soon rode up and 
 volunteered to take a message to Col. Greusel, 
 or Gen. Sheridan. He also returned without find- 
 ing either officer. I now went in search of Gen. 
 Sheridan myself; found him at 12 o'clock, and 
 reported to him the regiment (what there was 
 left of it) ready to move to the front. He or- 
 dered that I should hold the regiment in readi- 
 ness and await his commands. 
 
 "At 2 o'clock p. m. I received orders from 
 Gen. Sheridan to advance to the front to the left 
 of the railroad and connect my command tem- 
 porarily with Col. Leibold's brigade. We were 
 here subject to a very severe artillery fire. A 
 twelve-pound shell struck in the right of the 
 regiment and killed Lieutenant Sdren L. Olson, 
 [a brave and faithful officer, commanding Com- 
 pany F and a brother of Col. Porter C. Olson], 
 Corporal Riggs, and wounding three others. At 
 dark we were moved by Liut. Denning one 
 quarter of a mile to the rear, where we remained 
 for the night. At three o'clock in the morning 
 of the first of January, 1863, by order of Gen. 
 Sheridan, we marched to his headquarters on 
 the Nashville pike, a distance of half a mile, 
 where at daylight I reported to Col. Greusel. 
 As ordered by him we took position to the right 
 of Capt. Bush's battery, fronting west. We built 
 a barricade of logs and stone and remained 
 through the day ready to receive the enemy, but 
 no attack was made. On the morning of the 
 second, the regiment was in line at four o'clock; 
 stood under arms until daylight. We remained 
 ready for action through the day until four 
 o'clock p. m., when, by order of Col. Greusel, 
 
 we moved to the right on the line formerly oc- 
 cupied by Gen. Davis. During the night con- 
 siderable skirmishing occurred on our front. On 
 the morning of that 3rd instant the regiment 
 stood under arms from four o'clock until day- 
 light. At eight o'clock a. m., by order of Col. 
 Greusel, we changed position to the right and 
 somewhat to the rear, letting our right rest upon 
 the Nashville pike. On the morning of the 
 fourth we were under arms at four o'clock. No 
 fighting occurred on our part of the line during 
 the day. In the action throughout, the regiment 
 behaved in the most gallant manner. The offi- 
 cers, with only a single exception, distinguished 
 themselves for bravery and coolness. The men 
 with unflinching courage were always ready, 
 and met the enemy with determination to con- 
 quer. I tender my thanks to Adjutant (George 
 G.) Biddulph for the gallant and efficient man- 
 ner in which he assisted me, and also to the 
 other officers for their gallant action through- 
 out the strong conflict, which resulted in victory. 
 I append to this report a list of casualties. 
 
 (Signed) Porter C, Olson. 
 
 "Captain, Commanding 36th Illinois Volunteers." 
 
 General Rosecrans writes in his report of the 
 battle: "The firing was terrific, and the havoc 
 terrible. The enemy retreated more rapidly than 
 they had advanced. In forty minutes they lost 
 two thousand men." And General P. H. Sheridan 
 writes of this bloody engagement: "I refer with 
 pride to the splendid conduct, bravery and ef- 
 ficiency of the following regimental command- 
 ers, and the officers and men of their respective 
 commands: Major Silas Miller, 36th Illinois, 
 wounded and a prisoner; Capt. P. C. Olson, 
 36th III." This regiment suffered more than 
 any other in that battle, and the list of the dead 
 and wounded fills two whole closely printed 
 pages in Bennett's History of the Thirty-sixth 
 Illinois. 
 
 From the condition of his health, Colonel N. 
 Greusel, on Feb. 9, 1863, felt constrained to 
 tender his resignation, and Captain Jenks, of 
 Company A, Cavalry, was promoted to take his 
 place. "He was a man of excellent abilities, of 
 fine taste and culture, a man whom to know was 
 to esteem," says Mr. Bennett; "but unfortunately 
 he found himself in a position equally unpleasant 
 for himself and the regiment. It was felt that the 
 two companies of cavalry attached to the 36th 
 Illinois, being so distinct in organization and 
 service, ought not to be reckoned in the line of 
 promotion, but that the regiment officers should 
 be taken from the regiment itself. This feeling 
 
48 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 was so intense that neither kindness nor discipline 
 could overcome it. At one time it seemed so 
 high that it almost threatened jnutiny, when 
 Colonel Jenks wisely resigned and returned to 
 his profession, in which he proved himself so 
 successful." The result was that Captain Porter 
 C. Olson again took command of the regiment. 
 
 On the 11th of May, 1863, Olson was regularly 
 appointed lieutenant-colonel, and took command 
 of the regiment for Silas Miller, who had re- 
 ceived a commission as colonel, but was still a 
 prisoner at Libby and did not return till May 
 32. "The promotion of Olson was," says Ben- 
 nett, "highly honorable to that worthy officer, 
 whose fidelity and courage, tested both in camp 
 and field, had won the confidence of the regi- 
 ment. The appointment, too, will never cease 
 to be equally honorable to Major George D. 
 Sherman, who, though himself a ranking officer 
 and entitled to the position, recommended Capt. 
 Olson." 
 
 In the battle of Chickamauga the Thirty-sixth 
 Illinois also suffered terribly. It was in that 
 battle that the gallant Colonel Hans E. Heg was 
 shot on the 19th of September and died on the 
 following day. We again quote in regard to 
 Olson from Bennett's History: "In the mean- 
 time the fiery conflict grew more desperate and 
 deadly. Col. Miller, on whom the command of 
 the brigade devolved, gallant as ever; Lieut. -Col. 
 Olson, brave to a fault, and Major Sherman, 
 true and unflinching, were everywhere conspicu- 
 ous, encouraging the men by their example to 
 wring from unwilling hands of fate the victory 
 which was denied." 
 
 At the battle of Mission Ridge Colonel Olson 
 again commanded the regiment and led it into 
 the thickest of the fight. 
 
 On Feb. 2, 1864, the regiment returned to 
 Chicago, and a few days later to Aurora, where 
 it was reorganized and started for the South 
 again on the 19th of March, with Miller as 
 colonel and Porter C. Olson as lieutenant-colonel. 
 
 How popular Olson was may be gained from 
 the fact that the ground on which his regiment 
 camped near Cowan, Tenn., was called Camp 
 Olson. From June until August 24 Olson was 
 absent from the regiment on account of sick- 
 ness, but upon the death of Colonel Silas Mil- 
 ler he returned and resumed command. On the 
 23d day of September, 1864, one hundred and 
 twenty-seven men and one officer, whose three 
 years of service had expired, were mustered out 
 and took leave of their comrades. Being drawn 
 up in line, they were addressed in a speech by 
 Colonel Olson who "reviewed their connection 
 
 with the regiment, honored their fidelity, and 
 exhorted them to be true to the country, as 
 citizens at home, while their comrades continued 
 to bear the hardships of camp and field." 
 
 The bloody fight and slaughter at Franklin, 
 Tenn., occurred on Nov. 30. For his successful 
 resistance and victory in this battle General 
 Scofield was in a large measure indebted to the 
 unflinching courage of Colonel Olson and the 
 gallant Thirty-sixth in checking and delaying 
 the march of Hood's army until the works at 
 Franklin were strengthened. It was a delicate 
 and dangerous duty to clear the pike and hold 
 it open to enable the troops from Columbia to 
 pass without interruption, and Colonel Olson 
 with his regiment was selected to do this. 
 
 In the battle of Franklin Colonel Olson was 
 everywhere among his men with words of cheer 
 and encouragement, and utterly regardless of 
 his own life and safety. Shortly after reaching 
 the works he was struck by a musket ball, which 
 entered his breast and passed through his body 
 in the region of the heart. H« fell instantly, 
 but in falling he requested Lieutenant Hall of 
 Company E to take him to the rear. Assisted 
 by Sergeant Yarnell of Company G, they carried 
 him to the shelter of a brick house standing 
 near the works, when, perceiving that he was 
 failing fast, the lieutenant called to Captain Bid- 
 dulph to attend to the regiment as the colonel's 
 wound was mortal. Yarnell wrenched a window 
 shutter from the house, and on this the bleed- 
 ing body of their commander was placed and 
 hurriedly borne to the rear, while musket balls 
 and cannon shot were striking around them in 
 fearful quantities. 
 
 They were none too soon in reaching the river 
 to secure the last vacant place in an ambulance 
 in which he was tenderly placed by the side of 
 the wounded color-bearer, Mr. Zimmer. Then 
 taking a last look at their dying chief, they hur- 
 ried back to the trenches, resumed their position 
 in the line and fought bravely to the end. The 
 colonel's life ebbed rapidly away and in a half- 
 conscious state the pious, God-fearing soldier 
 feebly whispered: "Oh, help me, Lord!" These 
 were his last words, and his heart was still. His 
 noble spirit had taken its flight to rest. L. G. 
 Bennett closes the chapter on Colonel Porter 
 Olson's death with these eloquent and striking 
 words: "When brave Olson fell, a cold tremor 
 thrilled along the line. At any other time than 
 in the face of the enemy and under a murderous 
 fire the men would have sat down and cried like 
 children over his untimely fate. Brave, generous, 
 
PORTER C. OLSON 
 
 49 
 
 earnest and faithful, none had stood more honest- 
 ly by the men or been more true to the country 
 than he. Always present in the perils, and hard- 
 ships of the 36th, he had shared them all and 
 won his way into the hearts and affections of 
 the men, making a record of glory that will 
 never be closed up or forgotten, though his 
 
 mild, intelligent and thoughtful face. This grand 
 life resulted from the immigration of his father, 
 Ole Olson Hetletvedt, in the Sloop, in 1825, and 
 the first settler in what is now the village of 
 Newark. 
 
 Colonel Olson's remains rest in the little 
 cemetery on the ridge near Millington, a station 
 
 Monument of Col. Porter C. 
 
 mangled remains may moulder and lay hidden 
 from sight in an unknown and unmarked grave. 
 The name of Porter C. Olson will live forever, 
 and be handed down along the imperishable 
 ages, indissolubly linked with the fame of the 
 immortal Thirty-Sixth." 
 
 Colonel Olson's portrait shows a peculiarly 
 
 Olson, Millington Cemetery, 111. 
 
 on the C, B. & Q. Railroad's Fox River Branch, 
 between Yorkville and Sheridan. Through the 
 courtesy of one of the men who fought by his 
 side, Mr. Torris Johnson of Newark, we are 
 enabled to present a picture of the monument 
 erected on Porter C. Olson's grave as well as 
 an image of the Colonel himself. 
 
50 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 The First Farm Owned by a Norwegian West of 
 
 the Great Lakes 
 
 The last couple to survive of those who em- 
 barked in the sloop on July 4, 1825, were Nels 
 Nelson Hersdal and his wife Bertha. Mrs. Nel- 
 son died in 1882 and Mr. Nelson in 1886. The 
 last male survivor was Nels Nelson, Jr., a son of 
 Cornelius Nelson and nephew of Kleng Peerson. 
 He was born in Tysvaer parish, Norway, June 
 29, 1816, and died at Sheridan, 111., Aug. 29, 1893. 
 His wife, Catherine Evenson, died in Sheridan, 
 July 24, 1906. Mr. J. A. Quam is now adminis- 
 tering her estate, and her son, Cornelius, is liv- 
 ing on and owns the old homestead. Her father, 
 Knut Evenson, came to America in 1831. He set- 
 tled in Kendall, N. Y., and both he and his wife 
 died there. Catherine came with friends to La 
 Salle county, Illinois, in 1839. Nels Nelson was 
 usually styled Jr., to distinguish him from Nels 
 Nelson Hersdal, Sr. Nels Nelson, Jr., and his 
 wife Catherine had ten children, four of whom 
 are now living, three daughters and a son. The 
 son, whose name is Cornelius, lives on the farm 
 in Mission township, La Salle county, purchased 
 for his grandmother, Carrie (Kari) Nelson, the 
 widow of Cornelius Nelson, by Kleng Peerson, 
 
 before she moved to Illinois in 1836. On this 
 farm — which is the W. half S. W. quarter S. 33, 
 T. 35, R. 5 E., 3 P. M. — she built a log house 
 shortly after her arrival and made her home 
 there until she died, July 24, 1848. This farm be- 
 came the property of her son, Nels Nelson, Jr., 
 the last male survivor of the sloop party, and 
 now his son, Cornelius, has it. The original log 
 house still stands, but has been sided over and 
 a larger frame building has been added to it; it 
 still serves as a home for a grandchild of a 
 Slooper. We speak thus fully of this farm because 
 it is beyond all doubt the first farm selected by 
 a Norwegian in America west of the Great 
 Lakes, and it would not be out of place to com- 
 memorate the event by a small monument in 
 honor of Mrs. Carrie Nelson's brother, Kleng 
 Peerson, of Hesthammer, Tysvser parish, Skj0ld 
 district, Stavanger county, Norway. Perhaps it 
 was on this land he lay down and rested and had 
 his memorable dream, mentioned on another 
 page. At all events this is the first piece of land 
 selected by a Norwegian in the great North- 
 west. 
 
 Claims and First Improvements 
 
 Future generations will inquire not only how 
 this country appeared before the hand of civilized 
 man had marred its virgin beauty, but how the 
 first comers managed to live, to protect them- 
 selves from the elements and to procure the 
 means of subsistence; how they met the varied 
 requirements of civilization to which they had 
 been accustomed, and with what resignation they 
 dispensed with such as could not be had. 
 
 If correctly told, it would be a tale of intense 
 interest; but it would require a master hand to 
 draw a picture that would §how the scene in all 
 
 of its details — personal experience alone could 
 fully unfold the tale. When a new-comer ar- 
 rived, he first selected a location where he could 
 make his future home; and the question natural- 
 ly arises, of whom did he get permission to oc- 
 cupy it? The answer might be given in the lan- 
 guage usually used when defining political or 
 civil rights — everyone was free to do as he 
 pleased so he did not interfere with his neigh- 
 bor. When the government had extinguished the 
 Indian title the land was subject to settlement, 
 either before or after survey. The settler had 
 
CLAIMS AND FIRST IMPROVEMENTS 
 
 51 
 
 no paper title, but simply the right of possession, 
 which he got by moving onto and occupying it; 
 this gave him the right to hold it against all others 
 till some one came with a better title, which bet- 
 ter title could only be got by purchasing the fee 
 of the government, when surveyed and brought 
 into market. The right of possession thus ob- 
 tained constituted what was called a claim. These 
 were regarded as valid titles by the settlers, and 
 were often sold, in some instances for large 
 amounts. Pre-emption laws were passed at dif- 
 ferent times by Congress, giving to claimants 
 who had made certain specified improvements 
 the exclusive right to purchase the premises, at 
 the minimum price of $1.25 per acre; provided, 
 they would prove their pre-emption, and pay for 
 the same before they were offered for sale by 
 the governrnent. The conditions required were 
 possession or cultivation, and raising a crop, the 
 amount of the crop not being specified. A rail 
 fence of four lengths was often seen on the prai- 
 rie, the ground inclosed spaded over and sown 
 with wheat. 
 
 When settlers, by mistake, got a pre-emption 
 on the same quarter section, they were entitled 
 to a claim on eighty acres more, to be selected 
 by themselves; they received a certificate of such 
 claim, it being called a float, and was frequently 
 laid on improvements, doing great injustice. 
 
 But there was always an understanding among 
 the settlers that each claimant should be pro- 
 tected in his claim if he had no pre-emption, pro- 
 vided he would attend the sale when advertised, 
 by proclamation of the President, bid the mini- 
 mum price, and pay for it. The settlers usually 
 attended the sale in a body, and although any 
 person had a legal right to bid on any claim not 
 pre-empted, and it had to be sold to the highest 
 bidder, it was not considered a safe thing to bid 
 on a settler's claim, and it was seldom done. 
 When attempted, the bidding speculator usually 
 got roughly handled, and found discretion the 
 better part of valor. Eastern speculators often 
 complained of this, claiming that they were de- 
 prived of their legal right to compete in the open 
 market for the purchase of these lands; but the 
 settlers replied that they had left the comforts 
 and luxuries of their Eastern homes, braved the 
 dangers and privations of a new country, and 
 here made their homes, cultivating and reclaim- 
 ing these wild lands and preparing the way for 
 advancing civilization, and that they had a sacred 
 right to the improvements, and the right to pur- 
 chase the fee of the land, as the land and im- 
 provements must go together. And they were 
 right. 
 
 The fault lay in the government ever selling 
 the land in any way except by pre-emption and 
 to actual settlers. The government gained noth- 
 ing by offering it at public sale, as the average 
 price obtained, during a long term of years, was 
 only $1.27 per acre, only two cents over the mini- 
 mum price which would have been paid by ac- 
 tual settlers, not enough to pay the additional 
 cost; and the purchase by speculators enhanced 
 the price and retarded the settlement of the 
 country, forcing the settler to live isolated, with- 
 out society, schools and churches; and it made 
 the honest immigrant pay from $300 to $1,000 
 more for gach eighty acres than the government 
 price, and this went to the man who did noth- 
 ing for the country, but sat in his Eastern home 
 and pocketed the amount. 
 
 The claim question had a morality of its own, 
 and while at a distance, and from a certain stand- 
 point, it had the appearance of mob law, and was 
 so stigmatized, here where it could be properly 
 understood and appreciated it was sustained by 
 the purest and best of men; not only so, but an 
 actual settler was never known to oppose it. If 
 ever an equitable and just right existed, it was 
 that of the claimant pioneer to the land he occu- 
 pied. 
 
 The nomenclature was peculiar and expressive. 
 When a man made a claim he was said to squat, 
 and was called a squatter, and from that came 
 the phrase "squatter sovereignty." When the 
 claimant left his claim the first occupant could 
 have it. If he left it temporarily to visit his 
 friends, or on business, and another embraced 
 the opportunity to possess it, the latter was said 
 to jump the claim. Each settlement usually had 
 an association where such disputes were settled; 
 and the state enacted laws making claims trans- 
 ferable, notes given for claims valid, for protect- 
 ing the claimant from encroachment of others, 
 and ousting jumpers. A claim jumper often 
 found his way a hard road to travel. 
 
 This nomenclature was often expressively ap- 
 plied to other matters. If a young man paid 
 marked attention to a young lady he was said 
 to have made a claim; if it was understood they 
 were engaged he was said to have a pre-emp- 
 tion and if another cut him out he was said to 
 have jumped his claim. 
 
 When the settler had selected his location, or 
 made his claim, his first attention was directed 
 to procuring a shelter for himself and family. 
 If in the vicinity of others already provided he 
 was readily welcomed to share their scanty ac- 
 commodations, two and frequently three families 
 together occupying a cabin with one room, per- 
 
53 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 haps 12x14 feel, more or less. But if far re- 
 moved from neighbors he had to occupy his cov- 
 ered wagon in which he came, sleeping in or 
 under it, and cooking and eating in the open air, 
 or some other rude contrivance, frequently a tent 
 made of blankets, till a shelter could be provided. 
 This was usually a log cabin, for raising of 
 which help was needed. When help was not 
 'available, his cabin must be built of such logs or 
 poles as could be handled with the aid of his 
 family. In raising a log cabin strength as much 
 as skill is required. What were termed corner 
 hands — one at each corner, or where hands were 
 scarce, one for two corners — should have some 
 experience. The bottom log must be saddled or 
 .cut to a sloping edge, or angle, to receive the 
 cross log, which nius-t be notched to fit the sad- 
 dle. A failure, requiring the log to be taken out 
 to be refitted, was sure to bring some pleasant 
 raillery on the culprit. If well done, a door or 
 window can be cut, and the parts of the logs will 
 remain firm in their place, but if not a perfect 
 fit. when a space is cut for the door, the accumu- 
 lated weight from above will bring the logs not to 
 fit at the corner and throw the ends at the cut- 
 ting wide from their place. When the walls were 
 completed, or about ten feet high, the gables 
 were carried up by laying on logs, each short- 
 ened in succession, to give the proper slope for 
 the roof, and held by straight logs, or large 
 poles, placed about three feet from and parallel 
 with the plate, rising upward to receive the shin- 
 gles, resting on and holding the short logs at the 
 gables, and terminating with a ridge pole at the 
 center of the building and top of the roof. On 
 these were placed long shingles or boards, four 
 feet long, laid double, so the top course broke 
 joints with the first, on which was laid another 
 log. or pole, held by a pin at each end; this pole 
 held the shingles in place without nailing, and 
 each succeeding course was laid and fastened in 
 the same way. The floor was made of split logs, 
 hewn on the split side, and spotted onto the 
 sleepers on the round side, so as to make a tol- 
 erably smooth surface; these were called punch- 
 eons. 
 
 The chimney was built outside the building at 
 one end. A hole was cut through the logs for a 
 fireplace. This was made of timber, lined with 
 stone or clay for four or five feet, and then with 
 a crib of sticks plastered inside with clay mor- 
 tar. The spaces between the logs were filled 
 with pieces of split timber, called chinking, and 
 plastered inside and out with clay mortar, mak- 
 ing a warm and comfortable house; but snow 
 and rain, when falling with a high wind, would 
 
 get inside through the clapboard roof — and 
 where leisure and means justified, a roof of 
 boards and short shingles wa-s substituted. 
 
 A one-post bedstead was made as follows: 
 Bore a hole in a log four feet from the corner of 
 the room, and insert a rail six feet long; then 
 bore a hole in the log on the other side of the 
 room six feet from the same corner, and insert 
 the opposite ends of these rails where they meet, 
 in a post, which completes the frame; then lay 
 slats crosswise from the side to the log opposite, 
 or to a rail pinned on the log at the proper 
 height, and the one-post bedstead is complete, 
 on which the weary pioneer slept as sweetly as 
 on the most costly one. 
 
 These rough buildings were quite comfortable, 
 and, as most of our old settlers could testify, 
 witnessed much of real enjoyment. Some of 
 America's greatest men were born and raised in 
 such a dwelling. 
 
 A shelter provided, the next thing was to pre- 
 pare to raise whereon to su'bsist. The prairie 
 region offered ?dvantages for an occupant far 
 superior to a timbered country; in the latter an 
 immense amount of labor had to be done to clear 
 the timber, and for years the stumps prevented 
 free cultivation; while on the prairie the sod had 
 to be turned, and the crop put in. 
 
 At an early day the sod was turned by an ox 
 team of six to ten yoke, with a plow that cut a 
 furrow from two to three feet wide. The plow 
 beam, which was from eight to twelve feet long, 
 was framed into an axle, on each end of which 
 was a wheel sawed from an oak log; this held 
 the plow upright. It was a heavy, unwieldy- 
 looking apparatus, but it did good work; and the 
 broad black fii'rrow, as it rolled from the plow, 
 was a sight worth seeing. 
 
 The nice adjustment and filing of the coulter 
 and broad share required a practised hand, as a 
 slight deviation in the tip of the share, or even 
 filing the coulter, would throw the plow on a 
 twist and require a strong man to hold it in 
 place; but if nicely done the plow would run a 
 long distance without support. 
 
 This was the primitive American plow, but 
 Yankee ingenuity soon found that a smaller plow 
 and less team did cheaper and better work. 
 
 It was found that the best time to break the 
 sod was when the grass was rapidly growing, as 
 it would then decay quickly, and the soil soon 
 be mellow and kind; but if broken too early or 
 too late in the season, it would require two or 
 three years to become as mellow as it would be 
 in three months when broken at the right time. 
 
CLAIMS AND FIRST IMPROVEMENTS 
 
 53 
 
 Very shallow plowing required less team, and 
 would mellow much sooner than deep breaking. 
 The first crop was mostly corn, planted by 
 cutting a gash with an ax into the inverted sod, 
 dropping the corn, and closing it by another 
 blow alongside the first. Or it was dropped in 
 every third furrow and the furrow turned on; if 
 the corn was so placed as to find the space be- 
 tween the furrows, it would find daylight; if not, 
 it was doubtful Corn so planted would, as cul- 
 tivation was impossible, produce a partial crop, 
 sometimes a full one. Prairie sod turned in June 
 would be in condition to sow with wheat in Sep- 
 tember, or to put in with corn or oats the spring 
 following. Vines of all kinds grew well on the 
 fresh-turned sod, melons especially, though the 
 wolves usually took their full share of these. 
 After the first crop the soil was kind, and pro- 
 duced any crop suited to the climate. But when 
 his crops were growing the settler was not re- 
 lieved from toil. His chickens .mu'st have shelter 
 and Be closed at night to protect them from the 
 owls and wolves; his pigs required equal protec- 
 tion; and although his cows and oxen roamed 
 on the wide prairie in a profusion of the richest 
 pasture, still a yard must be made for his cows 
 at night, and hir; calves by day. The cows were 
 turned in with the calves for a short time at 
 night, and then the calves turned on the prairies 
 to feed during the night. In the morning the 
 calves were turned in and the cows turned out 
 for their day's pasture; this was necessary to in- 
 duce the cows to come up at night, for if the 
 calves were weaned the cows would fail to come. 
 And the stock all needed some protection from 
 the fierce wintry blast, though sometimes they 
 got but little. Add to this the fencing of the 
 farm, the outbreedings, hunting the oxen and 
 cows on the limitless prairies through the heavy 
 dews of late evening and early morning, going 
 long distances to market and to mill, aiding a 
 newcomer to build his cabin, fighting the prairie 
 fires which swept over the country yearly, and 
 with his family encountering that pest of a new 
 country, the fever and ague and other malarious 
 disease's, and the toil and endurance of a settler 
 in a new country may be partially, but not fully 
 appreciated. 
 
 A visitor from the Eastern states has often 
 taunted the toiling pioneers with such remarks 
 as these: "Why do you stack out your hay and 
 grain?" "Why don't you have barns, comfortable 
 houses, stables for your cattle, and other con- 
 veniences as we have?" He should have been an- 
 swered: "You are enjoying the fruits of the la- 
 bor of generations of your ancestors, while we 
 
 have to create all we have. We have made nec- 
 essarily rude and cheap shelters for ourselves 
 and animals, have fenced our farms, dug our 
 wells, have to make our roads, bridge our 
 streams, build our schoolhouses, churches, court- 
 houses and jails, and when one improvement is 
 complete another want stares us in the face." 
 All this taxed the energies of the new settler to 
 the extent of human endurance, and many fell 
 by the way, unable to meet the demands upon 
 their energies. 
 
 The wonder is that so much has been accom- 
 plished; that so many comforts, conveniences and 
 luxuries have crowned the efforts of our people; 
 that we have reached a point for which two cen- 
 turies of effort might well have been allowed. 
 Political and financial theorists have tauntingly 
 told the farmers of Illinois that they know noth- 
 ing of finance except what wiser heads have told 
 them; that they have made nothing by farming, 
 and would be poor except for the advance in 
 price of their farms. 
 
 These Solons should be told that it is the toil 
 of those farmers that has made their farms in- 
 crease in price; their toil has clothed them with 
 valuable improvements, planted orchards and 
 fruit gardens, made roads and bridges, converted 
 a wilderness into a land of beauty, and made it 
 the happy abode of intelligent men. All this had 
 to be done to make these farms advance in price, 
 and those who have done this and raised and 
 educated their families have done well; and if 
 the advance in the price of their farms has given 
 them a competence it is what they anticipated 
 and nothing but the most persevering industry 
 and frugality would have accomplished it. 
 
 In addition to the labor and multitude of cares 
 that beset the newcomer he had to accomplish 
 all of it under disadvantages, and to encounter 
 dangers that of themselves were sufficient to dis- 
 courage men not of stern resolve. Traveling un- 
 worked roads and crossing streams without 
 bridges was often a perilous adventure. Many 
 were the hairbreadth escapes which most of the 
 early settlers can recall and which in later years 
 were never referred to without a thrill of emo- 
 tion. Up to the time of building the first bridge 
 over the Vermillion there was a record of twen- 
 ty-five persons drowned in that treacherous 
 stream within a distance of ten miles — all 
 drowned in attempting to ford the stream. It 
 was a common remark that when a man left 
 home in the morning it was very uncertain 
 whether his wife's next dress would be a black 
 one or of some other color. 
 
 Crossing the wide prairie at night with not 
 
54 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 even the winds or stars for guides, was a very 
 uncertain adventure, and often the wayfarer 
 traveled till exhausted and encamped till the 
 morning light came to guide him on his way. 
 In warm weather, although an unpleasant ex- 
 posure, this was not a dangerous one; and al- 
 though the sensation of being lost is more irk- 
 some and the lonely silence in the middle of a 
 prairie, broken only by the howl of the v^olves, 
 is more unpleasant than one inexperienced would 
 imagine, and the gnawing of a stomach innocent 
 of supper adds much to the discomfort, it all 
 passes with the night and a brighter view and 
 happier feeling dawns with the breaking morn. 
 But crossing the trackless prairie when covered 
 with a dreary expanse of snow, with the fierce, 
 unbroken wintry blasts sweeping over its glis- 
 tening surface, penetrating to the very marrow, 
 was sometimes a fearful and dangerous experi- 
 ence. No condition could inspire a more per- 
 fect idea of lonely desolation, of entire discom- 
 fort, of helplessness and of dismal forebodings, 
 than to find one's self lost on the snow-covered 
 prairie, with no object in sight in any direction 
 
 but the cold, undulating snow wreaths, and a 
 dark and tempestuous winter night fast closing 
 around his chiDed and exhausted frame. His sa- 
 gacious horse, by spasmodic efforts and continu- 
 ous neighing, shows that, with his master, he 
 appreciates the danger, and shares his fearful 
 anticipations. With what longing the lost one 
 reflects on the cosy fireside of his warm cabin, 
 surrounded by his loved ones, which he fears he 
 may never see; and when the dark shadow of 
 night has closed around and shut in the land- 
 scape, and chance alone can bring relief, .' joy- 
 ous neigh and a powerful spring from his noble 
 horse calls his eye in the direction he has taken, 
 he sees over the bleak expanse a faint light in 
 the distance, toward which his horse is bounding 
 with accelerated speed, equally with his master 
 cheered and exhilarated by the beacon light, 
 which the hand of affection has placed at the 
 window to lead the lost one to his home. Nearly 
 every early settler had some such experience, 
 while some never reached the home they sought, 
 but, chilled to a painless slumber, found the 
 sleep that knows no waking. 
 
 IN WHAT CONDITION DID THE FIRST NORWEGIAN SETTLERS FIND THE 
 TRACT, ON WHICH THEY SETTLED? 
 
 The close of the Black Hawk war in 1832 
 found the settlers in embarrassed circumstances. 
 In the north part of La Salle county the crops 
 had been destroyed by the Indians, and all the 
 farms had necessarily been neglected, while the 
 owners were in the army, or seeking shelter in 
 the fort. Still some raised tolerable crops, and 
 there was not much suffering. In 1833, the year 
 before the first Norwegians under the leadership 
 of Kleng Peerson arrived, as it was understood 
 that the Indian troubles were fully settled, im- 
 migrants came in rapidly. The demand for pro- 
 visions of all kinds, and for everything raised by 
 the settlers was fully equal to the supply, and 
 for some articles in excess, the deficiency being 
 supplied by the boats in the river trade. Prices 
 were high as they always are where the demand 
 exceeds the supply, and were everywhere becom- 
 ing inflated as the speculative times of 1835-37 
 were approached. 
 
 The farmers of Illinois have hardly seen more 
 prosperous times, excepting for the last few 
 years, than the settlers enjoyed from the close 
 of the Black Hawk war to 1837 — that is, those 
 who had farms under improvement, and produce 
 to sell. Those who were making improvements 
 had to buy at such prices as the older settlers 
 
 saw fit to ask. This fact throws light upon the 
 easiness with which our Norwegian newcomers 
 could secure work. Wheat was about $2.00 a 
 bushel; corn and oats, $1.50; though the prices 
 varied in different neighborhoods, as the propor- 
 tion of old and newcomers preponderated. 
 
 All newcomers were consumers, and not pro- 
 ducers for the first year or two, unless they 
 could buy an improved farm, and that reduced 
 their dependence u'pon the means they brought 
 with them. But a poor man could always find 
 employment, and if he arrived without money 
 he could get provisions for his family and pay 
 in labor, as labor was the great need of the coun- 
 try. He could buy anything the country con- 
 tained with labor. Building houses, stables, pens 
 and yards, making rails, fencing, and breaking 
 prairie, called for stout and willing hands. A 
 good worker, such as our Norwegians, was a 
 great acquisition, but a drone had no place 
 among the hardy pioneers. 
 
 Many subjects connected with the occupancy 
 and settlement of a new country are not con- 
 tained in the narrative of passing events. In the 
 next chapter we narrate the deeds of that great 
 "White Man's Friend," the Indian chief Shab- 
 bona. 
 
SHABBONA 
 
 55 
 
 Shabbona 
 
 Shabbona shares with Shakespeare the distinc- 
 tion of having his name spelled in an endless 
 number of ways. We intend to accept the one in 
 which it is spelled in the official records of today, 
 where places are named after the great chief, as 
 for instance Shabbona Grove, a station on the 
 Chicago & Northwestern Railway, and Shab- 
 
 of his life in La Salle county, and often visited 
 Ottawa and other parts of the county. He was 
 a chief of the Pottawatomie Indians, whn lived 
 in the vicinity, ?nd was well known to the early 
 settlers. His kindness and friendship for the 
 whites, and the timely warning he gave them to 
 escape from the murderous fury of Black Hawk 
 
 Shabbona. 
 
 bona, a village of 1,000 inhabitants with a station 
 on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway. 
 
 Most of the early Norwegian settlers and 
 many of their descendants in La Salle and 
 Grundy counties remember the large and manly 
 form of Shabbona. He spent the last few years 
 
 and his tribe, endeared his memory to the early 
 pioneers and their descendants. And it is but 
 fitting that the history that perpetuates the mem- 
 ory of the whites of that day should carry with 
 it some recollection of their Indian friend. 
 
 Shabbona was physically a noble specimen of 
 
56 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 his race — over six feet in height and large in 
 proportion; erect, and commanding in his bear- 
 ing, he at once inspired respect. 
 
 He had been a distinguished warrior, but 
 evidently was disposed to the more quiet pur- 
 
 great Algongtiin family, which embraces the 
 Winnebagos, Chippewas, Pottawatomies and 
 others who had a common origin and similar 
 language. 
 
 When a young man Shabbona emigrated with 
 
 Shabbona's Daughter, her husband, Chief Kick-Kock, and their daughter. 
 
 suits of peace. He was honest, truthful and 
 trustworthy, and exhibited most of the virtues 
 and a few of the vices of the red man when 
 brought in contact with civilization. He was 
 of the Ottawa tribe, and was born on the banks 
 of the Ottawa River, in Canada, about 1775. 
 The Ottawas were the leading tribe of the 
 
 a part of his tribe to Michigan; was a friend and 
 companion of the great Tecumseh, was bis aid, 
 and was fighting by his side when that great 
 warrior was killed at the battle of the Thames, 
 in 3 813. Shabbona said that when Tecumseh 
 fell he looked about and saw the British all run- 
 ning, the Indians all running, and then he ran 
 
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A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 too. From that time he forsook the alliance of 
 the British and became the friend of the United 
 States. 
 
 All of the Algonguin tribes were under French 
 influence, and took sides with them in all their 
 wars with Great Britain and her colonies, and 
 when the French possessions, by the treaty of 
 1763, passed into the hands of Great Britain, they 
 mostly took sides with Great Britain against the 
 United States, and their defeat at the battle of 
 the Thames partially, at least, separated the 
 Northwestern Indians from British influence. 
 
 Shabbona became peace chief of the Potta- 
 watomies, from which tribe he is said to have 
 procured his wife. He opposed Black Hawk's 
 proposed war en the whites, and prevented the 
 Pottavvatomies from joining the Sauks; and when 
 he found the war inevitable he lost no time in 
 warning the settlers of La Salle and adjoining 
 counties of their danger, and thus saved many 
 valuable lives. The settlers at Indian Creek were 
 warned by Shabbona in ample time to reach a 
 place of safety, but his advice was unheeded, and 
 they paid the penalty with their lives. He ef- 
 fectually aided the whites in that contest, and 
 in consideration of his services the government 
 reserved a tract of land for his use at Shabbona's 
 Grove, in what is now De Kalb county, and gave 
 him a pension of $200. 
 
 In 1837, when the last of his tribe moved onto 
 a reservation west of the Mississippi, Shabbona 
 went with them, but was not satisfied, and re- 
 turned with his family — children and grand- 
 children, thirty persons in all — to his reserva- 
 tion. At the solicitation of his tribe he again 
 went west; but his residence there was an u'n- 
 quiet one. His favorite son was killed in a dif- 
 ficulty with some of the Sauks, who had a res- 
 ervation in the vicinity. The difiiculty is said 
 to have grown out of the aid Shabbona rendered 
 the whites in the Black Hawk war, which was 
 remembered by the Sauks in true Indian fashion. 
 
 With his family he returned to Illinois in 1855, 
 and remained till his death, in 1859, aged 84 
 years. 
 
 During Shabbona's absence some speculators 
 represented to the government that he had aban- 
 doned his reservation, and it was sold. He felt 
 hurt at this injustice and said: "Shabbona has 
 nothing now." George E. Walker, an old friend, 
 and his companion in the Black Hawk war, said 
 to him: "Shabbona, while I have a bed and a 
 crust you shall share them with me;" and Shab- 
 
 bona always made Walker's home his home, 
 when in Ottawa. The citizens of Ottawa raised 
 by subscription an amount sufficient to purchase 
 twenty acres of land near Seneca, in Grundy 
 county, and erected comfortable buildings on the 
 same, where Shabbona and his family lived till 
 his death, July 17, 1859.*) His squaw, Poka- 
 moca, who was enormously fleshy, weighing 
 about 400 pounds, was drowned in Mazon creek, 
 Nov. 20, 1864, aged 86 years and was buried by 
 his side. She was born, where Chicago now is, 
 about 1778. 
 
 In 1861 subscriptions were taken up in many 
 of the river towns, to erect a monument over the 
 remains of Shabbona, but, the war breaking out, 
 the enterprise v^as abandoned. Only a large 
 stone marks the resting place of this friend of 
 the white man. 
 
 Over the victims who were massacred on 
 the Indian Creek in 1832, during the "Black 
 Hawk" war, the state of Illinois caused a fine 
 granite monument to be erected, which was ded- 
 icated on Aug. 27, 1906. We present here a 
 picture of the monument taken on the day of 
 dedication. It is located in a little park between 
 Ottawa and Freedom which, in honor of the 
 "White Man's Friend," has been narhed Shab- 
 bona Park. 
 
 The persistent friendship of the old Indian for 
 the whites, under injustice from the government, 
 shows strongly the firmness 'of the Indian char- 
 acter; while their hates are bitter, vindictive and 
 cruel, their love and gratitu'de are equally last- 
 ing. 
 
 The story of Shabbona is a severe commentary 
 on the barbarism of civilized man, who would 
 sweep the Red Man from existence, and who says 
 "there are no good Indians but dead ones." That 
 vindictive crueltj' which characterizes the savage 
 under real or fancied provocation actuates, with 
 increased intensity, those pretended sharers of 
 our boasted Christian civilization who would 
 strike with remorseless efifect a fallen race, and 
 extinguish at a blow the sad and melancholy 
 remnant of a once powerful people, brought to 
 the verge ofr extinction by the diseases, vices and 
 wrongs of a pretended Christian people. 
 
 *) Shabbona's remains were laid in lot 59, block 
 7, in the Morris cemetery with elaborate ceremony 
 and grateful regard of the whole county. Here 
 rest also eight of his family, five of whom were 
 Ills children or grandchildren. 
 
KLENG PEERSON 
 
 Kleng Peerson 
 
 59 
 
 We will now consider the career of that re- 
 markable man, Kleng Peerson Hesthammer. He 
 was born on a farm called Hesthammer, in Tys- 
 ver parish, Skjold district, Stavanger amt, Nor- 
 way, May 17, 1782. That date thirty-two years 
 later became remarkable in the history of Nor- 
 way, as it was on May 17, 1814, that that country 
 adopted its constitution as a free and independ- 
 ent kingdom. In his earlier years he became a 
 dissenter and inspired the organization of the 
 sloop party in 1825. With the aid of Jos. Fellows 
 and other American Quakers he selected Kendall, 
 Orleans county. N. Y., as the location of the first 
 Norwegian settlement. From 1825 to 1833 there 
 is no record of his whereabouts, but he probably 
 spent much of the time in Kendall and Rochester, 
 N. Y. In 1833 we find him in company with a 
 Quaker from Tysver, Ingebret Larson Narvig, 
 who had come from Norway in 1831, and another 
 man, whose name we do not know, on his way 
 to the far West. Ingebret Larson Narvig left 
 him at Detroit and went to work for a farmer in 
 . Michigan. Kleng continued the journey west- 
 ward until he reached La Salle county, Illinois, 
 and there selected the location of the second 
 Norwegian settlement. The Kendall and Fox 
 River settlements are his everlasting glory. But 
 he was a restless fellow. The records of La 
 Salle county show that he bought 160 acres of 
 land (of which 80 acres were for his sister), but 
 he never settled on it. Many of the early set- 
 tlers in La Salle county were his relatives. He 
 did not care to work. But little he needed for 
 his support, and this he got largely from his rel- 
 atives and friends. He was a man of strict in- 
 tegrity and performed any matter entrusted to 
 him with scrupulous honesty. He considered 
 himself as the pathfinder and father of the Nor- 
 wegian immigration. At the homes where he vis- 
 ited he would ask the housewife for her knitting 
 work and request her to make coffee. He would 
 then lie down on the bed and knit and drink 
 cofifee and talk about his extensive travels. He 
 was an excellent storyteller and consequently a 
 welcome visitor everywhere. 
 
 In his domestic relations he had been unfortu- 
 
 *) The compiler gladly takes this opportunity of 
 acknowledging his obligations to Professor Rasmus 
 B. Anderson's remarkable book, "The First Chapter 
 of Norwegian Immigration", both for this chapter in 
 toto and other valuable extracts and quotations. 
 
 nate. A veil is spread over the details, because 
 the ones who knew did not wish to tell. It is 
 known, however, that he was married in Norway 
 to a woman by the name of Catharine, before he 
 went to America in 1821. She was much older 
 than he and had considerable property, but they 
 did not pull together well under the marital yoke. 
 At any event, he abandoned her, and Catharine 
 probably did not lose her sleep on account of his 
 departure. In 1847 we find him in the well known 
 Swedish Bishop Hill Colony, in Henry county, 
 Illinois, where he married a Swedish woman by 
 the name of Charlotte Marie, belonging to Eric 
 Janson's colony. In the same colony lived at the 
 same time Lars Tallakson, whose hat Kleng bor- 
 rowed for the wedding. It is. however, due to 
 Kleng to add that he stated before marrying 
 Charlotte Marie, in 1847, that his first wife Cath- 
 arine, in Norway, was then dead. Charlotte Marie 
 died from cholera in 1849. 
 
 Kleng Peerson was a proud man and essen- 
 tially an adventurer. He married the woman in 
 Norway probably more on account of her means 
 than for love, as he desired very much to get 
 into possession of her property. As he did not 
 succeed, he left her, declaring he would get along 
 without either her or her property. She must 
 have been one of the strong-headed and determ-- 
 ined kind, and she is said to have told him that 
 he could have his dear America for himself, if 
 he only left her alone. The writer must admit 
 that, notwithstanding Kleng's own testimony, he 
 is not satisfied that Kleng's Norwegian wife Cath- 
 arine really was dead when he married the Swed- 
 ish woman, Charlotte Marie, at Bishop Hill. 
 
 According to a letter from his niece, Mrs, 
 Bishop Sarah A. Peterson, of Ephraim, Utah, a 
 daughter of the Slooper Cornelius Nelson, to 
 Prof. R. B. Anderson, in 1895, Kleng Peerson 
 spent all his time trying to do good to the stran- 
 gers that came, and was always colonizing and 
 finding homes for orphans. He carried children 
 on his back for miles to get good places for them. 
 If he secured a place for them and they were 
 not treated well he took them away. In this way 
 he made both friends and enemies. He was not 
 a man that did menial work. He traveled and 
 kept busy trying to do good to others for very 
 little thanks. Mrs. Peterson adds: "For my own 
 part, I shall always feel thankful to him for be- 
 ing the means of getting my parents to come to 
 this splendid country, and particularly for the 
 fact that I am in Utah." Mrs. Peterson's bus- 
 
60 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 band was Canute Peterson Marsett, who came 
 to America in 1837 and afterward became a Mor- 
 mon bishop of Ephraim, Utah. 
 
 It is said of Kleng that he spoke English flu- 
 ently, could read French, and was able to make 
 himself understood among the Germans; thus 
 with the Norwegian he had the command of four 
 languages. He was a most interesting talker. To 
 the Americans he was able to describe the land- 
 scapes and life of Norway; to his countrymen 
 he could give an account of soil and climate in 
 various parts of the far West. People gathered 
 around him wherever he came, to listen to- his 
 reports and stories, and when Kleng came to a 
 neighborhood the day was usually turned into a 
 holiday. Under such circumstances it is easy to 
 understand that he did not need to work, and 
 that his few necessaries were supplied without 
 his being a mendicant, and he was satisfied with 
 very little. He was a carpenter by trade, and 
 what he earned, when he occasionally did work, 
 he gave freely to his countrymen who needed as- 
 sistance. 
 
 The next glimpse we get of Kleng Peerson, 
 after he had founded the Fox River Settlement, 
 is in Shelby county, in the northwest corner of 
 Missouri, in the year 1837. There he also started 
 a Norwegian settlement, but it not only did not 
 receive any important accretions, but many of 
 the settlers left it a few years later and founded 
 another settlement called Sugar Creek, in Lee 
 county, Iowa, about eight miles west of Keokuk. 
 Kleng must have been across the Mississippi be- 
 fore 1837, because he had already selected the 
 location for the settlement when, in 1837, in 
 company with Jacob Anderson Slogvig, Anders 
 Askeland and twelve others, he went from La 
 Salle county to Missouri. Writers have com- 
 plained that Shelby county was badly chosen, 
 but Andrew Simonson, who was one of the party 
 and was still living in 1879, wrote in a Norwegian 
 newspaper that "no settlement ever founded by 
 Norwegians in America had a better appearance 
 or better location than this very land in Shelby 
 county, of which the Norwegians took possession 
 at that time, and which they in part still own." 
 
 It should be remembered that Missouri was a 
 slave state, a fact which was very distasteful to 
 the Norwegians, and Shelby county was far from 
 any market. It being reported that there was 
 good land to be had in Lee county, Iowa, Kleng, 
 at the request of Andrew Simonson and others, 
 went there to inspect it, and the result was that 
 Simonson and the majority of the settlers in 
 Shelby county moved to Lee county, for the sake 
 of nearer market, but Mr. Simonson maintains 
 
 that they did not get as good land as they left 
 in Missouri. At all events, Kleng became the 
 founder both of the settlement in Shelby county, 
 Missouri, and of that in Lee county, Iowa, the 
 former in 1837, and the latter in 1840. Kleng pur- 
 chased eighty acres of land in Shelby county. 
 To recruit the colony there, he went to Norway 
 in 1838, and in 1839 we find him bringing back 
 with him a lot of immigrants. He did his re- 
 cruiting in the neigborhood of Stavanger, and on 
 arriving in New York he proceeded with them 
 to Cleveland, where he decided to take them by 
 way of the Ohio River to Missouri. His reason 
 for so doing was that Anders Askeland and the 
 well known Jacob Slogvig had gone back to La 
 Salle county, dissatisfied, and Kleng feared that 
 if he went by way of the Fox River Settlement 
 his recruits might be persuaded not to proceed 
 with him to his settlement in Missouri. 
 
 In 1842 Kleng made a third visit to Norway. 
 He carried letters from America to various per- 
 sons in Norway. In May, 1843, we find him a 
 passenger on board the bark Juno, which sailed 
 from Bergen for New York with eighty pas- 
 sengers. 
 
 In 1847 he sold his eighty acres of land in 
 Shelby county, Missouri, and joined the Swedish 
 Bishop Hill Colony, in Henry county, Illinois. 
 The money he got for his farm he contributed to 
 Eric Janson's communistic society. Here he mar- 
 ried the Swedish woman mentioned before, but 
 he soon got disgusted with the peculiar life in 
 that colony, and, as he said, "robbed of all he 
 possessed, and sick in body and mind," he went 
 from Henry county back to his old Fox River 
 Settlement, where he remained until his health 
 was restored. 
 
 In 1849 during the cholera epidemic from which 
 his Swedish wife in Bishop Hill died, he made 
 his first visit to Texas. He went there evidently 
 at the suggestion of Dr. Johan Nordboe, who 
 had then for several years lived five miles south 
 of Dallas. Kleng visited Johan Nordboe, made 
 some explorations in various parts of Texas, went 
 as far west as within a few miles of Fort Worth, 
 and returned to the Fox River Settlement in 
 1850, full of enthusiasm for Texas. The rest of 
 his life is best told in a letter to Prof. Anderson 
 from O. Canuteson: "In 1850 my father, with his 
 family, came to my uncle, Halvor Knudson, in 
 Illinois. My mother had died from cholera on 
 the way from Chicago to Ottawa. In Ottawa we 
 found Kleng Peerson, just back from Texas, and 
 on his advice, and on his promise to be our 
 guide, we concluded to go to Texas. He stayed 
 with us the three years we lived in Dallas county. 
 
KLENG PEERSON 
 
 61 
 
 and when we moved to Bosque county, in 1854, 
 he came with us, not as the leader then, but as 
 a follower, being too old to undertake leadership 
 any more. The last years of his life he had his 
 home with O. Colwick (Kj0lvig), but would, of 
 course, go around among his neighbors, where 
 he was always welcome and felt at home. He 
 died December 16, 1865. One of his neighbors 
 and I were with him the last hours of his life. 
 I closed his eyes in the long sleep of death. He 
 was buried in the Lutheran cemetery opposite 
 the Norwegian church near Norse P. O., in Bos- 
 que county, and the Norwegians in Texas after- 
 ward put a small stone monument on his grave, 
 with the following inscription, written both in 
 Norwegian and in English: 
 
 'CLENG PEERSON, 
 
 The First Norwegian Immigrant 
 
 Came to America in 1821. 
 
 Born in Norway, Europe, May 17, 1782. 
 
 Died in Texas, December 16, 1865. 
 
 Grateful countrymen in Texas erected this 
 
 monument to his memory.' " 
 
 Mr. Canuteson contributed $15 to this monu- 
 ment, and superintended the matter of collecting 
 funds and having it made. 
 
 In Texas Kleng Peerson owned half a section 
 of land and a few cows, and all this property he 
 gave to O. Colwick, the latter agreeing to take 
 care of him the rest of his life. 
 
 Kleng Peerson was a dissenter from the church 
 of Norway, and although he did not personally 
 join the society, he was in sympathy with the 
 Quakers. He was "grub-staked" by the Friends 
 in Stavanger for his first journey to America, in 
 1821, and by the help of the Quakers in New 
 York he not only selected Kendall as the place 
 of the first settlement, but also secured financial 
 aid to transport the sloop people from New York 
 to Kendall. He also had the help of Quakers in 
 securing land in the second settlement, in La 
 Salle county. While he admired the Quakers, he 
 gradually drifted more and more away from all 
 churches, and the fact is that before he died he 
 had lost all faith in the Christian religion. O. 
 Canuteson, who lived in the same house with him 
 for many years in Texas, who was with him in 
 his dying hours, and who closed his eyes in death, 
 says: "I was intimately acquainted with Kleng 
 
 Peerson from 1850 until his death in 1865. He 
 was the most pronounced free thinker I have 
 ever known. I remember his having an old Dan- 
 ish free-thinking book, translated from the Ger- 
 man. He believed little or nothing of the Bible, 
 especially of the supernatural part thereof. 
 Whether he at any time had belonged to the 
 Quakers I can not say positively, but time and 
 again I heard him talk about them as models in 
 religious and temporal matters, and I heard him 
 talk about getting assistance, aid and comfort 
 from Elias Tastad of Stavanger, Norway, he be- 
 ing their leader in that city." 
 
 Kleng Peerson was thoroughly unselfish in his 
 character, and he devoted his life largely to the 
 service of his countrymen. While he never had 
 what may properly be called a home after he left 
 Norway, he spent his time and his scanty means 
 in getting homes for others. In Kendall and in 
 Illinois he secured land for his relatives and 
 friends. When he had nothing of his own to 
 give away he begged from the rich and gave to 
 the poor. 
 
 His great services to Norwegian immigration 
 deserve to be remembered and appreciated, and 
 with all his eccentricities and shortcomings his 
 countrymen will look upon him as a benefactor 
 to his race and as an honest and benevolent man. 
 
 Kleng Pearson's Dream. 
 
 Kleng Peerson stated that when exploring in 
 La Salle county the land which was afterward 
 occupied by his countr5'men, becoming weary, he 
 lay down under a tree, slept, and dreamed, and 
 in his dream he saw the wild prairie changed to 
 a cultivated region, teeming with all kinds of 
 grain and fruits, most beautiful to behold; that 
 spacious houses and barns stood all over the 
 land, occupied by a rich, prosperous and happy 
 people. He awoke refreshed, and, nerved anew 
 by his dream, went back to his countrymen in 
 New York and persuaded them to emigrate to 
 Illinois. Kleng's dream may have been dreamed 
 awake, but it has been fully realized. The early 
 days of the Norwegian settlement were days of 
 poverty and toil, and repeated suffering from 
 the Asiatic cholera; but they have surmounted 
 their trials, and are now% as seen in Kleng Peer- 
 son's dream, a wealthy, prosperous and happy 
 people. 
 
62 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Prairie Fires 
 
 The yearly burning of the heavy growth of 
 grass on the prairie, which had occurred from 
 time immemorial, either from natural causes or 
 from being set by human hands, was continued 
 after the white settlers came in and was a source 
 of much annoyance, and frequently of severe loss. 
 From the time the grass would burn, which was 
 soon after the first frost, usually about the first 
 of October, till the surrounding prairie was all 
 burnt over, or, if not all burnt, till the green 
 grass in the spring had grown sufficiently to 
 prevent the rapid progress of the fire, the early 
 settlers were continually on the watch, and, as 
 they usually expressed the idea, "slept with one 
 eye open." When the ground was covered with 
 snow and during rainy weather the apprehension 
 was quieted, and both eyes could be safely closed. 
 
 A statute law forbid setting the prairie on fire, 
 and one doing so was subject to a penalty and 
 liable in an action of trespass for the damage 
 accruing. But convictions were seldom effected, 
 as the proof was difficult, though the fire was 
 often set. 
 
 Fires set on the leeward side of an improve- 
 ment, while very dangerous to the improvements 
 to the leeward, were not so to the windward, as 
 fire progressing against the wind is easily extin- 
 guished. 
 
 Imagine the feelings of the man who, alone in 
 a strange land, has made a comfortable home 
 for his family; has raised and stored his corn, 
 wheat, oats and fodder for stock, and has his 
 premises surrounded by a sea of standing grass, 
 dry as tinder, stretching away for miles in every 
 direction, over which the wild prairie wind howls 
 a dismal requiem, and knowing that a spark or 
 match applied in all that distance will send a sea 
 of fire wherever the wind may waft it; and con- 
 scious of the fact that there are men who would 
 embrace the first opportunity to send the fire 
 from outside their own fields, regardless of whom 
 it might consume, so it protected their own. 
 
 Various means were resorted to for protection; 
 a common one was to open with a prairie plow 
 several furrows around a strip, several rods wide, 
 outside the improvements, and then burn out the 
 strip; or wait till the prairie was on fire and then 
 set fire outside, reserving the strip for a late 
 burn, that is, till the following summer, and in 
 July burn both old grass and new. The grass 
 would start immediately, and the cattle would 
 feed it close in preference to the older grass, so 
 that the fire would not pass over it the following 
 
 autumn. This process repeated would soon, or 
 in a few years, run out the prairie grass, and in 
 time the land would become stocked with blue 
 grass, which will never burn to any extent. But 
 all this took time and labor, and the push of busi- 
 ness on the hands of a new settler, of which a 
 novice has no conception, would prevent him 
 doing what would seem a small matter; and all 
 such effort was often futile; a prairie fire driven 
 by a high wind would often leap all such barriers 
 and seem to put human effort at defiance. A 
 prairie fire when first started goes straight for- 
 ward with a velocity proportioned to the force 
 of the wind, widening as it goes, but the center 
 keeping ahead; it spreads slowly at the sides, and 
 if the wind is moderate and steady the fire is not 
 difficult to manage; but if the wind veers a point 
 or two, first one way and then the other, it sends 
 the side fire beyond combat. The head fire in 
 dry grass and with a high wind is fearful, and 
 pretty sure to have its own way unless there is 
 some defensible point from which to meet it. A 
 contest with such a fire requires an engineering 
 skill and tact which can be learned only by ex- 
 perience, and a neigborhood of settlers called out 
 by such an exigency at once put themselves un- 
 der the direction of the oldest and most exper- 
 ienced of the number, and went to work with the 
 alacrity and energy of men defending their homes 
 and property from destruction. 
 
 The usual way of meeting an advancing fire 
 was to begin the defense where the head of the 
 fire would strike, which was known by the smoke 
 and ashes brought by the wind long in advance 
 of the fire. A road, a cattle path or a furrow 
 was of great value at such a place, if there were 
 none such, a strip of the grass could be wet, 
 if w^ater could be procured, but it was usually 
 scarce at the time of the annual fires. On the 
 outside, or side next the coming fire, of such road' 
 or path, the grass was set on fire, and it burned' 
 slowly against the wind till it met the coming 
 conflagration, and then stopped of course for 
 want of fuel, provided there had been time to- 
 burn a strip that would not be leaped by the 
 head fire as it came in. This was called back- 
 firing; great care was necessary to prevent the 
 fire getting over the furrow, path or whatever 
 was used as a base of operations. If »l got over 
 and once under way there was no remedy but to 
 fall back to a more defensible position, if there 
 was one. 
 
 If the head of the fire was successfully checked. 
 
PRAIRIE FIRES 
 
 63 
 
 then the forces were divided, half going to the 
 right and half to the left, and the back-firing con- 
 tinued, to meet the side fires as they came up; 
 this had to be continued till the fire was checked 
 along the entire front of the premises endangered, 
 and the sides secured. 
 
 Various implements were used to put out a side 
 or back fire, or even the head of a fire in a mod- 
 erate wind. A fence board, about four to six 
 feet long, with one end shaved down for a han- 
 dle, was very effective, if struck flat upon the nar- 
 row strip of fire. A bundle of hazel brush did 
 very well, and a spade or shovel was often used. 
 The women often lent their aid; their weapon 
 was usually the kitchen mop, which, when thor- 
 oughly wet, was very efficient, especially in ex- 
 tinguishing a fire in a fence. When the fire over- 
 came all opposition, and seemed bound to sweep 
 over the settlement, a fear of personal loss would 
 paralyze, for the moment, every faculty; as soon 
 as that fact seemed imminent united effort ceased, 
 and each one hastened to defend his own as best 
 he could. It is due to historical truth to say that 
 the actual losses were much less than might have 
 been expected, though frequently great. The 
 physical efforts made in extinguishing a danger- 
 ous fire, and in protecting one's home from the 
 devouring element, were very often severe, and 
 in more than one instance resulted fatally. 
 
 The premises about the residences and yards, 
 being tramped by the family and domestic ani- 
 mals, after a year or two, became tolerably safe 
 from fire, but the fences, corn and stubble fields 
 were frequently burnt over. When the prairie 
 was all fenced and under cultivation the denizens 
 of the prairie were happily released from the con- 
 stant fear and apprehension which for years had 
 rested like a nightmare on their quiet and happi- 
 ness, disturbing their sleep by night and causing 
 anxiety by day, especially when called from 
 home, knowing that on their return they might 
 look on a blackened scene of desolation instead 
 of the pleasant home they had left. And when 
 returning after a day's absence the sight of a fire 
 in the direction of home, although it might prove 
 to be several miles bevond, would try the mettle 
 of the team by putting them to a speed propor- 
 tioned to the anxiety of the driver. And here 
 it may be well to throw a little cold water over 
 the thrilling and fearful stories, got up to adorn 
 a tale, of hair-breadth escapes of travelers and 
 settlers from prairie fires. Such stories are not 
 told by the old settlers, who know whereof they 
 speak. It is true, a family might encamp in the 
 middle of a dense growth of dry grass and let a 
 fire sweep over their camp, to their serious in- 
 
 jury. But with ordinary intelligence and caution 
 a traveler on the prairie needed to have no fear 
 of a fatal catastrophe, or even of any serious 
 danger. If the head of a fire were approaching it 
 was usually an easy matter to get to one side of 
 it until it had passed and then pass over the side 
 fire onto the burnt prairie, which can easily be 
 done by getting on a spot of dry, rolling prairie, 
 where the grass is seldom more than eight or 
 twelve inches high. Or, if the head fire is too 
 wide, and its speed too great to allow of getting 
 around it, then at once set a fire to the leeward, 
 and when it has burnt a short distance put out 
 the fire on the windward side of the place of 
 setting and pass onto the burnt prairie and fol- 
 low the fire till far enough from the dry grass 
 to be out of danger. There were places on low, 
 moist prairie bottoms, or sloughs, where the 
 grass and weeds were much heavier than on dryer 
 land, and their burning was terrific and danger- 
 ous. But these places could be avoided, as an ap- 
 proaching fire could be seen a long distance, giv- 
 ing time to prepare for its coming. 
 
 The early settlers have a vivid recollection of 
 the grand illuminations nightly exhibited in dry 
 weather, from early fall to late spring, by num- 
 berless prairie fires. The horizon would be lighted 
 up around its entire circuit. A heavy fire, six 
 or seven miles away, would afford sufficient light 
 on a dark night to enable one to read fine print. 
 When a fire had passed through the prairie, leav- 
 ing the long lines of side fires, like two armies 
 facing each other, the sight at night was grand; 
 and if one's premises were securely protected he 
 could enjoy such an exhibition hugely, free of 
 cost; but if his property were exposed his enjoy- 
 ment of the scene was like a very nervous per- 
 son's appreciation of the grand and majestic roll 
 of thunder — the sublimity of the scene lost in the 
 apprehension of danger. 
 
 A PRAIRIE BLIZZARD. 
 
 Related by a Norwegian Pioneer. 
 
 We had loaded our sleigh with wood and 
 started for home when a big storm came up. 
 We knew that a newcomer had recently settled 
 near where we were, and, knowing that it would 
 be impossible to get home in such a storm we 
 set out to find him. With our load of wood 
 and the oxen we tumbled around in the snow 
 until we ran into a haystack of about three loads. 
 Adjoining the stack was a hole in the ground 
 where a cow stood, fairly well covered with 
 brush and hay. We took our oxen up to the 
 
64 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 stack and went to look for shelter for ourselves. 
 We finally located another hole in the ground 
 on a little knoll, where a few windows and a 
 door indicated that it was a human habitation. 
 It was indeed a miserable home, but we were 
 glad for having found it, and went in. The wife 
 was home alone, her husband having started out 
 for the nearest neighbor to borrow a little meal, 
 for they had nothing to eat in the house. We 
 warmed up a little and asked her what we could 
 do with our oxen. She said she knew of no 
 place unless we could get them into the cellar 
 where we were, but added that the door was 
 probably too small. We measured the door and 
 went out to the haystack, but found our oxen 
 gone. We thought that they were lost to us 
 forever. Heartbroken, we returned to the cellar. 
 There was not a stick or piece of wood to burn, 
 and it was uncomfortably cold. As a last resort 
 we broke the cradle to make a little fire, and 
 with this the woman baked a few pancakes out 
 of middling meal and divided them between us 
 and the children. I asked her whether she and 
 the babies were not very hungry. She said they 
 were, but that it had been worst the first day, 
 for afterward they became so weak that they did 
 not mind it much. But it was worst for the chil- 
 
 dren. They begged and implored for something 
 to eat; and besides it was so cold that they had 
 to keep to their beds most of the time. 
 
 Water was all they could get, and this had to 
 be melted from snow, and for fuel there was 
 nothing but the furniture. We were there for 
 three days before the storm moderated enough 
 to enable us to go out and look for our oxen. 
 We found them frozen to death a distance from 
 where we had left them. We were thankful to 
 God that he had led our footsteps to a shelter, 
 for many a man lost his life in that storm. 
 * * * 
 A Cloudburst. 
 
 Another catastrophe happened to us the fol- 
 lowing summer. A rain which came down in 
 sheets swept the barren prairie, and my sod 
 house had not been built to withstand such angry 
 elements. The water poured in through the roof. 
 In fact I believe more came in to us than did 
 outside. 
 
 It gradually rose so high that wife and chil- 
 dren had to get into bed and I stationed myself 
 in the door with a bucket and bailed it out. In- 
 deed, the newcomer's experience during those 
 early days was not a pleasant one. 
 
 The Bandits of the Prairies 
 
 The settlemeijts in northern Illinois became 
 in the year 1837 infested with a band of desper- 
 ate characters familiarly known as the "Bandits 
 of the Prairies." Their favorite pursuit was 
 horse stealing. The scattered population was 
 mostly confined to the edge of the timber, while 
 the broad prairie was unoccupied. This fact gave 
 them an opportunity to travel with their illgot- 
 ten steeds unmolested to Missouri, Kentucky and 
 Iowa. Their success in the horse line soon em- 
 boldened them to try other branches, and bur- 
 glary, robbery and murder were not unfrequent. 
 If a settler had money in his house it would in 
 some way become known to the gang, which 
 would go after it. In one instance a settler had 
 $700 in a trunk under his bed; the robber en- 
 tered the house and took out the trunk while the 
 man and his wife were conversing; the robber 
 
 afterward told the conversation as proof that he 
 had heard it. It was done during a violent thun- 
 der storm, and when the thunder rolled heavily 
 he would draw the trunk, and when it ceased, 
 hold on till another thunder crash, and thus he 
 got the prey without attracting notice. The 
 thieves became a terror to the settlers, especially 
 to the female portion. It is a part of the relig- 
 ion of a new country never to refuse shelter to 
 a benighted traveler; and at the time named it 
 was impossible to discriminate between the 
 worthy stranger and the bandit of the prairie. 
 And the stranger taken in, instead of proving 
 an angel, often broke the slumber of his host by 
 appearing at his bedside with a pistol, demand- 
 ing his valuables. The civil authorities seemed 
 entirely indififerent, or at least inefficient; in 
 many instances they were suspected of complic- 
 
THE BANDITS OF THE PRAIRIES 
 
 65 
 
 ity with the gang. If arrested, they would break 
 jail, or by some technical quibble escape the 
 meshes of the law. They became very bold in 
 some localities, stealing cattle or anything they 
 could lay their hands on. The gang seemed to 
 pervade all branches of business. The grand jury 
 of La Salle county found several true bills 
 against a butcher in Ottawa for stealing cattle, 
 and it was conclusively proved that the citizens 
 of Ottawa had, although unconsciously, lived for 
 months on stolen beef. The jury were very cau- 
 tious, in presenting the bills, to have a warrant 
 issued before the butcher could suspect their ac- 
 tion; but he knew it as soon as they did, and 
 left for parts unknown. 
 
 The murder of Mr. Davenport, at midday, on 
 the Fourth of July, alarmed the whole country. 
 One of the gang, by the name of Birch, a shrewd 
 man, but an accomplished scoundrel, was ar- 
 rested for being concerned in the murder, and 
 was identified as the man who, a short time be- 
 fore, in the guise of a Methodist preacher, stayed 
 over night with Jeremiah Strawn, a wealthy 
 farmer of Putnam county; attended prayers with 
 Brother Strawn, and a night or two after went 
 through his house, taking all his valuables, while 
 an accomplice held a pistol to Strawn's head to 
 keep him quiet. Birch was brought to Ottawa 
 as a witness, but not used. He shrewdly offered 
 to expose the gang and his trial was put off for 
 several months, to get his testimony. He sub- 
 sequently broke jail, stole the jailer's horse, rode 
 him about a hundred miles, and left him ruined. 
 He wrote back to the sheriff, apologizing for his 
 rudeness in not taking formal leave, after so 
 much kindness shown him while an inmate of 
 
 his family; said he only borrowed the horse, but 
 believed he had ruined him, and hoped he would 
 be excused for both offenses, as his business 
 was urgent. 
 
 That was the last heard of Birch. Exasperated 
 beyond measure, smarting under the loss of 
 property, and living in continual fear, the people 
 came to the conclusion that self-preservation is 
 the first law in nature; that they had a right to 
 protection from the law; if that could not be 
 had, then they must have it in some other way. 
 
 Vigilant societies for arresting criminals and 
 bringing them to punishment were formed, and 
 deep mutterings were heard, indicating a feeling 
 that was destined to reform the state of society. 
 One of these societies was formed in the north- 
 ern part of the state, and a man by the name 
 of Campbell was chosen captain. Campbell was 
 a Canadian, a man of great energy and decision 
 of character. The gang were alarmed, and re- 
 solved to dispose of him. One Sunday after- 
 noon two men by the name of DriscoU called at 
 Campbell's front gate, and inquired of Campbell's 
 daughter for her father. Campbell came to the 
 gate, when, without saying a word, they shot 
 him through the heart, and coolly rode off. The 
 next day the people assembled, took three of the 
 Driscolls, tried them by a jury of their own, 
 found two of them guilty, gave them an hour to 
 say their prayers, and shot them. They then re- 
 solved to serve every thief they caught in the 
 same way. The effect was most salutary. It 
 struck terror to the gang, and many of them 
 sought a healthier clime. Prompt and sure pun- 
 ishment will ever cause the law to be respected. 
 
 Indian Character and Customs 
 
 Accounts of Indian warfare, trade and treaties 
 do not give an inside view of Indian character. 
 One of the earliest settlers said that Indians were 
 fond of athletic sports, and of contests with the 
 whites in jumping, running, hopping, wrestling, 
 etc. In wrestling they never tripped, and com- 
 plained of unfairness when the whites did so. 
 In all such contests they proved inferior to the 
 whites in both strength and agility. This might 
 
 indicate less vitality, and one cause of their rapid 
 decadence. They were very fond of a trial of 
 skill in shooting at a mark, and very proud of 
 being the victors. They would resort to a vari- 
 ety of devices to accomplish that object. When 
 their opponent was taking aim they would com- 
 mence the most savage and unearthly yells for 
 the purpose of unsteadying his nerves — an ob- 
 ject they frequently accomplished. There was 
 
6t) 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 no trick they would hesitate to perpetrate. If 
 they could get their competitor's rifle they would 
 secretly strike the sight with their knives, mov- 
 ing it to one side, so as thereby to win the stake. 
 They were not addicted to stealing, but would 
 sometimes fall into temptation in that direction. 
 
 A Mr. Grove tended mill, and frequently sold 
 flour to the squaws. His practice was to sell by 
 the handful, and after delivering the number 
 agreed for, the squaws would invariably grab one 
 handful more, for which he would sometimes box 
 their ears; they would be very angry and curse 
 him roundly in the Indian jargon, when he would 
 give them another handful to appease their 
 wrath. They would at once call him good, good, 
 and become the best of friends. They gleaned 
 in the wheat fields, and, like Boaz of old, the 
 owners would drop a little now and then for the 
 gleaners. They frequently bought a few bun- 
 dles, but always came back dissatisfied, saying, 
 "Big straw, little wheat." They were seldom 
 satisfied with a trade, but would come back 
 wanting something more. There is no proof 
 that this was innate; it doubtless resulted from 
 being generally overreached in the bargains they 
 made with the whites. 
 
 They were usually fast friends, and never for- 
 got a kindness. They were on the best of terms 
 with the settlers; would sometimes come into the 
 settlers' houses in the night and lie down by the 
 fire, where they would be found in the morning. 
 
 A settler of Freedom stated that the first win- 
 ter he was on Indian Creek he was engaged in 
 cutting and hewing timber for building purposes. 
 The Indians would be around nearly every day, 
 watching the process with apparently the deep- 
 est interest. They would speculate on the direc- 
 tion the tree would fall, while being cut, and 
 when it fell would seem to enjoy it hugely; they 
 would then go to the stump and appear to ad- 
 
 mire the nice, smooth cutting of the white man's 
 ax, so different from their rude instruments; they 
 would imitate with the hands the motion made 
 with the ax, and the throwing of the chips by 
 its action, which their instruments never did. 
 They seemed to appreciate a fact, which from 
 habit we fail to notice, that the Yankee ax is onq 
 of the most efificient instruments ever invented 
 by man. In the hands of experts it has cleared 
 a continent and prepared it for civilized occu- 
 pancy and that with a speed and facility that no 
 other agency could effect. The rapid and nice 
 work of this tool could but attract the attention 
 of these simple savages. 
 
 It may be added that the settlers left their 
 tools at night where they stopped work, and 
 they were never molested, although the Indians 
 were almost constantly there. If a kind, concili- 
 ating and just course had in all cases been pur- 
 sued in our intercourse with this people, may we 
 not suppose their ultimate destiny would have 
 been different? 
 
 Yet a few of these friendly Pottawatomies, 
 though the tribe was held in check by Shabbona 
 and other chiefs, doubtless did join the Sacs in 
 their war on the settlements, though this was 
 said to have been confined to a few bucks who 
 had intermarried with the Sauks. Their passion 
 for war and blood was almost uncontrollable, and 
 their vindictive hate of an enemy led them to a 
 course of extermination. 
 
 When Shabbona accompanied the army under 
 General Atkinson, and an attack was expected 
 soon to be made on the Sauks, Shabbona asked 
 permission to spare a certain squaw, a friend to 
 him. The general told him to spare all the wo- 
 men and children, but Shabbona dissented, say- 
 ing, "They breed like lice; leave them, their chil- 
 dren will kill our children." That was Indian 
 philosophy and morality too. 
 
ONE OF THE OLD PIONEERS 
 
 WIER SJURSON WEEKS 
 
 Was born in Skaanevig, Bergens stift, Norway, 
 Oct. 24, 1812. His parents were poor, and as 
 his motlier died when he was but a young boy, 
 he was compelled to get out and shift for him- 
 self at an early age. He chose the carpenter 
 trade, by which he hoped to gain a livelihood. 
 Being very quick to learn and endowed with a 
 mechanical bent of mind, he soon had the trade 
 learned, so that while yet a young man he was 
 known as the best ship builder in his locality. 
 His educational advantages were limited; in fact 
 there were no public schools in Norway at that 
 time, so that his knowledge consisted of what 
 he was able to pick up in the school of life. 
 
 On Dec. 27, 1842, he was married to Miss 
 Synneva T. Sunde, who proved to be a true help- 
 mate lo him. Early in 1840 they took passage 
 on a sailship for America, embarking at Bergen. 
 It took them thirteen v,feeks to cross the Atlantic, 
 and then about four weeks up the canal and over 
 the Great Lakes before they were set ashore, 
 with other passengers, at Muskegon, Mich. Here 
 in the bright and burning summer sun stood 
 our subject with his wife and two little daugh- 
 ters, "a stranger in a strange land." Like most 
 newcomers from Norway, however, he had an 
 unshaken faith in the Triune God and firmly 
 believed, as the poet expresses it, 
 
 "God never will forsake in need 
 The heart that trusts in him indeed.'' 
 His first aim was to get a place where his 
 wife and children could be sheltered and pro- 
 tected. There were no houses to be rented or 
 bought in the little town. The only chance to 
 get any kind of house was to buy forty acres of 
 land with a house. This particular forty, with 
 a log hut 12x14 ft., was held at $10 per acre. 
 Money was scarce, but finally four families club- 
 bed together and managed to make a small pay- 
 ment to bind the bargain and were thus allowed 
 to move in. After providing this temporary 
 home for his family his next step was to find his 
 
 old friend from the same parts of Norway, Mr. 
 Rasmus Tungisvik, who had arrived here a few 
 years earlier. Rev. Elling Eielsen, one of the 
 pioneer Norwegian missionaries, heard of the 
 newcomers at Muskegon and soon visited them. 
 As he knew Mr. Tungisvik, he ofifered to take 
 Mr. Weeks to him, and one bright July morning 
 the two started out in Rev. Eielsen's one-horse 
 wagon, driving west by way of Rock, Jefferson 
 and Long Prairie and south over the endless 
 tracts to Lisbon, Kendall county. 111. 
 
 Mr. Weeks relates that this was a great trip^ 
 and it certainly was an initiation into the pioneer 
 life of this country. There were no hotels or 
 wayside inns; not even a comfortable farmhouse 
 to get lodging in. When night overtook them 
 the horse was "staked out" and their blankets 
 were spread under the wagon for their bed. In- 
 due time, however, they reached Mr. Tungisvik, 
 who most heartily received his old friend. He 
 insisted that Mr. Weeks return to Muskegon, 
 bring his wife and children, and make his home 
 with him until he could do better elsewhere. 
 This was done. Rev. Eielsen returned to Muske- 
 gon with Mr. Weeks. On their return they 
 found the log house to be a hospital, as all but 
 two of the inmates were sick. Mrs. Weeks was 
 one of two that were well, but her two little 
 girls were very sick, and died within two weeks, 
 Mr. Weeks also took sick after this bereavement, 
 so they could not return to Lisbon for some time. 
 Malarial fever and ague was the prevailing sick- 
 ness. 
 
 Arrangements were then made with a German, 
 who was the proud owner of a yoke of oxen and 
 a lumber wagon, to take them to Lisbon for 
 $40. Having put all their means into the forty 
 acres of land, they had no ready money; but as 
 three of the families who had joined in the 
 purchase of the land were going, they managed 
 to exchange their undivided interest in the land 
 (which by the way had ten acres of promising 
 wheat nearly ready for harvest) for transporta- 
 tion to Lisbon. After many trials and hard- 
 
 (67) 
 
68 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ships they reached Lisbon and their friend Tun- 
 gisvik. 
 
 Although shaking with the ague every other 
 day, our subject was not only hopeful but brave 
 in the face of almost insurmountable difficulties. 
 He was finally able, with the co-operation of 
 his friends, to secure lumber to build a house 
 large enough to accommodate his family. 
 He then turned to the carpenter trade, accept- 
 ing work wherever he could get it, building 
 houses most of the time. In 1848 he built the 
 
 was sick when he left Ottawa, but, not knowing 
 the symptoms, he continued his journey, reach- 
 ing home at midnight. He then knew that he 
 had cholera, and told his wife so. She got him 
 to bed and gave him what they had been advised 
 to use in such cases. Early Sunday morning a 
 cousin of his came to his door and asked whether 
 he could stay a day or two, as he was sick and the 
 person he had been working for had told him to 
 leave his premises, as he had the cholera. Weeks, 
 having only two rooms in his house and only 
 
 W. S. Weeks and Wife. 
 
 first header that was used around Lisbon, and 
 in 1849 he built the first reaper that was run 
 there. This machine was drawn by four horses 
 and carried one driver and one man to rake ofif 
 the grain. This reaper he bought later when he 
 began farming for himself. 
 
 For a year or more he worked at Ottawa, 111., 
 building canal boats, but always made it a rule 
 to be with his family over Sunday, walking the 
 distance, about twenty-five miles. Once when 
 he came home he was hardly able to walk. He 
 
 one bed, told him that if he was sick and could 
 get no better place he could get a few blankets 
 and lie down in the shavings in the room which 
 had been used as a carpenter shop. Amland 
 (that was his name) accepted this; but in two 
 days he died. Mrs. Weeks notified the neigh- 
 bors, but none came to bury the dead. Mr. 
 Weeks, sick as he was, managed to get up, 
 made a coffin, put the corpse in, and got it out 
 of the house, but was not strong enough to 
 bury it. Word was sent to several neighbors 
 
ONE OF THE OLD PIONEERS 
 
 m 
 
 and two men finally took the body away and 
 buried it. Mr. Weeks got well and none of his 
 family got the dreadful disease. In 1848 he 
 bargained for eighty acres of land about five 
 miles north of Lisbon, for which he was to pay 
 $1.25 per acre. The next year he built a house, 
 which was the first house built on what was 
 called the North Prairie. He moved into it and 
 was the first actual settler in that direction from 
 Big Grove. It was not before the '50's that he 
 commenced farming, as he rented the land to 
 John Sjurson, who broke it on shares. Of the 
 first crop of wheat he raised Sjurson took a 
 load to Chicago, with his yoke of oxen, hauling 
 what was considered at that time a big load. He 
 was told to bring back a set of knives and forks 
 and the rest in cash. It took him two weeks to 
 make the trip, and after paying his expenses on 
 the way and $2 for the knives and forks there 
 was nothing left of the money received for the 
 load of wheat. The distance is about fifty miles. 
 It happened frequently on such trips that the 
 parties would find themselves in debt, losing both 
 time and money in trying to market what they 
 had raised. 
 
 In 1856 we find Mr. Weeks on his farm, culti- 
 vating it himself, having put up the necessary 
 buildings to make home comfortable. He also 
 added several tracts of land to his first purchase, 
 so that when in the '80's he turned the farm over 
 to his youngest son he had about 200 acres, all 
 in one body. 
 
 Mr. Weeks was baptized and confirmed in the 
 Lutheran Church, a true and sincere Christian. 
 In 1849, when he moved into his new home on 
 North Prairie, he donated his first house, built 
 on Mr. Tungisvik's land, to the Norwegians 
 around Lisbon for a meetinghouse, as there was 
 no church at that time. When there was talk of 
 starting a congregation he was one of the first on 
 the list of incorporators, both of what is now cal- 
 led the South Congregation and what is known as 
 the North Congregation, which was started some 
 years later. He was a warm friend of Rev. P. 
 A. Rasmussen, who was the pastor for these 
 congregations for nearly fifty years. Mr. Weeks 
 was always ready to help any project put forward 
 by Rev. Rasmussen; for he knew it was for the 
 best interest of both Christianity and humanity. 
 He was a liberal donor to church and schools 
 and always ready to help where help was needed. 
 He was naturally diffident and retired. He filled 
 many responsible positions in the church. Politic- 
 ally he was always a republican and a friend and 
 admirer of Abraham Lincoln. The writer heard 
 him offer up many a sincere prayer for President 
 
 Lincoln and the salvation of the country during 
 the Civil War. 
 
 After losing at Muskegon the two girls that 
 were born in Norway, Mr. and Mrs. Weeks 
 raised a family of four. — Alice W. was born 
 March 25, 1847. She was first married to Joe 
 Johnson, who died while they lived at Roland, 
 Iowa. She is now married to Oscar Sampson. 
 They are well to do and live a retired life at 
 Roland, Iowa. — Thomas W. was the first white 
 child born on North Prairie, having been born 
 about a month after his parents moved out on 
 the farm in 1849. He lived to be a successful 
 farmer, owning 160 acres adjoining the old home- 
 stead. He was married to Miss Sarah Mathre, 
 Aug. 5, 1885. He was an active republican and 
 filled several township offices. He was a faith- 
 ful member of the Lutheran Church and served 
 as trustee for many years. He was accidentally 
 killed by being caught in the belt of a thrashing 
 machine. He left a wife and five children, who 
 are living at Newark, III, in comfortable circum- 
 stances. — Sjur W. was born Jan. 12, 1852. At 16 
 years of age he was sent to Luther College, 
 Decorah, Iowa, where he entered the Normal 
 class in the fall of 1868, but he was obliged to 
 abandon his studies for a time in the fall of 
 1870 on account of ill health. In 1871 he attended 
 the Fowler Institute at Newark, Kendall county, 
 111., for a term or two; and taught the Norwegian 
 parochial school for several months, and also 
 two terms of the English district schools. He' 
 then took up his studies at Luther College again, 
 graduating from the Normal course in 1873. That 
 fall he commenced as teacher for the Norwegian 
 congregation at Lee, 111., teaching both the Nor- 
 wegian and the English school for six or seven 
 years. In 1878 he was married to Thorbj0r J. 
 Rogde, of Lee. In 1879 he engaged in business, 
 first in grain at Steward and later in hardware 
 at Lee. In 1885 his store burned, and having 
 but little insurance, he lost everything he had. 
 He then worked as manager for several years with 
 A. H. Johnson & Co., at Lee, in the grain busi- 
 ness. After several changes, including the assist- 
 ant postmastership at Rochelle, 111., he opened a 
 feed business there, which he conducted until his 
 death, which ocurred April 13, 1907. While 
 at Lee he was twice elected justice of the 
 peace, served on the village board, and acted at 
 different times as its president and secretary. 
 He has always been an active worker in the 
 Lutheran Church, having held the position of 
 secretary and treasurer for the Congregation at 
 Rochelle, 111., since 1893, and has also been leader 
 of the Sunday school. Mr. and IMrs. S. W. 
 
70 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Weeks have been blessed with nine children. 
 Elsie S. is a stenographer at Rochelle; Synneva 
 C. is a primary teacher at Lee, 111.; W. Alfred 
 has opened up a coal business at Sterling, 
 111.; and Jacob Marshall has just graduated from 
 the Rochelle High School. The younger children 
 are attending school. — Lewis W., who was born 
 in 1856, and the youngest child of our subject, 
 remained on the old homestead, and when he 
 was of age rented the farm and started in for 
 himself. He was married in 1883 to Miss Caroline 
 B. Thompson, of Slater, Iowa. He has been 
 very successful in his undertaking. He bought 
 several smaller farms adjoining the old home- 
 stead, and in 1894 bought the home place, with 
 the understanding that the parents were to live 
 with him in their house during the rest of their 
 natural lives. He is now the owner of 320 acres 
 or more of just as nice and good land as there 
 is in Illinois, and has it better housed and im- 
 proved than most of the neighboring farms. He 
 is very handy with tools and can build to suit him- 
 self. He is a republican and takes an active part 
 in township, county, state and national politics. 
 
 He has a large family. In church matters 
 he is a leader and worker, having served his 
 congregation as trustee for many years. When 
 the question of building a new church at Helmar 
 for the North Prairie Congregation came up he 
 was placed at the head of both the financial and 
 building committees, and many a day's work and 
 many a dollar of which no account was kept 
 went into this undertaking. 
 
 Feb. 3, 1900, the main subject of our sketch, 
 Mr. W. S. Weeks, was laid to rest, having passed 
 his 87th birthday — tired, no doubt, from all the 
 strife he had passed through, but glad and ready 
 to be removed to the home from whence there 
 is no moving. His wife, who was two years older, 
 lived until Jan. 14, 1904, reaching the unusual age 
 of over 94 years. She was totally blind for over 
 twelve years, but bore it patiently to the end. 
 
 Thus ended the lives of two venerable pioneers, 
 honored and respected by all who knew them. 
 They left one daughter and two sons and twenty- 
 three grandchildren to mourn the loss and cherish 
 the memory of loving mother and father. 
 
 The Third Norwegian Settlement 
 
 In regard to the company of immigrants who 
 came to that most unfortunate of Norwegian 
 settlements at Beaver Creek, in Iroquois county, 
 we have good and reliable information in Knud 
 Langland's book. Mr. Langland here speaks of 
 his own experiences both in regard to the in- 
 troductory preparations and some of the causes 
 that led many peasants from Bergenshus amt 
 to leave the land of their fathers for an uncertain 
 future full of privations and hardships in a new 
 country. 
 
 Mr. Langland relates how he accidentally, 
 while visiting a friend in Bergen, found in his 
 library a book written by a German and entitled 
 "Travels in America." At the age of sixteen a 
 boy's power of imagination is as a rule very 
 strong, and when he in this book found a num- 
 ber of glowing descriptions of the far away coun- 
 try, its free institutions and its enterprising peo- 
 ple, he read it with an interest as absorbing as 
 if it had been a novel of adventures. Here he 
 
 found the German emigration completely and 
 minutely described. He borrowed the book, and 
 with it in his pocket wandered on one early sum- 
 mer morning away to the other side of the bay 
 of Soleni and up the steep Lyderhorn. There he 
 sat down and read and dreamed of the new, won- 
 derful world across the ocean. The mist had sunk 
 down over the fiords and the islands in the inlet 
 to Bergen, but here on the top of the mountain 
 the sun was sending forth its bright rays. "It 
 was the first time I had ever enjoyed this view, 
 characteristic for a mountainous country and most 
 enchanting. If ever my prosaic self had been 
 impressed with poetic inspiration and rapture, it 
 was at this never forgotten moment, when my 
 mortal eye was taking in from above the level 
 of the mist illuminated by the sun and in the 
 distant West saw the North Sea hold out its 
 glittering silver shield, which seemed to heave 
 to an even height with the mountain. Why is it 
 such moments occur so seldom to the average 
 
THE THIRD NORWEGIAN SETTLEMENT 
 
 71 
 
 human being? And in the far West, thousands 
 of miles away, is the land of which I now read, 
 the great and as yet little known world with all 
 its secrets and wonders. With this enchanted 
 morning of my life's Springtime associate my 
 earliest recollections of America, of the land that 
 for more than a half a century has been my 
 adopted country. From then on I eagerly 
 searched all descriptions and books of travel 
 about America, and together with an uncle I 
 commenced to gather information from books, 
 letters and verbal narrations from Stavanger peo- 
 ple, which now were circulated all over the coun- 
 try, since Kleng Peerson's return from his visit 
 to America, although as yet we were not think- 
 ing in earnest of emigrating. A sacrificing friend 
 helped me in 1834 to a six months' sojourn in 
 England, and here I had a good chance to col- 
 lect a number of pamphlets and books on Amer- 
 ica and the English emigration. In this manner 
 better and more reliable information about Amer- 
 ican conditions and how to get there were cir- 
 culated in our neighborhood. A number of ridic- 
 ulous and unreasonable stories which had been 
 spread among the people thus found a pretty 
 good counterbalance, and were more and more 
 discredited. Slowly but surely grew the idea of 
 emigrating. The little flock of people who in 
 earnest began to consider emigration as a pos- 
 sibility near at hand was by and by increased by 
 others, who commenced preparing to dispose of 
 their land holdings preparatory to emigrating. 
 It was now that the bishop of Bergen wrote his 
 epistle to the Bergenshus farmers over the text, 
 'Remain in thy country and support thyself 
 honestly!' Whether he did not think of it or 
 else did not deem it meet for the occasion, he 
 omitted to cite another injunction of the Holy 
 Scriptures: 'Vorder frugtbare, formerer eder og 
 opfylder jorden.' The latter the farmers had 
 complied with; most of them had large families, 
 and when they came to think that the land of 
 their fathers was more than well filled up, and 
 heard that the new world was almost barren of 
 people but rich in soil that could be had almost 
 for the asking, they concluded to ignore the 
 bishop and set out for the new Canaan which 
 was flowing with milk and honey. 
 
 Causes of this Exodus. 
 
 "While visiting Knud Slovig we received a full 
 and satisfactory confirmation of what we had 
 read and heard before. This was in the winter 
 of 1836. In the autumn of that year a Captain 
 Behrens of Bergen returned with his bark yEgir 
 from a freight trip to America; and when he 
 
 heard that several well-to-do farmers in different 
 parts of the amt had sold their land holdings and 
 were looking for transportation to America, he 
 decided to change the interior of good ship 
 ^gir (which he owned) for passenger traffic, and 
 made contracts for sailing in the next spring, 
 1837. Captain Behrens had in the harbor of New 
 York seen German and English emigrant ships 
 and was familiar with the requirements of such, 
 both as to the fitting of the ship's interior and 
 the American laws and harbor regulations in re- 
 gard to the immigrant traffic. To Bergen he was 
 accompanied by two German ministers, who were 
 on their way home to solicit funds for erecting 
 church edifices in America, and from them he 
 had gained still more information in regard to 
 the German emigration, which had been going on 
 during many years on a large scale, and was 
 conducted mainly via Baltimore and Pennsyl- 
 vania." 
 
 The information thus gained regarding Amer- 
 ican conditions would not alone have sufficed to 
 instigate this exodus from Bergen. More potent 
 factors were at work, and such were hard times, 
 limited means of support and enormously large 
 poor-taxes. For several individuals also collateral 
 reasons were deciding. The old educator, N. P. 
 Langland, who sacrificed almost everything in 
 the interest of popular education, had originally 
 chosen the "learned" way for a profession, but 
 on account of lack of means was obliged to stop 
 half-way and take up teaching farmers' children 
 for a living. By a superstitious and ignorant 
 peasantry he had been treated and judged very 
 unjustly. The clergy also thought that this radi- 
 cal thinker was not a fit man as a popular edu- 
 cator in this very conservative part of the coun- 
 try, and his work became both thankless and un- 
 pleasant. He was supported in his efforts by a 
 little number of reliable and liberal-minded 
 friends, but persecuted by a larger number of 
 ignorant bigots who interfered with his valuable 
 work. Seeing his noblest efforts and unceasing 
 work rewarded with meanness and malice, it 
 might have been expected that the ties which 
 held him fast to the mother country would loosen. 
 As far as he was concerned those were certainly 
 reasons for turning his back on so thankless a 
 fatherland, and many of his friends and admirers 
 persuaded themselves to do the same. 
 
 It must not, however, be forgotten that the 
 strongest incentives for the emigration were the 
 improved economical prospects that were open 
 for the families in the rich and sparsely popu- 
 lated America with the mild climate and fertile 
 
72 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 soil, and that hardly any of this company would 
 have risked the change except for those reasons. 
 Besides N. P. Langland the following are men- 
 tioned in Knud Langland's book: Mons Aadland, 
 Nels Fr0land, Anders Norvig, Anders Rosseland, 
 Thomas Bauge, Ingebrigt Brudvig, Thorbjjzirn 
 Veste, Erstein Sanderson Bakke and others, who 
 all had large families, and a number of single 
 persons, among whom were D0vig, Rosseland, 
 Bauge, Lars Fr0]and, a son of Nils Fr^land, 
 (whose sketch is found elsewhere), Norvig, His- 
 dal, T(z(sseland. Very few are still living in Il- 
 linois, but a number of their children and grand- 
 children are well-to-do farmers in Illinois, Iowa 
 and the Dakotas. The whole company numbered 
 eighty-four. For their transportation to New 
 York they paid 60 speciedaler for grown-up per- 
 sons and 30 for each child imder 12 years. The 
 ship was eight weeks in crossing the Atlantic and 
 collided in midocean with an American packet. 
 No damage, however, was done to either vessel. 
 
 Ole Rynning. 
 
 Among the passengers of the ^ligir was also a 
 young student, Ole Rynning, who turned out to 
 be the most remarkable of them all. It was after 
 the contract had been made with Captain Beh- 
 rens and the hulk of the ship refitted and ar- 
 ranged for carrying passengers that Ole Rynning 
 came from Snaasen, Trondhjem's amt, to Ber- 
 gen and wanted to join the company of emi- 
 grants. He was bqrn April 4, 1809, on Dusgaar- 
 den in Ringsaker, where his father, Jens Ryn- 
 ning, was a clergyman. His mother was Seve- 
 rine Catharine Steen. In 1825 his father had been 
 promoted to a more lucrative position as rector 
 of the parish of Snaasen. Ole Rynning passed 
 examination for admission to the University in 
 1829, and returned to Snaasen in 1833, where he 
 kept a private school until he emigrated to Amer- 
 ica, March 2, 1837. 
 
 When the immigrants arrived at Chicago, most 
 of them intended to go to the Fox River Settle- 
 ment, but Bj0rn Anderson, the father of Rasmus 
 B. Anderson, had just come from there and gave 
 a very unfavorable description of the colony in 
 La Salle county, and advised his countrymen not 
 to go to that settlement. 
 
 Two Americans with whom Ole Rynning had 
 a talk in Chicago counseled him to go with his 
 countrymen to Beaver Creek, but others advised 
 against that place. Finally it was decided to 
 send four of their party to look at the land and 
 the country. The persons selected were Ole 
 Rynning, Nils Veste, Ingebrigt Brudvig and Ole 
 Nat'testad. The last with his brother Austen had 
 
 arrived via Gothenborg and Massachusetts, and 
 joined the others in Detroit, from which place 
 they accompanied them to Chicago. 
 
 Nattestad did not like the sandy and swampy 
 land, but others did, and so it was agreed that 
 Nattestad and Nils Veste should remain and build 
 a loghouse, as a first shelter for the immigrants, 
 while Rynning and Brudvig returned to Chicago. 
 Some of the party had in their absence, and 
 against his advice, but in Bj0rn Anderson's copi- 
 pany, left Chicago for the Fox River Settlement, 
 but most of them went to Beaver Creek. Al- 
 though the most of the newcomers were well sup- 
 plied with money, they could hardly procure the 
 necessaries of life, there being no settlers in the 
 immediate vicinity. All took up claims and be- 
 fore winter set in they had put up a sufficient 
 number of log houses. The settlers numbered 
 about fifty. 
 
 During the first winter everything went well, 
 but with the coming of spring the whole settle- 
 ment was flooded and turned into a swamp. 
 During the summer the miasma produced malar- 
 ial bacilli, and in a short time the malaria had 
 killed about fifteen of the settlers, among them 
 Ole Rynning, whose death was a great loss to the 
 colony. The rest of the people fled for their 
 lives, leaving farms and houses. The majority of 
 the survivors made their way to Fox River. A 
 few remained about two years longer. Mons K. 
 Aadland, a half-brother of Knud Langland, the 
 first editor of Skandinaven, was the last to leave. 
 He exchanged his farm for some oxen and cows, 
 with which he went to Wisconsin and settled in 
 Racine county. Most of the above data are to be 
 found in Knud Langland's and Rasmus B. An- 
 derson's books, but we have had them confirmed 
 by Mr. Lars Fr0land (Fruland), one of the sur- 
 vivors, who with his wife, is still living at New- 
 ark, 111. 
 
 Except Kleng Peerson there is probably no 
 man who has done so much to promote Norweg- 
 ian immigration to America as Ole Rynning. 
 This he did by writing a little book in the Nor- 
 wegian language: Sandfaerdig Beretning om 
 America, til Oplysning og Nytte, for Bonde og 
 Menigmand forfattet af en Norsk, som kom der- 
 over i Juni Maaned 1837. The author's name is 
 not given on the title page, but after the preface, 
 thus: "Illinois, 13 Feb., 1838. Ole Rynning." 
 
 The book is divided into thirteen chapters, 
 answering the following questions: 
 
 1. In what direction is America situated, and 
 how far is it thither? 
 
 2. How did this land become known? 
 
 3. What is the nature of this country, and 
 
THE THIRD NORWEGIAN SETTLEMENT 
 
 73 
 
 what is the reason why so many people go there 
 and expect to make a living there? 
 
 4. Is it not to be feared that the land will 
 soon be overpopulated? Is it true that the gov- 
 ernment there is going to prohibit immigration? 
 
 5. In what part of the land have the Norweg- 
 ians settled? Which is the most convenient and 
 cheapest route to them? 
 
 6. What is the nature of the country where 
 the Norwegians have settled? What is the price 
 of land? What is the price of cattle and of the 
 necessaries of life? How high are the wages? 
 
 7. What kind of religion is there in America? 
 Is there any sort of order and government in the 
 land, or is everybody permitted to do as he 
 pleases? 
 
 8. What provision is there for education of 
 children and for the care of the poor? 
 
 9. What language is spoken in America, and 
 is it difficult to learn? 
 
 10. Is there danger of disease in America? 
 Is there reason to fear wild animals or the Indi- 
 ans? 
 
 11. What kind of people should be advised to 
 emigrate to America? Advice against unreason- 
 able expectations. 
 
 12. What dangers may be expected on the 
 ocean? Is it true that those who are taken to 
 America are sold as slaves? 
 
 13. Advice to those who wish to go to Amer- 
 ica. How they are to get a vessel; how they are 
 to exchange their money; what season and route 
 are the most convenient; what things should be 
 taken along on the journey. 
 
 We have used Rasmus B. Anderson's transla- 
 tion of the chapter headings. 
 
 The questions were to the point, and they are 
 all answered in a most intelligent manner. 
 
 Ole Rynning never lived to see a copy of his 
 book printed. Austen Nattestad carried the man- 
 uscript to Norway and had it printed in Chris- 
 tiania. The book was sold in thousands upon 
 thousands of copies in Norway. 
 
 Mr. Lars Fruland speaks of Ole Rynning in the 
 highest terms of praise, and how he was always 
 willing to help and comfort those in distress and 
 sorrow. He was contented with very little and 
 suffered with patience. It is told how he used 
 to make long exploring excursions with only a 
 little hard-tack and bacon for grub. One time a 
 heavy frost had set in during his absence, and 
 his shoes were cut to shreds by the cracking ice 
 on the swamps. With his feet frozen he re- 
 turned to the colony. They presented a terrible 
 sight. He had to be put to bed, and it was while 
 confined there that he wrote his book. After 
 some time, however, his feet got well and he 
 resumed his charitable work among his coun- 
 trymen. 
 
 In the fall of 1838 he took sick again, and died 
 soon after of pneumonia. His death caused a 
 great sorrow in the colony. Some pieces of 
 timber were fixed together in a kind of rough 
 casket, in which his remains were put, hauled out 
 on the prairie, and buried there. Beaver Creek 
 was later settled by Americans and others who 
 had the means to drain the marshes and plow the 
 fields, where the Norwegians were buried. It is 
 now a prosperous settlement, but nobody can 
 point out the graves of Ole Rynning or the other 
 unfortunate settlers. 
 
 Mission and Miller Townships 
 
 The townships had not been surveyed when 
 the first Norwegian settlers, led by Kleng Peer- 
 son, arrived in 1834. They were not even divided 
 in their present form, but went officially under the 
 name of Mission. Mission township was organ- 
 ized in April, 1850, including what is now Miller 
 township until 1876. By the influence of Nels 
 Nelson, a son of Cornelius Nelson, and others, 
 they became divided for the reason that Mission 
 
 was very much out of proportion, being over 
 thirteen miles in length and only about six miles 
 in breadth in the widest place. Together with a 
 part of Rutland township they formed what for a 
 number of years has been known as the Fox 
 River Settlement, the stronghold for our Nor- 
 wegian immigrants in this state. 
 
 There seems to have been a difference of opin- 
 ion in regard to the time when the first Norweg- 
 
A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ians came to the Fox River Settlement. Some 
 writers fix 1835 as the year for their arrival, Knud 
 Langland states it was in 1836, but Prof. R. B. 
 Anderson argues that they came in 1834. We 
 agree with him entirely. He gives as his source 
 of information a Mr. John Armstrong, with whom 
 he had a personal interview, and who informed 
 him that some Norwegians had worked for him 
 on his claim in 1834. The fact that the land had 
 not been surveyed into sections and put on the 
 market before 1835 makes no difference, because 
 the newcomers upon their arrival could select 
 land, or make a "claim," and "squat" on it, until 
 it came into the market. This is made plain in 
 the chapter on "Claims" in this volume. The two 
 splendid works, History of Grundy County and 
 Elmer Baldwin's History of La Salle County, 
 the former published in 1882 and the latter in 
 1877, both give 1834 as the year during which the 
 first Norwegians arrived. 
 
 The first party of the "Sloopers" to come from 
 Kendall under the guidance of Kleng Peerson, ac- 
 cording to Prof. Anderson's First Chapter of Nor- 
 wegian Immigration, consisted of: Andrew (En- 
 dre) Dahl, Jacob Anderson Slogvig, Gudmund 
 Haukaas, Nels Thompson (Thorson), and Thor- 
 stein Olson Bjaadland, who had been in Michigan 
 but returned to Kendall. 
 
 Elmer Baldwin's History of La Salle County 
 gives the following list, which we offer for com- 
 parison: 
 
 Oliver Canuteson came to New York, in 1825; 
 to Illinois in 1834; died in 1850; he left two sons 
 and one daughter; one son died in the army in 
 1863. 
 
 Nils Thompson, to New York in 1825; came 
 here in 1834; died about 1856. 
 
 Gjert Hovland, to New York in 1825, and to 
 Illinois in 1834; died at Ottawa in 1870. 
 
 Oliver (Olav) Knuteson, to New York in 1825, 
 and to Illinois in 1834; died in 1848, leaving four 
 children. 
 
 Christian Oleson, from Norway in 1825, to Il- 
 linois in 1834; died in 1858, leaving three children. 
 Thorstein Oleson, from Norway in 1825, and 
 came to Illinois in 1834; went to Wisconsin. 
 
 George Jahnson, one of the first from Norway, 
 came here in 1834; died in 1846; had four children. 
 Ole Olson (Hetletveldt), "Slooper," came to 
 Illinois in 1834. 
 
 Ove Stenson Rosdal, and wife, Miss Jacobs, 
 from Norway in 1825, and came to Illinois in 
 1835; moved to Iowa. 
 
 Daniel Stenson Rosdal came at the same time, 
 with wife; died in 1860. 
 
 John Stenson Rosdal came at the same time, 
 
 married Miss Pierson, and settled on Section 3; 
 had five children. 
 
 The book referred to says that those three were 
 brothers, but Daniel was the father and Ove and 
 John his sons. 
 
 Iver Waller came from Norway in 1835, and 
 bought a claim of Jesse Pearson. 
 
 Thorkel H. Erickson, from Norway to Ottawa 
 in 1837; to Rutland township in 1840; then to 
 California and Australia, and back to Miller town- 
 ship in 1866; married Helen Pierson; had eight 
 children. 
 
 Nels Nelson, Jr. (a son of Cornelius Nelson), 
 to New York in 1825, and came to Illinois in 1836; 
 had seven children. 
 
 Austin Baker came from Norway to Illinois in 
 1839; died in Minnesota. 
 
 Canute Williamson came from Norway to Illi- 
 nois in 1838. 
 
 Nils Fruland came from Norway to Illinois and 
 the Beaver Creek Settlenjent in 1837; to the Fox 
 River Settlement in 1839. 
 
 Canute Olson came from Norway to Illinois 
 in 1836; died in 1846. 
 
 Lars Brenson came from Norway to Illinois in 
 1836. 
 
 Nels Nelson, Sr. (Hersdal), "Slooper," and 
 wife. Bertha Harwick, came to Illinois in 1835, 
 purchased a farm^ and moved his family in 1846; 
 had eleven children. 
 
 Andrew Anderson, from Norway to New York 
 in 1836; came to Illinois in 1838, with his wife, 
 Olena Nelson; he died of cholera in 1849; his 
 widow died in 1875; the children were two sons 
 and two daughters. 
 
 Ener Anderson came with his father; he mar- 
 ried Margaret Gunderson, and settled oti Sec. 16, 
 T. 34, R. 6; had eleven children. 
 
 Andrew Anderson, Jr., also came with his 
 father; had several children; Susan married John 
 Hill; Elizabeth married Henry Doggett. 
 
 Lars Nelson came from Norway in 1838; died 
 in 1847. 
 
 George Nicholson came from New York in 1839, 
 and settled on Section 16. 
 
 Lars B. Olson came from Norway in 1837; went 
 first to Beaver Creek; thence to the Fox River 
 Settlement. 
 
 Michael Olson came from Norway to Illinois 
 in 1839; died in 1847. 
 
 In most cases we have spelled the names as 
 found in Baldwin's History. 
 
 The records at Ottawa reveal the following 
 Norwegian purchasers of land in the townships 
 of Mission, Miller and Rutland in 1835, when the 
 land was put on the market: 
 
MISSION AND MILLER TOWNSHIPS 
 
 75 
 
 In Rutland township:. Tacob Slogvig, June 15, 
 80 acres; same elate, Gudmund Haukaas, 160 
 acres. Jacob Anderson and Gudmund Haukaas 
 
 were the first Norwegians to acquire land in Il- 
 linois.) 
 
 In Mission township: Kleng Peerson, June 17, 
 80 acres; Carrie Nelson, widow of Cornelius Nel- 
 son, June 17, 80 acres. The land was bought for 
 her by Kleng Peerson. On June 25, Kleng Peer- 
 son bought 80 acres more for himself. 
 
 In Miller township: Gjert Hovland bought 160 
 acres, June 17, and same date Thorstein Olson 
 80 acres; June 17, Thorstein Olson bought 80 
 acres more, which he sold, Sept. 5, to Nels Nel- 
 son Hersdal; June 17, Nels Thompson (Thorson) 
 bought 160 acres, and on Jan. 16, 1836, Thorstein 
 Olson 80' acres more. 
 
 As mentioned before, Mission township was 
 organized in April, 1850. Its first justice of the 
 peace was Lars Larson and its first constable 
 Nels Nelson. Other public officers of Norwegian 
 birth during the following time have been: J. 
 Rosedal, constable, 1851; O. Rosedal, collector, 
 and Peter Nelson, constable, 1852; Lars Larson, 
 justice of the peace, 1854; E. Olson, commissioner 
 of highways, 1855; P. C. Nelson, collector, 1856; 
 P. C. Nelson, commissioner of highways, 1859 and 
 1860; Nels Nelson, commissioner of highways, 
 1861; John Thorson, constable, 1862; P. C. Nel- 
 son, collector, 1863; P. C. Nelson, commissioner 
 of highways, 1864; E. Thorson, constable, 1870; 
 E. Thorson, justice of the peace and Nels Ander- 
 son, commissioner of highways, 1871; P. C. Nel- 
 son, commissioner of highways, 1872; Nels Nelson, 
 collector, and Lars Lewis, commissioner of high- 
 ways, 1873; Nels Nelson, supervisor, P. C. Nel- 
 son, assessor and collector and A. Robertson, 
 constable, 1874; William Williamson, collector 
 and T. H. Erickson, commissioner of highways, 
 1875; T. Schlanbusch, collector, W. Williamson 
 and O. A. Quani, commissioners of highways, 
 1876; B. Thompson was clerk from 1873 to 1878. 
 
 We repeat here that the names are spelled as 
 they appear on the official records, from which 
 we have copied them. 
 
 After the separation from Miller township in 
 1876 the following Norwegians were officeholders 
 in Mission township: 
 
 1877 — Assessor, P. C. Nelson; collector, B. Thomp- 
 son; constable, Nels Nelson. 
 
 1878 — W. H. Robertson, assessor. 
 
 1879 — Assessor, P. C. Nelson; commissioner of 
 highways, A. Anfinson. 
 
 1880— Assessor, P. C. Nelson. 
 
 1881 — Clerk, J. A. Quam; assessor, P. C. Nelson; 
 
 1882— 
 
 1883- 
 1884- 
 
 1885— 
 
 1887- 
 1888- 
 
 1889- 
 1890- 
 
 1891— 
 
 1893- 
 1894- 
 
 1895- 
 1896- 
 1897- 
 
 1898— 
 
 1899- 
 1900- 
 1901- 
 
 1902- 
 1903- 
 
 collector, S. P. Nelson; constable, Nels 
 Anderson. 
 
 Clerk, J. A. Quam; collector, W. C. Rosen- 
 quist; constable, Christ J. Walseth. 
 
 Clerk, J. A. Quam; assessor, P. C. Nelson. 
 
 Clerk, J. A. Quam; assessor, P. C. Nelson; 
 collector, C. J. Walseth. 
 
 Clerk, J. A. Quam; assessor, P. C. Nelson; 
 collector, John Anderson; commissioner of 
 highways, Nels Anderson; justice of the 
 peace, W. C. Rosenquist; constable, C. J. 
 Walseth. 
 
 Clerk, J. A. Quam; assessor, Peter C. Nel- 
 son; commissioner of public highways, Ole 
 Nordbye. 
 
 Clerk, J. A. Quam; collector, Joseph Sebby. 
 
 Clerk, J. A. Quam; assessor, Peter C. Nel- 
 son; collector, Peter Swenson; commis- 
 sioner of highways, Andrew P. Dall. 
 
 Supervisor, J. A. Quam; collector, Jacob 
 Jacobson; constable, Knute Ugland. 
 
 Supervisor, J. A. Quam; assessor, Bergo 
 Thompson; collector, Jacob Jacobson; 
 commissioner of highways, John Anderson. 
 
 Supervisor, J. A. Quam; assessor, Ole An- 
 finson; commissioner of highways, Barney 
 Anderson. 
 
 Supervisor, J. A. Quam; commissioner of 
 highways, A. P. Dall. 
 
 Assessor, C. D. Twait; collector, Aron Sol- 
 ven; commissioner of highways, Omund 
 Omundson. 
 
 Supervisor, J. A. Quam; assessor, C. D. 
 Twait; constable, Andrew Jelm. 
 
 Assessor, Bergo Thompson; collector, 
 Knute Ugland. 
 
 Supervisor, J. A. Quam; assessor, Barto 
 Thompson; collector, K. Ugland; commis- 
 sioners of highw^ays, G. Torkelson, O. 
 Omundson. 
 
 Assessor, B. Thompson; collector, Nels E. 
 Jacobson; commissioner of highways, G. 
 Torkelson; constable, B. Thompson. 
 
 Supervisor, J. A. Quam; assessor, B. Thomp- 
 son; collector, Nels Jacobson. 
 
 Collector, Nels Jacobson; commissioner of 
 highways, Osmun Ness. 
 
 Clerk, Andrew Gaard; assessor, Bergo 
 Thompson; collector, Nels Jacobson; com- 
 missioner of highways, Andrew P. Dall; 
 constable, B. Thompson. 
 
 Clerk, Andrew Gaard; assessor, Bergo 
 Thompson; collector, Burt M. Thompson. 
 
 ■Assessor, Bergo Thompson; collector, Sal- 
 ve Ugland; commissioner of highways, 
 Bergo Orstad; constable, C. Fatland. 
 
A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 1904 — Assessor, Bergo Thompson. 
 
 1905 — Supervisor, Jonas R. Jorstad; assessor, Ber- 
 go Thompson; collector, Henry J. Norvig; 
 commissioner of highways, Thomas Thor- 
 son; constable, Bergo Thompson. 
 
 1906 — Assessor, Bergo Thompson; collector, O. 
 A. Sebby; commissioner of highways, Ber- 
 go Orstad. 
 
 MILLER TOWNSHIP. 
 
 Miller township was a part of Mission town- 
 ship until 1876, when by the influence of Nels 
 Nelson, Jr., and also others the two were sepa- 
 rated. From 1876 we find these Norwegians 
 holding public offices: 
 
 Nels Nelson, Jr., supervisor, 1876-81, 1885. 
 
 T. H. Erickson, Jr., assessor, 1871-81. 
 
 Lars Hayer. supervisor, 1894-1901; commis- 
 sioner of highways, 1877-78, 1894; collector, 1877; 
 assessor, 1891-93. 
 
 Nels Nelson, Jr., supervisor 1876, 1877, 1878, 
 1879, 1880, 1881 and 1885. 
 
 T. H. Erickson, assessor, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 
 1880 and 1881. 
 
 Isaac Classon, collector, 1876. 
 
 C. B. Erickson, commissioner of highways, 1876. 
 Trustee of schools, 1877, 1878 and 1879. 
 
 Lars Hayer, supervisor, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 
 1898, 1899. 1900 and 1901; commissioner of high- 
 ways, 1876, 1877, 1878; collector, 1877; assessor, 
 
 1891, 1892 and 1893; commissioner of highways, 
 1892 and 1893. 
 
 Lars Fruland, commissioner of highways, 1892 
 and 1893. 
 
 Ole A. Olson, commissioner, 1878, 1879 and 
 1880. 
 
 Austin Anderson, collector, 1879; commissioner 
 of highways, 1879 and 1880. 
 
 W. E. Williamson, town clerk, 1880 to 1906; 
 collector, 1884 and 1895; school treasurer, 1884 
 to 1906. 
 
 Jacob Larson, commissioner of highways, 1879. 
 
 Erasmus Olson, commissioner of highways, 
 1880. 
 
 A. H. Anderson, trustee of schools, 1880, 1881, 
 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 
 
 1892, 1893, 1894; collector, 1881. 
 
 Austin Hayer, trustee of schools, 1879, 1880, 
 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1889 and 
 1890; collector, 1886, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892 
 and 1893. 
 
 Oliver Elefson, collector, 1883. 
 
 Samuel Johnson, commissioner of highways, 
 1884. 
 
 Geo. W. Erickson, trustee of schools, 85-86, 87- 
 88, 89-90, 91-92. 
 
 Erasmus Thorson, justice of the peace, 1885. 
 
 Thomas Haugas, commissioner of highways, 
 1892, 93-94, 98-99, 03-04, 05-06. 
 
 G. L. Hayer, trustee of schools, 1895, 96-97; 
 collector, 1880. 
 
 Jeremiah Anderson, collector, 1887; commis- 
 sioner of highways, 1892, 93-94; trustee of schools, 
 1902, 03-04, 05-06. 
 
 Hans Hendrickson, collector, 1888; assessor, 
 
 1889, 1890. 
 
 Cyrus Jackson, collector, 1889. 
 
 John O. Johnson, commissioner of highways, 
 
 1890, 1891. 
 
 Oliver Hodney, commissioner of highways, 1890, 
 1891. 
 
 Wm. E. Jelm, collector, 1893. 
 
 Lewis J. Erickson, collector, 1893. 
 
 M. J. Danielson, assessor, 1894, 1895. 
 
 Tobias Satter, collector, 1894. 
 
 Elias Hayer, assessor, 1896, 97-98, 99-1900, 1901- 
 02, 03-04-05. 
 
 Ole Erickson, commissioner of highways, 96- 
 97, 98-99, 1900, 01-02, 03-04, 05-06. 
 . Elias Larson, commissioner of highways, 1895, 
 1896. 
 
 H. H. Hogensen, commissioner of highways, 
 95-96, 97; trustee of schools, 98-99, 1900, 01-02, 
 03-04, 05-06. 
 
 Oscar Rasmusson, commissioner of highways, 
 1903. 
 
 John Anderson, collector, 1899. 
 
 Ira Knutson, commissioner of highways, 1898. 
 
 Lorenzo Hayer, trustee of schools, 99-1900, 1901. 
 
 Andrew Burdall, commissioner of highways, 
 1899-1900. 
 
 Daniel Danielson, commissioner of highways, 
 1900. 
 
 Silas Rasmusson, collector, 1903. 
 
 Knut Knutson, collector, 1902. 
 
 Frank Solberg, collector, 1904. 
 
 H. I. Hogenson, collector, 1906. 
 
 Andrew Duvick, constable, 1886, 1887. 
 
 Ephraim Danielson, collector, 1898; constable, 
 1898, 1899. 
 
 Andrew Knutson, commissioner of highways, 
 1901, 1902. 
 
 David H. Hanson, collector, 1901. 
 
 Henry C. Pearson, commissioner of highways,. 
 1904, 05-06. 
 
ADAMS TOWNSHIP 
 
 77 
 
 Adams Township 
 
 Adams embraces congressional township 36 
 north, range 4 east. DeKalb county bounds it 
 on the north, Northville township on the east, 
 Serena on the south, and Earl on the west. It 
 is a prairie township and is drained by Little 
 Indian creek. The township had a slow growth 
 until the C, B. & Q. Railroad was built across the 
 northern part, in 1853, when its resources began 
 to be rapidly developed, and it is now thickly set- 
 tled and in a very prosperous condition. 
 
 The first settlement was made by Mordecai 
 Disney and his son-in-law, Sprague, who settled 
 on sec. 27, in 1836. They claimed the whole town- 
 ship and sold land to all who came, for a year or 
 two, and then left the county. 
 
 The first Norwegian settlers were Andrew An- 
 derson, Ole T. Oleson and Halvor Nelson. They 
 came from Norway in 1836 and located in La 
 Salle county. The following spring, 1837, they 
 settled on sections 21 and 32, Adams township. 
 Thove Tillotson and Paul Iverson came in 1837 
 from Norway, and in 1839 came Hans O. Hanson 
 and Osman Thomason. 
 
 Adams was organized as a township April 2, 
 1850. Among its principal officers up to 1906 we 
 find the following Norwegians: 
 
 1851 — Commissioner of highways, N. Anderson. 
 
 1852 — Commissioner of highways, J. Johnson. 
 
 1854 — Commissioner of highways, C. Olson. 
 
 1855 — Commissioner of highways, O. M. Han- 
 son. 
 
 1856 — Commissioner of highways, N. Anderson; 
 collector, A. A. Klove. 
 
 1857 — Commissioner of highways, O. M. Han- 
 son; collector, A. A. Klove. 
 
 1858 — Collector, A. A. Klove; commissioner of 
 highways, C. Halverson; justice of the peace, A. 
 A. Klove. 
 
 1859 — Assessor, A. A. Klove; collector, A. Sat- 
 ter; commissioner of highways, H. Halverson. 
 
 1860 — Collector, A. F. Satter; commissioner of 
 highways, R. Halverson. 
 
 1861 — Collector, A. F. Satter; commissioner of 
 highways; R. Halverson. 
 
 1862 — Assessor, N. Anderson; collector, Thos. 
 Iverson; constable, T. Iverson. 
 
 1863— Collector, A. F. Satter. 
 
 1865— Collector, T. Iverson. 
 
 1866— Collector, O. H. Valder; justice of the 
 peace, E. M. Konne; constable, A. Vatter. 
 
 1867 — Commissioner of highways, J. B. Har- 
 mon. 
 
 1868— Clerk, D. Richolson (who was Mrs. Isa- 
 bella Matson's first husband); assessor, A. A. 
 Klove. 
 
 1869— Clerk, D. Richolson. 
 
 1870 — Justice of the peace, D. Richolson. 
 
 1871 — Supervisor, A. A. Klove; collector, J. C. 
 Jackson. 
 
 1872 — Supervisor, A. A. Klove; ct>llector, E. H. 
 Nelson; commissioner of highways, K. Halverson. 
 
 1873 — Supervisor, A. A. Klove. 
 
 1874 — Supervisor, A. A. Klove; constable, E. H. 
 Nelson. 
 
 1875 — Supervisor, A. A. Klove; constable, Thos. 
 Thompson, Jr. 
 
 1876 — Supervisor, A. A. Klove; collector, H. T. 
 Thompson; justice, E. M. Kinne. 
 
 1877 — Supervisor, A. A. Klove; collector, N. J. 
 Nelson; clerk, E. M. Kinne. 
 
 1878 — Supervisor, A. A. Klove; clerk, E. M. 
 Kinne; collector, A. N. Anderson; commissioner 
 of highways, P. A. Peterson. 
 
 1879 — Supervisor, A. A. Klove; clerk, E. M. 
 Kinne; collector, Ole G. Edvinson. 
 
 1880— Supervisor, A. A. Klove; clerk, T. F. 
 Thompson; collector, Sam Thorson. 
 
 1881— Clerk, T. F. Thompson; collector, T. F. 
 Thompson; commissioner of highways, J. A. 
 Johnson. 
 
 1882— Clerk, T. F. Thompson; collector, T. T. 
 Thompson. 
 
 1883— Clerk, T. F. Thompson; collector, T. T. 
 Thompson; commissioner of highways, Ole M. 
 Hanson. 
 
 1884— Clerk, T. F. Thompson. 
 
 1885 — Supervisor, A. N. Anderson; clerk, T. F. 
 Thompson; assessor, Ole J. Hill; collector, T. T. 
 Thompson; commissioner of highways, C. Farley. 
 
 1886 — Supervisor, A. N. Anderson; clerk, T. F. 
 Thompson; assessor, Ole J. Hill; collector, T. F. 
 Thompson; commissioner of highways, Ole H. 
 Hanson; constable, K. W. Knudson; school 
 trustee, A. A. Klove. 
 
 1887— Supervisor, H. W. Johnson; clerk, T. T. 
 Thompson; assessor, Ole J. Hill. 
 
 1888— Supervisor, H. W. Johnson; clerk^ T. F. 
 Thompson; collector, C. B. Jacobson; commis- 
 sioner of highways, C. Farley; assessor, T. T. 
 Thompson; on Dec. 5, same year, A. N. Anderson 
 was appointed supervisor, H. W. Johnson having 
 resigned. 
 
 1889 — Supervisor, A. N. Anderson; assessor, T. 
 F. Thompson; collector, J. B. Jacobson; justices 
 
78 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 of the peace, A. A. Klove and Albert Brunson; 
 constable, Arthur Brunson; school trustee, A. A. 
 Klove. 
 
 1890 — Supervisor, A. N. Anderson; assessor, T. 
 T. Thompson; collector, Joseph Hanson; clerk, 
 T. F. Thompson; commissioner of highways, A. 
 H. Dale; school trustee, P. A. Pederson. 
 
 1891 — Clerk, T. F. Thompson; assessor, John 
 Wallem; commissioner of highways, Chris. Far- 
 ley. 
 
 1892— Supervisor, J. C. Jacobson; clerk, T. F. 
 Thompson; assessor, A. H. Dale; school trustee, 
 A. A. Klove. 
 
 1893— Clerk, T. F. Thompson; assessor, A. H. 
 Dale; commissioner of higjiways, O. M. Daniel- 
 son; justice of the peace, A. A. Klove; constable, 
 A. Brunson; school trustee, C. A. Anderson. 
 
 1894 — Supervisor, J. C. Jacobson; clerk, T. F. 
 Thompson; assessor, A. H. Dale; collector, Willis 
 Farley; commissioner of highways, C. Farley; 
 school trustee, Oscar Wallem. 
 
 1895 — Clerk, T. F. Thompson; assessor, T. T. 
 Thompson; school trustee, A. A. Klove. 
 
 1896 — Supervisor, L. F. Thompson; clerk, T. F. 
 Thompson; assessor, T. T. Thompson; collector, 
 Charles Larson. 
 
 1897— Clerk, T. F. Thompson; assessor, T. T. 
 Thompson; commissioner of highways, A. A. An- 
 derson; justice of the peace, A. A. Klove; school 
 trustee, C. K. Halvorson. 
 
 1898— Supervisor, L. T. Thompson; clerk, T. 
 F. Thoinpson; assessor, T. T. Thompson; school 
 trustee, A. A. Klove. 
 
 1899— Clerk, T. F. Thompson; assessor, T. T. 
 Thompson; collector, Elias Josephson; commis- 
 sioner of highways, Ole Edvinson. 
 
 1900 — Supervisor, C. B. Jacobson; clerk, H. R. 
 Thompson; assessor, W. C. Farley; collector, K. 
 W. Knutson; commissioner of highways, A. A. 
 Anderson; justice of the peace, S. O. Thompson; 
 school trustee, C. K. Holmson. 
 
 1901— Clerk, H. R. Thompson; assessor, T. T. 
 Thompson; collector, Conrad Hanson. 
 
 1903 — Clerk, H. R. Thompson; assessor, T. T. 
 Thompson; collector, Thomas Edvinson; commis- 
 sioner of highways, A. H. Dale. 
 
 1903 — Clerk, H. R. Thompson; assessor, A. B. 
 Anderson; collector, Thos. Flattre; commissioner 
 of highways, Oscar Wallem; school trustee; C. 
 K. Halverson. 
 
 1904 — Clerk, H. R. Thompson; collector, Peter 
 Paulson; school trustee, George Hanson. 
 
 1905 — Collector, Jacob R. Jacobson; clerk, Geo. 
 O. Grover; commissioner of highways, A. H. 
 Dale. 
 
 1906 — Supervisor, A. M. Klove; clerk, 'Geo. O. 
 Grover; constable, Ole Edvinson; school trustee,' 
 C. K. Halverson. 
 
 The Village of Leland 
 
 The earliest settlements within the immediate 
 vicinity of the village of Leland were made as 
 early as 1837. There were, however, few persons 
 located here prior to the opening of the C, B. & 
 Q. Railroad. This was due mainly to the flat, 
 swampy condition of the country, which at that 
 time, owing to the absence of drainage, was often 
 under water. The town, like almost all others 
 throughout this part of the state, was originated 
 with the survey of the railroad. Its location is 
 rather above the surrounding country, and this 
 fact, coupled with the fact of the railroad, induced 
 the owners of the land comprising the town site 
 to survey and lay out a town. These persons 
 
 were Christopher Fuerborn, who owned south of 
 the railroad, east of Main street; his brother 
 Henry, who owned that quarter-section immedi- 
 ately south of the railroad tracks; while west of 
 both was the land of Lorenzo and Alonzo Whit- 
 more. All these persons had entered their land, 
 but only one, Christopher Fuerborn, was living 
 on the land. He was the main one to move in the 
 location of the town, and the original site com- 
 prises only his and his brother's quarter-section. 
 They had come there some time during 1852, 
 and Lorenzo was occupying a house — the only 
 one on the town-site — when the plat was made. 
 The survey was made by J. H. Wagner, and is 
 
THE VILLAGE OF LELAND 
 
 79 
 
 recorded June 24, 1853. The town was then called 
 Whitfield, and to it the Whitmore brothers made 
 their addition soon after its survey. When the 
 railroad company erected their freight and pas- 
 senger houses they named the station Waverly, 
 and under that name a postoffice was established. 
 There was, however, another office by that name 
 in Morgan county, and mail matter for these of- 
 fices would often get mixed and go to the wrong 
 office. This led to a petition from the residents 
 about Waverly Station, asking the authorities for 
 a change of name. The postmaster at Waverly 
 was John Leland Adams. It was proposed to call 
 the town and office "Adams", in compliment to 
 Mr. Adams. There was another office by this 
 name in Illinois, and the name was refused by the 
 department. Not to be frustrated in their wishes, 
 the name "Leland'' was proposed and accepted, 
 and the town and office is now known by that 
 name. 
 
 The railroad was opened in 1853. In the same 
 year the first store was opened by Abraham Skin- 
 ner. The first mechanic in town was our country- 
 man Elias Hanson, who opened a blacksmithshop 
 in 1854. In the year 1859, Nov. 16, a notice was 
 given that an election would be held on Nov. 26 
 for the purpose of voting on the proposition to 
 incorporate Whitfield as a village. The vote 
 resulted in 37 for and 13 against incorporation. 
 On the 3d day of December an election was held 
 for officers of the village. Among those elected 
 we note two Norwegians. The names of Ole T. 
 Satter and A. A. Klove are among the trustees. 
 In 1885 we find Henry W. Johnson as police 
 magistrate (this is the ex-judge, now the bank 
 president, H. W. Johnson of Ottawa) and A. A. 
 Bjelland as clerk. The village took the name of 
 Leland about 1864. 
 
 The postmistress at Leland is now, in 1907, 
 Mrs. Carrie Hovda, whose biography appears on 
 another page. The village at present has two 
 banks, both controlled by Norwegians. The First 
 National Bank of Leland was opened in the fall 
 of 1905. It is run by some young men of the 
 Grover family. The other bank is ruled by T. 
 
 F. Thompson, president, and Andrew Anderson, 
 cashier. 
 
 Among the business men up to 1886 we find the 
 following Norwegians: General stores: J. A. 
 Hovda, J. C. Jacobson, O. Simonson and K. John- 
 son; clothing: Peterson & Klove; druggist: A. A. 
 Bjelland; hardware: J. A. Hovda; restaurant: A. 
 E. Amundsen; milliner shops: Mrs. P. H. Peter- 
 son and Misses Jacobson; furniture: T. W. Thor- 
 son; boots and shoes: George Gunderson and H. 
 Anderson; barber: T. Pederson; wagon maker: 
 E. Erickson; blacksmith: Elias Hanson; carpen- 
 ters: K. Baker, John Baker and A. Bringadal; 
 painters: Ole R. Pederson and T. W. Thorson; 
 coopers: FI. Simonson and J. J. Tarket; mason: J. 
 Abrahamson; hotel: J. B. Johnson. 
 
 In 1907 the following Norwegians are engaged 
 in business at Leland: Elias Josephson, meat- 
 market; The Erickson Studio (Erickson & Sister), 
 photographers; Levi Warn, coal, cement and 
 feed; M. B. Pederson, barber; J. C. Jacobson & 
 Son, general merchandise; S. O. Thompson, gro- 
 cer; Larson & Grover, general merchandise; E. 
 Erickson's Sons, wagon makers, blacksmiths and 
 dealers in farmers' implements; O. Simonson, 
 general merchandise; Joe Jacobson, candies and 
 cigars; E. A. Danielson, hardware, wagons and 
 implements of all kinds; Martin Fossand, shoe- 
 maker; John Mossness, contractor and builder; 
 Ole R. Pederson, painter; Jacob R. Jacobson, con- 
 tractor and builder; Alfred Anderson, contractor 
 and builder; Peter Satter, hardware and furnaces; 
 the Farmers' Elevator, run by Ed. Farley; W. A. 
 Grover, manager of the Neola Elevator Co.; N. 
 G. Klove, publisher of the Leland Times; Conrad 
 Hanson, blacksmith, son of Elias Hanson; Nels 
 Logland, housemover; K. W. Knutson & John 
 Thoreson driving and expressing; Miss Martha 
 Walder and Miss Anna Kloster, dressmakers; 
 Miss Anna Simonson, milliner; John Abraham- 
 son, mason; Walter Abrahamson, harnessmaker. 
 
 The board of trustees, elected April 17, 1906, is 
 composed as follows: Wm. A. Grover, A. H. Dale, 
 A. B. Anderson, George Gunderson and Charles 
 Kittleson. Charles A. Erickson is the village clerk. 
 
 Ottawa 
 
 Ottawa is the county seat of La Salle county, 
 eighty-four miles from Chicago, at the junction 
 of the Illinois and Fox Rivers. Its business streets 
 are paved and the city lighted by electricity. It 
 
 enjoys a perfect sewer system, waterworks with 
 pure artesian water, and a low tax rate. The city 
 has local electric roads and interurban lines, and 
 twenty-four passenger trains in and out every day. 
 
80 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 It boasts three banks, whose combined assets are 
 over $4,000,000; two building associations; two 
 colleges; high school; six public schools; public 
 librar}'- and hospital, and thirteen churches. Ot- 
 tawa has excellent shipping facilities; four good 
 hotels; B. P. O. E. club house and business men's 
 club. It is located in the heart of the northern 
 Illinois coal fields; has the finest glass sand in 
 the United States and extensive fields of clay of 
 all kinds. Such are the cold facts. 
 
 We shall not attempt to write a sketch, much 
 less the history of Ottawa. It has been a trad- 
 ing place for our countrymen since they first came 
 to the Fox River Settlement, but there never 
 were many of them who chose that city for their 
 abode. A few retired farmers and widows have, 
 however, of late chosen to spend their declining 
 years there, so that its directory contains about 
 one hundred Norwegian names, which is not 
 much for a city of over 12,000 inhabitants sur- 
 rounded by a farming country largely populated 
 by Norwegians and their descendants. 
 
 There are, however, a number of professional 
 and business men located here, and Ottawa is the 
 only place outside of Chicago that can boast of 
 having a newspaper in the Norwegian language. 
 This paper is Illinois Posten and was transferred 
 there in 1896 in order to help in pushing the 
 Pleasant View Luther College and as a local 
 paper for old people in La Salle and surrounding 
 counties. The paper has also helped the Norweg- 
 ians in politics, so that since it came to Ottawa 
 the Norwegians have secured several important 
 political offices; such as one county judge, one 
 member of the legislature, one sherifif, four super- 
 visors and one city attorney, and it has been rec- 
 ognized by national, state and county commit- 
 tees. Its publisher and editor is Mr. P. A. Olsen. 
 
 Here we print a list of the present professional 
 and business men of Norwe.gian descent at Ot- 
 
 tawa: Owen Anderson, lawyer; Benson Bros., 
 sands for foundries; B. O. Berge, lawyer; J. A. 
 Edmunds, dry goods; H. O. Evenson, M. D.; 
 Hans Gulbranson, piano tuner; Axel Heiberg, 
 pharmacist; Hon. H. W. Johnson, banker; Nelson 
 & Johnson, clothiers; Hans Ohme, cement con- 
 tractor; O. G. Olson, merchant tailor; P. A. Ol- 
 sen, publisher and printer; Harald Richolson, 
 lawyer, city attorney; Dr. G. P. Stordock, dentist. 
 We have another list of names to present, one 
 which is both thrilling and sad, and that is the 
 one on the soldiers' monument in the little beau- 
 tiful park right in the heart of the city. It gives 
 the names of those brave and stouthearted fel- 
 lows who did not hesitate to respond when Abra- 
 ham Lincoln sent out his call for men, but gal- 
 lantly shouldered their guns and gave their lives 
 for their adopted country's honor. We will not 
 undertake to correct the misspelling of some 
 names, as they were probably all copied from the 
 army rolls. Ole K. Halverson 
 
 Gens Oleson J. H. Pederson 
 
 Geo. B. Matson Oliver Lars 
 
 Yance Oleson Soren Sorenson 
 
 John Oleson H. Holverson 
 
 John Johnson Nels L. Nelson 
 
 Philander Z. Peterson R. M. Phuland 
 M. E. Osmanson Peter Olson 
 
 Geo. Matson Col. Edw. Munson 
 
 Lars T. Egerness Capt. D. C. Rynlarson 
 
 Loren Lawson Obed Sanderson 
 
 B. Davidson Ole O. Anderson 
 
 J. S. Johnson D. R. Johnson 
 
 Chas. Johnson J. D. Johnson 
 
 J. F. Pearson Sergt. J. Thorson 
 
 L. M. Thompson Osman Larson 
 
 Lieut. R. Anderson Jacob Nilson 
 
 Henry Johnson Petter Oleson 
 
 H. R. Halverson L. H. Thorson 
 
 Iver Edwinson 1st Lieut. O. S. Davidson 
 
 Jacob Hanson Loren Larson 
 
 Norway 
 
 Norway is a flourishing little village situated in 
 the prosperous Norwegian settlement in the south- 
 ern part of Mission township. La Salle county. 
 Andrew Osmundson came from the old country in 
 an early day and settled on sec. 33. Mr. Hejer- 
 dal erected a small building in 1848, in which he 
 placed a small stock of goods. Mr. Nitter, the 
 
 father of David Nitter, built another little house 
 and C. J. Borchsenius erected a two-story build- 
 ing, the lower story being used as a store room 
 and the upper one for a dwelling. From that time 
 the village has not grown in number of houses, 
 but in business, as it is surrounded by a large and 
 rich farming country. Norway at present has 
 
NORWAY 
 
 81 
 
 two general stores, kept by David Nitter and 
 George Borchsenius; one drug store, kept by 
 Borchsenius in connection with his other store; 
 two wagon, blacksmith and implement shops, by 
 John Larson and A. Ryerson. The Lutheran is 
 the oldest church. It was erected in 1852 and 
 rebuilt in 1875. Its first minister was Rev. Ole 
 Andrewson. The postoffice was established about 
 the time the village was founded. The first post- 
 
 master was C. J. Borchsenius; the second, Nels 
 T0sseland; the third, E. Solberg (now a merchant 
 at Seneca); the fourth and last, David Nitter, who 
 was postmaster from 1889 to May, 1906, when the 
 office was discontinued on account of the rural 
 free delivery system, the mail matter now being 
 sent out from Sheridan. In the late fall of 1906 
 Mr. Nitter sold his store and moved to Minne- 
 sota. 
 
 Sheridan 
 
 In 1834 Robert Rowe, a Scotchman, came from 
 Cincinnati, Ohio, and settled on the northern 
 part of section 8 and southern part of section 5. 
 The first improvement made where the beautiful 
 and flourishing village of Sheridan now is situ- 
 ated was made in the autumn of 1869. Alfred 
 Rowe built a small frame house and John Mora- 
 han moved into a shanty from the country near- 
 by. In the winter of 1869-70 a hotel and store 
 building was erected by S. M. Rowe and Delos 
 Robinson. Eli Robinson was the first proprietor 
 of the hotel. The first store was established by 
 S. M. Rowe and Delos Robinson. The depot 
 building was erected in 1871, the C, B. & Q. R. R. 
 having been completed Jan. 8, 1871. The first 
 agent was Frederick Frank. 
 
 The postoffice was established in 1866 and was 
 located about a mile east of the present site of 
 the village. The first postmaster was John M. 
 North. In 1870 it was moved to the village. 
 
 The village was incorporated under the gen- 
 eral corporation law, June 24, 1872. S. M. Rowe 
 was the first president of the board. Among the 
 members of the board in 1885 we find our coun- 
 tryman, Mr. J. A. Quam, who now is a banker at 
 Sheridan, but then kept a clothing and gents' fur- 
 
 nishing store. His sketch is found elsewhere in 
 this volume. Another of our countrymen, Mr. 
 A. Schlanbusch, was village treasurer for the 
 year mentioned. He died in 1906. The village 
 has almost always until now been strictly tem- 
 perate. 
 
 S. M. Rowe dedicated to the village two blocks, 
 in which in 1874 an artesian well was sunk at a 
 cost of about $1,500. It had a depth of 475 feet 
 and at the start had a flow of about six feet of 
 water. Now the water must be pumped up. The 
 grounds have been decorated with shade trees, 
 so that the village has a beautiful little park. 
 
 Among Norwegian business people in Sheridan 
 in 1907 we notice: Farmers & Merchants' State 
 Bank, the president of which is Mr. J. A. Quam; 
 Thompson & Callagan, general store, H. L. 
 Thompson being a Norwegian; A. Gaard, general 
 store; W. T. Schlanbusch, dry goods and grocer- 
 ies; T. J. Thompson, barber; C. T. Fatland, horse- 
 shoer and blacksmith; Bert Thompson, meat 
 market; Miss Gertrud Mosey, school teacher; 
 Avon Solvin, wagon maker; Bergo Thompson, 
 real estate and insurance; Nels Ugeland, carpen- 
 ter and builder. Enoch Pedersen is representing 
 the district in the state assembly. 
 
 Big Grove Township 
 
 Big Grove Township is located in the south- 
 ern part of Kendall county. There is only one 
 village, Newark, within its boundaries. It is in- 
 teresting to see, not only what material prog- 
 ress our countrymen have made here as else- 
 
 where in the Fox River Settlement, but also 
 how they acquired influence in public aflfairs 
 as the years passed on. As soon as the land 
 was pretty well taken up by settlers, the first 
 common necessity was to build roads and high- 
 
82 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ways. In the records of the township we have 
 picked out the following list of the inhabit- 
 ants liable to work on the highways in the dif- 
 ferent road districts. In district 3: Thos. Howse 
 (Huus), Thomas Olson, Buren Olson, Larse Ol- 
 son, Vier Ceveson (Severtson), Christopher Lar- 
 son and Charles Vier. In district 4: Loss (Lars) 
 Tunswick, Raynard Poleson, John Munson and 
 Ingebrit Olson. In district 6: John Shureson, 
 Oliver Larson and Seve Larson. In district 8: 
 J. F. Hill and E. M. Hill. In district 9: Larse 
 Larson, Osman Osmanson, Holiver (Halvor) 
 Osmanson, Urin Ofinson and Jacob Jacobson. 
 In district 10 the record simply mentions: "A 
 Norwegian." In district 11: John Hill and Chas. 
 Aman. In district 13: Osman Johnson. In dis- 
 trict 14: Errick Lawson and Ole Canuteson. In 
 district 17: Henry Monson. In district 19: 
 Christian Olson. 
 
 At an annual town meeting at the Red School- 
 house, April 3, 1866, Nels S. Nelson was elected 
 road overseer. In 1867: Lars Larson for district 
 1. In 1870: John Fatland, district 3; E. S. Hol- 
 land, district 10; Osten Osbjornson, district 11; 
 Tor Johnson, district 17. In 1871; Chris Larson, 
 district 3; E. S. Holland, district 10; Jacob An- 
 derson, district 11; Ole Johnson, district 15. In 
 1872: Chris Larson, district 3; Jacob Anderson, 
 district 11; Ole Johnson, district 15. In 1873: 
 Chris. Larson, district 3; Jacob Husen, district 
 10; H. Halverson, district 11; Lars Likness, dis- 
 trict 12; Ole Johnson, district 15; Hans H. Ol- 
 son, district 18. In 1874, C. Larson, district 3; 
 H. Halverson, district 11; Hans H. Olson, dis- 
 trict 18. 
 
 In 1875 Nels S. Nelson was elected collector, 
 and in 1876 he was re-elected to the office. 
 
 In 1879 — E. S. Holland, assessor; Olaf Larson, 
 constable. 
 
 In 1880 — E. S. Holland, assessor; Torris John- 
 son, highway commissioner. 
 
 In 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884— E. S. Holland, asses- 
 sor. 
 
 In 1883 — T. W. Weeks, collector; Austin O. Os- 
 mond, highway commissioner. 
 
 In 1884 — N. S. Nelson, highway commissioner. 
 
 In 1885 — John Lawson, constable. 
 
 In 1886 — Austin Osmond, highway commission- 
 er; Nels S. Nelson, school trustee. 
 
 In 1888 — Nels S. Nelson, assessor; G. G. Knut- 
 son, collector. 
 
 In 1889 — Nels S. Nelson, assessor; Gunnar 
 Overland, collector; Austin Osmond, highway 
 commissioner; Tom Weeks, school trustee. Since 
 then Gunnar Overland has been re-elected col- 
 lector every year to the present time and he also 
 serves as clerk of the village of Newark. 
 
 In 1890 — N. S. Nelson, assessor; Ole Anderson, 
 highway commissioner; E. S. Holland, justice of 
 the peace. 
 
 In 1891 — N. S. Nelson, assessor; Tom Weeks, 
 school trustee. 
 
 In 1892, 1893 — Nels S. Nelson, assessor. 
 
 In 1893 — Ole Anderson, commissioner of high- 
 ways; E. S. Holland, justice of the peace. 
 
 In 1894 — Tom Weeks and E. S. Holland, school 
 trustees. 
 
 In 1895 — Ole J. Ness, constable; E. S. Holland, 
 school trustee. 
 
 In 1896 — Ole Anderson, commissioner of high- 
 ways. 
 
 In 1897 — Charles Udstuen, constable: Nels S. 
 Nelson, school trustee. 
 
 In 1898 — E. S. Holland, justice of the peace; 
 Ole Anderson, school trustee. 
 
 In 1899 — Ole Anderson, commissioner of high- 
 ways; Torris Johnson, school trustee. 
 
 In 1900 — Nels S. Nelson, elected supervisor for 
 two years; Arnt Sampson, commissioner of high- 
 ways. 
 
 In 1901 — Ole Anderson, school trustee. 
 
 In 1902 — Nels S. Nelson, supervisor for two 
 years; Austin Thompson, assessor; Ole Ander- 
 son, commissioner of highways; Gilbert Torkel- 
 son, constable; Torris Johnson and John Ander- 
 son, school trustees. 
 
 In 1903, 1904 — Records not accessible, being 
 kept by the county clerk at Yorkville. 
 
 In 1905 — A. M. Thompson, assessor; Louis 
 Gravely, commissioner of highways; C. F. John- 
 ston, constable. 
 
 In 1906 — Nels S. Nelson, supervisor; A. M. 
 Thompson, assessor; A. R. Thompson, commis- 
 sioner of highways; Halvor Ness, constable; John 
 Anderson, school trustee. 
 
NEWARK 
 
 83 
 
 Newark 
 
 The first Norwegian settler in Newark was Ole 
 Olson Hetletvedt. We have this from Mrs. Lars 
 Fruland, Hetletvedt's niece, who as well as her 
 husband are still living in Newark. Mr. Fruland 
 was a son of Nels Fruland, one of the party that 
 was misguided to the unfortunate Beaver Creek 
 Settlement. 
 
 As we have mentioned on another page, Ole 
 Olson Hetletvedt was a "Slooper." He will be 
 remembered as being the first to conduct Luth- 
 eran religious services in America. He was a 
 farmer's son from the neighborhood of Stavanger, 
 but had acquired a little better education than the 
 others of the sloop party and had been a school 
 teacher in Norway. From the Kendall settlement 
 in New York he went to Niagara Falls, where he 
 worked in a paper mill and was married to a Miss 
 Chamberlain. He is said to have conducted re- 
 ligious services on the sloop during its voyage 
 and then in Kendall Settlement. When he came 
 to the Fox River Settlement he started religious 
 
 meetings according to the Haugean custom. He 
 is said to have been a very mild tempered but 
 ardent Christian, and he traveled in all the Nor- 
 wegian settlements, preaching and acting as 
 agent for the American Bible Society. 
 
 The next settlers in Newark were Knut Wil- 
 liamson and Herman Osmonsen. 
 
 Newark is now a thriving town of some 600 in- 
 habitants, the population being largely made up 
 of retired farmers from the surrounding country. 
 The place has several stores, a postofiflce and one 
 bank. Osmond Brothers keep a well equipped 
 furniture store and conduct an undertaking estab- 
 lishment. Ed Hextel keeps the only hotel and 
 restaurant. He has lately added a livery stable. 
 The village is handicapped in its development by 
 being located two miles from the nearest railroad 
 station, at Millington, but both a steam road and 
 an electric road are now under consideration and 
 may be realized in the near future. 
 
 Nettle Creek Township, Grundy County 
 
 About 1845 the Norwegian element began to 
 come into this township, and it is astonishing how 
 rapidly they have supplanted the original settlers. 
 Among the earliest of this class of foreigners 
 were John Peterson, Ben Thornton, Ben Hall, 
 Lars and Rasmus Shelldal, John Wing, G. E. 
 Grundstad and others. In 1849 the Norwegians 
 were settled on the sections as follows: On sec- 
 tion 4, Lars and Rasmus Shelldal, John Wing 
 and G. E. Grundstad; on section 7, John Peter- 
 son, Ben Thornton, and Simon Fry; on section 
 8, Lars Likeness and Ben Hall; on section 9, 
 Hugo Mossman; on section 22, Samuel Hoge; on 
 section 25, William Hoge. This is not to be un- 
 derstood as if each person mentioned owned the 
 whole of a section, as there were men of other 
 nationalities interspersed among them. 
 
 During the early history of this community, the 
 nearest store and postofifice was at Ottawa, and 
 the nearest market at Chicago. As the country 
 settled upMorris was founded, and with Marseilles 
 
 on the southwest divided the local trade, so that 
 Nettle Creek could not afford sufficient patronage 
 to justify a store here. A log sawmill was con- 
 structed by Williams Hoge on Nettle Creek and 
 did a moderate business for some ten years, but 
 the dam washed out one winter and the mill was 
 allowed to rot down. The only approach to a 
 store was attempted in 1876, when Zacharias Sev- 
 erson added to his boot and shoe shop, on sec. 
 8, a small stock of groceries. This was too late 
 a date for success, and it was discontinued. 
 
 Among the Norwegians who have held public 
 office the present township clerk, Mr. Thor Tes- 
 dal, has furnished us the following names from 
 the public records: 
 
 Olen O. Johnson, justice of the peace twenty 
 years, and besides supervisor and county treas- 
 urer. 
 
 S. S. Marvick, supervisor for a number of years, 
 is now engaged in the land business at Morris, 
 Illinois. 
 
84 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Joseph H. Osmon, supervisor, now prominent 
 farmer. 
 
 Ami Markeson, supervisor, tow^n clerk seven 
 years, commissioner of highways. 
 
 Hactor P. Wicks, commissioner of highways 
 during many terms. 
 
 Austin Oswood, commissioner of highways. 
 
 Henry Torkilson, commissioner of highways. 
 
 Albert Peterson, justice of the peace. 
 
 Abraham Anderson, commissioner of highways. 
 
 Torris Larson, commissioner of highways. 
 
 Ole S. Johnson, assessor. 
 
 Andrew Rand, school trustee, commissioner of 
 highways. 
 
 C. E. Cassem, town clerk. 
 
 Thor Tesdal, elected town clerk in 1902 and 
 every year thereafter; school director ten years. 
 
 Capron and Jefferson Prairie 
 
 Surrounding the little town of Capron, Boone 
 county, not far from the Wisconsin boundary 
 line, is to be found a large settlement of pros- 
 perous Norwegian farmers. The first immigrants 
 to settle there were Thor Knutson Traim and 
 Olson Kaasa, with their families. They came 
 from Telemarken and arrived in 1843. 
 
 The following year a number came from Sogn 
 and settled there. The most prominent of those 
 were Lars Johnson Haave, Ole Aavri, Iver Inge- 
 breitson Haave, Anfin Seim, Ole Orvedahl, Ole 
 Tistel, Ingebreit and Ole Vange, all with families 
 except Ole Vange. In 1845 a third party came, 
 among whom were Elim Ellingson. three brothers 
 Andres, Ole and Endre Hermundson (Numedal), 
 of whom Andres and Ole were married; Johan- 
 nes Olson Dale and Hans Simpson Halron, both 
 with families, and finally Endre Olson Stadem 
 and Johan Olson F0le with families. From Tel- 
 emarken arrived in 1844 Bj0rn Bakketoe, Johan- 
 nes Kleiva and Ole Thorson Kaasa, all with fam- 
 ilies. 
 
 The first congregation in Capron was started 
 in 1844 by Rev. J. W. C. Dietrichson, who was 
 born at Fredriksstad, Norway, April 4, 1815, and 
 died at Copenhagen, Denmark, from a stroke of 
 paralysis, Nov. 14, 1883. His remains were taken 
 to Norway and buried at Porsgrund, 1883. He 
 was educated and ordained for the ministry in 
 Norway. A dyer by the name of P. S0rensen in 
 Christiania induced Mr. Dietrichson to come to 
 America and preach the gospel for his country- 
 men. It is said that he was encouraged not only 
 by words but also with a snug sum of money for 
 the mission. He finally concluded to accept, and 
 with this in view he was ordained in the Oslo 
 
 Church by the bishop of Christiania stift, 1844. 
 He arrived in Milwaukee, Aug. 5, 1844, and from 
 there went first to Muskego, and in the last days 
 of August, 1844, he arrived in Koshkonong prai- 
 rie, where he held service in a barn. 
 
 The church in the neighborhood of Capron, 
 111., was the second house of worship to be start- 
 ed by Dietrichson, but was completed first, and 
 was dedicated Dec. 19, 1844. The other one was 
 in Wisconsin in the town of Christiana. Filing 
 Fielsen had, however, built a "meeting house" in 
 the Fox River Settlement in 1842. 
 
 Rev. Dietrichson was an ardent Christian mis- 
 sionary, full of energy and pluck, but was lack- 
 ing in that most important Christian virtue, for- 
 bearance. He often lost his mental equipoise. It 
 must, however, be taken into consideration that 
 he was brought up and educated, as were most of 
 his confreres in the old country, to look down 
 on the farmers as an inferior race that could be 
 and was disciplined to obey without asking ques- 
 tions. That kind of despotism is still partly pre- 
 vailing in the country parishes of Europe. When 
 the farmers have breathed the exhilarating air of 
 this free country they must be treated differently, 
 as Dietrichson soon found out. 
 
 We will cite some instances illustrating the 
 case in question. In one of his flocks he had a 
 farmer by the name of Funkelien, who was one of 
 those foolish and irritating individuals that con- 
 sider it great fun to embarrass their pastors by 
 asking them to solve scriptural conundrums or 
 explain apparent contradictions. He was well 
 read in the Scriptures and in constant controversy 
 with Dietrichson, who finally became so impa- 
 tient with him that he told him he was excom- 
 
• CAPRON AND JEFFERSON PRAIRIE 
 
 municated from his church and forbidden to ap- 
 pear at the service. When Funkelien, neverthe- 
 less, attended the church on the following Sun- 
 day, Dietrichson called on the men present to 
 eject him, and when he found them hesitating, 
 remaining in their seats, his ire knew no bounds, 
 and he rushed down from the pulpit to throw 
 Funkelien out with his own hands. Funkelien, 
 however, nothing daunted, met force with force, 
 and a lively fight ensued. Of this Dietrichson, 
 being the heavier man, got the better, and suc- 
 ceeded in ejecting his obstreperous adversary. 
 The latter had his energetic shepherd arrested, 
 and Dietrichson was fined for disorderly conduct 
 and battery. — Another newcomer had sent his 
 wife to Dietrichson on some errand, at which he 
 took offense. He grasped her so hard by the 
 
 arm in order to shove her out through the door 
 that his fingers left blue marks. For this he was 
 arrested and fined $50. 
 
 This goes to show not only that Dietrichson 
 believed in the "church militant" but also that 
 the "ecclesiastical strife" among the Norwegians 
 of America commenced at an early period of their 
 history. 
 
 In Capron our enterprising countryman, Ex- 
 Alderman A. J. Olson of Woodstock and Chicago, 
 has bought and renovated a factory for the ex- 
 ploiting of milk products. The farmers in the 
 surrounding country will here have a good and 
 steady market for their milk, so it is presumed 
 that they will devote their attention to the rais- 
 ing of milch-cows. 
 
 Lee County 
 
 The first Norwegian immigrant to settle in 
 Lee County was Amund Helgeson Maakestad, 
 whose name after his arrival was Americanized 
 to Omnion Hilleson. By his countrymen his 
 memory is held in such regard as to suggest the 
 attributes of the Scandinavian deity Frej. He 
 came to America in 1835 and for a few years 
 was a coast sailor. When tired of being tossed 
 by the ocean waves he set out and walked all 
 the way from New York to Chicago. From the 
 latter place he started on foot for the Norwegian 
 settlement on Fox River, but being overtaken by 
 a covered wagon (prairie schooner) filled with 
 men, women and children, and being invited to 
 ride with them, got in. He was by this time 
 able to understand English fairly well, and when 
 two of the men got out and walked behind and 
 talked together about his money their real 
 character and intentions were revealed to him. 
 He had some money, and no doubt his situation 
 was uncomfortable, until a man and a woman 
 driving a team overtook them. He leaped out, 
 and as the charmed bird flies when the spell is 
 broken, sprang into the other wagon without a 
 word of parting to the one or of introduction to 
 the other. His leap in the dark had brought 
 him to good footing, for this time he had not 
 fallen among thieves, but among some of his 
 
 own people going home to Fox River, and his 
 journey thither was happily relieved of further 
 unpleasant incident. It has a singular seeming, 
 but is nevertheless a verity, that with his limited 
 knowledge of the English language he left his 
 countrymen behind and pushed forward to Lee 
 Center among strangers, not in habit, sentiment 
 and nationality only, but in language also. This 
 shows him to have had the truly pioneering 
 spirit; he could not have been less than a pioneer. 
 Having obtained work there, it was not long 
 till he was able to start independently, and he 
 settled in Bradford township, where he at first 
 built a sodhouse. A little later he put up a frame 
 house, which was quite conspicuous in those 
 early days and was seen over the naked prairie 
 by a German familj' (Reinhart) at Melugin's 
 Grove on their wav out from Chicago. Their 
 young daughter, ]\Iiss Catherine E. Reinhart, fell 
 in love with the sturdy Norwegian, and with 
 tlie approval of her parents they were married. 
 Their wedded life was passed on his homestead 
 in Bradford township, which was too early de- 
 prived of liis services by his untimely death. Two 
 cliildren were born to him and hig wife: Henry 
 W. and Betsy J., the latter of whom is the wife 
 of Conrad Brandau. Mr. Henry W. Hilleson 
 was married in 1873 to Miss Eliz.abeth Roth, 
 
A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 born in Germany, Feb. 18, 1853. Her parents, 
 also of German birth, came to the United States 
 in 1860. Henry W. Hilleson has been supervisor 
 several years and for several terms a member 
 of the county board. 
 
 Ommon Hilleson, having found the country 
 good, wrote his relatives in the old country to 
 dispose of their possessions, and come over and 
 join him here. They responded and left Sjzifjor- 
 den in Hardanger for Bergen, where they em- 
 barked in the stanch sailing vessel Juno, which 
 after a journey of one month's duration landed 
 them in New York in June, 1847. The party 
 consisted of the following grown up members: 
 
 Lars L. Risetter, 
 
 Lars Helgeson (Hilleson) Maakestad, 
 
 Helge Helgeson (Hilleson), his brother, 
 
 Ingeborg Helgesdatter, their sister, married to 
 
 Lars Olson Espe, 
 
 Sjur Arneson BIy, 
 
 Torgels Knudson Maakestad, 
 
 Lars Larson Bly, and 
 
 Gertrud Helgesdatter L0nning. 
 
 From New York the journey was by steam- 
 boat to Albany and from there by railroad to 
 Buffalo. From Buffalo to Chicago they traveled 
 by steamer on the lakes. 
 
 In Chicago the party was met by Ommon Hille- 
 son. There being no direct trail and no railroad 
 west of Chicago, they were guided by an ox 
 team out to the Fox River Settlement, where 
 the town of Norway is now located. Oxen were 
 used in preference to horses for the reason that 
 they were cheaper and could feed on the grass 
 of the prairie. Horses were expensive and had 
 to be fed on oats, an expensive article in those 
 early days. 
 
 After a rest at Norway our immigrants went 
 north by the same means of transportation, 
 their belongings in the wagon and the men walk- 
 ing. 
 
 One of the party, Lars Larson Bly, found 
 Chicago more alluring than a strenuous walk 
 across the prairies, so he concluded to remain 
 there. He did not grow rich by so doing. 
 
 Ingeborg Helgesdatter remained at Norway, 
 La Salle county some time, and came to Lee 
 county later on. 
 
 At first the newcomers obtained work from 
 earlier settlers, and then scattered out, many 
 going to Sublette township. The first one to go 
 was Lars Larson Risetter, who was the second 
 Norwegian to settle in Willow Creek township. 
 
 The land where they settled was part of the 
 wild prairie, which at that time was mostly un- 
 settled; deer, wolves and other wild animals were 
 
 frequently seen where now are rich farms and 
 flourishing villages. The settlements were made 
 mostly in the timber, as the value of the prairie 
 land for farming purposes had not yet been 
 realized. As mentioned before, there were no 
 railroads west of Chicago, and the communica- 
 tion with the outside world was by the way of 
 rough roads or over the trackless prairies. Our 
 colonists were witnesses of the many wonder- 
 ful changes that the years brought, and were 
 potent factors in developing their sections from 
 the wilderness. 
 
 Having no means of support, the newcomers at 
 first worked for Irishmen and Americans who had 
 been earlier on the ground, but when they by 
 great effort had saved a little money they bought 
 land. Besides the reason already mentioned for 
 taking to the timber, there was another not less 
 important. They could cut it down and build 
 log cabins, which were frequently erected in a 
 single day, the colonists helping each other. 
 
 It is mentioned that Ommon Hilleson was the 
 first Norwegian to build a farmhouse in Lee 
 county. The second was Lars Olson Espe. He 
 got ahead of the third one, because he was a car- 
 penter by trade, and consequently knew how to 
 handle the tools better. The third Norwegian to 
 build a dwelling in Lee county was Lars L. Ris- 
 etter, whose log house was put up in one day. 
 Mr. Lars L. Risetter is also still living, and his 
 sons (Lewis and Holden) now live with their 
 father on the original homestead in Willow Creek 
 township. 
 
 Lars Risetter gave his one-half section to his 
 sons, who have since acquired and added more 
 land to their possessions, until they now own 
 a whole section. 
 
 The first Norwegian settler in Willow Creek 
 township was Amund Hilleson Ljzinning. He 
 was the second son of Helge and Ingeleif Amund- 
 son, and was born in South Bergen stift, Nor- 
 way, June 20, 1821. His father died when 
 Amund was six years old, and his mother being 
 left in destitute circumstances with six children, 
 the latter were bound out according to the custom 
 of that country in regard to the poor; that is, 
 each farmer takes one in his turn for a length 
 of time corresponding to the amount of property 
 he owns; while sometimes the poor are bid off 
 at auction, the keeper being paid for their care 
 and trouble. Mr. Hilleson was provided for ac- 
 cording to the former method. When 16 years 
 old he was able to take care of himself, and 
 hired out the first year for $5 and his clothing, 
 and so on gradually but very slowly increasing 
 until he had worked thirteen years, the last 
 
LEE COUNTY 
 
 87 
 
 years receiving as high as $10 and a little cloth- 
 ing a year. Four years before he had enough 
 money saved to emigrate he began to turn his 
 thoughts wistfully toward America, and from 
 that time worked with the sole object of coming 
 at the earliest time when he could be ready. 
 That time arrived in 1850, and he came directly 
 to Sublette township, where his brother-in-law, 
 Lars L. Risetter, was living, and worked the first 
 year in the employ of Thomas Fessenden through 
 haying and harvest for $11 a month. In 1852 he 
 bought the N. E. qr. sec. 15 in Willow Creek for 
 $1.25 per acre, and continued to hire out as a 
 laborer until he had been there five years. In 
 
 Amund Hilleson. 
 
 1855 he began to improve his land, keeping house 
 for himself two years, and then, in 1837, he was 
 married to Ingeborg Larsen Maland, who was 
 born May 8, 1822, and emigrated to Sublette in 
 1855. Two children were born to them: Helge 
 A., born 1859, and Ingleif, who died in 1866. Mr. 
 Hilleson contributed liberally toward the erec- 
 tion of a house of worship, having given to that 
 object some $600. In 1875 he bought the N. E. 
 qr. sec. 15 for $8,150. His was one of the best 
 improved and most desirable farms in the county. 
 He was a republican and one of the solid men in 
 means and character in Willow Creek township. 
 He died June 25, 1896, having willed his farm 
 
 to his son and $1,000 to each of his four grand- 
 children. Mrs. Hilleson, who died Dec. 16, 1866, 
 gave to the three grandchildren born after her 
 husband's death $1,000 each. Ommon Hilleson 
 had accumulated $12,000 cash besides his farm. 
 A better lesson on the possibilities of this coun- 
 try could rarely be found: growing up in a poor- 
 house and ending his days a wealthy man. 
 
 The same year and in the same ship with Om- 
 mon Hilleson came two other unmarried men — 
 Ole Vasvig from Odda and Bryngel from Gra- 
 ven, Hardanger. They lived together in a log 
 cabin many years, worked hard and saved money, 
 which they kept in a chest under their bed. One 
 
 Mrs. Amund Hilleson. 
 
 night two men came around and asked them for 
 shelter over the night. This was willingly grant- 
 ed. But our countrymen were poorly rewarded. 
 During the night they were killed with their own 
 ax and their savings carried away by the mur- 
 derers. This happened in 1850. 
 
 During the years from 1847 to 1851 the colqny 
 uid not get any increment by immigration to 
 speak of, but in 1851 we can record the follow- 
 ing arrivals: Haldor Nelson Hovland, Jacob Ol- 
 son Rogde (see his sketch), Hakon L. Risetter, 
 a brother of Lars L. Risetter, and wife, and 
 Agatha Olsdatter Espe, sister of Lars Olson Espe. 
 
 We have not been able to trace any other ar- 
 
A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 rivals until in 1854, when the colony was in- 
 creased by Amund O. Kragsvig, Wiglik P. Pe- 
 derson Akre, Helge Pederson Maakestad, Johan- 
 nes Pederson Maakestad and Agatha Maakestad. 
 
 In 1855: — Jacob Pederson Blye, Helge Peder- 
 son Blye, Elsa Pedersdatter Blye and Christopher 
 C. Kvalnes (Qualnes). 
 
 In 1856: — Sjtir Qualnes, Jens C. Qualnes, Martha 
 Qualnes, Brita Olsdatter Kvasstad, John Johnson 
 Maakestad and Christen Sexe. 
 
 In 1857: — Elias O. Espe, Peter O. Espe, Thos. 
 Helgeson L0nning with wife (Synva), Amund 
 Sexe, Hseldur G. Maakestad, Viking Gjzfsendal, 
 and Einar Winterton. 
 
 In 1858: — Ingeborg Olsdatter Eide, Einar Ein- 
 arson Buer and wife (Johanna), Lars Salomon- 
 son Risetter and wife (Ragnilda), Sven Isberg, 
 Einar Vasvig, Margrethe Sandven, Osmond O. 
 Ljzinning, Ole O. Ljzinning and wife (Christie) and 
 Hans Strand. 
 
 In 1859: — Ingebrigt Qualnes, Gyrie Qualnes, 
 Sigri Qualnes, Christopher Ingebrigtson Qualnes, 
 Gyne Qualnes and wife (born Rogde) and Peder 
 Tjoflaat with a large family. 
 
 In I860:— Rasmus Hill (a brother of Peder O. 
 Hill) and Ole Hill. Those were from the neigh- 
 borhood of Stavanger. 
 
 In 1861: — Nels Pederson Maakestad, brother of 
 Helge and Johannes, who came in 1854. 
 
 During the three years following we have not 
 been able to trace any newcomers; but 
 
 In 1864: — Ole J. Prestegaard, Lars Pederson 
 Maakestad with family, Nels Johnson Maakestad, 
 Jacob Opheim, Arne Opheim, Lars Aga, Ole 
 Aga, Daniel Wignes and Viking Winterton. 
 
 All of them came from S0fjorden, Hardanger, 
 except the Hill brothers, from Stavanger, and 
 Daniel Wignes, from Ullvig. 
 
 In 1865:— We find Peder P. Hill and Kieng Os- 
 monson, from Stavanger. 
 
 In 1866: — Conrad Knudson and Peder O. Hill, 
 also from Stavanger. Hill later went to Ogle 
 county. 
 
 All of those so far mentioned may be classed 
 as pioneers, because they all broke new ground 
 with plow and hoe in Willow Creek and Alto 
 townships of Lee county and also in Mailand 
 township of De Kalb county. 
 
 In this connection we wish to express our sin- 
 cere thanks to Mr. Ole J. Prestegaard, of Lee, 
 111., who has spent much time in helping us to 
 trace these pioneers and in many other ways 
 shown his interest in this work. 
 
 The Pontiac or Rowe Settlement 
 
 The data for the sketch of the Norwegian set- 
 tlement in Livingston county were partly fur- 
 nished us by Mr. Rasmus Aarvig, of Pontiac, and 
 are based upon information given by Mrs. John 
 Mitchell, widow of John Mitchell, and from other 
 sources, such as the History of Livingston Coun- 
 ty, 1878, and Biographical Record of Livingston 
 County, 1900. 
 
 The part of Livingston county which first re- 
 ceived immigrants of Norwegian birth was in the 
 vicinity of Rowe, known as the Pontiac or Rowe 
 Settlement, including parts of Pontiac, Esme.i, 
 Amity and Rooks Creek townships. Rowe post- 
 office, four and one-half miles northwest of Pon- 
 tiac, was really the center of the settlement. 
 
 The first know settlers of Norwegian birth were 
 as follows: 
 
 John Mitchell was the first Norwegian immi- 
 
 grant to settle in Livingston county. He was 
 born in Tysvser parish, near Stavanger, Norwav, 
 in 1819 (or 1823?). When old enough he went on 
 the ocean as seaman on merchant vessels and 
 was in port in America twice before he came here 
 to settle. He also visited other ports in different 
 countries, sailing for nine years. In 1847 he came 
 to America, locating at no particular place, but 
 going from Chicago to New Orleans, working for 
 two years in Lousiana and adjoining states. He 
 also ran a boat from La Salle to Chicago, on 
 the canal. His first location was on Otter Creek, 
 in La Salle county. In 1850, on December 1, lie 
 was married to Miss Bertha Oakland, in Ottawa. 
 She was born in Norway, in 1831. They had six 
 children. In 1853 he came to Amity township, 
 Livingston county, and took up forty acres. When 
 he came, he had only horses and wagon, and the 
 
THE PONTIAC OR ROWE SETTLEMENT 
 
 89 
 
 third year he was taken sick, not being able to 
 work for two years, and was obliged to sell every- 
 thing he had in order to pay doctor bills; but 
 through hard, honest, persistent industry he ac- 
 cumulated around him 760 acres, all in good cul- 
 tivation and with some of the best buildings in 
 the township. He also owned in Iowa 150 acres 
 besides personal property. For many years he 
 was called "the Norwegian king," a name given 
 by his generosity to his fellow countrymen. 
 
 His children are: Isabelle C, Albert N., John, 
 Elizabeth M., James Murry and Joseph D. Mr. 
 Mitchel died in 1896. 
 
 Ole Olson Eikjeland came with Mitchell. He 
 was drowned in Wolf Creek while hauling rail- 
 road ties for the Chicago & Alton Railroad, which 
 was then being constructed through the city of 
 Pontiac. 
 
 -1855— Knut Mitchell, John Mitchell's brother, 
 and John Q. Johnson Qualevaag, from Kobervik. 
 The latter was born Nov. 1, 1835. He was mar- 
 ried to Miss Caroline Mitchell, a sister of Knut 
 and John, and they have had seven children. The 
 homestead is on sec. 29, Esmen township. Mr. 
 Johnson served one year as road commissioner 
 and was a member of the school board three 
 years. 
 
 1857 — Eiven Rasmussen Kaltvedt and Torger 
 Thompson. 
 
 1858^01e Lugland or Laugaland (Fossene); 
 Ole H. Olson and John H. Olson. The latter's 
 homestead is on sec. 30, Esmen township. He 
 was born in 1850, and when seven years of age 
 was brought into the United States by his father, 
 Ole H. Olson, who first settled in La Salle county 
 and later came to Livingston county. John H. 
 Olson was married in 1874 to Miss Isabel High- 
 land, who was also born in Norway and came to 
 America with her father, Ole Highland, when 6 
 years of age. John H. Olson and wife have five 
 children: Elsie, wife of Benjamin Peterson, of 
 Livingston county; Cordelia, wife of Oscar Het- 
 land; Ida, wife of George Thompson; Clara and 
 Obed. Mr. Olson has served as school director 
 in his district. 
 
 1859 — Lars Johnson, Christopher Lyse, John 
 Rasmussen Aardal, Ole Boland, Hans Boland 
 and Engel Boland. 
 
 1860 — John Groven, Elling Evenson. 
 
 1861 — Nels Thompson Floten; Andrew Erik- 
 son. 
 
 1862 — Gunner Oakland, from Skj0ld; Ole Erik- 
 son Sonnenaa, Ole Sampson, Nels Olson Kirk- 
 hus. 
 
 1864 — John Vignaes, Ole Soppeland and Tore 
 
 H. Thompson (Hetland), In the Biographical 
 Record of Livingston County Thompson is called 
 Thomas H. Thomson. The former is, however, 
 the correct name. He was born near Stavanger, 
 May 3, 1826, and sailed from that city, May 17, 
 1849. His father was Tore T. Iverson and his 
 mother Malinda Thompson. With his two 
 brothers, Iver H. and Richard H., he first went 
 to La Salle county, where, after several years of 
 hard toiling, he bought forty acres of land, which 
 he cultivated until 1864, when he sold it at a fair 
 price and removed to Livingston county. Here 
 he bought 100 acres in sec. 4. Rooks Creek town- 
 ship, and has since looked upon this as his per- 
 manent home. In La Salle county Mr. Thomp- 
 son was married (in 1855) to Isabella Johnso:i. 
 Of ten children who blessed their union, two 
 daughters have passed away. The sons, six in 
 number, are successful farmers. Thomas M., Ole 
 A., T. E., E. J. and A. S. are residents of Livings- 
 ton county, while M. J., the second son, is a 
 farmer in Clay county, Minnesota. Anna M. is 
 the wife of E. P. Friest, of Hardin county, Iowa, 
 and Christina S. is the wife of J. C. Munson, of 
 Amity township, Livingston county. The two 
 younger sons are at home aiding in the work on 
 the farm. 
 
 1865 — Endre Ytrevold, Rasmus Anderson Ids0, 
 John Soppeland, Osmund Riskedal, Ole Tysdal, 
 Eleiv Holta. 
 
 1866 — Thomas Ryerson (Jismervig) was born 
 near Stavanger, Sept. 8, 1834. In company with 
 an older brother he emigrated to America in 1855 
 and came to La Salle county, where he worked 
 on farms until, on Aug. 14, 1862, he enlisted in 
 the defense of his adopted country, becoming a 
 member of Company F, One Hundred and Fourth 
 Illinois Infantry, which was placed in the Army 
 of the Tennessee. At the first severe engagement 
 in which Mr. Ryerson was engaged he was 
 wounded by a shell in the right hip, and being cO 
 disabled, was sent to the hospital at Gallatin, 
 Tenn. Subsequently he was transferred to the 
 hospital in Nashville, and thence to one in Chi- 
 cago. When he was convalescent he was honor- 
 ably discharged from the army and returned to 
 La Salle county in April, 1863. In 1866 Mr. Ryer- 
 son came to Livingston county. Here he first 
 bought eighty acres in Amity township. A small 
 cabin served as a home for a period, but in time 
 tliis was supplanted by a large and pleasant 
 house. He also built barns, sheds and fences, 
 and planted an orchard and fine shade trees. As 
 he could afford it he invested in more land, and 
 to-day he is the owner of 470 acres. With his 
 wife he is now spending his declining years in 
 
90 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Pontiac. He was married to Lizzie Larson in 
 1863. Two of their children died in infancy; nine 
 survive. Louis is married and is a prosperous 
 farmer in this district. Anna Belle is the wife of 
 Rasmus Aarvig, whose sketch appears in the bio- 
 graphical part. Theodore is the station agent for 
 the Illinois Central Railroad at Pontiac. Oliver 
 is the telegraph operator for the same road at 
 Gibson City, 111., and the younger children — 
 Adolph, Mildred, David, Clara and Mabel — are 
 at home. 
 
 1868 — Lars Engelson, a successful farmer, on 
 sec. 10, Esmen township, was born in Norway, 
 July 12, 1845. Came to America with his widowed 
 mother in 1857. He was married on the 14th of 
 February, 1865, to Miss Anna Dora Engelson, 
 wiio was born and reared in Norway. By this 
 union were born six children, who are still living, 
 namely: Engle B., a resident of Iowa; Elmer T., 
 of North Dakota; Joseph E., in Livingston coun- 
 ty; Milton L., Bertha E. and Ellen M., are at 
 home. Four children died while young. 
 
 1874 — Die Tj0nsland, pastor of the Lutheran 
 cinirch, Rowe postofifice, was born in Norway, 
 March 13, 1836. He came to this country in 1872 
 and settled in La Salle county. From there he 
 removed to Esmen township, Livingston county, 
 111 1874. His wife was Anna Margaretha, born in 
 Sweden. Previous to coming to America Mr. 
 Tj0nsland was a missionary in South Africa for 
 nine years. He was really the first settler in the 
 vicinity of Rowe station and was the pastor of 
 tlie Esmen church. 
 
 Arriving during the same period of time may 
 be mentioned Henrik Larson Hovda, Thore 
 Thompson Troe, Christopher Holta, Ellas Holta, 
 Ole K. Olson, Die H. Aarvig, Nels Thompson, 
 Ole Dyvig, Knute Knudson, John Jermeland, 
 John Dyvig, Sr., John Dyvig, Jr., Ole Ejenes, C. 
 L. Aygarn, and others. 
 
 Some of the settlers came direct from Norway, 
 but the first ones came from La Salle county 
 down to Livingston county, which was known 
 among the Norwegian people of La Salle county 
 as the "country of the frogs," due to the great 
 amount of lowlands and swamps; but the land 
 was cheap, as low as $1.50 per acre, government 
 price, and the grass and pasture were plentiful. 
 Markets, however, were poor and money was 
 very hard to get. The principal markets, which 
 they visited at times, were St. Louis and Chi- 
 cago, which were reached mostly by boats 
 through the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers and 
 the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The local mar- 
 ket was at Ottawa and the milling was done at 
 Dayton, La Salle county. This distance was 
 
 traveled by oxen over the prairies and around 
 the swamps as best they could. They usually 
 went to La Salle once or twice each year to do 
 their trading and milling. Later Pontiac became 
 their local market, and still later Rowe, Gray- 
 mont, Cornell, etc. 
 
 Owing to the great amount of swamps and 
 stagnant water evaporating the country was un- 
 healthy, especially for those coming from the 
 far north, and a great deal of malarial disease, 
 with consequent hardships, was encountered by 
 the Norsemen. It was a very common thing for 
 the farmers to be taken down in the midst of 
 their summer work with what they called the 
 "ague" and other malarial diseases. These low- 
 lands are now all drained out by tile drainage, 
 tiiey have a healthy climate, and are supposed 
 to be of the best land in the world, worth from 
 $125 to $200 per acre. A considerable number 
 of the Norsemen and their descendants have 
 managed to retain a good portion of it. 
 
 In politics, with few exceptions, they are re- 
 publicans; a large number have served and are 
 now serving in dififerent capacities as township 
 officers, and, as far as known, with honor and 
 integrity, but no county or higher office has yet 
 been held by a Norseman in this locality. The 
 reason is perhaps that nearly all who have set- 
 tled here have come from country districts in 
 the old country where a liberal education was 
 liard to get, and the younger generation has not 
 availed itself of the opportunities afforded here 
 for higher education. However, a few have 
 achieved the professional life. Joseph M. Mitch- 
 ell, son of the first settler, is a practicing at- 
 torney in Oklahoma. James Mitchell, his brother, 
 is a practicing physician in the city of Pontiac. 
 Others have been engaged in commercial pur- 
 suits, of whom can be mentioned C. L. Aygarn, 
 in the grain and elevator business, but the ma- 
 jority follow farming, which of late has proved 
 the most independent and profitable to the com- 
 mon people. 
 
 The first church work that was done among 
 the Norse settlers in Livingston county was in 
 Amity township by a Methodist by the name of 
 John Brown. He baptized a number of children 
 and preached among them with good success un- 
 til the year 1862, but without having organized 
 aiiy congregation. About that time a Lutheran 
 congregation was organized and they called a 
 pastor, by the name of Peter Asbj0rnson, be- 
 longing to the Lutheran Augustana Synod. The 
 work went on nicely for some time and a wealthy 
 American by the name of Murry offered to give 
 them 40 acres of good land on which to build 
 
THE PONTIAC OR ROWE SETTLEMENT 
 
 91 
 
 a parsonage, but while this was pending a dif- 
 ference of opinion concerning the church liturgy 
 caused a division, as some adhered to the old 
 State Church of the Norwegian Synod, and the 
 Murry ofifer was withdrawn. 
 
 The remnant proceeded, however, and built 
 what was known as the Augustana Church in 
 the western part of Esmen township. Later the 
 others, known as the Norwegian Synod people, 
 somehow connected with the Missouri Synod, 
 built a church at Rowe Station. Both of these 
 congregations have lately been merged, forming 
 the St. Paul Lutheran Church at Rowe, 111., now 
 belonging to the United Lutheran Church, and 
 under the charge of Rev. Mickelson. 
 
 In 1873 a preacher by the name of Herman W. 
 Abelson became known by some families and was 
 engaged to take up the pastoral work in the 
 locality. Being a resident of La Salle county at 
 the time, he came to Amity quite frequently and 
 preached, anrl performed pastoral work between 
 the years 1872 and 1880, but no organization was 
 effected by what was called the Hauge people 
 until Feb. 3, 1880. On that date a congregation 
 by the name of Abel's Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church was organized. Pastor H. W. Abelson 
 was called and the congregation adopted form- 
 
 ally a Lutheran Creed as accepted and set forth 
 in Hauge's Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and a 
 subscription was taken up for its school in Red 
 Wing, Minn. About the same time the pastor 
 took up the work in a small settlement near Mud 
 Creek, which was kept up a number of years by 
 him and his successor, Rev. Theodore Hansen, 
 and later taken up by a minister from Rowe, and 
 which is now under the charge of Pastor Mickel- 
 son of the United Lutheran Church. 
 
 Pastor Abelson about the same time, or a lit- 
 tle later, took up work in what was known as 
 the Rooks Creek settlement, a congregation be- 
 ing organized there in 1880, known as the Rooks 
 Creek Evangelical Lutheran Church, which later 
 joined the Hauge Synod, but owing to poor 
 health he had to resign shortly afterward, and 
 as his successor Pastor Theodore Hansen was 
 called and served about eleven years. After him 
 other ministers of the same synod have con- 
 tinued the work in the congregation, which now 
 also has a church and services in Pontiac. The 
 Abel Evangelical Lutheran Church above refer- 
 red to, having diminished in number, later on 
 joined in with the Rooks Creek Church, which 
 at present is under the charge of Rev. O. O. Ris- 
 wold, of Hauge's Synod. 
 
THE BEGINNINGS OF CHICAGO 
 
 By Edwin Erie Sparks, Ph. D., of the University of Chicago. 
 
 The city of Chicago owes its existence pri- 
 marily to the river bearing that name and to the 
 fact that the river empties into the head of the 
 most southwesterly of the Great Lakes. The 
 history of this city, because it is situated at the 
 mouth of one waterway and the head of another, 
 is similar to that of other inland cities. The 
 waterways were the ready-made highways of the 
 interior. Up and down them passed the ex- 
 plorer, the missionary, the trapper, the trader 
 and the pioneer farmer, tracing tlie way for 
 future lines of commerce. At various obstruc- 
 tions along these ways — perhaps the head or 
 mou'th of a river, a portage or a natural harbor 
 — the products of adjacent regions were col- 
 lected, to be forwarded in bulk to the Atlantic 
 seaboard. The manufactures which were sent- in 
 return came to these inland points for distribu- 
 tion. Thus what had been in turn a camping 
 ground for the Indian, a halting place for the 
 explorer, a post for the trader and a rendezvous 
 for the pioneer became a commercial center 
 which grew to a city. The mouth of the Chi- 
 cago River was marked by nature to serve such 
 a purpose. 
 
 Extending in a crescent sweep about the head 
 of Lake Michigan is a low tlat plain not over 
 fifteen miles wide, reaching from Winnetka on 
 the north throu'g-'h La Grange on the west to 
 Dyer, Ind., on the south. Its concave side is 
 occupied by Lake Michigan and its convex side 
 is bounded by the great Valparaiso moraine. It 
 was formed by the melting and retreat of the. 
 great ice cap which came down from the north' 
 in tlie Ice Age. At one stage the w^ater was 
 dammed up by the moraine, creating what is 
 known to geologists as "Lake Chicago." At the 
 bottom was deposited a flat plain of sand and 
 clay which became dry land after the water had 
 retreated to its present position to become Lake 
 Michigan. The northern part of the plain is 
 drained by the Chicago River and its two 
 
 branches, one coming from a northern and the 
 other from a southwestern direction. 
 
 So flat is the Chicago plain that the south 
 branch of the river rises less than twelve miles 
 from the mouth. Beyond the head of this branch 
 is the outlet through which the pre-historic "Lake 
 Chicago" was drained into the Desplaines River. 
 The summit of this divide, between the drainage 
 basin of the Great Lakes and that of the Mis- 
 sissippi valley, is the old Chicago portage, un- 
 known and unimportant in this railway age. 
 Here the land is only fifteen feet above the level 
 of Lake Michigan. If the lake level liad been 
 sixteen feet higher it would have drained into 
 the Mississippi. The slight elevation of the 
 watershed suggested the possibility of the pres- 
 ent Drainage Canal. 
 
 Upon the plain described above, the city of 
 Chicago has been built. The groii'nd is made up 
 of bowlders, sand and clay — a mixture com- 
 monly known a? "glacial drift." The excavation 
 for a building in any part of the city will show 
 the unstable character of the soil. Beneath it at 
 varying depths lies the solid Niagara limestone 
 which may be seen in the stone quarries in many 
 localities just outside the limits of the plain. The 
 bedrock is not level, but has many undulations, 
 which cause the varying depths shown bj'' bor- 
 ings in different parts of the city. The 'leepest 
 point 3'et found is about one-half mile north of 
 the junction of the two branches, where the bed- 
 rock lies 124 feet below the level of Lake Michi- 
 gan. The average depth is estimated to be about 
 fifty feet. Because of the instability of the soil, 
 few localities could have been found more un- 
 suitable for building a city. But the demands 
 of cominerce have slight regard for topography 
 or for good building sites. The most recent 
 method employed by builders to overcome the 
 inherent difficulties of the unstable plain is to 
 sink caissons to the bedrock and fill them with 
 concrete. We can thus imagine our great build- 
 
 OS) 
 
THE BIGINNINGS OF CHICAGO 
 
 93 
 
 ings standing npon gigantic stilts which rest upon 
 the bedrock far beneath. 
 
 In such a soil and on such level ground the 
 river would naturally- flow sluggishly and would 
 cut a deep channel, carrying the jv'ashings to be 
 deposited in a bar at the mouth. It would in 
 this way form a natural harbor for lake com- 
 merce, extending two or three miles inland. 
 However, the hi-^-tory of Chicago dates back to 
 a time when a harbor for vessels of large burden 
 was not dreamed of. It began during the days 
 of the French missionaries, when the utility of 
 a river as a liighway was the important con- 
 sideration, especially if there was only a short 
 portage from its head to a stream flowing in the 
 opposite direction. The Chicago River was al- 
 most ideal in this respect, since it led by its 
 south branch of the Chicago portage and thence 
 into the Desplaines and the Illinois, being the 
 connecting link between the Great Lakes and 
 the Mississippi. Like all rivers in level coun- 
 tries, the sluggish waters of both streams al- 
 lowed navigation far up toward the portage, 
 especially in the rainy and melting seasons. It 
 was possible, according to the accounts of the 
 early explorers, to take a boat at certain times 
 of the year over the Chicago portage without 
 unloading it. 
 
 The French explorers and the Jesuit mission- 
 aries at first reached the Mississippi by Green Bay 
 and the Wisconsin River. But they soon learned 
 in returning to come up the Illinois to the Kan- 
 kakee and thence to cross the portage to the St. 
 Joseph River, now in Michigan, with empties 
 into the southeast bend of Lake Michigan. At a 
 later time they found the still shorter way by 
 the Chicago River and portage. No satisfactory 
 evidence has been left to show when this route 
 was first used. Marquette and Joliet may have 
 passed this way on their return journey from the 
 Illinois Indians to the mission at Green Bay in 
 1673. La Salle and Tonty used the Chicago route 
 before 1680. La Salle spent a part of the winter 
 of 1682 in the first house built by white men at 
 the portage. The following year he headed a 
 report: "Du Portage de Checagou, 4 juin, 1683." 
 When the easy route by the "Garlic River," — as 
 the stream was sometimes called because of the 
 foul-smelling wild plant growing on its banks — 
 became fully known, it was one of the principal 
 thoroughfares of the French during their pro- 
 longed journeys through the Illinois country. 
 
 Permanent French settlement, however, ap- 
 proached Illinois not by the Chicago portage, 
 which the Jesuits and explorers had used, but 
 came up the Mississippi after the founding of New 
 
 Orleans. The French villages of Kaskaskia, Ca- 
 hokia and others which were founded in Illinois 
 soon fell into decay because of the advance of 
 the conquering English and Americans. Even 
 the stronghold of Fort Chartres, built to protect 
 these villages, was torn down by the invaders to 
 obtain building stone. Only the ruins of a 
 powder magazine remain to show where the fort 
 once stood. 
 
 After the French had been driven out of the 
 Mississippi valley the Chicago portage lay in ob- 
 scurity for nearly forty years, until the onward 
 march of the American people across the con- 
 tinent brought waterways and portages again 
 into prominence. It was the policy of the United 
 States government to plant forts along the front 
 line of people to protect them and to increase 
 the sales of the public lands. These forts were 
 erected on the highways of commerce, where 
 protection was most needed. Among the sites 
 occupied in the middle West may be named the 
 point where the French Fort Duquesne and the 
 English Fort Pitt once stood, now occupied by 
 the city of Pittsburg; Fort Mcintosh, where 
 Beaver, Penn., now stands; Fort Harmer, at the 
 mouth of the Muskingum; Fort Washington, at 
 the mouth of the Miami, near which Cincinnati. 
 Ohio, is now located; Fort Industry, at the 
 mouth of the Maumee, about which Toledo, Ohio, 
 grew; Fort Renault, now Detroit; Fort Wayne, 
 still bearing the name, and Fort Mackinac, which 
 is now 'surrounded by Machinaw city. 
 
 As the people advanced, the government was 
 accustomed to quiet the Indian claims to the 
 land by making treaties with the savages. By 
 the treaty of Greenville in 1795 a line was drawn 
 from east to west across what is now the state 
 of Ohio and thence south to the Ohio River. 
 Beyond this line the whites agreed not to make 
 settlements, and the Indians agreed not to molest 
 any one living east of it. An exception was made 
 to the first part of the bargain by the Indians 
 giving to the United States certain reservations 
 at important points where forts could be erected 
 to protect traders. Among the sixteen reserva- 
 tions provided for by the treaty of Greenville 
 was one for "a space six miles square at the 
 mouth of the Chicago river where a fort formerly 
 stood." This reference to a fort was no doubt 
 to the traditional French fort erected in 1685 as 
 an outpost to Fort St. Louis. It was probably 
 nothing more than a barricaded hut. 
 
 By 1803 trade had increased along Lake Michi- 
 gan to such an extent that the erection of a fort 
 at some point on its shore was felt to be im- 
 perative. It IS said that the mouth of the St. 
 
94 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Joseph River was first contemplated; but there 
 was no reservation at that point, as demonstrated 
 on the map made by Morse in 1796. Hence 
 Secretary of War Dearborn chose the reservation 
 at the mouth of the Chicago River as a proper 
 site. Fort Renault", at Detroit, had long been 
 garrisoned by several companies of the First In- 
 fantry. One of these was selected to proceed to 
 the Chicago River and to erect the proposed 
 fort. Captain John Whistler, with some of his 
 officers and the women, came around the lakes 
 by boat to the mouth of the St. Joseph and 
 thence crossed the lake by way of Fort Wayne. 
 
 One may faintly imagine the appearance of the 
 mouth of the river when these troops arrived in 
 August, 1803. Scrub oaks dotted the sandy 
 shores, replaced by trees of a larger growth out 
 toward the fertile prairies on the westward. The 
 river flowed sluggish and silent between low- 
 lying, sedgy banks. Evidences of Indian encamp- 
 ments and huts of traders could be seen on all 
 sides. Indeed, the soldiers found a French trader, 
 Le Mai, living in a small cabin near the mouth 
 of the river. Nearby dwelt Ouilmette (Wil- 
 mette), a half-breed Indian. Before the snows 
 of winter covered the drifting sands the soldiers 
 and artificers had constructed two blockhouses, 
 quarters for the officers and barracks for the 
 privates, and had surrounded the whole by a high 
 connecting stockade, with a second lower palisade 
 outside. A subway was dug through the sand 
 to the river to supply the fort with water in case 
 of a siege. Near the fort was built the log house 
 or "factory," as such adjuncts to forts were 
 called, where the government trader exchanged 
 his stores for skins brought in by the savages 
 and private traders. 
 
 Not only were the general surroundings of the 
 mouth of the river different from those of the 
 present day. The river itself has been so changed 
 in its course that a map is necessary to show 
 it as the troops found it. A sandbar had accum- 
 ulated across the mouth, possibly caused by 
 that mysterious current in Lake Michigan which 
 deposits bars en the north side of obstructions 
 on the west .'.hore. The bar had pushed the 
 mouth as far south as the Madison street of the 
 present city. This is well illustrated on a govern- 
 ment map issued when the first proposition to 
 convert the river into a harbor was being con- 
 sidered by Congress. In the bend of the stream 
 the fort was located. The drifting sand had made 
 a kind of hillock or high ground at this point. 
 
 Between 1803 and 1812 the history of Fort 
 Dearborn, as the fort gradually became known 
 through compliment to the Secretary of War 
 
 who established it, is almost a blank. There was 
 always one company stationed here, but it must 
 have been a dreary and monotonous life on the 
 sands along the shore. From time to time the 
 "factor" made his report to the government, 
 showing a prosperous trade. A few houses were 
 built near the fort, that of Mr. Kinzie, just across 
 the river, being the most prominent. The poplar 
 trees in front of his house figure in all early 
 sketches of Fort Dearborn, looking northward. 
 
 The year 1812 found the entire Northwest 
 alarmed over tiie Indian rising under Tecumseh. 
 Burning cabin and scalped settler warned the 
 whites to fly to the nearest fort. Even the 
 safety of Fort Dearborn was questioned, lying 
 so far in the Indian country. Orders were given 
 to the commandant to evacuate and retreat to 
 Fort Wayne if he deemed it best to do so. At- 
 tempting to carry out these orders, the body of 
 troops and settlers was attacked by the Indians 
 near the present foot of Eighteenth street. Twen- 
 ty-six of the fifty-four regulars were killed, to- 
 gether with twelve militiamen, two women and 
 twelve children. Five more regulars, it is said, 
 were put to death after surrender. The prison- 
 ers were then distributed among the various 
 tribes for service. Eventually nearly all were 
 ransomed or made their escape. For many years 
 a tree known as the "massacre tree" stood near 
 the lake and presumably near the scene of the 
 attack on the women in the wagons. It has been 
 replaced by a spirited group in bronze repre- 
 senting the rescue of Mrs. Helm by a friendly 
 Indian, Black Partridge. 
 
 At the close of the war of 1812 the fort was 
 rebuilt on the same site, but of different design. 
 One block house was now felt to be sufficient. 
 Settlers and traders gradually reoccupied their 
 old quarters. The fearful experience of the mas- 
 sacre was never repeated. So peaceful were the 
 savages that in 1823 the troops were withdrawn 
 from Fort Dearborn to garrison posts further 
 west. However, in 1828, owing to the uneasiness 
 of the Winnebago Indians, a company of regu- 
 lars came up from St. Louis to reoccupy the old 
 fort. The commanding officer was annoyed to 
 find that the sandbar across the mouth of the 
 river prevented him getting his supply boats 
 into a place of safety from the storms on the 
 treacherous lake front. He employed his men 
 in digging a temporary channel through the bar 
 — a prophecy of the later Chicago harbor; buf 
 the currents soon filled it up after the troops 
 were withdrawn. 
 
 In 1832 the Black Hawk war brought General 
 Scott and a large body of troops to rendezvous 
 
THE BIGINNINGS OF CHICAGO 
 
 95 
 
 at the deserted Fort Dearborn. Once more the 
 attention of Congress was called to the fact that 
 vessels on Lake Michigan could not approach a 
 fort which had been built to protect that body 
 of water. Shipping must lie in the offing and 
 discharge their cargoes by lighters. Various re- 
 ports from engineers connected with the troops 
 stationed at the fort had called attention to the 
 same obstacle, and also to the ease with which 
 the mouth of the river might be converted into 
 a harbor. It needed only two parallel piers out 
 into the lake and dredging between them. No 
 other point in the vicinity offered such possibil- 
 ities. The value of the property destroyed in 
 one season by the storms on that portion of the 
 lake, it was declared, would go far toward mak- 
 ing a harbor. Frequently auctions wei^e held to 
 dispose of the cargo of unlucky vessels caught 
 on the unprotected shore. 
 
 Such arguments brought from Congress in 1833 
 the first appropriation for straightening, deepen- 
 ing and widen;ng the Chicago River and con- 
 verting it into a magnificent harbor. These ap- 
 propriations were small at first, aggregating only 
 $486,000 in nearly forty years; but were increased 
 from time to time with the increased demands 
 of trade until they have now passed the four 
 million dollar point for the Chicago River and 
 harbor alone. It is interesting to note that al- 
 most contemporaneous with the first appropria- 
 tion an enterprising trader killed and packed 
 meat for shipment to Detroit instead of sending 
 the cattle and hogs on foot, as had been the 
 practice. About the same time small elevators 
 began to appear on the banks of the river. 
 Grain was hauled to them in wagons from the 
 prairies and lifted by rope and bucket to the 
 top of the building, to run through chutes on 
 the other side to the hold of a waiting vessel. 
 
 Fort Dearborn, near the mouth of the stream, 
 formed one of the centers of growth of the em- 
 brj'o citv: the junction of the two branches, 
 commonly known as "Wolf's Point," became an- 
 other. A sketch made at the latter place in 1832 
 shows on the left the Wentworth tavern or 
 trading house, and on the right the Miller house, 
 which was also used as tavern and residence. 
 Between them ran a log bridge across the north 
 branch of the river. Only by comparing the 
 scene with a modern photograph taken from the 
 same standpoint is the change in the river and 
 surroundings appreciable. Passing down the 
 main stream to the right, one reaches a point on 
 the bank opposite to that once occupied by the 
 old fort and beholds a similar transformation. 
 Where the rope ferry was once poled across the' 
 
 river a great bridge now swings noiselessly to 
 allow magnificent vessels to pass to docks be- 
 yond. Wharves line the shore where rushes 
 formerly flourished in the swampy margins. The 
 sand between the fort and the river has been 
 dredged away to allow great floating hotels to 
 lie at dock and await the coming of passengers. 
 A large part of the site of the old fort is now 
 under the Chicago River. 
 
 The lake traffic, which gave the first impetus 
 to modern Chicago, increased enormously be- 
 tween 1830 and 1870. The appearance of steam 
 vessels and the harbor imorovements were largely 
 responsible for this growth. The exact time of 
 the coming of the first steamer is in dispute, al- 
 though it must have been near 1830. At the end 
 of 1836 it was recorded that 212 vessels had been 
 able to get ins-ide the river. In 1854 there were 
 forty-six vessels plying regularly between Chi- 
 cago and other ports. In 1871 more than twelve 
 thousand vessels entered and cleared from the 
 Chicaeo harbor. 
 
 About 1830 railways, instead of canals, were 
 advocated in the United States to connect navig- 
 able waterways. Few imagined that the rail- 
 ways could ever supplant the canals. A railway 
 from the head of Lake Michigan to the Missis- 
 sippi, or even to the Rock River, was for many 
 years a Chicago vision. By 1848 it had been 
 realized to some extent. The problem of con- 
 veying lead from the mines at Galena to the 
 lake caused that city to be made the proposed 
 western terminus. The locomotive "Pioneer," 
 now preserved in the Field Columbian Museum, 
 was brought to Chicago by steamer and was put 
 to work on the few miles of strap iron laid on 
 stringers placed end to end on piling driven into 
 the wet prairie between the Chicago and the 
 Desplaines rivers. This was the Galena & Chi- 
 cago Union Railway, whose frame passenger 
 station stood for many years just west of and 
 across the North Branch from the present North- 
 western station on Wells street. 
 
 By the middle of the century the rival rail- 
 ways between Lake Erie and Lake, Michigan, 
 the one constructed through "Central" Michigan 
 and the other through "Southern" Michigan, 
 rounded the head of the lake and came into the 
 city simultaneously. ■ The Michigan Central and 
 the Illinois Central came along the lake front on 
 piling driven into the water, which carried them 
 as far north as the foot of the nresent Randolph 
 street. Between this piling and the beach, now 
 Michigan avenue, pleasure boats were sailed and 
 rowed, giving the people of Chicago the use of 
 a lake front which they have not since known. 
 
96 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 The railroads soon began to fill in the lake front, 
 compelling the public to go beyond them in a 
 park made by artificial means. Michigan ave- 
 nue, formerly the beach of the lake, is now far 
 inland, and the mouth of the river at the foot 
 of Madison street exists only in tradition. Term- 
 inal yards and tall buildings occupy that part of 
 the former site of Fort Dearborn which has not 
 been dredged away in straightening the river. 
 The old moutli is now a part of the new Lake 
 Front Park. 
 
 After the final evacuation of the fort the prop- 
 erty' was put in the care of the engineer in charge 
 of the river improvements. The reservation of 
 six miles square made by the treaty of Green- 
 ville was a transaction with the Indians and was 
 distinct from the United States reservation for 
 the fort. The latter, amounting to about seventy- 
 five acres, lay in the shape of a triangle having 
 its apex at the fort. The base line crossed 
 diagonally from the river near the foot of Dear- 
 born street to the lake shore near the foot of 
 Madison street. Under the law of 1819, which 
 gave permission to the Secretary of War to dis- 
 pose of military- sites no longer needed, that of- 
 ficial yielded to petitions from the citizens of 
 Chicago and in 1839 divided the reservation into 
 town lots to be sold at auction. Certain por- 
 tions were reserved for public use. One of these 
 became Dearborn Park and is now occupied by 
 the Chicago Public Library. 
 
 The fort reservation will account for only a 
 small portion of the land occupied by the city 
 of Chicago. The remainder of the site, lying 
 along the river and both branches, was included 
 in the 290,000 acres of land given by the national 
 government to construct a canal over the Chi- 
 cago-Desplaines portage. The streets, much as 
 they are to-day, were laid off at right angles to 
 each other across this proposed town site and 
 the lots were sold at auction in 1830 for the 
 benefit of the canal fund. Certain reservations 
 were made for school purposes, as well as a 
 square for a courthouse. The latter ground is 
 now occupied by the county and city buildings. 
 At the sale the lots along the south branch near 
 the junction brought the highest price. The 
 average price of all the lots was about three 
 hundred dollars. The site of the present Sher- 
 man House brought forty dollars. 
 
 Much of the ill repute of Chicago in early days 
 can be traced to the topography of the city. 
 Water would not drain naturally from the low 
 plain on which it was built. Cellars were almost 
 impossible. Deluded purchasers found their lots 
 under water. Between 1855 and 1860 the grade 
 
 of the entire city was raised, in some places 
 more than ten feet. An old painting in the Chi- 
 cago Historical Society's building shows the 
 comical appearance presented by the city during 
 this period of elevation. Entire rows of build- 
 ings rested temporarily upon blocks and jack- 
 screws. Pavements were on different levels. 
 The conditions of things must have conduced to 
 sobriety, since the late return home of the typ- 
 ical club man would have been an impossibility. 
 The streets were filled to the new level and 
 the old warped planks, which bespattered the 
 pedestrian when a vehicle chanced to pass. 
 
 About this time the little courthouse, which 
 had done service since 1837 in the public square 
 on the corner of Washington and Clark streets, 
 was replaced by a two-story stone building, to 
 which was added a third story in due time. A 
 lawn both at the front and back of the build- 
 ing afforded space for public meetings. The 
 leading statesmen of the day graced the rostrum 
 of the old courthouse steps. 
 
 The beginnings of Chicago may well close 
 with her re-baptism in the fire of 1871. With- 
 out this blessing in disguise it would have taken 
 years to clean out the unsightly buildings due 
 to the growth of the city from a frontier post. 
 The easiest way to be rid of having to wear the 
 clothing which one has outgrown is to burn it. 
 Wooden pavements and frame buildings are 
 stages of development, Chicago was done with 
 both in the business district at one direful 
 stroke. Only those who passed through the ex- 
 perience of the fire know its horrors. Only those 
 who study a map of the "burned district" realize 
 the space whicii it swept over. 
 
 The chief problem the Chicago of today must 
 deal with is the river. How to provide for inter- 
 urban movement with water traffic across the 
 principal streets has claimed the attention of en- 
 gineers and experts. Few other cities face the 
 same problem. Generally the river or harbor is 
 to be found at one side of the city proper, or it 
 is not so long and narrow as the one which 
 penetrates into the very heart of Chicago. How 
 essential the river was to the founding and the 
 growth of the city it has been the endeavor of the 
 foregomg pages to show. Without the river 
 there never would have been a Chicago. Can the 
 prosperity of the city continue without the free 
 use of the river for commerce? We have tried 
 nearly every conceivable manner of crossing that 
 stream and yet not interfering with traffic. We 
 have crawled under it in tunnels. We have gone 
 around it in belt lines. We have made bridges 
 
THE BEGINNINGS OF CHICAGO 
 
 97 
 
 that turn, that open, that lift, that slide — any- 
 thing to reconcile land and water traffic. 
 
 The history of Chicago falls naturally into 
 three periods. The French occupancy two hun- 
 dred years ago, interesting though it is, has no 
 real connection with the modern city. The sec- 
 ond stage, that of Fort Dearborn and the troops, 
 which covered nearly thirty years, is only re- 
 motely connected with the modern commercial 
 center. Industrial Chicago began with the open- 
 ing of the harbor in 1833. Yet the building of 
 the fort marked the beginning of continuous gov- 
 ernment under the United States. The stars and 
 stripes, once raised on the staff near the middle 
 of the fort, have floated over the city to this 
 da}^ The protecting hand of the United States 
 government, represented in the troops a century 
 ago, in the land given for digging the old canal, 
 and in the appropriations for the improvement 
 of the harbor, has never been withdrawn. 
 
 No city in the United States can excel Chi- 
 cago in the picturesqueness of her past. No city 
 has had such a succession of varied and striking 
 types. Above her busy streets and lofty build- 
 ings pass in historic shade the Jesuit, the trap- 
 per, the trader, the pioneer, the soldier, the land 
 speculator, the promoter — each contributing his 
 unconscious part to the making of an American 
 city. The canal, which Joliet wished to cut 
 
 across the Chicago portage but to which La 
 Salle objected because the stage of water would 
 make it serviceable during only a small portion 
 of the year, was realized nearly two centuries 
 later by the Illinois and Michigan Canal. It has 
 now been practically abandoned and superseded 
 by a parallel artificial waterway designed for a 
 ship canal. 
 
 That this service will ever be rendered by the 
 Drainage Canal is unlikely because three great 
 trans-continental lines of railways traverse the 
 length of the portage. An electric trolley has 
 been added as if to make a prophecy of the 
 future. Where the Jesuit and his donnes once 
 dragged their sledges by head bands and straps, 
 where the coureur du bois tied his bright-colored 
 sash about his embroidered hunting shirt and 
 set. afresh his pudding-bag cap before bending to 
 the burden of his boat, giant locomotives now 
 drag mile-long freight trains or whirl portable 
 hotels over the old Chicago portage. 
 
 Some day when all this is materialized on a 
 commemorative column or historic arch, when 
 it stands in enduring pageantry on a memorial 
 bridge, Chicago will mean more to one class of 
 its citizens than a place to make a fortune and 
 to another than a place of securing daily bread. 
 Civic as well as national pride rests most se- 
 curely on veneration for the past. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN 
 
 ILLINOIS 
 
 The Norwegian Synod 
 
 By Rev. Alfred O. Johnson. 
 
 I. ORGANIZATION. 
 
 When the pioneers of the Norwegian emi- 
 grants left their native shores for the broad 
 plains of America, they took little with them 
 but their families, their determination and their 
 faith in God. Like Norwegians in general, their 
 character was religious. There were two factors 
 in the life of the Norwegians of those years 
 which tended to bend the character in a deep 
 religious channel. So far as the majority of 
 them was concerned, the conditions of life were 
 hard on the western coast of Norway. Life was 
 spent between the beetling mountains and the 
 roaring waves. Almost every male was obliged 
 to buffet the waves for a livelihood. In the 
 eastern half of the country, life was perhaps not 
 so precarious, but even there the livelihood was 
 wrested from a strip of land that would be con- 
 sidered quite inadequate in this land of plenty. 
 Then again, every one though his schooling in 
 secular branches was ever so meagre, had re- 
 ceived a thorough drill in the elements of relig- 
 ion. The devout mothers were their first teach- 
 ers, afterwards came the school master and last 
 of all the pastor. These conditions had much to 
 do with molding the character of the early pio- 
 neers. It is but natural that such characters, 
 encountering the dangers of a long voyage, the 
 difficulties and hardships, the privations and toil 
 of pioneer life on the western frontier, should 
 turn for strength to Him whose love had been 
 instilled into their minds from childhood. 
 
 It is not strange that the first regularly or- 
 dained pastor, who ventured into the West to 
 bring the comforts of the Gospel to his country- 
 
 men, should be accorded a welcome such as 
 might be given a prince and should find such an 
 exceptional eagerness to join the congregations 
 which he organized. 
 
 During the interim that elapsed between the 
 first settlement in the Northwest in 1834 and the 
 coming of the pioneer clergyman, J. W. C. Diet- 
 richson, the religious instruction had been mea- 
 gre and unorganized. In most cases that ideal 
 condition existed where every father is priest in 
 his own household. Under these circumstances 
 the logical development was that certain laymen 
 would feel themselves called upon to minister to 
 their brethren. Among those who assumed this 
 work in the different settlements are mentioned; 
 Ole Hetletveit, Jorgen Peterson, BJszJrn Hatles- 
 tad, Ole O. Omdal, Endre and Herman Osmund- 
 son Aaragerbse, Kleng Skaar, Even Heg, Aslak 
 Aar, Peder Asbj^rnson Mehus, John Brakestad 
 and Knud Peterson. None of these, however, 
 attained such general importance in the early 
 pioneer religious life as Erling Egilson Sunven 
 or as he is more generally known Elling Eielsen, 
 who came to America in 1839. He was born in 
 Voss and exhibited very early in life an intensely 
 religious character. While yet young he began 
 to travel about as a lay preacher and gained 
 quite a reputation as an earnest, forceful speaker. 
 At the age of 35 he emigrated to America and 
 four years after his arrival was ordained to the 
 ministry by Rev. F. A. Hofifman of Duncan's 
 Grove, 111., and labored ceaselessly as such 
 among his countrymen. Until his death in 1883 
 he continued to be an important factor in the 
 history of the Norwegian church of America. 
 These were all laymen whose education was of 
 the most meager description. It is said of Eiel- 
 sen that he could not write. Many of them, 
 however, were vv'ell versed in their Bibles. They 
 were all Lutherans, at least, in name. There 
 were others who labored amongst the new- 
 comers in the different settlements representing 
 
 (98) 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 99 
 
 various sects but who generally attempted to 
 work under Lutheran colors. 
 
 John G. Smith, a Swede, came to Koshkonong 
 in 1841. He worked with considerable success, 
 but is was finally discovered that he was a Bap- 
 tist, and he was obliged to leave. 
 
 Ole Hanson, nicknamed Ole "The Consul" was 
 a Methodist lay preacher whose field was chiefly 
 Rock Prairie and Highland, Wisconsin. Another 
 man, who for a time seemed to succeed was G. 
 Unonius, a Swedish Episcopal minister, who or- 
 ganized a congregation at Pine Lake, Wis., con- 
 sisting of both Norwegians and Swedes and later 
 on one in Chic.';go. 
 
 Up to this time it might be said that there 
 had been an abundance of preaching, such as it 
 was, but there had been no worship after the 
 ritual and customs of the Mother Church. Most 
 of the lay preachers were followers of Hans 
 Nielsen Hauge and held the forms of the state 
 church in disrespect. Meetings had been held in 
 the different settlements but as yet no congre- 
 gations were organized. 
 
 The first regular Norwegian Lutheran Congre- 
 gation to be organized in America was at Mus- 
 kego. Wis., in 1843. Rev. J. W. C. Dietrichson 
 tells of the events connected with its organiza- 
 tion in his book, "Travels among the Norwegian 
 Immigrants." 
 
 In the fall of 1843, steps were taken towards 
 the organization of a congregation here — Mus- 
 kego. Wis., with Clausen as pastor. As it is of 
 considerable importance and interest touching 
 the religious condition among the Norwegians, I 
 must here speak more of this man. Claus Laurit- 
 zen Clausen, at that time about 26 years of age, 
 was born on the Island of Ar0 in Denmark. In 
 his youth he was awakened to a realization of 
 the truth of Christianity but for some years was 
 effected by pietistic and partly by Baptist errors 
 until God in his mercy gradually lead him to a 
 firm churchly stand. He was greatly aided by 
 his acquaintance with several Christian preach- 
 ers in Sjselland, particularly P. A. Fenger, F. 
 Boisen and Grundtvig, and the latters' writings. 
 For some time a burning desire had filled his 
 heart to be an instrument in the hands of God 
 to proclaim the word of Life to his fellowmen. 
 This desire received new life when he heard of 
 Rev. Schroeder's determination to go as a mis- 
 sionary to the heathens. He went, therefore, to 
 Christiania and spoke to Schroeder about going 
 with him, but through the many difficulties that 
 presented themselves, he believed that he saw an 
 indication from the Lord that he was not to be 
 led that way. During his stay in Norway, he 
 
 received a request from a merchant, T. O. Backe 
 in Drammen, ri prominent follower of Hauge, to 
 go to America and labor as a school teacher 
 among the Norwegians. This request, he thought 
 on account of several reasons, he ought to fol- 
 low. When he came to Wisconsin in 1843 to the 
 Norwegian colony at Muskego, he soon under- 
 stood that it would be a mistake to labor as a 
 school teacher under conditions which, ecclesiasti- 
 cally, were so unsettled as they were among the 
 Norwegian immigrants. He soon saw that the 
 school in which it was his intention to labor 
 could have no solid backing so long as it had no 
 church upon which it could lean and under whose 
 authority and in whose interest it might work. 
 He, therefore, confined himself to the work of 
 reading sermons from different postils for such 
 circles as gathered themselves about him for this 
 purpose. The desire to have a minister amongst 
 them developed more and more clearly, particu- 
 larly in certain of the leaders of the settlement. 
 Believing that there was no prospect of getting 
 a minister from Norway, they talked the matter 
 over with several of the pioneers and sent Clau- 
 sen a written call to become the pastor of the 
 colony. Clausen clearly saw that he dared not^ 
 even though he was called in regular order, as- 
 sume the responsibility of the sacred office un- 
 less he had been examined and regularly or- 
 dained by an ordained pastor of the Lutheran- 
 Church. The colony then went to one of the 
 German Lutheran ministers, Rev. L. F. E. Krause, 
 who was then serving a German Lutheran con- 
 gregation in Washington county not far from 
 Milwaukee. Although Clausen had not taken a 
 regular course in theology, Krause considered it 
 his duty, under the conditions, to comply with 
 the request of his Norwegian brethren. He there- 
 fore examined Clausen, and found, according to 
 his written testimony, that he had a thorough 
 knowledge of the Word of God and particularly 
 of Church history, and ordained him on the 18th 
 of October, 1843, for the settlement of Muskego, 
 according to the ritual for ordination of ministers 
 of the Norwegian church. By this call from the 
 settlement of Muskego to Clausen and by his 
 subsequent ordination, the first steps were taken 
 toward a regular organization of religious work 
 among the immigrants. From now on, Clausen 
 preached the Word of God and administered the 
 sacraments. 
 
 The year after a constitution was drafted and 
 the ritual of the Church of Norway was adopted. 
 
 The next ordained laborer among the Norweg- 
 ians was the above mentioned J. W. C. Dietrich- 
 son. In the summer of 1843, Dietrichson had 
 
100 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 made the acquaintance of an earnest Christian 
 man in Christiania, P. Sjzfrensen, a dyer by trade, 
 who has the h^nor of having given the first im- 
 pulse to the mission among the Norwegian im- 
 migrants in America. During their acquaintance 
 they talked of Schroeder's mission to the heath- 
 ens in Africa and naturally turned to the breth- 
 ren in faith in America, and Sj^rensen, who had 
 thought seriousl}'^ of the matter, asked Dietrich- 
 son if he did not feel called upon to undertake a 
 visit to America to investigate the religious con- 
 dition of the Norwegians and help to organize 
 congregations and lay the foundation for a regu- 
 lar church amongst them. Mr. Sji^rensen offered 
 to defray the expenses of the trip. This request 
 and offer touched and interested Dietrichson be- 
 cause it came from a man, who, though well to 
 do, was not wealthy. Dietrichson says: "I had 
 often thought with anxiety of the brethren in 
 America, exposed to all manner of errors, but it 
 had never occurred to me that I should be sent 
 to labor amongst them. I became more and 
 more interested in their condition and as I saw 
 the importance of such an undertaking, I pon- 
 dered over the matter and consulted several Chris- 
 tian men, whose judgment I placed above my 
 own, as to their opinion in the matter. Encour- 
 aged by them I concluded, in faith in God who 
 is powerful in the weak, to heed the request, pro- 
 vided I was given the ordination of the Norweg- 
 ian church. It was clear to me as well as to 
 those I consulted, that if I was to accomplish 
 anything among the immigrants, it was necessary 
 for me to labor with the authority which the or- 
 dination of the church alone can give in such 
 matters, and only when this had been granted 
 me, could I have the courage to accept the call. 
 I applied, therefore, for ordination as minister, 
 and my request was granted on October 4, 1843." 
 Dietrichson left Norway May 21, 1844, and 
 landed in New York July 9, together with about 
 900 immigrants. He went from New York over 
 Albany and Buffalo to Milwaukee where he ar- 
 rived Aug. 5. The next day he traveled the 
 twenty miles to Muskego. Here he immediately 
 found Clausen who knew that he had left Nor- 
 way and had been waiting patiently for him. 
 Dietrichson immediately began his labors. He 
 traveled from settlement to settlement preaching 
 and taking the preliminary steps toward the or- 
 ganization of congregations. The first congrega- 
 tion organized in this manner with a regularly 
 ordained minister from Norway as its pastor was 
 on Koshkonong Prairie in 1844. It is between 
 the months of August, 1844, and May, 1845, that 
 we hear the first reports of organized religious 
 
 work in Illinois. During this time Dietrichson 
 visited settlements in Illinois as well as in Wis- 
 consin and congregations were organized at 
 Long Prairie, 111., Stevenson and Winnebago 
 counties, 111., and at Chicago. During the years 
 that followed, several new ministers from Nor- 
 way had arrived in response to calls sent them 
 by newly organized congregations. From 1851 
 to 1853 several meetings were held by the pas- 
 tors and delegates from the congregations for 
 the purpose of effecting a general organization 
 but not until October 4, 1885, at Luther Valley, 
 Wis., was the organization completed of what 
 has since been known as the Norwegian Synod 
 of America. The size of the Synod at its organi- 
 zation can not be ascertained. We have, how- 
 ever, a paragraph in the report of the Temporary 
 Church Council from February, 1853, which says 
 that the church body consisted of thirty-eight 
 congregations, three in Illinois, four in Iowa, and 
 thirty-one in Wisconsin. 
 
 IL DEVELOPMENT. 
 
 One of the characteristics of the Norwegian 
 Synod has been its strict and uncompromising 
 adherence to the Word of God. On this account 
 it has been obliged to defend itself against the 
 attacks of enemies. It has passed through a 
 number of bitter controversies but never has it 
 been the originator of one. It has always been 
 on the defensive. 
 
 (a) Controversy Regarding Lay Workers in the 
 Church. 
 
 One of the first controversies which shook the 
 foundation of the young organization was re- 
 garding the work of laymen. Filing Eielsen and 
 a number of other followers of Hauge had 
 brought with them from Norway disrespect for , 
 church order. He used every opportunity to rid- 
 icule the church and its pastors, calling them 
 "ministers of tlie State Church with long gowns" 
 and the congregations that had called them he 
 designated "the great throng of the world, Babel, 
 etc.," while he called his own followers "the lit- 
 tle flock of God's true children." 
 
 Eielsen differed widely with the Synod in re- 
 spect to the work of laymen in the church. He 
 considered an inner desire to preach the word of 
 God as sufficient call and that such a person 
 should be permitted to preach the word of God 
 as he felt moved by the Spirit. The Synod, on 
 the contrary, held that God has instituted the 
 public ministry for the edification of the Chris- 
 tians and that He has instituted no other office 
 to exist side by side with it; that when any one 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 101 
 
 assumes public preaching of the Word, he as- 
 sumes the office of public ministry, which it is a 
 sin to assume without a regular call. It is both 
 the right and the duty of any Christian who can, 
 in case of distress, to preach the Word of God. A 
 case of distress exists either when there is no 
 minister or when the minister does not rightly 
 serve his congregation, so that its members are 
 obliged to suffer from want of spiritual care. 
 Such distress, however, should always be allevi- 
 ated in an orderly and Christian manner. The 
 standpoint of the Synod upon this question is 
 still the same. It believes, as it alwaj's has be- 
 lieved, in utilizing the laj^ abilities which may be 
 found in the congregation but always in an or- 
 derly manner subservient to the welfare of the 
 church. 
 
 (b) Controversy Regarding the Third Com- 
 mandment. 
 
 The first congregations had not been in exist- 
 ence long before the Seventh Day Adventists be- 
 gan laboring among them to deprive them of 
 their Christian liberty and bind them to the let- 
 ter of the law. Their point of attack was the 
 doctrine of the Third Commandment, and they 
 insisted on the necessity of keeping the seventh 
 day holy. They succeeded in arousing confu- 
 sion in the minds of many who called themselves 
 Lutherans and while the Synod at first was 
 obliged to defend itself against the attacks of the 
 Seventh Day Adventists, it was later on com- 
 pelled to meet the attacks, accusations and false 
 doctrine of the so-called Lutherans who had been 
 aroused by the Adventists. The controversy was 
 waged with considerable bitterness. The Synod 
 defended its doctrine contained in five points set 
 forth by the Rev. Ottesen: 
 
 1. When the Third Commandnient says, re- 
 member the Sabbath Day to keep it holy, "Sab- 
 bath Day" has not for us Christians any such 
 definite reference to a certain day as it has for 
 the Jews. (Col. 2-13; Rom. 14-5, 6; Gal. 4-9, 10.) 
 
 2. For us Christians by Sabbath Day in the 
 Third Commandment is meant every day, our 
 whole life, which is to be for us a spiritual Sab- 
 bath Day for Christ. 
 
 3. This spiritual Sabbath Day which accord- 
 ingly is a Christian's whole life, we shall, accord- 
 ing to the Third Commandment, keep holy, and 
 this is done by diligent and right use of the word 
 of God. This is the moral part of the Third 
 Commandment, which is binding for all times. 
 
 4. That which in the present time binds us 
 Christians to keep. Sunday is therefore, (a) the 
 rule and practice of the Christian church that we 
 
 are to follow for the sake of peace and love ac- 
 cording to Phil. 4-8, 9; Rom. 14-13; 1 Cor. 33; 
 (b) the law of our government regarding Sun- 
 day which we must obey for the sake of God 
 according to the Fourth Commandment and 1 
 Peter 2-15. 
 
 5. Therefore we sin by performing unneces- 
 sary labor on Sunday (a) against the Third Com- 
 mandment by transgressing the law of the gov- 
 ernment; (b) against the Third Commandment 
 if we thereby neglect and despise the word of 
 God; (c) against love because we. without rea- 
 son, break the rule and practice of the Christian 
 church and create offense. 
 
 (c) Controversy Regarding Slavery. 
 
 It was but natural that in tlie da3^s preced- 
 ing the Civil War the public mind should be 
 full of suspicion and jealousy toward every event 
 or utterance that seemed to imply a defense of 
 the slavery of the South. When Prof. Laur. 
 Larson, in the spring of 1861, returned from St. 
 Louis where he had been stationed temporarily 
 as a professor for the Norwegian students fre- 
 quenting Concordia College, he was asked by the 
 paper "Emigranten" whether or not it was true 
 that the professors of the college sympathized 
 with the South. That he did not answer the 
 question immediately was construed as an ad- 
 mission of the truth of the accusation implied, 
 and he was attacked publicly for his belief. He 
 responded by showing that the Bible nowhere 
 condemns slavery, and that slaverj^ in itself, 
 stripped of all its evils and abuses, is not sin. 
 This led to a controversy in which the majority 
 of the pastors of the Synod took the side of 
 Prof. Larson, while the opposition was led by 
 Rev. C. L. Clausen. 
 
 In the heat of the controversy, the standpoint 
 of the Synod was taken as a defense of the 
 slavery of the South and subjected it to much 
 misunderstanding and abuse. That the belief in 
 slavery, if it could be separated from its con- 
 comitant evils of abuse and cruelty, did not mean 
 sympathy with the South, is best proven by the 
 fact that many who held that view took up arms 
 and fought in the ranks of the Union army to 
 abolish the slavery of the South. This disagree- 
 ment led Rev. Clausen to withdraw from the 
 Synod in 1868. The congregation at Lee, Illinois, 
 had severed its connect-'on with the Synod on 
 account of this question in 1863 but was reac- 
 cepted in 1868. 
 
 (d) Controversy Regarding Predestination. 
 
 The controversies that hitherto had been waged 
 in the Synod were often bitter and their conse- 
 
loa 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 quences sad to behold but the Synod had yet to 
 experience the controversy that was most bitter 
 in its intensity and most far reaching in its ef- 
 fects. Brothers became estranged, fathers stood 
 pitted against sons, and relatives looked askance 
 at one another as they took opposite sides in the 
 great question of predestination. 
 
 In the year 1881 Prof. F. A. Schmidt, of the 
 theological Seminary of the Synod located at 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Chicago. 
 
 Madison, Wis., accused his fellow teachers and 
 co-laborers of teaching dangerous doctrines re- 
 garding predestination. These accusations were 
 met by vigorous denials. The standpoint of the 
 two parties in this controversy is perhaps most 
 clearly set forth in the statements of the parties 
 themselves. Prof. Schmidt condemned as un- 
 godly teaching what his opponents in their "Re- 
 degj0relse III: 21" said: "We denounce the 
 
 synergistic doctrine that salvation, in a certain 
 sense, does not depend upon God alone." In op- 
 position to this Prof. Schmidt declared: "I believe 
 and teach, now as before, that it is not a syner- 
 gistic error but a doctrine clearly taught in the 
 word of God and in our Lutheran confession thai 
 "salvation in a certain sense does not depend 
 upon God alone." 
 
 Kirketidende, the official organ of the Synod, 
 spoke of this in the following manner: "He 
 (Schmidt) does not adduce any proof from the 
 word of God or from the Lutheran confession. 
 On the contrary he applies his customary deduc- 
 tions of reason and claims, that if salvation de- 
 pends upon God alone, then damnation depends 
 upon God alone also and then his grace must be 
 irresistible. Because it really is impious to teach 
 an irresistible grace and to give God the blame 
 for damnation, therefore it is also impious doc- 
 trine to claim that when a person is saved, it is 
 effected by God alone. What do we mean when 
 we say that salvation depends upon God alone? 
 We mean that it is God alone who effects a per- 
 son's salvation and that he who is saved is in- 
 debted to God alone therefore and not in the 
 slightest degree to himself. This Prof. Schmidt 
 condemns as an impious doctrine." 
 
 From this question of predestination the de- 
 bate grew to involve also the question of God's 
 universal grace, of conversion and of the right 
 of the faithful to be certain of salvation. 
 
 For about eight years this controversy was car- 
 ried on with intense bitterness. The lines be- 
 came more and more clearly drawn and in the 
 years 1887 and 1888, the followers of Schmidt 
 gradually withdrew from the Synod. The effects 
 of this greatest and saddest of the controversies 
 between the Norwegian Lutherans of America 
 are still felt all over the North-West. Where one 
 pastor might serve a large and flourishing con- 
 gregation, there are often two struggling con- 
 gregations, each trying to support a pastor, 
 separated by the controversy of predestination. 
 Sometime in the future, when the bitterness and 
 struggle is forgotten, a merciful Providence may 
 reunite on the firm basis of his Word that which 
 has been severed and make the Norwegian Luth- 
 eran Church what it ought to be, a power for 
 the salvation and elevation of the Norwegian 
 Americans. 
 
 Just previous to the separation, in 1886, the 
 Synod comprised 193 pastors, 723 congregations 
 and 143,885 souls. In 1889, after the separation 
 had been effected, it consisted of 138 pastors, 512 
 congregations and 93,891 souls showing that the 
 number of those who left the Synod on account 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 103 
 
 of the controversary was approximately 55 pas- 
 tors, 211 congregations and 49,994 souls. For 
 further information the interested are referred to 
 "Festskrift," published by the Luth. Pub. House, 
 Decorah, Iowa, from which this sketch is culled. 
 At present the Synod comprises 18 congrega- 
 tions in Illinois. The history of the most im- 
 portant one follows: 
 
 OUR SAVIOUR'S NORWEGIAN EVANGEL- 
 ICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF 
 CHICAGO. 
 
 Our Saviour's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church of Chicago was organized by the Rev. 
 Gustav F. Dietrichson, Jan. 18, 1858, at North 
 Market Hall in Chicago. A large number of 
 people had gathered at the call of Rev. Dietrich- 
 son and Rev. J. S. Munch on the second Sunday 
 after Epiphany of that year. After the service 
 those who were interested in the organization of 
 the congregation were asked to meet on the day 
 following. An organization was effected and a 
 constitution adopted, signed by 52 charter mem- 
 bers. After the organization of the congrega- 
 tion, it was decided to build a church; $504 were 
 subscribed and the size of the church determined, 
 70x40 feet, to be built on the N. W. cor. of N. May 
 and W. Erie streets. Rev. G. F. Dietrichson was 
 called as the newly organized congregation's 
 pastor for one year. He was to conduct twelve 
 services during the year and receive $150 and 
 two offerings as remuneration. The church was 
 dedicated March 27, 1859. In the years 1859 to 
 1863 Rev. A. C. Preus seems to have served as 
 the temporary pastor. In 1873 Rev. Krohn, who 
 at that time was a student at St. Louis, was 
 called as pastor of the congregation and was in- 
 stalled the following summer. As early as 1860 
 we find the congregation conducting a parochial 
 school. 
 
 The congregation gre\y and prospered and it 
 soon became apparent that the frame structure 
 in which they had worshipped was too small and 
 that it was necessary to build a larger edifice. 
 It was decided to build a brick church 116 feet 
 long and 68 feet wide with a 48-foot chancel, a 
 tower 190 feet high and a seating capacity of 
 1,000 to cost $24,000. Work was begun in the 
 summer of 1871, but the basement was scarcely 
 completed when the fire of October 9, 1871 swept 
 the city. 
 
 As a consequence labor was postponed on the 
 church and the basement temporarily occupied. 
 In the meantime the price of building material 
 and labor advanced so that when the church was 
 
 finally completed in 1873, the cost was $42,000 
 instead of $24,000. 
 
 In 1876 Rev. Krohn, after having served the 
 congregation for thirteen years, accepted a call 
 to Filmore Co., Minnesota, where he died in 1889. 
 He was succeeded by Rev. O. Juul, previously of 
 New York City, who served the congregation 
 until the autumn of 1893. It was during his pas- 
 torate that the great controversy swept the 
 Synod. Our Saviour's Church was also effected. 
 After several years of unquietness about twenty 
 families withdrew from the congregation. In 
 1889 the congregation received into membership a 
 large portion of the congregation whose church on 
 the corner of E. Erie and Franklin streets, owing 
 
 Our Saviour's Norwegian Lutheran Church. 
 
 to conditions, had been sold and its pastor, Rev. 
 Daniel Kvaase served between the years 1889 
 and 1893 as co-ordinate pastor with Rev. Juul. 
 In the summer of 1893 Kvaase accepted a call 
 to Menominie, Wis., and Rev. Juul a call to 
 Brandon, Minnesota. From 1893 to 1895 the con- 
 gregation was served by Rev. Christian Preus, 
 whose congregation in Dane and Columbia coun- 
 ties. Wis., kindly granted him leave of absence 
 until Our Saviour's Church should have secured 
 a pastor. In 1895, the present pastor then serv- 
 ing as vicar in Rev. Preus's congregations in 
 
104 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Wisconsin, accepted a call as pastor of the con- 
 gregation and was installed June 16, 1895. 
 
 The congregation has had a steady growth and 
 has been blessed with peace and good under- 
 standing barring the years 1886 to 1888. If all 
 those who are technically members of the con- 
 gregation were counted, that is: all those who 
 have become members of the congregation either 
 by transfer, confirmation or profession and have 
 not formally withdrawn their membership, the 
 number might conservatively be placed at be- 
 tween 2,000 and 3,000 souls. Counting, however, 
 the live members, the congregation comprises 
 about 700 souls. 
 
 During its existence there have been in the 
 congregation, baptized 4,2.T5, confirmed 1,453, mar- 
 ried 1,849 couples and buried 2,174. 
 
 The congregation is at present in a flourishing 
 condition and, in spite of the migration to the 
 North-West of the city, hopes with the blessings 
 of God to hold its own for some time to come, 
 against the encroachment of adverse conditions 
 and continue to wield its influence for the truth 
 of God. 
 
 The United Church. 
 
 Rev. George Taylor Rygh, Editor. 
 Introduction. 
 
 The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of 
 America was organized in Minneapolis, Minn., 
 in June, 1890. The parties to the organization 
 were the Anti-Missourian Brotherhood, the Dano- 
 Norwegian Conference and the Augustana Synod. 
 
 At present (1906) the United Church consists 
 of 1,325 congregations. Its pastors and profes- 
 sors number 453; its confirmed members, 152,- 
 843; its total membership is 267,120. During the 
 year 1905, 30,407 public services were conducted 
 in Norwegian and 1,542 in English. There are 
 4,065 teachers and 49,312 children in the Sunday 
 schools. Parochial schools are conducted by 806 
 teachers. 
 
 During 1905, $92,000 w<|re expended in mission- 
 ary activity- — $40,000 for missions in the United 
 States and Canada and $42,000 for missions in 
 Madagascar and China. There are 97 missionar- 
 ies in the home field, of whom 12 labor in Canada; 
 in the foreign field 9 are in Madagascar and 13 
 in China. A missionary is stationed at the state 
 institutions for the deaf and dumb, the blind and 
 epileptic, at Faribault, Minn. 
 
 The United Church maintains a missionary for 
 
 the immigrants in New York City; also a mis- 
 sionary in Chicago. 
 
 The United Church has children's homes at 
 Beloit, Iowa; Lake Park, Minn., and Wittenberg, 
 Wis. At Wittenberg the church also sustains a 
 home for the aged. The Deaconess Home and 
 Hospital in Chicago is a United Church institu- 
 tion. Private hospitals conducted by members 
 of the United Church are located at Crookston, 
 Minn.; Northwood, N. D. ; Grafton, N. D. ; Fergus 
 Falls, Minn.; Madison, Minn.; Zumbrota, Minn., 
 and Austin, Minn. Hospitals are being planned 
 for Minneapolis and Duluth, Minn.; Minot, N. 
 D., and Eau Claire, Wis. 
 
 The theological seminary at St. Anthony Park, 
 Minn.; St. Olaf College at Northfield, Minn., 
 and the normal school at Madison, Minn., are 
 United Church schools. Augustana College, at 
 Canton, S. D. ; St. Ansgar Institute, at St. Ansgar, 
 Iowa; Waldorf College, at Story Cit3', Iowa; 
 Concordia College, at Moorhead, Minn.; Scan- 
 dinavia Academy, Scandinavia, Wis.; Pleasant 
 View Luther College, Ottawa, 111., are all con- 
 trolled by members of the United Church, and 
 with one exception, they receive an annual ap- 
 propriation froin the church. A college is in 
 building in Spokane, and another at Everett, 
 Wash. 
 
 The net valuation of Augsburg Publishing 
 House in Minneapolis is $108,305.31. From the 
 publishing house issues each week "Lutherane- 
 ren", the official organ of the church. Two Sun- 
 day school papers, one Norwegian and one Eng- 
 lish, as also a missionary journal, are published. 
 
 The value of all property owned by the United 
 Church is $725,193.18. 
 
 ZION CHURCH, ELGIN, ILL. 
 By Miss Aagot Rovelstad. 
 
 On the 9th of October, 1882, some Norwegian 
 and Danish people in Elgin, calling themselves 
 a church society, met in a hall on Douglas avenue 
 for the purpose of organizing a church. Andrew 
 Rovelstad was made chairman and Gunnar Kors- 
 moe, secretary. A committee of three men and 
 three women was appointed to obtain members. 
 
 The next meeting was held in the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church, at which Rev. N. C. Brun, then 
 of Chicago, presided. The committee on mem- 
 bers reported fifty names of persons who wished 
 to join the church. Each man, married or un- 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 105 
 
 PQ I 
 
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 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 married, was asked to pay 50 cents, and half this 
 amount was asked from each of the unmarried 
 women. Another committee was appointed to 
 form a constitution. It was decided to have the 
 same constitution as that of the Bethlehem Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran Church of Chicago; this was 
 read and approved at a meeting where Rev. 
 Brun, and Rev. Omland, then of Jefferson Prairie, 
 Wis., were present. The name was finally decided 
 upon — "Zion Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lu- 
 theran Church of Elgin". Three deacons were 
 elected, namely, Peder Rovelstad for three years, 
 P. C. Andersen for two years and P. Andersen 
 for one year. Three trustees were also elected, 
 namely, J. Espersen, three years; O. M. Rud, two 
 years, and I. Larsen, one year. 
 
 The church was organized on the 27th of Nov- 
 ember. 1882. at a hall on the corner of Douglas 
 avenue and Chicago street, which had been rented 
 by the. church for its meetings. Most of the 
 members worked in the Elgin watch factory. The 
 church, from the beginning, has had many dif- 
 ficulties to con.tend with. Many of the members 
 and some of the most faithful workers have 
 moved to other towns where they have either 
 engaged in business or accepted positions. 
 
 The leaders in the organization were. Rev. 
 Omland, Rev. Brun, Mr. Peder Rovelstad, An- 
 drew Rovelstad, Edward Holth, P. Undhjem and 
 G. Korsmoe. 
 
 At one time the membership reached close to 
 one hundred, but at the present time there are 
 about fifty members who pay regularly toward 
 the church. 
 
 In the spring of 1884, the purchase of a lot was 
 considered. Hon. G. P. Lord, one of Elgin's 
 oldest and most prominent citizens, gave to the 
 congregation a lot on Griswold street, on the 
 west side of the river. It was at once decided 
 to build a church, and a committee was appointed 
 to collect money to pay for its construction. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lord headed the list, each contributing 
 $25. The church was built at a cost of $2,582.41, 
 and was used first in October, 1884. Of the cost 
 price there was paid $1,874.93, leaving a balance 
 of $707.48 as a debt. 
 
 Each minister received $10 for the Sunday he 
 preached. Rev. Strand, of Elliott, 111., visited the 
 church during the year 1885. 
 
 Most of the Norwegian-Danish people live on 
 the west side and near the church. The street 
 car line is but a half block away. There are 
 four rooms and a-.'gallery in the church — a large 
 room in the basefhent, used for' Sunday school, 
 Wednesday prayer meetings and for the young 
 
 people's society; a dining room, a kitchen and 
 the auditorium. 
 
 In the beginning, meetings were held when 
 there was no minister. On these Sundays one 
 of the deacons would lead in prayer and read 
 the Scriptures. Peder Rovelstad was almost al- 
 ways the leader at these meetings. A collection 
 was always taken. 
 
 In 1887 Rev. Gerhard Rasmussen accepted the 
 call to preach every two weeks. Beginning the 
 year 1888, he also preached in Carpentersville on 
 the afternoon of the Sunday on which he visited 
 Elgin. 
 
 Andrew Rovelstad was sent as delegate to the 
 United Church Convention in Minneapolis, Minn., 
 in 1890. It was at this time that the United 
 Church was organized and the church in Elgin 
 joined it. 
 
 In 1890 it was decided to have the minister live 
 here, and a call was sent to Rev. William Ras- 
 mussen, brother of the former pastor. Rev. Ger- 
 hard Rasmussen. He lived in Elgin and served 
 as pastor two years, after which he accepted a 
 call to Waterford, Wis. The church was with- 
 out a minister for some months. Rev. N. Arve- 
 sen, of Chicago, visited the congregation during 
 this time. In 1893 Rev. Baker, of De Forest, 
 Wis., came, preaching every third Sunday. 
 
 A gallery for the organ and seating of the 
 choir was built in 1893. This same year the 
 Elgin church |,oined with the Norwegian-Danish 
 Church of Aurora in having the same minister. 
 Rev. William ,Eckmann, then of Chicago, was 
 called to serve as minister and to preach at each 
 place every other Sunday, both morning and 
 evening. He made his home in Elgin. Rev. 
 Eckmann remained in Elgin seven years. 
 
 Thanksgiving Day evening, Nov. 27, 1902, a mis- 
 sion meeting was held, when the twentieth an- 
 niversary of the organisation of the church was 
 celebrated. This was a most interesting meet- 
 ing and largely attended. Rev. N. J. Lockrem 
 was chairman for the evening. The congrega- 
 tion was very sorry to have to accept Rev. Eck- 
 mann's resignation. He left for Norway in 
 March, 1903. 
 
 Rev. Ditman Larsen was then called, and is 
 now the pastor. 
 
 The officers at the present time are Ole Kors- 
 moe, secretary, and E. Rovelstad, treasurer. The 
 organist is Miss Kate Jevanord. 
 
 The Sunday school has an average attendance 
 of about fifty children. Mr. Hyltoft, who for 
 years had been orgaiiist of the church, also 
 served as superintendent and organist of the 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 107 
 
 Sunday school. There are now (1906) nine 
 teachers — six girls and three men; superintend- 
 ent. Mr. Stange; treasurer, Julius Johnson; 
 pianist, Inga Knudsen. Miss Olga Christopher- 
 sen resigned as organist and pianist this year, 
 having filled this position since 1896. She and 
 Mrs. Stange have instructed the children in sing- 
 ing for each Christmas festival and children's 
 day for many years. 
 
 The Norwegian language is used altogether in 
 our Sunday school. The idea of having English 
 was once considered, but was not adopted, be- 
 cause of the inability of getting enough capable 
 teachers. 
 
 In 1891 the church had a summer parochial 
 school, with Miss Dina Nilsen as teacher. This 
 school lasted but eight weeks. 
 
 A girls' sewing society was organized by Mrs. 
 Greenhill and Mrs. Andrew Rovelstad in 1898. 
 They taught the children sewing; the meetings 
 were held at the homes of the members. Mrs. 
 Stange, Mrs. Ackerman and Mrs. Healy were 
 afterward leaders. The society exists no longer, 
 but another has been organized, composed of 
 young ladies. The small girls' society did much 
 for the church in a financial way. In 1899 it put 
 in electric lights, and has also improved the 
 church in other ways. 
 
 The new society was started last year and 
 has had one bazaar; the money earned was given 
 to the church. It has three officers, a president, 
 a vice-president, and a treasurer. 
 
 The church, it can almost be said, owes its 
 existence to the ladies' aid society which was 
 , organized in the same j^ear as the church. It has 
 paid nearly all of the church's debt and each year 
 pays toward the minister's salary and general 
 expenses. This society meets every two weeks, 
 and has about twenty-five active members. 
 
 The young people's society was organized by 
 Rev. O. C. Baker, one of the pastors, Jan. 5, 1894, 
 at the home of E. Rovelstad. The meetings are 
 now held in the church basement. There is at 
 present an enrollment of forty-four members. 
 The meetings are well attended, being held 
 every third Monday. A committee is appointed 
 each meeting to arrange the programme. The 
 society has had but little literary work. At dif- 
 ferent times it has had debates and has dis- 
 cussed Luther league topics, but the meetings are 
 mostly social and devotional. The committee 
 sometimes serves refreshments, and these ex- 
 penses are paid by it. The young people's soci- 
 ety joined the Fox River Valley District Luther 
 League North, five years ago, and has entertained 
 
 the district league twice in the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 Several of the organizers and most earnest 
 workers in the church have been taken away 
 by death. Among those are Peder Rovelstad, P. 
 Undhjem, and J. Greenhill. 
 
 Mr. Rovelstad died in the year 1891, having 
 worked faithfully for the church since its organ- 
 ization. He was for a few years organist and 
 superintendent of the Sunday school. On the 
 Sundays, when there was no minister, he was the 
 leader. 
 
 P. Undhjem was a man of devout religious 
 character. He did a great deal of work in the 
 Sunday school, and in the church as well. 
 
 J. Greenhill served as secretary of the church 
 for eleven years, from Jan. 2, 1894, until his 
 death, April 24, 1905. He was also a teacher in 
 the Sunday school, having charge of the con- 
 firmation class until a week before his death. 
 
 AURORA, ILL. 
 By Miss Anna Bj0rseth. 
 
 On the 14th of September, 1888, a meeting, 
 composed of Norwegians and Danes, was held 
 in Reising's Hall, Aurora, for the purpose of 
 organizing a Lutheran congregation. The con- 
 gregation was organized under the name, "The 
 Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Con- 
 gregation of Aurora, Illinois." 
 
 On Oct. 7, of the same year, Rev. N. E. B0e, 
 of Leland, 111., preached his first sermon to the 
 congregation, and he continued to preach to 
 them twice a month. The meetings were held 
 in the Swedish Methodist Church. 
 
 From the 2d of June, 1889, when Rev. B0e 
 closed his services as temporary pastor of the 
 congregation, until Sept. 1, of the sam« year, the 
 congregation was served by various pastors. On 
 Sept. 1, 1889, Rev. J. C. Reinertsen began his 
 ministration as the permanent pastor in charge. 
 
 At a congregational meeting held May 28, 1891, 
 the congregation voted unanimously to ask for 
 admission into the United Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church of America. 
 
 In August, 1892, a building lot was purchased 
 and the congregation began the erection of a 
 church. The church was dedicated by Rev. P. 
 A. Rasmussen, deceased, of Lisbon, 111., during 
 a meeting of the Chicago District Conference, 
 in March, 1893. 
 
 In August, 1893, Rev. J. C. Reinertsen resigned 
 his charge, and the 30th of January, 1894, Rev. 
 
108 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 N. A. Stubkjser, of Piano, 111., was called to serve 
 the congregation at Aurora. When Rev. Stub- 
 kjser closed his pastorate in 1894 the congrega- 
 tion remained without a pastor until 1896, when 
 Rev. William Eckman accepted the call of the 
 congregation. After serving for seven years he 
 resigned and went to Norway. 
 
 The congregation thereupon issued a call to 
 Rev. Ditnian Larsen, of Chicago, 111.; and he is 
 still (1906) the pastor of the church. 
 
 Aurora congregation has a membership of 100, 
 with a voting membership, male and female, 
 of 40. The cost of the church property is $3,000. 
 There is an active young people's society and a 
 ladies' aid society, which aid very materially in 
 the support of the church. The young people's 
 society is educating a native of Madagascar, who 
 was given the name Eziah in baptism. This 
 society also helps to support the local mission 
 work and United Church children's homes. 
 
 COVENANT CHURCH, CHICAGO, ILL. 
 
 By Rev. C. O. Solberg. 
 
 Covenant Evangelical Lutheran Church is lo- 
 cated on the North-West Side in Chicago at the 
 corner of N. Robey and Iowa streets. This con- 
 gregation is connected with the United Norweg- 
 ian Lutheran Church of America, but conducts 
 all its work in the English tongue. In fact, 
 this congregation was the first English mission 
 among the Norwegian people in this land. To 
 quote, "The necessity of organizing an English 
 Lutheran Church, in order that the faith of the 
 fathers might be preserved and the doctrines of 
 our church be preached to the rising generation 
 of the young people in the language which they 
 best understand", seemed apparent. The first 
 step in its organization was taken by the young 
 people's society of Bethlehem Norwegian Lu- 
 theran Church of Chicago, Rev. J. N. Kildahl, 
 pastor, at a regular meeting of the society, held 
 Dec. 1, 1891. The chairman of the society, Mr. 
 S. H. Holstad, was authorized to appoint a com- 
 mittee to have the matter in charge. The com- 
 mittee — consisting of Rev. J. N. Kildahl, Messrs. 
 L. B. Johnson, Jens Mathieson, Peder Nielsen, 
 John Peterson, S. H. Holstad, M. C. Olson, Louis 
 Skielvig, and Otto Peterson — brought the matter 
 before the congregation June 6, 1892, at a regular 
 meeting, and at another meeting, held Aug. 8 
 in the same year, a motion originally made by 
 Mr. Hakon Thompson authorized the with- 
 
 drawal of such members as desired for the for- 
 mation of an English Lutheran congregation, 
 with the consent of the mother church. The 
 congregation began its of^cial existence by 
 organizing at a meeting held in the basement of 
 Bethlehem Church, March 20, 1893, in the pres- 
 ence of Rev. J. N. Kildahl, who acted as chair- 
 man, and Rev. N. J. Ellestad, missionary super- 
 intendent of the United Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church. The beginning was made with a charter 
 membership of 19 adults and 4 children. . This 
 membership has steadily though slowly grown 
 until now the confirmed membership is 173, the 
 number of souls 215, and the voting membership 
 43. This membership is largely out of the mother 
 synod, composed of Norwegian-Americans, but, 
 like all English churches, it draws other nationali- 
 ties as well. 
 
 The first definite place of meeting was Harm- 
 ony Hall, corner of W. Huron and Noble streets. 
 This remained the place of worship except for 
 a time when the Adventist Church at 269 W. 
 Erie street was used. On May 2, 1899, two lots 
 on the southwest corner of N. Robey and Iowa 
 streets were secured, and in June, 1899, the 
 congregation was incorporated. On July 15, 
 1900, a brick chapel was dedicated. It was built 
 across the rear of the lots, at a cost of $2,000. 
 
 In this pastorate the following persons have 
 served: Rev. J. N. Kildahl from May, 1894 to 
 Dec, 1895, officially the pastor, while an assis- 
 tant, Mr. William Evans, had charge of the 
 active work. Previously to this services had been 
 held at the homes of the various members. Mr. 
 William Evans was ordained by the United 
 Church and served as pastor from February, 1896, 
 to October, the same year. To May, 1897, Stud- 
 ent Frank E. Jensen. To October, 1897, Mr. S. 
 S. Hookland. To May, 1898, Student C. M. Wes- 
 wig and Rev. P. C. Wike. Mr. Weswig, being 
 ordained, served from December, 1898, to May 
 1900. He was succeeded by Rev. H. B. Kildahl, 
 who served from July 15, 1900, to November, 
 1902. After an interval, during which, among 
 others. Dr. G. H. Gerberding chiefly supplied 
 the pulpit. Rev. C. O. Solberg took charge, and 
 serves to the present time (June, 1906). 
 
 The congregation is now actively engaged in 
 preparations for the erection of a more suitable 
 place of worship. With the accomplishment of 
 this desired end it is hoped that the work will 
 start out upon a new and vigorous growth. 
 
 Among its auxiliary organizations the congre- 
 gation has a Sunday school enrolling 226, of 
 which Mr. L. B. Johnson has served as super- 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 109 
 
 intendent from its first organization. The school 
 has seventeen classes and three departments. 
 The textbooks chiefly in use are the Bible His- 
 tory, used generally in the United Church, with 
 Luther's Small Catechism, and Laache's Explan- 
 ation. An efficient ladies' aid society of thirty- 
 eight members, a young ladies' organization 
 called the "Daughters of the Covenant," a young 
 men's club, are all active in the work and 
 greatly assist. These organizations are social 
 and practical and to some degree literary. There 
 is also a Luther league of forty-five members 
 which has greatly assisted the spiritual work and 
 life of the congregation. 
 
 The congregation is still receiving aid from 
 the mission treasury of the United Church, which 
 in its liberal and steadfast support has shown 
 its material interest in the work of the transi- 
 tion. It has chiefly contributed to the welfare 
 of the church at large from among its members. 
 Rev. Jens Mathieson and Rev. John Peterson 
 and wife were among the charter members. 
 Likewise Sister Caroline Williams, prominent in 
 the Deaconesses' Home and Hospital. Mr. Mar- 
 tin E. Anderson, recent graduate of Chicago Uni- 
 versity, will enter the ministry in the General 
 Synod. Sister Jorgine Mjovik, of the United 
 Church mission in Madagascar, was a member 
 here. Mr. S. H. Holstad, well known in the 
 Luther League works of Minneapolis, was a 
 charter member. Likewise Mr. Martin C. Olson, 
 prominent in several capacities in the state and 
 national work of the Luther League. 
 
 PONTOPPIDAN CHURCH, GARDNER, ILL. 
 
 The Norwegians who lived at Gardner had no 
 Lutheran church nearer than that at Gardner 
 prairie of which church some of them were mem- 
 bers. But this was very inconvenient indeed, as 
 it was about five miles to the church, and but 
 few owned a horse. 
 
 After having talked the matter over privately, 
 a meeting was called on the 7th of January, 1891, 
 where, after some discussion, it was decided to 
 organize a church. Mr. Iver Nilsen was elected 
 chairman and Ole Chally, clerk. Mr. T. Gangstee 
 was requested to procure a constitution. The 
 next meeting was held January 12th, when Mr. 
 Gangstee presented a copy of the Gardner Prai- 
 rie church constitution, which was adopted as 
 read. Officers were then elected as follows: 
 
 Trustee, Thomas Thorsen and G. Chally, Clerk, 
 
 T. Gangstee. Chorister, Thomas Thorsen. They 
 were in hopes of having the pulpit supplied by 
 the pastor of the Gardner Prairie and Grand 
 Prairie churches, but this was so strenuously ob- 
 jected to that they gave it up and called Rev. 
 Skaret of Rowe to preach to them every fourth 
 Sunday. On February 8th, . 1892, they again 
 turned toward the charge of Gardner Prairie and 
 Grand Prairie, and called Rev. P. J. Reinertsen 
 to preach to them on the afternoon of every 
 fourth Sunday. He accepted the call. 
 
 The struggle for a settled pastor was now 
 ended, but there was another difficulty to deal 
 with — 'that of a house of worship. 
 
 The services had been held first in the Pres- 
 byterian church, then in the Baptist church, but 
 the members were few in number and poor also, 
 so the prospect was not very bright for a church 
 of their own. But there was already a Ladies' 
 Aid Society, which had it in mind to assist. It 
 was decided to buy two lots in block seventeen 
 for $100.00. These were paid cash. At a meet- 
 ing of April 4th, 1893, it was decided that the 
 church should be built 30x44 and 14, but not 
 until March, 1895, was anything done as to 
 building. A subscription list was circulated every 
 month for this purpose. At said meeting it was 
 moved by some one, "That we, in the name of 
 the triune God, with prayer and with faith in 
 Him, commence to build a house of worship." 
 The motion was adopted by a unanimous yea. 
 But the size of the church building was reduced 
 to 28 X 40 and 14. A great and regrettable mis- 
 take! The end of reducing was not yet. At a 
 meeting of March 18th, 1894, the size 26x40 
 and 14 was finally decided upon. In July, 1896, 
 it was reported that the church was as far com- 
 pleted as circumstances would allow. 
 
 Mr. Lars Tofty, a farmer, but not less a car- 
 penter, made and presented a fine pulpit to the 
 church. The other furnishings were very plain 
 indeed, and the seats were home made and with- 
 out a "back rest." 
 
 Rev. P. J. Reinertsen had now resigned and 
 Rev. N. J. Lockrem became the pastor tem- 
 porarily until the spring of 1897, when the un- 
 dersigned took charge of the church. 
 
 Together with the Gardner Prairie church a 
 parsonage was bought which was found to be an 
 absolute necessity. 
 
 The membership had gradually increased and 
 by the aid of friends commodious seats were 
 procured, an altar was built, and the interior 
 painted. 
 
 An altar painting was presented by a merchant. 
 
110 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Mr. J. C. Lutz. A tower was built by the 
 Ladies' Aid Society, and a good bell placed in 
 the belfry by Mr. John Edmundsen. 
 
 The church has a Sunday school but no young 
 people's society, which certainly is to be re- 
 gretted. 
 
 The membership has gradually increased and 
 a large number of its members are members of 
 the Total Abstinence Society and active work- 
 ers for this cause. 
 
 There are weekly prayer meetings, well at- 
 tended, and the pastor has quite a number of 
 helpers for these meetings. 
 
 As this is a coal mining field a number of the 
 members are coal miners, but of late years a 
 number of retired farmers are making Gardner 
 their home and they are uniting with the church. 
 
 The present membership is about 125. 
 
 Chr. Christiansen. 
 
 BETHANIA CHURCH, GARDNER 
 PRAIRIE, ILL. 
 
 On the ISth of April, 1876, a number of Nor- 
 wegians came together at the home of Mr. Gun- 
 der Hansen, on the so-called "Scully Prairie", 
 Greenfield township, Grundy county. III., to con- 
 sider the possibility of getting Rev. J. C. Welo, 
 of Chicago, to preach to them. Some of them, 
 being members of the Norwegian-Danish Lu- 
 theran church at Dwight, were not ready for an 
 immediate organization of a new church. But 
 in the same year, on the 5th of June, they had 
 another meeting, in Bockman's German church, 
 where the organization took place, and the fol- 
 lowing officers were elected: Chairman, Rev. 
 Welo; clerk, Ole Axland; deacons, Mikkel Mon- 
 sen, Sjur Stangeland, Tjaerand Tjaerandsen; 
 chorister, Gunder Hansen; assistant, Anders 
 Paulsen; church warden, Sten Stensen. 
 
 At the next meeting, July 23, of the same year, 
 Mr. Sjur Stangeland was appointed Sunday- 
 school teacher, and the pastor promised to do 
 whatever possible for the class of catechumens. 
 The services were to be held at the Bockman 
 church (which is now a part of Mr. Lars Sy- 
 vertsen's residence). 
 
 At the annual meeting Jan. 22, 1877, the pas- 
 tor reported: 9 services, 11 baptized, 76 com- 
 municants; 1 couple married. 
 
 A committee, consisting of the following per- 
 sons, was elected to draft a constitution: Mik- 
 
 kel Monsen, Sjur Stangeland, Tjjerand Tjjerand- 
 sen, Jens Mortensen. 
 
 The first trustees were elected at this meet- 
 ing, namely: Halvor Monsen "for the Norweg- 
 ians" and Jens Mortensen "for the Danes." 
 
 The constitution was adopted at the meetings 
 of April 20, and Oct. 28, 1877. 
 
 The books to be used by the confirmation 
 class should be "Pontoppidan's Sandhed til Gud- 
 frygtighed," or if this prove to be too difficult 
 for some, "Den Dobbelte Forklaring." 
 
 The parochial school question was brought up 
 for discussion, but as there was no suitable place 
 for holding it, the matter was dropped. (But 
 in 1881 Erick Ericksen taught school for one 
 month). 
 
 The treasurer's report at the annual meeting 
 Jan. 7, 1878, gives the following: Subscribed by 
 the Norwegians, $86.50; paid subscriptions, $63.50; 
 balance, $24.00. Subscribed by the Danes, $24.00; 
 paid subscriptions, $20.50; balance, $3.50. Full 
 amount subscribed for 1877, $110.50; paid up 
 subscriptions, $83.00. Rev. Welo having re- 
 signed, Rev. A. G. Helgesen took charge of the 
 church Nov. 1, 1879. Having received a call 
 from La Crosse, Wis., to be the assistant of Rev. 
 J. B. Frick, Rev. Helgesen's resignation was ac- 
 cepted at a meeting of Feb. 13, 1882, and Rev. 
 N. J. Ellestad, whose charges were Fox River and 
 Stavanger churches, supplied the pulpit every 
 fourth Sunday. 
 
 The following year Cand. Theol. Nils Arve- 
 sen accepted a call from Pontiac, Gardner and 
 Brookfield. 
 
 Two different hymnbooks had been in use up 
 to this time, but it was now decided that the 
 book of the synod should be used exclusively. 
 At the same meeting, Sept. 17, 1883, the matter 
 of organizing a ladies' aid society was brought 
 up for consideration and a request was made that 
 a part of the money received for butter and eggs 
 be laid aside for missionary purposes. The peo- 
 ple were poor. The "Scully land" was under 
 water much of the time, and it was very dif- 
 ficult to raise even a small crop in those days. 
 But the people had a heart to give — not of their 
 abundance, for they made a sacrifice every time. 
 
 The charter members were: Sjur T. Stange- 
 land, Mikkel Monsen, Jens Mortensen, Tjserand 
 Tjserandsen, Mons Monsen , Gunder Hansen, 
 Lars Syversen, Halvor Monsen, Sten Stensen, 
 Ole Knutsen, Erick Ericksen, T. J. Hovland, 
 A.xel Johnson, Gert Larsen, Torris T. Sandenow, 
 Knudt T. Ryan, Torkel Olsen, Mads Olsen, Ole 
 Hill, Ole Axland. Other prominent members 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 111 
 
 North Lisbon Church at Helmar III. 
 
112 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 who shared the burdens of the early days were: 
 Henry Larsen, Lars F. Hill, John Hill, Knud, 
 Peter and Mat Matheson. The well known lay- 
 man, Amund Amundsen Hauge, was also con- 
 nected with this church until his death. 
 
 In October, 1885, a missionary offering ($50), 
 the first of which there is any -record, was sent 
 to the Norwegian Foreign Mission Society. 
 Money was also sent to the "suffering people at 
 Aalesund." But while they did this they did not 
 forget to engage a teacher at $20 per month and 
 board for four months of the year, to teach in 
 the parochial school. The minister's salary had 
 been raised to $200 per annum and three offer- 
 ings. An acre of land had been bought from 
 Halvor Monsen for a cemetery — for which $50 
 was paid. 
 
 In 1886 Rev. Arvesen resigned and Rev. O. 
 Saue accepted the call. In the second year of his 
 pastorate, a church was built on a lot donated 
 by Halvor Monsen. The cost of this church 
 building was $1,640.77. 
 
 On the 12th of March, 1890, the church was 
 visited by Rev. J. N. Kildahl, who preached to 
 them; on this occasion the church decided to 
 unite with the United Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church of America. 
 
 In August, 1890, Rev. Saue resigned and Rev. 
 P. J. Reinertsen was called. He served till 1896. 
 Temporarily the pulpit was now supplied by Rev. 
 N. J. Lockrem until the spring of 1897, when 
 the undersigned accepted the call. 
 
 The church building has been improved with 
 tower and gallery, and in the belfry the young 
 people have placed a large bell. A parsonage 
 was purchased by this congregation and the 
 Gardner church, at Gardner. It is valued at 
 $1,500. 
 
 The church has a young people's society, Sun- 
 day school and ladies' aid society. 
 
 The membership is now 200. Since 1874, 405 
 have been baptized, 193 confirmed, 48 couples 
 married, and 40 deaths have occurred. 
 
 Chr. Christiansen. 
 
 BETHLEHEM CHURCH, MORRIS, ILL. 
 By Rev. T. Aarrestad. 
 
 On the 6th day of July, 1880, a very small 
 Norwegian Lutheran congregation was organized 
 in, Morris, 111. The original members were: 
 Mrs. Anna Endresen and her sister, Mrs. Susan 
 Armbruster, both of Tjeldberg, Norway. . Miss 
 Anna Samuelsen was also one of the original 
 members. Mrs. Armbruster had three children. 
 The original membership was six souls, all told. 
 
 The name of the congregation was "Skandina- 
 via Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Morris, 111." 
 "Skandinavia" was changed to "Bethlehem" in 
 1902. At the time of organization very few Nor- 
 wegian families had settled in Morris. Some of 
 them had already indentified themselves with 
 other churches; others did not care to belong to 
 any church. 
 
 A number of Swedish families lived in Morris 
 at that time, and Swedish preachers began to 
 visit the town. These were not Lutherans. When 
 the Norwegians who went to hear them found 
 that they were Baptists they severed their con- 
 nection with thein. Being very few, it was a 
 brave deed. They were not afraid to show thejr 
 colors. 
 
 Some time later these women started a small 
 Sunday school. The services were held in pri- 
 vate houses. In 1881 F. Melby joined the con- 
 gregation, and in 1883 Jacob Olsen, S. P. Carl- 
 son, Karl Karlsen, John F. Nelson, Berger Mar- 
 tin Jonasen, Henry Hansen and others became 
 members. As the congregation commenced to 
 grow the question of getting a church home was 
 mooted. An old church was bought in 1884. The 
 price was about $1,200. This church had been 
 built by the Methodists and afterward sold to 
 the German Lutherans. On account of a split 
 among the Germans they termmated their ser- 
 vices and for a while rented, and later on sold 
 their church property to the Norwegians. This 
 church was used for a number of years, but 
 when the congregation grew stronger and more 
 Norwegian Lutherans moved into Morris they 
 began to plan for a new church. The old one 
 becoming almost unfit for use, it was deemed 
 wiser to erect a^new building than to patch the 
 old one. The congregation, although not strong, 
 thought of the future and decided not only to 
 build a new church edifice, but also to secure a 
 more advantageous location. This was wisely 
 done. A very desirable location was secured; ni 
 fact the very best in the town, and a two-story 
 structure was put up. Prominent laymen in the 
 construction of the church were: Austin Os- 
 mon, M. Melby, S. P. Carlson, Svend Bakke, 
 Henry Hansen, John Thorsen, A. C. Johnsen, S. 
 Marvick and Thomas Ostrem. The church was 
 dedicated on April 12, 1896. Rev. G. Hoyne, 
 president of the United Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church of America, preached the dedicatory ser- 
 mon. Other ministers present were: P. J. Rei- 
 nertsen, Gardner; J. H. Stenberg, Leland; N. J. 
 Lockrem, Norway; L. A. Vignes, Ottawa; L. S. 
 Marvick, Hatton, N. Dak.; and T. Aarrestad, 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 113 
 
 Morris. In the evening Rev. L. S. Marvick and 
 Rev. A. C. Andersen of Bethel church, Chicago, 
 preached. The lot and building cost about $7,500. 
 There was a heavy debt on the property till Jan., 
 1902, when every cent was paid and the church 
 improved. At the time of dedication the debt 
 was over $3,000. It was rather hard work to 
 keep it going with so heavy a debt, but the 
 ladies' aid society was a great help in those days. 
 At that time it was almost impossible to help in 
 general missionary work; but since the debt was 
 paid the congregation and the different societies 
 have given money to children's homes and char- 
 itable institutions. To home and foreign mis- 
 sions it has given about $180 per year. 
 
 The Swedish Baptists worked hard for some 
 time in order to persuade the Lutherans to join 
 their church, but with very few exceptions they 
 did not succeed. The present membership is: 
 souls, 315; confirmed, 202; voters, 58; average 
 attendance at worship, 175; 564 have been bap- 
 tized and 203 confirmed during the history of the 
 church. Both Norwegian and English have been 
 used. The congregation has not yet taken any 
 stand regarding secret orders. Parochial school 
 has been taught for several years. The enroll- 
 ment of the Sunday school is 87, with an aver- 
 age attendance of- 76 and a teachers' force of 12. 
 Money raised by the Sunday school is sent to the 
 different children's homes. A young people's 
 society that is literary, devotional and social has 
 been a good help to church attendance and work. 
 Money raised by this society has been used in 
 various ways, but especially for the benefit of the 
 local church. The average attendance is 40. 
 
 The first pastor of this church was B. P. 
 Strand. Rev. Strand preached his farewell ser- 
 mon on April 9, 1882. After a vacancy- of fifteen 
 months Rev. N. G. Nilsen.. became the pastor. 
 He served the congregation for nine years. Sev- 
 eral ministers, and among them Rev. N. J. Lock- 
 rem, served the congregation during the vacancy. 
 He also installed the present pastor, Rev. T. Aar- 
 restad, on the 26th day of November, 1893. 
 
 This congregation was connected with the 
 conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church in America until the conference 
 in 1890 was merged in the United Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church of America. Since that tim^e 
 Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mor- 
 ris, 111., has been connected with this body. 
 
 ^ ^; ;J; 
 
 HAUGE'S CHURCH, GRUNDY COUNTY, ILL. 
 
 Was organized on the 8th day of July, 1876, 
 in Saratoga, Grundy county. Leaders in this 
 
 movement were: Halvor Osmonsen Rygh, O. H. 
 Osmonsen, Knut M. J. Granville, Halvor Grun- 
 stad, Ole Thompsen Sorem, Wier Pedersen, Tol- 
 lef Hauge, Ole Charles, Erick Grunstad, John 
 Fatland and John J. Enger. 
 
 A few months later Erick Johnsen, Tobias Hel- 
 gesen, Anders Sorem and Anders C. Iversen 
 joined the church. The majority of these men 
 previously belonged to the Lisbon church, Rev. 
 P. A. Rasmussen, pastor. But when East Prai- 
 rie, as it is called, became more thickly settled 
 the people who lived there wanted a church of 
 their own. This, in connection with some dis- 
 agreement, caused these people to leave the Lis- 
 bon church and organize a congregation on East 
 Prairie. Rev.. Lars Oftedal, of Stavanger, Nor- 
 way, visited East Prairie in 1875, and it may be 
 that his visit had a little to do with the organiza- 
 tion of this congregation later on. The original 
 membership was 62, and at the end of .the year 
 1876, 97 souls belonged to the church. The pres- 
 ent membership is: souls, 285; confirmed, 207; 
 voters, 68. The average attendance of worship 
 is about 100. During the history of the church 
 525 have been baptized and 327 have been con- 
 firmed. 
 
 • When the congregation was organized it was 
 found necessary to ,(get a house of worship as 
 soon as possible. The work of building a church 
 was started in 1876, and a neat and spacious 
 house was erected at a cost of $4,000. The church 
 has a very advantageous location, five miles north 
 of Morris, county seat of Grundy county. Mr. 
 Halvor Osmonsen Rygh donated the building 
 ground, and he and the men above named were 
 the most prominent in the construction of the 
 church. The dedication of the church took place 
 on the third Sunday after Easter, 1877. Prof. 
 S. Oftedal, of Augsburg Seminary, Minneapolis, 
 Minn., preached the dedicatory sermon. M. F. 
 Gjertsen, T. J. Solberg and other ministers were 
 also present and assisted. 
 
 From its very inception the congregation was 
 connected with the Conference for the Norweg- 
 ian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in 
 America. Since 1890, when the conference was 
 merged in the United Norwegian Lutheran Church 
 of America, the congregation has been connected 
 with this body. 
 
 Several ministers visited the congregation dur- 
 ing the first year. Among these were: S. Of- 
 tedal, M. F. Gjertsen, R. O. Hill, P. J. Solberg 
 and Filing Eielsen. Rev. N. C. Brun, pastor of 
 Bethlehem Norwegian Lutheran Church of Chi- 
 
114 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 cago, was the first regularly appointed pastor of 
 the Hauge church. He served this congregation 
 in connection with his Chicago church for two 
 years. On October 13, 1879, Rev. B. P. Strand 
 was installed as pastor. He served the congre- 
 gation about two years and six months and 
 preached his farewell sermon on the 16th day 
 of April, 1882. 
 
 During a year's vacancy different ministers 
 visited the congregation. On the first day of 
 July, 1883, Rev. N. G. Nilsen was installed. He 
 served the congregation for nine years and 
 preached his farewell sermon May 29, 1892, being 
 the sixth Sunday after Easter. 
 
 After a vacancy of eighteen months Rev. T. 
 Aarrestad, the present pastor, was called, and ac- 
 cepted. He was installed by Rev. N. J. Lockrem 
 on the 26th day of November, 1893. Rev. Lock- 
 rem had had charge of the work during the 
 vacancy. Occasionally representatives of other 
 denominations have visited the settlement, but 
 without exerting any marked influence. 
 
 The congregation has not taken any stand to- 
 ward secret orders. 
 
 For many years the congregation as such has 
 not had any parochial school. The members 
 have sought a more private way to give their 
 children Christian instruction. In the Sunday 
 school the average attendance has been about 
 twenty, with two or three teachers. 
 
 For many years the ladies' aid society has been 
 a great help to the home church, but especially 
 to the different missions. The congregation has 
 contributed to home and foreign missions for 
 the last five or six years an average of $200 
 per year. 
 
 The Norwegian language has been used al- 
 most exclusively. Very few of the older orig- 
 inal members are still with us. Among these 
 we may mention: Halvor Osmonsen Rygh and 
 Wier Federsen. The majority of the older set- 
 tlers were born in Etne and Skaanevik, Norway. 
 
 TRINITY CHURCH, SOUTH CHICAGO, ILL. 
 By Rev. Olaus Qualen. 
 
 The Trinity Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church of South Chicago, 111., was organized 
 March 18, 1900, by Rev. J. H. Meyer, who served 
 the congregation as its pastor for nine or ten 
 months. In the beginning the place of worship 
 was at the Swedish Lutheran church, Houston 
 avenue, near Ninety-first street, but as it was 
 the desire of both pastor and congregation to 
 commence a Sunday school, and this could not 
 
 be done at the present quarters, it was decided 
 that the church seek to secure some other place 
 for the services. Sherman Hall, on Commercial 
 avenue, was rented. Here a Sunday school was 
 also commenced, but on account of a contagious 
 disease, it was closed after a short existence. 
 
 During the winter of 1901 Rev. Otto Schmidt 
 was called as the regular pastor for the church. 
 He accepted the call, and served the congrega- 
 tion for more than six months. 
 
 In the summer of 1901 Rev. Olaus Qualen, the 
 present pastor, was called, who took up the work 
 immediately after his predecessor had left. The 
 church still held its services at Sherman Hall, 
 and considering that it was only a hall, it was 
 about as good a place as could be found. But 
 a hall, that is used for nearly all purposes, is not 
 the most appropriate place for divine worship. 
 So the congregation decided to go back to the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church, providing it could be 
 had. An answer to the request of the congrega- 
 tion was given in the affirmative, and the con- 
 gregation moved back to the place of its organ- 
 ization. It was also possible to commence a 
 Sunday school there, and it was begun as early 
 as possible. But as this was not a church home 
 for the congregation in the true sense of the 
 word, and as it is the desire of an organization 
 as well as of an individual to have one's own 
 home, it was the wish of this congregation to 
 get something of their own, where they could 
 gather to worship the one common Father. 
 
 At a business meeting of the church held dur- 
 ing the winter of 1903 it was decided that the 
 congregation proceed to buy lots for the erec- 
 tion of a church edifice. After some struggle 
 two lots on Sherman avenue near Eightieth 
 street were purchased for the sum of $600. The 
 property is 50x120 feet. 
 
 At another business meeting, during the winter 
 of 1905, it was unanimously agreed' that the 
 church be incorporated under the laws of the 
 state of Illinois. This was done. It was further- 
 more decided that the congregation proceed to 
 raise the necessary funds for the erection of a 
 church building on the property. The money 
 was raised. A real estate firm made a loan of 
 $500; the church extension fund of the United 
 Church made another loan of $500; the remainder 
 was raised by subscriptions and collections from 
 various sister congregations. 
 
 This put the congregation in position to com- 
 mence the work on the new edifice, which was 
 begun in the summer of 1905 and completed in the 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 115 
 
 fall of the same year. The church was dedicated 
 Sept. 10, with appropriate ceremonies. 
 
 During the summer of 1900 the congregation 
 was admitted into the United Norwegian Lu- 
 theran Church of America, and has since that 
 time been a joint congregation with Nazareth 
 Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of West 
 Pullman, the two constituting one charge. As 
 these have both been small and unable to sup- 
 port a pastor, the Home Mission Board has 
 contributed annually to the support of the pas- 
 tor. 
 
 Trinity Church was organized with 51 souls. 
 The present membership is 67. Progress has 
 been slow for the reason that only a few of our 
 country-men reside in that part of the city. 
 
 The Sunday school, that began with very few 
 children, has now an enrollment of thirty-five 
 children and five teachers. 
 
 During the history of the church, fifteen have 
 been baptized and seven confirmed. 
 
 The ladies' aid society, which has a member- 
 ship of about eleven, has done a very good work 
 from the beginning. The money raised, which 
 has amounted to several hundred dollars, has 
 been invested in the new church edifice. 
 
 Although the church is not rich in money, its 
 object has been to take part in the noble cause 
 of extending the borders of God's kingdom. Thus 
 it has often given to the home and foreign mis- 
 sions and many of the institutions connected with 
 our church. , 
 
 * * * 
 
 PONTOPPIDAN CHURCH AT GIBSON 
 CITY, ILL. 
 
 By Rev. J. L0nne. 
 
 Pontoppidan Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran 
 Congregation in Ford county. 111., was organized 
 Aug. 20, 1876. It consisted of twenty-one fam- 
 ilies and two unmarried persons. The first pas- 
 tor was Rev. N. Iversen, who served the con- 
 gregation temporarily. 
 
 On July 14, 1877, Student of Theology Omland 
 was called as permanent pastor. He entered 
 upon his pastoral duties in 1878, and served the 
 congregation until Oct. 1, 1880. 
 
 Rev. B. Strand was called as temporary pastor 
 when Rev. Omland had retired. Rev. Strand 
 served temporarily, but later as the regular pas- 
 tor, until Jan. 1, 1888. 
 
 The congregation now had temporary supplies 
 until it called Candidate of Theology Framnes 
 on May 27, 1888. Rev. Framnes served the con- 
 gregation until in 1896. Rev. Helge H0verstad 
 
 was called as pastor Feb. 22, 1897, and served 
 until May 1, 1904. The writer was chosen pastor 
 on July 4, 1904. 
 
 The congregation has now (1906) about 670 
 members, two churches and a parsonage. 
 
 BETHEL CHURCH, CHICAGO, ILL. 
 By Rev. C. E. Tiller. 
 
 Bethel Lutheran Congregation, on Humboldt 
 street, near Armitage avenue, Chicago, was orig- 
 inally made up of two separate congregations. 
 These two were Bethel congregation and Salem 
 congregation. Bethel congregation was organ- 
 ized by Rev. N. C. Brun, Dec. 29, 1889, and wor- 
 shiped most of the time in Scharlau's Hall, on 
 the corner of North and California avenues. 
 This congregation was admitted into the United 
 Church at the first meeting of that body in 1890, 
 In the spring of 1891 the present church building 
 was bought from the German Lutheran congre- 
 gation on Humboldt street and moved on the 
 two lots already purchased on Humboldt street, 
 near Armitage avenue. 
 
 Salem congregation was organized in 1891 by 
 Rev. N. J. Ellestad, who at that time was mis- 
 sion superintendent of the, United Church. This 
 congregation worshiped in Merrick's Hall, corner 
 of Milwaukee and Hofman avenues. As the 
 distance between these two congregations was 
 only about half a mile, and as both received 
 financial aid from the Board of Home Missions 
 of the United Church, a movement was begun 
 for the union of the two into one body. After 
 several meetings it was agreed that Salem con- 
 gregation should dissolve its organization and, 
 in a body join Bethel congregation. This union 
 was entered upon New Year's da}% 1893. 
 
 Salem congregation had up to this time been 
 served by Rev. Nils Arveson, who also had Zion 
 congregation in charge. Rev. N. Arveson re- 
 mained in charge of Zion congregation and Rev. 
 N. C. Brun remained as pastor for the new Bethel 
 congregation. 
 
 After a short time Rev. N. C. Brun resigned 
 and Rev. A. C. Anderson, from Albert Lea, Minn., 
 was called. He accepted and was duly installed 
 by Mr. A. Larson, chairman of the board of dea- 
 cons, on Sunday, May 6, 1894. During the three 
 years' labor of Rev. Anderson the congregation 
 had a rapid growth both spiritually and financi- 
 
116 
 
 A HISroRY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ally. Rev. Anderson's health failed, and, after a 
 lingering illness, he was called away from hi'; 
 labors in the church militant to his reward in the 
 church triumphant in heaven. 
 
 Rev. A. Oefstedahl, who was called as pas- 
 tor after Rev. Anderson, entered upon his duties 
 Sunday, Oct. 10, 1897. He was installed by Rev. 
 J. N. Kildahl. He served the congregation faith- 
 fully until Nov. 4, 1900, when he preached his 
 farewell sermon, and entered upon his new field 
 of labor at Fertile, Minn. 
 
 Rev. C. E. Tiller, the present pastor, was in- 
 stalled by Rev. N. J. Ellestad on Sunday, June 
 30, 1901. 
 
 The congregation now numbers 797 souls, 612 
 confirmed members and 136 voting members. 
 The finances are ably taken care of by a board 
 of trustees consisting of nine members. A board 
 of deacons consists of six members together with 
 the pastor as chairman. 
 
 A Sunday school, numbering 550 children, is 
 taken care of by about sixty teachers, who every 
 Sunday morning at 9 o'clock endeavor to comply 
 with the Master's command, "Feed my lambs." 
 
 The Luther League numbers over 100 members 
 and is doing good work in the congregation. 
 
 The ladies' aid society has a membership of 
 about ninety. This society is one of the most 
 active in the congregation, and contributes every 
 year a large amount to the upbuilding of the 
 congregation. 
 
 The Dorcas, a society of young ladies, is at 
 the present working hard to raise funds for a 
 pipe-organ for the new church. 
 
 A "Do What We Can" society, consisting of 
 small girls, has every year added a neat sum 
 in the coffers of the church. 
 
 A mission society meets every last Wednesday 
 evening of the month. It has every year contrib- 
 uted to the foreign and Jewish missions, besides 
 supporting a parish sister, who works among the 
 sick and poor in the congregation and vicinity.. 
 
 The congregation also has a committee for the 
 poor, which endeavors to help the poor and 
 needy of the neighborhood. 
 
 On May 10, 1905, the congregation purchased 
 58 2-3 feet by 156 feet on the northeast corner 
 of Humboldt boulevard and Dickens avenue for 
 a consideration of $5,000, on which in the near 
 future they hope to erect a new and modern 
 church edifice. 
 
 Carl Edward Tiller. 
 
 FREEDOM, ILL. 
 By Rev. P. P. Hagen. 
 
 "The First Norwegian Free and Independent 
 Congregation," near Leland, 111., comprised all 
 the Norwegian Lutherans from four or 'five miles 
 north of Leland to the southern boundary of 
 Freedom township. This locates it in La Salle 
 county, in the townships of Freedom, Earl and 
 Adams. 
 
 The congregation was one, but consisted of 
 three local units, with equal rights and privileges, 
 and a church building at each place. This con- 
 gregation, with a few changes of greater or less 
 consequences, stood the severe tests of pioneer 
 life, and the disrupting tendencies of the ill- 
 fated controversies between the larger bodies of 
 the church. 
 
 In 1847, on the 18tli day of November, it was 
 organized, and in 1904, on the 4th day of August, 
 it was dissolved, and reorganized into three in- 
 dependent congregations, "Freedom" in Freedom, 
 "St. Peter," near Baker, and "Batavia" at Leland. 
 ■ Freedom and St. Peter congregations, the sub- 
 jects of this sketch, have gone through the same 
 steps of historical changes to such an extent that 
 they can, in the main, more conveniently be 
 treated under one head. Yet, each locality, or 
 preaching place, which has in many respects con- 
 stituted a unit in itself, has presented peculiar 
 phases of development that warrant specific con- 
 sideration. 
 
 Not far from the Big Indian Creek, in the 
 humble residence of Holje Bakke, the organiza- 
 tion of the congregation- was -effected. This his- 
 torical event took place on the 18th day of No- 
 vember, 1847. Be it said, in parenthesis, that Mr. 
 Holje Bakke was the grandfather of Mr. Henry 
 Kittelson, a trustee of St. Peter's congregation. 
 The old house, in which one of the first Norweg- 
 ian Lutheran congregations in America was' born, 
 stood where Mr. H. Kittleson's residence now 
 stands, and it is yet to be seen, though not used 
 as a residence, at Mr. Seward Anderson's place, 
 not far from the original location. 
 
 The name given to the congregation was' "The 
 Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church near 
 Indian Creek, La Salle County, 111." This is 
 a longer name than strictly necessary, but con- 
 sidering the combination of ideas it conveys, it 
 amply repays its production. It stands for the 
 nationality, the confession and the definite loca- 
 tion of the congregation. It defines it geograph- 
 ically, ethnologically and theologically. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 117 
 
 Rev. Ole Andrewson, who served the congre- 
 gation the first year, presided at the first meet- 
 ing. Heliek Farly was the secretary. The first 
 board of deacons was composed of four, who 
 were: Halvor Knudtson, Heliek Farly, Kntidt 
 Halvorson and Knudt Gutormson. The original 
 membership was 23. The congregation was des- 
 tined to grow, however, and on the 4th day of 
 June, 1848, 31 members were added, raising the 
 roll to a total of 54 souls. Again, on the 5th 
 of April, 1849, 22 more were admitted, making 
 the number 69. The 5th of May, 1853, the first 
 confirmation class was entered upon the roll of 
 membership, increasing it by 22; 30 more applied 
 for admission, raising the membership to a total 
 of 119. 
 
 It appears that Ole Andrewson served the 
 congregation the first year only, and was suc- 
 ceeded by Andreas A. Scheie. The latter was 
 again succeeded by O. I. Hatlestad. Rev. Hatle- 
 stad came to Leiand in 1852 or 1853, and stayed 
 there until in the fall of 1859. Peder Pederson 
 was the name of Hatlestad's successor; his stay 
 did not exceed two years. Omond Johnson 
 served the congregation as pastor during the 
 Civil War until 1865. 
 
 Now follows a period of vacancy for about 
 two years, during which time neighboring and 
 itinerant ministers made the congregation occa- 
 sional calls. Among those who called were T. 
 H. Dahl, the president of the United Church, O. 
 Iverson, and others. Falk M. Gjertson, upon fin- 
 ishing his theological course at Madison, Wis., 
 accepted a call and entered upon his first field 
 of labor as minister at Leiand, where the par- 
 sonage was located, in 1867, and remained in 
 charge for six years, until in 1873. 
 
 The division of the old "Augustana" into "Au- 
 gustana and Konferensen" had its doleful influ- 
 ence upon the individual congregations. So also 
 here. In the year 1872 the congregation divided; 
 one part adhered to that branch of the old Au- 
 gustana Synod which was called "Augustana" and 
 the other part followed "Konferensen." The Au- 
 gustana, however, had no following in Freedom 
 and very few at Baker, their weight being in Le- 
 iand. The "Konferensen," on the other hand, 
 had quite a strong and active community in Free- 
 dom, which by this time had grown into a power 
 for good, both in point of numbers and in spir- 
 itual and churchly interest and intelligence. At 
 Baker, however, with reference to synodical af- 
 filiations, they were divided between the two, 
 and owing to unavoidable friction some energy 
 was dissipated. In course of years, however, 
 
 with the growth of the community, the church 
 made strides of progress numerically and materi- 
 ally in spite of discouragements and drawbacks. 
 Spiritually, the congregation did not keep pace 
 with the external progress. Rather the reverse. 
 Such is church history. 
 
 During the period of separation Mr. Tjoms- 
 land, who died about a year ago (1905) at Mt. 
 Vernon, S. D.; Mr. C. J. Roseland, the secretary 
 of the United Church, and P. J. Reinertson, at 
 Elk Point, S. D., served in succession the Au- 
 gustana branch of the congregation. F. O. Iver- 
 son, of the Free Church, at Battle Lake, Minn.^ 
 and N. E. BjzJe, at Northwood, Iowa, respectively,, 
 filled the pulpit of the other division. — Iverson 
 1872-1879, B^e 1879-1889. 
 
 In 1890 the two were made one and all 
 was well. At that time Harold Erickson came 
 directly from Augsburg Seminary, Minneapolis, 
 Minn., to be the leader of the united vrhole, and 
 he immediately showed himself to be master of 
 the situation. He was a true pastor and an able 
 leader for a Christian Lutheran congregation. 
 He became endeared to all, young and old, rich' 
 and poor. He enjoyed the love and respect of 
 all, and his future career in his Master's service 
 seemed hopeful and bright. But it was fraught 
 with sadness and gloom. The exceeding sadness 
 and the mystery unspeakable, which are open to 
 the unsearchable wisdom of God alone, is that 
 such an industrious and consecrated young man 
 was not allowed to continue in the work he dearly 
 loved. "It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvel- 
 ous in our eyes." Erickson was permitted to 
 enter into his eternal Sabbath of rest after only 
 about two years of service. But when in the 
 army of the Lord of Hosts one soldier falls out 
 of the ranks a new one is ready to step in and 
 fill the vacant place. Another young man, gifted, 
 industrious, interested and consecrated, took up 
 the work where Erickson left it. It was H. 
 Stenberg, now at Duluth, Minn. He immediately 
 took up the work with zeal and won the people's 
 hearts. In 1894 he entered upon his first call, 
 and in 1904 he resigned for his new charge in 
 Duluth, Minn., to the regret and sorrow of the 
 whole congregation. 
 
 In the meantime, the immigration has been 
 pouring in year by year and enriching this lo- 
 cality of Freedom, 111., and neighborhood with 
 honest and law-abiding citizens and good and 
 faithful followers of the Lutheran Church. This 
 has added strength both materially and spiritu- 
 ally to the congregation. The result is that the 
 church membership is counted by the hundreds 
 
118 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 and the wealth of the members is measured by 
 the tens of thousands. 
 
 The original founders of the congregation are 
 all dead and gone, but their work continues to 
 live after them. The hard and persevering strug- 
 gles, with the adverse conditions of the times, 
 have indeed not been in vain. Their lot was, as 
 is the case with the pioneers, not to enjoy, but 
 to fight and fall. The succeeding generations 
 reap the rich fruits of the labors of the hardy 
 and faithful fathers. 
 
 The pioneers among the Norwegians in the 
 congregation in Freedom were Torbj0rn Arnt- 
 son, Vig and Knudt Mosey. The former im- 
 migrated and settled in New York state in 1839 
 and came to Freedom, III, in 1844. The latter 
 immigrated and came directly to Freedom in 
 1846. Mr. Arntson was an interested church 
 worker, and became one of the leaders of the 
 Lutheran congregation. He was originally, how- 
 ever, a Methodist. But he was always a devoted 
 church member and Christian. His wife was a 
 firm Lutheran from the beginning. Mr. Arntson 
 died in 1889, his wife having gone to rest the year 
 before. Their family counted five children, three 
 sons and two daughters, who are all interested 
 and industrious church workers. Their grand- 
 children, and even great-grandchildren, are found 
 on the present roll of membership. Knudt Mosey 
 was from the first a faithful adherent of the 
 Church of the Reformation. 
 
 Knudt Mosey's son, Thomas, was a deacon 
 and the most prominent man in Freedom church 
 work for over forty years. He won and enjoyed 
 the respect of his neighbors, as well as in more 
 distant circles, in a pre-eminent degree, on ac- 
 count of his sincere piety and true devotion to 
 his church. He was born in 1827 and died in 
 1901, at Leland, where he lived a short while be- 
 fore his death. His wife survives him and is a 
 member of Batavia congregation, Leland, and 
 will be mentioned in another place. His family 
 numbers eight, two sons and six daughters. Two 
 daughters are married to ministers — F. M. 
 Gjertson, Minneapolis, Minn., and O. Guldbrand- 
 son, Blair, Wis.; one is married to Dr. Laws in 
 Minneapolis, Minn.; one is Mrs. A. M. Klove, 
 Leland, 111., and two are living with their mother 
 at Leland. They are all Lutherans and have the 
 interests of the church at heart. 
 
 Sivert Jameson came to America in 1866, and 
 after a brief stay in Leland, settled on his home- 
 stead in Freedom, 111., where he lived till his 
 death in 1903. He was kind to the poor, warm- 
 hearted, liberal, and always truly interested in the 
 
 church. His wife, a true helpmate, was a kind 
 mother and faithful wife. She is now in her 80th 
 year, yet is able to attend church, which she has 
 always loved, and freely mingles with the neigh- 
 bors. Their children number nine — two sons 
 and seven daughters. They are active members 
 of the church of Freedom. 
 
 J^rgen Johnson lived in Freedom, was a leader 
 for years, and served as deacon of the congrega- 
 tion. Nels Nelson, Brandaberg, also lived here 
 a while, and identified himself with the church. 
 He moved away. O. K. Olson, now at Des 
 Moines, iDwa, was a staunch Lutheran and able 
 supporter of the church. He was highly re- 
 spected and rendered valuable services in the 
 congregations for many years. He succeeded 
 himself as trustee for a number of terms. Louis 
 Sampson was also an active member in Freedom 
 for many years, but moved to Iowa. 
 
 Among the oldest that now survive in Free- 
 dom are Ole Albertson, Ole Thorson, Barto 
 Thompson and Ole Eastegaard. Barto Thompson, 
 who is a younger son of Knudt Mosey, came with 
 his father in 1846, while he was yet a boy. He 
 was confirmed and grew to manhood in the con- 
 gregation. Mr. Thompson, though not so' prom- 
 inent in public as his older brother, Tom Mosey, 
 has always been a faithful and interested mem- 
 ber of the congregation. Ole Albertson joined 
 the church here in 1854 and is one of those who 
 speak not so much, but think more, and feel the 
 most. He has loyally contributed according to 
 his means. Ole Thorson, one of the pillars of 
 the congregation, has been a deacon for twenty- 
 five or thirty years, has served faithfully in posi- 
 tions of importance and trust, and has always 
 given close attention to the welfare of the con- 
 gregation. Ole Eastegaard has served as trustee 
 for a number of years, and with his experience in 
 practical pedagogy as a young man in Norway he 
 has rendered faithful and efficient services in 
 various positions in the congregations. Both Mr. 
 Thorson and Mr. Eastegaard have always with 
 warm and consecrated hearts contributed liber- 
 ally of their substance in the service of the 
 church, and in charity generally. Mr. Jakob Ol- 
 son served faithfully for over twenty years as 
 janitor at Freedom church. He is no longer able 
 to be around, but is confined to his bed. He is 
 making his home at Knute Fosse's. 
 
 Of the younger generations that are coming to 
 the front in the congregation may be mentioned 
 Gabriel Jameson, son of Sivert Jameson, who 
 has served ably and conscientiously as deacon, 
 Sunday school superintendent and trustee; Henry 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 119 
 
 Mosey, son of Tom Mosey, a loyal supporter of 
 the church; Knute Fosse, who now serves as 
 deacon, and promises well for the future of the 
 church in Freedom, with his earnest forethought 
 and ready means of support; Joe E. Thompson, 
 a good and interested member, who has served 
 the congregation as trustee — he is Barto Thomp- 
 son's son, and Knudt Mosey's grandson; Louis 
 Chally, a new member of the congregation 
 but from services rendered, from his gifts and ac- 
 complishments, and from his earnest and sincere 
 devotion to the congregation which he now serves 
 as a deacon, the church may well depend for 
 its future growth and prosperity upon his sin- 
 cere devotion, whole-hearted consecration and 
 efficient services and support. Several others 
 might be mentioned, but time and space do not 
 allow. 
 
 The church building in Freedom has under- 
 gone changes. In 1854 or 1855, the Lutherans 
 built a house of worship together with a few 
 Baptists and a few Methodists. Each was too 
 poor to build alone. This house was used until 
 in 1883, when the present church building, with 
 the exception of a later addition, was built. The 
 first one was a building of about 16 x 24, and the 
 present one is about 30 x 60 feet. 
 
 In 1885, in the month of September, the ladies 
 •of Freedom organized the ladies' aid society. 
 In the earlier years they prepared articles of 
 clothing, and sold at sales, but in later years they 
 have contributed money at each monthly meet- 
 ing. The money thus gathered is given to for- 
 eign missions. 
 
 A Luther league has been in existence for many 
 years in Freedom. The meetings have been al- 
 most altogether devotional in character. The 
 young people have not been trained to take much 
 active part in the meetings. The programme has 
 consisted so far chiefly of songs by the choir and 
 audience, and a talk or sermon by the pastor. 
 
 The funds of the congregation are collected 
 by assessment, by free subscriptions and by col- 
 lections. To place the money on the altar in the 
 form of an offering has never been introduced 
 in these congregations. The minister's salary is 
 <:ollected by means of free subscription. The 
 janitor's fee is collected by means of assessment. 
 Money for the home and foreign missions and 
 for charitable institutions at home is gathered 
 by means of free-will collections. 
 
 The congregation has about six weeks of paro- 
 chial school every year, and has had school dur- 
 ing the last ten or twelve years. Previous to 
 that time, however, there was little or no such 
 school. There has been regular and earnest at- 
 
 tention given to Sunday school work. The con- 
 gregation has called into action its best and 
 choicest talents, and marked results have been 
 obtained from the work. 
 
 The language question has also claimed due 
 attention. Freedom, as well as St. Peter, were 
 not at all vexed and annoyed by the question 
 until within the last decade or so. Norwegian 
 was spoken, Norwegian was understood and 
 Norwegian was loved. But conditions have 
 changed. The rising generation feels differently, 
 thinks differently and speaks differently. Those 
 who were born and grew to manhood and wo- 
 manhood in the old country had the feelings of 
 the old country, thought the thoughts of the old 
 country, and spoke the language of the old 
 country, but those who grow up to manhood and 
 womanhood in this country, on American soil, 
 put away those things of the old country. The 
 result is that English has been introduced. The 
 Sunday school has English classes, some chil- 
 dren in Freedom and St. Peter are being con- 
 firmed every year in English, and a good share 
 of the Sunday evening services are being con- 
 ducted in English. 
 
 * * » 
 
 BIG INDIAN CREEK, ILL. 
 
 By Rev. P. P. Hagen. 
 
 At Big Indian Creek, which is now called St. 
 Peter congregation, there are not very many, 
 only two or three men, who have served in any 
 important position for any length of time. The 
 original founders, some of whom lived near 
 Baker — such as Holje Bakke, Hellek Farley and 
 others — did not count anything too costly for 
 the welfare of the church. Many were the strug- 
 gles they had to go through and the burdens 
 they hau to carry, and mainly for the good of 
 posterity. All honor to their memories! 
 
 Still, the younger generation did not prove 
 less industrious in doing its duty, nor less 
 faithful to its trust. Among those who car- 
 ried the weight of the burden in St. Peter from 
 the '60's, and down to the present may be men- 
 tioned: Holje Pederson, Mathias Sawyer, Nils 
 Erickson, A. B. Anderson and Nels Halvorson. 
 Mr. Holje Peterson was for forty years or more 
 the mainstay of the congregation from that part, 
 and especially as trustee; his services were emi- 
 nently efficient. 0sten Sanderson, who is now 
 living at Leland, is one of the heaviest land- 
 owners around Baker, and also figures prom- 
 inently in church affairs at that place. Mr. San- 
 derson has contributed liberally to the church 
 for the various funds of the congregation, and 
 
120 
 
 A HISTORY QF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 especially in the erection of the local church- 
 building. Two of his nephews, Henry and Knudt 
 Kittleson, are prominent and active members of 
 St. Peter congregation. Mathias Sawyer was for 
 many years a leader, and served during several 
 terms as deacon of the congregation. His son 
 and family are now interested and industrious 
 church workers. Nels Halvorson was for sev- 
 eral years a leading member of the Big Indian 
 locality, and rendered very valuable services for 
 the maintenance of the church at that place. A. 
 B. Anderson is one of the earliest, if not the 
 earliest member of the Leland church still living. 
 While Mr. Anderson now resides at Leland and 
 will be more fully treated under that head, yet 
 he has spent most of his days at Big Indian, and 
 a few reflections upon his work are appropriate 
 here. Mr. Anderson came here in the '50's and 
 made the Big Indian locality his home for 
 rather more than half a century. The church 
 was his all-absorbing interest. He served in dif- 
 ferent positions in the congregation and never 
 spared efforts or means to make it prosper and 
 grow. His sons, who are at present faithful 
 members of St. Peter, take after their father in 
 that respect. Mr. Nels Erickson is undoubtedly 
 the oldest member of St. Peter who is in at- 
 tendance and service. Mr. Erickson is now past 
 fourscore, and retains a wonderful degree of vi- 
 tality, both physical and mental. The only 
 marked effect of old age is a serious lack of 
 hearing. This is a very burdensome defect and 
 deprives him of much benefit and blessing which 
 comes from the hearing of the preaching of the 
 Word of God. Mr. Erickson arrived at Leland 
 from Stavanger, Norway, in 1859, and immedi- 
 ately afterward settled on his homestead not far 
 from Baker. In less than two years after his 
 arrival he became a deacon of the congregation, 
 and filled that position until less than five years 
 ago. It was only with regret that the congrega- 
 tion could not keep him any longer with his 
 modesty, care and devotion in that important of- 
 fice of the church. But he was unable to serve 
 any longer. Mr. T. H. Pederson has been living 
 at Big Indian since 1864 and has been an active 
 member of the congregation since. Mr. Henry 
 Kittleson, grandson of Holje Bakke, one of the 
 original founders of the Leland congregation, 
 was born in the house in which the congregation 
 was organized, in the year 1850. He has lived 
 near Baker all his life with the exception of a 
 few years near Newark, 111. He has served as 
 trustee of the congregation for many years. He 
 is now assisted in that position by Mr. Endre 
 Ohme, a successful young farmer devoted to the 
 
 welfare of the church, and John A. Johnson, an 
 equally sincere and interested worker of the con- 
 gregation. Among those who have served as 
 deacons at Big Indian since the days of the ser- 
 vice of Mathias Sawyer and Nels Erickson may 
 be mentioned: Bendik Fr^nik, Ole Watland, 
 Benjamin Henrickson, John Erikson (son of Nels 
 Erikson) and Enevold Stangeland. 
 
 For the first twenty years the Big Indian was 
 not in possession of any church edifice, but made 
 use of school-houses and residences. About thir- 
 ty-five years ago the present church building was 
 erected. It measures about 30x40, with gallery, 
 and seats a fair-sized audience. 
 
 About thirty years ago "The Western Ladies' 
 Aid" was organized, and has been in operation 
 ever since. It has worked for missions, home 
 and foreign, and other church institutions. A few 
 years later, about fifteen years ago, another, called 
 "The Eastern Ladies' Aid," was formed, also 
 aiding the church at home and abroad with its 
 work and money. A few years ago a Luther 
 league was organized, but can hardly be said to 
 have kept up the work in any organized form, 
 the members having in the meantime married and 
 moved away, thus reducing the membership. 
 Services, however, are being conducted especi- 
 ally for the young, and these meetings are prin- 
 cipally of a devotional nature. The young people 
 here, as in Freedom, have not been sufficiently 
 trained to take active part in the meeting. 
 
 The funds here in St. Peter are raised in vari- 
 ous ways, as in Freedom — partly by free sub- 
 scription, partly by assessment and collection. 
 Ofifering, as used in most of. our churches, is not 
 used here. Three or four years ago tlie young 
 people of the congregation formed a society to 
 work for the congregation. The name of this 
 society is "Helping Hand." Their main object 
 was to fix up the church building. First they 
 bought a church bell, then they furnished the 
 church with light, and at present they are at work 
 to furnish the church with new pews. 
 
 The English language is used exclusively in 
 the evening at St. Peter. In the Sunday school 
 both languages are used. The English language 
 has gradually increased in use and in due time 
 it will undoubtedly supplant the Norwegian alto- 
 gether. 
 
 Both St. Peter and Freedom have by consti- 
 tutional enactment taken a very firm and positive 
 stand against secret orders. They recognize 
 !odgism as diametrically opposed to the Chris- 
 tian religion and contrary to the best interests 
 of the state. The very essence of the Christian 
 religion is the doctrine of salvation by grace of 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 121 
 
 God through faith in Christ's vicarious atone- 
 ment; the religion of the lodge is salvation by 
 man's own efforts. These two are incompatible. 
 One can not hold both these religions at the 
 same time. The lodge is contrary to the best 
 interests of the state, because the natural tend- 
 ency of its oaths and obligations is to hinder or 
 defeat the execution of justice. 
 
 ST. TIMOTHY CHURCH, CHICAGO, ILL. 
 By Lyle Halvorson. 
 
 In the year 1899 Rev. Ellestad, superintend- 
 ent of the home missions of the United Church, 
 visited the suburb Hermosa, lying in the north- 
 west outskirts of Chicago, with the object of es- 
 tablishing a mission Sunday school. He then 
 reported to the congregation of Bethel Lutheran 
 Church, which is located about two miles east, 
 that there were good prospects for establishing 
 a mission. He asked Bethel congregation to be 
 sponsor for this new mission, promising them 
 that they would not have to bear any of the ex- 
 penses, but simply see to it that the work was 
 carried on. 
 
 In the fall of that year Rev. A. Oefstedal, of 
 Bethel Church, made a thorough canvass of this 
 suburb. Mr. A. Larson, Sr., assisted him in this. 
 On Oct. 13, i\Ir. Larson rented a small frame 
 store at 1639 Armitage avenue, and also sent 
 around hand bills announcing that a Lutheran 
 Sunday school would be started on Sunday, Oct. 
 22. This was the beginning of St. Timothy 
 Church. Rev. A. Oefstedal and Mr. A. Larson 
 were present that Sunday and organized the Sun- 
 day school. There were present also twelve 
 girls, eight boys, three visitors and four teachers, 
 making a total of twenty-seven. Mr. Larson 
 acted as superintendent for the school for the 
 remainder of that year. The teachers of the 
 school were all members of Bethel Church, with 
 one exception. Miss Anna Magnussen. 
 
 The place where this Sunday school was first 
 held was not inviting, but still the children came, 
 and we were able to hold our first Christmas 
 festival that year. The tree and all its trimmings 
 were brought from Bethel Church, Mr. Larson 
 and Miss Magnussen doing nearly all the work. 
 
 At the beginning of the year 1900 Mr. Larson 
 was unable to continue longer with the school, 
 and Bethel congregation elected Mr. Lyle Hal- 
 vorson as superintendent. He continued in that 
 
 capacity until the mission became an organized 
 congregation, Mr. Leth acting as assistant. 
 
 The school was now no longer a novelty, and 
 the people of Hermosa began to realize that it 
 had come to stay. Those who had come at first 
 to assist us, perhaps out of mere curiosity, drop- 
 ped off one by one, and finally only three of the 
 teachers from Bethel Church remained. They 
 were Mr. D. Leth, Miss M. Leth and Mr. Lyle 
 Halvorson. These three, with Miss Magnussen 
 from Hermosa, were the only teachers the Sun- 
 day school had until the fall of 1903. 
 
 The school was conducted in two languages. 
 Miss Leth, although not yet confirmed, had the 
 class of smaller ones in English; Miss Magnus- 
 sen, the smaller ones in Norwegian; ]\Ir. Leth, 
 the older boys; and Mr. Halvorson, the older 
 girls. Miss Mabel Leth also acted as organist, 
 and continued in that capacity until the fall of 
 1903, when she, together with Mr. Leth, were 
 called back to their own church. But the troubles 
 of the mission had just begun. April 8 was 
 Easter Sunday, and the school had planned for a 
 special service, but during that week the party 
 who was the owner of the place had rented the 
 store to some one else without notifying the 
 mission, and when the scholars came to their 
 Sunday school that Easter afternoon they found 
 a tea store in the place where the Sunday before 
 had been their Sunday school. All this had been 
 done through a misunderstanding, and as no 
 other place could be had to hold the school, after 
 a search had been made that Sunday morning, 
 permission was had to hold the school in the 
 kitchen back of a delicatessen store. It was also 
 necessary to hold the school in the same place 
 the next Sunday. Permission was then received 
 from Mr. Nirison, a real estate man, to use the 
 vacant house on the corner of Forty-third avenue 
 and Cortland street. This house was in a very 
 poor condition; canvas was spread over the walls 
 in some of the rooms in place of plaster, and 
 in other rooms there was nothing but the bare 
 scantlings. The school paid no rent for the 
 place and stayed there until Sept. 30. This was 
 a most unfavorable place for a Sunday school, 
 and the attendance diminished until we had only 
 about eighteen or twenty during the summer of 
 that year. During the month of September this 
 house was invaded and some of our property de- 
 stroyed. On Sunday, Oct. 30, when we came to 
 hold the Sunday school, we found people living 
 in the place and all our things stored up in the 
 garret. This was the second time we had been 
 thrown out without warning. That Sunday after- 
 
122 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 noon we gathered the children together on a 
 street corner, distributed the papers, took up the 
 collection, and dismissed the scholars with the 
 promise that we would send them postals during 
 the week notifying them where our next service 
 would be held. That afternoon Mr. Leth and 
 Mr. Halvorson canvassed the neighborhood for 
 a new place for the Sunday school. 
 
 Although these were severe trials, God was 
 with this school. On that afternoon, after a 
 search, a German mission was located in a cot- 
 tage at 1075 Tripp avenue. Permission was se- 
 cured to hold the Sunday school there the next 
 Sunday afternoon, as they held their school and 
 services on Sunday mornings. This was only 
 temporary, but Mr. Koepke, a trustee, promised 
 to bring it before his congregation. They agreed 
 to rent the place to us for $5 a month. The cot- 
 tage was supplied with a pulpit and altar, and 
 was the best place the school had had so far. 
 Here the school remained until Sept. 1, 1902, 
 when the store just across the street, at 1602, 
 was rented from Mr. August Patsky. 
 
 During the year 1901, and while the school was 
 yet in the cottage, the Germans built a church 
 of their own and the school had to bear the ex- 
 pense of the cottage alone until April 15, 1902, 
 when the school rented the rear rooms to a fam- 
 ily by the name of Nelson. Some of the neigh- 
 bors objected to this; as the husband was sick 
 with consumption, they said that the house was 
 not in proper condition. Some of the parents 
 also objected to sending their children. Then 
 the school again diminished. This afifair also 
 caused a great deal of trouble and worry, and 
 the school was obliged to look for new quarters, 
 which were found in the home of Mr. Patsky, 
 three doors west. Again the school moved to 
 the cottage, and stayed there until arrangements 
 were made to move into a vacant store building 
 across the street. 
 
 The first church service was held September 
 29, 1901. Ten people from Hermosa and some 
 visitors from Bethel Church were present. Rev. 
 C. E. Tiller conducted the service. After the 
 service, a short meeting was held and nine per- 
 sons promised to support the mission. These, 
 together with a few others, continued to contri- 
 bute thereafter. They were: Mrs. Ramstad, Mrs. 
 Johnson, Mrs. Bergsgo, Mrs. Lydia Christiansen, 
 Mrs. Joel Hanson, Mrs. Claus Amundson, Mrs. 
 E. Hansen, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. T. Gunderson, Miss 
 Anna Magnussen, Mr. A. Evanson, Mrs. Olsen. 
 
 A few more services were held that fall. All 
 these were in the Norwegian language. An Eng- 
 
 lish service was announced for December 8, but 
 as Mr. Meyers, of the Seminary at Lake View, 
 did not come, the service was not held. 
 
 In the first part of the year 1902 a few Eng- 
 lish services were held. Rev. Tiller conducted 
 most of these services. He was assisted by J. 
 Liaboe, Adolpli Larson and J. P. Hovland. 
 
 In the year 1902 the mission board of the 
 United Church took over the mission and sent 
 Rev. Ditman Larsen to take charge. He also 
 had charge of Emmaus Church, about a mile and 
 a half south. Rev. Larsen conducted the first 
 service Sunday evening, July 6, 1902, in the Eng- 
 lish language. The attendance was small. 
 
 In the afternoon of July 28 a formal opening 
 of the mission took place; for it now had a pas- 
 tor in charge and was supported by the mission 
 board. The store had been made to resemble a 
 church, being fitted up with a pulpit, altar, altar 
 railing, etc. Much of this work had been done 
 by Rev. Larsen himself. About fifty were pres- 
 ent that afternoon. Rev. Ditman Larsen presided 
 Rev. C. E. Tiller, Rev. G. T. Rygh and Mr. A. 
 Larson spoke. The superintendent of the Sunday 
 school also said a few words in regard to the 
 mission's past. 
 
 A confirmation class was now started. The 
 members of this class were Mabel Grant, Amy 
 Grant, Josephine Olsted and Emily Halvorsen. 
 They were confirmed May 10, 1903, together with 
 the class from Emmaus Church, the confirma- 
 tion being held in that church. This was the 
 first class confirmed in the mission, although Ar- 
 thur Thoreson and Herbert Olsted had been con- 
 firmed in Bethel Church and Clara Hansen and 
 Anna Larson had been confirmed in Saron Swed- 
 ish Lutheran Church the year before. Another 
 member of the Sunday school, Harry Olsen, was 
 also confirmed in Saron Swedish Lutheran 
 Church in 1903. 
 
 Rev. Ditman Larsen now accepted a call to 
 Elgin, and preached for the last time May 31. 
 Then followed another gloomy period for St. 
 Timothy, as no organization had been efifected, 
 no more services were held, and the mission had 
 no means of support except the Sunday school 
 collections and a little money that was volun- 
 tarily contributed by its friends. 
 
 When Mr. Leth and Miss Mabel Leth left to 
 go back to their own church in the fall of this 
 year the Sunday school was reorganized and 
 more classes were formed. The new teachers 
 were young ladies who had grown up in the 
 Sunday school, with two others, Miss Agnes El- 
 lison and Miss Ella Ellison, who came from 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 123 
 
 Bethel Church. Miss Agnes Ellison also acted 
 as organist for some time. Miss Mabel Grant, 
 one of the members that had grown up in the 
 Sunday school, was the first to act as treasurer 
 of the mission. Miss Emily Halvorsen was the 
 first secretary, she having been doing some of 
 that work before she was confirmed. 
 
 In the latter part of this year those who had 
 been interested in the mission's welfare began to 
 discuss plans for the organization of a congre- 
 gation. Jan. 14, 1904, was finally set as the day 
 for organizing. 
 
 Rev. C. E. Tiller had now secured the services 
 of Mr. Andreas M. Skindlov, who was to hold 
 services and to do some visiting. He called for 
 the first time Sunday morning, Dec. 20, and ad- 
 dressed the Sunday school. He also spoke at the 
 Christmas festival, Dec. 30, and held service on 
 New Year's day, which was well attended. On 
 Sunday, Jan. 10, Mr. Skindlov preached to seven- 
 teen grown persons and two children. The next 
 Sunday there were thirty persons present. Mr. 
 Skindlov preached in the morning, went visiting 
 m the afternoon, and attended Luther league in 
 the evening. He was a zealous worker and was 
 well liked by the people, and had good success, 
 especially with the Norwegian services. 
 
 A special meeting was now announced for Jan. 
 14, with the object of organizing a congregation. 
 Seventeen persons, including Rev. C. E. Tiller 
 and B. D. Larson from Bethel Church, were pres- 
 ent. Mr. Lyle Halvorsen, the Sunday school 
 superintendent, called the meeting to order. Rev. 
 C. E. Tiller was elected temporary chairman; 
 Mr. Lyle Halvorson was elected temporary sec- 
 retary. After the report for the past year was 
 read an organization was effected. Sixty souls 
 were enrolled, nine of whom were voting mem- 
 bers. Women were given the right to vote at 
 the meeting. A committee of five — consisting 
 of Mr. Emil C. Hanson, John Riiser, P. M. 
 Grant, Martin Halvorsen and Anton Christen- 
 son — was appointed to draw up a constitution. 
 Mr. B. D. Larson also acted as advisory member 
 of this committee, the superintendent of the 
 Sunday school also being present. It was voted 
 to retain the old name of St. Timothy Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church, this name having been adopted 
 by members of the Sunday school. The charter 
 members were: Emil C. Hanson, wi.fe and five 
 children; Martin Halvorsen; P. M. Grant, wife 
 and four children; Sadie Mabel Grant; Amy 
 Marie Grant; Anfind Olsen, wife and seven chil- 
 dren; John Riiser, wife and five children; Andrew 
 H. O. Stavoe, wife and three children; Lewis 
 
 Hansen and wife; Anton Christensen, wife and 
 four children; John Hansen, wife and three chil- 
 dren; Anna Magnussen; Ella Hansen; Mrs. Han- 
 na Eidem and six children; Rodney Eidem; M. 
 Lyle Halvorsen. 
 
 Meetings were held Jan. 28, and Feb. 11, at 
 which Mr. A. Larson presided. Mr. Skindlov 
 presided at the meetings held Feb. 25 and March 
 10. At these meetings the work of organizing 
 was continued. 
 
 The first board of deacons consisted of Mr. 
 Martin Halvorsen, chairman; Anton Christensen, 
 secretary; Miss Anna Magnussen. The board of 
 trustees consisted of Louis Hansen, chairman; 
 Emil Hansen, secretary; Mrs. Hanna Eidem, 
 treasurer; Mr. A. H. O. Stavoe; P. N. Grant. 
 The first secretary elected was Mr. A. H. C. 
 Stavoe. Mr. Halvorsen was elected as superin- 
 tendent of the Sunday school and Mr. A. M. 
 Skindlov was elected to serve the congregation. 
 A committee of three — Martin Halvorsen, 
 Lyle M. Halvorsen and Mr. A. H. O. Stavoe — 
 was elected to represent the congregation before 
 the meeting of the mission board at the home of 
 Mr. Adolph Larson. This committee pleaded the 
 cause of the congregation before the mission 
 board. 
 
 From May 1 to Oct. 1 Mr. Skindlov gave all 
 his time to the work of the church, for which he 
 received $60 per month. He canvassed the neigh- 
 borhood thoroughly and succeeded in inducing 
 a great many people to join. Many of these had 
 not attended any of the services before they 
 joined, and dropped ofi after Mr. Skindlov left. 
 A parochial school was conducted during the 
 summer and a confirmation class was also start- 
 ed. Mr. Skindlov preached his farewell sermon 
 Sunday, Oct. 2, and in the evening Rev. C. E. 
 Tiller held communion service, which was largely 
 attended. Mr. Skindlov left to continue his 
 studies at St. Paul. When he left the congrega- 
 tion had a membership of 127 souls. The Nor- 
 wegian services during the summer while Mr. 
 Skindlov was there were well attended, there be- 
 ing about twenty-five present. The English ser- 
 vices were also fairly attended, but most of these 
 were young people and children. 
 
 But God had again taken care of his people, 
 for Rev. C. E. Tiller had secured the services 
 of Mr. R. O. Sigmond, a student at Chicago Lu- 
 theran Seminary. Mr. Sigmond preached for the 
 first time Oct. 9. 
 
 The mission board now sent Rev. O. N. Nel- 
 son from Meckinock, N. D., to take charge of 
 both St. Timothy and Emmaus churches. He 
 
134 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 preached his first sermon to St. Timothy Church 
 Sunday evening Jan. 22, 1904, and was installed 
 the next Sunday morning by Rev. C. E. Tiller, 
 of Bethel Church. He remained with St. Tim- 
 othy until June 25, 1905, and then took charge 
 of Emmaus Church only. While he had both 
 congregations, Mr. R. A. Sigmond assisted him 
 by preaching alternately at Emmaus Church and 
 St. Timothy Church, thus giving both congrega- 
 tions two services each Sunday. 
 
 After Rev. O. N. Nelson left, the congregation, 
 at a meeting held May 22, called Mr. Sigmond 
 to take charge until a pastor could be secured. 
 
 Lots located on the nqrthwest corner of Forty- 
 third and Dickens avenues, 50 feet front by 117 
 feet deep, have been purchased for a church 
 building. 
 
 The Luther League was organized Jan. 9, 1903, 
 Rev. Ditman Larsen acting As temporary chair- 
 man and Miss Mabel Grant as secretary. The 
 following officers were elected: Mr. M. Lyle Hal- 
 vorsen, president; Miss Mabel Grant, secretary; 
 Miss Mabel Leth, treasurer. Meetings were held 
 Sunday evenings, as there were no services at that 
 time. These meetings were fairly well attended. 
 Later the meetings were changed to a week day 
 and the league became more of a young people's 
 society. The membership at the beginning of 
 the year 1906 was thirty-two. The average at- 
 tendance at the meetings was eighteen. This 
 society gave $25 to the purchase of the church 
 lots, aided in decorating the church for Christ- 
 mas, Easter, etc., and also assisted in other ways. 
 
 On Saturday, Feb. 24, 1906, another auxiliary 
 society, composed of girls, known as the Busy 
 Bees, that have for their object the raising of 
 money for the church building, was organized at 
 the home of Mrs. Eidem. The officers were Dor- 
 othy Ramstad, president; Mildred Eidem, vice- 
 president; Ragnhild Johansen, treasurer; Jennie 
 Gunderson, secretary. 
 
 During the summer of 1904 an English choir 
 was organized. A Norwegian choir was attempted 
 a little later, but was not successful, Mr. Abra- 
 hamson became the instructor. In February, 
 1905, Rev. Nelson led the choir himself. After 
 
 he left, Mr. Leth was called back to St. Timothy 
 and took charge of the choir. Miss Mabel Leth 
 being organist again. At a concert given Sept. 
 16 of that year over $40 was raised for the 
 church lots. 
 
 * * 
 
 * 
 
 The first auxiliary society organized was the 
 Alpha Club. It was organized April 9, 1902, and 
 was composed of girls. Its first officers were: 
 Miss Mabel Leth, president; Miss Mabel Grant, 
 secretary; Miss Attie Amundson, treasurer. The 
 first meeting was held at the home of Miss Anna 
 Magnussen, 1085 N. Forty-first court. The first 
 entertainment of any kind for the benefit of the 
 mission was given by this society, June 18, at the 
 home of Mr. and Mrs. Cressman, an American 
 family belonging to the Congregational Church. 
 Mr. Cressman, being in sympathy with our Lu- 
 theran mission, often aided us in this manner. 
 
 The Ladies' Aid Society was organized Thurs- 
 day, Sept. 6, 1902, at the home of Mrs. Emil Han- 
 sen. The officers elected were: Mrs. Eliza John- 
 son, president; Mrs. Maren Hansen, treasurer; 
 Mrs. Gertrude Gunderson, secretary. The soci- 
 ety has been a great help to the church. It has 
 often aided in paying the rent of the mission. 
 In like manner it also assisted the congregation 
 to meet its current expenses when first organized. 
 It gave $300 to the purchase of the lots for the 
 church. 
 
 About the first of June, 1905, the Ladies' Aid 
 Society lost one of its first members, in the per- 
 son of Miss Anna Magnussen, as she moved to 
 Lake Blufif with the Cressman family, with whom 
 she lived. Not only this society, but also the 
 congregation, and the Sunday school especially, 
 lost one of its best members, as she had been 
 with the congregation from the very beginning 
 and had perhaps done more than any other one 
 person in the building up of St. Timothy. She 
 seemed to know every child in the Sunday school. 
 Whenever she knew of any one being absent she 
 would visit the child; she also visited the sick 
 in the congregation and did whatever she could 
 to relieve them. She never failed of an oppor- 
 tunity to bring a new child to Sunday school or 
 some one to church when it was within her 
 power to do so. All the good she has done and 
 the sacrifice she has made probably no one will 
 be able to estimate. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 125 
 
 ZION CHURCH, CHICAGO. 
 By Rev. C. K. Solberg, Pastor. 
 
 Zion Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church 
 is located in Chicago, on the corner of Potomac 
 and Artesian avenues. The congregation is af- 
 filiated with the United Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church of America. Following is a brief state- 
 ment of the circumstances and events leading up 
 to the organization of the congregation: 
 
 A large number of the Norwegian Lutherans 
 having settled east of Humboldt Park, steps were 
 taken in 1891 to hold preaching services there 
 occasionally. Shortly after New Year's Rev. J. 
 N. Kildahl, who at that time was pastor of Beth- 
 lehem Norwegian Lutheran • Church, on Huron 
 street and Center avenue, began these services. 
 In March of the same year, together with Rev. 
 N. J. Ellestad, mission superintendent of the 
 United Norwegian Lutheran Church, he estab- 
 lished a mission. A vacant store on the corner 
 of Washtenaw avenue and Crystal street was 
 rented and equipped with the most necessary 
 furniture. Here the mission held its first regular 
 morning service on the last Sunday in March, 
 Rev. Ellestad preaching the sermon. At 3. p. m. 
 the same day Rev. Kildahl, with nine of his 
 Sunday school workers, started an English Sun- 
 day school with thirty-one pupils. Mr. L. B. 
 Johnsen, now a member of Covenant English 
 Lutheran Church, this city, was elected superin- 
 tendent and served for four years. Revs. Kildahl 
 and Ellestad served the mission alternately till 
 the month of June. In that month the mission 
 had to give up its quarters. Two lots and a 
 cottage were then purchased on the corner of 
 Artesian and Potomac avenues. In this cottage 
 the mission held its services and Sunday school 
 till in the fall, when the Church Extension Fund 
 erected a chapel on these lots for the use of this 
 mission. Rev. N. Arvesen was then called by the 
 mission committee of the United Church to have 
 charge of the Zion Mission. He entered upon 
 his duties the second Sunday in January, 1892. 
 On February 15, Zion Norwegian Lutheran Con- 
 gregation was organized, with Rev. Arvesen as 
 pastor. The charter members were: Oswald R0s- 
 ler, Jacob Conrad and Carl Sommerschield. The 
 total original membership was sixteen souls. 
 
 The congregation has in the course of time en- 
 joyed a steady and vigorous growth. Its present 
 membership is 508 souls, of whom 305 are con- 
 firmed members and 110 voting members. The 
 membership is fairly local, with but a few fam- 
 
 ilies scattered in other parts of the city. Though 
 the members have come chiefly from our own 
 synod, yet quite a number have come from the 
 Scandinavian Lutheran sister synods. 
 
 The chapel erected by the Church Extension . 
 Fund of the synod was later purchased by the 
 congregation. 
 
 In the year 1901 the present house of worship 
 was completed, a beautiful red brick structure, 
 at a cost of $19,000. It has a seating capacity of 
 400. The old cottage was moved to the rear of 
 the lot and remodeled and equipped as a two- 
 story flat building. The entire church property 
 is valued at $36,000. 
 
 Preaching services are held regularly every Sun- 
 day, Norwegian in the morning and English in 
 the evening. Regular mid-week prayer meetings 
 are also held every Thursday evening. The aver- 
 age attendance of services every Sunday fore- 
 noon is about 275, and about 200 at the evening 
 services. 
 
 During the history of the church 440 have been 
 baptized and 195 confirmed. 
 
 The congregation has been served by the fol- 
 lowing pastors: Rev. N. Arvesen, from January, 
 1892 to June, 1893; Rev. O. Guldseth, from 1893 
 to 1897; Rev. J. H. Meyer, from July, 1897, to 
 September, 1904; in May, 1905, Rev. C. K. Sol- 
 berg, the present pastor, took charge. 
 
 Sunday school meets every Sunday morning at 
 9:15. It has now an enrollment of 325 pupils and 
 30 teachers and officers — 16 men and 14 women. 
 The average attendance of pupils is 225.- . Three 
 classes receive their instruction in Norwegian; 
 twenty-two classes in English. 
 
 The other organizations of the church are as 
 follows: The Luther League, with a membership 
 of 100 young persons, holds weekly devotional 
 meetings every Wednesday evening. Its main 
 object is to aid the congregation in caring for the 
 young people after their confirmation and train- 
 ing them for intelligent, active and useful mem- 
 bership in the church. It is affiliated with the. 
 State Luther League of Illinois. The Ladies' Aid 
 Society, with a membership of fifty-four, holds 
 monthly meetings. By monthly dues, sales, ba- 
 zars and socials, between $500 and $600 is realized 
 annually. The Helpers, a young ladies' society, 
 also gives valuable financial aid to the congrega- 
 tion. It has a membership of twenty-four and 
 meets once a month. The Busy Bee, a girls' 
 society, with eighteen members, meets every 
 month and works exclusively for the support of 
 the children's homes. The Young Men's League 
 meets every second and fourth Monday in the 
 
126 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 month and by literary and social meetings aims 
 to develop in its members intelligent citizenship, 
 sociability and good fellowship, and also tends to 
 bring the young men into the church to its var- 
 ious devotional gatherings. It has a membership 
 of thirty-seven. 
 
 No parochial school is maintained. After the 
 child has been instructed in the catechism and 
 Bible history in Sunday school it is at the age 
 of fourteen or more admitted into the pastor's 
 catechetical class, and after a course of religious 
 instruction lasting eight months is received into 
 communicant membership of the church by con- 
 firmation. After confirmation the young people 
 enter the Bible class, which is taught by the pas- 
 tor every Sunday morning at 9:30. 
 
 The congregation has in the past struggled 
 hard to pay for its new house of worship, and be- 
 cause of its heavy financial burdens at home it 
 has not been able to contribute much to the mis- 
 sions and charitable institutions of the synod. 
 Four missionary services are held every year and 
 offerings are taken for home and foreign mis- 
 sions and charitable institutions. 
 
 In the year 1905 the congregation raised by 
 subscription, offerings, donations and through the 
 efiforts of the various aid societies, a sum of 
 $2,051. Of this sum $1,323 was used for current 
 expenses of the church, $639 for paying debts and 
 $89 for the missions and current expenses of the 
 synod. Besides, the Busy Bee society realized 
 $90 that was divided among several orphanages. 
 
 Located as it is in the heart of a large Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran community, Zion Lutheran con- 
 gregation has promising prospects of vigorous 
 growth and effective work. 
 
 EMMAUS CHURCH, CHICAGO. 
 By Rev. O. N. Nelson. 
 
 Emmaus Evangelical Lutheran Congregation 
 was organized in the year 1892. The leaders in 
 this movement were Prof. J. N. Kildahl, president 
 of St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., who at 
 that time was pastor of Bethlehem Church of 
 this city, and Rev. N. J. Ellestad, of Kenyon, 
 Minn., at that time superintendent of home mis- 
 sions in the United Lutheran Church of America. 
 
 The congregation was organized with only ten 
 families as charter members. The first perma- 
 nent pastor was Rev. John Hetland, who served 
 the congregation for six years. The present pas- 
 tor. Rev. O. N. Nelson, took charge of the con- 
 gregation Jan. 20, 1905. The congregation then 
 had a membership of 73 souls. At present it has 
 
 a membership of 130 souls — 83 confirmed and 28 
 voting members. The average attendance is 
 about 90. During the history of the congrega- 
 171 have been baptized and 80 confirmed. 
 
 The church, which is located on the corner of 
 Springfield avenue and Iowa street, was erected 
 in 1892 and dedicated to the service of the Lord 
 in 1893. It has a seating capacity of 200. 
 
 The congregation looks forward with great 
 hope. Scandinavians who are interested in church 
 work are moving into the neighborhood. Many 
 have joined the congregation the last year. The 
 younger element is taking an active part. The 
 young people are the hope of the church. 
 
 The Sunday school has at present an enroll- 
 ment of 175, with 14 teachers and officers and an 
 average attendance of 120. Classes are conducted 
 in both English and Norwegian. 
 
 The Bible class, which is English, is led by the 
 pastor of the church. 
 
 Children's services have since the beginning of 
 1905 been held on the second Sunday of each 
 quarter, under the auspices of the Sunday school 
 board. These services have proved a great bless- 
 ing both to the church and Sunday school. A 
 free-will offering is alwavs taken at these ser- 
 vices, which in turn is given to the United Church 
 missions, both home and foreign, and the congre- 
 gation with which the Sunday school is con- 
 nected. 
 
 Another organization which adds much to the 
 upbuilding of the congregation is the Luther 
 League. 
 
 The young people had 'tried to organize a young 
 people's society with literary and social meetings, * 
 but had failed until they organized as a Luther 
 league, with devotional meetings every week, ex- 
 cepting the first meeting each month, which is 
 a business meeting. The Luther league started 
 about two years ago with only 15 members. At 
 present it has a membership of 50, with an aver- 
 age attendance of about 35 at each meeting. This 
 society is a great help to the church, both spir- 
 itually and financially. 
 
 Another society lately organized is "The Daugh- 
 ters of Emmaus." They are, as the name implies, 
 supporters of the church. They meet twice a 
 month and prepare useful articles to be sold for 
 the exclusive benefit of the church. The mem- 
 bers are girls from the confirmation age and up- 
 wards. The members are very enthusiastic and 
 ardent workers. 
 
 The Ladies' Aid Society is also a great help to 
 the church, bringing the church an average of 
 $300 a year. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 127 
 
 The Bethesda Aid Society is an organization fot 
 the purpose of helping the poor and needy in 
 that part of the city. This society has also done 
 a good and noble work. 
 
 A small church in a large city has its hardships 
 to endure. But the future for this church looks 
 brighter than ever before. 
 
 BETHLEHEM CHURCH. 
 By Rev. George T. Rygh. 
 
 The Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Congre- 
 gation of Chicago was organized in 1870. Its first 
 pastor was Rev. S. M. Krogness, who served the 
 congregation from 1870 until the summer of 1874. 
 He was succeeded by Rev. C. B. Jacobsen, who 
 preached his first sermon to the congregation 
 Oct. 18, 1874. His successor was Rev. O. Bostad, 
 who served the congregation as temporary sup- 
 ply, from the fourth Sunday in Advent, 1876, un- 
 til the third Sunday in Trinity, 1877. Thereupon 
 Prof. S. R. Gunderson served the congregation 
 for a short term. Rev. N. C. Brun delivered his 
 introductory sermon as pastor on Sunday, Sept. 
 30, 1877. 
 
 In December, 1888, Zion congregation, which 
 was made up of people who had left Our Savior's 
 Church on account of the predestination contro- 
 versy, joined the Bethlehem congregation. 
 
 Rev. N. C. Brun delivered his farewell sermon 
 the 30th of June, 1889, the second Sunday in Trin- 
 ity, and was succeeded by Rev. J. N. Kildahl, who 
 began his ministrations on July 7, 1889, the third 
 Sunday in Trinity. Rev. J. N. Kildahl delivered his 
 farewell sermon to the congregation the 28th of 
 August, 1899, the thirteenth Sunday in Trinity. 
 His successor was Rev. George T. Rygh, the 
 present pastor, who delivered his initiatory ser- 
 mon Sept. 3, the fourteenth Sunday after Trinity. 
 
 At present (1906) the congregation numbers 
 809 souls, of whom 617 are confirmed members. 
 One unique feature of this congregation is the 
 constitutional provision granting women the right 
 of suffrage, the result being that there are 326 
 voting members. There are 446 Sunday school 
 children and 40 teachers. Parochial school has 
 been conducted on Saturdays during the fall and 
 winter seasons. 
 
 Among the various agencies of the church may 
 be mentioned the mission meeting, once a month; 
 the Ladies' Aid Society which meets twice a 
 month; the Sewing Society, which meets once a 
 month; the Dorcas Society, which meets twice a 
 month; the Luther league, whicli meets once a 
 
 week, and the Norwegian Young People's Society^ 
 which also meets once a week. 
 
 The church is located at the corner of W. Hu- 
 ron street and N. Center avenue. The parsonage 
 and the janitor's residence are immediately back 
 of the church building, on Center avenue. The 
 net value of all the church property is $19,768.17. 
 
 NAZARETH CHURCH, WEST PULLMAN, 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 By Rev. Glaus Qualen. 
 
 The Nazareth Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church of West Pullman, 111., was organized dur- 
 ing the summer of 1896 by Anton Lea, who was 
 then a student at the seminary at Minneapolis. 
 The congregation applied for admission into the 
 United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America, 
 and was admitted. 
 
 In the beginning services were held in private 
 houses; but seing that this was inadequate, and 
 not altogether well for the development of the 
 church, an old school house, located on Michigan 
 avenue, near the Chicago & Eastern Illinois 
 tracks, was bought for a very small sum of money. 
 Mr. A. Lea was at that time serving the con- 
 gregation. Having received the information that 
 the building on Michigan avenue was for sale, he 
 lost no time in availing himself of the opportun- 
 ity to buy it. He called on Rev. J. N. Kildahl, 
 who was then a member of the Church Extension 
 Fund Board, and presented the matter to him, 
 asking for aid for the congregation to purchase 
 the school house. This was promised, and in a 
 short time the building was in possession of the 
 church. 
 
 The school-house was moved to its present lo- 
 cation on Yale avenue, near One Hundred and 
 Eighteenth street, and overhauled and remodeled, 
 so as to make a Sunday school room out of the 
 first story and the auditorium out of the second. 
 
 At the beginning the church consisted of about 
 70 souls, principally people from Piano, III, who 
 moved to West Pullman when the Piano Har- 
 vester Works moved, and located not far from 
 here. The progress since that time has been 
 slow, due to the fact that not many Norwegian.s 
 are to be found in this part of our great city. 
 
 Rev. Otto Schmidt, who served the church from 
 1897 to 1901, was an earnest and zealous worker, 
 and did a great deal to put the church on a good 
 financial basis. He also organized a young peo- 
 ple's society, put the Sunday school on a good 
 footing, and labored diligently for the welfare of 
 the church. 
 
138 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 As his successor came Rev. Olaus Qualen, the 
 present pastor. During the earlier part of his 
 activit}' some new members were added to the 
 church, but for two years there has been a de- 
 cline, as some of the families have moved to other 
 places, because of slack work here. The present 
 membership of the church is a little below one 
 hundred. 
 
 During the history of the church there have 
 been 86 baptisms; 40 have been confirmed. 
 
 As to the various organizations within the 
 church, it can be said that in all respects they 
 have been an aid and not a hindrance to the 
 growth of the church. The ladies' aid society has 
 done a great deal in defraying current expenses; 
 but for this organization the church would not 
 have seen the success that it has. 
 
 The young people's society, which consists of 
 19 members, has done its work to retain the 
 young people for the church. They meet every 
 other Wednesday evening in the' Sunday school 
 room of the church. The meetings are of vari- 
 ous kinds — devotional, literary and social. The 
 first mentioned are the most largely attended. 
 
 The Sunday schoolhas an enrollment of about 
 sixty children. Most of these are children from 
 families belonging to the church, but also from 
 homes that have no church connection." The pas- 
 tors have up to this time taught parochial school 
 during summer vacation. Although the'term has 
 been of three or four weeks' duration only, it has 
 been Of great help to the children. Both the Nor- 
 wegian and English languages have been ' used. 
 ' Although this church has been ' a mission 
 church, receiving quite a sum annually from the 
 home mission funds, nevertheless it has always 
 been its desire to contribute to the' various 
 branches of church work, such as home and for- 
 eign missions, orphans' homes and the current 
 expenses of the United Lutheran Church. 
 
 EVANSTON, ILL. 
 By Mr. C. Hendricksen. 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish Lutheran Church of 
 Evanston, 111., whose place of worship is -at the 
 corner of Greenwood street and Sherman avenue, 
 was organized July 29, 1891, in the home of Mr. 
 Carl Magnusen, corner of Church street and 
 Sherman avenue. The congregation is a mem- 
 ber of the United Church of America. The mem- 
 bers of the congregation at the time of its or- 
 ganization were mostly laboring people, and 
 money was scarce. The leaders in the organiz- 
 ing movement were Rev. J. N. Kildahl, Rev. N. 
 
 J. Ellestad, C. Magnusen and C. Hendricksen. 
 There were thirty-five charter members. 
 
 In the year 1895 the membership was seventy- 
 five; today (1906) the congregation has fifty vot- 
 ing members. The average attendance upon di- 
 vine worship is seventy-five. Fourteen have been 
 confirmed during the years of the congregations' 
 existence, and twenty-four have been baptized. 
 
 The original home of the congregation was 
 Union Hall on Davis street, and this continued 
 to be the meeting place until 1898. In that year 
 the congregation purchased the Swedish Luther- 
 an church and moved it to its present site. The 
 total cost of the church as it stands to-day, to- 
 gether with the ground, is $1,900, all paid. The 
 church is centrally located. The congregation 
 has no parsonage, nor does it sustain a parochial 
 school. There is a small Sunday school (fifteen 
 children), but few families belonging to the 
 church. The membership is composed largely of 
 unmarried young people in domestic or other 
 service. The congregation disapproves of secret 
 orders. The Ladies' Aid Society has very mater- 
 ially assisted in paying for the church property 
 and in defraying current expenses. The total ex- 
 penses of the congregation during the fifteen 
 years of its existence is about $8,000. The board 
 of home missions of the United Church has also 
 lent a helping hand. Occasionally the congrega- 
 ation has rendered assistance to various children's 
 homes. 
 
 The Young People's Society holds literary, so- 
 cial and devotional meetings, and has assisted the 
 congregation financially. 
 
 At ' various times the congregation has sent 
 contributions' to home, Jewish, and foreign mis- 
 sions. 
 
 The various pastors serving the congregation 
 have "been. Rev. J. N. Kildahl, N. Arvesen, L. S. 
 Marvick, ■ John Hetland, Ditman Larsen, and T. 
 S. Kolste. In large measure the congregation has 
 been served by students attending the Lutheran 
 Theological Seminary in Lake View, Chicago. At 
 present Student Westberg is in charge. 
 
 LISBON, ILL. 
 By Rev. N. G. Peterson. 
 
 The Lisbon Norwegian Lutheran Church was 
 begun in the early '50's by Rev. Filing Eielson, 
 who made several visits here. In the year 1852 
 he brought with him a young man, Peter Andreas 
 Rasmussen, well educated and highly gifted as a 
 speaker. He served as teacher in the school and 
 on Sunday preached to the congregation. The 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 129 
 
 The Lutheran Church at Leland, 111, 
 
130 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 congregation, being without a settled pastor, ten- 
 dered a call to Rasmussen to become their pas- 
 tor. After having taken a course in theology of 
 one year at Ft. Wayne, Ind., he was ordained by 
 the Missouri Synod on Palm Sunday, 1854. Rev. 
 Rasmussen served this church for about forty- 
 four years, when the present pastor took charge 
 in 1898. Under the pastorate of Rev. Rasmussen 
 the church grew to be one of the strongest and 
 most prosperous churches among the Norweg- 
 ians in this country, numbering about 1,200 souls. 
 It consists mostly of a farming community, sit- 
 uated in the southern part of Kendall county and 
 the northern part of Grundy county. The con- 
 gregation has two church edifices, one near Lis- 
 bon and one at Helmar, called the North Lisbon 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 The congregation has maintained parochial 
 schools in each parish, and still gives thousands 
 of dollars every year to missions and other 
 works of mercy. 
 
 The church was without any synodical connec- 
 tion until the organization of the United Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran Church of America, in the year 
 1890. Since then the Lisbon Lutheran Church has 
 proved one of the most faithful churches in said 
 body. It represents the old orthodox, pietistic 
 element in the Lutheran church. 
 
 The present pastor is Rev. N. G. Peterson, who 
 was born in Freeborn county, Minnesota, Nov. 
 2, 1857. He graduated in 1887 from Red Wing 
 Theological Seminary, at Red Wing, Minn. He 
 served churches in Hamilton county, Iowa, and 
 at Chicago, III, from whence he came to Lisbon. 
 
 LELAND CONGREGATION, LELAND, ILL. 
 By Henry I. Noss, Pastor. 
 
 A meeting was held at the home of Helge 
 Bakke on Nov. 18, 1847, where Rev. Ole Andrew- 
 son organized the Leland congregation under the 
 name of the "Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran 
 Congregation" in the Town of Adams, La Lalle 
 county, 111. Before this time they had been vis- 
 ited occasionally by Rev. Filing Eielsen, a lay- 
 man, who was ordained the third day of Oct., 
 1843, by Rev. F. A. Hoffman, a German Lutheran 
 minister of Chicago. 
 
 The constitution adopted at a conference held 
 at Jefferson Prairie, Rock county, Wis., the 13th 
 and 14th of May, 1846, together with the by-laws 
 added a.t,.,.a meeting held at Mission Point the 
 14th and''il5th of jufie, 1847, were sanctioned and 
 undersigned by the twenty-three charter mem- 
 bers of the congregation. Besides the pastor, the 
 
 other leaders of the movement were Halvor 
 Knudsen, Hellik Farley, Knut Halvorsen, and 
 Knut Gutormsen, who constituted the church 
 council. Mr. H. Farley was the first secretary 
 of the congregation. 
 
 Until the year 1850 they conducted their ser- 
 vices in private houses throughout the country. 
 In those days people were more than willing to 
 walk as far as eight miles to hear a sermon. At 
 a meeting held on the 16th day of Dec, 1850, 
 the Lutherans and the Baptists decided to join 
 hands in erecting a house of public worship. The 
 project seemed very plausible until the church 
 was just about ready; then, owing to some minor 
 dissensions, the two denominations decided to dis- 
 solve partnership on the 20th day of Aug., the 
 year following. By mutual agreement, the prop- 
 erty then fell into the hands of the Baptists. As 
 a relic of olden days, that old church building 
 can be seen relegated to the rear in one of Le- 
 land's most prominent streets, serving the pur- 
 pose of a wagon shop and a general store house 
 for sundry articles. 
 
 The Lutherans were then without a church 
 building until the year 1858. During that lapse 
 of time they conducted the services at the homes 
 of the different members, occasionally making use 
 of a school-house in that neighborhood. At a 
 meeting held the 29th day of Oct., 1856, it was 
 decided to build a church fifty feet long, thirty- 
 two feet wide and eighteen feet high. But owing 
 to pecuniary circumstances, it seems as if noth- 
 ing was accomplished until the year 1858. Then 
 the building was erected in a few months and 
 dedicated on the 11th day of Dec. the same year. 
 This was a great event. Besides Rev. Hatlestad, 
 pastor loci, Rev. Martin and Rev. Peterson from 
 Chicago were also present. It is to be noted in 
 this connection that Rev. Martin conducted ser- 
 vices in the English language. Even at that early 
 date the Norwegian community at Leland had a 
 taste for English, which at the present day has 
 almost entirely supplanted the mother tongue. 
 
 On the 28th day of May, 1860, during the pas- 
 torate of Rev. Peterson, the congregation with- 
 drew from the Northern Synod of Illinois, with 
 which it had been affiliated since the day of the 
 organization- of the synod in 1851. It then re- 
 mained outside of any synodical connection until 
 shortly after when it joined the Scandinavian Au- 
 gustana Synod, organized June, 1860, at Jeffersbn 
 Prairie, Wisconsin, under the leadership of t|he 
 Swedish professor. L. P. Esbj^rn. i 
 
 In the year 1867, the church building was moved 
 into the village of Leland, having up till that 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 131 
 
 time been located a couple of miles south of the 
 town. 
 
 Beginning with the year 1862, and continuing 
 during the pastorates of the Revs. Peterson, 
 Johnsen and Gjertson, there was a bitter struggle 
 between two factions in the congregation as to 
 the use of certain portions of the Norwegian 
 "Alterbog." After a series of long discussions 
 the agitation finally subsided and a peaceful agree- 
 ment was the outcome. Some disagreement was 
 also manifest at one time as to the question of 
 having sponsors in baptism; but the real rupture 
 came in the year 1873, when the congregation 
 was divided into the Free Church and Augustana 
 Synod factions. The Augustana people, under the 
 leadership of the well-known eminent layman, A. 
 A. Klove, retained their half of the church prop- 
 erty, although they were decidedly in the minor- 
 ity. But in spite of the division, the two parties 
 had a common Sunday school, and their two pas- 
 tors conducted services eyery alternate Sunday in 
 the same old church building until about the year 
 1880, when the Free Church congregation erected 
 a little brick church a few blocks from their old 
 house of worship. 
 
 The one who figured most prominently in the 
 various church activities of the Free Church con- 
 gregation was Mr. O. Simonsen, a venerable old 
 gentleman, who is now serving in the capacity 
 of secretary and deacon of the present congrega- 
 tion. His church never joined the "Conference," 
 which was organized at St. Ansgar, Iowa, in 1870, 
 but ministers from that synod always served 
 them. Among those may be mentioned, Rev. N. 
 Iversen 1873-1879, and Rev. N. Boe, 1879-1889. 
 In this connection may be mentioned the names 
 of all the ministers who have served at Leland: 
 O. Andrewson, 1847; A. A. Scheie, 1848-1854; O. 
 J. Hatlestad, 1854-1859; P. H. Peterson, 1859- 
 1861; Amon Johnsen, 1862-1865; M. Falk Gjert- 
 son, 1868-1873; O. O. Tjomsland, 1873-1874; O. 
 Andrewson, 1875-1882; J. E. Roseland, 1882-1885; 
 P. Reinertson, 1885-1890; N. Iversen, 1873-1879; 
 N. Boe, 1879-1889; Erickson, 1890-1893; J. Sten- 
 berg, 1894-1904; and Henry Noss, the present pas- 
 tor, who entered upon his duties as a minister at 
 Leland the 16th of July, 1905. 
 
 The 13th day of June, 1890, marks the birthday 
 of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of 
 America. The three factions, the Conference, the 
 Norwegian Augustana Synod, and the Anti-Mis- 
 sourians, were on that occasion amalgamated in- 
 to that one great body. The Leland Free Church 
 was then admitted into the United Church, and 
 the Leland Evangelical Lutheran Church, belong- 
 
 ing to the Norwegian Augustana Synod, was nat- 
 urally merged into that same body. By this act 
 the two Leland congregations were finally 
 brought under one head again and this renewed 
 the old friendly relationship which eventually re- 
 sulted in the union of the two congregations in 
 the year 1902, during the pastorate of Rev. Erick- 
 son. 
 
 At that time the only property belonging to 
 the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was the 
 old church building which was in a somewhat 
 dilapidated condition. But the Free Church had, 
 during the short time of its existence, built two 
 branch churches and a parsonage, property valued 
 at about $9,000. This fact necessitated a com- 
 promise. After some deliberation it was at last 
 agreed that the Evangelical Church should pay 
 the Free Church a sum of $800 in cash and give 
 over the church bell and other inventories, be- 
 sides selling their old church with the under- 
 standing that it should never be used for that 
 purpose again, and hand the money over to the 
 trustees of the Free Church to be deposited into^ 
 the common treasury. The two factions now 
 worked harmoniously together. Seeing the neces- 
 sity of a larger house of worship, they erected 
 a beautiful $10,000 brick edifice in the year 1898. 
 That is now the present Lutheran Church of Le- 
 land. It presents a very neat and handsome ap- 
 pearance both externally and internally, and is 
 certainly an ornament to the city of Leland. With 
 the slanting floor and the opera chairs arranged 
 in a semi-circle in front of a high platform it 
 makes it an exceptional church acoustically. The 
 language transition has already taken place, and 
 it is only a question of time when the English 
 will be the church language exclusively. Three- 
 fourths of the preaching is now conducted in the 
 English language and one-fourth in the Norweg- 
 ian. The twenty-nine members of the catechism 
 class all use English. There is no Norwegian 
 in the Sunday school with its eight teach- 
 ers and an average attendance of 100 scholars. 
 About forty young men and women are regular 
 attendants of the Bible class. The Luther league 
 with an enrollment of seventy-six, meets every 
 other Thursday evening and discusses the Luther 
 league topics. The attendance is good and the 
 young people take an active part in the work. 
 There is an excellent choir in the church under 
 the able leadership of Fritz Noel, editor of the 
 "Leland Times." The ladies have three socie- 
 ties, the ladies' aid for the old gray-haired 
 women; the Bethany society for the middle aged 
 women; and the Dorcas society, consisting of 
 
132 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 onl}^ young women. The church membership is 
 about 375, of whom 250 are confirmed, and of 
 those 120 are voters. The average attendance at 
 the church services is about 300. Over $300 was 
 sent out from this congregation for missionary 
 and other benevolent purposes during the year 
 of 1905. As to the number of confirmed and bap- 
 tized during the history of this church it is very 
 difficult to give any satisfactory report as the old 
 church records are very incomplete. During the 
 last ten years, however, 241 children have been 
 confirmed and 549 have been baptized. 
 
 By dividing the call in 1904, the Bethany con- 
 gregation of Leland, 111., was readmitted into the 
 United Lutheran Church of America at the yearly 
 meeting of said conference in session at Minne- 
 apolis, Minn., June, 1905. 
 
 Only one charter member is still living; if Mr. 
 Nils Halvorsen lingers until the 18th day of No- 
 vember, 1907, he will have been a member of the 
 Leland congregation for sixty years. 
 
 A. M. Klove, Frank Hill and Lewis Peterson 
 are the trustees of the present congregation, and 
 O. Simonsen, C. Halvorsen and B. Anderson 
 deacons. 
 
 PLEASANT VIEW LUTHER COLLEGE, 
 
 OTTAWA, ILL. 
 
 By Prof. L. A. Vigness. 
 
 On the Fourth of July, 1893, a large gathering 
 of Norwegian Lutherans had met in Stevens 
 Grove, Kendall county, to express their patriotic 
 feelings and their admiring memory of the his- 
 torical events commemorated on the day of In- 
 dependence. On this occasion an address was 
 delivered by Rev. N. J. Lockrem, at that time 
 pastor of the Fox River and Stavanger charge. 
 The speaker took occasion to urge upon his hear- 
 ers the educational needs of the rising genera- 
 tion. The burden of his address was an appeal 
 to the people to take active steps toward realizing 
 a long cherished plan to establish in some suit- 
 able location in Illinois a school for the Christian 
 education of their children. Other influential men 
 rallied about the cause, and the proposition, which 
 had in a more quiet way been agitated for some 
 time, began to shape itself into more vigorous 
 action. 
 
 When the semi-annual meeting of the Chicago 
 District of the United Norwegian Church was 
 held at Stavanger in September of the same year, 
 1893, the movement had assumed such propor- 
 tions that its advocates considered it safe and 
 wise to bring it up for discussion on the floor 
 of the convention. It found so ready a response 
 
 that the convention at once decided to take active 
 steps toward realizing the proposed plans. Ac- 
 cordingly, a committee was elected to take the 
 matter under more definite consideration, and, as 
 far as possible, to mature definite plans. This 
 committee consisted of the following members: 
 Rev. N. J. Lockrem, Rev. J. N. Kildahl and 
 Messrs. A. A. Klove, H. O. Rygh, Mikal Mon- 
 son and E. S. Holland. 
 
 After this committee had, in the course of the 
 following months, held several meetings and in- 
 vestigated carefully all the chief matters that 
 would present themselves in this connection, it 
 issued a call for a meeting of the people of the 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church in Illinois, to be 
 held on the 17th of April, 1895, in Bethlehem 
 Lutheran Church, Morris, 111., Rev. T. Aarrestad, 
 pastor. 
 
 The substantial result of this meeting was the 
 careful selection, through a committee on nom- 
 inations, of thirty-two leading men from different 
 parts of the Chicago District of the United 
 Church and the Hauge's Synod. These men, con- 
 stituting a well balanced representation of the 
 district, were instructed to form a corporation to 
 take control of all the details connected with the 
 enterprise of establishing the proposed college. 
 
 After adjournment of this meeting the thirty- 
 two men formed a temporary organization by the 
 election of Rev. N. J. Lockrem as chairman and 
 Rev. P. J. Reinertson as secretary. 
 
 After the appointment of a committee on in- 
 corporation — consisting of Rev. N. J. Lockrem, 
 Rev. J. H. Stenberg and Mr. A. A. Bjelland — 
 the assembly adjourned to meet in Ottawa, on 
 the approaching first day of May. 
 
 Pursuant to this resolution the College asso- 
 ciation assembled in the courthouse at Ottawa on 
 the appointed date. The substantial results of 
 the work of this meeting are as follows: 
 
 1. Articles of incorporation were adopted. 
 "Illinois Lutheran College Association" became 
 the corporate name. 
 
 2. The following persons were elected as the 
 first board of trustees: Rev. N. J. Lockrem, Rev. 
 O. Andresen, Rev. O. R. Sletten, Rev. P. J. Rei- 
 nertson and Messrs. A. A. Klove, Adolph Nilson. 
 E. S. Holland, H. O. Rygh, S. E. Bergeson. 
 
 3. It was decided that the board of trustees 
 shall elect their own officers, who shall also be 
 the officers of the association. In a separate ses- 
 sioii the board elected the following: Rev. N. J. 
 Lockrem, president; Mr. A. Nilson, vice-presi- 
 dent; Rev. P. J. Reinertson, secretary. Later 
 Mr. E. S. Holland was elected treasurer. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 183 
 
 4. Following committees were elected: On sub- 
 scriptions — Rev. N. J. Lockrem, Messrs. Mikal 
 Monson and S. Myraboe. On buildings — Messrs. 
 A. Nilson, A. A. Klove and E. S. Holland; later 
 were added Rev. N. J. Lockrem and Prof. L. A. 
 Vigness. On by-laws — Rev. J. N. Kildahl, Rev. 
 J. H. Stenberg and Mr. A. Nilson. 
 
 5. It was decided that the association proceed 
 to raise by subscriptions the sum of $20,000 for 
 a building fund. 
 
 6. The following resolutions were adopted: 
 Whereas, A first-class institution of learning 
 
 city which shall offer the best and most advan- 
 tageous inducements. 
 
 Resolved, That the school shall be in all re- 
 spects an American institution employing only 
 such teachers as have been trained under Amer- 
 ican educational influences and are entirely cap- 
 able of imparting instruction in the English lan- 
 guage; that the school shall be fully abreast of 
 the times in its equipments, in its faculty and in 
 all its work and methods of instruction. 
 
 Resolved, That it shall be a Lutheraft school, 
 which means, not adherence to foreignism, but 
 
 Pleasant View Luther College, Ottawa, Illinois. 
 
 has been a long felt want among the Scandinavi- 
 ans of Illinois; and, 
 
 Whereas, The movement to establish an insti- 
 tution of that kind in our midst has now pro- 
 ceeded to such an extent that active measures 
 may be taken; therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, by the Illinois Lutheran College As- 
 sociation, That it proceed to gather in its own 
 name $20,000 for the beginning of such an in- 
 stitution. 
 
 Resolved, That the school be located in that 
 
 an earnest, thorough training to loyal American 
 citizenship under the influence of those prin- 
 ciples which have been embodied in that type of 
 Christianity. 
 
 A meeting of the Association was held again 
 on July 2, 1895. The progress made at this time 
 is indicated by the following resolutions: 
 
 1. After considerable discussion upon the 
 merits of various locations, it was decided by a 
 large majority that Ottawa be selected as the 
 place in which to build the school. The vote on 
 this resolution was then made unanimous. The 
 
134 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 bonus ofifered by the citizens' committee of Ot- 
 tawa consisted of about thirteen acres of land 
 on a high and beautiful elevation in the south 
 part of the city; and besides this somewhat more 
 than fifty lots located in various parts of the im- 
 mediate vicinity. 
 
 2. The association elected as president of the 
 college Rev. Prof. L. A. Vigness, then president 
 of Jewell Lutheran College, Jewell, Iowa. 
 
 During the autumn and winter of 1895-96 the 
 committee on subscriptions was engaged in se- 
 curing funds. 
 
 On March 10, 1896, the association held a meet- 
 ing to devise further measures in the cause. The 
 sessions were held at the courthouse in Ottawa. 
 By unanimous vote instructions were given to the 
 committee to take steps at once looking toward 
 the erection of a building. The sum of $15,000 
 was placed at the disposal of the committee. 
 
 To indicate the disposition of this movement 
 to our public schools, the association at this meet- 
 ing adopted the following resolutions: 
 
 Whereas, In the recent past the action of cer- 
 tain parts of the Lutheran Church in regard to 
 certain educational measures pertaining to the 
 public schools has placed the attitude of the 
 Lutheran Church at large toward these schools 
 in a false light before the Amerian public; there- 
 fore be it 
 
 Resolved, by the Illinois Lutheran College As- 
 sociation, That we regard with great apprecia- 
 tion the privileges of our American citizenship, 
 that we are not only willing but happy to add 
 our share as citizens toward the support of the 
 public schools and to utilize for our children the 
 opportunities offered by these schools; and 
 
 Resolved, That in establishing and maintain- 
 ing the school contemplated by this association 
 there lies no element of antagonism to the public 
 schools, but only an intention in good faith to 
 ' avail ourselves of the valued privilege accorded 
 by our government — the privilege to train our 
 sons and daughters to loyal and patriotic citizen- 
 ship in this great and liberal country under the 
 influence of that form of the Christian faith 
 which we have received from our fathers. It is 
 our design to stand in most friendly relation to 
 the public schools and to co-operate with them 
 in their great and noble purpose. 
 
 After this meeting the building committee pro- 
 ceeded to carry out its duties. Based on plans 
 and specifications prepared by the architect, Mr. 
 Jason F. Richardson, of Ottawa, the bid of San- 
 ders Bros. Manufacturing Company, general con- 
 tractors, was accepted. Ground was broken on 
 
 the 18th day of April, 1896, for the new building. 
 
 In the course of the summer of 1896 the board 
 of trustees elected the following additional teach- 
 ers: Prof. C. O. Solberg, to have charge of Latin, 
 Greek and English; Prof. W. Guy Rosebery, as 
 principal of the commercial department; Dr. J. 
 N. Downs, to have charge of the work in physi- 
 ology and act as college physician; Miss Carrie 
 Scott, as teacher of piano and organ; Miss Mar- 
 guerite Osnian, as teacher of stringed instru- 
 ments. 
 
 Thus organized, the institution was opened in 
 the new building on Sept. 19, 1896. It has co.n- 
 tinued its work uninterruptedly and has in this 
 time graduated from its various departments 174 
 young men and women. Of these some have en- 
 tered the ministry, some law and some medicine; 
 some have gone into business pursuits, some are 
 teaching and others are farming. 
 
 It does not come within the purpose of this 
 sketch to trace all minor changes that have been 
 made in various matters pertaining to the or- 
 ganization of the practical educational work. 
 Suffice it here to state that the institution has 
 arranged its work with the following distinct 
 aims in view: 
 
 1. To prepare students for entrance to col- 
 leges and universities. 
 
 2. To prepare teachers for our common and 
 parochial schools. 
 
 3. To give efficient training to those who de- 
 sire to enter upon practical business pursuits, 
 including stenography. 
 
 4. To afford opportunities to those who wish 
 to obtain a thorough training in the art of music. 
 
 No strictly collegiate work is attempted as yet. 
 
 Pleasant View Luther College is fully aware of 
 the superior claims made by much of the recent 
 thought in the sphere of religion — even the 
 Christian religion. It has not been 'able to find 
 in these so-called progressive views a sufficient 
 amount of truth to justify it in departing confes- 
 sionally from the great principles of faith which 
 are the consentient product of the universal con- 
 sciousness of the church in its study, its labor, its 
 suffering, its prayer, through all the centuries of 
 its history. The institution believes in conserva- 
 tive reformation. It accordingly makes its offi- 
 cial statement of purpose in the following words: 
 
 The Lutheran Church is conservative in faith 
 and doctrine. It is judiciously progressive in 
 matters of education and practice. Doctrinally it 
 adheres strictly to the teachings of the Word of 
 God, understood in accordance with the general 
 creeds of early Christianity and with the Lu- 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 135 
 
 theran confessional writings. Educationally, it 
 seeks to utilize the best results of modern peda- 
 gogical research. 
 
 To give the rising generation a thorough train- 
 ing on a basis doctrinally conservative, educa- 
 tionally progressive, is the purpose of Pleasant 
 View Luther College. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ 
 TRINITY CONGREGATION, OTTAWA, ILL. 
 , By Prof. L. A. Vigness. 
 
 Trinity Congregation in Ottawa, Illinois, was 
 organized by the Rev. J. C. Reinertsen, while he 
 was pastor resident in Aurora. As only a few 
 Norwegian families have settled in Ottawa this 
 congregation is one of the smaller congregations 
 among our people in Illinois. After the resig- 
 nation of Rev. Reinertsen, this congregation was 
 served for several years by Rev. N. J. Lockrem, 
 who at that time was the pastor of the Fox 
 River and Stavanger churches. Later, a call was 
 issued to the Rev. A. C. Barron, who accepted 
 the call, moved to Ottawa, and served the con- 
 gregation two years. During the vacancy caused 
 by the resignation of Rev. Barron, Prof. L. A. 
 Vigness, president of Pleasant View Luther Col- 
 lege, was elected on the 22d of October, 1901, to 
 serve the congregation temporarily as its pas- 
 tor. This call was later made a permanent call. 
 Prof. Vigness is still (October, 1906) the pastor 
 of this congregation. Thus the congregation 
 stands in connection with Pleasant View Luther 
 College. 
 
 THE NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN DEA- 
 CONESS HOME AND HOSPITAL, 
 CHICAGO, ILL. 
 
 By Rev. H. B. Kildahl. 
 
 In the fall of 1885 Rev. A. Mortensen, of 
 Christiania, Norway, preached a sermon on the 
 subject "The Female Diaconate" in Bethlehem 
 Church, corner Centre avenue and Huron street, 
 Chicago. The effect of this sermon was that a 
 mass meeting of Norwegians, mostly women, 
 was held Nov. 3, 1885, and resulted in the organi- 
 zation of the Norwegian Lutheran Tabitha So- 
 ciety. So great was the enthusiasm for the dea- 
 coness cause that the members of the society im- 
 mediately began actual deaconess work by col- 
 lecting money, food and clothing for distribution 
 among the poor and sick. Gradually a building 
 fund was collected, as it became evident to those 
 interested that if the work was to become perma- 
 nent and effective it would be necessary to pro- 
 vide a deaconess home. 
 
 As the society grew in membership it became 
 evident that there existed two distinct tenden- 
 cies — one of which favored the hospital phase 
 and the other favored the deaconess home phase 
 of the work. This division became so pronounced 
 and painful that the charter members who fav- 
 ored the deaconess-home idea withdrew from 
 the society; but not from their purpose. 
 
 These members soon organized another so- 
 ciety and called it "The Original Norwegian 
 Lutheran Tabitha Society," whose object was 
 "the establishment and maintenance of a dea- 
 coness home and hospital"; and in the spring of 
 1891 they had carried the work so far that they 
 had secured the services of three sisters from 
 the Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Institute, 
 Minneapolis, Minn. Their names were Sisters 
 Amalia Kittelson, Martha Berg and Marie Lang- 
 aunet. These three sisters began the service in 
 the form of parish work. 
 
 Nov. 3, 1891, six years after the organization 
 of the first society, a house on Humboldt street, 
 which the society had bought, was dedicated as 
 the Deaconess Home and Hospital. 
 
 The first patient was received in this home De- 
 cember 7, 1891, and the work was carried on 
 with moderate success until August, 1893, when 
 the home was destroyed by fire. 
 
 Interested men and women both in and outside 
 of the two societies labored for the union of the 
 two societies. At the invitation of twelve promi- 
 nent men, who were not members of either so- 
 ciety, a meeting was held, June 7, 1892, of these 
 twelve men and the boards of directors of the 
 two societies in Our Savior's Church, corner May 
 and Erie streets, and resulted in the election of 
 a committee to settle the differences between the 
 two societies. This committee finally agreed that 
 both the existing societies should disband, and 
 that a new society should be organized. This 
 proposition was favorably received. The old so- 
 cieties disbanded and a new one was organized, 
 retaining the original name, "The Norwegian 
 Lutheran Tabitha Society." 
 
 The enthusiasm for the work was great. Funds 
 were collected and the Tabitha Deaconess Home 
 and Hospital, Francisco and Thomas streets, was 
 erected. The cornerstone was laid June .'J, 1893, 
 and the work was begun on the new building 
 that fall. Prosperity and success seemed to at- 
 tend the work. The new home was completed 
 and funds were readily subscribed; but it soon 
 became more and more evident that, while there 
 was only one society, the two old conflicting ten- 
 dencies still existed. The articles of union and 
 the constitution of the united society provided 
 
136 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 that the newly erected building should be a 
 "deaconess home and hospital." But a faction in 
 the society insisted that it should be a Nor- 
 wegian national hospital. 
 
 A division in the society was inevitable. This 
 came in 1895. The Norwegian Lutheran Tabitha 
 Society consisted of twelve branches. At the 
 annual meeting of the society Jan., 1895, seven of 
 these branches protested against this breach of 
 the articles of union, and when it was found that 
 a friendly agreement could not be effected, an 
 effort was made on the part of the seven branches 
 
 aged, one branch proposed establishing an or- 
 phanage, and only a few members of one branch 
 still clung to the deaconess-home idea, and for 
 the third time they began to work for the dea- 
 coness cause. 
 
 After a number of meetings "The Norwegian 
 Lutheran Deaconess Society" of Chicago was 
 organized Feb. 17, 1896, in Bethel Church, Hum- 
 boldt street and Armitage avenue. The society 
 was small, of limited means, and after repeated 
 defeats did not feel very enthusiastic. The new 
 society was incorporated by Dr. N. T. Quales, 
 
 \ > 
 
 '^i^-< 
 
 
 SI ft 
 
 The Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home and Hospital, Chicago. 
 
 for a division of the assets, over half of which 
 the seven branches had provided. The seven 
 branches offered to buy out the five branches, or 
 to sell their share of the institution to them; but 
 in spite of the fact that the property was worth 
 at least $25,000 the seven left it all rather than 
 go into court over it. 
 
 During 1895 the seven branches held a number 
 of meetings for the purpose of organizing a new 
 society. A committee was elected for the pur- 
 pose of proposing a constitution. When this 
 committee reported it appeared that five branches 
 favored the establishment of a home for the 
 
 Rev. A. C. Anderson and Mr. Adolph Larson, 
 Sept. 17, 1896. A two-flat house on the corner 
 of Artesian avenue and Lenioyne street was 
 rented the 1st of May, 1897. This house, to- 
 gether with the rear house, contained twenty- 
 five rooms. 
 
 The first board of directors was Rev. A. C. 
 Anderson, Dr. N. T. Quales, Mrs. A. P. Johnson, 
 Mrs. J. P. Hovland, Rev. J. N. Kildahl, Mr. 
 Adolph Larson, Mrs. S. Dahl, Rev. Olaf Guld- 
 seth and Mrs. Adolph Larson. 
 
 The first officers were Rev. A. C. Anderson, 
 president; Mr. Adolph Larson, vice-president; 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 187 
 
 Rev. Olaf Guldseth, secretary; Mrs. S. Dahl, 
 treasurer. 
 
 The first question that confronted the new so- 
 ciety was to secure a deaconess to head the in- 
 stitution. Rev. Olaf Guldseth, being in Norway 
 on a visit, was instructed to try to secure one 
 from the Motherhouse in Christiania, Norway. 
 He did secure Deaconess Anna Tofte, but on ac- 
 count of ill health she resigned and left the in- 
 stitution in November, 1897. 
 
 Finally arrangements were made with Sister 
 Ingeborg Oberg, formerly of the Norwegian Lu- 
 
 the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of 
 America. 
 
 Nov. 1; 1902, the new building was completed 
 and taken possession of by the sisters and pa- 
 tients. 
 
 The dedication of the new building took place 
 the 24th of May, 1903, by President T. H. Dahl 
 of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of 
 America. 
 
 This building, which is one-half of the pro- 
 posed structure, is 125 by 85 feet. It is four 
 stories high besides basement, and is fitted up as 
 
 //,/,/,,,/ 
 
 Pialuiubsm: 
 
 A group of Deaconesses of the Deaconess Home. 
 
 theran Deaconess Institute, Minneapolis, Minn., 
 to take charge of the new institution in Chicago. 
 She took up the work in November, 1897. 
 
 April 25, 1899, the society purchased four lots 
 on the northwest corner of Haddon avenue and 
 Leavitt street. Later another lot was added. It 
 was decided to proceed to the erection of a build- 
 ing on this land. Ground was broken October 
 28, 1901. 
 
 The cornerstone of the new building was laid 
 May 11, 1902, by Rev. T. H. Dahl, president of 
 
 a first-class modern hospital. The accompanying 
 cut represents the building as it will appear when 
 completed. 
 
 Nov. 1, 1902, when the society took up the 
 work in the new building, Deaconess Ingeborg 
 Oberg, having resigned as acting sister superior, 
 left the service, and Deaconess Marie Larson 
 was called to take her place. 
 
 The work had grown to such an extent that it 
 became more and more evident to the board of 
 directors that it was necessary to call a rector 
 
138 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 for the institution. Several pastors in the United 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church of America were 
 called or approached, but declined. Finally Rev. 
 H. B. Kildahl, pastor of Covenant Lutheran 
 Church in Chicago, was called. He accepted the 
 position, and entered upon his new duties Nov. 
 1, 1903. 
 
 The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of 
 America, at its annual meeting in 1900, appointed 
 a committee to propose a plan by which the 
 church could assume control of the institution. 
 This committee consisted of Consul Halle Stens- 
 land. Rev. G. G. Krostu and Rev. S. Gunderson. 
 
 wliich the institution could be deeded to the 
 church. Such a plan was proposed and accepted 
 both by the church and the institution, and on 
 the 9th of November, 1904, in Minneapolis, Minn., 
 Mr. Adolph Larson, who had been the president 
 of the Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Soci- 
 ety since Rev. A. C. Anderson died, Dec. 21, 
 1896, gave the board of trustees of the United 
 Church a deed to all the property of the society. 
 The present board of directors are Mr. Adolph 
 Larson president; Rev. N. J. Lockrem, vice-pres- 
 ident; Rev. C. E. Tiller, secretary; Mr. Hakon 
 Thompson, treasurer; Hon. Halle Stensland; Rev. 
 
 \hkv mi*?5uni5 D ialunu£i5cr 
 
 . /// f J /^^ /if 
 
 yr/Y/z/^r 
 
 Deaconesses in Foreign Mission Work from the Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home, 
 
 The board of directors of the Deaconess So- 
 ciety elected Mr. A. P. Johnson, Dr. N. T. Quales 
 and Mr. Adolph Larson as a committee to work 
 with the committee from the church. 
 
 Acting on the recommendation of this com- 
 mittee, the church instructed its board of trustees 
 to accept the property of the Norwegian Lu- 
 theran Deaconess Society in Chicago under 
 deed of trust when the new building was com- 
 pleted. This transfer was effected in June, 1903. 
 
 At its annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minn., 
 1903, the church appointed Revs. M. H. Hegge, 
 N. J. Lockrem, S. Gunderson and Mr. Adolph 
 Larson as a committee to propose a plan by 
 
 M. H. Hegge; Rev. O. R. Sletten; Rev. G. O. 
 Belsheim; Rev. H. B. Kildahl, rector; and Dea- 
 coness Caroline Williams. 
 
 The United Church at its annual meeting in 
 1905 called Deaconess Ingeborg Sponland to the 
 position of permanent sister superior. The pres- 
 ent acting sister superior is Deaconess Caroline 
 Williams, Deaconess Marie Larson having been 
 giving leave of absence for four months from 
 Jan. 1, 1906. 
 
 In 1899 the institution had 9 sisters; in 1900, 
 15; in 1901, 22; in 1902, 25; in 1903, 26; in 1904, 31; 
 in 1905, 42; and in 1906, 55. 
 
 Of these, 2 are serving Bethesda Hospital, 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 139 
 
 Crookston, Minn.; 2, the Deaconess Hospital, The first year of its existence the institution 
 
 Grafton, N. D.; 2, Ebenezer Hospital, Madison, cared for 102 patients; in 1899, 142; in 1900, 149; 
 
 Minn.; 1, the Deaconess Hospital, Northwood, in 1901, 146; in 1902, 192; in 1903, 268; in 1904, 
 
 N. D.; 1, St. Olaf Hospital, Austin, Minn.; 1, in 378; in 1905, 503. 
 
 Group of Sisters, Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home. 
 
 the mission field in Madagascar; 2, in the mis- 
 sion field in China, and the rest are at the Moth- 
 erhouse in Chicago. 
 
 The accounts of the institution show that from 
 Oct. 1, 1903, to May 1, 1905, $38,787.51 had been 
 received and disbursed. 
 
140 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Hauge's Synod 
 
 By Rev. K. O. Eittreim. 
 
 The history of that body of Norwegian Luther- 
 ans in America, popularly called Hauge's Synod, 
 has its beginning in our fatherland, Norway. 
 
 Dififerent tendencies have at all times existed 
 in the Christian church and have finally led to 
 the formation of new denominations. Not only 
 in the Christian church at large and in these 
 general bodies do we find dififerences, but also 
 within each denomination and that to such an 
 extent that they have led to the formation of 
 new synods. Could we carry this thought down 
 to the bottom we should probably find few, if 
 any, congregations even in which all members 
 fullv agree on all points of Christian doctrine 
 and practice. 
 
 Whether this state of things in the church is 
 excusable, or inexcusable; whether it is a sign 
 of weakness, or of strength; of life, or of death, 
 it is not our purpose here to discuss. We simply 
 state that so it has been and so it is. So we 
 find it also in the Norwegian Lutheran Church. 
 
 In the mother church, on account of her or- 
 ganization and union with the state, such different 
 tendencies have hitherto had little chance to de- 
 velop into recognized parties. In this land of 
 religious liberty each tendency has been free to 
 form itself and develop according to its own bent. 
 
 In Norway in the latter part of the eighteenth 
 and beginning of the nineteenth centuries, Hans 
 N. Hauge, a layman extraordinarily gifted, began 
 to preach against the rationalism and secularism 
 so prevalent at that time among the Norwegian 
 clergy, and consequently among the people. He 
 laid stress upon an experimental Christian life 
 and the spiritual priesthood of all Christians. 
 He won many followers who were called "Read- 
 ers", or "Haugeans." Neither Hauge nor his 
 followers by word or example incited to separa- 
 tion from the state church. They have on the 
 contrary the reputation of being the most faith- 
 ful members of the church. 
 
 When the Norwegians began to emigrate to 
 America some of these Haugeans also were 
 among iheni. 
 
 The first one was Ole Olson Hetletveit who 
 came on the "sloop" in 1825, and is said to have 
 been the only one of that company who remained 
 true to the Lutheran faith. In Norway he had 
 been a schoolmaster and in America he went 
 about as a lay preacher. 
 
 The father of Hauge's Synod, however, is Filing 
 Eielsen. He was born in Vos, Norway, Sept. 19, 
 1804. His parents were Haugeans. As a young 
 man he traveled through many parts of Norway 
 as a lay preacher. In 18.39 he came to America. 
 Arrived in Chicago he gathered a few Norweg- 
 ians who lived there together in a house owned 
 by an English woman, and there he preached 
 his first sermon in America. He did not remain 
 long in Chicago then, but together with one 
 Christen Olson traveled about 70 miles south- 
 west to the Fox River Settlement. Here Eiel- 
 sen became the religious leader of his people, 
 and soon built a meeting house which no doubt 
 must be considered the first meeting house for 
 religious worship, which was built by the Nor- 
 wegians in America. 
 
 He soon began to look up his countrymen in 
 Wisconsin and other places where they had settled, 
 gathering them about God's Word, which he 
 preached in a simple and straightforward man- 
 ner, laying great stress upon repentance and 
 faith and a pious life. 
 
 His work bore fruit, and had he laid more 
 stress upon properly organizing his converts into 
 well ordered congregations, this early and im- 
 portant part of our church history would not 
 now be so obscure as it is, and perhaps also 
 many unpleasant things would have been averted. 
 
 In 1843 the people in Fox River district called 
 Eielsen to be their pastor, which call he ac- 
 cepted and was accordingly ordained to the min- 
 istry Oct. 3, 1843, by Rev. F. A. Hoffman, D.D., 
 a German Lutheran pastor. The ordination was 
 performed in Chicago. Eielsen was the first 
 Norwegian Lutheran pastor in America. 
 
 As the work progressed he began to see the 
 necessity of liaving an outward form. A meet- 
 ing was accordingly held April 13 and 14, 1846, 
 on Jeft'erson Prairie, Rock county. Wis., where 
 representatives were present from his followers 
 in Illinois and Wisconsin, and a synod was or- 
 ganized bearing the name, "The Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church in North America.'' The con- 
 stitution of this body was dictated by Eielsen 
 and written by O. Andrewson, one of Eielsen's 
 .converts, who was later ordained to the min- 
 istry. How many were present at this first 
 meeting we are not informed. The same con- 
 stitution was again adopted by a larger meeting 
 at Koshkonong, Wis., Oct. 13 and 16, 1850, and 
 was then subscribed to by thirty-five men. 
 
 The pastors who soon after Eielsen came from 
 Norway and were trained by the mother church 
 represented a different type of Christian life from 
 Eielsen and his followers who were of a de- 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 141 
 
 cidedly pietistic type. They claimed to be 
 orthodox, but it was found that they were more 
 or less infected with the peculiar views of Grundt- 
 vig. Still the Christianity on either side would 
 certainly not have necessitated such a breach be- 
 tween them, but the "Old Adam" was struggling 
 for a place. Eielsen in spite of his piety was 
 by nature ver}^ headstrong, and was not disposed 
 to be ruled by any one. This he showed through 
 his whole life, and not the least when he long 
 after separated himself from his own followers 
 because they found it necessary to improve upon 
 his work. The others were also perhaps equally 
 headstrong in their way and did not meet Eiel- 
 sen in the most charitable manner. Having a 
 superior education, and the moral backing of the 
 mother church, they of course did not feel dis- 
 posed to prostrate themselves under the thumb 
 of a layman, which we can not wonder at. It 
 was thoroughly human. The only thing possible 
 seemed to be to separate, and so it went. Eiel- 
 sen continued in the way he had begun and the 
 others organized their own synod. Perhaps it 
 was better so. Perhaps each had their own mis- 
 sion, but if so have they not soon performed it 
 so we could join hands again in our common 
 ca'use? 
 
 Hauge's Synod still stands for the pietistic 
 type of the Lutheran faith in theory at least. 
 Whether we now have more of true piety than 
 our sister synods may be questioned. 
 
 As the synod grew the need of more ministers 
 became more and more appare'nt. This need was 
 met from time to time by calling and ordaining 
 pious men from their own midst. Though un- 
 learned many of these men were highly gifted 
 and did excellent work. Still it was from the 
 very beginning realized that this inethod of sup- 
 plying workers was not adequate to the needs. 
 
 Hence the question of erecting a school for 
 training pastors soon became a leading issue with 
 them and remained so for many years. Before 
 they finally succeeded four diflferent attempts 
 were made to begin such a school: in Lisbon, 
 111., 1855, Deerfield, Wis., 1865, Red Wing, Minn., 
 1868, and in Chicago, 1870. No doubt the peo- 
 ple learned something from these many failures, 
 but some of them at least were very expensive. 
 It is a strong proof of how determined these 
 people were to have a school, that after all these 
 disappointments they did not give up. 
 
 Another bone of contention for man}' years 
 was the constitution of the synod. As might be 
 expected and is more or less the case with all 
 human productions, it did not prove to be in 
 all things adequate to the requirements. After 
 
 mucli discussion a thoroughly revised constitu- 
 tion was adopted at the annual meeting held in 
 Fillmore county, Minn., June 5-13, 1875. 
 
 The preamble and first article of this consti- 
 tution are in a literal translation as follows: 
 "That church body which by Hauge's friends was 
 organized April 13 and 14, 1846, on Jefiferson 
 Prairie, Rock county, Wis., and which hitherto 
 has been called, "The Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church in America,' hereby adopts 
 
 The Name 
 
 (§ 1) "Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lu- 
 theran Synod in America." 
 
 Thus while the synod itself dates from 1846, 
 the present name dates only from 1875. 
 
 The school question was still a live issue and 
 was now soon to be settled more satisfactorily 
 than hitherto. In 1878 an appropriate school 
 property was purchased in Red Wing, Minn. 
 Sept. 17, 1879, Red Wing Seminary was ded- 
 icated and opened its doors with two professors 
 and thirteen students. Instruction was ofifered 
 in two departments, a preparatory and a theo- 
 logical. Rev. I. Eisteinson was the first princi- 
 pal of the school and instructor in theology, and 
 G. O. Brohaugh was at the head of the prepar- 
 atory department. The standard of instruction 
 has been gradually raised and extended until they 
 now have an academical course of three years, 
 a collegiate course of five years and a theological 
 course of three years. Instruction in the theolog- 
 ical department is now also ofifered in both the 
 Norwegian and English languages. The faculty 
 at present numbers seven and the usual attend- 
 ance about 140. From the college department 
 202 young men have graduated, and from the 
 theological department 118. Of the 139 pastors, 
 professors, and missionaries, now in the synod 
 ninety-six are graduates from the theological de- 
 partment of the seminary. Prof. M. G. Hanson 
 is the principal. Our property in Red Wing is 
 valued at $121,000. 
 
 The synod also has a college in Jewell Jet., 
 Iowa. This college was' founded in 1893 by the 
 "Jewell Lutheran College Association." In 1897 
 it was transferred to the Iowa district of Hau- 
 ge's Synov^, and in 1905 it was again transferred 
 to the synod at large. Here an average of about 
 115 young men and women are being trained in 
 the usual college studies, besides being under the 
 influence of Christian surroundings. Rev. Prof. 
 N. J. Lohre, B. L.^ is the principal. The property 
 is valued at $35,000. 
 
 A printing establishment and a book depart- 
 ment are operated in connection with Red Wing 
 
142 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Seminary. Here are issued the official orRan of 
 the synod, "Budbaereren,"' a weekly paper, now 
 in its thirty-eighth year; "B0rnevennen," a weekly 
 Sunday school paper, in its twenty-ninth year; 
 and "The Little Messenger," an English weekly 
 Sunday school paper, in its second year. During 
 the school year the students of Red Wing Semi- 
 nary issue a monthly paper called "Hemnica." 
 
 At Beresford, S. D., the synod owns and oper- 
 ates "Bethesda Orphans' Home." Here from 
 50 to 60 children are cared for and trained in 
 secular and religious knowledge. Three hundred 
 acres of land are owned by the home, and the 
 whole property is valued at $35,000. 
 
 In 1905 Severt K. Rong of Wanamingo, Minn., 
 gave to the synod by a last will his whole estate 
 consisting of 578 acres of land and personal 
 property together valued at about $28,000 on the 
 condition that the synod shall within 5 years after 
 the settlement of the estate establish hereon and 
 thereafter maintain an orphans' home. At the 
 annual meeting in 1906, the synod resolved to 
 accept the gift on the conditions named in the 
 will. Prof. M. G. Hanson is holding the property 
 in trust for the synod, until the provisions of 
 the will shall have been fulfilled. 
 
 For about fifteen years the synod has carried 
 on missionary work at Fan Cheng, China, and 
 vicinity. Four main stations with twenty-four 
 outlying stations have been opened. Fifteen mis- 
 sionaries are at present active in the service and 
 sixty-five native workers are employed. They 
 have children's schools with thirty teachers and 
 about 900 children, a boarding school for girls 
 with forty-one girls attending and a high school 
 for boys with attendance of twelve. A medical 
 mission is maintained and does much to open the 
 way for the gospel message. Nearly $150,000 
 have been expended on our China mission thus 
 far and the demands have been steadily growing. 
 Still the necessary amounts are being raised with 
 comparatively little effort. Last year alone an 
 amount of $26,871.20 was received for this mis- 
 sion. Other missions such as among the Jews, 
 to Madagascar, etc., are not forgotten, but are 
 more or less liberally supported. This shows a 
 commendable missionary spirit in Hauge's Synod. 
 The property value of the China mission is esti- 
 mated at about $15,000. 
 
 Home missionary work is carried on with in- 
 creasing zeal every year. A permanent mission- 
 ary superintendent is employed who constantly 
 travels within the synod in the interests of mis- 
 sions, home and foreign. 
 
 A matter of much interest and great import- 
 ance to the synod is the language question. 
 
 The demand for English grows year by year, 
 while the demand for Norwegian continues and 
 in many places holds its own. These demands 
 are being met by preparing candidates for the 
 ministry as far as possible with ability to work 
 in both languages. An effort is now being made 
 to give theological instruction also in the English 
 language, at our own seminary, but heretofore 
 many of our students and pastors have found it 
 necessary to attend English Lutheran seminaries 
 in order to get their training. Quite a number 
 of our pastors have spent from one to three years 
 at the English Lutheran Seminary in Chicago. 
 A permanent "Board of Directors for English 
 Work," consisting of five members, whose term 
 of office is three years has been established. An 
 English conference is held once a year, and one 
 or two sessions of the regular annual meeting is 
 usually set aside for English work. 
 
 The synod at present consists of 121 pastors 
 and 290 congregations with a total of 36,000 
 members. 
 
 The bulk of Hauge's Synod is found in Illi- 
 nois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Da- 
 kotas, but we also have members as far south 
 as Texas and Louisana, west to the Pacific coast, 
 north to Alberta, Canada and east to Michigan. 
 
 For convenience the synod has been divided 
 into districts. These districts are governed by 
 district rules made by the synod in common for 
 all but they hold their own conferences and have 
 jurisdiction over such affairs as are purely local. 
 
 The Chicago District of Hauge's Synod em- 
 braces Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and southern 
 Wisconsin. It consists of fourteen pastors, nine 
 of whom are in Illinois, and twenty-seven con- 
 gregations, fifteen of which are in Illinois. A 
 short sketch of each of these fifteen congrega- 
 tions will here be given. 
 
 Trinity Church, Chicago. 
 
 It has before been mentioned that Filing Eiel- 
 sen preached his first sermon on American soil 
 in Chicago, in 1839. He returned later, and the 
 tlock he gathered about him was the beginning 
 of Trinity Church. Meetings were held in pri- 
 vate houses on Ohio, Erie, and Desplaines streets 
 and vicinity. They also for a while worshipped 
 in a hall on the North Side. The congregation 
 was thus in existence already in the early '40's. 
 
 In 1857 Trinity Church was formally organized 
 adopting a constitution and making a list of 
 members. They built a frame edifice on Indiana 
 and Peoria streets, which caused some ill feeling 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 143 
 
 because it was so far out on the "prairie." Eiel- 
 sen was the first pastor, and after him Paul An- 
 derson served them. Rev. Krohn, pastor of Our 
 Saviour's Church, also served them a short time 
 Rev. P. A. Rasmussen from Lisbon, 111., was 
 their pastor some years, and Rev. Widding a 
 short time. Rev. Krognes then became their 
 pastor. Some disagreement arose between Rev. 
 Krognes and the congregation, though quite a 
 number of the members sided with him. The 
 result was that his friends left Trinity Church 
 and organized Bethlehem Church. 
 
 The exact dates of the various changes up to 
 this time I have been unable to ascertain, nor am 
 I sure that they are here given in their chrono- 
 logical order as the sources from which the facts 
 have been gathered vary slightly. 
 
 In 1869 Rev. J. Z. Torgersen, a gifted, energetic 
 and well trained young man became pastor of 
 Trinity Church and during his pastorate the 
 church flourished. The parochial reports from 
 his time show that the membership rose to more 
 than 1,200 souls. The old church became too 
 small, and the building of a larger one became 
 necessary. 
 
 A movement was now started to unite with 
 Trinity Church, the college and theological semi- 
 nary which the synod was endeavoring to get 
 started. The church was accordingly built to ac- 
 commodate both. The first story was fitted out 
 as class rooms for the school, and the upper 
 story as church. The basement, the old church, 
 and one or two other buildings belonging to the 
 church property were to be rented out and thus 
 help to defray the expenses. The corner stone 
 of the new structure was laid Aug. 27, 1871, on 
 which occasion Rev. E. Eielsen delivered the 
 main address. The outlook was bright and 
 hopes ran high in all those who were in favor 
 of this double undertaking. But throughout the 
 west there was from the beginning a strong op- 
 position to the location of the school, and hence 
 they did little to support it. The great Chicago 
 fire which occurred in the fall made it hard for 
 the Chicago people to carry their end, though it 
 must be said that they did well. After seven 
 years of he'ated discussions and hard attempts 
 to keep the school going the whole undertaking 
 was abandoned by the synod and the property 
 turned over to Trinity Church on condition that 
 it assume the whole indebtedness. The property 
 had cost about $34,000 and the debt was about 
 $13,000. 
 
 Thus the church was left with a larger financial 
 burden than they had anticipated. Notwithstand- 
 ing this, the prospects of the church were good. 
 
 The church, large as it was, was too small to 
 accommodate the audiences which Pastor Torger- 
 sen by his eloquence drew. There was a strong 
 agitation to build an addition to the length of 
 the church, and this would no doubt have been 
 done, but for the sad disruption which soon after 
 cook place. 
 
 The pastor began to entertain and advocate 
 some doctrines which did not agree with the 
 confession of the congregation and the synod of 
 which they were a part. In 1879 or 1880 he left 
 the church and synod and with his friends who fol- 
 lowed him organized Bethany Church on Indiana 
 and Carpenter streets a few blocks from Trinitv. 
 Bethany Church and its pastor remained inde- 
 pendent, though calling themselves Lutherans. 
 He was popular even unto his recent death, and 
 his church enjoyed considerable progress so long 
 as he was young and vigorous, but as by reason 
 of age feebleness crept over him, his church be- 
 came equally feeble, and when he died, in 1905, 
 his church died with him. 
 
 Trinity Church was of course very much 
 weakened, its membership being cut down to 
 about half of what it used to be. Rev. M. Nel- 
 son was its next pastor but stayed only a very 
 short time. Rev. C. O. Brohaug was called to 
 the pastorate in 1880 and remained about thir- 
 teen years. 
 
 The pastors who have served since that time 
 are: I Eisteinsen, 1893-1894; N.G.Peterson, 189,'-j- 
 1898; H. A. Hanson, 1898-1901; S. C. Simonson, 
 1902-1905; and the present pastor is again H. A. 
 Hanson. 
 
 During all these years the congregation has 
 been struggling along, and but for her former 
 glory and the thought of what she might have 
 been, would be considered a prosperous church 
 still. And indeed none of our other churches 
 in the city has so far been able to measure itself 
 with Trinity. 
 
 In 1900 a number of families residing in the 
 northwest part of the city left Trinity Church 
 and organized "Hauge's" Church, Central Park 
 and Waubansia avenues. 
 
 The church debt was not materially reduced 
 during all these years, and the value of the 
 property decreased. As the city grew, the Nor- 
 wegians moved away from this neighborhood in 
 large numbers, and all these things worked to- 
 gether to make it necessary at last to offer the 
 old church property which on account of its as- 
 sociations was so dear to many of us, for sale. 
 In 1899 it was sold to an independent Italian 
 Catholic congregation who dedicated it to their 
 
144 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 use, but complications arose among them so that 
 they could not pay for it, and the Trinity peo- 
 ple had to take it back after a short time. They 
 now worshipped in it another four years when it 
 was again sold. This time to orthodox Catholics. 
 The purchase price was $21,900. This together 
 with a testamentary gift amounting to several 
 thousand dollars from Mrs. O. Nelson, an old 
 member of the church, enabled the congregation 
 to purchase a smaller edifice at Huron and Noble 
 streets and still have enough money left over 
 to make necessary repairs and alterations. They 
 now have a cozy and inviting place of worship. 
 
 The present membership is said to be about 
 525 and of late has been on the increase. Active 
 work is carried on in all the different branches 
 customary in our churches at this time. About 
 half of the work is done in the English language. 
 
 Trinitj- Church deserves honorable mention in 
 the history of the Lutheran church in Chicago. 
 Several of the Norwegian Lutheran churches 
 there are the direct offspring of Trinity, and in 
 many, if not all, of the Norwegian churches, and 
 the Englis'i Lutheran as well, may be found 
 former members of old Trinity. She deserves 
 to be called the mother church. 
 
 Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Church, 
 at Norway, 111. 
 
 This congregation was organized Nov. 20, 1847, 
 by Filing Eielsen with about 50 members. It 
 was here he first settled and here he built the 
 first church, before mentioned. A frame edifice 
 30 X 40 feet was built in 1847 and is still used. 
 It is located in the village of Norway, has 1% 
 acres of land with it and is valued at $3,000. 
 The congregation also owns a half interest in a 
 parsonage at Newark, about five miles from Nor- 
 way. The congregation has never been very 
 large. The highest meinbership according to 
 statistics at hand was, in 1902, 166 members. The 
 present membership is 140. 
 
 Several of the important meetings in the early 
 history of the synod were held in this church. 
 
 The pastors who served them from the begin- 
 ning up to 1870 were E. Eielsen, A. Scheie, Ole 
 Andrewsen, Peter Mehus, Iverson, Endre Johan- 
 neson, and Johnson. Rev. H. W. Abelson served 
 from 1871 to 1886, Rev. Theo. Hanson 1886 and 
 1887, Rev. O. Andrewsen 1887-1899, and the pres- 
 ent pastor, Rev. A. O. Mortvedt, from 1900. 
 
 They have a Sunday school of about forty 
 members, a ladies' missionary society, and a 
 young ladies' missionary society. Being a part of 
 
 a larger parish they have preaching services only 
 every third Sunday morning. The language is 
 mostly Norwegian, but occasionally English is 
 used. 
 
 Capron, 111. 
 
 Among our oldest congregations in Illinois is 
 one near Capron in Boone county. It was or- 
 ganized by E. Eielsen in 1858 and served by him 
 for some time. Who their other early pastors 
 were, the writer has been unable to ascertain. 
 From about 1870 to 1898 they were served by the 
 pastors from Lee county. Revs. R. O. Hill, J. N. 
 Sandven, and C. E. Tiller. From that time what 
 preaching they have had has been mostly by Chi- 
 cago pastors, but now for several years they have 
 had no regular services. The congregation has 
 never been very strong. The parochial reports 
 from 1874 to 1894 which are the only ones avail- 
 able to the writer show an average membership 
 of about ninety. Very few of these are now left, 
 some having died, some moved away and some 
 joined other churches. 
 
 The sad effects of the church partisanship 
 among our people may here be seen to perfec- 
 tion. No less than four Norwegian Lutheran 
 churches have here been built within a radius 
 of about one mile, all of them struggling for ex- 
 istence and none of them able to support a pas- 
 tor. The Hauge church can plead the excuse of 
 being the first one in the field. 
 
 They own a little red brick church which is 
 one of the landmarks of the neighborhood, and a 
 cemetery where many of the pioneers rest. 
 
 The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
 near Creston. 
 
 This congregation was organized in 1870 and 
 was temporarily served by Rev. J. Z. Torgersen 
 for about a year. Rev. R. O. Hill who was a 
 farmer in the neighborhood, but had prepared 
 himself for the ministry, was called and took up 
 the work as permanent pastor in 1872. He served 
 until his death in 1887 though he did not reside 
 in the congregation all the time. For a number 
 of years he lived in Wisconsin, where he also 
 served several congregations. Rev. J. N. Sand- 
 ven was pastor from 1888 to 1893, Rev. C. E. Til- 
 ler from 1894 to 1898. After Rev. Tiller left they 
 were without a pastor nearly two years. The 
 present pastor, Rev. K. O. Eittreim, was installed 
 July 1, 1900. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 145 
 
 Their church, which is a frame structure about 
 40 X 60, was built in 1870 and enlarged with an 
 addition and a tower some j^ears later, ^^alue 
 about $3,500. 
 
 Ever}'' summer from two to four months a 
 parochial school has been held and a Sunday 
 school is conducted about six months during the 
 summer. The young people have a Luther league 
 which meets every other Sundaj' evening. A 
 large ladies' aid societv meeting every other 
 Thursdaj^ works for missions. Preaching services 
 are held in the church on every Sunday in the 
 3'ear except six. 
 
 The English language has come into use more 
 and more for manj^ years. Every third Sunday 
 morning the regular services are English. The 
 Sunday evening services are nearly all so. The 
 Sunday school, parochial school, catechetical in- 
 struction, and young people's society are all 
 conducted wholly, or nearly so, in the English 
 language. 
 
 The exact number of members at the organ- 
 ization of the congregation I do not know, but 
 four years later the report shows 250. A steady 
 growth has been enjoyed ever since and the 
 membership now numbers 457. 
 
 Rooks Creek Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
 Pontiac. 
 
 Rev. H. W. Abelson preached the gospel and 
 administered the sacraments in the neighborhood 
 of Pontiac, as far back as 1873 but no organiza- 
 tion was effected until 1880 when Rooks Creek 
 congregation was organized with about fifteen 
 communicant members and "Abel's" congrega- 
 tion with eleven families. "Mud Creek" congre- 
 gation was also organized about the same time. 
 In 1882 these three joined together in one call 
 to be served by the same pastor. About 1890 
 "Mud Creek" joined- the United church, and a 
 little later "Abel's" congregation disbanded and 
 joined in with Rooks Creek. 
 
 A frame church was built about ten miles 
 northwest from Pontiac in 1878, and in Pontiac, 
 where several of the members now reside, a frame 
 church 38 x 60, valued at $3,000, has been bought. 
 
 After Rev. Abelson Rev. Theo. Hanson was 
 pastor from 1882 to 1892. Rev. O. Andresen re- 
 siding at Newark then served them for about 
 two years after which Rev. A. J. Krogstad was 
 their resident pastor from 1894 to 1896. During 
 the last ten years their pastoral service has been 
 somewhat unsteady, Rev. C. Harrison, Rev. O. 
 
 O. Risvold, Rev. L. H. Chally, and others having 
 served them during this time. At present Rev. 
 O. O. Risvold, residing in Joliet, is their tempor- 
 ary pastor. The work in this place has now 
 gone over almost exclusively to English. The 
 present membership is about 100. 
 
 The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congrega- 
 tion of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, 
 Platteville. 
 
 This congregation is situated in Kendall county 
 and was organized by Rev. P. A. Rasmussen 
 with eighty-two members in the year 1881. They 
 joined Hauge's Synod in 1890 when the member- 
 ship had grown to one hundred and eleven. Rev. 
 Rasmussen served as pastor till 1884; Rev. N. 
 G. Nelson 1884 .to 1889. After a vacancy of a 
 year or more Rev. O. Andresen, of Newark, took 
 charge and served till 1899, since which time 
 Rev. A. O. Mortvedt, also residing at Newark, 
 has been their pastor. This congregation has 
 had a steady growth and the report for 1905 
 shows a membership of 215. 
 
 A frame church 26 x 34 was erected in 1882 and 
 about five years ago the length was extended to 
 50 feet and an addition 16 x 26 feet was built to 
 the rear end for a school house. The property 
 is valued at $3,000. 
 
 A Norwegian Sunday school with four teach- 
 ers and twentj^-five scholars and a Norwegian 
 parochial school are conducted. The ladies have 
 a inissionary society. Preaching services are held 
 every third Sunday in the Norwegian language 
 except occasionally in the evening when English 
 is used. 
 
 The Newark Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
 
 at Newark, Kendall county, was organized Dec. 
 8, 1886, having only thirty-five members to begin 
 with, but it has prospered and steadily grown in 
 numbers now having a membership of 280. They 
 joined Hauge's Synod in 1884. Their first pastor 
 was Theo. Hanson who remained two years. 
 Rev. O. Andresen was their pastor from 1887 to 
 1899 and Rev. A. O. Mortvedt from 1900 to the 
 present time. 
 
 A frame church 36 x 60 feet built about 50 years 
 ago by Congregationalists was bought and put 
 in substantial order twelve or thirteen years ago. 
 Before that a chapel 22x34 feet was used for a 
 church, and has since been used for Norwegian 
 parochial school, Sunday school, and other small 
 
146 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 gatherings. The church property is valued at 
 $5,000. A parsonage 16 x 24 and 22 x 28, one story- 
 high with half a block of land, the whole valued 
 at $2,000, was built in 1894 and is owned jointly 
 by the congregations at Norway and Newark. 
 
 A Sunday school with five teachers and thirty- 
 five scholars is conducted in the Norwegian and 
 English languages and a Norwegian parochial 
 school with thirty-five scholars is taught by P. 
 Oakland for a while every summer. The ladies, 
 old and young, have each a society for the cause 
 of missions. They have preaching services every 
 third Sunday morning in Norwegian and evening 
 in English. 
 
 The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel 
 Church, in Chicago, 
 
 was organized in June, 1888, by twelve families, 
 mostly from Trinity church. Peder Helland, a 
 theological student, served them a few months 
 as pastor but their first regular pastor was Rev. 
 J. J. Breidablik who was installed Jan. 27, 1889, 
 and served till 1896. Rev. C. C. Holter ministered 
 to them from Dec, 1896 till April 14, 1899; Rev. 
 G. O. Paulsrud from May 14, 1899, till the fall of 
 1901; and the present pastor Rev. J. A. Quello 
 was installed April 27, 1902. 
 
 In 1890 a handsome frame edifice was erected 
 at Maplewood avenue and Cherry place and is 
 now valued at $12,000. 
 
 They have a flourishing Sunday school with 
 twenty-five teachers and 300 scholars where Nor- 
 wegian and English are both used. A Luther 
 league is conducted in the English language. 
 Other organizations within the church are a 
 ladies' aid society, a young ladies' sewing circle, 
 a missionary society and an efficient choir. They 
 have three regular services every Sunday, of 
 which two are in Norwegian and one in English. 
 
 The present membership is 347. 
 
 St. Paul's English Church, Chicago. 
 
 Exact data have not been received from this 
 congregation but the facts we have been able to 
 gather are about as follows: The church was 
 organized by Prof. R. F. Weidner, D.D., of the 
 English Lutheran seminary about fifteen years 
 ago and was served by general council pastors 
 till 1899 when Rev. L. Harrisville of Hauge's 
 Synod was called and took up the work. His 
 first report to the synod shows a membership of 
 183. He has increased this every year, and for 
 1905 he reports 496. 
 
 In 1902 they joined Hauge's Synod and have 
 the distinction of being the first English con- 
 gregation in the synod. It has hitherto been 
 made up largely of young people of various na- 
 tionalities though many of them are Scandinavians. 
 They have a Sunday school with forty-two teach- 
 ers and 700 scholars which according to the re- 
 ports is more than twice as large as any other 
 Sunday school in the synod. They also report 
 the largest catechetical class in the synod. If 
 these children and young people remain faithful 
 to the church a large and substantial English con- 
 gregation may in time be built up here. 
 
 The church which was built when they began 
 is now said to be too small and a new one is 
 being built which according to plans will no 
 doubt when finished be one of the largest and 
 finest churches among us. A f^at building cost- 
 ing about $9,000 has also recently been built and 
 a part of it is used as a parsonage. These un- 
 dertakings are made possible mostly by gifts 
 solicited by the pastor from outsiders. 
 
 A church paper called "The Reminder" is is- 
 sued monthly. Work is carried on actively in all 
 the branches customary among our city churches, 
 and all in the English language. 
 
 Rev. Harrisville has from its start been very 
 active for the Norwegian Orphans' Home in Chi- 
 cago and has for several years been its president. 
 
 * 
 St. John's Church, Creston. 
 
 The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Si. 
 John's Church in Creston, Ogle county, was or- 
 ganized by Rev. C. E. Tiller in 1897 and the 
 building of a house of worship was begun. As 
 Rev. Tiller left soon after and the charge was 
 vacant about two years, the work stood at a 
 standstill. Considerable discord had arisen be- 
 tween some of the members too, and the outlook 
 was rather discouraging when the work was 
 taken up by the present pastor, K. O. Eittreim 
 who was installed July 1, 1900. The building of 
 the edifice was continued and finished in the fall. 
 December 6, it was dedicated. It is a cozy little 
 church valued at $2,500 and was paid for in full 
 about three years ago. The membership in 1900 
 was 73. This has been gradually increased and 
 the report for 1905 shows 143. 
 
 A ladies' aid society has worked with com- 
 mendable zeal for the church and now that the 
 debt is paid and the church handsomely furnished 
 they are beginning to give their attention to the 
 call from the mission fields. Sunday school and 
 young people's work is carried on. Preaching 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 141 
 
 services are held every other Sunday afternoon 
 and six Sundays in the year, in the morning. 
 
 The prospects for the church have brightened 
 every year and are now encouraging. 
 
 Ebenezer Church, Chicago. 
 
 Ebenezer Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran 
 church was organized as a Hauge's Synod mis- 
 sion in November, 1900, and for about a year was 
 served by the Hauge's pastors in Chicago with 
 such aid as they could get from the students at 
 the English Lutheran Seminary in Lake View. 
 From 1901 to 1904 Rev. S. S. Westby was their 
 pastor and then for about a 3'ear they were 
 served by student S. J. Brekke. The present 
 pastor. Rev. K. M. J. Mjaanes, has been there 
 since 1905. All of these men have also attended 
 the seminary, during their pastoral labors, in 
 Chicago. 
 
 Th*e membership at the beginning was about 
 five families and is now reported at fifteen famil- 
 ies. 
 
 They have a frame church on South Fifty- 
 second street and Fifth avenue valued at $3,000. 
 They have a Norwegian Sunday school number- 
 ing two teachers and eighteen scholars, and a 
 Norwegian parochial school is carried on a short 
 time each summer with the same number of 
 scholars. The young people have a society and 
 carry on the work in their mother tongue. The 
 preaching is also in the Norwegian language every 
 Sunday. The congregation formally joined Hau- 
 ge's Synod in 1902. 
 
 Elim Church, Chicago. 
 
 Elim Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran congre- 
 gation is a Hauge Synod Mission in Avondale, 
 Chicago, started with forty-two members in 
 1900. It has been served temporarily by the 
 Chicago pastors and regularly by Revs. Theo. J. 
 Lund, S. S. Westby, L. J. Odland and M. L. 
 Dahle, and of late by Student Henry Thompson. 
 All of these with the exception of Rev. Lund have 
 also attended the English Lutheran Seminary 
 at the same time. 
 
 In 1903 which is the last report at hand the 
 membership is given at eighty-five. The work 
 during the last year has been carried on in the 
 English language exclusively. They joined the 
 synod in 1901. 
 
 Hauge's Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
 Chicago. 
 
 This church was organized by twelve families 
 from Trinity church in 1900. They had lived in 
 the northwest part of the city and paid their 
 carfares regularly to get to the old mother church 
 for a number of years. A Sunday school for 
 their children had been carried on in their own 
 midst, but now they considered it best also to 
 build a church and organize a new congregation. 
 Rev. Theo. J. Lund was their first pastor and 
 continued till 1903 when he accepted a call to 
 Madison, Minn. The present pastor Rev. J. J. 
 Sharpnes took up the work in 1904. 
 
 This congregation, though few in numbers to 
 begin with, was composed of an exceptionally 
 even lot of active workers, and they put their 
 hearts and hands to the work. Their labor has 
 not been in vain. They now have a membership 
 of 158 and carry on prosperous work among 
 young and old in the various branches custom- 
 ary among us. They have built a cozy church 
 and adjoining it a brick flat, one floor of which 
 is used for parsonage. While they had some help 
 from the mission treasury in the beginning they 
 are now self-supporting. 
 
 Joliet. 
 
 A congregation existed in Joliet a number of 
 years ago and was served by Rev. Theo. Han- 
 son who resided there, and later by Rev. O. An- 
 dresen from Newark. Most of the church mem- 
 bers were laborers in the factories of that city, 
 and when some years ago on account of hard 
 times many of those had to shut down, or reduce 
 their forces and wages, most of our people moved 
 out of the city and hence the church work had 
 to be discontinued. 
 
 As good times have returned, Norwegians have 
 moved in again and church work has been re- 
 sumed. Rev. O. O. Risvold, residing at Pontiac, 
 took up the work in 1901, and Sept 29, that year 
 a new organization was made under the name 
 "The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congrega- 
 tion at Joliet". The following year a handsome 
 frame church with stone basement was built at 
 a cost of $5,000. About this time the pastor 
 resigned from his charge in Pontiac, moved to 
 Joliet and devoted his whole time to the work 
 there. A heavy church debt has no doubt re- 
 tarded their growth considerably so far but the 
 debt is being gradually reduced. 
 
 The Norwegians are quite numerous in Joliet 
 
148 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 now and this church being so far as we know 
 the only Norwegian church there it seems to 
 have excellent prospects for the future. 
 
 A Norwegian Sunday school has four teachers 
 and thirty scholars. The young people hav? 
 organized a Luther league and the ladies have 
 an aid society. The membership of the congrega- 
 tion is 105. 
 
 Sandwich, DeKalb County. 
 
 At Sandwich -".'crk has been carried on by the 
 Hauge pastors from Newark nearly twenty years, 
 but no organization was effected until May 10, 
 1904, when thirty-nine members organized "Our 
 Savior's Evangelical Lutheran Congregation". 
 
 Rev. A. O. Mortvedt who is their pastor 
 preaches there every third Sunday afternoon in 
 the Norwegian language. The ladies have a 
 missionary society. 
 
 A small church valued at $750 has been bought 
 and remodeled and was dedicated Jan. 20, 1907. 
 
 It is the only Norwegian church in this thrifty 
 town, but there are only a few of our country 
 men there so there is at present no large field 
 to work in. The present membership is thirty- 
 five. 
 
 Summary. 
 
 We have seen that the very first beginnings of 
 Hauge's Synod transpired on Illinois soil, and 
 that for many years this state took a leading part 
 in our history. Yet not any of the general institu- 
 tions of the synod have been permanently planted 
 here. This is accounted for by the fact that for 
 a generation or more a constant migration of 
 our people westward has been going on and the 
 inflowing stream of immigrants from Norway 
 has passed by us, seeking the cheaper lands 
 farther west. Still our synod has grown and 
 continues to grow and extend itself also in this 
 state. 
 
 Our fifteen congregations have a total member- 
 ship of 3,154 and the total value of their church 
 property is about $85,000. 
 
 The Norwegian Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church 
 
 Of Lee county, 111., was organized by Rev. G. T. 
 Dietrichson, Oct., 1858. The charter members 
 were mainly immigrants from Hardanger, Nor- 
 way. *) 
 
 The congregation was at first supplied from 
 Chicago by Rev. A. C. Preus, Rev. C. J. P. Peter- 
 sen and others. Then some years Rev. O. G. 
 Jukam, from Clinton, Iowa, was its pastor. In 
 1864 the first church was built Ifi miles south- 
 west of Lee station, where the new church, built 
 in 1896, now stands. In 1866 it was incorporated. 
 Since 1868 is has always belonged to the Nor- 
 wegian Evangelical Lutheral Synod of America 
 and always liberally supported the missions and 
 institutions of that body. 
 
 In 1869 the congregation got its first settled 
 pastor. Rev. J. J. Tackle, who remained here till 
 1880. Since Jan., 1881, its present pastor, Rev. J. 
 Nordby, has been working here. In 1881 the 
 Norwegian schoolhouse for the southern district 
 was built, where parochial school is being taught 
 yearly. 
 
 In 1885 we got the first organ in our church. 
 
 The church bell was bought in 1879. The 
 beautiful altar painting was furnished by the 
 young people in 1891. In 1890 the old school- 
 house at Lee station was bought and fitted up 
 for a chapel, where divine services are being 
 conducted for the special benefit of members 
 residing at Lee station. Twice has the Synod 
 had its 3'early meeting here, in 1879 and in 1891. 
 
 A Ladies' Aid Society has for many years been 
 working for the missions, both heathen and home 
 mission. 
 
 A young people's society has also been started. 
 Its meetings have been held in the homes of the 
 members. It has also had several lecture courses 
 in the church. The present members of the 
 whole congregation number about 500, and gen- 
 erally speaking, the condition of the congrega- 
 tion is flourishing. 
 
 "The Synod-church", at Capron, Boone county, 
 111., or Long Prairie Lutheran congregation, is 
 one of the oldest congregations of our Synod. 
 
 *This sketch belongs under the Norwegian Synod, 
 but liaving come in too late, 'we liad to place it 
 here. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 149 
 
 It was organized in 1849 and one of the 28 con- 
 gregations, that from the beginning constituted 
 "The Synod for the Norwegian Evangelical Lu- 
 theran Church in America," organized in 1853. 
 From its start this congregation belonged to 
 the Rock Prairie parish and had for its pastors 
 Revs. G. F. Dietrichson, C. L. Clausen and C. F. 
 Magelsen. After the division in 1870 our con- 
 gregation at Capron, although but a little band., 
 without a minister and deprived of its church, 
 remained faithfully with the Synod. It was sup- 
 plied by men like Rev. H. A. Preus, Prof. Dr. 
 Stub and others, whose good services the older 
 members never will forget. Later on in 1887, 
 when the controversy about "election"' split the 
 Synod, our congregation at Capron again showed 
 itself loyal to the Synod and refused to with- 
 draw from it. In 1889 Rev. J. E. J0rgensen, of 
 Madison, Wis., became its pastor. Long Prairie 
 being one of the three congregations composing 
 his parish. In 1891 Rev. J. Nordby at Lee, III, 
 took charge of the congregation and is still its 
 pastor. Services are being held every 3 or 4 
 weeks. In 1893 a church was built and dedi- 
 cated by President H. A. Preus, who died the 
 following year. The congregation has been grow- 
 ing and is at present in a flourishing condition. 
 Over thirty families are members of it. The 
 services are conducted in the Norwegian lan- 
 guage. 
 
 This congregation has always very liberally 
 supported the missions carried on by the Synod 
 and also the various institutions of learning built 
 and supported by the Synod. 
 
 A ladies' aid society has been at work for sev- 
 eral years. 
 
 "The first Scandinavian Lutheran church of 
 Rochelle, Ogle county, 111.", was organized by 
 Rev. J. Nordby May 10, 1885. Its members are 
 Norwegians, Danes and Swedes. The congrega- 
 tion is not large, and at times it has consisted of 
 only a dozen families, as a good many of the 
 members have "moved west." Formally it does 
 not belong to any synod or conference, but it 
 afways had the same pastor, being supplied from 
 the Synod congregation at Lee. Collections have 
 also been taken for the support of the Synod. 
 It has not as yet had a church edifice of its own, 
 but rents the German Lutheran church, where 
 its meetings are held every other Sunday after- 
 noon. Occasionally the young people have lec- 
 tures on Sunday evenings. The services are 
 conducted in the Norwegian and English lan- 
 guages. 
 
 By Rev. J. Nordby. 
 
 Norwegian Methodism 
 in Illinois 
 
 By Rev. H. P. Bergh. 
 
 (Editor of "Den Kristelige Talsmand" and 
 "Hyrdestemmen.") 
 
 The Norwegian and Danish Methodists m the 
 United States are united into one work that is 
 included in the Norwegian and Danish Confer- 
 ence, between the Allegheny and Rocky Moun- 
 tains, the Western Nor,wegian-Danish Conference 
 on the Pacific coast and the Norwegian-Danish 
 churches belonging to the New York East and 
 the New England (American) Conferences on 
 the Atlantic coast. 
 
 Norwegian and Danish Methodism in Illinois 
 is now fifty years old. 
 
 At Norway and Leland, III., two of the oldest 
 Norwegian settlements in America, located about 
 18 miles apart in La Salle county, about 70 miles 
 south-west of Chicago, as early as in 1853, a 
 Danish local preacher commenced preaching. 
 His name was John Brown. He was converted 
 as a sailor and afterward became connected with 
 the Swedish Methodist Bethel Ship Mission in 
 New York, whose pastor, Rev. O. G. Hedstrj^m, 
 the first Scandinavian Methodist preacher in the 
 world, sent him to the Leland settlement, where, 
 by his earnest preaching, many souls were con- 
 verted. Rev. Jonas Hedstr^m, a brother of O. 
 G., was presiding elder of the Swedish district 
 in Illinois, and the Norwegian Methodists at Nor- 
 wajr and Leland belonged to his district. Rev. 
 H. Holland, a Norwegian who was converted 
 among the Haugeans in Haugesund, Norway, and 
 afterward became a Methodist, started preaching 
 in the Leland settlement in 1854 with good suc- 
 cess. In 1857 he organized a church in Norway, 
 a little village in the Fox River settlement, and 
 was then (1857-58) appointed to the Leland set- 
 tlement, where, in 1858, he succeeded in building 
 a church edifice, which later was moved into the 
 village of Leland. These churches were in 1872 
 transferred to the then formed Norwegian dis- 
 strict, and from this time the Norwegian work 
 was separated from the Swedish both in Illinois 
 and Wisconsin, where, in 1851, at Cambridge, 
 Dane county, the first Norwegian-Danish Meth- 
 odist church in the world had been organized by 
 Rev. C. B. Willerup, a Dane. 
 
 At Lee, Stavanger Sandwich, Harpster and 
 other places much work has been done, and 
 houses of worship have been erected at the two 
 
150 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ifirst named places. The Norwegian-Danish Meth- 
 odist churches in Illinois are the following, in 
 chronological order: 
 
 NORWAY, 
 
 Organized in 1857, by H. H. Holland. The church 
 was built in 1859, and a parsonage was added 
 later. 
 
 John H. Eckstrand (Swede) 1866-69. 
 
 J. M. Knudson 1869-72. 
 
 C. Hansen 1872-73. 
 
 P. Jensen 1873-76. 
 
 B. Johansen 1876-77. 
 
 Otto J. Sanaker (with his brother James San- 
 
 aker as helper) 1877-80. 
 Oluf A. Wiersen (with M. L. Kjelstad as 
 
 helper) 1880-82. 
 
 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish M. E. Conference. 
 
 The pastoral appointments have been: 
 
 John Brown (Dane) 1853-54. 
 
 Halvor H. Holland, founder of the church, 
 
 1854-59. 
 Nels O. Westergren (Swede) 1859-60. 
 
 (He built the church). 
 Erick Carlson (Swede) 1860-62. 
 Nels O. Westergren (Swede) 1862-63. 
 Loth Lindquist (Swede) 1863-65. 
 Ole Gundersen 1865-66. 
 
 Fredrick W. Ericksen 1882-83. 
 
 Johan C. ToUefsen 1883-85. 
 
 Eliot Hansen 1885-86. 
 
 H. C. Munson 1886-87. 
 
 J. A. Jacobsen 1887-88. 
 
 Andrew Erickson (Dane) 1888-89. 
 
 A. C. Pederson (Dane) 1889-91. 
 
 H. Danielson 1891-93. 
 
 J. J. Petersen (Dane) 1893-96. 
 
 (J. H. Carlson H year, 1893.) 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 151 
 
 A. W. Rosness 1896-97. 
 Chas. J. Johnson 1897-98. 
 Carl W. Hanson 1898-1902. 
 Carl J. Josephson 1902-03. 
 Carl W. Hanson 1903-05. 
 Arnt M. Anderson 1905-07. 
 
 LELAND, 
 
 Organized in 1858 by H. H. Holland. The church 
 was built the same year and years afterward 
 moved into the village. 
 
 J. A. Jacobsen 1888-1890. 
 
 H. Danielson 1890-1893. 
 
 A. Johnsen and J. J. Petersen 1893-1894. 
 
 A. Johnsen 1894-1895. 
 
 R. Wilhelmsen 1895-1896. 
 
 H. P. Nelsen 1896-1898. 
 
 J. P Andersen 1898-1900. 
 
 K^ Hansen 1900-1906. 
 
 R. Levin 1906. 
 
 In Lee the work was first started in 1871 by 
 
 Chr. Oman 1887-1888. 
 
 First Methodist Church, Chicago. 
 
 Pastoral appointments: 
 
 H. H. Holland 1858. 
 
 (And after him probably all those ennum- 
 erated under Norway, until 1880, when the 
 Norwegian and Danish Conference was or- 
 ganized, from which time the conference 
 minutes show the names). 
 
 O. J. Sanaker 1877-1880. 
 
 O. H. Wiersen 1880-1882. 
 
 A. Johnsen 1882-1885. 
 
 O. L. Hansen 1885-1887. 
 
 O. L. Hansen while he was a student in Evan- 
 ston. A. Johnsen assisted him, many souls were 
 converted and a class was organized. This place, 
 located about 20 miles north of Leland, has all 
 the time been connected with that place. Ex- 
 ceptionally a student has had charge of the work 
 in Lee separately, as in 1892-1893 (A. Hessen) 
 and in 1895-1896 (Oscar Knudsen). 
 
 At Norway, Leland, Lee and vicinity there was 
 a remarkable revival in 1877-1880 under the earn- 
 est preaching of O. J. Sanaker and his brother. 
 
153 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 FIRST CHURCH, 
 Cor. Grand Ave. and Sangamon St., Chicago. 
 
 Organized in 1868 by O. P. Petersen. The church 
 was bought from the American Methodists in 
 1869, and there is also a parsonage besides the 
 church. The work in this church has been car- 
 ried on during the past 39 years with wonderful 
 success. The revival spirit has manifested itself 
 in this church from the beginning, especially un- 
 der the fervent preaching of J. H. Johnson in 
 1869-1871 when hundreds of precious souls were 
 converted and added to the church. This was 
 the greatest revival up to this date in Norwegian 
 and Danish Methodism. Also during the pastor- 
 ates of C. F. Eltzholtz, A. Haagensen, M. Han- 
 sen, O. A. Wiersen, Fr. Ring and J. C. Tollefsen 
 great ingatherings have been done, and during 
 Ring's first pastorate the old church debt that 
 had been hanging on for years — $2,400 — was paid 
 in one year. From the First Church, directly or 
 indirectly, the other seven Norwegian-Danish 
 Methodist churches in Chicago, as well as the 
 one in Evanston have sprung, and about 40 
 preachers have come out froin this church and 
 are now, or have been, pastors of churches among 
 us. Members from this church, who moved to 
 the Pacific coast after the great Chicago fire, in 
 1871, started Norwegian-Danish Methodism out 
 there. In later years, however, very many of the 
 old members have died or moved farther west 
 or northwest in the city; Italians and other na- 
 tions have moved in and from this and other 
 reasons it has been deemed wise to unite the 
 First Church and the Immanuel Church, sell the 
 property of both these churches and erect a 
 church in a better location, the preliminaries of 
 which work already have been completed. 
 
 The pastoral appointments at the First Church 
 have been: 
 
 O. P. Petersen 1868-1869. 
 
 (He was also presiding elder of the district.) 
 J. H. Johnson (21/2 years) 1869-1871. 
 O. P. Petersen (2 years) 1871-1873. 
 C. F. Eltzholtz (Dane) (2 years) 1873-1875. 
 A. Haagensen (2 years) 1875-1877. 
 J. H. Johnson (2>^ years) 1877-1880. 
 M. Hansen (2i^ years) 1880-1883. 
 Chr. Treider (VA years) 1883-1884. 
 O. A. Wiersen (3 years) 1884-1887. 
 O. Jacobsen (3 years) 1887-1890. 
 Fr. Ring (4 years) 1890-1894. 
 J. H. Johnson (2 years) 1894-1896. 
 Chr. Treider (1 year) 1896-1897. 
 J. Sanaker (5 years) 1897-1902. 
 
 J. C. Tollefsen (3 years) 1902-1905. 
 C. F. Eltzholtz (1 year) 1905-1906. 
 Fr. Ring from 1906. 
 
 EVANSTON. 
 
 The work was begun by a local preacher, Karl 
 Schou, a Dane, then a student at the Northwest- 
 ern University. The church was organized in 
 1870 by J. H. Johnson, pastor of the First Church, 
 Chicago. A church, the very first one ever built 
 in Evanston, was bought in 1871 from the Amer- 
 ican Methodists and moved over to the south- 
 east corner of Church street and Sherman avenue, 
 where it was used till the present church was 
 built in 1896, one block farther north, during P. 
 Haugan's pastorate and with him as architect, 
 and dedicated under his successor, G. Mathisen, 
 in 1897, by the presiding elder, F. Ring. 
 
 Pastoral appointments: — K. Schou, 1870-1873; 
 B. Johansen, 1873-1876; M. Nilson, 1876-1877; C. 
 F. Eltzholtz, 1877-1879; Chr. Treider, 1879-1880; 
 M. Hillerud, 1880-1881; A. Haagensen, 1881-1884; 
 B. Smith, N. E. Simonsen, 1885-1887; M. Rye, 
 1887-1888; E. M. Stangeland, 1888-1889; G. Gun- 
 derson, 1889-1890; N. E. Simonsen, 1890; Chr. 
 Arndt, 1890-1891; H. P. Bergh, 1891-1893; A. An- 
 dreassen, 1893-1895; P. Haugan, 1895-1897; G. 
 Mathisen, 1897-1901; C. J. Johnson, 1901-1906; 
 P. M. Peterson from 1906. 
 
 MAPLEWOOD AVENUE CHURCH, 
 Corner Le Moyne Street, Chicago. 
 
 "Second Church Mission," as it then was called, 
 was started in a German Methodist church on 
 Holt and Division streets, east of Milwaukee ave- 
 nue, by O. L. Hansen, then a local preacher in 
 the First Church. Later a lot was bought on the 
 N. W. corner of Maplewood avenue and Le 
 Moyne street, and a little church was built in 
 1873, under Chr. Treider's pastorate. This church 
 was replaced by the present fine edifice in 1891, 
 under the pastorate of O. L. Hansen, who also 
 was the architect and leader of the whole work. 
 There is also a parsonage belonging to the 
 church. The church was dedicated by the pre- 
 siding elder, J. H. Johnson, Sept. 6, 1891. 
 
 The Maplewood Avenue Church has developed 
 in a powerful way and has had a great influence 
 for good in Chicago and vicinity. 
 
 Pastoral appointments: — Chr. Treider, 1872' 
 1873; C. F. Eltzholtz, 1873-1874; O. J.' Sanaker, 
 1874-1875; Chr. Treider, 1875-1876; C. F. Eltz- 
 holtz, 1876-1877; J. L. Thompsen, 1877-1879; J. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 158 
 
 Sanaker, 1879-1880; M. Nelsen, 1880-1883; O. L. 
 Hansen, 1883-1884; O. Jacobsen, 1885-1887; O. P. 
 Petersen, 1887-1888; S. E. Simonsen, 1888-1889; 
 O. L. Hansen, 1889-1892; L. C. Knudsen, 1893- 
 1895; O. P. Petersen, 1895-1897; L. A. Larson, 
 1897-1900; Fr. Ring, 1900-1906; P. Haugan from 
 1906. 
 
 cine, 1880, N. E. Simonsen reported a congrega- 
 tion of seventeen members. Since its start this 
 church has had different names — Hyde Park, 
 South Chicago, Grand Crossing and now Bethel. 
 The first church was built on Adams street, near 
 Parkside railroad station and dedicated 1886 by 
 the presiding elder, A. Haagensen, under Isak 
 
 Maplewcod Avenue Methodist Church, Chicago. 
 
 BETHEL, 
 Corner Seventy-second street and Ingleside ave- 
 nue, Chicago. 
 
 The first week in December, 1879, N. E. Si- 
 monsen, then a student at the Northwestern Uni- 
 versity, commenced preaching at Hyde Park 
 (52nd street), but most of the families were liv- 
 ing at Grand Crossing and Parkside. Before 
 Christmas he had founded a society of 12 mem- 
 bers. Rev. J. H. Johnson held two quarterly 
 conferences there before his departure for Nor- 
 way in 1880. At the annual conference in Ra- 
 
 Johnson's pastorate. This church was used about 
 twenty years, when the present fine edifice was 
 built and dedicated by the presiding elder, L. A. 
 Larson, under Edw. Erickson's pastorate, Oct. 
 22, 1905. There is also a parsonage. 
 
 Pastoral appointments: — N. E. Simonsen, 1879- 
 1882; E. Stangeland, 1885; Isaac Johnson, 1886 
 P. Haugan, 1886-1887; R. Wilhelmsen, 1888-1890 
 A. Erikson, 1890-1891; A. Andreassen, 1891-1893 
 E. Gjerding, 1893-1895; C. H. Johnson, 1895-1897 
 J. J. Petersen, 1897-1899; O. I. Bagne, 1899-1900 
 C. J. Johnson, 1900-1901; N. H. Nyrop, 1901-1902 
 M. O. Block, 1902-1903; Edw. Erickson, from 
 1903. 
 
154 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 MORELAND, 
 Corner 51st avenue and Ontario street, Chicago. 
 
 This church was formed by members belong- 
 ing to the First Church during the pastorate of 
 O. A. Wiersen who incorporated the Moreland 
 church April 8, 1886. A lot was donated to this 
 church by the First Church, and a church build- 
 ing was erected and dedicated by Wiersen in 
 August, 1886. The society in Moreland has 
 grown steadily and especially during the eight 
 years' pastorate of O. A. Wiersen had a great 
 upswing and progress. The old church was 
 raised, extended and materially changed and ded- 
 icated for service on December 24, 1905, by 
 Bishop W. F. McDowell, under G. Mathisen's 
 pastorate, and the eldership of L. A. Larson, 
 who also participated in the dedicatory services. 
 
 Pastoral appointments : — O. A. Wiersen (also 
 pastor of the First Church), 1886; Isaac John- 
 son, 1887-1889; P. Haugan, 1890-1891; H. P. Nel- 
 sen, 1891-1893; H. Danielson, 1893-96; O. A. 
 Wiersen, 1896-1904; G. Mathisen, from 1904. 
 
 IMMANUEL, 
 Corner W. Huron and Bickerdike sts., Chicago. 
 
 The work here was commenced by Christian 
 Treider, while he was editor of "Den Kristlige 
 Talsmand," and the church was organized May 
 23, 1886, by O. A. Wiersen, pastor of the First 
 Church. No church was built, but two were 
 bought, the first one on the corner of W. Ohio 
 and Noble streets, dedicated Nov. 14, 1886, by 
 Isaac Johnson; the second (the present church) 
 was dedicated in August, 1888, by N. Christoph- 
 erson. The society also has built a parsonage 
 and besides that a three-story double flat build- 
 ing which is rented out. From this church many 
 members have moved farther northwest in the 
 city and other nationalities are moving in. The 
 church property is going to be sold and the so- 
 ciety will, in connection with the First Church, 
 build a new house of worship in a better local- 
 ity. 
 
 Pastoral appointments: — O. A. Wiersen (also 
 pastor of the First Church), 1886; E. M. Stange- 
 land, 1886-1887; N. Christophersen, 1887-1889; O. 
 A. Wiersen, 1889-1892; A. Johnsen, 1892-1893; P. 
 Haugan, 1893-1895; M. L. Kjelstad, 1895-1897; H. 
 C. Munson, 1897-1901; G. Mathisen, 1901-1904; 
 O. L. Hansen, 1904-1905; C. W. Hanson, 1905- 
 1906; F. Ring, from 1906. 
 
 KEDZIE AVENUE CHURCH, 
 Chicago. 
 
 This church originated in the work commenced 
 by professor N. E. Simonsen at the home of 
 shoemaker Andersen on West North avenue, 
 near Kedzie avenue on Sunday, February 7, 1902. 
 Previous to this, however, there had been con- 
 ducted a Sunday school for some time in a hall 
 on Wabansia avenue, west of Kedzie avenue by 
 members of the Maplewood Avenue Church. 
 Prof. Simonsen continued his work till the close 
 of the school year in May, when student H. 
 Christensen was appointed by the presiding 
 elder J. H. Johnson to work there. In Septem- 
 ber of the same year he was regularly appointed 
 there as a supf)ly, and the church was organized 
 December 26, 1902. A store fronting west on 
 Kedzie avenue, between Wabansia avenue and 
 Bloomingdale road, was rented and used as a 
 hall, until the church was built during H. P. 
 Bergh's pastorate and dedicated by presiding 
 elder J. H. Johnson on Sunday, September 2, 
 1894. The Kedzie Avenue Church is well estab- 
 lished and in a prosperous condition. 
 
 Pastoral appointments: — H. Christensen, 1892- 
 1893; H. P. Bergh, 1893-94; A. Hansen, 1894-1898; 
 H. P. Nelsen, 1898-1903; O. Jacobsen, 1903-1904; 
 J. C. Tollefsen, 1904-1907. 
 
 DWIGHT. 
 
 During the summer of 1901 student R. F. Wil- 
 helmsen, then in charge of the society at Harp- 
 ster, came to Dwight in order to inquire about 
 the number of Danes living there and their spir- 
 itual condition. Between Christmas and New 
 Years he and student J. J. Petersen (Dane) held 
 the first meetings. R. F. Wilhelmsen continued 
 to preach occasionally at Dwight in the Ameri- 
 can Methodist church, until July, 1902. Student 
 J. Andersen (Dane) assisted in holding meetings 
 during the vacation. A Sunday school was or- 
 ganized, and Andersen became its first superin- 
 tendent. In September, Wilhelmsen was ap- 
 pointed to Dwight, a class was organized in Oc- 
 tober, and in April, 1903, the church was organ- 
 ized. A church building was bought the same 
 year and dedicated August 3. A parsonage also 
 has been bought. The work at Dwight is ham- 
 pered very much by the members moving to 
 other communities, but there is hope of ultimate 
 success. 
 
 Pastoral appointments: — R. F. Wilhelmsen 
 (Dane), 1892-1895; A. Johnsen, 1895-1896; J. J. 
 Petersen (Dane), 1896-1897; C. A. Andersen, 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 155 
 
 1897-1900; P. M. Petersen (Dane), 1900-1902; R. 
 P. Petersen (Dane), 1902-1904; H. S. Haver, 
 1904-1905; J. F. Petersen, 1905-1906; O. R0hr- 
 Stafif, from 1906. 
 
 EMMAUS, 
 
 Forty-first Court and Pierce avenue, one block 
 south of North avenue, Chicago. 
 
 This work originated in a Sunday school or- 
 ganized on North avenue, near Forty-second 
 avenue by the members of the Kedzie Avenue 
 Church. Christian Treider who had been a su- 
 perannuary for several years, was nominally ap- 
 pointed pastor at the Forty-second avenue mis- 
 sion as it was then called, while student C. J. 
 Johnson, his assistant, did the pastoral work, 
 preached there regularly and went around visit- 
 ing from house to house and gathering the peo- 
 ple. No missionary money was appropriated 
 for this place, and Johnson received only very 
 little pay from the people. At the end of the 
 year, however, he had a society of nineteen mem- 
 bers in full connection and two on probation, 
 and a Sunday school of seventy-five children in 
 a rented hall, with seats and an organ. The 
 church was organized, by the presiding elder, Fr. 
 Ring, in October, 1895, during Christian Treider's 
 nominal pastorate, Charles J. Johnson being his 
 assistant. The cornerstone of the church was 
 laid on Thanksgiving. Day, 1900, and the base- 
 ment made ready for use and dedicated by the 
 presiding elder, L. A. Larson, on Easter Sunday, 
 April 7, 1901. M. L. Kjelstad was then pastor. 
 The church was completed successfully through 
 the untiring efforts of the pastor, and dedicated 
 by presiding elder Larson on Sunday, May 4, 
 1902. 
 
 Much good and faithful work has been done 
 at this place, especially during the six years' 
 pastorate of M. L. Kjelstad, and the outlook is 
 good. 
 
 Pastoral appointments: — Christian Treider 
 (with student C. J. Johnson as assistant), 1895- 
 1896; H. G. Smeland, 1896-1897; B. E. Carlsen, 
 1897-1899; K. Hansen, 1899-1900; M. L. Kjelstad, 
 1900-1906; R. F. Wilhelmsen, from 1906. 
 
 BETHANY. 
 
 On N. Albany street, one block south of Irving 
 
 Park avenue, Chicago. 
 
 During the summer of 1895, A. Hansen, pastor 
 of the Kedzie avenue church, commenced holding 
 open air meetings in Avondale. During the next 
 summer the local preachers L. Syversen and G. 
 
 Hansen, together with pastor A. Hansen and 
 students from our school in Evanston, held meet 
 ings there, and July 16, 1896, pastor A. Hansen 
 organized a Sunday school of five teachers and 
 thirty scholars. 
 
 Members of "North Avondale Mission," as it 
 was called, met with pastor A. Hansen as presi 
 dent at No. 2235 N. Sacramento avenue on Oc- 
 tober 5, 1897, and organized themselves as a cor- 
 poration under the laws of the state and assumed 
 the name of "Bethany Scandinavian Methodist 
 Episcopal Church of Avondale, Chicago, 111.'' 
 At this meeting Joseph Johnson, George Erick- 
 sen and Anton Larsen were elected trustees. The 
 organization of the church was further com- 
 pleted by the presiding elder, Fredrik Ring, 
 March 27, 1897. The church building, erected 
 the same year, was dedicated by Ring September 
 5th. The society is small but has an unusually 
 large and promising Sunday school, and the 
 prospects are very good. 
 
 Pastoral appointments: — F. Larsen, 1898-1899; 
 O. T. Field, 1899-1900; M. L. Olsen, 1900-1902; 
 C. W. Hanson, 1902-1903; John Pedersen, 1903- 
 1904; A. Haagensen, 1904-1905; T. A. Thorson, 
 1905-1906; O. M. Locke, from 1906. 
 
 THE NORWEGIAN-DANISH CITY 
 MISSION. 
 
 The first flat in a house on the northwest cor- 
 ner of N. Centre avenue and Sinnott place was 
 rented and fixed up as a hall which was dedi- 
 cated with appropriate services Sunday after- 
 noon, January 6, 1907, as a result of the efforts 
 of C. W. Hanson, who received his appointment 
 as the first city missionary among the Norweg- 
 ian and Danish Methodists at the conference in 
 Moreland, Chicago, in September, 1906. 
 
 The special object of this mission is to do 
 Evangelical and rescue work among the poor 
 and destitute, the slum people, the sick, the im- 
 migrants and those who do not attend church. 
 Religious services are being held every Sunday 
 afternoon at three o'clock and during the week- 
 day evenings. Besides this the missionary is 
 carrying on his work by clothing the poor, the 
 clothing being furnished by the people interested 
 in the mission, by providing tickets for lodging 
 for the night for the homeless and penniless, by 
 visiting hospitals, by meeting immigrants at the 
 railroad stations and helping them in different 
 ways, by caring for sick and helpless families 
 and families of drunkards, and by inviting peo- 
 ple to the meetings, etc. The readine room 
 of the mission is open every evening from 6-8, 
 
156 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 and by and by other things will be added to the 
 work. The missionary is paid partly by the 
 home missionary society of our church, and 
 partly by our churches in Chicago, the mission 
 being directed by a board consisting of all our 
 ministers in Chicago and Evanston and one lay 
 representative from each church. The presiding 
 elder of Chicago district is president of the 
 board. 
 
 THE CAMPMEETING. 
 
 At Desplaines, 111., 17 miles N. W. of Chicago 
 on the North- Western railroad, the American 
 Methodists have conducted revival meetings for 
 
 to live in for those who can spend the whole 
 time or a part of the time out there, and meals 
 may be had at the restaurants at very reasonable 
 prices. 
 
 Through the whole campground which, by its 
 great number of cottages and tents, arranged 
 in rows so as to make streets for passage, the 
 best of order prevails, even on Sundays, when 
 five thousand or more people are teeming there 
 like ants in a hill, to listen in the different places 
 for service to preaching either in English, Swed- 
 ish or Norwegian-Danish by some of the best 
 preachers in the country, the whole day, except 
 the morning, noon and evening inter-missions 
 
 The Methodist Tabernacle, Desplaines, 111. 
 
 two weeks during the latter part of July every 
 summer for almost fifty years. The Norwegian 
 and Danish, as well as the Swedish Methodists 
 also started revival meetings there in the sixties. 
 We at first used a little frame building for the 
 meetings, then for many years a tent, and in 
 1905 a fine Tabernacle with seats for several 
 hundred people was erected. The campmeetings 
 at Desplaines have been wonderfully blessed to 
 the salvation of souls, to the refreshing of God's 
 people and to the furtherance of religious work 
 in the different churches, and they have been an 
 inspiration to the preachers. 
 
 Small cottages, tents or larger houses are used 
 
 for meals, being used for preaching, or prayer 
 meetings in the English, Norwegian-Danish and 
 Swedish Tabernacles, or in tents for the young 
 people. None will regret spending the whole 
 time, or a part of the time, out there in the fine 
 grove among the beautiful sound of fervent pray- 
 ers, powerful singing and earnest preaching of 
 a full and free salvation through Jesus Christ by 
 men who have themselves experienced its reality 
 and power. During these two camp meeting 
 weeks Desplaines campground is like a heaven 
 on earth. Thousands upon thousands have there 
 found salvation and blessing by faith in Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 157 
 
 STATISTICS. 
 
 When the Norwegian and Danish Methodist 
 work was organized into an annual Conference 
 in 1880, the statistics for Illinois were as follows: 
 Members on probation, 51; members in full con- 
 nection, 600; local preachers, 4; churches, 6; 
 estimated value, $20,900; parsonages, 3; estimated 
 value, $7,500; Sunday schools, 7; officers and 
 teachers, 77; scholars, 540; missionary collections, 
 $441.27. 
 
 In 1906 the statistics show: Members on proba- 
 tion, 89; members in full connection, 1,231; 
 churches, 13; estimated value, $78,600; parson- 
 ages, 8; estimated value, $34,500; present indebt- 
 edness on church property, $20,375; Sunday 
 schools, 12; officers and teachers, 164; scholars, 
 1,357; missionary collections, $1,032.00. 
 
 tember of the same year Brother Schou com- 
 menced his work as a teacher by organizing a 
 class of young men, and he continued in this 
 work until the winter of 1872-1873 when he was 
 sent by the Church as superintendent of the mis- 
 sion in Denmark. 
 
 His successor. Rev. C. B. Willerup, did not 
 remain long in Evanston, and did not get a 
 chance to do much work as a teacher. Rev. B. 
 Johannesen then became teacher for a couple of 
 years. These three brethren also had charge of 
 the Norwegian-Danish church in Evanston. After 
 this the theological chair for a few years was 
 connected with the pastorate of Rev. Marcus 
 Nilson, Evanston, and Rev. Martin Hansen of 
 the First N.-D. Methodist Church in Chicago. 
 
 Nothing was then done for the school during 
 several years, until in 1884, the Conference in 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish Theological Seminary at Evanston, 111. 
 
 THE NORWEGIAN-DANISH THEO- 
 LOGICAL SEMINARY AT 
 EVANSTON, ILL. 
 
 In the summer of 1870 the first school board, 
 consisting of Revs. A. Haagensen, J. H. John- 
 son and P. H. Rye, and the laymen, Ole Wigdal 
 and O. :\I. Oren, resolved that Karl Schou, then 
 a student at the Northwestern University, should 
 start a school in Evanston for those who desired 
 to enter the Norwegian-Danish work. In Sep- 
 
 Forest City, la., resolved to call Rev. N. E. 
 Simonsen, then in Norway, as president and pro- 
 fessor for the school. Jle had taken a full course 
 at the Northwestern University and at the Gar- 
 rett Biblical Institute and graduated from these 
 institutions and was now in Norway takin_g a 
 post graduate course, in the meantime serving 
 as pastor in Christiania. About ten years ago 
 his alma mater conferred upon him the degree 
 of D. D. By the Norway Conference he was, in 
 1885, chosen to take charge of the Theological 
 
158 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Institute at Christiania, but later on in the same 
 year, at the annual conference in Cambridge, 
 Wis., he was appointed principal of the school 
 and pastor of the church at Evanston, 111. The 
 work was started January 18, 1886, and alone he 
 has served as president and professor of the 
 
 twenty more have attended the school for a 
 shorter or longer period. The present number 
 of students is 18. At first the curriculum was 
 three years; now it is four years. 
 
 Professor Simonsen has done a great work in 
 preparing so many young men for the ministry. 
 
 The Norwegian-Danish M. E. Book Concern. 
 
 school all the time since, except in 1891-1892, 
 when Rev. H. P. Bergh was assistant teacher. 
 The school building is located on University 
 Place and Sherman avenue. The work on it was 
 commenced Aug. 27, 1887, and it was completed 
 in 1888 and occupied the same year. It was ded- 
 icated in the spring of 1889. Previous to this 
 time the school had been conducted in the par- 
 sonage. The school building is well built and 
 well equipped, heating apparatus having been in- 
 stalled recently. It costs $12,000 and is paid for. 
 The money for the erection of the building was 
 raised by subscriptions among our people, and 
 especially the older preachers have been work- 
 ing hard for the school cause from its beginning. 
 About forty-five students have graduated from 
 the school up to the present time. Fifteen to 
 
 and the school has contributed very much to the 
 progress of the Norwegian and Danish Method- 
 ism in America. 
 
 THE NORWEGIAN-DANISH M. E. 
 
 BOOK CONCERN. 
 
 272 Grand Avenue, Chicago. 
 
 On November 21, 1876, a committee was ap- 
 pointed with O. B. Jacobs as chairman, and 
 Christian Treider as secretary, and it was then 
 resolved to start a plant with composition room 
 and book concern on the 1st of December ensu- 
 ing, which resolution was carried out. At first 
 a rented room on the second floor of the build- 
 ing on the northwest corner of West Indiana, 
 now Grand avenue and Green streets, was used. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 159 
 
 until in 1880 a little stone building was erected 
 on Sangamon street, in the rear of First Church. 
 From this place the concern moved in 1893 to 
 its present location where two houses were 
 bought, one of which is being used for the con- 
 cern, the other rented out. The book concern 
 was run as a stock company, until in 1881 it was 
 turned over to the directors of our theological 
 school in Evanston as its property. The stock 
 was later redeemed, and the same year the an- 
 nual conference took charge of it, and it was 
 later on wholly turned over to the conference as 
 its property. 
 
 The managers of the concern have been: 
 Christian Treider, 1876-1880; A. Haagensen, 1880- 
 1884; Christian Treider, 1884-1891; C. Hansen, 
 1891-1897; Christian Treider, 1897-1900; H. P. 
 Bergh, 1900-1905; O. L. Hansen, from 1905. 
 
 The first church periodical among the Nor- 
 wegian and Danish Methodists in America, the 
 monthly paper Missionaeren, was started in 
 January, 1870, A. Haagensen and J. H. Johnson 
 being its first editors. Later K. Schou also be- 
 came an editor. From 1877 the name of the pa- 
 per was changed to its present, "Den Kristelige 
 Talsmand." The editors have been: Christian 
 Treider, 1876-1880; A. Haagensen, 1880-1884; 
 Christian Treider, 1884-1891; A. Haagensen, 
 1891-1897; C. F. Eltzholtz, 1897-1905; H. P. 
 Bergh, from 1905. 
 
 The Sunday school paper, "Hyrdestemmen," 
 was started in 1874 and has had the following 
 editors: Christian Treider and C. F. Eltzholtz, 
 1874-1880; A. Haagensen, 1880-1884; Christian 
 Treider, 1884-1892; H. P. Bergh, 1892-1898; Chris- 
 tian Treider, 1898-1900; H. P. Bergh, from 1900. 
 
 Our books and papers have been and are in- 
 dispensable to our work, and have done much 
 good to the cause of God in general and to the 
 cause of the Methodism in particular. They 
 have spread knowledge of earnest Christianity 
 and of Methodism and defended our church 
 against many attacks and misrepresentations 
 from other Norwegian and Danish churches in 
 this country. 
 
 THE YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 In alrnost all our churches have been organ- 
 ized young peoples societies, Epwqrth Leagues, 
 so-called after the birth place of John Wesley, 
 the founder of Methodism. Good religious in- 
 struction is provided for the children in the Sun- 
 day schools in every church, and by special in- 
 struction by the pastor in the catechism and 
 Bible history until at the age of fourteen this 
 
 special class of children thus instructed by the 
 pastor, at the regular Sunday morning service 
 in the church, is by him examined in their reli- 
 gious knowledge in the presence of the congrega- 
 tion, the children, during this act, not giving any 
 vows, not being confirmed, in the prevalent 
 meaning of the word, and not being entered as 
 members of the church. Like the grown up peo- 
 ple, they can only become regular members of 
 the church by showing their serious desire to live 
 a Christian life, and by being received, first on 
 probation, and then into full membership, if 
 qualified thereto. 
 
 DOCTRINES. 
 
 In common with other Evangelical churches 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which we 
 belong, believes in the Bible as the word of God, 
 its authors being men especially fitted and in- 
 spired by the Holy Ghost for their work. We 
 believe in a Three-Une God: the Father, the 
 Son, and the Holy Ghost. We believe in the fall 
 of man, and in the redemption and salvation 
 through Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth 
 and the Life, it being the will and purpose of 
 God to save all who believe in Jesus as their only 
 Savior. We believe in justification and salvation 
 by faith only, not by works; in regeneration and 
 sanctification by the Holy Ghost; in the witness 
 of the Spirit in the hearts of true believers, as- 
 suring them of forgiveness of sin and accept- 
 ance as children of God; in the holy sacraments 
 of baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the gen- 
 eral resurrection of the dead and the final judg- 
 ment of the world by Jesus Christ; in everlast- 
 ing punishment of the wicked, and eternal happi- 
 ness of the righteous. 
 
 THE MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH 
 AND CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Our church believes in a distinct call of God 
 to the ministry and that no unconverted man 
 ever was called by God to that holy position. 
 
 Our church government is Episcopal, and the 
 bishops are elected by the Church Conference, 
 the highest tribunal and the legislative assembly 
 of the church, and have no special diocese, but 
 by mutual agreement between themselves at 
 their biennial meetings, they perform in turn the 
 supervision of the different fields of the home 
 church, and in visiting the mission fields in for- 
 eign countries they supervise these fields in con- 
 nection with the different missionary bishops 
 there appointed and living there for a certain 
 period of time. 
 
160 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 until in 1880 a little stone building was erected 
 supervision of the dififerent districts in the con- 
 ferences, visiting every church four times, while 
 the bishops execute their supervision mainly by 
 presiding at the annual conferences and by de- 
 ciding the annual appointments of the preachers 
 and directing and adjusting the work in the 
 whole field. 
 
 The government of the local churches is exe- 
 cuted by the pastor in connection with the quar- 
 terly conference and the leaders' and stewards' 
 meeting, which local church authorities also en- 
 force the discipline and expel worldly or negli- 
 gent members who will not be reproved and 
 who do not improve their Christian life. All 
 church property is held by trustees, not in the 
 name of the local church, but in the name of the 
 denomination or church at large. 
 
 BIOGRAPHIES OF SOME PROMINENT 
 
 NORWEGIAN-DANISH METHODIST 
 
 PIONEERS. 
 
 In the biographical part of this volume will 
 be found sketches of now living and active Meth- 
 odist preachers. But I think it proper to pre- 
 serve for future generations the biographical 
 sketches of some of the hardworking pioneers 
 who have gone home to their reward. I regret 
 not to be able to devote more space to the lives 
 of those prominent men of God. 
 
 REV. O. P. PETERSEN, 
 Founder of Methodism in Norway. 
 
 Die Peter Petersen was born in Fredrikstad, 
 Norway, April 28, 1822. His father, Peter Han- 
 sen, died shortly thereafter, and his mother, 
 Kathrine died when he was only six years old. 
 He then was taken care of by a good famil}^ and 
 grew up as a naturally good and diligent boy. 
 The good Lord began early to work in him, and 
 the little boy was often taken up with deep 
 thoughts about God and spiritual things. Early 
 he showed a great desire for reading and study, 
 and before long, by self-study as well as in the 
 common school, he had acquired considerable 
 knowledge; but he lacked money to enter a 
 higher school. Twenty-one years old he went 
 to America, in 1843, and for five years he became 
 a sailor with American ships and as such he 
 went far and wide in the world and saw and 
 learned much that became useful to him later 
 in life; but he never dreamed of ever becoming 
 so widelj^ known and renowned as he afterwards 
 
 became. He was still the same unconverted 
 man, but he lead a moral and orderly life, and 
 was so far a good example to those around him. 
 But this did not bring to his heart the peace that 
 he missed and that is missed by all unconverted 
 people. During a class meeting among Ameri- 
 can Methodists he was awakened to insight and 
 acknowledgment of his unconverted condition by 
 the hearty testimony of a woman about the sal- 
 vation she had found by faith in Jesus Christ. 
 Petersen left this meeting with the resolution, 
 that if any such thing was attainable, he would 
 not give up before he had found it. 
 
 At the meetings of the renowned sailor mis- 
 sionary. Father Taylor, in Boston, he also was 
 much impressed by his preaching, but the final 
 impulse that brought him over on the Lord's side 
 he received in the Swedish Methodist Bethel- 
 ship, "John Wesley," in New York, when, dur- 
 ing the last week of February, 1846, he was list- 
 ening every evening to the powerful sermons of 
 Rev. O. G. Hedstr0m, the founder in 1845 of 
 Swedish Methodism, and on Sunday evening the 
 distress of his soul became so great that he stood 
 up and asked to be prayed for. The following 
 day, Monday, the 1st of March, the Lord spoke 
 peace to his soul out on the ocean not far from 
 New York, and on Tuesday, the 2d of March, 
 his inner assurance about salvation became still 
 clearer, and he felt immense joy and happiness. 
 The salvation and peace that he then experienced 
 became liis possession for life, until after more 
 than fifty years of faithful work for the Lord he 
 went to rest on Friday evening Dec. 20, 1901, in 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., nearly eiglity years old. As 
 he had been living, so he died, happy in the 
 Lord, and has now as we believe met those of 
 his beloved ones who had gone home before — 
 his dear wife and four children. His oldest 
 daughter. Alvina, is still living and married to a 
 Dane, Rev. Charles H. Johnson, a graduate of 
 Harvard, and superintendent of the Children's 
 Home at Dobbs Ferry, N. Y. — O. P. Petersen 
 was buried side by side with his wife and son at 
 the Forest Home cemeterj', at Milwaukee, Wis., 
 Dec. 26, 1901. In 1906 a fine monument was 
 placed on his grave by his friends. 
 
 We can here only give a brief review of the 
 great work of this man of God. In 1849 he went 
 back. from America to Fredrikstad to marry his 
 sweetheart and to visit with his friends. His 
 letters to his sweetheart had been of such reli- 
 gious character, that they were sent from house 
 to house, were read like a gospel message and 
 touched many hearts, and the first day after his 
 arrival at Fredrikstad a revival broke out though 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 161 
 
 he was not yet a preacher but only testified 
 about the great salvation that he himself had 
 found by faith in Jesus Christ. 
 
 His intention was to return soon with his wife 
 to New York but the wonderful work of the 
 Lord continued and spread like a fire and his 
 return was delayed almost a year. Upon his ar- 
 rival in New York he soon was licenced to 
 preach and sent by the Missionary Society of 
 our church, in 1851, to Iowa, where, at Washing- 
 ton Prairie (now Nordness) he organized the 
 first Norwegian Methodist church west of the 
 Mississippi river. 
 
 The new converts in Fredrikstad were anx- 
 ious to get a leader and sent urgent requests to 
 the Missionary Society. In answer to this Bishop 
 Waugh recalled Petersen from Iowa and sent him 
 as a missionary to Norway, where he arrived a 
 little before Christmas in 1853 and again took 
 hold of the work which he had started four years 
 earlier. He found, however, many obstacles in 
 his way. The Mormons had invaded the field 
 during his absence and bewildered some of the 
 new converts, and the opposition on the part of 
 the ministers of the state church and the Luth- 
 eran lay preachers which the nature of his first 
 occasional and private visit had not elicited, was 
 •now at once aroused, and he had to contend not 
 only with prevailing sin and ungodliness, but 
 also with prejudice, bigotry, hatred and misrepre- 
 sentations of Methodism, which, according to the 
 ignorant view of many, even well educated peo- 
 ple, at that time was not much better than Mor- 
 monism. The doctrinal points most frequently 
 discussed at this time and more or less during 
 the whole period since Methodism was introduced 
 into Norway, were baptism, the Lord's Supper, 
 Christian perfection (or entire sanctification) and 
 the witness of the Spirit. There was also much 
 prejudice against kneeling during worship, class 
 meetings, prayer meetings, woman's testimonies 
 at the meetings, altar services, Sunday schools, 
 Methodist hymns, etc. In the course of time, 
 however, a great change has taken place. Meth- 
 odism has had a great influence on the whole 
 Norwegian population. It is now better known 
 and understood, and by and by the old prejudice 
 and hatred is disappearing and our Lutheran 
 friends have come to understand that there is 
 much in Methodism worth imitating. We can 
 now find traces of Methodistic influence in al- 
 most all directions, as well in doctrine as in mode 
 of work. The first Methodist church in Norway 
 was organized, according to the laws of the 
 country, September 11, 1856, at Sarpsborg, and 
 from that time Methodism has spread all over 
 
 Norway, there being Methodist churches now in 
 almost every city or town, and in several country 
 places, and the outlook for further progress is 
 good. 
 
 Some have made strong objections to the Meth- 
 odist church sending missionaries to Norway, 
 a Christian country. Statistics as well as a gen- 
 eral knowledge of the religious conditions of the 
 country show, however, that besides all the work 
 which the state church forces possibly are able to 
 do, there is still ample room for, yea an urgent 
 need of all the work that the Methodists and 
 other dissenters can do for the salvation of souls 
 and the general uplift of the people. Thinking 
 
 Rev. O. P. Petersen. 
 
 and broadminded religious Norwegians admit 
 this more willingly than ever, and so a liberal and 
 friendly spirit is growing between the state 
 churcli and the other evangelical denominations, 
 and the religious work is carried on without the 
 old friction on every side. Father Petersen lived 
 to see this and he was glad for the change. 
 
 Petersen remained in Norway until 1859, when 
 he returned to America and was appointed pastor 
 of the Bethel Ship Mission in Brooklyn. After 
 that time he served as pastor and presiding elder 
 in Wisconsin and in Illinois until 1869, when, fol- 
 lowing the call of the church, he again went to 
 Norwaj^ as superintendent of the work there for 
 
162 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 two years, his family remaining in Racine, Wis. 
 On his return, in 1871, he became pastor of the 
 First Church, Chicago, for three years. After 
 that his appointments were Brooklyn, where he 
 organized the chutch, Wisconsin, where he was 
 presiding elder a second time, and after that as 
 pastor in Racine, Wis., Maplewood avenue, Chi- 
 cago, Minneapolis, Minn., Maplewood avenue, 
 Chicago, Racine, Wis., and finally Brooklyn, Sec- 
 ond Church, which he organized and where he 
 died triumphant in the Lord after only a few days 
 sickness, and after half a century's faithful work 
 for his Master, ten minutes before eight o'clock 
 Friday evening, Dec. 20, 1901. 
 
 In 1896 he visited Norway for the fourth time 
 and there participated in the fortieth anniversarv 
 of Methodism in Norway, at Sarpsborg. He vis- 
 ited several churches during this trip and he 
 preached to the great edification of the people. 
 
 Petersen was in many respects a remarkable 
 man and deserves a conspicuous place in the re- 
 ligious history of the people whose son he was. 
 He was a powerful preacher and revivalist, a 
 faithful pastor, a wise administrator as pastor 
 and presiding elder, a thorough student of the 
 Bible and theological works in general, a deep 
 thinker and theologian, a clear and concise writer 
 and an invincible debater on theological ques- 
 tions, always ready with striking arguments and 
 biblical logic. In his Christian life in the home 
 and everywhere he was an illustrious example 
 without blemish 'all through his long religious 
 career. 
 
 Petersen was a leader in all kinds of church 
 work and was a member of numerous committees. 
 as for instance, committees on the hymn book, 
 the periodicals and the book concern. He was 
 very modest in all his relations and it was a bless- 
 ing to have intercourse with him. In 1883 when 
 the Norwegian and Dani^h Conference elected its 
 first delegate to the General Conference, he would 
 have been elected but declined, though nobody 
 would have been more fit for the position than 
 he. Petersen was quite active as a writer and 
 wrote numerous articles and essays for the reli- 
 gious press. Of his pamphlets and books may be 
 mentioned "Daabslaeren i et N0ddeskal" and "Et 
 Blik paa Adventismen," but his main work was 
 "Betragtninger over Bibelens Hovedlserdomme," 
 in' which, in fifty-one well written chapters, he 
 treated all the main points of Christian theology. 
 The clear thinking, the Biblical contents and the 
 deep earnestness that pervade the book, and the 
 plain language in which it is written, makes it a 
 highly instructive as well as edifying book both 
 to common readers and to younger and older 
 
 preachers. O. P. Petersen was a wonder of a 
 self-educated and self-made man and an honor to 
 his church and to his nation. His memory is 
 blessed. 
 
 As mentioned earlier in this sketch, O. P. Pe- 
 tersen, was married in Fredrikstad in 1849 to 
 Miss Anne Marie Amundsen with whom he had 
 five children. Having for thirty-four years been 
 his faithful wife, advicer and helpmate in his di- 
 versified work, she died peacefully in the Lord at 
 Milwaukee in 1883. 
 
 J. H. JOHNSON. 
 
 John Henry Johnson was born on the Fj(z(sne 
 farm at Etne, south of Bergen, Norway, July 18, 
 1837. His parents were Johan Vogt and Suzanne 
 Torbj0rnsdatter. When he was through with 
 the common school and had been confirmed, he 
 was for three years clerk in his uncle's store at 
 Etne, and 1857 he emigrated to America, where 
 at first he lived and worked with his brother-in-- 
 law at Perry, Wis. 
 
 Possessing good natural faculties and being well 
 versed in the common branches of knowledge he 
 attended English school at Perry and soon made 
 riipid progress in English and other studies. Al- 
 ready next year we find him as a teacher. About 
 the same time he was very much influenced by 
 an old Christian blind man's prayer, but the com- 
 plete transition from darkness to light did not 
 take place until in 1860 during a campmeeting 
 among the Norwegian Methodists at Primrose, 
 Dane Co., Wis., conducted by Rev. A. Haagensen 
 and other preachers. He joined the Methodist 
 Church and soon after was licenced as a local 
 preacher. Being sure of his calling to work in 
 the Lord's vineyard, he tried to prepare himself 
 for the work by studying for some time at Law- 
 rence University, Appleton, Wis. In the mean- 
 time the civil war broke out, and Johnson en- 
 tered as a volunteer in the Fifteenth Wisconsin 
 regiment, and as a sergeant took part in several 
 engagements on the battlefield. During his three 
 years' service he preached the word of God to 
 the soldiers and to the negroes in their huts. 
 After Rev. Clausen's resignation he was installed 
 as chaplain of the regiment, did excellent service, 
 and was loved and esteemed by both officers and 
 soldiers. 
 
 At the close of the war he returned to Wis- 
 consin, where by presiding elder O. P. Petersen 
 he was appointed pastor, the first year at Coon 
 Prairie, the second year also at Richland. At 
 Richland he met her who was to become his dear- 
 est and best friend on earth. Miss Anne Fryden- 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 163 
 
 land, with whom, till his death, he lived in a 
 happy marriage, and in whom he had a faithful 
 supporter and help in all things. They were 
 blessed with five children — three sons and two 
 daughters — all grown and in good positions, 
 Cyrus being engaged at the State Bank of Chi- 
 cago, Edwin in the International Harvester Com- 
 pany's service, Wilbur as a physician, Ida, mar- 
 ried to Dr. Green, a druggist, all in Chicago, and 
 Mathilde, married to Professor Alb. C. Knudson 
 of Boston University. 
 
 J. H. Johnson was received into Wisconsin 
 Conference in full membership in 1869, after com- 
 pleting his conference studies, in which he 
 showed great proficiency. His appointments have 
 been: Coon Prairie and Richland, Sheboygan 
 and Racine, Wis., First Church, Chicago, three 
 times; Milwaukee, at the same time being presid- 
 ing elder of the district. In 1873 he was ap- 
 pointed presiding elder of the new Norwegian- 
 Danish district in Minnesota, and from then on 
 he served as presiding elder in different districts 
 the unusually long time of twenty-two years, of 
 which eight years in Norway. 
 
 When the first official organ among Norwegian 
 and Danish Methodists, "Missionseren," was 
 started in 1870 he was for a time one of its edit- 
 ors, and he has been a member of committees for 
 periodicals, hymn books and the book concern, etc. 
 
 In 1880 he was elected delegate from the Wis- 
 consin Conference to the General Conference, 
 and in 1881 he was a delegate from Norway to 
 the First Ecumenical Methodist Conference, 
 which was held in London, England. 
 
 In 1888 he was a delegate from Norway, and in 
 1892 from the Norwegian and Danish Conference, 
 to the General Conference. Our beloved John- 
 son was an ardent and zealous worker, putting 
 all his heart and strength and enthusiasm into his 
 responsible and often hard work, to which God 
 and the church had called him, and the result was 
 a great multitude of saved souls on both sides of 
 the ocean and the edification and quickening of 
 the church of God in truth and holiness. In 1879 
 he paid a visit to his native country, and this visit 
 was followed the next year, 1880, by his exchang- 
 ing position with Rev. M. Hansen, then presid- 
 ing elder and superintendent of the work in Nor- 
 way, where by the urgent request of the people, 
 Johnson remained as presiding elder four years 
 longer than he had expected when he left 
 America, and by his eloquent and inspiring 
 preaching and his good judgment and impartial 
 management of the affairs performed much valu- 
 able work. His best time in the service of the 
 church he loved so well he had, however, during 
 
 his first term as pastor of the First Church, Chi- 
 cago in 1859 to 1871, when hundreds of precious 
 souls were converted and added to the church, 
 and the whole neighborhood was stirred up and 
 swept, as it were, to the cross in the greatest 
 revival that Norwegian and Danish Methodism 
 has ever experienced. Johnson was a kind hus- 
 band and father, a faithful friend, a genuine 
 Christian, holy in life, a diligent student of the 
 Bible and other good literature, a hearty, elo- 
 quent and influential preacher, a faithful pastor 
 and a beloved and successful presiding elder. A» 
 
 J. H. Johnson. 
 
 a writer he was clear, concise and instructive. 
 As his life, faculties, powers and influence was all 
 consecrated to the Lord, so his whole personal- 
 ity, preaching and work had a wonderfully stir- 
 ring, uplifting and sanctifying influence. 
 
 He died after two weeks illness from cancer of 
 the stomach during his third pastorate at the 
 First Church, Chicago, October 8, 1896, and was 
 according to his own request, buried at Rich- 
 land, Wis., where in front of the church on the 
 hill, his dear wife and children have erected a 
 beautiful monument on his grave. Though dead 
 he is still living in his work and example which 
 are kept in blessed remembrance by thousands. 
 
164 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 H. H. HOLLAND. 
 
 Halvor H. Holland was born in Norway, and 
 while young he was converted among the "Haug- 
 eans" at Haugesund, Norway. He emigrated to 
 America while young and joined the Methodist 
 church at Leland, 111., while Jonas Hedstr0m was 
 presiding elder in the Swedish District of Illinois, 
 and started the work in the Leland settlement. 
 In 1854 he was licensed to preach. He preached 
 with great success both in Leland and in the Fox 
 River settlement, where he organized a church at. 
 Norway, in 1857. From 1857 to 1859 he supplied 
 the Leland settlement where, in 1858, he built a 
 church which later was moved into the village of 
 Leland. In 1859 to 1861 he was appointed to 
 Newburg, Minn., where he held the first meeting 
 in a hotel room. The church there was organized 
 at a meeting at Mr. H. Walder's threshing floor. 
 May 20, 1860, and a church was built the same 
 year. He was received into the Minnesota (Eng 
 lish) Conference on probation in 1860 and in full 
 connection the following year and ordained elder. 
 In 1861 to 1862 his appointment was Big Canoe 
 (now Locust), la., and later he was appointed to 
 St. Paul and Candiyohi, Minn. His health failed 
 him and he was obliged to withdraw from active 
 service in the conference, and since then he was 
 a superannuate. As such he was transferred to 
 the Norwegian and Danish Conference at its or- 
 ganization in 1880. 
 
 Holland was a pious and zealous man who, 
 even as a superannuate, preached and worked for 
 the Lord whenever he had an opportunity and 
 the condition of his health would allow him. 
 
 With his family he lived several years in Min- 
 nesota, but later moved to Leland, 111., where he 
 at first started as a preacher, and where he died 
 April 12, 1897. His dear wife who also was far 
 advanced in years, survived him only five days 
 and died April 17, 1897. Their only child, a son, 
 died many years earlier. Both Holland and his 
 wife were buried at Leland. 
 
 O. J. SANAKER. 
 
 O. J. Sanaker was born at Lier, near Drammen, 
 Norway, in 1849. Nine years old he was con- 
 verted to God, but lacking knowledge and light 
 in spiritual things he backslided. 
 
 In 1867 he emigrated to America together with 
 his father and two brothers and settled at Orion, 
 Wis. The same year he was converted to God 
 during a revival in the American Methodist 
 church there, and soon after he joined the Nor- 
 wegian Methodist church on Washington Prairie, 
 la., but his home being six miles from the church, 
 
 he shortly afterwards joined the American Meth- 
 odist church at Freeport. la., where he lived. 
 After some time he was licensed to preach and 
 was recommended to the school in Evanston, 111. 
 where he studied with such ardor, that he com- 
 pleted the three years' study in two years, though 
 at the same time he had charge of the Second 
 (now Maplewood avenue) Church in Chicago. 
 God blessed his work here so that fifty-two souls 
 were converted and added to the church during 
 this period. His next appointment was North 
 Cape, Wis., where he worked faithfully one year. 
 In 1877 he was appointed to Leland, Norway, and 
 Lee, 111. Here he was an instrument in the Lord's 
 hand to l^ad many souls from darkness to light 
 in one of the greatest revivals that ever occurred 
 in our mission in this country. The whole region 
 there was stirred up in a wonderful way. In 
 1880 he was appointed to Cambridge, Wis., the 
 cradle of Norwegian Methodism, and commenced 
 his work there with the same zeal and enthusi- 
 asm as before; but in the midst of his work he 
 took sick on Tuesday, Nov. 30, and though very 
 weak, he preached three times the following Sun- 
 day, Dec. 5, without taking any nourishment dur- 
 ing the whole day. His illness increased until 
 Friday, Dec. 10, when he ended his earthly life. 
 During his sickness he sometimes was tempted 
 hard, but early Friday morning he exclaimed: 
 "Now my soul is free! To-day I shall be with 
 Jesus!" His father and brothers asked him, if 
 there was anything he wished; he answered: 
 "That all of you may come to Jesus." 
 
 He was buried in our cemetery at Cambridge. 
 
 Sanaker was a powerful, eloquent and enthjjsi- 
 astic preacher, and as a Christian he was careful 
 in all things and meek and lowly of heart. He 
 was very much esteemed and loved by all who 
 knew him. 
 
 Though dead, he speaketh. 
 
 O. A. WIERSEN. 
 
 Olaf Amandus Wiersen was born at Pors- 
 grund, Norway, Nov. 3, 1844, to Ole and Wil- 
 helmine Wiersen, and he died happy in the Lord, 
 in his home at Moreland, Chicago, March 26, 
 1904, over 59 years old. 
 
 After having attended the best schools in Pors- 
 grund he passed the examination required for a 
 mate. Thereafter he learned sailmaking at Ber- 
 gen. Afterwards he went to France to acquire 
 a knowledge of the French language and re- 
 mained there about one year. Then the time 
 came when his hope of becoming a sailor was 
 realized. Young, strong, fearless and well 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 165 
 
 equipped for sea life he went out on the stormy 
 ocean; but God had destined him for something 
 better. 
 
 After having been a sailor for some time, he 
 set out for America, and landed in Milwaukee, 
 Wis., in 1867, 23 years old. 
 
 In the fall of the same year he and another 
 young man left Milwaukee with the intention of 
 spending the winter in the country, and thus he 
 came to Ashippun, Wis. Here he was truly con- 
 verted to God through the ministry of Rev. P. 
 Jensen, and joined our church. He soon felt a 
 call from God to preach, but he did not go wholly 
 into this work until some years later. At Aship- 
 pun he married Miss Annie C. Isaacson, a young 
 Christian woman, with whom he lived happily 
 for three years. When the Lord took her home, 
 she left her husband with two small children, a 
 son and a daughter. Prompted by presiding 
 elder A. Haagensen he gave himself entirely over 
 to the work for saving souls and worked for 
 some time at Oconomowoc, Wis., with good suc- 
 cess. Later he was appointed assistant to A. 
 Haagensen at Milwaukee . 
 
 He then made a trip to Norway visiting with 
 his family, relatives and friends. He remained 
 there about one year, and preached with great 
 power in our churches in Norway to much bless- 
 ing for God's children and to the salvation of 
 many souls. 
 
 On May 24, 1876, he married Miss Ingeborg 
 Thorsen, of Porsgrund, Norway, who was his 
 faithful assistant in all his sacrificing work for 
 the cause during all the ensuing years. This 
 marriage was blessed with one son and six 
 daughters, of whom three little daughters had 
 gone ahead of their father to glory. 
 
 In 1877 Wiersen was received into the Wis- 
 consin Conference, and was in 1880 transferred 
 to the then organized Norwegian and Danish 
 Conference. Besides being A. Haagensen's as- 
 sistant at Milwaukee for two years his appoint- 
 ments were as follows: 
 
 Manitowoc and Sheboygan, one year; Sturgeon 
 Bay, Fort Howard and De Pere, Wis., three 
 years; Leland, Lee, and Norway, 111., two years; 
 Racine, Wis., two years; First Church, Chicago, 
 three years; St. Paul, Minn., two years; Imman- 
 uel, Chicago, three years; Milwaukee, Wis., four 
 years; Moreland, Chicago, seven and a half years. 
 In all these places many precious souls were 
 won for God and the church during his indefatig- 
 able and arduous efforts for the progress of God's 
 kingdom on earth. 
 
 He also was a member of many committees 
 and always did good and faithful work. He was 
 
 an ardent, powerful and enthusiastic preacher, a 
 real revivalist. Now he rests from his labors. 
 His memory is blessed. He was buried at Mount 
 Olive Cemetery, Chicago. 
 
 Norwegian Baptists 
 
 By Rev. C. W. Finwall. 
 
 The First Norwegian Baptist Church on Ame- 
 rican soil was organized by Rev. Hans Valder in 
 La Salle county, 111., Jan. 1848. 
 
 Mr. Valder had arrived from Norway about 
 ten years previously, at the age of 26, and with 
 his young wife and other sturdy pioneers recently 
 from the "land of the midnight sun," began culti- 
 vating the prairies of what is now La Salle 
 county. 
 
 Mr. Hans Valder and his wife were converted 
 to God in 1840 and baptized by Elder Harding, 
 pastor of an American Baptist church in La Salle 
 county, June 22, 1842; and thus, so far as we 
 know, became the first Norwegian Baptist on this 
 continent. 
 
 Mr. Valder was' soon singled out as a leader 
 among his people, demonstrating arduous zeal 
 for the salvation of his own people, and success 
 in winning souls, he was, after having received 
 some training, recommended to a council of 
 Baptist ministers and ordained as the first Bap- 
 tist preacher among the Norwegian people— in all 
 the world — in August, 1844. 
 
 Rev. Hans Valder was a man of strong relig- 
 ious convictions, aggressive, a keen observer, hon- 
 orable and above reproach in all his dealings, and 
 was naturally gifted as a vivid and winsom 
 speaker. 
 
 In spite of much prejudice and opposition on 
 the part of his own countrymen, Mr. Valder, 
 with meager resources at his command, dividing 
 his time and strength between farming and 
 preaching, organized the Norwegian Baptist 
 Church of La Salle county, consisting of seven 
 adults recently converted and baptized— in Jan- 
 uary, 1848. 
 
 The little church called Mr. Hans Valder as 
 its pastor, and from its records we find that al- 
 though some of its members had to split cord 
 wood at 25 cents a day, the following subscrip- 
 tions were taken during February, 1848, for the 
 support of their pastor: Ole Thompsen, $1.00; 
 Esten Estensen, $1.00; Mark Johnson, $1.00; 
 Jacob Johnson, $1.00; Lars Richolson, $2.00; Oden 
 Jacobsen, $1.00; Helge Olsen, $2.00; Nils Nilsen, 
 
166 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 $3 00; and Peter Nilsen, $1.00. Total, $13.00. Be- We find from the same records that Rev. Val- 
 
 side these we find the following names on the der decided to apply to the Amencan Baptist 
 
 records, presumably unable to give financial sup- Home Missionary Society for an annual assist- 
 
 port at the time: 'oie Hansen, Nils Olsen, Ole ance of $50 from ,ts treasury. 
 
 Logan Square Norwegian Baptist Church, Chicago, 111. 
 
 Hansen, Jr., Nils Ericksen, Lars Petersen, Made Dr. H. L. Mcrehonse D D. of «<=« Y°rk -0- 
 
 Madersen and Asbj^rn Aren,sen-^a total of six- ogn.zed tins fact, and adds. Mr H. Va te s ap 
 
 nlication was granted, and he thus became tne 
 teen men. ^ 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 167 
 
 first Norwegian Baptist missionary of the Ameri- 
 can Baptist Home Mission Society. This first 
 Norwegian Baptist church in America, after about 
 four years of interesting history, was finally ab- 
 sorbed by an English speaking Baptist church in 
 the neighborhood. Pastor H. Valder moved to 
 Minnesota in 1852 and died in that state in 1902, 
 about 80 years of age. 
 
 One of Rev. H. Valder's sons is at the head 
 of the Valder's Business College of Decorah, la. 
 
 Since Mr. Valder's days hundreds of Norweg- 
 ians have united with English speaking Baptist 
 churches in the state of Illinois. But aside from 
 this fact specific organized eflforts, more or less 
 successful, have been made by Norwegian Bap- 
 tists. 
 
 These efforts, however, have mainly been made 
 in union with the Danish Baptists, and today it 
 is difficult and undesirable from our point of view 
 to speak of the one nationality without speaking 
 of the other. 
 
 The First Scandinavian Baptist Church, since 
 the days of Valder, was organized in Chicago in 
 the year 1864, and consisted of Norwegians, 
 Swedes and Danes. 
 
 In the year 1866 the Swedish Baptists with- 
 drew, organizing the First Swedish Baptist 
 Church of Chicago in order to do more direct 
 and concentrated work in the interest of the 
 Swedish people in Chicago. 
 
 The Norwegian and Danish Baptists have since 
 continued their work separated from the Swedish 
 Baptists. 
 
 After forty years we have five churches and 
 two missions, one of which bids fair to soon be- 
 come an independent Baptist church. Four 
 churches — Logan Square Norwegian, The First 
 Danish, Bethel Scandinavian, and the Kankakee 
 church are well housed, representing a value of 
 more then $30,000. The Waukegan church does 
 not as yet own a building. Aggressive mission 
 work is maintained at West Pullman and on 
 Centre avenue and Ohio street by the Logan 
 Square Church and by Norwegian theological 
 students from our school at Morgan Park, 111. 
 
 The largest church is the Logan Square Nor- 
 wegian, with only a little more than two hundred 
 members, representing perhaps about 500 adults 
 and children. 
 
 Among the men whose personalities have made 
 perhaps the most lasting impression upon the 
 Danish-Norwegian Baptist work in Illinois since 
 1866 we mention — Rev. H. A. Reichenback, Prof. 
 N. P." Jensen, Rev. P. H. Dom, Rev. Julius Jen- 
 sen, Rev. J. B. Sundt, Rev. E. S. Sundt, Prof. 
 Edw. Olsen, Ph. D., Rev. E. L. Myrland, Rev. 
 
 J. A. Ohrn, Prof. H. Gundersen, M. A., and Prof. 
 C. J. Olsen. 
 
 The Dano-Norwegian Baptist Theological 
 Seminarv at Morgan Park, 111., was opened in the 
 fall of 1884 with Prof. N. P. Jensen as dean and 
 Dr. Edw. Olsen as professor in Greek, philos- 
 ophy and kindred studies. Dr. Olsen accepted 
 the presidencv of the State University of South 
 Dakota in 1887, and Prof. H. Gundersen, who had 
 graduated from the University of Christiania, 
 Norway, was called to the vacant professorship 
 at Morgan Park. Professor N. P. Jensen died 
 May 14, 1895, and Prof. H. Gundersen was 
 elected dean. With him Profs. C. J. Olsen and 
 N. L. Lawdahl have continued as associates since 
 1896. About 175 students have enjoyed the priv- 
 ileges of this school, and many of these are still 
 serving Baptist churches in America, Norway, 
 Denmark and in other lands. 
 
 The Theological Seminary, Morgan 
 Park, Illinois 
 
 Morgan Park is a beautiful village 14 miles 
 south from the business center of Chicago on 
 the Chicago & Rock Island R. R. The greater 
 part of Morgan Park is located on a wooded long 
 hill or ridge, perhaps the highest natural point 
 for more than twenty miles south of Chicago. 
 Here we find the Morgan Park Academy, and the 
 Dano-Norwegian as well as the Swedish Baptist 
 theological seminaries. 
 
 The Dano-Norwegian school as well as the 
 other schools referred to are now in organic 
 connection with the University of Chicago, each 
 with a dean or head. 
 
 Prof. Henrick Gundersen is the present dean 
 of the Dano-Norwegian Baptist school. He came 
 from Norway in the year 1887, to take up the 
 work as an associate of Prof. N. P. Jensen, then 
 dean of this school. When Prof. N. P. Jensen 
 died, Prof. H. Gundersen was made dean in 1895, 
 after having served as acting dean for two years 
 during the illness of Prof. N. P. Jensen. 
 
 The history of this school dates back to 1884. 
 when Prof. N. P. Jensen was appointed head and 
 Prof. Edw. Olsen, Ph. D., associate, of a Dano- 
 Norwegian Baptist Seminary, by the faculty of 
 the Baptist Union Theological Seminary. 
 
 The school opened October 1, 1884, with the 
 following students: Anton Brandt, P. W. Niel- 
 sen, N. Nyrup, August Broholm, C. J. Olsen, 
 Gunder Nesse, Andrew Sorensen, C. H. Hen- 
 
168 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ningsen, A. C. Nesby, E. L. Myrland and C. W. 
 Finwall. 
 
 Since then one hundred and seventy (170) Nor- 
 wegian and Danish young men have enjoyed the 
 privileges of this school. Twelve of the gradu- 
 ates of this school are now actively engaged as 
 pastors in Norway, one in Africa, several in Den- 
 mark, and more than fifty (50) in the United 
 States and Canada. 
 
 At the present time the school has enrolled 
 about thirty (30) students with Prof. H. Gunder- 
 sen as dean, and Profs. C. J. Olsen and N. L. 
 Lawdahl as associate teachers. 
 
 The course mapped out extends over a period 
 of four years and must be thoroughly covered if 
 a diploma shall be handed the student at the end 
 
 by men who are well versed in subjects valuable 
 to the students. 
 
 Beside this the students have for many years 
 kept up a very efficient literary and debate club 
 themselves, for the proper development of their 
 mental and speaking possibilities. 
 
 Brief Biographical Sketches of some Norweg- 
 ian Teachers at the Baptist School, 
 Morgan Park, 111. 
 
 Prof. H. Gundersen. 
 
 Henrick Gundersen was born in Tromsp!, Nor- 
 way, in 1857, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. O. 
 Gundersen. Henrick's father conducted a flour- 
 
 The Theological Seminary, Morgan Park, 111. 
 
 of the fourth year. The first two years the stu- 
 dent is required to take up and reach to a cer- 
 tain standard in English and Dano-Norwegian 
 grammar, geography, Bible chronology, history 
 and elementary Greek. During the last two years 
 at school, the student must attain a certain stand- 
 ing in systematic theology, New Testament 
 Greek, exegetics, philosophy, logic, church his- 
 tory, church polity, pastoral theology, homiletics 
 and antiquity. 
 
 To aid the students quite a library kept well 
 up to date with English and Dano-Norwegian 
 works of literary and practical value is placed at 
 the disposal of the students in "Walker Hall." 
 Frequent lectures are also given to the students 
 
 ishing merchant tailoring business for many 
 years, and did what he could to give his only son 
 all the educational advantages possible. As quite 
 a young man he was converted to God and joined 
 the Baptist Church in Tromsjzf. 
 
 He felt strongl}'- called to give himself to the 
 gospel ministry, and in order to better qualify 
 himself he decided to take a three years' course 
 at the theological Bethel Baptist seminary in 
 Stockholm, Sweden, inasmuch as there was not 
 a Baptist school in Norway. Henrick Gunder- 
 sen graduated with honor from the Bethel Sem- 
 inary in 1882, and then returned to Christiania, 
 Norway, where he studied at the university, grad- 
 uating in 1885. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 169 
 
 He accepted a call from the Baptist church in 
 Trondhjem, Norway, and served with great ac- 
 ceptance until 1887, when he received a call to 
 a professorship at the Baptist school at Morgan 
 Park, 111. 
 
 In the fall of 1887 Rev. Henrick Gundersen 
 came to Morgan Park, and remained with the 
 school until the close of the spring term of 1889, 
 when he made a trip to Norway, preaching at 
 Bergen from Sept. 1889 to April 1890. 
 
 Meanwhile Rev. H. Gundersen had married 
 Miss Hansine Hansen of Trondhjem, and with 
 his wife he returned to Morgan Park, 111., during 
 the summer of 1890, and has since continuously 
 served the best interests of the Baptist seminary 
 at Morgan Park. From 1890 to 1893 Prof. Gun- 
 dersen was associate to the able Danish Prof. 
 N. P. Jensen, whose health then began to fail 
 rapidly, and when Prof. N. P. Jensen left for 
 California that year, Prof. Gundersen was ap- 
 pointed acting dean. After two years' illness 
 Prof. Jensen died, and since then in 189", until 
 the time this sketch was written, Prof. Henrick 
 Gundersen has proved to be an able and honor- 
 able leader, and has secured for himself an abid- 
 ing and large place in the minds and hearts of 
 all who have sat in his class rooms, and in all 
 the Norwegian and Danish Baptist churches in 
 America, in Norway and Denmark, and in other 
 parts of the world. 
 
 Prof. H. Gundersen resides in his own home 
 at Morgan Park, where he now is happily sur- 
 rounded by wife, four sons and one daughter, as 
 well as his venerable old parents who are spend- 
 ing their declining years with their only son. 
 
 PROF. C. J. OLSEN. 
 
 Christian J. Olsen was born in the vicinity of 
 Trondhjem, Norway, in the year 1856. 
 
 When he was two years of age his parents 
 moved into the city of Trondhjem, where he re- 
 sided until he came to the United States in 1881. 
 
 Christian Olsen finished the seventh grade and 
 graduated from the public schools in Trondhjem 
 when he was only 12 years of age, and then took 
 a post graduate course until he was about 14 
 years of age. He then secured a position with 
 the Trondhjem Mechanical Works, where he re- 
 mained for nine years, and from time to time 
 was promoted. While at the mechanical works 
 Mr. Olsen attended evening courses especially in 
 drawing and mathematics at the technical or sci- 
 entific school of Trondhjem. 
 
 In 1879 he was converted and that same year 
 he joined the Baptist church in Trondhjem. 
 
 Mr. Olsen was an ambitious and studious 
 young man and soon prevailed upon his pastor 
 to give a homiletic course to five young men (in- 
 cluding himself). This course he pursued during 
 the winter of 1879 to 1880, and the following 
 summer he took a course under his pastor in 
 exegetics. 
 
 He was married and in 1881 left his native land 
 with his wife and settled at Minneapolis, Minn. 
 Having received some training and being an 
 earnest Christian man, he was urgently pres- 
 sed into gospel service, both in Minneapolis 
 and St. Paul. Yielding at last to an inward as 
 well as an outward call to the gospel ministry, 
 Mr. Olsen finally gave up a promising position, 
 and in order to obtain still more training he final- 
 ly went to Chicago, and in the fall of 1884 en- 
 tered the Union Theological Seminary at Mor- 
 gan Park. Having completed his studies there, 
 he served two pastorates, one in Oconomowoc, 
 from 1887 to 1890, and one in Eau Claire, Wis., 
 from 1890 to 1894, when he accepted the position 
 offered him as editor of "Vsegteren" ("The 
 Watchman") — the Dano-Norwegian Baptist pa- 
 per. It was while he was serving in this capacity 
 that he, in 1895, was pressed into service as teacher 
 at the Baptist school at Morgan Park, and as 
 such he has since served with assiduous effici- 
 ency. Prof. C. J. Olsen has now for several 
 years past taught grammar, church polity, pas- 
 toral theology, homiletics and Bible antiquity. 
 In 1896 his devoted wife died, leaving him alone 
 with four daughters and one son. 
 
 In 1898 Prof. C. J. Olsen was married to Miss 
 Emma Christensen, who was .then serving as 
 lady missionary in connection with the Pilgrim 
 Baptist Church, Chicago. The second marriage 
 has been blessed with one daughter. 
 
 REV. E. L. MYRLAND. 
 
 Among the Norwegian Baptist ministers, who 
 have served in Illinois, there is hardly a man who 
 has worked so valiantly or accomplished more 
 than Rev. Eli L. Myrland. 
 
 He served as pastor of the so-called Pilgrim 
 Baptist Church on the N. W. corner of Carpen- 
 ter and Ohio streets from March 1892 until April 
 1, 1897, when he went to Christiania, Norway, to 
 erect the beautiful and substantial Baptist edifice, 
 known as "Tabernaklet," in the capital of Nor- 
 way. 
 
 Pastor ]\Iyrland came to Chicago and took 
 charge, when the Pilgrim Church had tried in 
 vain to secure a responsible pastor, at a time 
 
170 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 when some sixty members left the Pilgrim 
 Church to start another church nearer their 
 homes — in the vicinity of Humboldt Park. Weak- 
 ened as the church was, with a heavy debt hang- 
 ing over it, Rev. Myrland took hold, and with 
 the blessings of God, he not only held the field, 
 but during some of the hardest times Chicago 
 has experienced since the great fire. Rev. E. L. 
 Myrland decreased the debt considerably and re- 
 ceived about one hundred (100) new members 
 into the church. 
 
 Endowed with a grand physique, with a genial 
 and courageous temperament and a will strong 
 as iron. Pastor Myrland came, saw and con- 
 quered. 
 
 Rev. E. L. Myrland. 
 
 Although at the time of this writing ten years 
 have passed since Rev. Myrland laid down his 
 pastorate in Chicago, there are hundreds until 
 this date, who look upon that energetic and gen- 
 erous man as their providential benefactor both 
 in temporal and spiritual things, in a larger 
 measure than any minister has ever meant to their 
 lifes in Chicago. 
 
 Eli L. Myrland was born at North Cape, Ra- 
 cine county. Wis., in the year 1851. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lars Olsen Myrland, Eli's father 
 
 and mother, came from Voss, Norway, and ar- 
 rived in Chicago in 1846. E. L. Myrland's mother 
 was a sister of Filing Eielsen, a well known per- 
 sonality in church circles of the early Norwegian 
 settlers on the westside of Chicago. Eli seems 
 to have inherited the best features of his mother's 
 strong personality. 
 
 After attending the public schools near his 
 home in Wisconsin he attended for a year or two 
 the Wayland Academy at Beaver Dam. Wis. In 
 1877 Eli Myrland was converted to God while 
 visiting in Racine, Wis., with his father. He al- 
 most at once felt a burning desire to lift his peo- 
 ple to God, and his natural gifts soon found a 
 helpful highway in his dedication of all he had 
 to the preaching of the gospel of Christ, and in 
 general Christian service. 
 
 He married a Miss Landmark near Madison, 
 Wis., and with his wife, who since has proved 
 to be a source of great strength to Rev. Myrland, 
 he moved to Morgan Park, 111., in 1881 and for 
 two years he enjoyed the educational advantages 
 of the LTnion Theological Seminary, before there 
 existed a Dano-Norwegian department. Later 
 he returned and finished his theological course 
 after having served the Scandinavian Baptist 
 church in Racine, Wis., as pastor in 1884 and 
 
 1885 with a wonderful degree of success. In 
 
 1886 to 1891 he served as pastor the Scandinavian 
 Baptist church of La Crosse, Wis., with marked 
 efficiency. 
 
 In the year 1891 he made a trip to Norway, 
 and from March 1892 until April 1, 1897, he 
 served the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago. 
 At the close of his Chicago pastorate he again 
 made a significant trip to Norway, returning to 
 Chicago in 1900. He has since been actively en- 
 gaged in general mission work among the Baptist 
 churches in Iowa. Wisconsin and Illinois. Rev. 
 and Mrs. Myrland have three daughters and one 
 son. 
 
 PROF. EDWARD OLSEN, Ph. D. 
 
 Without exception Dr. Edw. Olsen of all the 
 public men among the Norwegian Baptists in 
 the state of Illinois won for himself the highest 
 esteem and love of all who knew him. 
 
 He was born in Norway, near Hammar, Aug. 
 29, 1843. He came with his parents, a brother 
 and a sister to the United States in the year 
 1858, and settled near West Salem, Wis. Here 
 he attended the public schools. Later he gradu- 
 ated from the high school and then went to the 
 old University of Chicago from which he gradu- 
 ated with the distinction of a B. A. in 1873. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 171 
 
 He then went abroad and studied at Halle 
 and Goettingen, Germany, and in Paris, France, 
 from 1873 to 1875, and returned to Chicago, 
 where he received his B. D. in 1877. He was in- 
 structor in Greek at the University of Chicago 
 from 1875 to 1878. Professor in Greek from 
 1878 to 1885. Got his Ph. D. from Kalamazoo 
 
 Prof. Edward Olsen, Ph. D. 
 
 College in 1886. Was instructor and profes- 
 sor at the Bethel Union Theological Seminary 
 from 1884 to 1887. He then became president of 
 the University of South Dakota. While in this 
 position he lost his life on a visit to his brother, 
 S. E. Olson, in Minneapolis, Minn., in the Trib- 
 une fire of Nov. 30, 1889. 
 
 REV. J. A. OHRN. 
 
 Jacob A. Ohrn who served with great accept- 
 ance as general missionary among the Norwegian 
 and Danish Baptists of Illinois and Wisconsin 
 from 1894 to 1897, and then as pastor of the Pil- 
 grim Baptist Church from 1897 until 1899, was 
 born in the province of Sogn, Norway, Aug. 11, 
 1863. 
 
 As a young man he came to the city of Bergen, 
 Norway. Here he yielded himself to Christ and 
 
 joined the Baptist church of that city. This 
 church licensed him to preach, and encouraged 
 his natural ability, which today cultured and 
 well employed, makes him one of the strongest 
 Norwegian Baptist preachers. He served the 
 Baptist church in Langesund, Norway, from Sept. 
 1884 until Sept. 1885 when he determined to leave 
 Norway in order to enjoy the privileges offered 
 at the Morgan Park seminary, near Chicago, 111. 
 Here Jacob A. Ohrn took a full three years' the- 
 ological course, and graduated in May 1888. 
 While pursuing his theological studies he served 
 as pastor of the Raymond Baptist Church, Ra- 
 cine county, Wis., where a gracious revival was 
 enjoy,ed. He married Miss Nellie Christensen, 
 a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Christensen, 
 of Racine, Wis., in 1888, and in 1889 he resigned 
 from his pastorate at Raymond Centre, to go to 
 Norway. He soon returned and upon his return 
 took charge of a church in Neenah and another 
 in Oshkosh, Wis., for one year, when he ac- 
 cepted an urgent call from the Raymond church 
 for a second pastorate. He worked here and in 
 Milwaukee until October, 1894, when he took up 
 general missionary work in the states of Illinois 
 and Wisconsin, resigning in March 1897 in order 
 to take the pastorate urged upon him by the 
 Pilgrim Baptist Church of Chicago. 
 
 In spite of great difficulties and hard problems 
 always attending church work where the popu- 
 lation is so shifting as was and is the case with 
 the field of the old Pilgrim Baptist Church, Rev. 
 J. A. Ohrn always preached to good and appreci- 
 ative audiences. Since he resigned his pastorate 
 in Chicago, he has done great work for the Bap- 
 tists both in Norway and in the United States. 
 Rev. Ohrn's home is at present in Christiania, 
 Norway, where he resides with his charming 
 wife and two promising children, one son and 
 one daughter. 
 
 The Congrcgationalists 
 
 This name has a long and honorable history in 
 the annals of the Christian church in England 
 and America, even though it had a strange and 
 unfamiliar sound among the Norwegians until 
 twenty years ago. In the political and religious 
 history of America no denomination has had a 
 more powerful influence in shaping the ideals of 
 the nation than the Congrcgationalists. They 
 were the Pilgrims, who in 1620 landed on Plym- 
 outh rock in Massachusetts after having been 
 driven out of England to Holland for their sepa- 
 
173 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ration from the state church, and who afterward 
 in the new world sought that freedom of con- 
 science which had been refused them in the old. 
 Here they have grown to be one of the foremost 
 of the Protestant denominations, with a member- 
 ship of nearly 700,000, expending annually for 
 home and foreign missions more than two mil- 
 lions of dollars, besides the $7,000,000 used for the 
 work in their own churches. In proportion to 
 their numbers they spend more money for mis- 
 sionary work than any other denomination in 
 America, and possibly in the world. 
 
 America. Unlike some other American churches 
 that have organized missions in Norway. Sweden 
 and Denmark, the Congregationalists have re- 
 peatedly declined invitations to take up mission- 
 ary work in those countries, but they have been 
 very generous in helping the Scandinavian Pil- 
 grims who have settled in America. 
 
 The religious movement in Norway, which has 
 found expression in the free mission churches 
 there and in the Norwegian Congregational 
 churches in America, may be traced back to the 
 revival started early in the nineteenth century by 
 
 The Danish-Norwegian Department of Chicago Theological Seminary. 
 
 When, therefore, these descendants of the Pil- 
 grims learned of the great religious movements 
 which in the latter half of the nineteenth century 
 had taken place in Scandinavia, it was only nat- 
 ural that they should see in them a repetition of 
 their own history in England in the seventeenth 
 century and extend to the separatists from the 
 Scandinavian state churches a hearty welcome 
 and a helping hand when these exiles landed in 
 
 Hans Nielsen Hauge, and continued later in the 
 work of Pastor Lammers in Skien and P. P. Wet- 
 tergren in Arendal. Undoubtedly the great awak- 
 ening in Sweden during the 70's also exerted its 
 influence, although it was long after the organi- 
 zation of Norwegian Congregational churches in 
 America that the influence of the free churches 
 in Norway began to be felt here. There was a 
 Norwegian Congregational church organized in 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 173 
 
 connection with the Tabernacle church in Chi- 
 cago early in the 80's, and one in Tacoma, Wash., 
 a little later. These soon died, however, and the 
 present system of Congregational churches really 
 had its beginning as a result of the work originat- 
 ing in Chicago Theological Seminary, which was 
 opened to Scandinavian students in 1884, with 
 Pastor P. C. Trandberg as their teacher. Trand- 
 berg was not a Congregationalist, but a Lutheran, 
 
 following year, 1885, R. A. Jernberg, a graduate 
 of Yale University, and then a student in the 
 English seminary, was appointed as Professor 
 Trandberg's assistant. When Trandberg left the 
 seminary, in 1890, Jernberg was appointed his suc- 
 cessor, and was inaugurated as a professor in the 
 seminary in 1895, after an endowment for the 
 chair of Biblical and Practical Theology in the 
 Danish-Norwegian Department had been provided 
 
 Chicago Theological Seminary (Congregational.) 
 
 although in his native land (Denmark) he had 
 fought a good fight for the principles of a church 
 with only a converted membership, or as he 
 called it "a holy congregation." The Danish- 
 Norwegian department of Chicago Theological 
 Seminary opened with two students — O. C. 
 Grauer, who is now a professor in the seminary, 
 and Carl F. Blomquist, a Swedish student. The 
 
 by Mrs. D. K. Pearsons. This position he still 
 holds. Rev. O. C. Grauer was called from a pas- 
 torate of the American Congregational Church 
 in Washburn, Wis., as an associate professor in 
 the department, in 1891, and has continued since 
 that time in this capacity. 
 
 Chicago Theological Seminary was organized 
 by the American Congregational churches of HH- 
 
174 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 nois and the neighboring states in 1854, and be- 
 gan its work in 1858. The constantly increasing 
 immigration into this territory from northern Eu- 
 rope prompted the directors of the seminary to 
 open its foreign departments, for the Germans in 
 1882, for the Danes and Norwegians in 1884, and 
 for the Swedes in 1885. These departments were 
 reorganized as institutes of the seminary in 1903, 
 each with its governing board or council, on 
 which, besides the faculty of the seminary, the 
 German and Scandinavian churches are repre- 
 sented, and these churches have more and more 
 assumed the support of the institutes since this 
 arrangement was made. The seminary has ex- 
 pended in this foreign work not less than $125,- 
 000 since its inception, and still continues to bear 
 the responsibility for this work. It gives to all 
 the students free rooms, charging only the actual 
 cost of light and heat. All instruction is free, and 
 so is the use of a fine gymnasium, recitation 
 rooms, reading room and the Hammond library, 
 containing a collection of more than 30,000 vol- 
 umes of theological literature. Besides these great 
 opportunities the seminary gives to the students 
 in the foreign institutes, as well as to the Ameri- 
 can students, liberal assistance from its scholar- 
 ship funds, so that every man who feels called of 
 God to preach the Gospel in his native tongue 
 has here an opportunity to fit himself for this 
 work. 
 
 Since its opening in 1884 the Danish-Norwegian 
 Institute has had 123 students, 52 of whom have 
 completed their full course of study and gone out 
 into all the world to preach the gospel. It is re- 
 presented on the foreign missionary fields of 
 Japan, China, Africa and South America by its 
 former students, and several of them have re- 
 turned for a longer or shorter time to their native 
 lands to preach for a season to their brethren ac- 
 cording to the flesh. The larger number, how- 
 ever, are engaged in the work among their own 
 people in this country, and as pastors of churches 
 and general missionaries are scattered in nearly 
 all the northern states from the Dakotas to the 
 Atlantic coast. Many of them have found con- 
 genial work among the Americans as Sunday- 
 school missionaries or as pastors of churches that 
 are quick to recognize the value of the training 
 these men have received for the pastoral office. 
 A large part of the instruction in the foreign in- 
 stitutes in the seminary is carried on in the Eng- 
 lish language and thus the men are generally 
 fitted for work in the American churches as well 
 as in those of their own people. 
 
 An important factor in the Norwegian Con- 
 gregational work has been the publication of the 
 
 religious weekly paper, Evangelisten, (The Evan- 
 gelist), the first number of which was issued 
 about Christmas time, in 1889. For many years 
 it had a home in the seminary; one of the pro- 
 fessors for ten years being its editor and pub- 
 lisher, and several of the students his willing and 
 diligent helpers. When in 1899 he surrendered 
 the paper to the ministers in Vestens Frikirke- 
 Forening, the Evangelisten Publishing Society 
 was organized and became responsible for the 
 publication of the paper. It has made a great 
 success of the enterprise, as Evangelisten now 
 has about 5,000 subscribers. This publishing so- 
 ciety has recently issued a new hymnbook of 
 more than 500 hymns with music anthems for 
 choirs. 
 
 Evangelisten and the young men going out 
 from the seminary soon began to put into touch 
 with each other a number of groups of independ- 
 ent Christians scattered in different parts of the 
 country, and soon a desire was felt on the part 
 of these churches to unite into some bond of fel- 
 lowship. This desire found expression in a meet- 
 ing at the seminary in Chicago, where an asso- 
 ciation was organized, in May, 1891, called "Ves- 
 tens Frikirkeforening." The following year the 
 free churches in the East organized "0stens Fri- 
 kirkeforening" at a meeting in Shawmut Congre- 
 gational Church, Boston, where the Norwegian 
 free church was worshiping at that time. The 
 free churches in the East had already united in 
 a missionsforbund, but this was dissolved at that 
 meeting and 0stens Frikirkeforening was organ- 
 ized after the pattern of the free churches in the 
 West the year before. These associations have 
 not the least authority over the churches or min- 
 isters belonging to them. They are really not 
 denominational in character, though a number 
 of the churches and ministers belong to the Con- 
 gregational denomination, while several of them 
 have no other afiiliation than with these associa- 
 tions. There are about forty of these churches, 
 besides twenty or thirty mission stations con- 
 nected with them. The larger number of these 
 are in the interior and the northwestern states. 
 Still there are about a dozen in the principal 
 cities of New England and in Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 and Jersey City and Hoboken, N. J. 
 
 The primary purpose of the associations was 
 to unite the. independent and Congregational Nor- 
 wegian and Danish churches in a common fellow- 
 ship and to secure concerted action in the home 
 and foreign missionary work. This purpose has 
 been largely realized in the organization for the 
 home work of the Gospel Home Missionary So- 
 ciety, which was organized at the annual meeting 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 175 
 
 of Vestens Frikirkeforening in Winona in 1898. 
 The income of the society the first year of its 
 existence was only $200, but year by year this 
 has increased so that now the society is able to 
 support six missionaries during the summer 
 months, besides giving partial support to the pas- 
 tors of various churches not yet able to bear that 
 expense alone. The president of this society is 
 Rev. C. T. Dyrness, who for many years has been 
 the efficient pastor of Salem Free Church on Point 
 street, Chicago. The foreign missionary work of 
 
 supported by the American churches, and 
 during the last few years have been generous in 
 their gifts to the work of their school in Chicago, 
 from which they receive their pastors and mis- 
 sionaries. 
 
 In all this work it has never been the purpose 
 of the American Congregational churches to build 
 up a new denomination among the Norwegians 
 in America, or in any sense to proselyte from 
 other churches. The aim has rather been to com- 
 bine the scattered Christian forces which are 
 
 The Hammond Library of the Chicago Theological Seminary. 
 
 these free churches is done through the Scandi- 
 navian Alliance Mission, a society that has about 
 ninety missionaries and expends about $30,000 
 annually in its foreign missionary work. The 
 secretary and treasurer of this society is one of 
 the Swedish professors in Chicago Seminary, Fri- 
 dolf Risberg, S. M. C, a graduate of Upsala Uni- 
 versity and professor in the seminary since 1885. 
 The Norwegian Congregational churches gen- 
 erally also contribute to the benevolent societies 
 found often in distant localities without any con- 
 
 nection with other Christians or other churches. 
 Many have been found literally in the desert — 
 sheep having no shepherd. They have been gath- 
 ered into a united force in the manner here de- 
 scribed and are blessing others in their combined 
 efforts for the uplifting of their fellowmen at 
 home and abroad, themselves being blessed in 
 the consciousness of having a work intrusted also 
 to them as a part of that kingdom which is com- 
 ing, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 
 
 R. A. Jernberg. 
 
17() 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 The Seventh -Day Ad- 
 ventist Church. 
 
 It is about sixty years since the commence- 
 ment of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. It 
 owes its rise to a new and lively interest awak- 
 ened all over the world in the study of the Pro- 
 phetic Scriptures relating to the second coming 
 of Christ. The church has over 900 ministers, 
 528 missionary licentiates and 826 colporters. 
 Its membership has doubled every ten years and 
 at present is about 17,000. They have 78 local 
 conferences, 13 union conferences, 48 missions 
 and 2 union missions. 
 
 They have a large publishing house in Battle 
 Creek, Mich., the largest in the state. Here is 
 published a weekly journal called The Advent 
 Review and Sabbath Herald; also The Youth's 
 Instructor, for the young people and Life and 
 Health for the home. In 1903 this book concern 
 was removed to Washington, D. C, in order 
 that they might be more centrally located for 
 their world-wide mission work. In Oakland, 
 Cal., they have another large printing estab- 
 lislnnent, from which is issued The Signs of the 
 'Times, that has printed as many as 500,000 of 
 one issue. They also have publishing concerns 
 in Nashville (Tenn.), in Lincoln (Neb.), in Aus- 
 tralia, South Africa. London, Christiania (Nor- 
 way), Hamburg and Basle. 
 
 The Seventh-Day Adventists are earnest ad- 
 vocates of very thoroughgoing Christian tem- 
 perance. No one is allowed to use tobacco or 
 liquor in any form. Very few use tea or coffee. 
 Many of them are strict vegetarians. There are 
 no rules among them in regard to these matters, 
 only this: that if any uses tobacco or intoxicat- 
 ing drinks he is turned out of the church. They 
 have been foremost in true hygienic and dietetic 
 reform. More than forty years ago they started 
 a "health retreat," which gradually increased till 
 it became the now famous "Battle Creek Sana- 
 tarium." They have sanatariums all over the 
 world to-day. Of these the one near Copenha- 
 gen, Denmark, and one near London, England, 
 may be mentioned. They have one or more 
 sanatariums in Mexico, South America, Africa, 
 and even in India and Japan. In this country 
 they have sanatariums in nearly every state. 
 In Illinois there are three: one at Moline, one 
 at Hinsdale, one in Chicago. The object of 
 every sanatarium is to help the sick, especially 
 the poor and needy. In these health homes 
 
 there are many Norwegian nurses and several 
 Norwegian physicians. 
 
 The Adventists are engaged in active mission 
 work at home and in foreign lands. Their home 
 work is divided into many separate conferences. 
 The foreign is under the direction of a mission 
 board located at Washington. They have mis- 
 sionaries in Matabeleland, Africa; in India, China, 
 Japan, Turkey, Egypt, Spain, Rome, Russia, Mex- 
 ico, South America, Cuba, and several other 
 pagan and Catholic lands. In connection with 
 these they are printing their literature in forty 
 different languages. They believe in paying a 
 tithe of all their income to the advancement of 
 the Gospel at home and abroad. This tithe, to- 
 gether with their freewill offerings, supports 
 their missions and missionaries. 
 
 Those connected with the Seventh-Day Ad- 
 ventist Church believe and teach that there is 
 one living God, who made "heaven and earth 
 and the sea" (Acts 14, 15); that Christ is the 
 Divine Son of the living God, begotten from 
 eternity (John 1, 1-3; 3, 16); that the Holy Sph'it 
 is the Third Person of the Godhead (Matt. 28, 
 19); that the entire Bible is the inspired word 
 of God (2 Peter 1, 21) ; that men are saved 
 only by grace through faith (Eph. 2, 8); that 
 the true Christians will honor and obey the 
 holy law of God, the very ten Commandments 
 given on Mount Sinai (1 John 2, 3, 4; James 2, 
 8-10) ; that Sunday is not the Christian restday, 
 but that the seventh day, Saturday, is the right 
 Sabbath (Ex. 20, 8-11; Luke 4, 16); that the sec- 
 ond advent of Christ will be literal, visible and 
 personal, and that he will come in this genera- 
 tion (Matt. 24, 34) ; that when he comes he will 
 raise all the righteous dead, change the righteous 
 living who will be caught up to meet the Lord 
 in the air" (1 Thes. 4, 16, 17); that after the 
 second coming of Christ there will be a thou- 
 sand years' reign of Christ and his saints, not 
 on this earth, but in heaven (Rev. 20, 4-7); that 
 after this reign, at the final judgment, all the 
 wicked will be totally annihilated, die the sec- 
 ond death (Rev. 21, 8), and forever cease to ex- 
 ist as conscious beings; that the earth wnll be 
 renewed and filled with the glory of God, when 
 it will become "the kingdom of heaven," to be 
 possessed eternally by "the saints of the Most 
 High" (Dan. 7, 22); that then will be fulfilled 
 the saying of Christ: "Blessed are the meek, for 
 they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5, 5); and 
 the vision of John, who said: "I saw a new 
 heaven and a new earth" (Rev. 21, 1); and so 
 from time onward, eternally, there will "be no 
 more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 177 
 
 shall there be any more pain; for the former 
 things are passed away" (Rev. 21, 4). They 
 hold that men are entirely unconscious between 
 death and the resurrection; that "the dead know 
 not anything" (Eccl. 9, 5); that when "the 
 breath of life" is taken away from man, "in that 
 very day his thoughts perish" (Ps. 146, 4); that 
 immortality is a "conditional gift," to be sought 
 for "bj' patient continuance in well doing" (Rom. 
 2, 7); and obtained by the saints when Christ 
 returns, "when this corruptible must put on in- 
 corruption and this mortal must put on immor- 
 tality" (1 Cor. 15, 53); that there will be a res- 
 urrection of the dead, both of the just and the 
 unjust: one to eternal life; the other to eternal 
 death. 
 
 They believe that in order to be a Christian it 
 is essential that one be a partaker of the divine 
 nature through the power of the Holy Ghost. 
 They reject infant baptism, but teach that in- 
 fants will be saved in harmony with the teach- 
 ing of Christ where he said that "of such is the 
 kingdom of heaven;" They teach and practice 
 only immersion as baptism, and make it a test 
 of church fellowship. They believe in partaking 
 of the Lord's supper of bread and wine at least 
 four times a year. They think that the bread 
 and wine are memorial emblems of Christ's 
 body and blood. They believe, and practice foot- 
 washing as one of the Christian ordinances. 
 (John 13, 1-17). They have no formulated creed, 
 but where they organize churches they sign a 
 covenant to "keep the commandments of God 
 and the faith of Jesus" (Rev. 14, 12). 
 
 The Seventh-Day Adventist Church has sev- 
 eral large colleges and academies in this coun- 
 try and in other lands. Their largest school in 
 America is at Lincoln, Neb.; the largest abroad 
 is at Fredensau, Germany. Aside from these 
 they have intermediate schools in nearly every 
 state and church schools in the local churches. 
 When they can avoid it, they do not send their 
 children to the public schools; not that they are 
 opposed to education but they are opposed to 
 the evolution and pantheism taught in many 
 schools. The reason why they do not patronize 
 the public schools is that there is no religious 
 instruction in these. 
 
 We have given the teachings and practices of 
 this church quite fully, as very little is known 
 about it by many well read Christians. This 
 church has quite a following among the Scandi- 
 navians. It has a conference in each of the 
 Scandinavian countries in Europe, together with 
 a large publishing house at 74 Akergaden, Chris- 
 tiania; several sanatariums, schools and other 
 
 institutions. In America there are some 3,000 
 Scandinavian Adventists enrolled as church mem- 
 bers. They print two weekly papers and many 
 books and tracts. The first Norwegian Adventist 
 church in Chicago was organized by Elder J. G. 
 Matteson in 1870. They have built a small 
 chapel at 269 W. Erie street. This church is 
 still owned by a thriving little company of Ad- 
 ventists. In 1901 they organized another and 
 larger church near Humboldt Park, Chicago. 
 Since then mission work has been begun in an- 
 other locality. There are at present nearly 300 
 Scandinavian Adventists in Chicago. They meet 
 for worship every Saturday morning and spend 
 the remainder of the day in spiritual rest and 
 recreation. Although they do no secular work 
 on the seventh day, and pay a tithe of their in- 
 come to the missions, they are a prosperous and 
 contented people. 
 
 L. H. Christian. 
 
 The Lutheran Free 
 Church. 
 
 By Professor H. A. Urseth. 
 
 The history of the Lutheran Free Church in 
 Illinois is a brief one; for its history has merely 
 begun. The antecedents of the Lutheran Free 
 Church must be sought largely in the Norwegian 
 Lutheran Conference, which in 1890 became 
 merged, by a formal union agreement with two 
 other bodies, into the United Norwegian Luth- 
 eran Church. The elements that from 1895 and 
 onward became separated from the United Church 
 had formerly constituted a conspicuous and pro- 
 gressive free church party in the old Conference. 
 But the Conference was not by any means strong- 
 ly represented in Illinois. The Norwegians in 
 this state seem early to have formed other church 
 affiliations to which they largely adhered after- 
 wards. When the free church movement began 
 to take form during the years following 1895, 
 therefore, it was found that no Illinois congre- 
 gations of the former Conference had become 
 affiliated with this movement, as congregations. 
 The Free Church developed strength north and 
 west of Illinois, where the Conference had been 
 strong, and in new fields. 
 
 The Free Church, however, has maintained two 
 missions in Chicago, on the west side and in 
 Moreland, and also in Capron. The work in 
 Chicago was begun about 1899, by Rev. M. A. 
 Pederson, latter missionary to Santhalistan, In- 
 
178 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 dia, and was continued by his brother, Rev. A. 
 Pederson. Later Rev. J. M. Halvorson became 
 pastor of the Moreland church. The pastorate 
 in Capron was held by Rev. C. Morgan from 
 1903; later this church was served by the Chi- 
 cago pastor. 
 
 While the free churches in Illinois are numeri- 
 cally few there exists in the other Norwegian 
 churches of the state considerable Free Church 
 sentiment, judging from the support which indi- 
 viduals in these churches have been giving to the 
 institutions of this body. 
 
 other two lots for the church proper, which the 
 congregation hopes to erect in the future. 
 
 In every respect the congregation has had a 
 marked growth. It now (spring 1907) has a 
 membership of 150 persons. It has already paid 
 for the three lots, and started a building fund for 
 the new church. It has received no help from 
 any synod. The pastor is a member of the United 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church, and the congrega- 
 tion works in line with that synod, although not 
 formally connected with it. 
 
 This church has a most hopeful future as it is 
 
 Interior of Christ Chapel, near Logan Square. 
 
 Christ Norwegian Luth- 
 eran Churck 
 
 Kedzie and Milwaukee avenues, Chicago. 
 
 This church was organized June 29, 1905, with 
 twenty-eight persons. Rev. J. H. Meyer was 
 called to become its pastor. He accepted the 
 pastorate. 
 
 Three lots were purchased and on one lot a 
 two-story brick house was erected, the first story 
 to be used for a temporary chapel, now called 
 "Kristus-Kapellet," (Christ Chapel), and the sec- 
 ond flat to be used as the parsonage, leaving the 
 
 located in one of the most populous Norwegian 
 settlements, the Logan Square. 
 
 Following is a list of the officers of the church: 
 Rev. J. H. Meyer, pastor; Prof. J. Rode-Jacob- 
 sen, organist; Martin Thon, secretary; Gabriel 
 Tobiassen, treasurer. 
 
 Following is the board of trustees: 
 Johan H. Meyer, president: Louis Lawson, 
 vice-president; Harald Heglund, secretary; Mar- 
 tin Thon; Olaf Brynildsen; Hjalmar Jacobsen; 
 Andrew Olsen; Gabriel Tobiassen; Louis Iversen. 
 
 The illustration shows part of the interior of 
 the temporary chapel, which is located at 1509 N. 
 Kedzie avenue, near Milwaukee avenue, where 
 
 also the minister resides. 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 179 
 
 The Church of the 
 Veritans 
 
 Was organized July 15, 1901, by members of the 
 Order of the Magi — the most ancient of all the 
 secret orders on our planet. The church society 
 was instituted for the purpose of extending to 
 the public, through its open meetings, such teach- 
 ing as could properly be brought before the un- 
 initiated, showing the variety of the most ancient 
 philosophy in the light of the most advanced 
 modern science; also explaining the various 
 phenomena of occultism as necessary factors in 
 the development of the religion of the future^ 
 the religion of science. 
 
 Through the able and well-directed efforts of 
 Mr. B. C. Peterson — who is a charter member 
 and holds the office of secretary of the society — 
 many a progressive mind among the Scandinavi- 
 ans of Chicago, as well as from the country at 
 
 large, have gravitated towards this temple of 
 knowledge, which, founded upon the divine law 
 of evolution, has thus become a firm stepping 
 stone from the infinite and obscure past to the 
 likewise infinite and invisible future — a place 
 where those who have sought enlightenment 
 upon the great subjects of origin and destiny, 
 humanity and divinity, have found an opportun- 
 ity to worship Truth itself, without the usual 
 attachment of intermediary personal deities and 
 without all creeds or dogmas, ancient or modern. 
 Based upon the principles of mathematics and 
 chemistry, astronomy and geology, the aims and 
 object of the society are probably best explained 
 as set forth in its constitution, article II: "The 
 purpose of this society shall be to teach demon- 
 strable truth and to deal with logical deduction 
 drawn therefrom, 'regarding the universe, the 
 continuity of life, the laws governing the phe- 
 nomena of nature, and to promulgate a veritable 
 religion." 
 
 B. C. Peterson. 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN 
 CHICAGO 
 
 Christiania is the only city in the world that 
 has more Norwegians than Chicago. Seventy 
 years ago there were just two Norwegians here. 
 
 We have mentioned in another place that the 
 first Norwegians reached here in 1836, when Jo- 
 han Larsen and Halstein T0reson (Thorstein- 
 son) settled in the small hamlet which was 
 grouped about the Chicago River where the 
 North-Western depot is now. From that time the 
 Norwegians in this city increased rapidly, and by 
 1848 over fifty of the immigrants from Norway 
 had settled here and the colony had begun to 
 build a Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran church. 
 Of these early comers very few are alive. Jens 
 Olsen Kaasa was perhaps the oldest. He came 
 in 1839\and died in 1907. 
 
 Ever since then the Norwegians in Chicago 
 have grown steadily in numbers, in wealth and 
 in influence. They began by gathering together 
 in one section of the city. The first comers set- 
 tled on the North Side, where the water works 
 are, on Chicago avenue. Their homes were 
 clustered between what is now Orleans street 
 and the lake, south of Chicago avenue. As the 
 section where the Norwegian pioneers had made 
 their homes increased in value many of these 
 thrift}' people sold their homes and moved farther 
 west. Some of them clung to their homes, but 
 the greater part moved across the river into the 
 cheaper and comparatively unsettled district just 
 west of Milwaukee avenue, where they still hung 
 together. The more wealthy and aristocratic 
 Norwegians gathered around Wicker Park. There 
 they quickly purchased land for blocks in every 
 direction. This district soon became distinctively 
 Norwegian. The Norwegians themselves ap- 
 preciated their monopoly of this region and 
 called it among themselves Hommansbyen, after 
 the fashionable residence suburb of Christiania. 
 Further south, in the neighborhood of N. Peoria 
 street and Milwaukee avenue, the poorer classes 
 
 of Norwegians found homes. This section be- 
 came their business center too, they having es- 
 tablished shops, stores, banks and factories in 
 this district. 
 
 During the later years niost of the Norwegians 
 who have been able to dispose of their residence 
 properties in this district have done so and 
 moved west to the neighborhood of Humboldt 
 Park, Humboldt boulevard or Logan Square, and 
 their business center, if we can speak of such, 
 is along W. North avenue. The district west of 
 Milwaukee avenue as far as California avenue, 
 along Grand avenue, has been invaded by the 
 Italians, who are quick to pick up cheap proper- 
 ties. 
 
 In spite of the fact that probably 65,000 Nor- 
 wegians are grouped in three wards, they have 
 not achieved much success in securing political 
 prominence in Chicago. The early Norwegian 
 settlers held comparatively more official posi- 
 tions than their children and later comers hold. 
 Iver Lawson, the father of V^ictor F. Lawson, 
 came here about 1840 and grew very wealthy out 
 of lucky real estate investments. Was elected 
 city marshal, and in 1869 state representative. 
 A. B. Johnson, the lumber dealer, served in the 
 'important post of chairman of the board of sup- 
 ervisors throughout the period of the Civil War. 
 
 Canute R. Matson entered politics as clerk of 
 the police courts and in 1875 was chosen justice 
 of the peace. In 1880 he was elected coroner and 
 in 1886 he was chosen sheriff. It was to him 
 that befell the hazardous duty of. hanging the 
 anarchists. Lauritz Thoen served twice as West 
 Side collector. Sivert T. Gunderson has been 
 elected alderman and appointed a member of the 
 board of education. A. P. Johnson, of the John- 
 son Chair Company, has also served as alder- 
 man. 
 
 During recent years the Norwegians have been 
 more active in politics. At the present time there 
 180) 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 181 
 
 are three aldermen, two justices of the peace, 
 one member of the board of education, one state 
 representative, one secretary of the board of 
 education, and many holding minor offices. 
 
 Early Norwegian Set- 
 tlers in Chicago 
 
 The first Norwegian to build a house in Chi- 
 cago was Halstein Torrison, who arrived with 
 wife and children from Fjeldberg, Norway, Oct. 
 16, 1836. He built a two-story framehouse of 
 no mean size and appearance on Wells street 
 where the Chicago and North-Western depot 
 now stands. He worked as a gardener for Wal- 
 ter L. Newberry until 1848, when he moved to 
 Calumet, south of Chicago, and cultivated a 
 garden-truck farm. He died in the early '80's. 
 
 Four Generations— Nils Baker, Mrs. Hallenbeck, 
 her Son and Grandson. 
 
 From Voss also the first immigrants arrived in 
 1836, among them Nils R^the and Svein Lothe 
 (the last named from Hardanger). In 1837 came 
 Baard Johnson with wife and five children. An- 
 drew Nilsen and Anders Larsen Flage, with 
 
 families, arrived in 1839. Endre Iverson R^the 
 came m 1840, and about the same time Lars 
 Davidson (who later moved to Liberty Prairie 
 Dane county, Wis.), Ole Gilbertsen and Anna 
 Bakketbun. The latter was first married to a 
 Mr. Nicholson (Nicolausen) who died from the 
 cholera in 1849, and then to a Mr. Olson. She 
 died in 1902, 85 years old. Her brother. Nils 
 Bakkethun, called himself Baker. He was born 
 near Bergen, March 4, 1825, and came to Chicago 
 in 1843. He worked mostly for railroads, and by 
 and by drifted away from his countrymen, so 
 that, when he died, in June, 1906, only a few of 
 the Chicago Norwegians were aware of it. With 
 his wife, Anna Swensson, he had nine children, 
 of whom six are still living, all but one in Chi- 
 cago. Baker was one of the charter members of 
 Rev. Paul Anderson's church. In her first mar- 
 riage Anna Bakkethun had two sons, Henry 
 Nicholson, who served his country throughout 
 the war, and John G. Nicholson, who is still liv- 
 ing on Orchard street. He is a piano tuner by 
 profession. She also had one daughter (Sarah) 
 who was married to J. A. Anderson, the camera, 
 manufacturer. Andrew Nilsen contended that 
 Johan Larsen, from Koppervig, had visited Chi- 
 cago many times earlier as a sailor from Buf- 
 falo, but did not settle before 1836 together with 
 Halstein Torrison. 
 
 We do not doubt that a good many other Nor- 
 wegians came to Chicago between the years 1836 
 and 1840, and mention these among the first ones 
 only because we know them, says Knud Lang- 
 land. 
 
 The writer visited Nils Baker in 1906, shortly 
 before his death. The old man was very feeble 
 then, but still able to give a fairly good account 
 of himself. His biographical sketch appears else- 
 where. 
 
 In those days it required courage and pluck to 
 settle in Chicago. One had to try to eke out a 
 living by chopping wood and doing all kinds of 
 menial work. Langland visited Anders Larsen 
 Flage in 1844 — he had first met him in New 
 York in 1843, where Flage had gone to meet his 
 two daughters who had just then come over from 
 Norway — and he then had a garden-truck farm 
 on the canal land and was doing a thriving busi- 
 ness raising and selling vegetables. One of 
 Plage's daughters was later married to Rev. 
 Paul Anderson. 
 
 Since then a good many early settlers in Chi- 
 cago have accumulated wealth, not a few as 
 much as a half million dollars. Among the most 
 widely known Norwegians in Chicago was Rev, 
 
182 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Paul Anderson, the first Norwegian minister, 
 whose long and valuable services in promoting 
 the cause of the Lutheran Church deserve to be 
 kept in kind remembrance also among coming 
 generations of that faith. 
 
 The Episcopalians, led by their Swedish min- 
 ister, Gustavus Unonius, made some rather strong 
 efforts to establish their church among the first 
 
 call several of them now worth over $500,000. 
 It took the Scandinavians a long time to be- 
 gin to enter public life. The first Norwegian to 
 do so was Iver Lawson (father of Victor F. 
 Lawson, the publisher of the Daily News); 
 among the Danes Geo. P. Hansen; and among 
 the Swedes John Nelson. Martin Paulsen, father 
 of William A. Paulsen, Paulsen & Sparre, the 
 
 
 •jf?- 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 !,. 
 
 ^ 
 
 .**- 
 
 
 
 ^«^ 
 
 P 
 
 k-' 
 
 Anders Larsen Flage. 
 
 Mrs. Anders Larsen Flage. 
 
 Norwegians in Wisconsin and Chicago. They 
 induced Jenny Lind, when that Swedish Night- 
 ingale visited Chicago, to donate $1,000 towards 
 the erection of an Episcopalian church edifice, 
 which was later built on Franklin street near 
 Michigan street, on the North Side. Unonius 
 removed from Pine Lake, Wis., to Chicago and 
 acted as its minister. But the little frame church, 
 which Rev. Paul Anderson built on Superior 
 street and in which he now commenced to hold 
 services, attracted the larger part of the Nor- 
 wegians. 
 
 Those among our countrymen who, during the 
 earlier days of Chicago, were able to look into 
 the future, and had sense enough to invest their 
 savings in real estate, became rich while sleep- 
 ing during this city's marvelous growth. We re- 
 
 notorious banking firm, was a justice of the 
 peace for many years. 
 
 What you may Find in 
 an Old Directory 
 
 The ordinary person would hardly think that 
 an old directory would contain any interesting 
 matter. Sometimes it may, though, and for that 
 reason the Chicago Historical Society has been 
 very diligently gathering all the directories of 
 Chicago that have ever been published. 
 
 The first directory of Chicago was published in 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 183 
 
 1839 by a printer by the name of Fergus. It is 
 not a big book in comparison with the Chicago 
 directories of the present day. But it should be 
 remembered that the population of Chicago in 
 1839 did not exceed 3,000, all told. 
 
 While looking through the pages of Fergus' 
 directory we were naturally eager to see whether 
 any Scandinavian names were to be found in the 
 same, and we were not disappointed in this re- 
 spect. We had read in other books about a Hal- 
 stein Torrison, who came here with wife and chil- 
 dren, Oct. 16, 1836, in company with a sailor, 
 Johan Larsen of Koppervig, and was the first 
 Norwegian to build a house in Chicago, but we 
 had not been able to find out what was his busi- 
 ness or occupation. Fergus' directory, however, 
 dispelled all doubt about this question, although 
 • the name is a little distorted. The directory 
 gives 
 
 Holstein T0reson, gardener, with Walter L. 
 Newberry. 
 We think this is plain enough. The name should 
 correctly have been written Halstein Thorstein- 
 son. A little later it was Americanized to Torri- 
 son, under which name Rev. P. Anderson found 
 our subject, when he visited his farm in 1848. 
 After having taken care of Newberry's garden- 
 ing for some years, Halstein moved out of Chi- 
 cago and bought land in Calumet, south of Chi- 
 cago, where he started a truck farm and pros- 
 pered. He came from Fjeldberg, Norway. He had 
 built his house on Wells street, where the Chi- 
 cago & North-Western R. R. station is now lo- 
 cated. His "house" was a very modest structure, 
 in fact a mere shanty. But at that time our 
 countrymen could not afford to be particular 
 about their dwellings, not even in the towns. It 
 almost startles one to reflect over what Hal- 
 stein's shanty and building lot would fetch to- 
 day. 
 
 For the younger generations of Norwegian de- 
 scent it may be of interest to know that the 
 Walter L. Newberry in question was a heavy 
 real-estate owner who donated a large sum of 
 money for the building and maintenance of the 
 grand Newberry Library on the Nc.»-th Side. 
 
 While Halstein Torrison was gardening for 
 Newberry, another Norwegian from Voss, Thor- 
 stein Michaelson came to Chicago and found 
 employment as assistant gardener to Torrison. 
 Torrison having left Newberry's employ, Mich- 
 aelson remained as chief gardener and worked 
 for Newberry altogether for about thirty-five 
 years. He was born Nov. 24, 1808, and died 
 May 29, 1885. His first wife died from the chol- 
 era in 1849. 
 
 Thorstein Michaelson had one daughter by his 
 first wife. She was married to Nicolai Gunder- 
 son, who is now dead, but Mrs. Gunderson is 
 still living at Austin, 111., where 'she celebrated 
 her sixtieth birthday, July 14, 1906, surrounded 
 by her relatives. 
 
 When Michaelson entered married life a sec- 
 ond time his mate was a sister of Andrew Nel- 
 son Brekke. They had two children — one son 
 and one daughter. The son, Carl, was born in 
 1852. He went to California long ago; has not 
 been heard from during the last ten years. The 
 daughter, Julia, who was born in 1862, was mar- 
 ried to a Swede, Mr. Peter Johnson, with whom 
 she has had two sons — Walter Theodore Johnson, 
 born in 1880, and Clarence Michaelson Johnson, 
 born in 1882. Both are engaged in the electro- 
 typing business, Walter as a molder and Clar- 
 ence as a photographer. Mrs. Julia Johnson lives 
 in her own comfortable residence at 1341 Maple- 
 wood avenue. We reproduce here a portrait of 
 her father. 
 
 ^C<^ 
 
 
 ^^^^^^^HHH|^ 
 
 
 
 . , ..J... i 
 
 ^^^hD^^^I 
 
 ^^^K^SM 
 
 ^1^^^^ 
 
 
 Thorstein Michaelson. 
 
 In the same directory we also note Anfin John- 
 son, a tailor, employed by Simon Doyle on Kin- 
 zie street. The given name Anfin settles John- 
 
184 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 son's nationality beyond doubt, as does Sivert 
 Davidson's. Mr. Davidson was a carpenter and 
 lived in the Cass street Dutch Settlement. There 
 was another Davidson, Lars, who was a fireman 
 on the steamboat "Geo. W. Dole." and still a 
 third, Peter D., a hostler with John H. Kinzie. 
 Those three Davidsons were brothers, although, 
 of course, the directory gives no information up- 
 on that subject. Lars Davidson later moved to 
 Wisconsin and settled on Liberty Prairie, Dane 
 county, where he wasstill living in 1889, accord- 
 ing to Knud Langland. 
 
 Although the directory does not mention it, 
 we are able to state upon no less authority than 
 Rev. Paul Anderson that Baard Johnson, with 
 wife and five children, came here in 1837. The 
 tailor, Anfin Johnson, was his son. He had two 
 other sons, John and Andrew, among the five 
 children. 
 
 In looking for the names of other countrymen 
 in the directory we may without meny chances 
 of error enlist Asle Anderson, musician, North 
 State street; Endre Anderson, laborer; and Eric 
 Anderson, pressman. Nobody would mistake the 
 given names Asle and Endre for anything but 
 Norwegian, and, as the three lived in the same 
 house on North State street, we may rest reason- 
 ably sure that they were brothers or otherwise 
 related. 
 
 Looking a little further forward, we find three 
 Lawsons — Iver Lawson, laborer, boarded at 240 
 Superior street; Canute Lawson, city street car- 
 penter, same address. Canute was probably mar- 
 ried, and his brother Iver boarded with him. 
 
 We have mentioned before that Johan Larsen, 
 a sailor, arrived at the same time, as Halstein 
 Torrison, and we find the name in the directory 
 all right, but without address, as he, of course, 
 lived on board the vessel in which he sailed. 
 Johan Larsen, who lived in Chicago as late as 
 1890, had visited this place many times before 
 he settled here, he having sailed on the lakes 
 with Buffalo as headquarters for several years. 
 
 There is also a laborer by the name of Andrew 
 Larson, Cass street Dutch Settlement. Mr. Peter 
 M. Balken informs us thnt this man was Andrew 
 Larson Flage, whose daughter Ragnild was mar- 
 ried to Rev. Anderson, the first Norwegian min- 
 ister in Chicago. 
 
 Captain George Peterson, Canal street, was 
 the first Norwegian sea captain to sail on the 
 lakes with his residence in Chicago. 
 
 The Norwegian Old Set- 
 tlers' Society. 
 
 It is a well known fact that Mr. Peter M. 
 Balken was the first man to whom the happy 
 thought occurred of getting the old Norwegian 
 settlers in Chicago together. He also took the 
 first step toward the realization of the idea by 
 sending out an invitation on post cards to fifty 
 old settlers to meet on a certain evening, in 1879, 
 at the residence of Canute R. Matson. 
 
 Of the fifty so invited forty-eight responded 
 by presenting themselves on the appointed even- 
 ing and meeting place. 
 
 Considerable enthusiasm was manifested over 
 a proposition that the ones present then and 
 there form the nucleus for The Norwegian Old 
 Settlers' Society, everyone present becoming a 
 charter member. 
 
 The constitution and by-laws of the society 
 give as its objects to establish an intimate ac- 
 quaintance between the members, to give them 
 a chance of comparing notes of pioneer days, 
 foster friendship and provide wholesome social 
 amusements. 
 
 Applicants for membership must show that they 
 have lived at least fifteen years in the United 
 States, that they are useful and reputable citi- 
 zens, and at the time are living in Chicago. 
 
 The entrance fee is only 15 cents, and persons 
 wishing to become honorary members pay five 
 dollars. The officers of the society are one pre- 
 sident, one vice-president, one secretary, one 
 treasurer, and an executive committee of five 
 members. 
 
 The annual meeting of the society is held on 
 the first Thursday in September, when the of- 
 ficers for the ensuing fiscal year are elected. 
 The duties of the officers are about the same as 
 in other societies of a similar nature. 
 
 It has been customary to hold two festive 
 gatherings anually, a picnic in the summer and a 
 banquet in the winter. On these occasions the 
 stories of the good old days are retold in toasts 
 and tete-a-tetes which grow in loquacity and gos- 
 sipy details with the imbibing and consuming of 
 genuine Norwegian beverages and delicacies. 
 
 Proud of fatherland, the Norseman is no less 
 proud of being an "old settler" of Chicago. This 
 sentiment has made itself manifest at every cele- 
 bration of the Norwegian Old Settlers' Society 
 of Chicago. 
 
 At such occasions the members of the society 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 185 
 
 and their guests would sit down to a sumptuous 
 repast, at which fish, the beloved dish of all 
 Norsemen, cuts no small figure, served in many 
 appetizing ways. Other viands and wine served 
 to make each celebration a notable one and well 
 fit the orators of the evening to pronounce prose 
 pseans upon the viking and the "Land of the Mid- 
 night Sun." 
 
 As examples of the subjects of the toasts at 
 such occasions we will quote those at the cele- 
 bration of the fifteenth annual banquet. Mr. R. 
 Henderson was then president of the society and 
 first extended a hearty welcome. At its conclu- 
 sion the following toasts were given, and the fol- 
 lowing Chicago Norsemen acquitted themselves 
 eloquently in responding to them: 
 
 "Norwegian Old Settlers of Chicago," John 
 Gittelson. 
 
 "The Political Influence of the Norsemen on 
 Chicago and the Northwest," C. R. Matson. 
 
 "Norwegian Navigation on the Great Lakes," 
 S. T. Gunderson. 
 
 "Norse Sailors of Chicago," Halvor Michelson. 
 
 "Norwegian Industries of Chicago," A. P. 
 Johnson. 
 
 The constitution and by-laws of the society 
 were not adopted until April 30, 1S82. 
 
 In the course of time as the oldest settlers have 
 had to journey to the undiscovered country, from 
 whose bourn no traveler returns, and so many 
 other societies, fraternal and others, have sprung 
 up, the interest in the Old Settlers' Society has 
 been diminishing, until there is now hardly any- 
 thing left of it. Instead the interest has been 
 centering itself on the Norwegian Old People's 
 Home, which through the unceasing efforts of 
 Dr. N. T. Quales and others has grown to pro- 
 portions of which its founders could hardly have 
 dreamed of at its inception. 
 
 At the last annual meeting of the Norwegian 
 Old Settlers' Society, whenever that was held, Mr. 
 Peter M. Balken was elected president and Captain 
 John Anderson secretary. It seems, however, to 
 have reached such a state of decadence that no- 
 body knows where its records are to be found. 
 The only record we have been able to locate is 
 a book containing the constitution and by-laws 
 together with a list of its members, which we 
 present here and which also gives the years of 
 each member's arrival and the place in Norway 
 from which he came. 
 
 John Anderson, 1845, Voss. 
 
 J. C. Anderson, 1842. 
 
 John Anderson, Captain, 1856, Fredriksstad. 
 
 Peter M. Balken, 1849, Stavanger. 
 
 Mrs. Carrie R. Balken, 1850, Stavanger. 
 
 John Balken, 1849, Stavanger. 
 
 Ole Bendixon, 1863, Christiania. 
 
 John Blegen, 1869, TjzJnsberg. 
 
 O. T. Birkeland, 1851, Egersund. 
 
 John C. Camberg, 1852, Soggendal. 
 
 John Christianson, 1866, Trondhjem. 
 
 H. L. Dahl, 1864, Tromsjz^. 
 
 Elef Danielson, 1861. 
 
 T. Engebretson, 1852, Haugesund. 
 
 Paul F. Eckstorm, 1849, Skien. 
 
 Albart J. Elvig, 1855, Bergen. 
 
 Andreas Erickson, 1864, Bergen. 
 
 Milian Engh, 1871. 
 
 Jonas Ellingson, 1871, Stavanger. 
 
 Peter Ellefsen, 1864, 0rskon. 
 
 Christian Erickson, 1859, Bergen. 
 
 Daniel Erickson, 1861, Bukken, near Stavanger. 
 
 Johannes Gullacksen, 1864, Bergen. 
 
 John Gittleson, 1850. 
 
 Andrew Gunderson, 1848, Farsund. 
 
 C. J. Gullackson, 1864, Bergen. 
 
 Martin Gunderson, 1848, Farsund. 
 
 John O. Gilbo, 1868, Gudbrandsdalen. 
 
 Bryngel Henderson, 1844, Voss. 
 
 Mrs. Martha Henderson, 1844, Voss. 
 
 Rognald Henderson, 1849, Voss. 
 
 Thomas G. Hanson, 1857, Hardanger. 
 
 Hans Hansen, 1848. 
 
 John Hanson, 1865. 
 
 Enock Halverson, 1852, Stavanger. 
 
 Peter Halvorson, 1869. 
 
 Helge A. Haugan, 1861, Christiania. 
 
 H. G. Holtan, 1864, Telemarken. 
 
 M. B. Hanson. 
 
 Hans Iverson, 1850, Hardanger. 
 
 Louis Iverson. 
 
 Knud Iverson. 
 
 A. B. Johnson, 1837. 
 
 John C. Johansen, 1864, Bergen. 
 
 Mrs. Sophia Johansen, 1868, Stavanger. 
 
 Andrew P. Johnson, 1850, Voss. 
 
 Alfred Johnson, 1850. 
 
 Ida Johnson, 1854. 
 
 Nels Johnson, 1850, Voss. 
 
 Peter Johnson, 1861, Trondhjem. 
 
 Capt. William Johnson, 1855. 
 
 Fred Johnson, 1866. 
 
 Neils Johnson, 1853, 0vre Romerige. 
 
 S. Knudson, 1853. 
 
186 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Andrew G. Krogstad, 1868, Krogstad, Furnaes, 
 
 Hedemarken. 
 C. G. Krogness. 
 Christian Lee, 1845, Gausdal. 
 Edw. S. A. Lahlum, 1863, Bergen. 
 Hans T. Mauritzon, 1850, Stavanger. 
 C. R. Matson, 1848, Voss. 
 G. C. Meyer, 1864, Bergen. 
 Ben Moe. 
 
 Capt. Halvor Mickelson, 1854, Stavanger. 
 C. R. E. Munson. 
 
 Kittil Nirison, 1845, Bfi Prestegjeld, Telemar- 
 ken. 
 
 Mrs. Ingeborg Nirison, 1848, Farsund. 
 
 Andrew Nelson, 1830, Voss. 
 
 Mrs. Julia Nelson, 1844, Voss. 
 
 Jettee B. Nordhem, 1859, Voss. 
 
 Charles M. Netterstrjzim, 1852, Stavanger. 
 
 E. B. Nordhem, 1865, Voss. 
 
 J. C. Netterstr^m, 1853, Stavanger. 
 
 Hans Nordal, 1866, Odalen. 
 
 Peter Nelson, 1841, Skien. 
 
 N. Nelson, Dentist, 1867, Christiania. 
 
 Arthur N. Nelson, 1853, Laurvig. 
 
 Edward Olson, 1858, Hamar. 
 
 Peder Olson, 1850, Voss. 
 
 Mrs. Sophia Olson, 1846, Voss. 
 
 Gilbert Olsen, 1866, Christiania. 
 
 Jens Olsen, 1843, Siljord, Telemarken. 
 
 Anthon Oien, 1861, Trondhjem. 
 
 R. Olson, 1853, Stavanger. 
 
 John Olson, 1854, Egersund. 
 
 Martin Olson, 1864, Christiania. 
 
 Peter Olsen Skaaden, 1867, Gudbrandsdalen. 
 
 Tom Olson, 1866, Porsgrund. 
 
 Julius Pedersen, 1855, Stavanger. 
 
 Johanna Pedersen, 1856, Stavanger. 
 
 H. S. Paulsen, 1864, Solor. 
 
 Zakarias Peterson, 1848, Lyngdal, Farsund. 
 
 S^ren M. Peterson, 1862, Skien. 
 
 Dr. Niles T. Quales, 1859, Hardanger. 
 
 John Reyerson, 1857, Slidre, Valders. 
 
 Gulbrand Roberg, 1856, Nordre Land. 
 
 Susan Roberg, 1849, Voss. 
 
 Christian R. Rasmusson, 1864, Soudland, Flek- 
 
 kefjord. 
 M. H. Ryerson, 1855, Kragerj^. 
 Berthe S. Ryerson, 1849, Lyngdal. 
 Axel Stubergh, 1867, Christiania. 
 Nels Sampson, 1849, Voss. 
 Ellev G. Seavert, 1844, Vossevangcn. 
 Nils B. Str0m, 1868, Drammen. 
 O. L. Stangeland. 
 
 Charles Sampson, 1861, Haugesund. 
 G. A. Wigeland, 1843, Stathdle. 
 
 Early Norwegian Print- 
 ers in Chicago 
 
 It might be of some interest to publish in this 
 work a complete list of the Norwegian printers 
 in Chicago, but it would take too much space 
 even if it were possible to give the names of all 
 of them. Consequently we shall have to confine 
 ourselves to the earliest ones. 
 
 It may be a surprise to a good many of the 
 craft to learn that the first pressman in Chicago 
 was a Norwegian. He was not only the first of 
 our own nationality, but there was no other 
 pressman before his arrival. His name was David 
 Johnson, and he came here in 1834. 
 
 John Amundsen's House. 
 Corner Erie and Halsted Streets. 
 
 The proprietor of the first paper in Chicago 
 was Mr. Calhoun. He published the Chicago 
 Democrat. The paper prospered and he could 
 not very long supply the demand by printing it 
 on one of the old-time hand presses. Conse- 
 quently he bought a second-hand cylinder press 
 from New York with an order to the seller to 
 let a man who could run the press accompanyjt. 
 
 David Johnson was a young sailor. He came 
 from Norway to New York as a sailor boy. 
 When the ship in which he sailed was moored 
 there he got his regular leave of absence. But 
 he never returned to the ship, which sailed away. 
 When his means gave out he looked around for 
 a job and in very short time secured one as a 
 press-feeder. He worked at this for two years, 
 when Mr. Calhoun's order for the cylinder press 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 187 
 
 came. He was then asked whether he would like 
 to go West with the press, and consented. In 
 due time he arrived with the press in Chicago, 
 where he put it up and ran it, nobody knows 
 how long. 
 
 In his autobiography Mr. Calhoun mentions 
 this, but does not give the pressman's name. But 
 the Chicago Historical Society has among its 
 possessions Mr. Calhoun's account book for 1834, 
 and in it we have found David Johnson's name. 
 
 The next Norwegian printer after David John- 
 son, as far as we have been able to trace, was a 
 pressman, Eric Anderson, in 1839. In 1844 came 
 John Amundson, who learned his trade with the 
 next proprietor of the Chicago Democrat, John 
 Wentworth (Long John), and the next one is 
 called in the account books William Iver. His 
 Norwegian name was, however, Iver Vikingson. 
 In 1850 we find Hans Kjos; in 1851, Ole Gulliver; 
 in 1852, John Anderson (the founder and still the 
 publisher of Skandinaven) ; in 1853, Lars Lee and 
 Lewis Knudson; and in 1855, Peter M. Balken, 
 who then came to the Chicago Journal, where he 
 remained for over forty years as pressman. Mr. 
 Balken is still living, active, and at the present 
 time engaged in the county clerk's office. 
 
 The SkandinavianTypo- 
 graphical Union 
 
 Was organized in 1883, after many unsuccessful 
 ■attempts to consolidate the labor interests of 
 Scandinavian-American printers in Chicago. On 
 April 15 of that year Emil Ljunggren called a 
 meeting of Scandinavian printers at the Hotel 
 Dannevirke, to discuss the question of forming a 
 union. Steps were then taken which terminated 
 in the organization of the society ten days later, 
 the original founders being: Emil Ljunggren, 
 Olaf A. Rasmussen, J. J. Engberg, O. Lund, A. 
 Johansen, C. Koch, M. Guldbrandsen, C. J. Chris- 
 tiansen, Allan Soetre, J. Newbold, J. Hansen, G. 
 C. Shervey, Edward Lund, A. A. Andersen, 
 Charles Ericksen, H. Ariansen, T. Bj^rgelfsen, 
 Samuel Lyckberg, J. Dahl, John Hansen, and 
 L. E. Aslund. 
 
 A. Morck was elected president; J. A. Nyberg, 
 vice-president; Olaf A. Rasmussen, recording 
 secretary; Ernest Younggren, treasurer; Tormod 
 Manson, financial secretary; Emil Ljunggren, 
 
 sergeant-at-arms. The total membership was 
 thirty-six. 
 
 Semi-annual meetings in January and July were 
 arranged for, and at the third regular meeting 
 the membership was forty-nine. The presidents 
 for 1884 were A. Morck and Ernest Younggren; 
 for the first half of 1885, C. O. Williamson. On 
 May 1, 1884, the sick fund was established and 
 twenty-eight members of the association sub- 
 scribed for its benefits. This branch of the so- 
 ciety was reorganized on Aug. 23, 1885, with 
 Charles J. Sward as secretary and treasurer, and 
 twelve members, $105 being paid out for sick 
 relief during the first six months of 1885. On 
 Sept. 1, another fund was established, whereby 
 unemployed members were to receive $3 per week. 
 The officers elected for the second term of 1885 
 were: A. Morck, president; J. F. Ellefsen, vice- 
 president; Alexander Sward, recording secretary; 
 O. Lund, financial secretary; J. Dahl, treasurer; 
 Emil Lindberg, sergeant-at-arms; C. O. William- 
 son and Hilmer Hesselroth, trustees. At that 
 time the association had forty-nine members. 
 
 The Norwegian Old 
 
 People's Home 
 
 Society 
 
 By Dr. N. T. Quales. 
 
 Shortly after the great fire, in 1871, the Chicago 
 Relief and Aid Society endowed the Old People's 
 Home, located on the corner of Indiana avenue 
 and Thirty-ninth street, reserving to itself the 
 right of as many free places, to be occupied by 
 worthy old people, as the Relief Society might 
 choose to admit. 
 
 This home, with a capacity of housing seventy- 
 two inmates, was intended for old people in gen- 
 eral, and not for any particular creed or nation- 
 ality. It was at that time the only old people's 
 home in the city, and it was a mere matter of 
 chance or preferment to obtain admission, and 
 as far as I have been able to ascertain only four 
 women of our nationality had been admitted up 
 to the year of 1896. But the difficulty of obtain- 
 ing admission was not the only drawback. The 
 language, the customs, the religious exercises. 
 
188 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 etc., were foreign to our people, so that they 
 could not find themselves entirely at home in 
 this institution. Hence the need of a home of 
 our own was the more keenly felt. 
 
 During the thirty or more years in which I 
 had been going from house to house in the pur- 
 suit of my calling as a physician, I often met 
 with persons whom I was at a loss to know what 
 to do with. They were men and women gener- 
 ally well up in years, persons who by hard work 
 and by saving had managed to lay aside a few 
 hundred dollars. They had now come to that 
 stage of life when their working days were at 
 
 he has no other income. He must rent a room, 
 which will cost him $4 per month, or $48 a year. 
 His living would cost him $5 per month, or $60 
 a year; together, $108. To this must be added 
 incidental expenses, such as medical attendance, 
 nursing, medicine, besides clothes, etc. At this 
 rate his capital would not last him much over 
 four years. A person of 65 years, in ordinary 
 good health for that age, is likely to live ten 
 years. Here then comes the sad part of it. After 
 having battled through life independently for 
 three score years and ten, we find him now about 
 to end his days in an almshouse, and to be buried 
 
 ^w ''}f'- '--^ 
 
 The Norwegian Old People's Home, Norwood Park, 111. 
 
 an end, and when they had to look out for a 
 home in which to spend the remainder of their 
 days. They had no one in particular to depend 
 upon, and there was no family who was willing 
 to give them a permanent home for the few hun- 
 dred dollars which they possessed. Not being 
 sick, they were not subjects for a hospital, neither 
 were they yet paupers, hence could not be sent 
 to the poorhouse. Their small capital would not 
 last them long if they should subsist on that, a 
 fact that can readily be demonstrated. We will 
 take as an example a person 65 years of age, and 
 we will suppose that he has laid by $500, and that 
 
 in a potter's field. Does not this seem cruel? 
 And yet there appeared to be no other way out 
 of it. The only remedy that I could think of 
 was to establish a home for this class of persons. 
 Their condition impressed itself so forcibly upon 
 my mind, that I resolved to do what I could for 
 them. And the opportunity came. In 1892, when 
 the Tabitha Society was reorganized, a commit- 
 tee was elected to draft a constitution and by- 
 laws for the society, and as I happened to be a 
 member of that committee I urged this matter 
 strongly upon the other members, with the result 
 that it became embodied in the charter of the 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 189 
 
 societ}', as one of the objects thereof, to estab- 
 lish a home for the aged. But as the main object 
 of the leaders of that society was hospital work, 
 the home for the aged, as well as orphans, and 
 deaconesses' home, were set entirely aside. This 
 action, or rather non-action, on the part of the 
 so-called majority of the Tabitha Society caused 
 grievous disappointment and general dissatisfac- 
 tion; so much so, that a very large number of 
 the members withdrew from the Society — the 
 very inembers who had been most active in pro- 
 moting the cause and contributing to the success 
 of the object for which the society was organ- 
 ized. 
 
 These members who thus withdrew from the 
 Tabitha Society were determined to go on with 
 the work of charity, namely, deaconess work, 
 home for the aged and orphan home. After fully 
 considering the inatter they came to the con- 
 clusion that it would not be best to carry on the 
 various branches of the work under one and the 
 same head. They therefore divided up the work, 
 so that one part took up deaconess work, an- 
 other home for the aged and still another or- 
 phan home. 
 
 The Tabitha Society had been divided into 
 branches, and that part of the membership who 
 withdrew, who took up the work for an Old 
 People's Home, retained the branch organiza- 
 tino, hence the Bethlehem, Concordia, Trinity, 
 Wicker Park and Zion branches organized them- 
 selves into a society under the name of the Nor- 
 wegian Old People's Home Society of Chicago, 
 Illinois. A constitution and by-laws were drafted 
 and adopted and the society was formally or^ 
 ganized in the chapel of Trinity Church on the 
 31st day of March, 1896, and incorporated under 
 the laws of the state of Illinois on the 24th day 
 of April, 1896. 
 
 The articles of incorporation provide that the 
 name of the society shall be the Norwegian Old 
 People's Home Society of Chicago, Illinois, and 
 that the object is to erect, maintain and manage 
 a home for old people, and that the society in 
 its work shall be governed in conformity with 
 the principles of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 The constitution provides that the control of 
 the affairs of the society shall be vested in a board 
 of directors, consisting of one male member from 
 each branch having from fifteen to fifty mem- 
 bers, and one for each additional fifty members. 
 It further provides that each branch at its De- 
 cember meeting shall nominate candidates for 
 directors, who are to be elected at the annual 
 meeting of the society and serve for three years; 
 
 that the directors elected are to organize by 
 electing from their own members a president, 
 vice-president, secretary and treasurer, who are 
 to hold office for one year. 
 
 The constitution further provides for a ladies' 
 auxiliary board, to consist of two ladies from 
 each branch. They are to be nominated and elect- 
 ed in the same manner as the members of the 
 board of directors and serve for two years. The 
 organization of the ladies' board to be similar to 
 the board of directors, and their particular duties 
 are to look after the domestic affairs of the home, 
 arrange for and have charge of festivals, enter- 
 tainments, etc. 
 
 The first board of directors consisted of Abra- 
 ham Johnson and Conrad de Lange from Bethle- 
 hem Branch; Anton A. Melum from Concordia 
 Branch; Adolph Nelson and Anton Petersen from 
 Trinity Branch; A. P. Johnson and N. T. Quales 
 from Wicker Park Branch, and John Jersin and 
 John Anda from Zion Branch. The board of 
 directors met April 8, 1896, at the residence of 
 Dr. N. T. Quales, 52 Fowler street, and organ- 
 ized by electing Dr. Quales president, Anton A. 
 Melum vice-president, John Jersin secretary and 
 Anton Petersen treasurer. 
 
 The ladies' board consisted of Mrs. H. Samu- 
 elsen and Mrs. B. Amundsen, from Bethlehem 
 Branch; Mrs. A. Johnson and Mrs. Belle Nelson 
 from Concordia Branch; Mrs. R. Jorgensen and 
 Mrs. H. Johnson from Trinity Branch; Mrs. 
 Henry Olsen and Mrs. H. L. Anderson from 
 Wicker Park Branch, and Mrs. Minnie Anda and 
 Mrs. Margrethe Rosier from Zion Branch. The 
 board organized by electing Mrs. Belle Nelson 
 president, Mrs. Margrethe Rosier vice-president, 
 Mrs. Minnie Anda secretary and Mrs. H. L. An- 
 derson, treasurer. 
 
 In 1898 two new branches were added to the 
 societj^, namely, Moreland Branch and United 
 Branch; of these two, the United Branch dis- 
 banded in the early part of 1899 and the More- 
 land Branch in 1901. In 1905 a new branch, the 
 Young People's Branch, was admitted into the 
 society. 
 
 In the latter part of 1900 a "young ladies' aid 
 society" was organized. The society, consisting 
 of young ladies, has taken great interest in the 
 work and has been a very valuable addition to 
 our society. 
 
 They were the first to set apart money for a 
 reserve fund, and by adding to this fund year 
 by year they have now $800 saved up for this 
 purpose. 
 
 At the meeting in Trinity Church, when the 
 
190 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Society was organized, the directors were in- 
 structed to begin the work at once, and either to 
 buy or to rent a suitable place for an old peo- 
 ple's home. 
 
 For various reasons the board of directors pre- 
 ferred to buy, and was fortunate in finding a 
 beautiful piece of property in Norwood Park, 
 comprising about four acres of land planted to 
 park. On the ground was a three-story building 
 with basement, containing between twenty-five 
 'and thirty rooms. With some changes this build- 
 ing could be made to serve our purpose. 
 
 The cost of this propertv was $20,000, but from 
 this amount the owner agreed to donate $1,500. 
 As the property was very desirable, and having 
 fully satisfied ourselves that the price was rea- 
 sonable, the board of directors decided to buy. 
 The bargain was closed on the 18th day of May, 
 1896; on the 15th of June we got possession of 
 the property by making a payment of $3,500, and 
 in 1897 we made the second payment of $3,500. 
 Similar payment was made every year until 1901, 
 when we made our last payment. Besides the 
 cost price of the property, between $2,000 and 
 $3,000 had been expended on the building and 
 on the grounds. In the year 1901 the society 
 purchased a parcel of ground in the Union Ridge 
 Cemetery and some of the departed inmates 
 have found there their resting place. 
 
 The property in our possession, applications 
 for admission came from all parts of the coun- 
 try, from California and from the far East, even 
 before the house was ready for occupancy. Mrs. 
 Caroline Osterberg was the first permanent in- 
 mate, and at the time of the formal opening and 
 dedication festivities, August 8, 1896, seventeen 
 old people had already found refuge within its 
 walls. 
 
 When the branches now constituting the Old 
 People's Home Society withdrew from the Tab- 
 itha Society, they left everything in the posses- 
 sion of that society, so that when we took up 
 this work it was with absolutely empty hands. 
 However, our hearts were interested in the cause 
 and we went at it with earnestness and full of 
 faith, and surely our efforts have been crowned 
 with success. 
 
 We were all agreed to do charity, but when we 
 came to the practical part of it we differed as to 
 what constituted charity. Some held that it could 
 only be charity when we took in persons abso- 
 lutely without means; others thought it would be 
 charity when a few were admitted free. Others 
 again held that it was charity indeed when we 
 undertook to care and provide for old people, 
 
 even if they paid a comparatively small amount. 
 After the work was begun, and especially after 
 we had more fully investigated the work and 
 management of similar institutions elsewhere, it 
 became clearly apparent that the plan and pur- 
 pose of the societies having the care and man- 
 agement of these private or semi-public institu- 
 tions were not to establish poorhouses. Public 
 paupers must be cared and provided for by the 
 county and state authorities. Homes similar to 
 ours were intended for old people who have never 
 been puplic paupers, and who never ought to be 
 treated as such. 
 
 Inmates of these homes should be made to feel 
 that they are part owners, as it were, in the in- 
 stitution, and that they are in their own home. 
 As far as their age and health would permit they 
 should have every inducement to enjoy life truly 
 and peacefully. 
 
 The question of doing charity has been brought 
 up time and again. It has been laid up against 
 our society that so long as we do not admit per- 
 sons free into the home we do no charity. In 
 my annual reports I have demonstrated clearly, 
 I think, that our work is truly charitable work, 
 and it has been my experience that those who 
 are anxious to do charity when it can be done 
 with other people's money, and who cry the 
 loudest, are not, as a rule, the ones to head the 
 subscription lists for charitable purposes. 
 
 When societies like the one having charge of 
 the Old People's Home at Indiana avenue and 
 Thirty-ninth street, whose property is valued at 
 nearly $300,000, the Altenheim Society, with a 
 reserve fund of about $80,000, or the German 
 Missourians' Old People's Home at Arlington 
 Heights, supported by thirty or forty congrega- 
 tions, cannot afiford to admit persons free, it 
 seems queer that our poor society, which has no 
 stated income and no reserve fund, should be 
 expected to do so. It is said that by admitting- 
 persons free we shall be blessed; people will open- 
 their hearts and money will come in abundantly. 
 But can you bank on this? It is a trite old say- 
 ing, that the Lord helps those that help them- 
 selves. 
 
 While I believe in doing charity, and have 
 practiced according to this belief as far as I have 
 been able, and while I would be only too glad to- 
 admit persons into the home free, I cannot in 
 this case overlook the fact that a great responsi- 
 bility is resting upon us. We founded this home. 
 We have admitted into the home old men and' 
 old women. We have taken their last dollar and 
 we have agreed to provide for them and to take 
 care of them for the rest of their lives, and to- 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 191 
 
 give them a Christian burial. What I sai3 in my 
 first annual report I repeat here, that just now it 
 may seem a very simple task to feed and take 
 care of some worthy men and women, minding 
 themselves and their own affairs. But if in im- 
 agination we permit ourselves to be carried for- 
 ward for five or ten years, what do we find? 
 Why, the old people have grown older, and with 
 the advance in years, helplessness has resulted, 
 together with sickness and impatience. They 
 have been compelled to remain in bed, are fret- 
 ful and difficult to care for, and demand atten- 
 tion day and night. They have to be nursed; 
 must be lifted in and out of bed. They must be 
 kept clean. Extra help is needed. They can- 
 not, as in a hospital, be discharged as cured, im- 
 proved in health or incurable. No; they are there 
 for life. They are under our care and in our 
 keeping, whether their days be few or many. 
 There will be no question as to whether they 
 have paid much or little; all demand the same 
 care and attention. And when at last their time 
 shall have come — ■ 
 
 When death's sad shadow is densely cast 
 Upon the dim and the lustreless vision; 
 
 When nature's beauty and charms have past. 
 Life's joy they hear, but it bears no mission — 
 
 then it is that a loving, a tender and helpful hand 
 is needed to make the bed soft and moisten the 
 parched lips. A loving hand to wipe away the 
 salt tears and the cold perspiration from pale, 
 wrinkled cheeks. A loving hand to close the 
 broken eyes when the angel of death shall have 
 recorded the last breath. And finally loving hands 
 and kind hearts are required to carry and escort, 
 in a worthy and Christian manner, the soulless 
 body to its last resting place. 
 
 This is the object of our society. This is the 
 magnificent thought. This is the lofty aim. This 
 is the noble purpose of our work. And can there 
 yet be anyone among us with such evil thoughts 
 in his heart as that this is not intended for a 
 work of love, of benevolence, of charity? 
 
 For the reason given I have been and am now 
 firmly of the opinion that we should not under- 
 take to admit anyone free until there may have 
 been created a special fund for this purpose. 
 They who can see no charity in the work we are 
 now doing will hardly think it charity if one or 
 two persons are admitted free, and I doubt very 
 much whether they would consider it charity, in 
 the way they understand it, even if all were ad- 
 mitted free. And how would it be possible to 
 discriminate and do justice where all applicants 
 had the same rights and qualifications? 
 
 In order to show what it means to found and 
 maintain the home I shall give in round numbers 
 the income and expenditures for each year as 
 they appear in the treasurer's annual reports: 
 
 Income. Expenditures. 
 
 First year $ 8,932.25 $ 8,094.87 
 
 Second year 12,063.31 11,596.91 
 
 Third year 8,354.56 8,100.49 
 
 Fourth year 11,648.66 11,054.57 
 
 Fifth year 11,025.11 10,128.38 
 
 Sixth year 5,110.57 4,041.19 
 
 Seventh year 6,400.02 5,497.86 
 
 Eighth year 5,281.21 5,597.50 
 
 Ninth year 5,781.59 5,244.13 
 
 Tenth year 18,561.36 12,997.66 
 
 Total $93,158.64 $82,353.56 
 
 At the home quite extensive improvements 
 were made in 1905. A wing was added to the 
 main building. This addition consists of a two- 
 story building with brick basement. Each story 
 has eight rooms provided with modern improve- 
 ments, and in the basement are located apparatus 
 for steamheating, coal room, janitor's room, etc. 
 The old building was repaired from cellar to 
 garret, the dining room was enlarged and re- 
 paired, new barn was erected, etc. The expenses 
 of these various improvements amounted to 
 about $8,000. The inmates of the home at pres- 
 ent number forty-eight, and since the home was 
 founded eighty-four old men and women have 
 been admitted into the institution as permanent 
 inmates. The hired help are a matron, a janitor, 
 a cook and three girls. The cost for each in- 
 mate during the year amounts to about $120. 
 
 * * 
 
 The Norwegian Luth- 
 eran Children's 
 Home 
 
 It is now over twenty-five years since the 
 Norwegians of Chicago began to discuss the 
 necessity of a Children's home. Pastor Eielsen 
 favored the movement, and at his death provided 
 in his will for $1,500 as a nucleus, providing 
 only that the three church organizations — namely 
 Hauges Synod, Augustana Synod and Konfer- 
 encen — should jointly build and maintain the 
 home. The subject was carefully considered, but 
 
192 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Rev. Eielsen's noble plan of united action on 
 the part of the churches could not be realized. 
 The matter was dropped for a. few years, when 
 it was taken up again, with Mrs. Eielsen and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sand in the lead. This efifort 
 proved as fruitless as the first. The society died, 
 and there was fear of losing the money gener- 
 ously set aside by Rev. Eielsen. Mrs. Michael- 
 sen, who was a member of this society, was 
 greatly disappointed in the fact that no further 
 
 in its constitution a clause providing for a chil- 
 dren's home or asylum. 
 
 She then laid her plans before one of these 
 meetings, but no action was taken. However, 
 Rev. Brun, who was chairman of the association, 
 was interested, and after an interview with him, 
 and after having shown him the rules she had 
 prepared, he approved of the idea and promised 
 his support. The rules, briefly stated, were as 
 follows : 
 
 Norwegian Lutheran Children's Home. 
 
 meetings were called, but continued to study 
 the subject with a view of avoiding the partisan 
 feeling which so far had frustrated every effort. 
 A plan of organizing little children into clubs 
 and societies to solicit subscriptions for such a 
 home suggested itself to her, and she accordingly 
 wrote down a few rules to govern such societies, 
 planning to make the effort systematic; the chil- 
 dren should be provided with printed subscrip- 
 tion books for the purpose. In the meantime she 
 had been elected a director of the original Nor- 
 wegian Tabitha Association, and found that it had 
 
 Rules for the Little Shepherds' Society. 
 
 1. At every place where six young ladies will 
 unite as teachers for the following mentioned 
 purpose a society may be formed, to be num- 
 bered in the order in which it is organized — as 
 society one, two, and so on. 
 
 2. The six young ladies to organize as teach- 
 ers, by electing one of their member as treas- 
 urer. The other five to gather five children 
 each, and each child to receive a subscription 
 book with room for ten contributors, the book 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 193 
 
 to be so ruled that the contribution from each 
 person may be entered each week during the 
 year. 
 
 3. Once each month the teachers will gather 
 the children to a meeting or party, where each 
 teacher will receive the money from the five 
 children appointed by her and turn it over to the 
 treasurer, who also receives any money collected 
 at the meeting. At such parties the teachers shall 
 join the children in their play, read to them, or 
 teach them some handiwork. 
 
 4. Once each summer the society shall hold 
 a picnic, and each fall a children's bazar, where 
 the children's work can be displayed and sold 
 for the benefit of the society. 
 
 5. The object of the society shall be to buy 
 a piece of land and build and maintain a chil- 
 dren's home under the control of the Original 
 Norwegian Lutheran Tabitha Association. 
 
 6. With this object, the treasurer for each 
 society shall turn over the collections each month 
 to the person designated by the Original Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran Tabitha Association to receive 
 the same. Said person to give receipts for same 
 and annually publish the status of such fund. 
 
 With this, however, the association was not 
 organized, as section 2 of the rules was not easy 
 to carry out. The question was: who would 
 permit their children to do this, and who would 
 undertake to serve as teachers. It began to 
 trouble Mrs. Michaelsen; she looked upon the 
 plan as impossible and childish. Common sense 
 advised her to give it up, but another voice said: 
 You have placed your hands to the work; stand 
 to it, even if it seems impossible. It is God's 
 work, and He will provide for the results. 
 
 Mrs. Michaelsen says: 
 
 I presented the matter before a woman's club. 
 Here I found several who were willing to allow 
 their children to join. Mrs. August Johnson, 932 
 Kedzie avenue, who was very near to a few chil- 
 dren who had lost their mother and were left to 
 a careless father, gave us a powerful argument 
 for the necessity of a home. She was the first 
 to permit her three little girls to join in the 
 work. After her example others volunteered at 
 the same meeting. Misses Marie and Bella John- 
 son, 56 Bingham street, announced their willing- 
 ness to act as teachers. Later others volun- 
 teered. On Jan. 14, 1892, I held a meeting in 
 my own home, where I met those who had 
 agreed to join in the work, but there were only 
 four teachers, namely: Marie and Bella Johnson, 
 Thora Elleson and Jensine Skaar. After singing 
 the verse, "I Jesu navn skal al vor gjerning ske" 
 and reading the 25th chapter of Matthew, with 
 
 a prayer to God for his guidance, the proposed 
 rules were adopted. 
 
 On Feb. 1 the Little Shepherds held their first 
 meeting, at the same place, where twenty-six 
 children and the following teachers were pres- 
 ent: Marie and Bella Johnson, Thora Elleson 
 (now Mrs. Dr. Hegland), Constance Hanson 
 (now Mrs. Syvertson) and Nettie Thorsen (now 
 Mrs. Oneby). They elected Miss Constance 
 Hanson as secretary and Thora Elleson as treas- 
 urer. The children then received their sub- 
 scription books. Thus one society was organ- 
 ized, and we were very hopeful of forming 
 others. But here we met with other difficulties. 
 We found the interest in the Children's Home 
 very small, though everybody was interested 
 in the hospitals. We had one hospital and 
 another was building under the management of 
 tv.-o different associations, and everybody was 
 seen in the interest of one or both of these 
 praiseworthy institutions. Naturally these activ- 
 ities affected our feeble charity, the Little Shep- 
 herds' Society. 
 
 When the directors representing the two 
 hospitals united in their efforts, paragraphs 5 
 and 6 in our rules for the Little Shepherds were 
 dispensed with. Again, when these two bodies 
 drifted apart and broke the tie, on account 
 of their respective principles, ande we fore- 
 saw that trouble was brewing, we decided, as 
 the Little Shepherds' Society, to work quietly 
 until the storm had blown over, in the hope 
 that the Lord would lead us. It was not long 
 before it was clear to us that we did not need 
 to look to any other society for protection, but 
 that we could in God's name sail by ourselves. 
 We had now arrived at a point where we rec 
 ognized the importance of reorganization. In 
 considering this step we consulted several per- 
 sons who we were confident would not work 
 against the principle of union or "Fse'llesskab." 
 Rev. Hetland was one of the first invited to our 
 meetings. He was very much pleased with our 
 decision to reorganize, approving it heartily. A 
 committee of four — consisting of Rev. Hetland, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Michaelsen and Mrs. Syvertson 
 (nte Hanson) — was then appointed to prepare: 
 a constitution for the society. 
 
 On Sept. 21, 1896, the Little Shepherds' So- 
 ciety held a meeting at Mrs. Christine John- 
 son's, 56 Bingham street, where the new consti- 
 tution was adopted and a board of directors 
 elected. These were the directors: Rev. Het- 
 land, Mr. and Mrs. Michaelsen, Mrs. August 
 Johnson, Mr. Holm, Mr. Rude and Mr. Liab0. 
 Rev. Hetland was elected president, Mr. Micha- 
 
194 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 elsen vice-president, Mr. Liab0 secretary, and 
 Mr. Rude treasurer. The constitution is sum- 
 marized as follows: 
 
 1. The name of this association shall be The 
 Norwegian Lutheran Children's Home Society. 
 
 2. The object is to care for and educate poor 
 and neglected children. To do this the society 
 will build and conduct a children's home in Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 3. Any one of good character can become a 
 member, by signing the constitution and paying 
 dues of one dollar annually. Members behind 
 in dues for one year are not allowed to vote. 
 Members paying $10 at one time become life 
 members. 
 
 4. New members may be admitted at any 
 regular meeting, providing a majority of those 
 present vote favorably on the application. 
 
 .5. The annual meeting shall be held on the 
 first Wednesday in November, at 7:30 p. m., in 
 Chicago, 111., the place to be designated by the 
 management. The order of business shall be 
 prayer, reading the minutes of last meeting, re- 
 port by the chairman, secretary, cashier and 
 committees; unfinished business; election of of- 
 ficers and standing committees; admission of new 
 members; new business; adjournment. Extra 
 meetings can be called by the management as 
 often as necessary, on request in writing by fif- 
 teen regular members. Annual and extra meet- 
 ings must be published in a Norwegian news- 
 paper in Chicago in time for such meeting. The 
 board of directors shall meet regularly once 
 each month. A majority of the "board shall con- 
 stitute a quorum. 
 
 6. The board of directors shall consist of nine 
 members who subscribe to the Lutheran faith. 
 Their term of office shall be three years. They 
 shall elect from their own number a chairman, 
 vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer, who shall 
 hold their offices until their successors have been 
 elected and qualified. If a member is absent from 
 three successive meetings, except for sickness or 
 absence from the city, his seat shall be declared 
 vacant, and a member of the society shall be 
 appointed in his place. AH- other vacancies shall 
 be filled in the same manner. The duties of all 
 officers arc those usually assigned in regularly 
 incorporated associations; the treasurer to fur- 
 nish a good and sufficient bond. 
 
 7. At the annual meeting a committee of 
 three members shall be elected for one year, 
 who shall examine and verify all reports and 
 accounts. 
 
 8. Fifteen members shall constitute a quorum 
 at all meetiuG's. 
 
 9. Rules. — Children received should as a rule 
 not be under two nor over ten years old. After 
 having been accepted they hold the same rela- 
 tion to the home that other children do to their 
 parents, and remain under the care of the home 
 until they are confirmed. Money due or which 
 may become due to the child, to the ainount of 
 $200 or less, belongs to the home. If the amount 
 be greater, the society can demand up to $75 
 per year. 
 
 In the fall of 1897 the Norwegian Lutheran 
 Children's Home Society was incorporated. In 
 November, 1898, the society bought the property 
 on Irving Park boulevard and Fifty-eighth ave- 
 nue, previously known as Martin Luther College, 
 consisting of a three-story building and six lots. 
 The price paid was $4,000, $1,000 cash, with a 
 mortgage for the remainder. The purchase had 
 no more than been closed when applications 
 for the acceptance of children poured in upon 
 the managers, indicating that they could not 
 long keep the doors closed. 
 
 In February, 1899, Miss Annie M. Abraham- 
 sen was appointed matron for the home. In 
 April the ladies of the society made an inventory 
 of the home and set about to provide necessary 
 supplies, as it had been decided to open the 
 home on the 1st of May. It was not an easy 
 matter to provide the supplies, for the treasury 
 was nearly empty, but the Lord, who had helped 
 us thus far, would not abandon us at this crit- 
 ical moment. Skandinaven, which had always 
 been willing to publish short articles in relation 
 to the home, gave timely assistance now. We 
 were allowed to publish calls for what we needed 
 most, in order to open the home at the time set, 
 and it was surprising how the necessities came 
 to us as gifts. A chain letter was sent out by 
 one of the directors and brought in $220. This 
 money was truly a great help just before the 
 opening. "Bjzirnevennen," which was started in 
 the interest of the home, was also a great help 
 to the committee in charge. 
 
 On the 11th of May, 1899, the home was open- 
 ed for the reception of children. Many friends 
 of the management met at the home, glad and 
 thankful to God for the day that they had for 
 so many years looked forward to. Rev. Het- 
 land read from the Scriptures and encouraged 
 those present to trust in God and not forsake 
 the good work, even though at times the future 
 might look dark and foreboding. 
 
 A little girl, Ella Hazel M^rk, who had been 
 accepted, was taken in as the home's first in- 
 mate. On June 18, the same year, the home 
 was dedicated in the name of the Triune God by 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 195 
 
 Rev. Kildahl. On that day six children were ac- 
 cepted and received, four having been accepted 
 previously, making in all ten inmates on dedica- 
 tion day. 
 
 After this the interest in the home began to 
 grow, as was clearly evidenced by the money 
 and useful articles continually sent in by friends. 
 Small societies were organized for the benefit 
 of the home. "Bprnevennen" — which was or- 
 ganized March 1, 1898, with Mrs. Andrew John- 
 sen, 1412 Sawyer avenue, president; Mrs. Nord- 
 lie secretary, and Mrs. Lindholdtz treasurer — 
 was the first. These societies, of which there 
 are now ten, have been of great financial benefit 
 to the home. In 1902 large improvements were 
 made on the premises, costing in all $3,503. The 
 means the society has employed to raise funds 
 have been annual bazars, picnics, concerts and 
 social gatherings. After the fornial opening of 
 the home the management requested Rev. Het- 
 land to undertake the raising of funds from 
 other Lutheran congregations, preferably in the 
 country. . This he did, and during, four months' 
 time raised $1,500. Money has since come in in 
 larger sums, among which we can mention that 
 from Mr. Bessesens' will and testament, $6,000, 
 and from Mr. A. P. Johnson, $1,000. The debt 
 on the home now is only $500. This obligation, 
 however, the above-mentioned societies have 
 pledged themselves to take care of. 
 
 During the last year the number of children at 
 the home has increased from sixty to seventy. 
 If there are more than sixty there are too many; 
 in fact it has been realized for a long time that 
 the home is too small to accommodate the mer- 
 itorious applicants. It has been impossible for 
 the management to lock out all of the worthy 
 applicants, however, though there has been some 
 crowding. But now there is a promise of a 
 change for the better. Last fall the society 
 bought a tract of land, eighteen acres, at Edison 
 Park, 111., where it expects to build as soon as 
 the needed money is provided. The property 
 was secured for $6,480, of which $6,000 has al- 
 ready been paid. 
 
 At present the management of the home is in 
 the hands of the following board of directors: 
 Rev. C. K. Solberg, president; Christian Petter- 
 sen, vice-president; Rev. O. K. Espeseth, secre- 
 tary; N. M. Norman, financial secretary; M. T. 
 Christofifersen, treasurer; Rev. L. Harrisville, 
 Mrs. J. P. Jensen, Airs. J. B. Johnsen, Mrs. A. 
 Johnson, Mrs. Reque, Miss Hulda Miller and 
 Miss Anna Michaelsen. Miss Annie Abrahamsen 
 has been matron since the home was opened. 
 
 The society has a membership of four hun- 
 
 dred, and there is at this writing seventy-three 
 children at the home. 
 
 Airs. Michaelsen adds in closing the statement 
 and data for this sketch: "In reading these lines 
 over and reverting in my memory to the time 
 when the society was started I must exclaim: 
 It was God's work, and is wonderful before 
 my eyes. 
 
 May His blessings always rest over the Chil- 
 dren's Home." 
 
 The Hope Mission and 
 
 Scandinavian Girls' 
 
 Home 
 
 By Mathilda B. Carse. 
 
 In 1888 Mrs. U. F. Bruun, an earnest-hearted, 
 gifted Norwegian, came to the president of the 
 Chicago Central W. C. T. U. and pleaded with 
 her to do something for her countrymen to save 
 them from the allurements of the saloon. She 
 said: "The young men of my country emigrate 
 to Chicago in great numbers. Most of them are 
 ignorant of the ways of a large city. They grow 
 homesick in cold, dingy rooms in cheap boarding 
 houses. The saloon, with its brilliant lights and 
 gay company, is more inviting to them; thus they 
 take the first step in the downward path to ruin. 
 If your union will only help me open a Scandi- 
 navian reading room in a small way where I car» 
 welcome my people when they come to this city 
 as strangers, and where I can hold gospel tem- 
 perance meetings, I will give my services free."" 
 
 Although the Central W. C. T, U. was over- 
 taxed with other reform and charitable work, it 
 could not turn a deaf ear to the earnest plea of 
 this unselfish and devoted Norwegian. An empty 
 store in the midst of the foreign population, 
 flanked by saloons on every side, was rented and 
 furnished for a reading room; the Central W. C. 
 T. U. paid the rent for several years, until the 
 hard times of the last decade forced them to 
 stop. Since then it has been kept up through the 
 untiring efforts and great self-denial of Mrs. 
 Bruun, who has been nobly assisted by Miss 
 Muhlhausen. 
 
 The Hope Mission has been truly a Bethel to 
 souls for eighteen years; thousands have fre- 
 quented the reading room yearly, and large num- 
 
im 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 bers of drinking men have been converted at the 
 evening and Sunday gospel temperance meetings. 
 
 From this mission sprang the Scandinavian 
 W. C. T. U., the Scandinavian Prohibition Club 
 and a Loyal Temperance Legion. They each hold 
 weekly meetings in Harmony Hall. 
 
 The association was incorporated by the laws 
 -of Illinois in May, 1905. The incorporators were: 
 Rev. S. C. Simonsen, Dr. Horace Somers, Mrs. 
 Matilda B. Carse, all of Chicago, and Mrs. Ma- 
 rion H. Dunham of Burlington, Iowa. The ob- 
 ject was "to establish in Chicago and maintain, 
 a gospel temperance mission, with free reading 
 room and temperance lunchroom for men; a 
 separate reading room, dining room and rest 
 room for women; also to establish and main- 
 tain a home for working girls, especially Scan- 
 
 Harmony Hall. 
 
 dinavians, to afiford a safe and cheap stopping 
 place and bring them under Christian influence." 
 The administration of this work is to be carried 
 on by eleven trustees. These trustees have been 
 appointed. Mrs. U. F. Bruun was elected presi- 
 dent. Miss Louise Muhlhausen vice-president, 
 Mr. Carl A. E. Droisum secretary, Mr. H. A. 
 Haugan (president State Bank of Chicago), 
 treasurer. 
 
 The trustees have purchased Harmony Hall, 
 on the corner of Ohio and Noble streets, for 
 $5,000. The lot is 125 by 29 feet. The hall was 
 built fifteen years ago by the Harmony Total 
 Abstinence Society. The founder was Lamit Carl- 
 
 sen. His young manhood was ruined by drink, 
 but he reformed and became a Christian. A few 
 years ago he died. After his death the society 
 broke up. There was a mortgage on the prop- 
 erty and it was foreclosed. It was about to be 
 rented for a beer and dance hall, had not Mrs. 
 Bruun five years ago rented it for "The Hope 
 Mission." The building is of brick, with a stone 
 foundation, strong enough to erect upon it three 
 more stories. It is the intention of the trustees 
 to enlarge it for a Scandinavian girls' home, 
 which is greatly needed, and for other purposes 
 above enumerated. 
 
 When it is considered that there are about 
 250,000 Scandinavians in Chicago, and that Har- 
 mony Hall is the center of this vast foreign popu- 
 lation, the strategic position of this building for 
 the work contemplated for God and humanity 
 cannot be overestimated, especially as this part 
 of the city swarms with saloons and every other 
 iniquity that degrades the people. 
 
 The First Norwegian Total 
 Abstinence Society 
 
 By Mrs, U. F. Bruun. 
 
 Not long after the W. C. T. U. crusade in 
 1874 a few Norwegian men interested them- 
 selves in the temperance cause and began to 
 consider the organization of a Scandinavian 
 temperance union. It was, however, uphill 
 work, and it was only after persistent agitation 
 that they ventured to call a meeting. A meeting 
 was held, however, and though only four or five 
 responded they were earnest workers and friends 
 of the cause and kept up the agitation until they 
 succeeded in organizing the First Norwegian 
 Total Abstinence Society, and appointed them- 
 selves as its first officers. The meetings were 
 held at the home of Mrs. Christ Wilson, who 
 then lived at 286 W. Erie street. Those pioneers 
 of the first society were Messrs. C. Wilson, M. 
 F. Hammer, P. Seim, P. S. Diihring and Tallack 
 Ellingson. Mr. Ellingson while in Norway was 
 a co-worker with the famous and beloved As- 
 bj^rn Closter. 
 
 In 1876 the society began to hold meetings in 
 the Lutheran church at the corner of Peoria 
 street and Grand avenue, under the presidency 
 of Lauritz Carlsen, a converted inebriate who 
 was an exceedingly enthusiastic and eloquent 
 pleader for the cause. The membership grew to 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 IGT?' 
 
 900, and among them were some of the best 
 business men in the city. In 1878 there arose 
 a discussion as to the religious part of the meet- 
 ings, together with other matters, and resulted 
 in a split in the ranks. President Carlsen and 
 seventy members went out of the union and 
 started the Harmony Total Abstinence Society, 
 which held meetings in different places. In 1888 
 they built the Harmony Hall at the corner of 
 Noble and Ohio streets. 
 
 Mr. Carlsen was president most of the time 
 until 1893, when he died. The late Mr. Ole Br. 
 Olsen, editor of Reform, was won over to the 
 temperance cause at one of Mr. Carlsen's meet- 
 ings and proved an efficient helper. For a time 
 he was president of the society. Mr. Olsen aft- 
 erward started the Scandinavian Prohibition 
 Club in Chicago — in 1887. The Harmony So- 
 ciety dissolved in 1903 and the Hope Mission 
 and the Scandinavian W. C. T. U. took up the 
 work and have held weekly gospel temperance 
 meetings in Harmony Hall for the past five 
 years. The First Norwegian Total Abstinence 
 Society broke up in 1883; but though of short 
 duration it educated our people and brought to 
 light talent which might have remained unrec- 
 ognized. 
 
 The best temperance workers among our peo- 
 ple to-day, those who are now carrying on the 
 work both in the Hope Mission and the Scan- 
 dinavian Good Templars and Templars, were 
 once members of the First Society. So, even if 
 the temperance unions are no more, the good 
 seed they have sown is bearing fruit unto eternal 
 life. 
 
 "Live for self you live in vain; 
 
 Live for God and truth, you live again." 
 
 International Order of 
 Good Templars 
 
 By Henry Weardahl. 
 
 As an introduction to this little historical 
 sketch of the temperance movement in our local- 
 ity, Mr. Tallak Ellingsen should be mentioned 
 as the very first of the worthy workers in Chi- 
 cago. O. G. Horton, another of the pioneers, 
 held for many years honorary positions in the 
 first Norwegian total abstinence society of 
 Chicago, as well as in the I. O. G. T. and the 
 
 T. of T. Hans Larsen, a well known tailor of 
 Chicago, has been an active worker for over 
 thirty years, spending both time and money in 
 the cause. L. D. Oftedahl is also an old-time 
 temperance worker who for many years has 
 offered his talent and held prominent positions 
 in the T. of T. 
 
 The first Norwegian I. O. G. T. lodge was 
 organized in Chicago by C. A. Vannatta, Nov. 
 28, 1879, as Norden Lodge No. 65. Among the 
 first members were O. G. Horton, Fred Nelson, 
 Swan Carlson, Wm. Hillestad and Mr. Olsen (a 
 tailor now residing in Brainerd, Minn.), all of 
 whom were members of the first Norwegian total 
 abstinence society. Two other pioneer members 
 of the Norden Lodge were Ole Johnson (a street- 
 car conductor of Chicago, now deceased) and C. 
 A. Dahl, a jeweler. Norden No. 65, was in active 
 operation for eight years and a half. In the 
 August-October quarter, 1881, it reached its high- 
 est membership — about 250. This lodge pos- 
 sessed its own banner as well as a good library. 
 In the fall of the year 1880 the Jail Resque 
 was organized by Norden members, and worked 
 m the English language. Associate members 
 from Norden were O. G. Horton, C. A. Dahl and 
 others, Mr. Dahl being chief templar. The Jail 
 Resque, of which state senator Niels Juul was 
 also a member, existed for about three years. 
 
 Leif Erikson No. 176, Springfield, 111., was 
 organized Feb. 9, 1889, by O. Odelius, the greater 
 part of the membership being employes of the 
 Illinois Watch Co., Springfield. First L. D. was 
 Sivert Sve (now watchmaker and jeweler at 
 Pana, III.). 
 
 Enighed, No. 262, was organized Oct. 29, 1890,. 
 by Senator Niels Juul. First L. D. was Chr. 
 Nicolaisen. 
 
 Nordlyset No. 572, was organized Aug. 2, 1891, 
 by Arvie Queber. First L. D., H. A. Johnson. 
 
 Det Gode Haab No. 660 was organized March 
 29, 1892, by Senator Juul. First L. D., Rasmus 
 Olsen; C. T., Jorgen Carlsen; V. T., Mrs. A. 
 Rasmussen; Sec, Hans Johannesen; Fin. Sec, 
 A. Rasmussen; Treas., Ingebrigt Ingebrigtsen; 
 M., Tonnes Christensen; P. C. T., John Nelson. 
 The following were also charter members: Th. 
 Gransted, T. T. Obrestad, S. C. Michelson, Peter 
 Vallem, Mrs. Louise Hansen, Miss Bertha Han- 
 sen. This lodge worked for seven years, and its 
 highest membership— about 150— was reached in 
 the May-July quarter, 1894. Possessed library 
 and banner. 
 
 A juvenile temple, under the name of Good 
 Hope No. 173 was instituted March 25, 1893, 
 and reacher a membership of about 200. Organ- 
 
1W8 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 izer and Superintendent Hanna Grimm (now 
 Mrs. Stevens). 
 
 Nordkap No. 262 was organized Feb. 2, 1893, 
 by the amalgamation of Nordlyset No. 572, and 
 the Norden No. 262, the latter being a reorgani- 
 zation of Enighed No. 262, and chartered Oct. 
 9, 1892. First L. D., Annie Pedersen; C. T., C. 
 Nicolaisen; V. T., Chas. Olsen; Sec, Geo. Bil- 
 ling; Asst. Sec, Augusta Scholberg; F. S., Lau- 
 ritz Hoist; Treas., John M. Pederson; M., Bernh. 
 Johnson; D. M., Alma Ecker; G., Geo. Olsen; 
 Sent., T. Tonnesen; S. J. T., Marie Lange; P. 
 C. T., H. Svee. This lodge was in active opera- 
 tion for about seven years. 
 
 Tordenskjold No. 221 was organized April 1, 
 1894, by Geo. Dilling. First L. D., Mauritz Ris- 
 ing. 
 
 Northern Star No. 440 was organized April 4, 
 
 1894, by C. A. Vannatta. First L. D., A. G. Ten- 
 neison; C. T., John M. Pederson. Worked with 
 English as well as Norwegian rituals, alternat- 
 ing. 
 
 Fremtids Haab No. 779 was organized June 
 25, 1895, by Henry Weardahl. L. D., Jens Jen- 
 sen; P. C. T., Hans P. Pedersen; C. T. H. P. 
 Jensen; Sec, Chr. J. 0stergaard. 
 
 Aurora No. 782 was organized Sept. 1, 1895, 
 by Bateman Ganley. First L. D., Dr. Henry M. 
 Oyen; C. T., S. C. Michaelsen; Sec, Thw. Gran- 
 sted. 
 
 Midnatsolen No. 812 was organized Dec. 1, 
 
 1895, by Henry Weardahl. First L. D., Minnie 
 Dilling; C. T., Haftor Svee, Sr.; P. C. T., Olaf 
 Sundt; V. T., C. Stefansen; Sec, Nettie Sundt. 
 
 Viking No. 859 was organized at Evanston, 
 III, April 12, 1896, by Henry Weardahl. First 
 L. D., Tillie Hansen; P. C. T., Anton Andersen; 
 C. T., Chr. Kjelsoe; S. J. T., Anna Kjelsoe; Sec, 
 Knud Olsen. The Viking Lodge existed for seven 
 or eight years and had a large roll of members, 
 the majority of whom, after its dissolution, organ- 
 ized themselves into the English lodge Venus. 
 
 Success No. 966 was organized in September, 
 1898, by members of Det Gode Haab, Aurora and 
 Nordkap. The organizer as well as first L. D., S. 
 C. Michaelsen: C. T., O. K. Olsen; V. T., R. Op- 
 stad; Sec, G. Kloster; F. S., Nils Oftedahl; 
 Treas.; Olaus Christensen; P. C. T., Hans Lar- 
 sen. 
 
 Norr^na No. 113 was organized June 28, 1903, 
 by Ch. Kjelsoe. First L. D., Henry Weardahl; 
 C. T., Einar Kristiansen; V. T., Mrs. Christianna 
 Svee; Sec, Haftor Svee; F. S., Carl Jorgensen; 
 M., Hans Edw. Olsen; P. C. T., Chr. Ludvigsen; 
 Treas., Izac Michaelson; G., Arnt Grotle. Nor- 
 
 r0na possesses its own banner. In the Grand 
 Lodge Report of June,. 1905, the Norrjz(na is said 
 to enjoy the distinction of having done more edu- 
 cational work than any other lodge within the 
 jurisdiction. Every other meeting night during 
 the winter quarter had been set aside for this 
 work, and a number of lecturers were engaged 
 and at these meetings addressed the members on 
 various subjects, all centering around the liquor 
 question. And not only this, the lodge has been 
 instrumental in the organization of another lodge 
 working in the Norwegian language. The regu- 
 lar visitations between the two lodges have 
 strengthened both, and the most promising re- 
 sults of the work are expected in the future. 
 
 Tordenskjold No. 137 was organized Feb. 11, 
 1905, by District Lecturer G. Lindgren, with the 
 assistance of ten associate members from Nor- 
 r0na Lodge. First L. D., Hans Olsen; C. T., 
 Tom Benton Kleve. 
 
 Kamp og Seir No. 157 was organized Sept. 10, 
 
 1905, by A. Ronberg and Chr. Hestnes. First L. 
 D., Albert Lie; C. T., Hans Lie; V. T., Jann Dyb- 
 dal; S. J. T., Miss Rose Krembull; Sec, Oscar 
 Olsen; Financial Sec, S. Setlikmann; Treas., Ole 
 Olufsen; M., Olaf Osmundsen; Chap., Mrs. Marie 
 Lie; Sent., Miss Helga Dybdahl; G., Alfred Lie; 
 P. C. T., H. Lie. 
 
 Henrik Ibsen No. 101 was organized August 5, 
 
 1906, by Chr. Ludvigsen under the auspices of 
 . the Norwegian Distriktcirkel of I. O. G. T., Chi- 
 cago. L. D., Albert Metzke; C. T., Henry 0de- 
 gaard; V. T., Oscar Olsen; S. J. T., Mrs. Oscar 
 Olsen; Sec, Chr. Hestnes; Treas., Hans E. Ol- 
 sen; M., Albert Lie; Chap., Miss Herdis Chris- 
 tiansen; Guard, Thorwald Hansen; Sent., K. Mor- 
 tensen; D. M., Miss Nelly Johnsen; P. C. T., Mrs. 
 A. Metzke. 
 
 January 1, 1907, a Scandinavian Grand Lodge 
 was organized in Illinois. About 1,500 Scandi- 
 navian members of the English speaking Grand 
 Lodge resigned and organized their own Grand 
 Lodge. Of the 1,500 members that organized the 
 Junior Grand Lodge were 1,300 Swedes and 200 
 Norwegians. Notwithstanding the fact that the 
 Norwegians were in the minority a good deal of 
 notice and consideration was given them on ac- 
 count of the energy they had put forth in estab- 
 lishing the Scandinavian Grand Lodge and the 
 splendid work for the good of the Order general- 
 ly. The result was that in two of the highest 
 offices were placed Norwegians; namely, Grand 
 Counselor, Henry Weardahl, of "Norr^na" lodge, 
 and P. G. C. Templar, Richard Nilsen of "Tor- 
 denskjold" lodge. 
 
 February 17, 1907, the Norwegians organized 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 199 
 
 their own district lodge under the Scandinavian 
 Grand Lodge. It was organized by Henry Wear- 
 dahl with jurisdiction in Lake, Cook, Will and 
 Du Page counties with privilege to put all Nor- 
 wegian lodges, organized in the state, under their 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 The"'following were the first officers of the Nor- 
 wegian District Lodge: D. C. T., Chr. Ludvig- 
 sen, of "Norrj2(na"; D. Coun., Aksel Gundersen, 
 of "Henrik Ibsen"; D. V. T., Ludvig Hagen, of 
 "Kamp og Seier"; D. S. J. T., Mrs. Ingeborg 
 Ludvigsen, of "NorrjzSna"; D. S., Henry 0de- 
 gaard, of Henrik Ibsen"; D. Treas., Sam Stivens, 
 
 Skandinavian Young Men's 
 Christian Association 
 
 On Oct. 28, 1872, a society was organized in 
 Chicago called "De unge Masnds kristelige For- 
 ening of den Norsk Evang. Trefoldigheds Me- 
 nighed i Chicago, 111." The soul and originator 
 of this commendable enterprise was the lamented 
 Rev. J. Z. Torgersen, who devoted all his 
 strength and energy to promote it until, in 1876, 
 he was obliged to give it up in dismay. 
 
 The first officers of the association were: Rev. 
 J. Z. Torgersen, president; H. P. Hansen, first 
 vice-president; B. O. Thompson, second vice- 
 president; O. C. Erickson, corresp, sec'y; Thos. 
 Monsen, recording secretary; M. Olsen, treas- 
 urer; C. M. Jevne, librarian; assistant librarians: 
 T. Christransen, O. Jensen, John A. Olsen, S. 
 Sivertsen. 
 
 By perusing the records for the following 
 troublesome years one will find most of those 
 names at the front. The first and greatest dif- 
 ficulty encou'ntered was in financing the enter- 
 prise, and the next arose from overestimating 
 the society's own resources in the zeal of its 
 members to attain something great for the cause 
 of the Lord. During the first struggles to get a 
 footing one capital mistake is apparent. A veri- 
 table craze for appointing committees seems to 
 have prevailed, for at almost every business meet- 
 ing some new committee was appointed, in conse- 
 quence of which the same names were frequently 
 found on half a dozen different committees. This 
 procedure caused strife and discord instead of 
 harmony and unity. Another weak spot of the 
 society was its adherence to one definite branch 
 of the church to the exclusion of other denomi- 
 nations. Several attempts were made later on 
 
 to sever this connection and to build on a broader 
 Christian basis, but they only caused more strife 
 and a bitter animosity in the contending fac- 
 tions. 
 
 At almost all of the business meetings the 
 question came up regarding the relation of the 
 society to the Trinity Congregation, until in De- 
 cember, 1874, a voice was heard, that "something 
 must be done in order to save the society from 
 its present dying condition." Prominent and 
 active members threatened to resign if a better 
 condition of things were not at once inaugurated, 
 and the dissolution became practically a fact at 
 the meeting on Jan. 5, 1875. To be sure, the 
 regular meetings were still held, and a committee 
 was appointed to revise the constitution, but no 
 real work was accomplished, and the indifference 
 of the members became more evident as time 
 passed, the intervals growing longer between 
 the business meetings, until the society finally 
 arranged its accounts and was formally dissolved. 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN YOUNG MEN'S CHRIS- 
 TIAN ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO, 
 WEST DIVISION. 
 
 On June 13, 1876, a meeting was held at the 
 Tabernacle Church, corner Morgan and Indiana 
 streets, at which an earnest effort was made by 
 Scandinavian men to start a young men's Chris- 
 tian association which would be able to give 
 signs of a stronger vitality than the one igno- 
 minously departed. Fifteen persons among those 
 present agreed in writing to unite their forces 
 and work in harmony to this end. A committee 
 of five was appointed to get up a constitution 
 and by-laws, the members being S. C. Hansen, 
 
 B. O. Thomsen, L. Ross, O. E. Erickson and E. 
 Johnson. At the next meeting this committee 
 reported and further arrangements were made, and 
 thus was born the present strong and healthy 
 Young Men's Christian Association. 
 
 The first association was, however, not yet 
 absolutely dissolved, and it needed more time to 
 liquidate its business before it finally closed its 
 doors. 
 
 Wise by its earlier experience, the new asso- 
 ciation adopted this paragraph in its by-laws: 
 "It shall be absolutely, prohibited to discuss de- 
 nominational diflferences of the various churches 
 in this association." 
 
 As the first officers of the association the fol- 
 lowing were elected: E. Johnson, president; B. 
 
 C. Hansen, vice-president; O. Erickson, corre- 
 sponding secretary; P. A. G. Moe, recording sec- 
 
200 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 retary; P. Pedersen, librarian; L. Ross, treas- 
 urer. 
 
 The records from that time make it evident 
 that the work from the beginning was started in 
 dead earnest. Prayer meetings, bible classes, 
 Sunday evening entertainments, singing exer- 
 cises, etc., were of the weekly occurrences. 
 
 available, and as a consequence two members were 
 expelled and one (the accused) resigned. All of 
 them had been very enthusiastic and active work- 
 ers for the association. 
 
 One great step in the right direction was 
 taken when the association bought the library of 
 300 volumes which had belonged to the older 
 
 
 
 .^(^"^^ 
 
 1 
 
 
 ■ 't 
 
 SCZISSS" 
 
 Scandinavian Ycung Men's Christian Association of Ch'cago, West Division. 
 
 The proportions of this book do not admit of 
 a more extended record of the activities of the 
 society. Suffice it to mention here that already 
 before the first year of its existence had expired 
 serious dissensions began to arise about the 
 doctrine of the atonement. No man of sufficient 
 authority to explain or 'settle the difficulty was 
 
 association. Later on lectures were given in 
 favor of the association by such men as Prof. R. 
 B. Anderson, P. Fisk and Peter Hendriksen, 
 and a bazar, held in the fall of 1879, showed a 
 net result of $158.00. This and other incomes 
 were badly needed, as the association not seldom 
 was in a debt of more than $100 for rent alone, 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 aoi 
 
 and compelled to move from one locality to an- 
 other. 
 
 No wonder, therefore, that the idea of a build- 
 ing for the association ripened under such cir- 
 cumstances, and here, as at many other times 
 before and since, one of the oldest and truest 
 friends of the association, Ole L. Stangeland, 
 "put his shoulder to the load"' with a substantial 
 subscription. 
 
 The first step now was to get the association 
 incorporated under the laws of the state. This 
 was done on April 14, 1888, with three members 
 as a board of directors. These three were Stan- 
 geland, Pihl and A. K. Melum, who seem to have 
 been the only members that were naturalized 
 citizens. As members of the building committee 
 were elected: O. L. Stangeland, L. Blix, S. 
 Swenson, H. Bakke, K. J. Hall, A. K. Melum and 
 P. Theel. 
 
 The committee now went to work gathering 
 subscriptions holding bazars and giving musical 
 entertainments, etc., so that the association at 
 its sixteenth annual festival in June, 1892, could 
 show a building fund of $2,564. Two years later, 
 on a similar occasion, the committee was able 
 to report that the building lots on W. Erie street 
 had been bought, and here finally the building 
 was erected. It was dedicated with festivities 
 Nov. 5, 1899. This year consequently may be 
 put down as the banner year in the annals of 
 the association. The lots at No. 315%-317 W. 
 Erie street cost $3,300, and the building and lots 
 $11,500. It was encumbered to an amount of 
 $7,700. 
 
 At the annual election of officers in 1906, 
 which was their thirtieth aniversary, the follow- 
 ing were chosen: Iver Olsen, president; Tarald 
 Thorp, vice-prcs'dent; S. G. Nilsen, recording 
 secretary; John Person, financial secretary; John 
 Olsen, corresponding secretary; O. L. Stange- 
 land, treasurer; Gus. Nilsen, librarian. At this 
 time a valuable addition to the association's li- 
 brary was also made. Rev. Torgersen had left a 
 well selected library of nearly a thousand volumes, 
 and as his widow could not make any use of it 
 she offered the association the first opportunity 
 to buy it at practically their own price. A price 
 was agreed u'pon and Mr. Iver Olsen started out 
 to see what he could do in raising the needed 
 money. He called upon Paul O. Stensland first, 
 who, after having heard ]\Ir. Olsen's explanation, 
 handed him the full amount, saying, "Let that 
 be my contribution to your association." They 
 have now a very good selection which proves of 
 great interest to visitors and members. The fol- 
 lowing regulations may be of interest: 
 
 The reading room is open every day from 
 9 a. m. to 9 p. m., with free admission to all. 
 Newspapers and magazines in different lan- 
 guages can be found on the tables. 
 
 From the library, which numbers over 1,000 
 volumes, books are loaned under certain rules. 
 
 Regular meetings every Sunday at 4 and 8 p. m. 
 Bible classes every Tuesday, except the first 
 Tuesday in the month, which is set aside for the 
 business meeting. The association appoints 
 seven committees, of three members each, which 
 look after details and report to the board of 
 directors. These committees are: revivals and 
 missions, employment and boarding houses, 
 finance, library and printing, admission of mem- 
 bers, selection of reading, and hall. 
 
 The association has a choir of well trained 
 voices. 
 
 The Norwegian Natio 
 nal League 
 
 By Andrew Hummeland. 
 
 (Det Norske Nationalforbund i Chicago) is a 
 central delegate organization, formed by Nor- 
 wegian societies, clubs and lodges of Chicago 
 as their joint organ in matters of common in- 
 terest. It is composed of two delegates, elected 
 respectively for one and two years, from such 
 Norwegian societies in Chicago as desire repre- 
 sentation. Twenty-five organizations, being the 
 principal Norwegian societies of the city, are 
 now represented. 
 
 The league is strictly non-sectarian and non- 
 political. The main thought in founding it was 
 the establishment of a central organization, rep- 
 resentative of the Norwegians of Chicago, pre- 
 pared and equipped to take the initiative and un- 
 dertake the management when joint action on 
 part of the Norwegians of Chicago in matters of 
 interest to our nationality would seem necessary 
 or desirable. The aim is to make the league as 
 representative of our people as possible. To 
 that end every Norwegian society or organiza- 
 tion having a membership of at least twenty 
 may send delegates. It has also been the policy 
 of the league to secure the co-operation of such 
 of our Norwegian citizens as are not represented 
 in the various Norwegian organizations, by in- 
 
203 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 eluding on its committees for special national 
 undertakings representative Norwegian-Amer- 
 icans not directly affiliated with the league. 
 
 The league was formed in 1899. On June 26 
 in that year delegates from twenty-three Nor- 
 wegian societies met in response to a call issued 
 by a number of representative men, among 
 whom were Dr. Karl F. M. Sandberg, Birger 
 Osland, L. Johansen, Julius Jteger and Ferdinand 
 Nelson. The desirability of, and necessity for, 
 a central organization had long been recognized. 
 It was felt that many occasions would arise, 
 as they had arisen in the past, calling for joint 
 action by all Norwegians in Chicago in matters 
 of common interest. The existence of a central 
 body, which when occasion should arise might 
 serve as the framework for a strong and active 
 organization ready and capable of doing effective 
 work when concerted action is desirable, would 
 tend to unify Norwegian-Americans and give 
 prestige and strength to common interests and 
 undertakings. With this in view the league was 
 formed. The organization was completed at a 
 meeting held August 7, 1899, at which the fol- 
 lowing officers were elected: President, Dr. K. 
 F. M. Sandberg; first vice-president, L. Johan- 
 sen; second vice-president, Mrs. M. Monsen; 
 third vice-president, Julius Jseger; corresponding 
 secretary, Ferdinand Nelson; recording secre- 
 tary, Birger Osland; treasurer, C. H. Lee. 
 
 The league was founded by the following Nor- 
 wegian societies: — The First Norwegian Wo- 
 men's Burial Society; the women's societies 
 "Thora" and "Minde"; the Norwegian Women's 
 Industrial Society; Nora Lodge R. H. K.; the 
 Tabitha Hospital Society; North Star Lodge 
 137, I. O. M. A.; the Norwegian Singers' Soci- 
 ety; Singing Society Bj^rgvin; Nordfaelles Su- 
 preme Lodge; the Norwegian Turners' Society; 
 the sick-benefit society "Nordlyset"; the Nor- 
 wegian Club; the Norwegian Quartet Club; Leif 
 Erickson Lodge No. 9, R. H. K.; the society 
 "Nordlgendingen"; "Tordenskjold" Lodge No. 15, 
 R. H. K.; Leif Erickson Monument Society; 
 Athletic Club "Sleipner"; the Scandinavian- 
 American Prohibition Club; Court I. O. F. Nor- 
 mania No. 174 I. O. F.; the Norwegian Sharp 
 Shooters' Society; the Norwegian Old Settlers' 
 Society; Normania Band; the Norwegian Glee 
 Club; Dovre Lodge No. 18, R. H. K.; the Scan- 
 dinavian Painters' Union; Scandia Lodge No. 80, 
 K. of P.; and the Scandinavian Shoemakers' 
 Society. 
 
 The league was incorporated under the laws 
 of Illinois on Sept 4th, 1899. 
 
 Within a few months after its organization 
 
 proof was strikingly afforded of th^ utility of 
 the organization. In the fall of 1899, in a fear- 
 ful storm, 173 Norwegian fishermen lost their 
 lives at R0vagr, Norway, bringing distress and 
 want into as many homes. The situation of the 
 widows and orphans called for immediate relief 
 from kinsmen on both sides of the sea. The 
 league was found equipped and ready to take 
 hold of the matter so far as Chicago Norweg- 
 ians were concerned. At a meeting of the league 
 on December 3, 1899, it was decided to render 
 aid, and a committee was appointed to arrange 
 a benefit entertainment and concert at the Au- 
 ditorium, which was held on December 20, with 
 the result that the net proceeds thereof, amount- 
 ing to $1,100, were sent to the proper local au- 
 thorities in Norway for distribution. 
 
 On many other occasions the league has rend- 
 ered its financial assistance to alleviate distress 
 as well as in aid of Norwegian charitable insti- 
 tutions. Among its contributions may be men- 
 tioned: To the Norwegian Tabitha Hospital in 
 Chicago, proceeds of bazar under the auspices 
 of the league, $2,300; to the famine sufferers in 
 Norway, Finland and Sweden, proceeds of a 
 notable Auditorium concert, etc., $2,700; to the 
 Norwegian Children's Home in Chicago, $450; 
 to the fire sufferers at Aalesund, $550; to aid in 
 the erection of the Leif Erickson monument in 
 Chicago, $250. About $11,000 in the aggregate 
 has been contributed by the league in these and 
 like worthy causes. 
 
 As part of the purpose of its organization, as 
 declared in its constitution, the league has for 
 years undertaken the arrangement for the cele- 
 bration of the 17th of May in Chicago. These 
 patriotic celebrations under the auspices of the 
 league have become annual events among the 
 Norwegians of Chicago. The attendance has 
 reached ten thousand, and United States senators 
 and the governor of the state have been speak- 
 ers on these occasions. 
 
 Among other undertakings of the league may 
 be mentioned: A series of lectures given in the 
 spring of 1904 with a view to encouraging inter- 
 est in Norwegian literature; the giving of sum- 
 mer festivals in 1902 and 1903 — discontinued in 
 later years as more properly coming within the 
 province of the individual societies; and the re- 
 ception in 1905, conjointly with the Norwegian 
 Singers' League, of the Norwegian student 
 singers. 
 
 The crisis in 1905 in Norway found the league 
 fully prepared to do whatever would seem nec- 
 essary or advisable in aid of the cause. A great 
 mass-meeting was arranged at the Auditorium in 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 203 
 
 Chicago by the league within ten days after the 
 famous 7th of June resolution, at which meeting 
 the Norwegians of Chicago pledged their sup- 
 port to the old fatherland, if support was 'needed. 
 A stirring address of congratulation, with the 
 assurance of material aid if it became necessary, 
 was adopted at the meeting and cabled to the 
 Norwegian government and Storthing. When 
 the situation later threatened to become acute, 
 the Norwegian National League took steps to 
 redeem its pledges of material aid, and at a 
 closed meeting appointed a central committee of 
 representative men to form a relief organization 
 •designed to embrace the entire country. This 
 ■committee was composed of the following Nor- 
 wegian-Americans: A. Anderson, John Anderson, 
 C. J. Backer, F. Ferdinandsen, Ommund Harve •• 
 land, A. Hummeland, Rev. A. Johnson, Marius 
 Kirkeb.v, Hans Nordahl, H. P. G. Norstrand, O. 
 C. S. Olsen, A. Opstad, Birger Osland, Paul O. 
 Stensland and John A. Wold. The venerable 
 John Anderson, publisher of the Skandinaven, 
 was elected its chairman, Paul O. Stensland its 
 treasurer, and Birger Osland its secretary. Ow- 
 ing to their position as citizens of another coun- 
 try, and in order to cause no unnecessary irri- 
 tation among fellow-citizens, the members of 
 the committee unanimously decided to take no 
 public action until demanded by the situation, 
 although it was held a sacred right to all Amer- 
 ican citizens of foreign birth or extraction, and 
 clearly permissible under international law, to 
 render aid to the non-combatants and widows 
 and orphans of the land of their fathers, in case 
 of eventual hostilities. However, the organiza- 
 tion was fully completed in a discreet inanner, 
 and preparations made to organize branches 
 throughout the United States, at a moment's 
 notice. 
 
 To convey its congragulations to the New 
 Norway the league appointed a delegation to at- 
 tend the coronation celebration at Trondhjem in 
 1906, which was cordially and courteously re- 
 ceived by the king and authorities of Norway. 
 
 The names of the ofificers of the league from 
 its organization to the present time are as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 President, 1899-1901, Dr. K. F. M. Sandberg; 
 1902, C. H. Lee; 1903-4, A. Hummeland; 1905, 
 Ommund Harveland; 1906, A. Abrahamsen. 
 
 First vice-president, 1899, L. Johanson; 1900, 
 Olaf Ray; 1901, Mrs. E. Brown; 1902, J. M. 
 Blackstad; 1903-1904, O. Harveland; 1905-1-900, 
 A. Anderson. 
 
 Second vice-president, 1899, Mrs. M. Monsen; 
 1900, Peder Olsen; 1901, F. Ferdinandsen; 1902, 
 
 Mrs. E. Brown; 1903-1904, Mrs. K. M. Hagland; 
 
 1905, Mrs. Valborg Lund; 1906, Mrs. K. M. Hag- 
 land. 
 
 Third vice-president, 1899, Julius Jaeger; 1900. 
 Mrs. Elise Brown; 1901, J. M. Blackstad; 1902, 
 Gus. G. Martin; 1903-1904, F. Ferdinandsen; 1905, 
 John A. Wold; 1906, Carl Bauer. 
 
 Corresponding secretary, 1899, F. Nelson; 
 
 1900, K. Drolsum; 1901, L. H. Stehnson; 1902, 
 K. M. Hagland; 1903-1904, Ben Blessum; 1905, 
 F. Asche: 1906, John Malmstrom. 
 
 Recording secretary, 1899, B. Osland; 1900, F. 
 Asche; 1901, A. B. Lange; 1902, Chas. Nergaard; 
 1903, Gus. G. Martin; 1904-1905, O. J. Backer; 
 
 1906, Albert Johnson, resigned; H. Jentoft. 
 Treasurer, 1899, C. H. Lee; 1900, P. Balken; 
 
 1901, C. H. Lee; 1902, F. Ferdinandsen; 1903, H. 
 B. Hanson; 1904-1905, O. Gullicksen; 1906, C. J. 
 Backer. 
 
 The Nordmaendenes 
 Sangforening 
 
 Was organized on October 30, 1870. Some few 
 months previous to this time eight or ten mem- 
 bers of the Scandinavian Turners' Society, who 
 had maintained a male chorus within that or- 
 ganization, becoming dissatisfied with their con- 
 ditions, seceded, and for a few months main- 
 tained an independent organization called the 
 Scandinavian Singing Society. 
 
 Mr. Johan S. Lindtner, who had recently come 
 from Norway, had been engaged as their in- 
 structor. All of the members of this singing 
 chorus except two being Norwegian, Mr. Lindt- 
 ner began an agitation to make the Society 
 purely Norwegian. At a meeting "held at 204 
 N. Desplaines street, on the date above given, 
 his efforts were crowned with success; a reor- 
 ganization took place, the name "Nordmaendenes 
 Sangforening" was adopted, and Mr. Younge was 
 elected its first president. 
 
 The first public appearance of any note which 
 the Nordmaendenes Sangforening made was on 
 June 16, 1871, when it, together with Freja, a 
 Swedish singing society, with Mr. Lindtner di- 
 recting, tendered a serenade to Christina Nelson 
 at her concert at the Germania Hall on the 
 North Side. 
 
 During the spring of 1872 the Nordmaendenes 
 Sangforening began to lay plans for a celebra- 
 
304 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 tion of Norway's one thousand-year anniversary, 
 and to that end endeavored to interest other 
 Norwegian societies in the undertaking, but with- 
 out success. Not daunted by being refused co- 
 operation, the Nordmsendenes Sangforening pro- 
 ceeded alone, and on July 18, 1872, made the 
 grandest Norwegian demonstration which up to 
 that time had ever been made in America. In 
 the morning a procession marched through the 
 streets of the West Side and ended at the Chi- 
 cago & North-Western Railway Station, where 
 trains were taken to Haas' Park, which was lo- 
 cated at or near the present site of the Con- 
 cordia Cemetery. Fully five thousand persons 
 attended the celebration at the park, where the 
 day was spent listening to speeches and songs 
 by a mixed chorus of one hundred and twenty 
 voices. A cablegram was sent to Haugesund, 
 Norway, where the principal celebration in Nor- 
 way was taking place. A banner was presented 
 by the Norwegian women of Chicago to the 
 Nordmsendenes Sangforening, and is still one of 
 its cherished treasures. At 6 o'clock the mem- 
 bers returned to town and gave a concert in the 
 evening. 
 
 The success and popularity of this celebration 
 had the effect of placing this young society in 
 the front rank of the Norwegian societies in 
 Chicago, a place which it has always kept. It 
 also demonstrated to its members — a useful 
 lesson in later days — that the Nordmjendenes 
 Sangforening could accomplish anything which 
 it undertook. 
 
 In December, 1873, Ole Bull, then in the zenith 
 of his fame, came to Chicago. He was met at 
 the train by a large delegation from the Nor- 
 wegian colony in Chicago and escorted to the 
 hotel, where he was serenaded by the Nordmsen- 
 denes Sangforening as he was also upon the fol- 
 lowing day. These serenades so pleased Ole 
 Bull that he presented the society with a dona- 
 tion as a token of his appreciation. This gift 
 was used as a foundation for the library of the 
 society, which now numbers over 500 volumes. 
 
 A few months later Mr. Lindtner, the instruc- 
 tor, removed to California, where he still resides. 
 
 Mr. A. Larson was then engaged as instructor, 
 but remained only a few months. 
 
 In September, 1873, Mr. August Uhe was en- 
 gaged as instructor, and held the position until 
 July, 1874. On August 9, 1874, Mr. John W. Col- 
 berg became its instructor and remained such for 
 the succeeding twenty-five years. 
 
 Prior to 1874 the Nordrn^ndenes Sangforening 
 had simply rented rooms at various places for 
 holding rehearsals, but in that year it took a 
 
 lease on a hall at 107 Milwaukee avenue, where 
 it remained until 1878, when it moved into the 
 Vindette Parlors (Erickson's Hall), at 228-230 
 Milwaukee avenue, which it also leased, and in 
 which it remained until May 1, 1894. 
 
 During the intervening years the Nordmaende- 
 nes Sangforening had outstripped all of the other 
 Norwegian societies, and numbered some four 
 hundred members. It had also during this time 
 given two or three concerts each year, and had 
 sung for a number of societies, which were al- 
 ways eager to get its assistance and to use its 
 reputation as a drawing card for their celebra- 
 tions. 
 
 On April 28, 1877, the Nordnicendenes Sangfor- 
 ening was incorporated under the laws of the 
 state of Illinois. 
 
 In 1880 the Nordmsendenes Sangforening sere- 
 naded Bj^rnstjerne Bj0rnson, at his hotel, which 
 won for them some warm words of appreciation 
 from the Norwegian poet and author. 
 
 In 1881 the first down-town concert was held 
 in Central Music Hall, and in the same year a 
 concert was held at the North Side Turner Hall 
 for the relief and benefit of the sufferers at Fin- 
 marken, which concert netted $350, which was 
 sent to Norway. 
 
 In 1883 a sick and funeral fund was established 
 by the society for the benefit of its members, 
 to which the society made a donation of $100; 
 a funeral benefit of $60 is paid; also sick benefits 
 of $6 per week; and although the dues of this 
 department are but $4 per year, the fund has 
 now upward of $1,000 in its treasury. That it 
 has proven to be a "friend in need" can be at- 
 tested to by its many beneficiaries during the 
 past twenty-three years. 
 
 In 1885 the Nordmjendenes Sangforening made 
 an excursion to Madison, Wis., and gave a 
 concert there, which was followed, in 1886, by a 
 similar trip to St. Paul and Minneapolis; a trip 
 to La Crosse, Wis., for the following year had 
 been planned, but was abandoned on account of 
 an invitation to attend the Sangerfest of the 
 United Scandinavian Singers of America, to be 
 held in Philadelphia. The Nordmsendenes Sang- 
 forening participated with forty-three singers,, 
 and was the only western singing society that 
 was represented there; it also had a larger rep- 
 resentation than any other society present. No 
 prizes had been arranged for this sangerfest, but 
 the Nordmsendenes Sangforening aroused so much 
 enthusiasm that is was presented with a silver- 
 mounted drinking horn. The members were so 
 well pleased with the reception accorded them in 
 the Quaker City that they remained there for a 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 205 
 
 week, and the participants have not yet grown 
 tired of recounting the experiences of that trip. 
 This sangerfest was the first which had been 
 held by the Scandinavians in this country, and 
 the Nordmsendenes Sangforening at once took an 
 active interest in the association. It took upon 
 its own shoulders the burden of arranging the 
 sangerfest in Chicago in 1889, and made a suc- 
 cess of it; but it was at the expense of its own 
 treasury, which it almost bankrupted. At this 
 sangerfest more than ten additional societies 
 joined the association. Sangerfests of this asso- 
 ciation were held in Minneapolis in 1891, and 
 again in Chicago in 1893, in both of which the 
 Nordmsendenes Sangforening participated, after 
 which the association disbanded. 
 
 The Northwestern Scandinavian Singers' As- 
 sociation, of which mention is made hereafter, 
 is a direct outgrowth of the United Scandinavian 
 Singers of America. 
 
 In 1896, at an international competitive singing 
 contest, held at the Auditorium, the Nordmaende- 
 nes Sangforening received a gold medal as a 
 trophy. 
 
 On October 30, 1895, the Nordmasndenes Sang- 
 forening celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary by 
 a banquet in Normania Hall, to which hall it had 
 removed the previous year, and five years later 
 it celebrated its thirtieth anniversary by a similar 
 banquet at Wicker Park Hall. 
 
 In the fall of 1899, a benefit concert was tend- 
 ered to Mr. John W. Colberg on the completion 
 of his twenty-fifth year as musical director, and 
 shortly after this he resigned his position. Mr. 
 Kristian Nilsson was engaged as director, re- 
 maining until December, 1903. 
 
 Prior to the year 1900, the government of the 
 Normaendenes Sangforening rested in the hands 
 of its members, the officers being elected directly 
 by them semi-annually; and monthly business 
 meetings were held in which the members par- 
 ticipated. 
 
 In 1900 the constitution and by-laws were 
 thoroughly revised. The new revision provided 
 that the government of the society should rest 
 in a board of directors consisting of twelve mem- 
 bers, who should be elected annually, at the 
 yearly meeting of the society. All of the of- 
 ficers of the society, except the revision commit- 
 tee are elected by the board of directors. At the 
 monthly directors' meetings the members have 
 the right of speaking upon any subject before the 
 meeting, but only the directors can vote. 
 
 The revision committee, consisting of three 
 members, is elected at the annual meeting, and 
 in addition to auditing all the accounts they have 
 
 the privilege of calling a special members' meet- 
 ing, if, in their opinion, the directors are. not 
 performing their duties properly. This preroga- 
 tive has not yet been availed of, and the govern- 
 ment by the board of directors has been found, 
 after six years of experience, to be more satis- 
 factory than the old system. 
 
 The Nordmsndenes Sangforening had partic- 
 ipated in no sangerfest since the dissolution of 
 the United Scandinavian Singers of America; 
 but in 1902 it received an invitation to attend a 
 sangerfest to be held that year by the North- 
 western Scandinavian Singers' Association, in 
 Sioux Falls, S. D. In connection with the other 
 singing societies belonging to the Norwegian 
 Singers' League of Chicago, sixteen men from 
 the Singers' League attended this sangerfest, and 
 in 1904, under the same conditions, thirty-two 
 men from the Singers' League (eleven of whom 
 were from the Nordmsendenes Sangforening) 
 participated in the sangerfest at Grand Forks, 
 N. D. 
 
 On Oct. 15, 1905, at a concert held at Wicker 
 Park Hall, the society introduced to Chicago Mr. 
 Harold Heide, the young Norwegian violinist, 
 who has since that time made a successful tour 
 through the Northwest. 
 
 On Oct. 30, 1905, the thirty-fifth anniversary 
 of the society was celebrated by a banquet at 
 the Boston Oyster House, which surpassed the 
 previous banquets given. 
 
 In addition to the banquets given every five 
 years, the other anniversaries are celebrated by 
 stag parties, where old times are recalled and 
 plans for the future discussed. 
 
 The Nordmaendenes Sangforening has prob- 
 ably done more than any other single agency 
 to keep alive in the hearts and minds of the 
 Norwegian people of Chicago the memories 
 of "gamle Norge," at its concerts given two or 
 three times each year, and upon the countless 
 other occasions where it has rendered its songs, 
 it has quickened the pulse and warmed the hearts 
 of its hearers. Its chorus singing has always 
 been uniformly good, and in addition thereto it 
 has always been fortunate enough to have in its 
 ranks one or two solo singers who as amateurs 
 have ranked high among the Norwegian singers 
 of Chicago. 
 
 All of the other singing societies now in the 
 Norwegian Singers' League of Chicago were or- 
 ganized by members of the Nordmsendenes Sang- 
 forening, and in addition, by its precept and ex- 
 ample, it has been indirectly instrumental in the 
 organization of all of the Norwegian singing so- 
 
206 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 cieties in the Northwest, so that it can truly be 
 said to be the mother of them all. 
 
 In addition to the singing societies referred to 
 above, the Norwegian Relief Society was organ- 
 ized by a committee appointed by the Nordmaen- 
 denes Sangforening for that purpose. This relief 
 society afterward organized the Norwegian Lu- 
 theran Tabitha Hospital Society. 
 
 Interest in sangerfests having been rekindled 
 by the members who had attended those held 
 in Sioux Falls and in Grand Forks, the Nord- 
 msendenes Sangforening, in 1905, joined the North- 
 western Scandinavian Singers' Association. 
 
 In July, 1906, the Nordmsendenes Sangforening, 
 with twenty-five singers, participated in the sang- 
 erfest held at La Crosse, Wis. Though no of- 
 ficial judgment was pronounced, it was conceded 
 by the press of La Crosse and Minneapolis to 
 have easily carried off first honors. 
 
 Mr. Gustaf A. Carlson has been musical direc- 
 tor since January, 1904, and Mr. Hans L. Ofte- 
 dahl is the present (1906) president. 
 
 The rehearsals of the chorus are held every 
 Wednesday night, and the directors' meetings on 
 the first Friday night of each month. 
 
 The Nordmsendenes Sangforening has been lo- 
 cated at Schoenhofen's Hall since 1898. It still 
 has the largest membership among the Norweg- 
 ian societies in Chicago. The membership as 
 now constituted consists of three classes, viz.: 
 active members (singers), passive or associate 
 members and honorable members (^resmedlem). 
 When a member has been in good standing for 
 twenty years, or has rendered exceptional ser- 
 vices to the society (in the latter case it requires 
 a three-fourths vote of all members present at 
 the annual meeting to elect), he is created an 
 honorary member. At a stag party arranged for 
 the occasion the member, with suitable cere- 
 monies, is decorated with a solid gold emblem. 
 There are now some twenty honorary members 
 of the society. 
 
 The Nordmsendenes Sangforening, although its 
 chief aim has been the fostering of Norwegian 
 song and music in America, has also been a so- 
 cial club. In addition to its many public enter- 
 tainments it also holds two or three private 
 parties for its members and their families each 
 year, one of which is the Christmas festival, 
 where each child receives a gift. 
 
 It has also been the custom of the Nordmsen- 
 denes Sangforening to serenade its members up- 
 on the occasion of their marriage, and upon such 
 anniversaries thereof as are celebrated. 
 
 When a member has gone upon his last long 
 
 journey, the Nordmsendenes Sangforening can 
 always be relied upon to show its last homage 
 and respect for the departed. 
 
 The Sleipncr Athletic 
 Club 
 
 In the summer of 1894 a few young Norwegi- 
 ans between the ages of 19 and 25 met in the 
 center of the Norwegian settlement. Centre 
 avenue and Ohio street, for the purpose of or- 
 ganizing a Norwegian ball club to play Norweg- 
 ian baseball. 
 
 August 15. 1894, the club was started at the 
 home of T. Wold, 98 N. Centre avenue. Fourteen 
 members were present, namely: H. Rolseth, pres- 
 ident; T. Young, secretary; S. Huseby, treas- 
 urer, and A. Thorsen, T. Lund, L. Huseby, E. 
 Wold, N. Nilsen, A. Nilsen, H. Wold, B. Knud- 
 sen. K. 0ien, H. Hoel and A. Brodahl. The 
 club was named "The Norwegian Baseball Club 
 Sleipner." The meetings were held at first in 
 the homes of the members and afterward in the 
 basement at the corner of Grand avenue and 
 Morgan street. The club, however, did not seem 
 to prosper until the fall of 1895, when the few 
 members who were left decided to hold an an- 
 nual ball fdr the benefit of the club. This proved 
 a success, and since then the club has been gain- 
 ing both in membership and finances. In the 
 latter part of the same year they concluded to 
 make it an athletic club for the Norwegians of 
 Chicago. On July 25, 1896, the club was incorpo- 
 rated as "The Norwegian Athletic Club Sleipner." 
 The charter members were O. Dahl, E. Helge- 
 sen, Louis Andersen and E. Nystrom. In July, 
 1897, a five-mile foot-race was run and one of 
 the members of the club, E. Wold, lowered the 
 Chicago record by six minutes and thus made 
 the club known in athletic fields. The club grew 
 so fast that the place of meeting was too small, 
 and they rented Scandia Hall. Here thej'- took 
 up the bicycle sport and the Sleipner boys were 
 soon recognized as good riders. A ladies' class 
 was also started and developed into one of the 
 best features of the club, but disbanded in 1904. 
 In the winter of 1900. the club held a skating 
 contest for the championship of Illinois. This 
 proved of unusual interest to the public; for it 
 attracted over 25,000 spectators. A member of 
 the club, J. Langh, won the race. Ever since 
 the club has won the Illinois and Northwestern 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 207 
 
 champion races. All skaters .and those inter- 
 ested look to the Sleipner club to promote skat- 
 ing. They are the most prominent in the skating 
 ranks, and every year has seen an increase in 
 competitors and visitors. There were fully 50,000 
 present at the races in 1904. The Governor De- 
 neen medal was won by C. L. Christopherson, 
 a member of the club in 1895, for the champion- 
 ship of Illinois. He also took the champion- 
 ship of the Northwest. Annual balls and picnics 
 are held by the club, and at the festival held 
 last May the governor of the state was an hon- 
 ored guest. 
 
 In January, 1905, a permanent home for the 
 club was decided upon and a committee selected 
 to find a suitable location. A lot at 759 N. JFair- 
 field avenue was bought, and in May of the same 
 year they moved into their new home, where 
 they are comfortably housed with the latest ath- 
 letic appliances, enthusiastic members, and in ex- 
 cellent financial circumstances. 
 
 In 1906, at the Illinois Athletic Club meet, the 
 Sleipner tug-of-war team took two cups as first 
 prizes — one for light weight and one for heavy 
 weight. In May of the same year, at the Young 
 Men's Christian Association in Chicago, a wrest- 
 ling match was held, sanctioned by the A. A. U., 
 "where members of Sleipner Athletic Club took 
 second prize in the 115-pound and second prize 
 in the 158-pound contest. 
 
 The club teaches turning and all indoor and 
 outdoor sports. 
 
 The officers are: P. Becker, president; O. 
 Bather, vice-president; J. C. Johnsen, recording 
 -secretary; O. Hagen, corresponding secretary; 
 J. Wold, financial secretary; C. Becker, treasurer; 
 'C. Nelson, turner instructor; C. Magnusen, ath- 
 letic manager. Trustees: O. Hendricksen, H. 
 Hansen and C. Hendricks. The presidents of the 
 club since its organization have been as follows: 
 H. Rolseth, N. Nilsen, H. Stromsen, E. Helge- 
 sen, Ed. Hansen, J. Wold, L. Langley, H. Han- 
 sen, C. J. Becker, H. Wold and P. Becker. 
 
 Court Normania No. 174, 
 I. O. F. of Illinois 
 
 Court Normania was organized October 6, 1888, 
 by A. F. Johannessen, Fred. Ferdinandsen, and 
 Lars Christiansen. These three men were mem- 
 bers of Court Greeley of the same order and were 
 desirous of organizing a subordinate branch with 
 
 exclusively Norwegian members, and for that 
 purpose organized a club with F. Ferdinandsen 
 as chairman, A. F. Johannessen as secretarj^ and 
 L. Christiansen as treasurer. After three months' 
 labor they were able to present a charter member 
 list as follows: O. M. Aasmundsen, A. T. Ander- 
 sen, C. M. Andersen, Hans Andersen, T. O. An- 
 dersen, Elias M. Berg, John Bergesen, Halvor 
 Bjornson, Carl Christiansen, Lars Christiansen, 
 Carl Christophersen, Carl Carlsen, Hans Ellefsen, 
 Fred Ellis, Geo. Enger, Anton Engh, E. Erick- 
 sen, F. Ferdinandsen, Chas. Foss, H. Gasman, 
 Adolph Hansen, John Hansen, Thos. Holland, H. 
 Hartwig, Theo. Jacobsen, Jens C. Jensen, A. F. 
 Johannessen, Johannes Johannessen, Charles H. 
 Johansen, C. M. Johnson, Aug. Kraft, Peder 
 Knudsen, John M. Knudsen. Gunnar Larsen, John 
 Larsen, Lorentz Larsen, Olaus Larsen, C. M. 
 Madsen, John A. Malum, M. Michalsen, Martin 
 Mickelsen, Adolph Moore, John M. Nelson, Chas. 
 Nergard, Jacob Nilsen, Olaf Olsen, Martin Olsen, 
 Theo. Olsen, O. T. Olsen, H. C. Olsen, J. A. D. 
 Olsen, Chris Sangstad, D. M. Svensen, Ole Solem, 
 C. Westby, B. Winnan. 
 
 These charter members were all Norwegians, 
 and conducted their business in the mother lan- 
 guage, admitting as new members only Norweg- 
 ians and those of Norwegian descent. The court 
 took a prominent part in all Norwegian national 
 affairs, parades and festivals; the 17th of May 
 festivals always received a very strong support 
 from this society, and the members are still proud 
 of their achievements in the parade of the Nor- 
 wegian societies to Kuhn's Park on May 17, 1891, 
 when the court was awarded the prize for the best 
 appearing body in the procession. The prize was 
 presented by Mayor Carter H. Harrison, Jr., and 
 consisted of a solid silver gavel with the follow- 
 ing inscription: "In remembrance of May 17, 
 1891. Presented to Court Normania, No. 174, I. 
 O. F., as the best appearing body in the Proces- 
 sion." 
 
 When a call was made upon the Norwegian so- 
 cieties for delegates to organize the Norwegian 
 National League, Court Normania responded 
 cheerfully, and its delegate, Mr. J. T. Johnsen, 
 was a member of the committee to draw up a 
 constitution and by-laws. 
 
 While Court Normania's history was a glorious 
 one, it was also a short one. It was subordinate 
 to the Independent Order of Foresters of 
 Illinois, a fraternal insurance organization, 
 and subject to the rules and regulations of 
 that order. It conducted its business on the 
 "current cost'' plan, collecting just enough to 
 pay the claims as thej^ came along and not 
 
308 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 providing for a higher death rate, which was sure 
 to come when the members grew older; and 
 it came even sooner than expected. To meet the 
 increased number of claims an extra assessment 
 was called now and then; then extras became 
 more frequent, and, as they were objectionable to 
 the members, the regular assessments were in- 
 creased. An increase was made several times, and 
 each time it was attended with a falling ofif in the 
 number of members. The natural consequence 
 was an increased death rate, and extra assess- 
 ments were necessary again. Court Normania 
 stood it nobly until it became evident that in a 
 very short time the order would be placed in the 
 hands of receivers, and then, at the regular meet- 
 ing held on November 1, 1899, the court decided 
 to dissolve and return the charter to the High 
 Court. 
 
 The following held the office of chief ranger 
 (president): A. F. Johannessen, Fred. Ferdinand- 
 sen, Adolph Moore, Olaf Olsen, Lorentz Larsen, 
 Chas. Nergard, B. Winnan, John I. Johnsen, John 
 Hansen, Elias M. Berg and John Malmstrom. 
 
 Previous to the dissolution the members, still 
 desirous of holding together, had been looking 
 around for other headquarters. At a mass meet- 
 ing held on Sept. 15, 1899, Mr. Chas. Nergard 
 presiding, the past history and experience were 
 reviewed and the prospects of other fraternal so- 
 cieties discussed. A committee of nine was ap- 
 pointed to investigate the standing of other so- 
 cieties. This committee, with Mr. John Malm- 
 strom as chairman, covered a large field, going 
 into the history and financial standing of about 
 a .dozen of the prominent fraternal insurance so- 
 cieties. A meeting, held on Oct. 3, 1899, to which 
 this committee reported, decided almost unani- 
 mously to apply to the Knights of the Maccabees 
 of the World for a charter. This being granted, 
 Normania Tent, No. 264, K. O. T. M., was or- 
 ganized on Oct. 13, 1899, with the following char- 
 ter members: A. Alfreds, Andy Andersen, C. E. 
 Anderson, Frank Anderson, Herman Andersen, J. 
 Oscar Andersen. Oscar R. Anderson, Elias M. 
 Berg, Martin Bruhn, Halvor Bjornson, O. A. 
 Bensen, John Bomengen, Hans Brons, Carl Chris- 
 tiansen, Alex. Danielsen, Anton Engh, A. Enge- 
 bretsen, A. Ferdinandsen, Fred. Ferdinandsen, D. 
 M. Hansen, Emil Hansen, Gilbert Hansen, Hans 
 Hansen, John Hansen, Henry Hansen, Severin 
 Halvorsen, Axel Horn, John Horn, John Hauge, 
 Julius Jensen, Anton Johnson, Otto E. Johnson, 
 John T. Johnsen, Chas. H. Johansen, A. F. Jo- 
 hannessen, Jens Kjer, Hilmer Korsan, Peter S. 
 Lauson, Carl Lund, Adolph Moore, Alfred Moore, 
 
 John Malmstrom, Thos. Madland, Nic. Morten- 
 sen, Jacob Nelson, Chas. Nergard, Peder Oppe- 
 dal, Marius Olsen, Sigw. G. Olsen, Anton Olsen, 
 H. C. Olsen, J. A. D. Olsen, Jorgen Olsen, Olaf 
 Olsen, Harry Rundquist, Kittel Sandsteel, John 
 J. Sonsteby, Ole Solem, Oskar Sandberg, Elias 
 Sunde, Albert Scorvoll, Andrew Thompson, A. 
 Westby, John Weberg, B. Winnan, J. O. Win- 
 nan. 
 
 The tent, through the Knights of the Macca- 
 bees of the World, to which it is subordinate, 
 furnishes life insurance from $250 to $3,000. The 
 rates are paid monthly, are graded according to 
 age at admission, and are sufficiently high to take 
 care of future obligations. The tent also furnishes 
 sick benefits of $5 per week to its members when 
 sick or disabled. Since its organization in 1899 
 it has paid in sick benefits $1,435, and three of 
 its members have died: Hans Hansen, after a 
 membership of nine months; Henry Bendt, after 
 a membership of one year, and Marius Madsen, 
 after a membership of four years. It has now 
 a membership of 120, the oldest one being 57 
 years and the youngest 18 years of age. The 
 average age of the members at the time of organi- 
 zation was 38^ years, but owing to a large in- 
 ilux of young members the average age is now 
 36 VL' years. 
 
 The social afifairs of the tent have not been 
 conducted with a financial profit in view, but 
 merely for the entertaimnent of its members and 
 their friends. These "socials" have never been 
 advertised and no tickets have ever been sold 
 to strangers, but nevertheless they have been re- 
 warded with great attendance, especially during 
 the last two or three years. 
 
 The tent naturally takes a great interest in 
 Norwegian national affairs. On Oct. 12, 1900, in 
 spite of a heavy rain, it turned out strong in the 
 procession from Scandia Hall to Humboldt Park 
 at the unveiling of the Leif Erickson monument. 
 The Norwegian National League is strongly sup- 
 ported by the tent, and its delegates always an- 
 swer the roll call at the league's meetings. One 
 of its delegates has held the offices of vice-presi- 
 dent and treasurer, and another is now corres- 
 ponding secretary of the league. 
 
 Officers of Normania Tent, No. 264, Knights of 
 the Maccabees of the World: 
 
 Past Commander, 1899, John Malmstrom; 1900, 
 J. T. Johnsen; 1901, Olaf Olsen; 1902, Olaf Olsen; 
 1903, S. G. Olsen; 1904, Sam'l Olsen; 1905, H. 
 Brons; 1906, J. J. Sonsteby. 
 
 Commander, 1899, J. T. Johnsen; 1900, Olaf Ol- 
 sen; 1901, Sigw. G. Olsen; 1902, Sigw. G. Olsen; 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 209 
 
 1903, Sam'l Olsen; 1904, H. Brons; 1905, J. J. 
 Sonsteby; 1906, A. Scorvoll. 
 
 . Lieut. Commander, 1899, Olaf Olsen; 1900, J. 
 J. Sonsteby; 1901, A. F. Johannessen; 1902, J. O. 
 Andersen; 1903, H. Brons; 1904, W. B. Muench; 
 
 1905, A. Ferdinandsen; 1906, S. G. Olsen. 
 Record Keeper, 1899 and 1900, C. Nergard; 
 
 1901 to 1906, J. Malmstrom. 
 
 Finance Keeper, 1899 to 1905 (after which year 
 that office was consolidated with the office of 
 record keeper), F. Ferdinandsen. 
 
 Chaplain, 1899, A. Moore; 1900, P. S. Lauson; 
 1901, A. Ferdinandsen; 1902, A. Scorvoll; 1903, A. 
 Lenzer; 1904, Theo. Masset; 1905, A. Scorvoll; 
 
 1906, Theo. Masset. 
 
 Sergeant, 1899, B. Winnan; 1900, S. G. Olsen; 
 
 1901, A. Scorvoll; 1902, M. Johnson; 1903, F. A. 
 Ferdinandsen; 1904, G. W. Moore; 1905, P. S. 
 Lauson; 1906, P. S. Lauson. 
 
 Master-at-Arms, 1899, John Hansen; 1900, Hans 
 Hansen; 1901, A. Thompson; 1902, H. Brons; 
 1903, G. Osmundsen; 1904, C. J. Vevang; 1905, C. 
 Andersen; 1906, C. J. Vevang. 
 
 First Master of the Guards, 1899, Carl Christi- 
 ansen; 1900, A. Westby; 1901, H. Brons; 1902, 
 T. Christophersen; 1903, P. S. Lauson; 1904, B. 
 
 D. Bank; 1905, C. J. Vevang; 1906, Rud. O. Sme- 
 stad. 
 
 Second Master of the Guards, 1899, C. H. Jo- 
 hansen; 1900, H. Bjornson; 1901, Elias Sunde; 
 
 1902, M. Monsen; 1903, A. Ferdinandsen; 1904, 
 A. Lenzer; 1905 and 1906, Olaf Schow. 
 
 Sentinel, 1899, E. M. Berg; 1900, A. Scorvoll; 
 1901, H. Bjornson; 1902, E. Popp; 1903, C. Chris- 
 tiansen; 1904, E. Knudsen; 1905, Rud. O. Sme- 
 stad; 1906, L. H. Johnson. 
 
 Picket, 1899, M. B. Olsen; 1900, H. Brons; 1901, 
 
 E. M. Berg; 1902, C. Scorvoll; 1903 and 1904, M. 
 Monsen; 1905 and 1906, C. Scorvoll. 
 
 The Norwegian Sick-Benefit 
 Society "Nordlyset" 
 
 Was organized Jan. 22, 1893, as Branch No. 10 
 of Den Skandinaviske Arbeiderforening af Nord- 
 Amerika. The object of the society was, in ad- 
 dition to that of the central organization, to 
 establish a sick-benefit fund, and by socials, lec- 
 tures, books and newspapers to work for the en- 
 lightening of its members. The first officers 
 were: O. A. Hedvig, president; H. E. Thorp, 
 vice-president; J. Johnsen, recording secretary; 
 
 A. Melsnes, financial secretary; F. Stang, treas- 
 urer; S. Fredrichs, marshal; J. Stensrud, sergeant- 
 at-arms; trustees: Charles Larsen, J. E. Dahl- 
 strom and J. H. Haugen. Dr. Thomas Warloe 
 was the society's first physician. Following were 
 the charter members: Johan Andersen, H. C. 
 Bierman, Hans Borger, Ole C. Brown, Olaf Bry- 
 nilsen, Anthony Christensen, Oscar Fredrik 
 Claussen, John E. Dahlstrom, Anthony Falk, 
 Edward Finholt, Sigurd Fredrichs, Anton Hagen, 
 Ole A. Hedvig, John Johnsen, Michael Kolberg, 
 John A. Levin, Jjzirgen Lund, Adolf Melsnes, 
 Oscar Martins, John Fr. OUanqvist, Hakon L 
 Pedersen, Chas. G. Schiller, Fredrik Stang, Jakob 
 Stensrud, Hans Edv. Thorp, S. A. Thorsen, Thos. 
 Warloe, Ole Mikalsen Wold. A committee of 
 five — Messrs. J. Johnsen, A. Melsnes, J. H. Hau- 
 gen, H. Pedersen and S. Fredrichs — was ap- 
 pointed to draft the by-laws. 
 
 March 1, 1893, the organization festival was 
 held in Scandia Hall. May 8, 1893, delegates 
 were elected to the 17th of May arrangement 
 committee of the central organization. This 
 celebration, in which "Nordlyset" took part, was 
 held in Jackson Park, at the time of the World's 
 Fair, and was very successful. 
 
 The officers for the second term, 1893, were: 
 President, O. A. Hedvig; vice-president, J. H. 
 Haugen; recording secretary, H. E. Thorp; 
 financial secretary, O. Hoitomt; treasurer, E. 
 Falk; marshal, J. Lund; sergeants-at-arms, J. 
 Stensrud and O. M. Wold; trustee, A. Melsnes. 
 
 Officers of the first term, 1894, were as follows: 
 President, J. Johnson; vice-president, H. J. Pe- 
 dersen; recording secretary, C. T. Birck; finan- 
 cial secretary, C. G. Schiller; treasurer, A. Nokle- 
 bye; marshal, S. Fredrichs; sergeants-at-arms, M. 
 S0hol and A. Hagen; Dr. T. Schroeder was elected 
 to serve as the society's physician. The officers 
 of the second term, 1894, were: president, J. 
 Johnson, re-elected; vice-president, H. J. Peder- 
 sen, re-elected; recording secretary, J. H. Hau- 
 gen; financial secretary, O. Hoitomt; treasurer, 
 A. N. Noklebye, re-elected; marshal, Ole C. Nil- 
 sen; sergeants-at-arms, H. C. Knudsen and S. 
 Fredrichs. 
 
 August 16, 1894, "Nordlyset" withdrew from 
 the Scandinavian Workingmen's Association. For 
 one month it was undecided whether "Nordlyset" 
 should join another organization. This question 
 was finally decided on Sept. 20, 1894. Several 
 members were not willing to unite with a new 
 organization, and withdrew. The members that 
 remained loyal to "Nordlyset" in this crisis were: 
 John Johnsen, Olai Hoitomt, S. Frederichs, Edw. 
 
210 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Finholdt, Frank Ollanquist, C G. Schiller, Christ. 
 Ellertsen and John H. Haugen. 
 
 October 24, 1894, "Nordlyset" affiliated with 
 the United Scandinavians of America, and be- 
 came Branch No. 1. The following officers were 
 elected: President, O. Hoitomt; recording secre- 
 tary, J. H. Haugen; financial secretary, Fr. El- 
 lertsen; treasurer, C. G. Schiller; marshal, O. C. 
 Nilsen; sergeant-at-arms, G. Olsen. Dr. Ur- 
 heim was selected to serve as the society's phy- 
 sician. Installation of these officers took place 
 Nov. 15, 1894. 
 
 June 4, 1895, it was decided to withdraw from 
 the United Scandinavians of America and con- 
 tinue as an independent society. On June 18 a 
 committee was appointed to draft constitution 
 and by-laws. On July 2 the new constitution 
 and bv-laws were adopted, to go into efifect Aug. 
 7. Under the new constitution "Nordlyset" be- 
 came a sick-benefit society, and also established 
 a burial fund. On Dec. 17 officers were elected 
 as follows: President, O. Hoitomt; vice-presi- 
 dent, P. L. Jones; recording secretary, J. H. Hau- 
 gen; financial secretary, O. B. Johnsen; treasurer, 
 Gustav Olsen; marshal, J. Hoitomt; sergeant-at- 
 arms, N. Olsen. 
 
 "Nordlyset" was incorporated under the laws 
 of Illinois, April 13, 1896. Incorporators: Olai 
 Hoitomt, Nils Olsen, Hjalmar M. Fossum, Ova 
 B. Johnsen and Ole Thoresen. Officers for the 
 second term of 1896 were: President, O. Hoi- 
 tomt, re-elected; vice-president, J. H Haugen- 
 recording secretary, Hjalmar Fossum; financial 
 secretary, J. Hoitomt; treasurer, G Olsen re- 
 elected; marshal, O. Thoresen; sergeant-at-arms. 
 ". G. Swanson. 
 
 Officers for the first term, 1897: President 
 O. Hoitomt; vice-president, J. H. Haugen; re- 
 cording secretary, Hjalmar Fossum; financial 
 secretary, O. C Nilsen; treasurer, G. Hansen; 
 marshal, Henry Jansen; sergeant-at-arms, E 
 Johnsen. Officers for second term, 1897: Presi- 
 dent, O. Hoitomt; vice-president, Ed. Johnsen- 
 recordmg secretary, Hjalmar Fossum; financial 
 secretary, J. Hoitomt; treasurer, G. Hansen; 
 marshal, Henry Jansen; sergeant-at-arms, O. 
 I noresen. 
 
 Officers for first term, 1898: President, J Hoi- 
 
 Ir^'J^'AT''^'"*' ^- °'^^"= recording secre- 
 tary, H. Olsen; financial secretary, John Thore- 
 sen; treasurer, Henry Jansen; marshal, E Sal- 
 vesen; sergeant-at-arms, Thomas Sorensen 
 
 Dec. 15, 1897, the name of the society was 
 changed to "Den Norske Sygeforening Nordly- 
 set (the Norwegian Sick-Benefit Society "Nord- 
 
 lyset"), and as such only Norwegians by birth or 
 descent, and able to speak the Norwegian lan- 
 guage, could become members. 
 
 The officers for the second term, 1898, were: 
 President, O. C. Nilsen; vice-president, Gustav 
 Olsen; recording secretary, John H. Haugen; 
 financial secretary, John Thoresen; treasurer, 
 Henry Jansen; marshal, Jens Hoitomt; sergeant- 
 at-arms, John Sorensen. 
 
 Officers for first term, 1899: President, Jens 
 Hoitomt; vice-president, Hans Hansen; record- 
 ing secretary, John H. Haugen; financial secre- 
 tary, Louis Tallaksen; treasurer, Henry Jansen; 
 marshal, John Hansen; sergeant-at-arms, Gustav 
 Hansen. 
 
 March 7, 1899, O. Hoitomt was elected a del- 
 egate to work with the Norwegian Tabitha Hos- 
 pital's officers for the arrangement of a 17th of 
 May celebration. This celebration was held in 
 the Auditorium and was a great success. 
 
 June 20, 1899, O. Hoitomt was elected a dele- 
 gate to represent "Nordlyset" in a conference of 
 the various Norwegian societies for the purpose 
 of organizing a Norwegian national league. 
 
 The officers for the second term, 1899, were: 
 President, Jens Hoitomt; vice-president, Gustav 
 Olsen; recording secretary, Wm. Sandberg; finan- 
 cial secretary, Thomas Sdrensen; treasurer, H. 
 Jansen; marshal, John A. Sjzirensen; sergeant-at- 
 arms, Gustav Hansen. 
 
 The officers for the first term, 1900, were: 
 President, O. A. Hedwig; vice-president, John 
 H. Haugen; recording secretary, Wm. Sandberg; 
 financial secretary, Thos. Sjzirensen; treasurer, 
 Gustav Hansen; marshal, John A. Sjzirensen; 
 sergeant-at-arms, H. C. Hansen; delegate to the 
 Norwegian National League, O. Hoitomt. Offi- 
 cers for the second term, 1900; President, Jens 
 Hoitomt; vice-president, L. Tallaksen; recording 
 secretary, Edw. Johnsen; financial secretary, J. 
 P. Wiik; treasurer, O. B. Johnsen; marshal, 
 John A. S0rensen; sergeant-at-arms, Gustav Ol- 
 sen and O. Andersen. 
 
 Officers for the first term, 1901: President, J. 
 Hoitomt; vice-president, H. C. Hansen; record- 
 ing secretary, J. Nelsen; financial secretary, J, 
 P. Wiik; treasurer, Gustav Hansen; marshal, 
 Thos. Sj^rensen; sergeant-at-arms, O. Andersen 
 and Andrew Larsen. At the annual meeting, Dec. 
 18, 1900, it was decided to withdraw from the 
 Norwegian National League. Officers for second 
 term, 1901: President, John Hansen; vice-presi- 
 dent, L. Tallaksen; recording secretary, O. A. 
 Hedwig; financial secretary, John A. S0rerisen; 
 treasurer, Gustav Hansen; marshal, J. P. Wiik; 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 211 
 
 sergeants-at-arms, Ole Orum and Andrew Lar- 
 sen. 
 
 Officers for first term, 1902: President, J. 
 Hoitomt; vice-president, John Hansen; recording 
 secretary, William Sandberg, financial secre- 
 tary, John A. S0rensen; treasurer, Gustav Han- 
 sen; marshal, Thomas S0rensen, sergeant-at- 
 arms, O. Iversen and H. C. Hansen; John H. 
 Haugen and Jens Hoitomt were elected dele- 
 gates to the Norwegian National League. Of- 
 ficers for second term, 1902: President, Jens 
 Hoitomt; vice-president, John Hansen; record- 
 ing secretary, Olaf Oppedale; financial secretary, 
 John A. S^rensen; treasurer, Gustav Hansen; 
 marshal, Adolf Moore; : ergeants-at-arms, Oscar 
 Iversen and Edw. Orum. Sept 17, 1902, "Nordly- 
 set" decided to contribute to the bazar given 
 by the Norwegian National League for the ben- 
 efit of the Norwegian Tabitha Hospital. 
 
 Officers for first term, 1903: President, Jens 
 Hoitomt; vice-president, John Hansen; record- 
 ing secretary, O. Oppedale; financial secretary, 
 John A. Sjzirensen; treasurer, G. Hansen; mar- 
 shal, Ole Moe; sergeants-at-arms, Oscar Iver- 
 sen and Edw. Orum; delegate to the National 
 League, M. B0rresen; physician, Dr. Wm. Hans- 
 hus. Officers for second term, 1903: President, 
 Jens Hoitomt; vice-president, A. Abrahamsen; 
 recording secretary, Olaf Oppedale; financial 
 secretary, John A. S^rensen; treasurer, Gustav 
 Hansen; marshal, Martin B0rresen; sergeants-at- 
 arms, H. Bjerke and Edw. Orum. 
 
 Officers for first term, 1904: President, Olaf 
 Oppedale; vice-president A. Abrahamsen; re- 
 cording secretary, Hjalmar M. Fossum; financial 
 secretary, John A. S0rensen; treasurer, Gustav 
 Hansen; marshal, John Hansen; sergeants-at- 
 arms, Edw. Orum and Severin Nilsen; delegate 
 to the Norwegian National League, Jens Hoi- 
 tomt. Officers for second term, 1904: President, 
 Olaf Oppedalej vice-president, A. Abrahamsen; 
 recording secretary, Hjalmar M. Fossum; finan- 
 cial secretary, John A. S0rensen; treasurer, Gus- 
 tav Hansen; marshal, Thomas S0rensen; ser- 
 geants-at-arms, H. Bierke and Aslak Abraham- 
 sen; delegate to the National League, A. Abra- 
 hamsen. 
 
 Officers for first term, 1905: President, O. 
 Oppedale; vice-president, H. Bjerke; recording 
 secretary, Hjalmar M. Fossum; financial secre- 
 tary, John A. Sjzfrensen; treasurer, Gustav Han- 
 sen; marshal, Edw. Orum; sergeants-at-arms, M. 
 Frogner and Paul Andersen; delegate to the 
 National League, Hjalmar Fossum. Officers for 
 second term^ 1905: President^ O. Oppedale; 
 vice-president, H. Bjerke; recording secretary. 
 
 Hjalmar M. Fossum; financial secretary, John 
 A. S0rensen; treasurer, Gustav Hansen; marshal,. 
 Edw. Orum; sergeant-at-arms, Ole Orum andi 
 John Andersen; physician, Wm. Hanshus. 
 
 Officers for first term, 1906: President, Hjal- 
 mar M. Fossum; vice-president, H. Bjerke; re- 
 cording secretary, John Thoresen; financial sec- 
 retary, John A. Sjzfrensen; treasurer, Gustav Han- 
 sen; marshal, Edw. Orum; sergeants-at-arms, 
 Ole Orum and John Fossum; delegate to the 
 National League, A. Abrahamsen; physician, Dr. 
 Wm. Hanshus. 
 
 "Nordlyset" has held annual picnics and balls. 
 
 Although not as strong in membership as some 
 of the Scandinavian lodges in Chicago, it is very 
 strong financially and has always been prompt 
 in paying burial and sick-benefits to its members. 
 It has always been willing to take part and assist 
 in national undertakings. 
 
 Skandinavian Women's 
 Burial Benefit As- 
 
 sociation 
 
 The Scandinavian Women's Burial Benefit As- 
 sociation of Chicago was organized Feb. 12, 1879, 
 by Mrs. Christina Christophersen and eight other 
 ladies. The object was to be of mutual help to 
 each other and also to be able to give their 
 members a respectable burial. In organizing 
 they started with the idea of making the terms- 
 and conditions so reasonable that any one 
 would be able to join. The initiation fee was- 
 fixed at 10 cents, 2 cents per week as dues and 
 2 cents per month for extra expenses. At the 
 first meeting the receipts were 90 cents. Others 
 joined at each meeting. After two years the in- 
 itiation fee was raised to 50 cents, and shortly 
 afterward to $1, with 25 cents additional for each 
 death. When the association was four years 
 old it paid its first death loss, amounting to $40. 
 Since then the association has increased in mem- 
 bership year by year until now (1906) it has a 
 membership of 700. It has again increased the 
 initiation fee, to $2, leaving the other dues as 
 before. In the meantime the funeral benefits 
 have increased from year to year until they now 
 pay $200, which is paid to a surviving member 
 of the family on the same day the death occurs. 
 
 The management prides itself upon its prompt 
 payments, and also upon the fact that it has 
 
■212 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 helped many of its members in the way of pri- 
 vate loans in case of sickness or urgent neces- 
 sities. The members are mostly Norwegian 
 women, but each member has a right to take in 
 her husband and sons as members, though they 
 have no vote in its management. The associa- 
 tion has never been divided against itself, for 
 imder the management pf Mrs. Christophersen 
 It has always been united, although it had, dur- 
 ing its early period, to weather many hard 
 storms. It has never organized any branches, 
 Mrs. Christophersen always having opposed such 
 action. When she, after serving as organizer 
 
 The members recall with great satisfaction 
 that they were ridiculed and nicknamed as the 
 two-cent society in the early days. Now, how- 
 ever, they can help themselves, for the members 
 have already paid 185 death benefits, loaned to 
 its members about $600, sent $50 to the bereaved 
 widows of fisheimen at R^ver in Norway in 
 1899, and have donated $100 to the Dr. Quales 
 fund for the Old People's Home. Those who 
 have seen this society grow from a feeble in- 
 fancy to strong and vigorous age have every 
 reason to thank God and be glad that they have 
 been enabled to do good to others, who grate- 
 
 Mrs. Christina Christophersen. 
 
 Mrs. Anna Berg. 
 
 and president of the association for twenty-five 
 years, withdrew from the active management, 
 other members could look up to something ac- 
 complished for the benefit of fellow-men, for 
 God had crowned their efifort with success. The 
 association has grown to be big and strong, in- 
 deed rich. Aside from Mrs. Christophersen as 
 president the society has been officered by eight 
 others and by three trustees. The officers are 
 elected every six months, but as a rule the same 
 officers have held their places for years. After 
 Mrs. Christophersen retired from the presidency 
 the vice-president, Mrs. Anna Berg, was elected 
 president and has held the office since. 
 
 fully will recall the aid accorded them in the 
 hour of need. The society hopes that it may 
 be blessed with many such members as Mrs. 
 Christophersen, who was 56 when she organ- 
 ized this association. She is now over 82, but 
 attends every meeting with the same intense 
 interest for its welfare. She is seen in her best 
 element when she is in the midst of the mem- 
 bers of the society. She is the mother to them 
 all. Fortunate is the society that has such a 
 management; for here all strive to do right and 
 fear no one. The present officers are: 
 
 Past protector, Mrs. Christina Christophersen; 
 president, Mrs. Anna Berg; vice-president, Mrs. 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 313 
 
 Solly Heole Solley; treasurer, Mrs. Marie Man- 
 sen; first financial secretary, Margerethe Berg; 
 second financial secretary, Dorothea Hendrick- 
 son; secretary, Marie Possum; marshal, Mrs. 
 Sjulstad; door keeper, Mrs. Ottesen. 
 
 Sick and Aid Society of 
 the Bethlehem Con- 
 gregation 
 
 Was organized November 27, 1893; incorporated 
 March 22, 1897. 
 
 This society was the outcome of a meeting 
 held in the church on Oct. 30, 1893. A few mem- 
 bers of the church and also a few outsiders were 
 present. Rev. T. N. Kildahl was selected as 
 temporary chairman and Abraham Johnson was 
 made secretary. The chairman then read a previ- 
 ously prepared draft for a constitution and by- 
 laws, which was adopted. 
 
 The next meeting was held on Nov. 13, to com- 
 plete the organization. It was then a question 
 of members before completing the organization. 
 Twenty-three of those present enrolled them- 
 selves. 
 
 The next meeting was on Nov. 27, when eigh- 
 teen applications for membership were received 
 and enrolled. An election was then held for 
 permanent officers and resulted in the choice of 
 the following for the first year: Rev. T. N. 
 Kildahl, president; Hans T^-edt, vice-president; 
 Hakon Thompson, treasurer; Abraham Johnson, 
 secretary. The members then paid their initia- 
 tion fees, and as a result $66.50 was placed in 
 the treasury. 
 
 Objects and Rules of the Society. 
 
 To aid and help members in case of sickness 
 or death. 
 
 All men and women of good moral character, 
 between 18 and 50 years, living in Chicago, are 
 eligible but must pass medical examination. 
 
 There is an initiation fee of $1.50; and 35 cents, 
 dues for the first month, must be paid in advance. 
 
 A membership of three months entitles one to 
 benefits. 
 
 Sick benefits are limited to $5 per week for 
 twelve weeks, and the funeral expenses to $70. 
 In case of the death of a member who has not 
 contributed to the society for the necessary three 
 
 months his heirs are entitled to $50 for funeral 
 benefit. 
 
 A woman is not eligible for the office of presi- 
 dent or vice-president. 
 
 All officers are elected by ballot. The regular 
 monthly meetings are held at 8 p. m. on the last 
 Monday in each month. A majority vote decides 
 all questions. 
 
 All officers of the society must be members 
 of Bethlehem Church. 
 
 Cash Statement for 1905. 
 
 Cash on hand Jan. 1, 1905 $387.36- • 
 
 " received during the year.... 600.25 
 
 $987.61 
 Sick benefits paid during the year 466.90 
 
 $520.71 
 Funeral benefits paid during year. 140.00 
 
 Balance, Jan. 1, 1906 $380.71 
 
 The association has paid out since its organiza- 
 tion $5,740.71, being $4,970.71 for sick benefits and 
 $770 for funerals. The membership is 128 — 79 
 women and 49 men. The present officers are: 
 President, Hakon Thompson; vice-president, 
 Sj^ren Hansen; treasurer, M. T. Christofferson; 
 secretary, Conrad de Lange. The auditing com- 
 mittee consists of N. C. N. Juul, Ludvig Morten- 
 sen and Andrew Petersen. 
 
 The annual meeting is held on the last Mon- 
 day of January of each year. 
 
 Enigheden 
 
 Is a woman's club composed of Norwegian wo- 
 men for mutual benefit and pleasure. 
 
 It was organized in September, 1905, and has 
 now a membership of over sixty. The first 
 meeting was held at the home of Mrs. Kristine 
 Berg, 80 Ogden avenue, Chicago. The objects 
 are: First, to visit each member on her birth- 
 day; second, to help and aid each other in case 
 of sickness, to attend each other's funeral, and 
 also to distribute flowers to all members. Their 
 meetings are held on the first and third Mondays 
 of each month, at the home of Mrs. Kristine 
 Berg. On the first Monday they attend to the 
 regular business of the club, and on the third 
 Monday they hold a social session interspersed 
 with song, music and reading. They also have 
 one picnic and a dance each year, the receipts 
 
314 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 so received going toward paying the expenses 
 of the club. They are entitled to two delegates 
 to the National League, as they are always in 
 on everything that is "Norsk." 
 
 The officers are: Mrs. Kristine Berg, presi- 
 dent; Mrs. Rachel Dorow, secretary; Mrs. Tora 
 Smith, vice-president; Mrs. Emma Ellefsen, cash- 
 ier; Mrs. Ragna Arvesen, trustee; Miss Marge- 
 reth Sorley, recording secretary; Mesdames Elsie 
 Brown and Kristine Berg are delegates to the 
 Norwegian National League. They promise to 
 fight unitedly for the objects they believe to be 
 best. 
 
 Here is their song, composed by Mrs. Berg 
 especially for Dameforeningen Enigheden. We 
 shall have to give it in the original: 
 
 Air: "Shall We Gather at the River?" 
 
 Hjz(it i aften lyder sangen 
 Fra vor sisters jubelkor; 
 Det, som binder os tilsammen, 
 Er til en hjgelp saa stor. 
 
 Kor: 
 
 Altid enig vi skal stande, 
 Med venner her vi m0der frem, 
 Langt fra vore Nordens lande 
 At stedse mindes dem. 
 
 2. 
 
 Voer velkommen, vs&r velkommen 
 Til vor kjaere sj?<sterkreds. 
 Vi vil kjsempe med hverandre 
 ( 1 det Maal vi ser er bedst. 
 
 Liberty Band 
 
 Liberty Band of Chicago was organized in the 
 latter part of the year 1904, receiving its charter 
 Dec. 15, 1904. Its objects are purely musical and 
 sociable. The officers are elected for a term 
 of six months, in January and July. 
 
 Officers first half of 1905: L. Hanson, presi- 
 dent; J. Wennberg, secretary; M. Wennberg, 
 financial secretary; Oscar E. Gray, treasurer; H. 
 M. Gassman, manager; O. Enger, leader; C. 
 Wangberg, librarian. 
 
 Officers second half of 1905: J. Wennberg, pres- 
 ident; C. Wangberg, secretary; M. Wennberg, 
 financial secretary; Oscar E. Gray, treasurer; H. 
 M. Gassman, manager; O. Enger, leader; C. 
 Christo£ferson, librarian. 
 
 Officers first half of 1906: Oscar E. Gray, presi- 
 dent; C. Wangberg, secretary; H. M. Gassman, 
 financial secretary; M. Wennberg, treasurer; H. 
 M. Gassman, manager; O. Enger, leader; C. 
 Christofiferson, librarian; Math. Pedersen, direc- 
 tor. 
 
 Officers second half of 1906: Oscar E. Gray, 
 president; J. Wennberg, secretary; C. Christof- 
 ferson, financial secretary; M. Wennberg, treas- 
 urer; H. M. Gassman, manager; O. Enger, leader; 
 W. Enger, librarian; Math. Pedersen, director. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
 
 Of a Few Chicago Norwegians Departed from This World 
 
 ANDREW NELSON BREKKE, 
 
 one of the earliest Norwegian settlers in Chi- 
 cago, died at his residence, in July, 1887. His 
 death was sudden and resulted from overheat- 
 ing and exhaustion. He had taken a trip to 
 Yellowstone Park with a friend, and on the re- 
 turn journey was overcome by the heat at St. 
 Paul. He was brought to his home and died the 
 evening of the same day. His funeral was an im- 
 posing afifair. Large numbers of the old settlers 
 were in attendance, while the Norwegians were 
 present en masse. Rev. F. C. C. Kahler of the 
 Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church delivered a 
 feeling address on the life and virtues of the 
 •deceased, and incidentally highly lauded the Nor- 
 wegians of Chicago, of which the deceased was 
 a. representative member. 
 
 Mr. Nelson was born at Brekke, Voss, Nor- 
 way, Feb. 12, 1818. He came to Chicago in 1839, 
 and worked as a laborer for Mathew Laflin and 
 John Wright. He laid the foundation of his 
 future fortune in 1845, when he purchased some 
 property on Superior street, on part of which he 
 built the residence where he resided until his 
 death. From time to time he purchased other 
 real estate, shares in car lines, bank and railway 
 stocks, the natural increase of value afterward 
 making him a wealthy man. His total posses- 
 sions were at the time of his death estimated at 
 •over $.500,000. Mr. Nelson in 1848 was elected 
 North Side street commissioner, and a little later 
 was chosen trustee of the First Norwegian Evan- 
 gelical Lutheran Church. In 1866 he was elected 
 North Town assessor, and in 1869 Lincoln Park 
 commissioner. All these offices were filled by 
 him with honor, and his integrity and honesty 
 were never impeached. In the great fire his 
 losses, as compared with his means, were verj' 
 heavy, and it was only by great perseverance and 
 the excercise of his financial ability that he was 
 enabled to surmount them. Mr. Nelson was twice 
 
 married. The first time was in Norway to Miss 
 Inger Nelson, who bore him three children, all 
 dead long ago. His second wife, Mrs. Julia K. 
 Williams, who survived him, he married in Chi- 
 cago in 1849. Three daughters out of a family 
 of seven, the result of his second marriage, are 
 still living. One is married to J. A. Waite, of the 
 Anchor Line Steamship Co. 
 
 MRS. LAURA ANDERSON, 
 
 Mother of John Anderson, publisher of Skandi- 
 naven, was one of the first Norwegians to settle 
 in Chicago, and behold its marvelous growth 
 from a struggling town to one of the world's 
 greatest cities. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson was born in Norway, Sept. 22, 
 1812, and died in Chicago Aug. 8, 1897. She left 
 her native land with her husband and three sons 
 in 1844, coming direct to Chicago. One of her 
 sons died and was buried at sea, and another 
 died on the journey from Albany to Buffalo, and 
 was buried at the latter place. A daughter, the 
 wife of H. L. Dahl, was born in Chicago. Mrs. 
 Anderson's husband was carried away in the 
 cholera epidemic which prevailed in 1849. She 
 was prominently identified with the Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church, of which the late Rev. Paul 
 Anderson was the first pastor, taking particular 
 interest in all its activities along charitable, 
 educational and social lines. She exhibited all 
 the vigor and sturdiness of her race, and, until 
 in recent years afflicted with dropsy and com- 
 plaints incident to old age, she led an active life. 
 Within two months of her death she was able 
 to attend the christening of her great-grand- 
 daughter, the child of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Eilert, 
 and the wedding of her daughter's daughter, 
 events in which she took a keen interest. The 
 funeral was held from her son's residence, 646 
 Cleveland avenue. She is buried in Graceland 
 Cemetery. 
 215 
 
216 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 JENS OLSEN KAASA, 
 
 Who died Febr. 16, 1907, was one of the earliest 
 Norwegian settlers in Chicago. He was born 
 April 12, 1824, at Kaasa in Siljord's prsestegjseld, 
 0vre Telemarken, Norway. In the spring of 
 1840 the family moved to Bamle praestegjseld, 
 where they lived for three years. In 1843 Jens 
 Olsen together with his parents and their eight 
 other children emigrated to America and arrived 
 in Milwaukee in August after a voyage of twelve 
 weeks' duration. October 20, of the same year, 
 he arrived in Chicago where he at the time of 
 his demise had resided nearly 64 years. 
 
 Jens Olsen Kaasa. 
 
 He was married Jan. 6, 18.53, to Miss Martha 
 Andersen, the ceremony being performed by Rev. 
 G. F. Dietrichson in the Long Prairie Church, 
 111. His wile was born April 28, 1827, at St0k- 
 keb0, Levanger's prsestegjseld, Bergen's Stift, 
 Norway. Of their children only three are living: 
 Mrs. Rosa Bothne, wife of Rev. Johannes Bothne, 
 Hitterdal, Minn.; Albert Olsen, Poplar Grove, 
 111., and Olandina, who has been living with her 
 father. An adopted daughter, now Mrs. Charles 
 J. Schroeder, of Chicago, is also a survivor. Mrs- 
 Jens Olsen departed this life Oct. 16, 1895. 
 
 As significant for the times and circumstances 
 can be mentioned that the family walked all the 
 
 way from Milwaukee to Chicago. Jens Olsen 
 later on accompanied by some other Norwegians 
 went to New Orleans and from there to Cuba 
 with the purpose of starting a colony there, but 
 the plan was soon abandoned and he returned to 
 Chicago. During the cholera epidemic Jens 
 Olsen lost his father, mother and a sister on the 
 same day. 
 
 He had learned the trade of mason and brick- 
 layer and had the contract to build Our Savior's 
 Church at the corner of Erie and May streets. 
 Jens Olsen and Rev. Krohn were the leading men 
 in pushing that splendid house of worship to 
 completion. Jens Olsen charged the congrega- 
 tion only for his actual expenditures, spending his 
 own work and time for nothing, and contributing 
 a good deal of money besides. It was Jens Ol- 
 sen's greatest ambition to build a church for his 
 countrymen which would surpass everything that 
 had been attempted in that line among them in 
 this country. He was for many years a member 
 of the council of the Norwegian Lutheran Synod. 
 His residence on Erie street was a home of hos- 
 pitality for visiting ministers and other travelers, 
 to whom he extended "the glad hand." Those 
 days formed the brightest period in Jens Olsen's 
 life, and even after his memory commenced to 
 be veiled and his body strength to fail him, the 
 old man was still able to narrate anecdotes con- 
 nected with such visitors as Muus, Bijzirn, 
 Schmidt, Koren and others. While visiting in 
 Chicago, the lamented Rev. P. A. Rasmussen took 
 sick and was for many weeks a welcome patient 
 in the hospitable home on Erie street. 
 
 Ever since the death of Mrs. Olsen, which oc- 
 curred in 1895, it commenced to look as if the 
 ebb tide in Jens Olsen's life was breaking in. 
 From that day he seemed to dwindle until he 
 passed away. She had been a true and loving 
 helpmate to him, and when she died, his sun com- 
 menced to set. Five years ago he addressed, in 
 Skandlnaven, a last farewell to all his old friends 
 and acquaintances, realizing that his time-glass 
 would soon have run through. During the last 
 years he was unable to attend the services in the 
 Bethlehem Church of which he was a member. 
 He spent his last days sitting in an easy chair 
 waiting for the last great summons. As long as 
 the daughter "Junie" was at home, he was ten- 
 derly cared for by her and her sister Dina; but 
 when Junie was married, her place was taken by 
 Mrs. Nilsen, of Morris, 111., a sister of Jens Ol- 
 sen's departed wife. His favorite hymn was 
 "Christi Blod og Retfaerdighed er alt, hvad jeg 
 vil smykkes med" and in this faith and hope he 
 passed to his reward. 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 31-7 
 
 IVER LAWSON 
 
 Was born at Bjzie, Voss, Norway, Dec. 21, 1821, 
 and came to America before he had attained his 
 majority. He was one of the pioneer Norwegian 
 residents of Chicago, making his home on the 
 north side where he lived all the rest of his life. 
 With his brother Knut he engaged in any kind 
 of work to be had in those days and finally turned 
 his attention to real estate. By making shrewd 
 investments in vacant property he soon acquired 
 a competence and before his death in 1872 was 
 accounted one of the successful men of the city. 
 The fire in 1871 destroyed a number of buildings 
 owned by him in various parts of the north side 
 and also rendered valueless much of the insur- 
 ance stock and other securities held by him but 
 he left his family in very comfortable circum- 
 stances, the fine homestead in Lake View having 
 escaped destruction and the real estate proving 
 profitable. 
 
 Mr. Lawson was one of the organizers of the 
 First Evangelical Lutheran Church which in 1848 
 and a number of years after was located on Su- 
 perior street between Wells street and La Salle 
 avenue. He was a strong republican and served 
 as alderman from the old 15th ward on the north 
 side from 1864 to 1867. Prior to that time and 
 durino- the last year of John Wentworth's admin- 
 istration he was city marshal. While a member 
 of the city council he took a prominent part in 
 carrying out plans for purifying the Chicago river 
 and improving the general health conditions of 
 the city. In 1869 he was a member of the house 
 of representatives in the state legislature and was 
 closely identified with the legislation which gave 
 to Chicago its splendid park system. The crea- 
 tion of Lincoln park in particular was owing in 
 great part to his efforts. 
 
 Iver Lawson was also one of the founders with 
 John Anderson and Knud Langland of the "Skan- 
 dinaven," in the success of which he took a deep 
 interest. He died Oct. 3, 1872, leaving a widow, 
 two sons and a daughter. The widow, Malinda 
 Lawson, died in Chicago, Oct. 16, 1896. The 
 eldest son, Victor F. Lawson, is the editor and 
 proprietor of The Chicago Daily News. The 
 other son. Iver Norman Lawson, is a resident of 
 San Diego, Cal., and the daughter, Carrie, is Mrs. 
 H. William Harrison Bradley, whose husband is 
 now in the United States consular service in 
 England. 
 
 ^ DR. GERHARD CHRISTIAN PAOLI, 
 
 An ardent follower of Thomas Paine, was born 
 at Trondhjem, Norway, June 23, 1815. The pecu- 
 liarity of his name was owing to the fact that 
 
 his father, who was the ambassador to the island 
 of Corsica from Norway, was named after Pascal 
 Paoli, at that time governor of the island, who 
 was godfather to the elder Paoli. 
 
 In 1832 he entered the University of Christi- 
 ania and studied for six years, paying particular 
 attention to chemistry. After a year in London 
 hospitals and three years at the Carolingian In- 
 stitution in Stockholm, Paoli came to America m 
 1846, landing at New York after a three months' 
 voyage. He first followed his countrymen to 
 Wisconsin and settled at Milwaukee. Then he 
 went to Madison, and later came to Chicago, 
 which was then a town of 12,000. He stayed 
 here but a few weeks, going to Springfield, Ohio, 
 remaining there for a time, and coming back to 
 Chicago in 1853. 
 
 His reading led him to espouse the abolitionist 
 cause, and his first vote was cast for John P. 
 Hale and free soil. He followed the profession 
 of medicine, and his love for experimental chem- 
 istry resulted in his discovering a method of 
 forcing out of spirits the poisonous oils that are 
 found in them. This method was applied to the 
 manufacture of beverages, but was used a great 
 deal in the manufacturing of perfumery. 
 
 While in Ohio he was chosen an honorary 
 member of the Ohio Medical Society. Twice 
 he was elected president of the Chicago ]Medical 
 Society, and twice was its vice-president. He 
 assisted in the establishment of the first woman's 
 medical college in Chicago, and was chosen pro- 
 fessor emeritus of the same. He also organized 
 the Scandinavian Medical Society. He was also 
 appointed the first physician to the mail carriers. 
 
 In his social life he was especially active, and 
 took part in the deliberations of the free thinkers 
 of the city. He was a warm personal friend of 
 IngersoU and entertained the lecturer several 
 times on his visits to Chicago. Ole Bull was 
 numbered among his friends, and among those 
 whom he entertained was Bjfirnstjerne Bjf^rnson, 
 who was also a correspondent of Paoli. 
 
 Paoli was married twice. The first wife died 
 in 1847. In 1881 he was married to Mrs. Sara 
 Corning Magnusson. Mrs. Paoli is well known 
 as a writer. In the first marriage Mr. Paoli had 
 one son; his second wife had two daughters and 
 one son in her first marriage. 
 Dr. Paoli died Jan. 29, 1898. 
 
 CAPTAIN CHRISTIAN ERICKSON 
 
 Was born May 7, 1839, in Bergen, Norway, and 
 was the son of Erick and Bertha Christensen. 
 He received only a limited education, but learned 
 
218 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 bookkeeping in Norway. At the age of 20 years 
 he came to the United States, and, anxious to 
 acquire a better education, he attended the Lake 
 Forest College. 
 
 After two years' study he came to Chicago and 
 obtained a position in the dry goods store of J. 
 B. Shay. In March, 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
 pany I of the Eighty-second Illinois Volunteer 
 Infantry, as a private, and soon after was pro- 
 moted to orderly sergeant. Shortly after enter- 
 ing the field in Virginia he was promoted to 
 second lieutenant; after the battle of Chancellors- 
 ville, to first lieutenant, and as such took com- 
 mand of the company until after the battle of 
 Gettysburg. The next year he took part in the 
 
 Captain Christian Erickson. 
 
 battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary 
 Ridge, under the command of General Hooker. 
 Later he went to Knoxville, but arrived too late 
 for that battle. He was with Sherman's Army 
 in the campaign to Atlanta and the glorious 
 "march to the sea," participating in the battles 
 on the way. On that march he was on the regi- 
 mental staff as quartermaster, and after being 
 honorably discharged was given a captain's com- 
 mission, signed by President Johnson, for gallant 
 and meritorious services during the war. 
 
 His company was nearl}^ all from Chicago, and 
 composed of Scandinavians. The regiment was 
 
 known in the army as the "Hecker Boys," who 
 could always be depended upon in a fight. He 
 took part in not less than fourteen battles and 
 many minor engagements. 
 
 Captain Erickson was a temperate man in all 
 things, and during the war saved enough money 
 to enable him to start in business in Chicago. 
 He engaged in the dry goods business on Mil- 
 waukee avenue, and later he started a branch 
 store on Division street, which later was de- 
 stroyed by the great fire. In 1882 he built a 
 four-story brick building at 1190-92 Milwaukee 
 avenue, where he continued the dry goods busi- 
 ness till 1896, when ill health compelled him to 
 retire. 
 
 Sept. 11, 1870, he married Miss Agnete Jevne, 
 whose portrait appears on another page, where 
 we also give an account of their four children. 
 
 Captain Erickson was a member of the G. A. 
 R. and the Loyal Legion. He died Jan. 20, 1900. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER LORENTZ BUCK STANCE 
 
 Was born at Flekkefjord, Norway, Aug. 29, 1843. 
 His parents were Merchant Jacob Stange, of 
 Flekkefjord, and Dorothea Christine Buck, of 
 Molde. After passing through the "Borgersko- 
 le" he was apprenticed with the apothecary of 
 the place, where he remained the time fixed be- 
 fore he could enter the University at Christiania 
 and pass through the required course for grad- 
 uating as a druggist. He graduated with honors 
 and held positions as pharmacist at Farsund, 
 H0nefos and Skien. In 1867 he was ofifered the 
 position of medical attendant on the emigrant 
 sailing vessel "Rjukan" for a passage to America, 
 and accepted, intending at the time to return to 
 Norway. 
 
 From New York he made a trip westward vis- 
 iting several cities, including Chicago. Here he 
 was ofifered and accepted a very promising posi- 
 tion as chemist with the Granger Chemical 
 Works, located at 206-210 Illinois street. This 
 business was soon after reorganized under the 
 firm name of Roemheld & Co., Manufacturing 
 Chemists, with Mr. Stange as the manufacturing 
 partner. The firm did a profitable business, en- 
 larging the plant up to the time of the great fire, 
 in which the factory buildings and all stock were 
 destroyed, leaving the firm unable to re-establish 
 the business. Mr. Roemheld now started a drug 
 store at Canal and Barber streets, with a small 
 manufacturing chemist's laboratory attached, and 
 Mr. Stange entered his employ. In 1873 Mr. 
 Stange established his own business as a drug- 
 gist and manufacturing chemist at Larrabee and 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 219 
 
 Division streets, but later moved his business to 
 the West Side, where he was for many years 
 established on the corner of Grand avenue and 
 Carpenter street. With his excellent business 
 ability he met with success and later enlarged 
 and built his own factory, on Kinzie street, near 
 Elizabeth. He now sold his drug store and con- 
 fined himself to the manufacturing business, with 
 his office and salesrooms at Grand avenue and 
 Carpenter street, where he continued until his 
 death in 1889. 
 
 Mr. Stange was married in 1869 to Wilhelmine 
 Moeller. Five children were born to them — 
 William Jan, Alfred Christopher, Christopher X- 
 B., Minnie and Olive. Mr. Stange was a leader 
 among the Norwegians and a member of several 
 of their societies. He was a man of excellent 
 mental capacity and well, learned not only in his 
 own branch but in all modern sciences. 
 
 CANUTE R. MATSON. 
 
 Former Sheriff Canute R. Matson died Jan. 12, 
 1903, at his residence, 609 Cleveland avenue. Heart 
 
 Canute R. Matson. 
 
 disease was the cause, and the end came after an 
 illness of ten days. His death marked the pass- 
 ing of a once prominent factor in local republican 
 
 politics. From 1869 until his election as sheriff, 
 in 1886, Mr. Matson took a leading part in the 
 councils of the republican party. When he re- 
 tired as sheriff of Cook county, in 1890, he also 
 retired from politics. In 1899 he was appointed 
 superintendent of the Lincoln Park postal sta- 
 tion, succeeding General Herman Lieb. Mr. 
 Matson at the time of his death was senior mem- 
 ber of the law firm of Matson & Edwards. Mr. 
 Matson was born in Voss, Norway, April 9, 1843, 
 and came to America with his parents, when 6 
 years old, or in 1849. The Matsons settled in 
 Walworth county, Wisconsin. Mr. Matson re- 
 ceived his early education in the common schools 
 and at Albion College, and later he studied law 
 at Milton College, Wis., until in 1861, he enlisted 
 as a soldier in the Thirteenth Wisconsin Infantry, 
 during the Civil War. He served four years and 
 four months, and was promoted first as sergeant 
 and later to higher positions, and when at the 
 close of the war he was honorably discharged he 
 was a first lieutenant. As a member of the gov- 
 ernor's staff and the G. A. R. he was promoted 
 first as major and finally as colonel. 
 
 KNUD LANGLAND. 
 
 Though a resident of Wisconsin during the 
 greater part of the time after his arrival in Amer- 
 ica, Knud Langland spent some of the most 
 active years of his life in Illinois as editor of 
 Skandinaven, and it was during the period from 
 1866 to 1872 that he did the work which firmly 
 established his reputation as a thinker and writer. 
 It is quite proper, therefore, that a brief sketch 
 of his life appear in this volume. 
 
 Knud Langland was born Oct. 27, 1813, in 
 Samnanger, Bergen stift, Norway. Though obliged 
 to work hard for a living even in his early youth, 
 he managed to secure a good education through 
 his own efforts. He went to Bergen, where he 
 pursued his studies for a time, and then became 
 a school teacher. Afterward he was appointed 
 public vaccinator. In 1835 he made a short visit 
 to England, and on returning home he engaged 
 in business in Bergen. An elder brother, Mons 
 A. Adland, emigrated to America in 1837, first 
 settling at Beaver Creek, 111., and then going to 
 what at that time was known as Yorkville Prai- 
 rie, in Racine county, Wisconsin. Knud Lang-, 
 land followed him in 1843, making his home in 
 the same place in Wisconsin. Two years later 
 he went to the southern part of Columbia county, 
 but returned to Racine county in 1846 and con- 
 tinued farming until 1849 when he bought Nord- 
 lyset, the first Norwegian paper published in 
 
220 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 America. He changed the name to Demokraten, 
 and with his brother-in-law, O. J. Hatlestad, ran 
 it for a year. The venture was not a financial 
 success and publication was suspended in 1853. 
 The next year he issued the Maanedstidende, in 
 Janesville, Wis., but soon sold out and returned 
 to the farm. In 1856 he was editor for a short 
 time of Den Norske Amerikaner, published in 
 
 Mr. Knud Langland. 
 
 Madison, Wis., but the pro-slavery views of its 
 proprietor caused him to resign the position. 
 In 1860 he was a member of the Wisconsin state 
 assembly. The postoffice, where the old York- 
 ville Prairie settlers received their mail, was 
 named North Cape at his suggestion. 
 
 In 1866, when the Skandinaven was established 
 by John Anderson and Iver Lawson, father of 
 Victor F. Lawson, Mr. Langland was asked by 
 them to become its editor. He consented and 
 came to Chicago, to which place he moved his 
 family in 1868, and was connected with that 
 paper, which proved a remarkable success, until 
 a year or two after the great fire of 1871. Per- 
 haps the most notable of the editorials contri- 
 buted by him to Skandinaven were those in de- 
 fense of the American public schools and in op- 
 position to certain views entertained by a part 
 of the Norwegian Lutheran Church in regard to 
 
 slavery. It was in recognition of his attitude on 
 the school question that one of the public schools 
 of Chicago was named after him some years 
 later. With the exception of a brief connection 
 with a new Norwegian paper, the Amerika, which 
 was subsequently consolidated with Skandinaven, 
 all the editorial work performed by him until he 
 was compelled by ill health to retire from jour- 
 nalism was for Skandinaven. After some years 
 spent on his farm at North Cape he moved to 
 Milwaukee. There he wrote Nordmaendene i 
 Amerika, which is partly historical and partly 
 autobiographical. His original intention was to 
 make it a comprehensive work on the early set- 
 tlements of Norwegians in America, but illness 
 and the loss of a portion of the manuscript in 
 the mails, compelled him to modify his plans. 
 He died at his home in Milwaukee, Feb. 8, 1886. 
 Mr. Langland was married April 10, 1849, to 
 Anna M. Hatlestad, daughter of Jens and Anna 
 
 Mrs. Knud Langland. 
 
 Hatlestad, who came to America in 1846 and 
 settled at Yorkville in 1847. The ceremony was 
 performed by Rev. H. A. Stub, one of the pio- 
 neer Norwegian clergymen in America. Mrs. 
 Langland was born in Skjold, Kristiansand stift, 
 Norway, Jan. 12, 1831. She is still living, in Mil- 
 waukee, where three of the children also reside. 
 Two others live in Chicago and four are dead. 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 221 
 
 REV. JOHN Z. TORGERSEN 
 
 Was a native of Bergen, Norway, where he was 
 born March 1, 1841. When 6 years old, he came 
 to America with his parents. They settled in Dane 
 county, Wisconsin, but five years later moved 
 to near Scandinavia, Waupaca county, and later 
 to Winnebago county. Up to this time John had 
 attended the public schools regularly, and here 
 he studied at the Neenah high school and then for 
 four terms attended the Lawrence University at 
 Appleton. Previous to this and during inter- 
 
 Rev. Torgersen. 
 
 vals he taught public schools in the vicinity. 
 He took a course in the Illinois State University, 
 then under the control of the General Synod, 
 where he studied theology and finished with a 
 two-year course in the old University of Chi- 
 cago, the beginning of the present world-re- 
 nowned institution on the Midway. After com- 
 pleting his education he was connected with the 
 Chicago Bible Society as colporteur. While en- 
 gaged in this work he visited over fifteen thou- 
 sand homes personally during a period of two 
 years. In February; 1869, he began preaching in 
 the Norwegian Church, corner Indiana street, now 
 Grand avenue, and Peoria street, and in June 
 
 was ordained to the gospel ministry by the Hauge 
 Synod. About seven years afterward he with- 
 drew from the synod and organized the Inde- 
 pendent Evangelical Lutheran Bethania Church 
 
 He was a son of Ole Tobias Torgersen, who 
 passed away at his son's home in this city in his 
 85th year. His mother, Ingeborg, of Bergen stift, 
 Norway, died in Michigan in her 81st year. 
 
 A-Irs. Trina Torgersen is from Wardel, Hede- 
 marken, Norway. They were married on Oct. 
 27, 1869. Six children were born to them, of 
 whom two are now living — Mrs. L. E. Wilson, 
 of Milwaukee, Wis., and Oscar A., who is with 
 John M. Smyth & Co. 
 
 Rev. Torgersen was called to his reward in 
 the fall of 1905. 
 
 Deceased was highly esteemed by all who 
 knew him. Educated and refined, an able 
 minister and a convincing and forceful teacher, 
 he was agreeable and pleasant in all his asso- 
 ciations with others. There were none so high 
 in mental attainments or worldly position but he 
 could take his place beside them; nor none so 
 lowly or poor but he would mingle with them, 
 always putting forth some helpful suggestions 
 and an encouraging word. Direct in his lan- 
 guage, upright and honorable in all his deal- 
 ings, he acquired a following of true friends 
 who deeply and sincerely mourn his loss. We 
 may mention also that he was very popular with 
 young people, having joined in holy wedlock 
 fifteen thousand couples. 
 
 CAPTAIN WILLIAM JOHNSON. 
 
 Few, if any, of the pioneer lake captains and 
 vessel owners had a wider or more extended ex- 
 perience on the great lakes than Captain Johnson. 
 From the age of 14 he had been a sailor or been 
 closely identified with vessel interests. He was 
 born near Arendal, Norwaj^, in 1836, and when 
 14 3'ears of age he went as a cabin boy from 
 that place and for five years sailed on the Baltic, 
 the North Sea, and the Mediterranean; also sail- 
 ing from Christiania. During one of those trips 
 he came pretty near losing his life by drowning, 
 in the harbor of St. Tubas, Portugal, but was 
 saved by a Portuguese who peddled fruit and 
 wine among the vessels. 
 
 In 1855 he came to Chicago and at once en- 
 tered the employ of George Steele, who owned 
 a number of vessels. So attached had Mr. Steele 
 become to the young sailor that Johnson made 
 his home with his employer during the seven 
 
222 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 successive winters, and was regarded as one of 
 the family. 
 
 From the time that he entered the employ of 
 Steele, in 1855, Captain Johnson's career on the 
 lakes was a successful one. He first sailed on 
 the schooner St. Lawrence, where he remained 
 two seasons, and then became a vessel owner by 
 the purchase of the schooner Fish Hawk, which 
 
 Captain William Johnson. 
 
 he sailed from Chicago and which was engaged 
 in the coasting trade. Two years later he bought 
 the schooners Traveler and Richard Mott, and 
 engaged in the grain trade. During the same 
 season he sold the Mott and purchased the 
 schooner D. O. Dickenson. This vessel he sold 
 in 1860, and the same season bought the schoon- 
 ers Paulina, Magnolia and Rosa Bell. To this 
 fleet he afterward added the schooners Cecilia 
 and Ida, and Avas largely engaged in the grain 
 trade, besides carrying lumber. In 1870 he built 
 the schooner Lena Johnson, and later the schoon- 
 ers Clara, Olga, Alice and William O. Goodman. 
 In those early days freights on the lakes were 
 much higher than now. He once took to Buffalo, 
 in the Magnolia, 9,000 bushels of corn in one 
 cargo, and received for carrying it 27 cents per 
 bushel. It was a large cargo for that time. 
 Captain Johnson was married, in 1872, to Miss 
 
 Eline Theodora Shoemaker, who was also born 
 in Norway. Her portrait appears elsewhere in 
 this volume. They had five children, of whom 
 three are living. Capt. Johnson built a fine res- 
 idence for his family on Hoyne avenue, near 
 Wicker Park, and invested largely in other real 
 estate. At the time of his death, in 1902, he 
 was considered the wealthiest Norwegian in Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 CHRISTIAN JEVNE, 
 
 A pioneer and one of the leading wholesale gro- 
 cers of Chicago, died March 17, 1898, at his res- 
 idence, 640 La Salle avenue. He had been a 
 sufferer from kidney trouble for a long time. 
 Notwithstanding his illness, he continued to at- 
 tend to his business, visiting the office at least 
 
 Christian Jevne. 
 
 once a week, until a sudden change for the worse 
 confined him to his bed. 
 
 During his residence of thirty-four j^ears \n 
 Chicago Mr. Jevne never figured in public life. 
 He was strictly a business man, made successful 
 by his own untiring efforts. ' He came to this 
 country a poor man, and was enterprising enough 
 to engage in business for himself at the end oi 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 223 
 
 his first year in America. The big fire of '71 
 cleaned him out, but with a little insurance and 
 his "try again" spirit he soon started again and 
 did business at the old place. 
 
 He was born Sept. 13, 1839, at Vang, Norway, 
 and was the son of Hans and Martha (Rommen) 
 Jevne. He attended both public and private 
 schools and received a liberal education. He 
 entered commercial life at the age of 13 years, 
 in Norway, as a clerk for his uncle, while he 
 still continued his studies. He remained there 
 eleven and a half years, becoming successively 
 bookkeeper and business manager of the house. 
 
 He came to the United States in 1864. His 
 entry into business here was as a clerk for the 
 firm of Knowles Bros. He remained with them 
 only until the latter part of 1864, when he formed 
 a partnership with Henry Parker and established 
 himself in the grocery business. After one year 
 he bought Parker's interest and established him- 
 self at 110-112 Madison street. In 1892 he pur- 
 chased the property at 109-111 Wabash avenue, 
 where he opened a branch store, but did not con- 
 tinue long. 
 
 In 1870 he was married to Miss Clara Kluge. 
 His widow, two daughters (Alma M. and Clara 
 C), and a son (Henry M.) survive. He also left 
 two brothers and three sisters to mourn his death 
 — Hans Jevne, a prominent merchant of Los 
 Angeles, Cal.; Charles M. Jevne, the well known 
 tea merchant on Milwaukee avenue, Chicago; 
 Mrs. Anna Berg and Mrs. Karen Hofif, of Dal- 
 ton, Minn., and Mrs. Christian Erickson, of Wic- 
 ker Park, widow of Captain Chr. Erickson. 
 
 BJ0RN EDWARDS, 
 
 Publisher, and builder of the Lincoln Park Palace, 
 was killed July 31, 1895, by falling from the roof 
 of that partly finished structure. His tragic death 
 was an abrupt ending of a romance in a work- 
 aday career. 
 
 His ambition was to build the finest apartment 
 house in the world. The construction of Lin- 
 coln Park Palace was to be the realization of 
 that ambition, but he never lived to see it. The 
 building rears its somber, majestic proportions 
 above its surroundings, and it is a monument to 
 the struggles and trials and the pride of the man 
 who conceived its plans. Edwards was the editor 
 and publisher of the American Contractor. In 
 1892 he began the work of building this apart- 
 ment house. The site is in the midst of a fashion- 
 able residence district, just north of Lincoln Park. 
 The neighbors objected and did everything they 
 could to prevent the erection of an apartment 
 
 house in propinquity to private mansions. Ed- 
 wards kept at work, however, and as construc- 
 tion progressed his rich neighbors looked on in 
 wonder. He built in jasper of two shades. The 
 walls within and without were made of steel and 
 stone. When they were finished, eight stories 
 in height, they proved too heavy for the founda- 
 tion, and the two arches over the doorways were 
 broken 'by the settling of the structure. This 
 was the beginning of his troubles with the build- 
 ing, on which he had been at work over two 
 years. 
 
 The neighbors who watched the progress of 
 construction said that soon afterward he began 
 to act in a queer way, and they concluded it was 
 evidence of a disturbed mind. The work con- 
 tinued in a halting manner. Edwards was always 
 about, watching every detail of the work. On 
 the day mentioned, as usual, he was going about 
 among the workmen, making suggestions here 
 and there. He went to the roof, and when he 
 approached the ladder to descend stepped on a 
 loose scaffolding board, which gave way under 
 him and he fell to the basement, eight stories 
 below. He was picked up unconscious and taken 
 to the Alexian Brothers' Hospital, where he died 
 two hours later. 
 
 Edwards was born in Norway. He came to 
 America when a boy and worked on a Wisconsin 
 farm. Afterward he came to Chicago and did 
 manual labor until he had saved enough to go to 
 school. He spent several years at theological 
 seminaries of the Lutheran Church in Iowa and 
 elsewhere. Then he became a book agent. In 
 1886 he bought the plant of a trade paper and 
 started it under the name of the American Con- 
 tractor and made a success of it. He left a wife 
 and three children. He was 45 years old at his 
 death. 
 
 Since then similar apartment buildings have 
 been built by the hundred in Chicago. But Ed- 
 wards was the first man to undertake such a 
 work on a large scale. By comparing his build- 
 ing, with the first one built by a Norwegian in 
 Chicago, that by Halstein Torrison, in 1843, 
 where the Chicago and North-Western Railroad 
 depot now stands, we can see what tremenduous 
 strides Chicago has made in sixty years. 
 
 OLE A. THORP, 
 
 Founder of the firm O. A. Thorp & Co. and for 
 twenty years its head, died Jan. 25, 1905, at St. 
 Mary's Nazarite Hospital, after an operation for 
 an abscess. Mr. Thorp had been confined to his 
 
224 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 bed at the hospital for over a week, but had be- 
 gun to improve, and his death was a surprise to 
 his family and friends. With his wife he had 
 two daughters. 
 
 Mr. Thorp was born at Eidsberg, near Chris- 
 tiania, Norway in 1856. He came to Chicago in 
 1880 and started in the provision importing and 
 exporting trade. For twenty-five years he was 
 
 Ole A. Thorp. 
 
 closely associated with the business life of Chi- 
 cago, a member of various public bodies, and a 
 well known citizen. Early in his career he con- 
 ceived the idea of shipping cargoes of merchan- 
 dise between Europe and Chicago direct, and 
 finally, in 1892, succeeded in bringing the Werge- 
 land from Norway with a cargo of fish, which 
 was landed at Chicago, and the ship returned 
 loaded with provisions. Since then the Xenia 
 and the Craig have sailed from Europe through 
 the St. Lawrence river and the great lakes and 
 landed at Chicago direct. 
 
 On account of having first demonstrated the 
 feasibility of making Chicago a port for Atlantic 
 vessels, Mr. Thorp was made a member of the 
 deep waterways commission. King Oscar of 
 Sweden and Norway made him one of the com- 
 missioners to the World's Columbian Exposition 
 at Chicago, in 1893, and decorated him with the 
 Order of St. Olaf in 1899. 
 
 For three years he was a member of the Chi- 
 cago board of education, and as chairman of the 
 buildings and grounds committee was responsible 
 for many important acts of that body. He was 
 a member of the board of trade, and served on 
 its arbitration committee for several years. 
 
 Mr. Thorp interested himself in charitable pro- 
 jects and contributed to all manner of charities 
 in a quiet way. He paid particular attention to 
 the welfare of his countrymen, and his residence 
 at 59 Columbia place was known to nearly every 
 Norwegian in the city. 
 
 When a young man Mr. Thorp was made 
 traveling agent for a mercantile house in Chris- 
 tiania and traveled all over the Scandinavian 
 peninsula. He came to New York when 24 years 
 old, and less than a year later to Chicago. 
 
 IVER LARSEN, 
 
 The well known mechanic and pattern maker, 
 was born at Bollstad, Norway, Nov. 2, 1829. He 
 learned the trade of a millwright and miller in 
 
 Iver Larsen. 
 
 Skien and came to America when twenty years of 
 age, aniving in New York after a stormy voyage 
 of ten weeks on a sail ship. 
 
 He came to Chicago via the Erie Canal and the 
 
NORWEGIAN CHURCHES IN ILLINOIS 
 
 235 
 
 Lakes, and has made this city his home since. 
 Being an expert wood turner he found employ- 
 ment immediately upon his arrival with the Phil- 
 lips Chair Company. Subsequently he was em- 
 ploved by the H. A. Pitte Company, the invent- 
 ors of the tracing machine, with whom he re- 
 mained for nearly a quarter of a century or until 
 the Chicago fire, in 1871, when the whole plant 
 was wiped out. 
 
 When the Pitte Company removed to Mar- 
 seilles, 111., Mr. Larsen preferred to remain here 
 and in the following year, 1872, engaged in busi- 
 ness for himself, as a pattern and model maker, 
 at 9 S. Jefferson street. 
 
 In 1880 the firm of Iver Larsen & Son was 
 formed, his son Lauritz becoming a partner. 
 
 Mr. Iver Larsen was married in Chicago to 
 Miss Maren Nelson from Skien, Nov. 12, 1853. 
 They had five children: Lauritz, born in 1854; 
 Edward, in 1858; Albert, in 1862; Alba, in 1865; 
 and Charles, in 1867. Of these Albert and Alba 
 have passed away. Edward was married to Miss 
 Minnie ^Miller of Chicago in 1881. 
 
 Our subject departed this life Nov. 16, 1905, at 
 the age of 76. 
 
 Since that time the business has been con- 
 ducted by his two sons, Lauritz and Charles 
 Larsen, at 62-64 W. Lake street, under the firm 
 name of Iver Larsen's Sons. Their brother Ed- 
 ward is superintendent with the Robert Tarrant 
 Machine Works. 
 
 Iver Larsen was one of the charter members 
 of the old Nora Society, and was at the time of 
 his death the oldest survivor. 
 
 ULRICH DANIELS, 
 
 Assistant cashier of the Milwaukee Avenue State 
 Bank, is a native of Norway. He was born at 
 Stavanger, Oct. 1, 1868. His father was Captain 
 Aanon, his mother Anna (born Nielson) Daniel- 
 sen. 
 
 His first place in the working world was as 
 messenger for the Stavanger Foundry and Dock 
 Company, in 1884; from 1885 to 1889 he was em- 
 ployed with R. N. Ball & Rustad, ship brokers, 
 Riga, Russia, as clerk. From January, 1889 to 
 June, 1890, he was clerk with Consul W. J. H. 
 Taylor at Key West, Fla. 
 
 He came from Key West to Chicago the same 
 year and secured a position as book-keeper with 
 Paul O. Stensland & Co., which firm was later 
 incorporated as the Milwaukee Avenue State 
 Bank. He remained with the bank and was 
 promoted from time to time until 1901, when he 
 was made assistant cashier, which position he 
 
 still holds. Mr. Daniels was a member of the 
 Norwegian Relief Association; for a long time a 
 member of the Tabitha Hospital, and acted as 
 cashier for the Northwestern Branch. He made 
 
 
 Ulrich Daniels. 
 
 many friends while in Florida. He is a Mason, 
 being a member of Oriental Lodge, No. 33. 
 
 Since the above sketch was set in type, Mr. 
 Daniels visited Norway where he died, in 1906. 
 
 ALBART J. ELVIG 
 
 Was born in South Bergen, Norway, April 13, 
 1842, where he was reared until 17 years old. 
 At the age of 16 years he graduated with honor 
 from the schools of his native city, and the fol- 
 lowing year, alone and without friends, he crossed 
 the Atlantic to America and located in Boston, 
 where he secured employment as a clerk. As he 
 had been reared on the coast and had been dur- 
 ing his early life constantly connected with ad- 
 venturous seafaring operations, he was from ex- 
 perience quite a seaman. Owing to this fact and 
 his natural adaptability and good character he 
 was appointed a subordinate officer on the Mas- 
 sachusetts, at anchor in the harbor and used as 
 a reform school for boys. In this position he 
 served with credit until the breaking out of the 
 
226 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 rebellion, when he promptly enlisted and was or- 
 dered on board the United States frigate Mis- 
 sissippi and sent to Key West, Fla. Here he 
 was transferred to the gunboat South Carolina. 
 He continued to serve the Federal Government 
 in the naval service until 1863, when he was hon- 
 orably mustered out for disability. 
 
 He had participated in many severe engage- 
 
 Albart J. Elvig. 
 
 ments along the gulf coast, especially at New 
 Orleans and Galveston. By reason of his naval 
 education he was often placed in charge of prize- 
 ships. He was severely wounded several times, 
 and to his death bore deep and ragged but hon- 
 orable scars. He took a gallant part in the war 
 and lived to learn how righteous was the cause 
 for which he fought. 
 
 In 1863 he came to Chicago and began the 
 study of law in the office of Kenney, Peck & 
 Kenney, in which he continued until 1869, when 
 he was admitted to the bar. He immediately 
 opened an office, and from that day to his death 
 continued to practice with ever increasing suc- 
 cess, giving his attention chiefly to chancery pro- 
 ceedings, though at the same time conducting a 
 large and lucrative general practice. 
 
 In 1866 he married Miss Charlotte Smith, a 
 native of Pennsylvania, who died in 1879. Mr. 
 
 Elvig accumulated considerable property and re- 
 sided at Western Springs. He died Febr. 16, 
 1907. 
 
 LOUIS J. LEE. 
 
 The organizer and senior member of the Lee 
 Advertising Company, Chicago, was born in 
 Voss, Norway, Dec. 8, 1845. The names of his 
 parents were Joseph and Brita, old residents of 
 Voss. Mr. Lee spent his youth in the country, 
 attending school, graduating later from the high 
 school at Vossevangen. His first active work 
 in life was as a member of the assessing board 
 in Voss in 1876, and later as a member of the 
 school board and the council. He was for a 
 number of years, or until he left for America, 
 cashier for the uifferent branches of the Voss 
 commune. 
 
 On June 24, 1870, he was married to Inger J. 
 
 Louis J. Lee. 
 
 Lee, a distant relative. They have had five chil- 
 dren, all living; Birdie (Mrs. F. J. Asche), 
 Joseph, Iver, Nels and Anna. Joseph married 
 Miss Hulda Halvorsen in 1896. His three sons 
 — Joseph, Iver and Nels Lee — are now actively 
 associated with him in the advertising business. 
 Mr. Lee came to America in 1887, coming direct 
 to Chicago. He secured a position on Skan- 
 
THE NORWEGIANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 227 
 
 dinaven and was for seven years connected 
 with that paper in various capacities, the last 
 three years as cashier. He then, with his three 
 sons, organized the Lee Advertising Company, 
 now located in the Unity Building, 79-81 Dear- 
 born street, Chicago, and referred to more fully 
 in another part of this history. 
 ^ Mr. Lee has never sought or held any pub- 
 lic office in this country. He is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church and contributes occasionally 
 to worthy charities. The family resides at 1302 
 Winona avenue. 
 
 Since the above was written Mr. Lee died, Dec. 
 11, 1906. 
 
 BERENT M. WOLD 
 
 Was born at Bergen, Norway, in 1840. He was 
 a cabinetmaker by trade and came to Chicago in 
 1861 working his passage as steward on the sail- 
 
 ing vessel "Sleipner," which was the first ship to 
 sail directly from Norway to Chicago. 
 
 Arrived in Chicago he at first worked at his 
 trade and later went into the undertaking busi- 
 ness, first on the North Side and then on Grand 
 avenue. He continued with this for about forty 
 years, or until in 1904, when he sold the business 
 to his son Bennie and nephew Albert Wold and 
 retired from active work. 
 
 He was first married about 40 years ago to 
 Miss Josephine Hansen, also a native of Bergen. 
 Of their children the following are living: Mrs. 
 Charles Kling, Mrs. P. Madsen, Mrs. J. W. 
 Hertz, Mrs. H. A. Hauge, and one son Bennie 
 Wold. Mrs. Wold died about 29 years ago and 
 three years later Mr. Wold was married to Miss 
 Margarete Stange who survives him. 
 
 Mr. Wold departed this life August 29, 1906, 
 and was buried on Mount Olive Cemetery. He 
 was a brother of Messrs. Torris Wold and Chris- 
 tian Wold, Chicago; and Miss Marie Wold, 
 Bergen. 
 
SOME MEMORABLE EVENTS IN THE 
 HISTORY OF THE NORWEGI- 
 ANS IN CHICAGO 
 
 A commendable trait of the Norwegian is his 
 love for his forefathers' land and ever since the 
 first emigrants established themselves in Chicago, 
 Norway's day of independence has been faith- 
 fully celebrated. On May 17, 1814, Norway 
 adopted its present constitution and again took 
 its place in the world's family of nations. This 
 day thus carries a sacred significance to the 
 American citizen of Norwegian descent, which in 
 
 importance is outshone alone by the Independ- 
 ence day of his adopted country. But May 17th, 
 "Syttende Mai," has not been the only day upon 
 wdiich the Norwegians of Chicago have had good 
 cause to display enthusiasm. They have had 
 other good reasons for celebrating. Events in 
 their progress have occurred which are really 
 memorable and of which we are able to relate 
 only a few in our limited space. 
 
 DR. FRIDTJOF HANSEN'S VISIT 
 
 Furnished the Norwegians of Chicago with a 
 splendid opportunity to exhibit their patriotic en- 
 thusiasm. After his return from the Polar re- 
 gions the great explorer was induced to make a 
 lecture trip throughout the United States, and he 
 came to Chicago at 5 o'clock p. m. on Nov. 
 17, 1897. 
 
 Even a more prosaic man than the Norwegian 
 scientist might have been lifted to exhilarating 
 mental heights by the events of the reception ac- 
 corded him. When he alighted at the Illinois 
 Central depot he was met by his own people of 
 the Norseland, and a king might have envied him 
 his reception. In few lands, indeed, and in none 
 of the Western hemisphere, would a monarch 
 have been honored as was the simple, sailor-ap- 
 pearing man who seemed to stand almost in awe 
 before the surging, jubilant human throng, and 
 who diffidently removed his cap of beaver fur at 
 
 the first sound of a cheer. Pride and love were 
 in the welcome — pride of a race in its own 
 achievements; love for the man who was the in- 
 strument of national renown. The first ardor 
 found its vent in song, and with sturdy, patriotic 
 volume the chorus flung forth into the space of 
 the depot rotunda: "Ja, vi elsker dette Landet." 
 The man whose polar exploit was the cause of 
 the burning enthusiasm flushed as the song con- 
 tinued, but his eye kindled and his frame seemed 
 even to grow higher than his 6 feet 2 inches 
 which it can claim of right. He felt the spirit 
 of the song and of the singers and he tasted the 
 joys of adoration. The proof that he was not 
 spoiled by them came later, when after his lec- 
 ture he stood at Battery D in the center of a 
 crowd which almost equaled that of the depot 
 and of the lecture, and shook hands courteously 
 with each one who approached him. The modesty 
 of the man was displayed too in the lecture itself. 
 
MEMORABLE EVENTS ooa 
 
 Few_ times during its whole course did he speak on time the visitor was to have been escorted 
 
 of hnnself, and often he spoke of his comrades through the down-town streets at the head if a 
 
 ^T^t*"^' 1 . 1 J , , , procession, but, owing to the delay, he was taken 
 
 The welcome at the depot had besides its indi- .mmediately to the Auditorium Hotel. There, in 
 
 Dr. Fridtjof Nansen. 
 
 w"T?r'Nr""""°'"'"""'"rr'="™°"- '''" '"''"'y- Dr. Nansen spoke h!s first public 
 
 tJu"Z°o7^'Z<:TT.°' '": r" ""= ^-°"" »•"■"" CWcagCs precncs. His brief ad- 
 
 mere m uniform, with standards, and there were Hrpsc r,f ^^h^,.^ o ■ , , 
 
 ^^ u I J • > -^ Liicic vvcic aress or thanks came m resoonse to words of 
 
 marshals and commmees. Had .he arrival been welcome extended bin, in behalf of the Zrweg- 
 
230 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ians of Chicago by H. O. Oppedahl, and in 
 thanks for the freedom of the city tendered him 
 by Dr. Howard G. Taylor as the representative 
 of Mayor Harrison. The phrases that fell from 
 the explorer's lips were sweet to his fellow coun- 
 trymen. 
 
 "I thank you, my countrymen," he said, "for 
 the welcome you have given me in this great 
 Western city. I know that your sympathy has 
 gone out to comrades and myself in our endeavor 
 to carry the colors of Norway northward, and I 
 am proud to have the feeling. I am proud, too, 
 to know that in this country and city you form 
 so large a part of the people, and I am prouder 
 still to know that you are good citizens. I thank 
 you and the mayor and all who stand before me 
 for the warmth of your welcome." 
 
 Dr. Nansen spoke from the elevation of a stair- 
 way, towering also above those who stood on his 
 own level. He looked the explorer, for his coat 
 was of the sailor peajacket kind, chinchilla in 
 cloth and trimmed at the neck and about the 
 wrists with beaver fur. He was seen at that 
 close distance to far better advantage than when, 
 in the evening he appeared on the lecture plat- 
 form in conventional evening dress. He looked 
 more than 36 years, for the arctic clime had 
 wrinkled his face and thinned his hair. A mo- 
 ment he stood silent when his response was done 
 and in that moment the repose of his countenance 
 was displayed at true advantage, sober, thought- 
 ful, not quite stern. At the salvo of cheers, the 
 hearty American three times and a tiger, the face 
 lightened and traces of fatigue vanished. He lis- 
 tened with eagernes to the song "America," which 
 was sung at the last, and the student in him 
 recognized it as the national hymn before the 
 ° first strain echoed back from the pillars. 
 
 The Auditorium presented at 8 o'clock a ser- 
 ried vision of human forms, stretching away tier 
 on tier from parquet to gallery and from gallery 
 to highest balcony. Nowhere was there a vacant 
 seat. Dr. Nansen, accompanied by his secretary, 
 Lionel Claphau, and by President W. R. Harper 
 of Chicago University, appeared upon the plat- 
 form at 8:15 o'clock. 
 
 The lecturer proceeded with the telling of how 
 his plans matured, of how the expedition started 
 on June 13, 1893, and of how the ship was finally 
 locked in the ice fields north of Siberia. The 
 labors of the men on board and their pleasures 
 were described, the former being chiefly scientific. 
 Not a man of the crew ever suflFered a day's 
 sickness during the three years of absence. Of 
 colds they knew nothing, for germs do not thrive 
 in arctic temperatures. The poet and the dreamer 
 
 of the explorer's nature showed in his word por- 
 trayal of the atmospheric scenes and colorings of 
 the long polar day and the longer polar night. 
 
 What he said was illustrated with stereopticon 
 views that sent cold chills down the backs of all 
 who saw them. Dreary expanses of white, rugged 
 ice floes, moons that looked like a hopeless in- 
 ebriate's vision, variations of the aurora borealis, 
 shaggy dogs, ferocious bears, unwieldy walruses, 
 and all that goes to make up the charm of polar 
 existence, were vividly portrayed, and the com- 
 fortably dressed, well fed people who listened 
 shuddered as they thought of all the hardships 
 that the intrepid explorer must have experienced. 
 The tale was simply told. There was no attempt 
 to magnify the perils of the hazardous journey, 
 and there was little need. The barest recital 
 would have been considered harrowing enough. 
 
 The various Norwegian societies had been mak- 
 ing arrangements for the reception of their coun- 
 tryman for weeks. The most prominent Nor- 
 wegians in the city took the matter in hand. 
 The immense Battery D hall was festooned with 
 flags and flawers. Norwegian flags were put up 
 in a hundred places. An immense painting, rep- 
 resenting a ship between icebergs, stood con- 
 spicuously on the stage. 
 
 It was 11 o'clock when Dr. Nansen made his 
 appearance. He finished his lecture at the Audi- 
 torium and drove immediately to the hall. His 
 appearance in the doorway was the signal for 
 shouting. The band played the Norwegian na- 
 tional air, cries of "Bravo Nansen!" came from 
 5,000 throats, and then, after silence had been 
 secured, the arctic explorer was introduced. 
 
 He spoke in Norwegian for ten minutes and 
 thanked his countrymen for their welcome. It be- 
 ing very late, he complained of being tired, and 
 begged his audience to be lenient with him and 
 forgive him for not speaking at greater length. 
 More than twenty speakers followed. 
 
 Nansen left the next day for Milwaukee, but 
 returned on the following Tuesday to attend a 
 banquet given at the Auditorium Hotel in his 
 honor. On this occasion he was the guest of 
 nearly 200 enthusiastic fellow-countrymen. Nor- 
 wegian patriotism and sentiment filled the ban- 
 quet hall with eloquence and song. Mayor Har- 
 rison was among the prominent citizens present. 
 The sons of the Norsemen had gathered from 
 many states to meet and dine with their coun- 
 try's hero. 
 
 Dr. Nansen's final lecture was given at the 
 Auditorium on Nov. 27. 
 
 As it may be interesting for future generations 
 to read about this great reception for Dr. Nan- 
 
MEMORABLE EVENTS 
 
 231 
 
 sen, we also give the names of the members on 
 the reception committee 
 
 The Reception Committee. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Kildahl 
 Rev. Torgersen 
 Rev. Treider 
 Rev. Torrison 
 Rev. Haakonson 
 Rev. A. Johnson 
 H. Nordahl 
 M. Losby 
 Anton Krog- 
 Capt. Erickson 
 O. A. Thorp 
 C. R. Matson 
 K. B. Olson 
 
 0. C. Ericksen 
 P. O. Stensland 
 H. A. Haugan 
 
 1. Andersen 
 A. Bruun 
 
 S. Thorson 
 N. Arneson 
 H. L. Dahl 
 John Anderson 
 N. Grevstad 
 K. Edwards 
 John Blegen 
 S. T. Gunderson 
 Fr. Asche 
 O. Severson 
 S. Asbjornsen 
 Emil Bjorn 
 Dr. A. Doe 
 Dr. B. Meyer 
 Dr. Urheim 
 Dr. Sandberg 
 Dr. Quales 
 Dr. Lee 
 Dr. Lawson 
 Dr. Hektoen 
 
 Dr. Torrison 
 Dr. N. Nelson 
 Dr. Lindos 
 Dr. Warloe 
 Dr. Oyen 
 Dr. Holmboe 
 Olsen Skaaden 
 J. Gullakson 
 Tom Olson 
 M. Kirkeby 
 
 A. P. Johnson 
 Nils Johnson 
 C. Jevne 
 
 Capt. W. Johnson 
 Atty. Richolson 
 Atty. Elwig 
 Atty. Torrison 
 Atty. A. Johnson 
 Atty. F. H. Gade 
 Chr. Ilseng 
 Capt. Michelsen 
 O. C. Hansen 
 H. L. Andersen 
 John Jersin 
 H. B. Hanson 
 O. C. S. Olson 
 Knud Larsen 
 Mr. Holt 
 Mr. Holmboe 
 Mr. Bodtker 
 E. L. Heidenreich 
 Hans Olson 
 
 B. O. Kindley 
 E. A. Smith 
 John Ovresat 
 A. Petterson 
 Torris Wold. 
 
 THE VIKING SHIP AT THE WORLD'S 
 FAIR. 
 
 Although there is hardly to be found in the 
 United States or elsewhere a Norwegian who 
 has the least doubt that one of their countrymen 
 really had settled in America about five hundred 
 years before Columbus ever saw these shores, 
 still the Yankees and others considered the nar- 
 rative of Leif Erickson's famous trip in the light 
 of a saga which had sprung up in the fertile 
 brain of some ultrapatriotic skald. This fact 
 
 nettled the Norwegians of this country, and, 
 through the press, their countrymen at home, 
 and it appears that they were only waiting for 
 a chance to prove their assertion with deeds, 
 which of course would be the best and most 
 convincing way to treat the practical but skep- 
 tical Americans. A great Viking ship had been 
 found in a mound at G0kstad and preserved in the 
 Museum of Christiania. Here was a model as 
 good as could be desired, and the chance to 
 prove what could be done with such a vessel 
 occurred when the directors of the World's Fair 
 asked the Norwegian Government to lend it as 
 an exhibit for this grand occasion. 
 
 The Norwegian Government, however, did not 
 look with favor upon parting with such a na- 
 tional treasure, but then the bold Captain Mag- 
 nus Andersen came forward with the proposition 
 that a national subscription be taken up in Nor- 
 way to defray the expense of building and fitting 
 out an exact counterpart of the G0kstad ship. 
 He ofifered to sail the same when ready across 
 the Atlantic and by the canals and Great Lakes 
 to the World's Fair at Chicago, thus demonstrat- 
 ing that the Norwegians were not preposterous 
 nor exaggerating in their claims to have been the 
 first Europeans to discover this continent. 
 
 The necessary amount was subscribed, the 
 vessel built, and Captain Andersen set sail for 
 V'inland. 
 
 As the Viking ship was one of the most re- 
 markable exhibits at the World's Fair, far ex- 
 ceeding in interest the three Spanish caravels, 
 which were counterparts of the flotilla in which 
 Columbus sailed, and as the Norwegians all over 
 the United States took more pride in their Vik- 
 ing ship than in all the other splendid exhibits 
 of their mother country combined, we feel just- 
 ified in giving a more explicit account of it than 
 would else be proportionate in this volume. 
 
 Captain Andersen's life from boyhood was a 
 romance of the sea. He was born in 1857 in the 
 little fishing village of Laurvig. His father was 
 a master marine and he received only a common 
 peasant's education. Even that was hard to get, 
 for when Magnus was 4 years old his father left 
 presumably for the United States and was never 
 heard of after^j'ard. Then the care of the family 
 fell upon the mother. Shi had an inherent hor- 
 ror of the sea and of America, as it was sup- 
 posed that the father of Andersen had enlisted 
 in the Federal Navy and had suffered death. 
 When young Andersen was 15 his mother had 
 him apprenticed as a stable boy in the hope that 
 he would follow the horses instead of the sea. 
 But the boy was made of sterner stuff, and after 
 
233 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 four months' service he shook ofif the cares of 
 a sedentarj' life and ran away to sea in the ship 
 Harald, a general merchantman bound for China 
 and the East India trade. Andersen made the 
 voyage, and upon his return passed perfectly an 
 examination in seamanship before the Norweg- 
 ian Navigation Board. Then he remained another 
 year before the mast, after which he received his 
 first appointment, as second mate. When 19 he 
 was made first officer of the same vessel, and 
 when only 22 . he was placed in command. 
 
 hands to depend upon. He shipped as second 
 mate aboard the Mary Lank, of Philadelphia. 
 She was a threemasted schooner and little to the 
 taste of the Norseman, so he soon resigned to 
 go on board the Iceberg, Capt. Canter, of Sears- 
 port, Me. On this vessel he made several trips 
 to China and the Orient, and distinguished him- 
 self for personal bravery as well as seamanship. 
 Upon his return to Boston, in 1886, he decided 
 to give up seafaring. But he also had a pet 
 theory that he determined to demonstrate prac- 
 
 The Viking Ship at the World's Fair. 
 
 About this time young Andersen felt an ir- 
 resistible longing to journey to America, there 
 to search for his long absent father. His mother 
 died about the same time, and, having no longer 
 any ties to bind him, he left with his brother 
 for New York. Together they tried to find their 
 father. Failing in this, the brother took passage 
 for the Bering Straits upon a whaling voyage, 
 but never reached the fishing grounds, as he was 
 eaten by a shark while bathing at Valparaiso. 
 This left Captain Andersen with nothing but his 
 forefather's reputation for adventure and his two 
 
 ticaily before bidding a final farewell to the briny 
 deep. Capt. Andersen had noted that the average 
 sailor put little dependence in the lifeboats with 
 which their vessels were supplied. The men held 
 the opinion that once the vessel sank it was 
 useless to place any hopes of being saved in 
 the ship's small boats. Capt. Andersen felt that 
 this was an error. He held that a properly built 
 boat was as capable of living in as much sea as 
 even the largest vessels. With this project in 
 his mind he organized an expedition from Nor- 
 way to America in an open boat. It was the 
 
INDUSTRY AND FINANCE 
 
 233 
 
 first trip of the kind ever undertaken. Open 
 boats had passed from America to Europe be- 
 fore, but never vice versa, against wind and cur- 
 rent. Taking with him seaman Christiansen, who 
 later became second mate of the Viking, he 
 started in a thirty-foot boat across the Atlantic. 
 It took them sixty days to reach the banks of 
 Newfoundland. They were capsized three times 
 en route. After this Captain Andersen quit the 
 sea. He went to New York and founded the 
 Norwegian Sailors' Home^ which has grown to 
 such an extent that it contains over 150 beds. 
 
 In 1890 he originated the idea of the Viking 
 ship and went over to Norway and started the 
 movement, at the same time founding the Nor- 
 wegian Shipping Journal. He left Bergen April 
 30, 1893, on the Viking with a picked crew, and, 
 as is well known, sailed that vessel safe to Chi- 
 cago. The sailors had a great trip: no accidents 
 or mishaps of any kind. Everywhere along tjie 
 route the Viking met with great demonstrations. 
 The Americans were more enthusiastic than the 
 Norwegians in their interest. That seems a little 
 strange, but was nevertheless true. 
 
 When the Viking was approaching Chicago 
 she was met by a flotilla of pleasure yachts and 
 excursion steamers near Evanston. On the 
 steamer City of Duluth were a city council com- 
 mittee headed by the elder Mayor Carter H. 
 Harrison, and on the Ivanhoe were members of 
 the reception committee with Commissioner- 
 General Ravn and the Norwegian World's Fair 
 commissioners. Norwegian societies were of 
 course present in force. They filled half a dozen 
 steamers. 
 
 When the Chicago flotilla reached the waiting 
 Viking there was a mighty roar of salutes. Flags 
 were dipped and the Norsemen brought their 
 boat alongside the Ivanhoe, where they were 
 welcomed by Mayor Harrison and Commissioner- 
 General Ravn. After an interchange of courte- 
 sies the fleet started southward, the dragon ship 
 in the place of honor. The columns were formed 
 as follows: 
 
 Restless 
 Thistle 
 Volanta 
 Zero 
 
 Adele 
 Peerless 
 Comanche 
 Grace. 
 
 The Viking 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Argo 
 
 Buena 
 
 Cudahy 
 
 Catherine 
 
 Gryphon 
 
 Hindo 
 
 Glad Tidings 
 
 Mino 
 
 Ruinart 
 
 Blake 
 
 Ivanhoe 
 
 City of Duluth 
 
 Cyclone 
 
 Gordon 
 
 Chief Justice Waite 
 
 Music 
 
 International 
 
 Romeo 
 
 Post Boy 
 
 Josie Davidson 
 
 When the fleet arrived off Van Buren street 
 Mayor Harrison and the council committee 
 boarded the little Viking ship, and Mayor Har- 
 rison gave Captain Andersen and his gallant 
 crew the freedom and hospitality of the city. 
 
 In half an hour the journey to the Fair was 
 resumed, the Viking manned with oarsmen whose 
 great muscles made her skim through the water 
 at a wonderfully rapid rate. 
 
 At the World's Fair hundreds of little electric 
 launches and pleasure boats came out to wel- 
 come the sturdy Viking. Cannon boomed, whis- 
 tles blew, and the thousands of sightseers who 
 had gathered along the shore cheered vigorously. 
 
 Director-General Davis and a number of 
 World's Fair officials took the Captain and the 
 crew off the Viking ship and welcomed them to 
 the Fair. This was followed by a reception in 
 the Administration Building, to which the chiefs 
 of departments and other officials were invited. 
 
 Captain Andersen was in port. 
 
 During the following days Capt. Andersen and 
 his gallant crew were the most celebrated visit- 
 ors at the Fair. It was only natural that their 
 own countrymen were the most generously en- 
 thusiastic. They demonstrated their elated feel- 
 ings in banquets, receptions and all kinds of 
 festivities without number. 
 
 After the Fair the question arose what dis- 
 position should be made of the Viking ship. 
 That it ought to be preserved in some manner 
 was the opinion of every Norwegian-American. 
 Consequently a subscription of $5,000 was taken 
 up, the ship bought for the amount and donated 
 to the Field Columbian Museum in Jackson 
 Park, where it still can be seen. 
 
 NORWAY AT THE CHICAGO WORLD'S 
 FAIR. 
 
 It may be recalled that the various countries 
 and states which were exhibitors at the World's 
 Columbian Exposition each had a day set aside 
 for celebration within the grounds. As Nor- 
 way's representatives could choose their own 
 date for "Norway's Day," it was but natural that 
 
334 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 they selected May 17, which they have every- 
 where celebrated as their national holiday. "Den 
 syttende Mai" (May 17) is to the sons of Nor- 
 way what the Fourth of July is to all true and 
 patriotic Americans, both natives and naturalized. 
 Thousands of the flaxen-haired, ruddy-cheeked 
 Norsemen with their wives and children were on 
 the ground. Before the gates were opened on 
 the 17th of May, 1893, a great crowd of impa- 
 tient people were waiting to pass through the 
 turnstiles, and all day long they were pouring 
 into the park in streams. The dedication of the 
 Norwegian building and exhibit was the chief 
 attraction of the day, but the fact that the 17th 
 of May is their national anniversary lent addi- 
 tional interest to the occasion. Many prominent 
 Norwegian-Americans from Wisconsin, Minne- 
 sota, the Dakotas, Michigan and other states 
 joined with their brethren in Illinois in making 
 the event one long to be remembered and talked 
 of. 
 
 Under the direction of Chief Marshal E. C. 
 Christensen a procession of societies was formed 
 at the north end of the terminal station and 
 marched north past the Transportation Building 
 to Festival Hall, where the exercises were held. 
 The procession was made up in the following 
 order: 
 
 Platoon of police. 
 
 Bicycle club. Fifty members. 
 
 Band. 
 
 Scandinavian Workingmen, No. 1, 700 strong. 
 
 Scandinavian Workingmen, No. 10. 
 
 Norwegian Rifle Club. 
 
 6and. 
 
 Nora Lodge, No. 1, R. H. K. 
 
 Leif Erikson Lodge, No. 15, R. H. K. 
 
 Tordenskjold Lodge, No. 15, R. H. K. 
 
 Band. 
 
 Northern Light K. & L. of H. 
 
 Praia Lodge K. & L. of H. 
 
 Nordfselles Supreme Lodge. 
 
 Court Normania. 
 
 Band. 
 
 Good Templar Lodge. 
 
 Scandinavian Carpenters' Union. 
 
 Carriages with invited guests. 
 
 At two o'clock Festival Hall, which had a seat- 
 ing capacity of 8,000 and standing room for 2,000 
 more, was literally packed to the doors, and 
 thousands of disappointed Norwegians were left 
 outside, unable to hear or see anything of the 
 interesting proceedings in the hall. The cele- 
 bration began with the singing of the Norwegian 
 national hymn, "Ja, vi elsker dette landet (Yes 
 
 We Love This Land). As every Norwegian 
 knows the song by heart, its singing by the as- 
 sembled thousands made such music as the walls 
 of Festival Hall had not before echoed. Prof. 
 Julius Olsen of the University of Wisconsin then 
 made an address on "Our Day of Independence," 
 which was received by the great audience with 
 every evidence of enthusiasm. Americans all, they 
 were for the time being patriotic Norwegians. 
 
 More music was then in order, and Mrs. Anna 
 Smith Behrens appeared to sing some of the 
 songs of the fatherland, accompanied by Mrs. 
 Dr. Karl Sandberg. Her selections included 
 "The Boy and the Fairy" (by Otto Winter- 
 Hjelm), "Wandering in the Forest" (Edward 
 Grieg), and "On the Mountain" (Halfdan Kje- 
 rulf). Then Hon. Rasmus B. Anderson appeared 
 to speak of "Norway" from the standpoint of a 
 loyal and patriotic son, and when the applause 
 which greeted his eloquent periods had subsided, 
 the Exposition orchestra, under the leadership of 
 Theodore Thomas, played several selections 
 from Grieg's "Peer Gynt." 
 
 Hon. Nils P. Haugan was the next speaker in- 
 troduced, and his topic, "Norwegians in the 
 United States," was handled very cleverly. Miss 
 Signe Hille then sang, "To My Heart's Queen" 
 (Agathe Backer-Gr0ndahl), "My Treasure" (Kje- 
 rulf), and "A Vision" (Grieg). Ingolf K. Boyesen 
 followed with a talk on "America and the Expo- 
 sition." The orchestra closed the program with 
 a collection of Norwegian folk songs and rhap- 
 sodies by Johann Svendsen. The exercises 
 seemed to be thoroughly enjoyed by the great 
 crowd which remained in attendance to the last 
 and was unstinted in its applause. After the cere- 
 monies the Norwegians and their friends scat- 
 tered through the grounds and buildings, which 
 were kept open that night until eleven o'clock. 
 The Court of Honor was illuminated, and Direc- 
 tor Burnham had ordered the electric fountain 
 to play. 
 
 NORWAY'S PAVILION. 
 
 On account of a midocean accident to the 
 Steamer Hekla, the formal onening of Norway's 
 Pavilion in the Manufactures Building was de- 
 layed. Ten cases of goods, containing among 
 other things all the flags, were known to be on 
 the road, but no trace could be found of them 
 when they were most wanted. The barriers 
 were, however, taken down for the formal open- 
 ing of the exhibit, at which among others the 
 following were present: 
 
 Chr. Ravn, royal commissioner-general. 
 
MEMORABLE EVENTS 
 
 235 
 
 Anders C. Berle, secretary royal commission. 
 
 Torolf Prytz, commissioner of manufactures 
 for Norway. 
 
 Mrs. G. Emerson, manager. 
 
 James Allison, chief of Manufactures Building. 
 
 Frank P. Williams, assistant chief of Manu- 
 factures Building. 
 
 Willard A. Smith, chief of Transportation 
 Building. 
 
 The 9,000 square feet occupied by Norway 
 were on the east side of the main aisle near the 
 south entrance. 
 
 The exhibit was dual, for the liberal arts as 
 well as manufactures were represented. In the 
 rear of the section an elevated platform was 
 built. On it was a full-sized stabur or provision 
 house. On each side were large paintings of 
 Norwegian scenery, and hundreds of photo- 
 graphs formed a border around the platforms. 
 The ski (Norwegian snow-shoe), used for climb- 
 ing mountains and shooting down the steep in- 
 cline with racehorse speed, was shown in great 
 variety. Some were elaborately carved; others, 
 used by athletes and sportsmen, were narrow, 
 long and highly polished. 
 
 Three wax figures of skaters, dressed in the 
 costumes used in Norway, added to the attrac- 
 tiveness of this feature. Various forms of push- 
 sleds, narrow sleighs and hand sleds were shown, 
 as well as the Norwegian kariol. This is a two- 
 wheeled vehicle, something like a western road- 
 cart, with a long skeleton body and an extra seat 
 behind. A dozen wax figures of men and women 
 were dressed in peasant costumes. Two repre- 
 sented women from the neighborhood of Bergen, 
 the headgear showing one to be married. Both 
 costums had the accordion plaits, which Amer- 
 ican women used not very long ago, but which 
 the peasant girls of Norway have worn for sev- 
 eral centuries. 
 
 As interesting as the ski collection was the 
 showing of ancient and modern Norwegian skates. 
 Paulsen, the famous Norwegian skater, aston- 
 ished New Yorkers by his skates when he raced 
 on Hudson River, for they were unlike anything 
 seen or used until then in this country. Those 
 shown in the Manufactures Building had the look 
 of speed in their low, straight, narrow runners, 
 but according to the American idea they had 
 one objection, for they were nailed to the shoe 
 and not clamped or strapped. A stuflfed reindeer 
 attached to a canoe-shaped sled (akja), a harpoon 
 gun with the wicked looking triple-pronged 
 whale-catcher, and a fine collection of furs, em- 
 phasized the characteristic features of the exhibit 
 from the land of the midnight sun. 
 
 To those who thought that snow, ice, bleak 
 mountains and fish make up all Norway, the 
 silverwork exhibit came with a shock of pleasure 
 and surprise. Nothing like it was seen in any 
 other section except the Mexican. It formed a 
 curious parallel that the tropical and polar coun- 
 tries should find a common art in filigree silver 
 work. The resemblance, however, is only in the 
 work, for the designs of Norway and Mexico are 
 widely at variance. In delicacy, grace and in- 
 genuity the silversmiths of Christiania and the 
 jewelers of Mexico are peers. Many fine exam- 
 ples of filigree silver were shown. The feature, 
 however, which made the silver exhibit unique 
 among similar displays was the silver and enam- 
 eled work done at Bergen and Christiania. Two 
 magnificent silver lamps, beautiful in model and 
 exquisite in design, were notable exponents of 
 this art. The framework of the design is first 
 made in filigree silver. Then the enamel, in vari- 
 ous colors, is filled in and the whole burned. The 
 silver is afterward heavily gilded and polished. 
 The vase-shaped shade had translucent enamel, 
 which gave a soft, tinted glow when the light 
 was burning. Jewel cases, trays, spoons and 
 toilet articles were made of the same combina- 
 tion. Many spoons were decorated with Nor- 
 wegian scenes painted and burned in the enamel. 
 Some of the spoons were copies of ancient origi- 
 nals kept in the museum of Christiania. Odd 
 drinking cups in odder designs were placed near 
 the originals, some of them 260 years old. In 
 another case was an old drinking horn with the 
 royal lion in gold on the lid, and ancient scent 
 boxes, which prove that the old Vikings were 
 not above tickling their olfactory nerves. 
 
 Norway ships to this country a large amount 
 of wood pulp and sulphate for paper making, and 
 this important industry had a display to itself. 
 Boats, tapestries, books, school exhibits, various 
 liquors (as Aquavit), with some very fine wood 
 carvings, were other interesting features, while 
 a variety of marble and granite showed the value 
 of Norway's quarries. 
 
 The pavilion was built out of native Norwegian 
 pine, which has a reputation the world over. It 
 admits of the most delicate carving, in which the 
 Norwegians are skilled. Some of their work in 
 this line was shown in the framework of the 
 facade, which was without other ornamentation 
 except a few designs in colors. The wood was 
 left purposely without oil or paint. The facade 
 did not show to good advantage under the high 
 roof of the Manufactures Building, with the lofty 
 structures of Russia on one side and Denmark 
 across the avenue. But this was not the fault of 
 
236 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 the Norwegian architect. Instructions were sent 
 out by the exposition authorities originally limit- 
 ing the height of structures within the Manu- 
 factures Building, and when they were modified 
 there was no time to do the elaborate work over 
 again. 
 
 NORWAY'S BUILDING AT THE WORLD'S 
 FAIR. 
 
 The Norwegian building in Jackson Park was 
 not large, but people looked at it twice as they 
 passed by. 
 
 there was some little friction over the matter. 
 But the Norwegians had been in hard luck. They 
 had prepared the timbers for their building at 
 Christiania and the work had been much de- 
 layed. Then the framed timbers were put aboard 
 the steamer Hekla, which usually made the run 
 to New York in about twelve days. But on this 
 voyage the Hekla had an accident and reached 
 New York first on April 9, nearly two weeks late. 
 She had been twenty-eight days on the passage. 
 When the consignment finally reached Chicago 
 the v\-orkmen at once began setting up the house. 
 
 .¥■ 
 
 Norway's Building at the World's Fair. 
 
 Norway was assigned a generous slice of 
 ground early in the show. It was the space at 
 first allotted to Russia, a nice site just south- 
 east of the art annex. The Russians found it 
 impracticable for their use and it was given to 
 Norway. But the Norwegians did not seem to 
 build upon it very fast. Other buildings were go- 
 ing up on all sides, but Norway's space remained 
 desolate. Director Burnham fretted and found 
 
 The style of the building's architecture was 
 what in Norway is called "Stave-kirke." It is 
 •distinctly and unmistakably Norwegian. Indeed, 
 the Norwegians have been erecting church edi- 
 fices that look like this ever since the twelfth 
 century. It had a high lower-story and a low 
 upper story, and over all a high-gabled roof pic- 
 turesquely irregular in design. A fine flagstaff 
 topped the whole. But what most gave a Norse 
 
MEMORABLE EVENTS 
 
 2:-}7 
 
 aspect to the little building, which was only 26 
 X 40 feet in size, were the decorative figures pro- 
 jecting over the gables, heavy beams that curved 
 upward and were graven in grotesque shapes 
 like the heads of dragons or serpents. These 
 resembled more than anything else the ancient 
 prows of Viking battleships. 
 
 homo in ships than in houses, patterned even 
 their houses of worship after their ships. 
 
 The building was constructed of the best of 
 Norwegian pine. It was chiefly used for the of- 
 fices of Royal Commissioner Christian Ravn and 
 his aids and as a rendezvous for Norwegian vis- 
 itors at the Fair. The Norwegian exhibits were 
 
 The Artist's Model of Leif Erikson, 
 
 That is exactly what they were intended to be 
 like. When the "Stave-kirke" type of architect- 
 ure was originated the Norse were the boldest 
 navigators in the world. Their high-penned gal- 
 leys, with hideous figureheads, ventured where 
 none others dared to go. Those were the days 
 of the Vikings. So the Norsemen, being more at 
 
 made in other buildings, such as the Fisheries 
 and Manufactures. There were some really good 
 ones, too. Norway had been stirred up by all 
 that Columbus hubbub to the remembrance that 
 it was a Norseman after all who really discov- 
 erc'd America by a daring chance. 
 
238 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 LEIF ERIKSON, 
 The Norse Discoverer of America. 
 
 The Chicago Norwegians had another great 
 occasion for celebrating when the statue of Leif 
 Erikson, the Norse-Icelandic discoverer of the 
 American continent, A. D. 1000, was unveiled on 
 the 12th of October, 1901. The accompanying 
 picture, which shows the bronze image as it 
 stands in Humboldt Park, Chicago, represents -a 
 man of physical beauty, strong and supple — 
 
 "Trained for either camp or court, 
 Skillful in each manly sport. 
 Young and beautiful and tall" — 
 
 the head and face noble, that of the skald (bard) 
 as well as the daring explorer. In spite of the 
 drizzling rain the faces of many thousands of 
 sons and daughters of Norway and their de- 
 scendants beamed with joy and enthusiasm, and 
 while they sang the national hymn of their fa- 
 therland the monument to Leif Erikson, one of 
 Norway's most famous discoverers and naviga- 
 tors, erected from their own earnings, was for 
 the first time presented to their view. 
 
 With the words and melody of "Ja, vi elsker 
 dette landet" echoing throughout the park, and 
 with flags and banners of Norway and America 
 waving on all sides, O. A. Thorp, one of the 
 originators of the Leif Erikson monument plan, 
 signaled to Miss Inga Ferdinandsen and she 
 pulled the tri-colored cord and formally unveiled 
 the monument to the public view. 
 
 Norwegian-Americans from all parts of the 
 city and from ditterent states throughout the 
 Northwest were present to witness the ceremony 
 for the fruction of which they had worked since 
 1892. Preceding the unveiling exercises at Hum- 
 boldt Park, Norwegian-American organizations 
 — including the turner, singers', educational and 
 trade societies — met at Scandia Hall and pro- 
 ceeded in carriages to the scene of the unveiling. 
 The spirit which caused the mariners with Leif 
 Erikson to brave the rough and uncertain seas 
 swayed his Chicago descendants that day and 
 caused them to disregard the dismal weather 
 while paying their tribute to the one who first 
 found this great country. 
 
 O. A. Thorp, on behalf of the Leif Erikson 
 Monument Society, which had charge of rais- 
 ing the funds for the erection of the monument, 
 and of which he was the founder and first presi- 
 dent, made the unveiling oration. President L. 
 E. Olson of the Monument Society made the for- 
 mal speech presenting the monument to the west 
 park officials. The exercises were in charge of 
 
 A. J^rgensen, vice-president of the society; C. 
 H. Lee, treasurer; A. C. Thorsen, secretary, and 
 the directors, L. Hansen, Charles Nergard, Fred. 
 Asche and F. Ferdinandsen. P. A. Sj^lie was 
 grand marshal of the turnout of the societies and 
 Albert J. Elvig was in charge of the arrange- 
 ments in the park. 
 
 The day's celebration closed with a banquet at 
 the Sherman House in the evening, at which 
 Paul O. Stensland was the toastmaster. Prof. 
 R. B. Anderson, Nicolai Grevstad, Oscar M. 
 Torrison, John Blegen, Prof. Julius E. Olson, 
 Birger Osland, O. A. Thorp, and Mayor Carter 
 H. Harrison, Jr., were among the speakers. Mr. 
 Sigvald Asbj^rnsen, the sculptor of the monu- 
 ment, was the guest of honor at the banquet. 
 
 The monument consists of the bronze statue 
 representing Leif Erikson standing upon a gran- 
 ite bowlder. The statue is 9% feet high and the 
 granite bowlder is 12 feet in diameter, half of 
 which is imbedded in the high grass mound, 
 which is 6 feet high and 30 feet in circumference. 
 The monument is placed in one of the choicest 
 spots of Humboldt Park, near the new pavilion 
 and lagoon. It cost over $10,000. 
 
 In this connection it may be mentioned that 
 monuments to Leif Erikson have been erected 
 in Boston and Milwaukee. 
 
 THE NORWEGIAN STUDENT SINGERS. 
 
 It was in the afternoon on May 20, 1905, that 
 sixty members of the Norwegian Student Sing- 
 ers, the famous male chorus of Christiania, show- 
 ered with flowers and greeted with welcoming 
 song from their countrymen and women, arrived 
 in Chicago. The Michigan Central train on 
 which they came was nearly an hour late, but 
 their tardy arrival did not dampen the enthusi- 
 asm of the 500 persons who crowded the Park 
 Row Station to meet them. As the members of 
 the chorus entered the door into the waiting 
 room the local Norwegian Singers' Union began 
 Grieg's "Song of Welcome," which next to the 
 national anthem is the great song of the Norse- 
 men. 
 
 Leaving the station, the crowd surged toward 
 the Auditorium, where the chorus remained the 
 20th and 21st. There was a call for a song, and 
 visitors and local singers lined up on the broad 
 stairway leading from the lobby of the hotel and 
 sang, "Ja, Vi Elsker Dette Landet." As the clear 
 voices of the tenors lingered on the last strain 
 there was tumultuous applause. In response to 
 the encore the visiting singers rendered "The 
 
MEMORABLE EVENTS 
 
 239 
 
 The Leif Erikson Monument in Humboldt Park, 
 
340 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Star-Spangled Banner." The rest of the first day 
 was spent in sightseeing, and on the following 
 day most of the chorus were the guests at the 
 homes of various Norwegian residents. 
 
 Arrangements had been completed for the con- 
 cert by the chorus, which was given at the Au- 
 ditorium on the first evening. The committee of 
 arrangements was composed of H. A. Haugan, 
 John Anderson, Paul O. Stensland, Nicolai Grev- 
 stad, N. Arneson, Dr. Karl Sandberg, Thomas 
 Kolderup. Ben Blessum and Dr. Th. Warloe. 
 
 This musical organization was formed about 
 sixty years ago by Johan Behrens, the "father 
 of Norwegian song." It is composed of students 
 and alumni of the University of Christiania and 
 is a semi-national institution, the director, O. A. 
 Gr'^ndahl, one of the foremost leaders and com- 
 posers of 'Scandinavia, being paid out of the na- 
 tional treasury. Since its inception the chorus 
 has been a leader in Norwegian choral music, 
 having had the nation for its patron and num- 
 bering among its most prominent supporters the 
 foremost Norwegian composers, such as Grieg, 
 Reissiger, Selmer and Kjerulf. Many, of the 
 latter have written compositions expressly for 
 the chorus. 
 
 The singers were headed by Rolf Hammer, 
 tenor, and Johannes Berg-Hansen, basso, as solo- 
 ists, both of whom are members of the National 
 Opera. The president of the Student Singing 
 Society, Dr. Henrich Thomsen, was with the or- 
 ganization. 
 
 A large advance sale of seats for the concert 
 insured an attendance of gratifying proportions 
 
 and the concert was a great success from both 
 an artistic and a material point of view. A great 
 banquet was given in honor of the singers at 
 the Sherman House, when many persons of 
 prominence made speeches. 
 
 After leaving Chicago the chorus gave con- 
 certs in about twenty cities of the Northwest and 
 returned east via Chicago on June 14, 1906, at 
 which time another concert was given. On the 
 evening of the 13th five hundred representative 
 Norwegians of Chicago and the Northwest as- 
 sembled at the home of Paul O. Stensland in 
 Irving Park, ostensibly for the purpose of enter- 
 taining the Norwegian student singers, but the 
 real purpose of the monster reunion was to form- 
 ulate plans preliminary to presenting a signed 
 petition to President Roosevelt, urging him to 
 recognize the independence of Norway. The af- 
 fair, which was in the form of an outdoor dinner 
 party, on the spacious grounds of Mr. Stensland, 
 was one of the most notable events in the his- 
 tory of Norwegian society in Chicago. Hundreds 
 of incandescent lights were strung throughout 
 the grounds, dinner being served under a canopy 
 of red, white and blue, from the dome of which 
 hung the flag of Norway and the Stars and 
 Stripes, made up of a colored array of electric 
 lights. 
 
 The musical features of the evening were the 
 patriotic solos rendered by Mrs. Grace Nelson 
 Stensland, the daughter-in-law of Paul O. Stens- 
 land. Her efforts inspired the Norsemen with 
 political enthusiasm, one of her songs being sug- 
 gestive of a political appeal. 
 
NORWEGIANS IN THE INDUSTRIAL 
 AND FINANCIAL FIELDS 
 
 JOHNSON CHAIR COMPANY. 
 
 It affords us great pleasure to present a con- 
 densed history of one of Chicago's greatest furn- 
 iture enterprises and to record the fact that it is 
 controlled b}^ men of our own nationality. Were 
 we living in the fabled days of old, the sketch, 
 even though but the recounting of hard, dry facts, 
 would seem more like romance than reality. 
 Probablj^ in no other country in the world would 
 so great and rapid development be possible, and 
 certainly in no city in the land have so small be- 
 ginnings grown to so magnificent proportions in 
 so brief a time. The great factory and business 
 of the Johnson Chair Company stands as a monu- 
 ment to the wise and prudent, yet enterprising 
 and energetic management of the men who have 
 been at its head. Commencing with very little 
 capital, and but a limited experience, the manage- 
 ment has grown and expanded from year to year 
 with the business it has faithfully and persistently 
 pushed to the front. Each year has brought with 
 it new ideas, new methods and new customers, 
 until to-daj^ their trade extends to nearly all 
 parts of this country and a number of European 
 countries, and their name is a synonym of integ- 
 rity, reliable goods and prompt attention to the 
 wants of their thousands of customers. 
 
 The founders of this great institution were 
 Thompson & Crawford, who occupied a small 
 building (the corner building in the first picture) 
 at the corner of N. Green and Phillips streets, 
 in 1867. The.'^e gentlemen manufactured cane- 
 seat chairs, and continued in business until 1868, 
 when they sold their plant to F. Herhold, A. P. 
 Johnson, Anton and Adolph Borgmeier, who 
 changed the line to wood-seat chairs, and con- 
 tinued the business under the name of Herhold, 
 
 Johnson and Borgmeier until 1870, when Anton 
 Borgmeier sold out, and the name was changed to 
 Herhold, Johnson & Co., Mr. Adolph Borgmeier 
 being the "Co." In 1877 Mr. Herhold sold out, and 
 the name of the firm was changed to A. P. John- 
 son & Co., and Mr. Nels Johnson was admitted 
 as active partner. Two years later the factory 
 received a great change by the tearing down 
 of the corner frame building and the erection in 
 its place of a large five-story brick building. 
 It seemed then as though the limit of capacity 
 had been reached, and that no further building 
 or increase of facilities would be needed for many 
 years. This building, which stands at the corner 
 of N. Green and Phillips streets, is 40 x 136 feet, 
 and its five floors gave them 27,000 feet of floor 
 space. This was a very large chair factory for 
 those days, although but for a few years. Busi- 
 ness continued to grow, and in 1883 the firm was 
 incorporated under the name of the Johnson 
 Chair Co., the plant was enlarged by the erec- 
 tion of a five-story brick building, and the of- 
 fices, salesrooms and shipping room were moved 
 into it. This building was 42x136 feet, and con- 
 tained at the- time 28, .560 square feet. But even 
 this addition soon became cramped, and five 
 years later, in 1888, the frame building between 
 the two brick buildings was demolished to make 
 room for the magnificent six-story brick, which 
 is 50 X 206 feet and fills all the space. This 
 building contains 61,800 square feet of floor. 
 When this great building was completed they 
 took a long breath and said: "Surely we have 
 done with building expenses, for it will be a long 
 time before we shall need more room than is 
 afforded by our present facilities." The show 
 room and private offices were moved into this 
 building, and everything ran along smoothly un- 
 
 241 
 
a42 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 til 1890, when the necessity for more room again 
 became pressing, and the office building received 
 another story — the sixth. Although this gave 
 them 5,712 square feet more, increasing the space 
 in that building to 34,272 square feet, it proved 
 to be but a temporary relief, and in 1891 we see 
 them with another giant building, extending 
 from the office building clear through to Halsted 
 street, 112x60 feet and seven stories high, add- 
 ing nearly 50,000 more square feet. This is the 
 most ornamental building in the group, as shown 
 in the large picture. In addition to the above- 
 mentioned buildings there are the dry-kilns, 
 25x75, three stories, and the engine house, 50 x 50, 
 three stories, the two having a total of 13,125 
 
 For a number of years the company manufac- 
 tured a line of bureaus, but the rapid increase 
 of the chair trade made it necessary to discon- 
 tinue them. More than 500 styles of chairs, 
 from the cheap wood-seat kitchen to the large 
 solid mahogany office and clubhouse chairs, are 
 manufactured by this company. Their line of 
 oak dining chairs in among the finest in the land. 
 They give employment to between 500 and 600 
 hands at the factory. 
 
 Until his health commenced failing him last 
 year, Mr. A. P. Johnson, the president, used to 
 superintend the factory and do the buying of 
 materials, having a competent foreman in every 
 department. Secretary Nels Johnson, a brother 
 
 The Johnson Chair Company'^ First Building. 
 
 feet. Thus we see a total of 180,245 square feet, 
 besides lumber sheds, stables, etc. 
 
 Besides the erection of the seven-story Hal- 
 sted-street building in 1891 they have added a 
 new 150-horse-power engine to one of the same 
 size; and have increased their electric lights from 
 150 to 500, which practically afifords them day- 
 light throughout the twenty-four hours, if they 
 desire it. At the right-hand upper corner of the 
 picture may be seen a view of their lumber yards 
 on Ogden Island, with two vessels at the docks, 
 in the north branch of the Chicago River, dis- 
 charging cargoes of lumber. This yard is not 
 more than fifteen minutes' drive from the factory 
 for the lumber wagons, and so isolated as to be 
 almost out of danger from fires. 
 
 of A. P., now has charge of the office, salesmen 
 and credits. Until his death, which occurred 
 Dec. 14, 1905, Mr. Borgmeier attended to the 
 shipping, with over a score of packers and ship- 
 pers under him. His place was taken by Mr. 
 Joseph F. Johnson, treasurer of the company. 
 The head bookkeeper is Mr. Geo. A. Boedeker, 
 who started in with them in the shipping room 
 in 1879. He has half a dozen or more assistants, 
 among whom Mr. A. M. Heiberg and Mr. S. O. 
 Severson are of Norwegian birth. Among the 
 workingmen the following Norwegians have risen 
 to higher positions: S. N. Hallenger is foreman 
 in the factory, with B. N. Saue as assistant. A. 
 J. Breda is foreman in the finishing department 
 and Christ Olson in the lumber yard. A son of 
 
INDUSTRY AND FINANCE 
 
 243 
 
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244 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 A. P. Johnson, Mr. Arthur L. Johnson, is super- 
 intendent of the factory, and Mr. Walter J. John- 
 son, a son of Nels Johnson, is assistant in the 
 office. 
 
 Their goods are shipped to nearly every nook 
 and corner of the country and also to foreign 
 countries. Mansion and cottage, club house and 
 hotel, farm house and city home alike are fur- 
 nished from this, one of Chicago's greatest fur- 
 niture factories. They have won success, and 
 they deserve it. 
 
 TORRIS WOLD & CO. 
 
 The founder of this firm is Mr. Torris Wold, 
 whose biography can be read in another part of 
 this book. 
 
 After Mr. Torris Wold left the employ of the 
 Crosby Co., where he had charge of the die de- 
 partment, he bought about twenty years ago a 
 half interest in the firm of Sivertsen & Jensen, 
 located in the Edison Building on Market street, 
 and changed the firm name to Jensen & Wold. 
 
 About six years later Mr. Wold bought out 
 Mr. Jensen and operated under the name of Tor- 
 ris Wold, which again some ten years ago was 
 changed to Torris Wold & Co. After the busi- 
 ness left the Edison Building it was moved to 11 
 S. Jefferson street, and thence to the present 
 quarters at the corner of Fulton and Jefferson 
 streets. 
 
 Twenty years ago the canning industry in this 
 country was just beginning, and naturally also 
 the can making. Thus Mr. Wold prides himself 
 on having made the first dies for cans used in 
 Chicago. Since then the canning as well as the 
 can-making industry has grown fast, the can- 
 making fast enough to offer inducement enough 
 to form one of the largest trusts, the American 
 Can Co. In spite of this trust the growing de- 
 mand for cans has led a number of independents 
 to start can companies the last three or four years, 
 and as far as the output of cans is concerned 
 it is about six to four, with the odds still in 
 favor of the trust. Torris Wold & Co. have in 
 a way grown up with the industry in which they 
 are engaged, that of can-making machinery. In 
 the beginning, when cans to a great extent were 
 made by hand, they did a large and good busi- 
 ness in dies, presses, small hand tools, etc. Later, 
 small hand tools had to be replaced by small 
 power machines, and these again were replaced 
 by automatic machinery. The last two or three 
 years the firm has made it their aim to push to 
 the front with an absolutely complete line of au- 
 
 tomatic machinery for all kinds of cans, and the 
 motto "Everything for can makers'' has been fol- 
 lowed out to the letter, until the firm now stands 
 at the head of the industry with complete au- 
 tomatic machinery for anything in the line. Mr. 
 H. H. Lyche is the secretary, treasurer and gen- 
 eral manager for the company. 
 
 C. JEVNE & CO. 
 
 The next cut shows the home of C. Jevne & 
 Co., at 110-113 Madison street, Chicago, prob- 
 ably the greatest retail distributors of good things 
 to eat in the world's fourth city, and of all such 
 concerns west of Boston and New York. 
 
 The business was started by Christian Jevne 
 at 41 E. Kinzie street, near the North branch of 
 
 C. Jevne &: Co. 
 
 the Cliicago River, in 1865. His capital was about 
 $200. The present president of the company, 
 Mr. Otto Christian F.ricson, was appointed cash- 
 ier and bookkeeper in 1868 and has since been 
 actively and continuously connected with the 
 firm. In 1870 the business was moved to Nos. 
 1 and 3 N. Clark street, right at the bridge, where 
 
INDUSTRY AND FINANCE 
 
 245 
 
 they met with an unexpectedly large increase in 
 their business. The great fire in 1871, however, 
 wiped it all out with the exception of $5,000 in 
 bank and about $4,000 in outstanding accounts. 
 About two weeks afterward the business was 
 started on Halsted street, where it remained 
 until 1874, when it was moved back to N. Clark 
 street. 
 
 It was a busy place in Chicago at that time, 
 and especially a gathering place for farmers and 
 lake shipping interests. The firm was then doing 
 a business of $375,000 a year and had to seek 
 larger quarters. They built their present build- 
 ing, at 110-112 Madison street, and moved in in 
 1878. 
 
 and manned by Norwegians, with the exception 
 of two. 
 
 Four ships are employed each year for the 
 handling of coffee, which is bought direct from 
 the government of Holland, which conducts four 
 annual auctions for the sale of coffee. It is these 
 large deals, increasing every year, that cause the 
 direct communications with foreign countries. 
 Three years ago the company was incorporated 
 and Otto Christian Ericson was elected as the 
 first president. The authorized capital is $200,- 
 000, to which can be added a snug sum as un- 
 divided profits. They conduct a retail grocery 
 store that is the pride of Chicago and a credit 
 to its managers. 
 
 The Central Manufacturmg Company. 
 
 Christian Jevne died in 1898. Mr. Otto C. 
 Ericson was taken in as a member of the firm 
 in 1887 and has continuously increased the busi- 
 ness. They employ from 100 to 125 men, fourteen 
 of them being drivers, looking after forty horses. 
 They are large importers, getting their cofTee 
 direct from Sumatra and Arabia; tea from Japan, 
 China and Ceylon: wine from Europe; cheese, 
 fish, canned goods and aquavit from Norway, 
 Sweden and Denmark. The company deals direct 
 with every country in the world, and it is inter- 
 esting to note that for the past fifteen years 
 every ship freighting cofifee from Sumatra in the 
 East Indies has been a Norwegian one, officered 
 
 THE CENTRAL MANUFACTURING COM- 
 PANY. 
 
 The Central Manufacturing Company are the 
 largest manufacturers of office desks in Chicago 
 and made up entirely of Scandinavians. The 
 president, Mr. Nils Arneson, has been engaged 
 in the manufacturing of furniture for the past 
 forty years; in fact he is one of the pioneer fur- 
 niture manufacturers of Chicago. The secretary, 
 Mr. Alf. Normann, has been connected with the 
 company since 1899. 
 
 Nowadaj'^s furniture making constitutes so big 
 an item in Chicago's industrial output, and Chi- 
 
246 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 cage's big enterprises in that trade are so many 
 and so strong, as to bar from special notice ariy 
 concern not exceptional either in magnitude or 
 character, which is not either very large in its 
 output or whose output is not unusual in quality 
 and standing. Exclusion of this sort, however, 
 does not touch the Central Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, whose huge factory at 37 to 41 Armour 
 street produces what is popularly reckoned the 
 most complete and salable assortment of roll-t,op 
 and flat-top office desks and office furniture in 
 the West. From this fine plant, with its acre 
 of floor space, its $90,000 outfit of machinery and 
 its corps of more than six score expert artificers 
 in wood, the Central Manufacturing Company 
 
 partner was taken in, a man by the name of John 
 H. Mengis, and The Chicago Desk Mnfg. Co. 
 was organized, with L. L. Skielvig as president; 
 John H. Mengis, secretary and treasurer; and A. 
 Petersen as superintendent. The business was 
 conducted under this firm until 1884. A. Peter- 
 sen then sold out his interest and moved to 15 
 to 21 Armour street, and 456-460 Austin avenue, 
 a property containing nearly 17,000 feet of ground 
 and 39,000 feet of floor space. From that time 
 to the present date he has conducted a manu- 
 facturing business of the same line as originally 
 started under the name of A. Petersen & Co. The 
 company is only the style of title, Mr. Petersen 
 being sole proprietor and manager. 
 
 A. Petersen and Company. 
 
 turns out a line of business furniture, including 
 sixty styles of desks, twenty of library tables, 
 and a long list of other specialties.. 
 
 A. PETERSEN & CO. 
 
 Commenced business in 1879, manufacturing a 
 line of desks and office furniture in rented quar- 
 ters at the corner of Jackson and Clinton streets, 
 under the name of Skielvig, Petersen & Co., of 
 which the associated partners were L. L. Skiel- 
 vig and John Thompson. The business was con- 
 ducted in this style for one year, when a new 
 
 SETHNESS COMPANY 
 
 Are manufacturers of flavoring extracts and col- 
 ors, essential oils and chemical specialities as 
 used by confectioners, bakers, ice-cream makers, 
 sodawater dispensers, perfumers, rectifiers, brew- 
 ers, syrup refiners, cider and vinegar makers, 
 picklers, preservers, etc. They also handle bot- 
 tlers' machinery and supplies. 
 
 The accompanying cut of their office, laboratory 
 and factory, located at 262-268 N. Curtis street, 
 Chicago, will give an idea of the room it requires 
 to conduct such a business. They employ eight 
 
INDUSTRY AND FINANCE 
 
 24^ 
 
 
 Sethness Company. 
 
 traveling men, who cover every state in the 
 Union and Canada; have an office force of ten 
 and a regular force in the factory of twelve, not 
 counting teams and drivers. It is an incorpor- 
 ated company with C. O. Sethness as president 
 and manager. It is the largest concern of its 
 kind — extract and color manufacturing — in 
 America. 
 
 THE INDEPENDENT CRACKER MACHINE 
 COMPANY 
 
 Was organized and incorporated by H. M. L. 
 Anderson in 1894 and was first established at 
 58-62 N. Jefferson street, but is now located at 
 137-147 Fulton street. They manufacture all 
 kinds and the latest improved machines for bak- 
 
 The Independent Cracker Machine Company. 
 
248 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGTAI^S OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ers and confectioners — such as ovens, dough 
 mixers, cake machines, dough dividers, pan racks, 
 flour sifters, candy furnaces; and also deal in 
 electric motors, gas and gasoline engines, etc. 
 The above cut shows a part of the shop and the 
 help employed. Mr. Anderson himself sits on a 
 stool in the foregrounds. Successful and prog- 
 ressive enterprices of this kind are indeed a 
 credit to our nationality. 
 
 ARCHITECTURAL SHEET-METAL ORNA- 
 MENTS. 
 
 The above cut shows the new factory home of 
 William Thoresen, the manufacturer of sheet- 
 metal ornaments, signs, etc. It is located at 419- 
 421 W. North avenue, near Robey street and 
 Milwaukee avenue, Chicago. Those interested in 
 
 ■ ^-^f^' 
 
 Architectural Sheet-Metal Ornaments. 
 
 such work will find a large and varied selection 
 of nevv' and attractive designs for all building 
 purposes, and signs. Mr. Thoresen was formerly 
 a cornice-maker, but took up ihe metal ornament 
 work when he engaged in business for himself 
 in 1893. 
 
 STATE BANK OF CHICAGO. 
 
 The day has passed when banks are looked 
 upon as unnecessary luxuries and as oppressors of 
 the people. With a more complete understand- 
 ing of the functions of banks, it has become ap- 
 parent that, for the development of a nation, they 
 are as necessary as railroads and good govern- 
 ment and that, far from being enemies of the in- 
 dividual, they are, when properly used, a friend 
 in every time of need. 
 
 It was inevitable that among the Scandinavian 
 residents in the United States there should ulti- 
 mately arise a demand for Scandinavian banks 
 and bankers. In response to this demand, in all 
 parts of the United States there have sprung up 
 Scandinavian banking institutions, managed and 
 owned wholly or in part by Scandinavians. At 
 the head of these institutions, in the point of age, 
 standing and size, we find the State Bank of Chi- 
 cago, or, as it is popularly known among Scandi- 
 navians, Haugan & Lindgren's Bank. 
 
 This institution was founded Dec. 8, 1879, by 
 H. A. Haugan, a native of Norway, aged thirty- 
 two, and John R. Lindgren, aged twenty-four, 
 born in Chicago of Swedish parents. With a 
 modest capital they began the business of bank- 
 ing in a very small way, soliciting at first depos- 
 itors among Chicago's Norwegian, Swedish and 
 Danish population. At the end of one year's 
 business, the deposits of the new bank were $34,- 
 000 and at the close of the second year, $67,000. 
 On these small beginnings, the broad foundations ' 
 for the present large institution were laid. 
 
 On October 1, 1884, Haugan & Lindgren, Bank- 
 ers, announced that the capital stock of their in- 
 stitution had been increased to $100,000, and that 
 ]\rr. H. G. Haugan of Milwaukee, land commis- 
 sioner of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
 Railway Co., had been admitted into the partner- 
 ship. Shortly before this date, the bank had 
 moved from its original quarters at 59 La Salle 
 street, to larger quarters in the Marine Building, 
 at the N. E. corner of Lake and La Salle streets, 
 a location which, with enlargements, remained 
 the bank's home from May 1, 1883, to May 1, 
 1897. With tliis new connection and its increased 
 capital, and with the prestige and confidence 
 earned by five years of successful business, the 
 bank continued in growth and influence, and its 
 total deposits, which in 1883 were $89,000, had 
 grown to $242,500 in 1885, and $346,500 in 1887. 
 Gradually it was acquiring additional business 
 among non-Scandinavians and was extending its 
 clientage among the Swedish, Norwegian and 
 Danish population of Chicago and the Northwest, 
 and these nationalities soon began to look upon 
 Haugan & Lindgren's bank as an institution 
 which they haJ fostered, one eminently worthy 
 of their confidence and representing in a way 
 their own financial stability. 
 
 In 1891 the capital stock of the bank had grown 
 to $200,000 and its deposits to $1,000,000 and the 
 members of the firm concluded that the time had 
 arrived to place their business on a broader basis 
 by incorporating. For this purpose a charter was 
 obtained for the State Bank of Chicago with a 
 
INDUSTRY AND FINANCE 
 
 249 
 
 capital of $500,000 and on Feb. 8, 1891, the busi- 
 ness of Haugan & Lindgren, Bankers, was trans- 
 ferred to the State Bank of Chicago, the presi- 
 dent of which was H. A. Haugan and the cashier, 
 John R. Lindgren. Associated with them in the 
 management of the bank was a board of direc- 
 tors, including among others, Theodore Freeman, 
 A. P. Johnson, A. Jurgens and P. S. Peterson, all 
 Scandinavians of large means and high standing. 
 Many other Scandinavians became interested in 
 the new institution as stockholders and as a re- 
 sult, tlie business of the bank received a great 
 
 k 
 
 
 i««"* 
 
 lifli Hi 
 
 I illll H3i 
 
 I 11311 111! ^^^' 
 
 HIP ys" 1111 
 
 State Bank of Chicago. 
 
 stimulus, so that at the close of the year 1893, 
 tlie deposists had grown to $2,100,000. 
 
 During the ensuing three or four years of hard 
 times, the growth of the bank was slow and de- 
 posits had risen in December, 1896, only to $2,- 
 200,000. 
 
 Brighter times came, however, in 1897, and 
 since then the progress of the bank has been un- 
 interrunted and even phenomenal. The published 
 report of the bank's condition Dec. 4, 1899, 
 showed a capital of $500,000 and surplus and un- 
 divided profits of $333,000, with total deposits of 
 
 $4,700,000. On May, 1897, the bank had grown 
 to a size which demanded larger quarters and 
 these were found on the S. E. Corner of La Salle 
 and Washington streets, in the thoroughly mod- 
 ern Chamber of Commerce Building, in which the 
 bank is still located. Its original offices have 
 been expanded from time to time, until now the 
 bank occupies almost the entire first floor of the 
 building. 
 
 On January 2, 1900, the paid in capital of the 
 bank was raised from $500,000 to $1,000,000. The 
 growth in deposits has continued and is best evi- 
 denced by the following table, showing total de- 
 posits at the dates indicated: 
 
 Jan'y 1, 1902 $ 9,255,546 
 
 July 1, 1902 9,779,967 
 
 Jan'y 1, 1903 10,385,799 
 
 July 1, 1903 11,062,552 
 
 Jan'y 1, 1904 11,265,091 
 
 July 1, 1904 11,827,800 
 
 Jan'y 1, 1905 12,838,995 
 
 July 1, 1905 14,586,853 
 
 Jan'y 1, 1906 15,200,982 
 
 July 1, 1906 16,134,338 
 
 Jan'y 28, 1907 16,623,219 
 
 To handle this volume of business, the State 
 Bank of Chicago now has a stafif of eighty-seven 
 officers and employes. Its work is divided among 
 dififerent departments, such as the Commercial 
 Department, which handles checking accounts 
 and loans and discounts; the Savings Depart- 
 ment, which has 23,500 depositors, the Trust De- 
 partment, which handles estates, wills and agen- 
 cies of many kinds; the Real Estate Loan De- 
 partment, which makes loans on real estate and 
 sells mortgages to investors; the Bond Depart- 
 ment, which buys and sells high grade investment 
 bonds; and the Foreign Department, which is- 
 sues letters of credit and sells drafts on all parts 
 of the world. At the present date, the bank has 
 a capital of $1,000,000, a surplus and undivided 
 profits of $965,000 and total deposits of $16,500,- 
 000. It pays its stockholders dividends at the 
 rate of 8 per cent and its shares, of a par value 
 of $100 each, sell in the open market for $275 a 
 share. The business of the bank is, of course, 
 not exclusively Scandinavian, but it continues to 
 be the leading depository of the Scandinavian 
 people in the United States. Its management is 
 still in the hands of the men who founded the 
 bank twenty-seven 3'cars ago, its active head be- 
 ing Mr. Haugan, the president, associated with 
 whom is Mr. Lindp'ren, who also acts as vice- 
 consul for Sweden at Chicago. 
 
 Henry S. Henschen. 
 
250 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 OTTAWA BANKING & TRUST COMPANY, 
 OTTAWA, ILL. 
 
 This bank was chartered by the auditor of the 
 state of Illinois on the 29th day of January, 1903, 
 and opened its doors for business in the city of 
 Ottawa, La Salle county, on the second day of 
 February, 1903. 
 
 Hon. H. W. Johnson, who is the subject of a 
 sketch elsewhere in this volume, was elected its 
 first president, and has been continuously re- 
 elected since. He is the chief executive officer 
 of the institution, having exclusive charge of the 
 trust and credit departments. Mr. Johnson is 
 known as a safe and conservative man in all his 
 
 Building of Ottawa Banking & Trust Co. 
 
 business affairs, and as a result of the manage- 
 ment which has prevailed the success of the bank 
 in all its departments has been almost phenom 
 enal, so that at this time it is considered one 
 of the most safe and reliable banks in northern 
 Illinois. 
 
 During the summer and fall of 1906 this bank 
 erected a new building on one of the most prom- 
 inent business locations in the city of Ottawa, 
 which it is now occupying as its permanent home. 
 It is one of the best equipped banking rooms 
 anywhere to be found in the West, outside of 
 Chicago. Its Chrome steel safety vault is the 
 largest in La Salle county and thoroughly mod- 
 ern in every respect. 
 
 LEE STATE BANK, LEE, ILL. 
 
 The Village of Lee is a busy town situated 
 on the county line between' the counties of Lee 
 and De Kalb in northern Illinois, almost in the 
 
 very center of the Norwegian settlement of that 
 part of the state. One of the most substantial 
 business institutions of the place is the local 
 bank known by the above name, which was 
 chartered by the state of Illinois and opened for 
 business in the month of November, 1903. It is 
 capitalized for $25,000 and has been a success 
 from the very start. The corporation owns its 
 building", which is a very creditable structure, 
 well equipped with modern fixtures, including 
 safety vaults and one of the best fire and burglar 
 proof safes of its kind manufactured. 
 
 The following well known persons are the 
 principal stockholders: H. A. Hilleson, John Ben- 
 son, E. P. Johnson, O. T. D. Berg, R. Young- 
 gren, T. O. Berg, O. A. Johnson, Henry Kittle- 
 son, J. E. Johnson, H. L. Risetter, S. M. San- 
 derson, Halvor Kittleson, Ole J. Prestegaard and 
 H. W. Johnson. 
 
 The present officers are as follows: Hon. H. 
 W. Johnson, Ottawa, 111., president; H. A. Hil- 
 leson, vice-president; S. M. Sanderson, cashier; 
 F. A. Bach, assistant cashier. The two last- 
 named gentlemen are the active officers of the 
 bank. 
 
 THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LE- 
 LAND, ILL. 
 
 Was organized oii August 9, 1905, with a capital 
 of $30,000. 
 
 The promoters were Willis C. Farley, Ole Ben- 
 son, Enoch C. Grover, Charles Kittleson and 
 Noah G. Klove. The bank opened for business 
 on Nov. 1, 1905. Its directors are: Willis C. 
 Farley, A. H. Karn, Stephen Hum, Ole Benson, 
 Charles Kittleson, John A. Olson and Harrj' W. 
 Watts. 
 
 The officers are: Stephen Hum, president; Wil- 
 lis C. Farley, vice-president; George O. Grover, 
 cashier. 
 
 Although comparatively new, the bank seems 
 to prosper and gain confidence. 
 
 FARMERS & MERCHANTS BANK, 
 LELAND, ILLINOIS. 
 
 The Farmers and Merchants State Bank of 
 Leland, Illinois, was organized June 4th, 1902, 
 with a capital stock of $25,000 by being success- 
 ors to the Leland Bank, Thompson and Ander- 
 son proprietors, who opened same during the 
 year 1895. 
 
 The new bank has been very successful and 
 every year since the first year has declared a 
 
INDUSTRY AND FINANCE 
 
 251 
 
 satisfactory dividend. It has been well patron- 
 ized by the people, and has taken its place in the 
 financial world with the confidence of the public 
 and been conducted by sound and conservative 
 banking methods. 
 
 Its officers are: T. F. Thompson, president; 
 A. M. Klove, vice-president; A. N. Anderson, 
 cashier, and H. R. Thompson, assistant cashier. 
 
 LEE ADVERTISING COMPANY, 
 
 Chicago, is the only Norwegian advertising con- 
 cern in this country doing a general advertising 
 business. 
 
 The business was started by L. J. Lee and his 
 three sons in 1895. The first year they occupied 
 offices in the Times Building, but since 1896 their 
 offices have been in the Unity Building, 79-81 
 Dearborn street. The business was first confined 
 to the Scandinavian papers published in this 
 country, but the other foreign language papers 
 were soon added to the list, and gradually the 
 newspapers and magazines published in the Eng- 
 lish language in the United States and Canada 
 were added. 
 
 The Lee Advertising Company is publishing 
 annually one directory of newspapers and maga- 
 zines in the foreign languages and another direc- 
 tory of newspapers and magazines in the English 
 
 language. A monthly list with current rates and 
 circulation ratings of the leading newspapers and 
 magazines of the United States and Canada is 
 also published. 
 
 Their foreign language newspaper directory is 
 the only one of its kind published in this country 
 and is recognized by advertisers as the standard 
 directory for this class of papers. 
 
 The advertising business of this country has 
 been growing very fast during the last 10 years, 
 and the Lee Advertising Company has been 
 growing with it. 
 
 They are now placing advertising for a large 
 number of advertisers from various parts of the 
 country. They also frequently receive advertis- 
 ing orders from Europe, especially from the Scan- 
 dinavian countries and they also place advertising 
 in papers in the European countries. Their offi- 
 ces occupy the north wing on the eight floor of 
 the Unity Building and they employ a large force 
 in their offices. The three sons have each charge 
 of a separate department in the office, for which 
 their father L. J. Lee up to the time of his death 
 in December, 1906, was general manager. 
 
 Among their stafif are several well known Nor- 
 wegians, O. M. Peterson, Martin N. Seehuus and 
 Alfred A. Solum. Mr. Peterson is known as an 
 accomplished linguist and when foreign language 
 advertising is made up and placed, his accom- 
 plishment comes in good stead. Mr. Seehuus 
 and Mr. Solum are among their best advertising 
 solicitors. 
 
PART II. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
 AND PORTRAITS 
 
Biography is the only true history. 
 
 — Emerson. 
 
 The history of a country is best told in a 
 record of the lives of its people. 
 
 — Macauley. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 HAUMAN G. HAUGAN. 
 His biographical sketch appears in its alphabetical order. 
 
258 
 
 A HTSrORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 REV. TORLEIF AARRESTAD, 
 
 Of Morris, was born at Thime, Jederen, Norway, 
 April 12, 1860. His father was Torger and his 
 mother Serina (Undem), Aarrestad. He attended 
 the public country schools from his 7th to 
 his 14th 3'ear, when he was confirmed, in Octo- 
 
 Rev. Aarrestad married Barbara Olsen, June 
 24, 1896. They have had four children, namely: 
 Thorvald, Olga, Karl Johan and William, the 
 latter having passed away. 
 
 Rev. Torleif Aarrestad. 
 
 ber, 1874. He attended a high school at Sandnes 
 during the winter of 1877-78, and in August of 
 that year was admitted to a teachers' Seminary 
 in Christiansand, from which he graduated in 
 July, 1880. He taught school in Eide and Grim- 
 stad from January, 1S81, to July, 1884, when he 
 came to Ainerica. Here he entered Augsburg 
 Seminary, at Minneapolis, Minn., Oct. 1, 1884 and 
 graduated in May, 1888, when he took up a the- 
 ological course and passed the final examination 
 in May, 1891. He was ordained as a minister of 
 the United Norwegian Lutheran Church at Ken- 
 yon, Minn., in June of the same year. He took 
 up pastoral work in Chicago in July, 1891, and re- 
 mained for over two years, when he accepted a 
 call to Morris, 111., where he serves two congre- 
 gations, the Bethlehem and Hauge's. During this 
 period he also attended the Lutheran Theological 
 Seminary at Lake View. 
 
 OLAI MARTIN AARVIG, 
 
 Of Pontiac, 111., was born on the Atlantic Ocean 
 on June 22, 18r0. His father, Ole Aarvig, of Stav- 
 anger, Norway, and his mother, Rachel New- 
 gaard, from the same place, came to America in 
 that year, and it was on this voyage that the sub- 
 ject of our sketch was born. They settled in 
 Livingston county, near Pontiac, where they lived 
 until 1905, when they bought a farm in North 
 Dakota. Olai is the oldest child of six. He was 
 educated in the district schools and worked on 
 the farm until attaining his majority. 
 
 Olai Martin Aarvig. 
 
 Being of a studious nature he took a course in 
 electrical iTght and power engineering from a 
 correspondence school and received a diploma as 
 electrical engineer in 1905, having averaged 97-99 
 in his studies all the time. Before he entered 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 259 
 
 said course of study he had been employed as a 
 superintendent of the Rock Falls municipal light 
 and power plant for six years. He was offered in 
 1905 a position as electrician with the Pontiac 
 Light and Water Company at an increased sal- 
 ary, which he accepted and is still holding. This 
 plant is the largest one in Pontiac, furnishing 
 electric light and water to the city and also 
 power to the Bloomington, Pontiac and Joliet 
 Electric Railroad. 
 
 Mr. Aarvig has made several inventions and 
 improvements along his profession, on which he 
 holds patent rights and for which he draws roy- 
 alties. When he took the correspondence course 
 he was not hampered by any great amount ot" 
 scientific learning, but he had the advantage of 
 practical experience. He is a self-made nian and 
 a splendid example of what Norse energy can do 
 when transplanted to the fertile soil of America. 
 Being a single man, he resides with his unqle at 
 Pontiac. 
 
 RASMUS OLSON AARVIG, 
 
 The real estate dealer and farmer at Pontiac, 111., 
 was bora in Tysvser parish, Stavanger amt, Nor- 
 way, July 21, 1861. His parents were Ole Olson 
 and Bertha Knudsdatter Aarvig, farmers in Nor- 
 way. He attended the common schools and was 
 confirmed in Tysvasr Lutheran Church. At 19 
 years of age he came to America, coming via New 
 York and Chicago, direct to Pontiac, where he 
 arrived on June 2, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Aarvig commenced his career in America 
 by working for different farmers in Livingston 
 county until 1883, when he began farming for 
 himself, at first renting the land. 
 
 During this time he bought, as a speculation, a 
 farm in Swift county, Minnesota, which he sold 
 at a profit two years afterward. In 1890 he 
 bought a farm of 160 acres in Livingston county, 
 Illinois, and settled upon it, but was soon offered 
 a good price and sold again, buying next a farm 
 in Lee county, Illinois, which he kept for four 
 years, but never moved upon the place. 
 
 Selling his Lee county farm, he bought one in 
 Rock Creek township, Livingston county, which 
 he still owns. 
 
 Mr. Aarvig married Miss Anna Ryerson, of the 
 same township, Livingston county, Jan 13, 1888. 
 They have five children, all living, namely: Bes- 
 sie Lillian, Truman Obed, Anna Ruth, Harold 
 Enok and Bernard Orvel. 
 
 Mrs. Aarvig passed away Dec. 14, 1904, The 
 children are having the advantages of the best 
 schools in Pontiac, the oldest having graduated 
 from the Pontiac High School. Our subject is a 
 faithful church worker, being a member of Hau- 
 ges Church and Synod. The loss of his wife was 
 a severe blow to Mr. Aarvig, but with his chil- 
 dren about him he nobly works for their progress 
 in the memory of his devoted helpmate. 
 
 He is a member of the Rook Creek Lutheran 
 
 Rasmus Aarvig. 
 
 Church, of which he has been trustee, secretary 
 and superintendent of the Sunday school. He 
 has also been secretary for the district board of 
 school directors and a member of the township 
 board of trustees. He is a staunch republican, 
 having often been a delegate to its conventions. 
 
 He is liberal in his contributions to church and 
 charitable causes, especially locally. He is also 
 a member of the Y. M. C. A. 
 
 The family resides' in Pontiac. 
 
 ANDREW ABRAHAMSEN, 
 
 The hustling housemover at 114 N. Ashland ave- 
 nue, Chicago, was born in Moland, South Undal, 
 
260 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Norway, Sept. 5, 1844, his parents being Abraham 
 and Anne Tonette Evenson. He attended the 
 public schools in Norway and when 17 years old 
 began in a butcher shop in Christiansand, where 
 he remained for ten years. 
 
 He came to Chicago on May 22, 1873, and 
 -worked in the C. & N. W. Ry. freight house for 
 >one year. He then learned the method of house- 
 
 emigrated to America, in 1884. Upon arrival here 
 he worked on farms in 1884-5. After that he 
 planted tobacco on shares for one year. He 
 then went to Minnesota and Dakota, where he 
 worked on farms, also at painting and railroad- 
 work, until 1887. He then returned to Chicago, 
 where he was employed in various ways until 
 1895, when he started in the hoisting-machine 
 business for himself. 
 
 Andrew Abrahamsen. 
 
 Andrew Adams. 
 
 moving, and has been engaged in that business 
 in his own name for over twenty-four years. He 
 served in the Norwegiaai army for five years. 
 He is a member and trustee of the Chosen 
 Friends Lodge No. 170, Knights of Pythias. 
 
 He married Anna Gustava Larson July 16, 
 1874. They have had four children, three boys 
 and one girl, but all died before reaching their 
 7th year. 
 
 Mr. Adams is a 32d-degree Mason; belongs to 
 the Oriental Consistory and the Medinah Temple 
 Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of the Mac- 
 cabees, and the North Ainerican Union. 
 
 He was married to Emma Matson on Dec. 11, 
 1897. 
 
 They have three children, namely, Emil An- 
 drew, 7 years; Gustav Adolph, 5 years; Theodor 
 Edward, 2 years old. The familj^ attends the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 ANDREW ADAMS 
 
 Was born in Langeland, Tysnges, Norway, Aug. 
 9, 1859, his parents being Andrew Johannesen and 
 Lyneva Langeland. He worked on his father's 
 farm and vessels until 25 years old, when he 
 
 JOHN ANDA 
 
 was born at Engesund, near Bergen, Norway, 
 Oct. 30, 1863. He came to America in 1880, in 
 advance of his parents and brothers. He worked 
 for different parties and was connected foi fifteen 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 261 
 
 John Anda. 
 
 A. H. Anderson. 
 
 years with Earl Bros., the Commission Mer- 
 chants. He engaged in the same business for 
 himself in 1898 and is continuing it mi the Ogden 
 building, where he first located. 
 
 He married on July 4, 1885, Miss Anna A'lon- 
 sen, of Hardanger, Norway. They have six chil- 
 dren, all living. Mr. Anda is a member of the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he and 
 his family attend the Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 ^ 
 
 AXEL HAROLD ANDERSON 
 
 Was born at Helger0n, near Laurvig, Norway, 
 March 28, 1856. His father, Frederick Otto An- 
 derson, was a shipbuilder in Norway. His moth- 
 er's maiden name was Judith Hansen. He at- 
 tended the common schools in Norway, but came 
 to America with his parents in 1868, when only 12 
 years old. They landed at Quebec and came 
 direct to Chicago. Here Axel attended school 
 for a time and was confirmed in Krohn's Church, 
 May and Erie streets. At the age of 14 he was 
 apprenticed as a moulder with David Humphry, 
 in the Lind Building, at Randolph and Market 
 streets. He remained until 1874 and then worked 
 
 in other brass foundries until he was 20 years old, 
 when he started in business for himself, and has 
 kept at it since. At the present time he occupies 
 two buildings, one at 52 No. Ann street and the 
 other at 339 Fulton street. The Ann street place 
 is used for assembling and machine work; the 
 other for moulding and foundry work. 
 
 Mr. Anderson married (in Chicago) Vena Sto- 
 veland, from Mandal, Norway. She is a daughter 
 of Evan and Elizabeth Stoveland. They have- 
 three children — Maud Judith, born Nov. 16'„ 
 1891; Irene Mary, Nov. 6, 1893; Frederick Ray- 
 mond, Nov. 26, 1895. Mr. Anderson's father died 
 in 1870, his mother in 1884. The family resides 
 at 779 North Fairfield Ave. 
 
 AUGUSTUS GORDON ANDERSON. 
 
 Born at Tvedestrand, Norway, Aug. 27, 1859. 
 His father's name was Andrew Anderson. His 
 mother's name, Anna Thorine Anderson. His 
 father was a sailor. His parents came to this 
 country in 1862 and located at Milwaukee, Wis. 
 He attended public school there about two years. 
 His early education was very limited. He started 
 
262 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 to learn the carpenter trade when 15 years old. 
 Worked at the trade until 20. Left Milwaukee 
 for Chicago when 18, and worked at his trade 
 in Chicago for two years. Having accumulated 
 some money, he concluded to obtain an educa- 
 tion. In the fall of 1879 he entered the prepar- 
 atory department of the University of Chicago. 
 
 A. G. Anderson. 
 
 He was then 20. Graduated from this department 
 in the spring of ISS^i, and in the succeeding fall 
 he entered the freshman class of the university. 
 Received a degree of bachelor of science from 
 the University in the spring of 1886. Afterward 
 he read law in the law office of Alonzo A. Ex- 
 line, in Chicago, and was admitted to the bar in 
 1888. He has pursued the general practice of 
 law since then. In 1890 he formed a partnership 
 with Frederick W. Proudfoot, under the firm 
 name of Anderson & Proudfoot, with offices in 
 the Bryan Block, which partnership was dissolved 
 in 1896. Since then he has been practicing alone. 
 His office is at 145 La Salle street, suite 712 and 
 713. 
 
 Mr. Anderson has been actively engaged in 
 politics for the past eleven years, under the 
 leadership of Governor Charles S. Deneen. Was 
 in 1897 appointed by Judge Carter appraiser un- 
 
 der the inheritance-tax law of Illinois, which po- 
 sition he has held ever since. He has been actively 
 engaged in all movements for political and civic 
 improvements in Chicago. Was in January, 1905, 
 appointed by the Englewood charter committee, 
 with four other attorneys, to look into the munic- 
 ipal court bill, which had been introduced in the 
 legislature at Springfield, and suggest amend- 
 ments and changes if necessary. They suggested 
 and prepared several changes and amendments 
 which were incorporated in the measure, which 
 was passed by the legislature. He has never held 
 an elective public office. He is a member of the 
 Masonic, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
 and the Knights of Pythias fraternities. He has 
 held the office of noble grand in the Odd Fellows' 
 lodge and of chancellor commander in the 
 Knights of Pythias lodge. 
 
 He was married in August, 1895, to Ferdinanda 
 Knopp, daugther of William Knopp, of Chicago. 
 They have one daughter, Lorna Elizabeth An- 
 derson, 9 years old. The family are at present 
 living at 325 W. Garfield boulevard. 
 
 ANDREW N. ANDERSON. 
 
 Mr. A. N. Anderson was born in Adams town- 
 ship. La Salle county, March 17, 1855. His par- 
 ents were Nelson and Ann (Quam) Anderson, 
 both natives of Norway. 
 
 His father came to this country in 1845 and his 
 mother in 1842. They were married in De Kalb 
 county, where they lived for some time and then 
 inoved to Adams township. La Salle county. 
 Nelson Anderson was a farmer and died in 1864, 
 at the age of 44, leaving his wife with six chil- 
 dren, namely: Sophia B., Mattie S., Andrew N., 
 John N., Nelsey M., and Lorinda S. All are now 
 deceased except our subject and John N., who 
 farms the old homestead. ' His mother, at the 
 age of 75, is still living, at Leland, having built 
 herself a home there in 1900. 
 
 Mr. Anderson of this sketch was raised on the 
 farm and educated at Leland. He continued 
 farming until 22 years of age. In the fall of 1883 
 he and Thomas F. Thompson formed a partner- 
 ship, he buying out Thompson's former partner, 
 Mr. Buland, in the grain business, from which 
 time the firm name was Thompson & Anderson, 
 Bankers and Grain Merchants. In 1896 they 
 established the Leland Bank which in 1902 was 
 incorporated as the Farmers & Merchants' State 
 Bank, of which Mr. Anderson is cashier. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 263 
 
 Mr. Anderson has been a resident of Leiand 
 since 1883. He has served as. supervisor, first 
 appointed to fill the vacancy upon the resigna- 
 tion of ex-Judge H. W. Johnson and afterward 
 elected for a full term. He was a trustee of the 
 village board for two years, and its president. 
 
 A. N. Anderson. 
 
 In 1884 he married Anna Vald, who died in 
 1897, leaving three children — Vira A., Nelson 
 C. and Nieda J. 
 
 Mr. Anderson is a republican politically, and 
 has held many responsible offices aside from 
 those already mentioned. He and his family are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 in a cotton mill in Wesfossen. After the age of 
 15 he worked as gun-maker in Drammen for five 
 years, during which time he also studied ma- 
 chine designing at evening schools. He served 
 seven years in the infantry with the Norwegian 
 Armj' and worked in different machine shops in 
 Norway until 1880, when he came to America, 
 reaching Chicago on June 12. He was married 
 to Miss Jennie Emelia, daughter of Andres and 
 Bertha Olina Munson, in Christiania, Norway, 
 May 19, 1874. They have two children, Axel 
 Olaf, born in Norway, and Arthur Mathews, born 
 in Chicago in 1883. The eldei' son is married to 
 Caroline Heppler, of Chicago. In September of 
 the year in which our subject came to Chicago he 
 was appointed superintendent for the Roth Mc- 
 Mahon Machine Company and was placed in 
 charge of the department of bakery machinery. 
 He remained with this firm for fourteen years, 
 or until 1894, when he engaged in the same busi- 
 
 HANS MARTIN LOUIS ANDERSON 
 
 H. M. L. Anderson. 
 
 Was born in Christiania, Norway, May 20, 1848. 
 His parents were Lars and Maren Torina (nee 
 Hakenson) Anderson. His father was a saw- 
 mill master in Norway, and from him our sub- 
 ject inherited his love for machinery. He attended 
 the common school and was confirmed in Nor- 
 way, but at the age, of 12 years he began work 
 
 ness for himself, under the firm name of the In- 
 dependent Cracker Machine Company, of which 
 Mr. Anderson has been president since. He has 
 patented a few appliances, such as breadmould- 
 ing and cracker machinery. He is a Mason, a 
 ■member of the Royal League, and a trustee of 
 Alsian Lodge, Knights and Ladies of Honor. 
 
264 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 His father died in Norway in 1860. His mother 
 is still living in Eidegaarden, Vestre Aker, Nor- 
 way. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's machine shop, which will be 
 referred to in another part of this history, is at 
 147 Fulton street. The family resides at 470 
 Austin avenue. 
 
 MRS. ISABELLA ATLANTA ANDERSON 
 
 Divides the distinction of having been born on 
 the Atlantic Ocean with the renowned "Sloop 
 
 Mrs. Isabella Anderson. 
 
 Girl," Mrs. Atwater, mentioned in the first part 
 of this volume . This fact also explains her some- 
 what unusual middle name, Atlanta. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson was born on board the Nor- 
 wegian steamer "Norge," May 21, 1861, while her 
 parents were on their way to America. Her 
 father is Mr. K. B. Olson, a well known manu- 
 facturing tailor, of this city, and her mother's 
 maiden name was Miss Susan Stene. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson received her education in the 
 Chicago public schools and was confirmed in the 
 first Norwegian Lutheran church on the North 
 side by Rev. Mikkelsen. 
 
 When twenty years of age she was joined in 
 holy wedlock to Mr. Hans Ludvig Anderson, 
 May 24, 1881. Her husband hailed from Fossen, 
 Norway, and became a very prominent business 
 man in Chicago, being engaged in the wholesale 
 booth and shoe business, at his death, which oc- 
 curred Feb. 4, 190.3, leaving his familjr amply 
 provided for. 
 
 This marital union was blessed with three 
 children; one son and two daughters: Cyrus A., 
 born March 4, 1884; Irene Harriet, Febr. 3, 1888, 
 and Grace Susette, Febr. 17, 1892. 
 
 i\Irs. Anderson's mother departed this life on 
 July 19, 1906, but her father is still living and 
 active in business. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson has never cared much about 
 social clubs or distinctions, her inclinations hav- 
 ing been more toward the duties of a good house- 
 wife and mother. When it came to charitable 
 work, she has, however, been very much inter- 
 ested. She was one of the first two lady mem- 
 bers on the board of directors of the Norwegian 
 Old People's Home Society, on which she has 
 served for a number of years. She has also been 
 interested in the Norwegian Lutheran Children's 
 Home Society and other charitable work among 
 her countrymen. 
 
 With her family Mrs. Anderson attends the 
 Wicker Park English Lutheran Church and re- 
 sides in her own home at 98 Fowler street. 
 
 JONAS ANTON ANDERSON, 
 
 The manufacturer of cameras and photographic 
 specialties at 65 E. Indiana street, Chicago, was 
 born Nov. 28, 1840, to Peter and Margrette Ander- 
 son, of Christiania, Norway. The parents came to 
 America, with the subject of our sketch, in 1852, 
 locating in Detroit, Mich., where they landed in. 
 July. Jonas had attended school in Norway and 
 for some time went to school in Detroit, but at 
 the age of 14 he was apprenticed to learn the 
 carpenter trade. After five years in Detroit he 
 came to Chicago, in 1857. Here he continued to 
 work at his' trade until 1862, when he engaged in 
 the building business on his own account. In 
 1869 he started the making of cameras and other 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 2G5 
 
 photographic supplies, whicli he has followed 
 since with great artistic and financial success. He 
 is credited with having made the largest camera 
 in the world, which at the time attracted the at- 
 tention of experts and photographers everywhere. 
 He has repeatedly been favorably written up in 
 
 J. A. Anderson. 
 
 trade papers, magazines and journals in all lan- 
 guages of the civilized world. He was awarded 
 a gold medal at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 
 for a camera which did photo-mechanical work. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was married to Sarah C. Nichol- 
 son, of Chicago, May 24, 1864. They have had 
 six children, namely: Sadie M., born March 21, 
 1.865; John A., Nov. 8, 1867; Annie I., Jan. 8, 1869; 
 Arthur P., Aug. 8, 1872; Walter E., Nov. 8, 1875; 
 Christine, May, 1881. John A., died in San Fran- 
 cisco, Cal., Nov. 4, 1903, and Christine in July, 
 1881. His youngest son, Walter E. Anderson, 
 has mastered his father's business and is now as- 
 sociated with him. The family resides at 2612 
 Lowell avenue. 
 
 Mr. Anderson's mother died in Detroit in 185S 
 and his father in Chicago in 1889. 
 
 Mr. Anderson is a Mason and a Knight Temp- 
 lar. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN ANDERSON 
 
 Was born at Hafslu'nd, near Fredriksstad, Nor- 
 way, April 17, 1837. His father. Christian An- 
 derson, was a gardner. His mother's maiden 
 name was Elizabeth ^Mathilda Widdiug. His 
 father died when John was 7 years old and his 
 mother when he was in his 11th year. The sub- 
 ject of this sketch was the youngest of six chil- 
 dren. After his mother's death his oldest broth- 
 er, Carl, married and took care of John, bringing 
 him to Fredriksstad, where he attended the pub- 
 lic schools and was confirmed at 14 years. At 
 that age he was sent to sea as cabin boy on a 
 sailing vessel, the Celeritas, Captain Stang, of 
 Fredriksstad, in charge. The first voyage lasted 
 nine months, the vessel returning from Buenos 
 Ayres at Christmas time. The next voyage was 
 to Paris, France, with a cargo of ice. He after- 
 ward sailed with various vessels to many ports. 
 
 Capt. John Anderson. 
 
 and once was shipwrecked in the North Sea. 
 The ship was abandoned and the crew rescued 
 by a passing vessel from Krageroe. The following 
 sprino- he went to England, and from there sailed 
 to the Philippines and the East Indies. After 
 unloading a cargo of coal they took on a cargo 
 
266 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 of earth oil consigned for England, but had to 
 abandon the ship on the east coast of Africa, 
 the crew being picked up by a Bark from Breh- 
 men and landed on St. Helena, whence they 
 sailed for England and finally got home to Nor- 
 way. That winter the Captain spent at a school 
 of navigation, and the following year, 1857, he 
 came to America, arriving in Chicago June 7. 
 
 He sailed on the lakes until 1860, when he was 
 placed in command of the steamer Hercules. In 
 18G8 he bought the brig Montezuma, and later a 
 controlling interest in the schooner Hanson and 
 the A. N. J. Stronock, all of which he sold two 
 years later. He was then appointed harbor mas- 
 ter by Mayor John A. Roach. Later he was con- 
 nected with Peabody, Houghteling & Co. in the 
 real estate business, and three years later opened 
 an office for himself, at Erie street and Center 
 Avenue. In 1897 he was elected Alderman for 
 the Fifteenth Ward and served one term. 
 
 Nov. 1, 1857, he married Miss Maria Olson, 
 born at Skien, Norway, April 11, 1838. They 
 have had nine children — six sons and three 
 daughters — all, with the exception of one 
 daughter, living. 
 
 His children are all married and have families, 
 one son, Henry C, being employed in the county 
 clerk's office. Martin J. has been in Alaska for 
 over ten years. The other four are engaged in 
 the tailoring business under the firm name of A. 
 E. Anderson & Co., at 16 Adams street. 
 
 Capt. and Mrs. Anderson are members of Our 
 Savior's Church. 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON, 
 
 The publisher of Skandinaven, was born at Voss, 
 Norway. INIarch 22, 1836. His father was An- 
 drew and his mother Laura (Sampson) Ander- 
 son. He came to Chicago with his parents in 
 July, 1845, and attended Wilder's school at ir- 
 regular intervals during a period of about two 
 years. The elder Mr. Anderson was taken sick 
 with the cholera and died in 1849, whereupon 
 young John, then at the age of thirteen, had the 
 burden of supporting a mother and a baby sister 
 placed upon him. Nothing daunted, however, he 
 went cheerfully to work, peddling apples, work- 
 ing in a butcher shop and carrying newspapers. 
 The first lesson in his long newspaper career he 
 received as carrier for Father Dutch's Commer- 
 cial Advertiser, when the whole edition of that 
 
 publication was handled by two delivery routes, 
 John Anderson distributing on the South and 
 West Sides. He recalls with considerable inter- 
 est that he had one subscriber as far west as 
 Halsted and Randolph streets. After about six 
 months of this work he was made "printers' 
 devil" and thereby secured an opportunity to 
 "learn the case" and study the art of distribut- 
 ing and setting type. It was also his task to 
 cart the seven-column forms from the office at 
 77 Lake street to Zebina Eastman's press room, 
 near the corner of Ra'iidolph and Clark streets, 
 where he carried the forms up the three flights 
 
 John Anderson. 
 
 of stairs. He later secured emplo3anent in Ben 
 Seaton's job office, which was then a part of the 
 old Argus plant. 
 
 A year later the Argus and Seaton's job of- 
 fice were sold to Scripps & Bross, who were 
 publishers of The Democratic Press. Mr. An- 
 derson was included in the transfer and worked 
 under William H. Austin and later under Cyrus 
 Bradley Langley as foremen, when The Demo- 
 cratic Press and The Tribune consolidated under 
 the hyphenated name of The Press-Tribune, with 
 John L. Scripps as managing editor and moving 
 spirit. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 267 
 
 By this time Mr. Anderson had become a 
 journeyman printer. He continued in this capac- 
 ity, holding the "ad" case, working early and 
 late, until in 1866, when, on May 2, he com- 
 menced the publication of Skandinaven, which 
 has grown under Mr. Anderson's guidance and 
 watchful care until it today is the most influential 
 Scandinavian newspaper in America, being issued 
 daily, Sunday and semi-weekly. 
 
 In the great fire in 1871, Mr. Anderson lost his 
 whole plant, but he borrowed money and re- 
 established the paper. 
 
 Mr. Anderson has always been a consistent 
 republican, and has loyally supported the party 
 ticket, excepting where a candidate with an un- 
 clean record has been nominated. He has never 
 sought nor would accept public office except oc- 
 casionally going as a delegate to conventions. 
 He was five successive terms treasurer of the 
 Chicago Typographical Union and president of 
 the Old-Time Printers' Society for three terms. 
 
 Mr. Anderson has been married twice, first in 
 1859 to Maria C. Frank, of Racine, Wis., who 
 died in 1874. Two children were born to them, 
 a son, Franklin Seward, Aug. 18, 1860, now man- 
 ager of the advertising department of Skandina- 
 ven, and one daughter, who died in infancy. 
 
 In 1875 Mr. Anderson married Julia Sampson, 
 his present wife. Four children were born of 
 this union, three of whom are living: Maria 
 (Mamie), born March 1, 1876, married to Mr. 
 Arthur Eilert, with the American Trust and 
 Savings Bank; O. Louis M., born Aug. 14, 1883, 
 working in the office of Skandinaven, and John 
 A., born March 8, 1890, who is attending the 
 Thomas Hoyne Manual Training High School. 
 
 The good and valuable services which Mr. An- 
 derson has rendered his countrymen, both in 
 America and, when need existed, in Norway, 
 have been recognized on several occasions. One 
 was when Skandinaven completed one-third of a 
 century, on May 2, 1899. Prominent Scandinav- 
 ians in Chicago came together and deemed it be- 
 fitting that the occasion should be celebrated in 
 the honor of the paper as well as its creator. 
 A committee of arrangements was appointed to 
 invite prominent Norwegians all over the United 
 States to join in a banquet at the Sherman 
 House, Chicago, in honor of John Anderson and 
 Skandinaven. 
 
 The invitation was eagerly responded to, and 
 on May 2, 1899, representative Norwegians, 
 Swedes, Danes, and Americans numbering- 470 
 persons sat down to a sumptuous banquet. The 
 ■chief speaker of the occasion was United States 
 
 senator Knute Nelson, of Minnesota, from whose 
 splendid oration we glean a couple of paragraphs: 
 
 "If I were to point out one man of our na- 
 tionality who has done more than any other to 
 educate and enlighten his compatriots, my first 
 choice would without hesitation be the guest in 
 whose honor we have gathered this evening, 
 Mr. John Anderson." 
 
 "Skandinaven is today one of those broad, 
 sober and intellectual papers to which we look 
 for leaders of our people. It is the largest 
 Scandinavian paper both as to size, contents and 
 circulation, and we certainly have every reason 
 for being proud of the fact, that it is the largest 
 Norwegian paper in the world." 
 
 Another occasion, when John Anderson's good 
 work was recognized, occurred in 1903, when 
 King Oscar conferred upon him the order of 
 Sankt Olaf. At that time the Norwegian Old 
 Settlers' Societ}'- published the following congrat- 
 ulation in the Chicago daily papers, which speaks 
 for itself: 
 
 "We, the Norwegian Old Settlers' Society of 
 Chicago, hereby extend to our beloved fellow 
 member, 
 
 Mr. John Anderson, 
 
 our sincere congratulations upon the fact that 
 His Majesty, King Oscar of Norway and Sweden, 
 has recently conferred upon him the distinguished 
 Order of St. Olaf. We recognize in the con- 
 ferring of this distinction upon Mr. Anderson a 
 fitting tribute to him for his services during a 
 period of many years in the interests of our 
 countrymen in the United States, and for his 
 efforts for the alleviation of suffering among his 
 countrymen in the land of his adoption as well 
 as in his native land beyond the sea. 
 
 We also extend to him our sympathy in his 
 present illness, and hope for him a speedy re- 
 covery and many years of continued usefulness 
 in our midst. 
 
 Peter M. Balken, Pres., 
 Capt. John Anderson, Sec." 
 
 NILS ANTON ANDERSON 
 
 Was born at Westra Barum, near Christiania, 
 Norway, Jan. 2, 1852. His father was 0sten and" 
 his mother Christine Anderson. After having 
 been confirmed he learned the trade of a shoe- 
 
268 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 maker and also served in the army, where he rose 
 to be a corporal. After some years he opened a 
 shoe-making establishment of his own. This 
 business did not prove as satisfactory in a pecun- 
 iary way as Mr. Anderson had expected, so he 
 concluded to try his fortune in America. In Nor- 
 way he had been married to Miss Dorothea Ol- 
 
 N. A. Anderson. 
 
 sen, of Christiania. Mr. Anderson left Chris- 
 tiania alone in May, 1882, but in September of the 
 same year he had saved up enough money to send 
 for his wife and their two children, who arrived 
 in October of the same year. The family settlefl 
 in the little town of Millington, in Kendall Coun- 
 t3% and remained there for two years. During 
 this time two more children were born to them. 
 They now moved to Chicago, where Mr. Ander 
 son worked in the Ludlow shoe factory, and af- 
 ter several years, when the same was moved to 
 Elgin, he also went there and was employed in 
 the same factory, which now belongs to Selz, 
 Schwab & Co., until in 1005, when in the spring 
 he was appointed janitor of the City Hall of El- 
 gin. 
 
 The family has been on the increase all th? 
 time and the number of children is now ten: 
 Inga A., born 1880; Carl H., 1882; Mathilde P., 
 1883; 0sten O., 1885; Arthur D., 1887; Sophie G. 
 
 1889; Hannah K., 1891: Louis A., 1893; Morris E., 
 1894; Mabel D., born 1895. 
 
 Notwithstanding the expense such a family of 
 necessity must entail, Mr. Anderson has been able 
 to build his own home, at 678 Congdon avenue. 
 The two oldest daughters are married, but the 
 other eight children live with their parents. Mr. 
 Anderson is a member of the Royal Arcanum and 
 Knights of Pythias, and the family attends the 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church at Elgin. 
 
 OSCAR CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN 
 
 Was born in Christiania, Norway, IMarch 2, 1847. 
 He mastered the trade of a painter and decorator 
 in the old country and came to America with his 
 parents in 18G5. They first settled in ^^ermont, 
 but later came on to Chicago, where Mr. Ander- 
 sen has resided since. 
 
 .v^"- 
 
 •*™Ik 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 1^ 
 
 _ 
 
 ^^- ^^gi a^H 
 
 
 KMEp 
 
 .—aitlm ^ . jAHhj^^BM^^^H 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 ^^F 
 
 
 
 '^l 
 
 ^^H^V^Q^^Bl^^^HI 
 
 
 I... - 
 
 Oscar Andersen and niece, Stella. 
 
 He engaged at once in the painting and decor- 
 ating business and has continued in it, but during 
 the past five years he has given much time to 
 real estate and similar transactions. He mar- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 269 
 
 ried Albertina Jensen, of Drammen, in 1867. He 
 owns and occupies a cozy home at 957 Carmen 
 avenue, in Argyle Park. 
 
 Mrs. .A-ndersen died in 1906. 
 
 OWEN ANDERSON, 
 
 Of Ottawa, 111., was born in Serena township, La 
 Salle County, 111., July 30, 1865. He is a son of 
 Ole and Anna (Helgeland) Anderson, farmers. 
 
 Owen Anderson. 
 
 He attended the public schools until 17 years of 
 age, was for one term a student at the normal 
 school at Morris, 111., and then took a four-year 
 course at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. His 
 youth was spent in farming, going to and teach- 
 ing school. 
 
 He began his active work as a school teacher 
 in Nettle Creek township, Grundy County, Illi- 
 nois, in September, 1887, and has been a practic- 
 ing attorney-at-law in Ottawa, Ills., since Sep- 
 tember, 1897. 
 
 He was married to Belle Nelson, of Morris, 111., 
 July 5, 1891. His wife is a daughter of Erick C. 
 
 and Ingeborg Nelson, of Morris. Our subject 
 was elected secretary of the Fox River Valley 
 District Luther League of Northern Illinois in 
 May, 1897, and has been re-elected each year 
 since. He is president of the board of trustees 
 of the Trinity Lutheran Church of Ottawa. His 
 father died in Ford County, 111., Sept. 13, 1872, 
 and his mother in Serena township, Sept. 17, 1897. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have been blessed with 
 three children, all living, namely: Oscar Elmer, 
 born Sept. 7, 1892; Ella Anna, Nov. 14, 1896; 
 Olive Irene, Oct. 2, 1903. The family resides at 
 621 Marcy street, Ottawa, 111. 
 
 5£^ 
 
 NILS ARNESON 
 
 Was born on a farm (Steensmyhren), near Dram- 
 men, Norway, in 1840. His parents were Arne 
 and Anna Nilson. He went to school until he 
 
 Nils Arneson. 
 
 was confinned. He learned his trade as a wagon- 
 maker in Christiania. Came to America on a sail- 
 ship in 1861. Worked in Chicago to the fall of 
 the same year. Enlisted in Co. A., Fifteenth Regi- 
 
270 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ment, Wisconsin Volunteers. Served three years 
 and two months in the Civil War. Came back to 
 Chicago in 1865. Worked at his trade to 1868, 
 when ne began the manufacture of furniture on 
 Canal street, but was burned out in the Great 
 Chicago Fire. F'rom that time the firm was Ar- 
 neson & Co. In 1880 it was changed to Johnson 
 & Arneson. In 1884 he with others started the 
 Central Manufacturing Company, a corporation 
 chartered under the laws of Illinois to manu- 
 facture office desks. He is president and treas- 
 urer. He is also director of the Union Bank of 
 Chicago. 'In 1870 he was married to Hilda Toft- 
 ner, from Christiania. They have had one son 
 and one daughter; only the daughter is living; 
 she is married to Alf. Normann, secretary of the 
 Central Manufacturing Company. 
 
 Mr. Arneson is a director of the Chicago Man- 
 ufacturers' Association and a member of Lyons 
 Post No. 9, G. A. R. Office: 37-41 Armour 
 street. Residence: 672 N. Hoyne avenue. 
 
 Tobias Tobiason and his wife Mary, nee Hen- 
 drickson, of Decorah, Iowa. Their marital union 
 has been blessed by nine children, eight sons and 
 one daughter, all living. The children's names 
 and dates of birth are as follows: Theodore Nor- 
 man, born May 17, 1879; Olaf Henry Morton, 
 March 8, 1882; Clarence Bernhardt, Febr. 17, 
 1884; Frederic William, Nov. 21, 1886; Robert In- 
 geman, May 24, 1888; Arthur Herman, and Alice 
 Margerite, twins, Jan. 12, 1893; Joseph Bertram, 
 Aug. 24, 1895, and Edward Eugene, April 27, 1897. 
 The oldest son, Theodore N., is married to Miss 
 Clara Beers, of Decorah, Iowa. 
 
 With his family Mr. Arneson attends St. John's 
 Norwegian Lutheran church, Chicago, being its 
 secretary and Sunday school teacher, and resides 
 at 720 Haddon avenue. 
 
 OLE T. ARNESON 
 
 Was born in Highland township, Winnesheik 
 county, Iowa, May 4, 1853, to Tollef Arneson 
 and Margrete Olson (Rudringen) Sanden, farm- 
 ers. 
 
 Mr. Arneson attended the common school un- 
 til he was confirmed in the, Lutheran church. He 
 then took the elementary course at the state nor- 
 mal school, Winona, Minn., from where he grad- 
 uated Dec. 31, 1871. 
 
 He now commenced teaching school in his 
 home district and later continued teaching in 
 various places. For three years he was principal 
 of the graded school at Spring Grove, Minn. In 
 the spring of 1879 he moved to North Dakota 
 and took up a homestead near Hatton, Traill 
 county. Here he taught school part of the time 
 while holding the claim, which he proved up in 
 1884 and sold in 1886, when he moved to De- 
 corah, la. He was then employed in the mailing 
 department of "Decorahposten" until Sept. 1887, 
 when he accepted a position as shipping and 
 mailing clerk with the Lutheran Publishing 
 House. With this institution he remained 17 
 years. In October 1904 he accepted a position 
 as manager of "Skandinaven's" Book Depart- 
 ment, of which he is still in charge. 
 
 July 7, 1877, Mr. Arneson was joined in holy 
 wedlock to Miss Inger Tobiason, a daughter of 
 
 SIGVALD ASBJ0RNSEN, 
 
 The sculptor, was born in Christiania, Norway, 
 Oct. 19, 1867. He is a graduate of the Royal Art 
 school of Christiania and a pupil of the great 
 sculptors, Middelthun, Bergslien and Skeibrok. 
 At the age of 16 he was granted a royal stipend 
 to help him along in his studies. This he re- 
 ceived for five years. 
 
 When Mr. Asbj^rnsen was a lad of 16, it en- 
 tered into his head to model a bust of King Os- 
 car II. L^nfortunately he had only a poor wood 
 cut picture of the king and no ready money 
 wherewith to buy the necessary photograph. But 
 he knew a way out of his trouble. He went and 
 looked at the. desired picture in a photographer's 
 case, carried the impression home with him, and 
 started on his self-imposed task. 
 
 From an artistic point this bust did not amount 
 to much. Nevertheless it was a very eloquent 
 bust. Not necessarily by its persuading the king 
 to contribute a few hundred kroner toward As- 
 bj0rnsen's artistic education, but chiefly by "its il- 
 lustrating the two main traits in the artist's 
 makeup: his passionate love of his art that makes 
 him conquer all difficulties and his acute power 
 of observation. 
 
 Those first artist days in, Christiania, where he 
 was born, were not exactly cloudless. But his 
 art and his undaunted courage carried him 
 through everything. No doubt Browning's fam- 
 ous lines, changed a little, would describe the 
 kind of life he and his companions led in those 
 days: 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 371 
 
 "They sighed deep, laughed free, 
 Starved, feasted, despaired — were happy." 
 
 Before Mr. Asbj0rnsen's departure for this 
 country in 1892, he had modeled a bust of his 
 friend, Bertram, the talented painter, who died at 
 a young age; a statuette of the actor Clausen, and 
 two deservedly popular busts of Fru Agathe 
 Grdndahl and Fru Erika Nissen — ^ besides many 
 other things of less value. 
 
 Arrived in this country, he went to Michigan, 
 where he made several busts for members of the 
 moneyed classes. He came to Chicago during 
 the World's Fair, making this city his permanent 
 home. 
 
 ^^' 
 
 ..^JLt^'^. 
 
 Sigvald Asbj0rnsen. 
 
 During his stay in Michigan he made a bust 
 of Grover Cleveland and one of Blaine, the latter 
 eminently striking. Mr. Asbj^rnsen's public 
 works embrace: Leif Erikson, statue, Humboldt 
 Park; Louis Joliet, statue, in front of the public 
 library, Joliet, III; Hon. Robert William Moore, 
 statue, Memphis, Tenn.; "Defiance of the Flag — 
 a group of three soldiers," Decatur, Ills.; Penn- 
 sylvania State IMonument, Andersonville, Ga.; 
 Illinois State Monument, Chattanooga, Tenn.; 
 John Monaghan Monument, Spokane, Wash.; and 
 finished the Group of War and Soldiers' Statue 
 
 for the Sherman Monument, Washington, D. C. 
 He has also made the following busts in bronze: 
 John Anderson, Prof. H. H. Boyesen, Walter 
 Gresham, Benjamin Franklin, Edwin Westgaard, 
 and a marble bust of Paul O. Stensland. He has 
 also made some striking medallions, particularly 
 one in bronze of Bjdrnstjerne Bjjzirnson, on the 
 Bj^rnson Bauta, Fargo, N. D. Also medallions 
 of Ibsen, Grieg, Robert IngersoU and others. 
 
 Mr. Asbjjzirnsen married Margaretha Stuhr, of 
 Christiansund, Norway. They have three chil- 
 dren, Leif, Borghild and Helen. The family re- 
 lides at 1075 AA^'abansia avenue. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER L. AYGARN, 
 
 Of Pontiac, 111., was born in Avaldsnes, Hauge- 
 sund, Norway, on Sept. 4, 1850. His parents were 
 Lars and Martha (Heliekson) Aygarn. He at- 
 
 C. L. Aygarn. 
 
 tended school in Norway until 15 years old, when 
 he was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. He 
 came to America, with an older brother, when 16 
 years, going to Ottawa, 111., where he arrived 
 
272 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Nov. 23, 1866. Here he worked on a farm for 
 three years and then went to Minnesota, where 
 he spent one year — 1870. 
 
 He now came to Livingston county, 111., where 
 he married Miss Isabelle C. Mitchell, daughter 
 of Mr. and Mrs. John and Bertha (Oakland) 
 Mitchell, on Feb. 11, ]872. He then rented some 
 land in Livingston county and cultivated it for 
 three years. Having saved some money, he pur- 
 cliased a ]60-acre farm in 187-1. The three fol- 
 lowing years were almost complete crop failures, 
 compelling him to let the title revert to the 
 original owner, with the loss of the amount he 
 had paid upon it. Still believing in the "hold- 
 fast" doctrine, he continued to farm the same 
 land until 1886, when he re-purchased the farm, 
 and after two years sold it at the handsome pro- 
 fit of $19 per acre. 
 
 In 1888 he went to Rowe, a small station near 
 Pontiac, and established a general merchandise 
 and grain business, and with it he built and oper- 
 ated a, large drain-tile and brick factory, employ- 
 ing a big force of workmen; his annual output 
 running as high as 250,000 drain tiles and a mil- 
 lion of brick. He is practically the founder of the 
 town, having built two elevators there, besides 
 his business blocks and residences. In 1000 Mr. 
 Aygarn sold out his tile and brick interest intend- 
 ing to devote his attention to the grain business 
 exclusively. He had much opposition, the grain 
 buyers of that section, in connection with the 
 railroads and Chicago commission men, having 
 combined to limit Mr. Aygarn's field of opera- 
 tion. He was then doing business both at Rowd 
 and Pontiac. This injustice was fought out in 
 court, however, and ou'r subject won in a fight 
 which was begun in the interest of the farming 
 and business community rather than in his per- 
 sonal interest. He now operates two grain 
 elevators with a capacitj^ of 20,000 bushels each, 
 the railroads giving him the same facilities ac- 
 corded larger corporations in the same line of 
 business. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Aygarn have three children — 
 Lewis Oliver, born July 18, 1873, and married to 
 Anna Nelson; Martin Gustav Melanchton, born 
 Dec. :^ 1879, and married to Mabel Lillian Mitch- 
 ell; Christian Thomas Millard, born Aug. 4, 1886. 
 
 The family are members of the English Luth- 
 eran Church on Rook Creek, of which Mr. Ay- 
 garn was the organizer and has served alternately 
 as chairman and secretary for the last fifteen 
 years. Mr. Aygarn is a highly respected man 
 and enjoys a well earned reputation for industry 
 and integrity. 
 
 EINAR BAGGE. 
 
 The son of Ole and Ovidia Bagge, of Christiania, 
 Norway, was born in Fredrikshald, Oct. 30, 
 1871. His youth was spent in Christiania, where 
 he graduated from the cathedral school in 1887. 
 That same year he commenced learning the in- 
 tricacies of watch-making, as an apprentice, with 
 T. I. Thorstad, Christiania, where he remained 
 for three years. 
 
 He left Norway in August, 1890, and came to 
 Chicago, where he obtained a position with C. 
 D. Peacock, the jeweler, first as watch-maker for 
 
 Einar Bagge, 
 
 five years. He was then given charge of the 
 clock department, in which he remained for 
 eight years, or until June, 1903, when he resigned 
 to take a position as material clerk and watch 
 missionary with Robbins & Appleton, General 
 Agents for the Waltham Watch Company. Here 
 Mr. Bagge entered a new field, going into the 
 commercial line and at the same time having a 
 chance to develop his knowledge in the horolog- 
 ical art, as he will be in close touch with the 
 largest and most modern watch factory in the 
 world, and when traveling will get the different 
 watch-makers' views and ideas. He was awarded 
 the bronze medal of the Swedish Watch-makers' 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 2 73 
 
 Society, April 28, 1901; the silver medal March 
 19, 1904, and the gold medal March 18, 1905. His 
 gold medal was the first gold medal ever awarded 
 by the Society. He is a member of the Swed- 
 ish Watchmakers' Society of Chicago, and is its 
 treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Bagge married Miss Christine Prytz, Oct. 
 2, 1901. They reside at 1190 West Division 
 street. 
 
 PETER MAGNUS BALKEN, 
 
 The son of Johan Andreas and Isakine Botella 
 Balkan, of Stavanger, Norway, was born there 
 April 24, 1837, and came to America with his 
 
 Peter M. Balken. 
 
 parents in 1849. They came over on the brig 
 Favoriten, Captain Westergaard in command, 
 and landed in New York. Thence to Chicago 
 the route was via the Erie Canal to Buffalo and 
 steamers over the lakes the rest of the way. Our 
 subject was baptized in the Cathedral at Stav- 
 anger and confirmed by Rev. Ole Andrewson in 
 
 the Lutheran Church in Muskego, Racine Coun- 
 ty, Wis., in 1853. 
 
 When 12 years old he went to work at the 
 home of John H. Kinzie; afterward he worked in 
 Lars Harrisville's shingle shop, in Mears' lumber 
 yard, then located at Kinzie street and the river. 
 In 1855 he went to work as an apprentice in the 
 pressroom of the Chicago Journal, where he 
 worked for forty years, having been made fore- 
 man of the pressroom in 1865. When the own- 
 ership of the Journal changed hands in 1895 Mr. 
 Balken concluded to retire too, not that the sale 
 of the paper had anything to do with it, but 
 that he had decided to retire for some time, at 
 least, for rest and recuperation. 
 
 Mr. Balken has been married twice. His first 
 wife was Maren Johanna Jensen, born in this 
 city; his second wife, Carrie Regina Reimers, 
 was born in Stavanger. They have one daughter, 
 Harriet Regina, now Mrs. Serwich, with whom 
 our subject makes his home in River Forrest, a 
 suburb of Chicago. 
 
 Like most Norwegians, he was born a repub- 
 lican. He was a doortender in the wigwam when 
 Abraham Lincoln was nominated in 1860, and 
 has voted for every republican candidate for the 
 presidency since. He says he would like to have 
 another opportunity to vote for President Roose- 
 velt. 
 
 Mr. Balken is the organizer of the Norwegian 
 Old Settlers' Society, which was founded in 1878, 
 and was its second president. Our subject is 
 now employed in the county clerk's ofiice, hav- 
 ing been appointed by Mr. Peter B. Olsen, then 
 county clerk, and reappointed by the present 
 countv clerk, Mr. Haas. 
 
 OLE W. BENDIXON, 
 
 Of Morris, 111., was born in Christiania, Norway, 
 Nov. 16, 1838. His parents were Bendix and 
 Elizabeth (born Torgerson) Olsen. Our sub- 
 ject's early life was passed in Christiania, where, 
 while attending school, he also worked in a to- 
 bacco factory until he was confirmed. At this 
 age he entered the navy as an apprentice, but on 
 account of weak ej^es remained only one year. 
 He sailed on the seas and ocean from 1853-56. 
 In 1856, he entered the regular Norwegian ar- 
 my, serving in the cavalry for five years, during 
 which time he also studied theology. He then 
 sailed again from 1862-66, when he located in 
 New York as a seaman missionary, where he 
 
274 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 remained for two years, again pursuing at the 
 same time his theological studies, now under 
 Rev. Dr. Murphy, and was ordained to the min- 
 istry March 28, 1868. He worked in the post- 
 office department from 1872 to 1883, was United 
 States storekeeper in 1884-85, and did minister- 
 ial and missionary work at different times. 
 
 His military career was prolonged one year in 
 the naval school and five years in the regular 
 army in Norway; one year in the First Regi- 
 ment Infantry, I. N. G., and six months in the 
 cavalry for the same regiment, here in Chicago. 
 He was one of the organizers of the Scandinav- 
 
 intcrest in all worthy charities, and belongs to 
 the Universalist Church. He moved to Morris 
 a few years ago, and makes his home with his 
 daughter, Mrs. Hattie N. Callan. 
 
 Die W. Bendixon. 
 
 ian regiment, organized before the great fire, and 
 was its adjutant. It did good work in preserv- 
 ing peace and order after the fire. He organized 
 the Scandinavian Working Mens' Association 
 and was its president; belonged to the Norweg- 
 ian Singing Society, and was an honorary mem- 
 ber of many societies. He took an active inter- 
 est in politics, and was in great demand on the 
 stump in presidential campaigns in many states. 
 
 He was a forceful speaker and was always 
 called upon at public meetings or celebrations. 
 
 Mr. Bendixon was married to Christine Knud- 
 son on Nov. 8, 1858. They have had nine chil- 
 dren, four now living. Mr. Bendixon takes an 
 
 VICTOR FLEMMING BENDIXEN, 
 
 Of the Standard Architectural Iron Works, at 
 627-643 Bloomingdale avenue, is the son of John 
 Bendixen, a manufacturer in Christiania, Nor- 
 way, his mother's maiden name being Catharine 
 E. Flemming. Victor was born in Christiania, 
 Dec. 1, 1865. He had a college education in 
 Norway, graduated from the Christiania Art 
 School, and worked as an apprentice for Henrik 
 Nissen, architect, in Christiania. After his ar- 
 rival in Chicago he took a course at a business 
 law school, from which he graduated. His youth 
 was spent in school, excepting one year in which 
 he sailed. He came to America in 1888, coming 
 direct to Chicago. He began work here as a 
 draftsman at the stock yards. After six months 
 there he was employed by Winslow Bros. & Co. 
 as designer and draftsman, where he remained 
 for three years, the last year as general superin- 
 tendent. He took a trip to Norway in 1902, and 
 upon his return accepted the position as chief 
 engineer for Beers, Clay & Dutton, architects, in 
 Chicago. 
 
 In 1903 he started the present firm, the Stand- 
 ard Architectural Works, first locating at No. 30 
 Clinton street; then moved to 181 Newberry 
 avenue, and from there to his present location 
 on Bloomingdale avenue, corner of Winnebago. 
 Here he has erected a substantial two-story 
 brick building especially adapted for the busi- 
 ness. The company, of which our subject is 
 president and treasurer, manufacture iron work 
 for building and also do general foundry work. 
 
 Mr. Bendixen was married to Lilian Olesen, 
 of Chicago, on July 9, 1902. They have one child, 
 Kathryn Josephine, born April 11, 1903. Mr. 
 Bendixen's parents died in Norway and Ing- 
 wald Olesen died here in Chicago, the widow 
 still living here. Mr. Bendixen is a Mason. The 
 family resides at 20 Evergreen Avenue. 
 
 THOR J. BENSON, 
 
 Was born on his father's estate, known as Ege- 
 land, in 0vre Bygden, Birkrem Sogn, Norway, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 275 
 
 Sept. 22. 1S57, his parents being J0rgen Bj(z(rnson 
 Egeland and Bcrthe Thorsdatter (nee Holmen). 
 Thor attended the public school in Norway be- 
 fore he came to America with his parents in 1871. 
 An' older sister had preceded the family to 
 America, ^and as she had had difficulty in get- 
 ting English-speaking people to pronounce her 
 name, Bj0rnson became Benson; and as she se- 
 cured a place for her brother on his arrival here 
 with one of her acquaintances, Thor's name be- 
 came Benson also, although against his protest. 
 Egeland of course was the name of the farm 
 or homei)lacc in Norway, and many of his near- 
 est relatives go by that name. 
 
 T. J. Benson. 
 
 Mr. Benson has been married twice, his first 
 wife, whom he married Jan. 20, 1880, was Mary 
 Jane Ross. Second time married to Clara So- 
 phie, youngest daughter of his father's brother, 
 Kydle Byrnson, of Jefiferson township, Vernon 
 county, Wisconsin, where he settled in the early 
 '50's, having arrived in America in 1850. There 
 are five children — George W., born Dec. 12, 1880; 
 William T., Aug. 6, 1885; Kittel Bjjzirnson-Ege- 
 land (stepson), born Jan. 22, 1897; Bertha Ra- 
 chel, March 27, 1900; Guri Theodora, April 5, 
 1902 (died Feb. 13. 1903). A nephew, Theodore 
 
 Olaf Hall, son of a favorite sister (who died 
 April 12, 1883, a week after the boy's birth), 
 lives in his family and attends the Wendell Phil- 
 lips High School. 
 
 Mr. Benson, after his arrival in this country, 
 first worked for different farmers in Mmnesota. 
 He then studied telegraphy at Janesville, Wis., 
 in 1876, and on Sept. 4 of that year came to 
 Chicago. Here he studied law in the law de- 
 partment of Lake Forest Universitj' in 1893-95, 
 receiving his diploma. He also studied at the 
 Chicago Theological Seminary of the Lutheran 
 Church in 1896-97. He has held different offices 
 in the county and city. Was assistant county 
 collector in 1891, assistant city prosecuting at- 
 torney in 1891-92, and has served as clerk, super- 
 visor and judge of elections continuously for 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Benson is a member of the Old-Timc 
 Telegraphers, the Historical Association, the 
 Walhalla Society and the Jefiferson Club. He 
 was the regular democratic nominee for alder- 
 man of the Third Ward in 1905, receiving 2,911 
 votes, a' very creditable showing considering that 
 his opponent, Milton J. Foreman, had had six 
 years' experience in which he had made a good 
 record. The family attend St. Stephen's Dan- 
 ish Lutheran Church and reside in their own 
 home at 3228 Forest avenue, which Mr. Benson, 
 purchased in 1882. 
 
 OLE E. BENSON, 
 
 The popular sheriff of La Salle county, was born 
 at Fogen, Norway, Jan. 23, 1866, to Ole R. Ben- 
 son and his wife Bertha Runestad. He received 
 his education in the common schools and was 
 confirmed in the Lutheran church. In 1871 he 
 came to America remaining in Minnesota until 
 1876, when he .moved to Ford county. III, finally 
 settling down in La Salle county, where he has 
 remained since 1878. 
 
 Mr. Benson was married to Miss Louise John- 
 son, of Mission township, Dec. 24, 1890. She 
 was a daughter of Solomon and Martha John- 
 son. After having given birth to four children 
 Mrs. Benson died May 16, 1899. The names of 
 the children, who are all living, are as follows: 
 Floyd Leroy, born Oct. 14, 1891; Bessie Gertie, 
 Dec. 25, 1892; Erma Myrtle, Oct. 16, 1894, and 
 Pearl Naomi, July 12, 1897. 
 
^76 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 In November, 1906, Mr. Benson was elected 
 sheriff of La Salle county with a majority of 988 
 votes. By one of the daily papers of Ottawa he 
 was recommended for the oiBce in the following 
 manner: 
 
 ^'One of the strongest candidates in every 
 respect on the republican ticket is the nominee 
 for sheriff, Mr. Ole Benson. It will be recalled 
 that at the primary election he received a majori- 
 ty of votes over all competitors, a fact which 
 conclusively shows his popularity among the 
 republican voters of the county. The reasons 
 for this popularity are many. First, his wide ac- 
 
 O. E. Benson. 
 
 quaintance, formed when serving as deputy sher- 
 iff; second, his competency, shown throughout 
 that term of service; third, his sterling manhood 
 and affability. Few candidates combine so many 
 excellent qualifications and popular traits — quali- 
 fications and traits which attract and win the 
 confidence of men. Mr. Benson is a Norwegian 
 by birth and an American by natural selection 
 and education. His boyhood and manhood were 
 spent in La Salle county and he is familiar with 
 its history, its industries, the workings of its 
 courts and the haunts of its criminals. He un- 
 derstands how to care for men and boys con- 
 
 victed of crimes and committed to the custody 
 of the sheriff. He is a good judge of men and 
 their motives and cannot be swayed from the 
 path of duty by influences brought to bear upon 
 ofiicers of the law. He has made an excellent 
 campaign and won hosts of friends. No charge 
 affecting his integrity or fitness has been made 
 against him by the friends of his democratic op- 
 ponent." 
 
 Mr. Benson is a member of the Benson Bros.' 
 Sand Co., which operates at Twin Bluffs west of 
 Ottawa. 
 
 MARTIN BERG, 
 
 Of Gunderson & Berg, the grocers, at 1647 Ar- 
 mitage avenue, was born in Leir, Norway, Aug. 
 16, 1874. His father, Bernt Larson, was a shoe- 
 
 Martin Berg. 
 
 maker in Leir, where our subject learned the 
 trade, but shoemaking did not appeal to him, 
 and after coming to Chicago he did not follow 
 it. He attended school in Leir and was con- 
 firmed in Sylling Church. In the spring of 1893 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 277 
 
 he came to Chicago via New York, and has lived 
 here since. His first work was in an organ fac- 
 tory, for two years, and then for three years 
 as a bakery driver. In 1898 he formed a part- 
 nership with Mr. G. A. Gunderson and the two 
 opened a modern grocery and meat market at 
 the corner of Armitage and Forty-third avenues, 
 under the name of Gunderson & Berg. They 
 have continued at the same location and are do- 
 ing a large business. 
 
 Mr. Berg was married on Nov. 15, 1905, to 
 Miss Karen Grenlie, who was born in Hedemar- 
 ken, Norway. Mr. Berg's father died several 
 years ago, but his mother is still living on the 
 farm in Norway. 
 
 He is a member of the White City Lodge, 
 I. O. O. F. 
 
 ^ 
 
 OLE HANSEN BERG, M.D., 
 
 Was born in Troms0, Norway, Dec. 5, 1867. He 
 is the son of Revenue Collector Jacob H. K. and 
 Marcelie Marie (born Buck) Berg. In Norway 
 he attended "Middelskolen" and was confirmed 
 in Stavanger. He came to Chicago in 1883, when 
 16 years old, and was apprenticed in a drug store. 
 He also studied pharmacy in the Northwestern 
 University, and in 1886 passed his examination 
 as a registered pharmacist. He worked in the 
 capacity of a druggist until 1896, in the mean- 
 time having taken a medical course at the Illi- 
 nois University, from which he graduated in 
 that year. He then began the practice of medi- 
 cine, which he has followed since, with an in- 
 creasing and extensive general practice. 
 
 Dr. Berg was attending physician to the Nor- 
 wegian Tabitha Hospital from 1896 to 1904. 
 He is a member of the Scandinavien Medi- 
 cal Society and of Lincoln Lodge 108, Knights 
 of Pythias. His father died in VadsjzJ, Norway, 
 in 1878. 
 
 He was married on June 29, 1900, to Aslaug, 
 the daughter of Eilert and Hariette (nee Bruun) 
 Tigenschou. The family resides at 565 No. Cali- 
 fornia avenue, where the doctor also has his 
 office. 
 
 THEODORE OLSON BERG, 
 
 Of Malta, DeKalb county. 111., was born on 
 Gaarden Berg, in Urskog's Prestegjeld, on 
 Nov. 23, 1833, his parents being Ole Olson and 
 
 Bertha Torstensdatter Berg. He came to Amer- 
 ica on the sailing vessel Christina in 1854, ar- 
 riving in Quebec, Canada, July 16, without a 
 dollar. He worked his way as far as Chicago 
 and got here during the cholera epidemic. He 
 worked for six weeks with the sick as nurse, but 
 escaped the disease. 
 
 He left for Leland a little later, and secured 
 work as a farm-hand. In a short time he 
 secured two yoke of oxen, with which he broke 
 prairie for two years, and then purchased a pair 
 of horses and followed teaming for some time. 
 He then rented a farm and worked on shares 
 for six years, when, in 1864, he bought eighty 
 
 T. O. Berg, 
 
 acres at his present location, paying $15 per acre. 
 He has kept adding to his holdings, paying as 
 high as $75 an acre for part of it, until he now 
 owns 560 acres in one body. 
 
 He married Maria Danielson, May 26, 1858. 
 Mrs. Berg was the daughter of Daniel and An- 
 drina Magnussen, and was born near Christiania, 
 Norway, in 1829. She came to America the same 
 year as her husband, going direct to Leland, 
 where she met and married Mr. Berg four years 
 later. They have had five children — Carolina, 
 Oscar, Carolina Bertina, Amelia Augusta, and 
 Oscar Theodore Didric. The two first named 
 
278 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 died in infancy; Carolina Bertina attained the 
 age of 36 years. There are sixteen living grand- 
 children and one great-grandchild, all living on 
 the old homestead, it having been divided into 
 four farms. Mr. Berg's first vote was for Pres- 
 ident Lincoln, and he supports the same party 
 today. The family attends the Lutheran Church. 
 
 BERNHARD GLAUS BERGE 
 
 Is a son of Reier and Theodora O. Berge, of 
 Finnjzi, near Stavanger, Norway. He received a 
 good common school education in Norway, and 
 in 1890 left the home of his parents and came to 
 La Salle county, Illinois. Here he obtained em- 
 
 B. G. Berge. 
 
 ployment as a farm laborer. During the winter 
 seasons of the years 1894-1896 he frequented 
 Brown's Business College in Ottawa, 111., gradu- 
 ating at that institution in May, 1896. In the 
 fall of the same year he was employed as teacher 
 of stenography at Pleasant View Luther College, 
 Ottawa, 111., it being the first year of that insti- 
 tution. But the practical use of a knowledge_ of 
 
 stenography was far more remunerative than 
 teaching, and a young man must be pardoned if 
 he chooses among honorable occupations that 
 which will afiford the best pay, especially if he 
 has nowhere but to his own hands to look for 
 the necessaries of life. In connection with the 
 work of stenography in a law ofifice, the study of 
 law suggested itself as a useful and proper thing. 
 However, when the Spanish-American War broke 
 out in the spring of 1898 Mr. Berge could not 
 resist the temptation to be a soldier, and he en- 
 listed in Company C. (Captain Blanchard's com- 
 pany of Ottawa, 111.), Third Illinois Infantry, 
 and served through the campaign until mustered 
 out with said company in January, 1899. There- 
 upon he entered the office of the county judge 
 of La Salle county, as stenographer, where he 
 remained employed as such until the autumn c«f 
 1903. In the spring of that year he completed 
 the academic course at Pleasant View Luther 
 College, and graduated from that school. For 
 the purpose of receiving a more thorough gen- 
 eral education, and to complete his law studies, 
 he entered the University of Michigan, law de- 
 partment, in September, 1903, and in June, 1905, 
 completed the law course and obtained a degree 
 of bachelor of laws. During the months of July, 
 August and September, 1905, he worked with the 
 board of review of assessments of La Salle 
 county, as clerk, which position he also held dur- 
 ing the years 1903, 1903 and 1904. At the present 
 time Mr. Berge is practicing law in the city of 
 Ottawa, 111. 
 
 REV. HANS PETER BERGH. 
 
 Rev. Hans Peter Bergh was born in Eidsberg, 
 Norway, on the 19th of January, 1846. His 
 birthplace was called Berg, and from that the 
 whole family took their name. His father, Pe- 
 der Andersen Berg, a thrifty farmer, born in 
 1808, was prevented from continuing a well 
 started military career in Christiania by his 
 young wife, who preferred to live in the country. 
 With her he had seven children: Sedsel Andrea, 
 Andreas, Johan, Anthon, Johanne Marie, Hans 
 Peter and Ole. The three first-named sons 
 graduated from the normal school (Seminariet) 
 in Asker and became teachers; the oldest, An- 
 dreas, later studied for the ministry, graduated 
 from the University of Christiania, and became a 
 minister in the State Church of Norway. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 279 
 
 P. A. Berg's first wife died and he married 
 again, and with his wife and their little son, 
 Alexander, he emigrated to America in 1866, liv- 
 ing first on North Manitou Island, Michigan, and 
 then for some years at New Centerville, Wis., 
 where another son, Anton, was born to them, 
 the first Anton having died in 1862. 
 
 After that he lived for many years at Deer 
 Park, Wis., in both places farming, and in 1894 
 he died at his yotingest son's home in Duluth, 
 Minn., 85 years old. His wife died in the same 
 son's home, then in Superior, Wis., in 1899. Both 
 in Norway and in America P. A. Berg was active 
 in the political as well as in the religious life, and 
 wrote occasionally for the papers, both in prose 
 and verse; he was an ardent advocate of tem- 
 perance. All the Berg family, parents and chil- 
 dren, have been religious, and nearly all of them 
 have been religious workers. 
 
 Hans Peter gave his heart to God in his early 
 years. With his father, stepmother and young- 
 est sister he left the Lutheran State Church and 
 joined the Methodist Episcopal Church when he 
 was 14 years old. Beginning at 18 years of age, 
 he was an exhorter and a school teacher in the 
 Methodist Church for four years, and while 
 teaching school in Sarpsborg he began to study 
 German, French, Latin and Greek and other 
 branches, partly private and partly at the high 
 school (Realskolen). At Sarpsborg, in 1867, 
 he also received license as a local preacher from 
 the mission superintendent, Rev. C. Willerup, 
 who also had given him license as an exhorter. 
 Afterward he studied for three years at Gjert- 
 sen's College (Latin school) in Christiania, only 
 his impaired health preventing him from gradu- 
 ating at the University. While studying in Chris- 
 tiania he became a helper to the pastor, Rev. M. 
 Hansen, of the First Church; editor of Den lille 
 B0rneven (now B0rnevennen), the first Method- 
 ist paper in Norway, at its start in October, 1871; 
 editorial assistant of Evangelisk Kirketidende 
 (now Kristelig Tidende), the official organ of the 
 Methodist Church in Norway, at its beginning, in 
 January, 1872; from 1872 to 1875 also a sailor mis- 
 sionary, appointed by the American Seamen's 
 Friend Society of New York; pastor in Brevik 
 and Drammen, and from 1879 to 1885 editor of 
 Kristelig Tidende at Christiania. After complet- 
 ing his' conference study he was ordained deacon 
 by Bishop Matthew Simpson in 1875, and elder by 
 Bishop Thomas Bowman in 1878. 
 
 In 1885 he married Miss Kristiane Georgine 
 Johnsen, of Brevik, and with her emigrated to 
 America in the same year. 
 His appointments in America have been Wash- 
 
 ington Prairie Circuit, Iowa; Deer Park, Wis., 
 where his wife died, leaving him with a little 
 son, Samuel (Paul having died in infancy); 
 Grand Forks, N. D.; Evanston, 111., where, be- 
 sides his pastoral work, he also was assistant 
 teacher at the Norwegian-Danish Theological 
 School; New Centerville, Wis., and Superior, 
 Wis. For five years he was also editor of Hyr- 
 destemmen, the Sunday-school paper of the Nor- 
 wegian and Danish Conference. In 1900 he was, 
 by the conference, elected manager of the con- 
 ference book concern on Grand avenue., Chi- 
 cago, and also editor of Hyrdestemmen, in which 
 position he remained for five years, until in 1905 
 
 Rev. H. P. Bergh. 
 
 he was elected editor of the official organ of the 
 conference. Den kristelige Talsmand, and also 
 re-elected editor of Hyrdestemmen, which posi- 
 tion he is still holding, and is thus in his 22nd 
 year as editor in Norway and America. 
 
 In 1891 he was married to Mrs. Ella Cornelia 
 Thoen (nee Knudsen), of New Centerville, Wis., 
 with whom he has a daughter, Ella Christiane, 
 now 14 years. The son, Samuel, is 19 years old. 
 
 Mr. Bergh also has been active in other liter- 
 ary pursuits. In 1876 he made the first Norwe- 
 gian translation of the Discipline of his church, 
 
280 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 and he has translated other books. In 1900 he 
 was one of a committee to translate the then 
 latest edition of the Discipline, and in 1901 he 
 was selected to write and publish a historical 
 sketch on the occasion of the fiftieth annivers- 
 ary of Norwegian and Danish Methodism. He 
 also was one of a committee to prepare and 
 publish a spelling book, and from his youth he 
 has been writing hymns. In 1882 he was a 
 member of a committee of three in Norway to 
 meet, at Gothenburg, Sweden, similar commit- 
 tees from Sweden and Denmark to consider the 
 advisability and possibility of establishing a joint 
 theological Methodist school for those three 
 countries. He was for many years secretary of 
 the conference in Norway, and in America he 
 has been assistant secretary of his conference 
 for fourteen years. He also served for four years 
 as chairman of the conference board of examin- 
 ers. In 1904 he was a conference delegate at 
 the international Sunday Rest Congress at the 
 World's Fair in St. Louis, where he read a paper 
 that was well received. 
 
 The druggist at 831 W. Wrightwood avenue, was 
 born in Christiania, Norway, Oct. 23, 1868. He 
 is the son of Hans Hansen Bjerke, a tailor in 
 Christiania. His mother was Karen Olea Borge. 
 He attended middelskolen in Norway and 
 was confirmed in Aker's Church. He came to 
 America in 1886, reaching Chicago on May 6. 
 
 The following year he was apprenticed to 
 Dr. Dahlberg's Pharmacy in Chicago, to learn 
 the profession from a practical standpoint, at 
 the same time taking a course in the NtDrth- 
 western University School of Pharmacy. After 
 his graduation he traveled extensively and filled 
 important positions with the leading drug stores 
 in Willmar and Minneapolis, Minn.; Des Moines, 
 la.; Hillsboro, N. D.; and Great Falls, Mont. He 
 then returned to Chicago, where he continued 
 to work for others until he opened a store of 
 his own at 821 W. Wrightwood avenue, where 
 he is now located and doing a good business. 
 His store is modern in every way and he car- 
 ries a well supplied stock. 
 
 He was married to Miss Alma Olson, of Chi- 
 cago, June 12, 1895, her parents being John and 
 Anna Olson, of Chicago. They have had one 
 child, Karen; it died in infancy. 
 
 JOHN CARL BJERKE, 
 
 J. C Bjerke. 
 
 EMIL BI0RN, 
 
 The musician and artist, was born in Christi- 
 ania, Norway, June 7, 1864. His parents were 
 Christian Ludvig Bi(z(rn and Karoline Agnete 
 (born Heyerdahl). 
 
 His youth was passed in Christiania, where 
 he received his education. He intended at first 
 to take an academic course, but abandoned that, 
 as his interest in fine arts appealed to him. Con- 
 ditions being unfavorable in the Old Country, 
 with a youth's desire to see the world, he left 
 Norway after having finished his first year of 
 military service and came to America, arriving 
 in Chicago in 1887, where he soon attracted at- 
 tention in the Norwegian colony, as he was an 
 able arrangeur and musician. Mr. Bi^rn has 
 written several local compositions and his music 
 has been published and played both in Norway 
 and the United States. In later years Mr. Bij^rn 
 has given up music as a means of a living, em- 
 ploying himself most of the time as an illustrator 
 and artist. For inany years he has been con- 
 nected with the Barnes-Crosby Company, one of 
 the largest engraving houses in the country. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 281 
 
 He studied art in Christiania Royal Tegneskole, 
 Chicago Art Institute, and in Paris. He has had 
 paintings in public exhibitions both in Norway 
 and the United States. Music, however, is near- 
 est his heart, and as a musical director he still 
 works among our singers, who all consider him 
 an interested and popular leader. At the con- 
 vention of the Northwestern Scandinavian Sing- 
 ers' Association, in La Crosse, Wis., in 1906, he 
 was chosen chief for their next singing festival. 
 He has acted as musical director for both or- 
 chestras and singers at several important Nor- 
 wegian affairs — at the reception to .Frithjof 
 
 cozy home with an interesting little collection of 
 Norwegian curiosities at 815 North Oakley 
 avenue, Chicago. 
 
 Emil Bij2(rn. 
 
 Nansen, the arrival of the Viking Ship for the 
 World's Fair, the taur of the Norwegian Student 
 Singers, who later conferred upon him their dec- 
 oration as knight of their order. He has as- 
 sisted many times at church festivals, concerts 
 and entertainments for the benefit of different 
 charitable institutions. He is a member of the 
 Chicago Palette and Chisel Club, the Norwegian 
 Quartette Club, Bjjzirgvin's Singing Society and 
 the Norwegian ski club "Nor." 
 
 Mr. Bi0rn was married in Chicago on Dec. 
 23, 1891, to Miss Sigrid Lowum. They have a 
 
 KRISTIAN KNUDSEN BJ0RSETH 
 
 Was born at Bj^rseth, near Molde, Romsdalen, 
 Norway, Jan. 30, 1852. His father (Knute Lar- 
 sen) and his mother (Gjertrude Olsen Storvig) 
 were also born on Bj0rseth. His father was a 
 carpenter by trade, but times were hard, so that 
 when our subject was 11 years old he went to 
 live with an uncle at Otterjz^en, where he was 
 confirmed in Aker0 Church. Until he was 20 
 years old he alternated his work between the 
 
 K. K. Bj0rseth. 
 
 farm and fishing on Harden. In 1872 he re- 
 turned home, and the same year came his first 
 real grief, the death of his father. The next 
 year he went to Trondhjem, where he worked 
 for TroHa Brug as a founder, but after five j^ears 
 
232 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 he changed to the department of machinery, 
 which he took up as his life work. 
 
 Here he also met and married Miss Gusta Ja- 
 cobinc R0ning, on April 13, 1877. 
 
 In 18S0 he took his first trip on a steamship, 
 the Agn, as -x machinist, the boat having been 
 bought from the celebrated whalefisher, Sven 
 Fyen, as an express boat in Varanger fjord. 
 The fjord was navigable in the summer months 
 only, and during the winter he returned to 
 his work in the machine shop. In 1882 he 
 was again employed on a steamship, the Caro- 
 line, of Christiansund, as first machinist, un- 
 der Captain S. Bottner, going to Portugal and 
 Spain, cod fishing and trading, having been 
 hired by the ship's owner, Nicolay Knudson. 
 Here he had an opportunity to see many fine 
 cities and traversed the Mediterranean Sea from 
 Gibraltar to Barcelona, but his interest was 
 centered at home, and after two years he re- 
 turned to Trondhjem and his old place in the 
 machine shop. In the meantime his brother 
 Peter had migrated to America. He wrote back, 
 calling attention to the favorable opportunities 
 offered in this country for practical machinists. 
 
 In consequence of this letter Kristian came to 
 Aurora with his family in April, 1887. 
 
 He immediately secured a position in the C. 
 B. & Q. Ry- shops and remained with ihem un- 
 til 1895, when he was offered and accepted the 
 position of chief engineer for the Chicago and 
 Aurora Smelting and Refining Company. He re- 
 mained with this firm until they went out of 
 business in 1899, when he went to the Aurora 
 Automatic Machine Company with whom he is 
 still engaged. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bj0rseth have seven children, 
 namely: Anna Davida, Conrad Marius, Gustav 
 Christian, Oscar Ludvig, Edda Johanne, Alfred 
 Otto and Signe Gunnelie Bj0rseth. Our subject 
 is a member of the North Star Club, a Norweg- 
 ian political society, and Ben Hur. 
 
 He and his family attend the Norwegian Luth- 
 eran Church of Aurora, and resides at 399 So. 
 Broadway. 
 
 CONRAD MARIUS BJ0RSETH, 
 
 Of Aurora, 111., was born in Throndhjem, Nor- 
 way, April 23, 1879, his parents being Kristian 
 and Augusta (born Hoene), Bj^rseth. He came 
 to America with his parents in the fall of 1887 
 and settled in Aurora, where he attended the 
 public schools until 15 years old. His first work 
 was as clerk in a grocery store in Aurora for 
 
 two years, when he entered the services of S. S. 
 Sencenbaugh & Co.'s department store, where 
 he worked from 1898 to 1902. At this time he 
 engaged in business for himself, opening a first- 
 class grocery store at 68 S. Broadway, one of 
 the principal business streets in the city. He en- 
 joys an extensive trade and employs five clerks 
 besides himself to look after his customers' 
 wants. 
 
 He has twice been elected president of The 
 North Star Club, a local Norwegian organiza- 
 tion with a membership of ninety in good stand- 
 
 C. M. Bj0rseth. 
 
 ing. The purpose of the Club is two-fold — po- 
 litical and social — to urge the Norwegians to 
 study political questions, to become citizens, and 
 to take active interest in political affairs in their 
 adopted country; and socially to promote har- 
 mony and good fellowship among their nation- 
 ality. He is also a member of the Yeomen of 
 America, the American Star of Equity, and the 
 young peoples society of the Norwegian-Danish 
 church of Aurora. 
 
 On Oct. 10, 1900, he was married to Alma So- 
 phie Anderson. They attend the Norwegian- 
 Danish Church, of which Mr. Bjjzfrseth was 
 treasurer in 1901. The family resides at 483 S. 
 Lincoln avenue, Aurora. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 283 
 
 PETER BJ0RSETH 
 
 Was born in Bols^ prestegjeld, Romsdal's amt, 
 Norway, Nov. 12, 1856. His parents were Knu't 
 Larsen and Gertrud Olsdatter Storvig. Mr. 
 BjjzJrseth received his education in the public 
 school and at 17 he went to work in Trondhjem's 
 Mek. Vserksted (machine shop). He emigrated 
 to America in 1882 and arrived April 12 of the 
 same year in Aurora, where he has remained 
 ever since. Most of the time he has been work- 
 ing in the C. B. & Q. shops, but he has also 
 cultivated a farm in the neighborhood of Aurora. 
 
 4< 
 
 *.^ 
 
 m 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bj0rseth. 
 
 Mr. Bjjzirseth was married June 16, 1883, to 
 Miss Guri Malene Udstad, a daughter of the well 
 known blacksmith A. Udstad in Trondhjem. 
 This union has been blessed with eight children, 
 of whom the following are living: Gertrud Sophie, 
 born May 11, 1884, is a trained nurse; Conrad 
 Sverre, born Feb. 9, 1886, is a farmer; Sara Lou- 
 ise, born March 1, 1888, is a music teacher; Lil- 
 lie Annette, born June 8, 1891; Sigrid Mathilde, 
 born Sept. 3, 1893; Arnt P. G., born Nov. 12, 
 1895, and Raymond Gerhard, born June 11, 1900, 
 are at home or attending school. 
 
 JOHN BLEGEN 
 
 Was born in T^nsberg, Norway, May 23, 1842. 
 He received a good public school education and 
 immediately entered mercantile pursuits. In 1863 
 he entered Griiners Commercial College, in Co- 
 penhagen, Denmark, for two years tuition. He 
 came to Chicago in the summer of 1869 and se- 
 cured employment as traveling agent for the 
 Anchor Line of steamers. He afterward went 
 with the State Line, for which company he sub- 
 sequently became the general Western agent. 
 He remained with them for twelve years, when 
 the company went into liquidation and sold out 
 to the Allan Line, paying all creditors dollar for 
 dollar. Mr. Blegen has since been engaged in 
 a general brokerage business and acted as sec- 
 retary for commercial and fraternal organiza- 
 tions. About fifteen years ago he was unsolic- 
 itedly nominated for member of the board of 
 county commissioners by the republicans, but 
 met defeat at the polls with the party, running, 
 however, away ahead of his ticket. 
 
 John Blegen. 
 
 Mr. Blegen has never aspired to political pre- 
 ferment or ofifice of any kind. He has held vari- 
 ous positions of social and fraternal trust. He 
 
284 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 was for two years president of the Scandinavian 
 Workingmen's Association, has held almost all 
 the official functions in the local branch of the 
 A. O. U. W., and is one of the founders of the 
 Norwegian Old People's Home Society. Owing 
 to his position for many years as a general agent 
 for the State Line of steamers and as a publisher 
 of several mercantile books, his name is widely 
 known throughout the United States. He has 
 been singularly exempt from criticism in his of- 
 ficial positions and has never been connected with 
 any kind of litigation. 
 
 Mr. Blegen was married when he arrived in 
 America and has a large family of children who 
 are all grown and well connected. Four of them 
 are married. 
 
 ALFRED NILS BOE, M. D., 
 
 The physician and druggist at 845 Sheffield ave- 
 nue, Chicago, was born in Vossevangen, Norway, 
 July 2, 1860. He came to America with his par- 
 
 Alfred N. Boe. 
 
 ents in 1869, going first to Norway and <;nen to 
 Sheridan, III, where they settled. Fle attended 
 the public school at Sheridan. While a young 
 
 man he came to Chicago and clerked for six 
 years for the John Anderson Publishing Com- 
 pany, and afterward worked for six years in the 
 Chicago postoffice. During this time he had de- 
 voted his evenings and spare moments to study,. 
 and in 1887 he graduated from the Chicago Col- 
 lege of Pharmacy as a registered pharmacist and 
 opened his drug store at Sheffield avenue and 
 Wellington street, where he is now located. He 
 then took a three years' medical course at the 
 Harvey Medical College and one year's course at 
 the National Medical University, graduating in 
 1896 with the degree of M.D. 
 
 He was married to Miss Minnie O. Larson, a 
 daughter of Martin Larson, of Chicago, Oct. 15, 
 1894. They have three children, namely: Ethel, 
 Russell and Chester. 
 
 His parents both died a few years ago at their 
 home in Sheridan. His home and office is at 
 1413 Wellington street, half a block from his 
 drug store. 
 
 O. M. BORCHSENIUS, 
 
 The grocer, 1949 Thirty-sixth street, was born 
 to Chas. J. and Martha M. (nee Schlanbusch) 
 Borchsenius, in Chicago, April 14, 1861. 
 
 O. M. Borchsenius. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 285 
 
 Our subject graduated from the public schools 
 and then from a normal school in Wenton, N. J. 
 He spent some time in his father's grocery store 
 in Norway, 111., and afterward engaged in the 
 same business for himself at Thirty-sixth and 
 South Rockwell streets, in Chicago. 
 
 He was married to Miss Carrie B. Cousin on 
 July 11, 1883. They have three children — 
 Alice, born Jan. 23, 1885; Charles J., March 14, 
 1887: Otto Floyd, Dec. 10, 1890. His father died 
 in 1889, but his mother is still living, hale and 
 hearty, visiting around with her children. 
 
 NICOLAI BRUUN, . 
 
 Druggist, was born in Kongsberg, Norway, Feb. 
 7, 1837. His pharmaceutical education was com- 
 menced in 1851 as disciple under Prof. I. F. Pe- 
 tersen, of Sarpsborg. He graduated as assistant 
 pharmacist in 1855, and became examinatus phar- 
 
 Nicolai Bruun. 
 
 ".macist at the University of Christiania in 1860. 
 He was steadily employed as pharmacist in 
 J"redriksstad and Kpngsberg, and three years be- 
 
 fore emigrating to America he was private pro- 
 fessor at B. A. Maschmand's drug store in Chris- 
 tiania. He was also for some time president of 
 the pharmaceutical association there. 
 
 On April 12, 1868, Mr. Bruun left Norway on 
 the sailing ship Hannah Parr, which was ship- 
 wrecked off the coast of Ireland. The pas- 
 sengers and crew drifted to Limerick, where 
 they remained for two months pending repairs 
 to the ship. He finally arrived in Chicago with 
 300 other emigrants on Aug. 19, having been 
 four months on the way. After a fortnight in 
 Chicago he secured employment as clerk in Dr. 
 Tone's drug store, corner State and Eighteenth 
 streets. In February, 1869, he started the drug 
 store on the present site, 282 Grand avenue, un- 
 der the firm name of Bruun & Burt. In 1872 the 
 partnership was dissolved, another drug store 
 having in the meantime been established by the 
 firm at Grand avenue and Paulina street, Mr. 
 Burt taking charge of the latter and leaving Mr. 
 Bruun at the old stand. 
 
 Now, at the age of 70, after fifty-four years of 
 conscientious attention to his profession, Mr. 
 Bruun has partially retired from active service, 
 having turned the management of the store over 
 to his son, Harald N. Bruun, a registered phar- 
 macist, who for the last sixteen years has been 
 engaged in the drug business. 
 
 MRS. ULRIKKA FELDTMAN BRUUN, 
 
 The organizer for the National W. C. T. U. among 
 the Scandinavians in America, was born on an 
 island on the west coast of Norway, two miles 
 from Christiansund, Feb. 1, 1854. Her parents 
 were Knudt and Petrene Hassel;^, who owned the 
 island. They had four sons and five daughters, 
 of whom our subject was the youngest daughter. 
 She was baptized Ulrikka Randine Feldtman, the 
 last name being that of her great grandfather, 
 Major U. F. Feldtman of Opdal, Norway. Our 
 subject was a most studious child and every 
 spare moment was given to her books. She be- 
 gan to write verses and rhymes when only eight 
 years old. She was confirmed when 15 years old 
 and stood at the head of her class. She was then 
 appointed as assistant teacher in three districts 
 and longed for a better education, but this was 
 denied her in Norway. When 21 years old she 
 came to America, landing in Chicago, June 30, 
 1874. The struggle that followed prepared her 
 
286 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 for the great work she has since accomplished. 
 She managed to enter Kalamazoo College in Mich- 
 igan for one year. The turning point in her 
 life came in Evanston in 1876 when she became a 
 cross-bearer for Christ and went to work to win 
 souls for his Kingdom. 
 
 Ever since her life has been devoted to this 
 work. 
 
 In 1881, she married Mr. J. N. Bruun. Mrs. 
 Bruun has been a widow for many years. Mrs. 
 Bruun is the author of three books, all religious 
 temperance stories printed in the Scandinavian 
 language, as well as three sacred song books, 
 together with articles and stories for the press. 
 
 Mrs. U. F. Bruun. 
 
 In February, 1899, she began the publication in 
 Chicago of Det Hvide Baand, the only Norwe- 
 gian-Danish Christian temperance paper published 
 in this country by a woman. It is a bright il- 
 lustrated monthly at 50 cents per annum. Her 
 greatest work has been the founding of the Hope 
 Mission, now on West Ohio and Noble streets, 
 Chicago. With the assistance of Mathilda B. 
 Carse, president of the Central W. C. T. U., she 
 was first able to open a small Scandinavian read- 
 ing room in October, 1888. For eleven years the 
 W. C. T. U. paid the rent for this room and Mrs. 
 
 Bruun gave her services entirely free. From this 
 Mission sprang the Scandinavian W. C. T. U., of 
 which Mrs. Bruun is president, the Men's Scan- 
 dinavian Prohibition Club, a local of the Loyal 
 Temperance Legion, and a Sunday school. For 
 seven 3'ears a free dispensary was maintained. 
 Thousands have frequented the reading room 
 during each year. 
 
 Mrs. Bruun's sympathies have also gone out 
 to the young and friendless girls, who have come 
 from her own land to Chicago to better their 
 condition. In 1900 she opened a Scandinavian 
 working girls' home and employment bureau in 
 connection with the Mission. In 1895 Miss Fran- 
 ces E. Willard secured Mrs. Bruun's appointment 
 as National organizer among the Scandinavians 
 for the W. C. T. U. She has traveled and lec- 
 tured in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, 
 and the Dakotus, everywhere lifting up the banner 
 of Christ and temperance. She is a most forceful, 
 eloquent speaker and spends about five or six 
 months each year in the lecture field. All money 
 saved goes to her Chicago work. 
 
 DANIEL DANIELSON BUE, 
 
 The well known member of the merchant tailor- 
 ing firm Kindley & Bue, suite 825 in the Unity 
 Building on Dearborn street, was born at Bue, 
 Ulviks prestegjeld, S0ndre Bergenshus amt, Nor- 
 way, June 25, 1868, to Daniel Haldorsen Espe- 
 land and his wife Torbj0r Odmundsdatter Hildal 
 from Ullensvangs prestegjeld. Young Daniel 
 was educated in the public schools and con- 
 firmed in the Lutheran Church at Eidfjord. At 
 the age of 17 he was apprenticed to learn the 
 trade of a tailor in his native country with the 
 tailor Ole Engebrigtson Bakke in Jondals Sogn. 
 After one year he went to the city of Bergen in 
 order to acquire a more thorough training for his 
 selected calling, securing employment with the 
 well known merchant tailor of that place, Mr. C. 
 J. Nelson. 
 
 Having finished his apprenticeship and being 
 a full fledged master tailor he returned to his 
 native parish and established himself in the tailor- 
 ing business continuing with same for some time. 
 
 In 1888 he decided to seek a wider field for his 
 activities and came to America making his first 
 stop at Stoughton, Wis., where he secured em- 
 ployment with the tailoring firm of Johnson & 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 287 
 
 Melaas working for them about one year and a 
 half. 
 
 On Aug. 3, 1889, he came to Chicago, where 
 he has resided since plying his trade with almost 
 all of the prominent merchant tailors of this city, 
 until Sept. 1, 1900, when he accepted a partner- 
 ship with Mr. B. O. Kindley, and the merchant 
 tailoring firm of Kindley & Bue was established. 
 
 D. D. Bue. 
 
 Mr. Bue was married in Chicago by Rev. A. 
 O. Johnson of Our Savior's Church Dec. 30, 1899, 
 to Miss Anna S0rum, a daughter of Amund and 
 Anna Sjzirum of Christiania. Their happy union 
 has been blessed with two children, both boys 
 of whom one, Harald Daniel, is living. The fam- 
 ily resides at 1197 W. Division street. 
 
 Mr. Bue is a member of the Columbia Yacht 
 Club. 
 
 both born in the mentioned neighborhood. Lars 
 stayed at home until 14 years old, when he was 
 confirmed. He then went to sea and between 
 voyages worked on his father's farm. 
 
 In June, 18G3, he was married to Miss Carina 
 Olsdatter, with whom and their first child he 
 emigrated to America in 1865, landing in Que- 
 bec. From Quebec he went through Chicago to 
 Leland, 111. Here he worked on a farm for a 
 short time and then by the day at odd jobs in 
 Leland for seven years. He then moved to Cham- 
 paign county, where he rented a farm and re- 
 mained five years. In 1876 he went to the vicin- 
 ity of Paxton and bought a farm eight miles 
 south of the town. There his first wife died. 
 The union had been blessed by six children, of 
 whom two died in infancy. 
 
 L. Callecod with wife and child. 
 
 LARS CALLECOD 
 
 Was born in Tysvaer prestegjeld, near Stavan- 
 ger, Norway, July 14, 1833. His father (Nils 
 Sampson) and his mother (Kari Nelsdatter) were 
 
 Four years later Mr. Callecod married Mrs. 
 Carina Thompson, a widow with three children, 
 only one of whom is now living. In the second 
 marriage there have been. four children, all liv- 
 ing. The family attends the Lutheran Church 
 in Dix township, three and a half miles from El- 
 liott. Of his children one son and one daughter 
 are married, the son. Rev. Mathew Callecod, 
 
288 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 having joined the Congr>?gational Church, is a 
 minister of that faith in Williston, N. D. 
 
 Mr. Callecod sold his farm several years ago 
 and lives with his wife, youngest daughter and 
 youngest son in Paxton, 111. One daughter re- 
 sides in Chicago. 
 
 EDWARD CHRISTIAN CHRISTENSEN 
 
 Was born in Skien, Norway, on March 30, 1845, 
 his father, Christopher Christensen, being a police- 
 man. Our subject attended the common schools 
 and in 1859 entered as an apprentice to learn the 
 trade of a baker. After mastering the trade he 
 went to several towns in Norway, working at 
 his profession, and two years later returned to 
 Skien, where he had charge of a large bakery 
 until 1868, when lie emigrated to America. 
 
 E. C. Christensen. 
 
 After two years' residence in this country he 
 engaged in the bakery business for himself, 
 which he conducted for eight years, when he 
 sold out and engaged in the flour business here 
 
 in Chicago with John W. Eckhart & Co., with 
 whom he has been for twenty-five years, and is 
 yet filling the position of creditman and sales- 
 man. 
 
 On July 14, ]872, he was married to Inger Ma- 
 rie Hansen. They had three children born to 
 them, but all have passed away. 
 
 Mr. Christensen while very young was a drum- 
 mer in the Norwegian Army. He is a member 
 of Nora Lodge No. 1, in which he, has held many 
 offices; belongs to the republican club, of which 
 he has often been president. He resides at 186 
 West Erie street. 
 
 WILHELM FREDRIK CHRISTIANSEN, 
 
 Of the Tobey Furniture Company and manager 
 of their factory, was born in Trondhjem, Nor- 
 way, May 1, 1847, his parents being Nils Lauritz 
 and Marie Lorin (Kraft) Christiansen. He at- 
 tended public school in Trondhjem. After his 
 confirmation he became an apprentice in the 
 cabinet shop of his uncle, Mr. Kraft. During the 
 four years as an apprentice he attended the even- 
 ing public technical school, from which he re- 
 ceived a diploma and, in 1866, a certificate as a 
 full-fledged cabinetmaker. 
 
 In 1868, when 21 years or age, he left Norway 
 for America. From Trondhjem to Hull, Eng- 
 land, the trip was made by one of the old steam- 
 ers carrying copper ore from Ytter0en to Eng- 
 land. The sleeping compartment was arranged 
 on top of the ore in the hull. From there the 
 trip was continued by rail to Liverpool. From 
 there he sailed across the Atlantic by an old 
 steamer to Quebec, where he arrived 18 days 
 later. From Quebec to Chicago it took 6 more 
 days. Arriving on a hot July day, all of the party 
 who were not met by friends or relatives were 
 stored in a big warehouse belonging to the 111. 
 Central railroad at the corner of Randolph street, 
 near Michigan avenue, and the subject of our 
 sketch says, his first sleeping place in Chicago 
 was on the top of a lot of oil barrels in this 
 warehouse. The next day he with other home- 
 less newcomers was invited to come to a Swed- 
 ish Mission immigrant house on the North Side. 
 He spent a couple of weeks here, when an old 
 school mate from Trondhjem found him and 
 helped him to secure quarters at a boardinghouse. 
 Counting his cash after his arrival in Chicago, he 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 found it to be 50 cents in U. S. currency, not 
 much to buy luxuries with. He soon found work 
 at h"s trade as cabinetmaker, but unfortunately 
 took sick and was sent to the Cook County Hos- 
 pital at Eighteenth and Clark streets, where he 
 remained for seven weeks, before being able to 
 return to his work. 
 
 November 4, 1869, his future wife, Miss Emer- 
 entia Ohlin, came to the United States from 0re- 
 bro, Sweden, and Mr. Christiansen went with his 
 father to the railroad station to meet her. The 
 next day Mr. Christiansen and Miss Ohlin had 
 made up their minds to "sail their ship together" 
 
 W. F. Christiansen. 
 
 and six months later, on May 1, 1870, they were 
 married. They have been blessed with nine chil- 
 dren: five daughters and four sons. One of the 
 girls died when six months old and another when 
 eight years old. Two are married: Gurley to 
 state's attorney E. R. Singler of Grafton, N. D., 
 and Leontine to Rev. T. S. Kolste, Howard, S. D. 
 The youngest, Ida, is still at home. Three of the 
 boys are confirmed and ready to leave the nest 
 to take up the battle of life. The youngest, 14 
 years old, is still attending school. 
 
 The family attends the Norwegian Bethlehem 
 Lutheran Church of Chicago. Mr. Christiansen 
 has taken an active part in organizing the Nor- 
 wegian Old People's Home and served as a mem- 
 ber of the board of directors for a number of 
 years. He is also a member of the Deaconess 
 Home and Hospital Society in which he also has 
 served on the board of directors for a number of 
 years. He is also a member of the Children's 
 Home Society. He has been a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias and the Scandinavian Work- 
 ing Men's Society. 
 
 With their daughter, Ida, Mr. and Mrs. Chris- 
 tiansen made a trip to Europe three years ago, 
 visiting many of the different countries. Last 
 year Mr. Christiansen visited Old Mexico accom- 
 panied by his daughter Ida. She was seriously 
 ill, when she left Chicago, but her seven months 
 stay in Cuarnaraca in the beautiful semi-tropical 
 climate did her so much good that she came back 
 perfectly restored to health. The family resides 
 at 1630 West Byron street, Chicago. 
 
 H. S. Christiansen. 
 
390 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 HALFDAN SCHUEBELER CHRISTIANSEN 
 
 Was born at Fredrikstad, Norway, June 2, 1883, 
 his parents being Bernhard and Louise Schiibeler 
 Christianson. He attended the public schools 
 at FredrikstaH and afterward graduated from the 
 technical college at Porsgrund as mechanical and 
 electrical engineer. Was engaged as assistant to 
 the chief engineer of Fredrikstad for a year and 
 a half. He then came to America where he se- 
 cured employment with the Western Electric 
 Company of Chicago as draftsman, and he is 
 still employed there. 
 
 ELIAS S. CHRISTOPHERSEN, 
 
 Of Rockford, III, was born at Furrevik, in the 
 parish of Sulen, Nordre Bergenhus amt, Nor- 
 way. His parents were Christopher R. and An- 
 na Furrevik, farmers. 
 
 E. S. Christophersen. 
 
 At the age of 17 our subject went to Bergen 
 and learned the trade of a tailor. In 1880 he 
 
 went to Throndhjem and worked at his trade 
 there for a year and a half. 
 
 In September, 1881, he came to America and 
 stopped in Chicago. In March, 1882, he went 
 to Whitewater, Wis., where he worked at his 
 trade for over four years. In 1886 he moved 
 to Rockford, where he has resided since. In 
 March, 1896, he was appointed general organizer 
 for the Journeymen Tailors' Union of America, 
 and has served in that capacity for four years 
 and three months. He was the first general or- 
 ganizer appointed by that organization, has 
 served long and traveled extensively. He has 
 been in every state, province and city on the 
 North American continent. In September, 1900, 
 he engaged in fire insurance, and has established 
 a very profitable business. He owns his own 
 home, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, Masonic lodge, and the Modern Wood- 
 men of America. 
 
 He keeps in touch with current events among 
 the Norwegians in this country and his native 
 land, being a regular reader of several Scandi- 
 navian publications. His hospitable home is al- 
 ways open to his countrymen. Our subject is a 
 typical Norwegian, broad shouldered, weighs 
 230 pounds, and feels best at home when sur- 
 rounded by the sons and daughters from the 
 Land of the Midnight Sun. Mr. Christophersen 
 is also a good singer, having sung on several oc- 
 casions in public. 
 
 On Feb. 23, 1882, he was married to Anna R. 
 Anderson, born at Ibestad, Troms0 stift, Nor- 
 way. They have no children but an adopted son 
 Fred. 
 
 MARTIN H. CHRISTOPHERSON, 
 
 The general superintendent in Chicago of the 
 Otis Elevator Company of New York, was born 
 in Horten, Norway, June 6, 1866. He came to 
 Chicago with his parents June 6, 1870. His par- 
 ents, Johan and Martha Christopherson, are at 
 rest in the family lot in Mount Olive Cemetery. 
 Martin was apprenticed with Crane Bros. Manu- 
 facturing Company for four years to learn the 
 trade of a m.achinist. After having learned his 
 trade he remained with the Crane Elevator Com- 
 pany as foreman of construction from 1885 un- 
 til 1890. He was with the Standard Elevator Co. 
 in the same capacity frorp 1891 to 1896, and again 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 291 
 
 with Crane & Co. as superintendent of construc- 
 tion from 189*5 to 1898, and held the same posi- 
 tion with the Otis Elevator Company from 1898 
 to 1902, when he was made general superintendent 
 of manufacturing and construction. 
 
 In 1889 he married Miss Ida Hanson. They 
 have four children — Grace, Marvin, Robert and 
 
 M. H. Christopherson. 
 
 Harald. Mr. Christopherson is a member of the 
 Oriental Consistory, a Shriner, a director of 
 the Norwegian Old People's Home Society and 
 a member of the Irving Park Country Club. 
 The family resides at 1101 Warwick avenue. 
 
 of janitshar and musical sergeant. In this cap- 
 acity he served during many years, until the 2nd 
 Brigade in the sixties was separated from the 
 "Jsegerkorps." He remained with the latter as 
 "Korpshornbla^ser" and instructor of music and 
 singing from 1867 to 1870. That Mr.. Colberg filled 
 his position to the satisfaction of his superior regi- 
 mental officers can be ascertained from a testi- 
 monial issued in his favor by General N. Hoff, 
 whose command included the "Jsegerkorps." 
 Among other things the general writes, that Mr. 
 Colberg had proved himself a reliable, punctual 
 and energetic officer who had spared no efifort in 
 order to drill his band. "In appointing Mr. Col- 
 
 J. W. Colberg. 
 
 JOHAN WILHELM COLBERG, 
 
 The oldest and best known musical director of 
 Norwegian birth in the United States, was born 
 at Christiania, Norway, Sept. 27, 1837. At the 
 age of 15 he joined the band of the 2nd Akers- 
 hus Brigade as apprentice. Here he progressed 
 rapidly and was soon promoted to the position 
 
 berg we certainly harbored great expectations 
 and it is with the greatest pleasure I attest that 
 we were not disappointed. Without compensa- 
 tion and with very limited resources he has 
 drilled the music band of the "Jgegerkorps" to a 
 high degree of proficiency." 
 
 Mr. Colberg did not limit his activities to mili- 
 tary music alone. He was also the originator and 
 organizer of the Sagenes Singing and Music So- 
 ciety and" at times he was a member of the or- 
 chestra of the Norwegian National Theater. This 
 theater having been consolidated with the Chris- 
 
292 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 tiania Theater Mr. Colberg became a member of 
 the Christiania Brass-Sextette. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Colberg came to America. He 
 settled in Illinois, where he was appointed leader 
 of the Champaign and Urbana bands. His abil- 
 ity soon became known and recognized and he 
 was appointed instructor and teacher of music at 
 the Illinois Industrial University, choirleader at 
 the Universalist Church in Urbana, and he or- 
 ganized and instructed music bands at Toledo, 
 To'siio, Philo, Mansfield and Yankee Reeds. 
 
 On account of unfavorable climatic conditions 
 Mr. Colberg came to Chicago in 1872 where he 
 immediately was chosen leader for the Norweg- 
 ian Music Corps. Two years later he received 
 and accepted a call as instructor for "Nordmaen- 
 denes Sangforening", which f)Osition he filled with 
 great proficiency during 25 years, or from 1874 
 to 1899. This fact tells better than words of 
 Prof. Colberg's rare ability, popularity and devo- 
 tion to duty. With "Nordm?cndenes Sangforening" 
 he participated in the first Scandinavian singing 
 festival at Philadelphia, in 1887. Here he was 
 elected Director in chief and President for the 
 ■"United Scandinavian Singers of America," and 
 he acted in this double capacity at the singing 
 festival of that society in Chicago in 1889. He 
 also participated with his Chicago singers in the 
 3rd singing festival of the U. Sc. S. of A. at Min- 
 neapolis in the summer of 1891. At that occasion 
 Prof. Colberg was again honored by being 
 elected directcr-in.-chief. There were many com- 
 petitors for the honor, but Colberg was the can- 
 didate of the instructors present and was elected 
 by a considerable majority. He was also direct- 
 •or-in-chief at the great Scandinavian singing- 
 festival which was held in Chicago during the 
 World's Fair, 1893. At that occasion he con- 
 ducted a combined chorus of 1,000 singers, who 
 in connection with the Thomas orchestra among 
 other works executed "Landkjending" and "Vol- 
 merslaget." At the close of the festival Prof. 
 Colberg was unanimously elected sole honorary 
 member of the United Scandinavian Singers of 
 America. 
 
 His great success as instructor and leader has 
 to a certain extent been due to the unruffled state 
 of mind and cock-sureness which are character- 
 istic for his leadership. Among his singers and 
 musicians he has always been a good, jovial 
 friend and comrade. 
 
 When the Norwegian student singers visited 
 America in 1905 and were given a banquet at the 
 Sherman House, Chicago, two great veteran sing- 
 ing leaders were simultaneously honored. One 
 
 of them was Prof. O. A. Gr0ndahl, leader of the 
 student chorus; the other was the subject of this 
 sketch. Prof. J. W. Colberg. 
 
 HANS LAURITZ DAHL 
 
 Was born at Enga, in the parish of Mel0, Nor- 
 way, Aug. 7, 1841, his parents being George 
 Fredrik and Ingeborg Maria (born Klabo) Dahl. 
 His boyhood was passed in the country, but in 
 the fall of 1858 he went to Troms0 to learn the 
 trade of a tailor. Mr. Dahl came to Chicago in 
 
 H. L. Dahl. 
 
 1864 and immediately found work at his trade, 
 continuing until August, 1870, when he engaged 
 in the business for himself, at 202 S. Clark street. 
 Here he was burned out in the great fire of 1871. 
 He has had several locations since and is now at 
 140 Dearborn street. He was president for two 
 terms of the Chicago Drapers' and Tailors' Ex- 
 change, now extinct. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 293 
 
 He married Louifa Anderson Kierland, Nov. 6, 
 1873. They have four children — Ella, Ida Ma- 
 rie, Florence Adele and Harold Louis. Ella 
 Dahl Rich, accomplished pianist, having studied 
 with the best masters in this city and abroad, 
 has attained a high reputation as an artist. She 
 married, in 1899, Herbert G. Rich, publisher of 
 the Western Brewer. Florence Adele married, 
 in 1897, William Bradly Walrath, an attorney in 
 this city. Harold Louis, the youngest, is at pres- 
 ent a student at Cornell L^niversity. Mr. Dahl 
 and his family reside at 634 La Salle avenue. 
 They attend an independent religious society. 
 
 9§^ 
 
 not at school up to this time. After leaving 
 school he taught for two years in Norway be- 
 fore coming to America in 1882. Upon his ar- 
 rival in this country he went direct to Paxton, 
 Ford count}', 111., but located later at Elliott, in 
 the same county. He taught the Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church school for the Pontoppidan 
 congregation at Elliott from his arrival in this 
 country until 1903, since which time he has been 
 in the general merchandise business at Elliott. 
 
 On Jan. 26, 1903, he was married to Miss Mary 
 A. Bergeson,d aughter of Ole and Rachel (born 
 Uhr) Bergeson. He has been secretary of the 
 Pontoppidan Lutheran Church for many j'ears. 
 He is also a life-member of the Deaconess Hos- 
 pital of Chicago. 
 
 PETER K. DAHL, 
 
 Of Elliott, 111., was born in Fister sogn, Hjelme- 
 land prestegjeld, Norway, Jan. 6, 1861. His par- 
 
 
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 f^^% 
 
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 flilw 
 
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 ^^ 
 
 iL 
 
 
 J 
 
 P. K. Dahl. 
 
 ents were Kleng Peterson and Anna G. (born 
 Knudsvig) Dale, farmers in Norway. Our subject 
 graduated from Koppervig teachers' school in 
 1880, having worked upon his father's farm when 
 
 OSCAR DANIELS, 
 
 President and treasurer of the Oscar Daniels 
 Company, of New York, was born in Christiania, 
 
 Oscar Daniels. 
 
 Norway, Sept. 5, 1869. His parents died before 
 Oscar was 14 years old, and at this age he left 
 
394 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Norway as a sailor before the mast. In this way- 
 he visited nearly every country in the world, and 
 from his observation he decided to locate perm- 
 anently in the United States. He came to Chi- 
 cago in 1890 and has since made this his home. 
 He organized and incorporated the Oscar Dan- 
 iels Company under the laws of New York, for 
 the purpose of erecting steel buildings and 
 bridges, retaining a majority of the stock in his 
 own name. Associated with him in this com- 
 pany are Albert E. Dennis, vice-president and 
 secretary, and Charles L. Ostenfeldt, C. E., chief 
 engineer. Chicago, with offices at 531-35 Unity 
 Building, is their headquarters, with branch of- 
 fices at 38 Park row, New York, and 1102 James 
 Flood Building, San Francisco, Cal. The Com- 
 pany has had great success and is now doing a 
 business second to none in this countr3^ They 
 have erected a great many of the finest and most 
 substantial steel buildings in every large city in 
 the United States, and these now stand as endur- 
 ing monuments to the skill and ability of the 
 management. 
 
 Mr. Daniels is a 32-degree Mason, a Mystic 
 Shriner, and a life-member of the Columbia 
 Yacht Club of Chicago, of which he served one 
 year as commodore. He is also a member of the 
 Chicago Athletic Association and the Royal 
 League. He travels a great deal, and gives per- 
 sonal attention to the business of his three widely 
 separated offices. 
 
 In 1885 he was married to Miss Anna Olsen, 
 of Odalen, near Christiania, Norway, with whom 
 he has had six children: Carl, Christian, Albert, 
 
 CHRISTIAN DANIELSEN 
 
 Was born in Bergen, Norway, Nov. 27, 1862. 
 His father is Carl Danielsen, a merchant at Ber- 
 gen, and his mother Sibertine Methlie. Both are 
 still living. Mr. Danielsen learned his trade 
 with Iver Iversen, of Bergen, receiving his di- 
 ploma as a master watchmaker at the age of 19, 
 in 1881. After that he worked for the same firm 
 about one and a half years, whereupon he con- 
 cluded to migrate to America, where he arrived 
 in 1883, in Chicago. There he worked for John 
 Levin, Chicago avenue, two years. Then he went 
 to Elgin, 111., and worked for Rovelstad Bros, 
 about five years. Later worked at the Elgin 
 watch factory a short time. 
 
 Having been offered a position with the Illi- 
 nois Watch Company, at Springfield, he went 
 there in 1887. He worked at the factory about 
 two years and then obtained a position as chief 
 watchmaker with John C. Pierik & Co., and 
 which he is still holding. 
 
 Christian Danielsen. 
 
 George, Mabel and Clara. The family attends 
 the English Lutheran church of Springfield. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER DANIELSON, 
 
 The well known retired farmer of Sheridan, 111., 
 was bon-^ at Ordal near Stavanger, Norway, Jan. 
 4, 1835. His parents were Christen and Martha 
 Danielson, farmers at Ordal. With them he came 
 to America when only one year of age, and they 
 settled in Mission township. Both died on the 
 same day from the cholera, in 1849, and their 
 young son was thrown on his own resources. 
 
 Our subject worked with his parents on the 
 farm until he was 14 years old and after their 
 demise worked by the month at a small pay, re- 
 ceiving only about eight dollars a month during 
 the three first years. When 22 he acquired 80 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 295 
 
 acres of land in the neighborhood of Leiand and 
 later added more, until he was quite a large 
 landholder. 
 
 Mr. Danielson is married to Anna Thomason, a 
 daughter of Osmun and Bertha (S^rvaak) Tho- 
 the Lutheran church by Rev. Ole Andrewson. 
 He is a well versed and read man, and that 
 fact must be ascribed to his inclination for self- 
 education. 
 
 Mr. Danielson is married to Anna Thomason, a 
 daughter of Osmun and Bertha (S0rvaak) Tho- 
 mason of ]\Ieling, near Stavanger. They have 
 been blessed with nine children, all of whom are 
 living: ]\Iartin J. was born in 1857; Daniel C. in 
 1859; Bertha A. in 1861; Osmond M. in 1863; Ed- 
 die A. in 1868; David N. in 1871; Ida M. in 1866; 
 Mary Emma J. in 1874 and Joseph C. in 1877. 
 They are married: Martin J. to Julia Hayr; Da- 
 niel C. to Ellen Halvorsen (since deceased); 
 Bertha A. to L. Hayr; Osman M. to Carrie Lar- 
 son; Eddie A. to Anna Anderson; David N. to 
 Carrie Wells; Ida M. to Charles Hayr; Mary 
 Emma J. to Andrew Gaard, and Joseph C. to 
 Hattie Rush. 
 
 Mr. Danielson has held several positions of 
 trust such as school director, highway commis- 
 sioner and supervisor (when he lived three years 
 in Iowa). 
 
 He still owns a farm in Iowa which is worked 
 by his youngest son. All his other land holdings 
 he has sold. With his wife he now lives a retired 
 life at Sheridan, where he owns a fine, new house 
 and several lots. 
 
 He has been an ardent church worker and con- 
 tributed to charitable institutions when called 
 upon. 
 
 Christopher Danielson was married on July 4, 
 1855, to Anna Thomason, who also came over 
 from Norway, in 1835, when but 2 years old. 
 To this union nine children were born, six sons 
 and three daughters, all living. 
 
 The subject of our sketch, O. M. Danielson, 
 after completing his public school education, 
 attended the Northwestern University at Evan- 
 ston and then returned to the farm and re- 
 mained there until 1891, when he went into 
 the grocery business for himself at Leiand. 
 He continued in the grocery business for one 
 year and then sold out. He then established 
 
 OSMAN MATHIAS DANIELSON. 
 
 O. M. Danielson. 
 
 Of Leiand, 111., was born at Earlville, La Salle 
 county, Nov. 15, 1863. The Danielson family 
 has been prominent in the settlement and devel- 
 opment of La Salle county, having located there 
 in pioneer days. Osman's father, Christopher 
 Danielson, who was born at Ordal, Norway, in 
 1834, came to this country with his parents when 
 only 1 year old. They located on a farm near 
 Norway, in La Salle county, and remained on 
 this farm until 1849, when all the family except 
 Christopher fell victims to the cholera. 
 
 and installed an electric-light plant for Leiand, 
 which he operated until 1897. He was justice of 
 the peace; served one term as trustee and two 
 terms as president of the village board. He had 
 served previously as road commissioner for three 
 years. He was a member of the I. O. G. T., serv- 
 ing at one time as chief templar. He belongs to 
 the Reorganized Church of Latter-Day Saints. 
 Mr. Danielson follows two great cardinal prin- 
 ciples and credits them for his success — honesty 
 and sobrietv. 
 
296 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 DR. ANDERS DOE 
 
 Was born on Fjelds parsonage, Bergens stift, 
 Norway, Nov. 27, 1852. His father, Jens Kobro 
 Daae, was the pastor for Fjelds parish and his 
 mother, Nicoline Friis. also born Daae. The sub- 
 ject of our sketch first attended Bergen's schools 
 and then went to Skien's Latin school. In 1869 
 he passed the student's examination for entrance 
 to the university at Christiania, from which he 
 graduated nine years later as a physician. He 
 was then assigned as interne at the State Hospi- 
 
 Dr. Anders Doe. 
 
 tal, in Christiania, served as assistant physician 
 at Gaustad Insane Asylum, and later as physician 
 at the Eidsvold Baths. 
 
 He emigrated to America in 1880, coming 
 direct to Chicago, where he has remained since 
 as a practicing physician. He is a member of the 
 Scandinavian MedicaL Society, American Medical 
 Society, a member of the Tabitha Hospital stafif, 
 honorary member of the Norwegian Singing 
 Society, Bj0rgvin's Singing Society, the Norweg- 
 ian Quartette Club and the Norwegian Turn- 
 ers. He was also secretary of the Leif Erikson 
 Memorial Association, and was a member of the 
 committee for soliciting funds for the sufferers 
 by the great fire at Aalesund. He also repre- 
 sented Christiania University at the inaugura- 
 
 tion of President James of the Northwestern Uni- 
 versity. 
 
 Dr. Doe was married to Miss Ragnhild Ble- 
 gen, of Chicago, on May 17, 1890. They have 
 two children. 
 
 The Doctor has not taken an active part in 
 politics, although he has always been ready to 
 discuss, from the platform or through the press, 
 current and living questions of public interest. 
 He is a ready and fluent writer and often con- 
 tributes short and entertaining articles and poems 
 referring to current subjects. He is a regular 
 correspondent for several Norwegian newspapers. 
 He finds time, too, to visit Norway and Germany 
 often. Dr. Doe's office is at 282 Grand avenue, 
 where he enjoys a large practice. 
 
 Dr. Doe was president of the delegation from 
 the National League to the coronation of the new 
 king and que'en of Norway in 1906. In 1907 he 
 was made a knight of the order of Sankt Olaf by 
 king Haakon VII. 
 
 ^ 
 
 OTTO THORSEN DOVER, 
 
 Vice-president of Albaugh Bros., Dover & Co., 
 Chicago, was born May 19, 1874, at Valders, 
 
 O. T. Dover. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 2i)7 
 
 Manitowoc county, Wis., his parents being Ole 
 T. and Barbara (Rebne) Dover. His early life 
 was passed in the country, but after finishing a 
 course at the Oshkosh Normal School he became 
 a salesman, and later state (Wisconsin) managei' 
 for a publishing house, until entering business 
 for himself in 1900. Mr. Dover is connected with 
 a large mail order house, which has recently 
 erected a large nine-story building (with a two 
 story addition for boiler and engine room) at 
 Marshall Botdevard and Twenty-first street, Chi- 
 cago. It is on the co-operative order and is do- 
 ing an immense business all over the country. 
 Mr. Dover is also manager of the Sterling Sup- 
 ply Company and a director in the Western 
 Thread and Dye Works, both of Chicago. 
 
 He is a niember of the Ashland Club, the 
 Neighborly Club, treasurer of the Oshkosh Nor- 
 mal, Chicago alumni, and belongs to St. Paul's 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church. 
 
 Woodmen, Knights of Pythias, and Liberty 
 Lodge 1534. 
 
 Mr. Dyrhus' father was born on F:er0arne, on 
 which islands his grandfather was a preacher. 
 
 WILHELM F. DYRHUS, 
 
 The expert watchmaker and jeweler at Spring- 
 field, 111., was born at Namsos, Norway, May 29, 
 1859. After having been confirmed in the Luth- 
 eran Church he went to Trondhjem at the age 
 of 17 years and learned the trade of a watcli- 
 miaker at the store of S. Hofif. After five years 
 of apprenticeship he received the diploma of a 
 master watchmaker and afterward served Mr. 
 Hoff as foreman for seven years. 
 
 Having been oflfered a place with the Illinois 
 Watch Company, he left Norway and arrived in 
 Springfield in 1888. He remained with the,, Illi- 
 nois Watch Company for two years, when- he 
 was offered and accepted the place of, chief 
 watchmaker for the well known watchmaker-.and 
 jeweler, J. C. Klaholt, with whom he remained 
 for nine years. 
 
 September 1, 1899, he engaged in business for 
 himself in the Franklin Building, 306 So. Fifth 
 street. Here he was appointed chief watch in- 
 spector for the Chicago & Alton Railroad Com- 
 pany. He is now temporarily located at 412 
 E. Washington street. He has the reputation of 
 being the most skillful watchmaker in this part 
 of the state. 
 
 Mr. Dyrhus was married in 1896 to Miss Mar- 
 tha Stappelworth, daughter of German parents, in 
 Springfield. He is a member of the Modern 
 
 W. F. Dyrhus. 
 
 Those islands belong to Denmark, and for cen- 
 turies there has been preserved by the state an 
 old house near Tender, S;!(nderjylland. Denmark, 
 called Dyrhus, which has a very tragic history, 
 too long to repeat here. 
 
 OLE T. EASTEGORD, 
 
 Of Ottawa, 111., was born in Aardal, Ryfyike, 
 near Stavanger, Norwaj-, Feb. 10, 1844. His 
 father, Thomas, and mother, Kari ( Johnsdatter) 
 Eastegaard, both now deceased, were farmers in 
 Norway. The subject of our sketch grew up 
 there and was educated in the country school un- 
 til he was confirmed in 1858. Then he worked 
 on his father's farm until about 18 years old, 
 
398 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 when he commenced to teach school. He taught 
 for some six years, according to the custom then 
 prevailing, going from one house to another, 
 staying from three days to two weeks with each 
 family. This was in Ombo, in Hjelmeland. He 
 then concluded to seek a wider field, and when 
 his iincle, Peter Jacobs, came from America, on 
 a visit to his old home, Eastegord arranged to 
 return with him to Ainerica. Mr. Jacobs had 
 settled in the township of Serena, and there is 
 where Mr. Eastegord started his career in this 
 
 In February, 1906, Mr. Eastegord retired from 
 farming and bought a house and lot in Ottawa, 
 corner First avenue and Center street, where he 
 and his wife intend to spend their declining years. 
 
 Mr. Eastegord has taken great interest in the 
 affairs of his community, and for a number of 
 years has been a director of the district school, 
 trustee of the congregation of Freedom, a trustee 
 of the Pleasant View Luther College, vice-presi- 
 dent of its board, and also trustee of the town- 
 ship of Freedom. He is a frequent contributor 
 to charitable institutions and schools. 
 
 ^ 
 
 O. T. Eastegord. 
 
 country'. He remained with his uncle for six 
 years, working on the farm. 
 
 A year after Eastegord reached America a 
 young woman. Miss Sera Larsdatter, an acquaint- 
 ance, arrived from Norway and came to Serena. 
 The old acquaintance was renewed, love suc- 
 ceeded friendship, and marriage resulted, in 1874. 
 Mr. Eastegord now rented a farm on shares and 
 worked for four years. Then he bought a farm 
 of eighty acres in the township of Freedom, to 
 which he later added another eighty acres. The 
 happy union of Mr. Eastegord and his wife was 
 blessed by one son, Harvey Eastegord, who has 
 now taken over the farm. He is not married. 
 
 JOHN E. EDMUNDS, 
 
 Of Ottawa, 111., was born in Hauge, Norway, 
 March 8, 1877. His parents were Edmund and 
 Signe (Monson) Edmunds Hauge. He came to 
 
 J. E. Edmunds. 
 
 America with his parents in 1883, going first to 
 Morris and then to Braceville, where they re- 
 mained for about one year. They then moved 
 on a farm about seven miles south of Gardner, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 299 
 
 111., where the family has remained since. Being 
 the oldest of the children, our subject had to 
 help on the farm, but attended the public school 
 as regularly as possible. When 19 years old he 
 entered Pleasant View Luther College and at- 
 tended for three years, having previously attend- 
 ed the Norwegian parochial school and been con- 
 firmed. He and his brother took turns in work- 
 ing on their father's farm, one staying at home 
 and the other working for others alternate years. 
 
 Mr. Edmunds was married to Christine Moe, 
 of Sheridan, 111., June 20, 1900. They have one 
 daughter, Fern Lucille, born Aug. 28, 1902. 
 
 After leaving college he went to work for the 
 Western Cottage Piano Company in Ottawa. 
 He then worked for Lucey Bros., of Ottawa. 
 On Sept. 1, 1903, he opened a small store of his 
 own in the outskirts of the town, dealing in dry 
 goods and ladies' garments. The business pros- 
 pered and after having associated himself with 
 Mr. M. Engel in 1905, they opened a large store 
 on the best business street in Ottawa, under the 
 firm name of Engel & Edmunds. This establish- 
 ment is the largest of its kind in La Salle county. 
 They also have a store in Streator. 
 
 Our subject is president of the Retail ]\Ier- 
 chants' Association of Ottawa. He served one 
 term, three years, in the I. N. G., joining in 1899. 
 Mr. Edmunds is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church — served one year as deacon, and is a 
 hard worker in the Sunday school and Luther 
 league. 
 
 His mother is living, but his father died July 
 1, 1904. His father was a prominent man in Nor- 
 way; was a fisherman in his early life and later 
 had charge of a fleet. He was elected to the 
 Storthing in 1870, but was shortly afterward 
 taken down with rheumatism, laid up for two 
 years, and crippled for life. 
 
 Chicago police force, where he continued until 
 1897. He then engaged in the real estate, loan 
 and insurance business at 712 Milwaukee avenue, 
 where he still does business. 
 
 He was married in Manitowoc. Wis., to Miss 
 Galena ]\Iaria Helle, on Sept. 4, 1892. They have 
 
 Olaf Egeland. 
 
 had five children, namely: Leslie and Roy, twins, 
 of which Roy died when 6 years old; Leslie is 
 now 11; Orrin 8 years; Helene, 7; Dorothy, 3 
 years old. The familj^ resides at 207 Evergreen 
 avenue. 
 
 OLAF EGELAND, 
 
 ASLAG EIELSON, 
 
 The real estate and insurance man at 712 Mil- 
 waukee avenue, was born at Skien, Norway, Oct. 
 10, 1867. After attending the common school and 
 being confirmed he was apprenticed to learn the 
 trade of a machinist in Christiania. 
 
 He came to America and Chicago in 1884 and 
 soon found work as a machinist. He worked at 
 this until 1890, when he was appointed on the 
 
 The veteran lumberman of Springfield, 111., was 
 born near Arendal, Norway, Aug. 27, 1829, the 
 son of Eiel and Anna Tharaldson. He attended 
 the common schools and also night school for a 
 time, and then clerked in a department store, 
 owned by Christopher Dedekam, in Arendal. 
 
 At the age of 17 years he went to sea as a 
 cabin boy, but was advanced rapidly to more 
 
300 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 responsible duLies. He sailed from Arendal, 
 Norway, to the Isle of Man for about three 
 seasons, and in 1849 came to America, landing at 
 New York. Shortly after his arrival he went to 
 Milwaukee, Wis., and sailed on the lakes for a 
 
 Aslag Eielson. 
 
 time, later locating in Michigan. In the summer 
 he was a fisherman and in the winter he worked 
 in the pineries. From Michigan he went to St. 
 Louis, Mo., and for a short time clerked in a 
 store in that city. 
 
 In 1852 he located in Springfield, 111., and soon 
 secured employment in the lumber yard of Aa- 
 ron Beidler, and later with George Huntington. 
 Mr. E. R. Ulrich soon after opened a lumber 
 3'ard and Mr. Eielson entered his employ. 
 
 After the close of the Civil War a yard was 
 started by Mr. Eielson and others. This con- 
 tinued until 1878, when Mr. Eielson bought out 
 his partners' interests, becoming the sole owner 
 of the business. He continued doing a general 
 lumber business and purchased additional ground 
 as his business increased. He has now eight 
 lots 40x157 feet, centrally located, on which his 
 lumber yard stands, on Tenth street from Mon- 
 roe to Adams streets. Of recent years he has 
 given the management of his business over to 
 
 his sons — Joseph, John and 0--c".r — while he 
 is practically living a retired life. Many changes 
 have taken place during his fifty -five years of 
 residence in Springfield, and Mr. Eielson takes 
 pleasure in recounting incidents of the early 
 days when the present capital of the state was 
 only a village. 
 
 In 1854, in Springfield, Mr. Eielson was mar- 
 ried to Miss Martha J. Olson, who was also born 
 in Arendal, Norway, Dec. 17, 1831. She died 
 Sept. 5, 1891. Eight children were born to them, 
 namely: Eilcrt, born May 1, 1857. who was book- 
 keeper for his father, married Martha Rierson. 
 Eilert died May 28, 1881, leaving a widow and one 
 son (Eilert), who is connected with his grand- 
 father's business. ]\Iary is the wife of Louis R. 
 Nelson, foreman at the Eielson lumber yards. 
 Joseph married his brother Eilert's widow and 
 is connected with his father in business. Ida M., 
 born April 5, 1866, died .\ug. 30, 1900. John and 
 Oscar A. are both connected with their father 
 
 Oscar Eielson. 
 
 in business. Oscar A. married Miss Lilian L. 
 Smith, Feb. 4, 1896. They have one son, Harry 
 A. Two daughters (Annie T. and Martha J.) 
 remain at home with their father. All of Mr. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 301 
 
 Joseph Eielson. 
 
 Eilert Eielson, Grand-son. 
 
 Eielson's children were born, reared and , edu- 
 cated in Springfield. We present some striking 
 
 John Eielson. 
 
 photographs of the father and his sons. The 
 boys, like their father, are splendid business men 
 of the very highest standing in the community. 
 
 Mr. Eielson has always been a .member of the 
 English Lutheran Church and has served almost 
 continually upon the official boards. In politics 
 he is a republican. His worth is widely acknowl- 
 edged by all who have become acquainted with 
 him and he has a wide circle of friends, gained 
 through over a half a century of continuous 
 residence in the capital city. At the advanced 
 age of 78 years Mr. Eielson is a well preserved 
 man. Nature certainly intended that when man 
 reaches advanced years he should rest from his 
 labors. In youth one is full of vigor and enthus- 
 iasm, which in mature years is guided by sound 
 judgment, so that the individual is able to use 
 his energies and efforts to the best advantage. 
 If he makes the most of his opportunities his 
 labors will be followed by success, and then, 
 when advanced years come on, he will be pos- 
 sessed of a competence that will enable him to 
 rest from further toil and enjoy the profits of 
 his former activity. 
 
 Such, at least, has been the career of Aslag 
 Eielson, and his straightforward dealing in all 
 business transactions has made his name an hon- 
 ored one wherever known. He possesses a nature 
 that could never content itself with mediocrity, 
 
30'^ 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 because his ideals are high, his industry unflag- 
 ging and his mentality strong and decisive. With 
 those dominant characteristics as a foundation 
 he has builded thereon the superstructure of a 
 highly successful business career. 
 
 REV. KNUTE OLSEN EITTREIM, 
 
 Pastor for St. John's Norwegian Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church at Creston, 111., was born in 
 
 Rev. K. O. Eittreim. 
 
 Ft. Dodge, Iowa, June 1.5, 1870, his parents being 
 Ole O. and Martha Eittreim, farmers in Iowa. 
 Our subject spent his early years at home and 
 attended the public schools. Later he attended 
 the college department of Red Wing (Minn.) 
 Seminary. He also took a business and short 
 hand course at Beeman's Business College in Red 
 Wing. He received his theological training at 
 the Chicago Lutheran Seminary; He began his 
 work in the ministry on July 1, 1900, having been 
 ordained the same year during the annual meet- 
 
 ing of the Synod, held in Grafton, S. D. His 
 first call was to the Norwegian Evangelical Luth- 
 eran Church, near Creston, 111., and St. John's 
 Lutheran Church at Creston, where he has re- 
 mained since. 
 
 The attainment of his purpose to be a minister 
 of the gospel was not an easy one. From 1890 
 to 1895 he held a commercial position with A. F. 
 Risser & Co., Chicago, manufacturers and whole- 
 sale dealers in harness and saddlery. During 
 summer vacations he clerked for John McLocke 
 & Co., wholesale dry goods; Butler Bros., whole- 
 sale department store; and was for a time with 
 the Western Passenger Association, all of Chi- 
 cago. He also taught parochial schools in the 
 Trinity and Immanuel Churches of Chicago and 
 in Nazareth Church in Hamilton county, Iowa. 
 
 He was married to Annie Maria Digerness on 
 Aug. 24, 189;). They have three children. 
 
 ELIM ELLINGSON, 
 
 Capron, 111., was born on Gaarden Aase, in Sogn, 
 Norway, April 25, 1835. His parents were Lars 
 and Gjjziri (Nelsdatter) Ellingson, farmers in 
 Norway. The parents, with their five children, 
 came to America in 1845 and settled in Capron, 
 where the mother died after three years. The fa- 
 ther remarried in 1863 and afterward moved first 
 to Minnesota and later to South Dakota. He was 
 an ardent Christian, belonging to the Hauge Sy- 
 nod, and a zealous missionary for his faith. 
 
 The subject of our sketch was married in 1859 
 to Miss Torbjjzfr Seim, of Vik, Norway, the same 
 place where he himself was born. She had ar- 
 rived in this country with her parents two years 
 earlier than Mr. Ellingson. The union has been 
 blessed with ten children: Gerina, Elizabeth, Al- 
 fred (who died in Dakota), Anna, John Henry, 
 Richard Louis, Clarence, Bertha Mathilda, Frank 
 Theodore, William Arthur, (who died in Gales- 
 burg while attending school). Three sons and 
 two daughters are married. 
 
 Mr. Ellingson took over his father's farm after 
 his father's marriage and is still living on the old 
 homestead. The family attends the United Luth- 
 eran Church, near Capron, the Sunday school of 
 which Mr. Ellingson has been superintendent for 
 a number of years. Mr. Ellingson and wife have 
 retired from farming, spending their declining 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 303 
 
 years in the town of Capron. They still own the 
 farm, which their son Clarence is taking care of. 
 
 Nils, Elim and Andrew Ellingson. 
 
 GIRARD ALFRED ELLINGSON 
 
 Is a native of Chicago, where he was born Au- 
 gust 9, 1873, his parents being Lars A. and Doro- 
 thea Ellingson, who came to Chicago from Nor- 
 way in 1866. 
 
 His early life was spent, in Chicago, where he 
 attended the grammar and high schools. At the 
 age of 17 years he went out west to seek his 
 fortune, but returned to Chicago in 1892 with 
 some valuable experience but with little material 
 increase in this world's goods. 
 
 On his return to Chicago he held various posi- 
 tions as general office clerk for seven years, the 
 last two years of which he attended the evening 
 sessions of the Chicago College of Law; in 1899 
 he went to Bloomington, 111., and entered the law 
 department of the Illinois Wesleyan University 
 and graduated in 1900 with the degree of LL. B. 
 Since that time he has been practicing law in 
 
 the Chamber of Commerce Building in this city. 
 He is a member of the Norwegian Singing So- 
 ciety, the Norwegian Turners, Old People's Home 
 Society, Wergeland Lodge of R. H. K., Inde- 
 pendent Order of Foresters and the Fraternal 
 Order of Eagles. For the past six or seven years 
 he has been prominent in the afifairs of the Nor- 
 wegian singers in Chicago and during 1904 and 
 1905 was president of the Normaendenes Sang- 
 forening. 
 
 He has strong and decided views on political 
 economy and is in sympathy with the radical 
 element in the democratic party, though he has 
 
 G. Alfred Ellingson. 
 
 not taken any active interest in practical politics 
 for some years. 
 
 Mr. Ellingson is unmarried and lives with his 
 mother at 2756 Fulton street, his father having 
 died in 1904. 
 
 JOHN EDVART ENGEBRETSON 
 
 Was born at H0nefos, Norway, Jan 17. 1867, 
 his parents being Ulrich and Johanne Engebret- 
 
304 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 son. He lived and went to school in a small town 
 and later clerked in a grocery at Kongsberg. 
 The owner of this store was Mr. Halvorsen. 
 He remained nt his employ for four years, when 
 he went to Christiania, in 1886, where he re- 
 mained for two years, when he came to America, 
 settling in Ciiicago. Here he worked as a gro- 
 cery clerk for Mr. Zoega and remained with him 
 
 J. E. Engebretsen. 
 
 until 1892. He then entered into a partnership 
 with Mr. O. Rolfsen, under the firm name of 
 Rolfsen & Engebretson, and engaged in the 
 grocery business at 313 W. Ohio street. In 1898 
 they bought another store, at 358 W. Erie street. 
 In 1893 they built their own building for a store 
 at the corner of N. Spaulding and Beach streets, 
 having disposed of their Erie-street property. 
 Mr. Engebretson looks after the new store and 
 Mr. Rolfsen is in charge at the old Ohio-street 
 store. 
 
 Mr. Engebretson was married to Laura Han- 
 sen on Jan. 28, 1895. They have had two chil- 
 dren — one now living. Their home is at 61 
 Beach street. 
 
 L. ENGER, 
 
 The subject of this sketch, was born on the Kuls- 
 rud farm, Str^m parish, S0ndre Odalen, Norway, 
 Feb. 1, 1856. He lived on the farm and went to 
 the district school until after his confirmation 
 and up to 1872. In this year he took up a sea- 
 faring life and continued in it until 1882. Then 
 after a year's sojourn in Norway he emigrated to 
 America in March, 1883, going direct to Minne- 
 apolis. He spent five years here, going to school 
 a part of the time and clerking in a grocery 
 store. 
 
 In 1888 he came to Chicago and was at first 
 engaged in- the cofYee, tea and butter business. 
 In July, 1889, he became connected with the 
 Sandberg Manufacturing Company, 327 Dearborn 
 street, makers of box-wood-blocks for wood en- 
 graving. He has been secretary and treasurer of 
 that company ever since. 
 
 L. En gar. 
 
 In 1889 he married Mrs. Jennie Sandberg (nee 
 Couch) and three children were born of this 
 union. The family attends the Bethany Presby- 
 terian Church and resides at 87 Humboldt boule- 
 vard. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 305 
 
 BURTON C. ERICSON, 
 
 The photographer at Leland, 111., was born at 
 Ottawa. March 10, 1871. He is a son of Eric 
 
 B. C. Ericson. 
 
 and Inger (Olson) Ericson, of Ottawa, 111. His 
 father was a wagon-maker there for over thirty 
 years. He moved to Leland in 1877, where he 
 and his wife died. 
 
 Our subject passed through the combined pub- 
 lic and high school in Leland and graduated in 
 1891. At first he worked at his father's carriage 
 works, but in 1903 he bought the photographic 
 studio of Mrs. May Thorson at Leland, and since 
 that time has been conducting it with his sister. 
 Miss Louise, as a partner, operating under the 
 name of the Ericson Studio. They are members 
 of the Methodist Church. The whole family 
 were faithful workers and members of the Good 
 Templars' Order as long as that order existed 
 at Leland. His father had been an ardent temp- 
 erance worker and a lodge deputy for many 
 years. 
 
 Aug. 29, 1852. his father being Bygmester (Con- 
 tractor) Kristen Ericson. When our subject was 
 1 year his parents moved to Hamar, Norvvay, 
 where Mr. Ericson, Sr., was the largest con- 
 tractor and builder. Otto attended the public 
 schools here and graduated from the borgerskole 
 (high school) at the age of 15. The history 
 of Hamar credits young Otto with having been 
 chosen as teacher in the high school of Hamar 
 prior to his moving to America with his father 
 in 1868. His father remained in this country for 
 six years, returning to Norway in 1874, leaving 
 his 22-year-old son to fight his own battle in his 
 newly adopted country. 
 
 Mr. Ericson became cashier and bookkeeper 
 with- Christian Jevne in 1868, and was closely 
 identified with the success of the business which 
 later developed into the largest wholesale and re- 
 tail grocery business in Chicago. In recognition 
 of his services Mr. Ericson was admitted as a 
 partner in the firm in 1887. In 1904 he bought 
 
 OTTO C. ERICSON, 
 
 The president and treasurer of C. Jevne & Co., 
 
 was born in Faaberg. Gudbrandsdalen, Norway, 
 
 O. C. Ericson. 
 
 from the estate of C. Jevne the above business 
 and organized the corporation of C. Jevne & Co., 
 with a paid up capital of $200,000. 
 
 Mr. Ericson married, in 1876, Miss Eda Louise 
 John<^on, born in Prescott, Pierce co-",ity. Wis , 
 
306 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 in 1854. Eight children sprung from this union, 
 five sons and three daughters, all living. The 
 sons are Elmer Otto, Norman Winfred, Willard 
 Everet, Chester Franklin, Melvin Burton; the 
 daughters are Grace Olivia, Ruth Dorothy, Edith 
 Marguerite. The oldest daughter, Grace, is an 
 accomplished pianist and teacher of music at the 
 Northwestern University at Evanston, 111., where 
 the family reside. The oldest son, Elmer, is con- 
 nected with the banking firm of N. W. Harris & 
 Co. Norman, the second son, is engaged with his 
 father. The other children, three boys and two 
 girls, are attending school. Mr. Ericson is a 
 member of the Union League Club of Chicago 
 and chairman of the board of trustees of the First 
 Congregational Church of Evanston. 
 
 Mr. Erickson is a typical Norwegian-American, 
 being of magnificent physique, six feet three 
 inches high, and of rugged and athletic build. 
 
 ALFRED O. ERICKSON, 
 
 Assistant city attorney, with offices in the First 
 National Bank Building, Chicago, was born in 1871, 
 at Scandinavia, Wis., whither his parents immi- 
 grated from Skien, Norway, in the early '40's and 
 settled on a farm. There Mr. Erickson's boyhood 
 days were spent, wielding the ax, wrestling with 
 'farming appliances, and attending the village 
 school. For a short time he studied for the min- 
 istry under the supervision of Rev. N. J. Ellestad, 
 then at Scandinavia, but upon arriving at his 
 majority entered the Northern Indiana Normal 
 School, from which he graduated in 189:^. He 
 was employed at the World's Columbian Exposi- 
 tion until its close, after which he took up the 
 study of law in the office of Irving P. Lord, 
 lawyer, railway promoter and capitalist, at Wau- 
 paca, Wis. In 1895 he returned to Chicago and 
 resumed the study of law at the law department 
 of Lake Forest University, from which he grad- 
 uated in 1899; he was admitted to the Illinois bar 
 the same year, and immediately assumed the 
 practice of law. As a lawyer he has been very 
 successful, and in November, 1905, was appointed 
 assistant city attorney by John F. Smulski. 
 
 Mr. Erickson has taken an active interest in 
 republican politics, being a member of the re- 
 publican executive committee of the Twenty-fifth 
 Ward, and is chairman of the political action 
 committee of the Marquette Club. He is also a 
 member of the Chicago Bar Association, New 
 Illinois Athletic Club, the Masonic and other 
 fraternal societies. 
 
 A. O. Erickson. 
 
 In 1899 he was married to Miss Louise H. 
 Gentz, of Chicago, with whom he resides at 804 
 Burling street, Lake View. 
 
 MRS. AGNETE ERICKSON, 
 
 Widow of Captain Christian Erickson, was born 
 at Llamar, Norway, May 6, 1844. Her parents 
 were Hans Jevne, a tanner at Hamar, and Mar- 
 tha Jevne (nee RcSmmen) of Hedemarken. With 
 one of her brothers she came to Chicago in 1867. 
 She is a sister of the well known merchants, Chris- 
 tian Jevne, of Chicago, who died in 1898; Hans 
 Jevne, of Los Angeles, Cal., and Charles Jevne, 
 of Chicago. The husband. Captain Erickson, who 
 was born in Bergen, May 7, 1839, came to Amer- 
 ica at an early age, held positions as clerk, and at 
 the outbreak of the Civil War enlisted as a 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 807 
 
 private in Company I of the Eiglity-second Il- 
 linois Volunteer Infantry, and soon afterward 
 was promoted to orderly sergeant. Shortly after 
 he was promoted to second lieutenant, and as 
 such took command of the company until after 
 the battle of Gettysburg. The next year he took 
 part in the battles of Lookout Mountain and Mis- 
 sionary Ridge, under General Hooker. He was 
 with Sherman's army on the campaign to At- 
 lanta and the glorious march to the sea, partici- 
 pating in the battles on the way. On the march 
 to the sea he was on the regimental staff as 
 quartermaster, and after being honorably dis- 
 
 Mrs. Agnete Erickson. 
 
 charged was given a captain's commission, signed 
 by President Johnson, for gallant and meritori- 
 ous services during the war. His company was 
 nearly all from Chicago and largely composed of 
 Scandinavians. 
 
 Being an extremely temperate man. Captain 
 Erickson during the war saved enough money to 
 start in business in Chicago. He engaged in the 
 dry-goods business on Milwaukee avenue, and 
 also started a branch store on Division street, 
 which was later destroyed in the great fire. In 
 1882 he built a four-story brickbuilding at 1190- 
 92 Milwaukee avenue, where he continued with 
 
 the same line of business until in 1896, when ill 
 health compelled him to retire from a successful 
 business career. He died Jan. 20, 1900. 
 
 Mrs. Agnete Erickson was married to Mr_ 
 Erickson Sept. 11, 1870, and is the mother of five 
 children: Ernest Alexander, commission mer- 
 chant; Agnes Camilla, married to Mr. G. A. 
 Schonlau, of Chicago; Arthur, who died when 
 2% 3^ears old; Florence May; Christian Arent, 
 who died at the age of 19. 
 
 With her youngest daughter, Florence, Mrs. 
 Erickson lives in the family residence at 92 
 Fowler street. On May 11, 1897, Governor Tan- 
 ner appointed her a trustee of the Soldiers' Wi- 
 dows' Home at Wilmington, 111., and she was re- 
 appointed by Governor Yates, serving in all seven 
 years, whereupon she resigned upon her depart- 
 ure on a visit to her brother's in California. Mrs. 
 Erickson is a member of the Dames of the Loyal 
 Legion and of the Norwegian Club, Vala. At- 
 tends the Wicker Park Lutheran Church and is 
 an active member of the Old People's Home So- 
 ciety. 
 
 ERNST ALEXANDER ERICKSON 
 
 Was born in Chicago on the 9th day of July, 
 1872. His father was Captain Christian Erick- 
 son, w'ho was born in Bergen, Norway, and his 
 mother Agnete Jevne, born in Hammar, Norwaj". 
 Mr. Erickson graduated from the grammar school' 
 in Chicago in 1887 and then took a two-year busi- 
 ness course at the Metropolitan Business College. 
 In 1890 he entered his father's employ in the dry 
 goods business, and after acquiring a thorough' 
 knowledge of the business he was given charge- 
 of one his father's stores. This continued until 
 1896, when on account of failing health his father 
 decided to retire from business. Mr. Christian 
 Jevne, an uncle of Mr. Erickson, then offered him 
 a position with the firm of C. Jevne & Co., where 
 he held a \siy responsible position for eight 
 years. While with this firm Mr. Erickson took 
 a two-year course at the Chicago Business Law 
 School. 
 
 Mr. Erickson then decided to establish him- 
 self in his own business, and in the year 1904 
 he entered the commission business at 169 W 
 Randolph street. 
 
 Mr. Erickson was married on April 21, 1897, to 
 Martha G. Quales, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. 
 "Niles T. Quales. They have two children: Win- 
 nifrid Ruth Quales, born Dec. 7, 1899, and Veia 
 Martha, born Dec. 3, 1906. 
 
308 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Mr. Erickson was confirmed in St. Paul's Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran Church, but afterward joined 
 the Wicker Park Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
 where he holds the ofifice of deacon and financial 
 secretary. He succeeded his father as a member 
 
 E. A. Erickson. 
 
 of the Illinois Commandery of the Military Or- 
 der of the Loyal Legion of the United States. 
 He is also a member of Blair Lodge No. 393 of 
 the Masonic Fraternity. 
 
 He came to America in 1884, arriving in Chi- 
 cago on June 9. Upon his arrival here he se- 
 cured work as a carpenter for several years, or 
 until 1890, when he joined his brother, Sievert 
 Erickson, and engaged in the business as car- 
 penters, contractors and builders, under the firm 
 name of Erickson Bros. They have been very 
 successful, having erected many large storage 
 houses, factories and other buildings. 
 
 Mr. Erickson is a Mason, a member of Blair 
 Lodge A. F. and A. M., and belongs to the 
 consistory and the Medinah Temple of the Mystic 
 Shrine. 
 
 Our subject's father, who was born in 1819, 
 died in 1875, and his mother, born in 1821, died 
 in 1904. 
 
 EDD (ODD) ERICKSON, 
 
 Edd Erickson. 
 
 Of the firm of Erickson Bros., contractors and 
 builders, with offices in the Oxford Building, 84 
 La Salle street, Chicago, was born at Vassestran- 
 den, Norway, Feb. 22, 1865. His father, Erik 
 Arnetvidt, was a farmer; his mother's maiden 
 name being Martha Sjursdatter Tweite. Our 
 subject worked on his father's farm and attended 
 the common schools during his youth, and later 
 learned the trade of a carpenter. 
 
 Mr. Erickson was married to Miss Gurie L. 
 M0en, from Voss, Norway, on Sept. 26, 1896. 
 Her parents were Lars and Johanne Helleness 
 Dykesten. His wife died July 23, 1905, leaving 
 him with two children — Elmer Johan, born 
 March 27, 1898, and Marguerite Lillian, born Dec. 
 16, 1899. He resides with his children at 237 
 Webster avenue. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 309 
 
 OLE ERICKSON, 
 
 The leading merchant at Morris, 111., was born 
 in Gudbrandsdalen, Norway, Oct. 6, 1850. His 
 parents were Erick and Marit (born Svarthau- 
 gen) Erickson, from Kvam, Gudbrandsdalen. 
 They were farmers, and our subject worked on 
 the farm and attended the common schools. 
 
 When 16 years old Mr. Erickson came to Chi- 
 cago and secured work in a grocery, where he 
 remained for three years. In May, 1870, he went 
 to Morris and with a partner opened a dry goods 
 store. This partnership lasted for three years, 
 
 O. Erickson. 
 
 when he sold out and again began clerking, con- 
 tinuing for about eight years. 
 
 In 1880, in partnership with W. B. Hull, he 
 opened a general store in Morris. In 1884 his 
 partner sold his interest in the business to B. 
 W. Lens and the firm of Lens & Erickson was 
 formed. The business increased and soon be- 
 came one of the largest stores in Grundy county. 
 In 1892 the firm moved into larger quarters in 
 the Smith building. In 1894 the firm branched out 
 into the grocery business also, having bought the 
 stock of Jonas Jorstad. W. S. Strong was now 
 admitted as a member of the firm in tlie grocery 
 
 department, the name being changed to Erickson 
 & Co. W. B. Lens, the senior member of the 
 firm, went to Kansas City, and in 1899 Mr. Erick- 
 son became the sole owner of the dry goods 
 store. His oldest son, Mr. A. E. Erickson, was 
 now admitted to the business and the firm name 
 was made O. Erickson & Son. 
 
 The present quarters, where the dry goods and 
 grocery departments have been located, though 
 large, have proved too small for the firm's busi- 
 ness, so that they have lately moved into Mr. 
 Erickson's large two-story brick building on the 
 corner of Liberty and Jackson streets. 
 
 Mr. Erickson was married in Morris on Sept. 
 10, 1871, to Miss Mary M., a daughter of William 
 Frey, of that city. They have had six children, 
 namely: Anna M., born Nov. 1, 1872 (she died 
 in the summer of 1883); Albert Edward, March 
 19, 1875;- William Blaine, June 20, 1885; Edna 
 Louisa, June 11, 1890; Marit May, who died in 
 infancy; Mildred Ruth, March 19, 1895. Albert 
 Edward was married to Miss Ida Hoge, of Mor- 
 ris, Nov. 11, 1897; and William Blaine to Miss 
 Mary Wainwright, on June 20, 1905. 
 
 Mr. Erickson was a Lutheran and his wife a 
 Presbyterian, but the family now attends the 
 Presbyterian Church, in which our subject was 
 elected trustee in 1881. He has for a number of 
 years been president of the board and is a teacher 
 and superintendent of the Sunday school. As 
 chairman of the building committee for the erec- 
 tion of a new church in 1903 he earned for him- 
 self an excellent record as a promoter; a $25,000- 
 edifice was built and turned over to the congre- 
 gation, free of debt. Mr. Erickson has held sev- 
 eral local offices and is a staunch republican. 
 
 His mother died in Norway, Nov. 29, 1879, and 
 his father, who came to America and settled oni 
 a farm in Minnesota in 1880, died there in 1885^ 
 
 HENRY HANSEN ERLAND, 
 
 Son of Christian and Anne Mathea Hansen, was 
 born in Chicago, May 21, 1879. He attended the 
 Chicago public schools and graduated from the 
 English High and manual training school. He 
 then began work in a brass foundry, but soon de- 
 cided to go to college and acquire a better educa- 
 tion. Entered the University of Michigan at Ann 
 Arbor in 1898 and graduated in 1901 with the de- 
 gree of Bachelor of Law. The same year hf 
 
310 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 successfully passed the bar examination for the 
 state of Illinois and was admitted to practice law 
 before the supreme court of Illinois. Returning 
 to Chicago, he entered the law offices of Wickett, 
 Bruce & Meier, general practitioners. Later he 
 became associated with Colonel John S. Cooper 
 and Hon. Otto Gresham. 
 
 In 1904 he abandoned the general practice of 
 law to accept a position with The William D. 
 Gibson Company, corner of Huron and Kings- 
 
 H. H. Erland. 
 
 bury streets, Chicago, manufacturers of steel and 
 wire springs. 
 
 Mr. Erland takes and active interest in politics, 
 especially in ward and city affairs. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Illinois Athletic Club. He is also a 
 member of St. Paul's Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church, of which he has been a trustee for the 
 past three years. He is not married, and lives at 
 816 No. Washtenaw avenue. 
 
 Svenson Espe and his mother G0a Olsdatter 
 Bakke, of Odde sogn, whose mother was born 
 in Denmark. 
 
 He was educated in the country school and 
 worked on his father's farm, and was also fish- 
 ing, until he was confirmed. He then went to 
 Stavanger to learn the carpenter trade, and re- 
 mained there one year. Then returned to the 
 farm and worked there until he emigrated to 
 America, in 1857, on board a small schooner, the 
 J0rgen Brunchorst, and landed in Quebec. From 
 there he came to Chicago on the 7th day of June. 
 From Chicago he went to Bradford, Lee county, 
 111. Worked on a farm for about two years. 
 Then he with a party of young men started out 
 with ox teams over the plains for Pike's Peak, 
 Colorado. As it was hard to find anything to 
 
 PETER O. ESPE 
 
 Was born at Ullensvang sogn, in Hardanger, 
 Norway, Sept. 29, 1833. His father was Die 
 
 P. O. Espe. 
 
 eat, except when they were able to kill a buffalo 
 or antelope, they came pretty near starving, so 
 the party broke up and some of them returned, 
 but others, among them Mr. Espe, continued to 
 California, where the gold fever was just raging 
 at the time. He arrived in California the 29th 
 of October, same year, having spent nearly six 
 months on the way. He went to the northern 
 part of California and remained there for six 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 311 
 
 years, all the time mining gold on his own ac- 
 count. He did not gather any millions of gold,, 
 but succeeded fairly well, so that he could return 
 home by the way of Panama, the Gulf of Mexico 
 and New York with a snug sum of money saved 
 up. He remembers how he passed the isthmus 
 of Panama on New Year's day, and when they 
 came to New York they were inet by a snow 
 blizzard — a terrible change in climate from the 
 tropics. 
 
 He now returned by railroad via Chicago to 
 Willow Creek township, to Mr. Lars Risetter's, 
 and then bought a farm in Alto township, where 
 he has been located ever since. 
 
 Mrs. P. O. Espe. 
 
 In February, 1887, he concluded that it was 
 not good to be alone any longer and was mar- 
 ried to Miss Cecilia Branstveit, a native of Nor- 
 way, with whom he has had one son, Peter Si- 
 mon Espe, born 21st of June, 1890. 
 
 In 1865 Mr. Espe's parents came over from 
 the old country and remained with him and 
 brother until their death. The mother died af- 
 ter two years, but the father lived nearly twenty 
 years in this country. 
 
 Besides his farm in Illinois Mr. Espe owns a 
 tract of land in Minnesota. The family are mem- 
 bers of the church of the Hauge Synod. 
 
 DR. HAROLD ONSUM EVENSEN, 
 
 Of Ottawa, 111., was born at Veblungsnes, Roms- 
 dalen, Norway, April 29, 1868, his parents being 
 Halvor and Hannah (born Ejde) Evensen. He 
 took his middelskole examination at Molde and 
 after three years' study at the cathedral school, 
 where he received the degree of artium, he went 
 to the University of Christiania, where he passed 
 another examination. Afterward he studied med- 
 icine until he came to Chicago, in 1892. 
 
 His objects in coming here were, first, to see 
 the country, and second, to confirm the hopes 
 of finding a wider and better field for practice. 
 He immediately entered the College of Phys- 
 icians and Surgeons; studied there for two years, 
 and graduated in 1894. Since that time he has 
 attended post graduate school for a month or 
 two nearly every year in Chicago and 'at the 
 Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital in New York. 
 
 Dr. H. O. Evensen. 
 
 Before settling in Ottawa he also spent nearly a 
 year at the Eye clinics in Paris, where he re- 
 ceived a diploma from the medical faculty of the 
 University of Paris. From there he went to 
 Berlin, where he devoted six months to the study 
 of eye, ear, nose and throat diseases under the 
 
312 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 fprempst specialists. He then returned to Amer- 
 ica and has since been located in Ottawa. He 
 was recently appointed a trustee of the Eye and 
 Ear Infirmary of the state of Illinois, located at 
 Adams and S. Peoria streets, Chicago, one of the 
 most commendable charity institutions in the 
 state. 
 
 On January 3, 1906, he was married to Miss 
 Nellie Florence Nash. He is a member of the 
 I. O. O. F., M. W. A., the Ottawa Boat Club, 
 Deer Park Golf Club, and the B. P. O. of Elks. 
 
 WILLIS C. FARLEY, 
 
 Of Leland, was born in Adams township, La 
 Salle county, III, May 13, 1866. His parents were 
 Christopher and Helen (Sanderson) Farley. His 
 
 W. C. Farley and Wife. 
 
 father was born May 15, 1832. a son of Christo- 
 pher and Julia Farley, who emigrated from Nor- 
 way to America in 1842, settling at Muskego, 
 Wis. There the elder Mr. Farley died and his 
 
 wife with her son Christopher (the father of 
 Willis C.) moved to La Salle county, Illinois, in 
 1844 and located in Adams township. .Here our 
 subject's father followed farming for four years 
 as a farm hand at $4 per month, until he could 
 make better arrangements. He followed farm- 
 ing, married, and settled down on a homestead, 
 where he stayed until his death, Aug. 11, 1895. 
 His widow is still living in Leland. Their chil- 
 dren were Esther and Mathilda (both deceased), 
 Willis C. (our subject), Hannah, Frank (now 
 living on the old homestead), and Edward and 
 Alfred (who were grocers in Leland in 1897-98). 
 
 Willis C. was reared on the homestead and at- 
 tended the country schools. He left the farm in 
 1891 and entered the meat-market business in 
 Leland. He afterward sold out and went into 
 the clothing business m partnership with his 
 uncle under the firm name of Sanderson & Far- 
 ley. He sold his interest in this in 1894, but in 
 January following he bought the business from 
 his uncle and conducted it alone. He continued 
 this business until 1903, when he sold out and 
 went into the grain and coal business. 
 
 In 1894 he was married to Miss Nettie Baker, 
 a daughter of Ole Baker, of Paw Paw township, 
 De Kalb county. They have had four children — 
 Fremont, born May 27, 1895; Oakley, Jan. 25, 
 1897, who died Jan. 26, 1898; Wilmer, born Dec. 
 15, 1899; Herbis, Sept. 9, 1902. Mr. Farley is a 
 member of the Lutheran Church. He has filled 
 several political offices, the mention of which will 
 be found in the historical part. 
 
 * 
 
 CARL EUGENE FAYE 
 
 Was born in Christiania, Norway, Feb. 6, 1858. 
 His father was Consul General Jacob C. A. Faye, 
 his mother Christine Faye (nee Heftye). Carl 
 spent his boyhood days in the country at Hafs- 
 lund, but later completed his education by study- 
 ing languages and commercial business in Scot- 
 land, France and Germany, from 1877 to 1881. 
 
 In 1875 he entered the shipping and lumber 
 office of Thos. Stang & Co., Sarpsborg, as clerk, 
 and remained until 1877. 
 
 From 1881 to 1883 he was employed in his 
 uncle's bank (Thos. Johan Hefty & Son) at Chris- 
 tiania. 
 
 He came to this country in 1883. He secured 
 employment here with the wholesale hat firm of 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 313 
 
 Packer, McDonald & Bliss and remained with 
 them for two years, when he went into the real 
 estate and insurance business. He is now in the 
 fire insurance business, room 324, 159 La Salle 
 street. He is the inventor of the Faye air- 
 moistener attachment to radiators, patented Oct. 
 10, 1905. 
 
 Mr. Faye served a few months in the Norweg- 
 ian infantry. He is a member of the Norwegian 
 Quartette Club; the Hamilton Club; past archon 
 of Amity Council, No. 13, of the Royal League; 
 past chancellor of Woodlawn Council, No. 24, of 
 the North American Union; and was appointed 
 on the board of managers of the Straphangers' 
 League by John M. Harlan. He is a Lutheran, 
 though not a member of any particular church. 
 His father, as has already been mentioned, was 
 Consul General at Christiania, succeeding his 
 father, Hans Faye, and both were generally well 
 known by several generations in this country. 
 
 Mr. Faye married Miss Dagmar Olsen, June 9, 
 1887. They have had three children, one now 
 living. 
 
 FREDRIK AUGUST FERDINANDSEN 
 
 Was born on Watnemoholmen, Norway, Octo- 
 ber 21, 1848, to Ferdinand A. Rasak Fredrikson 
 and his wife Ingeborg Elizabeth Torkelsen. His 
 father was a pilot on the Norwegian coast. 
 
 Mr. Ferdinandsen was educated in the country 
 school and confirmed in the Lutheran church at 
 Ogne. At the age of 14 he went to sea as a 
 sailor before the mast advancing until he became 
 first mate. He sailed on the Ocean for years. 
 
 On April 1, 1882, he left Stavanger for Amer- 
 ica landing at New .York two weeks later. From 
 there he went direct to Chicago and sailed on 
 Lake Michigan for one year. 
 
 Before leaving his native country ^Ir. Ferdi- 
 nandsen had been joined in wedlock to Miss 
 Christine Egeland, of Stavanger, on March 19, 
 1874. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. As- 
 bj0rn Egeland. They have had seven children: 
 Julia Adolphine, born Nov. 20, 1875; Alexander 
 Cerelems, Sept. 21, 1877; Ferdinand August Ra- 
 sak, Febr. 3, 1882; Enoch Marcellus, Aug. 23, 
 1883; Inga Louise, Jan. 13, 1885; Kittie Florence, 
 May 1, 1886, and May, born Sept. 3, 1887. — 
 Inga Louise is married to Mr. Charles A. Mace, 
 of Boston, and Ferdinand A. Rasak to Miss 
 Georgia Evelyn Kissack, of Chicago. 
 
 After having sailed for one year on the lakes, 
 Mr. Ferdinandsen in 1883 secured employment 
 as shipping clerk for the Chicago Paper Com- 
 pany, which position he is still holding. 
 
 In politics he is a Republican and has served 
 as judge of election for the last four years. 
 
 He has always taken great interest in every- 
 thing concerning his own countrymen and their 
 advancement in this country. He is or has been 
 a member of the following societies: Knights of 
 the Maccabees of the World; the Leif Erikson 
 Monument Society and the Norwegian National 
 League of Chicago. In these societies he has 
 held various offices, as treasurer, secretary and 
 vice-president. He also at one time was a mem- 
 ber of the Norwegian Tabitha Society. 
 
 Mr. Ferdinandsen's parents have both departed 
 this life; the father at Watnemoholmen, in 1899, 
 and the mother at Stavanger, in 1906. 
 
 With his family he resides at 291 W. Ohio 
 street. 
 
 REV. CHRISTIAN W. FINWALL, 
 
 Who has served the Norwegian Baptist Church 
 at Logan Square since Nov. 1, 1901, was born 
 
314 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 in the city of Bergen, Norway, Febr. 18, 1865. 
 In 1870 he entered a school in his native city, 
 and graduated in 1880. His father was engaged 
 in the tailoring business, and is now located at 
 Kankakee, 111., where he has lived since 1884, 
 His mother died in 1878. His secret ambition as 
 was to become an actor, and with this in mind 
 he studied vigorously, without his father's knowl- 
 edge or consent. When the senior Finwall left 
 Bergen for Chicago early in the year 1883, the 
 young man was put in charge of a merchant tailor 
 at Bergen, to become a successor of his father 
 
 Park, 111. From that institution he graduated in 
 May, 1887, and then accepted the pastorate of 
 the Norwegian Baptist church in Brookings, So. 
 Dak. While attending the Seminary he assisted 
 the pastor of the Pilgrim Baptist Church, and 
 began the work, which culminated in the Bethel 
 Scandinavian Baptist Church, Chicago. Since his 
 graduation he has served churches in St. Paul, 
 and Minneapolis, Minn., in Seattle and Ballard, 
 Wash., in Fargo, N. Dak., and now the Logan 
 Square Norwegian Baptist Church of Chicago. 
 He Has baptized about 450 persons upon personal 
 confession of faith in Christ, and received more 
 than 550 believers, from other churches during 
 his twenty years of public ministry. He has 
 raised more than $30,000 for church edifices and 
 philantropic objects. He has also planned, gath- 
 ered funds and superintended the building of 
 parsonages and church edifices at Brookings, S. 
 Dak., St. Paul, Minn., Ballard, Wash, Fargo, N. 
 Dak., Baldwin, Wis., and Chicago, 111., while be- 
 ing active \vith his pen and otherwise, beside 
 taking care of his pulpit. 
 
 On Dec. 13, 1887, Rev. Finwall was married 
 to Miss Julia Martin, born near La Crosse, Wis. 
 Three children were born to them. Myrtle, Pearl 
 and Cyrus. Mrs. Finwall having departed from 
 this life Oct. 9, 1894, Mr. Finwall on June 21, 
 1895, was again married, this time to Miss Eliza 
 Martinsen, a school teacher, of Minneapolis, 
 Minn., who was born in Big Stone county, Minn. 
 Their union has been blessed with six children: 
 Ellsworth, Ruth, Harris, Stella, Edith and Man- 
 ning. All the children are living. 
 
 With his family Rev. Finwall resides in his 
 own new home at 1507 Monticello avenue in the 
 midst of a prosperous and peaceful Norwegian 
 population. 
 
 Rev. C. W. Finwall. 
 
 in his trade. This was the young man's oppor- 
 tunity, and he employed his spare time to study 
 plays and great actors, until he suddenly on May 
 14, 1884, was converted to Christ, and at once 
 threw his whole soul into Christian endeavors. 
 He joined the Baptist Church, at Bergen, in June 
 1883, and in August he decided to leave his native 
 town for Chicago to prepare for the ministry. 
 
 The first year in Chicago he worked with his 
 hands during the day and brushed himself up in 
 English and other prediminary studies during the 
 evenings, and the following year he entered 
 Union Theological Seminary, located at Morgan 
 
 KNUT L. FOSSE, 
 
 Of Freedom, 111., was born in Strandebarn, Har- 
 danger, Norway, Oct. 11, 1862. Flis parents, Lars 
 Anderson and Guri Knudsdatter, are both de- 
 ceased! Mr. Fosse was educated in the public 
 schools and confirmed. He then worked on the 
 farms in the neighborhood for about three years, 
 when he went to sea, sailing to Iceland and 
 those waters until he was of age. Then he con- 
 cluded to seek his fortune in America, and ar- 
 rived in New York in 1884. He went direct to 
 Ottawa, III., where he arrived on May 29. From 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 315 
 
 Ottawa he walked to Freedom township, where 
 he secured employment with Ole K. Olson and 
 remained for three years. The second year after 
 arrival he joined the Lutheran Church at Free- 
 dom, and the following year he married Miss 
 Anna Olson (Tooftee), who was born in Tin, 
 Telemarken. Her father was Ole and mother 
 Guri Tooftee, from Heddal, Telemarken. Her 
 father died in the old country, but with her 
 mother, two brothers and a sister Mrs. Fosse 
 came to America and Freedom township in 1883. 
 
 K. L. Fosse. 
 
 After his marriage Mr. Fosse rented a farm on 
 shares for ten years. He then bought a place of 
 120 acres in the same township, in 1901, which 
 he is still cultivating and improving. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Fosse have seven children, all living, name- 
 ly: Laura, 16 years; Clara, 14; George, 12; Mary, 
 8; Harald, 7; Ida, 5; Alfred, 3 years old. The 
 family are members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. 
 Posse has been a deacon of the church for about 
 fifteen years, and has acted as superintendent of 
 the Sunday school several times. He was also 
 elected as a director for the district school No. 
 249 several times. 
 
 FREDERIK FREDERIKSEN, 
 
 The Scandinavian violinist, was born in Fredriks- 
 hald, Norway, Nov. 23, 1869, of a Danish father 
 and a Norwegian mother. At a very early age 
 he showed great love for music and was given a 
 violin when only six years old. At seven years 
 he received his first lesson and two years later 
 made his first appearance in public. When fif- 
 teen years of age he entered the Royal Conserv- 
 atoire of Music in Leipzic and after studying 
 three years under Profs. Hans Sitt and Friedrich 
 Hermann (violin) and Prof. S. Jadassohn (har- 
 mony), he received his diploma as the result of 
 an exceptionally successful appearance at the 
 conservatoire public concerts. His next move 
 
 Prof. Frederik Frederiksen. 
 
 was to Berlin where he studied for several years 
 with the world-renowned violinist Prof. Emile 
 Sauret who was, and always has been, to him 
 not only a great master, but a most kind friend. 
 Mr. Frederiksen also spent some time in Paris 
 where he was a first violinist in the celebrated 
 Lamoureux orchestra and at the same time 
 availed himself of the opportunity to study with 
 
316 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 the well known violinist M. Martin Maesick. 
 During his subsequent career Mr. Frederiksen has 
 had considerable experience and success both as 
 perforniet" and teacher. Among other appear- 
 ances he has toured Scotland, Norway with Ma- 
 dame Agathe Backer Grjzindahl and Mr. Martin 
 Knutzen. He has also played at the Christiania 
 symphony concerts under Iver Holter, with the 
 Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, in London, Eng- 
 land, with the Crystal Palace Orchestra and the 
 Queen's Hall Orchestra. In compliance with the 
 wish of his friend and former teacher M. Emile 
 Sauret, Mr. Frederiksen took up his abode in 
 London in 1893 and spent thirteen years there 
 winning for himself a reputation as a fine player 
 and an exceptionally good teacher. Shortly after 
 
 violin at the Chicago Musical College, and has 
 already gained a reputation for himself as an ex- 
 cellent performer and successful teacher. 
 
 RASMUS R, FRETTE 
 
 Was born in Ettne prestegjeld, Sjzindre Bergens 
 stift, Norway, Nov. 24, 1834. His father was 
 Rasmus Rasmussen Frette, a farmer, and his 
 mother Siri Thorkelsdatter Sande. Until 18 years 
 old he worked with his father on Sande, when 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Frette. 
 
 arriving in London Mr. Frederiksen made the 
 acquaintance of his wife, then Miss Grace Hen- 
 shaw, who had won considerable distinction as a 
 pianist at the Royal Academy of Music in Lon- 
 don and at the Klintworth Conservatoire in Ber- 
 lin, and together thev gave their first London 
 concert, and their subsequent annual concerts 
 were well known and were most favorably re- 
 ceived both by the press and the public. Mr. 
 Frederiksen has had the honor of playing before 
 H. M. The King of Sweden on five different oc- 
 occasions receiving his personal congratula- 
 tions. He came over to America a little over a 
 year ago to take up a position as a professor of 
 
 his father inherited Gaarden Frette and the fam- 
 ily moved there. 
 
 In 1858 he was married to Gunilla Olsen, born 
 in 1838. In 1870 they emigrated to America, 
 coming on a sailing vessel and landing at Que- 
 bec. They made their way from there to Ken- 
 dall county, Illinois, where they remained for ten 
 years, locating in Ford county in 1880, where 
 they bought a farm and settled at Farmersville, 
 seven miles west of Paxton, 111. He still owns 
 the farm, which is run by one of his sons. They 
 have been blessed by twelve children, seven sons 
 and five daughters, of whom four sons and three 
 daughters are living, all married except the 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 317 
 
 youngest daughter. Tlic family attends the Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran Cliurch near Elliott, where the 
 children have been confirmed. 
 
 Mr. Frette has taken a great interest in educa- 
 tional and church work among his countrymen 
 by contributing to the Pleasant View Luther 
 College and sending some of his children there. 
 He has served as deacon for his church for 
 twenty-five years. He resides with his wife and 
 youngest daughter in their own home in Paxton, 
 Illinois. 
 
 MICHAEL S. FRIES, 
 
 Of Helmar, 111., was born in Norway, Racine 
 county, Wis., Oct. 20, 1869. His parents were 
 Bennet M. and Martha (Abrahamson) Fries. 
 His parents were farmers, and our subject 
 worked on the farm and attended the common 
 school, and also the high school one year. Af- 
 ter leaving school he sailed on the lakes for two 
 years and worked as a painter for four years. 
 
 He then moved to Kendall county, Illinois, 
 and founded what is now known as the village 
 of Helmar. xAt that time there were no other 
 buildings there except Rev. Rasmussen's North 
 Prairie Church, which is located at the corner 
 of the four townships. Fox, Big Grove, Kendall 
 and Lisbon. Mr. Fries built the first house and 
 opened a general store, and in 1894 succeeded in 
 establishing a post-office. He was appointed 
 postmaster, which place he has held since. He 
 also owns a store in Newark, managed by his 
 brother-in-law, H. B. Peterson. 
 
 Our subject was married to Miss Malinde E. 
 EUertson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. EUertson, 
 of Lisbon, III, on May 2, 1894. They were mar- 
 ried in the church at Helmar. They have five 
 children — Iva Margrete, born Jan. 29, 1895; 
 Bernice Sedalia, April 4, 1897; Rudolph Daniel, 
 Feb. 4, 1900; Shervin, May 16, 1901; Milton Jer- 
 emiah, June 25; 1905. Mr. Fries is the only 
 surviving son of a family of twelve children, and 
 all were living when his father died in 1881; his 
 mother died in 1885, and is buried in the old 
 cemetery in Racine county, Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Fries is the president of St. Olafs Temp- 
 erance Union at Helmar, a trustee of the Luth- 
 eran Church and a teacher in the Sunday school. 
 He contributes liberally to Norwegian charities, 
 takes great interest in the Pleasant View Luther 
 College at Ottawa, and is a faithful worker for 
 his local church at Helmar. 
 
 LARS FRULAND, 
 
 Of Newark, 111., was born in Samnanger, near 
 Bergen, Norway, March 15, 1831. His father was 
 Nils Fruland, a farmer, and his mother, Anne 
 Tpsseland Williamson. His father emigrated to 
 America in 1837, with his family and a large 
 party of his neighbors, and landed in New York. 
 From that city they followed the usual route 
 west, via the Hudson River to Albany, thence to 
 Buffalo, and through the lakes to Chicago. Leav- 
 ing their families there, some trusted members 
 went out prospecting for suitable lands, but were 
 misled and went south to the vicinity of Beaver 
 Creek, near the Indiana line. They settled there, 
 bought cattle, and took up claims, but the place 
 at that time was very unhealthy because of 
 malaria, and about half of the settlers died of 
 fever and ague in a short time. After two years 
 Nils Fruland and the others concluded that they 
 had better look to the west for better land and 
 a healthier climate. They accordingly packed 
 their belongings and set out toward the west. 
 Only one of the first party, a Mr. Langeland, re- 
 mained about two years longer. 
 
 The party went to La Salle county, to what 
 was then known as Mission Point, which later 
 was renamed Norway, indicating from whence 
 its population had come. 
 
 After arriving here (at Norway) Mr. Fruland 
 worked for others for about a year and then 
 bought eighty acres. On this he put up a good- 
 sized log house, which he occupied until his 
 death, adding to and enlarging it from time to 
 time. Here he reared his family, which consisted 
 of five children. Three children were born in 
 the old country and two in this new Norway. 
 He gradually added to his holdings until he 
 had 240 acres. Mr. Nils Fruland departed this 
 life in 1873, and his wife in 1896, at the ripe age 
 of 96 years. Before his death Mr. Fruland di- 
 vided his land among his children, giving each 
 of them forty acres, retaining only forty acres 
 for himself. Some of the children bought the 
 others out, thus increasing their holdings. 
 
 Mr. Lars Fruland \yorked on the farm until it 
 was divided among the children, when he moved 
 to Newark, where he purchased a house. 
 
 In 1856 he was married to Miss Levina Lar- 
 son, who was born in Stavanger, Oct. 7, 1837. 
 [Her parents were Lars Olson Hetletvedt and 
 Bertha Siversdatter, who came to America in 
 1853.] They have been blessed with eight chil- 
 dren five of whom are living, namely: Lewis 
 Fruland, 45 years old, a farmer, and married to 
 Sera Rasmussen; Emma, married to Mr. Casse 
 Johnson, who was in business in Morris, but died 
 
318 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ten years ago, leaving a widow and three chil- 
 dren; Nils Fruland, 36 years old, married and a 
 farmer; Joseph Fruland, 33 years, married and 
 farming; Porter Fruland, 27 years old, married 
 and living on the homestead. The old couple 
 have seventeen grandchildren. The family are 
 members of the Hauge Synod. Mr. Fruland and 
 all his sons are stanch republicans. 
 
 FREDRIK HERMAN GADE, 
 
 Consul for Norway at Chicago, also lawyer, was 
 born Aug. 12, 1871, at Frogner Hovegaard, near 
 Christiania, the estate of the Gade family for 
 
 F. H. Gade. 
 
 several generations. His father is Gerhard Gade, 
 who for twenty-seven years was United States 
 consul at Christiania. An uncle, Fredrik G. Gade, 
 a well known merchant and large capitalist, was 
 at one time a member of the Storthing and also 
 United States consul at Bergen. Another uncle 
 was Herman Gade, commander in the Norweg- 
 
 ian Navy and first chamberlain to King Oscar II. 
 Mr. Gade's mother was Miss Helen R. Allyn, of 
 Cambridge, Mass., of old New England pilgrim 
 stock, being a direct descendant of William Brad- 
 ford, first governor of Massachusetts. 
 
 Mr. Gade received his education partly in Nor- 
 way and partly in Cambridge, Mass. In 1889 he 
 entered Harvard College and completed the four- 
 year academical course in three years. Lie there- 
 upon took the Harvard law-school course and 
 graduated as LL. B. in 1895. He settled in Chicago 
 and soon formed a law partnership with his Har- 
 vard classmate, Charles B. Pike, which continued 
 until 1903, when Mr. Pike went out of the law 
 practice to fill the position of president of the 
 Hamilton National Bank. Later Mr. Gade formed 
 a law partnership with Theodore Stensland and 
 Johan Waage 'under the firm name of Gade, 
 Stensland & Waage, since dissolved. 
 
 Mr. Gade resides in Lake Forest, and was 
 mayor of that municipality for three terms, from 
 1903 to 1906. 
 
 During the critical period following the action 
 of the Norwegian Storthing in declaring the 
 union with Sweden dissolved, J\Ir. Gade was 
 most active in laboring for the recognition of 
 Norway's sovereignty by the United States, and 
 in tins behalf headed the movement for present- 
 ing to President Roosevelt the monster petition 
 from Norwegians in America asking for such 
 recognition. 
 
 Mr. Gade was in December, 1905, appointed 
 consul for Norway at Chicago, when, owing to 
 the dissolution of the union with Sweden, a 
 separate consular service was established; the of- 
 fice being at the same time converted into a full 
 consulate, to include the states of Illinois, Indi- 
 ana and Michigan. 
 
 During the summer of 1906 Mr. Gade attended 
 the coronation of King Haakon in Trondhjem 
 and handed to the king, as a greeting from Nor- 
 wegians in America, a portfolio containing po- 
 ems, musical compositions and artistic designs. 
 Mr. Gade received during the festivities the coro- 
 nation medal. 
 
 He married on May 25, 1897, Miss Alice Gar- 
 field King, of Chicago, and in this marriage there 
 are two children — Gerhard and Alice King. The 
 family attends the Presbyterian Church at Lake 
 Forest. 
 
 Mr. Gade is a member of the University Club 
 of Chicago, the Harvard Clubs of Chicago and 
 New York, the Onwentsia Club (being its secre- 
 tary), the Norwegian Quartette Club and the So- 
 ciety of Mayflower Descendants. He is one of 
 the trustees of the New National Theater Asso- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 319 
 
 ciation, being deeply interested in a movement 
 to elevate the stage by productions of high dra- 
 matic and literary order. 
 
 WILLIAM GERNER, 
 
 President of the William Gerner Piano Company, 
 was born at Berger, near Eidsvold, Norway, 
 March 23, 1.86'5. He went to Christiania when 2 
 years old, with his parents, Thomas and Thora 
 (nee Paulsen) Gerner, where he attended school, 
 and at the age of 14 entered the mercantile field. 
 He came to Chicago in 1885, and his first position 
 was to take care of a horse for a piano man. 
 Later he began to sell the Mason & Hamlin 
 pianos and organs, until he left Chicago to ac- 
 cept a position with the S. Dill & Co. music house 
 in Kalamazoo, Mich. In 1888 he returned to Chi- 
 cago and a.gain engaged with the Mason & Ham- 
 lin Piano Company, but later he entered the ser- 
 vice of the Chicago Cottage Organ Company 
 (now known as the Cable Company), where he 
 gradually rose to be one of their managers. Mr. 
 
 to have the largest Scandinavian following in his 
 line of business in the West, and made a special 
 efifort to employ salesmen of all nationalities, 
 which policy resulted in an immense business. 
 Mr. Gerner has also started several agencies for 
 American organs in Scandinavia, and since he 
 came to this country has made several trips 
 abroad. 
 
 In May, 1903, Mr. Gerner severed his connec- 
 tion with the Cable Company and purchased stock 
 in a big modern piano factory and organized the 
 William Gerner Piano Company. Besides being 
 directly interested in the manufacture of modern, 
 high class pianos, his company is also factory dis- 
 tributers for Player pianos, and organs and for 
 renowned grand and upright pianos, made in Bos- 
 ton and New York, with over forty years' repu- 
 tation for unquestioned reliability. 
 
 Mr. Gerner married Miss Cecilie Dahl, from 
 Christiania, Norway, 1891. Five children were 
 born to them, of whom three are living, Signe, 
 14; William Dahl, 10; and Gudrun. 7 years old. 
 Mr. Gerner is a member of the Illinois Athletic 
 Club, Normsndenes Sangforening. and one of the 
 founders and a charter member of the Norwegian 
 Quartette Club of Chicago. 
 
 William Gerner. 
 
 Gerner managed to establish an enormous busi- 
 ness for this concern, not only among Americans, 
 but among all other nationalities. He was known v chief engineer for the Shififler Bridge Co. 
 
 JOACHIM GOTTSKE GIAVER, 
 
 Chief structural engineer for D. H. Burnham & 
 Co., was born at Gjjzivig, Lyngen, near Troms0, 
 Norway, Aug. 15, 1856. His parents were I. H. 
 and Hanna B. (Holmboe) Giaver, the father be- 
 ing a merchant. Mr. Giaver received his primary 
 education by private tutelage at home until he 
 was confirmed in the Lutheran church at Lyngen. 
 He then assisted in his father's business until 19 
 years of age, when he spent one year preparing 
 for college, whereupon he entered the technical 
 college at Trondhjem, completing a course there 
 in three years. 
 
 In June, 1882, Mr. Giaver came to .\merica, 
 spent a short time in Chicago and then went to 
 St. Paul, Minn., where he started as a draftsman 
 in an architect's office and later worked one year 
 in the bridge department of the Northern Pacific 
 Railroad, dividing his time between their offices 
 in St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth. 
 
 In the fall of 1883 he secured a position in 
 Pittsburgh, Pa., where he remained until 1891, 
 having in the meantime risen to the position of 
 
320 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 In 1891 Mr. Giaver came to Chicago and was 
 made assistant chief engineer in charge of de- 
 signing all the structures for the World's Colum- 
 bian Exposition. That work completed he started 
 in the contracting business for himself in 1893, 
 continuing same until 1897, when he became 
 bridge designer for the Chicago Drainage Dis- 
 trict. Since 1899 he has held the position of chief 
 structural engineer for D. H. Burnham & Co. 
 
 On Sept. 3, 1885, Mr. Giaver was married to 
 Miss Louise Karoline Schmedling, a daughter 
 
 T. G. Giaver. 
 
 of Carl Wilhelm and Kaia Emelie (M0ldrop) 
 Schmedling of Trondhjem. This union has been 
 blessed with eight children, six sons and two 
 daughters of whom five are now living, viz., 
 Astrid, born Jan. 13, 1888; Birgit, June 18, 1889; 
 Erling, July 10, 1891; Finn, Aug. 20, 1892, and 
 Einar, May 22, 1897. Three sons, Einar, Leif 
 and Carl Wilhelm died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Giaver's parents both died in Norway, the 
 father in 1884 and the mother in 1903. 
 
 He is a member of the Western Society of Civil 
 Engineers, the Columbia Yacht Club, the Young 
 Men's Christian Association and the Norwegian 
 Quartette Club. 
 
 The family resides at 1356 N. Sav.'yer avenue. 
 
 WALDEMAR GIERTSEN 
 
 Was born in Bergen, Norway, Oct. 1, 1868. He 
 came to Chicago in August, 1887, and has re- 
 mained here since. He was employed by the follow- 
 ing firms in succession: C. Erickson, dry goods; 
 Mandel Bros., as shade hanger; C. H. Besley & 
 Co., machinists' supplies; J. A. Fay & Co., and 
 their successors, J. A. Fay & Eagan Co.; Man- 
 ning, Maxwell & Moore. He spent about eleven 
 years with these different firms, making the ma- 
 chinery supplies business a special study. In 
 1900 he started in business for himself, under the 
 name of Machinery Exchange, which he changed 
 in 1905 to the Chicago Machinery Exchange, deal- 
 ing especially in wood-working machinery. The 
 company is incorporated and Mr. Giertsen owns 
 
 Waldemar Giertsen. 
 
 95 per cent of the stock, being the president and 
 treasurer. He is also a stockholder, director and 
 second vice-president of the Jennings Real Estate 
 Loan Co., being one of the organizers of that con- 
 cern. He is a Mason and a member of the Ham- 
 ilton Club. 
 
 He married, Oct. 20, 1897, Miss Theckla Ida 
 Henschel, of German parents, born and reared at 
 Sheboygan, Wis. They reside in their own home 
 a*: 551 Winthrop avenue. Ed'Te'"-a*^e". 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 331 
 
 ADOLF C. GRESEN, 
 
 The real estate man, was born at Porsgrund, 
 Norway, Dec. 31, 1862, his parents being Ole An- 
 dreas and Laurence Gresen. He attended the 
 public school in Norway and then clerked in a 
 grocery store in Porsgrund until he was 26 years 
 old, when he left for America, arriving here on 
 
 A. C. Gresen. 
 
 April 15, 1888, alone. After mastering the pre- 
 vailing speech of the country he secured a place 
 as buyer for a wholesale commission house, and 
 later went into the commission business for him- 
 self, continuing at that until 1892, when he en- 
 gaged in the real estate business. 
 
 Mr. Gresen does not claim any distinction of 
 any kind except that he is a good citizen and 
 belongs to the Lutheran Church. 
 
 born in Skien, Norway, Feb. 19, 1859, to Chris- 
 tian and Marthine Christine (born Johannesen) 
 Grauer. His father, who was a tailor by trade, 
 was born in Eidsvold; his mother in Skien. 
 
 He came to America with his parents in 1863, 
 landing in Quebec, where the family remained for 
 a year before coming on to Chicago. Here Mr. 
 Grauer, Sr., built himself a substantial home at 
 160 N. Green street, where our subject spent his 
 youth, or until his parents passed away — his 
 mother on Feb. 19, 1882, and his father in Octo- 
 ber, 1886. Here Otto passed through the public 
 school, attended evening school, and also took 
 private lessons. Later he took a three-year 
 course at the Chicago Theological Seminary, 
 
 PROF. OTTO CHRISTOPHER GRAUER, 
 
 With the Chicago Theological Seminary, repre- 
 senting the Danish-Norwegian department, was 
 
 O. C. Grauer. 
 
 graduating in 1887. During vacations and as a 
 regular emplo3'ee during these thirty years he 
 has also worked for Edward Ely & Co., Field & 
 Leiter, J. V. Farwell & Co., and the Sandford 
 Manufacturing Company. 
 
 He was married to Jennie Douglas, daughter of 
 James and Agnes Ainslie, Jan. 18, 1883. They 
 have had three children, two now living, namely: 
 James Carroll, born Aug. 17, 1887, and George 
 Ainslie, March 2. 1890. 
 
 Rev. Grauer's first call as a minister of the 
 
323 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 gospel was to the Congregational Church at 
 Cragin, 111., where he officiated during the last 
 year of his seminary course. He was also in- 
 strumental in building a house of worship for 
 this congregation. He was pastor for the Union 
 Congregational Church at Cobden, 111., in 1887-89. 
 general missionary for northern Wisconsin under 
 the Congregational Sunday-School Publication 
 Society until 1891. In the fall of 1891 he began 
 work as professor in the Danish-Norwegian de- 
 partment of Chicago Theological Seminary, and 
 has continued in this position until the present 
 time. The special branches he teaches are sys- 
 tematic theology, church history, psychology, and 
 English language and rhetoric. During his con- 
 nection with the seminary he has also served sev- 
 eral churches, among them the Courtland Street 
 Congregational Church, Chicago, which he organ- 
 ized and helped to secure a house of worship; the 
 Trinity Congregational Church, acting pastor in 
 1899j and the Bethany Congregational Church 
 from 1903 to 1906. For five years he was com- 
 mander-in-chief of the United Boys' Brigade of 
 America, and is still vice-president of the national 
 organization. For eight 3'ears he has been treas- 
 urer and business manager for the Evangelisten 
 Publishing Society, which publishes the Norweg- 
 ian religious weekly, Evangelisten. He is also the 
 author of the Norwegian handbook for ministers, 
 called Pastoral Haandbog. 
 
 When nineteen years old our subject joined the 
 Tabernacle Church, on Grand avenue and Morgan 
 street, and served as Sunday school superintend- 
 ent, clerk and treasurer, and he and Mrs. Grauer 
 were members of the choir for seven years. The 
 family are now members of the First Congrega- 
 tional Church of Oak Park. The Professor was a 
 member of Company D, First Illinois Infantry, 
 I. N. G., for five years, and served during the 
 railroad riot in 1877. 
 
 As a boy Mr. Grauer was not confirmed, and 
 explains this fact as follows: "My mother was a 
 convert in the so-called Lammer's movement in 
 Skien in the '50's and was a charter member of 
 the free church, organized July 4, 1856, and called 
 the Free Apostolical Christian Church. She was 
 therefore a dissenter from the state church, and 
 that accounts for my not being confirmed, and for 
 the fact that we became identified with the Con- 
 gregational or Free Church here in America, the 
 principles of that church coming nearest to these 
 she learned to believe in the Norwegian Free 
 Church." 
 
 The family resides at 446 N. Grove avenue. 
 Oak Park, 111. The Professor's business address 
 is 81 Ashland boulevard, Chicago. 
 
 NICOLAY ANDREAS GREVSTAD 
 
 Was born on the Grevstad farm, Sykelven, 0r- 
 skog parish, S0ndm0re, Norway, June 2, 1851. 
 His parents were "husmandsfolk" (renters of a 
 small tract of land). He went to the district 
 school, which in those days was kept at the farms 
 of the district, a week at a time in each house; 
 helped his parents to clear and work their midget- 
 farm, and became quite skillful in filling his 
 mother's kettle with fish. 
 
 N. A. Grevstad. 
 
 After confirmation he clerked a couple of years 
 in Aalesund. But he felt the need of a better 
 education and after finishing a course at a normal 
 school he began to prepare himself for the uni- 
 versity relying upon what he could earn teaching 
 and working for newspapers. 
 
 In 1878 he completed his studies in the uni- 
 versity of Christiania, graduating from the law 
 department in the spring of that year; and en- 
 tered the government service in the Department 
 of Justice. But he found the work too slow and 
 in 1880 assumed editorial charge of "Dagbladet," 
 at that time the leading organ of the liberal 
 party of Norway. The country was then facing 
 a grave political crisis growing out of the crown'.s 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 323 
 
 claim to an absolute veto. The electoral battle 
 of that summer was fought on this issue, "Dag- 
 bladet" taking a strong and aggressive stand 
 against the crown's attempted usurpation of a 
 prerogative not granted by the organic law of 
 the land, and in support of the liberal party and 
 its leader, Johan Sverdrup. 
 
 In 1883, owing to political differences with a 
 group of radical leaders who had obtained con- 
 trol of the paper, he resigned as editor of "Dag- 
 bladet," whose circulation h.ad trebled under his 
 management, and came to the United States, 
 where he at first joined the editorial stafif of 
 "Nordvesten," St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 The adoption of the jury system had for some 
 years been a leading issue in Norway. During the 
 public discussions of the question the opponents 
 of the reform had a great deal to say about the 
 alleged failure of the jury system in America. In 
 order to establish the truth or falsity of these 
 arguments Mr. Grevstad submitted a series of 
 questions concerning the American jury system 
 to leading judges and lawyers of the United 
 States. Replies, generally very full and com- 
 plete, were received from upwards of two hun- 
 dred, including five of the judges of the federal 
 supreme court at Washington. They were em- 
 bodied in a report, which was published by the 
 Storthing of Norway and was drawn upon freely 
 by the members during the debate of the jury 
 law bill then pending. 
 
 In the fall of 1886 Mr. Grevstad returned to 
 Norway at the request of Johan Sverdrup to re- 
 sume charge of "Dagbladet." But he found him- 
 self a changed man and went back to the United 
 States, this time for good. In the fall of 1887 
 he accepted a position as editor of the "Norman- 
 naheimen" department of the Minneapolis Jour- 
 nal and also as assistant editorial writer of the 
 Minneapolis Tribune, the two papers at that time 
 being controlled by the same owners. In Janu- 
 ary 1888 he succeeded Dr. Albert Shaw as the 
 leading editorial writer of the Tribune. In 1890 
 he resigned this position to assume the manage- 
 ment of the Minneapolis Times, at that time onlj'- 
 a few months old, and made it the leading organ 
 in the state of the independent republicans who 
 were opposing the prevailing boss-rule in the 
 party. Since the fall of 1893 he has been editor 
 of the Chicago "Skandinaven." 
 
 In two articles in the Atlantic Monthly for 
 1891 and 1893 he has given the Americans a full 
 outline of the principles and working of the Nor- 
 wegian courts of conciliation. 
 
 In 1879 Mr. Grevstad was married to May Ber- 
 ger of Eidsvold. They have one daughter, Dagny, 
 
 now Mrs. A. L. Mordt, of Chickasha, Oklahoma. 
 
 In the fall of 1906 the order of St. Olaf was 
 
 conferred upon him by King Haakon of Norway. 
 
 CHARLES GUSTAVE GROTNES, 
 
 Of the Charles Grotnes' Machine Works, 28-30 
 W. Washington street, was born in Solom, near 
 
 C. G. Grotnes. 
 
 Porsgrund, Norway, on the 18th of August, 1863. 
 His parents were L. P. Pederson and Maren Eliza 
 (born Isaksen) Grotnes, and resided at Pors- 
 grund, where his father was a shipbuilder. When 
 15 years old Ch?.rles went to sea and sailed for 
 three years, going through the navigation school 
 at Porsgrund at the age of 17. 
 
 He came to Chicago at the age of 18, intending 
 to sail on the great lakes, but instead went in as 
 an apprentice with a small machine firm named 
 Humbertson, on Canal Street. After three years 
 here he went to work for the Calumet Steel and 
 
;324 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Iron Company, at South Chicago, for two years. 
 He then went to work for William Glader as 
 foreman, and remained with him in that capacity 
 for thirteen years. About five years ago he 
 started in for himself at his present location. 
 He has several patented inventions. 
 
 Mr. Grotnes was married to Christine Mathilda 
 Wium, of Drammen, Norway, Nov. 4, 1886. They 
 have three children. He is a member of the A. 
 O. U. W., attends the Lutheran Church, and re- 
 sides at 375 Humboldt Avenue. 
 
 Mr. Grover attended the common school and 
 one term at Pleasant View College, near Ottawa. 
 In 1901 he entered the Northwestern University 
 Law School, from which he graduated in 1904, 
 receiving the degree of LL. B. He then passed 
 the examination before the state board of legal 
 examiners within two weeks, and the same year 
 was admitted to the bar. He returned to Leland 
 and practiced law for one year, until the First 
 National Bank was started, when he was made 
 its cashier. In 1905 he was elected clerk of 
 Adams township, to which office he was re- 
 elected in 1906. He is a member of the Leland 
 Masonic Lodge and attends the Methodist 
 Church. ■ 
 
 GEORGE O. GROVER, 
 
 Cashier of the First National Bank at Leland, is 
 a native of the place, having been born there, 
 
 CARL GULBRANDSEN 
 
 Was born in Christiansund, Norway, Oct. 26, 
 1854. He enjoyed a good common school educa- 
 
 G. O. Grover. 
 
 June 19, 1877. His father, Charles Grover, is 
 also a native American, and was born in Big 
 Grove township, his parents having come from 
 Norway. His mother, Elizabeth (Johnson), who 
 is still living in Leland, was born in Norway. 
 
 Carl Gulbrandsen. 
 
 tion until, at the age of 15, he began his ap- 
 prenticeship in Trondhjem as a wigmaker. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 325 
 
 After having learned his profession in Norway 
 he went to Copenhagen, Denmark, to take a 
 position with the wigmaker for the royal Danish 
 court, and finally finished his wigmaking educa- 
 tion under M. Alliber, the celebrated wigmaker 
 of Paris. 
 
 He came to New York in 1881, and later came 
 to Chicago, where he secured a position as fore- 
 man with the Thomes hair establishment. 
 
 In 1883 he established his own business, which 
 he has continued since, being now located in the 
 Republic Building, corner of State and Adams 
 streets. At present he is the only Norwegian 
 wigmaker in Chicago, and one of the most noted 
 in the profession, having an actual practical ex- 
 perience of about thirty-five years. In January, 
 1905, he patented a hair tonic of his own inven- 
 tion, called "Hairo." 
 
 Mr. Gulbrandsen is a member and is vice- 
 president of Det Norske Sangerforbund and Den 
 Norske Kvartetklub, and also a member of Thor- 
 waldsen's Lodge, K. of P., of which he is treas- 
 urer. 
 
 His parents died in Norway many years ago. 
 
 Mr. Gulbrandsen is married and has a family 
 of three grown-up children — two daughters and 
 one son, and resides at 1412 N. Spaulding avenue. 
 
 Since the above was written Mr. Gulbrandsen 
 has been elected president of Det Norske Sanger- 
 forbund for the ensuing year. 
 
 REV. GEORGE ALBERT GULLIXON, 
 
 Pastor of St. Paul's Norwegian Lutheran Church 
 in Chicago, was born in Bode, Iowa, December 
 19, 1866. His parents, who were farmers, living 
 near Bode, were Andrew and Anna Rossing Gul- 
 lixon. The subject of our sketch spent his early 
 life on his father's farm, attending the country 
 schools, and was confirmed in St. Olaf's Evan- 
 gelical Lutheran Church at Bode. Later he 
 entered Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, taking 
 the full course, and graduated in 1890. He then 
 completed his studies for the ministry by taking 
 the prescribed course at Luther Seminary, then 
 at Robbinsdale, Minn., now at Hamline, Minn.; 
 graduating in 1893. 
 
 He was principal of Luther Academy at Bode, 
 Iowa, in the school year of 1886-'87, after his 
 sophomore year at college. After graduating 
 from the seminary and having been ordained as 
 a minister in 1893, he was called as assistant to 
 
 Rev. L. O. Sherven at Orfordsville, Janesville, 
 Beloit, and Rock Run, Wis., which position he 
 accepted. The following year, 1894, this charge 
 was divided. Rev. Gullixon accepting the pastor- 
 ate of the Beloit and Rock Run congregation^ in 
 November of that year. He continued as pastor 
 of this charge until July, 1902, when he accepted 
 the pastorate of the Norwegian Evangelical Luth- 
 eran St. Paul'? Church, Chicago. 
 
 He was married to Minnie Amanda Olson, of 
 Madison, Wis., October 7, 1897, her parents being 
 S0ren and Randi (born Amundson) Olson. They 
 
 Rev. G. A. Gullixon, 
 
 have been blessed with four children, Ruth Agnes, 
 Alvin Sigurd, Valborg Adeline, and Esther Signe. 
 Alvin Sigurd, born December 30, 1900, died De- 
 cember 21, 1905. 
 
 Rev. Gullixon is a member of the board of the 
 home mission of the Eastern District of the 
 Synod of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of 
 America, elected in 1895 and re-elected in 1904, 
 and is still holding this position. He is also vice- 
 president of the Lutheran Home Finding Society 
 of Illinois for dependent children. The family 
 resides at 895 N. Leavitt street, Chicago. 
 
326 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 CHARLES TELLEF GUNDERSON 
 
 Was born on a farm in Vraadal, Norway, July 
 23, 1854. He was the second youngest of seven 
 children, five boys and two girls, all of the boys 
 being sailors. Both of his parents died when 
 Charles was but 13 years old, and he had to go to 
 an uncle near Ris^r, where he worked on a farm 
 durinsr the summer and attended school in the 
 winter. He got his first experience as a sailor on 
 a small vessel from Ris0r in 1869, but after a few 
 months the boat was run down by the German 
 
 Captain C. T. Gunderson. 
 
 steamer Westphalia in the English Channel. The 
 vessel sank in two minutes, but the crew, includ- 
 ing the subject of our sketch, were rescued by 
 the crew of the Westphalia. They were taken to 
 New York, where Charles again shipped on a 
 Norwegian vessel as general utility boy. He re- 
 mained on the vessel for thirty-two months, leav- 
 ing her at Baltimore when his contract was up 
 in 1872. He then sailed on different vessels 
 along the coast, going as far as the West Indies. 
 He came to Chicago in 1874. Here he sailed be- 
 fore the mast on the lakes until 1880, when he 
 went to work for J. C. Gilchrist, a large vessel 
 
 owner of Cleveland, Ohio, for whom he has navi- 
 gated sailing vessels and steamers for the past 
 twenty-five years. His last command was the 
 steamer Geo. H. Ru'ssell, which took out, in 1905, 
 the largest cargo of grain ever shipped from Chi- 
 cago, consisting of 235,000 bushels of corn and 
 58,000 bushels of barley, aggregating 7,972 tons. 
 He married Anna Theresa Eaton, on April 15, 
 1888. He is a Mason, and resides at 74 Evergreen 
 avenue. 
 
 CAPTAIN HARRY GUNDERSON 
 
 Was born in Ris0r, Norway. He came to America 
 when 17 years old and has been sailing either as 
 captain or sailor for twenty years on the great 
 
 Captain H. Gunderson. 
 
 lakes. He is at present the captain of the steam- 
 ship Henry Steinbrenner. It belongs to the Kins- 
 man Transit Company. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 327 
 
 GEORGE ADOLPH GUNDERSON, 
 
 The senior member of the grocery firm of Gun- 
 derson & Berg, 1647 Armitage avenue, was born 
 in Christiania, Norway, Dec. 7, 1868. His parents 
 were Ole Gunderson, a building contractor, and 
 Johanne (born Peterson). 
 
 George attended school in his native city and 
 was confirmed in 0stre Akers Kirke. As soon 
 as he was old enough to undertake the work he 
 was apprenticed to learn the trade of a mason, 
 which he completed before coming to Chicago, 
 on Sept. 7, 1889. 
 
 On April 2, 1892, Mr. Gunderson married An- 
 tonie Hansen Foss, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hansen Foss, of Enebak, Norway. They had 
 two children — Jennie, born Aug. 6, 1892, and 
 Thorolf, born Feb. 2, 1896. Mrs. Gunderson died 
 on April 16, 1904. He is a member of White 
 City Lodge of Odd Fellows. 
 
 SIVERT TOBIAS GUNDERSON 
 
 G. A. Gunderson. 
 
 On his arrival here he immediately secured 
 work at his trade and followed it for several 
 years. Having saved his money, he later started 
 a retail fish store at the corner of Nebraska and 
 Armitage avenues, which he conducted for three 
 years. 
 
 In 1898 he joined Mr. Martin Berg in establish- 
 ing a retail grocery and meat market at 1647 
 Armitage avenue, under the firm name of Gun- 
 
 Hails from the "Land of the Midnight Sun," and 
 is proud of it. He was born in Norway in 1839, 
 and at the age of 9 years, or in 1848, came to 
 America with his parents. The family at once 
 
 S. T. Gunderson. 
 
 settled in Chicago, then a town of 20,000. Rail- 
 road facilities were then in their infancy, the 
 westward journey having been made via the 
 
 derson & Berg. They have an up-to-date store Hudson River, the Erie Canal and the great 
 
 and market, do j., thriving business, and enjoy the lakes. 
 
 confidence of their patrons. Our subject at once entered the public schools, 
 
328 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 but at the age of 15 laid aside his books, his 
 education since having been gained in the school 
 of experience, where he has learned the valuable 
 and useful lessons that have made him the prac- 
 tical man of aflfairs that he is to-day. 
 
 His parents were in limited circumstances, and 
 he began to earn his own living by learning the 
 carpenter and lathing trade. At the age of 18 
 years he liegan business along this trade for him- 
 self, and was thus engaged when the financial 
 panic of 1857 swept over the country. In conse- 
 quence there was but little going on in the way 
 of building, and with the hope of bettering his 
 condition Mr. Gunderson moved to Fort Leaven- 
 worth, Kan., in 1858, but soon returned to Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 In 1862 he purchased a lake vessel, the Her- 
 cules, and within five years became the owner of 
 six vessels, most of them engaged in the grain 
 trade. As his financial resources increased he 
 also interested himself in the lumber trade, and 
 in 1871 purchased large interests in sawmills. 
 This business was in a thriving condition when, 
 in 1875, his plant was completely destroyed by 
 fire. Being but lightly insured, he was almost 
 ruined financially. He went to work with de- 
 termination to retrieve his losses, however, and 
 to-day in addition to his lumber business, is the 
 owner of extensive real estate interests, being 
 the senior member of the firm of S. T. Gunder- 
 son & Sons, home builders. 
 
 He was for a number of years connected with 
 the firm of John A. Ganger & Co., shipping 
 large quantities of doors and sash of their own 
 manufacture throughout the United States. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Gunderson was married to Emily 
 C. Olson. They have two sons and one daughter. 
 George O., the oldest, is assistant with his father 
 in business; Seward M. is also connected with 
 his father in business; the dau'ghter, Miss 
 Ida Mabel, is a most accomplished and highly 
 educated young lady, a graduate of the Misses 
 Grant Seminary and the Chicago Musical College, 
 having received a teacher's diploma, being a mu- 
 sician of more than usual brilliancy. She also 
 possesses artistic talent as a painter in both oils 
 and water colors, and is alike accomplished along 
 other lines. 
 
 Mr. Gunderson is an active member of the 
 Lutheran Church, contributing to its charities. 
 He was one of the founders of the Masonic Or- 
 phans' Home and served as trustee for three 
 years. He became a Mason in 1868, joining Kil- 
 winning Lodge No. 3111, A. F. & A. M.; is a 
 member of Chicago Commandery No. 19, K. T., 
 the Oriental Consistory, having attained to the 
 
 32d-degree, and belongs to the Aledinah Temple 
 of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of 
 the Lincoln and Menoken clubs. In 1874 he was 
 elected to a seat in the city council, and in 1891 
 he was appointed a member of the board of edu- 
 cation by Mayor Washburn, and was appointed 
 a member of the library board by Mayor Swift. 
 
 Mr. Gunderson and his wife have traveled ex- 
 tensively, both in this country and abroad. They 
 have visited every country in Europe, and last 
 January thev took a Mediterranean tour, visiting 
 all interesting points, including the Holy land. 
 They have also made a three months' tour of 
 Mexico and spent some time in southern 
 California before returning. Mr. Gunderson's 
 work in securing Chicago as the site for the 
 World's Fair stands to his credit, as does the 
 fact that he was the originator of the plan and 
 president of the company, which purchased the 
 Viking Ship, a reproduction of the little ship in 
 which the Norwegian Explorers are supposed to 
 have come to America in about the year 1000. 
 The ship is now on exhibition at the Field Co- 
 lumbian Museum. 
 
 For the last fourteen years S. T. Gunderson 
 & Sons have been erecting some very nice houses, 
 selling them on time payments. In the last 
 four years they have erected from fifty to sev- 
 enty houses a year. This plan has proven a great 
 help to persons who have not had sufiicient 
 money to buy a lot and erect a home themselves. 
 Many families have secured cosy and comfort- 
 able homes, taking a personal interest in the 
 progress and welfare of the city, as they are 
 happily settled in their own homes paid for ja 
 small monthly installments. 
 
 In May, 1907, Mr. Gunderson was appointed a 
 member of the Board of Education. 
 
 REV. ANDREW HAAGENSEN 
 
 Was born Oct. 30, 1835, near Sarpsborg, Norway, 
 of parents Haagen Hansen and Christina Pouls- 
 datter. Raised in a romantic and beautiful coun- 
 try of the Sarps-fossen waterfall, where kind 
 hands cared for him, he obtained such rudiment- 
 ary education as the surroundings afforded. He 
 was more fortunate later on, having the advant- 
 age of a private tutor in Sarpsborg, while he was 
 employed as a clerk with the firm of H. Hafslund, 
 and where soon afterward he was employed as 
 bookkeeper. Here he remained six years, to the 
 entire satisfaction of his employer. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 329 
 
 In 1856 he was converted to God in Sarpsborg 
 under the preaching of the gospel by Rev. O. P. 
 Petersen, and became united with the first organi- 
 zation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
 Norway. In 1857 he severed his connection with 
 the firm he had worked for, feeling a strong call 
 to preach the gospel. Exercising his gift and tal- 
 ents, he was eventually licensed to preach, and 
 devoted part of his time to teaching, but was also 
 engaged in mission work. In the fall of 1857 he 
 migrated to America, having been recommended 
 by the superintendent of the Methodist Church. 
 After taking the examination he entered the Wis- 
 
 Rev. A. Haagensen. 
 
 consin Conference in May, 1858, and was ordained 
 deacon by Bishop Morris in the same year, and 
 in 1860 he was ordained' elder by Bishop Scott. 
 
 In 1859 he was married to Julia Thompsen, 
 from Eidfjord, Hardanger, Norway. Out of 
 eleven children eight are still living, all having 
 received a good education, principally at North- 
 western University, Evanston. One son, E. C. 
 Haagensen, who was graduated from Northwest- 
 ern Medical College, is located at Hillsboro, N. 
 
 D., and is vice-president of the state board of 
 health. Another son, A. P. Haagensen, who was 
 graduated from the college of liberal arts and also 
 the law school of Northwestern University, is 
 located at Ashland, Wis., where he has served as 
 district attorney of Ashland county. 
 
 After serving nine years in the pastorate, with 
 a great degree of acceptance and success, he was 
 appointed presiding elder of the Norwegian dis- 
 trict in the Wisconsin Conference. This position 
 he held for seven consecutive years. In 1876 and 
 again in 1884 he was elected reserve delegate to 
 the General Conference, the highest council in 
 the church. In 1870, when the first monthly Mis- 
 sionceren was published in Norwegian, he became 
 associate editor. In 1880, when the Norwegian- 
 Danish conference was organized, he was elected 
 editor of the weekly. Den Kristelige Talsmand, 
 and under his editorship the paper was very suc- 
 cessful and was enlarged from four to eight pages. 
 In 1881 he was again appointed presiding elder 
 :)f the Chicago district, which position he held for 
 K'x years, and under his administration the work 
 was extended, societies organized and churches 
 built. In 1888 he was elected delegate from his 
 conference to the General Conference, held at 
 New York city. 
 
 In 1890 he was again elected editor of Den 
 Kristelige Talsmand, which position he held for 
 seven years with good success. In his pastorate 
 he has served some of the most prominent 
 churches. Besides all this he has composed and 
 translated a number of hymns and songs and is 
 author of the trenchant volume entitled Method- 
 ism and Lutheranism Compared; also The Nor- 
 wegian and Danish Methodist Mission History 
 and illustrated Bible History, all in the Nor- 
 wegian language. From the early history of the 
 Norwegian Methodist mission in this country he 
 has taken a very important part in the establish- 
 ment of the Norwegian-Danish Theological Sem- 
 inary at Evanston, and has for a number of j^ears 
 been president of the school board. At present 
 he is financial agent for the endowment school 
 fund, which is to be used in employing more 
 teachers to supply the great need of preparing 
 young men for the ministry. When he landed 
 in ChicagOj in October, 1857, the Norwegian 
 Methodists had no church nor organization. There 
 are now in Chicago eight Norwegian-Danish 
 Methodist Episcopal churches belonging to the 
 Norwegian-Danish Conference, of which he is 
 still in active service as a minister. Looking at 
 the great development of both church and state, 
 he is thankful to God for the success of both, and 
 that he is a citizen of this great and glorious 
 country. 
 
333 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 GUDLEIK RASCH HALVORSEN 
 
 Was born in Fredrikshald, Norway, May 21, 1882. 
 His father is Cand. Theol. Anders Halvorsen and 
 his mother Julie Charlotte, nee Rasch. 
 
 G. R. Halvorsen. 
 
 When Gudleik was one and a half years of age, 
 his parents moved to Christiania and remained 
 there three years. His father was then appointed 
 Sogneprest at Talvik. Finmarken. where young 
 Halvorsen remained until 15 years old, when his 
 father was promoted and moved to Lyster in 
 Sogn, arriving, there in the spring of 1897. Here 
 Gudleik was confirmed in Dale church, and in the 
 fall was sent to Bergen to study at the Cathedral 
 school. In 1898 he passed examination for en- 
 trance in the Middelskole. His primary educa- 
 tion he had received partly by a private teacher 
 and partly in the public school. When ready with 
 the course at the Middelskole he spent one year 
 teaching school and working on the farm. In 
 1899 he entered the teclinical college at Chris- 
 tiania, which he left as a fullflcdged civil engineer 
 in the spring of 1903. 
 
 During the following summer he was engaged 
 in surveying the neighborhood around Lyster and 
 later with making plans and drawings for public 
 and private buildings at the same place, in the 
 
 meantime also running the farm or "prestegaard," 
 on which his father was living. 
 
 In the spring 1904 he came to America, where 
 he made his first stop at Windom, Minn. Then 
 he came to St. Paul, where he worked in a ma- 
 chine shop a few weeks; went to Great Falls, 
 Mont., where he worked in an architect's office; 
 from there to Anaconda, working in the office of 
 the civil engineer of the Anaconda Copper Min- 
 ing Co. He remained there until Jan., 1906, when 
 he came to Elgin, 111., where he has been em- 
 ployed since in the city engineer's office. During 
 last summer he paid a visit to his home in Nor- 
 way. Mr. Halvorsen is a member of the Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran Synod, of the Total Abstinence 
 Society of Norway and while in Anaconda was 
 president of the Norwegian Christian Young Peo- 
 ple's Society "Framsteg." 
 
 GOODMAN HALVORSEN 
 
 Was born in Etne parish, between Bergen and 
 Stavanger, Norway, Sept. 6, 1821. He was the 
 
 Goodman Halvorsen. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 331 
 
 youngest of three children, and at the age of 16 
 began his struggles for a livelihood. During the 
 summer he worked on farms at the low wages 
 then prevailing; in the winter he engaged in 
 fishing. 
 
 Before emigrating to America he married Mar- 
 tha, a daughter of Gunder Grindeim. He sailed 
 from Bergen May 10, 1847 and landed in New 
 York city on June 24. From there he traveled 
 by way of the Erie Canal and the lakes to Chi- 
 cago and then by team to Mission township. La 
 Salle county, 111., which brought his uneventful 
 but tiresome journey to an end on July 12 of the 
 same year. Here he remained one month, when 
 he went to the home of Ole Anderson, near 
 Newark, where he lived until March, 1848. In the 
 fall of 1847 he purchased forty acres of land 
 in what is now Fox township, Kendall county, 
 and two years later added forty acres, both 
 lots having been purchased at the government 
 price, -$1.25 per acre. In the spring of 1848 
 he built a log cabin on his land and moved 
 into it. His wife fell a victim to the cholera 
 plague in 1849, leaving a young son, who en- 
 listed In the LInion Army in 1864. He was taken 
 sick and died in 1865. Later Mr. Halvorsen mar- 
 ried Inger Berge, from Etne, Norway, who died 
 in 1855. leaving him with three children. 
 
 After a time he married again, this time Kari 
 Berge, a sister of his second wife. They have 
 seven children living. Their youngest son, Ed- 
 ward, died Jan. 10, 1901. Mr Halvorsen has 
 altogether ten children, three of them married. 
 He has fourteen grandchildren and four great- 
 grandchildren. He is enjoying his declining years 
 on his old homestead, but leases the farm land to 
 other parties. 
 
 oring. His sunsets are simply marvels of real- 
 ism. Hailing from so picturesque a country as 
 Norway, it is little wonder that he prefers to 
 select his subjects from fhe land of the Vikings. 
 If it were not for his very pronounced' disposi- 
 tion for independence he very likely would have 
 achieved a good financial success as a result of his 
 splendid productions; if for instance, he had se- 
 lected theatrical scenery and decorations as his 
 branch of painting, he might have become a 
 wealthy man. But he is too proud of his art and 
 loves it too well to cultivate any side issue of it. 
 
 J. O. Hammerstad. 
 
 JOHN (OLSON) HAMMERSTAD, 
 
 The artist, was born at Christiansund, Norway, 
 on April 19, 1842. His parents were Ole and 
 Magdalena (Schei) Hammerstad. Ole Hammer- 
 stad was a sailor. Mr. Hammerstad was appren- 
 ticed to a painter and decorator in Norway and 
 learned to master his trade before coming to 
 America. He emigrated in 1869 and located in 
 Chicago, where he has remained since. 
 
 Mr. Hammerstad is probably one of the most 
 gifted landscape painters of Norwegian birth in 
 America, his greatest strength being in the col- 
 
 His pictures, always salable, are usually taken 
 by somebody at nominal prices and resold at 
 many times the price paid Hammerstad. It is 
 with bitterness he mentions that such buyers, or 
 "sharks," as he terms them, are found among his 
 own countrymen. 
 
 Mr. Hammerstad was married to .^gnes Klemp, 
 daughter of ]Mr.' and Mrs. Christian Klemp, of 
 Fredrikshald, Norway. They have had four chil- 
 dren, of whom only one daughter, Agnes, is now 
 living. She was born Aug. 10, 1890. The family 
 resides at 733 Summerdale avenue, Chicago. 
 
332 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 NILS HALVORSEN, 
 
 The retired farmer, to whom Rev. Henry Noss 
 refers in his sketch of the Norwegian Lutheran 
 churh at Leland, 111., was born in Telemarken, 
 
 Nils Halvorsen. 
 
 Norway, June 6, 1820. He spends his declining 
 years at Leland, although his farm is located in 
 the vicinity of Earlville, 111. On account of his 
 advanced age Mr. Halvorsen is sickly at times, 
 but still able to move around. 
 
 ADOLPH MARTIN HANSEN 
 
 Was born at Farsund, Norway, Feb. 2, 1871, his 
 parents being Hans and Martha Andersen. His 
 father was the proprietor of a meat market in 
 Farsund, and Ad'olph worked in his father's shop, 
 learning the business. He afterward spent two 
 years working for others. 
 
 In 1888 he came to America. In 1890 he started 
 a meat market at 254 N. Halsted street, and con- 
 
 tinued there for several years. He then moved 
 his market to his own building at 534 N. Califor- 
 nia avenue, where he has conducted a profitable 
 business for the last five years. 
 
 He was married to Olivia Olsen, of Madison, 
 Wis., on Dec. 3, 1891. They have had three chil- 
 dren, one now living, Mildred Lorette. Mr. Han- 
 
 A. M. Hansen. 
 
 sen is a member of the Ben Hur Valhalla Court; 
 for several terms has been vice-president of the 
 Varden Literary Club, and is a delegate from the 
 same club to the Norwegian National League. 
 He is liberal in his contributions to worth}' char- 
 ities according to his means. The family reside 
 in their own home, at 534 N. California ave- 
 nue. 
 
 CHRISTIAN HANSEN, 
 
 The mercliant, tailor, was born in Grue Preste- 
 gjeld, Sol0r, Norway, Oct. 25, 1847. His parents 
 were Hans and Martha (nee Christiansen) Sam- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 333 
 
 uelsen. Christian began to learn the trade of a 
 tailor in Sol0r when 12 years old and continued 
 at the work until he was 17 when he went to 
 Drammen to put on the finishing touches. Here 
 he worked for four years, carrying with him a 
 certificate as a master of his trade. He then went 
 to Christiania, where he worked for one year be- 
 fore coming to America. 
 
 Arriving in New York in 1870, he went to Black 
 River Falls, Wis., where he had friends who had 
 urged him to locate, but he did not like it there 
 and went to La Crosse, Wis. Here he was em- 
 ployed as a journeyman by one of the leading 
 firms and remained for two years, until 1872, 
 
 Mr. Hansen was married to Anna Mathea Haag- 
 ensen in Chicago, on March 22, 1877. His wife 
 is a daughter of Hans and Anna Haagensen, from 
 Ringerike, Norway. They have two children — 
 Henry Hansen Erland, born May 21, 1879, and 
 Minnie Adelia, Dec. 12, 1882. Mr. Hansen's 
 mother died in Norway in 1850, but his father, 
 who is now past 85 years, is living in Iowa, hale 
 and hearty. Our subject is a member of St. 
 Paul's Norwegian Lutheran Church, and resides 
 at 816 Washtenaw avenue. 
 
 * 
 
 Christian Hansen. 
 
 when he came to Chicago. He soon found em- 
 ployment and worked at the bench for two years, 
 when he was offered and accepted the position of 
 cutter for H. B. Matthews. He held this place 
 until 1885, when he engaged in business for him- 
 self at 113 Adams Street, corner of Clark. He 
 conducted this business successfully for over 
 twenty years in the same place, moving to his 
 new and commodious ofifices in the new Republic 
 Building, corner of State and Adams Streets, in 
 January, 1906, when the old building was torn 
 down to make room for a skyscraper. 
 
 HANS HANSEN 
 
 Was born March 25, 1852, at Sell, Gudbrands- 
 dalen, Norway. His father was Hans Paulsen 
 and his mother Marit Paulsen, farming people 
 
 Hans Hansen. 
 
 at Sell. He learned the trade of a tailor, first at 
 Trondhjem and later at Christiania, to which 
 latter place he walked over Dovrefjeld, a distance 
 of about 350 English miles. As a journeyman 
 
334 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 tailor he worked at several places, such as Aren- 
 daK Brevik, Porsgrund. He then served five years 
 in the army, until in 1880 he migrated to Amer- 
 ica, landing at New York. From there he went 
 to Connecticut, where he worked at his trade in 
 Manchester and Hartford for two years. He 
 now turned to the West and arrived in Chicago 
 in the spring of 1882. In Chicago he remained 
 onlj' six months, whereupon he went to Rock- 
 ford, 111., where he has resided since, with the 
 single exception of six months in Colorado. 
 
 While in Norway Mr. Hansen was married, in 
 1877, to Miss Emelie Nord, of Christiania. Mrs. 
 Hansen was born at Braunvold, near Kongsvin- 
 ger. Their marital union has been blessed with 
 four children: Herman O., born at Arendal, is 
 now foreman with the Clark Printing Co., of 
 Rockford; Martin E., machinist; Hilda Emilia, a 
 fine pianist, who is well known in musical circles 
 in Rockford, both as a successful teacher and a 
 leader of the orchestra of the Empire Theater; 
 and Paul Alger, who died in intancy. The last 
 three children were born in Rockford. 
 
 Mr Hansen is a director of the Modern Wood- 
 men of America, in which society he has held 
 various offices for more than ten years. Has also 
 been a delegate to a number of the conventions 
 of the society, the last convention being national, 
 at Milwaukee, in 1905. He is also one of the 
 founders and charter members of the Home Fra- 
 ternal League which has its headquarters in Rock- 
 ford, but extends over the northern part of Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 Mr. Hansen has always taken a very active part 
 in republican politics and been a delegate to the 
 county conventions for some ten years. He has 
 been with the Rockford Clothing Company dur- 
 ing the last eighteen years. Lives with his fam- 
 ily in his own residence, 1228 Elm street, Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 as Master builder. A year later, when 21, he 
 won the government scholarship for efficient 
 practical mechanicship and as draftsman in build- 
 ing, and was rewarded by being sent to Berlin, 
 Germany, for the further study of architecture 
 in the fall of 1868, for one year. While there he 
 received the second government scholarship, this 
 time as an architect, and remained there an- 
 other year. 
 
 He returned to Christiania in 1870 and later 
 in the same year arrived in Chicago, Ills. He 
 found employment immediately with W. S. B. 
 Jenney as architectural draftsman. Mr. Jenney 
 
 HARALD M. HANSEN, 
 
 Was born in Christiania, Norway, March 21, 
 1847. He attended the common schools and also 
 private Sunday and evening schools. He was 
 apprenticed at the age of 14 to Carl Schoyen, 
 General Contractor and Architect and worked 
 at bricklaying and plastering, also considerable 
 time in the office, especially in the winter months 
 as a draftsman. He studied drawing and archi- 
 tecture in the Royal Art School in Christiania 
 where at the age of twenty he won his diploma 
 
 H. M. Hansen. 
 
 was then engaged on plans of the West Chicago 
 Parks — Humboldt, Garfield and Douglas, and 
 also in regular architects work in Chicago. He 
 continued in Mr. Jenney's employ until the fall 
 of 1871, when he was engaged as instructor in 
 the Architectural Department in the Illinois In- 
 dustrial University at Champaign. Remained at 
 the University one school year and then returned 
 to Chicago and soon after opened an office as 
 architect and superintendent of buildings, where 
 he has been ever since and still continues in the 
 work of an architect. 
 
 Mr. Hansen married Karen Marie Boesen of 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 835 
 
 Christiania, Norway, in 1871, who died in Chi- 
 cago in February, 1880, leaving three children — 
 Gunhilda M. B., Carrie L. and Burton E. Han- 
 sen — all living. He married again in August, 
 1884, Miss Mathilda Anderson of Chicago. Mr. 
 Hansen's home is at 167 Eugenie street, Chicago. 
 
 JOHN FREDRIK HANSEN, 
 
 Of Aurora, 111., was born in Christiania, Nor- 
 way, Nov. 21, 1859, his parents being Hans and 
 Berthe Andersen. He attended the public schools 
 in Norway and came to America .in 1881, locat- 
 ing in Aurora. Here he secured work with a 
 small plumbing concern, but worked for them 
 
 J. F. Hansen. 
 
 only a short time, when he was employed in the 
 shops by the C, B. & Q. R. R. After a year's 
 time he was made foreman in the steamfitting 
 department, and is holding the same position 
 to-day, the plant, of course, having increased in 
 size and importance with the years. 
 
 Mr. Hansen was married in Christiania to Jo- 
 hanne Wilhelmine Wilhelmsen, on May 8, 1881, 
 
 shortly before leaving for America. They have 
 had six children, namely; Bertha (married), Jen- 
 nie, Anna, Oscar, Henry and Charles. The two 
 last named have passed away. 
 
 Mr. Hansen is a member of the Odd Fellows, 
 the Modern Woodmen of America (Camp 54), the 
 North Star Club (a Norwegian society), and in 
 1879, in Norway, he joined the Good Templars. 
 He prides himself that from that day to this he 
 has kept his pledge inviolate. 
 
 In 1902 he was elected a director of the Fox 
 River Supply Company for three years, and after 
 two years' service was elected president. The 
 family attend the Lutheran Church, and their 
 contributions lo charity are through that organi- 
 zation. 
 
 "^ 
 
 REV. O. L. HANSEN 
 
 Was born at Skien. Norway, Oct. 11, 1844. His 
 childhood was spent at Skien and on Herre in 
 
 Rev. O. L. Hansen. 
 
 the parish of Bamble, until he was fifteen years 
 of age when he was confirmed in the church of 
 the last mentioned parish. 
 
336 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 He then followed a seafaring life for eight 
 consecutive years, six in Norwegian and two in 
 English and American ships. 
 
 When eighteen years old he was converted 
 among tiie Methodists in Porsgrund. During 
 the winter of 1865 he left Norway for America 
 which country he had visited several times be- 
 fore as a sailor. He made New York his head- 
 quarters and sailed out of that port until the 
 spring of 1868, when he came to Chicago. 
 
 When the Norwegian and Danish Methodists 
 in 1868 organized their first church in Chicago, 
 he was with them. He had concluded to become 
 a preacher of the Gospel and for that purpose 
 studied at the Pennington Seminary in New 
 Jersey and at the Evanston Theological Institute 
 at Evanston, 111. In 1871 he received his "venia 
 concionandi" in the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 and in 1872 his first appointment as pastor for 
 Ashippun, Oconomowoc, Whitewater and Hart 
 Prairie and also assisted Rev. A. Haagensen in 
 his work at Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 In the summer of 1873 he was married to Miss 
 Clausine Marie Hansen who was born at Bergen, 
 Norway. They have had eight children of whom 
 four are living. 
 
 In the autumn of 1873 Rev. Hansen took 
 charge of the Methodist Church at Forest City, 
 la., which place was then a frontier town, and 
 the whole county of Winnebago could not show 
 a single church building. Through the efforts 
 of Rev. Hansen and the willing hands of the 
 Norwegian Methodists a church was built while 
 he remained there, being the first one in that 
 county. 
 
 Afterwards he served different churches of his 
 denomination in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 Rev. Hansen has been presiding elder of the 
 Minneapolis District of the Norwegian-Danish 
 Conference for six years. He has served as 
 trustee of the Norwegian-Danish Theological 
 Seminary at Evanston for twenty-six years and 
 is at present president of the board of trustees. 
 
 In 1905 he was elected manager, by his con- 
 ference, of the Norwegian-Danish Book Con- 
 cern, located at 272 Grand avenue, Chicago. 
 
 It may be of interest to mention that a brother 
 of Rev. Hansen, Captain Alexander Hansen, was 
 commanding the steamer Seguranza during the 
 Spanish-American war. This ship was General 
 Shafter's flagship when the great transport fleet 
 carried our American soldiers from Florida to 
 Cuba, and it was on Captain Hansen's advice 
 that the general ordered the troops to be landed 
 where they did. As is well known, not a man 
 or a mule was lost during the landing. 
 
 REINERTH EMIL ALFRED HANSEN. 
 
 R. E. A. Hansen, with the International Har- 
 vester Company of America, at No. 7 Monroe 
 street, Chicago, was born in Stavanger, Norway, 
 on June 8, 1872. His father, Malermester Wil- 
 helm Th. Hansen, is still living; but his mother 
 Johanna Andrea (born Jacobsen) died while he 
 was in his infancy. 
 
 Reincrth's early years were passed in Stavan- 
 ger, where he graduated from Kongsgaard h0iere 
 Almenskole, taking final examination in 1886. In 
 1886 and 1887 he was with Christian Bjelland & 
 Co., of Stavanger, as bookkeeper and English 
 correspondent. Gave this up in 1888, when he 
 commenced sailing from Stavanger to England 
 
 R. E. A. Hansen. 
 
 and South America. Followed this occupation 
 for nearly six years, the last two years as first 
 and second officer, as he had passed the naviga- 
 tion examination in 1891. During these years he 
 visited the principal places in Europe, Australia, 
 East and West Indies and South America, and 
 was finally shipwrecked on San Domingo, from 
 which point he made his way to New York, where 
 he landed in March, 1894, and arrived in Chicago 
 in April of the same year. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 337 
 
 Here he held different jobs. He served as a 
 painter with Tom Olson, did some laundry work, 
 and was assistant shipping clerk for L. Manasse. 
 the optician in the Tribune Building, until in 
 February. 1895. he secured the position as mvoice 
 clerk with the Milwaukee Harvester Company, at 
 Milwaukee, Wis. Was rapidly promoted, and has 
 been with them since. A year after the Interna- 
 tional Harvester Company of America was or- 
 ganized — January 1, 1904 — he was transferred 
 to the general offices in Chicago, and he is now 
 in charge of the Milwaukee and gas engine re- 
 pairs parts line of the company; is also the trans- 
 lator (Danish-Norwegian) for the company. 
 
 Mr. Hansen has held many society and social 
 positions: was treasurer in 1903 for the North- 
 west Club of Milwaukee; guide, secretary and 
 vice-president of the Carpenter Lodge of the 
 Fraternal Alliance several years, and also one 
 year secretary of Crystal Spring Lodge, I. O. 
 G. T., of Milwaukee. Farmaceut Hans G. Han- 
 sen, his only brother, died here in Chicago in 
 1900, and is buried in Mt. Olive cemetery. 
 
 He was married on July 4, 1896, to Anna B. 
 Rimestad, of Stavanger, Norway, in Milwaukee, 
 Wis. They have two children, Trygve, R., 10 
 years, and S. J. Ruth, 7 years old. The family 
 are Lutherans and attend different churches. 
 Their residence is at 1340 N. Spaulding avenue. 
 
 and the Paxton Club. He received a patent 
 on a gearing for binders and mowers on July 6, 
 1904. He moved to Paxton in November, 1905, 
 
 ^ 
 
 ABEL A. HANSON, PH. G., D. D. S., 
 
 Of Paxton, 111., was born near Elliott, 111., July 
 26, 1872. His parents, Abel and Anna (born 
 Stueland) Hanson, were farmers, living near El- 
 liott. Mr. Hanson attended the public schools 
 and later took a course in pharmacy at Valpa- 
 raiso, Ind., graduating in 1900 as Ph. G. He also 
 took a course !n dentistry, at the Chicago College 
 of Dental Surgery, graduating with the degree of 
 D. D. ,S. He opened an office and began the prac- 
 tice of dentistry at Broadlands, 111. Previously 
 he had spent two years as a clerk in Minneapolis. 
 
 He was married to Miss Josephine Isabella 
 Volden, of Elliott, on Feb. 7, 1899. They have 
 two children — Birdella Viola May, born June 4, 
 1900, and Florence Irene, born Jan. 27, 1904. 
 
 While at Broadlands our subject was a member 
 of the city council for 1903-04. At Elliott he was 
 secretary of the Pontoppidan Church. He is a 
 member of Paxton Lodge, No. 416, A. F. & A. M.; 
 Ford Chapter, No. 113; Mt. Olivet Commandery, 
 K. T., No. 38; Paxton Lodge, I. 6. O. F., 418; 
 
 A. A. Hanson. 
 
 where he is enjoying a lucrative practice, 
 father died in 1895 and his mother in 1902. 
 
 His 
 
 BERTHEUS HANSON, 
 
 Of Hanson Brothers, contractors and builders, 
 with offices at 59 Dearborn street, was born on 
 Gaarden Engenes, Ibestad parish, near Troms0, 
 Norway, May 22, 1857. His parents were Hans 
 Christian Bertheusen and Andrea Hanson. He 
 attended the public schools and was confirmed 
 in Norway. While but a boy he learned the 
 trade of a carpenter with his father. 
 
 He came to America and Chicago in the fall of 
 1880 and soon secured work at his trade. For a 
 time he attended evening schools, wishing first to 
 master the English language as quickly as possi- 
 ble but also took private lessons in engineering 
 and architectural drawMng. The firm of Hanson 
 Brothers has built many buildings for them- 
 
338 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 selves and others, and also several public build- 
 ings, for the city, county and the national govern- 
 ment. 
 
 On June 11, 1887, Mr. Hanson married Miss 
 
 Bertheus Hanson. 
 
 Julia Knudson. of Chicago. They had four chil- 
 dren, three now living, namely: Marie, Harvey 
 Andrew and Bernard Gilmore. The family at- 
 tends the Lutheran Church and resides at 29 
 Frances place. 
 
 CHARLES F. HANSON 
 
 Was born in La Salle county, Illinois, near the 
 village of Leland, in 1863. His father, Ole H. 
 Hanson, was born in Telemarken, Norway, in 
 1827, and came to this country in 1839. His 
 mother was born in La Salle county, of Nor- 
 wegian descent; she died in 1873. Mr. Hanson, 
 Sr., lived at and near the village of Leland from 
 the time of his arrival in this country until his 
 death, Dec. 25, 1904. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was educated in the 
 
 high school at Leland; also in the Morris Normal 
 and Scientific School at Morris, 111., and at the 
 Northern Indiana School at Valparaiso, Ind. 
 
 In 1888 he commenced the study of law in the 
 ofifice of Brewer & Strawn of Ottawa, 111., and 
 was admitted to practice law at Ottawa in 1890. 
 In, 1893 he came to Morris and entered upon the 
 practice of his profession. He was elected city 
 attorney of Morris in 1895, and re-elected in 1897; 
 elected to the office of state's attorney of Grundy 
 county in 1900, and re-elected in 1904; is now 
 serving his second term. Mr. Hanson is a vig- 
 orous prosecutor, and has sent more men to the 
 penitentiary during his term than any of his pre- 
 decessors in the office during a like period of 
 time. His private practice is large; he has more 
 cases on the docket than any other attorney at 
 the bar of Grundy county. He is attorney for the 
 Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Com- 
 pany, and IS employed by a number of the villages 
 in Grundy county as their regular counsel. 
 
 C. F. Hanson. 
 
 He married Lillie B. Nelson in 1891, and has 
 three children — Russell, Leslie and Luella. 
 
 HART HANSON 
 
 Was born in Christiansand, Norway, March 5, 
 1871, his parents being Hans and Anna (born 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 339 
 
 Simonson) Hanson. He came to America with 
 his parents in 1880 and settled at Norway, III. 
 He came to Chicago ten years later and engaged 
 in business in 1893. 
 
 Mr. Hanson is a member of the firm of George 
 B. Doan & Co., 300 Wabash avenue, being whole- 
 sale dealers in educational books and publishers 
 of games. » 
 
 Hart Hanson. 
 
 Mr. Hanson married Alvilda M. Arneson, June 
 29, 1897. They have one child, Everett Hart. 
 Mr. Hanson is a member of The Columbia Club, 
 Fox Lake, and belongs to The Independent Reli- 
 gious Society. The family resides at 47 Hum- 
 boldt boulevard. 
 
 His father, Hans Christian Bertheusen, was a 
 carpenter and farmer in Eugenes; his mother's 
 maiden name was Andrea Hanson. He attended 
 the public schools in Norway and evening schools 
 after his arrival in America. He quit his school- 
 ing in' Norway when 16 years old, to help his 
 father on the farm and to learn the carpenter 
 trade. 
 
 He left Norway for America in April, 1887; ar- 
 rived in New York May 21, and in Chicago May 
 24. In October of the same year he went to San 
 Diego, Cal., but returned to Chicago in July, 1888. 
 He worked at the carpenter trade both in Cali- 
 fornia and Chicago, continuing until October 
 
 H. A. Hanson. 
 
 HARTVIG ALBERT HANSON, 
 
 Of Hanson Bros., contractors and builders, with 
 offices at 59 Dearborn street, room 409,' was born 
 in Engenes, near Troms0, Norway, Jan. 24, 1867, 
 
 1892, when he entered into a partnership with his 
 brother, Bertheus Hanson, as general contract- 
 ors and builders, which firm has prospered since 
 its organization. 
 
 Mr. Hanson was married to Wilhelmina Sophia 
 Aim, of Chicago, on June 27, 1903. His wife was 
 an adopted daughter of Captain Andrew and 
 Gudrina Anderson. They have one child, Alice 
 Gertrude Hanson, born Dec. 4, 1904. The family 
 resides at 29 Frances place, Chicago. 
 
340 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 HENRY HANSON, 
 
 The carriage and buggy manufacturer at 57-59 
 Austin avenue, now retired from active work, was 
 born in Jonsten, Raade sogn, Norway, Oct. 23, 
 1847, his parents being Hans and Helena (born 
 Jensen) Halvoison. At 14 years he went to 
 Moss and worl<ed as an apprentice for four years 
 for his brother, learning the carriage trade. At 
 the age of 19 he left Norway, going via Sweden 
 and Denmark to Germany. At the age of 21 he 
 returned to Norway and started a shop at Sar- 
 vike. He operated this for two years, when he 
 took passage on the sailing vessel Hans Smith 
 and came direct to Chicago. 
 
 Jan. 7, 1874. They have had six children, two 
 now living. The family are members of the Luth- 
 eran church, and reside at 113 Evergreen avenue. 
 
 Henry Hanson. 
 
 He arrived in Chicago in the spring of 1872 and 
 started to work for G. Vetterlund, on W. Lake 
 street. He worked for him for eight years, when 
 he opened a shop, with Christ Iverson as partner, 
 at the present location, 57-59 Austin avenue. This 
 partnership lasted for six years, when they parted, 
 and Mr. Hanson continued the business in his 
 own name for nineteen years, retiring in Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 Mr. Hanson was married to Laura Krogstad, 
 
 SAMPSON A. HANSON, 
 
 Of Elliott, 111., was born at Lisbon, III, Nov. 6, 
 1868. His father, Abel Hanson Seglem, came 
 from Kvinherred, near Bergen, Norway. His 
 mother was Anna Stueland. When Hanson was 
 4 years old his parents moved to Elliott, Ford 
 county, and Sampson was consequently educated 
 in the public schools of Dix township. At first 
 he worked on his father's farm, but later secured 
 a position with the hardware firm of Orr & Lock- 
 ett, Chicago, then located at Monroe and Clark 
 
 S. A. Hanson. 
 
 streets. Life In Chicago did not agree with him, 
 however, so he went West, working on farms in 
 Minnesota and Iowa, but returned to Elliott, 
 where he in connection with his brother, who 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 341 
 
 lives on a farm in the neighborhood, started a 
 meat market. 
 
 In 1895 he was married to Miss Hannah Valden, 
 who was born at Nettle Creek, Grundy county. 
 She was organist of the Pontoppidan parish be- 
 fore her marriage. They have four children — 
 Abbie Christina, Lyman Arthur, Hanley Oliver 
 and Abel Aaron. 
 
 Mr. Hanson has been a member of the village 
 board since its incorporation, and takes an active 
 part in politics, being a pronounced republican. 
 He is a brother of Dr. Hanson, of Paxton, 111. 
 
 from the Electrical College at Teplitz, Schonau, 
 Austria. He then returned to Trondhjem, where 
 he began his active work in life as a draftsman. 
 He came to America in 1903, landing in Boston, 
 and from there went to St. Charles, Mo., where 
 he worked for six months before going to Au- 
 rora. He IS now employed as draftsman with the 
 Aurora Automatic Machinery Company. Both 
 his parents are living in Trondhjem. He is a 
 member of the Maccabees. 
 
 REV. LARS HARRISVILLE, 
 
 IVER ANDREAS HANSSEN. 
 
 Of Aurora, 111., was born in Trondhjem, Norway, 
 Sept. 8, 1876. His parents were Andrew and Dor- 
 die (Udstad) Hanssen. His father was the pro- 
 prietor of a cooper shop in Trondhjem. Iver 
 
 At present pastor for St. Paul's English Lutheran 
 Church on Fairfield avenue and Hirsch street, is 
 
 jiif0Bf^ 
 
 I. A. Hanssen. 
 
 attended the Latin school in Trondhjem, Pors- 
 grund's mechanical trade school, and graduated 
 
 Rev. Lars Harrisville. 
 
 a native of Chicago, having been born here on 
 May 11, 1864. He is a son of Knud Knudsen and 
 Maren Karine, (born Larson) Harrisville. His 
 father came to America in 1845 and located in 
 Chicago, taking an active interest in church work. 
 
342 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 He was one of the leading members of the Trin- 
 ity Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church. 
 
 Our subject studied for the ministry at the sem- 
 inary in Red Wing, Minn. His first call was to St. 
 John's Lutheran Church at Sioux City, Iowa, 
 where he was oastor for ten years, . He then came 
 to Chicago, where he serves St. Paul's English 
 Lutheran Church, belonging to Hauge's Synod. 
 They are now building a magnificent new church 
 edifice a block east of their present one; the cor- 
 ner stone was laid with great ceremony in the 
 summer of 1906. Rev. Harrisville has been presi- 
 dent of the Norwegian Lutheran Children's Home 
 in Chicago for six years. He is a member of the 
 board of directors for the seminary at Red Wing, 
 in which he was also offered a professorship, but 
 declined it. 
 
 He was married to Miss Hannah D. Munson, 
 June 26, 1889. They have had six children, five 
 now living. They reside at 727 N. Washtenaw 
 .avenue. 
 
 HAUMAN G. HAUGAN. 
 
 "We ■commenced our series of biographical 
 ■sketches and portraits with a likeness of the man 
 whose brief life story will be told in the follow- 
 ing lines. We put his picture at the front, be- 
 cause in our estimation, and everybody else's who 
 Ivuows him. Comptroller Haugan is in many re- 
 spects one of the most prominent Norwegians not 
 ■only in Illinois but in the United States as well. 
 In this and other states we have men, prominent 
 in politics and otherwise, who have been kept 
 more in the lime-light of publicity and whose 
 names, therefore, are more familiar to newspaper 
 readers, but for general usefulness and sterling 
 •character Mr. Haugan ranks among the first. 
 
 Mr. Haugan was born at Christiania, Norway, 
 Nov. 7, 1840. His parents were. Helge A. and 
 Anna B. Haugan. He was educated in the schools 
 of the capital of Norway. 
 
 He came to America in 1858 and took up his 
 residence in Chicago in 1863. As a clerk in 
 Chicago for two years he familiarized himself 
 with the customs of the new country, and then 
 entered the Batavian Bank at La Crosse, Wis., 
 of which he later became cashier. In 1870 he 
 was appointed paymaster and auditor of the 
 Southern Minnesota Railroad. When this road 
 was purchased in 1880 by the Chicago, Milwaukee 
 
 and St. Paul Railway, Mr. Haugan moved to 
 Milwaukee to accept the post of private secretary 
 to Sir W. C. Van Home, now of the Canadian 
 Pacific. He next served as land commissioner 
 of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, 
 with headquarters in Milwaukee, and came to 
 Chicago in January, 1901, to fill the position of 
 comptroller of the same company. 
 
 For thirty-six years Mr. Haugan has been in- 
 timately identified with railway afifairs in the 
 Northwest. His accurate and detailed knowledge 
 of the workings of the great Chicago, Milwaukee 
 and St. Paul system has been gained by many 
 years in its service, during which time he has 
 traveled extensively in the states traversed by 
 the railroad. His duties as land commissioner 
 included the locating, naming and developing of 
 many new towns in Wisconsin, Minnesota and 
 North and South Dakota, some of which have 
 since become prosperous cities. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Haugan became a member of the 
 firm Haugan & Lindgren, bankers. He is a large 
 stockholder in the State Bank of Chicago, in the 
 development of which he has been an important 
 factor. 
 
 Mr. Haugan was married at Rockdell, Minn., 
 Oct. 22, 1869, to Emma Petersen, who died in 
 1905, leaving him with three daughters: Helga C, 
 Ragna L. and Alice J. Last year, 1906, Mr. Hau- 
 gan, accompanied by his three daughters, made 
 an extended tour through Europe, including Nor- 
 way and Sweden. His home is at 1122 Judson 
 avenue, Evanston. He is a member of the Union 
 League Club and the Milwaukee Club. 
 
 H. A. HAUGAN. 
 
 Helge Alexander Haugan was born OctoDer 
 26, 1847, in Christiania, Norway, and attended 
 schools in his native city until the time of his 
 departure with his parents for America, in 1858. 
 For four years he lived with them in Canada, a 
 portion of the time on a farm near Lenoxville, 
 and later in Montreal, where he was apprenticed 
 to learn the gas-fitting and plumbing trade. As 
 a boy of sixteen he came to Chicago in 1863, and 
 after several years spent in the employ of others, 
 engaged in business on his own account in 1871 
 as a contractor in the gas-fitting and plumbing 
 business, meeting with excellent success. His 
 mind, however, was full of plans for larger 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 343 
 
 things, and in 1879, with John R. Lindgren, he 
 founded the business of Haugan & Lindgren, 
 Bankers, in which firm Mr. Haugan was the sen- 
 ior member. 
 
 In 1891, when the bank was incorporated as 
 the State Bank of Chicago, Mr. Haugan T>vas 
 elected its President, and has ever since occu- 
 pied this position, in addition to being a direct- 
 or of the Chicago Title & Trust Company. He 
 is a member of tlic Union League Club, the Mid- 
 day Club, and the Bankers' Club. For many years 
 his home has been- on Deming Court, in Lake 
 View. 
 
 Chytraus and the other to Dr. Wallace F. Gros- 
 venor, both of Chicago. Mrs. Chytraus died in 
 California in May, 1907. 
 
 HENRY ALEXANDER HAUGAN 
 
 Was born Aug 14, 1879. He is a son of Helge 
 A. Haugan, president of the State Bank of Chi- 
 cago, and his wife Laura Haugan. 
 
 Mr. Henry A. Haugan was educated in the 
 
 Helge A. Haugan. 
 
 Henry A. Haugan. 
 
 Occupied with his increasing duties as head of 
 the bank, Mr. Haugan has never taken an active 
 part in politics nor sought ofifice, although a 
 warm friend of good government and civic re- 
 form. He was, however, a member of the Board 
 of Education under Mayor Swift, and later served 
 for several years as treasurer of the Lincoln 
 Park Board. 
 
 He was married, in Chicago, in 1868, to Laura 
 A. Wardrum, and has six children, of whom 
 Oscar H. Haugan and Henry A. Haugan are con- 
 nected with the State Bank of Chicago. Of his 
 two daughters one was married to Judge Axel 
 
 Chicago public schools, both grammar and high 
 school, and later took a course in the Dartmouth 
 College. Having finished this course he entered 
 the State Bank of Chicago as clerk and worked 
 in various departments, until he was appointed as- 
 sistant cashier, which position he is now holding. 
 
 Mr. Henry Haugan is a very quiet and unas- 
 suming young man who, as a matter of course, 
 must have been well versed in the banking busi- 
 ness before his appointment to his present re- 
 sponsible position. 
 
 He is a member of the Chicago Athletic As- 
 sociation and, being single, resides with his par- 
 ents. 
 
344 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 OSCAR H. HAUGAN, 
 
 Manager for the real estate loan department of 
 the State Bank of Chicago, is the oldest son of 
 Helge A. and Laura Haugan, and was born in 
 this city, Nov. 5, 1872. After completing the 
 curricula of the public schools he attended the 
 Northwestern Military Academy at Highland 
 Park and Northwestern University at Evanston, 
 111. After leaving college he entered the bank's 
 employ in 1892. After a preliminary training in 
 the various commercial departments he was 
 transferred to its real estate loan department, 
 where he served several years in dififerent posi- 
 
 O. H. Haugan. 
 
 tions, until he was promoted, in 1902, to the po- 
 sition of manager. Mr. Haugan is thoroughly 
 versed in the mortgage loan business and well- 
 informed on real estate values in Chicago. 
 
 He is a member of the Chicago Real Estate 
 Board and was its treasurer for one term, in 
 1905, a member of the Chicago Real Estate Loan 
 Association, the Chicago Yacht Club and the 
 Union League Club. 
 
 Mr. Haugan married Miss Clara C. Jevne, of 
 this city, June 26, 1900. They have two children 
 - — a boy, Jevne, 6 years old, and a daughter, 
 Helen, .3 years old. They reside at 17 Roslyn 
 Place. 
 
 REV. PAUL HAUGAN, B. D., 
 
 Pastor of the Maplewood avenue Methodist 
 Episcopal Church was born at Trondhjem, Nor- 
 way, Dec. 27, 1860. His father was Paul Hau- 
 gan, a marine engineer and later foreman at the 
 "Nordenfjeldske Dampskibsselskabs" machine 
 shop in Trondhjem. His mother was Johanne 
 Haugan, nee Sundt. 
 
 In the home of his Godfearing and energetic 
 parents he was early convinced of the necessity 
 of giving his heart to God and become as useful 
 as possible. Exhibiting signs of special promise 
 for engineering it was decided, that he should 
 
 Rev. Paul Haugan. 
 
 enter on this career. To this end he was pre- 
 pared for entrance in the "Polytechnical School" 
 at Trondhjem. 
 
 Having attained the age necessary for admis- 
 sion he commenced his studies there. While a 
 student in the year 1880 he gave his heart to 
 God. 
 
 After completing his studies he worked in 
 machine shops for about a year. 
 
 In order to continue his studies a position was 
 secured for him in Newcastle. England. 
 
 His mother did not like the idea of sending 
 her young son out among strangers and decided 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 345 
 
 that he should go to America, where he had a 
 sister, the wife of Rev. J. C. Tollefsen. Conse- 
 quently he came to America in 1883, settling at 
 Stoughton, Wis., where his sister at that time 
 lived. 
 
 The first religious meeting he attended in that 
 place was a Methodist class-meeting. While in 
 Norway he had never thought of severing his 
 connections with the Lutheran Church. But now 
 in a foreign country and having to settle the 
 question of selecting a church home, the reason- 
 ing of the Methodist doctrine together with the 
 simplicity and earnestness of the life of that lit- 
 tle band of Methodists with whoin he became 
 associated, impressed itself upon him greatly. 
 Having acquainted himself with the English 
 language and American customs he went to Chi- 
 cago the following spring. Here he worked as 
 a mechanical engineer. 
 
 But as souls were awakened, and led to peace 
 with God under his preaching, the request was 
 again made to him to give his full time to win- 
 ning souls for God and for that purpose enter 
 on probation with the Norwegian and Danish 
 annual Conference. He finally yielded. At the 
 annual conference at Cambridge, Wis., 1885, he 
 was accepted on probation as member of the 
 Conference. His first appointment was Eatt 
 Claire, Wis. During his two years' service a 
 church was built and a number of souls con- 
 verted. 
 
 Having satisfied himself that he had an inner 
 call to the ministry, he decided to fit himself by 
 a theological education in order to glorify God 
 and become useful to the church. 
 
 The way opened itself for him. A petition 
 was presented without his knowledge to his pre- 
 siding elder. Rev. A. Haagensen, that he be ap- 
 pointed as pastor of the Hyde Park congrega- 
 tion, since removed to Park Side, near Pullman, 
 Illinois. 
 
 He now enrolled as a student at the Garrett 
 Biblical Institute and completed his studies in 
 1891. 
 
 His ordination to the Deacons Order he re- 
 ceived by Bishop C. H. Fowler in Chicago, in 
 1887, and to the Elders' Order by Bishop J. N. 
 Fitz-Gerald at Racine, in 1889. 
 
 His following appointments were: Whitewa- 
 ter, Wis., two years; Moreland, 111., one year; 
 Ishpeming, Mich., one year; Marinette, Wis., 
 one year; Immanuel Church, Chicago, two years; 
 Evanston, two years; Manistee, Mich., three 
 years; Stoughton, Wis., three years; and Calu- 
 met, Mich., three years. During 1 year of his 
 pastorate in Calumet he also was the editor of 
 
 "Young Peoples' Tidings," h'aving received the 
 election to this work by the Annual Conference. 
 
 When in charge of the Moreland Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, Chicago, 111., he organized 
 the first Epworth league in the Norwegian and 
 Danish Conference. As a pastor he has raised 
 the money for and built the three following 
 churches: Eau Claire, Wis., Evanston, 111,, and 
 Mohawk, Mich. 
 
 In 1893 after having visited his parents in Nor- 
 way he was married to Miss Emma Kildahl of 
 Milwaukee, Wis. Their union has been ble.=sed 
 with six children. 
 
 Haugan is a well educated man, an earnest 
 Christian and a gifted preacher who is serving 
 his God and his church faithfully. 
 
 DR. N. A. HAUGE, 
 
 Dentist, of Newark, 111., was born in Bergen, 
 Norway, April 6, 1872. His father, Nels L., and 
 
 Dr. N. A. Hauge. 
 
 his mother, Anna (Thompson) Hauge, are both 
 still living in Norway. Dr. Hauge first attended 
 
346 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 the common schools and later was educated by 
 private teachers until 17 years old. He then be- 
 gan the study of dentistry at Dr. George Ber- 
 gersen's dental office in Bergen, where, after a 
 full term of three years, he received his certificate 
 as a doctor of dental surgery. 
 
 In 1892 he came to America, locating in Chi- 
 cago, and studied dentistry according to Amer- 
 ican methods with Dr. Nels Nelson, on Mil- 
 waukee avenue, for about two years. He then 
 entered the Chicago Dental College for one year, 
 where he received his diploma and passed the 
 final examination before the state board of ex- 
 aminers. Then he began to practice on his owri 
 account, opening an office in the Masonic Temple, 
 Chicago, and continued there for two years, 
 when he moved to Ottawa, where he enjoyed a 
 lucrative practice for three years. In the mean- 
 time he had also started an office in Newark, 
 where he settled permanently in 1903. He is a 
 member of the Scandinavian Dental Society of 
 Chicago. He is also a Mason, an Odd Fellow 
 and a member of the B. & P. O. Elks. 
 
 HANS KNUTSON HAUGEN 
 
 Was born in Silljords prestegjasld, Telemarken, 
 Norway, in November, 1856. His father was 
 Knut Knutson, a farmer, and his mother Aaste 
 Svensdatter Broten. The family consisted of five 
 sons and three daughters. Hans grew up on the 
 farm and was a strong and healthy boy until he 
 arrived at maturity. Then he was called upon 
 to serve in the army, but on account of a fever- 
 ish pain which had settled in his legs he was ad- 
 judged incapacitated, put in a hospital, and had 
 the misfortune to have his left leg amputated. 
 When discharged from the hospital a cripple he 
 had to give up work on the farm, and so turned 
 his attention to the shoemaker's trade. This he 
 mastered thoroughly and worked at it until his 
 father's cousin, Halvor Hansen, who resided in 
 America, visited his native place and induced 
 young Haugen to go with him to America. 
 
 He came to y\merica, and to Capron, 111., where 
 he remained for a few months, then went to Rio, 
 Wis., and from there he went with an aunt to 
 Lake Park, Minn., where he had three brothers. 
 While there the old ailment set in in his right 
 leg, so that he had to go to a hospital at Detroit, 
 Minn., where that was amputated also. This ex- 
 
 perience would probably discourage most men, 
 but Haugen, nothing daunted, secured artificial 
 finibs and set out to make his way in this world 
 on his own account. He now returned to Capron, 
 where he has resided since, diligently working at 
 his trade and saving his earnings, until he now 
 has a comfortable competence provided for old 
 age and the r:iiny days. He sticks to his last, 
 working early and late, but is as cheerful, happy 
 
 H. K. Haugen. 
 
 and active as ever, and often jokes about occupy- 
 ing two graveyards already, and says that it will 
 take a third to complete the job, which will in all 
 probability be at Capron when his time comes. 
 During the time he was laid up he busied himself 
 with wood carving and became quite an expert. 
 He can show some very fine specimens of his 
 work. 
 
 MRS. JOHANNE KNUTSDATTER HEGGEM, 
 
 Now living with her daughter. ]\Irs. George 1^. 
 Hanmer, at St. Charles. 111., was born in M)7(ckle- 
 burst, near Bergen, Norway, Feb. 22, 1829. Her 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 347 
 
 parents were Knud M0ckleburst and Bertha OIs- 
 datter Segro, of Jolstad parish. 
 
 In 1850 she was married to Mr. Ole Hcggem, 
 of the same place. The couple migrated to Amer- 
 ica in 1869 and settled at first in Chicago, where 
 Mr. Heggem, who was a patternmaker by trade, 
 worked for thirty years, until his death. Ten 
 children were born to them, seven sons and three 
 daughters, of whom three sons and two daugh- 
 ters are living. Two of the sons are living in 
 Chicago, one in Ohio, one daughter is living in 
 
 Mrs. J. K. Heggem. 
 
 California, and Anna, married to George L. Han- 
 mer, in St. Charles, 111. Mr. Hanmer is purchas- 
 ing agent for The Condensing Company of St. 
 Charles. 
 
 Since the death of her husband Mrs. Heggem 
 has been living with her daughter at St. Charles. 
 While in Chicago she attends Dr. Thomas' 
 Church, The People's, held in the McVicker The- 
 ater. The old lady is well preserved for her age, 
 being but little troubled with sickness. 
 
 MRS. ANNA HEGGLAND 
 
 Was born in Mission township, (Norway), La 
 Salle county. May 12, 1842. Her father was Mr! 
 Osmon Tutland, from Hjelmeland sogn, Stavan- 
 ger, Norway, and her mother Malinde Vadla, 
 from Aardal, near Stavanger. The couple were 
 not among the Norwegians, who came over in 
 
 Father of Mrs. Anna Heggland. 
 
 the Sloop, but were among those who emigrated 
 next afterward, and were of the second bunch of 
 settlers in Mission (now Norway), where they 
 arrived in 1833. Mr. Tutland and his wife had 
 five children born to them in the old country, of 
 whom one boy died in infancy in Norway, erne on 
 the ocean, and one boy when they arrived in 
 New York. They consequently brought two 
 children, both ^>ovs. with them to Mission Hc^o 
 four more children were born to them, three girls 
 and one boy, among whom was the subject of 
 this sketch, and who is the only survivor of the 
 children of Mr. Tutland's first marriage. When 
 9 years old Mrs. Heggland lost her mother. Her 
 father thereupon returned to the old country and 
 brought back with him a new wife. Her name 
 is Helene Sophie Age. This new union resulted 
 
348 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 in five children, of whom only two (sons) arc 
 living, in Iowa. 
 
 Mrs. Heggland was educated in the district 
 school and confirmed in the Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church. She was baptized by the renowned Rev. 
 Eielsen and confirmed by the hardly less re- 
 nowned Rev. Rasmussen, who also officiated 
 when she was married the first time. 
 
 Mrs. Heggland was married in 1858 to Jonas 
 R. Sigmundstad. The couple had four children — 
 three girls and one boy. The boy died in infancy. 
 The girls are married — Anna Christina to Mr. 
 Sam Overland, a farmer in Iowa and a native of 
 Norway; Melinda Elizabeth, to Mr. Jonas R. Jor- 
 stad, a farmer in the vicinity of Newark; Rosa 
 N., to Mr. Jesse C. Johnson, a farmer. This 
 couple lives on Mrs. Heggland's old homestead 
 in Mission township. Mr. Sigmundstad having de- 
 parted this life in 1887, his wife in 1890 was mar- 
 ried to Mr. Jacob Jerred, of Norway, Benton 
 county, Iowa. No issue came of this union. Mr. 
 Jerred died in 1899. In September, 1902, she was 
 married again, this time to Mr. John Heggland, 
 who was born in Rennes0na, one mile north of 
 Stavanger, July 16, 1837. He came to America 
 in 18G5. Mr. Heggland was a widower, having 
 been married to Miss Anna Sannungshaugen, of 
 Norway. She had died in 1900. 
 
 (During the period of nine years marital union 
 with Mr. Jerred the subject lived with him on 
 
 his farm in Iowa.) 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. John Heggland now live as retired 
 farmers in their own house in Newark, 111. The 
 old couple are members of the United Church at 
 Norway. Mrs. Heggland has eleven grandchil- 
 dren. 
 
 He was married to Thora Magdalene Ellison, 
 Aug. 24, 1895. They have three children, namely: 
 Carlyle Monroe, born Oct. 6, 1896; Stanley Elli- 
 
 H. M. Heggland. 
 
 son, Aug. 24, 1898; Thurlow Trygve Martin, Dec. 
 22, 1904. The family are members of the Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran St. Timothy Church, and reside 
 at 1230 Tripp avenue. 
 
 HANS MARTIN HEGGLAND, D.D.S., 
 
 Was born at Haugesund, Norway, Feb. 26, 1866, 
 his parents being Christian Staalesen and Marie 
 (nee Ostrem) Heggland. Our subject spent his 
 youth in Haugesund. 
 
 He came to America in May, 1888, and worked 
 as a painter for four years. In 1893 he entered 
 the United States Dental College as a student. 
 He completed his course and in 1895 opened an 
 office at 948 Armitage avenue, where he is still 
 practicing dentistry. He is a member of the 
 Illinois State Dental Society, the Chicago Odon- 
 tographic Society, the Scandinavian-American 
 Dental Society and the Northwestern University 
 Dental Alumni. 
 
 DR. LUDVIG HEKTOEN. 
 
 Dr. Ludvig Hektoen is a native of Wisconsin, 
 having been born July 2, 1863, on his father's farm 
 near Westby, that State. His parents, Peter P. and 
 Olave (Thorsgard) Hektoen, natives uf Nor\vay,were 
 early settlers of Vernon county, Wisconsin, where 
 the father still resides, living retired in Westby. 
 Besides carrying on farming Peter P. Hektoen was 
 engaged as a school teacher, following that calling 
 for several years in Vernon county, after which 
 he held a public office at the State capital. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 349 
 
 His family consisted of three children : Ludvig, Mar- 
 tin, who is a physician, and Miss Marie, who is 
 a graduate of the University of Wisfconsin. 
 
 Ludvig Hektoen passed his yourn as a typical 
 farmer boy, attending school winters and assisting 
 on his father's farm during the remainder of the 
 year. When fourteen years old he was sent to 
 Luther College, at Decorah, Iowa, and six years later 
 graduated from that institution, with the degree of 
 B. A. The next year he spent in study at the Uni- 
 versity of Wisconsin, after which for one year he 
 was engaged as druggist at the Oshkosh CWiscon- 
 
 ^^^^^^^^gp^Hi^^^^^^^^l 
 
 
 l^^^^^^k. J^3^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 ^^^^^^^^B. '^'"^^^^I^^^^^^^^^^M 
 
 Ind^l 
 
 ^^H^HI^^^ ^^^^^^^^H^^^^H 
 
 Dr. Ludvig Hektoen. 
 
 came lecturer on pathology at Rush Medical, and 
 professor of pathology at the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons. In 1894-5 he furthered his scientific 
 acquirements by study in Upsala, Berlin and Prague. 
 Before returning to Chicago, he was elected pro- 
 fessor of pathology in Rush Medical College, a posi- 
 tion he has filled ever since. In 1900 he was 
 honored with appointment as head of the Depart- 
 ment of Pathology and Bacteriology at the Univer- 
 sity of Chicago — a mark of esteem of which any 
 physician might feel proud. As teacher and investi- 
 gator in pathology Dr. Hektoen exerts a strong and 
 wide-spreading influence on the minds and careers of 
 the students who come under his charge. In Janu- 
 ary, 1902, Dr. Hektoen was appointea director of the 
 Memorial Institute for Infectious Diseases in Chi- 
 cago. He holds membership in the principal medical 
 societies of the city, state and country, including the 
 American Medical Association and the Association 
 of American Physicians ; has served four years as 
 president of the Chicago Pathological Society ; and 
 was elected president of the Association of American 
 Pathologists and Bacteriologists for 19L'3. The mem- 
 bers of the profession are the best judges of a phy- 
 sician's real worth, whether in the line of research 
 or practice, and such high honors are not bestowed 
 unmerited. Dr Hektoen is one of the editors of 
 The Journal of Infectious Diseases. He is also 
 a frequent contributor to current medical lite- 
 rature especially along the line of original in- 
 vestigations in the field of infectious diseases. 
 He frequently serves on committees and special 
 commissions charged with the study of matters 
 concerning public health. 
 
 A record like Dr. Hektoen's speaks for itself, 
 especially in the circles where the value of at- 
 tainments like his is well enough known to be cor- 
 rectly estimated. 
 
 In 1891 Dr. Hektoen married Miss Ellen Strandh, 
 of Habo, Sweden, and they have one Gaughter, Aikyn 
 and one son, Josef Ludvig. 
 
 sin) Insane Asylum. He then commenced the spe- 
 cial preparation tor his life work, entering the Col- 
 lege of Physicians and Surgeons, Chicago, from 
 which he graduated in 1887, and for the six months 
 following he was Assistant Physician at the Insane 
 Asylum at Kankakee, Illinois. Having received ap- 
 pointment as Interne (first place) at the Cook Coun- 
 ty Hospital, he returned to Chicago to enter upon 
 the duties of that position, in which he remained 
 until the spring of 1889. At the close of that period 
 he took up the active practice of medicine in Chicago. 
 In 1890 he was appointed coroner's physician, serv- 
 ing as such until 1893, and in the meantime he be- 
 
 HENRY L. HENDRICKSON. 
 
 Of Newark, 111., was born on a farm in La Salle 
 county, March 19, 1863. His father was Lars 
 Hendrickson and his mother, Serena Johnson. 
 
 Mr. Hendrickson's youth was spent on the 
 farm. He attended the public schools during the 
 school period, and was confirmed in the Lutheran 
 
350 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 church at Lisbon. He has followed fanning in 
 La Salle and Grundy counties since. 
 
 He was married to Marthena Bravick, of Mis- 
 sion township, on Dec. 14, 1887; her parents were 
 Henry and Johanna Bravick. They have had six 
 children, namely: Eva G., born Aug. 5, 1889; 
 Stella G., born June 28, 1891, and died Feb. 8, 
 
 H. L. Hendrickson. 
 
 180-1; Lawrence, born Oct. 12, 1803; Stella J., 
 Aug. 13, 1895; Helena A., Jan. 28, 1898; Lillie M., 
 born ]\Iay 21, 1902, and died Feb. 12, 1004. Mrs. 
 Hendrickson died Nov. 30, 1904. 
 
 Mr. Hendrickson is now living on a 200-acre 
 farm in Nettle Creek township, Grundy county, 
 where he has been since 1804, having previously 
 rented farms in ]\Iiller and Mission townships, 
 La Salle county. Our subject is a member of the 
 Modern Woodmen. He was appointed deputy 
 sheriff in 1904. In 1900 he was elected a director 
 on the school board for district 27 and served 
 for six years. In 1905 he was elected a director 
 for two years of the Farmers' and Merchants' 
 Telephone Co., of Newark. The family attends 
 the Lutheran Church. 
 
 HANS ANDREAS HENRIKSON, 
 
 Aurora, 111., was born at Eker, near Drammen, 
 Norway, Feb. 19, 1857, his parents being Kristian 
 and Marie (born Kristofiferson) Henrikson. His 
 early life was spent in the city, attending the 
 public school in Christiania, Norway, where he 
 began work in a cotton mill in 1871. He was 
 made assistant foreman in a canvas-cloth mill in 
 1875 and continued at that work until he migrated 
 to America in 1880. 
 
 H. A. Henrikson. 
 
 On arriving in this country he went direct to 
 Aurora, where he learned the machinist trade in 
 the C. B. & Q. R. R. shops, and worked there for 
 twelve years. He was appointed letter carrier on 
 the 6th of ALay. 1895, which position he still 
 holds. Mr. Henrikson takes a lively interest in 
 club and social matters, having organized the 
 North Star Club, a local, political and social 
 club of Norwegians and Danes in Aurora. 
 In 1893 he organized the Norwegian-Dan- 
 ish Reading Club, a literary club which owns 
 over 200 volumes of choice Norwegian and Dan- 
 ish works. In 1884 he helped to organize a so- 
 cial and political club called Vikingen, of which 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 351 
 
 he was president for three years. In 1889 he or- 
 ganized the Norwegian-Danish Lutheran Church 
 of Aurora, of which he served as chairman of the 
 board of trustees for two years, and was also a 
 member of the choir for some time. He is a 
 member of the Royal Arcanum, the Modern 
 Woodmen and the National Association of Letter 
 Carriers. 
 
 Nov. 25, 1876, he married Miss Valborg Jose- 
 phine Carlsen, who was born in Christiania, Nor- 
 way, in 1856. They have eight children, namely: 
 Harriet A., Hulda P., Charles E., Henrik A., Al- 
 bert C, Alma M., Jenny A. and Arthur — all 
 living. The family resides at 406 Water street, 
 Aurora. 
 
 Hervig attended the high school in Fredriksstad 
 and was confirmed in the Glemminge Lutheran 
 Church. He also graduated from the' mechanical 
 trade school in Porsgrund, Norway, and the 
 technical college at Mittweida, Germany. 
 
 He came to America in April, 1904. Stopped 
 for two months in New York, and then for eight 
 months in Philadelphia, going from there to the 
 St. Louis Fair, where he remained for three 
 months. He then came to Chicago, and soon aft- 
 erward located at Aurora. 
 
 He began his career as machinist in Fredrik- 
 stad, but after leaving college he was employed 
 as a draftsman in different offices, to learn the 
 details of his profession. He is a member of the 
 Western Railway Club, and unmarried. 
 
 RICHARD HERVIG, 
 
 FREDERICK ANDREAS HESS, M. D., 
 
 Mechanical engineer and draftsman, with the C. Was born in Bergen, Norway. May 22, 1851. His 
 B. & Q. R. R. at Aurora, was born in Fredriks- parents were Jens Christian Hess and Anna Jen- 
 
 Richard Hervig. 
 
 F. A. Hess, M. D. 
 
 stad, Norway, Dec. 19, 1879. His parents were 
 Nils Peter and Emelie (born Reiersen) Hervig. 
 His father was also a mechanical engineer. Mr. 
 
 sina (born Carlsen) Hess. Our subject's youth 
 was spent at school, mostly at private schools in 
 Bergen. 
 
352 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Mr. Hess also took private lessons in languages 
 and science after arriving in Chicago, which he 
 did on July 4, 1863. He entered Rush Medical 
 College in 1869 and graduated with the degree of 
 M.D. in 1873, since which time he has practiced 
 medicine in Chicago. He was visiting physician 
 for the county farm from 1873 to 1877; assistant 
 sanitary inspector in 1874, during the small-pox 
 epidemic, he served two years as physician to the 
 Tabitha Hospital, and one year in the Christian 
 Temperance Hospital. 
 
 He was married to Miss Emma E. Campbell, of 
 Chicago, on Jan.' 15, 1882, her parents being Wil- 
 liam and Ellen Campbell. They have two chil- 
 dren, a son, Frederick Andrew Hess, married to 
 Bessie Atwood; and a daughter, Anna Jensina. 
 
 Dr. Hess is a member of the Scandinavian Med- 
 ical Society and a former president of it; a mem- 
 ber of the Chicago Medical Society and of the 
 American Medical Association. He was given the 
 honorary degree of Ph. D. by Montezuma Uni- 
 versity, of Bessemer, Ala., in 1899. The family 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 of Ravenswood, of which our subject is president 
 of the board of trustees, and treasurer. He has 
 been an active member of the Old People's Home 
 Society, having belonged to the Humboldt Park 
 branch since it was organized. The doctor's of- 
 fice is at 247 E. Division street and his home at 
 949 Belle Plaine avenue. 
 
 ^ 
 
 1903, when he entered the employ of D. H. Burn- 
 ham & Co., architects, as an architectural engi- 
 neer. In 1903 he was elected a member of the 
 Western Society of Engineers. 
 
 In 1878 he married Elise Raeder, a daughter of 
 Stiftamtmand Rjeder, of Bergen, Norway. They 
 have eight children: Aagot, Cathrine, Karen, 
 Marie, and Ditlef born in Norway, and Henry, 
 Elise and Anton, born in the United States. The 
 oldest daughter, Aagot, is married to Prof. O. W. 
 
 CHRISTIAN HENRY HETTELSATER 
 
 C. H. Hettelsater. 
 
 Was born in Sogn, Norway, Jan. 4, 1851. He 
 graduated to the university from Aars & Voss's 
 school in Christiania in 1869, and pursued the 
 study of mathematical branches for several years, 
 while at the same time he was a teacher of math- 
 ematics at Aars & Voss's school. Two years, 
 from 1875 to 1877, he spent at the Polytechnical 
 School of Aachen, Germany, after which he took 
 up the profession of civil engineering in Norway 
 until the summer of 1886, when he came to the 
 United States Vv^ith his family, then consisting ot 
 wife and five children. He soon found employ- 
 ment in the office of the B. & M. R. R. at Lincoln, 
 Neb. Since then he has been continually engaged 
 in various branches of engineering in different 
 parts of the country. He came to Chicago in 
 1893, went to Youngstown, Ohio, in 1897, to Pitts- 
 burg, Pa., in 1900, and returned to Chicago in 
 
 Brackney, of Taylor University, Upland, Ind. 
 The oldest son, Ditlef has recently been appointed 
 engineer of the Springfield Bridge Company, of 
 Springfield, 111. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Hettelsater became a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church in which he has 
 ever since been an interested and active worker; 
 he has for several years been a class-leader in the 
 church. 
 
 MRS. SUSANNA HILL, 
 
 Of Morris, 111., a daughter of Anders and Olena 
 (Nelson) Anderson, was born in Tysvasr parish. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 353 
 
 four miles north of Stavanger, Norway, March 
 20, 1822. Her education was received from her 
 mother, who taught her to read the Catechism 
 and the Bible. It was not considered necessary 
 for a farmer's daughter to learn to write in those 
 days. 
 
 With her parents she migrated to America in 
 1836. They caine over in a sailing vessel and 
 stopped for two years in Kendall county, New 
 York, not having the means to pay their way 
 over the lakes. Two years later the family came 
 
 Four Generations. Front Row — Mrs. C. J. Wing, 
 
 Lillie Nelson, Mrs. Susanna Hill. Standing — 
 
 Mrs. Frank Nelson, Miss Amalia Hill. 
 
 to Chicago, and from there to Newark by wagon, 
 riding with a settler who had hauled grain to 
 Chicago. At first they settled in Mission town- 
 ship. 
 
 Miss Anderson was married to John Hill (John- 
 son), in Ottawa, 111., June 27, 1844. Mr. Hill was 
 born on a small island in Stavanger fjord, on 
 which only two families lived. They have had 
 nine children — Helen, born April 15, 1845; Eliz- 
 abeth, April 8, 1848; Andrew, March 17, 1850; 
 Lillie, March 6, 1852; Abel, Jan. 24, 1854; Henry 
 J., July 10, 1856; Daniel, Oct. 28, 1858; Susan 
 Louisa, Feb. 10, 1862; Mary, Jan. 10, 1866. At 
 this writing three of the children are living — 
 
 Helen, married to Austin Osmon (now deceased); 
 Lillie, to Charles J. Wing; Daniel, to Annie Os- 
 mon. John Hill, our subject's husband, died Dec. 
 30, 1892. i\Irs. Hill was reared as a Quaker, but 
 when 20 years of age joined the Baptist Church, 
 which creed she still embraces. Her father died 
 July 31; 1849, from the cholera, 58 years old, and 
 her mother Feb. 12, 1875, 88 years old. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hill were the first Norwegian settlers at 
 Lisbon. 
 
 HELGE A. HILLESON 
 
 Was born in Willow township, Lee county, Illi- 
 nois, April 13, 1859. His father was Amund Hille- 
 son, of South Bergen stift, and his mother Inge- 
 
 H. A. Hilleson. 
 
 borg Larson Maland. He was confirmed on June 
 7, 1874, and continued to work on his father's 
 farm until of age. 
 
 He was then married to Miss Anna Nilson, 
 born in Lee county, June 12, 1860. They have 
 had eight children, namely: Amanda, born April 
 
354 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 19, 1882; Harvey Elmer, Jan. 22, 1884; Thomas 
 Evald, Sept. 6, 1885; Julia Maria, Jan. 7, 1893; 
 Hilda Margrethe, Feb. 7, 1895; Emma, Feb. 3, 
 1897; Lawrence Gerhard, Dec. 22, 1898; Anna 
 Henrietta, June 22, 1902. Amanda was married 
 Sept. 14, 1905, to Mr. Lars Espe, of Jewell, la. 
 
 About ten years before his father's death, Mr. 
 Helge Hilleson had taken over his father's farm, 
 which then consisted of 320 acres. Since then he 
 has acquired and added 240 acres more, across 
 the road, in section 10, so that his holdings now 
 embrace 560 acres. 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
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 1 L 
 
 
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 1 
 
 PIH^^U, •. Jj 
 
 
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 w^ |L^ jjiy^^^^^Hj^^^HI 
 
 
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 ^■Hf^ 
 
 
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 E. S. HOLLAND, 
 
 Of Big Grove township, Kendall county, III, was 
 born in Etne parish, Bergens stift, Norway, 
 March 31, 1834. He came to America with his 
 parents, who located at Walworth county, Wis- 
 consin, in 1846. When 20 years of age our sub- 
 ject moved to Green county, Wisconsin, where 
 he located on' sec. 4, in the town of York. 
 
 On Oct. 4, 1855, he married Johanne Dorothea 
 Chantland, who came to this country with her 
 widowed mother in 1854. Mrs. Holland was one 
 of a family of seven sisters and one brother, 
 Lieutenant I. W. Chantland, residing in Iowa 
 county, Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Holland lived 
 on their farm in Wisconsin until December, 1866, 
 
 Mrs. H. A, Hilleson. 
 
 Mr. Hilleson has been too busy to run for any 
 public office, although he has been offered such 
 several times. Within the Lutheran Synod 
 Church, however, he has acted both as deacon 
 and trustee. The family belongs to the Lutheran 
 Church in Willow Creek township. As an ener- 
 getic farmer and business man Mr. Hilleson 
 stands very high in the county and is regarded 
 among his intimate friends as a good natured, 
 pleasant companion. Mr. Hilleson is a share- 
 holder, director and vice-president of the Lee 
 State Bank, of Lee, 111. 
 
 E. S. Holland. 
 
 when they moved to Kendall county, Illinois. 
 Here he located on sec. 27, in Big Grove town- 
 ship, where he has remained since, engaged in 
 farming as his principal work in life, but was for 
 a long time agent for the Hecla Fire Insurance 
 Company, of Madison, Wis. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. and Mrs. Holland took a trip to 
 Norway, visiting the scenes of their youth. Mrs. 
 Holland died on June 18, 1884, leaving a little 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 355 
 
 girl, Sarah Dortina, wliom she had adopted when 
 one year old, who clung to her foster parents 
 with a daughter's love and bears their name, re- 
 fusing to know any others as her parents. 
 
 On Sept. 1, 1885, Mr. Holland married Miss 
 Christina Peterson, born Dec. 25, 1848, in Skien, 
 Norway. Her father died in 1870 and in 187.2 
 she came to America, living first in Milwaukee 
 and afterward in Chicago until her marriage. 
 They have four children, namely: Randolph, 
 born Aug. 29, 1887; Marie, Dec. 6, 1888; Olga, 
 Aug. 18, 1890; Elmer, Feb. 21, 1893. 
 
 Mr. Holland is a consistent Christian and has 
 always taken u leading and active part in church 
 work. He and his family are members of the 
 United Lutheran Church at Lisbon; Mr. Holland 
 has been on the board of trustees and a deacon 
 for years. He has also been trustee and treasurer 
 of the Pleasant View Luther College since it 
 was organized. He has held many civil offices. 
 While in Wisconsin he was supervisor for York 
 township. In Big Grove he has been road super- 
 visor, assessor and justice of the peace; having 
 practically held some important office since 1867. 
 
 LOUIS HOUSE, 
 
 Newark, 111., was born at Hardanger, on Gaarderi 
 Huus, Bergens stift, Norway, April 15, 1826. His 
 father was Amund Amundson, a farmer, and his 
 mother Kari Jordal. Mr, House was educated 
 in the ambulatory country schools and confirmed 
 in the Lutheran Church. He worked on his 
 father's farm until about 23 years old, when he 
 went to Bergen to learn the trade of a black- 
 smith. He remained there for about six years, 
 when he came to America locating in Chicago 
 in 1850. He worked at his trade here for eight 
 years. 
 
 In 1855 he was married to Miss Ragnhild An- 
 finson, who was born in Sogn, Norway. They 
 had five children, three sons and two daughters, 
 all living. Mrs. House died in 1868, the family 
 having before that time moved out on a farm in 
 the vicinity of Lisbon. In 1871 Mr. House was 
 married again, to Miss Julia Mathre, who was 
 born near Helmar. With her he has had eight 
 children, four sons and four daughters. 
 
 Of the children by his first wife one son, Al- 
 fred, is a preacher at Tin Valley, Minn. He was 
 
 married the first time to a daughter of the re- 
 nowned Rev. P. A. Rasmussen. The oldest son 
 with his second wife, Henry, is a traveling man 
 with Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. His second wife 
 died in 1894. 
 
 Mr. House retired from farming about six 
 years ago and moved to the town of Newark, 
 where he is spending his declining years. A 
 daughter by his first wife. Miss Martina, is the 
 housekeeper for the old gentleman. The family 
 has always attended the United Lutheran Church. 
 Mr. House has always been a staunch believer in 
 republican politics. Though largely a self-edu- 
 
 Louis House. 
 
 cated man, he has been greatly interested in giv- 
 ing his children a good education. One of his 
 sons is a preacher; two, Henry and Martin, 
 studied for several years at Northfield College, 
 Minn., and two of the girls are at the present 
 time at the Pleasant View College at Ottawa. 
 One son, Edmond, is a farmer in Colorado; and 
 one daughter, Betsy, is living in Oregon. One 
 daughter, Rachel, was married to Mr. Tweeth, 
 but died when 27 years old. Mr. House prides 
 himself on his children, having still twelve living. 
 
356 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 MRS. CARRIE HOVDA, 
 
 EINAR C. HOWARD 
 
 The present post mistress at Leland, III., was 
 born in Miller township, La Salle county, Illinois, 
 April 29, 1861. 
 
 Four years later she moved with her parents 
 to De Kalb county, where her childhood and 
 school days were passed. Her father, Mr. An- 
 drew H. Johnson, now deceased, was for many 
 years a farmer in De Kalb county. Later he 
 moved to Lee, where he served as president of 
 the Farmers' Elevator Company. Her mother, 
 Mrs. Sarah Baker Johnson, is still living and re- 
 sides at Lee. 
 
 Was born in Christiania, Norway, April 24, 1879, 
 son of Mathias and Anne Haugom. His mother 
 died when Einar was 8 years of age, but his father 
 is living in Christiania. 
 
 Mrs. Carrie Hovda. 
 
 In January, 1878, the subject of our sketch was 
 married to John A. Hovda and moved to Leland, 
 where Mr. Hovda was engaged in the mercantile 
 business. Seven children were born to them, 
 three dying in infancy. Those living are Eno, 
 Alvin, Ernest and Olga. Mr. Hovda died Aug. 9, 
 1899. He was postmaster at Leland at the time, 
 and Mrs. Flovda was appointed post mistress, 
 which position she has held ever since. She is 
 a member of the Lutheran Church and the W. 
 C. T. U. at Leland. 
 
 E. C. Howard. 
 
 Graduating from public school at the age of 13, 
 the youngest in his class, he became at once in- 
 terested in hard work. About a year later three 
 positions — a newspaper route in the morning, dur- 
 ing the day with the Norwegian Telegram Bureau, 
 and a long route in a suburb for another news- 
 paper in the evening — kept him out of mischief 
 from five o'clock in the morning till about nine 
 in the evening. His father protested, but the boy 
 kept on long enough to lay aside enough of his 
 earnings to pay his own way to Chicago when at 
 the age of 16. 
 
 He commenced his work' in Chicago as a groc- 
 ery clerk, continuing three years. Took then a 
 short course in the Metropolitan Business College 
 in bookkeeping and stenography, and obtained a 
 position first as stenographer, then as bookkeeper 
 in various business houses, until, in the year 1900, 
 he entered the harvester firm of Warder, Bushnell 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 357 
 
 & Glessner Co, which firm in ]902 became one 
 of the constituent companies^ of the International 
 Harvester Company of America with which he is' 
 still employed, having been recently transferred 
 from the accounting department to its legal de- 
 partment. 
 
 During these years his evenings were spent in 
 getting an education. First taking up high-school 
 studies, he then took a law course at the Illinois 
 College of Law, and graduated on May 31, 190-';. 
 Mr. Howard lias received several distinctions in 
 his studies. He received a certificate of honor- 
 able mention at the Metropolitan Business Col- 
 lege, a scholarship prize in his academic studies, 
 and graduated with highest honors from the law 
 school, also standing first in his class in the fresh- 
 man year. His graduation prize consisted of a 
 postgraduate course, which led to the degree LL. 
 M., (master of laws), in May, 1906. 
 
 He changed his surnarrle from Haugom to 
 Howard after he came to Chicago, to conform to 
 that of his brother, who had previously done so. 
 
 Mr. Howard was married in 1903 to Sigrid Pet- 
 ersen. They iive at 519 Lemoyne street. 
 
 HANS LUDWIG HOWARD, 
 
 Attorney, was born in Christiania, Norway, Sept. 
 15, 1871, to Mathias Haugom and Anne (born 
 Myrhagen). His father was a merchant tailor in 
 Christiania. Hans was confirmed in the Palace 
 Chapel when he was 15 years old, and graduated 
 from the middelskole in Christiania when he was 
 16 years old. Since that time he has been com- 
 pelled to earn his own living. He first secured a 
 position as clerk and bookkeeper with Timm's 
 Dampreberbane (Ropework Company), where he 
 worked for four years. But the sportsman's blood 
 was running in his veins, and he devoted most of 
 his spare time to athletics. He became a fast foot- 
 runner, and in the year 1891 went to Stockholm, 
 Sweden, where he captured the championship for 
 Scandinavia in a mile race, running it in 4 min- 
 utes 48 seconds. He received the Dickson cup 
 from King Oscar II. 
 
 In the year 1892 he came to America to see the 
 World's Fair, but as that had been postponed un- 
 til 1893 he spent most of his money, and had to 
 take a position as a clerk in a grocery store in 
 order to support himself and earn enough to re- 
 turn to Norway. He was taken down with typhoid 
 fever in the fall of 1893, and after getting out of 
 
 bed he went to Decorah, Iowa, where his mother's 
 sister lived, to recuperate from his sickness. 
 While there he worked his way through Brecken- 
 ridge's College, graduating in 1895. By this time 
 he had earned enough money through footracing 
 and other athletics to return to his fatherland, 
 where his father was still living. Consequently 
 he crossed the ocean, intending to stay perma- 
 nently in Norway, but conditions had changed 
 there, and he returned to Chicago after a three 
 months' visit. In partnership with Harvey Arne- 
 son he started a grocery at 238 W. Erie street. 
 He soon sold his interest in the store to his part- 
 
 H. L. Howard. 
 
 ner and took a business course at the Metropoli- 
 tan Business College. After graduating from this 
 course he took a position as stenographer and 
 bookkeeper with Weil-Maxwell Co., where he re- 
 mained until 1900. While working in this posi- 
 tion he became interested in legal learning and 
 concluded that he wanted to become a lawyer. 
 He therefore commenced to study law evenings 
 at the Illinois College of Law, and in order to 
 have work that would be in the line of his study 
 he accepted a position as correspondent in the 
 legal department of the Cable Company, piano 
 
358 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 manufacturers, where he worked for two years. 
 Our subject graduated from the Illinois College 
 of Law in 1903 with the degree of LL. B., and 
 from the same college in 1904 as LL. M. 
 While a student at this college he received the 
 prize for the highest scholarship in both the jun- 
 ior and senior classes. He is now a lecturer in 
 law at the institution from which he graduated, 
 and is professor of common law. Mr. Howard is 
 at the present time attorney for the Fidelity and 
 Casualty Company of New York, with offices at 
 618 New York Life building, Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Howard married Miss Ida Britton, daughter 
 of Albert and Christine Britton, of North Cape. 
 Wis., on April 25, 1897. They have three children, 
 namely: Agnes Christine, born Aug. 28, 1898; 
 Florence Edith, born June 20, 1900; Albert Mar- 
 shall, born Dec. 25, 1901. Mr. Howard's mother 
 died in Norway in 1886. He is a member of the 
 Norwegian Old People's Home Society, and the 
 Logan Square Norwegian Baptist Church, of 
 which he was Sunday-school superintendent in 
 1905. The family resides at 1553 Drake avenue. 
 
 ANDREW HUMMELAND 
 
 Was born at Stavanger, Norway, on March 18, 
 1873, his parents being Captain Endre Humme- 
 land and Marie (nee Aarsvold). His parents dy- 
 ing in his early childhood, he became a member 
 of the family of an uncle, B. Bergesen, Jr., a 
 wholesale merchant at Stavanger. He received 
 his early education in the higher public school, 
 better known to all Stavanger people as the 
 Kongsgaard School, where he made an excellent 
 record. At the age of 15 he migrated to the 
 United States, arriving at Eau Claire, Wis., in the 
 summer of 1888. Ambitious to become proficient 
 in the English language, he at once entered the 
 public schools there. 
 
 Coming to Chicago in the spring of 1899, he 
 secured employment in the office of Willard & 
 Evans, a prominent corporation law firm. His 
 progress was rapid. He took up shorthand and 
 advanced successively from office boy to stenog- 
 rapher, law clerk and rnanaging clerk of the firm. 
 Working during the day, depending upon his own 
 resources and paying his own way, he pursued his 
 further educational courses in the evening. He 
 took up the study of the law, entered the North- 
 
 western University Law School, graduated in 1893 
 with special honor from the Kent College of Law 
 at the. age of 20, and for two years thereafter 
 pursued postgraduate courses at the Chicago Law 
 School. He was admitted to the bar of the Su- 
 preme Court of Illinois upon arriving of age in 
 1894. He continued his connection with the firm 
 mentioned, in the capacity of managing clerk and 
 associate, until he established his own office in 
 1901. Since then he has practiced his profession 
 in Chicago, establishing an extensive practice, 
 especially in the organization of, and as counsel 
 
 Andrew Hummeland. 
 
 for, corporate enterprises. During the great team- 
 sters' strike of 1905, he acted as prosecuting at- 
 torney for the United States Express Company, 
 one of the principal parties to the strike. 
 
 Mr. Hummeland has taken an active part in the 
 work of Norwegian organizations. During the 
 years 1902 to 1906 he was a delegate to the Nor- 
 wegian National League from the Norwegian 
 Quartette Club, and became a leading member. In 
 1904 he was elected president of the league, and 
 was unanimously re-elected in 1905. He has re- 
 peatedly been a speaker on national and social 
 occasions. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 359 
 
 Mr. Hummeiand was married on April 2, 1903, 
 to Julie Marie Ellefsen, a daughter of Bernt J. H. 
 Ellefsen, a well known old settler, formerly drug- 
 gist, now manager of the American Trust Safety 
 Vaults. A son, Jarl Ellefsen Hummeiand, was 
 born to them on Sept. 3, 1905. Mr. Hummeland's 
 home is at 107S Lawrence Avenue. 
 
 JACOB RODE-JACOBSEN 
 
 Was born in Morondava, Madagaskar, Dec. 17, 
 1877, his parents being Rev. D. 6. Jacobsen, of 
 the Norwegian Missionary Society, Norv/ny, and 
 his wife Christine Rode-Jacobsen. 
 
 Mr. Jacobsen received his first educational 
 training in Madagaskar. At the age of 13 he was 
 sent home to Stavanger, Norway, where he fin- 
 ished his literary education. 
 
 INGA HELEN IMBRITT, 
 
 Daughter of Captain Harry and Aletta (born 
 Hellekson) Imbritt, was born in Chicago, March 
 
 Inga Helen Imbritt. 
 
 15, 1869. She was educated in the city schools 
 and later took up the work of a professional 
 nurse, to which calling she devoted several years. 
 Afterward she studied dentistry in the dental 
 department of the University of Illinois and 
 graduated in 1901 with the degree of D. D. S. 
 Dr. Imbritt then opened an office and has since 
 practiced with success. Her office is at 1232 N. 
 California av-^ue. 
 
 Prof. J. R. Jacobsen. 
 
 At an early age he had shown his inclination to 
 become a musician and at 17 he went to Chris- 
 tiania, where he entered the Royal Conservatory 
 of Music at the head of which is the well known 
 Professor Lindeman. Mr. Jacobsen graduated 
 from there in 1897. 
 
 Eager to acquire a more comprehensive musi- 
 cal education he went to Berlin, Germany, where 
 he studied composition, counterpoint and piano 
 for such masters as the famous Ludvig Bussler, 
 Harriers-Wippern and Hans Pfitzner. 
 
 In the summer of 1898 he came to Chicago 
 where he resided until in 1901 when he returned 
 to Norway to take a post graduate course. At 
 this period he wrote several compositions which 
 
360 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 were .published and most favorably commented 
 upon by such musical critics as Otto Winter- 
 Hjelm, Hans Lystad, and others. 
 
 In 1903 he returned to America and settled in 
 Chicago, where he teaches his art to a large cir- 
 cle of pupils. He also holds the position of or- 
 ganist in Christ Norwegian Lutheran Church. 
 
 CARL MARINIUS JACOBSON, 
 
 The chief waterworks crib-keeper at the two-mile 
 crib, was born in Drammen, Norway, May 12, 
 1858. His parents were Olaus and Ingeborg 
 Jacobson, his father being a sailor in Norway. 
 
 C. M. Jacobson. 
 
 Our subject had the advantage of what the com- 
 mon schools afforded, together with some even- 
 ing lessons, but as soon as he was confirmed in 
 St. Agnes Lutheran Church he went to sea, when 
 only 15 years old. He sailed mostly on the Baltic 
 and North Seas, during the summers, and attended 
 navigation schools in the winter. He passed the 
 
 navigation examination in 1878, and then sailed 
 as second mate and mate until 1882, when he 
 came to America to visit his parents, who had 
 migrated to this country two years before. They 
 had settled at Manitowoc, Wis. He remained 
 with his parents for three years at Manitowoc, 
 when his father moved to Wittenborg, Wis., and 
 took up eighty acres of land. Carl remained with 
 him four years longer. 
 
 He was married to Miss Lena Tollefson, daugh- 
 ter of Iver and Marit Tollefson, of Manitowoc, 
 Wis., on Nov. 30, 1889. They have two sons — 
 Walton Norman, born Sept. 14, 1890, and George 
 Oliver, born Aug. 20, 1892. 
 
 In 1889 he located in Chicago. Here he se- 
 cured an interest in the schooner Truman Mass 
 and sailed it as its captain for ten years. He 
 sold his interest in it in 1899, when he was ap- 
 pointed assistant cribkeeper at the Chicago ave- 
 nue water-works crib. He is now a civil-service 
 appointee as keeper at the two-mile crib, having 
 held this position since 1902. 
 
 His father died on his farm in 1903; his mother 
 is still living. 
 
 The subject of our sketch is a member of 
 Lodge No. 610, Union Park, A. F. and A. M., 
 York Chapter No. 148, the A. O. U. W., and a 
 member of the county democracy. 
 
 The family has just moved into their own new 
 home at 1031 N. Spaulding avenue. 
 
 ERIC A. JACOBSON, 
 
 The IMerchant at Lisbon, 111., was born in Dyre, 
 near Troms0, Norway, April 23, 1845. His par- 
 ents were Jacob and Hanna (Reinholt) Ericson. 
 Our subject attended the common school and 
 night school at Tromsjzi. He was then appren- 
 ticed to learn the shoemaker trade, which he 
 completed in Norway. 
 
 He was married to Miss Ingeliv Reistad in 
 Romsdalen, near Molde, Norway, Aug. 11, 1872, 
 which was a Sunday, and on the next day they 
 left for America, considering it their wedding 
 trip. They came via New York, Chicago and 
 Morris, arriving in Lisbon on Dec. 31. Here 
 he started a shoeshop, which he conducted until 
 1886. He then started a general store and oper- 
 ated it alone until 1893, when he took in Mr. Ed 
 Osmonson as a partner who the following year 
 sold his interest to Ole Ness, and the firm name 
 was changed to Jacobson, Ness & Co. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 361 
 
 Mr. Jacobson was a member of the republican 
 county .central committee in 1888 and took an 
 active part in the presidential election of that 
 year. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson have had five children 
 — Jacob Bernhard, born in 1873; Emma, 1875; 
 
 
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 V** -^A. ^^M 
 
 
 T- H ^ 
 
 
 J ^M 
 
 ^^^^Hj^ "#. ^ 
 
 (m 
 
 ' WSf"^ 
 
 '•^1 
 
 
 %XL^^^^^^^I 
 
 E. A. Jacobson and Wife. 
 
 Belle, 1878; Franklin Porter, 1886; Inez Carolina, 
 in 1891. Inez died when four years old. Emma 
 married Charles Craig, who later died. Belle is 
 married to James Condon; they are now living 
 in Kansas. The family are members of the South 
 Church in Eisbon and reside in their own home. 
 
 English and American ships. Two years he was 
 employed in the U. S. revenue service. Here he 
 found time to begin his preparation for college 
 and later entered the Academy of East Green- 
 which, R. I., from which he graduated in 1879. 
 The following year he entered Yale College, 
 where he graduated in 1884. He then entered 
 the Theological Seminary in New Haven to 
 study for the ministry. About this time Chi- 
 cago Theological Seminary opened its foreign 
 departments and Mr. Jernberg was invited to 
 come to Chicago to give instruction in these, 
 while he completed his own theological studies 
 
 Prof. R. A. Jernberg. 
 
 REINERT AUGUST JERNBERG, 
 
 Was born at Fredrikshald, Norway, and was 
 educated in the Latin schools of Sarpsborg and 
 Fredrikstad until about sixteen years of age, 
 when, according to the usual custom in the coast 
 towns of Norway, he went to sea and spent five 
 years of his life before the mast in Norwegian, 
 
 in the American course of the same institution. 
 This offer he accepted and graduated from Chi- 
 cago Theological Seminary in 1887. For ten 
 years he continued as an instructor in the Dan- 
 ish-Norwegian department until in 1895 he' was 
 inaugurated professor of biblical and practical 
 theology in the professorship then established 
 by an endowment from Mrs. D. K. Pierson of 
 Chicago. In addition to his work as an instruc- 
 tor Mr. Jernberg also served two American 
 churches in Chicago as their pastor for some 
 time. 
 
362 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 In 1890 the religious weekly paper "Evange- 
 listen" was started in connection with the mis- 
 sionary work among the Danes and Norwegians 
 in America, and P.rof. Jernberg was for ten years 
 its editor and business manager. This responsi- 
 bility he surrendered to a publishing society in 
 1899, and the paper has grown to strength and 
 influence under the new management. For further 
 information about this work see the article on 
 Congregationalism in another part of this volume. 
 
 Prof. Jernberg was married in 1887 to Sarah 
 Emily Libby of Boston, Mass. They have two 
 children. Prudence Emilv and Arthur Reinert, 
 who are both attending school. 
 
 in 1883 went to Faribault, Minn, as office manager 
 of a large grain and elevator company. Upon 
 the death of the principal partner, the business 
 went into other hands, and Mr. Jersin was ap- 
 pointed deputy clerk of the District Court, and 
 clerk of the Probate Court. 
 
 In 1890 he went to Aberdeen, S. D., to take 
 charge of the office of the general agency for 
 the Deering Harvester Company, and later moved 
 with the office to Mitchell, S. D. In 1893 he was 
 made first assistant credit-man at the company's 
 general office in Chicago, which position he left in 
 1900, broken in health from overwork. Afte-r a 
 
 JOHAN SECKMANN FLEISCHER JERSIN 
 
 Is a son of S(^ren Schjelderup Jersin, whose 
 father, the Rev. Andreas Undal Jersin, for many 
 years was minister (sognepreest) in Os and Samn- 
 anger, near Bergen, and his wife Gustava Fred- 
 rikke, a daughter of "Pro'prietaer" Johan Seck- 
 mann Fleischer, Lekve, Voss, where he was born 
 Feb. 17, 1857. 
 
 His father first was a merchant at Evanger, 
 Voss, afterwards at Mosterhavn, midway be- 
 tween Bergen and Stavanger, where he also held 
 the office of postmaster. Later he was appointed 
 keeper of Slotterjzi lighthouse, a few miles south 
 of Bergen, one of the largest on the coast, and 
 here the subject of our sketch grew up, on a 
 small island surrounded by the sometimes calm 
 and smiling, but often roaring and tempestuous. 
 North Sea. 
 
 His first education was received through private 
 tutors at home. At the age of twelve he and 
 his younger brother Andreas, — who has served 
 several terms as county judge of Richland county, 
 — were sent to Bergen where they attended 
 Tank's middleskole. 
 
 In 1876 John Jersin entered the employ of the 
 publishing house of his uncle Fredrik Beyer. A 
 severe attack of bronchitis forced him, three years 
 later, to return home. In a free and roaming life 
 on sea and land he soon regained his health and 
 assisted his father until in 1881, when he emigrated 
 to America, under engagement with Thoreson & 
 Siverts, who conducted a large general mer- 
 chandise store at Northfield, Minn. Both partners 
 entering into banking, Mr. Jersin attended to 
 the closing out of their mercantile business, and 
 
 John Jersin. 
 
 few months' rest he accepted the position as 
 manager of Paul O. Stehsland & Co.'s real estate 
 and insurance office, from which he resigned in 
 1905 to go into the same line of business on his 
 own account. 
 
 In 1899 he married Miss Rena Anda, only 
 daughter of Ole and Serena Anda, born Kloster. 
 They have no children of their own, but have 
 taken and are educating his sister's three orphan 
 children. Their home is in Norwood Park, Chi- 
 cago. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 3G3 
 
 John Jersin has been very active in church 
 and benevolent work. From 1896 to 1904 he was 
 chairman of the board of trustees for Zion Nor- 
 wegian Evangelical Lutheran congregation, and 
 with the pastor, Rev. Meyer, was largely instru- 
 mental in erecting the new and beautiful church 
 at the corner of Potomac and Artesian avenues. 
 
 He was a member of the committee which 
 framed the constitution and by-laws for the Nor- 
 wegian Old People's Home Society, and its sec- 
 retary for a number of years. The Society had 
 nothing to start with, not even the good will of 
 a majority of the people. By his tireless, per- 
 sistent and intelligent work during the first strug- 
 gling years, and the hundreds of newspaper ar- 
 ticles through which he constantly advocated the 
 cause of the home, its splendid success can in a 
 great measure be attributed to him, and to its 
 venerable president. Dr. N. T. Quales. 
 
 He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran 
 Deaconess Society, the Norwegian Children's 
 Home Society, and the singing society "Bj0rg- 
 vin." 
 
 Musical College) and Verna Alice Jevne. The 
 family are members of the First Congregational 
 
 CHARLES MORITZ JEVNE 
 
 Was born at Hamar, Norway, Feb. 12, 1851. His 
 parents were Hans and Martha Jevne. He was 
 educated in the public and high schools (Borger 
 skole) of Hamar and graduated in 1866 at the 
 age of 15. The same year, in company with his 
 brother, Hans Jevne, now of Los Angeles, Cal., 
 he migrated to America, arriving in Chicago on 
 Oct. IS, 1866. He immediately entered the store 
 of his brother Christian, now C. Jevne & Co., 
 as bookkeeper. In 1879 he engaged in the retail 
 grocery business for himself, having stores both 
 in Chicago and St. Paul. For the last fourteen 
 years, however, he has confined himself exclu- 
 sively to the tea and coffee business at 386-88 
 Milwaukee avenue. 
 
 On May 18, 1873, he was married to Anna 
 Olena Johnson, who was born in Chicago, of 
 Norwegian parents, in 1854. Her parents were 
 early settlers in Chicago and charter members 
 of the first Norwegian Lutheran church organ- 
 ized. Mrs. Jevne died Sept. 7, 1905. They had 
 six children, one of which. Harvey Moritz, died 
 in infancy. The living children are Rev. C. Ar- 
 thur Jevne, Eveline M. (a teacher in the Chicago 
 schools), Amos G. (associated with his father 
 in business), Grace O. (a student at the Chicago 
 
 C. M. Jevne. 
 
 Church, Washington boulevard and Ann street, 
 and reside at 667 N. Hoyne avenue. 
 
 MRS. CLARA JEVNE 
 
 Was born in Birie, near Mj0sen, Norway, May 
 26, 1849, her parents being Andreas and Nina 
 Maria Kluge, both deceased. 
 
 Mrs. Jevne came to America in 1868, two years 
 after her father. Her mother having died previ- 
 ously, her father had remarried in Norway. An- 
 dreas Kluge settled in Humboldt county, Iowa, 
 where his widow and several children are still 
 living. 
 
 In 1870 Miss Clara Kluge was married to 
 Christian Jevne. of Chicago. Four children were 
 born to them — Henry Marquis, Alma Martha. 
 Clara Caspara and a boy that died when six 
 
364 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 months old. Clara married Oscar Haugan, a son 
 of president Helge A. Haugan of the State Bank 
 of Chicago, in 1900. Mrs. Jevne is a member of 
 the Vala Club, the Lutheran Women's League 
 and the Norwegian Lutheran Church, corner 
 Roscoe and Osgood streets. She is a liberal 
 contributor to different charities and with her 
 daughter (Alma) resides at her pleasant home at 
 640 La Salle avenue. 
 
 Mrs. Clara Jevne. 
 
 Mr. Christian Jevne died March 17, 1898. His 
 biography and portrait appear on another page 
 of this volume. 
 
 Mr. Henry Jevne was married July 19, 1906, to 
 Miss Virginia Henneberger, of New Rochelle, 
 N. Y. They reside at Portland, Oregon. 
 
 In 1872 he married Miss Mina Cox (Amer- 
 ican), and they have three children living. The 
 oldest son, J. A., is now associated with him in 
 business in Los Angeles, Cal., where his oldest 
 daughter also lives, having married a prominent 
 banker of that place. 
 
 Mr. Jevne went to California in 1882, starting 
 a small grocery. He has grown up, so to speak, 
 with the town, has prospered, and owns now one 
 of the largest as well as the best equipped stores 
 in the country. He is a directoi^ of the First Na- 
 tional Bank and the Southern California Savings 
 Bank, of Los Angeles. Mr. Jevne has seen Los 
 
 Hans Jevne. 
 
 Angeles grow from a village to the second larg- 
 est city on the Pacific coast, and has been active 
 in its chamber of commerce and all enterprises 
 tending toward the growth and upbuilding of 
 the city. 
 
 HANS JEVNE 
 
 SdREN JOHANSEN 
 
 Was born in Hamar, Norway, Feb. 28, 1849. He 
 
 attended the Latin school there, but left for the 
 
 United States when 17 years old, joining here Was born in Trugstad, Norway, Sept. 20, 1849. 
 
 his brother, C. Jevne, in 1866. His father was a hauling contractor in Christi- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 365 
 
 ania, and died Jan. 12, 1887; his mother died 
 March 17, 1884. 
 
 At the age of 14 Soren went to Christiania, 
 where he entered the Isacson machine shop to 
 learn the machinist trade, without pay. At the 
 age of 17 lie entered the J. & A. Jensen & Dahl 
 machine shop to finish learning his trade. In 
 1871 he was sent to Clarafors Woodpulp Mill 
 Company, Varmland, Sweden, to erect machin- 
 ery, and while there he married Miss Louise 
 Ellstrom, of the same place. In 1874 he returned 
 to Christiania and was made assistant master 
 
 Soren Johansen. 
 
 mechanic by J. & A. Jensen & Dahl; but later 
 was sent out to erect machinery in Skien, Fred- 
 rikshald, Lomsdalen Ronsfjoren, Kongsvinger, 
 Moss; and Sorknges in Aamot, Dr0bak, etc. 
 
 In 1879 he left Norway for America and set- 
 tled in Chicago, where he was employed by 
 Mason & Co., Excelsior Iron Works, until 1885. 
 Then he was employed by Eraser & Chalmers 
 as gang boss or foreman, making engines and 
 air compressors. 
 
 In 1886 he was sent to Mexico to erect ma- 
 
 chinery for the United Mexican Mining Com- 
 pany, Guanajuata, where he resided with his 
 family until 1893, when Mr. Johansen and family 
 returned to Chicago. In the same year he was 
 chosen master mechanic for the Costa Rica and 
 Pacific Gold Mining Company, in Central Amer- 
 ica; but in 1895 returned to Chicago, and in the 
 same year went to Monserrat Consolidated Min- 
 ing Company, Yuscaran, Honduras, C. A., as 
 master mechanic. He also served the New York 
 S: Honduras Rosario Mining Company in the 
 same capacity. In 1903 Mr. Johansen resigned 
 and returned 'c Chicago and invested his mone}'- 
 in real estate; and after two years' rest started 
 as real estate broker, with office at 848 Armitage 
 avenue, corner of Humboldt boulevard. 
 
 Mr. Johansen is an unassuming man and lover 
 of a quiet life. Is a member and one of the 
 founders of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 
 corner of Maplewood avenue and Cherry place. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Johansen have four children — 
 Conrad Johansen, chief mechanic for the Limon 
 Company, Nicaragua. C. A., and Adolph Johan- 
 sen, assistant in charge of the general order de- 
 partment of the AUis-Chalmers Company, Mil- 
 waukee, Wis. They also have two daughters — 
 Nathalia and Minnie Mabel — living with their 
 parents at 176 Humboldt boulevard. 
 
 EDWARD JOHANSON, 
 
 The well-known cigar manufacturer, was born in 
 Christiania, Norway, March 22, 1834. He com- 
 menced to work in the tobacco business when 
 8 years old and has followed the same line ever 
 since. When 18 years old he went to Denmark, 
 but after a short stay returned to Norway. 
 
 He was married to Caroline Severine K0lseth, 
 Aug. 7, 1855, in Norway. They emigrated to 
 America in 1868, coming direct to Chicago. He 
 started in the cigar business! at 113 W. Washing- 
 ton street, in 1870, but after the great fire he 
 sold his interests on the West Side and moved 
 to State and Polk streets. This business he af- 
 terward sold to his son, and in 1883 started busi- 
 ness in Auburn Park, where he is located now. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Johanson were blessed with ten 
 children, five of them now living. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias and the family 
 attends the Lutheran Church. 
 
366 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Edward Johanson. 
 
 REV. ALFRED OTTO JOHNSON 
 
 Was born May 12, 1871, in Zumboota, Goodhue 
 county, Minnesota. His parents, Hans Johnson 
 (Fr0islie) from S0ndre Lands parish, Norway, 
 at that time a merchant, and his mother Guro 
 Strand from Halling:dal, Norway, are still living. 
 
 Mrs. Edw. Johanson. 
 
 Rev. A. O. Johnson. 
 
 In 1874 his parents moved to Red Wing, Minn., 
 the county seat of Goodhue county where his 
 father had been elected clerk of the county court, 
 in which capacity he served twelve years. Here 
 our subject received his education in the public 
 schools of the city and in the parochial school of 
 Trinity Church, where he was confirmed July 5, 
 1885. In the fall of 1885 he was inrolled as a 
 student at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, enter- 
 ing the second class. In 1891 he was graduated 
 and in the fall entered upon the study of theo- 
 lop-y at Luther Seminary, then located at Rob- 
 binsdale, Minn. 
 
 On the 22nd of Feb. 1894 he received a call 
 as temporary pastor of Spring Prairie and other 
 congregations in Dane Co., Wis., while their 
 pastor Rev. C. K. Preus was temporarily serv- 
 ing Our Savior's Church in Chicago. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 mi 
 
 On March 1. lie passed examination, was 
 graduated and ordained at Red Wing, Minn., by 
 the Rt. Rev. K. Bj^rge on the 11th of March 
 and was installed at Spring Prairie on March 
 15th. 
 
 On March 15, 1895, he received a call from 
 Our Savior's Church in Chicago, 111. He imme- 
 diately accepted the call and came to Chicago 
 June 14, 1895, was installed the following Sun- 
 day, June IT), and has served the congregation 
 since. On June 11, 1895, just previous to taking- 
 charge of the congregation in Chicago, he was 
 married to Buntina Marie Olson, born and raised 
 in Red Wing, a daughter of Peter Olson Nor- 
 land, deceased, and Helene Hvidhammer, both 
 of Trondhjem. Of this marriage five children 
 were born: Paul Gerhard, April 19, 1896; Bern- 
 hard Alfred, April 25, 1898; Harold Edward, Oct. 
 9, 1902; Helen Marie, Sept. 12, 1904, and Clara 
 Ovidia, Dec. 19, 1906. 
 
 During the first ten years of his pastorate he 
 lived in the parsonage, 226 N. May street, ad- 
 joinirig the church, but in the fall of 1905 Mrs. 
 Johnson's health became impaired so that a 
 change became necessary. Assuming that the 
 congregation would consider it necessary that 
 the pastor live near the church, Rev. Johnson 
 deemed it advisable to offer his resignation, 
 which was done in December 1905. The board 
 of deacons together with the board of trustees, 
 however, immediately requested the pastor to 
 withdraw his resignation and see, if it .were not 
 possible to find a home in a less populated dis- 
 trict and serve the congregation as before. This 
 request was again made at the following congre- 
 gational meeting. The resignation was with- 
 drawn, and the pastor moved with his family to 
 2203 N. Monticello Ave. (in Irving Park), where 
 he now lives, maintaining a study in the old 
 parsonage, 226 N. May street, where he is to be 
 found forenoons and evenings. 
 
 now living in Nebraska — moved to the neigh- 
 borhood of Norway, La Salle county, 111., and 
 was there remarried, to Mr. Peter Ormson, with 
 whom she had two children, twins, of whom the 
 son is living, in the neighborhood of Norway, 
 111. The other twin, a daughter, died when 6 
 years old. Mrs. Johnson was 10 years old when 
 her mother died. 
 
 After having attended the district school un- 
 til 12 years of age she had to go out and work 
 for her own support among Americans, receiv- 
 ing only 50 cents per week, with which munifi- 
 cent salary she had to buy her own clothes and 
 
 Mrs. A. H. Johnson. 
 
 MRS. ANDREW H. JOHNSON 
 
 Was born in Telemarken, Norway, Jan. 27, 1841. 
 Her father was Ole Baker (Backa), a farmer, 
 and her mother Carrie Stenb0n. Her parents 
 migrated to America when she was only one 
 year and a half old, and settled in Muskego, 
 Wis. Her father died there one year after their 
 arrival. Her mother then with her two children 
 — Mrs. Johnson and her brother, Ole Baker, 
 
 shoes. She had, however, kind relatives living 
 there, cousins and aunts, with whom she could 
 make her home. 
 
 At the early age of 16^ years she was mar- 
 ried to Mr. Andrew H. Johnson, who was born 
 near Stavanger, Norway, and at the time of 
 their marriage about 27 years of age. He rented 
 a farm in La Salle county, moved later to a 
 rented farm in Kendall county, and finally bought 
 a farm near the site of the present town of Lee, 
 in De Kalb county. 
 
 Eight children were born t6 them, of whom 
 one girl died in infancy and seven are living. 
 
368 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 They are: Henry William, banker, ex-judge; 
 Caroline (Carrie), widow of John Hovda, post- 
 mistress at Leland, III; Melinde, married to Mr. 
 Varland, of Seneca, 111.; Ole has bou'ght their 
 homestead near Lee, III; James E., dealer in 
 grain and Stock, Lee, 111.; Emma Julia, married 
 to Ole Bucken and lives three miles north of 
 Rochelle, 111.; Erin Cyrus, a farmer in Iowa. All 
 of Mrs. Johnson's children have children, so she 
 is at the present writing the happy grandmother 
 of thirty-eight grandchildren. 
 
 Mrs. Johnson, who is still hale and hearty and 
 much brighter than many not half her age, is 
 spending her declining years in her own nice 
 residence near Lee, surrounded by some of her 
 grandchildren, with whom she with her lively 
 temperament is in sympathy. 
 
 ANDREW P. JOHNSON, 
 
 President and organizer of the Johnson Chair 
 Company, was born at Voss, Norway, Nov. 22, 
 1835. His parents were John and Emily (born 
 Vinge Gjerager) Johnson. He came to America 
 with his parents in 1850, settling on a farm in 
 Boone county, Illinois, near Beloit, Wis. . Here 
 our subject worked' on his father's farm and at- 
 tended the public school until twenty years old. 
 He then went to Beloit to learn the trade of a 
 carpenter, and remained there until 1861, when 
 he came to Chicago. The next year he was em- 
 ployed by the federal government and was as- 
 signed to the construction corps in the army, in 
 which capacity he served until the end of the 
 war, having worked at Nashville, Chattanooga, 
 Bridgeport and other places. Returning to Chi- 
 cago after the war, he took up his carpenter work 
 again as a contractor and builder. 
 
 In 1868 he went into partnership with Messrs. 
 F. Herhold and A. Borgmeier for the manufacture 
 of chairs, the firm name being Herold, Johnson 
 & Borgmeier. He later bought out Mr. Her- 
 hold's interest, and in 1877 took in his brother, 
 Nels Johnson, the name of the firm being A. P. 
 Johnson & Co. In 1883 they incorporated under 
 the laws of the state of Illinois as the Johnson 
 Chair Company, of which our subject has been 
 president, Nels Johnson, secretary and A. Borg- 
 meier treasurer. Mr. Borgmeier died in 1905 and 
 Joseph F. Johnson, our subject's oldest son, was 
 
 elected treasurer of the company. For further 
 reference to the growth and development of the 
 Johnson Chair Company we refer our readers to 
 an article under another heading in this history. 
 Mr. Johnson was the organizer of the Mt. 
 Olive Cemetery Association, has been a director 
 of the State Bank of Chicago since it was or- 
 ganized in 1831, he is president of the Wicker 
 Park Safety Deposit Vault Company, and a di- 
 rector of the Asbestos Sad Iron Company, of 
 Canal Dover, Ohio. He has always been a 
 stanch republican, and represented his ward, the 
 Fourteenth, in the city council in 1889-91. 
 
 A. P. Johnson. 
 
 Mr. Johnson married Martha Magnussen Sattre 
 in 1871. Five children were born to them, 
 namely: Joseph F., Anna E., Arthur L., Benja- 
 min O. and Ruth Isabelle. He is one of the 
 founders of the Norwegian Old People's Home 
 and was its president for two years. He was 
 also among the first to help build and maintain 
 the Tabitha Hospital and the Deaconess Home 
 and Hospital, having served on the buildini; com- 
 mittee of both. He is a member of the Wicker 
 Park English Lutheran Church and chairman of 
 the board of trustees. He is also a member of the 
 A. O. U. W. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 369 
 
 Mr. Johnson is a quiet, consistent and faithful the old country. He has continued in that busi- 
 Christian gentleman, and in all his walks in life ness. 
 
 has been upright in his dealings, kind and con- On May 7, 1884, he was married to Inga E. 
 
 siderate of the welfare of others, and is loved Hanson. They have three children, Frank 19 
 and respected by all who know him. The fam- years; Beulah, 17, Archer, 13. Mr. Johnson is a 
 ily resides at 695 N. Robey street. supporter of the Norwegian Old People's Home 
 
 and the Lutheran Children's Home, is a member 
 of the Royal League, and attends the English 
 . Lutheran Church. The family resides at 632 
 
 9jjr? N. Hoj^ne avenue. 
 
 ANTON JOHNSON 
 
 Was born near Christiania, Norway, Feb. 4, 1854, 
 a son of John and Ellen Olson. He attended 
 school in the old country and remained there 
 until he was 18 years old. 
 
 ALLEN (ERLAND) JOHNSON 
 
 Was born at Ytter Sogn, in Viks prestegjeld, 
 Norway, April 7, 1837. His father was Joe John- 
 son, whose business it was to carry mail by boat 
 
 Anton Johnson. 
 
 In 1872 he came to America, his parents hav- 
 ing preceded him the year before. His first 
 three years in America were spent on a farm 
 about forty miles west of Chicago. In 1875 he 
 left the farm and started the business of manu- 
 facturing clothing in Chicago, in company with 
 an older brother, who had learned his trade in 
 
 Allen Johnson. 
 
 between dififerent places, and his mother was 
 Anna Erlands. Mr. Johnson went to the country 
 school for his education and was confirmed at 
 the age of 14 in Vik. He then worked on farms 
 
370 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 until he was 19 years of age, when he concluded 
 to migrate to America. 
 
 He landed from a sailing vessel at Quebec in 
 1856. From there he came to Chicago, where he 
 worked in a lumber yard for nearly three months 
 in order to save up enough money to pay for his 
 transportation across the ocean. Being a poor 
 lad, he had to borrow the sum from friends to 
 pay his passage. An American picked up Mr. 
 Johnson and two other brawny Norwegian boys 
 and induced them to go out and work on his farm 
 in Lee county, south of Dixon. Here Johnson 
 remained only two months, as he became home- 
 sick living among strangers, and returned to Chi- 
 cago. He remained in Chicago another two 
 months, and then, not feeling well, was advised 
 by a doctor to go into the country. He then 
 went to Willow Creek township, where he worked 
 on farms two years; then he worked a farm on 
 shares about three years, when he had saved 
 enough money to buy eighty acres of land. He 
 now cultivated his own ground, which, however, 
 he sold after ten years and bought a farm of 
 160 acres, where he has been living since. 
 
 In 1870 he was married to Miss Inger Olsdat- 
 ter Winterton, with whom he has had three chil- 
 dren: Joe, Anna and Bertholine. 
 
 The family belongs to the church of the Luth- 
 eran Norwegian Synod. 
 
 REV. CHARLES J. JOHNSON, 
 
 Pastor of the Norwegian-Danish Methodist 
 Church at Evanston, 111., was born to John and 
 Johanna Johnson in Christiansund, .Norway, 
 April 11, 1873. When about one year old his 
 parents moved to Trondhjem, and in 1878, believ- 
 ing that America offered better opportunity for 
 their children, they emigrated and came to Chi- 
 cago, arriving in October. 
 
 Charles received his preliminary education in 
 the public schools of Chicago and later learned 
 the printer's trade, intending to follow that as 
 his chief work in life. But one day, early in 1891, 
 the voice of conscience or the call of God came 
 to him very distinctly: he was to preach the 
 Word. In order to prepare himself for this 
 calling he attended the Norwegian-Danish The- 
 ological Seminary of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church at Evanston, and was creditably gradu- 
 ated under the able instructions of Rev. Dr. N. 
 E. Simonsen. During his senior vear at the 
 
 seminary he organized the North Avenue Meth- 
 odist Mission, now called the Emmanus Church. 
 His next appointment was to Norway, 111., where 
 he served the church for one year. During his 
 pastorate there he was elected president of the 
 Chicago District Epworth League of the Nor- 
 wegian-Danish Conference, to which position he 
 was twice re-elected. After leaving the Norway 
 Congregation he was for two years pastor of the 
 Kenosha (Wis.) Church, where he built a .beauti- 
 ful house of worship. Apart from his pastoral 
 duties at Park Side (Chicago), which was his 
 next appointment after leaving Kenosha, he corn- 
 
 Rev. C. J. Johnson. 
 
 pleted the four-year philosophical course at the 
 academy of the Northwestern University, and 
 was graduated therefrom in 1901. During the 
 last five years he has held the pastorate of the 
 Evanston Norwegian-Danish IMethodist Congre- 
 gation. During this period he also completed a 
 four-year scientific course at the college of liberal 
 arts at the Northwestern University and was 
 graduated with the degree of bachelor of science. 
 While a student he was the winner of many hon- 
 ors for excellence in the art of oratory and in 
 debate. Both in the academ}^ and in the college 
 of liberal arts of Northwestern University he 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 371 
 
 carried ofif the first prizes for superior public 
 speaking. His subject in the latter contest was 
 "Nansen's Dash for the Pole." As a debater he 
 has also won marked distinction. 
 
 In August, 1901, he was married to Miss Es- 
 ther Marie Crook, of Racine, Wis. They have 
 two children — Charles, 4 years; Henry, 1 year. 
 The family resides in Evanston. 
 
 Co., in 1876. Since the death of her husband in 
 1891 Mrs. Johnson has made her home with her 
 son-in-law, in Evanston. 
 
 ^ 
 
 MRS. CORNELIA JOHNSON, 
 
 Widow of Andrew IMa^nus Johnson, was born 
 in Farsund, Norway, March 24, 1833. 
 
 She came to America in 1848, traveling by 
 canal to Buffalo, by lake steamer to Milwaukee, 
 and from there went to Koshkonong, Dane 
 county, Wisconsin. 
 
 MRS. KLINE THEODORA JOHNSON, 
 
 The widow of Captain William Johnson, the well 
 known lake captain and vessel owner, was born 
 in Troms0, Norway, Aug. 15, 1845. Her parents 
 
 Mrs. Eline T. Johnson. 
 
 were Edward Adolph Shoemaker, a sea captain, 
 and Petrine Ehzabeth Thompson, the latter of 
 Sandviken, near Salten. They are both dead; 
 Captain Shoemaker in 1903 and his wife, whom 
 he survived nearly thirty j^ears, in 1873. 
 
 Miss Eline Theodora Shoemaker was married 
 to Captain Johnson Sept. 3, 1872. They have had 
 Mrs. Johnson was married in 1851. She has five children: four daughters and one son, of 
 been a resident of Chicago and suburbs for thir- whom three daughters are still living. Clara 
 ty-five years. Her daughter, Eda Louise, an only Amalia was born Nov. 18, 1873. She was mar- 
 child, married Otto C. Ericson, of C. Jevne & ried July 21, 1897, to Jens J. Meldahl, the well 
 
 Mrs. Cornelia Johnson. 
 
372 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 known architect. They have two children: Dag- 
 ny Louise, born April 20, 1899, and Waldemar J., 
 Nov. 15, 1904. The second daughter Olga The- 
 resa was born March 20, 1878. She was mar- 
 ried Oct. 17, 1906, to Charles Edgar Walles, an 
 insurance man ot Chicago. The third daughter, 
 Alice Eline Theodora, was born Au'g. 20, 1880, 
 and is living with her mother. The only son, 
 William Owen, was born May 29, 1883, and died 
 when only a few months old. The last daughter, 
 Dagny Florence, was born Feb. 13, 1887, and 
 died Feb. 4, 1893. 
 
 Mrs. Johnson has been very active in benev- 
 olent, charitable and church work. She is a 
 member of the Norwegian Old People's Home 
 Society, has been on the board of directors of 
 the Tabitha Hospital for nine successive terms, 
 organizer and president of the Chicago School 
 Children's Aid Society for ten years, member of 
 Vala, a member of Aurora Borealis (a literary 
 society older than Vala), belongs to the North- 
 west Culture Club, has been a member of the 
 Lutheran Woman's League for about five years, 
 and is a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. 
 Mrs. Johnson resides in her own substantial and 
 comfortable home at 666 N. Hoyne avenue, near 
 Wicker Park. 
 
 Captain Johnson was a well known resident 
 of Chicago, and thou'gh he landed here as a poor 
 sailor boy, he acquired through his indomitable 
 energy an honorable place among his fellow men, 
 and through legitimate channels of business a 
 high position in the financial world. In 1878 
 Mrs. Johnson, in company with her husband and 
 oldest daughter, visited the Paris exposition and 
 spent five months traveling in Europe. Captain 
 Johnson died in 1902. His sketch appears in an- 
 other part of this book. 
 
 Here Mrs. Rasmussen died in 1866; her husband 
 died in Chicago, in 1898. 
 
 In 1866, Miss Hedvig Rasmussen was mar- 
 ried to Mr. Ole Jacobson, who died in 1878. They 
 had two sons and three daughters: One son died 
 in infancy. The other, Robert Jacobson, mar- 
 ried Miss Maggie Rogde, of Lee, III.; they have 
 two sons. Margit Jacobson married Charles 
 Ostrom, of Chicago; they have one daughter, 
 Margit, 2 years of age. Anna Jacobson was mar- 
 ried to Ernest Gamble, Fox Lake, Wis.; they 
 have one son, James, and one daughter, Margit. 
 
 Mrs. Hedvig Johnson. 
 
 MRS. HEDVIG JOHNSON 
 
 Was born at Bergen, Norway, Oct. 28, 1847. Her 
 father was Rasmus Rasmussen, a cooper, and 
 her mother Helga Jacobson, who with their fam- 
 ily of five daughters came to America in the sail- 
 ing vessel Kung Karl, Captain Svanoe, in 1864. 
 Mr. Rasmussen was a very religious man and 
 here became a lay preacher and for several years 
 had charge of the congregation (church and 
 school work and confirmations, etc.) at Lee, 111. 
 
 One daughter, Hedvig Olivia, was married to 
 Matt. Larson. She died in 1891. 
 
 In 1881 Mrs. Jacobson was married to August 
 J. Johnson, partner of her former husband. Mr. 
 Johnson was a native of Sweden. He had been 
 married, and had two sons and a daughter: Hans 
 P. Johnson married Inga Nelson, of Chicago; 
 they have four children — Florence, Hobart, Ma- 
 rie and Peter. Anton J. Johnson married Carrie 
 Gernhard; they have six children — Ruth, Har- 
 vey, Helen, Caroline, Anton and Dorothy. Dag- 
 ny J. Johnson married Edward Enerson; she 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 373 
 
 died in 1894, leaving one son, Joseph E., 11 j^ears 
 of age. 
 
 Mr. and ]\Irs. Johnson had two daughters: 
 Jennie Olga, born in 1882; Athie Helen died in 
 infancy. Mr. Johnson died in 1891. 
 
 The A. J. Johnson & Sons factory — in which 
 fine dining-room furniture (such as sideboards, 
 bookcases, etc.) is made — is now operated by 
 Mr. Johnson's sons by his first wife, though Mrs. 
 Johnson still retains an interest. 
 
 Mrs. Johnson, with her daughter Jenny, lives 
 in her own residence at 196 Evergreen avenue, 
 Chicago. Mrs. Johnson is a member of the Nor- 
 wegian Trinity Church, corner of Noble and 
 Huron streets. 
 
 JUDGE HENRY W. JOHNSON. 
 
 Hon. Henry W. Johnson, of Ottawa, 111., was 
 born in Miller township, La Salle county, Illinois, 
 of Norwegian parents, on Dec. 10, 1858. He was 
 reared on a farm in northern Illinois, and edu- 
 cated in the public schools and Jennings Semi- 
 nary, Aurora, and the Northwestern University, 
 Evanston, 111. 
 
 At the general election in 1888 he was elected 
 clerk of the circuit court of La Salle county, on 
 the republican ticket, by a plurality of one vote, 
 the county going democratic that year by several 
 hundred votes, Mr. Johnson being one of two 
 republicans elected in that county that year. This 
 demonstrated his favor with the people, who have 
 never failed to sustain him at each and every op- 
 portunity since. 
 
 In 1890 he was admitted by the supreme court 
 of Illinois to practice law, and shortly thereafter 
 engaged in the active practice of his chosen pro- 
 fession at Ottawa, Illinois, and soon became very 
 successful as a lawyer. In 1894 his party, recog- 
 nizing his strength and availability as a candidate, 
 nominated him for the office of county judge 
 against the incumbent of the ofifice, who was con- 
 ceded to be the most popular democrat in the 
 county at the time, but when the votes were 
 counted Mr. Johnson was found to be elected by 
 a plurality of 2,043 votes. He was re-elected to 
 the same office in 1898 by a plurality of 2,547 
 votes, leading his ticket, and in 1902 he refused 
 what would have been an unanimous renomination 
 to the same office. His administration as county 
 judge gave very general satisfaction to both the 
 bar and litigants; one may search through the re^ 
 
 ports of our courts of appeal in vain for reversals 
 of cases tried by him. During the eight years on 
 the bench he was frequently invited by Judge 
 Carter of Cook county to try cases for him in 
 Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Johnson surrendered his general law prac- 
 tice in 1903 to accept the presidency of the Ottawa 
 Banking and Trust Company, Ottawa, 111., one 
 of the growing and most promising institutions 
 of the kind in the state outside of Chicago. He 
 is also president of the Lee State Bank, Lee, 111., 
 and has recently been elected president of the 
 Central Life Assurance Society, of Ottawa, 111., 
 
 Judge H. W, Johnson. 
 
 a growing and very promising organization. He 
 is also vice-president of the supreme body of the 
 Fraternal Mystic Circle, of Philadelphia, Pa., and 
 holds the same position with the Archaen Union 
 at Rockford, 111. 
 
 Until the fall of 1906, when Mr. Ole Benson 
 was elected sheriff, Mr. Johnson had been the 
 only person of Scandinavian antecedents to hold 
 an elective county ofifice in La Salle county. 
 While he is a thoroughgoing American in all 
 that pertains to true Americanism, still he shows 
 unmistakable evidence of being a descendant from 
 the sturdy Norse stock, and takes a pardonable 
 
374 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 pride in tlie rugged honesty, industry and chival- 
 ric character of his ancestors. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has been frequently 
 mentioned in connection with positions of trust, 
 and efforts have been made to confer additional 
 political honor upon him, but he is not an office 
 seeker; he prefers instead the quiet enjoyment of 
 home life. In 1898 the way to the Congress of 
 the United States was open to him, but he de- 
 clined to entertain the proposition and did what 
 he could to prevail upon the incumbent to stand 
 for re-election. Recently he has declined to en- 
 tertain a proffered federal appointment of a high 
 order. 
 
 On Feb. 19, 1906, he was, however, without 
 solicitation on his part, appointed by Governor 
 Deneen one of the three members of the inter- 
 nal improvement commission of Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Johnson's father, Andrew H. Johnson, mi- 
 grated to this country from near Stavanger, Nor- 
 way, in 1853, and settled in northern Illinois. His 
 mother, Sarah Baker, came with her parents when 
 only about 1^/^ years of age from Tin, Norway, 
 in about the year 1842, and first settled in the 
 state of Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage, Feb. 27, 
 1884, with Miss Carrie Nelson, whose sketch is 
 found elsewhere. They have two daughters liv- 
 ing, Herby and Nina, Herby being now a senior 
 in Cumnock's School of Oratory, Evanston. He 
 is a member of a number of fraternal organiza- 
 tions, includin"- the Knights of Pythias and Ma- 
 sonic fraternities, and various clubs. 
 
 MRS. CARRIE NELSON JOHNSON. 
 
 Mrs. Carrie Nelson Johnson, wife of Judge H. 
 W. Johnson, is a native of La Salle county, Il- 
 linois. She was educated in the district schools, 
 in the public schools at Sheridan, and at Jen- 
 nings Seminary, Aurora, 111., after which she en- 
 gaged in teaching school for a time. 
 
 Mrs. Johnson was a daughter of the late Peter 
 C. Nelson, who departed this life at her residence 
 in Ottawa, III, on Dec. 13, 1904, at the ripe old 
 age of nearly 75 years. At his death he was 
 one of the very oldest, if not the oldest, persons 
 born of Norwegian parentage in America. His 
 parents (being the grandparents of Mrs. John- 
 son), Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Nelson, were 
 among the first Norwegian emigrants to this 
 
 country in the nineteenth century. They sailed 
 out of the harbor of Stavanger, Norway, on July 
 4, 1825, our day of independence, for America, in 
 company with fifty others, including crew, on the 
 sloop Restoration, often called the Norwegian 
 Mayflower, owing to the fact that they sought 
 to avail themselves of this, the land of the free, 
 where they might worship their God according 
 to the dictates of their own conscience. They 
 belonged to the Society of Friends, commonly 
 called Quakers. This party, with all on board, 
 after a perilous voyage of fourteen weeks, en- 
 tered New York harbor, their craft being one 
 
 Mrs. H. W. Johnson. 
 
 of the smallest of its kiuv^ that ever crossed the 
 Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 In the fall of the same year Mr. and Mrs. Nel- 
 son settled in Kendall, on the shores of Lake 
 Ontario, in the northern part of Orleans county, 
 New York. This was the first Norwegian settle- 
 ment in America in the nineteenth century. At 
 this place Mr. Peter C. Nelson, Mrs. Johnson's 
 father, was born on the 20th of January, 1830. 
 At this place, in December, 1833, his father died, 
 and thereafter, in 1836, the widow, Kari, came 
 with her family to Mission township, La Salle 
 county, Illinois, and settled on sec. 33, which 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 375 
 
 at this time is occupied by her grandson, Cor- 
 nelius Nelson. 
 
 She built a log house thereon shortly after 
 her arrival and made her home there until she 
 departed for "that bourne whence no traveler 
 returns," July 24, 1846. The original log house 
 still stands, but has been inclosed and a large 
 frame building has been added. This is only of 
 interest because of the fact that, beyond all 
 doubt, this is the first farm selected and domi- 
 ciled by a Norwegian in America west of the 
 great lakes. 
 
 Judge and Airs. Johnson have been residents 
 of Ottawa, 111., since 1888, where they and their 
 two daughters are affiliated with the First Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church of that city. 
 
 to them on July 18, 1906. Mr. Johnson's father 
 died many years ago, but his mother is still liv- 
 ing and is expected to make her home with her 
 
 JOHN A. JOHNSON, 
 
 The manufacturer of physicians' and dental in- 
 struments, at 500 W. North avenue, Chicago, was 
 born to Halvor and Marie (nee Heir) Johnson, 
 of Christiania, Norway, Aug. 12, 1877. He at- 
 tended school and was confirmed in Vor Frelsers 
 Church. He was then apprenticed to Nicolay 
 Jacobsen, of Christiania, to learn the trade of 
 an electrical instrument maker. He worked at 
 this for five years, when, at the age of 18, he 
 came to New York, where he spent one year 
 looking up opportunities for a future field of 
 work. 
 
 In. 1896 he returned to Christiania, where he 
 accepted a position with Wishbeck & Meinick, 
 extending his knowledge of the instrument-mak- 
 ing business. 
 
 In 1899 he came back to this country,' going to 
 Deer Park, Wis., where he had a married sister. 
 From there he went to Minneapolis, but after 
 three months came to Chicago, where he has re- 
 mained since. Here he secured work with Mason 
 & Co., manufacturers and dealers in dental sup- 
 plies, where he worked for five years. He then 
 started in business for himself at 500 W. North 
 avenue, making all kinds of electrical instru- 
 ments. He is making a specialty of dental fur- 
 naces for laboratory use. Recently he also se- 
 cured a patent on a vibrator which he put on 
 the market some time ago. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married to Bertha Marie 
 Evenson, daughter of Edward and Carrie Even- 
 son, of Chicago, Nov. 11, 1905. A boy was born 
 
 J. A. Johnson. 
 
 three children in this country. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Johnson attend the Norwegian Lutheran Church 
 and reside in a cozy flat at 1263 Wabansia avenue. 
 
 JOHN W. JOHNSON. 
 
 John William Johnson, son of William and 
 Inger Overland Johnson, was born in the city of 
 Stavanger, Norway, July 2, 1844. He attended 
 the public schools and spent the early part of his 
 life in Stavanger; but with ambitions rising above 
 the opportunities offered him in his native town, 
 it was natural that the stories of this wonderful 
 land across the seas should attract him, and he 
 came to America in the year 1868, locating soon 
 after in Chicago, where he has since resided. The 
 years just previous to and following the Chicago 
 
A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 376 
 
 fire were spent in the strenuous work of establish- - as salesman for the firm, and resides at 42 Marion 
 
 ing a home for himself and family, and assisting 
 in the work of rebuilding the stricken city. 
 
 During the year 1872 he founded the business 
 now conducted under the name of the J. W. John- 
 son Company, manufacturers of horse clothing, 
 tents, awnings, etc., one of the largest and best 
 known firms in this line in Chicago, and he still 
 takes an active interest in the business. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage, June 6, 
 1870, to Louisa Johnson, whose birthplace was 
 also Stavanger, and who came to Chicago a short 
 time previous to their marriage. Their home is 
 
 J. W. Johnson. 
 
 located at 42 Marion place, where four children 
 have been born to them, all of whom are living. 
 The sons are associated in the business with their 
 father. John W., Jr., the oldest, manager of their 
 factories, was born Nov. 15, 1871; married Dec. 
 10, 1897, to Mamie Cecelia Jones, and resides at 
 1485 Drake avenue. Lawrence E. Johnson was 
 born Nov. 16, 187G, and holds the responsible po- 
 sition of genera,! manager of the business; mar- 
 ried Aug. 30, 1899, to Miss Olga Brynildson, 
 daughter of Herman Brynildson, of Bergen, Nor- 
 way; they live at 701 W. Wrightwood avenue. 
 Arthur G., the youngest son, occupies a position 
 
 place, where, with the only daughter, Rose Dag- 
 mar Johnson, they assist their parents in making 
 the home a modern example of old-time Nor- 
 wegian hospitality and good cheer, where their 
 innumerable friends are always assured a sincere 
 and hearty welcome. 
 
 John W. Johnson is a republican in politics, but 
 while he takes an active interest in the political 
 progress of both the United States and Norway, 
 he has never aspired to any position of either so- 
 cial or political prominence; preferring rather to 
 devote his energies to his private interest and be 
 known, as he is known and honored by those who 
 know him best, for his business integrity, his de- 
 votion to his family and friends, and his quiet, 
 unassuming charitable work. The latter is dis- 
 pensed wherever and whenever the need appeals, 
 the only organization with which he is identified 
 being the Norwegian Old People's Home, to 
 which he has always given active and substantial 
 support. The family attend religious services at 
 the Wicker Park Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 NELS JOHNSON, 
 
 Secretary of the Johnson Chair Company, was 
 born at Voss, Norway, Dec. 1, 1843. His parents 
 were John L. and Emily (Vinge Gjerager) John- 
 son, both from Voss. 
 
 He came to America with his parents in 1850, 
 landing in New York, and came west via Chi- 
 cago, locating on a farm in Boone county, Illi- 
 nois, near Beloit, Wis. Here Nels worked on 
 his father's farm, attended the public school, and 
 was confirmed. 
 
 In 1859 he came to Chicago and secured a 
 place on the Chicago Democrat, "Long" John 
 Wentworth's paper, where he worked until 1861, 
 when the paper was sold to the Chicago Tribune. 
 During this time Mr. Johnson was learning the 
 printer's trade, and went from the Democrat to 
 the Chicago Journal^ where he became a journey- 
 man compositor. He continued to work at his 
 trade on the Journal until 1872, when he became 
 actively connected with his brother, A. P. John- 
 son, in the chair company. This com.pany, which 
 employes a small army of men, will be referred 
 to under another head in this history. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 377 
 
 On Oct. 23, 1873, he married Martha Findall, 
 of Manitowoc, Wis., daughter of Isaac and Mar- 
 tha Findall. They have had five children, name- 
 ly: Walter J., Alma ^I., Edwin I., Ednal. and 
 Chester N. Walter J. is his father's assistant 
 with the Johnson Chair Company. Edna was 
 married on Oct. 14, 1906, to W. Ford, a real 
 estate man, in Chicago. 
 
 Nels Johnson. 
 
 Mr. Nels Johnson has been president of the 
 Western Chair Association, a director of the 
 United States Rattan Company, treasurer of the 
 Chicago Furniture Association, and president of 
 the Mt. Olive Cemetery Association. The family 
 are members of the Holy Trinity English Luth- 
 eran Church, on La Salle avenue, of which Mr. 
 Johnson has been a trustee for about thirty 
 years. The family home is at 1844 Surf street, 
 Chicago. 
 
 fornia the following year, where he devoted 
 eight years to mining. He also spent one year 
 in Idaho and one year in Montana in the same 
 business. He then returned to Chicago, coming 
 down the Missouri River from Ft. Benton, as 
 there were no railroads across the plains at that 
 time. 
 
 In Chicago he followed building and contract- 
 ing for several years, and then opened a general 
 
 L. H. Johnson. 
 
 store at Millbrook, 111., where he remained for 
 four years. He moved to Pullman in 1882, where 
 he has since carried on a' hardware and furniture 
 store. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Martha L. 
 Knutson, of Chicago, in 1869. They have three 
 children — two boys and a girl. The family are 
 members of the Holy Trinity English Lutheran 
 Church of Chicago. 
 
 9j? 
 
 L. H. JOHNSON, 
 
 Of Pullman,, was born in Norway, May 5, 1834. 
 He came to America in 1857 and went to Cali- 
 
 OLE A. JOHNSON, 
 
 A progressive young farmer near Lee, 111., was 
 born in that place Feb. 2, 1866, his parents being 
 
378 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Andrew H. and Sarah Baker Johnson. Mr. 
 Johnson attended the public schools at Lee and 
 afterward the Seminary at Aurora. His father 
 died in 1895, wdien the subject of our sketch 
 bought tlie homestead and is still operating the 
 farm. 
 
 He was married in July. 1891, to Miss Tillie 
 Johnson, of the same place. They have six chil- 
 
 Ole A. Johnson and Wife. 
 
 dren, namely: Albarn Irene, Lela Jeanette, Stan- 
 ley Curtis, Oren Truman, Freda Sedell and an 
 infant daughter. Mr. Johnson has been assessor 
 for the Norwegian Synod, and also township col- 
 lector. He is a brother of ex-Judge H. W. 
 Johnson of Ottawa, James Johnson of Lee and 
 Aaron Johnson of Redclifif (Iowa). 
 
 % 
 
 OLE JOHNSON, 
 
 Manager and cutter for the tailoring department 
 of Weber's department store, Clark and Van 
 Buren streets, was born on gaarden Kaastad, 
 
 Vestre Slidre, Valders, Norway, Dec. 9, 1844. 
 His father was John Johnson, a farmer, and his 
 mother Sigrid Olson. He attended the ambula- 
 tory school until he was confirmed in Slidre 
 Church, and at the age of 15 was apprenticed to 
 learn the tailoring trade. 
 
 Mr. Johnson embarked on board "Harald Haar- 
 fagre" at Bergen and landed in New York in 
 1872. From there he came direct to Chicago. 
 After having worked at his trade for different 
 merchant tailors he engaged in business for him- 
 self in 1875 opening a tailor shop on Grand 
 
 Ole Johnson. 
 
 avenue, where he continued for over twenty 
 years. He then accepted a place as a cutter, and 
 since that time has been engaged in that work 
 exclusively. 
 
 Mr. Johnson's mother died in Chicago in 1883 
 but his father at 88 years of age is still living 
 with his children in this city. 
 
 While in the old country Mr. Johnson served 
 five years in the Norwegian Army. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Johnson was married in Chicago 
 to Miss Ragnild Olsdatter, a daughter of Ole 
 Thomasson Gr^the. They have had five chil- 
 dren, three sons and two daughters, all living. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 379 
 
 viz.: John, Sophie, Mathilda, Oscar and George. 
 John is married to Miss Christine Josephson, in 
 Chicago, and Sophie to Mr. E. S. Rowert, South 
 Haven, Mich. The family are members of Our 
 Saviour's Church and reside at 699 Flournoy 
 street. 
 
 CAPTAIN OLAUS JOHNSON 
 
 Was born in Fredrikshald, Norway, May 2, 1833. 
 As a boy Olaus attended the parish schools and 
 was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. He then 
 
 in Kattegat, and had many times to suffer hard- 
 ships that none but an experienced seaman can 
 appreciate. He sailed on salt water for about 
 thirty years, or until 1872, when he came to 
 Chicago. 
 
 Upon his arrival here he purchased a piece of 
 property, and by judicious buying and selling 
 soon found the business profitable, and has con- 
 tinued in the real estate business. He has ac- 
 quired a competency. 
 
 The Captain has been married twice, his first 
 wife being Miss Anna Anderson, whom he mar- 
 ried in 1874. She died in 1885. In 1886 he mar- 
 ried Mrs. Anna Wilson (nee Olson). There are 
 no children. He and his wife are comfortably 
 domiciled in their own home at 114 N. Ashland 
 avenue. 
 
 Captain Olaus Johnson and Wife. 
 
 learned the trade of custom tailor, at which he 
 worked until 20 years old. At that age he went 
 to sea as a sailor, having previously at odd hours 
 studied both law and mathematics. Between the 
 sailing seasons he also studied mathematics and 
 astronomy at the navigation school and passed 
 the examination as mate and sea captain, having 
 taken all the courses pertaining thereto. He 
 then sailed on all the seas. He was shipwrecked 
 
 PETER JOHNSON (SANDVIK), 
 
 Now living at JTelmar, 111., was born at Skaane- 
 vik, near Bergen, Norway, Dec. 27, 1825. His 
 parents were Johannes and Guro (Kjseransdat- 
 ter) Peterson. Mr. Johnson worked and re- 
 mained on his father's farm until he was 24 years 
 old, when he came to America. He landed in 
 New York and came west via Chicago and went 
 to Lisbon, 111. Here he hired out as a farm hand 
 for three years and then bought 120 acres in Lib- 
 erty township. He continued to work for other 
 farmers, however, for three years, when he built 
 himself a log cabin on his own land and located 
 there permanently. 
 
 On Oct. 19, 1854, he married Miss Betsy Tho- 
 reson, also from Skaanevik, Norway, (born Sept. 
 14, 1838), who had come to America with her 
 parents, Thor and Brita Thoreson. Rev. Ras- 
 mussen performed the ceremony. 
 
 After about fourteen years Mr. Johnson bought 
 120 acres more, adjoining his own lands. His 
 holdings now consist of 240 acres of highly cul- 
 tivated farm land. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the proud parents 
 of six sons "ind four daughters, all married, 
 namely: John Lewis, born Dec. 24, 1856; Thor 
 Franklin, Dec' 1, 1858; Betsy Melinda, Jan. 20, 
 1861; Ingeborg Gurine, Jan. 6, 1863; Nels Olaus, 
 Oct. 17, 1864; Peter Albert, April 21, 1866; Anna 
 Maria, March 31, 1868; Charles Olie, Jan. 31, 
 1870; Emma Josephine, May 10, 1876; Henry Eli- 
 as, Dec. 22, 1879. The children are all living, 
 and Mr. Johnson is the happy grandfather of 
 
380 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 twenty-eight bright Americans. One of his sons, 
 Charles Olie, is now running the farm, the old 
 couple having retired several years ago, having 
 built themselves a comfortable home near the 
 church at Helmar. 
 
 Jacobsdatter. Perry, their oldest son, is a senior 
 in the high school. The family attend the Con- 
 gregational Church and Sunday school, and re- 
 side in their own home at 119 S. Lake street, 
 Aurora. 
 
 Peter Johnson and Wife. 
 
 Mr. Johnson has always been a liberal con- 
 tributor to charitable institutions when called 
 upon, as well as to the Pleasant View Luther 
 College at Ottawa. The family all belong to the 
 Lutheran Church. Our subject has always been 
 a reliable republican, but has never sought polit- 
 ical ofifice. 
 
 '^ 
 
 PETER ALBERT JOHNSON, 
 
 Of Aurora, was born on a farm near Helmar, 
 III., April 21, 1866. His parents are Peter John- 
 son (Sandvik) and Betsy Thoreson, both living 
 at Helmar. Our subject attended the public 
 school and the Northern Indiana Normal School 
 at Valparaiso, Ind. Returning from school, he 
 worked on his father's farm until 1892, when he 
 engaged in the coal business in Aurora, buying 
 out O. M. Olson. 
 
 On Jan. 7, 1889, he married Miss Lena M. Ol- 
 son (Holty), born July 15, 1869, of Newark, 111. 
 They have three children — Perry, who was born 
 Jan. 15, 1891; Oscar Guy, Oct. 31, 1893; The- 
 odora Blanche, Nov. 27, 1895. Mrs. Johnson's 
 parents were Nels Olson Holty and Thorbjjzir 
 
 Peter A. Johnson. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 381 
 
 PEDER JOHNSON, 
 
 The manufacturer of kitchen furniture, at 87-89 
 W. Erie street, Chicago, was born in Krager^, 
 Norway, Jan. 19, 1860. His parents were Jens 
 and Kristine Johnson. He attended the public 
 school and also took drawing lessons in a tech- 
 nical school at Krager0, where he was con- 
 firmed. He then secured a position as ap- 
 prentice with a cabinet maker and worked for 
 four years. After having learned the trade he 
 continued to work until 1882, when he emigrated 
 to America. 
 
 mother died in 1900; his father is still living at 
 the old home in Norway. The family are mem- 
 bers of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, of which 
 Mr. Johnson has been superintendent of the Sun- 
 day school and an active member for many years. 
 The family resides at 1883 Kamerling avenue. 
 
 ^ 
 
 THORVALD JOHNSON, 
 
 Peder Johnson. 
 
 Coming direct to Chicago, he immediately 
 went to work for the Kimball Piano Company, 
 where he remained for three years. He then 
 engaged in busmess for himself at his present 
 location, making a line of kitchen furniture ex- 
 clusively. He has been very successful, having 
 had standing orders enabling him to run his 
 factory at its full capacity continuously. 
 
 He was married to Amelia, daughter of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Andrew Johnson, of Chicago, June 27, 
 1888. They have seven children, all girls and all 
 living, namely: Clara, Grace, Jennie, Alice, Es- 
 ther, Evelyn and Florence. Mr. Johnson's 
 
 President and treasurer of the T. Johnson Co., 
 manufacturers of cooperage and dealers in coop- 
 ers' stock, 206 North Carpenter street, and Thir- 
 ty-Eight and Morgan streets, the well known 
 cooper, familiarly known as Cooper Johnson, was 
 born in Enebak prestegjeld, Norway, Jan. 24, 
 1851. His parents were Johan Peter and Anna 
 Maria (Hansen) Johnson. Mr. Johnson remained 
 at home attending school until he was confirmed. 
 At 15 years of age he was apprenticed to learn 
 the trade of a cooper with a firm in Christiania. 
 After completing his apprenticeship and master- 
 ing his trade he came to America and Chicago in 
 1871. He soon found work at his trade. Five 
 years later, in 1877, he started in the business in 
 a small way for himself, his first location being 
 on Austin avenue near Jefiferson street. On April 
 8, of the same year he was married to Hulda 
 Abrahamson, who died ten years later, leaving 
 him four children: Walter Owen, Lulu Anna, 
 Ada Oliva and Hattie Theodora. 
 
 His business had grown during these years and 
 needing larger quarters he moved to the corner 
 of Ohio and Carpenter streets and later located 
 a larger factory at Thirty-eight and Morgan 
 streets, and is now operating both plants, em- 
 ploying steadily over one hundred and twenty- 
 five men. During all these years he has never 
 been troubled by strikes or discontent among his 
 help. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married again July 12, 1890, 
 to Mrs. Anna Risetter of Lee, 111. They reside 
 at 1283 Humboldt boulevard. 
 
 Mr. Johnson once ran for alderman of the sev- 
 enteenth ward as an independent republican. It 
 is generally conceded that he was elected by a 
 large majority but he never took his seat. He 
 secured all the votes in his own precinct but 17 
 regardless of nationality or party affiliation. 
 
 One of the most beneficial things i\Ir. Johnson 
 has done for the public was in helping to elimi- 
 nate the manufacture of prison goods coming in 
 
382 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 competition with free labor. In about 1876 mod- 
 ern machinery was installed in the penal institu- 
 tion at Joliet, for the manufacture of barrels at 
 a maximum cost of fifty cents per day for labor, 
 so that those using free labor were practically 
 forced to the wall. In 1892 a convention of man- 
 ufacturers of cooperage throughout the state was 
 held in Chicago to take vigorous action against 
 this evil. A committee was appointed, of which 
 Mr. Johnson was a member, to bring this matter 
 before the governor of the state, with the object 
 of enforcing an amendment to the constitution of 
 
 Thorvald Johnson. 
 
 the state prohibiting the letting of prisoners to 
 contractors. Repeated efforts were made but 
 witli very unsatisfactory results. However, they 
 succeeded in reducing the evil under Governor 
 Altgeld's administration and finally abolished it 
 during Governor Yates' term. 
 
 When the new Security Bank of Chicago was 
 started in 1906, Mr. Johnson became one of its 
 directors, which position he is still holding. 
 
 TORRIS JOHNSON, 
 
 Of Newark, 111., was born in Skonevik preste- 
 gjeld, Bergens slift, Norway, Sept. 5, 1837. His 
 parents were Johannes and Elizabeth Torrison; 
 both died while Torris was a child. ■ He received 
 his first education of a private teacher. 
 
 At the age of 11 years he came to America with 
 another brother and a sister, in the care of their 
 grandfather, Torris Torrison. They landed in 
 Chicago and went to Mr. Johnson's uncle, Hal- 
 stein Torrison, who lived in Calumet, about 
 twenty miles south of Chicago and three miles 
 west of Hammond, Ind. Here Johnson remained 
 for three years and then went to Kendall county 
 with his older brother, and was confirmed there 
 by Rev. Ole Andrewson. He then worked on 
 farms in that vicinity. 
 
 When the war broke out he enlisted as a 
 private on Aug. 27, 1861. The company in which 
 Mr. Johnson enlisted was commanded by Captain 
 Porter Olson. He participated in two battles — 
 at Pea Ridge, Ark. and Perryville, Ky. 
 
 At Perryville he was wounded in the right leg, 
 the bullet entering below the knee and passing 
 entirely through the limb, shattering both the 
 bones. He had to remain on the battlefield until 
 he was taken to Louisville, about seventy miles 
 away. In the hospital the surgeon wanted to 
 amputate his leg, but Mr. Johnson objected, and 
 it was bandaged, after being set and given proper 
 attention. He remained in the hospital for six 
 months and then came to Chicago, where he 
 went to Dr. Brainerd, who cut the wou'nd open 
 and extracted some loose bits of bone and re- 
 dressed it. After the last operation Mr. Johnson 
 became so sick that his attendants despaired of 
 his life. His good and sound constitution and 
 strong will power pulled him through, however. 
 Shortlv after his enlistment Mr. Johnson was 
 made a corporal, and before the battle of Perry- 
 ville he vyas promoted to sergeant. The first 
 person to find the wounded man on the battlefield 
 was Captain Porter Olson. He was riding over 
 the field, and coming up to where Mr. Johnson 
 lay, said, "Are you wounded, Torris?" When 
 Torris answered "Yes," the Captain said in a 
 jocular way, "They are shooting very carelessly 
 here." When the wound was healed Mr. John- 
 son returned ':o Newark, where he has remained 
 ever since. 
 
 He was married on Feb. 16, 1865, to Miss 
 Elizabeth Ryerson, who was born in Stavanger, 
 Norway. They have had six children, three sons 
 and three daughters, all living but the oldest son. 
 Two sons and one daughter are married. The 
 two youngest daughters, Hattie and Carrie, are 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 38B 
 
 at home with their father. Mrs. Johnson died 
 in 1901. After his marriage Mr. Johnson at first 
 rented a farm, but in 1868 he bought 140 acres in 
 Big Grove township which he cultivated until 
 1892, when he rented it out and retired from 
 
 Torris Johnson. 
 
 active work. At the age of 70 years he is still 
 hale and hearty, passing his declining years in 
 his own cozy home with his daughters in New- 
 ark. The family are members of the United 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 dying in 1903. His mother, Gene Sherdalen 
 Johnston, who is still living, spends most of her 
 time visiting with the children. His father was 
 married twice and had five children with the 
 first wife and eight with the second. The chil- 
 dren all lived until maturity, the first one to pass 
 away being the oldest son, Julius G., who died 
 when 39 years old. One sister, Maria, died when 
 34 years old. The other eleven are all living 
 and in good health. 
 
 The subject of our sketch attended the public 
 school and was confirmed in the Lutheran Church 
 at Lisbon, by Rev. P. A. Rasmussen. After his 
 confirmation he went with his father to learn the 
 
 C. F. Johnston. 
 
 CHARLES FREDERICK JOHNSTON, 
 
 Of Newark^ 111., was born in Big Grove, Kendall 
 county, 111., Aug. 6, 1867. His father, Joe Johns- 
 ton, was born in Gudbrandsdalen, Norway, and 
 came to America in 1864. He stopped for a 
 year or so in Chicago and then went to Kendall 
 county, where he passed the rest of his days, 
 
 trade of a painter and paper hanger, which his 
 father had mastered in the old country. After 
 learning the trade Mr. Johnston engaged in the 
 business on his own account, and continued in 
 it for about eighteen years. He saved his money, 
 and during this period accumulated some prop- 
 erty, including a farm in Canada. Looking af- 
 ter his properties, turning a real estate deal oc- 
 casionally, and looking after insurance and one 
 thing and another, he keeps his time occupied. He 
 has often acted as special constable, and was 
 
384 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 some years ago elected constable without know- 
 ing it until he was handed a notice by the town 
 clerk to qualify for the office. He is still hold- 
 ing this office. 
 
 Mr. Johnston was married on May 7, 1901, to 
 Miss Clara O. McNett, who was born in Mis- 
 sion township, La Salle county, Oct. 28, 1882. 
 They have two children — La Verne Eugene, 
 born Jan. 22, 1903, and Kennet McNett Johnston, 
 Nov. 26. 1905. 
 
 HANNAH A. KALLEM, 
 
 The well known professional nurse, was born in 
 Haugesund, Norway, Aug. 18, 1865. With her 
 parents, Samuel and Anne Serena (born Nedre- 
 b0e) Kallem, she came to America in 1867. 
 
 Hannah A. Kallem. 
 
 They first went to Grundy county, but four 
 years later moved to and settled on a farm near 
 Lisbon, Kendall county. Miss Kallem had one 
 sister and three brothers, — the sister passed 
 
 away in infancy; O. W. Kallem died on Oct. 5th, 
 1895; Andrew S., July 17, 1904; Gustav E. Kal- 
 lem, still living on the old homestead. Her 
 mother died shortly after arriving in this coun- 
 try, on Sept. 20, 1867, and her father on Sept. 
 23, 1903. 
 
 Miss Kallem is a graduate nurse. She gradu- 
 ated from the City and County Hospital, St. Paul, 
 Minn., in November, 1894. Since that time she 
 has been doing private nursing in Chicago, ex- 
 cepting for seven months during the Spanish 
 War, when she was in a government hospital in 
 the South. In recognition of their services a re- 
 ception and banquet at the Palmer House were 
 tendered to all of the Chicago nurses by the Na- 
 tional Emergency Association. 
 
 Miss Kallem is a member of St. Paul's Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran Church, the Norumbega Ladies' 
 Society and the Order of Spanish American War 
 Nurses. She also belongs to the Children's Home- 
 finding Society. Miss Kallem resides at 1994 
 Kenmore avenue. 
 
 In 1906 Miss Kallem went to the Philippine Is- 
 lands to practice as a nurse. 
 
 REV. HAROLD BERG KILDAHL 
 
 Was born the 13th of INIarch, 1865, in Hundset, 
 Beitstaden, Northern Trondhjems amt, Norway. 
 His parents are Johan Kildahl and Necolina Kil- 
 dahl (nee Buvarp). 
 
 In 1866 the family came to America, settling in 
 Goodhue county, Minnesota, and later in North- 
 field, Minn., where the subject of our sketch at- 
 tended the public schools until he was 14 years 
 old. In 1882 he moved with the family to North 
 Dakota, locating near Maza. As soon as he was 
 of age he filed on half a section of government 
 land. This he farmed until 1888, when he saw 
 his way to satisfy his longing for a higher edu- 
 cation. He rented his farm and entered St. Olaf 
 College, Northfield, Minn., from which he gradu- 
 ated in 1895. The next three years he studied 
 theology at the United Church Seminary, then 
 located at Franklin avenue and 26th street, E. 
 Minneapolis. He was ordained to the ministry 
 in 1898. His first charge was a country parish 
 near Moorhead, Minn. In 1900 he accepted the 
 call to Covenant English Lutheran Church, 
 corner of Iowa and N. Robey streets, Chicago. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 385 
 
 He served this church until Nov. 1, 1902, when he oldest son, Christian O. Kindley, who had come 
 
 took the position of rector of the Norwegian 
 Lutheran Deaconess Home and Hospital, Had- 
 don avenue and Leavitt street. 
 
 Rev. H. B. Kildahl. 
 
 In 1898 he was marrie^d to Miss Carrie E. Ol- 
 son, of Taylor, Wis., whose parents, Mr. and 
 Mrs. George Olson, were residents of Chicago 
 from 1869 to 1887. Four children have been born 
 to them — Caleb Johan, Nicolena Clara, George 
 Glen and Phoebe Dorothy. Rev. Kildahl's home 
 is at 729 W. Wrightwood avenue. 
 
 to America previously, was a merchant in Chi- 
 cago, but died in 1886 from a runaway accident. 
 The youngest son, John, is a pharmacist in La 
 Crosse, Wis. 
 
 The subject of this sketch came to America 
 in August, '1878, and went to his brother's, at 
 £21 Grand avenue, Chicago. Mr. Kindley comes 
 of a tailor family, both on his father's and moth- 
 er's side. He learned his trade in his father's 
 shop, and learned it thoroughly. The day af- 
 ter arriving in Chicago he went to work for H. 
 B. Mathews, at 82 Dearborn street, opposite his 
 present location. In 1886 he started in business 
 
 B. O. Kindley. 
 
 BERNT O. KINDLEY, 
 
 Merchant tailor, with offices at 825-27 Unity 
 Building, was born in Ringsaker, Norway, Dec. 
 30, 1857. His parents were Ole and Maria (Ras- 
 mussen) Kindlihagen, of Ringsaker. There were 
 five children in the family; of whom one son and 
 ■one daughter are still living in Norway. The 
 
 for himself, with Mr. Christian Pedersen as a 
 partner, the firm name being Kindley & Peder- 
 sen. This partnership continued for fourteen 
 years, v^'hen Mr. Pedersen died. Then Mr. Kind- 
 ley associated himself with Daniel Bue, from 
 Hardanger, Norway, under the firm name of 
 Kindley & Bue, which firm still exists, occupying 
 the same offices. Our subject is a member of 
 Thorvaldsen's Lodge, No. 41. K. of P., of which 
 he was cashier for twelve years. 
 
 Mr. Kindley visited his father, who is still liv- 
 ing on the old farm in Norwa\% in 1906, accom- 
 
386 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 panied by his brother Tohn and his family, from 
 La Crosse, Wis. The old father took advantage 
 of the occasion of the visit to sell his farm to 
 his son Mathias Sjaaheim who is living on the 
 farm. Sjaaheim is the name of the farm, and it 
 has remained undivided in the family for many 
 generations. Not an inch of land has been sold 
 from it, but small tracts have been added, until 
 it is now a large farm, highly cultivated and al- 
 together noted as a model farm in that part of 
 Norway. Mr. Kindley is unmarried and resides 
 at 221 Grand avenue, formerly his brother's 
 home. 
 
 farmed in that vicinity for two years and in 1863 
 moved to De Kalb county, where they bought 
 some land and are still living. The oldest daugh- 
 ter is engaged in business, but the other chil- 
 dren are married and live on farms in the neigh- 
 borhood of their parents. Mr. Kittleson owns 
 several farms in De Kalb county. He prides 
 himself on being a stalwart republican. 
 
 The whole family belong to the Lutheran 
 Church of the Hauge Synod. 
 
 KLING BROTHERS. 
 
 HALVOR KITTLESON AND WIFE. 
 
 Mr. Halvor Kittleson (Hove) was born in Tin 
 prestegjeld, Hovins sogn, Norway, April 6, 1836. 
 
 We present herewith the portraits of the mem- 
 bers of the firm of Kling Bros. — Daniel Antony 
 and Einar Magnus Kling, — artists, interior dec- 
 orators and painters, with office and studio at 
 1018 N. Kedzie avenue. 
 
 Halvor Kittleson and Wife. 
 
 He was reared on his father's farm, where he se- 
 cured the advantages of a common school edu- 
 cation, although his father died while Halvor was 
 a small boy. 
 
 He married, in Norway, Gunne (Julie) Helge- 
 stad, and they have four children: Henry, Cory, 
 Isabelle and Julie. The family came to America 
 in 1860, coming via Quebec, Detroit, Milwaukee 
 and Chicago and going direct to Leland. They 
 
 Daniel Antony Kling. 
 
 They are sons of Jeremias and Marie (nee 
 Kuhnle) Kling, of Bergen, Norway, where they 
 were both born, Daniel on July 20, 1860, and Ei- 
 nar on Nov. 19, 1868. Their father was a paint- 
 ing contractor in Bergen, where both the boys 
 learned the trade. 
 
 Daniel, after having spent several years with 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 387 
 
 his father, was sent to Bremen, Germany, where stantial residences in Alabama, Tennessee and 
 
 he was apprenticed for three and a half years Georgia. 
 
 with Mr. Brummer, at Hohenpfad, No 5 E. After In 1892 the brothers came to Chicago, having 
 
 having finished his apprenticeshiv) he was awarded confidence that this would be a good field. They 
 
 D. A. Kling. 
 
 E. M. Kling. 
 
 the first prize by the Deutschen Malerinnung for 
 decorating. In 1881-82 he went to Munich, Ba- 
 varia, and studied in the royal art and indus- 
 trial school. He then returned to Norway. 
 
 Einar Magnus Kling. 
 
 His brother Einar, who is eight years younger, 
 had worked in his father's shop during this time, 
 and upon his brother's return from Germany 
 got the advantage of his special'study abroad. 
 
 Daniel came to New York in 1886 and imme- 
 diately found work with Fischer, Schroeder, & 
 Co., Broadway and Fourty-second street, the 
 largest interior decorating firm in New York, 
 with branch ofifice in Atlanta, Ga., for the south- 
 ern states. In 1888 Einar came to New York 
 also, and secured work with the same firm. Af- 
 terward Daniel was sent to Atlanta to superin- 
 tend the decorating of several churches and sub- 
 
 engaged in the interior decorating business for- 
 themselves, under the name of Kling Bros., and' 
 are now located at 1018 N, Kedzie avenue. They 
 are both capable artists, as their designs and' 
 completed work will amply testify. Their par- 
 ents both died in Norway. 
 
 ENDRE KLOSTER, 
 
 The well known confectioner and baker at 241 
 W. Erie street, was born in Christiansand stift, 
 Bakken, Norway, on July 7, 1821, his parents 
 being Ole and Martha Kloster. In 1826 the fam- 
 ily moved to Udsten Kloster, an ancient mon- 
 astery, and in 1831 to Stavanger, where Endre 
 
388 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 was apprenticed to learn and master the con- 
 fectioner and baker's trade. After mastering his 
 trade he worked part of his time as foreman and 
 a part in the baking business of his own, until 
 May 4, 1861, when with his wife and six children 
 he left for Gaspe, Canada, on the Iris, a sailing 
 vessel, Captain Gloppestad, from Bergen, in com- 
 mand. They left Norway from Stavanger, and 
 after a voyage of seven weeks and two days ar- 
 rived at their destination on Ju'ne 25, 1861. They 
 remained there for about two years, engaged in 
 fishing. 
 
 Endre Kloster. 
 
 They then left for the United States, arriving 
 in Chicago on Aug. 8, 1863. In the fall of the 
 same year he began work in Thompsen & Tem- 
 pleton's cracker bakery, and remained there until 
 1880, when he opened a bakery of his own at the 
 place where he is now located and continues in 
 iictive charge at the ripe old age of 86 years. 
 
 He was married to Anne Benthine Ledaal on 
 July 4, 1844. The union was blessed with thir- 
 teen children, six of whom are living, namely: 
 Mrs. W. Potter, Bertha, Olava, Anna B., Endre 
 and Theodore Kloster. His devoted wife passed 
 away at the age of 77 years, on Jan. 26, 1891. 
 The family belongs to Our Saviour's Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church of Chicago. 
 
 ANDREW M. KLOVE, 
 
 Of Leland, 111., is a native of the place, having 
 been born there on the 12tli of September, 1859, 
 his father, Andrew A., and mother, Randvei 
 (Grover) Klove, having emigrated from Norway. 
 Mr. Klove was married to Miss Hannah L. 
 Mosey, on Oct. 8, 1885. They have four boys — 
 Fremont, Howard, Leroy and Allan — all living. 
 Mr. Klove is one of the substantial business men 
 
 A. M. Klove. 
 
 of Leland, being vice-president of the Farmers 
 & Merchants' State Bank; mayor, or, as it is 
 termed, president of the village board of trustees; 
 had been trustee for many years previously; for 
 many years secretary of the school board; trustee 
 of the Deaconess Hospital at Chicago; trustee 
 of the Pleasant View Luther College, and su- 
 perintendent of the Norwegian Lutheran Sunday 
 school for over twelve years. He was elected 
 supervisor in 1906. 
 
 NOAH GROVER KLOVE, 
 
 Of Leland, 111., is a native of the town, having 
 been born there on Dec. 13, 1882. His parents 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 389' 
 
 were Andrew A. and Randvei (Grover) Klove, 
 farmers. 
 
 Our subject attended the Leland public and 
 high schools, Pleasant View Luther College, 
 Beloit Academy, and took a scientific course at 
 the Northwestern University. He is a member 
 of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon college fraternity. 
 His youth, until 22 years of age, was spent in 
 
 Noah Klove. 
 
 school, excepting for six months, at 16 years of 
 age, when he worked in an office in Chicago. 
 He engaged in active business in 1904 as editor 
 and publisher of the Leland Times, and also as 
 a wholesale dealer in calendars. He owns 160 
 acres of land in sec. 8 in Adams township, La 
 Salle county. His father died Dec. 7, 1899, at the 
 age of 71. 
 
 by Rev. Kjelstrup. Together with his uncle 
 Herman Breien, he went to Drammen the same 
 year, and for two years he attended the agricult- 
 ural school at Lier. Then he became manager 
 of his uncle's farm, Thorrud in Skauger, near 
 Drammen, till 1865, when he emigrated to 
 America and settled near Decorah, la., where he 
 awailed himself of the opportunity to attend an 
 English free school the first year. 
 
 On Nov. 27, 1866, he was married to ]Miss 
 Susan T. Fosse of Locust, la. The same year 
 they decided to consecrate their time and their 
 life to the work in the Lord's wineyard and 
 joined the Methodist church at Locust. 
 
 REV. ASLE KNUDSEN 
 
 Was born Jan. 19, 1844, at Aal parish in Halling- 
 dal, Norway, and confirmed in 1860 in Aal church 
 
 Rev. Asle Knudsen. 
 
 Knudsen had been awakened in Norway while 
 he ' was 17 years old, but never was set free in 
 Christ, until he came to this country during the 
 work and wise guidance of Rev. Arne Johnson. 
 In the fall of 1872 Knudsen was appointed pas- 
 tor of the churches at Grand Meadow and Plain 
 View, Minn., and after two years he was ap- 
 pointed to Washington Prairie and Locust, la., 
 where he remained four years. From 1880 to 
 188.3 he served the church at Newburg, Minn., 
 and was then appointed to First Church, St. 
 
390 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Paul, where he remained one year until in 1884 
 he was appointed presiding elder of St. Paul dis- 
 trict. During the six years in which he super- 
 intended this district he organized many new 
 -societies, dedicated many new churches and ex- 
 perienced many hardships in his long travelings 
 through this widespread field. 
 
 In the fall of 1890 he was appointed presiding, 
 elder over the Red River Valley district and 
 served this frontier field in the wild west for 
 six years. When his time was up he preferred 
 to take an appointment to Eidsvold, a small 
 church in the vicinity of Minneapolis, instead of 
 getting a larger church, and since that time he 
 has served churches in Minneapolis and vicinity 
 until in the fall of 1906 when he was appointed 
 presiding elder af the Chicago district. His 
 two last appointments were Minneapolis First 
 Church for five years and North Minneapolis 
 Church two years. He had just completed a 
 fine church building when he was called to the 
 presiding eldership for a third time. He had 
 great success in both churches in Minneapolis 
 as well as in all his other work and has been an 
 efficient member of many committees, etc. His 
 earnest preaching, wise leadership and humble 
 and pleasant conversation has won him many 
 friends. Chicago district, of which he is now 
 presiding elder, includes Northern Illinois, Mich- 
 igan and the larger part of Wisconsin. Conse- 
 quently most of his time is spent in travelling 
 and visiting all the churches four times a j^ear. 
 
 Knudsen has five children living, four daugh- 
 ters and one son, who is also a minister, a highly 
 educated man who has for several years been a 
 theological professor at different theological 
 schools of the Methodist Church, and at present 
 occupies the chair of Hebrew at Boston School 
 of Theology. Three of the daughters are mar- 
 ried and live in Minneapolis, and one is with 
 her parents at their residence at 1236 Humboldt 
 boulevard, Chicago. 
 
 and was confirmed in the Lutheran Church at 
 Vossevangen. She came to America in Septem- 
 ber, 1843, having left Voss on May 2, and Bergen 
 on May 12. They landed in New York and made 
 their way westward via the canal to Albany. 
 
 The next year, Jan. 12, 1844, she was married 
 to Lars Knutson (Dykesten) in Thorbj0rn R0the's 
 house, which stood on what was then called the 
 Point, by Rev. Flavel Bascum, of the First Pres- 
 byterian Church. The union resulted in three 
 children, two of whom died in infancy; one 
 daughter, Martha Louise Knutson, now living in 
 Pullman, was born Nov. 25, 1846, and married 
 
 Mrs, Randvei Knutson. 
 
 MRS. RANDVEI KNUTSON, 
 
 One of the oldest Scandinavian citizens of Chi- 
 cago, was born in Voss, Norway, Feb. 8, 1813, 
 hence is over 94 years old. She is a daughter of 
 Anders and Martha (Ludvo, R0the) Knutson, 
 farmers in Voss. She attended private schools 
 
 Louis H. Johnson, May 5, 1869. Her husband, 
 Lars Knutson, died during the cholera epidemic 
 in 1849. Her father died in 1861, 80 years old 
 and her mother in 1875, 84 years old. The fam- 
 ily were members of Paul Anderson's church, be- 
 ing of the first to enroll themselves. Occasion- 
 ally Mrs. Knutson now attends the Holy Trinity 
 Church, on La Salle avenue. She makes her 
 home with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Louis H. Johnson, at 235 Watt avenue, 
 Pullman, 111. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 391 
 
 CHARLES SEVERN KNUDSON, 
 
 Son of Olaf and Wilhelmina Knndson, was born 
 in Chicago, ]\Iay 17, 1882. He spent three years 
 of his youth in Norway with his parents. 
 
 His career as an attorney-at-law was hewed out 
 in this city. After completing the course offered 
 by the public schools he graduated from the 
 John Marshall Law School as a bachelor of laws 
 in 1898. He immediately secured a clerkship with 
 the law firm of Cratty, Jarvis & Cleveland, 
 where he has remained. Recently the name of 
 the firm was changed to Cratty Bros., -Jarvis & 
 
 M. C. KNUDSON, 
 
 President of the Enterprise Transfer Company, 
 at No. 7 N. Canal street, is a native of Chicago. 
 He was born on March 28, 1863, his parents, An- 
 drew Gjelseth and Stina (born Negaard) Knud- 
 son, having both emigrated from Norway. Mr. 
 Knudson began life's work when 12 years old as 
 an ofhce boy in a law office, and a year later en- 
 tered the employ of the Western Union Tele- 
 graph Company as a messenger and remained 
 for four years. He then engaged in the wood- 
 working business under the firm name of Wig- 
 
 C. S. Knudson. 
 
 M. C. Knudson. 
 
 Sample, and Mr. Knudson was admitted as a 
 member of the firm. 
 
 The subject of our sketch is a member of the 
 Marquette Club; of Monticello Lodge No. 847, 
 L O. O. P.; Order of Mutual Protection, Temple 
 Lodge No. 191, of which he is president; and the 
 Independent Order of Foresters, Court Republic. 
 Mr. Knudson is an enthusiastic republican, and 
 having been born on the Norwegian independ- 
 ence day, IMay 17, he prides himself on the day 
 of his birth and the party of his allegiance. He 
 belongs to the Lutheran Church and lives with 
 his parents at 743 N. Forty-second avenue. 
 
 gins & Knudson. Mr. Wiggins sold his interest 
 to James Gudgeon and the name was changed 
 to Knudson & Gudgeon. After five years he 
 sold out to his partner and started the Enterprise 
 Transfer Company, of which Mr. Knudson was 
 the proprietor until a short time ago, when the 
 company was incorporated. He is now president. 
 Mr. Knudson was married to Mary Louise Ris- 
 berg, July 17, 1886. They have five children — 
 Edith C, Magnus C, Andrew C, Victor E. and 
 Elsie E. Knudson. Mr. Knudson served as alder- 
 man from the Seventeenth Ward for two years, 
 1897-98. He served as secretary and treasurer 
 
392 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 for the Home Council, O. C. F. ; is a member of 
 Prairie State Council No. 912, Royal Arcanum; 
 was chairman and treasurer of the Seventeenth 
 Ward Club, and a member of the board of direc- 
 tors of the Illinois Live Stock Insurance Com- 
 pany. The family belong to the Lutheran Church, 
 and reside at 191 N. Morgan street. 
 
 * 
 
 DR. THEODORE JAMES KNUDSON 
 
 was born on a farm near Springfield, Illinois, his 
 father and mother, Ole and Bertha Knudson, 
 having settled on this farm over 50 years ago, and 
 
 In 1892 he began his medical career by entering 
 the medical department of the Northwestern 
 University, graduating in 1895. 
 
 Having received an appointment as interne at 
 St. Luke's Hospital, Chicago, he served two years 
 there to better fit himself for his life work, and 
 since that time he has practiced medicine in Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 For the last 6 years Dr. Knudson has been con- 
 nected with the surgical department of St. Luke's 
 Hospital and for seven years has been Chief 
 Surgeon to the South Side Elevated Railway Co. 
 
 For four years he was instructor in anatomy at 
 the Northwestern University Medical School. 
 
 He has taken up the specialty of surgery, and 
 has been eminently successful. 
 
 In 1900 Dr. Knudson married Miss Rebecca 
 Wason, of Delphi, Indiana. They have one son, 
 Paul Chester Knudson. 
 
 Dr. T. J. Knudson. 
 
 there the whole family were reared. There are 
 eight children in the family, Theodore James 
 being the youngest. His preliminary education in 
 the country school was continued at the Illinois 
 Wesleyan University at Bloomington, and at the 
 Northwestern University. 
 
 GLAUS KRABOL 
 
 Was born in Vestre Gausdal, Aug. 2, 1859. His 
 father was Ole Johnson Krab0l, and his mother 
 Rande Olsen. His early life was spent in the 
 country, but in 1875 he went to Christiania, where 
 he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a cabi- 
 netmaker. 
 
 He came to the United States in 1879 and se- 
 cured employment with A. H. Andrews & Co., 
 of Chicago, at his trade. He worked at this for 
 two years, when he was given the position of 
 traveling man for the same firm, fitting up bank 
 and public offices, such as courthouses and post- 
 offices. 
 
 In 1886 he was offered and accepted the su- 
 perintendency of a large wood-working establish- 
 ment in Helena, Mont., where he remained un- 
 til 1892. 
 
 He then returned to Chicago, where he en- 
 gaged in the real estate business, the building 
 of large apartment houses, and also interested 
 himself in manufacturing. He was for a number 
 of years secretary and treasurer of the National 
 Mirror Works, but retired from this in 1894, 
 when the factory was moved to Rockford, 111. 
 
 Mr. Krabol was married on Dec. 31, 1888, to 
 Annie Olsen. They have had three children, two 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 393 
 
 now living — Hjordis and Signey. Mr. Krabol 
 is a member of the Royal League. The family 
 
 25, 1874. They have four children. Mr. Lahlum 
 visited Norway in 1905 and enjoyed the trip 
 
 Glaus Krabol and Family. 
 
 attend the Lutheran Church and reside at 1379 
 N. Spaulding avenue, Chicago. 
 
 hugely. The family resides at 255 Humboldt 
 boulevard. 
 
 EDWIN SEVERIN ANDERSON LAHLUM, 
 
 The well known lawyer and real estate man, was 
 born in Bergen, Norway, June 11, 1845. His par- 
 ents were Peter Anderson and Bertha Christine 
 (Reinertson) Lahlum. After attending the com- 
 mon schools in Norway he served in the mer- 
 chant marine for some time before coming to 
 America. 
 
 Upon arrival here in 1862 he enlisted as a ma- 
 rine in the United States Navy and served for 
 four years. He then came to Chicago. In 1872 
 he was appointed a police officer and remained 
 with the department until 1885. He was then 
 appointed a justice of the peace at Jefferson, 
 Cook county, which ofifice he held for years. 
 Since that time he has been engaged in the law 
 and real estate business, his office being at 1110 
 N. California avenue. Mr. Lahlum is a member 
 of the Masonic Order and has been a commander 
 in the Grand Army of the Republic. He is also 
 a member of Trinity branch of the Norwegian 
 Old People's Home Society. 
 
 He was married to Eveline ^1. Olsen, on Sept. 
 
 E. S. A. Labium. 
 
394 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 OLE C. LAND, 
 
 JAMES LANGLAND. 
 
 The jeweler at 344 Milwaukee avenue, Chicago, 
 was born in Bamle, near Brevik, Norway, Jan. 4, 
 1840. He learned the trade of a watchmaker at 
 Brevik and was for a few years in Christiania, 
 and worked at his trade in Kongsvinger for 
 about four years. 
 
 He came to America and Chicago in 1866, 
 where he has resided since. He worked at his 
 trade for the first five years, but in 1871 he started 
 a business of his own in Kinzie street. In 1873 
 he moved to 229 Milwaukee avenue, where he re- 
 
 James Langland was born at North Cape, Ra- 
 cine county. Wis., Jan. 26, 1855, son of Knud and 
 Anna Langland; moved with parents to Chicago 
 in the fall of 1868; attended public school in the 
 old town of Lake View, and subsequently the 
 University of Chicago, graduating in 1877. He 
 studied law at the Union College of Law, but 
 entered the newspaper profession in the fall of 
 1877 as a reporter on the Chicago Daily News; 
 was night editor of the Morning News shortly 
 after that paper was started in 1881, and after- 
 
 Ole C. Land. 
 
 James Langland. 
 
 mained until 1894, when he moved to his present 
 commodious quarters at 344 Milwaukee avenue. 
 
 Mr. Land was married to Olene Syvorson, 
 from Nordreland, Norway, in 1872. They were 
 blessed with four children, of whom only one, 
 a son, Arnt N. Land, is living. The son is an 
 optician and is engaged in the business with his 
 father. Mrs. Land died in 1882. Mr. Land is a 
 member and supporter of the Tabitha Hospital, 
 the Deaconess Hospital, Old People's and 
 Children's homes. 
 
 ward represented it in Washington and New 
 York as correspondent. Worked on the Mil- 
 waukee Sentinel as telegraph editor and book 
 reviewer from 1885 to 1889; then returned to the 
 Chicago Daily News as editorial secretary and 
 librarian. Was sent to Cuba as correspondent 
 in the Spanish-American War in 1898 and to 
 Panama in the winter of 1903-4, when war was 
 expected with Colombia. He has been compiler 
 of the Daily News Almanac and Year-Book since 
 1901; and is a member of the press clubs of Chi- 
 cago and Milwaukee. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 895 
 
 HANS LARSEN 
 
 Was born in Gj0vig, Norway, Jan. 28, 1846. His 
 parents were Lars and Oline Magnussen. He 
 attended the common schools and was confirmed 
 in Gj0vigs Church. Here he learned the trade 
 of a tailor. 
 
 Mr. Larsen came to Chicago in 1866, where he 
 has remained since, following the same trade. 
 
 He was married in 1868 to Gundhild Knudsen, 
 from Valders, Norway. She died Jan. 10, 1890, 
 leaving him eleven chil-dren, namely: Olga Gu- 
 rine, born in 1869; Karl Ludvig, 1871; Anna Ma- 
 
 Hans Larsen. 
 
 rie, 1873; Laura Camilla, 1875 ; Halfdan Oscar, 
 1877; Fredrik, 1879; Henrik Gerhardt, 1882; Ar- 
 thur Bj0rn, 1884; Dagmar, 1886; James, 1888; 
 Leonard Foster, 1889. Of the children Olga Gu- 
 rine married Iver Halvorsen; Anna Marie mar- 
 ried Thomas Stangeland; Arthur Bjjzfrn is mar- 
 ried to Mabel Max; Henrik to Stofa Davidson. 
 
 In 1892 Mr. Larsen married Martha Johnson, 
 daughter of Sven and Kerstin Johnson, of Hal- 
 land's Isen. 
 
 His mother died in Norway in 1855 and his 
 father in his son's home in Chicago in 1887. 
 
 Mr. Larsen has been a consistent worker in 
 the cause of temperance for the last thirty years, 
 having held all the offices in the lodges of which 
 he has been a member, and was on his twenty- 
 fifth anniversary as such accorded a reception and 
 banquet and given a gold medal as a memento 
 of the occasion. 
 
 In October, 1882, Mr. Larsen joined the literary 
 society Minerva, where the temperance people 
 held the "balance of power," and which had al- 
 ways been of a religious character. Under the 
 influence of Mr. Larsen's unprejudiced and liberal 
 views, as well as his liberal sacrifice of time and 
 money for the cause, the society soon found it- 
 self upon a higher plane of activity, where the 
 spirit of free thought and investigation made it 
 renowned as a power for mental and ethical prog- 
 ress. Mr. Larsen is a member of the Norwegian 
 Old People's Home Society. 
 
 DR. RALPH LUDWIG LARSEN 
 
 Is a native of Chicago, having been born in this 
 city of Norwegian parents, Martin and Betsey 
 Larsen, March 4, 1877. 
 
 Dr. R, L. Larsen. 
 
396 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 His parents came to this country in 18G1 — at 
 the outbreak of the Civil War — his father serv- 
 ing throughout the entire period of the Rebel- 
 lion, being wounded at the Battle of Stone River, 
 Ga., and laid up at the camp hospital for three 
 months with concussion of the brain. His 
 father was one of the first to enl.ist from the 
 state of Illinois, being mustered in with the 
 First Illinois Light Artillery, and seeing serv- 
 ice in some of the fiercest engagements during 
 the Civil War. 
 
 Dr. Larsen is a graduate of Rush Medical Col- 
 lege, having earned the degree of doctor of 
 medicine, and at the time of his graduation car- 
 ried off the highest honors in anatomic sur- 
 gery — the Arthur Dean Bevan prize (a valuable 
 library set of books). During his course of 
 four years at Rush, he entered upon a series 
 of competitive contests along scientific and lit- 
 erary lines, and received the degree of doctor 
 of philosophy, together with an appointment 
 of honorary alumnus of the University of Ala- 
 bama. 
 
 He was for one year hospital surgeon with the 
 Illinois Steel Company at South Chicago, where 
 he received extensive training in mill-injury work. 
 The Illinois Steel Company is one of the larg- 
 est corporations in the country, being a part of 
 the United States Steel Corporation. The Chi- 
 cago, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad and the 
 Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad have about 
 fifty miles of track entirely within the walls of 
 the South Chicago plant, which covers an area 
 of three square miles. Here the average daily 
 number of accidents is fifteen, some being of the 
 worst kinds imaginable. The company has its 
 own private hospital — within the grounds — of 
 thirty-five beds, which are nearly always oc- 
 cupied, and two resident surgeons, who act 
 for the chief surgeon. 
 
 After serving his time there he remained for 
 nearly a year at the Norwegian Lutheran Tabitha 
 Hospital in Chicago, where his training con- 
 sisted largely of general medicine and surgery. 
 
 Leaving this institution, he became assistant to 
 Dr. W. P. Verity — one of the largest general 
 practitioners in the Middle West, and a surgeon 
 of no little repute — and when he had served in 
 this capacity for one year he decided to launch 
 out for himself. 
 
 During the succeeding year he held the posi- 
 tion of assistant professorship in orthopedic sur- 
 gery at the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
 — medical department of the University of Il- 
 linois — but reluctantly gave up that position to 
 devote his entire attention to his private practice. 
 
 Because of his experience while surgeon for 
 
 the Illinois Steel Company, his ambition nat- 
 urally was directed to the class of work in which 
 he was there engaged, and when he was fairly 
 along in his work he put into execution the idea 
 which he had fostered for years — the estab- 
 lishment of an emergency hospital for render- 
 ing first aid to the injured — and accordingly set 
 up such an institution at the corner of Chicago- 
 and Milton avenues, in a factory district, where 
 accidents are of daily occurrence. An institution 
 of this character has a great future, and no- 
 doubt will prove a success, with such a head 
 as Dr. Larsen, who is as impetuous as he is 
 ambitious. He has been acting alone in this. 
 matter, accepting no assistance from any source, 
 relying wholly upon his own tireless efforts, 
 having refused several offers from philanthropic 
 sources. His modesty causes him to defer such 
 action; he prefers to struggle along alone for a 
 time. 
 
 In his present capacity he is local surgeon for 
 eight or ten liability assurance corporations and 
 some fifty or more manufacturing concerns. 
 
 Dr. Larsen has done a good deal of vivisecting 
 work, and a few years ago, while working in 
 the laboratories of Dr. Nicholas Senn's hos- 
 pital — St. Joseph's — materially assisted in per- 
 fecting an intricate appliance to be used in kid- 
 ney operations. 
 
 He is a member of the Chicago Medical So- 
 ciety, the Illinois State Medical Society and the 
 Amercian Medical Association. He is a frequent 
 contributor of practical articles to medical jour- 
 nals, more especially to the Journal of the 
 American Medical Association and the New York 
 and Philadelphia medical journals. He contrib- 
 utes to hospitals and other charities, and is a 
 member of the Lutheran Church 
 
 In the summers of 1894, and 1897, accompanied 
 by his mother, he made a three and four months' 
 trip, respectively, through the "Land of the Mid- 
 night Sun," and while up in the mountains and 
 fjords, had many perilous adventures. He has 
 been a»s far north — beyond the Arctic Circle — 
 as Spitzbergen Islands and North Cape. While 
 on these sojourns he kept data of his travels 
 and on his return entertained his friends with 
 many interesting talks. 
 
 ADOLPH LARSON. 
 
 Adolph Larson, alderman from the Twenty- 
 eighth Ward, is a son of Martin and Elizabeth 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 397 
 
 <Johnson) Larson, born at Fredrikshald, Nor- 
 waj-, Sept. 15, 1856. His early life was spent in 
 Fredrikshald, where he attended the common 
 school and learned the machinist's trade, after 
 which he attended Horten's Technical School and 
 graduated in 1875. Then he went to Christiania, 
 where he was employed as machinist and also 
 attended the royal school of drawing. 
 
 In the spring of 1880 he emigrated and came 
 to Chicago, where he worked as machinist and 
 engineer until 1884, when he in partnership with 
 an American builder formed the firm of Larson 
 
 Adolph Larson. 
 
 & Hyde, contractors and builders. After two 
 years the partnership was dissolved and Larson 
 continued alone in the business until 1902, when 
 he was elected alderman. Mr. Larson is now 
 serving his second term, and while in the city 
 council he has served on several of the most im- 
 portant committees. 
 
 He is president of the Norwegian-American 
 Copper Mining and Smelting Company, but while 
 Mr. Larson always has been considered a good 
 business man and ready to take a hand in public 
 affairs, it is in church and charity work that he 
 has been most prominent. As one of the found- 
 
 ers of the Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess So- 
 ciety and its president from its organization to 
 date, he has done as much or more than any 
 other man to bring that work and the Dea- 
 coness Hospital to what it is today, in Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Larson has been a Sunday school superin- 
 tendent for twenty years and deacon and presi- 
 dent of the board of trustees for many years. 
 The United Norwegian Church of America, of 
 which Larson is a member, has also acknowl- 
 edged his ability by electing him a member of the 
 board of home and foreign missions and upon 
 other important committees. 
 
 Mr. Larson married Marie Albeck, Oct. 12, 
 1877. They have had four children, three of 
 whom are living — A. Larson, Jr., who is engaged 
 in the real estate and insurance business at 1684 
 ^lilwaukee avenue, and two daughters — Dagmar 
 and Mabel — who reside with their parents at 1170 
 N. Maplewood avenue. 
 
 LARS LARSON (NESS), 
 
 The first settler on government land at Helmar, 
 III., was born June 10, 1825, on the farm Ness in 
 Skaanevik, near the city of Bergen. His parents 
 were John and Julia Larson. His father died 
 when Lars was 8 j-ears old, but his mother came 
 to America with our subject in 1847. She died 
 at Lisbon, 111., the same year. 
 
 Lars got as much of an education as was 
 available at that time in the old country. It did not 
 amount to much. At first Larson and his sister 
 Annie, born in 1830, hired out to work for others 
 around Lisbon, but in the fall of 1851 he bought 
 160 acres of government land at $1.25 per acre, 
 being a quarter of sec. 36 in River Fox township, 
 on which he is still living. This land is now 
 fully worth a hundred times the original price. 
 
 In 1851 Mr. Larson was married to Miss Mary 
 Hendricksen, born in 1826, and from the same 
 place in Norway, she having come to America 
 with the same party as her future husband. Her 
 parents remained in the old country, but she was 
 accompanied by three brothers and two sisters. 
 The young couple were united in holy wedlock 
 by the well known Rev. Ole Andrewson. This 
 marital union has been blessed with seven chil- 
 dren, three sons — Lars, Henry and Louis — and 
 four daughters — Sarah, Lina, Mary and Rachel. 
 
398 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 All are living except Sarah, who died when 24 
 years old. She had been married a few years 
 at her demise. The others are all married, ex- 
 cept the oldest son, Lars, and the youngest 
 daughter, Mary, who are living at the old home, 
 Lars running the farm. 
 
 The children, as a matter of course, were all 
 brought up in the Lutheran faith. Mr. Larson 
 has contributed to the building of both the old 
 and new church at Helmar and is an active 
 member. He has held the office of road commis- 
 sioner, but has never sought political prefer- 
 ment, always having been a loyal republican. 
 
 He has visited his mother country twice, first 
 in 1873 and again in 1887, when he visited the 
 Storthing and also the silver mines at Kongs- 
 vinger and Kongsberg. 
 
 remained on his father's farm until 16, attending 
 the public schools. He graduated from Jennings' 
 Seminary, in Aurora, in 1891, after which he se- 
 cured a position with a wholesale lumber firm in 
 Chicago. He has been connected with the board 
 of education since September, 1894 — first as 
 secretary to the superintendent of schools, then 
 as assistant superintendent of evening schools, 
 and in December, 1900, by competitive civil- 
 service examination he won the position of sec- 
 retary of the board, which he still holds. At 
 the time of his appointment he was the young- 
 est man in the country holding so responsible an 
 office. 
 
 He married May Woodruff Wildman, Aug. 4, 
 1897. They have two children — a boy and a 
 girl. The family attends the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church and resides at 1825 E. Roscoe street. Mr. 
 Larson is a Mason, a member of Garden City 
 Lodge. 
 
 LEWIS ELMER LARSON, 
 
 Secretary of the board of education, was born at 
 Leiand, 111., Nov. 2, 1874. His parents, Jacob C. 
 
 OMMUND LARSON, 
 
 L. E. Larson. 
 
 and Elizabeth (Peterson) Larson, moved to De 
 Kalb county, when he was 3 years old. Here he 
 
 The well known manufacturer of structural iron 
 of various kinds, at 300 W. Erie Street, was born 
 at Gjerdevig, Fjeldberg's prestegjeld, Norway, 
 Jan. 10, 1848, to Lars and Kari (Sigvaer) Larson. 
 
 Mr. Larson was educated in the common 
 school of his parish and confirmed in 0re church. 
 
 When 13 years of age, he went to sea on a 
 sailing vessel as a cabin boy, and in various ca- 
 pacities he followed the occupation of a sailor 
 for 25 years visiting almost every country on the 
 globe. 
 
 In July, 1887, he came to America to settle, 
 landing at Philadelphia, from where he went 
 direct to Chicago and has been a resident of this 
 city ever since. Here he sailed the first year on 
 the Great Lakes, and then engaged in business, 
 contracting for structural iron and steel works. 
 
 iSlr. Larson was joined in a wedlock to Miss 
 Jorgine Torgerson of Stavanger, Norway, April 
 31, 1868. She died in 1885. Later on he married 
 Miss Ellida Christiansen. 
 
 With his second wife Mr. Larson has had two 
 children: one son, Lawrence, born Aug. 13, 1888, 
 and one daughter, Gunda, born June 18, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Larson's parents have both departed from 
 this life, but Mrs. Larson's parents are still both 
 living in Norway. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 899 
 
 He is a member of Lodge 1079, Knights and 
 Ladies of Honor, and has been its treasurer for 
 about 14 years. 
 
 JOHN OSCAR LAUGMAN, 
 
 Professor at the Pleasant View Luther College at 
 Ottawa, III., was born in the town of Mission, La 
 Salle county, 111., on July 24, 1873. In his 15th 
 
 J, O. Laugman. 
 
 year he left home to attend school at Witten- 
 berg, Wis., where he worked for his board and 
 room at the Indian Mission the first year. Later 
 he was able to pay his way. He has always ad- 
 hered to the belief that. work is ennobling and 
 uplifting in whatever station, as long as it is 
 honorable. In the fall of 1890, being too young 
 to obtain a teacher's certificate in Illinois, he 
 went to Goodhue county, Minnesota, near 
 Kenyon, to teach. Owing to the illness of his 
 brother he decided in 1892 not to go back to 
 
 Minnesota, but instead to accept a position to 
 teach in Grundy county. Until' 1895 he spent his 
 time teaching in Grundy and Kendall counties, 
 and in attending school at Valparaiso, Ind. 
 
 Feeling the need of higher education he now 
 decided to enter Illinois University, which he 
 attended for two years but at the end of that 
 time his money gave out and he was compelled 
 to spend a year earning more money. In the 
 fall of 1898 he again went back to the Univer- 
 sity and managed to remain until he graduated 
 in June of 1900, receiving the degree of B. S. 
 He now accepted a position in the Urbana High 
 School and at the close of the school year, 1900- 
 01, accepted a position in the Champaign High 
 School, remained there one year and then went 
 back to Urbana, where he remained until 1905. 
 The principalship of the High School was of- 
 fered him in the fall of 1903 and this position 
 he held until June, 1905. In May he resigned 
 to come to Pleasant View Luther College at 
 Ottawa as teacher of science. 
 
 He was married to Nellie Anderson of Net- 
 tle Creek, 111., June 28, 1900. They have had 
 three children, two of whom. Marguerite and 
 Eveline, are still living. 
 
 The family attends the Lutheran Church. The 
 Urbana Courier, in speaking of Mr. Laugman's 
 resignation, published the following pleasant lo- 
 cal: — 
 
 "To say that Mr. Laugman is idolized by his 
 pupils would be putting it a little strong, but 
 he is much admired by all, both in and out of 
 the school-room, as an instructor and as a man." 
 
 CAPTAIN S0REN PETER LAWRENCE 
 
 Was born at Krager^, Norway, Sept. 28, 182L 
 Like most men from his native town, he tried his 
 fortune as a sailor before the mast, and as such 
 visited the United States as early as 1842. He fin- 
 ally concluded to make this promising cou'ntry his 
 permanent home, and certainly never regretted 
 it, as his success as a lake captain was most 
 decided. He settled in Chicago in October, 1849. 
 It did not take him long to sail his own ves- 
 sel, and by and by he added more vessels to his 
 flotilla. As a commander he was well known 
 among shippers and lake navigators. His ves- 
 sels generally carried grain from Chicago to Buf- 
 
400 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Capt. S. P. Lawrence. 
 
 falo. or lumber on the upper lakes. His first 
 vessel was Industry, and he finally owned seven 
 more of which we know the names: John S. 
 Wallers, Sacramento, Mary B. Hale, Dreadnaught 
 (lost on Lake Superior), W. S. Willard, (lost 
 on Lake Michigan) and Black Mary. He had 
 one more, but we have not been able to find 
 its name. Captain Lawrence did not confine his 
 activities to the Great Lakes, but invested his 
 profits also in Chicago real estate, and besides 
 had a property in Michigan City. His first prop- 
 erty, bought in 1855, was the lot at the north- 
 
 Mrs. Annie Lawrence. 
 
 Mrs. Williams, nee Lawrence. 
 
 cast corner of Chicago avenue and Orleans 
 street, which he improved with buildings, and 
 which his widow still holds. He next built a 
 comfortable residence at 1492 Wellington ave- 
 nue, where his family was reared and where he 
 finally departed this life on April 2oth, 1891. 
 
 On Dec. 23, 1853 he was united in marriage to 
 Miss Annie Dorothea Lockrem, who was born 
 in Vang, Valders, Norway, Dec. 31, 1833. Her 
 parents were Iver C. and Gertrud (Rude) 
 Lockrem. She came to this country with her 
 parents in 1849, reaching Milwaukee, Wis., July 
 25. They later went to Rice county, Minn. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 401 
 
 Together with her uncle, Andrew Rude, she came 
 to Chicago, Oct. 29, 1850, and here she met her fu- 
 ture husband. Captain Lawrence. To them were 
 born eight children, of whom the two first died 
 in infancy: Anna Marie, died Oct. 21, 1854, and 
 Anna Marie (given the same name) died June 
 9, 1855. Gertrud Levina, born July 29, 1856, i.s 
 married to R. S. Williams, an Englishman, with 
 whom she has had three children. They reside 
 in Minneapolis, Minn. Adolph Peter, whose 
 sketch appears in this volume, was born May 
 24, 1859. He is an artist and had a photographic 
 
 of land in Maywood. Mrs. Lawrence, who is 
 a business woman of far more than ordinary 
 ability, sold this land and invested the money 
 in improved property in Sheridan Park, near the 
 Wilson Avenue Station. She also in 1903 sold 
 the old homestead on Wellington avenue, where 
 she had resided for thirty-six years, to the Chi- 
 cago Union Hospital, and bought a fine new 
 residence at 915 Chase avenue, Rogers Park. She 
 also owns a fine piece of property on K. Clark 
 street, south of Oakdale avenue. Hale and 
 hearty at the well advanced age of 73 years. 
 
 Arthur Lawrence. 
 
 Dr. Ivy Lawrence. 
 
 studio on Clybourn avenue, near Division street, 
 until 1906, when he sold out and went into the 
 real estate business. Clara Josephine was born in 
 1861 and died in 1887. Arthur Alexander was 
 born February 18, 1864; he lives in New York 
 city and is engaged in the dry goods business. 
 Edward Louis died in 1868, when only three days 
 old. Ivy Garfield Lawrence was born on May 13, 
 1877; he is a doctor of dental surgery with an 
 oiifice at Evanston avenue and Clark street and 
 resides with his mother. 
 
 At his death Captain Lawrence left among 
 other valuable real estate holdings, a large tract 
 
 she still takes care of all her real' estate hold- 
 ings, making out the leases, looking after the re- 
 pairs, buying the coal for the apartment build- 
 ings, paying the taxes, and collecting the rents. 
 She could easily pass for a w'oman of 55 years. 
 Her splendid memory and bright mental facul- 
 ties make it a pleasure to have an interview with 
 her. If a contemplated real estate deal goes 
 through, the Norwegian Old People's Home will 
 certainly have good reason for rejoicing in the 
 very near future. If not, the home is not for- 
 gotten in her will and testament. 
 
 It is remarkable how many ministers of the 
 
402 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 gospel Mrs. Lawrence's family has produced. 
 One branch alone has furnished four preachers. 
 It may be mentioned that all Lockrems are 
 more or less related. On the captain's side there 
 are also several ministers by the name of Dyvik, 
 that being the name of the place from which that 
 family hailed. 
 
 * 
 
 jected after one season's absence. Instead he 
 engaged in the photograph business in 1887 and 
 followed that until 1906, when he left it for the* 
 real estate business. 
 
 He was married to Miss Adella I. Landgraf, 
 daughter of Anthony and Millie Landgraf, on 
 Apr. 27, 1898. They have one daughter, Adella 
 Dorothy Millie, born March 13, 1899. Mr. Law- 
 rence is a member of Lake View Lodge," A. F. & 
 A. M.; the Knights of Pythias, and the Order of 
 Foresters. He served for two years in the First 
 Regiment of the Illinois National Guard. The 
 family resides at 1136 Milwaukee avenue. 
 
 ADOLPH PETER LAWRENCE, 
 
 Son of Captain S. P. and Anna D. Lawrence, 
 among the oldest Norwegian settlers of Chicago, 
 
 A. P. Lawrence. 
 
 was born in Chicago, May 24, 1859. He attended 
 the public schools, the Lake View High School, 
 and took a course in the Metropolitan Business 
 College. He was confirmed in the Holy Trinity 
 Lutheran Church, on La Salle avenue. His 
 father, who was a large vessel ^wner, and a 
 captain on the lakes, wished his son to follow 
 in his footsteps, but others of the family ob- 
 
 VICTOR F. LAWSON 
 
 Was born in Chicago, on the North Side, in a 
 house that stood on Superior street, Sept. 9, 1850. 
 In those days t'he North Side was a place where 
 every householder had his own sidewalk level, 
 and the ups and downs of life were many. He 
 was a pupil in the Ogden School on Chestnut 
 street, between Dearborn avenue and N. State 
 street; and in 1869 was graduated from the old 
 Chicago High School on the West Side. For a 
 year and a half young Lawson attended Phillips 
 Academy, at Andover, Mass., intending to enter 
 Harvard University. On leaving Andover he 
 went to Cambridge for examination, although his 
 eyesight was very poor; but before his time came 
 to begin study in the university he was com- 
 pelled on a doctor's advice to abandon the pro- 
 ject. A few months before the great fire of 1871 
 he returned home. 
 
 Mr. Lawson's father, Iver Lawson, who came 
 from Voss, Norway, and settled in Chicago about 
 1840, was a man of high order of intelligence, as 
 well as of thrift and industry; and when he 
 passed away, in 1873, he left valuable property, 
 including the building at No. 123 Fifth avenue, 
 where the Daily News had its first little 10 by 13 
 office, when it was founded by Melville E. Stone, 
 Percy Meggy and William E. Dougherty. The 
 paper first appeared Dec. 25, 1875, as a 1-cent 
 evening paper, the combined capital at its com- 
 mand being about $5,000. In settling up his fath- 
 er's estate young Lawson found that he had left 
 an interest in the Daily Skandinaven, a paper 
 which was then a tenant of the same building. 
 For two years the young man was engaged in 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 403: 
 
 looking after his interest in this journal, and this 
 gave him a taste Of newspaper life and work. 
 
 The Daily News had been struggling for a foot- 
 hold about six months when young Lawson 
 bought it and made a contract with Mr. Stone to 
 remain as editor. 
 
 The presses were run by power furnished by the 
 Skandinaven. The first boom of consequence ex- 
 perienced by the new evening sheet was when, 
 in the summer of 1876, it got on the street in ad- 
 vance of everything — even Western Union bul- 
 letins — with the news of the nomination of R. B. 
 Hayes for president. The attention of the read- 
 ing public began now to be attracted to the 
 paper. 
 
 In its early years the Daily News was not a 
 member of the Western Associated Press, but 
 depended on special service. Just before the 
 Turco-Russian War the Daily News accused 
 the old Evening Post, published by Messrs. Mc 
 Mullen, of stealing its special dispatches from 
 the seat of the troubles. In order to fasten 
 the charge on the rival sheet, a hoax-dispatch, 
 ostensibly from Bulgaria and pretending to 
 give a war-cry in the Slavonic tongue, was 
 published. The words of the so-called cry were: 
 "Erus siht laets lliw snellum cm eht." The 
 Post promptly cribbed the alleged dispatch and 
 was caught in the trap. The following day the 
 Daily News published the key to the transla- 
 tion of the "war-cry," and this was to read the 
 words backward. "The McMuIlens will steal 
 this sure." 
 
 About a year after his purchase of the paper 
 Mr. Lawson sold back to Mr. Stone a third in- 
 terest, and the latter still remained an editor, 
 contributing largely to make the Daily News 
 what it is today, until May, 1888, when he again 
 sold out to Mr. Lawson and retired permanently 
 from the newspaper business. 
 
 The great demand for news during the excite- 
 ment of the labor riots of 1877 helped the new 
 penny paper amazingly, hourly editions being 
 issued. In 1878 the Post suspended and Messrs. 
 Lawson arid Stone bought the assets, including 
 the Associated Press franchise, for $16,000. 
 March 21. 1881, a 2-cent morning edition of the 
 Daily News was started. The name Daily News 
 was retained for the evening paper, and the morn- 
 ing issue was called the Chicago Record. The 
 latter finally was merged with the Herald and 
 the Times and also acquired the fine and modern 
 Herald building on Washington street, from 
 which the Chicago Record-Herald is issued. 
 
 The Daily News establishment is what may be 
 
 called a gold mine, and is probably the best pay- 
 ing newspaper property in Chicago to-day. 
 
 By what has happened lately attention has 
 again been forcibly called to National Postal 
 Savings Banks. In every country where they 
 have been instituted they have proved a financial 
 success. It will be of everlasting credit to Mr. 
 Lawson that he, through his influential paper 
 and otherwise, has prepared the ground in this 
 country for such banks, which certainly are bound 
 to come as the only safe means to protect in- 
 dustrious and frugal people against conscience- 
 less rascals and financial pirates, operating their 
 selfish and insidious schemes as "bankers," or 
 even "state banks," supposedly under the control 
 of state examiners. 
 
 Of no less merit have been Mr. Lawson's ef- 
 forts to sweep out the rottenness of local and 
 state politics. In this respect he is an acknowl- 
 edged power for the good of his native state and 
 city, and it is only to be hoped that his health 
 will permit him to continue the good work he 
 has auspiciously inaugurated. 
 
 In the educational work of his native city Mr. 
 Lawson has always taken great interest. The 
 Victor F. Lawson medals are eagerly sought by 
 the graduates of the public schools, and the board 
 of education has honored Mr. Lawson by naming 
 the grammar school at the corner of S. Homan 
 avenue and W. Thirteenth street the "Victor F. 
 Lawson School." 
 
 In the reorganization of that great agency for 
 gathering and distributing news, the Associated 
 Press, he was very active and was elected to its 
 most important office as chairman of the execu- 
 tive committee. 
 
 Mr. Lawson has traveled extensively in Europe 
 and elsewhere. He has ofifices in St. Petersburg, 
 Berlin, Paris and London, at which traveling 
 Chicago people generally register their names. 
 
 Besides his large holdings of real estate in 
 Chicago he has a beautiful summer home at 
 Green Lake, Wis., with about 700 acres of 
 ground. 
 
 Mr. Lawson was married in 1880 to Miss Jes- 
 sie Bradley, daughter of Hon. William H. Brad- 
 ley, clerk of the United States district court. 
 Their residence is at No. 317 La Salle avenue. 
 They have no children. 
 
 Mr. Lawson has been president of the Associ- 
 ated Press. He has been interested in many 
 philanthropic enterprises and charities, among 
 which the most prominent is the Daily News 
 Fresh Air Funa, which maintains the Lincoln 
 Park Sanitarium for sick babies. 
 
 He is a prominent member of the following 
 
404 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 clubs: Chicago, Union League, Commercial, Fel- 
 lowship. Onwentsia, Union, University, South 
 Shore, County, Athletic, Mid-Day and Press 
 (life member), although he does not spend much 
 lime in social affairs. 
 
 MRS. HILLEBORG LEE, 
 
 Of Capron, 111., was born at Seljord, Telemar- 
 ken, Norway, Nov. 10, 1822. Her father was 
 Kittel Bronaas; her mother Gunhild Lawrence. 
 They lived on a farm in Norway. 
 
 Mrs. Hilleborg Lee. 
 
 In 1841 Miss Kittelsdatter, at the age of 19, 
 was married to Mr. J0rgen Hoiesen Lastigaar- 
 den. changed for convenience in this country to 
 plain George Lee. The couple had nine children, 
 five sons and four daughters, all born in Nor- 
 way. One son died in infancy. 
 
 The family, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Lee 
 and five children, came to America in 1868, arriv- 
 
 ing at Quebec June 12. Mr. Lee kept a very 
 interesting diary of the passage across the At- 
 lantic, relating graphically how the passengers 
 were terrified by a storm that tried their good 
 sailing vessel Amelia. One son. Charles, had 
 emigrated before his parents, and another, Chris- 
 topher, a sailor, came later. The family came to 
 Chicago and were received by Jens Olson Kaasa, 
 a well known resident of W. Erie street. They 
 remained there until the fall of the same year 
 during which time one daughter died, when they 
 went West and located at Capron, where they 
 have lived since. Mr. Lee died April 10, 1884, at 
 the age of 70 years, having been a successful 
 farmer. Mrs. Lee now lives with her daughter. 
 Mrs. Charles Anderson, who is also a widow, 
 her husband having died in 1900. The old lady 
 is still hale and hearty at the great age of 84 
 years. Of her nine children only four are living 
 — two sons and two daughters, namely: Mrs. 
 Charles Anderson, at Capron; Mrs. Charles Bent- 
 zen, wife of an officer of the Chicago fire de- 
 partment; Ben (Bj0rn) lives in Chicago; Henry 
 Lee lives in Nebraska, 
 
 OSCAR JOHAN LEE, 
 
 The electric and terreometric engineer, con- 
 nected with the Electric Metal-Locating Com- 
 pany of Chicago, was born at 0stlie, near Fred- 
 riksstad, Norway, Feb. 20, 1869, his parents be- 
 ing Julius Olsen and Karen (Andersen) 0stlie. 
 His early life was passed in the country. He 
 passed through the amt school in Borge sogn, 
 near Fredriksstad, Norway, and afterward worked 
 as bookkeeper at Moum Sawmill, near Fredriks- 
 stad, until 19 years old, when he left for Amer- 
 ica. 
 
 After locating in Chicago he studied electrical 
 work while acting as shipping clerk for Wood- 
 bury & Co., in 1895-96. In 1897 he went to work 
 for the Cosmo Electric Company, Chicago; was 
 made foreman in 1898 and manager in 1899. In 
 1900 he accepted a position as chief electric and 
 terreometric engineer for the Electric Metal- 
 Locating Company of Chicago. He is the patentee 
 of two improvements on the electric metal-locat- 
 ing instrument, which operates on scientific prin- 
 ciples and has proven its value by successful dem- 
 onstrations and actual work in the mining field. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 405 
 
 He has also invented a danger and telephone 
 signal for railroads, its object being absolutely 
 to prevent al! collisions. 
 
 The signals can be operated electrically by 
 station agents or by men in charge of the sys- 
 tem; and the telephone attachment in connec- 
 tion with it is intended for use in telephoning 
 from intermediate points between stations and to 
 serve as a valuable instrument and especially ap- 
 
 O. J. Lee. 
 
 predated where there is a great distance between 
 the railroad stations. An electric worker, his in- 
 ventions and patents are all in that line, he hav- 
 ing many telephone improvements to his credit. 
 
 He was married to Miss Augusta Olsen, of 
 Chicago, May 17, 1900. They have one daughter, 
 Florence Catherine, born in Chicago, July 20, 
 1902. The family resides at 1555 Monticello ave- 
 nue, Chicago. 
 
 Hans Lehmann, was a merchant in Bergen and 
 Sogn, Norway. Karl graduated from Middel- 
 skolen in Bergen and afterward spent five years 
 at the polytechnic institute in Zurich, Switzer- 
 land, applying himself especially to engineering 
 and mathematics, and traveled extensively in 
 France, Italy and Germany during vacations. 
 Was also assistant on the Indo-European meas- 
 urements of degrees. At the age of 21 he re- 
 turned to Bergen and gave private instruction in 
 mathematics. 
 
 In 1882 he came to America. As the times 
 were very hard for engineers, and for newcom- 
 
 KARL LUDVIG LEHMANN, 
 
 The well known engineer, was born in Skjol- 
 den, Sogn, Norway, Alay 6, 1860. His father, 
 
 K. L. Lehmann. 
 
 ers especially, he secured a position with the 
 Cunard Line as clerk and interpreter, at the same 
 time teaching a few private classes. From 1887 
 to 1890 he was assistant to the bridge engineer 
 of the city of St. Paul, superintending the con- 
 struction of the high bridge and the Wabasha 
 street cantilever bridge, both across the Missis- 
 sippi River, the former being half a mile long. 
 He is a member of the Civil Engineers' Society 
 of St Paul. 
 
 Returning to Chicago, he opened an office for 
 himself as civil engineer and architect. During 
 
406 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 ihe construction of the World's Fair he was em- 
 ployed by the engineering departments on most 
 of the buildings, designing among others the 
 iron work of the Electrical Building; the struct- 
 ural part, with long trusses, of the Forestry 
 Building, built without the use of iron. In his 
 private capacity Mr. Lehmann designed the pro- 
 posed 600-foot World's Fair tower, of which only 
 the foundation was built, time being too short to 
 complete it. He has several patents on tower 
 constructions. The Tattersalls, on Fourteenth 
 street, was built by him. He also designed and 
 calculated elevated railways and drawbridges, and 
 was the consulting engineer for two fireproofing 
 companies during 1896; also contractor for iron 
 erection in buildings. 
 
 In the summer of 1897 he went to Dawson City, 
 Klondike, where he remained for two years, for 
 a time chief engineer for a tramroad; later for 
 waterworks; he was also interested in mining and 
 river transportation, and got a patent on his self- 
 propelling river boat. 
 
 Returning to Chicago, he continued his former 
 business, making a specialty of designing iron- 
 work for bridges and buildings. In 1900 he was 
 .employed as chief designer of bascule bridges by 
 the city of Chicago, the Clybourn place bridge 
 •being the first of its kind in this country. In 
 1902 he went into partnership with the city engi- 
 meer, the firm's name being Ericson & Lehmann. 
 In 1903 he took a four months' trip to Norway; 
 and after returning continued his business alone, 
 designing the Oshkosh drawbridge, the ironwork 
 for a number of buildings, and lately the Michi- 
 gan avenue bridge, the longest bascule bridge 
 in the world. Besides work already mentioned 
 he is often consulted on mining and other ma- 
 ichinery, electric equipments, etc. 
 
 waukee, where he died in 1894. Thor's mother, 
 Anne Laurine Loberg (nee Sand), is now living 
 in Milwaukee with another son and three daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 Mr. Loberg graduated from the public schools 
 in Skien, Norway, in 1883, and afterward clerked 
 in the harbor master's office in the same place, 
 until 1888, when he came to America and located 
 in Milwaukee. Here he secured work as clerk 
 with the Milwaukee Harvester Company, hold- 
 ing different positions — timekeeper, stock clerk, 
 shipping clerk, auditor, traveler and foreign cor- 
 respondent. When the International Harvester 
 
 T. H. Loberg. 
 
 THOR HAGBARTH LOBERG, 
 
 Assistant to the manager for the foreign sales 
 department of the International Harvester Com- 
 pany of America, with headquarters in Chicago, 
 was born in Skien, Norway, March 6, 1869. His 
 father, Lars Thorsen Loberg, visited America in 
 1871-'74 and assisted in erecting the old exposi- 
 tion building on the Lake Front, after which he 
 returned to Norway. In 1892 he came to America 
 again, bringing his family, and located in Mil- 
 
 Company absorbed the Milwaukee concern Mr. 
 Loberg was included in the transfer and later 
 sent to the main office in Chicago, at 7 Monroe 
 street. His knowledge of the English language 
 was acquired by home study and observation, and 
 his present responsible position, that of assistant 
 to the sales manager for foreign countries, is 
 due entirely to hard work and energy. 
 
 He was married to Miss Delia Haagensen, in 
 Milwaukee, Jan. 9, 1901. They have two chil- 
 dren — Mildred Julia Laurine, 5 years, and Law- 
 rence Haakon, 2]^ years old. Mr. Loberg and 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 407 
 
 family belong to the Norwegian-Danish Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church at Evanston, where he 
 frequently fills the pulpit. They reside in their 
 own beautiful home, just completed, at 2123 Ma- 
 ple avenue, Evanston. 
 
 MARTIN LOSBY 
 
 Was born in Christiania, Norway, April 7, 1849. 
 His parents were Peter Ferdinand and Bertha 
 
 
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 WH 
 
 
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 There was no soft or stiff hat factory in Chicago 
 at that time, so he went East in 1873, working as 
 a journeyman hatter in many of the principal hat 
 factories there, and returned to Chicago on Oct. 
 13, 1875. Here he established a hat factory at 
 206 (old number) Milwaukee avenue, near Erie 
 street. Later he moved to 209 W. Indiana street, 
 now Grand avenue, where he was located for 
 over twenty years. He then moved to his pres- 
 ent location at 1018 W. Madison street. Mr. 
 Losby is on record in the hat trade as the pioneer 
 soft and stiff hat maker in Chicago, or west of 
 New York. He prides himself on his union work- 
 ing card, which bears the date of Oct. 13, 1875. 
 
 He was one of the first to help organize Nor- 
 masndenes Sangforening, in 1870, and has been 
 a member of it since. He has several times been 
 its president and trustee. Since 1889 he has been- 
 an honorary member. He was president of the 
 second Scandinavian singing festival held in Chi- 
 cago. He was a member of Nora Lodge No. 1, 
 R. H. K., as early as 1870, and was Erkedrot in 
 ]884. He is a charter member of Norden Lodge, 
 I. O. O. F., organized in 1891; grand herald of 
 the Grand Lodge of Illinois for one term and a 
 representative to the Grand Lodge of Odd Fel- 
 lows several times. He is a member of Garfield 
 Lodge No. 686, A. F. & A. M.. with a life mem- 
 bership in the Washington Chapter No. 43, R. 
 A. M.; a life member of Chicago Commandery 
 No. 19, and a life honorary member of the Ma- 
 sonic Orphans' Home, all of Chicago. He is also 
 a member of the hat finishers' association of 
 United Hatters of North America, belonging to 
 Chicago Local No. 9. 
 
 He married Miss Sophia Magdalene Anderson 
 from Drammen, Norway, in Chicago, Feb. 1, 
 1880. Seven children were born to them, six 
 sons and one daughter; the girl and one boy died 
 in infancy. The five living children are: Harry 
 Martin, Oscar William, Victor James, Frank Roy 
 and Wm. McKinley Losbj'. 
 
 Martin Lobsy. 
 
 Karina Losby. His work in life began early; he 
 ■commenced feeding a job press in a printing of- 
 fice before he was 10 years old. He worked in 
 the pressroom until 1863, when he was confirmed. 
 He was then apprenticed to Mr. Frey, the hatter, 
 in Christiania, and completed his trade in 1869. 
 Mr. Losby came to America and located in Chi- 
 cago in 1869, and worked at anything he could 
 find to do, mostly for the C. & N. W. R. R. 
 
 HANS CHRISTIAN LOWS 
 
 Is a son of Johan Vogelsang (supreme court 
 attorney) and Sophie Charlotte Lows, of Chris- 
 tiania. He was born there on April 5, 1860. After 
 completing his education in Norway, (Fredriks- 
 hald), he studied abroad, principally in Antwerp, 
 
408 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Belgium. Returning to Norway, he clerked for Alette (Hansen) Olsen. He attended the com- 
 a time for Steen & Strom, dry goods dealers in mon schools in Norway and was confirmed in the 
 Christiania, and then entered the employ of Thy- Spydeberg Lutheran Church. While very young 
 
 gesen & Ellingsen, wholesale provision dealers. 
 Later he started the firm of Lows & Co., in the 
 same line, in Christiania. 
 
 On arrival in New York Mr. Lows became a 
 
 Hans Christian Lows. 
 
 member of the Produce Exchange and engaged 
 for some time in the export business. Later he 
 engaged in the merchandise brokerage business 
 in Chicago. Since 1899 Mr. Lows has been in 
 the insurance business in connection with loans. 
 He is a member of the Onwentsia Club of 
 Lake Forest and lives at the Virginia Hotel. 
 
 HANS LUND, 
 
 The wagon and carriage maker, was born in 
 Spydeberg parish, Smaalenenes amt, Norway, 
 March 5, 1860. His parents were Anton and 
 
 he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a wagon 
 maker, and spent five years with the same firm 
 in mastering the business. 
 
 He came to Chicago in 1884 and immediately 
 secured employment with C. P. Kimball & Co., 
 where he worked for over thirteen years, or un- 
 til 1897. In that year he engaged in the business 
 of carriage and wagon making on his own ac- 
 count, which he is still conducting at 38-44 W. 
 
 Hans Lund. 
 
 Huron street, corner of Curtis, where he occu- 
 pies a large four-story building. 
 
 He was married to Karen Hansen in Chicago, 
 Jan. 13, 1888. They have four children, namely: 
 Henry Arnold, born in 1889; Karen Hilma, 1891; 
 Anna Mathilda, 1893; Oscar Magnus, 1897. Mr. 
 Lund served three years in the Norwegian army. 
 He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity. His 
 father died in Norway three years ago. but his 
 mother is living and in good health. 
 
 The family are members of St. John's Norweg- 
 ian Lutheran Church and reside at 853 Cortez 
 street. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 409 
 
 DR. MARTIN J. LUNN. 
 
 Doctor Martin J. Lunn, 1515 N. Clark street, 
 Chicago, was born Nov. 23, 1870, on the old Lunn 
 homestead at Beloit, Rock county, Wis., to which 
 place his grandparents immigrated from Stavan- 
 ger, Norway, in the early '40's. 
 
 Dr. Lunn's grandfather, a sturdy Norseman, 
 although above the eligible age for military ser- 
 vice, enlisted in the Fortieth Wisconsin Volun- 
 teers, and was killed on the battlefield in the 
 Civil War. His son (Dr. Lunn's father), then a 
 mere youth, upon the death of his father, en- 
 
 years with various concerns, entered the Chicago 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which 
 he graduated in 1902. Dr. Lunn is a typical Nor- 
 wegian, tall and rugged, and of good physique. 
 He has been and is a vigorous promoter and 
 participant of all athletic sports, and has an ex- 
 tensive acquaintance among the athletes of the 
 West. As a physician and surgeon he has been 
 very successful, and has acquired a lucrative 
 practice. 
 
 In 1900 he was married to ]\Iiss Belle Bojde of 
 Chicago with whom he resides at above address. 
 
 Dr. Martin J. Lunn. 
 
 listed in the Sixty-seventh Wisconsin Volunteers 
 and did battle until the close of the war. Upon 
 his return to the old homestead he married Miss 
 Isabelle Stensland, and both still continue on the 
 Beloit farm, where they have raised a large 
 family. 
 
 Dr. Lunn's boyhood days were spent on the 
 farm, where he attended district school, Beloit 
 High School and Beloit College. He later came 
 to Chicago, and, after being employed for some 
 
 S. M. MAAKESTAD. 
 
 Steve 'M. ]\Iaakestad was born in Hardanger, 
 Norway, July 12, 1866. After attending the 
 public schools he worked on his father's farm. 
 
 S. M. Maakestad. 
 
 He migrated to America in 1882, coming di- 
 rect to Lee, 111., where he has since remained. 
 
410 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 His first work in America was on a farm. He 
 was then a clerk in M. P. Harris' store, at Lee, 
 for some time. In 1895 he started a grocery 
 for himself. The business prospered, and he 
 has gradually added to and enlarged until he 
 is now doing a general merchandise bu'siness. In 
 1903 he built his double two story brick build- 
 ing, of which one store and the living rooms 
 are occupied by himself and the other half by a 
 druggist. 
 
 Mr. Maakestad was married to Miss Guri J. 
 Bly, who is a native of Lee county, on Oct. 16, 
 1895. They have three children — Jacob Mervin, 
 Thurbor Johanna and Melvin Johan. The fam- 
 ily attends the Norwegian Lutheran Church, of 
 which Mr. Maakestad has been trustee for three 
 years. He has also been village trustee for two 
 years and is a stanch republican in politics. 
 
 BEN T. MALAND, 
 
 A member of the clothing firm of Maland & 
 Anderson Bros., Morris, 111., is a native of Nor- 
 way, having been born at Etne, Jan. 4, 1875. 
 
 He came to America when young and located 
 in Grundy county, where he attended school 
 and worked on a farm. In 1899 he secured a 
 position with A. Lynch & Co., of Ottawa, as a 
 clothing salesman, and a year later moved to 
 Morris. Mr. Maland is a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias and the Glengarry Golf Club. 
 
 He was married to Enna Osmon on Aug. 15, 
 1895. 
 
 LUCIUS J. M. MALMIN, 
 
 Attorney-at-law, was born in Stavanger, Nor- 
 way, Aug. 1, 1863. His parents were Jonas and 
 Ivana (Lossius) Ma'lmin. His father, who was 
 
 Ben T. Maland. 
 
 L. J. M. Malmin. 
 
 a merchant in Stavanger, was born there, while 
 his mother belonged to the well known Lossius 
 family from near Trondhjem. 
 
 He came to America with his parents in 1871, 
 when 8 years old. Since that time he has lived 
 in Chicago, with the exception of a short time 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 411 
 
 which he spent in Minnesota. His schooling be- Mr. Malum married Helene Thompson, on 
 
 gan at the school condu'cted by the congrega- Jan. 17, 1878. They have had six children, four 
 
 tion of the Norwegian Our Saviour's Church, and 
 ■continued until he went to Luther College, De- 
 corah, Iowa, where he was a schoolmate of Rev. 
 Seehus and the Torrison boys of Wisconsin. 
 Later he studied at the Lake Forest Academy 
 and Northwestern University, graduating from 
 its law school, Union College, in 1883. One of 
 his best friends and intimates at this school was 
 W. J. Bryan. He graduated with the degree of 
 bachelor of laws, but being too young he had to 
 wait one year before he got his certificate author- 
 izing him to practice law. During this period he 
 went to Minneapolis and was employed on the 
 Tribune, intending to locate there permanently, 
 but as soon as he was of age, he returned to 
 Chicago, received his certificate as a lawyer, and 
 has since practiced his profession in Chicago, 
 having an extensive practice and some of the 
 largest firms in the city as clients. 
 
 He was married to Laura Undem, daughter 
 of Iven and Dorothea Undem, well known Nor- 
 wegian pioneers, in Chicago, in 1886. Mrs. 
 Malmin's father was one of the prominent Nor- 
 wegian business men of Chicago and one of 
 the founders of Our Saviour's Church, of which 
 he was a trustee for many years. In 1906 ou'r 
 subject was a prominent candidate before the 
 democratic convention for judge of the mu- 
 nicipal court. The family, consisting of one 
 ■daughter and two sons, reside in Ravenswood. 
 
 now living. Mr. Malum is a director of the 
 Norwegian Old People's Home Society, a mem- 
 
 A. K. Malum. 
 
 AMUND KNUDSEN MALUM 
 
 ber of the Norwegian Deaconess Hospital So- 
 ciety and of the Norwegian Children's Home 
 Society. The family attends the Trinity Evan- 
 gelical Lutheran Church at Noble and Huron 
 streets. 
 
 Was born on the family estate, Gaarden Mahlum, 
 0ier, Gudbrandsdalen, Norway, Dec. 16, 1858, 
 his parents being Knud Amundsen and Ragnhild 
 Mahlum. The subject of our sketch worked on 
 his father's farm until 25 years old. 
 
 He then came to America, arriving in Chicago 
 on Feb. 2, 1873. His first six months in this 
 country were devoted to work on a farm; then 
 for nine months he worked as a carpenter. His 
 first business venture was in a grocery with 
 John O. Gilbo, as Gilbo & Malum, on W. Erie 
 street, this partnership continued for nineteen 
 years, having been dissolved in 1893. The same 
 year he eno-aged in business for himself at 301 
 Haddon avenue, his present place. 
 
 REV. GUSTAV MATHISEN 
 
 Was born at Sarpsborg, Norway, Oct. 30, 1858. 
 His parents were Mathis and Olia (Olsdatter) 
 Andersen. The former died a few years ago, but 
 the mother is still living at the advanced age of 
 86 years. 
 
 Rev. Mathisen was educated in the common 
 school and confirmed in the Lutheran Church. 
 During his early j^outh he worked in the flour 
 
412 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 mills at Sarpsborg, Moss and Christiania. In 
 1870 a great revival occurred in the Methodist 
 Church at Sarpsborg and with his whole family 
 Mr. Mathisen joined that church them. 
 
 From Christiania he emigrated to America 
 and came to Evanston, 111., in January 1887, 
 where he entered the Norwegian-Danish M. E. 
 Theological School, fi'om which he graduated 
 as a preacher three years later. 
 
 His lirst preaching place was in Moreland, 
 Chicago, as assistant to Rev. N. Christoffersen, 
 and at present he is occupying the same pulpit 
 for the second time. 
 
 Rev. G. Mathisen, 
 
 On Sept. 20, 1894, Rev. Mathisen was married 
 to Miss Olive Pedersen at ^Milwaukee, Wis. Her 
 parents are Peter and Lina Pedersen. With his 
 wife Rev. Mathisen has had three children: Ruth 
 Golden, born Nov. 7, 1895; Naomi Judith, April 
 21, 1897, and Gustav Morris, April 30, 1900. 
 
 During his pastorate the church in Moreland 
 has been rebuilt, the old church having become 
 too small for the steadily growing congregation. 
 Rev. Mathisen has been preaching in either 
 Evanston or Chicago during the last ten years. 
 
 LOUIS MATSEN, 
 
 The merchant tailor at 598 W. Madison street,, 
 was born in Christiania, Norway, May 5, 1868. 
 His parents were Andreas and Johanne (Jacob- 
 sen) Matsen. He attended school in Norway. 
 
 Louis Matsen. 
 
 Mr. ^latsen came to America and Chicago in 
 1881, with his parents. Here he continued his 
 schooling, attending evenings, and was confirmed 
 by Rev. Torgersen. His parents returned to 
 Norway in less than a year after their arrival. 
 Our subject, then less than 14 years old, worked 
 at anything he could find to do, and finally got 
 a place as apprentice in a tailor shop, where he 
 mastered the trade, and has followed it for the 
 past twelve years. Mr. Matsen's store on W. 
 Madison street is neat and commodious, and 
 contains an endless variety of the finest suit- 
 ings. It is the home of good dressers. 
 
 He was married to Amanda S. Soemo, of 
 Porsgrund, Norway, dau'ghter of Halvor Bruun 
 and Maren Kristine Soemo, on May 20, 1891. 
 They have three children — Edith Mabel, Grace 
 Magarethe and Florence Myrtle. Mr. Matsen 
 is a member of the Knights of Pythias. The 
 family attend the Presbyterian Church and re- 
 side at 105 Ashland boulevard. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 413 
 
 ISABELLA MATSON, 
 
 Widow of the former popular sheriff of Cook 
 County, Canute R. Matson, is the daughter of Rev. 
 Ole and Ragnild Anderson, born at Jefterson Prairie, 
 Boone County, Ills., Dec. 23, 1844. Mrs. Matson 
 has been married twice, her first husband, Daniel 
 Richolson, died m ISTl, the year of the great fire. 
 Three children were born of this union, all now 
 dead. Mrs. Richolson married Mr. Matson on 
 Dec. !.■>, 1876. They were blessed with four children, 
 all living, namely, Marie Isabella, Frederick Roguald, 
 Canute Royal and Gertrude Ragnilda. Mrs. Mat- 
 son's father. Rev. O. Anderson organized the first 
 
 Isabella Matson. 
 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church in Chicago. He has 
 passed away but her mother is still living at the 
 good old age of 81. Mrs. Matson has always taken 
 an active interest in church and charity work as well 
 as women's clubs and societies. She has been presi- 
 dent of the Lutheran Woman's Lcdgue for 5 years, 
 a member of the Chicago Woman's Club for twelve 
 years, for ten years president of the Norwegian Club 
 "Vala." and President of the Chicago School Chil- 
 dren's Aid Society, organized by Mrs. Judge Tuley 
 in order to help destitute children of school age 
 
 on account of the compulsory education laws. The 
 society looks after clothing poor children. The fund 
 for this purpose is raised by contributions from 
 school children in the public schools themselves. Mrs. 
 Matson has taken especial interest in this work. Mr. 
 Matson's notable career as a citizen and public of- 
 ficial covers such an important period in Chicago's 
 history that it will be referred to more properly 
 in another part of this volume. Mrs. Matson attends 
 Ihe English Lutheran Trinity Church on La Salle 
 Ave., and lives at 609 Cleveland Ave. 
 
 OLE O. MAULAND. 
 
 The well known real estate man on the North- 
 west Side, Chicago, was born in Gaarden Mau- 
 land. Thime Sogn, near Stavanger, Norway, Sept. 
 5, 1833. He remained on his father's farm, 
 attending the common school until he was con- 
 firmed, in Varhaugs Church, Naerb^ sogn, in 
 1849. He then went to Stavanger, where he was 
 apprenticed to R. Sj0restad to learn the trade 
 of a joiner and carpenter. He completed his 
 trade, but was then offered a clerkship in a store 
 in Stavanger, and acce-^ted it. He remained with 
 this firm for three years. 
 
 On May 2, 18.54, he left Stavanger on the sail 
 ship Arendal, Captain Paulson in command, for 
 America, coming via Quebec to Chicago and ar- 
 riving on June 22 of the same year. The voyage 
 was a particularly pleasant one, having had fine 
 weather all the time. He arrived in Chicago 
 during the awful cholera epidemic, but escaped 
 its ravages. The first winter in America he spent 
 at Beloit College. He then secured work in a 
 sash and door factory in Chicago, and after two 
 years at this work engaged in general carpenter 
 work, so that his trade, thoroughly mastered in 
 the old country, came h^ndy. 
 
 I\Ir. Mauland has been married twice. His 
 first wife, whom he married on Dec. 18, 1859, 
 was Amalia Thorsen, a sister of Johan Thorsen, 
 of Haugesund. She died five years later, leaving 
 him with two children — Josephine Mathilda, who 
 died when six years old, and Adolph Olaus, who 
 died recently and was past 40 years. Four years 
 later, on May 17, 1868, he was married to Miss 
 Hannah Marie Gruda, who had come to Ameri- 
 ca when 14 years old. She is a daughter of An- 
 dreas and Maren Gruda, of Stavanger. This 
 
414 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 union was blessed with foirr children, namely: 
 Alfred Johan, a veterinary surgeon, who practices 
 his profession and lives on his father's farm, 
 near Chicago, married to Stella Bielby, only 
 daughter of Rev. and Mrs. R. Bielby of Mt. For- 
 est; Marie Amanda, who is married to Captain 
 Hansen of the Chicago Fire Department; Milla 
 Josephine and Oluf H. Mauland, who are at home 
 with their parents. 
 
 Mr. Mauland early appreciated and believed in 
 
 HANS CHRISTIAN MELAND. 
 
 Mr. Meland was born in Bj^rnor, Norway, or» 
 the 19th of February, 1879. He received his first 
 education in the common school in his home 
 district. He was sent to high school (in Nor- 
 way called middle school) at the city of Trond- 
 hjem when 16 years old. He graduated two 
 years afterward, and after being in commercial 
 business for a year he entered St. Hans Haugens 
 Gymnasium, a well known educational 'insti- 
 tution in Christiania, and pursued his study for 
 two years at this college. 
 
 Ole O. Mauland. 
 
 H. C. Meland. 
 
 Chicago property, and after a few years' work 
 for others he engaged in the building and rent- 
 ing of houses erected on his own property. His 
 faith in Chicago has been amply rewarded, for 
 he is now one of the largest property owners on 
 the West Side. He also owns and rents several 
 valuable farms. At 72 he is active, hale and 
 hearty, and looks after his property personally. 
 He is a member of Our Saviour's Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church, having served both as trustee 
 and cashier. The family resides at 164 N. Car- 
 penter street. Mr. Mauland visited friends and 
 relatives in Norway in 1874, and again in 1901. 
 
 In the spring of 1902 Mr. Meland came to 
 America to complete his education. In 1903 
 he entered the John Marshall Law School, 
 Chicago, from which he graduated three years 
 afterward with the degree of L.L. B. He is in 
 the real estate business and has his office at 
 1015-1106 Chicago Title and Trust Building, 100 
 Washington street. 
 
 Mr. Meland was married in Chicago, Nov. 22, 
 1905, to Miss Ragnhild Anderson, a well known 
 pianist from Christiania, Norway, and lives at 
 213 N. Humboldt street. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 415 
 
 DR. NELS C. MELING, 
 
 ANTON A. MELUM, 
 
 Of 952 Armitage avenue, Chicago, was born at 
 Her0, S0ndmj^re, Norwaj^ April 10, 1872, his 
 parents being Christen C. and Bertha M. Mel- 
 ing. When Nels was nine years old his parents 
 moved to Haugesund, where our subject grad- 
 uated from middelskolen and then sailed on the 
 ocean for two years. 
 
 He emigrated at the age of 16, in 1888, to Amer- 
 ica, coming directly to Chicago. For three years 
 he worked at a variety of trades, but in the fall 
 of 1891 he entered Rush Medical College and 
 graduated in 1895. During vacations Mr. Mel- 
 
 Head of the firm of Anton A. Melum & Sons, 
 tailors, was born in Tr0tten, Gudbrandsdalen, 
 Norway, February 12, 1852. At the age of 11 
 he began active work serving as apprentice to 
 a tailor doing work around the country near his 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Melum came to Chicago, May 6, 1869, and 
 secured work in a wholesale tailoring estab- 
 lishment. In 1872 he was employed by the Ed- 
 ward Ely Co., the leading tailors of that time, 
 and was soon made foreman. A strike in 1876, 
 however, forced him out with the rest. He then 
 
 Dr. Nels C. Meling. 
 
 Anton A. Melum. 
 
 ing sailed on the Great Lakes. Since graduat- 
 ing he has been practicing medicine in Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 He was married to Miss Nellie Winger in 1897. 
 They have two children — Arthur, seven years and 
 Florence, four years old. Dr. Meling is a mem- 
 ber of the Chicago Pathological Society, the 
 Ivledico-Legal Society and the American Medi- 
 cal Association. He is also a member of the 
 Masonic Fraternity — the Oriental Consistory and 
 Medinah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. 
 
 worked for several of the prominent tailors in 
 Chicago, but soon mastered the art of cutting, 
 and held responsible positions as cutter until he 
 started in business for himself in 1891, in Scan- 
 dia Hall. In 1892 he moved into the downtown 
 district, where he has had a steadil}^ growing 
 business. 
 
 In January, 1905, his two sons, who had been 
 with him, were admitted to the firm. 
 
 Mr. Melum married Lena Johnson Bredshall, 
 Aug. 21, 1879. They have three children. The 
 
416 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 family belonged to the Bethania Lutheran Church 
 until Rev. Torgersen's death, in the fall of 1905, 
 Mr. Melum serving for many years as trustee 
 and treasurer. He also served as a director of 
 Mt. Olive Cemetery, and was one of the or- 
 ganizers of the Norwegian Old People's Home 
 Society, serving as its first vice-president; he 
 has held the office of a director ever since. 
 Their home is at 6621 Washington boulevard. 
 Oak Park. 
 
 REV. JOHAN HANSEN MEYER 
 
 Was born June 4, 1862, in Y'\k. Helgeland,, Nor- 
 way. After his confirmation he left home and 
 
 Rev. J. H. Meyer. 
 
 spent seven years at sea, in which time he worked 
 himself up from a deck boy to quartermaster on 
 the English mail steamers plying between Eng- 
 land and Australia. During his frequent stays 
 in London, England, he came in touch with the 
 well known Strangers' Rest Mission, conducted 
 
 by the famous Agnes HedenstrjzJm. Here he 
 was converted. He had then a strong desire for 
 mission work. But, only a poor sailor boy, 
 there seemed no chance of securing an educa- 
 tion. However, the longing was there. Every . 
 opportunity he used to testify for his Master. 
 In Sidney, Australia, where he stayed for about 
 one year, he spent most of the time in the port 
 mission work, inviting sailors to the meetings and 
 in other ways taking part in the work. Here 
 it was he finally decided to devote his whole life 
 to the ministry. He then made an evangelistic 
 tour through the ports of Sweden and Norway, 
 where he held services in many cities, towns and 
 country places. 
 
 With the best of testimonials by a host of 
 ministers and friends he, came over to America, 
 and in September, 1886, entered the Theological 
 Seminary at Morgan Park, Chicago — now of the 
 University of Chicago — where he took a two- 
 year special theological course. 
 
 On the 21st of June, 1888, he was ordained to 
 the ministry in Bridgeport, Conn., by the Fair- 
 field East Association of Congregational 
 Churches. In this -branch of God's church he 
 worked for five years. But, having a longing 
 for his Lutheran mother-church, its doctrine 
 and usage, in which he had been raised, he left 
 the Congregational Church and joined the United 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church of America. Here 
 he has since worked, with marked success, as 
 the following shows: He organized th? Beth- 
 lehem Norwegian Lutheran Church, in Brook- 
 lyn, N. Y., also the Immanuel Norwegian Luth- 
 eran Church, New York, N. Y., and was their 
 pastor for three years. He also organized the 
 Trinity Norwegian Lutheran Church, South Chi- 
 cago, 111., and the Trinity Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church, Oakland, Cal. 
 
 But the work that has made him most known 
 is the building of Zion Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church, Artesian and Potomac avenues, Chi- 
 cago, When — in July, 1887 — he took charge of 
 this work, the congregation consisted of but 
 eleven families, with a little chapel heavily in- 
 debted. After seven years and three months 
 of service in this parish he left a congregation 
 of over 500 souls and one of the finest Nor- 
 wegian churches in the city — a property of about 
 $26,000 with but $7,000 of debt. 
 
 In June. 1905, he organized Christ Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church, Chicago, and is now its 
 minister. 
 
 Pastor Meyer was married in South Chicago 
 on May 13, 1888, to Mathilda Pearson. ' a native 
 of Sweden. They live at the parsonage of the 
 church, 1509 N. Kedzie avenue, Chicago. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 417 
 
 GUSTAV GERHARD MARTIN, 
 
 The well known job printer on W. North 
 avenue, Chicago, was born in Mandal, Nor- 
 way, Jan. 22, 1874. He attended school, was con- 
 firmed, and started to work at the printing in- 
 dustry with the Lister and Mandals Amtsti- 
 dende in Norway. 
 
 After his arrival in Chicago, in 1889, he 
 worked for the John Anderson Publishing Com- 
 pany, mastering his trade and working as a 
 journeyman. In 1894, when 21 years old, he 
 started in the job printing business for him- 
 self on W. North avenue, and in Feb., 1902, 
 
 Gustav G. Martin. 
 
 moved into his own building at 761 W. North 
 avenue. His business has been steadily increas- 
 ing, until now he has the best equipped print- 
 ing establishment on the Northwest Side. 
 
 He is also the publisher of the Northwest 
 News, a very successful Northwest Side weekly. 
 Up to the time of engaging in business for him- 
 self i\Ir. Martin continually worked at his trade, 
 but devoted a great deal of his leisure time to 
 reading and home study. At an early age he 
 also became interested in the work of the Nor- 
 
 wegian societies in Chicago. He is a member 
 of the Norwegian Old People's Home Society, 
 the Normaendenes Singing Society, the Knights 
 of the White Cross, the Norwegian Turner Soci- 
 ety, the Sleipner Athletic Club, the Maccabees, 
 and the Norwegian Tabitha Hospital Society. For 
 the past fifteen years he has been very active 
 in the Norwegian Turner Society, and has at 
 different times held every office in the gift of 
 the Association. He has also been Secretary of 
 the Norwegian National League of Chicago; 
 has been an active worker in the Tabitha Hos- 
 pital Society, and is at present a member of 
 the board of the Norwegian Old People's Home. 
 
 Also one of the directors of the Ben Franklin 
 Club of Chicago. 
 
 He was married to Rose Peterson, of Chicago, 
 on July 19, 1899. They have one child, Lionel 
 Irving IMartin. 
 
 MRS. SOPHIE MICHAELSEN, 
 
 Who is actively connected with the Tabitha Hos- 
 pital Society and the Children's Home Society, 
 
 Mrs. Sophie Michaelsen. 
 
418 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 was born in Aardal, Stavanger, Norway, on 
 June 18, 1848. Her parents were John S. Skaar 
 and Gurine Jensen. She was educated in the 
 common schools in Norway and confirmed in 
 the church at Aardal. She afterward attended 
 a private school, and at the age of 22 was ap- 
 pointed at Josefina Stiftelsen, an orphan asylum 
 in Stavanger, where she taught for four and a 
 half years. 
 
 She w^as married to Christian Michaelsen, a 
 sea captain, of Stavanger, on Jan. 24, 1879. 
 
 The following year they came to America, lo- 
 cating in Chicago, where they have resided since. 
 They have two children. Christian Skaar, born 
 Jan. 28, 1880, and Bertha Gurine, born Sept. 
 10, 1884. Both are at home with their parents. 
 Mrs. Michaelsen was a member of the original 
 and the present Tabitha Society and one of the 
 active managers of the Children's Home Society. 
 She is a member of the Immanuel Church of the 
 Hauge Synod. The family resides at 1138 Ma- 
 plewood avenue. 
 
 Nov. 26, 1871, Mr. Midnes was married to Miss 
 Malinde Johnson, born near Haugesund, Norway. 
 TJiey have no children but adopted a girl, a rel- 
 ative of Mrs. Midnes, who is now grown up 
 
 LARS SAMSONSON MIDNES 
 
 Was born at Midnes, Kinsevigs Sogn, Hardanger, 
 Norway, Feb. 2, 1845. His father was Samson 
 Larson, a farmer and sailor, and his mother Sjzin- 
 va Larsdatter Ullensvang. He received his edu'ca- 
 tion in the cou'ntry school during the winters and 
 helped his father, who was an overseer of an 
 estate near Bergen, where Lars was confirmed 
 at the age of 16 years. He then worked for 
 his father, farming and coast sailing. 
 
 In the year 1865 he emigrated to America, 
 landing at Quebec. From there he came to Chi- 
 cago, and farther to Creston, 111., where his jour- 
 ney ended. Mr. Midnes worked about four years 
 on farms in the vicinity of Creston. Then was 
 a clerk in a store at Creston three years. He 
 now moved to Lee, 111., where he was clerk a 
 few months in a store kept by Burlesheimer & 
 Paul O. Stensland. When he came from Creston 
 he built a house in Lee, which he rented out 
 until, in 1872, he started a millinery and fancy 
 goods store. He has continu'ed in the same place 
 and business since, being the only one in the line 
 in that vicinity. 
 
 L. S. Midnes. 
 
 and studying to become a trained nurse. The 
 
 family belongs to the Norwegian Lutheran 
 
 Church, near Lee, whose present pastor is Rev. 
 J. Nordby. 
 
 HAGBERT MILLER, 
 
 Son of Johan Georg and Bergithe Christine, (nee 
 Isdahl) Miller was born in Bergen, Norway, July 
 24, 1860. He attended den Tankske Realskole 
 from which he graduated in 1877. After leav- 
 ing school he found employment as accountant 
 at Bergens Mekaniske Vserksted, which position 
 he held until he embarked for America. Landed 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 419 
 
 in Chicago in March, 1881, where he has since 
 continuously lived. Unable to obtain an office 
 position he worked as helper in a factory for 
 some time, but not being used to manual labor 
 he soon took up book canvassing, which calling 
 
 HARLEY B. MITCHELL, 
 
 Editor and publisher of the American Miller, 
 was born in Ottawa, 111., Feb. 20, 1855. His 
 father was John S. Mitchell, born in New York, 
 
 he successfully followed for several years until and his mother Inger Nelson (Hersdal) from 
 he secured a position as manager with N. Juul & Norway. 
 Co. For the last fourteen years Mr. Miller has 
 been connected with the western branch of the 
 Philadelphia publishing house, John C. Winston 
 Co., first as manager of their Scandinavian' de- 
 partment and later as manager of the entire 
 
 Hagbert Miller. 
 
 Western subscription business. Besides being re- 
 garded among publishers as an able business man 
 he is also known as the author of the book "Uni- 
 onsperioden og Norges Gjenreisning." 
 
 Mr. Miller was married to Miss Doris Olsen of 
 Christiania in 1891. Five children w-ere born to 
 them of whom four are living. He is a member 
 of The Publishers' Club of America, The John 
 Fremont Council of the National Union, the 
 Norwegian Glee Club and the Bj^rgvin Singing 
 Society. His home is in Ravenswood. 
 
 H. B. Mitchell. 
 
 The subject of our sketch attended the gram- 
 mar and high schools in Ottawa, spent his fresh- 
 man year at Denison University, Granville, 
 Ohio, and graduated in 1876 from the old Uni- 
 versity of Chicago, receiving the degree of B.A. 
 and M.A. The degree of B.A. was afterward 
 confirmed by the present ^University of Chicago. 
 Immediately after graduating he commenced 
 work as assistant editor of the American Miller, 
 in July, 1876. The paper is published by Mitchell 
 Bros. Co., of which Mr. Harley B. Mitchell is 
 president. He is also a director in the La Grange 
 State Bank. 
 
 He was married to Edith Ramskill on May 4, 
 1880. They have had three children, two now 
 living. Mr. Mitchell, who now lives in La 
 Grange, 111., has been a member of the high 
 
420 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 school and grammar school boards at various 
 times and was president of the village in 1905-6. 
 He was also one of the board of trustees of the 
 fund for the endowment of the Episcopal dio- 
 cese of Illinois. He is a member of the Psi Up- 
 silon College Fraternity. The family are mem- 
 bers of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell has at his home a large library, 
 numbering about 5,000 volumes, and this has 
 been the principal solace and occupation of his 
 leisure hours. It is exceptional in the large 
 number of rare works it contains on theological 
 and allied subjects. His life has been one of 
 unusual quiet for a community like Chicago, 
 where he lived from 1873 to 1893, when he moved 
 to the pleasant suburb of La Grange, fourteen 
 miles distant. He has steadily declined to enter 
 seriously into politics, although he was at one 
 time congressional committeeman of one of the 
 Chicago districts, when he lived on the West 
 Side. Writing of himself in a reminiscent mood, 
 Mr. Mitchell says: "The link that binds me to 
 Norway, and the one thing of which perhaps 
 I am unduly proud, is the fact that my sainted 
 -mother was one of the party on the Restauration, 
 the Norwegian Mayflower, that came to the 
 United States in 1825. She was a child of 6 
 years at the time, having been born in Tysver 
 parish, Dec. 11, 1819, daughter of Cornelius Nel- 
 son Hersdal, one of the Sloop party and niece 
 "of Kleng Peerson, who was sent to the United 
 States by the Quakers of Stavanger in 1821 to 
 find a location for the first Norwegian emigrants 
 to this cou'ntry." The story is told in Prof. 
 Anderson's book. First Chapter of Norwegian 
 Immigration. It is also referred to in the his- 
 torical part of this volume. 
 
 Recognizing the resources of this virgin county 
 and the possibilities here for their countrymen, 
 they encouraged immigration, and by their ever 
 ready hospitality and assistance to those who 
 came they were instrumental in founding a Nor- 
 wegian colony which grew to be strong and 
 flou'rishing. Mr. Mitchell was actively engaged 
 in farming and stockraising until 1894, when, 
 owing to failing health, he moved to Pontiac. 
 111. He was a man of marked ability and en- 
 terprise, commanded a wide influence, and did 
 much for the advancement of this section of 
 Illinois. He died at his home in Pontiac, Feb. 
 9, 1896, survived by his wife and six children. 
 
 Dr. J. M. Mitchell. 
 
 DR. JAMES MURRAY MITCHELL, 
 
 Son of John and Bertha C. (Oakland) Mitchell, 
 was born on a farm in Livingston county. 111., 
 Oct. 13, 1869. His parents, who were born in 
 Norway, migrated to this country in 1848 and 
 1849, locating in La Salle counly, 111., where 
 they were married in 1850. In 1854 they moved 
 to Livingston county, which was then mostly 
 a wilderness and had but few inhabitants. Here, 
 after much hard struggling and many setbacks, 
 they succeeded in making themselves a home in 
 which they prospered. 
 
 The subject of this sketch grew to manhood 
 on his father's farm, working during crop sea- 
 sons and attending the district school during 
 the winter time. Later he attended the Pon- 
 tiac high school and the normal schools of Dixon 
 and Rockford. In 1896 he began the study of 
 medicine at the Rush Medical College, and on 
 completing the course in 1900 received the ap- 
 pointment of house physician for one year at 
 the Milwaukee Hospital, Milwaukee, Wis. The 
 six months following his hospital services were 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 421 
 
 spent in study and travel, and in the winter of 
 1902 he located in Pontiac, where he has since 
 been actively engaged in practice. He is a mem- 
 ber of the county, state and national medical 
 societies, a close student, and has a large practice. 
 He resides with his mother at 303 W. Lincoln 
 street. 
 
 HENRY O. MOLAND, 
 
 The real estate man at 477 N. California avenue, 
 was born in Tvedestrand, Norway, Dec. 31, 1858. 
 
 H. O. Moland. 
 
 His parents were Ole Halvorsen and Helga 
 Thorvaldsdatter, farmers on gaarden Moland. 
 He attended the public and high school in Nor- 
 way and was confirmed by Rev. A. C. Preus in 
 Holt sogn, Norway, when 16 years old. 
 
 He came to New York as a sailor in 1876 and 
 sailed for three years on a sail ship. In 1879 
 
 he settled in New York, engaging in the meat 
 market business for a time. He then entered! 
 the United States Navy as an able seaman on 
 the Pensacola, in which he cruised the world. 
 He witnessed the great naval battle between 
 Chile and Peru in 1881. He came to Chicago 
 in Oct., 1884, and secured work as a butcher, at 
 which he worked for seven years. He then op- 
 erated a meat market for himself and continued 
 for many years. 
 
 He was married to Emelie Schwandt, of Chi- 
 cago, June 27, 1891. They have had four chil- 
 dren; two are living, namely: Frank, born June 
 17, 1893, and Florence, Aug. 13, 1895. 
 
 Later Mr. Moland sold his market business 
 and opened a collection agency, to which he 
 afterward added renting and real estate, in which 
 he is now engaged. He has always taken an 
 active interest in politics, being an enthusiastic 
 republican, but has never held public office. He 
 is a member of the Royal League. The family 
 resides at 102 Humboldt street. 
 
 Recently Mr. Moland passed the federal civil 
 service examination as an inspector of meat 
 products, but is undecided whether to accept the 
 position or not. 
 
 REV. JOHN A. MOLDSTAD, 
 
 The pastor of St. Clark's Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church at Tripp and Wabansia avenues, Chicago, 
 wa^ born at De Forest, Dane county. Wis., April 
 14, 1874. His parents were Anders and Johanna 
 Karine (Berg) Moldstad. The father was a mer- 
 chant and died Jan. 24, 1899, at De Forest, Wis. 
 Having graduated from the public schools in 
 March, 1888, our subject in Sept. of the same 
 year entered Luther College from which he grad- 
 uated as a bachelor of arts in June, 1894. He 
 then studied at the University of Wisconsin from 
 Sept., 1894 to Aug., 1895. and from Sept., 1899 to 
 June, 1900, when he graduated as A. B. 
 
 The vacations and intervals were spent as fol- 
 lows: Aug., 1895 to Apr., 1896, clerked in his 
 father's store at De Forest, Wis.; April to Nov., 
 ,1896, business manager of Amerika, Madison, 
 Wis.; Nov., 1896 to June, 1897, professor at Lu- 
 ther Academy, Albert Lea, ^linn., and Sept., 1897 
 to June, 1899, principal of the Lutheran College 
 
422 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 of Clifton, Texas, June, 1899 to Sept., 1903, in 
 mercantile business at De Forest, Wis. 
 
 By this time he had decided to become a min- 
 ister of the Gospel and for that purpose entered 
 the Concordia Seminary at St. Louis, Mo., as a 
 •student of theology in Sept., 1903. From this in- 
 stitution of learning he graduated in June, 1906, 
 receiving the degree of candidate of theology. 
 
 On April 16.. 1906, he was called as pastor of 
 St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church and on 
 July 15th of the same year he was ordained and 
 inaugurated into that office. 
 
 Rev. Moldstad has officiated as Sunday school 
 superintendent, etc., at Norway Grove Church, 
 De Forest, Wis. He is a member of corporation 
 of the H. A. Preus Lutheran Academy, at Albion, 
 Wis., and has been elected delegate to several 
 synod meetings. He is not married and resides 
 at 902 N. Forty-second avenue, Chicago. 
 
 5^ 
 
 He came to America with his brother when 
 10 years old and attended the common schools 
 in South Dakota, returning to Norway in 1895. 
 He came to Chicago from Norway again in 1900, 
 and immediately entered the Chicago College of 
 Dental Surgery, graduating in 1904. 
 
 He was married to Miss Borghild Engebretsen, 
 of Christiania, Norway, in 1901. They have one 
 child, a daughter. Dr. Nannestad is a member of 
 the Royal Arcanum, Maplewood council. He Is 
 also a 32d degree Mason, a member of the K. of 
 P., Lincoln lodge, of the Norwegian Quartet 
 Club and "Den Norske Klub." 
 
 Mrs. Nannestad died in the spring of 1907. 
 
 DR. SVEN NARBO, 
 
 The dentist at 1216 Milwaukee avenue, Chi- 
 cago, was born at Strand, Stavanger, Norway, 
 
 DR. S. H. NANNESTAD. 
 
 Sverre Holm Nannestad, D. D. S., was born in 
 Christiania, Norway, May 9, 1878. 
 
 Dr. S. H. Nannestad, 
 
 Dr. Sven NarDo. 
 
 Sept. 14, 1872. His parents were O. and B^r- 
 gina (Sigmundstad) Narb0. His father is a school 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 423 
 
 teacher and kirkesanger, having held the same 
 position for the past forty-eight years, both he 
 and his wife enjoying good health. Dr. Narbo 
 attended his father's school and was confirmed in 
 the Lutheran Church in Strand. 
 
 He came to America in 1890 and located at 
 Madison, Wis., where he secured a place as 
 gardener with Prof. T. H. Brand, remaining for 
 two years. . He then worked in the dental office 
 of Dr. C. C. Chittenden, Madison, for one year. 
 He came to Chicago in 1893 and worked for 
 Marshall Field & Co. as salesman for five years. 
 On account of his health he then went west, 
 locating at Humboldt, Iowa, where he accepted 
 a clerkship with A. B. White. In 1900 he went 
 into partnership with J. F. Wittman, of Pioneer, 
 Iowa, doing a general merchandise business and 
 at the same time was a stockholder, director 
 and secretary of the Pioneer Creamery Com- 
 pany. He took a personal and active interest 
 in the creamery and brought it un to a very 
 profitable investment. 
 
 He was bent on becoming a dentist, how- 
 ever, and soon sold out his interest in the store 
 and returned to Chicago. He immediately en- 
 tered the Chicago College of Dental Surgery, 
 from which he graduated in 1903, and has since 
 been practicing his profession at 1216 Milwaukee 
 avenue. 
 
 He served three years in the Wisconsin Na- 
 tional Guard and the same time in the Illinois 
 Guard. Dr. Narbo belongs to the Royal League 
 and is a member of the M. W. A. He is not 
 married. 
 
 America, accompanied by his brothers (Ole 
 and Dick) and sister (Martha). They settled 
 at Williamsville, 111. Louis' first work in this 
 country was on a farm, by the month, but later 
 he farmed for himself. 
 
 Louis R. Nelson. 
 
 LOUIS R. NELSON, 
 
 On Oct. 6, 1880, he was married to Mary 
 Eielson, of Springfield, 111., where the family 
 has since resided. Mr. Nelson is employed as 
 foreman in A. Eielson's lumber yard, having 
 held the same position for over twtnty-five 
 j^ears. 
 
 Of Springfield, 111., was born in Fruland sogn, 
 near Arendal, Norway, June 23, 1847, his par- 
 ents being Reier and Gunnild Nelson. His 
 mother died in Norway in August, 1868, and 
 his father in April, 1869. Louis attended school 
 in Norway and was confirmed in the Lutheran 
 Church of Fruland sogn. After his confirma- 
 tion he worked for Lensman I. O. Berger two 
 
 years and then went to O. Samuelson as clerk Now of Helmar, 111., was born in Skaanevik's 
 in a department store in Arendal for a year and prestegjeld, Bergens stift, Norway, Sept. 6, 1840. 
 a half. Afterward he worked for Pastor Gedde His parents — Sjur and Jennie Haugen (Endres- 
 one year, and one year with Provst Somerfelt. datter) Nelson — were farmers in Norway. With 
 On the 12th of May, 1871, he migrated to his parents he came to America in 1849. They 
 
 NELS S. NELSON, 
 
424 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 settled in Grundy county, southeast of Lisbon, 
 and remained there for six years and then moved 
 to Kendall county, near where Helmar is now- 
 located. Mr. Johnson received his education in 
 the common schools, but when very young he 
 had to go to work. He remained with his father 
 until he was of age. A year later he enlisted 
 as a private in Company E of the Ninety-first 
 Regiment of Illinois Volunteers and served to 
 the close of the war. During the war he was 
 promoted first to corporal and then to ser- 
 geant. In a skirmish near Elizabethtown, Ky., 
 Mr. Nelson was wounded by a musket ball in 
 
 Nels S. Nelson and Wife. 
 
 the thigh and was laid up for three months. In 
 the meantime the whole company was captured, 
 and Nelson was also made a prisoner of war and 
 kept in prison at Benton Barracks, near St. 
 Louis, Mo., for six months, when the prisoners 
 were paroled. Our subject took part in several 
 battles. While on parole Mr. Nelson returned 
 home and in March, 1863, was married to Anna 
 Larson, who was born in Big Grove township, 
 July 31, 1S43, the daughter of Eric Larson, who 
 came from Norway and settled there in 1838. 
 After his return from the war Mr. Nelson 
 
 worked for four years by the month and then 
 moved onto his present place which he has 
 owned since 1879. He has 160 acres in the N. E. 
 qr. of sec. 1. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have had 
 fourteen children, of whom eleven are living, 
 namely: Lewis, born May 18, 1866; Jennie, 
 Sept. 8, 1867; Randy, Oct. 30, 1869; Carrie, Nov. 
 17, 1871; Anna, April 9, 1874; Sarah, Jan. 17, 
 1875; Lewis, May. 26, 1877; Severt, March 27, 
 1879; Alice, April 2, 1881; Nellie Angelina, Feb. 
 22, 1883; Isabelle, March 26, 1885; Joseph, Oct. 
 30, 1887; Joseph the second, March 22, 1890. 
 Lewis (the oldest) and the two youngest have 
 passed away, the last two in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Nelson is well known in Kendall county, 
 and is respected and esteemed by all who know 
 him. He has been a loyal republican leader, and 
 his popularity is indicated by the offices he has 
 held. He was for three years township collector; 
 highway commissioner for three years; assessor 
 for six years; a member of the board of school 
 trustees for six years; and at this writing he 
 is serving his seventh year as supervisor. He 
 has been deacon for his church for thirty years 
 and trustee for two years, and has also served as 
 secretary for the old church for many years. He 
 has retired from farming although he still lives 
 on the old homestead, his yo;,ingest living son, 
 Severt, running the farm. 
 
 OLE J. NELSON, 
 
 There is no name more honored in American 
 history than that of the pioneer, and no country 
 has produced so many examples of pioneer spirit 
 as the United States. Among those who have 
 taken triple honors as a pioneer is O. J. Nelson, 
 his pioneer character partaking of the career of 
 the emigrant, the soldier and the man of business. 
 
 A product of Norway, having been born in the 
 land of the north in 1847, he came to the United 
 States in 1858. Six years later saw him shoulder- 
 ing a musket at the early age of 17 on behalf 
 of the Union as a member of Company H of the 
 138th Illinois infantry. 
 
 His career in Morris covers a period of 40 
 years, giving him the title of dean of the insur- 
 ance men of that section. 
 
 Mr. Nelson represents the Franklin Life of 
 Springfield, 111., and the leading old line fire 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 425 
 
 companies, viz.: The Continental of New York, 
 the Germania of New York, the Westchester of 
 New York, the German of Freeport, the North- 
 western National of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee 
 Mechanics'. 
 
 Mr. Nelson is full of energy and business activ- 
 ity and has great faith in the city of Morris, be- 
 lieving that the future holds promises of great 
 development for his home town. 
 
 Ole J. Nelson. 
 
 No man is willing to work harder for this 
 development than Mr. Nelson, and in the future 
 as in the past he can always be counted on to do 
 his share in the work of building up and ex- 
 pansion. He has for a number of years i^epre- 
 sented Morris on the Board of Supervisors, and 
 has been chairman of that body. In earlier days 
 he was identified with the grain trade, and con- 
 ducted a large elevator, which was destroyed by 
 fire. 
 
 took up the machinist's trade and worked at it 
 for several years. 
 
 He was married on Oct. 27, 1886, to Miss So- 
 phia Swenson. Mrs. Nelson died in 1905, leaving 
 three children — Robert S., Francis and Ionia. 
 
 In July, 1890, Mr. Nelson joined in organizing 
 the Nelson & Kreuter Co., manufacturers of 
 laundry machinery, at 955 N. Spaulding avenue. 
 Their plant is equipped with the most modern 
 machinery and they do a large and profitable 
 business also with foreign countries. Mr. Nel- 
 son has to his credit several patents on laundry 
 
 Robert S. Nelson. 
 
 machinery. He is a Mason, a Knight Templar 
 and a member of the Medinah Temple Shrine. 
 He is also a member of the Germania Msenner- 
 chor, the Swedish Glee Club, Bj^rgvin Singing 
 Society and the Laundry Men's Club. He is a 
 director of the Tabitha Hospital. The family 
 resides at 1190 Winthrop avenue, N. Edgewater. 
 
 ROBERT S. NELSON, 
 
 Of the Nelson Sz Kreuter Co., was born in xAale- 
 sund, Norway, Sept. 8, 1863. His parents were 
 Rasmus S. and Martha Nelson. His early life 
 was spent in Bergen as a newsboy. He served 
 one year as a blacksmith's apprentice and then 
 
 HENRY NEWGARD, 
 
 President of Henry Newgard & Co.. electrical 
 contractors and manufacturers and dealers in 
 
426 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 electrical machinery and supplies, was born on 
 Nygaard, Ullensaker, Norway, May 10, 1858, his 
 parents being Kristen Johansen and Berthe 
 Hansen Nygaard. He had the advantages of 
 the common schools and when 16 years old went 
 to Christiania, where he served as an appren- 
 tice for five years, learning the trade of a lock- 
 smith. 
 
 When 21 years old, having finished his ap- 
 prenticeship, he came to America, locating in 
 Chicago in 1879. He was unable to find work 
 at his trade, but secured work in a furniture 
 factory, and after a few months he got a place 
 
 and profitable business. In 1900 his brother 
 Martin bought in as a partner and in 1901 the 
 firm of Henry Newgard & Co. was incorporated, 
 with the subiect of this sketch as its president, 
 he having continuously held the same office since. 
 Mr. Newgard has invented several articles in the 
 electrical line, but has not patented any. He is 
 also the inventor of the Newgard water-proof 
 receptacle and globe. He is a member of Park 
 Lodge, No. 843, A. F. and A. M.; Park Chapter, 
 No. 213, R. A. M.; Evanston Commandery, No. 
 58, Knights Templars; Oriental Consistory, S. P. 
 R. S.; A. A. S. Rite Valley of Chicago; Medinah 
 Temple, A. A. O., N. M. S., of Chicago; Royal 
 Arcanum; John A. Cumming's Council; Royal 
 League North Shore Council; National Union 
 Press Council. He also belongs to the Illinois 
 Commercial Men's Association; the Builders' 
 Club; and is vice-president of the Electrical Con- 
 tractors' Association. Mr. Newgard has erected 
 a number of buildings of his own and now holds 
 considerable property in Chicago. 
 
 He was married to Miss Ovidia Swenkerud on 
 Nov. 21, 1885. They had three children. He 
 attends the Episcopal Church and resides at 
 4111 Newgard avenu'e. Mrs. Newgard died April 
 18, 1904. 
 
 On June 30, 1906, Mr. Newgard married Miss 
 Anna Hammerlind, of Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 Henry Newgard. 
 
 with the C. & N. W. Ry. Co. in their shops at 
 Fortieth and Kinzie streets, working at his 
 trade. Later he got a better place in a small 
 locksmith shop at the corner of Randolph and 
 Clark streets, where he remained until 1882, 
 when he engaged in business for himself, start- 
 ing a locksmith shop at 167 E. Madison street. 
 Here he experimented in electric work, grad- 
 ually drifting into that branch of the electric 
 business. In 1890 he started a separate office 
 at 88 La Salle street, for electrical construc- 
 tion work, which grew very rapidly into a larger 
 
 MARTIN NEWGARD, 
 
 Of Henry Newgard & Co., was born in Ullen- 
 saker, Norway, July 4, 1864, his parents being 
 Kristen Johansen and Bertha Hansen Ny- 
 gaard. He completed his schooling in Norway 
 in 1880. 
 
 He came to this country in 1882 and immediate- 
 ly entered the electrical business with his brother 
 Henry in Chicago, shortly having charge of all 
 the electrical installations. The company was af- 
 terward incorporated under the name of Henry 
 Newgard & Co., and our subject became a 
 member of the firm, now located at 225 Wash- 
 ington street. Mr. Martin Newgard is vice-presi- 
 dent and general superintendent, and as they are 
 now one of the largest electrical contractors and 
 manufacturers in the city he is kept busy look- 
 ing after the construction and manufacturing 
 departments, when large power and lighting 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 427 
 
 switchboards and other special devices are being 
 built for themselves and other electrical con- 
 tractors over the country. Henry Newgard & 
 Co. have bu'ilt up a large supply business; they 
 found it advisable to organize and incorporate 
 a new company, and accordingly the Ameri- 
 can Electric Supply Co. w:as incorporated over 
 a year ago. The two companies are controlled 
 by the same stockholders, the later concern do- 
 ing business at 87 Fifth avenue, but larger and 
 more commodious quarters, at the corner of 
 Lake and Franklin streets have been secured, to 
 which they will soon move. Mr. Newgard is 
 
 Martin Newgard. 
 
 well known among electricians and engineers in 
 Chicago as one of the practical men in the busi- 
 ness. He was elected by the contractors' as- 
 sociation to attend the revising committee meet- 
 ing in changing the rules of the department of 
 electricity to guard against fires. 
 
 He is a member of Park Lodge No. 843; Park 
 Chapter, No. 213; Oriental Consistory, Medinah 
 Temple, Aryan Grotto. 
 
 Mr. Newgard was married to Miss Kathinka 
 Swenkerud on March 21, 1896. Three children 
 were born to them, two of whom are living. The 
 family lives at 138 Powell avenue. 
 
 CHARLES EDMOND NEWTON, 
 
 The furrier and hatter, son of Filing and Mar- 
 tha (Nelson) Newton, was born in Chicago, Sept. 
 2, 1853. His father was a vessel owner, having 
 learned the ship-carpenter trade in Norway, but 
 abandoned the active building of vessels after 
 securing a few ships of his own. Their first 
 home in Chicago was a log cabin on the north 
 
 C. E. Newton. 
 
 side of the river, where the Northwestern depot 
 stands now. His parents are both dead, having 
 passed away many years ago in Chicago. 
 
 Charles attended the public schools. He then 
 began clerking, first in the hat store of Bishop 
 & Barnes, later with Herrick the hatter, and then 
 engaged in business with Hennegen under the 
 firm name of Hennegen & Newton. For the 
 past twenty-five years he has been in business for 
 himself, being now located at 607 Masonic Tem- 
 ple. Our subject was one of the organizers 
 of the First Regiment of the Illinois National 
 Guards. He is a member of the Eighth Presby- 
 terian Church, and was for a time trustee. 
 
 He was married about twenty years ago to 
 Miss Jennie Scully, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
 
428 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 James Scully, old residents of Chicago. They 
 have one daughter, Irene, and reside at 314 Park 
 avenue. 
 
 GEORGE G. NEWTON, 
 
 The popular druggist at the corner of Erie and 
 Noble streets, was born in Lisbon, 111.. April 
 12, 1865. His father, Gullick Knudson, is from 
 0ster!andet, Nummedalen, and his mother, Anna 
 Hamre, from Hamar, Norway. They came to 
 America on a sailship in 1863, via Quebec, Mil- 
 waukee and Chicago, and went to Morris, 111. 
 Here his father worked at what he could find 
 to do for a few years, when he bought a farm 
 near Lisbon. 
 
 G. G. Newton and Wife. 
 
 George was brought up on the farm, attend- 
 ing the public schools, and was confirmed by 
 Pastor Rasmussen. He then went to Lisbon, 
 and under the guidance of W. C. Belden as 
 
 teacher continued his studies. He secured a 
 position in a drug store at Lisbon, where he 
 remained for nearly four years. In 1887-88 he 
 attended the Chicago College of Pharmacy and 
 passed his examination and received his degree 
 as Ph. G. He later passed an examination before 
 the state board. While in Kendall county Mr. 
 Newton served two years as county collector 
 for Big Grove township. After graduating he 
 located in Chicago and clerked for several years. 
 He then engaged in the drug business for him- 
 self at his present location, 329 W. Erie street, 
 where he enjoys a splendid patronage. 
 
 He was married to Lizzie Josephine, a daugh- 
 ter of Mr. ana Mrs. Frank Eschbacher, of Chi- 
 cago, on April 12, 1898. His father died on April 
 28, 1905, but his mother, at the good old age 
 of 87 years, is still living, hale and hearty. Mr. 
 Newton purchased the old homestead from his 
 father and takes great pleasure in visiting the 
 old place, which is now rented by his brother. 
 Our subject attends the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. He is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias,, 
 and an Odd Fellow. 
 
 PETER NEWTON, 
 
 Secretary of the Seventh United States Civil 
 Service District, embracing the northern half of 
 Illinois and the states of Wisconsin and Michi- 
 gan, with headquarters in Chicago, was born in 
 Chicago, Sept. 29, 1854, his parents being 
 Sievert and Ingeborg Newton. He attended pub- 
 lic school in Chicago — graduated from the old 
 Washington School and attended the West Di- 
 vision High School for a short time. He began 
 his career as an office boy with the Chicago- 
 Evening Journal where he remained until May, 
 1875. In September of the same Vear he en- 
 tered the government service as a clerk in the 
 postofifice, serving continuously in nearly all 
 branches of the service until May 1, 1892, when 
 he was appointed local secretary of the United 
 States civil service examiners for the postof- 
 fice service in Chicago. In January, 1904, the 
 government divided the country into thirteen 
 civil service districts and appointed the subject 
 of our sketch to the secretaryship of the 7th 
 district as indicated above. Mr. Newton or- 
 ganized this district and prides himself on the 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 429 
 
 fact that it is one of the best equipped and 
 organized districts in the United States. 
 
 His parents were born in Voss, Norway, and 
 came to this country in the early '40's locating 
 in Wisconsin. Later they located permanently 
 in Chicago. His father was for many years or- 
 ganist in what was originally called Paul An- 
 derson's Church, and continued as su'ch until 
 his death in 1871. Our subject is the youngest 
 of seven children, three of whom were born in 
 Norway, and the others in this country. 
 
 Peter Newton. 
 
 Mr. Newton was married on Oct. 5, 1881, to 
 Miss Mary Elizabeth Torkilson, who died Dec. 
 10, 1883, leaving an infant daughter, who sur- 
 vived her mother less than one year. 
 
 On Feb. 8, 1888, he married Miss Belle An- 
 nette Paulsen. They have two children — Eli- 
 nor Irene and Leonard Victor — pupils in the Lake 
 View High School. 
 
 Mr. Newton is a life member of Blair Lodge, 
 No. 393, A. F. and A. M.; Washington Chapter, 
 No. 43, Royal Arch Masons; Chicago Com- 
 ■mandery, No. 19, Knights Templarsj Medinah 
 Temple; Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mys- 
 tic Shrine; Secretary of Washington Chapter, No. 
 
 43, R. A. AL; and was eminent commander of 
 Chicago Commandery, No. 19, K. T., in 1903-04. 
 The family attend the English Lutheran Church 
 and reside at 2281 N. Hermitage avenue, Ravens- 
 wood. 
 
 ALDRICK KRISTIAN NILSSON, 
 
 Organist and musician, was born in Bergen, 
 Norway, Sept. 30, 1858. His father Nils Fugle, 
 was from Fugle gaarden. Upper Vasenden on 
 J0lster, and was employed by different mer- 
 chants in Bergen. Young Nilson early developed 
 
 A. K. Nilsson. 
 
 a great love for music, and though his parents 
 were u'nable financially to aid him in his am- 
 bition, Kristian succeeded in taking some les- 
 sons first from TischendorfT and later from Vogel 
 and Edward Grieg. When 17 years old Mr. Nilson 
 was far enough along to take care of himself, 
 and since then the study, rendering and com- 
 
430 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 posing of music have been his life work. In 
 the old country he was organist for St. Paul's 
 Catholic Church in Bergen, 1884-86, substitute 
 for the organist in the cathedral (Domkirken), 
 from 1886-88, and organist at Mandal, Norway, 
 in 1889. 
 
 In the latter year he came to Chicago, where 
 he was immediately employed by several sing- 
 ing societies as instructor. He has also published 
 several compositions, one small volume — en- 
 titled "Standard Prelude Album" — reaching a sale 
 of 30,000 copies. Of other selections we can 
 mention: "The Book of Psalms," "Anthems 
 and Hymns," "Hjemlige Toner" and "B0rnenes 
 Harpe." A dozen others are adapted for piano, 
 organ, guitar and mandolin, besides songs for 
 singing societies. 
 
 Mr. Nilson was married to an accomplished 
 musician and pianist. Miss Dagmar Schauboe, on 
 June 8, 1895. They have two boys — Erling and 
 Einar Fugle. The family lives at 322 Potomac 
 avenue. 
 
 HERMAN BROWN NIRISON, 
 
 The real estate man on W. Armitage avenue, is 
 a native of Chicago, his parents (Kittel and 
 Ingeborg Nirison) having come from Norway 
 in the '40's. Their home in Norway was a few 
 miles north of Skien. 
 
 Herman was born in Chicago, May 27^ 1862, 
 and has had the advantage of the Chicago pub- 
 lic schools and a short time at Wheaton Col- 
 lege. In 1878 he clerked for a firm on Grand 
 avenue, and the next year his father took him 
 into bu'siness with himself under the firm name 
 of K. Nirison & Son, doing a general china and 
 silver-plated ware business, on Grand avenue. In- 
 1885 he went to Wolsey, S. D., and engaged in 
 farming, but returned to Chicago two years 
 later. 
 
 He was married to Emma E. Nelson, of Chi- 
 cago, on May 27, 1885. They have had five 
 children, four now living, namely: Walter B., 
 1886; William O., 1888, who died while young; 
 Edith N., 1890; Russell A., 1892; Kittel N., 1900. 
 
 After his return from South Dakota Mr. Niri- 
 son clerked in a hardware jobber's office until 
 1890, when he engaged in the real estate and 
 insurance business, which he has continued since. 
 
 He was first located at Milwaukee avenue near 
 Center avenue, then at 86 La Salle street, and 
 is now at 1636 Armitage avenue. 
 
 Mr. Nirison is a member of Arcana Lodge, 
 No. 717, A. F. & A. M.; Wiley M. Eagan, No. 
 126, R. A. M.; Michael Reese Council, No. 1587, 
 Royal Arcanum; Dover Lodge, R. H. K.; the 
 
 H. B. Nirison. 
 
 Happy Hooligan Bowling Club; captain of the 
 Pioneer Gun Club; president of the Norwegian 
 Republican Club of the twenty-seventh ward, 
 and is a member of the Hermosa Improvement 
 Club. The family resides at 1034 N. Forty- 
 second avenue. 
 
 CARL WILLIAM BIRCH-NORD, 
 
 Civil engineer, with the American Bridge Com- 
 pany, Monadnock Block, Chicago, is a son of 
 the late Carl Birch-Nord, chief engineer and 
 manager of the former Hasgholmen's Mechanical 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 431 
 
 Shipbuilding Company, and Eva Nord (nee Mar- 
 month), daughter of Stephen Marmonth, man- 
 ager of the Hjula Weaving IManufacturing Com- 
 pany, of Christiania, Norway. 
 
 Our subject was born in Christiania, Oct. 7, 
 1880. After completing his high school and 
 technical education, with practical training in 
 machine shops in Christiania, he went to Ger- 
 many in 1901, where he extended his studies in 
 electrical engineering at the institute of tech- 
 nology at Bingen am Rhein. He was later em- 
 ployed as superintendent of electrical install- 
 ments at Boras, Sweden. 
 
 of the largest car, foundry and machine shops 
 in the country. He is a member of the Western 
 Society of Civil Engineers. 
 
 C. W. Birch-Nord. 
 
 Mr. Birch-Nord arrived in Chicago in July, 
 1902, where, after having held various posi- 
 tions with the Western Electric Company, Burn- 
 ham & Company, and others, he secured a place 
 as draftsman with the Metropolitan Elevated 
 ■Railroad Company. He found it difficult at 
 first to get a position as civil engineer. He 
 remained with the Metropolitan until 1903, when 
 he accepted the position of first assistant en- 
 gineer in the estimating department of the 
 American Bridge Company's Chicago ofifice. 
 Here he had charge of the designing of several 
 
 REV. J0RGEN NORDBY. 
 
 For the past twenty-five years pastor for the 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church at Lee, 111., was 
 born at Ulvig, Hardanger, Norway, Dec. 9, 1852. 
 He came to America in 1867, having up to that 
 time attended the public schools. Here he lived 
 in the country and attended school graduating 
 from Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, in 1873, 
 and from the Concordia Theological Seminary, 
 
 Rev. J0rgen Nordby. 
 
 St. Louis, Mo., in 1876. His first call was to the 
 Lutheran Church at Northwood, Iowa, where 
 he remained for four years, going then to Lee, 
 111. He was secretary for the eastern district 
 of the Norwegian Lutheran Synod, and since 
 1896 has been secretary of the general synod. 
 
432 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Rev. Nordby has traveled extensively, having 
 visited Egypt and the Holy Land, as well as 
 most of the European countries. . He has been 
 back to Norway three times. His whole life 
 since leaving college has been devoted to church 
 work, he having served on important synodical 
 committees, one of them for the revision of the 
 hymn book. He supports charities liberally, 
 being especially interested in the orphans' home 
 and the home for the aged at Stoughton, Wis. 
 
 He married Miss Rosina Pauline Preus, Aug. 
 29, 1877. They have had nine children, four now 
 living. 
 
 JETLEE BRYNGELSON NORDHEM 
 
 Was born at Voss, Norway, June 6, 1841, to 
 Bryngel J. and Ingeborg E. (Saue) Nordhem. 
 Having graduated from the common school, he 
 was confirmed in Vossevangens church and then 
 worked on his father's farm, until he came to 
 America in June, 1859. He stopped at Long 
 Prairie, 111., about one year, then went to Dec- 
 orah, Iowa, where he remained one and a half 
 year. 
 
 On Feb. 25, 1862, Mr. Nordhem enlisted in Com- 
 pany H, First Battalion, of the Sixteenth U. S. 
 Infantry and served three years. During that term 
 he was engaged in the following battles: Stone 
 River, where he was wounded. Mission Ridge, 
 Buzzard Roost, Reseca, New Hope Church, Ken- 
 esaw Mountain, Marietta, Peach Tree Creek, At- 
 lanta and Jonesboro, Ga. 
 
 Mr. Nordhem was married in May, 1871, to 
 Miss Julia T. Amondson, a daughter of John and 
 Herborg Amondson. This union has been blessed 
 with two daughters, Harriet Isabella, born Feb. 
 9, 1873, married to Mr. Charles F. Hamann, and 
 Edith Josephine, born June 1, 1877. They have 
 also had one son, Joseph Bernard, born Nov. 5, 
 1866, who died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Nordhem has been engaged for about 
 thirteen years in the custom service and held 
 various positions in same as inspector, bond- 
 clerk, warehouse ledger clerk and drawback 
 clerk. 
 
 In 1879 he was elected supervisor of West 
 Town, Chicago, which term lasted one year. 
 
 Mr. Nordhem has been connected with Skan- 
 dinaven as manager for their book department 
 for about ten years. He is now secretary and 
 
 vice-president of the John Anderson Publishing 
 Company. 
 
 The family are members of the English Evan- 
 gelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity for 
 which Mr. Nordhem has served as trustee for 
 about twenty years. 
 
 Jetlee B. Nordhem. 
 
 Mr. Nordhem is a member of the Grand Army 
 of the Republic. U. S.- Grant Post 28. He has 
 served three years as president of the Norweg- 
 ian Republican Club of the 28th Ward, and is a 
 life member of the Norwegian Lutheran Tabitha 
 Hospital Society. 
 
 The family resides at 1848 Humboldt boule- 
 vard. 
 
 HANS PETER GR0DEM NORSTRAND 
 
 Was born near Bergen, Norway, June 24, 1871, 
 his parents being Lars C. and Hansine Rasmussen 
 Norstrand. He was educated in the Bergen 
 LJ and technical schools. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 433 
 
 He came to America in 1889, and served as 
 draftsman for several Chicago firms. Was chief 
 engineer for the Aultman & Taylor Machinery 
 Company. Mansfield, Ohio, for four years — from 
 1894-1898. Was superintendent for the Pennsyl- 
 vania Boiler Works at Erie, Penn., 1898-1900; 
 general superintendent for Abendroth & Root 
 Manufacturing Company, New York, 1900-1902; 
 general manager for the Hawley Down Drop 
 Furnace Company, Chicago, 1902-1903, and is 
 now engineer, secretary and treasurer for the 
 
 H. P. G. Norstrand. 
 
 George Whiting Company, manufacturers of spe- 
 cial machinery, 156-158 W. North avenue. 
 
 Mr. Norstrand was married in December, 1892, 
 to Mathilda Nagle, born in Prague, Bohemia. 
 They have three children — Signe Ruth, 12 years; 
 Leif Behrend, 4 years; Hans Donald, 1 year. 
 The subject of our sketch is a member of Den 
 JMorske Kvartet Club, the Royal League, and 
 the Independent Religious Society, served by 
 the eloquent M. M. Mangasarian. 
 
 REV. HENRY T. NOSS 
 
 Was born at St. Peter, Minn, Jan 1, 1879, his 
 parents (Tollef H. and IMarie S. Noss) having 
 come from Norway in 1877. They remained at 
 St. Peter for two years and then moved to Hat- 
 
 Rev. Henry T. Noss. 
 
 ton, N. D., where they have made their home 
 since. Those were pioneer days and Henry's 
 first home was a sod house, eighty miles from a 
 railroad. He attended the public schools, spent 
 one year at the Grand Forks College, two years 
 at the Mayville Normal School and four years at 
 the United Church College at Minneapolis, where 
 he graduated in the spring of 1900. The fol- 
 lowing year was spent at St. Olaf's College, 
 where he received his degree of bachelor of 
 arts in 1901. He then studied three years at 
 the United Church Seminary at St. Anthony 
 Park, St. Paul, where he graduated as a candi- 
 date for the ministry, ^une 2, 1905, and was 
 ordained as a minister in the Swedish Augustana 
 Church at Minneapolis on Sunday, June 18, 1905. 
 Sunday, July 16, 1905, he entered upon his 
 duties as a minister of the gospel in Bethany 
 Congregation, Leland, 111., this being one of the 
 
434 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 oldest congregations in the United Church. financial man to Seneca D. Kimbark. He re- 
 While he serves a Norwegian congregation, he mained with the firm until 1905, when he was 
 preaches but two sermons in that language made general manager of the Co-operative De- 
 each month, the rest of the work being carried partment Store, corner of Milwaukee avenue 
 on in English. ^"d Carpenter street. 
 
 Mr. Olsen was married in June, 1900, to Miss 
 Ida A. Stenbeck, daughter of Captain Andrew 
 and Caroline Stenbeck. They had one child, 
 Maren, born March 31, 1902. Mr. Olsen is a 
 member of Hesperia Lodge, A. F. and A, M. 
 Mrs. Olsen died in 1905. 
 
 GEORGE T. OLSEN. 
 
 General manager for the Co-operative Store on 
 Milwaukee avenue is a native of Norway. He 
 was born in Stavanger, April 22, 1865, and came 
 
 HENRY OLSEN 
 
 George T. Olsen. 
 
 to America with his parents when a child. 
 His father, Terje Olsen, was intere-sted in lake 
 vessels and shipping. His mother 'was Maren 
 Maesel. Both passed away in Chicago. 
 
 The subject of our sketch attended the public 
 schools and a business college in Chicago. In 
 1882 he entered the employ of S. D. Kimbark & 
 Co., first as clerk and later as confidential and 
 
 Was born at Aune, Trondenes, Nordland, Nor- 
 way, Aug. 24, 1846, his parents being Ole and 
 Dorothea Margrethe Mikkelsen, who lived on a 
 small farm near the above-named place. Here 
 Henry attended the common schools until 15 
 years old, when he went to Tromsjzi to learn the 
 cabinetmaker's trade. 
 
 After finishing his apprenticeship he took pas- 
 sage on the sailship Norge for America, on June 
 6, 1864. Seven weeks later he arrived at Quebec, 
 Canada, coming by boat to Toronto and by rail 
 to Chicago, where he arrived Aug. 6. He ar- 
 rived here without a cent to buy tools with 
 and not knowing a single person, but secured 
 work as a laborer, carrying brick and unload- 
 ing lumber vessels, etc. 
 
 Oct. 6, 1864, he enlisted in the United States 
 Army as a volunteer. He was immediately sent 
 to Indiana, where he joined the Eighty-second 
 Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, then at Atlanta, 
 Ga. On Nov. 10, the same year, he took part 
 in the burning of Atlanta and was with Sher- 
 man on his "march to the sea," and also on 
 the march from Savannah through South and 
 North Carolina. He took part in many small 
 battles and skirmishes and was at Raleigh, N. 
 C, in April, 1865, when Johnston surrendered to 
 Sherman. They then marched north through 
 Richmond to Washington, where the regiment 
 was mustered out of the service, but Mr. Olsen 
 was transferred to the Twenty-second Indiana 
 Volunteers, then stationed at Louisville, Ky. 
 July 24, 1865, he was honorably discharged from 
 the army as a private. Returning to Chicago, 
 he secured employment at the Illinois Central 
 passenger car works, then located at Twenty- 
 sixth street and Cottage Grove avenue. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 435 
 
 Mr. Olsen was married to Emelie Marie Har- Church. He has also been identified with the 
 riette Blomqvist, on Jan. 7, 1866. His wife was Tabitha Hospital, and with the Norwegian Old 
 also from Tromsjz(, having come over on the People's Home since its organization. Mr. and 
 same ship. They have had nine children — four Mrs. Olsen reside at 517 N. Hoyne avenue, 
 sons and five daughters — of which one son and 
 three daughters are living. They are all mar- 
 ried and living in Chicago. Soon after his mar- 
 riage, Mr. Olsen engaged as a millwright, work- 
 ing a number of years for Livingston Bros., of 
 this city, and in 1875 he engaged with Charles 
 Kaestner & Co. In 1885 he started in bu'si- 
 ness for himself, but two years later took in 
 
 JENS OLSEN, 
 
 Of Mendota, 111., is a son of Ola Olsen and 
 Rachel Maria (Fosse) Kalberg. He was born 
 near Stavanger, Norway, July 29, 1847. He 
 
 Henry Olsen. 
 
 Gustav Tilgner as a partner, manufacturing all 
 kinds of machinery, patterns, models and mill- 
 wright work, under the firm name of Olsen & 
 Tilgner, their factory being at Indiana street 
 and La Salle avenue. In 1901 the company in- 
 corporated under the name of Olsen & Tilgner 
 Manufacturing Co., of which ]Mr. Olsen is presi- 
 dent, their shop having been moved to 37-39 
 Ontario street. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Olsen have been mem- 
 bers since 1872 of the Second Norwegian 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, now known as 
 the Maplewood Avenue Methodist Episcopal 
 
 
 Jens Olsen. 
 
 learned the tailor trade in Stavanger and at 
 the age of 21 went to London, England, for 
 further advancement in it. He returned to 
 Stavanger after five years and engaged in busi- 
 ness for himself. 
 
 In 1875 he was married to Miss Inger, a 
 daughter of Enoch Knudson Joaasen, of Molde, 
 near Stavanger. 
 
436 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 In 1883 he came to America, stopping in Chi- 
 cago for one year and then going on to Men- 
 dota, where he settled with his family and has 
 resided since. 
 
 Nine children were born to them, seven of 
 •whom are living. Enoch B., the oldest, is as- 
 sistant cashier of the Germania Bank and city 
 treasurer of Mendota, his term expiring in May, 
 1907. Inga J., the oldest daughter, is a milliner, 
 in Chicago. Oscar B. is working in a drug store 
 in Mendota. Bertha graduated from the high 
 school in June, 1906. The younger children — 
 Clara, Herman and Edward — are at home, at- 
 tending school. The family attend the Presby- 
 terian Church, there being no Lutheran Church 
 excepting a German one. Mr. Olsen is a mem- 
 ber of the Modern Woodmen of America. The 
 family live in their own home at No. 700 Wash- 
 ington street. The oldest son, Enoch, is the only 
 child married. 
 
 PETER A. OLSEN, 
 
 The editor and publisher of Illinois Posten, of 
 Ottawa, was born at Molde, Norway, April 1, 
 1868. His father was Ole Olsen, a jeweler, and 
 his mother, Caroline Marie (Bakken) Olsen. 
 Mrs. Olsen died in Chicago in 1892, and his 
 father, who had worked at his trade in Chi- 
 cago for thirteen years, returned to Norway after 
 the World's Fair and died in Bergen, June 27, 
 1906. He had married again. 
 
 Our subject received his education in the pub- 
 lic schools in Bergen and Christiania. With his 
 parents he came to Chicago in 1883. At first 
 he attended evening school and was apprenticed 
 as a printer on the Norwegian weekly Norden. 
 He worked on Folkevennen from 1885 to 1889 
 and then went to Skandinaven, where he worked 
 in the subscription and mailing department and 
 also as compositor on the daily. He returned to 
 Norden and remained until 1894, when he began 
 the publication of Afholdsvennen. In 1896 he 
 moved to Ottawa, continuing his paper, but he 
 changed the name to Illinois Posten, which has 
 proved a financial success. 
 
 On Aug. 4, 1888, Mr. Olsen was married to 
 INIiss Marie A. Solem, daughter of Peter and 
 Gertrude (Hansen Stube) Solem, of Chicago. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Olsen have two daughters — Caro- 
 
 line Otelia, born Feb. 27, 1890, and Viola Einera, 
 born Feb. 7, 1892. Mrs. Olsen is a lady of cul- 
 ture, and, having a good education, she is in 
 innumerable ways of great assistance to her 
 husband. Miss Caroline is in her third year in 
 the high school and Viola attends the grammar 
 school. The family reside in their own home 
 at 801 First avenue. 
 
 Mr. Olsen's publishing office is in the Opera 
 House Block. His paper is the first secular paper 
 
 Peter A. Olsen. 
 
 (Norwegian) in Illinois outside of Chicago. It 
 is republican in politics and has been recognized 
 by the national, state, county and city commit- 
 tees. Mr. Olsen is also agent for all the At- 
 lantic steamship lines. During his stay in Chi- 
 cago he was an active member of the Bj0rgvin 
 Singing Society. 
 
 PETER B. OLSEN 
 
 Was born in Christiania, Norway, April 11, 
 1848. He arrived in Chicago in 1872 and went 
 to work on Skandinaven as a compositor. He was 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 437 
 
 connected with the paper until 1887. During 
 his connection with the paper he also served in 
 the business and editorial departments. From 
 1888 to 1892 he was employed as a draftsman in 
 the recorder's office in Chicago, after which he 
 again took up newspaper work. From 1895 to 
 1902 he worked in the county map department. 
 He was elected a representative to the general 
 assembly of Illinois on the republican ticket, 
 from the old Eleventh (now the Twenty-fifth) 
 senatorial district in 1898, and re-elected in 1900. 
 
 OLAF C. S. OLSEN, 
 
 Manufacturer of office desks and furniture, was 
 born in Stavanger, Norway, in 1863. 
 
 He came direct to Chicago in 1883 and has 
 resided here since. He was educated in the 
 public schools and learned the trade of a cabi- 
 net maker in the old country, and has followed 
 that line of work. In 1890 he established a 
 business on his own account, under the name of 
 O. C. S. Olsen & Co., and makes a specialty of 
 office desks. His factory, a substantial brick 
 building of six stories, covers a whole block on 
 the corner of Austin avenue and May street. 
 
 Peter B. Olsen. 
 
 In 1902 he was elected county clerk of Cook 
 county, by a very large plurality. 
 
 Mr. Olsen has been married twice and has 
 seven living children. He is an Odd Fellow and 
 a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Olsen 
 has made a creditable record as county clerk, 
 having been publicly commended by the county 
 board for his comprenhensive, complete and ac- 
 curate reports. He refused a renomination on 
 account of the worries and anxieties the respon- 
 sibility of the office entails. 
 
 ALBERT JOHN OLSON, 
 
 The wholesale milk dealer, with office and depot 
 at 265 N. Franklin street, Chicago, was born 
 at Elgin, 111., June 4, 1865. His parents were 
 John and Carrie Olson. He attended the public 
 schools, but when 10 years old his parents moved 
 
 Albert J. Olson. 
 
438 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 to Lee, 111., where our subject continued his 
 schooling for five years. He was confirmed in 
 the North Norwegian Lutheran Church. He 
 came to Chicago in 1882. 
 
 On Oct. 19, 1885, he was married to Miss 
 Jane Severson of Lee, Illinois. Mr. Olson had 
 already embarked in the milk and cream busi- 
 ness, and has continued in that line since. He 
 has taken an active interest in politics, having 
 twice represented his district in the legislature — 
 the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth general assemblies 
 — and has also served two terms in the city 
 council. He is a member of the Masonic Order. 
 His mother died in Elgin in 1876; his father in 
 1892. The family resides at 261 N. Franklin 
 street. Mr. Olson owns the Woodstock Farm, 
 in McHenry county, said to be one of the best 
 stock farms in the state. 
 
 ^ 
 
 EVER OLSON, 
 
 Of Freeport, 111., was born in Davis, Stephenson 
 -county. 111., June 24, 1867, to Sven and Inge- 
 
 borg (Hoff) Olson. His parents were farmers, 
 and Ever spent his youth on the farm and at- 
 tended the public school. His mother died twelve 
 years and his father seven years ago. Our sub- 
 ject continued on the farm until about three 
 years ago, when he was appointed deputy sheriff 
 and moved to Freeport, the county seat of Steph- 
 enson county. He took the census for Rock 
 River township in 1900, and was elected collector 
 in 1901-02. 
 
 In 1906 Mr. Olson received the republican 
 nomination for sheriff by a majority of over 600 
 votes, being the first man of Norwegian descent 
 to be nominated for a political office in Stephen- 
 son county. The county being largely populated 
 by Germans he was, however, defeated-.-at the 
 election by a small majority. 
 
 He married Miss Anna Rostad, of Oxfordville, 
 Wis., on Dec. 30, 1901. They have two chil- 
 dren — Clement, born Dec. 26, 1902, and Edward, 
 born Nov. 25, 1904. Mr. Olson is a member of 
 the Odd Fellows and the Order of Eagles, both 
 fraternal societies. 
 
 Ever Olson. 
 
 HENRY P. OLSON, 
 
 Of Capron, Boone county. 111., was born in 
 Earl township. La Salle county, Feb. 5, 1853, 
 his parents being Hele and Helen (Saala) Ol- 
 son. His father was a farmer in La Salle county 
 and our subject attended the public schools and 
 was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. He 
 remained with his father on the farm until of 
 age. 
 
 He was married to Miss Lena Hanson, daugh- 
 ter of Hans and Eliza Hanson, of Boone coun- 
 ty, on Feb. 15, 1878. His wife's father came to 
 this country in 1845, her mother, Eliza Tryme, 
 having arrived earlier. Mr. and Mrs. Olson have 
 four children, namely: George Harvey, born in 
 1878; Arthur Henry, 1880; Sevina, 1883; Oscar 
 Hulbert, 1888. Mr. Olson engaged in farming as 
 a renter on his father's farm in 1874, in De Kalb 
 county, but after his marriage in 1878 rented from 
 his father-in-law in Boone county, which farm 
 he has since bought, and where the family still 
 reside. The farm comprises 100 acres and is one 
 mile southeast of Capron, in Boone township. 
 
 Mr. Olsen has been a director, vice-president 
 and president of the Capron Creamery Com- 
 pany, a director in the Capron Home Telephone 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 439 
 
 Company and road commissioner for two terms. 
 He has also been secretary, trustee and cashier 
 for Hauges Lutheran Church. His father died 
 
 Henry P, Olson. 
 
 on his farm, Aug. 21, 1883, and his mother in 
 Davison county, South Dakota, Aug. 5, 1891. 
 
 other half at the school. He continued to work 
 in the same office until he became of age. 
 
 On June 16, 1887, Mr. Olson left Mandal for 
 America and landed in New York on July 1. He 
 went directly to Chicago, arriving here on the 
 glorious Fourth of July, and has remained here 
 since. 
 
 He did not succeed in obtaining work at his 
 trade at first, so he accepted a position in a 
 tannery for a while. From August 1887 to May 
 1892 he was employed in the new printing office 
 of "Vort Land," located at 140 W. Indiana street. 
 
 Jacob A. Olson. 
 
 JACOB ANDREAS OLSON, 
 
 Foreman for the printing department of "Skan- 
 dinaven," was born at Mandal, Norway, Nov. 21, 
 1865, to Ole Olsen, a carpenter at that city and 
 his wife Sille, born Jacobsen. Mr. Olson enjoyed 
 a common school education and was confirmed 
 in the Lutheran church at Mandal. 
 
 At the age of 10 he was apprenticed to learn 
 the printer's trade in the office of "Lister og 
 Mandals Amtstidende,*" A. Nasss, proprietor. 
 Here he worked half of the day and spent the 
 
 From May 1892 to May 1896 he was employed in 
 the job office of the John Anderson Publishing 
 Company and on May 8 of the last named year 
 he was promoted as foreman for "Skandinaven," 
 which position he is still holding. 
 
 On March 8, 1889, Mr. Olson was joined in 
 holy wedlock to Miss Lina L0kke, a daughter of 
 Johan M. and Andrea L0kke of Trondhjem, Nor- 
 way. This marital union has been blessed by two 
 daughters, Sigrid Alvilde, and Lillie Andrea. 
 
 With his family ]\Ir. Olson attends the Logan 
 Square Norwegian Baptist church, of which he 
 
440 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 has held the offices of trustee and cashief and at 
 present he holds the office of deacon. 
 
 He has been secretary of the Viking Lodge, 
 Order of Chosen Friends and resides at 1555 
 North Washtenaw avenue. 
 
 ^ 
 
 KNUD B. OLSON, 
 
 President of The Olson Manufacturing Co. was 
 born on Jan. 3, 1839, at Voss, Norway. His 
 parents were Ole Olsen and Ingeborg Anders- 
 datter Rothe. After going through the public 
 
 Knud B. Olson, 
 
 was increased during the voyage by the birth of 
 their first child, Isabella Atlanta. 
 
 1 he family came to Chicago via Quebec on 
 July IS, 1861, but for months no work could be 
 obtained until Mr. Olson finally succeeded in 
 getting a position in a tailor shop, first at $3.50, 
 later at $6.00 per week. Within one year and a 
 half he bought' a Singer sewing machine for $80 
 and with a girl to assist him started in business 
 for himself January 1, 1863. He worked from 
 early in the morning until late at night. His first 
 location was at Dearborn avenue and Superior 
 street; subsequently he moved to Market street 
 and Chicago avenue, and finally to 88 Superior 
 street, where he also had his home. 
 
 The fire of Oct. 9, 1871, swept away his home 
 with the rest; he lost all he had, receiving only 
 1% per cent of his $8000 insurance. But he got 
 hold of some lumber, put his pressers and shop 
 help to work and erected a building 24x83 feet 
 and iy2 story in height. He went to Milwaukee 
 and purchased his goods, and on November 1, he 
 moved into his new house and started up the 
 shop. 
 
 In 1895, twenty-four years after the fire, Olson 
 and his partner, Knud O. Bolstad, who had been 
 associated with him since. 1866, changed the firm 
 name of K. B. Olson & Co. to The Olson Manu- 
 facturing Company, for the manufacturing oi 
 trousers. The business rapidly increased. They 
 now employ 150 people, and are occupying a 
 large building on Elk Grove avenue near North 
 avenue, erected for the purpose. 
 
 Knud Olson is a quiet, unassuming man, 
 short and sturdy in appearance, who attends 
 strictly to business and says, that all through life 
 he has followed the golden rule: "early to bed, 
 early to rise ". He is a member of the. Norwegian 
 St. Paul's Lutheran Church on North avenue near 
 Leavitt street, and is a member of the Norwegi- 
 an Old People's Home Society and the Tabitha 
 Hospital Society. His residence is at Norwood 
 Park, where he has lived since 1895. His wife 
 died July 19, 1906. They have had nine children, 
 of whom si.x are living, namely Mrs. Isabella 
 Atlanta Anderson, Bertha Petterson, John N., 
 Henry A., "Vvilliam A. and Clarence S. Olson. 
 
 school he was apprenticed to Mons Isaksen Sane, 
 the local tailor. On April 12, 1860, he married 
 Susanne Nilsdatter Stene, and in the following 
 year they emigrated to America. They left Ber- 
 gen on May 12, 1861, in the barkship "Norge", 
 Captain Jetmundsen, whose passenger list of 565 
 
 TOM OLSON, 
 
 The popular painter and contractor, now retired 
 from active business, was born in Sande preste- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 441 
 
 gjeld, Lower Telemarken, Norway, March 7, 
 1845. He lived on a farm until confirmed, but 
 shortly afterward went to sea and made several 
 trips to England and France. In 1866 he shipped 
 on the sailing vessel Maple Leaf, bound for 
 Canada, and while in port Mr. Olsen availed 
 himself of the opportunity and took french leave 
 from the vessel at Quebec. He worked his way 
 to Chicago, arriving here in May of that year. He 
 shortly afterward secured work in the paint shop 
 of the McCormick Harvester Works, then locat- 
 ed at the North pier. A year or so later he 
 began to do general painting, gradually develop- 
 
 Tom Olson, 
 
 ing into the contracting business, taking large 
 contracts, especially for public work, such as 
 school houses, etc. He continued at this work 
 until about two years ago, when he retired. 
 
 He married Miss Dorothy Elizabeth Fuglestad, 
 of Stavanger, Oct. 5, 1872. They have had nine 
 children, three daughters now living, two mar- 
 ried. 
 
 Mr. Olson is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
 the Old People's Home Society and Bethlehem 
 Lutheran Church. He contributes to the Tabitha 
 Hospital, the Deaconess' Hospital and the Chil- 
 dren's Home. The family resides at 358 W. Erie 
 street. 
 
 WALTER EUGENE OLSON, 
 
 President of the Olson Rug Company, is a native 
 of Chicago, a son of Oliver B. and Augusta E. 
 Olson. He was born Feb. 22, 1880. He at- 
 tended the public and high school in Chicago 
 and was confirmed at our Saviour's Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church. During this school period 
 Walter spent all of his spare time at his fa- 
 ther's store or rug factor''^ thus familiarizing 
 
 W. E. Olson. 
 
 himself with the business in every detail, so 
 that when school for the last time was dis- 
 missed he was able to step right into active 
 business. The company, which is incorporated, 
 has three branch offices in Chicago, one in Ish- 
 peming, Mich., and one in 'Racine, Wis. The 
 factory is at 1373-91 Carroll avenue. 
 
 His father invented, in 1874, what is known as 
 the Olson fluff rug, made from old carpet, and 
 its manufacture is now a distinctive industry. 
 The business, started on a small scale, has 
 grown to immense proportions, employing now 
 from 175 to 200 workers. 
 
 Mr. Olson's father died in 1890, but his busi- 
 ness, under the care of his vigilant son, has 
 grown into a lasting monument to his memory. 
 
442 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Mr. Olson has invented and patented (in Octo- 
 ber, 1902) a combination-preparing machine, a 
 labor-saving device of great value in the busi- 
 ness. Mr. Olson lives with his mother at 682 
 W. Superior street. 
 
 ^ 
 
 WILLIAM OLSON 
 
 Was born at Racine, Wisconsin, June 2, 1863. 
 His father was Gilbert Olson, Deputy Sherifif, and 
 his mother Sarah (nee Nelson) Olson. Mr. Ol- 
 son was educated in the public grammar school, 
 confirmed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church 
 by Rev. Torgersen and later took a course in a 
 business college. 
 
 He then secured employment with the Chicago 
 & Northwestern Railroad, first as a messenger 
 boy and later as a telegraph operator. He has 
 held various positions with the Panhandle Rail- 
 road; at present he is locomotive engineer with 
 the Chicago & Northwestrn Railroad running 
 a switch engine. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. Olson was married to Miss Marie 
 Soemo, a daughter of Halvor and Marianne Soe- 
 mo, of Porsgrund, Norway. Their home has been 
 blessed with five children. Isabelle, born 1888; 
 Alice, 1890; Willie, 1893 (deceased); Harry, 1894, 
 and George, born in 1900. 
 
 Mr. Olson is a Mason, a member of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Foresters and of the Brother- 
 hood of Locomotive Engineers, Fort Humboldt 
 Lodge. 
 
 His mother died in 1894 and his father in 1906. 
 
 CHRISTEN JOHNSON OLSTAD, 
 
 The camera manufacturer, of the firm of Ol- 
 stad and Hansen, at 87 W. Lake street, was 
 born on gaarden 0vre Olstad, 0yers preste- 
 gjeld, Gudbrandsdalen, Norway, Oct. 23, 1850. 
 His parents were J. C. and Johanne (Peders- 
 datter Lu'nke) Olstad. Mr. Olstad remained on 
 his father's farm, getting the advantage of the 
 country schools, and was confirmed in Norway. 
 
 He came to America in 1873 and remained in 
 Chicago. He worked at odd jobs, such as he 
 could get to do, for several years and then se- 
 cured a position with Jonas Anderson, manu- 
 facturer of cameras and photographic instru- 
 ments at 63-65 E. Indiana street. He continued 
 in his employ for seventeen years. There then 
 came a lull in the business, and Olstad, with a 
 number of other employees, were temporarily 
 laid off. During this period Mr. Olstad was 
 impatient to get to work. Having his own 
 tools, he got permission to put in a bench in 
 a machine shop on the second floor at 87 W. 
 
 C. J. Olstad. 
 
 Lake street, corner of Jefferson. He then started 
 out to find work, and was rewarded by finding 
 more than he could attend to alone. He then 
 went to Rasmus Hansen, who had worked with 
 him for Jonas Anderson, and the two went in 
 together to rush out the orders already at hand. 
 Orders kept coming in, and the arrangement be- 
 tween Olstad and Hansen resulted in a partner- 
 ship, which has continued at the same location 
 since, now over eleven years. They are now 
 devoting all their time and energies to the mak- 
 ing of professional cameras and doing other 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 443 
 
 work in that line, and are having surprising and 
 gratifying success. 
 
 On Nov. 4, 1885, Mr. Olstad was married to 
 Ingeborg Johnson, born at Voss, Norway, on 
 Sept. 21, 1861. They have four children, namely: 
 John Herbert, born Feb. 15, 1887; Gertrude 
 Josephine, July 26, 1890; Clarence Reinhart, 
 April 11, 1894; Edna Sophia, Oct. 27, 1903. Mr. 
 Olstad is a member of the National Union, an 
 insurance and fraternal association. The fam- 
 ily reside in their own comfortable home at 
 1269 Tripp avenue, Chicago. 
 
 BIRGER OSLAND, 
 
 amen artium, with the mark laudabilis) at the 
 Christiania University in July, 1888. 
 
 In August of the same year he came to Chicago 
 and secured a job in a machine shop at $5 per 
 week. He was afterward cashier for Skandinaven 
 from 1888 to 1891. He then went with the Wac- 
 ker Brewing Company, where he remained for 
 twelve years, the last three years as secretary 
 and director. He has also been secretary to 
 Mr. Charles H. Wacker since 1896. 
 
 He married Miss Therese Korsvik, on March 
 15, 1890. They have had three children, two 
 now living. Mr. Osland is a member of Den 
 Norske Kvartet Club and the German society 
 Schwabenverein, was formerly secretary and one 
 of the founders of the Norwegian National League 
 of Chicago, and is a member of the Norwegian 
 Old People's Home Society. The family resides 
 at 2613 Lowell avenue. 
 
 Assistant to the president of the Chicago Heights 
 Land Association, a large organization dealing 
 in real estate and operating various public utility 
 
 ^ 
 
 Birger Osland, 
 
 corporations, was born in Stavanger, Norway, 
 March 1, 1870. He took the degree of B.A, (ex- 
 
 MRS. HELEN OSMON, 
 
 Of Morris, 111., was born at Lisbon, Big Grove, 
 Kendall county, April 15, 1845. Her parents. 
 
 Mrs. Helen Osmon. 
 
444 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 John and Susan (Anderson) Hill, being the first 
 Norwegian settlers in Lisbon, her father hav- 
 ing located there in 1839. He earned his first 
 wages by working on the Michigan Canal. He 
 afterward engaged in farming, and died on his 
 farm on Dec. 31, 1893. 
 
 The subject of this sketch (Miss Hill) mar- 
 ried Austin Osmon, March 13, 1866, and eight 
 children blessed the union, namely: Andrew T., 
 Joseph H., Abel D., Edwin J., Emma E., Ira 
 Lincoln, Louis M. and Susanna May Osmon. 
 
 In 1892 Mr. Osmon and family moved to 
 Morris, 111., having sold the larger part of the 
 farm to their son Edwin. Mrs. Osmon attends 
 the Norwegian Lutheran Church at Morris and 
 takes great interest in the work of the con- 
 gregation, her husband having taken a very act- 
 ive part in the building of the church. Mr. 
 Osmon died in 1903. Mrs. Osmon's mother, Mrs. 
 Hill, who was born in Norway in 1823, is living 
 in Morris. 
 
 MRS. MARGRETE RYGH OSMON, 
 
 Of Newark, III., was born in Skoneviks preste- 
 gjeld, Bergens stift, Norway, in March, 1831. 
 Her father was Anders Torbj0rnson Holmdal, a 
 farmer, and her mother Johanne Knudsdatter. 
 They never emigrated to this country, but once 
 came over to visit their children, and shortly 
 after their return to Norway both died. 
 
 In 1850 Miss Rygh, with one of her brothers, 
 came to America and located at Lisbon. In 1852 
 •she was married to Mr. S0ren Halvorsen Rygh, 
 with whom she had twelve children. Five died 
 in infancy and seven are living. The children 
 are all married except the oldest son, Andrew 
 Osmon, who is living with his mother. 
 
 In 1901 Mr. Osmon died, leaving the farm 
 to his widow, who rented it first to her son, 
 but when he later bought a farm of his own 
 she rented it to another man. A son, Sj^ren 
 S., and a daughter, Mrs. Johanne Erickson, are 
 living in Ford county. Halvor and Tom Os- 
 mon are farmers, living southwest of Newark. 
 One daughter, Mary, is married to Mr. Louis 
 Wicks, a farmer, and Maggie to Mr. George 
 Nitter, a lumber dealer at Aurora. Mrs. Osmon 
 is a member of the Hauge Church. 
 
 O. H. OSMOND, 
 
 Of Newark, 111., is a son of Herman (Aarag) Os- 
 mond, a native of Aarag, near Stavanger, and 
 Sera Holgerson Vammen. His parents came to 
 America in 1836, stopped over for a year in Ohio, 
 and in 1837 came to Norway, 111. Here the sub- 
 ject of our sketch was born on April 2, 1854. 
 Later his parents moved to Newark, where the 
 elder Osmond lived as a retired farmer for ten 
 years. He died in 1888. His wife is still living 
 at the advanced age of 88 years. The couple 
 had five children, of whom three are living — O. 
 
 O. H. Osmond. 
 
 H. and Peter O., living in Newark, and Henry 
 Osmond, in Chicago. 
 
 Mr. O. H. Osmond received his education in 
 the public schools, the seminary at Aurora, and 
 in a business college in Chicago. When through 
 with schooling he went into the mercantile busi- 
 ness in Newark, where he has remained since, 
 as a dealer in furniture; an undertaker and 
 licensed embalmer. He is also engaged in the 
 steamship-ticket and insurance business. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Osmond was married to Miss 
 Mary J. Evans, an American. They have had 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 445 
 
 three children — Herman George, William Nire 
 and Hazel Marie. Herman, 18 years old, is in 
 Oklahoma, growing up with the country on a 
 cattle ranch, the other two being at home with 
 their parents. 
 
 Mr. Osmond is a member of the ^Modern 
 Woodmen of America. The family are members 
 of the American Methodist Church, Mrs. Os- 
 mond having been brought up in that denomina- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Osmond's father was practically the main- 
 spring in building the Norwegian Church at Nor- 
 way, 111. His home was the meeting place for all 
 the ministers and students who came there to 
 preach. When the men who had served their 
 adopted country during the war returned, worn 
 and emaciated, he fed them and furnished many 
 of them with clothing, giving them an opportun- 
 ity to recuperate. He was a very liberal man and 
 proved his faith by his deeds. He is kept in 
 kind remembrance not only by relatives and 
 friends, but by others who benefited by his will- 
 ingness to help his kind. Of Mr. O. H. Osmond 
 can be said that he is a worthy son and popular 
 among all who know him. 
 
 i^ 
 
 JOHN C. OSSE 
 
 Was born at Aase, near Sandnes, Stavanger, 
 Norway, May 26, 1867. His father was Corne- 
 lius Aase and his mother Bertha Vasvig. Mr. 
 Osse obtained his education in the country 
 school until he was confirmed, and worked on 
 the farm until 16 years of age, when he went 
 to Stavanger and was employed in a dry goods 
 store about a year and a half. Returned to the 
 farm and worked in a carpenter's shop, where 
 he learned turning and similar things. 
 
 Final!}', in 1887, he found the mother country 
 too narrow for his activities, and started for 
 America. He landed in New York and immediate- 
 ly came west to Rochelle, 111. Here he worked 
 at anything he could get to do for about two 
 years. Then went to Rock Falls, 111., where he 
 was employed in a factory, and from there to 
 Chicago, where he worked in the McCormick 
 Harvester Company's establishment a little over 
 a year. He now returned to Rochelle, where he 
 
 was employed by Mr. P. O. Bly, and worked 
 in his store until 1893, when he returned to Nor- 
 way, visiting his parents and friends. In the 
 spring of the same year he returned to Rochelle, 
 and continued his work for Mr. Bly, who had 
 started a branch clothing store at Shabbona, 
 111., where Mr. Osse was made manager. He 
 stayed there one year. Then, Mr. Bly having 
 discontinued the branch, "Sir. Osse came back 
 and worked in the store at Rochelle, where he 
 remained about a year. He then was employed 
 
 John C. Osse. 
 
 by H. W. Williams, drygoods department store, 
 where he worked four j^ears. In the meantime 
 Mr. Bly, because of sickness, sold out his busi- 
 ness to Mr. Osse, who continued the same under 
 his own name. He is doing a flourishing busi- 
 ness in clothing and gents' furnishing goods. 
 
 In June, 1896, he was married to Miss Bertha 
 Kittelson, of Rochelle. Mr. Osse is a member 
 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and 
 the Free Masons. 
 
446 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 HENRY M. OYEN, M. D. 
 
 DR. ELIAS BJ0RLYKKE PALMER, 
 
 Was born on Desplaines street, near Grand ave- 
 nue, on July 24, 1863, his parents being Frederick 
 Oyen and Inger Anna Hoifstad, both from 
 Trondhjem, Norway, 
 
 After passing through the Carpenter School 
 he began active work at the age of 14, as a 
 clerk in a grocery. Sometime afterward he was 
 apprenticed to learn the printer's trade in the 
 Independent office. He afterward worked on 
 all the Chicago dailies, and before entering the 
 
 The dentist, at 519 Milwaukee avenue, was born 
 in 0stre Aker, Norway, Feb. 11, 1869. His par- 
 ents were Karl Fredrick and Martha Ellingsen 
 Bj0rlykke, of 0stre Aker, where his father was- 
 a school teacher. Here Elias attended middel- 
 skolen and was confirmed. He was then placed 
 with a leading dentist to learn the profession. 
 
 In 1887 he came to America, coming direct 
 to Chicago, where he immediately secured a 
 place as assistant dentist with Dr. N. Nelson, 
 where he remained for five years, mastering the 
 profession in all its details. He then began tO' 
 practice on his own account, and in 1899 opened 
 the commodious office which he now occupies 
 
 Dr. H. M. Oyen. 
 
 medical profession he was for fifteen years 
 foreman of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. 
 
 After having passed through a complete course 
 in medicine at the Harvey Medical College, he 
 received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1903. 
 
 He was married on Aug. 19, 1882, to Nathalie 
 Mathea Anderson (Sarpsberg). They have had 
 three children, two now living. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Royal League and is a member of 
 the Norske-Amerikanske Mandelige Begravelses 
 Forening. He takes an active interest in the 
 Norwegian Old People's Home. The family 
 resides at 393 W. Chicago avenue. 
 
 Dr. E. B. Palmer. 
 
 at the corner of Elston and Milwaukee ave- 
 nues. 
 
 He married Miss Olga J. Peterson, of Chi- 
 cago, June 21, 1894. They have been blessed 
 with two children — Evelyn, 10 years, and Alva,^ 
 7 years old. Dr. Palmer is a member of the 
 Royal League, the Royal Arcanum, the Modern 
 Woodmen and Nora Lodge. He enjoys a large 
 practice. The family resides at Irwing Park. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 447 
 
 ALFRED PAULSEN 
 
 Was born in Christiania, Norway, in 1849 and 
 came to Chicago in 1888, where he has since 
 lived. He studied piano music in Christiania 
 under Edward Grieg and Winter-Hjehii and 
 composition and organ music with Ludvig M, 
 Lindeman. He then went to Leipzic, Germany, 
 where he completed his studies at the conser- 
 vatory under Prof. E. F. Richter, Dr. Oscar 
 Paul and Prof. Jadassohn. After graduating he 
 returned to Christiania and was appointed or- 
 
 Prof. Alfred Paulsen. 
 
 ganist for St. Jacob's Church. During this 
 period he had an extensive practice as teacher 
 of harmony, piano and organ, instructing dif- 
 ferent singing societies and choirs. He also pub- 
 lished several compositions for both organ and 
 piano. 
 
 When he came to Chicago in 1888 he was ap- 
 pointed organist and instructor for the choir 
 at St. Paul's Norwegian Lutheran Church, on 
 W. North avenue, which position he still holds. 
 He also teaches music and composition, has 
 
 been the instructor for the singing society 
 Kjerulf, the Norwegian Glee Club, and others, 
 and is at present the instructor for the Nor- 
 wegian Quartet Club. He has published several 
 piano and song compositions for male choirs, 
 of which we can mention "Naar Fjordene Blaan- 
 er," which is very popular, and is sung generally 
 by Norwegian societies. It was rendered at 
 several places where the Norwegian students 
 from Christiania were received in 1905, and they 
 sang the song at their concerts. "Sangen har 
 Lysning," "Ulabrand," Giv Agt" and a more 
 difficult composition, "Snorre," for baritone solo, 
 male choir or orchestra, are also some of his 
 productions. 
 
 Mr. Paulsen has been married twice, first to 
 Antonie Jiilich, at Leipzig, Germany, and later 
 to Anna Riiser, from Christiania, Norway. They 
 have four children, two sons and two dau'ghters. 
 They reside at 86 Humboldt boulevard. 
 
 * 
 
 GEORGE M. PEDERSEN, 
 
 Of Yorkville, 111., was born at Green Bay, Wis., 
 July 17, 1864. His parents, Peter H. and Lavina 
 (Hansen) Pedersen, both from Norway, have 
 passed away. 
 
 After receiving his education in the public 
 school he attended business college at Val- 
 paraiso, Ind. He then clerked in Leland and 
 Ottawa for several years. In 1888 he started 
 a general merchandise store at Sheridan, 111., 
 with his brother Enoch H. as a partner, to whom 
 he later sold his interest. In 1891 he went to 
 Dayton, 111., where he kept a store for three 
 years. In 1893 Mr. Pedersen joined a Mr. Ras- 
 mussen and opened a general merchandise store 
 in Yorkville, 111. Mr. Rasmussen died shortly 
 afterward, when Mr. Pedersen took in Fred Bret- 
 thauer as a partner; the partnership still exists. 
 
 Dec. 9, 1891, our subject married Miss Lottie 
 E. Makinson, of English descent, at Dayton. 
 They have four children, namely: Geneva E., 
 born 1892; Mona E., 1895; Frances C, 1897; 
 Wayne M., 1902. The family attend the Con- 
 gregational Church at Yorkville and reside in 
 their own home. 
 
448 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Mr. Pedersen is doing a thriving business, 
 having two stores, he looking after the dry goods 
 store and Mr. Bretthauer the grocery. Mr. Ped- 
 ersen is a Mason and a member of the Modern 
 Woodmen. In the beautifully located little town 
 of Yorkville, on the banks of the Fox River, 
 there are only two Norwegians of prominence, 
 the subject of this sketch and the clerk of the 
 county, Mr. George Williams. Mr. Pedersen 
 has been alderman for four j'ears and city treas- 
 urer for five years. 
 
 JOHN M. PEDERSEN, 
 
 The undertaker at 878 Armitage avenue, Chi- 
 cago, was born at Christianssund, Norway, Feb. 
 25, 1871, his parents being Peder Andreas Ped- 
 ersen ( a cooper) and Eliza Katharina (Jensen). 
 He attended the public and a technical evening 
 school, and took a course in a business college, 
 and was confirmed in Christianssund Lutheran 
 Church. He commenced to work for Christian 
 Johnsen, a merchant and exporter, when but 
 10 years old, dividing his time half and half 
 between the store and the school. He began 
 an apprenticeship with a cooper when 18 years 
 old and continued at that until he was 21. 
 
 He came to this country in 1892, landing at 
 Halifax in April and' arriving in Chicago on 
 April 15. In Chicago he first secured a job 
 as janitor at 155 Washington street, and after- 
 ward worked five years for the Chicago Coffin 
 Company, 465 S. Canal street. He studied em- 
 balming under Prof. J. H. Clark, of Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, and after having qualified as an embalmer 
 before the State Board of Health of Illinois, com- 
 menced business for himself in 1898, opening an 
 undertaking establishment on Armitage avenue. 
 He was married to Laura T. Oftedahl, only 
 dau'ghter of Lars D. and Malena Oftedahl, on 
 June 22, 1905. They have one child, Marshall 
 Edgar, born March 17, 1906. Mr. Pedersen's 
 father is still living in Christianssund, but his 
 mother died in September, 1893. The family are 
 members of Zion Norwegian Lutheran Church, 
 of which Mr. Pedersen has served as trustee 
 and secretary of the board. He is a member of 
 the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the 
 Royal Arcanum, the I. O. F., the T. B. H., the 
 
 N. A. U., the K. & L. of S. and the K. of H. 
 He is a member of the four Norwegian chari- 
 table institutions in Chicago. Has served on 
 the board of the Old People's Home Society and 
 the Tabitha Hospital, of which he served as 
 
 J. M. Pedersen. 
 
 secretary for one year. He is also a member of 
 Normsendenes Singing Society, and a passive 
 member of the Norwegian Glee Club and the 
 Norwegian Turners' Society. 
 
 The family resides at 203 Nebraska avenue. 
 
 ADOLPH PEDERSON, 
 
 Of the clothing firm of Pederson, Holstag & 
 Co., Aurora, III, was born at Leland, 111., Oct. 
 24, 1873. He is the son of Ole and Ella (nee 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 449 
 
 Amundson) Pederson. They are from Kongs- 
 vinger, Norway. His father, who was a black- 
 smith in Leland, died Feb. 15, 1905; his mother 
 is still living at Aurora. Our subject received 
 his education in the public schools and was 
 confirmed in the Lutheran Church at Leland. 
 He began his career as a clothing merchant 
 early, clerking first in Leland and later in Au- 
 rora, where he has been for over fifteen years. 
 
 Sept. 15, 1892, Mr. Pederson started a cloth- 
 ing store, in partnership with John F. Holstag 
 and W. A. Smith, at the corner of Downer place 
 and River street, Aurora, the firm name being 
 
 several contestants, the mayor of the city being 
 one, but our subject led his nearest competitor 
 by over 20,000 votes, receiving about 87,000 votes. 
 The prize was a gold watch, of which Mr. Ped- 
 erson is very proud. He has been very active as 
 an organizer of unions. He is a member of 
 the Aurora Lodge of Elks. The family reside in 
 their own home at 283 South street. Aurora. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Adolph Pederson. 
 
 Pederson, Holstag & Co. The firm is one of the 
 largest in Aurora, and is doing a very prosper- 
 ous business. 
 
 On July 15, 1901, Mr. Pederson married Miss 
 Bathseba Abernathy, of Moline, 111. 
 
 Mr. Pederson holds nine patents for the dis- 
 play of clothing, and is the president of the 
 Aurora Clothing Hanging CompanJ^ At a vot- 
 ing contest conducted by one of the papers in 
 Aurora a few years ago, to name the most 
 popular union man in the city, there were 
 
 OLE R. PEDERSON, 
 
 Of Leland, III, was born in Vormedalen, Hjelme- 
 lands parish, near Stavanger, Norway, April 10, 
 1855. His father, who was a farmer in Nor- 
 
 Ole R. Pederson. 
 
 way, was Peder O. Ritland; his mother's maiden 
 name was Gunilda H. Hellicksdatter. He attended 
 
450 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 the common schools in Norway, helped his 
 father on the farm, and was confirmed. He also 
 attended a private school one winter term. 
 
 In 1871 he came to America with his parents, 
 one sister and a brother, going via Chicago di- 
 rect to Leland, where they have lived since. 
 Our subject worked for three years as a farm 
 hand and then learned the trade of a painter 
 and also that of a jeweler and watch repairer, 
 both of which trades he has followed since. 
 He conducts a store in Leland, handling paints, 
 oils, glass, wall paper, etc., and also has a de- 
 partment for his jewelry business. 
 
 Mr. Pederson was married to Ellen Hall, of 
 Lee county, in 1876. She is a daughter of Ole 
 and Kirsten (Bjerge) Hall. They have had ten 
 children. Lars, born May 19, 1878; Julia, Aug. 
 6, 1880; Emma, Dec. 29, 1881; Cornelius, Oct. 
 3, 1883; Anton, 1885; Otto, March 7, 1888; Cora, 
 May 8, 1892; Nettie, Aug. 25, 1894; Thomas, May 
 24, 1897; Theresa, Sept. 1, 1900. Of these Cor- 
 nelius, Anton and Thomas have passed away. 
 Julia is married to Charles Montague; his mother 
 died at our subject's home in 1891; his father is 
 living. Mr. Pederson has held local offices, such 
 as constable and village trustee. The family are 
 members of the Lutheran Church at Leland. 
 
 BERNHARD C. PETERSON, 
 
 A son of Peter and Anna Christine (Bj0rnson) 
 Christenson, from Redahlen, Norway, was born 
 there, Oct. 2, 1854. His father was. a miller by 
 trade. 
 
 Our subject crossed the Atlantic with his par- 
 ents in a schooner in 1866, reached Chicago on 
 July 4, and Madison, Wis., on the 5th. They 
 went direct to his uncle, Gabriel Bjprnson, who 
 had a farm near Perry, Wis. 
 
 He attended the public school at Moscow, Wis., 
 and the Richmond Select School at Postville and 
 also at Monroe. Wis. 
 
 He spent his youth at school and on his broth- 
 er's farm at Moscow. He afterwards taught the 
 public schools at Moscow and Middlebury for 
 three years, working on the farm in the sum- 
 mer, coming to Chicago in 1877. Here he opened 
 a night school, teaching languages and com- 
 mercial sciences. The school was called the 
 
 Scandia College. In 1882 he engaged in the ma- 
 nufacture of furniture under the firm name of 
 Peterson & Krabol and after several changes in 
 the personnel of the firm he is now the proprietor 
 of the American Cabinet Makers at 21-27 N. Eli- 
 zabeth street, Chicago. Our subject was mar- 
 ried to Mary Philissa Theobald of Middlebury, 
 Wis., June 30, 1883. Six children were born to 
 them, the two oldest having passed away. 
 
 From early manhood our subject has evinced 
 liberal tendencies in religious and philosophic 
 
 B. C. Peterson. 
 
 matters and since his arrival in Chicago, in 1877, 
 he has been a regular attendant at liberal relig- 
 ious services. He commenced to investigate the 
 truth or falsity of the claims of the spiritualists, 
 in 1879, and is now in position to furnish to the 
 interested valuable results of his research. His 
 metaphysical studies and work were commenced 
 in 1885, shortly after the death of his first child, 
 and he learned more' and more of the subtle 
 forces of nature, all the time penetrating deeper 
 into its secrets. 
 
 In 1891, Mr. Peterson joined the Order of the 
 Magi, where he became convinced was to be 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 451 
 
 found a reservoir of universal knowledge. He 
 was ordained a Grand Magus in 1896, and a min- 
 ister of the Gospel in the order in 1900. 
 
 In 1901 he founded the Church of the Veritans 
 in Chicago which is described in another part 
 of this volume. 
 
 ENOCH PETERSON, 
 
 Vice-president and secretary of the Wm. D. Gib- 
 son Company, manufacturers of all kinds of steel 
 
 Enoch Peterson. 
 
 springs, with their large factory at Huron and 
 Kingsburj^ was born in Norway, Nov. 4, 1849. 
 His parents were farmers in Norway, where oar 
 subject attended the common schools until he 
 was confimed. He was then apprenticed to learn 
 the trade of a blacksmith and machinist. 
 
 After learning his trade he came to America 
 in 1870, landing at Quebec and going from there 
 to La Crosse, Wis., where he arrived on July 4, 
 of the same year. He at once went around to 
 the dififerent machine shops to see how Ameri- 
 cans did things, and also worked in two shops, 
 but the next year, in 1871, he came to Chicago. 
 Here he entered the service of William Storker, 
 a spring manufacturer, going to work at noon. 
 The next day he Avas made foreman, and has 
 been connected with the firm ever since. The 
 concern was later reorganized and incorporated 
 under the firm name of William D. Gibson Co., 
 and Mr. Peterson has since been its active head. 
 
 !Mr. Peterson was married in Chicago to 
 Helene A. Kjerner, from Lier, Norway, April 11, 
 1874. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Hans 
 Kjerner. They have had three children, but only 
 one son is living — Alex. B. Peterson, born April 
 11, 1876, and now general manager with the Wm. 
 D. Gibson Co. Mr. Peterson has invented sev- 
 eral improvements applicable to machinery in 
 his own business, but does not care to men- 
 tion tliem. He visited Norway in 1888. He is 
 a high-degree Mason. The family attends St. 
 Paul's Lutheran Church and resides at 1589 W. 
 Adams street. 
 
 THOMAS GEORGE PIHLFELDT. 
 
 Son of Johan and Henrietta (nee Jordan) Pihl- 
 feldt was born in Vadsoe, Norway, Oct. 11, 1858. He 
 attended school at Vadsoe during his boyhood days 
 and afterwards at Trondhjem, Hammerfest and 
 Christiania, where he remained for four years. From 
 1875 to '79 he attended technical schools at Hanover 
 and Dresden, Germany. He came to Chicago in 
 August, 1879, and has lived here continuously since. 
 Unable to secure a place as civil engineer he accepted 
 a position as a machinist and continued work in that 
 capacity for several years. He afterwards worked 
 as draftsman for different concerns until he entered 
 the service of the City of Chicago as draftsman for 
 the Map department in 1889. In 1894 he was trans- 
 ferred to the bridge department where he gradually 
 rose to be chief draftsman and in 1901 was givea 
 complete charge of the bridge division and later also 
 took charge of the Harbor division and the City 
 Architect's office. Some of the more notable bridges 
 
452 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 constructed under his supervision were the Clybourn 
 Place, East and West Division, Ninety-fifth St., N. 
 Western Ave. and Archer Ave. bridges. 
 
 Mr. Pihlfeldt married Miss Erica Lehmann of Ber- 
 gen, Norway, in 1S85. Two children were born to 
 
 T. G. Pihlfeldt. 
 
 them, Eyvin Roll, born April 25, 1887, and Bergliot 
 Edna, April 4th, 1891. Mr. Pihlfeldt is a member of 
 the Western Society of Civil Engineers, Independent 
 order of Odd Fellows and the Norwegian Quartette 
 Club. He lives 1054 Augusta Street. 
 
 OLE J. PRESTEGAARD, 
 
 An extensive farmer, residing in Alto township, 
 is among the most able and progressive men of 
 his class, in Lee county. He was born in Odda, 
 Hardanger, Bergen Stift, Norway, April 23, 1841. 
 
 His father was J^rgen Olson and his mother 
 Gunhilda (Buer) Prestegaard, a daughter of 
 Helje and Gunhilda Buer. 
 
 After their marriage, Olson rented a piece of 
 land from his brother, who had the Prestegaard 
 farm, and built a house on same. His occupation 
 was making chairs and wool cards. 
 
 He lived there until in 1870, when he emigrated 
 with his family to America, coming to Alto town- 
 ship, Lee county, where three of his children had 
 previously settled. He died there at a ripe age 
 in 1883. His wife died in 1906, nearly 92 years 
 old. The couple reared six children to lives of 
 usefulness: Ole J., Gunhild, Helge. Guro, Brita, 
 and J0rgen. The last named died m 1881. The 
 rest of them, except Ole J., moved and settled in 
 Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Ole J. Prestegaard commenced to work 
 when very young, and at 13 years of age the 
 selfreliant little lad had begun life as a sailor. 
 He was employed on a coast vessel, whose cap- 
 tain carried on the trade of buying fish from the 
 fishermen and bringing it in to the large cities, 
 where he disposed of his cargoes to the whole- 
 sale houses. Being ambitious to see more of the 
 world ana make his way to a competence under 
 more favorable circumstances than in the hard 
 life he was leading before the mast, he left his 
 native land in 1864 and sailed from Bergen April 
 17, for America in the good vessel "Victor Eman- 
 uel." A voyage of five weeks brought him to 
 Quebec, from where he hurried away direct to 
 Chicago, where he landed June 1. He then made 
 just one trip on a lake vessel and the following 
 six weeks was employed in a lumber yard in 
 Chicago. After that he came to Lee county and 
 began his new life there as a laborer in the har- 
 vest field at $3.00 a day. When the crops were 
 gathered in, he found employment at $22.00 a 
 month for three months, and later worked at any- 
 thing at which he could earn an honest living. 
 
 In the spring of 1865 Mr. Prestegaard in com- 
 pany with another man, purchased eighty acres 
 of prairie land, of which twenty acres were 
 broken, and that was about the only improve- 
 ment on the land. During the same year his 
 partner died, and the following year he purchased 
 his interest in the tract of the heirs, and erected 
 a frame house on the place in 1868. He was act- 
 ively engaged in farming until 1871, when he 
 moved to the village of Lee in order to engage in 
 the lumber, grain and coal business, which he 
 carried on until 1887. Then returning to his farm 
 he has since devoted his energies entirely to agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He has boueht other tracts of 
 land at dififerent times, and his farm lands now 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 453 
 
 comprise several pieces: one of 320 acres, another 
 237 acres, a third one 236 acres, which now be- 
 long to his son, and lately he has bought 220 
 acres in Kankakee county, 111. In 1888 he erected 
 his present residence, a commodious brick house 
 of a modern style of architecture, conveniently 
 arranged and well appointed, besides large frame 
 barns and other buildings, which rank as the best 
 in the township. 
 
 He was married in December, 1868, to Miss 
 Jorund Peterson Maakestad. She was born in 
 Hardanger and is a daughter of Lars and Sigrid 
 Peterson Maakestad. She came to America with 
 her parents in the same vessel with her husband. 
 Their marriage has been productive to them of 
 thirteen children, four of whom are deceased and 
 
 lightened farmer. He also has the distinction of 
 having built the first house in the village of Lee, 
 111. That a man of his caliber should have thrust 
 upon him all kinds of public offices is only nat- 
 ural. He has been a school director and school 
 trustee, deacon and trustee of the Lutheran 
 Church. Besides he is a stockholder and director 
 of the Lee State Bank. 
 
 NILES THEODORE QUALES, M. D., 
 
 Was born in Kinservik, Hardanger, Norway, on 
 the 17th day of January 1831. His parents were 
 
 Ole J. Prestegaard and Wife. 
 
 the following survive: Gunhild, Lars, J0rgen, 
 Sarah, Anna, Olaf, Bernt, Henry and Joachim. 
 
 The three oldest children are married. Gun- 
 hild, to Rev. H. Berthelsen, residing in Indiana- 
 polis, Ind. Lars is a farmer, having a farm in 
 Alto township, Lee county, and J0rgen manages 
 a lumber firm in Forest City, Iowa. The other 
 children are at home. 
 
 The family are all members of the Lutheran 
 Church. Mr. Prestegaard is a true Republican in 
 politics. He is of a thoughtful, intelligent mind, 
 has always been a reader and well informed on 
 all matters of general interest. The appearance 
 of his farm demonstrates liis ability as an en- 
 
 Torgils Johnson 0vrequale and Guri Torgilsdat- 
 ter Tjoflat. He was the next youngest of six 
 children, four sons and two daughters; he worked 
 on his fathers farm in the summer and attended 
 public school in the wintertime. 
 
 In 18-18, when 17 years old, he entered the 
 Agricultural School just then established at 
 Kvindherred for S^ndre Bergenhus Amt, and 
 graduated in 1851. During the next year he 
 managed the large estate of Mr. Garman at Ud- 
 sten Kloster, near Stavanger, but in 1852 entered 
 the Royal Veterinary College at Copenhagen, 
 Denmark, graduating in 1856. On his return to 
 Norway he was appointed Veterinary Surgeon 
 
454 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 for S0ndre Bergenhus Amt; his district compris- 
 ing Voss and Hardanger, he took up his residence 
 at Vossevangen. 
 
 In 1859 he emigrated to America in company 
 with Mr. Iver Lawson and family whose ac- 
 quaintance he had made at Voss. He came to 
 Chicago on the 6th day of July 1859. During the 
 first year of his residence in America he ex- 
 perienced some of the trials of a newcomer. 
 
 In 1861 he enlisted in Company "B" first Il- 
 linois Artillery then stationed at Cairo, Illinois, 
 remaining in the army until 1864 when he entered 
 Rush Medical College from which he graduated 
 
 Dr. Niles T. Quales. 
 
 in 1867. After a competitive examination by the 
 medical board of the Cook County Hospital he 
 was appointed an interne of that institution and 
 served until Feb. 1868. Shortly after leaving the 
 hosoital he was appointed city physician and 
 served for two years. As city physician he had 
 charge of the small-pox hospital then located 
 on the lake shore at the foot of North avenue. 
 During this time small-pox was epidemic and the 
 hospital was crowded, containing at times as 
 many as seventy patients. In 1870 he was ap- 
 
 pointed surgeon to the U. S. Marine Hospital, 
 then located on Michigan avenue near the Rush 
 street bridge. He remained in charge of the 
 hospital until it was destroyed by fire in 1871. 
 
 After the fire he was appointed visiting phy- 
 sician by the Chicago Relief and Aid Society and 
 was assigned to the old fourteenth ward which 
 at that time comprised the territory north of W. 
 Kinzie street and west of the north branch of 
 the Chicago River. In 1873 he located at Wicker 
 Park in his present home on Fowler street. 
 
 In 1891 he was appointed physician to the Nor- 
 wegian Deaconess Hospital on Humboldt street. 
 
 When the Tabitha Society was reorganized in 
 1892 he was chosen chairman of the committee 
 which drafted the constitution and by-laws for 
 the association. After the society was organized 
 he was elected a member of the board of direct- 
 ors and served as secretarv on the executive as 
 well as on the building committees. He was 
 a member of the medical board of the new hospi- 
 tal and was its first president. 
 
 In 1895 he severed his connection with the 
 Tabitha hospital organization and took up the 
 work of organizing the Nor\vegian Old Peoples 
 Home Societv of Chicago, Illinois. He was 
 chosen chairman of the committee elected ito 
 draft constitution and by-laws as well as rules 
 and regulations for the government of the Home. 
 When the society was organized and officers 
 elected he w^as chosen president and with the 
 exception of two years he has held that position 
 ever since. 
 
 In 1896 when the Norwegian Lutheran Dea- 
 coness Society was organized he was elected a 
 member of the board of directors and was one 
 of the incorporators of the society. When the 
 Hospital was established on the corner of Artes- 
 ian avenue and LeMoyne street he was a member 
 of the attending stafif. When the present hospital 
 was erected on, ".the corner of Haddon avenue 
 and N. Leavitt street he served on the building 
 committee as well as on several other important 
 committees. In 1903 he was elected physician 
 to the Tabitha Hospital and has held that posi- 
 tion ever since. 
 
 In 1906 he was appointed physician in chief 
 at the Deaconess Hospital. 
 
 Dr. Quales is a member of the Illinois State, 
 the Chicago Medical and the Skandinavian Med- 
 ical Societies. He has served as president of the 
 Skandinavian Medical Society and is honorary 
 member thereof. 
 
 In 1870 the Doctor was united in marriage to 
 Miss Carrie L. Lawson. They have three chil- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 455 
 
 dren, namely Iver L., Martha Gurine and Nellie 
 Ruth. 
 
 Dr. Quales was one of the incorporators of 
 the English Lutheran church at Wicker Park in 
 1879, has served on the board of trustees ever 
 since and for many years was the treasurer. 
 
 Dr. Quales is a member of the Oriental Lodge 
 of Freemasons, a member of Thomas Post No. 5 
 G. A. R.; is honorary member of the Y. M. C. 
 A., life member of the Norwegian Deaconess 
 Society and the Norwegian Orphan Society. He 
 is a member of the Rush Medical Alumny As- 
 sociation and the Cook County Hospital Alumny 
 Association. 
 
 In 1890 together with his son he visited Europe 
 traveling through England, Norway, Sweden, 
 Denmark, Germany, Belgium and France. 
 
 In politics the Doctor has, as a matter of 
 principle been a steadfast Republican. As his 
 time and attention have been wholly devoted to 
 his chosen vocation he has had neither the time 
 nor the inclination for holding public office. 
 
 He has enjoyed a large and fairly lucrative 
 practice not only among his own countrypeople, 
 but among people of other nationalities as well. 
 
 JOHN ARTHUR QUAM, 
 
 President of the Farmers & Merchants State 
 Bank of Sheridan, 111., was born on a farm in 
 Mission township. La Salle county, 111., May 24, 
 1854. His parents were Ole A. and Gertrude 
 (Osmundson) Quam, of whom the father came 
 from Nestrand, Norway, to America with his 
 parents, in 1843, and the mother from Voss, Nor- 
 way, with her parents and a two-year old sister, 
 at the age of five years. Mr. Osmundson died 
 in Chicago shortly after his arrival and his wife 
 six months later leaving their two children alone 
 in a strange land among entire strangers. All 
 information except what is here mentioned of 
 that family has been lost. 
 
 Mr. J. A. Quam was educated in the public 
 schools and confirmed in the Hauge Lutheran 
 Church. Later he attended the Fowler Institute 
 of Newark, 111., at intervals working on the farm. 
 
 On July 15, 1875, Mr. Quam was joined in wed- 
 lock to Miss Amelia Nelson, a daughter of Peter 
 C. and Signe (Danielson) Nelson. Peter C. Nel- 
 
 son was a son of Cornelius and Carrie Nel- 
 son, who came to America in 1825 in the sloop 
 "Restoration," mentioned in another part of this 
 volume. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Quam have had four chil- 
 dren, viz., Mabel Signe, born July 25, 1876; Vida 
 Gertrude, Nov. 1, 1878; Hilda Jeanette, Sept. 1, 
 1893, and Inez, who died in infancy. Mabel was 
 married to Rev. J. M. Hilbish, is now a widow 
 and at present principal of the Iowa Bible Train- 
 ing School, of Des Moines, Iowa. Vida is married 
 to Dr. F. A. Bernard, V. S. They live on a farm 
 at Chambers, Neb., where Dr. Bernard is raising 
 
 John A. Quam. 
 
 Heresford cattle as a speciality. Hilda Jeanette is 
 at home and attending school. 
 
 Mr. Quam commenced his long business career 
 as a merchant at Sheridan, 111., in 1875, and con- 
 tinued with same until August, 1905. From 1885 
 to 1902 he was also running a private bank under 
 the firm of Quam & Knapp, at the same place. 
 
 In February, 1902, the Farmers & Merchants 
 State Bank Of Sheridan, 111., was incorporated, 
 succeeding to the banking house of Quam & 
 Knapp. Mr. Quam has been its president since. 
 This bank has been steadily growing in business 
 
456 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 on account of the great and amply justified con- 
 fidence its customers and correspondents have in 
 its management and officers, and has moved in- 
 to its own new brick and stone building lately. 
 
 It is but natural that a man of Mr. Quam's 
 character should be honored by being elected to 
 various public offices of trust by his townspeople- 
 He has served as clerk of Mission township from 
 1880 to 1889 and as supervisor for the same town- 
 ship from 1889 to 1901. In 1889 he was elected a 
 delegate from La Salle county to the state con- 
 vention of supervisors, held at Bloomington, III., 
 and was chosen secretary of said convention. 
 
 Mr. Quam is a member of the Methodist church 
 at Sheridan and has served as superintendent of 
 its Sunday school for twelve years. 
 
 His mother departed this life at Ashland, Wis., 
 in 1900, but his father is still living there. 
 
 RASMUS ELIAS RASMUSSEN, 
 
 The hardworking and ardent missionary, was 
 born at Bergen, Norway, Feb. 26, 1854, to Ras- 
 mus Rasmussen, a cooper of that city, and his 
 wife Martha Marie, nee Olsen. Elias enjoyed a 
 common school education in his native city and 
 was confirmed in the cathedral there. 
 
 At the tender age of 13 he went to sea as a 
 sailor boy visiting most of the important ports 
 of the globe including several in America. He 
 finally rose to be a captain's mate, but tired of 
 the vicissitudes of the sea he settled down in 
 Durban, Natal, South Africa, in 1879, as a store- 
 man and sailsmaker. He remained there for five 
 years, during which time the probably happiest 
 period of his life occurred when his sweetheart 
 from Bergen came there and they were joined in 
 holy wedlock. This happened on Oct. 9, 1881, 
 his wife being Ingeborg Anderson, a daughter of 
 Johannes and Mina (Sjurson) Anderson of Ber- 
 gen. They remained at Durban until 1884 when 
 they returned to Bergen. 
 "While visiting New Zealand as a sailor Rasmus- 
 sen had given his heart to God and upon his 
 return to Bergen he concluded to devote the re- 
 mainder of his life to the service of his Master. 
 He consequently began work among the class of 
 people with whose life and habits he was most 
 familiar, namely the sailors, and became a harbor 
 
 missionary at Bergen. He continued this with 
 good success until in 1893 he joined the crew of 
 the Viking which frail little vessel, as is well 
 known, crossed the Atlantic, was sailed to the 
 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and 
 here became one of the attractions of that great 
 show. Mr. Rasmussen returned to Norway the 
 same year. 
 
 In 1895 he again visited the United States in 
 the interest of his mission, and ten years later 
 in Aug., 1905, he came here the third time travel- 
 ing through the Norwegian settlements all over 
 
 Rasmus E. Rasmussen. 
 
 the United States. He returned to Norway in 
 1906 and in September of that year brought his 
 family with him to America settling down at 
 Helmar, 111. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Rasmussen have had ten children, 
 five sons and five daughters, of whom three sons 
 and three daughters are living, viz., Elias, born 
 Nov. 15, 1888; Ingeborg, Nov. 12, 1890; Ruth, 
 Jan. 19, 1893; Johannes, Oct. 28, 1895; Holtan, 
 Nov. 24, 1898; Magdalena, Dec. 22, 1900. All of 
 them were born in Bergen. A son, Rasmus Johan- 
 nes, born in Durban, died in Bergen, when about 
 twenty years old. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 457 
 
 Mr. Rasmussen's father died at Troms0 in 
 1879. His mother is still living at Bergen, 89 
 years old. 
 
 Mr. Rasmussen is the author of four books 
 
 written in the Norwegian language. More than 
 
 twenty thousand copies hive been sold of one 
 of them. 
 
 SJUAT RASMUSSON RUNSTAD 
 
 Was born at Fin^, Stavanger amt, Norway, Nov. 
 25, 1834. His father, Rasmus Jonson Ru'nstad 
 
 in July, 1856 and settled in Miller township, La 
 Salle county. Sept. 18 of the same year Mr. 
 Rasmusson was married in Leland, III., to Miss 
 Anna Olena Andresdatter Bjelland, a daughter 
 of Andres Oleson Bjelland and Margretha Oles- 
 datter Duvig. Mrs. Rasmusson was born in Nor- 
 way in 1836. Their marital union has been 
 blessed with twelve children: four sons and eight 
 daughters, of whom nine are living. The names 
 of the children and the dates of their birth are 
 as follow: Margaretha, Sept. 28, 1857; Malinda, 
 Jan. 3, 1859; Isabel, Oct. 8, 1860; Serena, Ju'ne 1, 
 1862; Anna, Aug. 8, 1864; Rasmus, Aug. 8, 1866; 
 Celia, Dec. 7, 1868; Silas, Feb. 17, 1871; Linnie, 
 April 10, 1873; Andrew, April 6, 1875; Ida, Jan. 
 14, 1878, and Samuel, Sept. 29, 1881. 
 
 Margaretha is married to Jacob Anderson; 
 Malinda to Ole S. Johnson; Isabel to Cyrus Jack- 
 son; Serena to Lewis Fruland; Anna to Joseph 
 Marvick; Silas to Clara Vaga; Linnie to Ami 
 Danielson; Andrew to Gertie Knutson, and Ida 
 to Frank Voreberg. 
 
 Two sons died in infancy, and Mrs. Joseph 
 Marwick died in Story City, la., in 1899, 35 years 
 of age. 
 
 Sept. 18, 1906, the venerable couple celebrated 
 their golden wedding surrounded by five daught- 
 ers, three sons and thirty-five grandchildren. One 
 of; the daughters with her two children was un- 
 able to be present. Of their other relatives and 
 friends from near and afar about 350 joined in 
 the celebration, among whom Rev. Lockrem came 
 all the way from Superior, Wis.; Rev. Aarrestad 
 from Morris, and Prof. Vigness from Pleasant 
 View Luther College. 
 
 Mr. Rasmusson has served six years as trustee 
 for the Fox River Church at Norway and three 
 years as deacon. He owns a farm of 160 acres 
 of the best cultivated land in La Salle county. 
 
 Sjuat Rasmusson and Wife. 
 
 was a farmer and married to Malinda Sjuatsdat- 
 ter Hovda. Mr. Rasmusson received his educa- 
 tion in the common school and was confirmed 
 at Finjzi church. He then worked on his father's 
 farm except one year, when he was clerking in 
 a store at Stavanger, until he came to America 
 
 NILS E. REMMEN, M. D, 
 
 Was born in Warsaw, Goodhue county, Minn., 
 May 6, 1863. His parents were Endre T. and 
 Thora N. (Arnehaugen) Remmen, both from 
 Valders, Norway. 
 
458 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 \ 
 
 Mr. Remmen worked on the farm and attended 
 the public school in Minnesota, and later at- 
 tended Luther College at Decorah, Iowa. He 
 then graduated as a physician from the College 
 of Physicians and Su'rgeons in Chicago and 
 took a two-year post graduate course at the 
 University of Vienna. He also studied with 
 the renowned oculist at Copenhagen, Denmark 
 — Prof. Hanson Grut. 
 
 He began the general practice of medicine in 
 Chicago in February, 1887, and continued as a 
 
 He was married to Miss Inga Kiland, daughter 
 of Gunder H. and Gunhild (Torrison) Kiland, of 
 Manitowoc, Wis., on Jan. 1, 1891. Dr. Rem- 
 men's father died in Warsaw, Minn., in the fall 
 of 1865. The family resides at 799 N. Leavitt 
 street; the doctor's office is at 103 State street. 
 
 9t? 
 
 Dr. Nils E. Remmen. 
 
 general practitioner until 1896, when he con- 
 fined his practice to diseases of the eye. He 
 has been attending eye surgeon to the Illinois 
 Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary for the past 
 nine years. He is a member of the Scandinavian 
 Medical Society, the American Medical Asso- 
 ciation, the Chicago Medical Society, the Chi- 
 cago Ophthalmological Society and the Ameri- 
 can Academy of Ophthalmology. He is an ex- 
 president of the Scandinavian Medical Society, 
 and has been president of the Luther College 
 Club since 1904. 
 
 KNUTE REINDAHL, 
 
 The well known violin maker, whose office and 
 violin shop is in the Atheneum Building, 26 E. 
 Van Buren street, Chicago, was born in Mo, 
 upper Telemarken, Norway, Nov. 16, 1858. His 
 
 Knute Reindahl. 
 
 parents were Kittel Throndson Reindahl and 
 Ingrid Gulbeck. His father died in Norway in 
 1863. His mother, left with seven children, came 
 to America in 1867, going direct to Dane county, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 459 
 
 Wisconsin, where her oldest son, Thrond, had 
 located three years previously. The only school- 
 ing he got was three or four months in a country 
 school, known as the Stensland schoolhouse, 
 where Prof. J. E. Olson at the time was teach- 
 ing. 
 
 For several years Mr. Reindahl worked on 
 farms in the neighborhood, and also at carpenter 
 work, but was not satisfied, feeling that his talent 
 was in another line. Violin making was his 
 aim. He took up the study of the old Italian 
 masters and found that all the great violin makers 
 of the past had been wood carvers. lA 1876 he 
 accordingly came to Chicago, where he secured a 
 position with the Pullman Palace Car Company 
 as wood carver. He remained with this company 
 for two years and afterward had charge of the 
 wood-carving departments of several leading 
 factories in Chicago. All his spare time, how- 
 ever, was devoted to his beloved violin. 
 
 In 1893 he engaged in the making of violins 
 exclusively and for himself, and was happy, hav- 
 ing found his work in life. In 1893 he received 
 a diploma of merit at the World's Columbian Ex- 
 position, and at the Paris Exposition in 1900 he 
 was awarded a medal and diploma for beauty of 
 tone and artistic workmanship. His success is 
 now assured, for he is conceded to be at the head 
 of his profession. His instruments are so beauti- 
 fully designed and produce tones so exquisite 
 that eminent artists have pronounced them equal 
 to the old and renowned Italian instruments. Vio- 
 linists of world-wide reputation use the "Rein- 
 dahl" and bestow upon it the highest praise. 
 
 On May 13, 1894, Mr. Reindahl married Anna 
 Sophia Ellefson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thor- 
 bjjzJrn Ellefson Skaade, of Dane county, Wis. 
 They have five daughters — Edna, Olive, Gladys, 
 Margarette and Ruth. The family attends the 
 United Lutheran Church. 
 
 schools in La Salle County and Jennings Seminary 
 at Aurora, Ills. He began the study ot law at Ottawa 
 with his brother and Judge T. Lyle Dickey, after- 
 wards Chief Justice of Illinois. Mr. Richolson was 
 admitted to practice before the Supreme Court at 
 Springfield in January, 1878. Came to Chicago the 
 same year and entered the law office of Tuley, Stiles 
 and Lewis where he remained until 1880 when he 
 opened an office for himself. Was the republican 
 nominee for City Attorney in 1883 but was defeated 
 by the late Judge Grinnell. Was City Prosecuting 
 Attorney in 1886-88 and broke up the famous Clock 
 Gambling practice known as the "Skakel's Clock" 
 and all other gambling devices. Ran for 
 
 Ben. F. Richolson. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. RICHOLSON, 
 
 Son of Norwegian parents, Lewis and Hellen 
 (Johnson) Richolson, was born in La Salle County, 
 Illinois, January 30, 1854. He attended the public 
 
 City Attorney on the republican ticket in 
 1890, and for two weeks his election was conceded but 
 was finally counted out. He was appointed Assistant 
 Corporate Counsel by Mayor Washburn and tried 
 the numerous and important viaduct cases of that 
 administration. He was a candidate for Judge of 
 the Superior Court of Cook County in 1892 and ran 
 ahead of his ticket, which however was defeated with 
 the National, State and Local ticket of that year. He 
 
460 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 was appointed Assistant City Attorney in 1892. In 
 1896 he became trial attorney for the West Chicago 
 Street R. R. Co., the Cicero and Proviso St. 
 Ry Co., the Consolidated Traction Co., and 
 the Jefferson Urban Ry. Co. He severed connection 
 with these companies when they were merged into 
 the Chicago Union Traction Co., in August, 1899. 
 
 Since then he has been in general and private prac- 
 tice. 
 
 Mr. Richolson married Miss Ella Daley, Oct. 
 15, 1897, and has one daughter Edna Lucille. 
 He is president of the LaSalle County Associa- 
 tion, president of his Ward Republican Club, a 
 member of the Illinois Club and an Episcopalian. He 
 lives at 65 Lafiin St. 
 
 In the fall of 1905 he was appointed attorney and 
 councilor for the West Side Park Board of Commis- 
 sioners. 
 
 HAROLD LYLE RICHOLSON, 
 
 Of Ottawa, was born there Oct. 25, 1877. He is 
 a son of Samuel and Marietta (Meehan) Richol- 
 
 son. He is a graduate of the high school, St. 
 Bede College (Peru, Ind.), and the academy at 
 Morgan Park, III. After leaving school he stud- 
 ied law in his father's office in Ottawa and was 
 admitted to the bar in 1902. Our subject is local 
 attorney for the C. B. & Q. Railway. He was 
 elected city attorney for Ottawa in 1905. He is a 
 member of the Knights of Columbus and the 
 Order of Elks. His father died June 24, 1906. 
 
 Harold L. Richolson. 
 
 SAMUEL RICHOLSON 
 
 Was born in La Salle county, Illinois, March 25, 
 1841. Died at Ottawa, June 24, 1906. His father 
 was Lars Richolson and his mother Heldebaar 
 Helene Richolson. His parents came to La Salle 
 county about 1837, so that the child and boy had 
 a lively taste of pioneer life. No more may the 
 young people have those experiences, and as the 
 sturdy men and women who converted the wild 
 prairie into cultivated fields and communities of 
 business people pass away there is left only the 
 printed page to tell of efforts and trials, and the 
 history can not tell all the story. 
 
 Mr. Richolson attended the district school and 
 then the Fowler Institute at Newark, and later 
 the Clark Seminary at Au'rora. About 1865 he 
 began the study of law, and was admitted to the 
 bar at Ottawa early in 1870. His first partner- 
 ship was with Henry K. Boyle. In the fall of 
 the same year (1870) Judge T. Lyle Dickey en- 
 tered and the firm name was Dickey, Boyle & 
 Richolson. This firm was first broken by the 
 death of Mr. Boyle, and later Judge Dickey with- 
 drew to take a seat on the bench of the supreme 
 court of the state, leaving Mr. Richolson to prac- 
 tice in an individual capacity. 
 
 He was mayor of Ottawa three terms from 
 1875 to 1881. He was attorney for the state in 
 many important cases, and earned a reputation 
 as a lawyer of ability and trust. He was also 
 attorney for the C, B. & Q. R. R. for over twen- 
 ty-five years. He was a member of the Masonic 
 Order, a Knight Templar, and a director in the 
 board of the Ottawa Boat Club. 
 
 Nov. 17, 1870, he was married to Marietta 
 Meehan, who was born in New York state. There 
 were three children; two are living — Florence 
 Helen Salembier, of New York city, and Harold 
 Lyle Richolson, city attorney of Ottawa. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 461 
 
 In answer to a request for information for this 
 history, Mr. Richolson, who was then still living, 
 replied: "The only part of my life that is now 
 becoming- of more than ordinary interest is the 
 pioneer days of my existence and the experience 
 I had in an unsettled country. My parents came 
 to this county in the year 1837, I think it was; 
 possibly 1836. This country was a wilderness 
 then. The rapid development is a matter of 
 constant wonder, and I find it difficdt to believe 
 all that I have seen transpire in one to me brief 
 life time." 
 
 Samuel Richolson. 
 
 In business matters Mr. Richolson was recog- 
 nized as a man of good judgment, and the fine and 
 well invested estate which he left attests that 
 this recognition was well founded. The business 
 and professional career of the deceased give 
 evidence of what persistent, painstaking eflfort 
 may accomplish in this land of limitless possibili- 
 ties. 
 
 DANCHERT J. RICHTER, 
 
 Assistant manager of the western office of the 
 Alpha Portland Cement Co., of Alpha, N. J., was 
 born in Christiania, Norway, May 27th, 1864. 
 After leaving school he was for two j^ears tutor 
 
 Danchert J. Richter. 
 
 in a private family and for two years thereafter 
 deputy sheriff (lensmandsfuldmasgtig). But the 
 future in Norway did not look very bright to him; 
 so he decided, as so many others before him had 
 done, to go to America; and in the fall of 1889 
 he left Norway and came direct to Chicago, 
 where he at once found employment in a bank. 
 After being with the bank for two years, he re- 
 signed his position to enter the service of a large 
 Portland cement concern, with which he remained 
 for ten years or until 1901, when he accepted his 
 present position. On December 5, 1891, he mar- 
 ried Miss Abel Westin, born in Namsos, Norway, 
 March 1, 1864. They have two children, Ruth, 
 born March 15, 1893 and Theodore, June 30, 1901. 
 Mr. Richter is an Odd Fellow and a member 
 
462 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 of the Norwegian Quartet Club of Chicago. As In the fall of 1882, he emigrated with his fam- 
 
 a delegate to the Norwegian National Leagu'e of ily to this country, and came to Minneapolis^ 
 Chicago he took an active part in the establish- Minn. The presiding elder for Red River Val- 
 ment of the Norwegian National League's em- ley district, P. Jensen, appointed him to Glyn- 
 ployment bureau, and was one of its first direct- son, Minn. After having served this congrega- 
 ors. tion for one year he was appointed to Crook- 
 
 ston, Minn., then a new field, at which place 
 he succeeded, in a period of three years, both to 
 organize a congregation and to build a church 
 and a parsonage. 
 
 In 1885 he was received into full member- 
 ship of the Norwegian-Danish Conference, and 
 
 REV. FREDERICK RING. 
 
 Reverend Frederick Ring was born at H0ne- 
 fos, Norway, April 12, 1848. He attended school 
 in his native town and graduated from the pub- 
 lic school at the age of 14 years. Later, m 
 connection with his work, he studied with pri- 
 vate teachers. 
 
 Rev. Jling was married Oct. 3, 1869, to Miss 
 Anna Ellefsen. Nine children were born to 
 them, of which two married daughters, Anna 
 and Ella, are living, and are graduates from the 
 Chicago Musical College. 
 
 Before his appointment as pastor he held a 
 very good position in the government service 
 of Norway for six years, and left this position 
 to devote all his time to church work. At the 
 age of 21 he was converted among the Metho- 
 dists at Christiania, and in the spring of 1870 
 united with that body of Christians. Rev. M. 
 Hansen was pastor at that time. After his 
 conversion and union with the church the call 
 to preach the gospel began to grow upon him. 
 In this he was encouraged by the church, which 
 gave him an exhorter's license in 1870, and in 
 1872 made him a local preacher. His field of 
 labor at this time was at KragerjzJ and at Laur- 
 vig. In the former place he organized a con- 
 gregation, and at the latter erected a hou'se of 
 worship. 
 
 Having been ordained deacon by Bishop Ed- 
 ward G. Andrews, at Horten, in 1876, his first 
 appointment as an ordained minister was at 
 Christiania First Church, Norway, at that time 
 the largest Methodist Episcopal church in that 
 country, with a membership of 400, and a Sun- 
 day school of more than 400 children. About 
 two years later he withdrew from the pastorate 
 and labored as a traveling evangelist and city 
 missionary for a period of more than four years, 
 and the Lord blessed his work with great revivals 
 in that city. 
 
 Rev. Fred. Ring. 
 
 was ordained elder by Bishop Thomas Bow- 
 man, at Cambridge, Wis. From Crookston he 
 was sent to Duluth, Minn., and later to La 
 Crosse, Wis. Each of these churches he served 
 for a period of two years. 
 
 His next appointment, in 1890, was to the 
 First Norwegian-Danish Congregation of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, Chicago, 111. This 
 congregation he served most acceptably for a 
 period of four years, and the church had good 
 success both in spiritual and financial afifairs, in 
 which time the old church debt of $2,400 was 
 paid in full. He was now entrusted with one 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 463 
 
 of the most responsible and honorable posi- 
 tions within the gift of the Methodist Church. 
 Through recommendation froin Rev. J. H. 
 Johnson, who had known Mr. Ring in Norway, 
 and who had been his presiding elder four 
 years, he was appointed by Bishop Cyrus D. 
 Foss in 1894 as presiding elder for Chicago 
 district. This position he held throughout the 
 full term of six years. Bishop Willard F. Mal- 
 lalieu — who presided in the Norwegian-Danish 
 Conference in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1900, when 
 Rev. Ring's time expired — offered him the Min- 
 neapolis district, but Mr. Ring asked the bishop 
 to be appointed pastor, and he was then ap- 
 pointed pastor of Maplewood Avenue Church, 
 Chicago. This pastorate he has held six years, 
 twice as long as any of his predecessors, and 
 several times was returned to the charge on 
 account of the application sent by the people to 
 the presiding bishop. In this time a great num- 
 ber had been converted and joined the church, 
 improvements were .made, and church debts 
 paid. 
 
 Rev. Ring has always taken a great interest 
 in the education of young men for the min- 
 istry. He has been a trustee for the Nor- 
 wegian and Danish Theological School at Ev- 
 anston fourteen years, and the last seven years 
 he has had the responsibility to be treasurer of 
 the school fund, which position he still holds. 
 
 ment formed on this trip took him to Norway 
 again in 1903, when he brought back with him 
 his future bride. Miss Anna Johansdatter Orve- 
 dal, her parents being John Olsen and Han- 
 sine Adamsdatter Orvedal, Viks sogn, Norway. 
 She was born Nov. 12, 1874. Arriving in Chi- 
 cago, the happy couple were married on March 
 19, 1902, by Rev. Nordby, their own pastor, who 
 met them here by appointment. 
 
 In 1898 Mr. Risetter, in partnership with Hal- 
 vor Espe, bought the general merchandise stock 
 of Clarence Hill and continued the business. 
 
 HAAKON H. RISETTER, 
 
 Of Lee, was born in Ogle county, Illinois, May 
 23, 1869, his father being Haakon L. Risetter, 
 from Hardanger, Norway, and his mother Ellen 
 Marie Sampson Hildahl, also from Hardanger. 
 They came to America in the same vessel with 
 Hilleson, also of Lee, in 1847. Mr. Risetter 
 grew up on a farm in Ogle county and was 
 confirmed in the Norwegian Lutheran Church 
 in Willow creek township by Rev. Nordby. He 
 remained with his father until about 27 years 
 old. He then worked for Ole Prestegaard for 
 about a year, and for two other parties for two 
 years. 
 
 In the fall of 1893 he visited Norway, devot- 
 ing seven months to the outing. The attach- 
 
 Haakon H. Risetter and Wife, 
 
 A year later they took into the firm S. M. 
 Maakestad, who remained with the business for 
 three years. In 1904 the stock of goods was 
 divided and Mr. Maakestad started a new store 
 with his part of the stock, the interest of Mr. 
 Espe having been purchased by Risetter and 
 Maakestad previously. Since then Mr. Risetter 
 has continued in the business for himself, run- 
 ning a general store at Lee. The family be- 
 longs to the Norwegian Lutheran Church in 
 Willow township. Mr. Risetter is republican 
 in politics. 
 
464 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 LARS L. RISETTER 
 
 Is one of the pioneer farmers of Lee county. 
 He was born at S0fjorden, Hardanger, Bergens 
 stift, March 30, 1826. His father was Lars Lar- 
 son Risetter and his mother Anna Pettersdatter 
 Lindvig. He was the youngest of five chil- 
 dren. He had the advantage of very good local 
 schools and grew to manhood' among very pleas- 
 ant surroundings. He early acquired a knowl- 
 edge of farming on his father's farm and con- 
 tinued to live in the old home until 1847. 
 
 for ten years. He sold the farm in 1857 for 
 much more than he paid for it. He then bought 
 a tract of land in Willow creek township, same 
 county, and has resided there ever since. He 
 has met with success in the pursuit of his call- 
 ing, built himself a home replete with com- 
 forts, and had a finely equipped farm, amply 
 supplied with modern machinery for carrying 
 on his extensive farming operations. He at 
 one time owned over a thousand acres of choice 
 land, but has for many years lived a retired 
 life, having divided his farms between his two 
 sons, Lewis and Holden. 
 
 On Dec. 9, 1847, the same year he arrived 
 in this country, Mr. Risetter was married to 
 Gertrud Helgesdatter Hilleson, by an Ameri- 
 can minister, in the first house ever built by a 
 Norwegian in Lee county. The house was 
 bu'ilt between Melugins Grove and Dixon, by 
 Omund Helgeson Maakestad. The wedded life 
 thus entered upon lasted nearly fifty years and 
 was one of true happiness. They had five chil- 
 dren, two of whom died in infancy. Annie, the 
 daughter, was married to Rev. A. C. Olsen, 
 but both of them are now dead. Lewis and 
 Holden are living and running their farms. 
 Mrs. Gertrud Risetter died July 12, 1897. Mr. 
 Risetter found a widower's life too lonesome, 
 and was later married to Elizabeth Gabrielsdat- 
 ter Espeland, who was born in Norway. She 
 died three years later. Mr. Risetter and fam- 
 ily have always been earnest Christians and 
 members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Lars L. Risetter and Wife. 
 
 On April 20 of that year he left for America 
 on the sailship Juno, arriving in New York just 
 one month later, or on May 20. He came di- 
 rect to Illinois and Lee cou'nty. He at first 
 worked for Thomas Fessenden on the farm, 
 but after a short time he bought eighty acres of 
 land from him in Sublette township for the 
 sum of $62. It was at that time a wild prairie — 
 wolves, deer and other wild animals were fre- 
 quently seen, where now are flourishing farms 
 and rich villages. He lived on his eighty acres 
 
 OMMUND ATLAACHSON RISETTER, 
 
 Of Lee, 111., was born in Hardanger, Norway, 
 July 27, 1855. His father was Atlaach Thomas- 
 s0n and his mother Gjertrud Osmundsen. The 
 subject of our sketch attended the common 
 schools in Norway and was confirmed in Ullen- 
 svangs Church at Hardanger. 
 
 He came to America in 1872, landing at Que- 
 bec, Canada. He made his way to an uncle, 
 Ole Lonning, living in Alto township, Lee coun- 
 ty, Illinois, where he remained for two years. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 465 
 
 Afterward he settled on a farm in the s^me 
 count}', where he has resided since. 
 
 He was married to Miss Anna Pederson, the 
 daughter- of Peder Olson (Engum sogn) and 
 Gimilde Johnson, on July 14, 1875. They have 
 had six children, five are living, namely: Lewis 
 O., Jane O., Alfred O., Anton Olai and Anna 
 O. Risetter. Lewis, the oldest, is married to 
 Gertrude Tixen; Jane to Lars C. Risetter, and 
 
 Ommund A. Risetter. 
 
 Alfred K) Georgine Risetter. There are three 
 branches of the Risetter family in Lee county, 
 all distantly related from the old country. Alfred 
 is a first cousin of Georgine, who is a daugh- 
 ter of Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Risetter, and Lars 
 C. Risetter is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis L. 
 Risetter and a third cousin to his wife. 
 
 Mr. O. A. Risetter lives on his farm in Alto 
 township. He is a member of the Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church and has been a member of the 
 school board for over nine years. 
 
 JACOB OLSON ROGDE 
 
 Was born in Uliensvang, Hardanger, Norway, 
 the 23rd of August, 1828. He was not born to 
 riches, but by hard work and strict economy 
 
 Jacob O. Rogde. 
 
 he managed to save enough to purchase a ticket 
 to Chicago in 1851. 
 
 Arriving here penniless but hopeful, he heard 
 of the Illinois prairies and immediately made for 
 Lee count}-, locating near Ashton. He worked 
 part of the time on a farm and once in a while 
 at his trade as a carpenter. After three years 
 he had laid by enough to venture the purchase 
 of eighty acres of land in Bradford township. 
 Lee cou'ntJ^ and in 1854 he went onto the land 
 to farm it. 
 
 The following year he married Elsie Peder- 
 son Bly, also from Hardanger, who had come 
 over the year previous. United effort and hard 
 work brought success, and they have founl 
 themselves able to add forty acres to their hold- 
 ings. In 1863 land value was increased in price 
 and the}' sold out to advantage, buying 240 acres 
 
466 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 in Willow Creek township in the same county, 
 where a Norwegian colony had started. Here 
 prosperity smiled upon them, but in 1876 Mrs. 
 Rogde died, leaving her husband with nine chil- 
 dren, the oldest 18 years and the youngest 
 six months. The children, except the youngest, 
 are all married. 
 
 On Nov. 30, 1877, he married Gjyri Olson 
 Ely, with whom he had six children. She died 
 in 1892. In 1904 he rented his farm and the 
 following year erected a commodious home on 
 his own farm in the Village of Lee, where he 
 now lives with the children of his second mar- 
 riage, all being with him except the youngest 
 daughter, who is married. Mr. Rogde prides 
 himself upon having been a consistent republi- 
 can in politics. He is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church of Lee and has held the office of deacon 
 or trustee ever since the congregation was organ- 
 ized. 
 
 5*? 
 
 by five children, of whom four are living — Grace, 
 Herbie, Mildred and a son not yet named at this 
 writing. 
 
 Martin J. Rogde. 
 
 MARTIN J. ROGDE 
 
 Was born at Lee, 111., Nov. 1, 1866. His father 
 is Jacob Olson Rogde and his mother Elsie Ely, 
 both born at Hardanger, Norway. Mr. Rogde 
 received his education in the district school and 
 then worked on the farm until 23 years of 
 age. Then he went west to Ruthton, Minn., 
 where he was thrashing for the farmers for two 
 years. His brother, Lewis, was located there. 
 On his return to Lee he was married, March 
 4, 1899, to Miss Julia Kittelson, a daughter of 
 Halvor Kittelson, whose picture appears on an- 
 other page of this book. He now rented eighty 
 acres of land from his father-in-law, and the 
 next year he bought eighty acres of the John- 
 son estate. He continued to cultivate the 160 
 acres until he bought the eighty acres which he 
 had rented from his father-in-law and increased 
 his farm by renting forty acres more from Hal- 
 vor Kittelson. The marital union has been blessed 
 
 OLAF HJALMAR ROLFSEN, 
 
 Son of Rollef and J^rgine Halvorsen, was born 
 in Kongsberg, Norway, Dec. 2, 1864. His father 
 was a gunsmith with the Nasdenes Batallion, 
 stationed at Christiania. When 16 years old 
 Olaf began as clerk in a grocery in Kongsberg 
 and remained with the same firm until 22 years 
 old. 
 
 He came to America, locating in Madison, 
 Wis., in the spring of 1886. That fall he came 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 467 
 
 to Chicago and secured employment with the 
 Chicago Cottage Organ Company, where he 
 
 Olaf H, Rolfsen. 
 
 worked for four years. He then worked for the 
 West Chicago Street Railway Company until 
 
 the fall of 1892, when he engaged in the gro- 
 cery business in company with John Engebret- 
 son. Under the name of Rolfsen & Engebret- 
 son they started a store at 313 W. Ohio street, 
 and six years later they bought a grocery at 
 358 W. Erie street. In 1903 they erected their 
 own building, on the corner of Spaulding and 
 Beach avenues, and opened a store there, hav- 
 ing in the meantime sold their Erie street 
 place. Mr. Engebretson now looks after the 
 new store and Mr. Rolfsen is still at the Ohio 
 street store. He is a member of the Norwegian 
 Sharpshooters and the Tabitha Hospital Asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 ^St? 
 
 ANDREAS ROREM, 
 
 Of Ottawa, 111., was born in Stjernerj^ sogn, 
 Stavanger amt, Norway, July 21, 1850. His par- 
 ents, Ole and Ellen Rorem, were farmers in Nor- 
 way. Andreas remained with his parents on the 
 farm until 20 years old, attending the common 
 schools and also taking private lessons in the 
 common branches. 
 
 In 1871 he came to America' via Quebec, going 
 direct to Morris, 111. Here he worked for two 
 years on adjoining farms by the month and then 
 
 Andreas Rorem and Wife. 
 
468 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 went to Colorado, where he spent one year as 
 a gold miner. He then returned to Grundy 
 county, Illinois, and engaged in farming, which 
 he has followed since. For about three years 
 he taught the Lutheran parochial school and also 
 sold books. He is now retired, having sold his 
 farm a few years ago and moved to Ottawa. 
 
 He married Sarah Mathre of Morris 111., Oct. 
 16, 187-i. She is a daughter of Sjur L. and 
 Ragna Mathre. They have been blessed with 
 nine children, eight of 'them living. Their names 
 are Oscar, born Feb. 6, 1876; Severt, May 9, 
 1877; Edward, July 1, 1880; Henry, Jan. 31, 1882; 
 Mary, Feb. 23, 1884; Anna, Oct. 16, 1886; Sadie, 
 Nov. 17, 1888; Rebecca, Feb. 19, 1892; Ellen, 
 Feb. 4, 1894. Oscar, the oldest is married to 
 INIiss Ida Johnson, of Newcastle, Neb. 
 
 Mr. Rorem was township collector for Net- 
 tle creek township in 1886, justice of the peace 
 in the town of Rutland from 1898 to 1901, and 
 was re-elected but declined to serve. He is 
 very closely associated with the Pleasant View 
 Luther College, of which he has been trustee 
 since its organization in 1895, and is a member 
 of the executive committee. He has been a con- 
 stant contributor to all charitable institutions 
 under the control of the Norwegians. He and 
 his family are members of the Trinity Lutheran 
 Church of Ottawa, in which he has held nearly 
 all offices usual to congregations. His parents 
 both died in Norway, his father in 1873 and his 
 mother in 1883. 
 
 In the summer of 1903 Mr. and Mrs. Rorem 
 took a trip to Norway and spent most of the sum- 
 mer in traveling to the various points of interest 
 in the fatherland. He found great pleasure in 
 visiting the land of his birth, childhood and 
 young manhood; and Mrs. Rorem, who was born 
 in America, enjoyed the visit to the land of her 
 fathers quite as much. 
 
 OLE JOHANNESON ROSELAND 
 
 Was born in Quinherreds prestegjcld, Bergens 
 stiff, Norway, Dec. 26, 1833. His early life was 
 spent in the country, but at 21 he went to Ber- 
 gen and learned the trade of a blacksmith. He 
 remained at Bergen and worked at his trade 
 from 185'5 to 1869. 
 
 He came to America in 1869 and located in 
 Grundy county, Illinois, where he has since 
 lived with the exception of two years in Ken- 
 dall county. He worked at his trade in Morris 
 and devoted ten years of his life to farming. He 
 has lived in Morris for nineteen years. 
 
 Mr. Roseland was married to Christina Thor- 
 sen, of Bergen, Norway, Aug. 14, 1860. They 
 had two girls and a boy, all of them married 
 and living at Morris, surrounded by large fam- 
 ilies. Mr. Roseland served his term in the 
 Norwegian army. Mr. and Mrs. Roseland be- 
 long to the Friends Church (Quakers), which 
 religious faith they embraced in Norway. 
 
 CAPTAIN MATHIAS HOECK RYERSON 
 
 Was born at 0ster Ris0r, Norway, Oct. 13, 1834. 
 His father, Reier Thorkelson, was a government 
 employe (Undertoldbetjent) at Jomfruland, and 
 his mother's maiden name was Martha Marie 
 Schroeder of Kongsberg. Young Ryerson was 
 educated in the common schools and confirmed 
 in the Lutheran church at Krager0. 
 
 At the age of 16 he went to sea as a sailor 
 boy working his way up until he became second 
 mate and, of course, visiting various ports of the 
 world. When of age he came to America in 18.55 
 locating at Chicago, where he made his home 
 and has remained since. He sailed on the great 
 lakes until 18G6 during which time he was a cap- 
 tain on various vessels for six years. He quit 
 sailing in 1866. 
 
 Two years previously he had been married, in 
 Chicago, on July 23, 1864, to Miss Bertha Serina 
 Reinertson, daughter of Abraham and Ingemar 
 Reinertson. They have had nine children, six 
 sons and three daughters, of whom eight are 
 now living. Abraham Richard was born July 6, 
 1865; Hoeck Walter, Sept. 16, 1869; Lloyd Hub- 
 bard, Feb. 18, 1871; Adline. Atalia, Oct. 18, 1872; 
 Amund Andreas, April 30, 1874; Jacob Christo- 
 pher, March 30, 1876; Nellie, Nov. 6, 1877, and 
 Borghild Maria, July 18, 1881. Richard is mar- 
 ried to Maria E. SKvela.nd of Milwaukee, Wis., 
 and is a traveling salesman for a wholesale mil- 
 linery house. They reside in Evanston, III. 
 Walter is married to a Miss Kennick and is an 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 469 
 
 insurance inspector. Lloyd is married to a Miss OLIVER MARTIN STANLEY RYERSON 
 Clausen and is president of the American Re- 
 frigerator Company. Adline is married to Mr. Was born in Livingston county, near Pontiac, 
 Song, a book binder. Jacob is married to Miss July 16, 1873. He is a son of Thomas G. Ryerson, 
 Himdahl, and Borghild to Mr. Nurrie, who is who served his adopted country as a soldier dur- 
 
 in the shade manufacturing business. Miss Nel- 
 lie is at home with her parents. After having 
 given up the life of a sailor, which is marred by 
 many vicissitudes. Captain Ryerson engaged in 
 the less fickle coal business, which he is still 
 pursuing at 577 N. Robey street. 
 
 ing the Civil War, and Lisa Larson, retired 
 
 Capt. M. H. Ryerson. 
 
 Both Captain Ryerson's and Mrs. Ryerson's 
 parents departed this life in Norway; his father 
 at the advanced age of 80 and his mother at 85. 
 ]\Irs. Ryerson's father died at 85 and her mother 
 at 86 years of age. 
 
 The captain is a member of the I. O. U. W. 
 and carries his 73 years hale and hearty. His 
 experiences as a sailor were manj' and varied 
 but our limited space does not permit us to men- 
 tion them in detail. 
 
 O. M. S. Ryerson. 
 
 farmers now living in Pontiac. Mr. Ryerson was 
 educated in the country schools until he was 
 old enou'gh to work on the farm. This was the 
 rule among most of our hard-working farmers. 
 When older he was allowed to visit the schools 
 only during the winter months. Oliver, together 
 with two younger brothers, remained on the farm, 
 while of the two older brothers Theodore became 
 a station agent for the 111. Cent. R. R. and Mil- 
 lard an operator in Gibson City for the same rail- 
 road. 
 
 WHien the parents retired to the town, Oliver 
 became boss of the farm, which he is now run- 
 ning. He is a staunch republican and has taken 
 a very active interest in politics, local, county, 
 state and national. He is a baptized member of 
 the Lutheran Church and belongs to the Hauge 
 synod. 
 
470 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Besides being a farmer, he is also a practical 
 engineer, having learned that profession by sheer 
 enterprise and persistency. He makes a busi- 
 ness of thrashing and shelling corn, sawing lum- 
 ber, etc., for the farmers in his district, and it 
 can readily be seen that his knowledge of en- 
 gineering stands him in good stead and brings 
 him a handsome extra income. He is still un- 
 married. 
 
 cation in the country schools during the winter 
 months, attending them until 18 years old. He 
 remained on the farm with his father until 25 
 years of age. 
 
 He entered the service of the 111. Cen. Ry. in 
 1896, first as an extra operator, then as sta- 
 tion agent at different smaller stations, and fin- 
 ally as station agent at Pontiac, July, 1905. He 
 is a member of the I. O. O. F., the Knights of 
 Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and 
 the order of Railroad Telegraphers. 
 
 In 1901 Mr. Ryerson was married to Miss 
 Sarah Amacher, born near Cullom, 111., of Ger- 
 man parents. This union has been so far blessed 
 with one child, a son, Murtin Delbert. The fam- 
 ily live in their own residence at 1216 N. Main 
 street, Pontiac. 
 
 THEODORE RYERSON 
 
 Was born in Livingston county, near Pontiac, 
 III, Aug. 24, 1870. His father is Thomas G. 
 
 Theodore Ryerson. 
 
 Ryerson, who served in the Civil War, and his 
 mother Lisa Larson, retired farmers, now liv- 
 ing in Pontiac. Mr. Ryerson obtained his edu- 
 
 JACOB K. RYG 
 
 The prosperous farmer in Freedom township, 
 La Salle county. 111., was born on gaarden Ryg, 
 Randeberg sogn, Norway, Jan. 8, 1867. His father 
 is Knud Jensen Ryg, a farmer, and his mother 
 Olena Christiansdatter (Sande) Ryg. Mr. Jacob 
 Ryg attended the public school until he, in 1881, 
 was confirmed in the Luther-in church at Rande- 
 berg. He then worked on his father's farm for 
 one year, and came to America in 1882, landing 
 at New York. From there he went via Chicago 
 to Leland, 111., arriving there April 15, and con- 
 tinued his journey to Freedom, stopping with 
 Tom Mosey and Sivert Jameson a few days. He 
 then went to work for Edward Smith until March 
 1, 1883, after which date he was employed by 
 Ezekiel Howland until Nov. 20, 1885, whereupon 
 he made a six months' trip to Norway. Return- 
 ing to America during the following spring he 
 worked two years for I. Brower and three year 
 for Ezekiel Howland. 
 
 In 1891, on Feb. 19, he was married to Miss 
 Sophie L. Fosse of Hardanger, her parents be- 
 ing Lars Andersen and Guro Knudsdatter (Haa- 
 brecke) Fosse. This union has been blessed by 
 six children, all now living, namely: Charles 
 Leon, born Dec. 19, 1891; Otto Guy, Oct. 4, 1893; 
 Lottie Grace, Aug. 13, 1896; Houston Silas, Nov. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 471 
 
 29, 1899; Myrtle Gertrud, Sept. 4, 1903, and Owen 
 Leslie, May 26, 1905. 
 
 Mr. Ryg acquired 160 acres of land in Freedom 
 township in 1893 to which holding he added 80 
 more acres in 1905. 
 
 Jacob K. Ryg. 
 
 The family are members of the Lutheran 
 church at Freedom, and Mr. Ryg is a liberal 
 supporter both of the church and the Pleasant 
 View Luther College at Ottawa, 111. 
 
 asylum at Gaustad. His mother's maiden name 
 was Johanne Emelie Barth. The Doctor's youth 
 was given to schooling. He passed through Nis- 
 sen's Latin and Real Skole in Christiania pre- 
 liminary to entering the university, and was 
 confirmed in Vestre Aker's Lutheran Church. 
 Entering Christiania University, he took a class- 
 ical and medical course, graduating in 1881 with 
 the degrees of Ph. D. and M. D. He was interne 
 at the Rigshospital in Christiania, also assistant 
 physician at the state asylum for the insane at 
 
 Dr. K. F. M. Sandberg. 
 
 KARL FERDINAND MARIUS SANDBERG, 
 M. D., 
 
 Was born in Gaustad, Vestre Aker, Norway, 
 Sept. 15, 1855. His father, Ole R^mer Aagard 
 Sandberg, was superintendent of the state insane 
 
 Gaustad and assistant physician at the Bergen 
 Hospital. 
 
 He came to America and to Chicago in 1882. 
 Here he has been engaged in the general practice 
 of medicine since. He is the attending gynecolo- 
 gist and obstetrician at the Cook County Hos- 
 pital and the National Temperance Hospital, and 
 surgeon-in-chief to the Norwegian Tabitha 
 Hospital. 
 
 He married Miss Inga G. Stensland, a step- 
 daughter of Paul O. Stensland, July 25, 1885. 
 He served as lieutenant with the reserve in the 
 Norwegian Army for five years. Dr. Sandberg 
 
472 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 has always been a faithful and hard worker for 
 t]:!e Tabitha Hospital and the Children's Home. 
 He is credited with having prepared a number of 
 valuable papers on scientific s-<i!)jects more 
 particularly pertaining to his ov/n profession. 
 His parents died in Christiania, his father in 1884 
 and his mother in 1894. Dr. Sandberg's office 
 and residence is at 682 N. California avenue, 
 Chicago. 
 
 AUSTIN SANDERSON, 
 
 Of Leland, 111., was born on Bakka, Tin, Nor- 
 way, Aug. 14, 1836. His parents were Helge 
 and Adelaide (Knudson) Sanderson. 
 
 Austin Sanderson. 
 
 They emigrated to America in 1843, when 
 Austin was 7 years old, their objective place 
 
 being La Salle county, 111., where they had rel- 
 atives who had preceded them. They landed 
 in New York city after nine weeks on a sailing 
 vessel. From New York they went to Albany 
 by boat, thence via canal to Bufifalo, and then 
 over the lakes to Milwaukee. From Milwaukee 
 the family pursued their way to La Salle coun- 
 ty on foot, being four weeks in making the 
 trip. This was the most tedious part of their 
 journey, for two of the children were quite small 
 and had to be carried. Mr. Sanderson, Sr., 
 settled on forty acres of government land, to 
 which he later added forty acres, and these 
 eighty acres are a part of our subject's farm 
 to-day. 
 
 His father spent the rest of his days on this 
 farm, passing away on Sept. 26, 1855, at the age 
 of 61 years. His mother lived on the old home- 
 stead with her son until her death, in 1887, hav- 
 ing been born in 1803. There were six children 
 in the family when they came to America, name- 
 ly: S. H. and Knut Sanderson, now both dead; 
 a sister, Mrs. Levina Kittelson, now also de- 
 parted, and another sister, Margaret, who re- 
 mained with her brother on the farm until her 
 death in 1893, when she was 60 years old. Mrs. 
 Allan Farley, also a sister, is living. 
 
 While farming Mr. Sanderson served as school 
 director for many years. In 1874 the community 
 built a Norwegian Lutheran chu'rch, in which 
 our subject was one of the leading factors. In 
 1891 Mr. Sanderson retired from farming and 
 moved to Leland, where he engaged in the cloth- 
 ing business with his brother-in-law, Mr. Allan 
 Farley, the firm name being Sanderson & Farley. 
 In 1898 a fine Lutheran church was built in Le- 
 land, largely through the efforts of Mr. Sander- 
 son. In 1891 he built an elevator with a capacity 
 of 100,000 bushels of grain, at a cost of $18,000. 
 This is also operated by Sanderson & Farley. 
 His store building, which burned down in Janu- 
 ary, 1905, has been rebuilt and enlarged, being 
 now a substantial two story brick building. In 
 1878 Mr. Sanderson, who by the way never mar- 
 ried, made a visit to his friends and relatives 
 in Norway, and reports that he had a very en- 
 joyable trip. 
 
 Mr. Austin Sanderson is probably the best 
 known man in Leland, being, as we are told, 
 also the wealthiest. When it has come to church 
 matters he has been exceptionally enthusiastic 
 and sacrificing. He took pride that the Nor- 
 wegians of the village of Leland should have 
 a fine church and to that end he donated out- 
 right $1,000, and while the church was being 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 473 
 
 built he worked on same almost day and night 
 without any compensation. Mr. Sanderson has 
 always been a hard worker, and often when he 
 had nothing particularly urgent to do for him- 
 self he would help some neighbor so as to keep 
 himself busy. He has the reputation of being 
 very careful in money matters, but he has very 
 often lent a helping hand to deserving persons 
 — always without ostentation. 
 
 fices of trust for Alilan township, such as col- 
 lector for one year, elected 1895; elected super- 
 visor in 1896, re-elected at the end of each term 
 of two years, and is still holding that office. On 
 the board of the district school he has served 
 during the last twenty years, and also acted as 
 secretary and clerk of the board during all those 
 years. In 1903 the Lee State Bank was opened 
 at Lee, and Mr. Sanderson, being a stockholder, 
 was elected its cashier at the first meeting of 
 directors. The president of the bank is ex-Judge 
 H. W. Johnson, of Ottawa, mentioned on an- 
 other page of this book. 
 
 SAMUEL M. SANDERSON 
 
 Was born on a farm near Leland, La Salle coun- 
 ty, 111., July 31, 1854. His father was Sander H. 
 (Bakka) Sanderson, of Bakka, Tin, Norway, and 
 his mother Anne Morland. Mr. Sanderson was 
 educated in the district school during winter time 
 and during the summers had to help on his fath- 
 er's farm. His father sold his farm in La Salle 
 county and moved to De Kalb county, north- 
 east of Lee, where he died in 1881. Mr. Sam 
 Sanderson bought a farm of eighty acres about 
 that time, and later has added more, until it now 
 comprises 240 acres. 
 
 In 1876 he started a general merchandise store 
 at Lee, in partnership with Mr. John A. Hovda, 
 the firm being Hovda & Sanderson. After some 
 time Mr. Hovda sold out his interest to S. M. 
 Sanderson, and the business was continued for 
 three years as Sanderson & Son. Then S. M. 
 Sanderson sold out to C. K. Halvorson, who con- 
 tinued the business until he moved to Leland, 
 where he is still living. Mr. Sanderson in the 
 meantime moved to his farm. 
 
 In September, 1875, Mr. Sanderson was married 
 to Miss Betsy K. Halvorson, born south of Le- 
 land. They had twelve children. The six liv- 
 ing ones are: Harvey C, Sander A., Eva A., Kin- 
 nie O., Lester E. and Vira M. Sander A. married 
 Miss Nellie Bjerge, born near Creston, III. This 
 couple has one little son, so Mr. Sanderson can 
 boast of being a grandfather. 
 
 In 1901 Mrs. Sam Sanderson died. 
 
 The family attends the Hauge Synod Church, 
 north of Lee. Of that church Mr. Sanderson 
 has been a trustee during the last ten years, 
 which office he is still holding. He has also been 
 treasurer for many years. He has also held of- 
 
 LAURITZ ERICKSON SANGDAHL, C. E., 
 
 Was born at H0nefos, Norway, March 7, 1858. 
 His parents were "brugsbestyrer" L. A. Erickson 
 Sangdahl and his wife Crete. Both have departed 
 from this life at Sangdahl, Ringerike; the mother 
 in 1876, and the father in 1892. 
 
 Mr. Sangdahl received his education first in the 
 public school, then in the high school, and finally 
 in the Technical School of Christiania, from 
 which he graduated in 1880. 
 
 Mr. Sangdahl was married Dec. 18, 1884, to Miss 
 Elise Saveland, a daughter of Edward and Oline 
 Saveland of 'Milwaukee, Wis. Their home has 
 been blessed with two sons, Arthur, born Nov. 
 28, 1886, and Stanley, born May 13, 1889, both liv- 
 ing. 
 
 Shortly after having graduated Mr. Sangdahl 
 left Norway for America on Aug. 27, 1880, and 
 came direct to Chicago, where he worked as a 
 draftsman until Aug. 1881, when he was offered 
 and accepted a position as draftsman for the Mil- 
 waukee Bridge and Iron Works. With this con- 
 cern he remained until May 1, 1883. He then 
 accepted a position with the Northern Pacific R. 
 R. Co., as first assistant engineer of bridges, build" 
 ings and tracks, and remained in that capacity 
 seven months, designing and superintending the 
 construction of railroad shops at Fargo, Mandan 
 and Dickinson, Dak., also at Glendive, Miles City 
 and Bozeman, Montana. He was now recalled to 
 Milwaukee, Wis., to take a position as chief 
 engineer of the Milwaukee Bridge & Iron Works, 
 which he held until 1895. During that period he 
 
474 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 constructed the Belle Isle bridge at Detroit, 
 Mich,, which consists of eleven 156 ft. spans and 
 one 320 ft. draw span, including all foundations; 
 and the Third street bridge at Bay City, Mich., 
 also the Cantilever bridge at Muscatine, Iowa, be- 
 sides other miscellaneous work. The same year 
 he was sent to Chicago by the same firm as con- 
 tracting engineer, and contracted for several large 
 buildings in Chicago, including the new Post 
 Office building. He held this position until 1901. 
 The companj' was then amalgamated with the 
 United States Steel Corporation, and Mr. Sang- 
 dahl has since held the position as engineer in 
 charge of the estimating and designing depart- 
 ment with the American Bridge Company. He is 
 also principal stockholder of the Steel Stone Con- 
 struction Company, Building and Bridges, 1761 
 ]\Ionadnock Block, Chicago. 
 
 With his family Mr. Sangdahl resides at 7056 
 Parnell Ave. 
 
 WILLIAM SAXON, 
 
 General superintendent with the Miehle Printing 
 Press Company, at Fulton and Clinton streets 
 and on Milwaukee avenue, Chicago, was born in 
 Christia'nia, Norway, July 6. 1857. His father, 
 Christian Saxon, was a mechanical engineer in 
 Christiania; his mother, Alice Tomlinson, was 
 from Manchester, England. Our subject attend- 
 ed a private school in Christiania until he was 
 confirmed in the oTd Aker's Church, and went 
 to Manchester, England, at the age of 15. Here 
 he attended a mechanical and technical school 
 and graduated in the technical course. He then 
 served as an apprentice for five years with Parr, 
 Curtis & Madely, leading machinists in Manches- 
 ter. After this he retu'rned to Christiania, where 
 he was employed as draftsman and machinist by 
 the Oluf Ansum Company and J. & A. Jensen 
 & Dahl, while he remained there. 
 
 He came to this country in 1883, via New 
 York and direct to Chicago, where he has 
 been located since. He worked in a number of 
 machine shops here until 1889, when he secured 
 work with the Miehle Printing Press and Manu- 
 facturing Company, where he has been for over 
 
 sixteen years and is now the general superin- 
 tendent. 
 
 He was married to Marie Jacobson, of Brevig, 
 Norway, Nov. 24, 1881. Her parents were Ja- 
 cob and Kristine Jacobson, of Brevig. They 
 have had five children: Alice, born 1882 and in 
 1895 married to John E. Press, now residing in 
 Oak Park, 111.; James, born 1889; Harriet, born 
 1886 and died in 1889; William, born 1892; Mar- 
 garet, born 1895. 
 
 William Saxon. 
 
 Mr. Saxon's father died in Norway in 1871; 
 his mother in Manchester, England in 1903. 
 
 Our subject is a member of the Royal Ar- 
 canum and the North American Union. He is 
 also a member of the American Society of Me- 
 chanical Engineers. 
 
 The family attend St. Paul's Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church on North avenue and reside at 117 
 Maple avenue. Oak Park, 111. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 475 
 
 ARNOLDUS SCHLANBUSCH 
 
 Of Sheridan, 111., was born in Vossevangen, near 
 Bergen, Norway, March 11, 1836. His father, 
 Fredrick Schlanbu'sch, a merchant there, and his 
 mother, Larsina Bee Schlanbusch, are both dead. 
 
 Arnoldus, being a trained sailor and navigator, 
 came to America in the spring of 1860, direct 
 to Chicago, where he followed his occupation 
 during the summer. 
 
 In 1861 he enlisted in Company A, Fifteenth 
 Wisconsin Volunteers, which was the only 
 Scandinavian regiment in the service. He held 
 
 Larsina and Florence are dead. Pauline is mar- 
 ried to Dr. W. H. Cartmell, Magnolia, Iowa. 
 Walter assisted his father in running his busi- 
 ness at Sheridan until the older Schlanbusch 
 died in the spring, 1906. He now owns it. The 
 family attends the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 of which he was a trustee. He had also been a 
 member of the village board and for many years 
 was the village treasurer. Mr. Schlanbusch was 
 a charter member of the G. A. R., Clayton 
 Beardsley Post of Sheridan; also a member of 
 the ]\Iodern Woodmen of America and the An- 
 cient Order of United Workmen. 
 
 Arnoldus Schlanbusch. 
 
 the position of first sergeant until May, 1864, 
 when he was transferred to the navy, serving al- 
 together three years and seven months. 
 
 After the war he started in the general mer- 
 chandise business — first in Norway, 111., then in 
 Serena, and in 1881 he came to Sheridan and 
 was there engaged in the business until hi:> death. 
 
 In 1866 he was married to Miss Nicoline Syn- 
 nestvedt, with whom five children were born: 
 Pauline Magdalina, Larsina Maria, Florence 
 Maria, Astra Gunfrilda and Walter Theodore. 
 
 GERHARD B. SCHLANBUSCH. 
 
 Was born in Vossevangen, near Bergen, Nor- 
 way, Aug. 13, 1847. His father, Fredrick Schlan- 
 busch, and his mother, Larsina Boe Schlanbusch, 
 died long ago. Mr. Schlanbusch left his native 
 country when but 13 years of age, in 1860, and 
 came over to America in a sailing vessel, it tak- 
 ing seven weeks to make the voyage. There 
 were 27 deaths on board. 
 
 Mr. Schlanbusch received his education first 
 in the public schools in Norway and after his 
 arrival in Chicago in the Kinzie school here. 
 Since then he has been engaged in the mer- 
 cantile bu'siness most of his time with the fol- 
 lowing firms: Christian Erickson, Parker & Jevne, 
 J. V. Farwell & Co., J. H. Walker & Co., and 
 during the past twenty years with the whole- 
 sale house of Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. 
 
 In 1872 Mr. Schlanbusch was married to Miss 
 Camilla Fredericksen of Copenhagen, Denmark, 
 of which union two daughters were born: Amy, 
 in July, 1873, and Stella, in March, 1875. The 
 former was married Sept. 26, 1905, to Mr. 
 Charles Renner. They have one daughter, Alice, 
 born Sept. 2, 1906. Stella was married May 2, 
 1900, to John Culver, M. D. They also have 
 one daughter. Amy, born Feb. 10, 1902. 
 
 Mr. Schlanbusch, having become a widower, 
 married Miss Alice Rohne of Sheridan, 111., in 
 1884. They have no children. 
 
 During the summer of 1906 he visited his 
 childhood home for the first time since his ar- 
 rival in America. 
 
476 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 He was confirmed in the Lutheran faith but 
 since has joined the Baptist Church. 
 
 has resided here since, working as a draftsnaan 
 at the present time connected with the Western 
 Electric Company. 
 
 Gerhard B. Schlanbusch. 
 
 He is a member of Berwyn Lodge A. F. & 
 A. M. No. 839 and the Haymarket Council of 
 the National Union. With his wife he resides 
 in Berwyn, 111. 
 
 Olaf Schroeder. 
 
 CARRIE SCOTT, 
 
 OLAF SCHROEDER 
 
 Was born at Krager^, Norway, Dec. 26, 1882. 
 His father, H. T. Schroeder, a ship broker at 
 Kragerd, and his mother, Marie (Nelson), are 
 both living. Olaf attended the high school in 
 his native town and then spent three years at 
 the technical institute at Porsgrund, where he 
 graduated as mechanical and electrical engineer. 
 He came to America and Chicago in 1902 and 
 
 The accomplished pianist and music teacher, was 
 born in Iowa and came to Lisbon, 111., while a 
 child. Her parents — Torris and Sara (Storhaug) 
 Scott — are both dead. She graduated from the 
 Chicago Musical College in piano, harmony, com- 
 position and science of music with honor, pay- 
 ing for every lesson from her own earnings 
 as a teacher of the piano. 
 
 She was connected with the famous Balatka 
 Music College. Of Miss Scott's pupils six have 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 477 
 
 received gold medals at graduation, one of them 
 being a young Norwegian, Olvin Johnson, of 
 whom Prof. Balatka said that no pupil was ever 
 more deserving of the distinction. Our sub- 
 ject has several valuable compositions to her 
 credit, one being a cradle song (instrumental) 
 with variations on several hymns, which pre- 
 sumably will be published. 
 
 Miss Scott is an ardent promoter of the tem- 
 perance movement and a liberal contributor to 
 the Hope Mission, of which she was secretary 
 for one year. She is a member of the Law En- 
 
 Miller and Algot E. Strand incorporated the 
 Mendelssohn Conservatory of Music, of which 
 Miss Scott is the president. This new addition 
 to the Chicago musical world has its studios in 
 the Atheneum Building, 26 E. Van Buren street, 
 and is rapidly developing both in number of stu- 
 dents and their proqrress in musical attainments. 
 The directors of the musical board are: Carrie 
 Scott, Lydia Gersch Neeb, Ady Thorpe Butter- 
 worth, Max I. Fishel and A. Alfred Holmes. 
 
 Miss Carrie Scott. 
 
 forcement League of the Northwest Side, Chi- 
 cago, in which she takes a great interest, believ- 
 ing that it is one of the best agencies for the 
 enforcement of all laws in the city. 
 
 She is a member of the Covenant Aid Society, 
 a life member of the Deaconess Home So- 
 ciety and the Children's Home Society. She 
 is a member of the Lutheran Church at Lisbon, 
 111. Last year she bought a fine little house at 
 1454 N. Kimball avenue, where she resides and 
 has one of her studios. 
 
 During the fall of 1906 Miss Carrie Scott, 
 Messrs. M. C. Olson, Geo. T. Scott, Walter J. 
 
 INGVARD MARTINIUS SCOTT, 
 
 The well known druggist at 941-43 Wabansia 
 avenue, was born in Christiania, Norway, Dec. 
 10, 1868. His father, Paul A. Scott, was a dealer 
 in patent medicines in Chicago, 111.; his mother's 
 maiden name was Brita Andersdatter Barstad. 
 
 Ingvard M. Scott. 
 
478 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 He came to America with his parents on Aug. 
 24, 1883, locating in Chicago. He had attended 
 school in Norway, and did so here, where he was 
 confirmed in Juul's Church, on May and Erie 
 streets. Later he attended Northwestern Uni- 
 versity, from which he graduated in pharmacy. 
 His first work in Chicago was as clerk with 
 Den Kristelige Talsmand. 
 
 He was married on January 15, 1897, to Vivian 
 M. Magu'ire. He has been engaged in the drug 
 business for many years and is located at 941- 
 43 Wabansia ave. He is a Mason, a K. P., a 
 member of the Royal League and an Odd Fel- 
 low. 
 
 MARGARETHE SEEHUUS, 
 
 A resident of Chicago since 1872, was born in 
 Gryten parish, Romsdalen, Norway, Sept. 19, 
 
 1832. Hex father, Ole Halvorsen Mejlva, was a 
 member of the Storthing, as was her grand- 
 father. Her mother was Marit Olsdatter Devoid. 
 She attended schools at her home and was con- 
 firmed in the Hovedkirke in Gryten parish. She 
 afterward attended the school of obstetrics in. 
 Christiania, and graduated as a midwife. 
 
 She was married in Norway to Christopher 
 Bude Seehuus, on Jan. 24, 1858. They had two 
 children — Knute, born May 3, 1859, and Ole 
 Martin, born Dec. 24, 1863. The former is now 
 a Lutheran pastor, located at Locust, Winne- 
 shiek county, Iowa, where he looks after four 
 congregations, three Norwegian and one Ger- 
 man. The other son is a practicing physician 
 at Hatton, N. D. Mrs. Seehu'us visits her sons 
 annually. She is very active in her practice and 
 proudly relates that she has welcomed over five 
 thousand infants to this world. She came to 
 America with her husband and children on the 
 steamer Peter Jeppeson, landing at New York 
 and coming directly to Chicago, where they ar- 
 rived in May, 1872. Her husband, who was a 
 carpenter and cabinet-maker by trade, found 
 work immediately, but was in poor health and 
 died on March 14, 1875. About fifteen years 
 ago Mrs. Seehuus started a school for the teach- 
 ing of obstetrics, which she is still conduct- 
 ing. Her home is at 103 N. Center avenue, Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 Margarethe Seehus. 
 
 CHARLES OLINUS SETHNESS 
 
 Was born in Christiansund, Norway, Aug. 5, 
 1860. His parents were John and Olina (R^r- 
 dahl) Sethness. He attended school in Norway 
 and also the public school in Chicago and was 
 confirmed by Rev. Torgersen in the Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church on Grand avenue and Peoria 
 street. 
 
 In 1873 he came to Chicago, and in 1874 he 
 entered the employ of Christopher Stange, ta 
 learn the profes'sion of a druggist and chemist. 
 He worked for him for ten years, or until 1884, 
 when he engaged in the same business, first at 
 Robey street and Milwaukee avenue. Later he 
 moved to his present quarters at 262-68 N. 
 Curtis street, where he manufactures flavoring 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 479 
 
 extracts and deals in bottlers' machinery and 
 supplies. Reference to his business and a cut 
 of his building appear under the proper heading 
 in this history. 
 
 Mr. Sethness was married in Chicago, Dec. 14, 
 1882, to Miss Helga Midling, daughter of Auker 
 and Hilda Midling, from Christiania, Norway. 
 They have four children — Charles Henry, born 
 in 1883; Ralph Edward, 1885; Walter Douglas, 
 
 Chas. O. Sethness. 
 
 1887; Hilda Elvira, in 1895. Our subject's father 
 died in Norway many years ago; his mother 
 died in Chicago in 1884. Mr. Sethness is at 
 present a member of the board of education. He 
 is also a Mason, a Knight Templar, a Shriner, 
 and a member of the Irving Park Country Club. 
 The family resides at 2642 N. Forty-second 
 avenue, Irving Park. 
 
 9^? 
 
 OLAF F. SEVERSON, 
 
 The subject of this sketch, was born in Ber- 
 gen, Norway, on Aug. 26, 1858. In 1862, he 
 
 with his parents emigrated to this country in the 
 sailing vessel, the Sleipner, which arrived in 
 Chicago Aug. 2, being the first vessel to make 
 the entire journey from Norway to Chicago. 
 He was educated in the public schools of Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 In 1879 he was married to Emily M. Sims, 
 of Piasa, 111. He has two promising sons — 
 Charles F. and Gilbert S. Charles F. is a grad- 
 uate of the United States Military Academy at 
 West Point. N. Y., and is now a lieutenant in 
 the United States Army, stationed at Fort Har- 
 rison, Mont. 
 
 Olaf F. Severson. 
 
 Mr. Severson's public position was that of 
 deputy coroner under Henry L. Hertz, in 1883. 
 He was appointed justice of the peace and police 
 justice at the. West Chicago Avenue Police court 
 in 1891, which position he held until the new 
 municipal courts were established. He took the 
 examination before the Appellate court and was 
 admitted to the bar in 1896. He is a member of 
 the following organizations: The A. F. & A. M., 
 a Royal Arch Mason and Knight Templar; the 
 Royal Arcanum, the Royal League, the I. O. O. 
 F. and the new Illinois Athletic Club. He re- 
 sides at 1761 Humboldt boulevard. 
 
480 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 CHRIST SHERDEN 
 
 Was born in Stange, Norway, Nov. 18, 1864. His 
 parents were Knud Knudson and Martha (Jo- 
 hanseii) Sherden. When our subject was 5 
 years, old his parents with two other. small chil- 
 dren migrated to America and settled upon a 
 homestead in northern . Minnesota, putting up 
 the usual log house as a home. The country was 
 pVactically a wilderness — Indians and wild an- 
 imals were the burden of their lives. The In- 
 dians were a thieving lot and murder of the 
 ■white settlers was a common occurrence. The 
 
 Christ Sherden. 
 
 Sherdens endured these hardships for four years, 
 and then, as matters seemed to get worse, they 
 abandoned their homestead and sought a more 
 civilized comminiity. A family council decided 
 upon Chicago as their future home, and here 
 they have been since. 
 
 After having received a grammar-school educa- 
 tion young Sherden was apprenticed in 1880 to 
 learn sign and carriage painting. He served the 
 required time and mastered the trade with Chris 
 Johnson, at 208-10 N. Sangamon street. Later 
 he was with A. P. Shogren as foreman for 
 
 eighteen years. He is now in charge of the paint 
 shop for Hans Lund, the wagon and carriage 
 manufacturer at 38-40 W. Huron street, corner 
 of Curtis. Mr. Sherden is an artist in his line 
 and turns out the finest work to be seen on 
 Chicago's streets. 
 
 He was married to Miss Otelia Nelson, of 
 Chicago, May 15, 1886. They have had four 
 children; three are living — Cora May, Clarence 
 George and Arthur Theodore Sherden. Mr. 
 Sherden is an active republican and has been 
 president of his precinct club in the fifteenth 
 ward, and often judge of elections. He is a 
 member of Chicago court no. 15, Tribe of Ben 
 Hur, of which he has also been chief and in- 
 structor in degree work for several terms. The 
 family resides at 125 N. Mozart street. 
 
 PROF. NELS EDWARD SIMONSEN, 
 A. M., D. D., 
 
 Of Evanston, was born near Alderly, Dodge 
 county. Wis., May 17, 1854. His parents carne 
 from Fossum, Skien, Norway, in 1842, and settled 
 on a farm in the section of country which in 
 early days was known as Ashippun, thirty miles 
 northwest of Milwaukee. Here on a large farm 
 in the southern part of Dodge and Washington 
 counties he grew up with such advantages as a 
 country school afiforded. With one brother edu- 
 cated at Luther College, one at Appleton Uni- 
 versity and one at the Milwaukee Business 
 College he too had a strong desire to acquire 
 higher education. Having become greatly in- 
 terested in religious work and joined the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church, he entered the North- 
 western University to prepare for the Christian 
 ministry. After completing the classical course 
 in the academy and university and the prescribed 
 theological studies he was graduated with the 
 degrees of A. M. and B. D. He then spent four 
 years in study in Europe, mostly in Christiania 
 and Copenhagen. He has since spent three sum- 
 mers in study and travel in Europe. From his 
 alma mater he was given the degree of D. D. in 
 1896. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa 
 Society. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 481 
 
 While he is an ordinary minister and member 
 of the Norwegian and Danish Methodist Episco- 
 pal conference, his lifework has been that of an 
 educator rather than a minister. He took up 
 educational work in 1885 as a professor in the 
 Norwegian and Danish Theological Seminary of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church at Evanston, 111. 
 He has for twenty years been president of this 
 seminary, and during this time sixty young men 
 have been sent out into the ministry of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church among the Nor- 
 wegian and Danish people in America and 
 Europe. Prof. Simonsen was a member of the 
 
 He was married on June 17, 189G, to Jenny 
 Lindgren. They have one child (Richard). The 
 family resides at 2243 Orrington avenne, Evan- 
 ston, 111. . . 
 
 PETER OLSEN SKAADEN, 
 
 Prcf. N. E. Simonsen. 
 
 econornical conference of methodism which met 
 in Washington, D. C, in 1891; a delegate to the 
 general conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1896, in Chicago 
 in 1900, and at Los Angeles, Cal., in 1904. He 
 represented the Ninth General Conference district 
 in the general committee of the Freedmen's Aid 
 and Southern Educational Society and the Mis- 
 sionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Contractor, carpenter and builder, was born in 
 0ier, Gudbrandsdalen, Norway, May 27, 1840. 
 His father was Ole SkjjzSnsberg; his mother Sign 
 Johannsen. He began his trade in Norway when 
 15 years old, and served in the Norwegian army 
 from 1861 to 1866. 
 
 Peter O. Skaaden. 
 
 He was married to Matea Malum on Jan. 18, 
 1867. Mrs. Skaaden died March 28, 1888. They 
 had five children; all are living: Minnie is mar- 
 ried to Thomas T. Engness, in Chicago; they 
 
483 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 have four children. Inga is married to Dr. Mar- 
 tin Seehuus, living in North Dakota; they have 
 four children. Eugene is a musician on the piano 
 and organ, and has a school in Minneapolis, Minn. 
 Arthur is in Black Hills, S. D., in the mining 
 business. The youngest daughter, Palma, is in 
 school in Minneapolis. 
 
 Mr. Skaaden is a member of Our Saviour's Lu- 
 theran Church, of which he has been a trustee for 
 several years. His membership dates back to 
 1867. He lives at 280 W. Erie street. 
 
 In 1906 he made an extended trip through 
 Norway. 
 
 SEAVER ERICKSON SMEBY, 
 
 Proprietor of the popular meat market at 163 
 W. Erie street, was born in Trakstad, Smaale- 
 
 Seaver E. Smeby. 
 
 nenes amt, Norway, March 16, 1855. His parents 
 were Erick Jensen and Ingeborg (B^rresen) 
 
 Smeby. Seaver attended the public schools in 
 Norway. 
 
 When he was 14 years old, April 23, 1869, his 
 parents emigrated to America. The trip was 
 made by steamships from Christiania to Hull, 
 England, and thence to Liverpool and New York 
 by an ocean liner. They made their way west- 
 ward and settled in Goodhue county, Minnesota, 
 where Mr. Smeby, Sr., first rented and after- 
 ward purchased a piece of land. Here Seaver 
 worked on the farm, attended English school and 
 was confirmed by Rev. 0sten Hansen at Aspe- 
 lund. 
 
 Several years afterward he went to Minne- 
 apolis and worked at whatever he could find to 
 do until 1877, when he came to Chicago. His 
 brother-in-law, J. O. Hoem, was then running a 
 meat market on Division street, and Mr. Smeby 
 worked for him one year, familiarizing himself 
 with the business. The next year, 1878, he 
 started a meat market for himself at his present 
 location, 163 W. Erie street. In 1889 he went 
 back to Norway on a visit. 
 
 He was married March 18, 1891, to Mrs. 
 Georgiana Olsen, a widow with four children — 
 Herbert, Harvey, Hulda and Minnie. Mr. Smeby 
 is a member and treasurer of Nora Lodge, R. 
 H. K., a member of the Norwegian Old People's 
 Home and the Tabitha Hospital societies. The 
 family attend the Lutheran Chu'rch and reside 
 at 526 N. Sacramento avenue. ' 
 
 MRS. BERTHA CAREY SMITH, 
 
 The well known church and temperance worker 
 and lecturer, was born on a farm near Vermil- 
 ion, S. D., March 2, 1862. Her father was Henry 
 F. Johnson, from the farm Flettre, Voss, Nor- 
 way. Her mother's maiden name was Kari 
 Gjerde, from the farm Gjerde, Tysver, near Hau- 
 gesund, Norway. Her mother was a widow when 
 she married Bertha's father, having four children 
 — one boy and three girls. They were married 
 at Vermilion in 1860. Before Bertha was old 
 enough to attend school they moved to Story 
 county, Iowa, three miles south of Story City. 
 Here our subject first attended school, the same 
 being held in her father's house, there being no 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 483 
 
 schoolhoiises at that time except miles away. Her 
 oldest brother was the teacher. Her youngest 
 brother was born on the farm in Iowa in 1866. 
 Here Bertha was confirmed in the Lutheran 
 Church. Her mother passed away in 1869 and 
 was the first one buried in the Story City ceme- 
 tery. Her father then sold his farm and moved 
 on a farm four miles west of Graettinger, in Palo 
 Alto county, Iowa. While living there our subject 
 went to Des Moines, Iowa, and learned the mil- 
 linery and dress-making trade. She returned to 
 Graettinger, where her brother, Jens H. Johnson, 
 
 Mrs. Smith moved to Chicago her father and 
 brother sold the farm. Her brother's health was 
 poor and he came to Chicago to live with his 
 sister while consulting a doctor, her other 
 brother and sisters having died years before. Her 
 father went to Norway in 1896 on a visit, and 
 while there met and married Randie Olsen. They 
 came to America, but his wife did not like it 
 here, so they went back after three years and 
 bought a home in Haugesund where they are 
 still living. Mrs. Smith's brother, Jens H. John- 
 son, died April 27, 1897. His death was a great 
 loss to her, he being the only one left of her 
 brothers and sisters. 
 
 In 1902 Mrs. Smith went to Norway, where 
 she took a number of pictures and views of in- 
 teresting scenes and familiarized herself with 
 local conditions, to be able to talk intelligently 
 on the subject in her lectures. These entertain-, 
 ments are usually given u'nder the auspices of 
 churches or church societies for charitable pur- 
 poses. They are illustrated by moving pictures. 
 Besides talking on Norway she also lectures on 
 the life of Martin Luther, John Wesley and 
 others. Mrs. F. Peterson generally accompanies 
 her on her trips, aiding her in showing the pic- 
 tures. Mrs. Smith is a member of the Immanuel 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, on W. Huron street; 
 she is one of the stewards and is superintendent 
 of the Sunday school. She is first vice-presi- 
 dent of the Scandinavian W. C. T. U., second 
 vice-president of the Immanuel Epworth League, 
 and an active member of the Law-Enforcement 
 League of the Northwest side, Chicago. The 
 family resides at 269 Noble street. 
 
 Mrs. B. C. Smith. 
 
 was clerk in a general store, and opened a mil- 
 linery store. She always took an active interest 
 in church matters and also taught the Lutheran 
 Church school. 
 
 She was married on her father's farm on Sept. 
 1, 1890, to Mr. Martin Smith, of Chicago. They 
 lived there until 1893, when they came to Chi- 
 cago and conducted a hotel on N, Morgan street 
 during the World's Fair. Later Mr. Smith en- 
 gaged in the wood and coal business, at 261 
 Noble street, which he is still operating. After 
 
 JENS LAURITZ SMITH, 
 
 Alderman from the Fifteenth ward, was born 
 in Christiania, Norway, March 16, 1850. He at- 
 tended the public schools in Norway until 14 
 years old, when he went to sea on a Norwe- 
 gian sailing vessel, two days after he was con- 
 firmed. His first trip was on the sloop Haabet, 
 and Hamburg was the destination. This was 
 during the trouble between Germany and Den- 
 mark, and the sloop, oeing Norwegian, was 
 naturally supposed to be friendly to Denmark, 
 
484 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 and was according!}' nred upon for failure to 
 hoist its flag promptly. The jibboom and bow- 
 sprit were shot away, compelling the vessel to 
 remain for a time for repairs, giving the crew 
 an opportunity to watch the maneuvering of the 
 Danish ships, which Mr. Smith says was a glori- 
 ous sight. While on board the schooner Juno, 
 in the fall of 1867, the ship was wrecked, the 
 crew hanging to the wreckage for eight days, 
 but were finally rescued by a Hanoverian schoon- 
 er, less than thirty minutes before the Juno 
 sank. 
 
 Jens L. Smith. 
 
 ISIr. Smith also experienced a wreck while on 
 a trip from Philadelphia to the West Indies in 
 1867. The ship was run down by an Ameri- 
 can steamer in the Delaware River, being cut 
 in two, and sank in a few minutes. Two of the 
 crew lost their lives in this accident. Mr. Smith 
 then went back to Philadelphia and from there 
 shipped on an American ship, going to New Or- 
 leans and Antwerp and back to Quebec. 
 
 He came back to Chicago in 1869 and sailed 
 on the lakes for two years and then went back 
 to salt water for two years, which ended his 
 
 sea-faring career. He settled in Chicago m 
 1872, working for variou's firms, mostly in the 
 hardware business, until 1889, when he started 
 a business of his own in the same line at 752 
 W. North avenue, which he still continues. In 
 1905 he was elected alderman for the Fifteenth 
 ward by a majority of 944, which Mr. Smith con- 
 siders very flattering. 
 
 He married Bendikke M. Bjjzirnson on Nov. 
 29, 1872. They have six children. Mr. Smith is 
 a member of Humboldt Court Tribe of Ben Hur, 
 is a member of the Norwegian Old People's 
 Home Society, helped to build the Tabitha Hos- 
 pital, and belongs to the Wicker Park Lutheran 
 Church, of which he has been a member of the 
 board of trustees for the last twenty years. 
 
 CHARLES GUSTAVE SOEMO, 
 
 The coal dealer at 361-63 W. Ohio street, Chi- 
 cago, was born in Porsgrund, Norway, Nov. 23, 
 1865. His parents were Halvor Bruun Soemo and 
 Maren Kristine Moe. Our subject attended the 
 public schools and was confirmed in the East 
 Side State Church in Porsgrund, in April, 1881. 
 
 In May of the same year he left for America, 
 arriving in Chicago on June 7. Young as he 
 was, he had only himself to drepend upon for a 
 living, but soon found a job, and went to work. 
 He contrived to arrange for attendance at even- 
 ing school during the following winter months, 
 and later took a course in an evening college. 
 He soon got a good place in a machine shop 
 and afterward was placed in charge of the steam 
 plant of S. J. Pope & Co., then at the corner 
 of Lake street and Fifth avenue. 
 
 In 1888 he engaged in the general teaming and 
 coal business, with his brother as an equal part- 
 ner, under the name of Soemo Bros., and the 
 firm continues in business under the same name 
 and at the same place to-day. 
 
 Our subject has been married twice, his first 
 wife, Josephine B. Osborn, whose parents came 
 from Florida, died in February, 1897, leaving him 
 two girls: Namah Elvira, born 'Sept. 25, 1888, 
 and Charlotte Margrethe, born July 22, 1892. An- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 485 
 
 other girl, Lillian Grace, 2 years old, was buried 
 on the same day as her mother. 
 
 On Sept. 26, 1898, he was married to Rebecca 
 Elizabeth Hoffstad, from Westeraalen, Norway, 
 daughter of Peter and Hannah Paulina Hoffstad. 
 They have two sons: Howard Edwin, born 
 March 13, 1900, and Charles Harold, born April 
 9, 1901. 
 
 Mr. Soemo's mother died in Chicago in 1888, 
 only six months after her arrival in this coun- 
 try, having planned to return to Norway. She 
 was the mother of twelve childen, two of whom 
 
 C. G. Soemo. 
 
 died in infancy and one sister died here in Chi- 
 cago a few years ago. The other nine are all 
 married and residents of Chicago. The father, 
 now past 84 years, is still hale and hearty, at- 
 tends church regularly, and visits his children 
 and grandchildren. 
 
 Mr. Soemo is a member of the Lincoln Lodge, 
 Knights of Pythias, Walhalla Court, Tribe of 
 Ben Hur, was president of the Lincoln Pleasure 
 Club, and served one year in the Second Regi- 
 ment of Illinois National Guards. The family 
 resides at 163 W. Huron street. 
 
 REV. CARL K. SOLBERG, 
 
 Pastor of Zion Norwegian United Lutheran 
 Church, Chicago, was born at Rushford, Fillmore 
 county, Minn., June 2, 1872, his parents being 
 Knut K. and Aasild (Haugen) Solberg. Carl 
 
 Rev. Carl K. Solberg. 
 
 early indicated a desire for an education, and 
 after taking advantage of the public schools he 
 attended St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., 
 graduating on June 17, 1896, receiving the degree 
 of B. A. On June 1, 1900, he graduated from the 
 United Lutheran Church Seminary at Minneapo- 
 lis. 
 
 On June 17, 1900, he was ordained to the min- 
 istry of the gospel. On the 5th of August he 
 was installed as pastor of Trinity Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church of Vermilion, S. D. Half a 
 year later he organized and took charge of a 
 congregation at Yankton, S. D. He served these 
 two congregations till the spring of 1905, when 
 he accepted a call from Zion United Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church, Chicago, entering upon his 
 duties on May 7. 
 
486 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Rev. Solberg practically paid his own way 
 through school, spending his boyhood days on 
 the farm in Yellow Medicine county, Minneso- 
 ta. By working on the farm, canvassing for 
 books and teaching parochial school during the 
 summer vacations he paid for his schooling. 
 
 He was married to Gunhild Sophie Berg on 
 June 30, 1893. He is a member of the board of 
 publication of the United Lutheran Church and 
 president of the Noi:wegian Children's Home 
 Society of Chicago. He is also chairman of the 
 executive committees of the Luther League of 
 Illinois and of the Chicago Luther League. The 
 family resides at 398 Potomac avenue, Chicago. 
 
 REV. CHARLES ORRIN SOLBERG, 
 
 At present pastor of the Covenant English Lu- 
 theran Church of Chicago, was born at Rush- 
 ford, Minn., Dec. 24, 1869. His parents were 
 
 Halvor K. and Anna J. (Nattestad) Solberg. His 
 youth was devoted to school. He was confirmed 
 in the Norwegian Lutheran Church on Jeffer- 
 son Prairie, near Clinton, Wis. Afterward he 
 attended Augustana College, at Canton, S. D., 
 for two years; then spent seven years at Beloit 
 College, Beloit, Wis., and three years at the 
 Lutheran Theological Seminary in Chicago. He 
 was honored by the degree of B. A. and M. A. 
 from Beloit College and B. D. from the seminary. 
 After graduating he was mstructor in Greek, 
 Latin and English at Pleasant View Luther Col- 
 lege, Ottawa, 111., for five years. He was or- 
 dained as a minister of the gospel in 1901. 
 
 His first call was as pastor of Emmanuel Lu- 
 theran Church, Rockford, 111., where he re- 
 mained until 1903, the church being an English 
 charge belonging to the Swedish Augustana Syn- 
 od. From 1903 until the present time Rev. Sol- 
 berg has been pastor for the Covenant English 
 Lutheran Church of the United Norwegian 
 Church. Rev. Solberg has been president of the 
 Luther League of Illinois for four years. 
 
 He was married to Anna L. Jacobson, of Clin- 
 ton, Wis., on Sept. 2, 1896. Mrs. Solberg's par- 
 ents were Mr. and Mrs. Helge Jacobson, of 
 Clinton, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Solberg have been 
 blessed with two children — Helen Eunice, born 
 July 6, 1898, and Anna Louise, Nov. 3, 1902. The 
 family resides at 435 Cornelia street. 
 
 Rev. Charles O. Solberg. 
 
 ERIK SEVERIN SOLBERG, 
 
 Of Seneca, III, was born in Bergen, Norway, 
 April 17, 1854. His parents were John E. and 
 Gertrude (Tutland) Solberg. He attended com- 
 mon school, high school and three years at the 
 Latin school. He was bookkeeper with F. G. 
 Gade & Co., Bergen, for two years. 
 
 Mr. Solberg came to Chicago in December, 
 1872, and in the spring of 1873 went to Pent- 
 water, Mich., where he clerked for Sands & 
 Maxwell for two years. He then returned to 
 Norway. 
 
 He married Miss Caroline Lucie Danielson, of 
 Bergen, Norway, Dec. 26, 1874. Her parents 
 (Ole and Alaria Danielson) lived to celebrate 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 487 
 
 their diamond wedding. Mr. Solberg's mother 
 died in Bergen; his father is still living. 
 
 In the spring of 1875 Mr. Solberg returned to 
 Pentwater with his bride and was given charge 
 of Sands & Maxwell's branch store at Crystal 
 Valley, Mich. He remained until 1878, when he 
 moved to Norway, 111. Here he was bookkeeper 
 with Chas. J. Borchsenius until 1884, when he 
 started a general merchandise store in Norway. 
 He operated this store until 1892. During that 
 year he built a brick house and store in Seneca, 
 closed up his establishment in Norway, and 
 moved to Seneca, where he has conducted a gen- 
 eral store since. He was postmaster at Nor- 
 way during President Cleveland's first term and 
 has served as alderman in Seneca for nine years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Solberg have had eight children, 
 namel}^: Gertrude Maria, born Sept. 20, 1875; 
 Olaf, Oct. 14, 1877; Carl August, Sept. 7, 1879; 
 Caroline Lucie, May 3, 1882; Ernest, July 20, 
 1884; Walter, August 2, 1885; Marshall, Jan. 18, 
 1887; Margit, April 13, 1890. Ernest, Walter and 
 Margit have passed away. 
 
 C. O. R. STABECK, 
 
 Cashier of the Farmer's Bank of Davis, 111., was 
 born on his father's farm in Winnebago county, 
 Illinois, Dec. 31, 1881. His father, Thursten 
 Stabeck, now deceased, and his mother (Torgen 
 Patterson) were also born in Winnebago county. 
 They resided on this farm u'ntil 1884, when they 
 moved to Davis. Here the elder Stabeck engaged 
 in the shipping of horses to the Northwest, and 
 also handled real estate and loans, until 1895, 
 when he organized the Farmer's Bank of Davis, 
 of which he was president until his death, on 
 June 8, 1903. His widow with six children sur- 
 vives him; four of them are married — H. N. Sta- 
 beck, president of the First National Bank, Ren- 
 ville, Minn.; Clara L. Orth; Raymond, Minn.; 
 Anna H. Bragstad and Estella B. Bragstad, of 
 Canton, S. D. 
 
 The subject of our sketch and a younger 
 brother, Lloyd K., are at home with their mother 
 
 at Davis, 111. Mr. Stabeck graduated from the 
 Davis high school in 1900. He was early taught 
 the Norwegian language, attending school every 
 summer until he was confirmed, June 6, 1896. In 
 1900-'01 he attended Luther College, Decorah, 
 Iowa, where he received his diploma from the 
 preparatory department, having devoted most of 
 his time to the study of languages, more especial- 
 ly to Norwegian and German. The following 
 year he attended Beloit (Wis.) college, after 
 which he taught Norwegian school for two 
 terms. He then entered the Farmer's Bank of 
 
 C. O. R. Stabeck. 
 
 Davis as bookkeeper, which place he held until 
 his father's death, when he was appointed cashier 
 and director. He is closely connected with 
 several banks and land companies through- 
 out the Northwest, being vice-president of the 
 Gold-Stabeck Land and Credit Compan}^ of Ren- 
 ville, Minn. He is a member of the Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church of Rock Run, is a republican 
 in politics, and is township and village treasurer. 
 He is a 32d-degree Mason. 
 
488 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 PETER CHRISTIAN BUCK STANCE, 
 
 With the First National Bank, was born at Anile 
 sogn, Bergens stift, Norway, April 18, 1849. His 
 parents were Jacob Stange, merchant, of Flekke- 
 fjord, and Dorothea Christiaae Buck, of Molde. 
 When our subject was 18 months old his father 
 died, and the widow first moved to Bergen and 
 later to Mandal, where he attended the select 
 school until the age of nearly 15 years, when he 
 entered the office of district judge Mons Lie, 
 father of the poet Jonas Lie. Here, under the 
 kind patronage of the judge and his able son 
 
 Peter C. B. Stange. 
 
 and deputy, Emil Lie, he was enabled through 
 further study under private tuition to acquire 
 an education. 
 
 His elder brother, Christopher Lorentz Buck, 
 being a graduate pharmacist, accepted the posi- 
 tion of medical attendant on the sailing vessel 
 Rjukan for a passage to America. On reaching 
 Chicago he obtained a position as chemist so 
 remunerative that he remained in America and 
 urged his brother to follow. He did so, arriving 
 in Chicago in June, 1868. 
 
 Now began a series of trials for him, in a 
 strange country and under new conditions. In 
 order to become thoroughly Americanized he 
 worked on a farm in Illinois, and later went 
 to Louisiana, where he worked a cotton plan- 
 tation one year on shares. After various vicis- 
 situdes in the South he returned to Chicago. 
 In 1872, following the great fire, he secured em- 
 ployment in a dry goods store on Milwaukee 
 avenue, where he was offered a partnership, but 
 declined it to take a position with a newly or- 
 ganized Scandinavian banking house, which was 
 more to his liking. That bank, however, failed 
 in 1877, and he accepted a position with the 
 foreign exchange department of the First National 
 Bank of Chicago, which, under the leadership 
 of Lyman J. Gage and later under James B. 
 Forgan, was destined to become the greatest 
 financial institution west of New York. It 
 afforded the desired field for his energies. He 
 has remained with the bank since, having held 
 the place of chief accountant for the foreign ex- 
 change department, had charge of the Scandi- 
 navian department, and is at present assistant to 
 the manager of the foreign exchange department. 
 
 In 1893 he applied for the post of vice-consul 
 for Norway and Sweden in Chicago, being sup- 
 ported by the newspapers Norden, Amerika and 
 Skandinaven. In this connection we quote in 
 translation from Norden of May 16, 1896: "Chris- 
 tian Stange is first of all a business man and a 
 bank man, but he is also interested in matters 
 not pertaining to the daily toil and strife. He 
 is greatly interested in literature and music and 
 is a warm and faithful friend. In 1893 he applied 
 for the vacant Norwegian-Swedish consulship 
 in this city, and nothing shows better the high 
 esteem in which he is held than the fact that, 
 on the strength of testimonials from Chicago he 
 was recommended for the post both by the 
 Norwegian government at Christiania and 
 Minister Grip at Washington. The King, how- 
 ever, wanted a Swede for consul, and that set- 
 tled it." 
 
 Mr. Stange has never taken an active part in 
 politics, excepting during the Bryan silver 
 campaign in 1896, when he took a decided stand 
 on the side of gold. He has held offices in the 
 Norwegian Dramatic Society, 1868-9, the Norwe- 
 gian Society, 1875-6; the Arion Singing Society; 
 the Scandinavian Literary Society; the "Nor- 
 wegian Quartet Club; the Tabitha Hospital As- 
 sociation, and others. 
 
 In 1876 he married Miss Jennie Johnson, a 
 daughter of Captain George A. Johnson, of Man- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 489 
 
 itowoc, Wis. They have had five children; only 
 two are living — George Adolphus, now in the 
 'nsurance business, and Thora Adelaide. 
 
 WILLIAM JAN STANCE 
 
 Is a native of Chicago, having been born in this 
 city Oct. 14, 1870. His father, C. L. B. Stange, 
 was born in Flekkefjord, Norway, and his 
 
 William J. Stange. 
 
 mother Wilhelmina Mathilda IM^lIer, in Copen- 
 hagen, Denmark. They came to America in 
 1867. Upon arrival here Stange, Sr., engaged in 
 the chemical business and continued in it until 
 his death on March 31, 1889. William, who was 
 then 19 3^ears old, had together with his school- 
 
 ing, also been with his father and studied the 
 business so that he was able to continue in the 
 same line and has been engaged in the same 
 business since. He manufactures bottlers' sup- 
 plies, flavoring extracts, chemicals and colors. 
 His plant is located at 839-41 W. Lake street. 
 
 He attended the University of Notre Dame, 
 Indiana, for four years, and then took a course 
 in pharmacy and chemistry at the Illinois College 
 of Pharmacy. A year or so after his father's 
 death he associated himself with others, but in 
 1903 he branched out for himself, alone and 
 independent. 
 
 He was married on June 1, 1898, to Lucretia 
 Stevens, daughter of Jacob and Lucretia Stevens, 
 of Chicago. Mrs. Stange is a vocalist of some 
 note, possessing a very fine and unusual contralto 
 voice, as well as being an accomplished pianist. 
 Mr. Stange prides himself upon the fluency with 
 which he speaks Norwegian, considering that 
 he is a native American. He speaks German 
 with equal fluency. 
 
 He is a member of the Masonic Orders, the 
 B. & P. O. of E., Knights and Ladies of Security, 
 and a charter member of the Chicago Drug Trade 
 Club. 
 
 HENRY NICHOLAS STOLTENBERC, 
 
 The attorney, was born in Chicago on March 9, 
 1866. His parents were Jens and Anna Erland 
 Stoltenberg. Henry attended the public schools 
 in Chicago and afterward Lake Forest University 
 where he received the degree of bachelor of law. 
 From 1875 to 1884 he sold newspapers, mornings 
 and evenings. Then he took up shorthand and 
 secured a position as stenographer with Judge 
 Windes and Mr. Alexander Sullivan's law firm, 
 acting also as court reporter. During these years 
 he also studied law, and in 1890 began to practice. 
 He opened an office for himself in 1902. 
 
 He was married to Ingeborg, daughter of Herr 
 and Fru Johan H. Jensen, of Stavanger, Norway, 
 on Aug. 24, 1894. They have four children — 
 Harriet Evelyn, born 1895; Gladys Lillian, 1897; 
 Leila Naomi, 1899; Vivian Beulah, 1902. Mr. 
 Stoltenberg's father died in 1870; his mother is 
 living. Our subject is a member of Austin 
 
490 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; Cicero chapter, R. A. M.; of his native city and confirmed in the Lutheran 
 Royal Arcanum; A. O. U. W., and of the Degree church. 
 
 of Honor, A. O. U. W., in which order he has He was then apprenticed to learn the trade of 
 
 also been representative to the grand lodge and a watchmaker at Christiania. At the age of 
 deputy master workman. He spent three years twenty he came to America and settled first at 
 
 Marquette and later at Ishpeming, Michigan, 
 where he started in business and was married 
 May 2, 1891, to Miss Olga Marie Kaspersen of 
 Christiania, Norway. 
 
 Seeking a larger field he moved to Chicago in 
 1893 and found emploj'ment as an expert watch- 
 maker with the large jewelry house of Spaulding 
 and Company on State street. Here Mr. Stuhr 
 
 Henry Stoltenberg. 
 
 in the interest of the Norwegian Hospital and 
 other charitable societies, and was president of 
 the Norwegian Tabitha Hospital. The family re- 
 sides at 303 Humboldt boulevard. 
 
 Peter J. W. Stuhr. 
 
 PETER JOHAN WICKMANN STUHR. 
 
 Was born at Kristiansund, Norway, February 3, 
 1870. His parents are Captain C. H. Stuhr and 
 his wife Babette, nee Walther. 
 
 Mr. Stuhr was educated in the High Schools 
 
 remained until August, 1906, when he engaged 
 in business on his own account and opened a 
 jewelry store at 591 N. California avenue, where 
 he is doing an ever increasing business, as he is 
 gaining the confidence of his countrymen and 
 neighbors by excellent work and straight deal- 
 ings. It is in fact a splendid recommendation to 
 have been connected with such a prominent busi- 
 ness house during so many years, as Spaulding 
 and Company employ only first-class men. 
 
 Mr. Stuhr is a member of the Norwegian Quar- 
 tet Club. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 4f»l 
 
 SVEND SVENDSEN, 
 
 The eminent landscape painter, was born at Nit- 
 tedal, Norway, March 21, 1864. His parents, 
 Rasmus and Marie Svendsen, removed to Christi- 
 ania shortly after his birth. He received a public 
 school education and at the early age of twelve 
 was sent to work to help swell the family in- 
 come. At that time drawing was not taught iti 
 the public schools in the capital, and Svendsen, 
 whose mind had been bent upon becoming a 
 painter from the time he was able to read, was 
 
 Svend Svendsen. 
 
 compelled to learn the intricacies of perspective 
 and science of color by experiments during spare 
 moments at night and on Sundays. The Na- 
 tional Gallery was the magic land to which he 
 looked forward during the week, and visited 
 Sundays, to wander among the old masters. 
 Blomquist's well known art gallery was the 
 scene of numerous pilgrimages during hours 
 snatched from his labor. But Svendsen was 
 hungering to learn. Norway offered nothing to 
 the poor boy without influence or money, noth- 
 ing but the beauty of its mountains and fjords. 
 With almost nothing but the memories of these 
 
 Svendsen left the land of his birth June 15, 1881, 
 and landed in America on the Fourth of July. 
 
 Then came a period of struggles, study and 
 starvation. In 1890 he married May Isabel New- 
 ton. He began to exhibit his paintings about 
 this time but attracted little attention until five 
 years later when his "Sundown, Evening Sha- 
 dows" won the "Young Fortnightly" prize at the 
 Art Institute of Chicago, creating a furore 
 among art lovers. 
 
 From then Svendsen's name has been a house- 
 hold word in art circles in the west. Such men 
 of wealth and culture as Joseph Jeflferson, Fran- 
 cis Wilson, Charles Hutchinson, James Deering, 
 Edward B. Butler, Chauncey Keep, Clarence 
 Darrow, William G. Mather, Paul Cornell, John 
 P. Wilson, A. B. Dick, Dr. Kuh, among Ameri- 
 cans, and H. A. Haugan, Judge Torrison, Dr. 
 Remmen, Magnus Swenson, Ingolf R. Boyesen 
 among his countrymen, bought his now famous 
 sun-lighted snow-scenes. Svendsen then visited 
 Norway bringing back with him material which 
 resulted in a special exhibition at Thurber's, Chi- 
 cago, a,nd was a decided success, a majority of 
 the paintings being sold during the first week. 
 
 While Svendsen is entirely selftaught, with 
 the originality which results from having no- 
 thing to unlearn, Thaulow was the one man 
 whose art had the greatest influence upon his 
 work. Thaulow and his followers, returning 
 from Paris and taking up the "plein air" method, 
 then in vogue there, practicing their art in the 
 environs of Christiania, in all kinds of weather, 
 was a revelation to Svendsen, and the pleasant 
 change from the unnatural browns of the Diis- 
 seldorf school to the fresh, glorious color of the 
 young realists left a potent impress upon his 
 mind. 
 
 While Svendsen never strived for the photo- 
 graphic exactness of the most rabid of the real- 
 ists his paintings show nature in all its more 
 poetic moods and coloring, touched with a great 
 deal of truthfulness which this school endeavors 
 to infuse into its work. The elusive tints of 
 early dawn, sunrise and sundown, the glimming 
 of the level sun across snowcovered fields, and 
 bowlder-strewn mountains, on the birches and 
 pines, and the humble cottages of Norway, are 
 the colors we find mostly in his best paintings. 
 
 Two more honors came to Svendsen. An 
 Honorable Mention at the Nashville Centennial, 
 1896, and a medal at the Louisiana Purchase Ex- 
 position at St. Louis, 1904. 
 
 Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Svendsen: Walter, Beatrice, Mable, Winnie and 
 Erling. The family reside in their own cozy 
 cottage at 431 W. George street, Chicago. 
 
492 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 SIVERT SVE, 
 
 The well known watchmaker and jeweler of 
 Pana, Illinois, was born on 0rlandet, S0ndre 
 Trondhjems amt. Norway. Oct. 18, 1851. His 
 parents were Johan Christian and Elen Johanna 
 (0ien) Svee, his father being the keeper of a 
 general merchandise store. 
 
 Young Sivert was educated in the public 
 schools and confirmed in Orlandet's church, 
 whereupon he was apprenticed to learn the trade 
 of a watchmaker with Severin Hoff, at Trond- 
 hjem. Having completed his trade and become 
 
 Sivert Sve. 
 
 a master mechanic of same he started in busi- 
 ness as a watchmaker at Trondhjem, but being 
 persuaded he could do better in America he con- 
 cluded to try his fortune in this country. 
 
 He arrived in Chicago ]\Iay 18, 1880. Here he 
 obtained employment with Madson & Company 
 on State street and remained with them until 
 January 1881, when he was offered a position in 
 the Elgin Watch Factory, which he accepted. 
 
 In the fall of the same year he came to Spring- 
 field, 111., and remained with the Illinois Watch 
 Co. until May, 1883, when he went on a visit to 
 Norway. 
 
 Returning to America he again accepted a 
 
 position with the Illinois Watch Co., and re- 
 mained until October ISO.l, when he started a 
 jewelrj^ store at Pana, 111., where his business 
 has been on the increase ever since. 
 
 Air. Sve has been married twice; the first time 
 in 1876 to Miss Nicoline Zaura who died in 
 Trondhjem, in 1882, leaving him with three chil- 
 dren: Johan Christian, born in 1877; Half dan 
 Olaus, in 1879, and Magdalena, in 1880. Of these 
 Johan is married to Miss Ella Hunter. 
 
 In 1886 Mr. Sve was again married, this time 
 to Miss Karen 0iaas, a daughter of Anders and 
 Sigrid 0iaas. They have had two children; Sig- 
 rid, born in 1887, and Erling, born in 1889. 
 
 Mr. Sve's parents have departed from this life, 
 the mother in 1881, 69 years of age, and the father 
 in 1898, 79 years old, both in South Dakota. 
 
 Mr. Sve is a member of the Masonic Order 
 K. O. T. M. 
 
 His business address is at 131 S. Locust street 
 and he resides at 407 S. Chestnut street, Pana, 
 Christian county, 111. 
 
 9$? 
 
 CHRISTOPHER MARTIN S0RENSEN, 
 
 Of Aurora, 111., was born in Christiania, Norway, 
 Aug. 4, 1827. At the age of 14 he was appren- 
 ticed to learn carpenter and cabinet work, and 
 continued at that until 1853 when he came to 
 America. He secured work in a piano factory 
 in New York city and remained there for five 
 years; returned to Norway, where he was ofifered 
 a good place with the Hals Bros', piano factory, 
 and remained with them until 1868, and again 
 came to America. 
 
 He made a short stop in Chicago, but early 
 located at Aurora, where he was employed in 
 the shop of the C, B. & Q. Railroad. He con- 
 tinued with this company continuously until 
 Thanksgiving day, 1905, when he resigned and 
 retired to enjoy his remaining years visiting his 
 children and at his pleasant home in Aurora. 
 
 Mr. S0rensen was married in Norway, May 
 10, 1850, to Emilie Marianna Wangensten. His 
 wife died in 1882, leaving six children, four hav- 
 ing preceded her to the unknown shore. Those 
 living were all girls — Mathilda Severina, Ovidia 
 Amelia, Emma Maria, Anna, Martha and Jennie. 
 All are married and comfortably settled, and 
 grandchildren greet Mr. SjzJrensen at all his 
 daughters' homes. Mr. Sj^rensen is a member of 
 Waubansia Lodge, No. 45, I. O. O. F.; Rebekah 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 4!}3 
 
 Christopher M. S0rensen, 
 
 Encampment, No. 22, and Uniform Degree Can- 
 ton, No. 13, Aurora, 111. He has filled nearly 
 all chairs in these lodges and was for one term 
 chief patriarch. He belongs to and attends the 
 Lutheran church. 
 
 EDWARD (IVER) J. TASTAD 
 
 Was born at Tastad, near Stavanger, Norway, 
 Aug. 23, 1859. His father was Iver Siversen and 
 his mother Bertha Malena Jensdatter. Mr. Ta- 
 stad received his education and worked on his 
 father's farm until of age. 
 
 He then concluded- to try his fortune in the 
 new world, and consequently emigrated in the 
 year 1882 and landed in New York. He went 
 directly to Lee, 111., where he worked on farms 
 about a year and went to South Dakota and took 
 up a homestead in Sanborn county. There he re- 
 mained six years, sold out his farm and moved 
 to Lee county, Illinois, where he worked at farm- 
 ing, but finally settled down in De Kalb county, 
 where he rented one farm and then another, 
 
 farming in that county the last six years. He 
 has at the present time retired from farming. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Tastad was married, just nine 
 days before he emigrated, to Miss Mary Lund, of 
 Om0, near Stavanger. Their marital union has 
 been blessed with eight children — four sons 
 and four daughters: Ida, married to Julius Lund, 
 of De Kalb; Alma, married to John Johnson, of 
 De Kalb; Maggie; Edwin; Arthur; Stanley; Elle- 
 nore May. All except the married 'ones are liv- 
 ing with their parents at De Kalb. The familj' 
 belongs to the Norwegian Lutheran Church. 
 
 OLE LARSON TENDALL, 
 
 Of Yorkville, 111., was born in Skaanevigs parish, 
 Norway, Dec. 9, 1846, to Lars Larson and Mar- 
 grete Haldorsdatter Ebne Teigendal. His father 
 was a farmer. Ole attended the ambulatory school 
 a few weeks each year from 9 to 14 years old 
 and was then confirmed. His father was sickly 
 and died when our subject was 13 years old, so 
 that he and a brother two years younger had to 
 work hard to help their mother on the little farm. 
 When 16 years of age he began to work as a 
 builder of ships, which he continued u'ntil he left 
 for America. 
 
 He was married Nov. 25, 1869, in Skaanevigs 
 Church to Siri Larsdatter Tungesvig, born Feb. 
 10, 1848. Her parents were Lars and Siri (Nils- 
 datter Tungesvig) Johannesen. 
 
 They left Bergen, Norway, on the sailship 
 Kong Sverre, in April, 1871, and arrived in Que- 
 bec, Canada, five weeks later. Thej^ made their 
 way by steamer to Hamilton and by railroad to 
 Yorkville, 111., where they arriveci on June 19. 
 He soon rented a farm of 247 acres in Kendall 
 township, upon which he has lived for over thirty 
 years. 
 
 They have thirteen children — seven sons and 
 six daughters — all living: Sarah, born 1870; 
 Louis, 1871; Sievert, 1873; Tom, 1875; Henry, 
 1877; Maggie, 1878; Lars, 1880; Mathie, 1882; 
 Otto, 1883; Emma, 1885; Clara, 1887; Randolph, 
 1889; Ida, 1891. Of these Sarah is married to 
 Ole J. Markhus; Louis to Sarah Nilson; Sievert 
 to Carrie A. Ersland; Tom to Hannah Anderson; 
 Henry to Alice Nelson; Maggie to Peter Thomp- 
 son; Mathie to Elbert Beane; Emma to Ollie 
 Munson. 
 
494 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 495 
 
 Mr, Tendall is a member of the board of com- 
 missioners for highways of Kendall township. 
 The family are members of the Lisbon Lutheran 
 Church, of which Mr. Tendall has been trustee 
 and deacon. He is one of the incorporators of the 
 Pleasant View Luther College; also of the Dea- 
 coness Hospital and the Children's Home in 
 Chicago. His father died in Norway in 1859; his 
 mother was living with our subject on the farm, 
 where she died in 1893. 
 
 DR. ABRAHAM L. THOMAS. 
 
 Dr. Abraham Lokkert Harken Thomas was 
 born at Oflfersjzi, Buxness prestegjeld, West Lo- 
 foten, Norway, Jan. 26, 1850. His parents were 
 Thomas L .and Johanna (nee Amundsen) Abra- 
 hamsen. 
 
 While growing up young Abraham went to the 
 district school, and during vacations in the sum- 
 mer time went roaming the mountains and the 
 adjoining wild country, boating or sailing on the 
 sea and sometimes fishing and helping on the 
 
 THOR TESDAL 
 
 Was born in Stavanger, Norway, March 8, 1870. 
 His father, T. Tesdal, was sheriff in Hjzfgsfjord, 
 near Stavanger. His mother was Malma (born 
 Johnsen), from the same part of the country. 
 Our subject was baptized in domkirken in Sta- 
 vanger, and confirmed in H^le church. His youth 
 was spent at school, attending Almueskolen at 
 H0le, also took private lessons and attended 
 Captain Storms' private middelskole, in Stavan- 
 ger. 
 
 He came to America and passed through the 
 celebrated Castle Garden on March 23, 1888. He 
 went to Morris, Grundy county. 111., and has 
 since lived in Nettle Creek township in that 
 county. His first work in this country was as a 
 farm hand, working by the month. He afterward 
 bought eighty acres of land in Nettle Creek-town- 
 ship, located about eight miles northwest of Mor- 
 ris, where he now resides. 
 
 He was married to Christianna Cassem, of 
 Nettle Creek township, on Aug. 29, 1892. They 
 have six children — five sons and one daughter — 
 namely: Tillier, born June 14, 1893; Palmer Al- 
 fred, Jan. 22, 1895; Melvin, July 29, 1897; Arnold 
 Chester, April 25, 1899; Blanchard, Jan. 28, 1901; 
 Lillie, April 24, 1903. 
 
 Our subject was elected town clerk in 1902 and 
 has been re-elected every year since. He has 
 been school director for over ten years. He is 
 a member of the United Lutheran Chu'rch at 
 Lisbon and has been trustee for the Norwegian 
 school connected with the church. He contributes 
 to Norwegian charities through his church. 
 
 Dr. Abraham L. Thomas. 
 
 farm. In the wintertime he enjoyed the popular 
 Norwegian sport ski-running. He was confirmed 
 in the Lutheran church at Buxness. 
 
 In June, 1868, Mr. Thomas came, to America, 
 landing at Quebec, Canada, from where he went 
 direct to Rochester, Minn., arriving on June 16. 
 Here he spent most of his time at school up to 
 1876, incidentally working on farms, selling books, 
 farm implements, rafting on the Missippi, rail- 
 road building, marble polishing and other minor 
 
496 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 occupations. Here he also began studying medi- 
 cine with Dr. W. W. Mayo. 
 
 In 1876 he entered Chicago Medical College, 
 graduating from same as a M. D., in 1879. He 
 immediately started practicing medicine and has 
 continued in his profession up to the present 
 time, with offices at 3046 Wentworth avenue and 
 4424 Indiana avenue. 
 
 In December 1879 Dr. Thomas was married to 
 Miss Sarah Lines, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
 John Lines. They have one son, Orville Adrian 
 Thomas, born Jan. 10, 1881. 
 
 Dr. Thomas is a member of the Masonic Or- 
 ders Blue Lodge, Chapter, Commandery, Con- 
 sistory, Eastern Star and Eastern Star Shrine. 
 He is Past Master of Blue Lodge, Principal So- 
 journer in Chapter and Junior Ward in Com- 
 mandery. He is a member of the Hamilton Club, 
 the Chicago Medical Society and the^ American 
 Medical Association. 
 
 Dr. Thomas' mother passed away about 25 
 years ago, but his father is still living in fair 
 health at the advanced age of 85 years, with wife 
 of a second marriage, one son and two daugh- 
 ters, at Offers0, Norway. 
 
 With his wife and son Dr. Thomas resides at 
 4424 Indiana avenue. 
 
 JOHN THOMPSON, 
 
 Johannes Thomassen, being the correct way of 
 spelling it in Norwegian, was born in Western 
 Toten, Norway, July 19, 1851. His father was 
 Thomas Storsveen and his mother's maiden name 
 Helene Christiansdatter Rj^naas. He attended 
 the country schools in Norway until about 15 
 years old and was confirmed in Aas Church in 
 Western Toten. 
 
 He came to America with his parents and a 
 sister and a brother in 1868, landing at Quebec 
 and going direct to Winneshiek county, Iowa. 
 Here he worked on a farm for two years. 
 
 He came to Chicago in 1870, where he has re- 
 sided since. He had devoted about one year in 
 Norway toward learning cabinet making, and 
 when he came to Chicago he got a place in a 
 planing mill. Later he joined Lars Skielvik and 
 Anton Petersen in a desk factory, but sold out 
 
 his interest the next year. He then joined an- 
 other man in a furniture factory, but came out 
 of it four yearsi later with lots of experience and 
 no money. He then accepted the foremanship 
 with the Chicago Desk Manufacturing Company 
 and remained there seven years. He was fore- 
 man for Anton Petersen & Co. for two years, 
 and later in charge of the wood work with the 
 James C. Curtis Casket Co. 
 
 In 1898 he joined his brother Hakon in the 
 undertaking business, in which he has continued 
 since. In 1904 they opened another office, at 
 
 John Thompson. 
 
 512 N. California avenue, where our subject, who 
 owns the building, is in charge. Hakon Thomp- 
 son, who lives on Ohio street, is in charge of the 
 old establishment, on May street, near Erie. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was married in Chicago, in 1873, 
 to Rina Hansen, from Terpen, Nordre Land par- 
 ish. She died in 1882. 
 
 In 1883 he married Miss Annie O. Berg, from 
 Sarpsborg, Norway. There are three children. 
 His parents are both dead. He is a life member 
 of the Children's Home Society and also of the 
 Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home and Hos- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 497 
 
 pital, and has been a member of the Old People's 
 Home Society since its organization. The family 
 are members of Bethlehem Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church. They reside at 512 N. California avenue. 
 
 ^ 
 
 THOMAS F. THOMPSON, 
 
 Of Leland, 111., was born in Norway, Sept. 7, 
 1832, and came to America with his parents — 
 Thormod S., and Ingeborg (Lydahl) Flattre — 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Thompson went to Leland, where 
 he was for two years in partnership with Mr. 
 A. A. Klove. After this he went to Atchison 
 county, Kansas, where lie and John and Ole 
 Nelson, of Chicago, ran a sawmill for two years. 
 After his return to Leland he was for a time 
 employed in a dry goods store owned by Hans 
 Thompson. 
 
 In 1861 Mr. Thompson and Thomas Iverson 
 began to deal in grain at Leland, and they con- 
 tinued the business with varying success until 
 1866, when Mr. Thompson disposed of his inter- 
 est and was associated for a time with C. F. 
 Oakfield in the same business. He then moved 
 to Creston, 111., where for eight years he was 
 engaged in merchandising. Returning to Leland, 
 he formed a partnership with Knute Buland and 
 bought the grain business of Mr. Oakfield, who 
 had died just before that time. In 1883 Andrew 
 Anderson bought Mr. Buland's interest in the 
 business and the firm became Thompson & An- 
 derson. They continued business until 1901. 
 The banking department was added in May, 1896. 
 
 Mr. Thompson is a republican. He served 
 his townsmen from 1880 to 1900 as town clerk, 
 and has filled several other important offices. 
 
 He married Caroline A. Satter, a daughter of 
 Ole T. Satter, June 19, 1861. Mrs. Thompson 
 was a native of Norway. She was six months 
 old when she was brought to this country. She 
 bore Mr. Thompson ten children, and died deeply 
 mourned, in 1886. Six of their children are liv- 
 ing — Louis T., Stanley O., Cora May, Mrs. H. 
 R. Thompson, Mrs. Wm. Grover and Mrs. W. 
 H. Burke. Mr. Thompson has proven himself 
 a public-spirited citizen, alive to the best inter- 
 ests of his town, county and state and deeply 
 interested in national affairs. There is no public 
 movement affecting the weal of the people of 
 La Salle county in which he is not active and 
 helpful. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Thomas F. Thompson. 
 
 in 1844, locating in Norway, Racine county, Wis. KENNING LUDVIG THORESEN, 
 
 At the age of 14 he was confirmed in the 
 
 Lutheran Church. Mr. Thompson remained at Of Morris, 111., was born in Christiania, Nor- 
 
 the family home in Wisconsin until 1852, when way, Jan. 23, 1863. He is the second son of 
 
 he left for Chicago, his father moving to Leland, Henning Ludvig and Julia Karoline (Guidotti) 
 
 La Salle county, 111., in 1853, his mother having Thoresen, Christiania, Norway. His father was 
 
 died in Norway, Wis. a wholesale merchant, a leading man in his line, 
 
498 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 a forceful, public-spirited citizen and one of the 
 "ice breakers" in Norwegian liberal politics. His 
 son and namesake frequented in his earlj^ school 
 days the well known Quam grammar school, and 
 later the Christiania cathedral school, and after 
 his confirmation entered a business academy to 
 equip himself for a business career. He began 
 his active work in life as a clerk in a publisher's 
 office and afterward was bookkeeper for a liberal 
 paper published in Christiania. 
 
 During the two years he was with this paper in 
 the stormy political days of the "veto" fight Mr. 
 
 Henning L. Thoresen. 
 
 Thoresen came in close touch with the patriotic 
 and fearless men behind the guns of the liberal 
 party. The association and the bringing up u'nder 
 the influence of a true democratic father moulded 
 in the young man a character that later, after 
 coming to America, could not deny itself. 
 
 He came to America, landing at Boston, Nov. 
 7, 1883, and went direct to Grundy county, Illi- 
 nois, and settled at Morris, where he has since 
 lived. 
 
 He married, on March 10, 1890, Miss Sadie A. 
 Frey, a native of Morris and a daughter of 
 
 William Frey and wife, both born in Pennsyl- 
 vania and of Dutch parentage. Four children 
 have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Thoresen, — 
 two boys (Henning Earl and Sigurd Harold) and 
 two girls (Leonor Geraldine and Nathalia). 
 Earl, the oldest boy, born March 17, 1891, met 
 an accidental death by drowning while swim- 
 ming in the Michigan and Illinois Canal. 
 
 Immediately after his arrival in Grundy county, 
 in order to master the language and familiarize 
 himself with the customs of the country, he 
 secured a place with an American farmer in the 
 neighborhood. Only a few months' residence 
 on the farm, and our subject began the battle 
 for a livelihood in Morris, where he accepted a 
 position as bookkeeper and clerk in the mercan- 
 tile house of Zens & Erickson, and later with O. 
 Erickson & Son. Mr. Thoresen was town clerk 
 for Morris from 1892 to 1896, and on Jan. 20, 
 1903, was appointed by Governor Yates as chief 
 clerk and paymaster of the Illinois and Michi- 
 gan Canal Commission, a position he held until 
 the office was abolished on account of lack of 
 funds to maintain the expenses of the waterway. 
 Our subject is a charter member of the Knights 
 of Pythias Lodge, No. 178, of Morris. 111. 
 
 WILLIAM THORESEN, 
 
 The manufacturer of architectural sheet metal 
 ornaments, now located in his own new building 
 at 419-21 W. North avenue, was born in Chris- 
 tiania, Norway, Sept. 20, 1867. His parents were 
 O. C. Thoresen and Sidonia Andersen. 
 
 In 1879 he came to America with his parents, 
 arriving in Chicago on Oct. 9, the anniversary 
 of the great fire. Our subject had attended 
 school for a few years in Norway and also 
 attended the public schools here for a year or 
 two, and when but a boy he secured work with 
 Crane Bros., where he remained for ten months. 
 He was then apprenticed to Price & Kaufman, 
 to learn cornice work. At 18 he had mastered 
 his trade and was offered the foremanship in 
 one of the largest cornice shops in Chicago. He 
 remained with this firm for seven years, when 
 he started in the cornice business for himself, 
 at 816 N. Western avenue. He was favored by 
 securing a contract for all the cornice work for 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 499 
 
 the board of education. In the meantime Mr. 
 Thoresen had devoted a great deal of study to 
 the designing and making of metal ornaments. 
 In 1897 he abandoned the cornice business 
 and devoted all his facilities to the making of 
 architectural sheet-metal ornaments. The demand 
 for these ornaments increased to such an extent 
 that Mr. Thoresen was obliged to seek larger 
 quarters, and to meet all requirements he erected 
 a new building of his own at 419-21 W. North 
 avenue. 
 
 William Thoresen. 
 
 Mr. Thoresen was married in Chicago, on 
 May 22, 1891, to Miss Sarah Ornes, of Stavanger, 
 Norway. They have four children — Sadie, Wilde, 
 William and Edwin. Mr. Thoresen is a member 
 of the Masonic Order. The family resides at 
 50 Columbia street. 
 
 Mrs. Thoresen's parents were Mr. and Mrs. 
 L. E. Ornes, of Stavanger. Her father died 
 some years ago, but her mother is living in 
 Chicago. Mr. Thoresen's parents both died in 
 1894. 
 
 JOHN THORESON 
 
 Was born in Christiania, Norway, April 16, 1820. 
 Early in life he learned the carriage and wagon- 
 maker's trade and for five years was engaged in 
 this business in Norway in his own name. 
 
 John Thoreson. 
 
 In 1853 he emigrated to America and located 
 in Chicago, engaging in the same business. Two 
 years later he moved to Rockford, where he was 
 employed as a journeyman for some of the car- 
 riage and wagon works there until 1866, when 
 he started a factory of his own. Success met 
 him more than half way, necessitating the em- 
 ployment of many men from the very beginning. 
 He invested in city property until he became a 
 large property owner and one of the most sub- 
 stantial citizens. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Thoreson enlisted from Rockford 
 in Company K, Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, 
 and served as a private in the Cumberland Army. 
 He was in the battles of Perryville, Stone River 
 and Murfreesboro, where he v»ras severely 
 wounded in the left arm. He was sent to the 
 hospital and there taken prisoner and sent to 
 
500 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Libby Prison, where he was confined for two 
 months. He was then exchanged and a few 
 months later was honorably discharged for dis- 
 ability. He was a member of G. L. Nevius Post, 
 G. A. R., at Rockford. 
 
 He was married in Norway, in 1848, to Miss 
 Martha Oslund, who was born near Christiania 
 on Dec. 4, 1822, and died in Rockford Aug. 31, 
 1887. She was a consistent member of the Swed- 
 ish Methodist Episcopal Church for thirty years ^ 
 and a true helpmate to her devoted husband, 
 who was a charter member of the same church. 
 Seven children were born to them, of whom only 
 one, the youngest daughter, Mathilda J., is liv- 
 ing, the wife of Alfred Abrahamson, who is a 
 designer, stock holder and director in the Mantel 
 and Furniture Company of Rockford. They have 
 two children. 
 
 Mr. Thoreson was the only one of his family 
 to come to the United States, and enjoyed the 
 honor of being the first Norwegian to settle in 
 Rockford. He resided at 328 S. Main street and 
 there enjoyed the rest and quiet deservedly 
 earned by hard work and honorable dealing, un- 
 til his death in March, 1907. 
 
 and of the Scandinavian Medical Society, 
 'which he is secretary. 
 
 of 
 
 Dr. Karl L. Thorsgaard. 
 
 KARL LORENTZ THORSGAARD, M. D. 
 
 Was born in Westby, Wis., Jan. 24, 1875. His 
 parents— Lauritz L. and Anna (Johnson) Thors- 
 gaard — were farmers. Our subject was brought 
 up on the farm, but spent much time at school 
 and college. He received the degree of B. A. 
 from Luther College, at Decorah, Iowa, in 1896, 
 and M. D. from Rush Medical College, Chicago, 
 in 1900. 
 
 After his graduation in medicine he served 
 two years as resident physician and surgeon at 
 thie Presbyterian Hospital, Chicago, and the 
 following two years he became associated with 
 Dr. James B. Herrick in his office and hospital 
 work. After this he began the practice of 
 medicine independently, having his office at 1562 
 N. Halsted street. Dr. Thorsgaard is attending 
 physician at the Norwegian Lutheran Tabitha 
 Hospital and is medical examiner for the Equit- 
 able and New York Life Insurance companies. 
 He is a member of the Chicago Medical Society, 
 
 REV. CARL EDWARD TILLER 
 
 Was born July 22, 1868, near Hader, Goodhue 
 county, Minn., his parents being Ole Andreas 
 and Hanna Bergitte (Hegge) Tiller. He was 
 baptized and confirmed in Aspelund congrega- 
 tion by Rev. 0sten Hanson. Most of his time 
 was spent on his father's farm until the fall of 
 1886, when he entered the preparatory depart- 
 ment at the Red Wing Seminary. He graduated 
 in the spring of 1890. Afterward he studied 
 theology two years at Red Wing Seminary, and 
 then one year at Weidner's Theological Semi- 
 nary in Chicago. Was ordained in the ministry 
 at the annual convention of the Hauge Synod 
 at Franklin, Minn., June 13, 1894. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 501 
 
 He has served two different charges in • the 
 Hauge Synod. The first was Hauge's congrega- 
 tion, near Creston, 111., where he remained four 
 years. Then he was called to Morrisonville, 
 Wis., and served five congregations there for 
 three j^ears. 
 
 In the fall of 1900 he received a call from 
 Bethel Lutheran Church, of Chicago, belonging 
 to the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of 
 America. He entered upon his duties there 
 June 30, 1901. In 1902 he severed his connection 
 
 Rev. Carl E. Tiller. 
 
 with the Hauge Synod and was admitted into 
 the United Church in June of the- same year. 
 
 Since he came to Chicago he has in addition 
 to his work in the congregation been deeply 
 interested in the Deaconess Home of the United 
 Church and has for three years been secretary 
 for the board of directors. 
 
 The 31st of May, 1894, he was married to 
 Miss Lina Nerhougen, from Zunebrota, Minn. 
 They have had three children, of whom one, 
 Muriel Hildegard, died May 7, 1903. The family 
 resides at 64 Humboldt boulevard. 
 
 GABRIEL JOHAN TOBIASSEN, 
 
 The well known carpenter contractor, was born 
 at Udland, Aa sogn Lyngdals prestegjeld, Nor- 
 way, Jan. 9, 1864. His parents were Tobias and 
 Anne Sophie (Jacobsdatter) Gundersen. Mr. 
 
 Gabriel J. Tobiassen and Wife. 
 
 Tobiassen was educated in the common schooH 
 and Amtskolen, and was confirmed in Aa church 
 in 1878. He then w^orked on his fathers farm un- 
 til he in the spring of 1883 emigrated to America,, 
 where he landed in New York during the latter 
 part of May. He continued his journey overland 
 to Sims, N. Dak., where he worked on a farm 
 until in the fall of 1885 when he went to State 
 Center, Iowa, and learned the trade of a cooper. 
 
 In 1889 he returned to Norway to visit his 
 aged father but came back to Iowa in 1890. In 
 1891 he came to Chicago which city he has made 
 his home since. 
 
 In Chicago he learned the carpenter trade 
 which occupation he has followed since his ar- 
 rival here. 
 
 In 1898 he paid a new visit to the old country 
 where he remained for 16 months. 
 
 Upon his return to Chicago Mr. Tobiassen 
 w^as married Jan. 9, 1900, to Miss Karen M. 
 Michelsen of that city. She was born at Pors- 
 
502 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 gruncl, Norway, Aug. 7, 1867, her parents being 
 Hans and Anne Marie (Berg) Michelsen. At 
 the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago, in 
 1893, there was among the many other exhibits 
 also one of women representing their various 
 nationalities and dressed in national costumes. 
 This enterprise generally went under the popular 
 nomenclature of the "Beauty Show". Miss 
 Michelsen was selected to represent her native 
 country at this show, she being endowed with 
 distinctive Norwegian figure and features. At 
 the close of the Exposition she was the recipient 
 of a gold medal. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tobiassen have had three chil- 
 dren born to them, one daughter and two sons: 
 Sophie Marie, born Oct. 8, 1900; Thorleif, May 
 3, 1903, and Helge Cornelius, Nov. 27, 1904, all 
 living. The family are members of the Logan 
 Square Norwegian Lutheran Church, of which 
 •congregation Mr. Tobiassen is the treasurer. 
 
 REV. J. C. TOLLEFSEN, 
 
 Pastor of the Kedzie Avenue M. E. Church, Chi- 
 cago, was born at Botne, Jarlsberg, Norway, 
 Sept. 30, 1853. His father was born in Tele- 
 marken, having descended from the old-time 
 "Birkebeiners," and his mother was born not far 
 from Holmestrand. His great-grandfather de- 
 scended from Germans who came to the silver 
 mines at Kongsberg where the Norwegian silver 
 bullion is mined. 
 
 About nine years of age Mr. Tollefsen came 
 with his parents to Horten where he attended 
 school and was confirmed by Rev. Storm A. 
 Munt in 1868. 
 
 Ten years later he was converted in the Meth- 
 odist church at that place. The church had been 
 dedicated on Christmas day the previous year 
 and he went there merely to see what was going 
 on among the "new sect." A glorious revival 
 was going on and he soon was among the con- 
 verted and as a natural consequence joined the 
 church. He travelled in Norway three or four 
 years preaching and selling religious books un- 
 til he left for America in March 1881. In April 
 he arrived in Chicago and commenced working 
 as he did not feel himself fitted for the ministry. 
 The annual meeting of the Norwegian and Dan- 
 
 ish conference of the M. E. Church happened to 
 convene in Chicago that year, and he was sent 
 to Stoughton and Primrose, Wis., and became 
 known as the "boy preacher" because of his ap- 
 parent youth. After one year he had organized 
 a congregation and a church was built, and then 
 he was moved by the order of the elder. After 
 being in Sheboygan, Wis., one year he was sent 
 to Norway, 111., where he remained two years. 
 Since that time he has been in Milwaukee, Racine 
 Trinity Church, Minneapolis, Duluth, St. Paul 
 and five years in Chicago, being pastor of old 
 
 Rev. J. C. Tollefsen. 
 
 First Church, Grand avenue and Sangamon 
 street for three years; and two years in the Ked- 
 zie Avenue Church, his present pastorate. In 
 1883 Rev. Tollefsen joined the conference on 
 probation and after two years was admitted in 
 full connection. In 1887 he was ordained elder 
 in the First Church, Chicago, by Bishop C. H. 
 Fowler. 
 
 Mrs. Tollefsen was born at old Nidaros 
 (Trondhjem"), Norway, below the forts of Chris- 
 tiansten. Her father P. Haugan was for many 
 years superintendent of the "Nordenfjeldske 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 503 
 
 Dampskibsselskabs Reparationsvserksted" in 
 Trondhjem, and built the first locomotive in 
 Norway. Her mother hailed from R0ros. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. ToUefsen were married March 
 2, 1881, and their wedding trip was to America. 
 Rev. Tollefsen became an American citizen in 
 the eighties but has not forgotten the "old home- 
 stead," having visited Norway twice, the last 
 time in 1905. 
 
 * 
 
 dinance pending before Judge Grosscup and in- 
 volving $13,000,000, and also special counsel for 
 the city of Chicago in the tax suits brought be- 
 fore Judge Grosscup by the street car and gas 
 companies to defeat the collection of $1,500,000 
 of taxes levied against them by the state board 
 of equalization. 
 
 In March, 1906, Mr. Tone was retained as spe- 
 cial counsel for the Central Union Telephone 
 Company in litigation involving the franchise of 
 said company in the city of Rock Island, which 
 suit he won, and in July, 1906, he was retained 
 as special counsel for the Central Union Tele- 
 
 DAVID K. TONE, 
 
 The attorney, was born on his father's homestead 
 near Estherville, Iowa, Jan. 5, 1867. His parents 
 were Thomas and Julia (Klove) Tone from 
 T0ne, Norway. 
 
 Our subject attended the public school and 
 worked on his father's farm in Iowa, until he was 
 sixteen years old, when he entered Iowa College 
 at Grinnell, Iowa, which he attended in 1885-86. 
 He then attended the State University of Wis- 
 consin, graduating in 1891. He immediately en- 
 tered the College of Law with the same univer- 
 sity and graduated in 1893. During his school 
 years he taught the district school at Dunbar, 
 Iowa, one year, was principal of the Cambridge, 
 Wis., high school one year, 1890-91, principal of 
 the Westfield, Wis., high school one year, 1891-92; 
 instructor in history and constitutional law in the 
 Wisconsin academy in 1892-93. He was also 
 professor in the Chicago Law School from 1898 
 to 1904. 
 
 Mr. Tone has been engaged in the active prac- 
 tice of law in the city of Chicago ever since the 
 year 1895. He has practiced both civil and crim- 
 inal law and has practiced in all the courts, state 
 and federal, including the supreme court of the 
 United States. 
 
 A large share of his practice has consisted of 
 being employed as special counsel in important 
 litigation for other lawyers. In the spring of 
 1905 he was employed as special counsel in the 
 strike litigation before judges Kohlsaat and 
 Grosscup in the U. S. circuit court of appeals. 
 
 In the fall of 1905 he was appointed special 
 counsel for the city of Chicago by Mayor Dunne 
 in the suit over the validity of the 75 cent gas or- 
 
 David K. Tone. 
 
 phone Company in a similar suit in the federal 
 court, wherein the franchise rights of the city 
 of Moline were involved, which suit he also won 
 before Judge Humphrey at Peoria. 
 
 ]\Ir. Tone was president of the Lincoln Club, 
 Chicago, in 1900-01; is a member of the Chicago 
 Law Institute, the University of Wisconsin club 
 of Chicago, and the New Illinois Athletic Club. 
 Mr. Tone is not married. His offices are at 99 
 Randolph street, and he resides at 300 Sixty- 
 Sixth Place. 
 
504 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 GEORGE ABRAHAM TORRISON, M. D., 
 
 Was born at Manitowoc, Wis., March 23, 18G5, 
 his parents being Osuld and Martha (Findal) 
 Torrison. He was edu'cated in the public school 
 at Manitowoc and at Luther College, Decorah, 
 Iowa, from which he graduated in 1885 with the 
 degree of A. B. After spending a year at home 
 in his father's store he began the study of med- 
 icine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
 of New York City, the medical department of 
 Columbia College, from which he received the 
 
 Dr. George A. Torrison. 
 
 degree of M.D., in 1889. He pursued his medical 
 studies at the University of Vienna in 1889-90 and 
 in 1893-94. 
 
 In 1891 he began the practice of medicine in 
 Chicago, and since 1895 has devoted his atten- 
 tion to diseases of the throat, nose and ear. Dr. 
 Torrison is instructor in diseases of the chest, 
 throat and nose at Rush Medical College, Chi- 
 cago, is attending physician to the Central Free 
 Dispensary (throat department), laryngologist to 
 the Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess Home and 
 Hospital, and lecturer on diseases of the nose 
 
 and throat at the Presbyterian Hospital training 
 school for nurses. He has been a director of the 
 Norwegian Lutheran Tabitha Hospital and for 
 one year was president of the board. He holds 
 membership in the the following societies: The 
 American Medical Association, the Illinois State 
 and the Chicago Medical societies, the Chicago 
 Otological and Laryngological Society and the 
 Scandinavian Medical Society of Chicago. 
 
 Dr. Torrison was married to Miss Emma Irene 
 Johnson, of Chicago, on Jan. 5, 1898. Her par- 
 ents were Louis and Martha Johnson. They 
 have two children, Martha Findal and Agnes 
 Ivanda. The doctor's office is at 103 State street 
 and the family resides at 46 Alice place. 
 
 JUDGE OSCAR M. TORRISON. 
 
 Oscar M. Torrison was born Aug. 29, 1861, at 
 Manitowoc, Wis., where his father, Osuld Tor- 
 rison, for forty years and until his death, in 1893, 
 was a leading business man. His parents settled 
 in Manitowoc in 1849, his father coming as a 
 boy from Heirefos, near Grimstad, Norway, and 
 his mother, Alartha Hansen P'indal, coming from 
 Findal near Stathelle on the Skiensfjord. Oscar 
 M. Torrison attended the common school and 
 graduated from the high school at Manitowoc, 
 and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws at 
 Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, in 1881. In 1882 
 he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws at 
 the State University of Iowa, at Iowa City, and 
 in 1884 he took the degree of Bachelor of Laws 
 (cum laude) at Columbia College, now Columbia 
 L^niversity, New York City. He has been admit- 
 ted to practice in the Supreme Courts of Illinois, 
 Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and in the Supreme 
 Court of the United States. 
 
 From 1886 to 1890 he practiced law at Elbow 
 Lake, Minn., and acquired a large practice, en- 
 joying a splendid reputation as a trustworthy and 
 successful lawyer. He was elected mayor of El- 
 bow La-ke for three successive terms, and in 1888 
 was selected as an alternate delegate to the Re- 
 publican National Convention in Chicago from 
 the then Seventh Congressional District of Min- 
 nesota. In 1890 he removed to Chicago, where he 
 soon acquired an extensive and varied practice 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 505 
 
 and has taken an active part in matters of public 
 interest. In 1S9G he was appointed a member of 
 the Board of Education of Chicago and served 
 in that capacity and in important committees of 
 the board in 1896 and 1897. He is a member of 
 the board of directors of the Chicago Bureau 
 of Charities and for the past three years has 
 been president of its northwestern district. He is 
 also one of the directors of the "Association 
 House" on W. North avenue., which is exten- 
 sively engaged in settlement work on the North 
 West side. He was also at one time president 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Torrison was married to Miss Ida 
 :\[ichelson, a daughter of Capt. H. Michelson of 
 Chicago. Their home has been blessed with four 
 children, two sons and two daughters, of whom 
 the following are living: Margaret, Osuld, and a 
 baby girl. Mr. Torrison is a member of the Luth- 
 eran Church and resides at 56 Alice Place, Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 Judge Oscar M. Torrison. 
 
 ERIC TRESSING, 
 
 The manufacturer and dealer in locks and hard- 
 ware specialties, at 179-81 E. Lake street, Chi- 
 cago, was born near Christiania, Norway, on June 
 15, 1866. His parents were Ole and Oleana (Skjul- 
 stad) Tressing. 
 
 Our subject came to America and Chicago 
 with his parents and five sisters in 1875. He 
 had attended school in Norway and for a time 
 went to the public school in Chicago. In 1880 
 he secured a position as office boy with Sargent, 
 Greenleaf & Brooks, and remained with them 
 in various capacities until 1897, when he bought 
 them out, continuing the business under the firm 
 name of E. Tressing & Co. Messrs. Sargent & 
 Greenleaf are still manufacturing locks of all 
 kinds, and Mr. Tressing is also a member of 
 that firm. 
 
 His business, which is the manufacture of hard- 
 ware specialties and the selling of Sargent & 
 Greenleaf locks, has been on the increase ever 
 since it was started. 
 
 Mr. Tressing was married to Miss Minnie J. 
 Gunderson, of Chicago, in November, 1904. The 
 family resides at 1388 Humboldt boulevard. 
 
 of the alumni association of Luther College. He 
 is a man of broad sympathies and af varied in- 
 terests and has rendered valuable services to 
 numerous Norwegian charitable institutions both 
 in and outside of Chicago. In November 1906 he 
 was elected Judge of the new Municipal Court 
 of Chicago, and received the solid support of 
 the Norwegians of the city. In the bar-primary 
 ballot taken by the Chicago Bar Association prior 
 to the election, he received the largest vote of 
 all the candidates for Municipal Judge, over one 
 hundred in number. 
 
 GILBERT KNUDSEN TUFTY, 
 
 The retired porcelain and glassware merchant, 
 was born in Vestre Slidre, Valders, Norway, Oct. 
 
506 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 14, 1839. His parents were Knud Larsen Tuv 
 and Marit (Snorthum). He received the advant- 
 ages of the public schools and was confirmed in 
 Norway. 
 
 He came to America in 1857 on a sail ship and 
 landed in Quebec, Canada, after a five weeks' 
 voyage. He came west and located near Decorah, 
 Iowa, where he worked on farms and attended 
 the public schools for two years. In 1859 he 
 secured a position in a general store in Decorah, 
 where he remained a year, when he went to 
 McGregor, Iowa, as a clerk in a crockery and 
 glassware store. 
 
 Gilbert K. Tufty. 
 
 In 1865 he came to Chicago and clerked in a 
 dry goods store for one year and then started 
 a porcelain and glassware store of his own, on 
 State street, near Harrison. It was here that 
 occurred in his life a little episode that he can- 
 not forget. A carriage was driven up to the 
 door one day, a lady stepped out and came in 
 and selected a few dollars' worth of dishes, and 
 while paying for them asked whether he could 
 not lend her a basket to pack them in, for she 
 wanted to take them with her in the carriage. 
 
 He said he could, but that it was customary with 
 him to ask a deposit, which would be refunded 
 when the basket was returned. This was readily 
 agreed to and the basket and dishes, with the 
 aid of the coachman, were soon in the carriage, 
 and his customer gone. He said he was dum- 
 founded when he learned from some of his 
 neighbors that his customer was Mrs. Abraham 
 Lincoln. He was especially chagrined because 
 he had asked and accepted a deposit on the 
 basket, which of course he wou'ld not have 
 thought of doing had he known who she was. 
 This was in 1867, when Mrs. Lincoln made 
 Chicago her home for a time. Nothing remark- 
 able about this, but Mr. Tuftj^ considers it a 
 noteworthy incident in his career. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Tufty moved his business to Mil- 
 waukee avenue, near Halsted street, where he 
 had already puchased a small property. He 
 has the distinction of being the first Skandinav- 
 ian to engage in this particular line of business 
 in Chicago. He retired from the mercantile 
 business some years ago and is spending his 
 time now in looking after his properties and oc- 
 casionally turning a real estate deal. 
 
 He was married on Jan. 17, 1874, to Miss 
 Ragnhild Vick, of Decorah, Iowa. They have 
 no children living. They are both members of 
 the Old Peoples Home Society and St. Paul's 
 Norwegian Lutheran Church. 
 
 SIVERT UDSTAD, 
 
 Of Aurora, 111., was born in Trondhjem, Nor- 
 way, Sept. 28, 1856. His father was Arnt Ud- 
 stad; his mother's maiden name was Sigrid Gis- 
 voldl^kken. After finishing the common schools 
 and' having been confirmed he entered a machine 
 shop at Trolla, near Trondhjem, where he learned 
 his trade as a machinist. He then went to Chris- 
 tiania and worked at his trade for three years; 
 then to Stockholm, Sweden., where he worked at 
 Bolinder's Machine Works and Holmgren's Fire 
 Engine Works. He also served as steamboat 
 fireman and engineer on a coaster in Norway 
 for about three years. 
 
 He came to America and Aurora, 111., March 
 9, 1881, where he has resided since. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 507 
 
 He found work at the C, B. & Q. R. R. shops 
 immediately and continued in that capacity until 
 1888, when he started a machine shop of his own. 
 This was after the big strike on the C, B. & Q. 
 Railroad. 
 
 He was married on April 9, 1881, to Anne Back, 
 from 0rkedalen, Norway. They have eight chil- 
 dren: Arnt, George, Elmer, Jennie, Norman, An- 
 nie, Einer and Nora. Elmer Udstad is married 
 to Clara Bruger, of German descent. Arnt and 
 George are living in St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 Mr. Udstad has patented several improvements 
 
 Sivert Udstad. 
 
 on machinery. He served two years in the Nor- 
 wegian army. He is a member of the K. P., 
 Royal Arcanum, Modern Woodmen, the Elks, 
 and a charter member of the chamber of com- 
 merce of Aurora. 
 
 Our subject's mother died in 1894; his father 
 is still living. Mr. Udstad's shop in Aurora is 
 at 101 So. Waten street. The family are mem- 
 bers of the Norwegian-Danish Lutheran Church 
 of Aurora, of which our subject has been a dea- 
 con for many years. The family home is at 315 
 T street, Aurora. 
 
 SALVE UGLAND, 
 
 Of Sheridan, La Salle county, 111., was born at 
 Hammeren, Norway, June 3, 1868, his parents be- 
 ing Hans Nilsen Miller and Gurine Salvesdatter. 
 
 Salve Ugland. 
 
 He attended the common schools in the country 
 and afterward the officers' school of artillery in 
 Christiansand. 
 
 He came to America in the spring of 1888, 
 landing in New York and coming to Norway, 
 La Salle county. He rented some land and went 
 to farming, but afterward w^ent into the mer- 
 cantile business. He is now in business as a con- 
 tractor and builder. 
 
 He was married to Cora Larson, of Stavanger, 
 Norway, on May 14, 1893, her parents being Lars 
 Stensvig and Maren Thompson. They had one 
 child, Harold, born June 10, 1899. Mrs. Ugland 
 died in 1901. Our subject has held several of- 
 fices — having been collector for Mission town- 
 ship, cashier and director for the Farmers' and 
 Merchants' Telephone Company, at Newark, and 
 has also been an alderman at Sheridan. 
 
508 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 DR. O. M. ULVESTAD. 
 
 Son of L. O. and Anna S. (JacKson) Ulvestad 
 was born in Rosendahl Township, Watonwan Coun- 
 ty, Minnesota, August 20, 1S71. His father was 
 born in Sogn, Norwaj^ and his mother near Madi- 
 son, Wis. He attended the district schools until 
 16 years old at his home in Minnesota. He then 
 studied one year at. St. • Olaf's College at North- 
 field and the following two years' at the State Nor- 
 mal at Mankato. Wishing to be = independent he 
 taught school for two years in Redwood and Lacqui 
 
 Ulvestad's birthplace. They moved on the farm and 
 lived there until the fall of 1899, when they came 
 to Chicago. Mr. Ulvestad entered the Northwestern 
 University Dental School from which he graduated 
 in 1S92. He fitted up an office at 328 West Erie St. 
 where he has since continued his practice. 
 
 Dr. Ulvestad is the oldest of a family of ten 
 children, eight boys and two girls, all living. The 
 Doctor's home has been blessed with one child, 
 four years old. His residence is at 593 Grand 
 avenue. 
 
 Dr. O. M. Ulvestad. 
 
 Parle counties and in 1893 taught another term of 
 school. 
 
 He afterwards clerked in a general store at Ma- 
 delia, Minn., for two years. In 1895, he had laid by 
 sufficiently to buy himself some land in Stevens 
 County and moved upon it in the spring of 1896. 
 He immediately commenced putting up buildings and 
 breaking up the prairie preparatory io: crops. While 
 on the farm he taught school again 'luring the 
 winter months. On June 30, 1897, he married 
 Louisa A. Legvold, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hafts 
 E. Legvold of Bricelyn, Faribault Co., oMinn., Mrs. 
 
 J. LEONARD UNDEM 
 
 Is a native of Chicago, and was born May 21, 
 1880, his parents (S. L. and Susan Undem) being 
 from Norway. Leonard, as he is familiarly 
 
 J. Leonard Undem. 
 
 called by his friends, was educated in the Chi- 
 cago public schools, but had a liking for the 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 509 
 
 grocery business, and early sought and secured 
 a position in the retail store of his uncle. He 
 worked at the retail grocery business for five or 
 six years, but, seeing no chance for advancement, . 
 he resigned and took a business course at the 
 Chicago Athenjeum. He worked his way through 
 college by clerking for a butcher after school 
 hours and on Saturdays. He afterward secured 
 a place as ofifice boy with a wholesale grocery 
 firm, the Louis W. Stayart Co., Haymarket Square, 
 where he has since remained, having successively 
 filled several positions, and is now one of the 
 head salesmen for the firm. 
 
 On Aug. 18, 1.903, Mr. Undem married Bertha 
 J. Latimer, daughter of Dr. H. H. Latimer, of 
 this city. He is a 32d-degree Mason, a member 
 of Medinah Shrine and the Corner Stone Blue 
 Lodge. 
 
 ^ 
 
 DR. MAGNUS ANDREW UNSETH, 
 
 Son of Peter T. and Johanne Bj0rge Unseth, 
 farmers, near Westby, Wis., was born Oct. 8, 
 1867. He attended the country public schools 
 until 1883, when he entered upon a seven years' 
 course at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. He 
 graduated in the spring of 1890, with the degree 
 of A.B. In the fall of that year he entered upon 
 a three years' course of study in medicine at 
 Rush Medical College, Chicago, and graduated 
 in 1893 with the degree of M.D. He immediately 
 opened an office in Chicago and commenced the 
 practice of medicine as a physician and surgeon. 
 
 On Nov. 27, 1895, he was married to Clara T. 
 Wulff, daughter of John and Laura Wulff, of Chi- 
 cago. They have two children — Malcom, born 
 Aug. 15, 1898, and Helen Laura, born March 18, 
 1904. 
 
 In 1895 Dr. Unseth was appointed medical in- 
 spector of the department of health in Chicago, 
 in which position he served for two years. He 
 was also for several years a member of the staff 
 of attending surgeons to the Norwegian Luth- 
 eran Tabitha Hospital. He has for several years 
 been an examining physician for a number of 
 societies, and during the last six years has been 
 one of the regular medical examiners for the 
 Prudential Life Insurance Company of America. 
 
 In a competitive civil service examination for the 
 position of assistant city physician of Chicago he 
 holds the distinction of being number two on the 
 list. He has also taken other civil-service ex- 
 aminations and is on the eligible list as attend- 
 ing physician to the insane, poorhouse and con- 
 sumption hospital at Dunning, but declined to 
 accept the position when offered. 
 
 Dr. Magnus A. Unseth. 
 
 Dr. Unseth's parents are living. Three years 
 ago they retired and are now living in their beau- 
 tiful home in the town of Westby, Wis. Dr. and 
 Mrs. Unseth are members of St. Matthews' Luth- 
 eran Church, of Logan Square, Chicago, and re- 
 side at 1171 N. !Maplewood avenue. 
 
 JACOB LARSEN URHEIM, M.D., 
 
 Was born to Lars J. and Helga L. (Lofthu's) Ur- 
 heim, farmers in UUensvang, Hardanger, Nor- 
 
510 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 way, April 24, 1855. In Norway he attended the 
 common and also UUensvang Folkeh^iskole, and 
 was confirmed in Kinsarvik's church. 
 
 He came to America in 1876, going to Rush- 
 ford, Minn., where he located. He worked on 
 a farm in the summer and attended school during 
 the winter. He then went to Harmony, Minn., 
 where he was engaged as a druggist for eight 
 j^ears. During this time he attended the Monona 
 Academy, Madison, Wis., one year, and in 1891 
 graduated from the Bennett ^ledical College, 
 Chicago. 
 
 was professor at the Bennett Medical College. 
 He is a member of the Scandinavian Medical So- 
 ciety, the State Society, the Eclectic Medical 
 Society, the National Union and the Order of 
 Foresters. His mother died in Norway in 1885) 
 and his father on Sept. 5, 1904. The family re- 
 sides at 933 W. Division street, opposite Hum- 
 boldt Park, where the doctor also has his office. 
 
 Dr. J. L. Urheim. 
 
 Dr. Urheim's first wife, whom he married 
 March 20, 1881, was Tilda Laugen, the daughter 
 of Ole Laugen, of Houston, Minn. She died Dec. 
 12, 1891, leaving him two children — Olaf, born 
 Nov. 20, 1883, now a practicing physician, having 
 graduated from the Bennett Medical College in 
 1906, and Alice Henriette, born March 5, 1889. 
 
 On April 23, 1893, the doctor married Miss 
 Lena Williams, the daughter of Viking Will- 
 iams, of Lee, 111. From January, 1900, to Jan- 
 uary, 1905, the doctor was attending physician 
 at the Cook County Hospital. In 1904-5 he 
 
 OLE LARSEN UTHUS, 
 
 The well known commission merchant at 178 
 W. Randolph street, was born in Voss, Norway, 
 July 26, 1863. His father, Lars Thorkelson Ut- 
 
 Ole L. Uthus. 
 
 hus was a farmer and one of the earliest and 
 largest merchants dealing in cattle in HalHngdal 
 and the surrounding country. His mother's 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 511 
 
 maiden name was Torbj^r Klasdatter Gjerdnes 
 from Voss. Our subject attended the Vosse- 
 stranden common school and middelskole and 
 was confirmed in the Lutheran church on Vosse- 
 stranden. 
 
 He emigrated to America in 1882 arriving in 
 Chicago on Nov. 7. From here he went to the 
 pineries in Wisconsin and returned the follow- 
 ing spring to Chicago. Here he worked for 
 seven years in the linseed oil mill of Wright & 
 Louter until 1889 when he engaged in the milk 
 business on his own account. He continued 
 with same until in 1896 when he started to work 
 in the commission business. He was employed 
 by various firms in that line until 1900 when he 
 engaged in the same business for himself at 178 
 W. Randolph street where he is still located. 
 Mr. Uthus has been very successful as a mer- 
 chant, possessing such qualifications as will nec- 
 essarily lead to success, viz., energy, persever- 
 ance and fairmindedness. 
 
 He was married in Chicago to Miss Kari Nils- 
 datter Bidne, daughter of Nils Siversen and Ber- 
 tha (Olsdatter) Bidne. Mrs. Uthus was born at 
 Vossestranden, Norway, March 12, 1862. They 
 reside at 785 Cornelia street, Chicago. 
 
 REV. LAURITZ A. VIGNESS. 
 
 One of the notable educational institutions for 
 which the pretty little city of Ottawa is justly 
 famed is the Pleasant View Luther College, 
 which thou'gh young in years has advanced to 
 the front ranks in an incredibly short period. 
 The building is new and modern in every re- 
 spect, is heated by steam and lighted, by gas, and 
 affords every comfort to the fortunate student 
 who is enrolled as a pupil. The gentleman whose 
 name appears at the commencement of this 
 sketch is the president of the college, and is 
 working indefatigably for the good of the same. 
 His heart and soul are in the enterprise, and the 
 genuine interest which he takes in every student 
 must make a favorable impression upon the 
 scholar throughout his life. 
 
 In tracing the life history of the worthy pres- 
 ident it is found that he comes from the sturdy, 
 manly old Viking stock of Norway. His father, 
 
 Ole L. Vigness, was born in Finn0, Norway. 
 At the age of 23 the desire to see something of 
 the world and to enter some other field of labor 
 led him to set sail for America. Arriving here in 
 1856, he went to Rock county, Wisconsin, and 
 found employment in the vicinity of Janesville. 
 In 1859 he took up a homestead of government 
 land in Fillmore county, Minnesota, and at the 
 end of three years, when he had made improve- 
 ments and had a comfortable home, he married 
 Miss Anna Hallum, likewise a native of Norway. 
 The mother died in 1884, leaving three sons and 
 
 Rev. Lauritz A. Vigness. 
 
 three daughters. Carl L., the second son, is 
 now county superintendent of schools in Bur- 
 leigh county, North Dakota; Mary, the wife of 
 John Stennes, of Milan, Minn., died in 1900; Inga, 
 who resides in Alberta, Canada, is the wife of 
 J. Johnson; Emma and Edward are the younger 
 members of the family. 
 
 Until he was 15 years of age Lauritz A. Vig- 
 ness attended the public schools of his native 
 county, and early evinced unusual aptitude for 
 books. His youthful ambition to enjoy the ad- 
 
512 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 vantage of a collegiate education finally received 
 fulfillment, and, after passing two years in Mar- 
 shall (Wisconsin) Academy, he pursued a thor- 
 ough four-year course of study in Augu'stana 
 College at Canton, S. D. He then spent six 
 months at Dixon College, at Dixon, III, after 
 which he took a course at Augustana Theological 
 Seminary, at Beloit, Iowa. From 1886 to 1890 
 he was professor of Latin and Greek at August- 
 ana College. In 1890 he became a member of 
 the faculty of the Highland Park College at Des 
 Moines, Iowa, having charge of the classical de- 
 partment, and for four years his labors in that 
 well known institution met with excellent suc- 
 cess. The presidency of Jewell Lutheran College, 
 at Jewell, Iowa, was then tendered him, and he 
 accepted the responsible charge. The authorities 
 and managers of Pleasant View Luther College 
 obtained Mr. Vigness' consent to become pre- 
 sident of the institution, and from that time had 
 no doubt of its future prosperity. As an edu- 
 cator he has few superiors in this or any state, 
 and systematic methods are noticeable in every- 
 thing which he undertakes. 
 
 On the 9th of June, 1887, the marriage of Mr. 
 Vigness and Miss Margret Krogness was solem- 
 nized at Larchwood, Lyon county, Iowa. Mrs. 
 Vigness is a dau'ghter of Rev. S. M. and Johanna 
 (Amundson) Krogness, both of whom have 
 passed to their reward. To our subject and wife 
 five sons and a daughter were born: Joseph Al- 
 fred, Orrin Sylvanus, Lewis Martell, Paul Ger- 
 hard, Lydia Ruth and Charles Krauth. 
 
 The Pleasant View Luther College has several 
 distinct departments of study, including scien- 
 tific, literary, commercial, musical, parochial and 
 classical. A competent instructor, a specialist 
 as far as possible, is in charge of each depart- 
 ment. The rooms of the stu'dents are homelike 
 and in the boarding hall they are provided with 
 an abundance of well prepared, nourishing food. 
 Chapel exercises are a part of the daily routine, 
 and here the students are admonished, brought 
 to a keener sense of their responsibility toward 
 God and man, and are trained in the fundamental 
 principles of noble citizenship. The college is 
 wonderfully prospering, and its present capacity 
 is now well taxed. 
 
 Since the fall of 1901 he has had pastoral 
 charge of the Scandinavian Lutheran congrega- 
 tion in addition to his duties as president of 
 Pleasant View Luther College. 
 
 As an educator he is both conservative and 
 progressive. He believes in holding fast to the 
 old principles which have been tested and tried 
 and have stood the test of time. This, however, 
 
 does not prevent him from being at all times 
 ready to consider critically and estimate at their 
 proj er value the' newer views that are from time 
 to time promulgated by edu'cational thinkers. 
 The policy of the institution under his care is 
 stated in the following extract from the cata- 
 logue: "To give the rising generation a thorough 
 training on a basis doctrinally conservative, edu- 
 cationally progressive, is the purpose of Pleasant 
 View Luther College." 
 
 ?j? 
 
 TOBIAS H. VARLAND 
 
 Was born in Varland sogn, near Stavanger, Nor- 
 way, Jan. 10, 1855. His father (a farmer in 
 Norway) was Halvor Varland and his mother's 
 maiden name Siri Torbj^rnsdatter Eie. Our sub- 
 ject worked on his father's farm until 18, at- 
 tended school, and was confirmed in Finnjrf 
 church, in Norway. 
 
 He came to America in the summer of 1873, 
 arriving in Leland, III., Ju'ne 14. He went to 
 his uncle, Ole Thomson, a farmer who now lives 
 at Deer Park, Ala. Our subject worked on the 
 farm by the month for six years. 
 
 He married Miss Malinda Johnson, of Platt- 
 ville. III, Feb. 24, 1880. His wife's parents were 
 Andrew H. and Sarah (Baker) Johnson, Mrs. 
 Varland being a sister of ex-Judge Johnson, of 
 Ottawa. 
 
 He then secured some land of his own in Mil- 
 ler township. La Salle county, and has been 
 farming it since, having added to his holding 
 from time to time, and now cultivates 240 acres. 
 He also owns a 300-acre farm in Baker county, 
 Minn., and a store, in partnership with Judge 
 Johnson, in Seneca, 111. Our subject is a mem- 
 ber, songleader and deacon of Stavanger Luth- 
 eran Church, in La Salle cou'nty. He was also 
 one of the incorporators of the Pleasant View 
 Luther College, at Ottawa, and has always pat- 
 ronized it by donations and by sending his chil- 
 dren to it. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Varland have been blessed with 
 thirteen children, all living — Harvey Elmer, born 
 Nov. 21, 1880; Sina Margaret, Sept. 4, 1882; Arthur 
 Zenus, June 29, 1884; Orville LeRoy, Dec. 1, 
 1886; Walter Baker, Jan. 9, 1889; Hazel Theresa, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 513 
 
 c 
 
 > 
 
514 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Feb. 17, 1891; Edgar Alexander, Oct. 3, 1894; 
 Merrill Chester, Oct. 18, 1896; Esther Marie, 
 April 21, 1898; Ruth Naomi, July 16, 1899; Freda 
 Gertrude, Nov. 10, 1901; Truman Milo, June 18, 
 1903; James Gordon, May, 9, 1905. Of the chil- 
 dren all are at home except Harvey, who is 
 farming in North Dakota, and Sina, who is teach- 
 ing school and living with her brother in Dakota. 
 Orville is a student at Pleasant View College. 
 
 Taught school for several years. Commenced 
 reading law at Leiand, 111.; studied nights and 
 Saturdays. Went thence to Chicago and finished 
 his reading with the law firm of English & Hef- 
 feran. Was admitted to the bar May 7, 1897, and 
 since then has been engaged in the general prac- 
 tice of law with offices in the Ashland Block, 
 Chicago. 
 
 Jan. 24, 1900, he was married to Miss Anna 
 Thompson, of Leiand, 111. 
 
 ^ 
 
 GOODMAN WALLEM. 
 
 THOMAS ENGELSON WATERDAL. 
 
 Goodman Wallem was born in Adams town- vV^jth Adams Bros. & Co., the building material 
 ship. La Salle county, Illinois, Oct. 7, 1864. At- and elevator manufacturers, at 355 Thirty-first 
 
 Goodman Wallem. 
 
 Thomas E. Waterdal. 
 
 tended district school, the Morris Normal street, was born in Waterdal, Onarkeim sogn, 
 School and the Dixon (111.) Business University. Tysnaes prestegjeld, Norway, on Jan. 5, 1855. His 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 515 
 
 parents were Engel Thorbjjzirnsen and Christi 
 Henricksdatter. 
 
 His early life was spent in the country, but at 
 the age of 18 years he went to sea as a sailor 
 from Bergen. When of military age he served 
 for three years in the infantry of the Norwegian 
 army. 
 
 He came to America in 1884 and sailed on the 
 lakes until 1895, when he associated himself with 
 Adams Bros. & Co., Chicago. 
 
 He belongs to the Norwegian Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 Lutheran Home and Hospital since 1904. He 
 has many private students. From 1895 to 
 1897 he was manager of the male department 
 at the Home Sanitarium at Racine, Wisconsin, 
 and in 1893-95 was with the Wabash Rail- 
 way Hospital at Moberly, Mo. When he first 
 came to Chicago he found English, German and 
 Swedish masseurs, but not one Norwegian. He 
 decided, however, that Chicago was a good field 
 for his work, and determined to spread the 
 knowledge of massage and the Swedish move- 
 ments among his countrymen and thus establish 
 
 ^ 
 
 HENRY CORNELIUS WEARDAHL, 
 
 The professional masseur and instructor in prac- 
 tical massage and Swedish movements, at 800 N. 
 Washtenaw avenue, was born in Trondhjem, 
 Norway, Nov. 8, 1865. His father, Andreas M. 
 Weardahl, was a watchmaker in Norway. Our 
 su'bject attended betalingsskolen in Trondhjem 
 and studied Swedish movements and massage 
 under his uncle, Fanejunker Ole Tellesbjzie in 
 Trondhjem, in 1886. He also took a course at 
 the Chicago School of Psychology in 1900. He 
 was confirmed in the Cathedral, (Domkirken) 
 at Trondhjem. 
 
 He came to New York on May 5, 1889, and 
 Chicago on the 7th. In 1890 he went to Spring- 
 field, 111., but returned to Chicago in 1893. In the 
 fall of that year he went to Moberly, Mo., where 
 he was attendant at the Wabash Railroad Hos- 
 pital until 1895, when he went to the Home Sani- 
 tarium, at Racine, Wis. In 1897 he returned to 
 Chicago and located permanently. 
 
 He was married to Hanna Olsen Djzile, daugh- 
 ter of Ole P. and Sofie D^le, of Fj^resfjord, Hau- 
 gesund, Norway, on Oct. 4, 1900. They have one 
 child, a son, Arlin Andreas, born March 23, 1903. 
 
 Mr. Weardahl served ninety days as a guard in 
 the Norwegian army on Varnesmoen, near Trond- 
 hjem. He has been a member of the Interna- 
 tional Order of Good Templars since May, 1881, 
 is state deputy for Illinois, and has held all of- 
 fices in the subordinate lodge of which he is a 
 member. He has been an instructor in practical 
 massage and Swedish movements since 1895. As 
 such he has held positions with the Norwegian 
 
 Henry C. Weardahl. 
 
 for himself a permanent business. It has taken 
 him several years and he has frequently been 
 obliged to leave the city in order to earn enough 
 money to continue the work. His efforts have 
 been crowned with success, however, and Mr. 
 Weardahl is now satisfied with the results ob- 
 tained. 
 
 He has always been an active worker in the 
 temperance cause since he engaged in the work 
 in 1881. For the last four years he has been the 
 leader in the Norwegian lodges of the city. In 
 
516 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 recognition of his services in this work he was, 
 on the 25th of last May, presented with a gold 
 watch by Norr^nna Lodge. 
 
 CLARENCE S. WILLIAMS, 
 
 At present county clerk for Kendall county, at 
 Yorkville, 111., was born in Chicago, Aug. 10, 
 1873. His parents were William and Belle (Lee) 
 Williams. His father was a clothing merchant. 
 
 Aug. 24, 1898. They have two daughters — Jean- 
 nette, born July 18, 1899, and Gladys Evelyn, born- 
 April 2, 1905. 
 
 Mr. Williams was elected county treasurer of 
 Kendall county Aug. 8, 1898, and count} clerk 
 Nov. 7, 1902. He was renominated for clerk by 
 the republican county convention on Aug. 4, 
 1906, and in November elected by a large major- 
 ity of votes. He has served four years as treas- 
 urer and four years as clerk, with another term 
 to his credit. He is a member of the Yorkville 
 city council, having served four years. He has 
 also been vice-president and president of the 
 Yorkville Business Men's League. He is a mem- 
 ber of the M. W. A. of A. and the Royal Neigh- 
 bors. His father died in Springfield, 111., in 
 April, 1892. 
 
 Clarence S. Williams. 
 
 Clarence attended the public school at Newark 
 xintil 14 years o.ld, when he began clerking. He 
 worked for nine years in the mercantile business 
 at Newark and Millbrook. 
 
 He married Miss Mary Etta Budd, daughter of 
 Jacob and Margaret A. Budd, of Millbrook, 111., 
 
 EDWARD IVER WILLIAMS. 
 
 Edward I. Williams, residing at 104 N. Centre 
 avenue, Chicago, was born June 20, 1867, of 
 Norwegian parentage, and was educated in the 
 public schools of this city. At one time he was 
 engaged in the grocery business, and for twelve 
 years held the position of head cashier and credit 
 man for the well known commission firm of H. 
 L. Brown & Co. After retiring from the com- 
 mission business Mr. Williams opened up the 
 Edward I. Williams & Company Subdivision, in 
 the northwest part of Chicago, commonly kno-win 
 as Irving Park. 
 
 In 1896 Mr. Williams was appointed a deputy 
 coroner under George Berz. After remaning in 
 that position four years he was appointed minute 
 clerk of the county board under Peter B. Olsen. 
 
 Mr. Williams has large business interests in 
 the northwest part of Chicago, was secretary of 
 the Milwaukee Avenue Co-Operative Store, one 
 of the largest department stores on the north- 
 west side, where over 250 hands were employed. 
 He has been a director of the Mount Olive 
 Cemetery for over sixteen j^ears, and is now 
 vice-president. 
 
 Mr. Williams has always taken an active part 
 in politics, and on Nov. 7, 1905, was elected 
 trustee of the sanitary district of Chicago. Mr. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 517 
 
 Williams has been connected with several fra- Torris Wold & Co., large manufacturers of can 
 
 ternal organizations, and has occupied high of- 
 fices in same, namely chancellor commandery of 
 the Knights of Pythias, Godival Lodge, No. 512, 
 and was regent of Prairie State Council, Royal 
 Arcanum, No. 912, and also a member of the 
 Eagles, and various other fraternal organiza- 
 tions. 
 
 E. I. Williams. 
 
 Mr. Williams' father, Ole Williams, was one of 
 the earliest Norwegian settlers in Chicago, at one 
 time had extensive marine interests in the city, 
 and was considered one of the largest lake vessel 
 owners among the Norwegians at that time. He 
 kept the old Williams Hotel, at 59-61 E. Kinzie 
 street, which was the headquarters for all the 
 Norwegians arriving in Chicago from the old 
 country. 
 
 ALFRED N. WOLD 
 
 Is a native of Chicago, a son of Torris and Han- 
 na (Hvid) Wold. His father is president of 
 
 machinery. Our subject was born Jan. 20, 1876. 
 He attended the public schools and the Metro- 
 politan Business College. Was confirmed by 
 Rev. Torgersen. Began the active work of life 
 as a clerk with J. L. Fulton, a cement con- 
 tractor, in 1892, and later was bookkeeper and 
 cashier for Torris Wold & Co. He then engaged 
 in the undertaking business with his uncle and 
 cousin on Grand avenue. He is a member of the 
 
 Alfred N. Wold. 
 
 Men's Burial Society, Blair Lodge A. F. and 
 A. M., Chicago Lodge, No. 91, A. O. U. W.; 
 Friendship Court, T. B. H., and Northfellow's 
 Supreme Lodge. He is receiver for the Chi- 
 cago Lodge, No. 91, A. O. U. W. 
 
 June 26, 1901, he was married to Louise B. 
 Olsen, a daughter of Knud and Andrea Olsen, 
 from Christiania, Norway. They have two chil- 
 dren — Hallie, Andrea, born May 22, 1902, and 
 Torris Alfred, born March 11, 1905. The family 
 resides at 476 Potomac avenue. 
 
518 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 NELS BERNHARD WOLD, 
 
 Of the well known undertaking firm Wold & 
 Wold, was born in Chicago March 10, 1876. His 
 father was Bernt M. and his mother Josephine 
 (Hansen) Wold, both deceased. 
 
 Mr. Wold received his primary education in the 
 Chicago public schools and was then sent to Ber- 
 gen, Norway, where he remained three years 
 studying under a private tutor and being con- 
 firmed in the cathedral of Bergen. 
 
 Upon his return to Chicago he entered a busi- 
 ness college and having finished a course there 
 joined' his father in the undertaking business. 
 
 Mr. Wold and wife are members of Bethany 
 Congregational church and reside at 596 N. 
 Sacramento avenue. 
 
 TORRIS WOLD, 
 
 President of Torris Wold & Co., machinists and 
 manufacturers of can-making machinery, at 58-70 
 N. Jefferson street, Chicago, was born in Quamsjii 
 Sogn, Norway, on June 19, 1847. His father. Nils 
 Wold, was a merchant in Norway; his mother's 
 maiden name was Dorothea Lemmicka. His moth- 
 er died in Norway in 1849 and his father in 1881. 
 
 Torris Wold. 
 
 Nels B. Wold. 
 
 On June 10, 1903, Mr. Wold was married to 
 Miss Marion Wingard, a daughter of Frederick 
 and Mary Wingard, of Chicago. They have had 
 one child, a girl, who died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Wold is a Free Mason, a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias, the Singing Society "Bjorg- Torris attended the common schools, and after 
 vin", the National Union, the "I Will" lodge, being confirmed in the Lutheran Church in Vik, 
 Knights of Honor, Leif Erikson, R. H. K., the he sailed for one year. He then went to Bergen 
 Northfellows Supreme lodge, and "Haabets and mastered the profession of an optician. He 
 Anker". came to America in 1869 via Montreal and di- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 519 
 
 rect to Chicago, where he has remained continu- 
 ously since. 
 
 He was married on Sept. 19, 1871, to Hanna 
 Zahl Hvid, of Nordlandet, Norway, her parents 
 being Arnt Hvid and Hanna Zahl Hvid. Three 
 children were born to them, two now living — 
 Hallie Wold, who married H. H. Lyche, of H. 
 H. Lyche & Co., manufacturers, 908 Security 
 Building, and Alfred N. Wold, who married 
 Louise Olsen, of Christiania, Norway. 
 
 Upon arrival in Chicago Mr. Wold took up the 
 machinist trade and later had charge of the die 
 work in the shop of the G. A. Crosby Co. from 
 1876 to 1886. At that time he engaged in busi- 
 ness for himself, making a specialty of manu- 
 facturing machinery for making all kinds of cans. 
 Mr. Wold is a member of the Norwegian Luth- 
 eran Church and the Old Peoj^le's Home So- 
 ciety. The family resides at 251 Humboldt boule- 
 vard. 
 
 the said company he was sent as one of their 
 representatives to the World's Fair at St. Louis 
 in 1904. After the Fair was closed, he was put 
 in charge of dismantling the large Allis-Chalmers 
 
 ALBERT HALVOR 0STBERG 
 
 Was born at Fredriksstad, Norway, Oct. 8, 1880. 
 His parents were Alexander P., a wholesale and 
 retail paper dealer, and Gunda (Sjrfrlie) 0stberg. 
 Our subject received his primarj' education first 
 in the Middelskole, then one year at the Gj'mna- 
 sium and finally in the Fredriksstad technical 
 evening school, whereupon he was apprenticed, 
 in 1897, at the large machine shops of Fredriks- 
 stad. 
 
 In order to complete his technical education he 
 was sent abroad to Germany where he after 
 some years' intense study graduated from the 
 Polytechnicum of Mittweida, Saxony, in 1902. 
 
 In 1903 Mr. 0stberg concluded to seek a larger 
 field for his activities and came to this country, 
 landing in New York March 16. He worked 
 there for a while as mechanical draftsman, but 
 soon went west to St. Paul, Minn., arriving there 
 in June of the same year. We next find him 
 with the Allis-Chalmers Company, of Milwaukee, 
 Wis., in the capacity of erecting engineer. By 
 
 A. H. 0stberg. 
 
 Co.'s engine, which among the authorities went 
 under the name of "The Old Reliable". This 
 engine which could develop 7,500 h. p. was the 
 most powerful compound engine ever exhibited 
 at any World's Fair. It required 47 railroad 
 cars to ship it to the shops at Milwaukee, the 
 total weight of the engine being 720 tons. Mr. 
 0stberg has also been engaged in erecting one 
 of the 5,000 h. p. steam turbines, which Allis- 
 Chalmers Co. installed for the Brooklyn Rapid 
 Transit Co. During one year Mr. 0stberg has 
 been connected with the C. B. & Q. R. R. as 
 inspector of patterns, and in this capacity he 
 traveled over this whole system. At the present 
 time he is employed as car designer with the 
 -Armour Car Lines, of Chicago. 
 
SUPPLEMENT 
 
Ill this part we present some articles, sketches and pictures, which 
 reached us too late to be given the places where they really belong, as 
 well as a few additions to articles and sketches in the main body of the 
 volume. 
 
 In a new edition these addenda will be put into their proper places. 
 We invite any one noticing errors or omissions in the book to send in the 
 corrections to the editor, who will see that they are promptly made for 
 a contemplated new issue. 
 
 Societies or individuals, who did not furnish us with their data for 
 this first edition, will have another chance, if they respond more promptly 
 to this last call. 
 
 b23 
 
THE 
 
 NORWEGIAN TABITHA HOSPITAL, 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 
 
 By Dr. Karl F. M. Sandberg. 
 
 The early history of the Norwegian Tabitha 
 Society has been so fully and ably described on 
 page 135 of this work that I shall not repeat it 
 here but simply refer the readers to that page. 
 At the laying of the corner stone of the Tabitha 
 hospital, Francisco and Thomas streets, June 3, 
 1893, the differences of opinion and the bitter feel- 
 lings, that for a number of years had existed be- 
 tween the two main factions of the Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church in America, The United Church 
 and- the Svnod for the. Norwegian Evangelical 
 Lutheran Church of America, again found a new 
 expression. To the suggestion that prayers should 
 have a part on the program for this occasion, it 
 Tvas objected on the part of the. Synod that pray- 
 ers should be left out for the reason that the 
 rnembers of the Synod and those of the United 
 Church differed so much on vital religious points 
 that they would not even pray together. The 
 corner stone was therefore laid not in the name 
 of God, as desired by one faction of the society, 
 Tjut in the name of the Norwegian-American 
 People, and from this time on it became more and 
 more evident that the bone of contention within 
 the society was, which one of the two church 
 factions, the United Church or the Synod, should 
 gain control of the institution. The Synod by 
 hoisting the national flag and advocating a na- 
 tional rather than a religious hospital drew z 
 number of non-synod people to its side and at 
 the annual meeting in 1895 came out victorious, 
 the issue in the election being, whether the hos- 
 pital should have trained nurses or deaconesses 
 to take care of the sick. The opening festival of 
 the hospital took place on the 24th day of Oc- 
 tober, 1894, and the first patient was admitted in 
 
 December of the same year. 190 patients were 
 treated during the year 1895, 338 during the year 
 1900, and 573 during the year 1906. During the 
 first years of the hospital's existence old people 
 to the number of nine were' taken in and given a 
 home for the rest of their natural lives. After the 
 establishment of the Norwegian Old People's 
 Home, at Norwood Park, this branch of the in- 
 stitution was discontinued; two went to the Nor- 
 wegian, on© to the Danish Old People's Home; 
 one has died, so that but five of the old people 
 still remain in the institution. Shortly after the 
 opening of the hospital a training school for 
 nurses was established with a two years' course 
 and the nursing of the patients has always been 
 done by pupils of this school. Miss Mai:tha B. 
 Ellingson, a graduate of the Illinois Training 
 School for Nurses of Chicago, was the first supei- 
 intendent of nurses, and a great deal of the suc- 
 cess of the hospital has been due to the skill and 
 thoroughness, with which she, from the very be- 
 ginning, arranged the various departments of 
 the institution. The present superintendent of 
 nurses, ]\Iiss Clara Savereide, is a graduate of the 
 hospital's own training school, and to her finan- 
 cial talent the hospital is mainly indebted for its 
 present favorable economical condition. A med- 
 ical staff of Scandinavian physicians, men and 
 women, has always been connected with the hos- 
 pital. The present members of this staff are: Dr. 
 Marie A. Olson, Dr. Helga Ruud, Dr. Valborg 
 Sogn, Dr. Peter Bassoe, Dr. Anders Doe, Dr. 
 Andreas Kl0vstad, Dr. N. T. Quales, Dr. Charles 
 F. Roan, Dr. Karl F. M. Sandberg, Dr. Karl L. 
 Thorsgaard. Dr. Christian Fenger was for a 
 number of years and up to his death surgeon-in- 
 
 525 
 
526 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 chief to the hospital. Since his death this posi- 
 tion has been filled by Dr. Karl F. M. Sandberg. 
 Seven branches of the Tabitha Society con- 
 sisting mainly of members of the United Church 
 withdrew in a body from the society after their 
 defeat at the annual election in 1895, and the af- 
 fairs of the society and the hospital were left in 
 the hands of the remaining five branches, made 
 up of members of the Synod and others. These 
 co-operated harmoniously for a while, but from 
 year to year little frictions began to develop. The 
 Synod ministers and some of their followers be- 
 gan to 'raise objections against charity balls and 
 against the selling of chances at bazars; charity 
 
 majority of the members of the board of direc- 
 tors shall be members (in good standing) of con- 
 gregations belonging to the Synod for the Nor- 
 wegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Amer- 
 ica." The motion did not receive the necessary 
 number of votes, but was again proposed at the 
 annual meeting in 1902. A long agitation with 
 newspaper writings, public meetings and discus- 
 sions and a large increase in the membership of 
 the society had preceded this. The feelings were 
 running high, and the Synod party on the one 
 side, and the National party on the other, were 
 gathering their forces for the final battle, the an- 
 nual meetin of 1902. After two or three hours* 
 
 The Norwegian Tabitha Hospital. 
 
 balls and bazars being the main undertakingi, 
 whereby funds were raised for the support of the 
 institutions. They went to the extent of warning 
 members, over whom they had influence, from at- 
 tending these affairs. The Synod faction had a 
 majority in the board of directors and also in the 
 nominating committee; the function of this last 
 one was to nominate all candidates for the board 
 of directors as well as for other committees, and 
 by having control over this the Synod people 
 were able to perpetuate themselves in control. 
 To make their influence absolute and give them 
 not only control, but possession, it was finally 
 proposed to the annual meeting of 1901, that "a 
 
 skirmishing between the two, almost evenly num- 
 bered factions, the National party finally got con- 
 trol of the meeting, and the Synod party, after 
 vainly attempting to block the proceedings, bolted 
 in a body and left the hall. The National party 
 proceeded with the regular order of business, 
 elected new members for the board of directors 
 and the committees, and after the meeting pro- 
 cee'ded to organize its board of directors and 
 take charge of the affairs of the institution. The 
 Synod faction, however, claiming that these pro- 
 ceedings had been illegal, issued a call for an- 
 other annual meting and elected another board 
 of directors and committees and later instituted 
 
A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 527 
 
 quo warranto proceedings against the National 
 board of directors. The case was, however, decided 
 in favor of the National party, and the war was 
 over. Since then the society and the hospital has 
 been in the hands of the National party, the 
 Synod party having withdrawn in a body from 
 the society after their defeat in court. The word 
 Lutheran, which originally formed a part of the 
 name of the society as well as of the hospital, 
 and which was inscribed on the front of the hos- 
 pital building, has, by action of the society, been 
 removed from the name as well as from the 
 building. The Synod ministers of Chicago, who 
 for years had conducted daily religious services 
 at the hospital, discontinued these after their 
 defeat in the society and in the court. The mem- 
 bers of the present board of directors are Dr. 
 Marie A. Olson, president; Mr. John Olson, vice- 
 president; Mr. Johan Waage, treasurer; Miss 
 Johanna Olson, secretary; Mr. S. E. Smeby, Mr. 
 Charles Hanson, Miss Laura koyelsen, Mr. H. 
 G. Holtan, Dr. Valborg Sogn. 
 
 The hospital is well equipped in all its de- 
 partments and running on a very sound financial 
 basis, the indebtedness of different kinds grad- 
 ually having been reduced so that only a mort- 
 gage of $3000.00 still remains on the property 
 which is valued at $40,000. Much credit for this 
 is due to the great interest and untiring efforts 
 of the present president. Dr. Marie A. Olson, 
 vho for several years has filled this positid. 
 
 The United Church. 
 
 ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH, 
 Rowe, Illinois. 
 
 By Rev. C. Michaelsen. 
 
 The Norwegian settlement in the vicinity of 
 Pontiac is originally a branch or an extension of 
 the Fox River or Lisbon and Leland settlements 
 north. As early as 1853 two or three families 
 moved in from Otter Creek, Illinois. In 1862 six 
 or eight families were scattered over an area of 
 fifteen miles. Houses were built wherever con- 
 venient regardless of roads. The prairie was 
 
 covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, but 
 swampy. A writer at the time says: "Where the 
 frogs do crow and the ducks do quake down in 
 the pond country Pontiac." Then the price of 
 the land was from five to ten dollars an acre; 
 now it sells from one hundred and twenty-five to 
 two hundred dollars an acre. Due to efficient 
 tiling practically no swampy land is to be found 
 now. 
 
 Among the settlers were two married daugh- 
 ters of Gunnar Oakland of Leland. Moved by 
 concern for them as well as others he asked Rev. 
 Aasmund Johnsen to visit the colony, which he 
 did, accompanied by Oakland. They reached their 
 destination on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, 
 having been three days on their way. Three per- 
 sons on horseback were sent out to announce the 
 service which was to be held the following day. 
 Palm Sunday, in a school house. All the people 
 responded. This was the first divine service held 
 by a Norwegian Lutheran minister in the settle- 
 ment. 
 
 No congregation was organized then, as things 
 looked discouraging to Rev. Johnsen. In the fall 
 of the same year Mr. Oakland persuaded Rev. 
 Peter A. Asbj0rnsen, a man endured to hardship, 
 to go with him, which he did, and the result was 
 that in 1864 the first Lutheran congregation was 
 organized in the settlement with ten families. 
 The congregation joined the Norwegian Luther- 
 an Augustana Synod. Soon Mr. Oakland moved 
 from Leland and joined the church. 
 
 Shortly after, Mr. Asbj0rnsen went to live in 
 his new charge, working a farm which he rented 
 and preaching evenings and Sundays. In 1865 the 
 first church was built. Trouble commenced about 
 the site. This and offense at remarks made by 
 Asbj0rnsen, who was a very outspoken man, 
 caused three families to leave the congregation. 
 They called Rev. P. A. Rasmussen of Lisbon to 
 their assistance, and in 1868 Rev. Rasmussen or- 
 ganized a Norwegian Lutheran Synod Church. 
 
 People continued to move in from the older 
 settlements and from Norway. Some joined the 
 old congregation, others the new one. 
 
 The ministers in charge of the Norwegian 
 Synod church were: Rev. O. Estr^m, C. Olsen, 
 Welo, Helgesen, N. Arvesen. and O. Saue. 
 
 The pastors of the Augustana congregation 
 were: David Lysnes, O. C. Anderson, O. Tjoms- 
 land, Berthel Thorsen. In 1890 the Anti-Mis- 
 sourian Brotherhood, the "Konferents," and Au- 
 gustana Synod united, forming the United Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran Church. This was the signal 
 for the Synod Church at Rowe (a little railroad 
 station that had sprung up in the settlement) 
 
538 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 which had taken a stand with the Anti-Missour- 
 ians and the Augustana Church, to join hands, 
 which they did, naming the new congregation St. 
 Paul Lutheran Church. Rev. D. A. Skare of the 
 Augustana congregation became the pastor of the 
 new congregation. Rev. O. R. Sletten was his 
 successor. The pastor at present in charge is 
 Rev. C. Michaelsen. The congregation at pres- 
 ent numbers about fifty voting members, and 
 some two-hundred souls; it has two ladies' aid 
 societies, a Luther league society for young peo- 
 ple; Sunday-school. Norwegian parochial school 
 is held from six to eight weeks every sunimer. 
 Services are conducted in the Norwegian lan- 
 guage Sunday forenoons, in English, evenings. 
 
 Among the very earliest members who reso- 
 lutely, have weathered the difficulties, the congre- 
 gation passed through, J. Q. Johnsen, O. H. 
 Olsen Hammerwa, Newton Mitchell, Henrik 
 Larsen Hovda, and Andrew Erickson, deserve 
 to be remembered. 
 
 Later members, heads of families, are: Olaus 
 K. Olsen, John O. Johnsen, Mrs. Jakobsen Tys- 
 dal, Lars Engelsen, Jakob Jakobsen Str0m, Hans 
 Wickse, Halvor Buland, Andrew Fosseen, Alfred 
 Erickson, Ed. Melland, Knut Tuttle, Lars Har- 
 restad, Berthel Munson. Some of these have 
 died, but their descendants are active members 
 of the church. 
 
 Included in the same charge as St. Paul church, 
 is Ransom Lutheran congregation. Ransom, Illi- 
 nois. It numbers about one hundred members all 
 told. It has a Luther league and ladies' aid so- 
 ciety, Sunday-school, and a Norwegian parochial 
 school is conducted six weeks every summer. 
 
 The third congregation in the charge is Mud 
 Creek Lutheran church, ten miles north-east from 
 Rowe numbering about fifty souls. 
 
 All three congregations have comfortable 
 church edifices. St. Paul congregation owns, be- 
 sides, a large good parsonage. 
 
 These settlements are not large. At first glance 
 their history may not seem worth mentioning. 
 But they prove the thrift of our people that, how- 
 ever small compared to some of their sisters 
 nevertheless deemed it essential to organize con- 
 gregations, build churches and maintain the 
 preaching of the Gospel and the administration 
 of the sacraments in their midst. May this char- 
 acteristic always be true of their descendants. 
 
 ST. MARK'S 
 
 EVANGELICAL 
 CHURCH 
 
 LUTHERAN 
 
 of the Synod for the Norwegian Evangelical Lu- 
 theran Church in America, corner Tripp 
 and Wabansia avenues, Chicago. 
 
 By Rev. John A. Moldstad. 
 
 The origin of this congregat'on dates back to 
 the early Nineties. A Sunday school was organ- 
 ized on Fortieth avenue near Grand avenue and 
 later moved to the German Missouri Church, cor. 
 of Springfield avenue and Hirsch street. Rev. Olaf 
 E. Brandt, of Lake View, who now is a professor 
 at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., conducted 
 the school for some time, and his sucessor, Rev. 
 S. T. Reque, continued the work until the autumn 
 of 1897. Then the school was made a part of a 
 mission in charge of Rev. John R. Birkelund, who 
 had returned from the mission field of Japan in 
 the spring of 1897 in order to study medicine. 
 Services were now also held in a hall on Hancock 
 avenue and Bloomingdale road. The work pro^ 
 gressed, and the field soon became too large for 
 Rev. Birkelund alone, so Rev. O. K. Ramberg was 
 called. He divided the territory into two parishes, 
 first organizing St. Matthew's at Logan Square 
 and then some time later St. Marks. 
 
 The first congregational meeting was held 
 March 2, 1900, at the German Lutheran Church, 
 and those present were Rev. O. K. Ramberg, 
 Theodor Olsen, Hans E. Herwig and Bernhard 
 Anderson. At this meeting it was decided to 
 organize a congregation, to adopt a constitution, 
 and to rent a vacant store building on North 
 avenue, between Harding and Springfield avenues. 
 This store building remained the meeting place of 
 the congregation for more than tour years. 
 During the first year and a half the congregation 
 was served by Rev. O. K. Ramberg; but in Sept. 
 1901 it was made a separate parish in charge of 
 Rev. Theo. Ringoen, who is at present the prin- 
 cipal of The H. A. Preus Lutheran Academy at 
 Albion, Wis. He remained here until July 1904, 
 when he resigned in order to accept a pastorate 
 at Deerfield Wis. 
 
 During the summer of 1904 the congregation 
 was served by Rev. M. K. Bleken of St. John's 
 and Mr. John A. Moldstad, who was a student at 
 Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. Previously 
 the congregation had bought two lots on the 
 corner of Tripp and Wabansia avenues, and in 
 August 1904 the erection of the basement of the 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 529 
 
 future church was begun. On Sept. 11, 1904 the 
 new pastor, Rev. Lauritz S. Guttebo, was installed 
 and on Nov. 20, the church was dedicated and 
 occupied. 
 
 In Feb. 1906 Rev. Guttebo became ill, and the 
 congregation voted him a vacation, while Rev. 
 John R. Birkelund, the Synod's City Missionary, 
 was called as pastor during his absence. Rev. 
 Guttebo's health improved very slowly, and he 
 
 Rev. John A. Moldstad. 
 
 therefore found it necessary to resign from his 
 pastorate. He preached his farewell sermon on 
 Easter Sunday, April 15. On the following even- 
 ing a meeting was held when it was decided to 
 extend a call to Mr. John A. Moldstad, of Con- 
 cordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo. After his gradu- 
 ation he accepted the call and was ordained here 
 on Sunday, July 15, 1906. 
 
 Almost from the very beginning of the congre- 
 gation services have been conducted in both 
 
 Nowegian and English, and the past year the 
 morning service on the first Sunday of every 
 month has been held in English. Strenuous efforts 
 have been made to provide for the Christian edu- 
 cation of the young. During the summer months 
 vacation school is held, and the remainder of the 
 year school has been conducted every Saturday 
 morning. The morning Sunday school has an en- 
 rollment of one hundred seventy-five and an actu- 
 al attendance of about one hundred thirty-five 
 children. Since Feb., 1907, an afternoon Sunday 
 school also has been conducted. 
 
 The congregation has been supported partly 
 by subsidies from the Home Mission Treasury of 
 the Synod and by a loan of $1,800 from the 
 Synod's Church Extension fund. The work has 
 prospered, so that the congregation, which at 
 present numbers about 125 souls, owns property 
 valued at about $4500 upon which the only debt 
 is the Church Extension loan of $1,800. 
 
 A very active and important factor in the pro- 
 gress of the congregation has been its Ladies' Aid 
 Society, which was organized in July 1900. During 
 the year 1906 alone this society paid off $511.50 
 of church debt besides numerous other donations. 
 There is also a Young Ladies' Society, a Young 
 Men's Society, and a Church Choir all of which 
 have aided the church in a financial way. 
 
 Rev. Moldstad's biography appears on page 421. 
 
 THE YOUNG PEOPLE'S SOCIETY ULA- 
 BRAND. 
 
 The Young People's Society Ulabrand is one 
 of the youngest, but nevertheless one of the 
 strongest as regards membership and "The most 
 popular Norwegian Society in Chicago," a title 
 which it won at a contest arranged by the Nor- 
 wegian Turn Society in 1906. From a modest 
 beginning with less than a dozen members it 
 possesses at this day a membership list with about 
 150 names. 
 
 Ulabrand was organized April 27, 1905. by a few 
 young men, the majority of whom were from 
 Skien, Norway, and it was decided from the out- 
 set to admit ladies as members of the society. 
 Thus this became the first Norwegian Society in 
 
530 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Chicago organized upon the same principles as 
 the Norwegian Young People's Societies (Norske 
 Ungdomsforeninger), which in the later years 
 have taken such a conspicuous part in the literary, 
 political and social life of our Fathers' land. 
 
 At the second meeting therefrom a few young 
 ladies joined the new-born Society, and these 
 enterprising young men and women at once pro- 
 ceeded to carry out the aims of the society as set 
 forth in its constitution and by-laws. Their never 
 ceasing work was crowned with success, so much 
 indeed, that Bowes Hall on Noble and Erie 
 streets, which was rented after a couple of meet- 
 ings in the small Annex Hall became too little, 
 and new quarters were engaged in Wabansia 
 Hall, Wabansia and California avenues.' 
 
 The first president of Ulabrand was Benjamin 
 Johnsen Nesgrave, who was succeeded by John 
 Gjulem. They each served one term. Then 
 came Lars A. Bergan, who was elected for two 
 consecutive terms. The present officers are as 
 follows: Lars J. Siljan, president; Miss Maren 
 Abrahamsen, vice-president; Anton Darell, 
 secretary; Carl Restvedt, financial secretary, and 
 Eugene Jacobsen, treasurer. 
 
 Ulabrand's present representatives in the Nor- 
 wegian National League are Lars A. Bergan and 
 Lasse C. Grundeland. Lars J. Siljan. 
 
 and later promoted to various other positions 
 until he was made assistant purchasing agent in 
 1902. That such an important position was given 
 to a man less than twenty years of age is the best 
 testimonial of his ability and honesty. 
 
 A. M. Anderson. 
 
 Biographical Sketches. 
 
 ARTHUR MATHIAS ANDERSON, 
 
 Mr. Anderson who is still single resides with 
 his parents at 470 Austin avenue. " 
 
 He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, 
 Van Buren Lodge. 
 
 Assistant purchasing agent for Rand McNally & 
 Company, Chicago, was born in this city Novem- 
 ber 18, 1883. His father is the well-known manu- 
 facturer of Cracker Machinery, Hans M. L. An- 
 derson and his mother Jennie Emelia (nee Mun- 
 son) Anderson. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was educated in the public 
 schools of Chicago and confirmed in the Lutheran 
 Church. He then took a course at the Metro- 
 politan Business College, from which he gradu- 
 ated in 1898. 
 
 Ever since, then he has been connected with the 
 large publishing and printing house of Rand Mc- 
 Nally & Company first in the capacity of bill clerk 
 
 •^ 
 
 KNUD O. BOLSTAD 
 
 Is one of the older Norwegian settlers in Chicago 
 and a member of the Olson Manufacturing Co., 
 which for over forty years has been making 
 trousers for the American people, from Chicago 
 to the Pacific coast. He was born ai Voss, Nor- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 531 
 
 way, November 5, 1844. His father was Ole 
 Michaelson Bolstad, and his mother's maiden 
 name was Anna Henricksdatter. 
 
 After having attended the public schools he waa 
 apprenticed to a tailor, and worked at that trade, 
 until he was twenty years of age, when he 
 emigrated to America, coming over in theVictor 
 Emanuel, Captain Ibsen. In Chicago he was met 
 by Knud B. Olson, an old friend from Voss, who 
 had come to America two years previously, and 
 started a tailor shop. Mr. Bolstad took up his 
 home with and commenced to work for Mr. 
 Olson. Since 1866 he has been associated with 
 
 K. O. Bolstad. 
 
 him in business. In 1894, the Olson Manufactur- 
 ing Co. was organized. They have a large and 
 commodious establishment at 741-745 Elk Grove 
 ave., near North and Milwaukee avenues, and 
 employ a large number of workers, mostly 
 women. They turn out an immense amount of 
 work during the year, exclusively trousers for the 
 trade, Mr. Bolstad acting as foreman since the 
 organization of the corporation. 
 
 On March 9, 1868, Mr. Bolstad was married to 
 Miss Elizabeth Rasmussen, of Stavanger, with 
 
 whom he had seven children: Arthur, Oliver^ 
 Stella Marion, Emma Josephine, Alma Henrietta, 
 Theodore, Herbert Clarence and Luella. Five 
 of them are alive, Arthur Oliver and Emma Josfe- 
 phine having passed away. He is a Lutheran 
 by faith, and for many years was a trustee of Our 
 Savior's Church; he is also a member of the 
 Tabitha Hospital Society. 
 
 Mrs. Bolstad departed from this life in 1873. 
 Mr. Bolstad believes that he has a better knowl- 
 edge of the time when Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked 
 over the lamp which started the Chicago fire, and 
 had a better chance for observing its progress 
 than most others. He had just finished a house for 
 himself three weeks before the fire, and on that 
 memorable Sunday evening, Oct. 8, 1871, sat out- 
 side with his tenant, Ole Foss, and a friend, Louis 
 Lund. At that time the court-house bell would 
 be rung when a fire was reported. As a rule each 
 house had a fire-alarm in the kitchen, and a device 
 which indicated in what part of the city the fire 
 had started. Mr. Bolstad is positive that it was 
 at 10:30 on that sultry, windy evening, when the 
 court-house bell first commenced tolling. Almost 
 all good citizens in the city had gone to bed, and 
 Mr. Bolstad presumes that when they heard the 
 bell, and went up examining the indicator, finding 
 that the fire had started on the south-west side, 
 the people went back to rest. Mr. Bolstad and 
 his friends sat listening to the bell, which after 
 a while tolled incessantly, and then walked down 
 to the river and took position first on one and 
 then on another bridge from where they could 
 observe the approaching avalanche of fire. They 
 remained there, until they had to run for their 
 lives among falling sparks and burning shingles 
 in crossing the Rush street bridge, the Clark 
 street bridge being on fire, and found their way 
 back to Superior and Sedgwick streets, where 
 both he and his partner had their homes. They 
 met very few people, and had tg rouse Olson's 
 family. When they arrived home at about four 
 o'clock in the morning, even then, the people 
 w^ould not believe that there would be any danger 
 for their part of the city, but at nine o'clock their 
 houses were already burning. In the meantime, 
 they had been able to get hold of a couple of 
 express-wagons, and with the help of their shop- 
 men, brought their sewing machines and stock, 
 including about 3,500 pairs of unfinished trousers 
 to a place of safety with a friend far up the river. 
 On Oct. 10, the day after the fire, they were able 
 to get back to the place where their homes and 
 household goods had vanished. With the help 
 of their men, they started to build immediately. 
 
583 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 and on November 1, had moved into their new 
 shop, a 1^ story house, 32x80, where on the 
 second floor 8 families were glad to find shelter 
 during the winter. 
 
 Mr. Bolstad resides at No. 130 N. Humboldt 
 street. 
 
 JOHN PETER SEVERIN GRAVES, 
 
 Manager of the subscription department of 
 "Skandinaven," was born at Christiania, Norway, 
 Oct. 22, 1866, his parents being Johannes Olscn 
 
 J. P. S. Graves. 
 
 and Caroline (Moses) Grav. His mother's grand- 
 father was one of the Eidsvold men, represent- 
 ing Christiansund in that assembly. 
 
 Mr. Graves attended the public school and 
 Borgerskolen at Christiania and was confirmed 
 
 in St. James' Church of that city. He later on 
 entered the Christiania Business College, where 
 he took a two years' course. 
 
 At the age of 16 he was employed in the office 
 of Consul Johannes Schi0tt at Christiania and at 
 the age of 17 was put in charge of an agency of 
 Bergen's Fire Insurance Company and Deutsche 
 Transport Marine Insurance Company by Consul 
 Schijzitt. In addition to the insurance business 
 Mr. Schidtt also conducted a large commission 
 business with Holstein, Germany, and by attend- 
 ing to same Mr. Graves was initiated in the in- 
 tricacies of correspondence and shipping. 
 
 At the age of 19 he left Norway for America 
 arriving in Chicago in October, 1885. Almost im- 
 mediately he secured employment with "Skandi- 
 naven" and worked as clerk in the subscription 
 department of this paper until 1888, when he 
 entered the service of Moore & Janes, fire in- 
 surance brokers on La Salle< street, Chicago, 
 where he remained three years, part of the time 
 as policy clerk and later representing the firm 
 in the Northwestern part of the city. During 
 this period he was partly in the service of the 
 John Anderson Publishing Company as news- 
 paper circulator. In 1891 he reentered their ser- 
 vice and has remained with them since, part of 
 the time clerking in the subscription department, 
 later in charge of the city circulation of "Skan- 
 dinaven," until he, in 1906, was appointed man- 
 ager of the subscription department. 
 
 Mr. Graves was married, in 1893, to Miss Marie 
 Olson, a daughter of Ole and Maren (Amundsen) 
 Hansen, of Urskoug, Norway. They have one 
 child, Agnes Caroline, born in 1894. 
 
 Mr. Graves' father died in 1899, but his mother 
 is still living at Christiania. 
 
 LASSE C. GRUNDELAND, LL. B. 
 
 Lasse C. Grunueland was born in Fresvik, 
 Sogn, Norway, February 28, 1875. He is a son 
 of Kristian and Solvei Grundeland, who still live 
 in the old home in Norway. 
 
 Lasse is the second of six children, being pre- 
 ceded by his twin brother, Ole, who resides in 
 Bergen, Norway. The only sister, Mrs. Theodore 
 Kenseth, lives at Cambridge, Wis. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 533 
 
 Mr. Grundeland came to Koshkonong Prairie in 
 1892, and attended the public school and later 
 Albion Academy, graduating from that institu- 
 tion in 1899. During this time he worked on the 
 farm in the summer months to obtain the neces* 
 sary funds to continue his studies. 
 
 In order to get a better command of the Eng- 
 lish language, Mr. Grundeland entered the news- 
 paper business after graduating from Albion. He 
 was for some time connected with the Cambridge 
 
 L. C. Grundeland. 
 
 CHARLES M. HANSON 
 
 Was born at Christiania, Norway, June 11, 1850. 
 His father, Christian Hanson, was chief of the 
 city water works in the Norwegian Capital. 
 Charles attended the public and also evening 
 schools in Christiania and was later apprenticed 
 to the Nyland Machine Works, where he worked 
 for over five years. When 21 years old he came 
 to America going froi New York direct to 
 Chicago. 
 
 He soon found employment at his trade, and 
 was for many years foreman with Crane Bros, 
 and the Cottrell Printing Press Co. In 1887 he 
 engaged in business for himself, starting a general 
 machine shop under the firm name of C. M. 
 Hanson & Co. He is now associated with Mr. 
 C. E. Tunelius, under the incorporated name of 
 Hanson & Tunelius Machine Company, at 232- 
 234 South Clinton street. They are designers and 
 builders of insulating cabling and special 
 machinery for electrical and other purposes. 
 Having had a long and practical experience with 
 ample facilities they are prepared to carry out 
 any contract in their line. 
 
 Mr. Hanson married Miss Lovise Olsen, also 
 of Christiania, here in Chicago on Sept. 27, 1872. 
 They have one daughter, Clara Olivia, married to 
 Mr. Thomas Gough who is the proprietor of a 
 hotel at Colorado Springs, Colo. Mr. Hanson's 
 parents died in Norway over twenty-five years 
 ago. He is a member of D. C. Cregier Lodge No. 
 643, A. F. & A. M. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hanson lived for a number of 
 years at 626 Roscoe street, but have lately moved 
 into their new residence at 1186 Maple Square. 
 
 AXEL HEIBERG, 
 
 News, Cambridge, Wis., and for two years editor 
 of the Orfordville, Wis., Herald. 
 
 In 1904 he came to Chicago, and took up. the 
 study of law at the John Marshall Law School. 
 He graduated with the degree of Bachelor of 
 Laws, in the spring of 1907. During his years of 
 study in Chicago, he was also in the employ of 
 "Skandinaven," as live stock and commercial 
 editor. Ho is not married. 
 
 Of Ottawa, 111., was born in Buksness parish. 
 Vest Lofoten, Norway, Sept. 7, 1867. His father. 
 Dr. Jacob Andreas Heiberg, is now in Trond- 
 hjem; his mother, Marie Andrea Nikoline (Lund) 
 Heiberg, is the daughter of State's Attorney 
 Lund, of Sogndal. 
 
 Our subject attended the Latin school in Trond- 
 hjem and entered the University of Christiania 
 in 1886, where he studied medicine until the fall 
 of 1891, when he emigrated to America. He came 
 
534 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 to Chicago, where he entered the drug business 
 as a clerk. He passed the required examination 
 of a registered pharmacist in 1893, and in 1895 
 engaged in the drug business for himself at Car- 
 penter street and Milwaukee avenue, Chicago. 
 He sold out to advantage the following year and 
 accepted the management of the Central Phar- 
 macy at the corner of Wabash avenue and 
 Twelfth street. 
 
 In 1897 he started the first Norwegian drug 
 store in Newark, Kendall county, which he still 
 owns. In 1905 he bought a drug store in Ot- 
 tawa, considered one of the best equipped phar- 
 macies in Illinois, outside of Chicago. He then 
 
 of Loyal Americans of the Republic, secretary of 
 the Kendall county Pharmaceutical Association, 
 member of the Illinois Pharmaceutical Associa- 
 tion; has been a member of the republican county 
 central committee and several times delegate to 
 county and congressional conventions. 
 
 MRS. ANNE MARIE HEIDE, 
 
 Of Durand, 111., was born in Durand. Winnebago 
 county, March 17, 1845. Her father was Niels 
 Patterson, from Bergen, Norway. He was a black- 
 smith, and worked at his trade for several years 
 
 Axel Heiberg. 
 
 moved his family to Ottawa, leaving Mr. Arne 
 Lee in charge of his Newark store. 
 
 Mr. Heiberg was married to Miss Anna Even- 
 sen, in Chicago, Nov. 26, 1895. Mrs. Heiberg is 
 a daughter of Ole Veblungsness Romsdalen, Nor- 
 way, and is a sister of Dr. H. O. Evensen, of 
 Ottawa. They have two children, twin boys. 
 Axel Evensen and Frantz Wilhelm Mu'nthe Hei- 
 berg, born Aug. 6, 1896. Mr. -Heiberg is a mem- 
 ber and officer of the Newark lodge of Modern 
 Woodmen of America, a member and secretary 
 
 Mrs. Anne M. Heide. 
 
 on his homestead in Laona township, but aband- 
 oned this and devoted all his time to the farm. 
 He was a well educated man, became a very 
 progressive and prosperous farmer, and was re- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 535 
 
 peatedly honored by his townspeople and neigh- 
 bors with offices of trust. Her mother was Helga 
 Rostad, from Nummedahl, Vestlandet, Norway. 
 The family consisted of six children — two daugh- 
 ters and four sons — Mrs. Heide being the 
 oldest. 
 
 In 1861 Miss Anne Marie Patterson was mar- 
 ried to Christopher Heide, a native of Kongsberg, 
 Norway, born in 1835. He was a gunsmith by 
 trade, but in this country settled on a farm. In 
 August, 1862, he enlisted as a volunteer in Com- 
 pany H, Seventy-fourth Regiment, Illinois In- 
 fantry. He took part in no less than seventeen 
 battles, and was wounded at Stone River, Dec. 
 31, 1862. He remained in the hospital that winter 
 and joined his company again in the spring, serv- 
 ing until the end of the war, when he was honor- 
 ably discharged at Nashville, Tenn., the 10th day 
 of June, 1865. He died in 1898. 
 
 Mrs. Heide is the mother of eight children, 
 namely: Theodore Christian, living at Durand 
 and the owner and manager of the opera house, 
 also agent for the Rockford Wood and Fuel Com- 
 pany; Nicoline H. C, married to C. Nelson, a 
 contractor and builder at Durand; Patterson Os- 
 <;ar, a banker at Antler, N. D.; Thilda Marie, de- 
 ceased; Karen Amanda, who lives with her 
 mother; Helga Nelsine, assistant cashier with her 
 brother in the bank at Antler, N. D.; Johanna 
 and Ottilia, both deceased. 
 
 Mrs. Heide is president of the Trinity Lutheran 
 Aid Society of Durand, which in 1895 erected a 
 Lutheran church, where the services and Sunday 
 school are conducted in the English language. 
 Their pastor is Rev. J. E. Hegg, of Beloit, Wis. 
 Mrs. Heide still owns the farm on which she and 
 her husband lived and worked, two miles west 
 of town, but is now living in town, having rented 
 the farm on shares. Having worked hard to build 
 up the church, she now devotes with pleasure 
 much of her time to the aid society and the Sun- 
 day school. 
 
 Mrs. Heide has had four grandchildren: Char- 
 lotte Adrea Heide, Durand, III; Olive Adelia 
 Nelson, deceased; Carl Heide Nelson, Durand; 
 Hellen Marie Heide, Antler. N. D. 
 
 preliminary studies he was admitted to the Uni- 
 versity of Christiania, where he took examen 
 artium in 1874, and examen philosophicum in 
 1875. He then studied medicine until 1881, when 
 he left for America. 
 
 In 1882 Dr. Holmboe was appointed mining 
 surgeon to the West Republic Mine and other 
 mines at Republic, Mich., which position he held 
 until 1886, when he graduated from the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons, Chicago. Later 
 during the same year he became assistant to the 
 renowned surgeon, Dr. Christian Fenger, and 
 remained with him until the summer of 1889. 
 
 DR. ANTON HOLMBOE 
 
 Was born at Tromso, Norway, January 1, 1857, 
 to Consul Conrad Holmboe and his wife. After 
 
 Dr. A. Holmboe. 
 
 In the fall of 1889 Dr. Holmboe opened an office 
 on the North Side, Chicago, and was in general 
 practice until the latter part of 1897, when he 
 left for Europe. While there he was married at 
 Copenhagen, Denmark, to Miss Julie Opstad, 
 Dec. 20, 1897. Mrs. Holmboe is a native of Nor- 
 way. With his wife Dr. Holmboe spent the year 
 1898 at Berlin, Germany, pursuing surgical 
 studies, and returned to Chicago in January 1899. 
 Since then his practice has been limited to general 
 surgery. The Doctor was surgeon to the out- 
 
536 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 door-department of the Michael Reese Hospital 
 from 1889 to 1902; attending surgeon to the Nor- 
 wegian Lutheran Tabitha Hospital from 1895 to 
 1901, and was appointed attending surgeon to the 
 Norwegian Deaconess Hospital in June 1906. 
 
 He is a member of the American Medical Asso- 
 ciation; the Chicago Medical Society; the Ger- 
 man-American Medical Society of Chicago and 
 of the Scandinavian-American Medical Society, of 
 which he has been president for two terms. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Holmboe's marital union has been 
 blessed with two sons: Thorolf, born in Berlin, 
 Sept. 30, 1898, and Erling, born in Chicago, May 
 23, 1901. 
 
 Dr. Holmboe with family resides at 186 N, 
 Humboldt street, Chicago. 
 
 ELIAS JOSEPHSON. 
 
 Of Leland, III., was born at Stavanger, Nor- 
 way, May 1, 1857. His parents were Carl and 
 
 Anne (Andersen) Josephson, his- father being a 
 police officer. 
 
 Young Elias was educated in the public schools 
 of Stavanger and confirmed in St. Peter's Luther- 
 an Church. 
 
 With his parents he came to America in 1871, 
 landing at Quebec, Canada. From there the 
 family went to Leland, where they settled. Ever 
 since Mr. Josephson has had to support himself 
 by hard work in different capacities such as farm 
 laborer, butcher, camp cook, etc., moving from 
 one part of the countrj- \o another, visiting most 
 of both the Northern and Southern states. He 
 also resided at Seattle, Wash., for four years. 
 
 On June, 16, 1898, Mr. Josephson married Miss 
 Margaret Harper, a daughter of James and Eliza- 
 beth Harper, of Leland. They have no children. 
 
 In 1903 Mr. Josephson started the City Meat 
 Market at Leland in which business he is prosper- 
 ous, being very popular among his towns-people 
 and the farmers in the surrounding country. 
 
 He has served as collector for Adams township 
 and is member of the board of trustees of the 
 Village of Leland. 
 
 His father departed from this life November, 
 28, 1897, and his mother in March 14, 1898. 
 
 He is member of the M. W. A. of which society 
 he has been treasurer. 
 
 Elias Josephson. 
 
 REV. PETER A. KITTILSBY 
 
 Was born October 16, 1865, in Calmar, Iowa, and 
 is the next oldest son of the pioneer Andrew L. 
 Kittilsby who, came to Winneshiek county, Iowa, 
 in the early fifties, and wife., Marie (nee Ander- 
 son). He entered Luther College in 1883 and 
 graduated as president and "salutatorian" of the 
 class of 1888. Graduated from Luther Seminary 
 (then at Robbingdale) in 1891. Accepted a call to 
 Renville, Minn., the same year. In 1894 called to 
 Red Wing, partly as pastor and partly as teacher 
 at the newly erected Ladies' Seminary. Circum- 
 stances however, brought him to accept a call to 
 Buffalo, N. Y., where he labored for six years. 
 While in Buffalo, member of the University Club 
 through courtesy of the late. Dr. Herman Mynter. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 537 
 
 The urgent advice of friends brought him to ac- 
 cept a call to the Lake View Norwegian Evangel- 
 ical Lutheran Church, Chicago, where he preached 
 his first sermon on the first Sunday in September, 
 1902. At present he is in charge of the church, 
 located on the corner of Roscoe and Osgood 
 streets. Rev. Kittilsby was married in 1891 to Miss 
 
 Rev. P. A. Kittilsby. 
 
 Josephine Tenold, also of Calmar, Iowa. Four 
 children have blessed this union, Katherine Marie, 
 born in Renville, in 1894, Esther Lorena, born in 
 Redwing, in 1899, Helen Lucile, born in Bufifalo, 
 in 1898, and Dorothy Adeline, born in Chicago, in 
 1905. The family resides in the parsonage at 
 1345 Roscoe street. 
 
 decided that he should prepare himself for a 
 mercantile career, for which purpose he entered 
 Bergen's Handelsskole (The Bergen Business 
 College), where he completed a course. After 
 graduating he spent several years with business 
 houses abroad. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Lange arrived in Chicago. Here he 
 worked for several years in the circulating de- 
 partment of different American daily newspapers, 
 until he, in 1887, joined the editorial staflf of 
 "Nordvesten" in St. Paul, Minn. In 1889 his 
 
 A, B. Lange. 
 
 ANTON B. LANGE, 
 
 Editor and publisher of "Scandia," was born at 
 Bergen, Norway, in 1857. After having received 
 his primary education in the public schools it was 
 
 services were secured b}^ Messrs. Lagro & Wal- 
 seth for a new weekly, "Superior Posten," which 
 they commenced to publish that year at Superior, 
 Wis. In partnership with some Norwegian busi- 
 ness men of Duluth, Minn., he started "Scandia" 
 in the same year. The following year he became 
 its sole proprietor and in 1899 changed its place 
 of publication by moving it to Chicago, where it 
 is still being issued. 
 
538 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 REV. O. N. NELSON 
 
 IVER OLSEN, 
 
 Was born at Willmar, Minn., March 11, 1877. 
 He was educated in the public school of his home 
 district. 
 
 At the age of 17, he entered the preparatory 
 department of Augsburg Seminary, at Minnea- 
 polis. In 1899 he finished at the college depart- 
 ment. 
 
 In the spring of 1903 he graduated from the 
 theological seminary of the United Church at 
 
 Rev. O. N. Nelson, 
 
 St. Anthony Park, St. Paul, Minn. He then ac- 
 cepted a call from the three congregations at 
 Mekinock, N. D. On June 21, 1903, he was 
 ordained at the annual meeting of the United 
 Church at Duluth, Minn. 
 
 Rev. Nelson served the congregations at Meki- 
 nock, N. D., until January, 1905, when he moved 
 to Chicago to accept the pastorate of Emmaus 
 Lutheran Church. He has now accepted a call 
 from Gardener, 111, where he moved July 22, 
 1907. 
 
 President of the Scandinavian branch of the 
 Young Men's Christian Association, was born in 
 Bynesset, Norway, Nov. 9, 1856. He came to the 
 United States in 1881, stopping at Ishpeming, 
 Mich., a short time. From here he moved to Re- 
 public, Mich., where he remained four years work- 
 
 Iver Olsen. 
 
 ing hard all the time. During this period his soul 
 was awakened, and he was converted to a true 
 belief in God. He joined a Swedish-Lutheran 
 church at that place and became an earnest 
 worker in the Vineyard of the Lord. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Olsen went to Minnesota, but 
 things did not suit him there, soi he concluded to 
 come to Chicago. He arrived in 1886 and has 
 remained here since. 
 
 One of his first cares was to find a church 
 home in this great city, and he was induced to 
 join the Norwegian-Lutheran Bethania Free 
 Church, whose pastor was the lamented Rev. J. 
 Z. Torgersen. During many years Mr. Olsen was 
 an ardent worker "in the Sunday school of said 
 church. In the meantime he had become ac- 
 quainted with the Scandinavian Y. M. C. A., 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 539 
 
 -which branch all that time held its meetings in 
 ""Skandinaven's" building. He did not, however, 
 ■become a member before in 1893. 
 
 He had now found a field suitable for his activ- 
 ities, and his energy came into full' display, when 
 he was elected on a number of committees, where 
 real, hard work was required, as for instance on 
 the building committee. He was also twice 
 elected to the office of vice-president and in that 
 •capacity acted as chief for the missionary work. 
 His fellow-members have demonstrated their ap- 
 preciation of his valuable services by electing Mr. 
 Olsen to the presidency of the association for 
 ■eleven consecutive terms. 
 
 ger and "Dagsposten" in Trondhjem. Mr. Ray's 
 mother is Ragnhild Ray Olssen, now in Chicago, 
 still active, and founder and president of "De 
 Norske Kvinders Industriforening." Mr. Ray was 
 married in 1890 to Ernestine LeDue, of French- 
 English extraction, and has two daughters, Anita 
 and Aimee, 16 and 9 years respectively. 
 
 Mr. Ray commenced life as a sailor serving 
 13 years on the water and passing nautical ex- 
 aminations both in Norway and England. In 
 1881 he came to Chicago, passed examination for 
 evening school teacher and taught several years 
 at the Wells public school. In 1890 he graduated 
 from Chicago College of Law and has since been 
 
 ^ 
 
 HENRY B. PETERSON 
 
 Was born in the vicinity of Big Grove, Ken- 
 dall county. 111., Dec. 25, 1876. His father is 
 Lars T. Peterson, who was born in Norway, and 
 his mother Anne Lee, of Voss, Norway. Mr. 
 Peterson received his education in the district 
 school and was confirmed in the Lutheran 
 Church by Rev. P. A. Rasmussen. He helped by 
 working on the farm a few years, but he has 
 mostly been working in mercantile lines. He has 
 worked in stores in Chicago and Indiana, and 
 was in partnership with M, S. Fries in Helmar. 
 At the present time he is manager for Mr. Fries' 
 store in Newark. 
 
 In 1900 he was married in Helmar to Miss 
 Eveline Ellertson, a dau'ghter of Sam Ellertson. 
 Mrs. Peterson was born in March, 1877, in Hel- 
 mar. Their marital union has been blessed with 
 one son, Lyle. The family attends the Lutheran 
 Norwegian Church of Helmar. 
 
 Olaf E. Ray. 
 
 OLAF EDWARD OLSSEN RAY 
 
 Was born on the farm Ree, near, Levanger, Nor- 
 way, June 27, 1856. His father, Olai Olssen, was 
 a school teacher and afterwards became editor 
 and founded "Nordenfjeldsk Tidende" at Levan- 
 
 in active practice as attorney at law; he is senior 
 member of the firm of Ray and Pease, 160 Wash- 
 ington street. 
 
 Politically Mr. Ray was a Jeflfersonian democrat 
 up to 1897, when he turned republican. In 1892 
 he was one of the attorneys for the City of 
 Chicago and in 1896 he was the democratic 
 nominee for Congress in the seventh Illinois 
 district against George Edmund Foss, who won 
 out, the district being a republican stronghold. 
 
540 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 In 1906 Mr. Ray was one of the representatives 
 from the Norwegian National League of Chicago 
 to the coronation of king Haakon VII. 
 
 He has written a number of articles for Nor- 
 wegian papers principally for "Skandinaven". 
 
 DR. HELGA MARIANE RUUD 
 
 Was born at Kongsberg, Norway, Dec. 28, 
 1860. Her parents were Nils and Birgithe 
 Ruud. There were nine children in the family, 
 six of whom grew up to mature age. The 
 subject of our sketch received her first school- 
 ing at a private school for girls and later at- 
 tended middelskolen, from which she grad- 
 uated in 1879. 
 
 In 1880 Miss Ruud came to America, hav- 
 ing previously obtained a position as governess 
 to the children of Rev. Valdeland, a Lutheran 
 minister in Clayton cou'nty, Iowa. She re- 
 mained with this family a year. The follow- 
 ing five years she was governess in an Ameri- 
 can army officer's family, stationed at various 
 places— Fort Douglas, Utah; Fort Leavenworth, 
 Kan.; St. Louis and Chicago. 
 
 In 1885 she began the study of medicine at 
 the women's 'medical college of the North- 
 western University, graduating in 1889. The 
 following year she was appointed resident phy- 
 sician to the women's department of the county 
 insane asylum at Dunning, and remained there 
 for five years. On leaving Dunning Dr. Ruud 
 went to New York city, where she spent the 
 summer and fall in study at the Post-graduate 
 Hospital. Since 1896 she has been located in 
 Chicago, engaged in the general practice of 
 medicine among women and children. She was 
 clinical professor of obstetrics at the women's 
 medical college, Northwestern University, from 
 1896 to 1900. 
 
 She was a member of the Chicago medical so- 
 ciety, the American Medical Association, the 
 Scandinavian Medical Society, the Women's 
 Medical Club, the Women's Clinical Dispensary, 
 of which she was president, and also secretary 
 of the Women's Medical Club. For years she 
 has been interested in the Tabitha Hospital, 
 where she has been obstetrician since 1900. 
 
 Dr. Ruud has an office at 34 Washington street 
 and resides at 281 Warren avenue. 
 
 REV. GEORGE ALFRED TAYLOR RYGH 
 
 Was born in Chicago, March 21, 1860, his par- 
 ents, Andrew and Andrine Rygh, having emi- 
 grated from Norway. His early life was spent 
 in Chicago, where he attended school, but he 
 graduated as an A. B. from Luther College, 
 Decorah, Iowa, in 1881, and from the Capital 
 University, at Columbus, Ohio, with the degree 
 of B. D., in 1884. From this time until 1889' 
 he served congregations in Portland and Cum- 
 berland Mills, Maine, and Berlin, N. H. He 
 taught at the academy in Wittenberg, Wis., in 
 1889-90 and filled a pastorate in Grand Forks, 
 N. D., in 1890-91. He was instructor in Scan- 
 dinavian languages and literature at the Uni- 
 versity of North Dakota from 1891 to 1895. 
 He also taught English subjects. He was pastor 
 and teacher in the Academy at Mt. Horeb, Wis., 
 from 1895 to 1898. 
 
 He then came to Chicago, where he is pastor 
 for the Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
 which is affiliated with the United Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church of America. He has been a 
 member of the United Lutheran Board of Home 
 Missions, president of the Norwegian Lutheran 
 Children's Home Society of Chicago, and a di- 
 rector of the Deaconess Home and Hospital. 
 
 He was married Nov. 13, 1895, to Clara Louise 
 Aaker, daughter of Lars Aaker, They have had 
 three children; two are living. The family re- 
 sides at 143 N. Centre avenue. 
 
 LARS J. SILJAN 
 
 Was born on the Siljan farm in Maelum, near 
 Skien, Norway, Jan. 30, 1883, his parents being 
 Johan and Aslaug (nee Siljan) Haukenaes. He 
 was educated in the public schools of Mselum, 
 Gjserpen and Skien until twelve years of age, and 
 then attended Larsen's Middelskole, from which 
 he graduated two years later. He was' confirmed 
 in the same year by Rev. Kullerud in the Luthe- 
 ran church of Skien. 
 
 He then secured employment as a clerk, first 
 in the custom hou:6 office at Skien and later in 
 his uncle's grocery store at the same city. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 541 
 
 Here he also entered upon his career as a 
 "newspaper man being enlisted on the editorial 
 staff of "Bratsberg Amtstidende" as reporter and 
 news-gatherer, said paper being the oldest in that 
 part of the country. He remained in said posi- 
 tion about one year or until the paper was sold to 
 the proprietor of "Fremskridt", another news- 
 paper published at Skien. He remained with that 
 daily paper for a short time, and in 1901 he 
 migrated to the United States, where many of his 
 relatives had settled before. Mr. Siljan came to 
 ■Chicago, where he spent his first year working 
 
 daughter of an old Swedish settler in Chicago, 
 Mr. Frederick Johnson. This marital union has 
 been blessed with one child, a daughter, Evelyn 
 Dagmar. They live at 900 N. Albany avenue. 
 
 Mr. Siljan is a member of the "Young People's 
 Society Ulabrand," of which he was elected 
 president in 1907; of the Norwegian Turn Society; 
 the Sleipner Athletic Club; the Norwegian De- 
 bating Society; the Nowegian Singing Society; 
 Nora Lodge K. & L. of H. and Nora Lodge 
 R. H. K. 
 
 Lars J. Siljan. 
 
 as a machine hand with the Johnson Chair Com- 
 pany. 
 
 In 1902 he secured a position as clerk in the 
 advertising department of "Skandinaven'*, and 
 after a year he was promoted to the city editor- 
 ship, which position he held for over four years, 
 when he resigned and went to North Dakota. 
 He did not remain there for any length of time, 
 however, and, having returned to Chicago, again, 
 in June 1907, became connected with "Skandi- 
 naven". 
 
 Mr. Siljan was married to Miss Hilder Johnson, 
 of Chicago, May 16, 1905. Mrs. Siljan is a 
 
 LAURITZ H. STEENSOHN, 
 
 The well known reporter and news-gatherer on 
 the editorial stafif of the daily "Skandinaven," 
 was born at Lyngen, near Tromso, Norway, Jan. 
 
 L. H. Steensohn. 
 
 31, 1852. His father, D. C. Steensohn, was a mer- 
 chant there, until his death, 45 years ago. His 
 
64S 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 mother, Mrs. Dorothea Steensohn, is still living 
 at Drammen at the advanced age of 90 years. 
 
 Having been educated in the public schools and 
 confirmed in the Lutheran Church, Mr. Steen- 
 sohn at the age of 15 years secured employment 
 as a clerk with a mercantile house at Bodo and 
 later at Hammerfest, the northernmost city in 
 Europe. In that position he remained for about 
 ten years, when he started in business as a 
 merchant on his own account. He also was en- 
 gaged in the steam-ship and insurance business. 
 
 Being very much socially inclined it was but 
 natural that Mr. Steensohn should be called as 
 member of a number of societies. In several of 
 them he was elected president and in 1880 and 
 1882 he was sent as a delegate from the Work- 
 ingmen's Association to conventions in Christiania 
 and Trondhjem. 
 
 He came to Chicago in 1884 and at first worked 
 as a painter and paper-hanger. During the last 
 twelve years he has been engaged in the news- 
 paper business, mostly with "Skandinaven", in the 
 capacity of reporter and news-gatherer. Since 
 1890 he has been a notary public. 
 
 In Chicago Mr. Steensohn has been connected 
 with various Norwegian societies. 
 
 this church he has been Superintendent of the 
 Norwegian department of its Sunday school, alsa 
 leader of the church choir. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Sophie 
 Tofsrud of Christiania, Norway. Of six children 
 who have blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thompson the oldest, Albert T., has been con* 
 firmed in Our Savior's church, by Rev. Juul; the 
 other five, Henry M.. Thora M., Helena M., 
 Anna T., and Esther in Bethlehem church by 
 Rev. Kildahl. Mr. Henry M. Thompson is a 
 professor at Pleasant View Luther College 
 Ottawa, III. 
 
 In 1898 Mr. Thompson was' joined in the under- 
 taking business by his younger brother, Mr. John 
 Thompson. In 1904 they opened another office 
 at 512 N. California avenue, which building is 
 owned by Mr. John Thompson. Our subject who 
 lives on Ohio street, is in charge of the old 
 establishment at 122 N. Centre avenue. 
 
 Mr. Hakon Thompson has always taken a very 
 active interest in charitable work among his 
 countrymen. He has served on the board of di- 
 rectors of the Norwegian Old People's Home 
 Society, as treasurer for the Norwegian Orphans' 
 Home Society, and for many years as treasurer 
 for the Norwegian Deaconess Society. He has 
 also been president for the Sick and Aid Society 
 of the Bethlehem congregation. 
 
 He visited his native country in 3 905. 
 
 HAKON THOMPSON 
 
 Was born at Westre Totfen, Norway, February 
 6, 1847. 
 
 His father was Thomas Storsveen and his 
 mother's maiden name Helene Christiansdatter 
 Ronaas. He was educated in the country schools 
 in Norway and confirmed in, Aas church by Rev. 
 Magelsen and came to this country in 1867. 
 
 His parents, a sister and two brothers came to 
 this country in 1868, and settled on a farm in 
 Winneshiek county Iowa. 
 
 In the first year of his settlement in Chicago, 
 Mr. Thompson united with the First Norwegian 
 Lutheran Church, in which he remained until 
 1873, then transferring his membership to Our 
 Savior's church, in which he remained a member 
 until 1890, filling such offices as Sunday school 
 superintendent, trustee and choir leader. In the 
 last named year he joined the Bethlehem 
 Lutheran Congregation of the United Church. In 
 
 MRS. IDA AMELIA THORP, 
 
 Widow of Mr. Ole A Thorp, whose sketch appears 
 on page 223 in the first part of this volume, was 
 born at Chicago June 30, 1865, to Andrew and 
 Mathilda (born Peterson) Johnson. She was 
 educated in the Chicago public schools and con- 
 firmed in Rev. J. Z. Torgersen's church. 
 
 At the young age of twenty years Miss John- 
 son was married on May 23, 1885, to Mr. Ole A. 
 Thorp, then a young promising business man, 
 who later became one of our most prominent 
 citizens in Chicago of Norwegian birth. He died 
 Jan. 25, 1905. This union was blessed by four 
 children, all daughters: Lovy Mabel Ida. born 
 Nov. 21, 1886; Lulu Alice Victoria, Nov. 8, 1888; 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS 
 
 543 
 
 Sara Olive Elizabeth, Feb. 3, 1890, and Pearl 
 Edith Margerit, Jan. 31, 1892. The two youngest 
 have died. 
 
 Mrs. Thorp's father died long ago, but her 
 mother, Mrs. Mathilda Johnson, is living with her 
 daughter hale and hearty at the age of 62 years. 
 
 Mrs. Ida A. Thorp. 
 
 The family attends St. Paul's Norwegian Luthe- 
 ran church on North avenue. 
 
 Mrs. Thorp lives in her own fine residence at 
 59 Columbia place. 
 
 THE IMMIGRANT RUNNERS. 
 
 The immigrants, who had no interpreter, had a 
 very hard time of it, ignorant of the English lan- 
 guage as they were. The "runner evil" was com- 
 plained of on all sides, because the "runners" 
 generally belonged to the same nationality as the 
 immigrants, and when not honest, which was the 
 exception, they would tell the newcomers that 
 they would help them out, secure good and cheap 
 lodgings for them and in every way assist them 
 without charging them anything for their services. 
 Honest to the core, and believing that every 
 Norwegian ought to be built the same way, the 
 immigrants fell an easy prey to the wiles of their 
 smooth-talking fellow-countrymen. They needed 
 to change their good Norwegian money for the 
 "coin of the land," and that is where the "run- 
 ner" made his big profits. The immigrants did 
 not know the value of the exchange, but simply 
 gave what they had into the hands of their "help- 
 some" countryman, who as a rule was a man 
 of better education and invariably a smooth 
 talker. The newcomers admired his "cheek" and 
 the ease with which he could talk at the money- 
 changer's office; of course, not understanding a 
 word of what arrangements he had or made with 
 that "gentleman." This evil finally became so 
 great that the transportation companies had to 
 send an interpreter with each load of immigrants, 
 in order not to come into conflict with the law. 
 Later on it often happened that the Norwegian 
 captains who had brought the party over followed 
 them to Quebec, Chicago or Milwaukee and saw 
 that they were started right on their further 
 journey. Else, when the "poor innocents" arrived 
 on a railroad train at one of the bigger centers 
 they would be surrounded by those affable coun- 
 trymen and plucked of their ready cash, and in 
 many cases the trickery and meanness of those 
 fellows were something appalling. The sharks 
 would warn the newcomers from having anything 
 to do with Americans, whom they asserted were 
 the worst swindlers on earth. This runner busi- 
 ness went so far that the immigrants became so 
 suspicious that they would not even believe hon- 
 est people among their own countrymen who 
 offered their assistance to them, but tried to keep 
 their own counsel. Later the large immigration 
 companies employed regular interpreters, well 
 paid and honest, but they were just as much 
 suspected as the dishonest ones. As a rule the 
 traveling expenses exceeded what had been fig- 
 ured out beforehand, and the result here was 
 that the newcomers would see fraud everywhere. 
 
544 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 THE NORWAY RAT. 
 
 It IS remarkable that the large Norwegian rat 
 accompanied the first Norwegian immigrants as 
 far West as Illinois. That some were brought 
 over to this country in the "Sloop" was not 
 strange, but how they managed to hide them- 
 selves in trunks, chests and sacks all the way 
 over land is harder to explain. In a few years 
 they became numerous in La Salle and surround- 
 ing counties. All animals increase in proportion 
 to immunity from molestation by enemies and 
 easy access to their natural food. The profusion 
 of the cereal grains, all exposed, made this the 
 paradise of rats. Yards filled with corncribs, 
 standing for three or four years, became infested 
 with numbers innumerable. They go and come, 
 sometimes swarming like the locusts, and then 
 leaving for several years. The black rat, com- 
 mon before, disappeared immediately after the 
 introduction of the Norwegian species, which is 
 a larger and much more powerful and sagacious 
 animal. Some succeeding race may exterminate 
 the Norway, but that may result, as before, only 
 in a change of evils. The good things of the 
 world were not made for man alone. Imperious 
 man says: 
 
 " 'See man for mine', replies the pampered goose.'" 
 " 'See all things for my use'. 
 
 the board of directors should from time to time 
 s.et aside money not jieede4 for running expenses 
 or necessary improvements, together with money: 
 given, specialty for' that' purpose, and invest the 
 same in interest-bearing bonds, the interest to 
 be added to the principal until the sum had 
 reached $25,000, and that this $25,000 should re- 
 main as a permanent fund. At present about 
 half the amount is secured. 
 
 Besides this fund provided for by the society, 
 another fund, known as the "Dr. Quales memor- 
 ial fund for the Old People's Home" was created 
 by friends partly outside of the society. This 
 fund, together with an engrossed address, was 
 presented to the Doctor on the anniversary of 
 his 75th birthday as a testimony to his good work 
 for the Old People's Home. 
 
 International Order of 
 Good Templars. 
 
 (Continued from page 199, col. 1, line 13.) 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 The Norwegian Old 
 
 People's Home 
 
 Society. 
 
 To the sketch of the "Norwegian Old Peoples 
 Home Society" in the first part of this volume the 
 following paragraphs should be added: 
 
 In 1903 the society decided to create a reserve 
 fund for the protection of the inmates. A special 
 article added to the constitution provided that 
 
 of "Tordenskjold"; D. V. C. C. S., Jacob Hauch, 
 of "Tordenskjold"; D. P. C. T., Oscar Andersen, 
 of "Kamp og Seier"; D. E. Supt., Henry Wear- 
 dahl; D. Chap., Dagmar Weardahl; D. M., Otto 
 Larsen; D. d. M.„ Thilde Haugland; D. A. Sec'y, 
 Wm. Ludvigsen; D. G., Jens Orre; D. Sent, Joa- 
 kim Christensen; D. Messenger, Halfdan Nord- 
 seth. 
 
 As an adjunct to the I. O. G. T. among the 
 Norwegian speaking people in this locality, the 
 temperance club Nordstjernen deserves to be 
 mentioned. It was organized in Chicago, Jan. 1, 
 1890, by Henry Weardahl, at a time when no 
 Norwegian I. O. G. T. lodge was in existence 
 here. It was based upon ritualistic work and 
 served as a recruiting ground for the Interna- 
 tional, as was proven by the organization, from 
 its membership, of the lodge Enighed No. 262. 
 
 And last, but not least, I would like to men- 
 tion a few of the most active and leading mem- 
 bers of the present Norwegian I. O. G. T, 
 lodges in Chicago: 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Ludvigsen, Isaac Michael- 
 son, Olaf Renden, Jonas Olsen, Chr. Ludvigsen, 
 
ADDENDA 
 
 545 
 
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 fXi 
 
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546 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIANS OF ILLINOIS 
 
 Mrs. Hanna Weardahl, Mr. and Mrs. T. Metzke, 
 all members of "Norr0na," lodge No. 113. 
 
 Richard Nilsen and Olaf Nilsen of "Torden- 
 skjold"' lodge No. 137; Hans Lie, Mrs. Marie Lie; 
 Ludvig Hagen of "Kamp og Seier" lodge No. 
 157; Henry 0degaard, Mr. and Mrs. Oskar Olsen, 
 Aksel Gundersen of "Henrik Ibsen" lodge No. 
 101. 
 
 dying in 1873. He was married to Mrs. Isabella 
 Richolson in 1876. Her portrait and biography 
 are to be found on another page. 
 
 Mr. Matson was an honorary 33-degree Mason. 
 He was at his death to have been installed at 
 the next meeting of Oriental Consistory as one 
 of the grand standard bearers. At the meeting 
 of the Medinah Temple, Mystic Shrine, shortly 
 
 The new Bethel church, Chicago, now being built. See page 115. 
 
 Canute Matson. . 
 
 The biogrr^phical sketch of Canute R. Matson 
 will be more complete by the addition of the 
 following data: 
 
 * * * 
 
 In the fall of 1865 he came to Chicago. He 
 first entered the postoffice service. In 1869 he 
 was elected clerk of the Harrison street police 
 court. He was re-elected two years later, and 
 in 1875 was appointed justice of the peace. He 
 was again appointed justice in 1879, but resigned 
 in 1880 to accept the nomination for coroner on 
 the republican ticket. He was elected, and served 
 four years in this office. Later he was chief dep- 
 uty sheriff, until, in 1886, he was elected sheriff. 
 This office he held four years, during which time 
 he hung the anarchists who had participated in 
 the Haymarket riot. 
 
 Mr. Matson was twice married, his first wife 
 
 before his demise, he was re-elected to the office 
 of high priest and prophet, a station he had held 
 several years. In addition to membership in these 
 bodies he was a member of the Apollo Com- 
 mandery, Knights Templars, and a past master 
 of Blair Lodge, A. F. and A. M. He also was a 
 member of the Marquette and Ottawa Clubs. 
 
 Mr. A. P. Johnson, president of the Johnson 
 Chair Company, died July 3, 1907. 
 * * * 
 
 On page 46 it is stated that Prof. R. B. Ander- 
 son's "First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration" 
 is out of print. A new popular-priced edition of 
 that book has, however, been issued since page 46 
 was printed. 
 
ADDENDA 
 
 547 
 
 
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INDEX 
 
 To the Biographical Sketches 
 A 
 
 Page 
 
 Aarrestad, Rev. Torleif 258 
 
 Aarvig, Olai Martin 258 
 
 Aarvig, Rasmus Olson 259 
 
 Abrahamsen, Andrew 259 
 
 Adams, Andrew 260 
 
 Anda, John 260 
 
 Andersen, Oscar C 268 
 
 Anderson, Axel Harold 261 
 
 Anderson, A. G 261 
 
 Anderson, A. M 530 
 
 Anderson, Andrew N 262 
 
 Anderson, H. M. L 263 
 
 Anderson, Mrs. Isabella A 264 
 
 Anderson, J. A 264 
 
 Anderson, Capt. John , . . . 265 
 
 Anderson, John 266 
 
 Anderson, N. A 267 
 
 Anderson, Owen 269 
 
 Arneson, Nils 269 
 
 Arneson, Ole T 270 
 
 Asbjjzirnsen, Sigvald 270 
 
 Aygarn, C. L 271 
 
 B 
 
 Bagge, Einar . 272 
 
 Balken, Peter M 273 
 
 Bendixen, Victor F 274 
 
 Bendixon, Ole W 273 
 
 Benson, Ole E. 275 
 
 549 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 Benson, Tlior. J 274 
 
 Berg, Mrs. Anna 212 
 
 Berg, Martin • ■ • . . . 276 
 
 Berg, Dr. O. H 277 
 
 Berg, T. O • • 277 
 
 Berge, B. O • 278 
 
 Bergh, Rev. H. P 278 
 
 Bjerke, J. C 280 
 
 Bi0rn, Emil 280 
 
 Bj0rseth, CM 283 
 
 Bj0rseth, K. K : 281 
 
 Bj0rseth, Peter 283 
 
 Blegen, John • ■ • 283 
 
 Boe, Dr. Alfred N 284 
 
 Bolstad, K. 530 
 
 Borchsenius, O. M 530 
 
 Bruun, Nicolai 285 
 
 Bruun, Mrs. U. F = 285 
 
 Bue, Daniel D 286 
 
 Callecod, Lars 287 
 
 Christensen, E. C 288 
 
 Christiansen, H. S • 289 
 
 Christiansen, W. F 288 
 
 Christophersen, Mrs. Christina 212 
 
 Christophersen, Ellas S 290 
 
 Christopherson, M. H 290 
 
 Colberg, J. W 291 
 
 D 
 
 Dahl, H. L 292 
 
 Dahl, P. K 293 
 
 Daniels, Oscar 293 
 
 Daniels, Ulrich 225 
 
 Danielsen, Christian 294 
 
 Danielson, Christopher 294 
 
 Danielsen, O. M 295 
 
 Doe, Dr. Anders 296 
 
 Dover, O. Th 296 
 
 Dyrhus, W. F 297 
 
INDEX 551 
 
 E 
 
 Eastegord, Ole T. . . . ^^^^ 
 
 ' 297 
 
 Edmunds, John E 
 
 Egeland, Olaf 
 
 T,. , ., 299 
 
 Eielson, Aslag . . . 
 
 Eielson, Eilert 
 
 h.ielson, John 
 
 Eielson, Joseph 
 
 Eielson, Oscar .... 
 
 „ . . ^ • . 300 
 
 Eittreim, Rev. K. O 
 
 Ellingson, Elim ' „ ~ 
 
 ^,,. „ , ••• 302 
 
 Elhngson, G. A ^^^ 
 
 Elvig, Albart J ■■'...................... 226 
 
 Engebretson, J. E ""., 
 
 ^"^^'•' L •:^:"-^':^:;:''::'::::::::::::::::::: 30I 
 
 Encson, B. C. 
 
 _ . „ 305 
 
 Encson, Otto C 
 
 . 30o 
 
 Erickson, Alfred O ,„« 
 
 oUd 
 
 Erickson, Mrs, Agnete 3Q7 
 
 Erickson,, Capt. Christian 218 
 
 Erickson, Edd ogg 
 
 Erickson, Ernst A 307 
 
 Erickson, 309 
 
 E'-i-^d, H. H ^■■■;'':;''":::::::::::::::::;: 309 
 
 f^^' P- O 310 
 
 Espe, Mrs. P. 3^^ 
 
 Evensen, Dr. H. 3. . 
 
 F 
 c 
 
 Faye, C. E 
 
 F^'-J^y- W. C 3^2 
 
 313 
 
 Finwall, Rev. C. W 3^3 
 
 Flage, Anders Larsen . ^^2 
 
 Flage. Mrs. Anders Larsen 182 
 
 Fosse, K. L oiT 
 
 ' 314 
 
 Frederiksen, Prof. Frederik 3J5 
 
 Frette, Rasmus R 3^- 
 
 Fries, M. S 
 
 Fruland, Lars 
 
 G 
 
 Gade, Consul F. H. 
 Gerner, William . . . . 
 
 317 
 317 
 
 318 
 319 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 Giaver, J. G • • 319 
 
 Giertsen, Waldemar 320 
 
 Grauer, Prof. O. C • • 32i 
 
 Graves, J. P. S 533 
 
 Gresen, Adolph C. • • 321 
 
 Grevstad, Nicolay A 322 
 
 Grotnes, Charles G. 323 
 
 Grover, George O 324 
 
 Grundeland, Lasse 532 
 
 Gulbrandsen, Carl 324 
 
 Gullixon, Rev. G. A 325 
 
 Gunderson, Capt. C. T 326 
 
 Gundersorij G. A. 327 
 
 Gunderson, Capt. H 326 
 
 Gunderson, S. T. 327 
 
 H 
 
 Haagensen, Rev. Andrew . • 328 
 
 Halvorsen, Goodman 330 
 
 Halvorsen, G. Rasch 330 
 
 Hammerstad, John O 331 
 
 Halvorsen, Nils 332 
 
 Hansen, A. M 332 
 
 Hansen, Christian 333 
 
 Hansen, Hans 333 
 
 Hansen, Harald M 334 
 
 Hansen, J. F 335 
 
 Hansen, Rev. O. L. 335 
 
 Hansen, R. E. A 336 
 
 Hanson, Dr. Abel A 337 
 
 Hanson, Bertheus 337 
 
 Hanson, Charles F 338 
 
 Hanson, Charles M 533 
 
 Hanson, Hart •• 338 
 
 Hanson, Hartvig A 339 
 
 Hanson, Henry 340 
 
 Hanson, S. A 340 
 
 Hanssen, Iver A 341 
 
 Harrisville, Rev. Lars 341 
 
 Haugan, Hauman G 342 
 
 Haugan, Helge A 343 
 
 Haugan, Henry A 343 
 
 Haugan, Oscar H 344 
 
INDEX 553 
 
 Page 
 
 Haugan, Rev. Paul 344 
 
 Hauge, Dr. N. A 345 
 
 Haugen, Hans K 346 
 
 Heggem, Mrs. Johanne K 346 
 
 Heggland Mrs. Anna 34V 
 
 Heggland, Dr. H. M 348 
 
 Heiberg, Axel 533 
 
 Heide, Mrs. Anne 534 
 
 Hektoen, Dr. Ludvig 348 
 
 Hendrickson, H. L 349 
 
 Henrikson, Hans A 350 
 
 Hervig, Richard 351 
 
 Hess, Dr. F. A. 351 
 
 Hettelsater, C. H 352 
 
 Hill, Mrs. Susanna • 352 
 
 Hilleson, Amund 87 
 
 Hillcson, Mrs. Amund 87 
 
 Hilleson, H. A 353 
 
 Holland, E. S 354 
 
 Holmboe, Dr. A 535 
 
 House, Louis 355 
 
 Hovda, Mrs. Carrie • 356 
 
 Howard, E. C 356 
 
 Howard, H. L 357 
 
 Hummeland, Andrew . 358 
 
 I 
 
 Imbritt, Dr. Inga Helen 359 
 
 J 
 
 Jacobsen, Prof. J. Rode 359 
 
 Jacobson, C. M 360 
 
 Jacobson, Eric A 360 
 
 Jernberg, Prof. R. A 361 
 
 Jersin, John S. F 362 
 
 Jevne, C. M 363 
 
 Jevne, Christian 222 
 
 Jevne, Mrs. Clara 363 
 
 Jevne, Hans 364 
 
 Johansen, Sjziren 364 
 
 Johanson, Edward 365 
 
 Johnson, Rev. Alfred O 366 
 
 Johnson, Mrs. Andrew H 367 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 Andrew P 368 
 
 Allen • • • 369 
 
 Anton • • 369 
 
 Rev. Charles J • • 370 
 
 Mrs. Cornelia • • • 371 
 
 Mrs. Eline Th • ■ 371 
 
 Mrs. Hedvig • • • 372 
 
 Judge, H. W •••••• 373 
 
 Mrs. Carrie Nelson • • • 374 
 
 John A • • . . . 375 
 
 Rev. J. H ••• 163 
 
 John W. 375 
 
 L. H •• 377 
 
 Nels 376 
 
 Ole A. . ••...• 377 
 
 Ole • 378 
 
 Capt. Olaus 379 
 
 Peder 381 
 
 Peter (Sandvik) • • • • 379 
 
 Peter Albert • • •••••• 380 
 
 Thorwald • • • 381 
 
 Torris • 382 
 
 Capt William • • • • • • 222 
 
 Johnston, Charles F 383 
 
 Josephson, Elias 536 
 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 'Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 ^Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 Johnson 
 
 K 
 
 Kaasa, Jens Olsen 
 
 Kallem, Miss Hannah A. 
 
 Kildahl, Rev. H. B 
 
 Kindley, Bernt O 
 
 Kittilsby, Rev. P. A 
 
 216 
 
 384 
 
 384 
 
 385 
 
 536 
 
 Kittleson, Halvor 386 
 
 Kling Brothers 387 
 
 Kloster, Endre • • • 387 
 
 Klove, A. M 388 
 
 Klove, Noah G • • 388 
 
 Knudsen, Rev, Asle 389 
 
 Knudson, C. S 391 
 
 Knudson, M. C • 391 
 
 Knudson, Dr. T. J 392 
 
 Knutson, Mrs. Randvei 390 
 
 Krabol, Olaus 392 
 
INDEX 555 
 
 L 
 
 Page 
 
 Labium, E. S. A 393 
 
 Land, Ole C . 394 
 
 Lange, A. B 537 
 
 Langland, James • • 394 
 
 Langland, Knud 220 
 
 Langland, Mrs. Knud 220 
 
 Larsen, Hans ." 395 
 
 Larsen, Iver • 224 
 
 Larsen, Dr. Ralph L 395 
 
 Larson, Adolph 396 
 
 Larson, Lars (Ness) 397 
 
 Larson, Lewis E 398 
 
 Larson, Ommund 398 
 
 Laugman, Prof. J. 399 
 
 Lawrence, Adolph P 402 
 
 Lawrence, Mrs. Annie 400 
 
 Lawrence Arthur 404 
 
 Lawrence, Dr. Ivy 401 
 
 Lawrence, Capt. S^ren Peter 401 
 
 Lawson, Victor F 402 
 
 Lee, Mrs. Hilleborg 404 
 
 Lee, Louis J 226 
 
 Lee, Oscar John 404 
 
 Lehmann, Karl Ludvig , 405 
 
 Loberg, Thor H 406 
 
 Losby, Martin 407 
 
 Lows, H. C 407 
 
 Lund, Hans 408 
 
 Lunn, Dr. Martin J 409 
 
 M 
 
 Maakestad, S. M 409 
 
 Maland, Ben T 410 
 
 Malmin, Lucius J. M 410 
 
 Malum, A. K 411 
 
 Martin, Gustav G 417 
 
 Mathisen, Rev. Gustav - 411 
 
 Matsen, Louis 412 
 
 Matson, Canute R 219 
 
 Matson, Mrs. Isabella 413 
 
 Mauland, Ole 413 
 
 Meland, H. C 414 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 Meling, Dr. Nels C 415 
 
 Melum, Anton A 415 
 
 Meyer, Rev. J. H 416 
 
 Michaelsen, Mrs. Sophie 417 
 
 Michaelson, Thorstein 183 
 
 Midnes, L. S 418 
 
 Miller, Hagbert 419 
 
 Mitchell, Harley B 419 
 
 Mitchell, Dr. James M 420 
 
 Moland, Henry 421 
 
 Moldstad, Rev. John A 421 
 
 Myrland, Rev. E. L 170 
 
 N 
 
 Nannestad, Dr. S. H 422 
 
 Narbo, Dr. Sven 422 
 
 Nelson, Louis R 423 
 
 Nelson, Nels S 423 
 
 Nelson, Ole J 424 
 
 Nelson, Rev. O. N 538 
 
 Nelson, Robert S 425 
 
 Newgard, Henry 425 
 
 Newgard, Martin 426 
 
 Newton, Charles E 427 
 
 Newton, G. G 428 
 
 Newton, Peter 428 
 
 Nilsson, Prof. A. K 429 
 
 Nirison, Herman B 430 
 
 Nord, Carl W. Birch 430 
 
 Nordby, Rev. Jorgen 431 
 
 Nordhem, J. B 432 
 
 Norstrand, H. P. G 432 
 
 Noss, Rev. Henry T 433 
 
 o 
 
 Ohrn, Rev. J. A 171 
 
 Olsen, Prof. C. J 169 
 
 Olsen, Prof. Edward - 171 
 
 Olsen, George T 434 
 
 Olsen, Henry 434 
 
 Olsen, Iver 538 
 
 Olsen, Jens 435 
 
 Olsen, O. C. S 437 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 Olsen, Peter A 435 
 
 Olsen, Peter B 436 
 
 Olson, Albert J 437 
 
 Olson, Ever 433 
 
 Olson, Henry P 438 
 
 Olson, Jacob A 439 
 
 Olson, Knud B 440 
 
 Olson, Col. Porter C 40 
 
 Olson, Tom 440 
 
 Olson, Walter E 441 
 
 Olson, William 442 
 
 Olstad, C. J 442 
 
 Osland, Birger 443 
 
 Osmon, Mrs. Helen 443 
 
 Osmon, Mrs. Margrete Rygli 444 
 
 Osse, John C 445 
 
 Oyen, Dr. Henry M 446 
 
 P 
 
 Palmer, Dr. E. B 446 
 
 Paulsen, Prof. Alfred 447 
 
 Pedersen, George M 447 
 
 Pedersen, John M 448 
 
 Pederson, Adolph 448 
 
 Pederson, Ole R 449 
 
 Petersen, Rev. O. P 161 
 
 Peterson, Bernhard C 450 
 
 Peterson, Enoch 451 
 
 Peterson, Henry B 539 
 
 Pihlfeldt, Thomas G 451 
 
 Prestegaard, Ole J 452 
 
 Q 
 
 Quales, Dr. N. T 453 
 
 Quam, John A 455 
 
 R 
 
 Rasmussen, R. E 456 
 
 Rasmusson, Sjuat (Runstad) 457 
 
 Ray, Olaf E 539 
 
 Remmen, Dr. Nils E 457 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page 
 
 Reindahl, Knute 458 
 
 Richolson, Benjamin F 459 
 
 Richolson, Harold L ^ 460 
 
 Richolson, Samuel 460 
 
 Richter, Danchert J 461 
 
 Ring, Rev. Frederick 463 
 
 Risetter, Haakon H 463 
 
 Risetter, Lars L 464 
 
 Risetter, O. A '. 464 
 
 Rogde, Jacob Olson 465 
 
 Rogde, Martin, J 466 
 
 Rolfsen, Olaf H 467 
 
 Rorem, Andreas 467 
 
 Roseland, Ole J 468 
 
 Ruud, Dr. Helga 540 
 
 Ryerson, Capt. Mathias H 468 
 
 Ryerson, O. M. S 469 
 
 Ryerson, Theodore 470 
 
 Ryg, Jacob K 470 
 
 Rygh, Rev. George T 540 
 
 s 
 
 Sanaker, Rev. O. J 164 
 
 Sandberg, Dr. Karl F. M 471 
 
 Sanderson, Austin 472 
 
 Sanderson, Samuel M 473 
 
 Sangdahl, L. E 473 
 
 Saxon, William 474 
 
 Schlanbusch, Arnoldus 475 
 
 Schlanbusch, Gerhard B 475 
 
 Schroeder, Olaf 476 
 
 Scott, Miss Carrie 476 
 
 Scott, Ingvard M 477 
 
 Seehuus, Mrs. Margarethe 478 
 
 Sethness, Chas. 479 
 
 Severson, Olaf F 479 
 
 Sherden, Christ 480 
 
 Siljan, Lars J 540 
 
 Simonsen, Prof. N. E 480 
 
 Skaaden, Peter Olsen 481 
 
 Smeby, Seaver E 482 
 
 Smith, Mrs. Bertha C 482 
 
 Smith, Jens L 483 
 
 Soemo, C. G 484 
 
INDEX 559 
 
 Page 
 
 Solberg, Rev. Carl K 485 
 
 Solberg, Rev. Charles 486 
 
 Solberg, E. S 486 
 
 Stabeck, C. O. R 487 
 
 Stange, Chr. L. B 218 
 
 Stange, P. C. B 488 
 
 Stange, W. Jan 489 
 
 Steensohn, L. H 541 
 
 Stoltenberg, Henry N 489 
 
 Stuhr, Peter J. W 490 
 
 Sve, Sivert 492 
 
 Svendsen, Svend 491 
 
 Sorensen, Christopher M 492 
 
 T 
 
 Tastad, Edward J 493 
 
 Tendall, Ole L 493 
 
 Tesdal, Thor 495 
 
 Thomas, Dr. Abraham L 495 
 
 Thompson, Hakon 542 
 
 Thompson, John 496 
 
 Thompson, Thomas F 497 
 
 Thoresen, Henning L 497 
 
 Thoresen, William 498 
 
 Thoreson, John 499 
 
 Thorp, Ole A 224 
 
 Thorp, Mrs. Ole A 543 
 
 Thorsgaard, Dr. Karl L 500 
 
 Tiller, Rev. Carl E 500 
 
 Tobiassen, Gabriel J 501 
 
 Tollefsen, Rev. J. C 503 
 
 Tone, David K 503 
 
 Torgersen, Rev. J. Z 221 
 
 Torrison, Dr. George A 504 
 
 Torrison, Judge Oscar M 504 
 
 Tressing, Eric 505 
 
 Tufty, Gilbert K 505 
 
 u 
 
 Udstad, Sivert 506 
 
 Ugland, Salve 507 
 
 Ulvestad, Dr. O. M 508 
 
 Undem, J. Leonard 508 
 
 Unseth, Dr. Magnus A 509 
 
560 INDEX 
 
 Urheim, Dr. Jacob L 509 
 
 Uthus, Ole L 510 
 
 V 
 
 Vigness, Rev. Lauritz A 511 
 
 Varland, Tobias 512 
 
 w 
 
 Wallem, Goodman 514 
 
 Waterdahl, Thos. E 514 
 
 Weardahl, Henry C 515 
 
 Wiersen, Rev. O. A 164 
 
 Williams, Clarence S 516 
 
 Williams, Edward 1 516 
 
 Wold, Alfred N 517 
 
 Wold, Berent M 227 
 
 Wold, Nels B 518 
 
 Wold, Torris 518 
 
 o 
 
 )stberg, Albert H 519 
 
 H9i, 75 '^i 
 

 
 
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