Identified: Ingebrigt Larsen Winje from Vinjeøra

I believe I have identified photographs of a member of the Winje branch of my family who emigrated from  Vinjeøra, Norway and arrived in America in 1869.  The history of Lars Eriksen Winje, his wife Ragnild, and sons, Eric and Ingebrigt, was discussed in my 2008 publication:  A Long Way Downstream:  The Life and Family of Thibertine Johnson Winje, Norwegian-American Pioneer.  The only photo of the entire family that I have seen is the one below, made available online through the Hemneslekt.net genealogy website.  Though the image is of poor quality, it is possible to determine facial features and family resemblances.  The carte-de-visite size photos of the parents, Lars and Ragnild (also below), were taken in Chippewa County, Minnesota.  Their eldest son, Eric Larsen Winje, has been clearly identified due to various family-held photos of him as an adult.  The only family member whose adult image had not been found or identified was Ingebrigt's... until now.



A positively identified photo of the Winje family, prior to
 emigrating to America.  Taken in Trondheim, Norway in 1869.
Seated in front are Ragnild and Lars, with Eric standing
behind his mother, and Ingebrigt behind his father.

Lars Eriksen Winje, ca, 1880
Montevideo, Minnesota

Ragnild Winje, ca. 1880
Montevideo, Minnesota

Among a batch of unidentified carte-de-visite size photos that once belonged to my great grandparents, Ole and Malla Johnson of Leonard, Minnesota, were the two images below.  The photos were taken in Montevideo, Chippewa County, Minnesota by the same photographer, A. Brandmo.   The features of the man on the right, in particular, haunted me for some time.  It finally occurred to me that the unknown man looked somewhat like Eric L. Winje, and when I thought to compare his image to the other male members of the immigrant Winje family, it became clear that he was, indeed, a Winje,  The members of that family were very limited during the 1870s and 1880s.  The only Winje it could be, according to the age of the man and the age of the photos, is Ingebrigt Winje, son of Lars and Ragnild Winje, and younger brother to Eric L. Winje.

 

Probably Ingebrigt Winje, ca. 1886,
Montevideo, Minnesota

Probably Ingebrigt Winje, ca. late 1870s,
Montevideo, Minnesota







Ingebrigt Winje was born at Vinje, Hevne, Sør-Trøndelag in Norway.  His parents were cotters (tenants) at Skeistrøa, and they later leased a lot at Vinjeøra.  At age 12, he came to America with his parents and brother, sailing on the Franklin and arriving by way of Quebec in 1869.  In 1870, he wrote back to a friend in Norway:

...I live well with my health and soundness and find myself here in America.  I have now gone to school one month and I had to begin anew with my ABCs which was very different pronunciation of them than in Norwegian.  ...I see from your letter that you ask me to write how it was with me at sea.  On the sea it was very fun and I had many friends there but I was not sick one single day.

The letter was signed "Yours faithfully, Ingebrigt Larsen."

Eric L. Winje (5 Dec 1850-8 Feb 1930), was six years older than his only brother, Ingebrigt.  Eric became one of the first licensed attorneys in Chippewa County, Minnesota, and studied law while "rocking the babies" and helping out his wife out at home.  After passing the Minnesota bar exam, he practiced law in Duluth and later was elected municipal court judge.  He also worked as an attorney in Sacred Heart and Detroit Lakes.  In comparing Eric's identified photo to the two unidentified men (above), it is clear that they possess many of the same facial features:  a broad forehead with the hair parted on the far left, high cheekbones, and a similar shape and size to the eyes and eyebrows.  Ingebrigt appears to have had the same wide, strong jaw as his father, Lars.



Official photograph of Eric L. Winje,
 ca. 1885.

Whereas Eric, the elder brother, chose to leave farm life behind and build a professional career, Ingebrigt stayed on his parents' farm in Sparta Township, Chippewa County, Minnesota, to help his aging father with the heavy labor.  If health had permitted, he would have inherited his parents' farm property and carried on much as his father had.  But, at age 31, he contracted diphtheria during an epidemic in Chippewa County and died on May 26, 1888.  "Black Diphtheria," as it was called, was a much-feared disease in which a membrane growth covers areas of the throat, resulting in airway obstruction and death in the most serious cases.

Several months after her uncle's death, 16-year-old Regina Winje, who was living with her uncle and grandparents on the Winje farm, wrote to a family friend from Norway who was temporarily living in Seattle, Washington:

I must now send you some lines as an answer to your letter to Ingebret [sic] Winje, since he can not.  Your childhood friend is dead!  He died the 26th of May 1888.  He was sick for nine weeks this winter from arthritis but  then he got a little better again, so much so that he could work, but then he became again lame in his right foot and had to in the end, be in bed and was so frightfully sick of two weeks that he lost his understanding right up until the last hour; his last hour he was, however, calm.  here there were many people who followed him to the grave...

The Winje farm in Sparta Township became the property of Ingebrigt's mother, Ragnild, after the death of her husband, Lars, in 1890, only two years after Ingebrigt's passing.  Lars and Ragnild Winje's eldest grandchild, Regina Winje Strand, then took over responsibility for the farm, along with her husband, Thomas E. Strand.  Strand eventually purchased the farm after his wife Regina passed away at young age in 1899, but he continued to support his grandmother-in-law, Ragnild Winje, until her death. 

Without direct descendants to carry on Ingebrigt Winje's memory, an impression of him as an adult has been indeterminable for some time.  But, I am now fairly confident that we have rediscovered an image of a much loved Norwegian-American son, brother, and uncle.



Ingebrigt Larsen Winje

Born:  12 September 1856, at Vinje, Hevne, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway

Died:   26 May 1888, Sparta Township, Chippewa County, Minnesota

Buried:  Saron Lutheran Cemetery, Chippewa County, Minnesota

Occupation:  farmer





*****

Sources:

--Winje, Ingebrigt Larsen, letter to Wessel family of Vinjeøra, Norway, 1870.  Courtesy of Astri Wessel, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway.

--Winje, Regina E., letter to Doran Wessel in Seattle, Washington from Chippewa County, Minnesota, October 1888.  Courtesy of Astri Wessel, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway.



Duty, Fate, and Beauty

Regina Winje Strand
(1873-1899)


Duty, Fate, and Beauty:
A Norwegian-American Pioneer Legacy Remembered

(a repost from February 2008)

Timeline for Regina Winje Strand:

July 13, 1873
Born in Sparta Township, Chippewa CO., MN

Autumn 1874
Sent to live with paternal grandparents

Oct. 23, 1888
Wrote letter telling of uncle's death

1889/90
Married Thomas E. Strand in Chippewa CO., MN

Jan. 15, 1899
Bore 6th child, Thomas R. Strand

Jan. 22, 1899
Death from "heart disease"



While studying data and details in genealogical research, we often come across statistics regarding pre-modern era populations and epidemic disease. Most of the time we do not have to think much beyond the statistics. In the days of our immigrant ancestors, epidemics and untreated health conditions were an inevitable part of life, and though much feared, were met with courage and acceptance. The early demise of children and young adults was common, and yet it cuts to the heart when one studies the past and finds personal evidence of just such heartbreak and loss. The story behind the short life of Regina Winje Strand touched me in just such a way.

Berthe Regine (Winje) Strand, 1873-1899.
 Photo ca. 1895, Chippewa County, Minnesota

"Regina" Winje was born during the heat of a plague-filled summer on July 12, 1873, on the prairie in Sparta Township, Chippewa County, Minnesota. The surrounding land had been claimed by the first homesteaders only a few years before, in 1868. She was the firstborn child of my great great grandmother, Thibertine (Johnson) and her second husband, Eric Larsen Winje, both immigrants from Norway. The summer of 1873 brought one of many severe locust infestations in the southwestern plains of Minnesota, and that year, it followed upon the heels of a devastating January blizzard. After catastrophic weather and other natural events, times were hard for local homesteaders and farmers, including Regina's family. Many homesteaders had to take out loans in order to survive, selling any extra cattle or livestock that they owned.


When Regina was about a year old, her brother Louis, was born, and Regina was sent to stay with her paternal grandparents in Sparta Township, Lars and Ragnild Winje. Perhaps the arrangement was never meant to be permanent, but in the end, it was, and the reason can only be surmised. While caring for her lovely little granddaughter, Ragnild Winje may have found a longtime need fulfilled in such a way that she found it difficult to return the child. Ragnild had given birth to two sons, but no daughters. In Norway, children were often placed where it was deemed most practical, so it was likely that Eric and Thibertine saw the gift of their daughter as a way to ensure company and help for her grandparents during their elder years. Fortunately, Sparta Township, where Lars and Ragnild Winje had their homestead, was only a few miles from Granite Falls Township, where Regina's parents lived. All family members saw each other frequently, and even attended the same Lutheran Church for several years, in spite of the alternate living arrangements for Regina.

Regina Winje, ca. 1883.

The earliest known photograph of Regina, taken in about 1883, shows a reserved young girl with a slightly sad, Mona-Lisa style loveliness and mystique. In spite of her youth, she seems to possess an inner acceptance of what life holds in store, a resignation almost. Wearing homespun clothing, there is unusual grace for a child of her age revealed in the hand she poses on the photography studio's velvet chaise.

At the age of 16, Regina revealed maturity of an adult level in a letter she wrote to a longtime friend of her father and her uncle, Ingebrigt Winje (translated from Norwegian). It is young Regina who must write for her grandparents and inform the family friend of her uncle's death:

          Mr. Doran Wessell

Good Friend,

I must now send you some lines as an answer to your letter to Ingebret Winje, since he can not.

Your childhood friend is dead! He died the 26th of May 1888. He was sick for 9 weeks this winter from arthritis but then he got a little better again, so much so that he could work, but then he became again lame in his right foot and had to in the end, be in bed and was so frightfully sick for 2 weeks that he lost his understanding right up until the last hour, his last hour he was however calm.

Here there were many people who followed him to the grave. If you come to Minnesota, then you must come to us. You shall be heartily welcome. We wish to get to talk with you, then you will have gotten to hear more about your friend that you thought you soon should get to see again, but it doesn’t always go as one imagines.

You are now most heartily greeted from Lars and his wife. I should write this letter for my grandfather and you must excuse me if it is bad, but it is so much for you to know that your friend is dead. I am the oldest daughter of Erik but I am living with my grandparents and I have been here since I was 1 year and have been raised together with Ingebret and no wonder that I have sorrow for he was always friendly and good toward me. I have also this summer lost 2 of my youngest sisters so that the sorrow becomes even greater. If you want to come here then you must get a ticket to Myers Station, Chippewa Co., Minnesota.

We live not so far from there. I must now end my poor writing with a greeting to you.

Regina E. [Eriksdatter] Winje [1]

The "youngest sisters" mentioned by Regina were Hattie Christine and Annie Jorgene, who died from diphtheria within days of their uncle, Ingebrigt Winje. Hattie was 5 years old, and Annie was just 2, when their deaths occurred. The young girls were living with Regina's parents in Duluth at the time, where Eric L. Winje worked first as an attorney, and later as a municipal court judge.

Within several months after the letter was written, Regina married Thomas Einersen Strand, who hailed from Soer Troendelag, Norway, like her father and grandparents. As the wedding photograph reveals, Regina was already expecting her first child by the time the marriage took place, which was not an uncommon occurrence in early Norwegian-American culture, as it had been in rural Norway. The only real shame involved was when a birth occurred without marriage beforehand.



Thomas and Regina Strand, 1889/90

Newlyweds Thomas and Regina Strand set up housekeeping on the homestead in Sparta Township where Regina had been living with her grandparents. Lars Winje, who was ill at that time, added his granddaughter to his will. Regina stood to inherit the Winje homestead when her grandmother, Ragnild, no longer needed it. Shortly after Thomas and Regina were married, Lars Winje died, and Thomas Strand began renting the land from his mother-in-law in order to farm and support his family.

Thomas and Regina had six children together, all of them sons, and all but one survived birth. Regina was only 25 years old when she bore their last child, on January 15, 1899. Thomas was most certainly proud of his growing family, and although it is doubtful he ever said it aloud, he must have felt that he had the most beautiful and graceful wife on the Chippewa prairie. Now, he also had five strapping sons to carry on his legacy: Elmer, Arthur, Theodore, Lambert, and the newborn, Thomas Raymond.[2]

But, as Regina so aptly states in her letter to Doran Wessell: ". . . it doesn't always go as one imagines." A week after giving birth, on January 22, Regina slipped into unconsciousness and died. Her husband, sons, and elderly grandmother were left in a state of shock. [3]

Regina's death certificate indicates “heart disease” as the cause of death, but her family understood the direct cause to be either a heart attack or a blood clot. It is likely that, as a child, she contracted a light case of diphtheria when her uncle suffered from it and died. Survivors of diphtheria often developed a weakened heart from the ravages of the disease, and after six pregnancies in rapid succession, Regina's physical reserves were severely depleted. Even after the immediate danger of an epidemic had passed, it was never certain what the lingering effects would be.

Regina was laid to rest at Saron Lutheran Cemetery, near the old Winje farm. Her headstone has an image of two hands clasping, along with the following engraving in Norwegian: [4]

Farvel [Farewell]
Berthine R. Strand
Dode [Died] Jan 22, 1899
Alder 25 Jahr, 6 M, 10 D [Aged 25 years, 6 months, and 10 days]



Saron Lutheran Church, Chippewa County, Minnesota, ca. 1915.  Minnesota Historical Society, Photographs Collection.  Location no. MC4.5 p11.  Negative no. 58207.  Photographer:  Louis Enstrom (1873-1947).

There were more than a few decisions for the family to make after Regina's sudden loss. Like most women, Regina, as wife, mother, and granddaughter, had been the glue holding the family together throughout the daily routines. Ragnild Winje, advancing in age, could not possibly take care of five energetic young boys alone, while her son-in-law, Thomas Strand, kept to the fields each day in order to continue farming and maintain their livelihood. As a strangely prophetic turnabout, the newborn, Thomas Raymond, was sent to live with his maternal grandparents, Eric and Thibertine Winje. It was they who had given the baby's mother, Regina, to her grandparents, Lars and Ragnild Winje, nearly 25 years earlier.





The Strand family on the old Winje farm in Sparta Township, Chippewa County, soon after Regina Strand’s death in 1899. An album lays opened on the table with a photo of a baby displayed (possibly the infant, Thomas Raymond Strand). Left to right: the three eldest Strand boys (Arthur, Elmer, Theodore), Thomas Strand (seated), Matilda (Tilda) Nelson, Ragnild Winje (seated), Lambert Strand, and two unidentified men- the one on the far right holding a Jack Russell terrier (possibly her brother, Edward Winje?).

Thomas Strand's duty to his family necessitated finding a housekeeper as quickly as possible. In local-born Matilda Nelson, he found a healthy young woman with the stamina necessary to chase four young boys about the farm, as well as take on most of the household duties that had previously been relegated to Regina. After several years of building a bond through daily routines together, Thomas and "Tilda" were married in 1902, and promptly began a family of their own, which eventually included eight children: Alvin, Stella, Noel, Gearda, Olaf, Gerhardt, Maude, and Margaret. Strand eventually became one of the best-known farmers in Sparta Township. He purchased the homestead outright from his mother-in-law, Ragnild Winje, and continued to care for her until she passed away. [5]

In looking over the brief details known about Regina's life, she was obviously a dutiful daughter who did her best to live up to her parents and grandparents expectations. She may have found a purpose and direction of her own by marrying young, hopefully finding love in addition, though she continued to serve her family above all else. Regina's beauty could have instead led her toward vanity and unrealistic expectations, but it is doubtful she ever considered taking advantage of her gift.

When fate called Regina in the prime of her young adulthood, she left a legacy of personal sacrifice and acceptance that continued to strengthen her husband and sons, as well as grandchildren, who faced the future without her help and guidance. Regina's story is similar to the lives of many American pioneer women who suffered day to day hardships without complaint, hoping only for increased opportunity and better lives for their children and descendants.



Photographs (except the image of Saron Lutheran Church) are from the Johnson and Winje family collections. All rights reserved.

[1] Letter, Regina Winje, Wegdahl, Chippewa County, Minnesota, to Doran Wessel, Seattle, WA, Oct. 23, 1888; In Regina's signature, the middle initial "E." stands for "Eriksdatter," her patronymic name; note the typically Norwegian self-depreciation in the last line: "I must now end my poor writing with a greeting to you."
[2] A sixth child died in childbirth: obituary for Regina (Mrs. Thos. Strand), Montevideo Leader, ? January 1899 (copy in the possession of the author).
[3] Death certificate for Berthe Regine Strand, January 22, 1899, Sparta Township, Chippewa County, Minnesota.
[4] Information from Regina Winje Strand's headstone acquired by the author's visit to Saron Lutheran Cemetery, Chippewa County, Minnesota, September 2002.
[5] A biography of Thomas E. Strand is included in: L. R. Moyer and O.G. Dale, joint editors. History of Chippewa and Lac qui Parle Counties, Minnesota. Indianapolis, Indiana: B.F. Bown & Company, Inc., 1916. Vol. II, pp.127-128.

Give Me a House on the Prairie

In 1886, at age 25, my great grandfather Ole Martin Johnson married and brought his 17-year-old bride, Malla, to live on the farm his parents had handed down to him. Located in Section 18 of Granite Falls Township 116-N, Chippewa County, Minnesota, the homestead was begun by Ole's parents, Baard and Thibertine Johnson in 1868. It bordered tree-lined Hawk Creek, a tributary of the Minnesota River.

The Johnsons, along with their six-year-old son, Ole, and four-year-old daughter, Ellen Julie (Julia), arrived in America in 1866 from Nord-Troendelag, Norway. They first stayed in Goodhue County, Minnesota for a couple of years before deciding to settle on newly available land along the Minnesota River to the west. In order to "prove up" his homestead, Baard Johnson built a two-room cabin on the property in Norwegian cotter style, with a decorative Scandinavian gable over the small entryway. I believe it is the same cabin that still stands on the property today, though the land has not been owned by family members since about 1901.

After Baard Johnson died in 1872, his widow, Bertina, remarried and began another family. It was soon after this marriage that a new and larger farmhouse was built on the property, but it was located farther from the creek and closer to the road. When Bertina and her second family moved to Duluth in eastern Minnesota so that her husband could pursue a career as an attorney, she offered the homestead to Ole, her eldest son, as his rightful inheritance.

The farmhouse Ole Johnson inherited, and probably helped build, had an L-shaped floor plan commonly used on the Midwestern prairie at that time. Downstairs was a kitchen with an entrance off a back porch, a parlor with tall windows to let in as much light as possible, a front porch, and a bedroom that drew some warmth from the kitchen. The upstairs consisted of two unheated bedrooms that could get quite chilly in winter. Ole Johnson's mother, Bertina, must have brought some of her children into the world in that back bedroom behind the kitchen, as would his wife, Malla (Larson), probably attended by her sister-in-lay, Julia (Johnson) Larson.

House on the Johnson farm in 1941.  Granite Falls Township, Chippewa County,
 Minnesota. (Photographer:  Doris Johnson)

The kitchen of any 19th century farmhouse was the hub from which family members and others constantly came and went between endless rounds of chores. Children and hired help lingered at the farm table as long as they dared, drawn by the comfort of the trusty black stove and compelling aromas of freshly baked bread, warm lefse and butter, or a simmering venison stew. At most hours of the day, Malla Johnson could be found there, busy with cooking and canning, washing, knitting and darning, churning, chatting, and preparing baths, as well as nurturing, while her husband, Ole, took care of the farm and farm buildings.

The photograph above was taken by my mother while she still lived in Minnesota. During the summer of 1941, a group of relatives went to visit the old homestead property. Years later, the old house was torn down because it was in a state of disrepair and had begun to be used as a "party house" by local youth.

I like to dream about owning one of the houses my great grandfather built, either this one, or the one he built some 35 years later, near the village of Leonard in Clearwater County, Minnesota. It is sad that more houses of this character and age have not been preserved for the sake of history.

I doubt that future generations will ever look at a house I've lived in and think quite the same nostalgic thoughts, for there was something very special about the first immigrant generations in America. Their homes were simple and functional, and their way of life, well, there was nothing cushy about it. My farming ancestors sweated for each gain and every meal on the table. Early American pioneers experienced a connection to land and community that we do not often find in modern times. They had an intense appreciation of the acreage they acquired to plow, sew, and reap, and to form as one willed. After the limited availability and nearly impossible prospects of land ownership in Norway, new life and opportunity in America was a dream come true for my great great grandparents.

If I were given a time machine, the first place I would want to visit would be the 1870s homestead on the southwest Minnesota prairie, where this house was built. Hand me an apron, tie back my hair, and sink me up to my elbows in flour on the rough hewn table by the cast iron stove. I'll try not to mind too much when my arms become solidly black and blue from chicken pecks while collecting eggs, just like Malla. In the spirit of my ancestors, I would carry out my days uncomplaining, knowing that my work and sacrifice would bring a universe of opportunities for my children, and their children. And, so it has. How lucky we are that we no longer have to work so hard in order to live, and yet, how we yearn for the straightforward, sincere toil of our ancestors, and their infinite hope.

Spooked by Swensson

Each autumn after an annual membership drive, the Chippewa County Historical Society of Minnesota holds a special event, the "Enchanted Evening at the Swensson Farm."

"To say that these evenings are truly enchanted is an understatement!" touts the Society in its October 2008 newsletter. "Perhaps the best barometer of success is when your guests, volunteers and staff all equally enjoy the evening." This year, the Minnesota Sesquicentennial was celebrated with the lucky winners of a drawing from among new Society members. The guests were treated to dinner at the historic Swensson farmhouse amidst the atmosphere of original pioneer furnishings, and catered by a local restaurant. The meal included "Settler's Soup," "Root Cellar Salad," and "Pioneer Pot Roast." Of course, everyone anxiously awaited the fourth and final course: "Thresher's Pie" (lemon pie).



The Swensson Farm, Chippewa County, Minnesota. Now a museum, the house is on the National Register of Historic Places. USGenWeb: Chippewa Area Pictures.


The 17-acre Swensson Farm is the jewel in the crown of the Chippewa County Historical Society. Located six miles east of Montevideo, Minnesota on Highway 7, then five miles south on County Road 6, it is open to visitors from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend each year. The farm happens to be located quite close to the homesteads of many of my ancestors. My great grandmother, Malla Larson Johnson, grew up in a house just across the road from the Swensson Farm, and her sister-in-law, Julia Johnson Larson, lived near the farm most of her life.

But, is the farm truly "enchanted"? Or, is it... haunted?


Julia Johnson Larson (1864-1949), used to say that neighborhood children were terrified of walking past the looming Italianate/Georgian structure as soon as it was built, in 1901. Could it have had something to do with the spooky ambience created by its mansion-like architecture when compared to nearby farm houses? Or, perhaps it had to do with the small family cemetery at the edge the property, not to mention the large, public cemetery operated by Saron Lutheran Church just across the road?

For the most part, it probably had to do with the stories that circulated among timid neighborhood children about the severe-faced Olof Swensson (1843- 1923) the owner of the house. Swensson was a builder, writer, and unsuccessful candidate for Minnesota governor. He was also a fervent Lutheran, and conducted weekly religious services in the large room upstairs. His sermons, in Norwegian, have been preserved.

Even with the accomplishments of the elder Swensson, the house had an undeniable eerieness about it, and many would have testified in years past that it was, indeed, haunted. Did Swensson really build a secret tunnel leading from the house to the family burial plot? What about the flickering lights seen in the large windows at night by neighbors when no one was home? And, what is the story behind the cross on the basement wall, allegedly painted in blood, which appeared just after the local historical society took possession of the property in 1967?

According to Julia Johnson Larson, Swensson continued to hold church services in the upper floor of the building long after neighbors ceased to attend. There were open benches, placed along the walls of a large room upstairs, which served as pews for the folks who came to hear Swensson speak in those early years. Later, when no one came anymore, Swensson created his own congregation--out of rocks. He spaced them carefully on all of the benches surrounding the large, stark room. Pacing dramatically up and down the middle of the floor, he preached to his "stone-faced" and silently appreciative audience until he had his oratory fill.

The Chippewa County Historical Society continues to hold regular festivities on the farm property, such as the "Enchanted Dinner," and the annual Horse Power Event, held the second Saturday in September. The 22-room house, the grist mill, and curiosities such as the display of original wood forms for the family cemetery tombstones, continue to attract many visitors to the historic Swensson farm each year.

To judge for yourself whether or not the old Swensson place is truly haunted, see:

"Swenson Museum in Book on State Haunted Sites" (Montevideo-American News), and
Minnesota Road Guide to Haunted Locations, by Chad Lewis

Homestead on the Prairie

After spending most of my life hearing about Minnesota and my mother's early years on a Norwegian American farm, I finally got to visit that state in 2002, and again in 2004. As a self-respecting family historian, I took along a list of important people and places to see within a short period of time, or... die trying! One place high on my list was the old homestead property in Chippewa County, where my great grandfather, Ole Martin Johnson, cut his farming teeth. The property originally belonged to Ole's parents, Baard and Thibertine Johnson. The Johnson family, which included Baard, Thibertine, and their children, Ole and Julia, emigrated from Grong Parish, Nord Trondelag, Norway in May 1866.

The homestead property has not been in my family's possession since about 1901, but it is easily accessed via an existing county road, and the current owners seem to be aware of its historic value to a myriad of Johnson visitors over the years. My visit was made on a pleasant and dry day in mid-September. The once carefully cultivated fields surrounding the old homestead have been left for nature to reclaim, and the tall domestic grasses swarmed with little black grasshoppers and their rhythmic summertime clicks.

The entrance was blocked with debris and the door could not be opened without risk of damage. I was able to look inside the windows of the cabin, stepping gingerly across broken glass in my open-toed sandals, and was excited to find that the appearance of the interior matches the description of the original dwelling on the homestead application. In the photographs below, note the Scandinavian style gable over the small entry way. The 12 ft. by 14 ft. cabin has only two rooms, and there is no running water or electricity. Tucked underneath a large oak tree near an old barn, it could easily be mistaken for a shed. The tree looks to have been planted shortly after the cabin was built, which would have been in 1868. [1]



















Johnson Homestead Cabin, Chippewa County, MN,
photographed in September 2004, by Chery Kinnick




















Johnson Homestead Cabin, Chippewa County, MN,
photographed in Winter 2007, by Susan Montano


Baard and Thibertine Johnson were some of the first settlers in the Granite Falls Township area of Chippewa County, Minnesota. In the fall of 1868, the Johnsons left Goodhue County, Minnesota, where they lived for two years after arriving in America. They headed west to New Ulm and then turned to the northwest and followed the Minnesota River for 85 miles or more to the area near Chippewa City. Prior to 1870, it was easiest for all travelers with goods to follow the river upstream, not by boat, but with a wagon and oxen. Upon reaching their destination, the Johnsons filed homestead papers on 80 acres in Section 18 of Granite Falls Township.

A federal census taker called at the Johnson homestead on 17 June 1870. It was the start of summer, and Baard Johnson was probably hard at work in the fields. His wife, Thibertine, may have been the one who answered the census taker's questions, still struggling, no doubt, with the English language. The 1870 census listed the family members as: "Bard Johnson, age 35 (farmer); Bertina, age 30 (keeping house); son, Olie, age 10; and daughter, Julia, age 7." After farming for less than two years, the value of Baard Johnson’s real estate was recorded as $220.00. [2]

Although the popular image of a prairie evokes vast expanses of flat land, part of the Johnson property slopes gently to Hawk Creek, a Minnesota River tributary. Its proximity to the creek ensured that there were some trees to be taken for lumber in the early years of settlement. The Johnsons had an advantage being near to water, but according to the current land owners, the acreage is quite rocky and must have required tremendous labor to till and prepare the soil for farming, especially with the primitive equipment Baard Johnson had to use.

Unfortunately, Baard Johnson never saw his American immigrant dreams come to fruition. He died from typhoid fever on 28 July 1872, one year short of fulfilling the required five-year homestead period. He was initially buried on his own land, but his grave was relocated in about 1900 to nearby Saron Lutheran Cemetery, in preparation for the sale of the property. His widow, Thibertine, remarried in March 1874, but not before the federal requirements were fulfilled under her deceased husband's name. When Baard and Thibertine's son, Ole Johnson, was old enough to farm independently, he was deeded the homestead as his rightful inheritance. [3]

I consider this old cabin to be one of the most important legacies of my family's history. Oh, if walls could talk, I would sit right there with a recording device for as long as it takes! But, all I have are these wonderful photographs, a few facts, my imagination, and the memory of the thrill I felt when first standing upon the same ground as my immigrant ancestors at the beginning of their American journey.



[1] Description of original building on the Johnson homestead: Land Entry File, Cert. 2749, Johnson, Berndt, “Final Proof Required under Homestead Act May 20, 1862,” NARA, Washington D.C.

[2] Baard Johnson household, 1870 U.S. census, Chippewa County, Minnesota, population schedule, Granite Falls Township, Chippewa City post office, page two.

[3] Baard Johnson’s name is incorrectly listed as “Barnett Johnson” on his death certificate, Chippewa County Deaths, Book A: 2.

Woolly Dog Nights: Tale of a Prairie Blizzard

On January 7, 1873, the day before my great great grandmother's 32nd birthday, a severe blizzard struck the upper Midwest. It was swift and overwhelming in its onset and lasted for several days. Many Minnesota and Iowa settlers and their livestock perished from it.

Bertina Johnson had been widowed only six months before. Baard Johnson, the husband with whom she had emigrated from Norway in 1866, was dead prematurely at age 37, from typhoid fever. Johnson lay permanently at rest on his homestead of five years, and could not know what challenges lay ahead for his wife and two children.

The day started out quite warm for that time of year, and the snow on the ground began to melt. The break in the cold weather provided an opportunity for people to go outside to work, or to run errands and make visits that were long overdue.

By afternoon, a frightening change occurred. Witnesses reported a rumbling in the northwest that sounded like distant thunder, followed by a hundred-foot high white mass that bounded across the prairie at a terrifying speed. People caught on the prairie without shelter were enveloped in an avalanche of whirling, blinding snow, along with an intensely cold wind. Many were without coats or extra protection because of the warm afternoon, and they froze to death.[1]

The annual meeting for the Wegdahl Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chippewa County, Minnesota, was scheduled to be held on January 7th at Ole Anderson's cabin, a couple of miles from the Johnson homestead. In 1873, the congregation did not yet have a chapel, so meetings were held at various locations.

The following is an account of what actually happened to many of Bertina Johnson's friends and neighbors during the blizzard of January 1873:

About 11 o’clock [on January 7th] the sky became cloudy, and by noon it began to snow and blow and shortly a big storm came up, making every object invisible. Stranded were 35 men who had come for the meeting in the one-room log house of Ole Anderson with the wife and children, 38 in all. The storm got worse and very cold. Luckily a few days before Mr. Anderson had been in New London and purchased a sack of flour and a gallon of syrup. They made [mush] which they lived on for 2-1/2 days.

The chopped wood gave out and the wood pile was completely covered [with snow]. Near the house was a pile of wood rails, so the men made a line from the door of the house with Mr. Anderson at the end. This made a line long enough to reach the pile. One by one they handed the rails to each other until they had enough to hold out.

Pastor Edward Eriksen was there and had devotions every day. When the first night came, the bed was given to [Mr. Anderson's] wife and children. A big, brown woolly dog had come with one of the members. It also had to come in the house during the storm. Pastor Eriksen, who thought of occupying the place under the bed, had the dog as something warm to sleep by. The postmaster of Wegdahl also crawled under with them, and slept with the rest of them on the floor. Every few hours they would change off so all could get some sleep.[2]

On the third day, the storm let up at about four o'clock. No one was allowed to leave alone. In small groups, homesteaders and farm hands helped each other to get home. At one farm, cattle had to be dug out of their stalls before they could move at all. At another, a man was helping shovel snow when he uncovered a rooster, which promptly jumped out of the snow and crowed in relief.

Although Bertina Johnson may have been fortunate enough to have some family members at home when the blizzard struck, many neighbor women could not have been equally as lucky. If thirty-five men were stranded at the cabin of Ole Anderson, it meant that nearly as many local families awaited the return of the head of the household after the storm. As it often happened, pioneer women were required to fend for themselves and use their own wits and strength to protect their children, elders, and livestock during disasters.

Lars Eriksen Winje, Bertina Johnson’s soon to be father-in-law, was probably among the men stranded at the Anderson farm during the blizzard. Lars Winje was a charter member of the Wegdahl Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, first organized in 1870. There were 99 Norwegians, 16 Swedes, and 2 Danes (25 voting members and 115 persons) making up the initial membership.

Among the initial tasks of the church’s charter members was to determine where to locate a permanent church and cemetery. They decided on 80 acres on County Road No. 6, along the south edge of Leenthrop Township in section 31, bordering Granite Falls Township. The Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad donated ten acres of land to the community, and the remaining 70 acres were purchased for $650.00.

In 1886, the existing Saron Lutheran Church, a gleaming, gothic chapel, was built at a cost of $4,750.00. The church’s initial framework was later damaged during a windstorm, so the height of the steeple was lowered a bit during the rebuilding. The cemetery went into use soon after the land was secured.[3]

Saron Lutheran Church, Chippewa County, Minnesota, from a postcard, ca. 1900. Johnson Family Collection.

All four sets of my maternal great grandparents met during the early settlement years of Chippewa County, and many relations are buried at Saron Lutheran Cemetery. As a family historian, I can't help but ponder just how many of their stories, whether spectacular, humorous, poignant, or mundane, could have been preserved. Instead, many details have filtered down through generations of family lore, and have since slipped into the dark whirlpool of unrecorded history, much to the dismay of those, like me, who long to know.

From "Waves of Grass," Chapter 3 in "A Long Way Downstream: the Life and Family of Thibertine Johnson Winje, Norwegian-American Pioneer," by Chery Kinnick.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Notes:

[1] The Midwest blizzard of January 1873: Tvedten, Lenny, “Blizzards in Martin County,” Martin County Historical Society. http://www.co.martin.mn.us.mchs/pages/art_blizzard.htm (accessed 15 January 2006).

[2] Saron Lutheran Church annual meeting and the experiences of attendees during the blizzard of 1873 are described in: Christianson, Mrs. John. Our First 100 Years: 1870-1970. Chippewa County, Minnesota: Saron Lutheran Church, 1970, 7.

[3] Details about the Wegdahl Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church and the building of Saron Lutheran Church is described in Christianson, Our First 100 Years: 1870-1970.