Magne was the son of Botolv Magneson Bystølen (1753 – 1819) and Åsa Larsdatter Store-Hyrt (1767 – 1844) and was the twelfth child born in a family of thirteen. In 1837 he left his home Voss and headed for America. In 1839 Magne was living in at the Fox River Settlement in Illinois. He was supposed to go with some fellow Vossings; Nils S. Gilderhus and Nils L. Bolstad to go to Wisconsin. They had hired Odd J. Himle, also a Vossing, to with them as an interpretor as they looked for land. Magne became ill and was not able to go with them. The three who went found their land and returned to Milwaukee and purchased 160 acres with 40 acres belonging to Magne. In the spring of 1840, the two Nils’, Magne, and another Vossing Aners Fenno moved to Koshkonong and built a cellar on Magne’s land, which they all used. This was the first building built on Koshkonong in the town of Christiana by Norwegians. They all started farming the same year.

In the winter of 1841 Andres Nilson Lee and his wife Gunvor Sjursdatter Gilderhus, and their two children came to Koshkonong and spent the winter with Magne and the 3 bachelors in their ground cellar. Later that same winter a man from Nummedal, Tore Kaase arrived and also moved in with them.

In 1841 Magne was one of a number of Vossings at Koshkonong who supported Pastor C. Willerup, A Danish Methodist minister, and as a result was instrumental in bringing about the first Norwegian-Danish congregation in the world.

In 1843 John Haldorson Qvileqval wrote in a letter from Chicago to his parents in Voss, that Magne was living in Wisconsin and had fellow Vossing, Haldor Bryngelson Løn living with him. He reported that Haldor had been ill for some time, but was on the mend.

On 15 Jan 1847 Magne was married to Mari Nilsdatter Giere (c1823 – 1 Aug 1861). She was from Hallingdal.

In 1850 Magne had real estate valued at $600. In 1855 he sold his property to Gulleik Saue and moved to Olmsted County, Minnesota. In 1860 Magne’s neighbor was Eirik Larson Skjerve. Magne continued to farm and at that time had property worth $800 and personal assests of $125.

Magne and Mari had five children:

1. Botolf (4 Nov 1847 – 1917); m. to Ella B. Roe (Dec 1857 – ). Ella was born in Norway and came to America in 1885. Botolf owned 180 acres of land in Olmsted County, Minnesota and made his living farming. They had no children. Botolf is buried in Zion Cemetery in Rock Dell Twp., Olmsted, Minnesota.
2. 2. Åsa (2 Nov 1849 – 16 Dec 1877); m. to Ole Ellingson who was born about 1846 in Norway. Ole was a farmer. He and Åsa had 5 children. She is buried at East St. Olaf Lutheran Cemetery in Rock Dell, Olmsted County, Minnesota.
3. 3. Ester (c.1851 – )
4. 4. Marie (22 Nov 1854 – )
5. 5. Nils (8 Oct 1868 – 1934); m. 8 Jul 1877 in Wisconsin to Mari Giere (Apr 1857 – 1933). Nils had attended the Lutheran College in Decorah in preparation for going in to ministry, but decided that the calling was not for him. Instead he went into general merchandising and had a business and was postmaster for 20 years in Rock Dell. He later sold he business and took up farming on 228 acres in Section 8 in Rock Dell Twp. He was civic minded and held many positions, notably town treasurer and county commissioner. They had five children. Both Nils and Mari are buried in Zion Cemetery in Rock Dell Twp., Olmsted, Minnesota.

They were known as Bystol, Botleson, and Magneson

Sources: 1850, 1860 US Census Records; East St. Olaf Lutheran Cemetery Records; History of Olmsted County, Minnesota (Leonard); History of the Emigration from Voss (Rene); History of the Norwegian Settlements (Holand); Norwegian Immigrants to the United States, Vol. I (Naeseth); Voss Church Records, Birth and Baptisms (1780-1810); Vossingen, 5th, 8th, and 18th years; Ættebok for Vossestrand

Kolbein was the fifth child and 4th son in a family of six children. His parents were Sjur Knutson Tveite O (1776 – 18822) and Synneva Olsdatter Nåsen (1782 – ). He was married in Vossestrand to Ablu Jonsdatter øvre Vine (1821 – 4 Jan 1892). She was the first born of Jon Halsteinson nedre Vinje (1794 – ) and Sigtru Andersdatter Vinje’s (1794 – 1853) five children.

Kolbein and Ablu lived at Almenningen and had 5 children: Sjur, Kari, Synneva, Jon, and Brita. Kolbein was a tenant farmer at Bygd first, and later he was a cottar at Slen. When Brita was four years old, they went to America. They left Bergen on the 18th of April 1854, just six weeks after Franklin Pierce had been elected as the 14th president of the United States.

Not much is known about Kolbein and Ablu. They had another child in Wisconsin in 1866 and she was named Siverina. By 1880 they are in Erhards Grove in Otter Tail, Minnesota where Kolbein is farming. Three of their 6 children are making their home with them, John, Betsy, and Severina. The whereabouts of the other elude me. In 1885 Kolbein and Ablu are still Erhards Grove and John and Severina are still making their home with their parents. The other four children remain a mystery. The family is using Seversen as their surname and Kolbein is known as Colben. Ablu is Abelu. Kolbein died 4 months after his  wife on 12 Apr 1892. They are both buried in Bagstevold Cemetery in Erhard, Otter Tail, Minnesota.

If anyone has any information on the children of Kolbein and Ablu I would love to hear from you.

Gjertrud Davidsdatter Herheim (28 Apr 1835 – alive 1 Jun 1900) was the daughter of David Olson Herheim (1808 – before 1865) and Brita Eiriksdatter indre Sundve (1809 – ). She was born at the Herheim farm in Vossestrand on 28 Apr 1835 and baptized on 17 May 1835. She came to America about 1873 although I have not found her emigration record. It may be possible that she came to America to help her sister’s husband Gundor Olson with his four motherless children. Gjertrud’s sister Sigvor had been married to Gundor and died in 1872 when her youngest was just about two years old. Two years after Gjertrud’s arrival, on 29 Sep 1875 she and Gundor were married.

Gjertrud and Gundor made their home in Mount Valley Twp. in Winnebago County, Iowa and Gundor continued to farm. They had two children: Susan Karoline (1 Oct 1878 – 15 Jun 1951) and Carl Dartinius (30 May 1880 – 21 Oct 1968).

Susan was married 22 Jan 1895 to Fred Dell Huffman. Some time before 1910 they left Iowa for California where they spent the remainder of their lives. The lived in the Pasadena and Long Beach areas of Los Angeles. Fred was employed as a house plasterer. Susan and Fred raised 9 children.

Carl was married to Tone Moen who was a Norwegian immigrant. For a time Carl was a farmer and in 1920 he was an assistant bank cashier and in 1930 a bank cashier. They had an adopted daughter Ruth. Carl and Tone are buried in Trinity Cemetery in Wanamingo, Goodhue County, Minnesota.

A special thanks to Cynthia McDonald for providing the photos and the permission to use them. The photo of Brita is from my own personal collection and was painted by my great-great grandfather Anders Guleikson Sundvesflyne.

For more about Gjertrud and her descendants click here.

Ola Styrkåson øvre Oppheim was born 5 Nov 1835 at the Oppheim farm in Oppheim, Vossestrand, Hordaland, Norway. His parents were Styrkår Olson øvre Oppheim, b. 1809 and Brytteva Brynjulvsdatter Ure, b. 1811; and was the eldest of their three children. He married in in 1856 in Vossestrand to Anna Knutsdatter Styve, b. 1823 in Evanger, Voss, Hordaland, Norway. In 1880, he and Anna, and their 5 children; the youngest born that same year, set sail from Bergen for America. Eventually they ended up in Chicago, Illinois. After being in America 9 years Ole loses his Anna, his wife of 33 years; to meningitis. A year later Ole was married again to Annie Johnson, b. c1849, who was also a Norwegian immigrant. He and Annie stayed in Chicago where Ole was working as a machine hand in a chair factory. There was a Vossing by the name of Andrew Johnson Gjerager who became known as Andrew P. Johnson. He formed the Johnson Chair Company in Chicago which was a very large and successful company. Many Voss immigrants worked for him, so it is possible that Ole may have worked there. He died on 6 Jun 1913 of arteriosclerosis and endocarditis, a heart condition. He was buried in Mt. Olive Cemetery in Chicago. Ole was known as Ole Olson.

His son Knut was married and moved to Montana where he was first an accountant, and then a business owner selling cigars. He had two children that died young. Nothing is known about Ole’s daughter Brytteva. Anna was married to Sjur Eirikson Arnetveit and you may read about them here. Ola went to North Dakota with Knut. He and Knut had joined up with Mons Teigen (Vossing) to go into sheep ranching and brought 3200 head of sheep in to Gallatin county. Ole drowned in the river in 1897 and Knut eventually sold his interest back to Mons who would become one of the biggest sheep ranchers in the state. Maria married Nils Olson, a Norwegian from Resor, Norway. He was a captain of a lake boat. They had 7 children. One was an engineer and one an accountant.

Of the children and descendants of Ole and Anna, it seems America was kind to them. Two sons involved with the formation of the largest sheep ranch in Montana, a business owner; his grandchildren, accountant and an engineer. I think Ole and Anna would be proud.

Sjur Eirikson Arnetveit was the son of Eirik Kolbeinson Arnetveit and Marta Sjursdatter Tveite HB. He was the second child, and second son in their family of 5 children. Being the second son meant he would not inherit his father’s farm and in 1880 he left his home to make his fortune in America. He spent some time in Minnesota before coming back home to Voss in 1884 for a visit. He returned to the USA and went to Chicago. His future wife Anna Olsdatter øvre Oppheim had also come to the USA in 1880 with her parents and siblings. They made their home in Chicago. About 1887 Sjur and Anna were married. Sjur became known as Sievert and they used Erickson as their surname. Sievert’s brother Odd, who became Edd, also came to Chicago and together they formed a construction company and erected many buildings and structures in the Chicago area. Sjur and Anna had 9 children and they seem to have done very well for themselves and had good careers. They worked as music teachers, school teachers, purchasing agents, nurses, chemists, retail lumber buyers. Sievert and Anna lived in a number of different places in Chicago, but ended up living in the prestigious Oak Park area on the west side of Chicago along the lake. Many famous people made their homes here throughout the years including Ernest Hemingway. Many of the homes in the area were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. When Sievert died in 1924, his widow inherited their home which was then valued at $30,000.  A great achievement for young man who left his home at the age of 27 with very little in his pockets. I have not found any information on the descendants of his children. If you can help, please contact me.

Eirik was born at Arnetveit in Vossestrand and his parents were Sjur Eirikson Arnetveit and Marta Larsdatter Tveite Hb. He was 30 years old when he and his wife of 3 years; Gjøri Kolbeinsdatter Store-Høn; and their year old daughter Kari set sail for America. Like many of the Vossings before they went to Dane County, Wisconsin where they stayed for more than 10 years before moving on to Winnebago County in Iowa. There were many people from Voss in Winnebago County, my great-great grandparents being among them. Erick first used Syverson as the family name and later Severson. Gjøri became known as Julia, and Kari became Carrie and later she was known as Caroline. Erick and Julia had 4 more children and raised them to adulthood. Erick made his living by farming and eventually owned his property. Some of his grandchildren and great grandchildren graduated from university and had good careers. One was a teacher at a university. I’m sure Erick and Julia’s dreams for their family were realized. A grandson and at least one great grandson made their home in Alaska. A family migration from Norway, to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Oregon, and finally Alaska. They are the first Vossings I have actually located in that northern state, although I know many went there, attracted first by the gold during the rush; and then remained to make it their home.

I have not found anything on Erick and Julia’s children Lewis (Lars) b. 1854; Charley (Charles) b. 1860; Marie b. 1860, or John b. 1862. If you know anything and would like to contribute, please contact me.