GENERATION 5

GENERATION 4

Biography

Mo Church
Mo, Telemark, Norway

The Mo Church was built in 1839, on the site of the original stave church. The crucifix and altarpiece from the original church were restored and used in the construction of the new church. The church is located on highway F806.

In 1845, TORSTEIN was living at the VISTAD farm, west of the village of Dalen. Dalen is on the western end of Bandak Lake, and is the terminus of the Telemark Canal, a 105 km. waterway from Skien. The farm is located just below the confluence of the Tokke and Dalåi Rivers, between the river and the current highway 38. It was here, that he and SIGNE BJØRNSDOTTER were married. For many years they traveled between VISTAD and VIKEN, about 5 km. to the south, climbing the winding road up the steep slope south of Bandak Lake. They were innerstar (tenant farmers), farming the land owned by others.

According to the 1865 Mo census, TOSTEIN TOSTEINSON (as spelled in the census) and his family were living at the MIDJAAS (also spelled MIDJÅS) SØNDRE farm. TORSTEIN is listed as leilending (tenant farmer) in the 1865 census. As a leilending, TORSTEIN would not have owned the farm, but would have had a lifetime lease to use the farm. The farm is situated on a high hill, at the end of a long winding road. It is about ten kilometers west of the town of Dalen. MIDJAAS is about eight kilometers from the SLETTETVEIT farm, which TORSTEIN purchased in 1869.

TORSTEIN and SIGNE are also known to have lived at HAUGEN, a sub-farm of VISTAD, and at NEDREBØ on the road going up to the MIDJÅS farm

In 1882, TORSTEIN was still at SLETTETVEIT, and in that year he sold the farm for 2,200 kroner and left for Fergus Falls, Otter Tail, MN. They lived in the Fergus Falls area about 17 years. TORSTEIN is listed as an original land owner in Tordenskjold twp. Kittel obtained his final citizenship there in 1897.

By 1899, they were living in Red Lake County, MN. The 1900 U.S. census shows TORSTEIN and SIGNE living with their son, Kittel, in Equality township.

TORSTEIN and SIGNE were members of the Salem Church in nearby Garnes twp. Church records show that the family attended church, and the grandchildren of TORSTEIN and SIGNE were confirmed there. TORSTEIN and SIGNE are buried in the church cemetery in unmarked graves.

Kjetil had a child Olav with Hege Tarjeisdotter URBØ, in 1877. Hege had a child Inger, previously with Jon Halvorson BAKANNE, in 1871. There is no mention in the Mo Bygdebok (p. 97) whether she was married either time. Hege "died as a milkmaid at SLETTETVEIT."

Kjetil Slettvedt
photo courtesy LaVonne Brown

In 1878, Kjetil purchased ØVRE RINGESTOGA farm from his father's brother for 4,800 kroner, but sold it in 1881 and moved back to SLETTETVEIT from where he, in 1882, immigrated to Fergus Falls, MN.

The 1900 U.S. Census shows Kittel ("Kjittel") in Equality township, Red Lake County, MN, living with his wife Ragnhild and four children. Sophia, the oldest child was born in June 1883, in Minnesota. Kittel and Ragnhild are reported to have immigrated in 1882, and to have been married 18 years.

The 1910 U.S. Census shows Kittel still living in Equality township. His wife, Ragnhild, and their five children are living with him. A sixth child had died. The census shows that Kittel and Ragnhild had been married 35 years, and had both come to America in 1882.

The Mo Bygdebok shows that Kittel and Ragnhild were both living at RINGESTOGA, on different sub-farms, prior to emigrating. Kittel was at ØVRE RINGESTOGA between 1878 and 1881 (p. 267), while Ragnhild was living at JORDET (p. 271). Her parents were Gunnar Knutson JORDET (1811-1889) and Signe Eivindsdotter (1816-1876). Two of Ragnhild's brothers immigrated to Albert Lea, MN, in 1880.

The Mo Ministerialbok shows that Kjetil emigrated in 1882, with his parents and two siblings, Anne and Sigurd. Ragnhild also came with the family, but apparently was not yet married, as no marriage records can be found in the Ministerialbok.

Kjetil signed his Declaration of Intention for citizenship on Oct. 31, 1882, in Otter Tail County. In that document, he stated he arrived in the United States on or about June 15, 1880. His name was spelled "Kittel" on that document, as well as on the final Citizenship papers, dated July 15, 1897.

Kittel is mentioned in Telesoga No. 41, September, 1919, as an early settler in Equality. The 1909 and 1911 plat maps of Equality township show Kittel owning 160 acres in the southwest quarter of Section 15.

Ragnhild died April 26, 1922. Kittel died September 14, 1927. Both are buried at Salem Cemetery.

Kittel and Ragnhild had six children.

 
      Sophia         - b. Jun 13, 1883    - d. Jan 13, 1919      buried Salem Cemetery  
      Ole            - b. Apr 25, 1885    - d. Jan 16, 1931      buried Salem Cemetery
      Lina Katherina - b. Jun 17, 1887    - d. before  1900
      Carl G.        - b. Sep 20, 1891    - d. Oct  1, 1926      buried Salem Cemetery
      Theodore       - b. Nov 18, 1895    - d. Dec  3, 1961      
      Victor L.      - b. May  8, 1900    - d. Jan 22, 1966      buried Salem Cemetery

Thorstein Slettvet
photo courtesy Patty Slettvet Fleming

The Mo Bygdebok shows that Thorstein utvandra til Stoughton (emigrated to Stoughton), Wisconsin, in 1878.

Thorstein, also known as "T.T.", does not appear in public records of Wisconsin, but, his son, Thomas, was enumerated there in the 1905 state census for the town of Burke in Dane County, WI. T.T. was in the 1900 and 1920 U.S. Censuses for Genesis, Cumberland, TN. In 1940, he was living in Sumner, Pierce, WA. He died there in 1943.

T.T. and Thea had three children.

 
      Mary        - b. Mar     1885   
      Thomas      - b. Jan 14, 1887    - d. Jul 22, 1970      buried Sumner, WA  
      Arthur L.   - b. Oct 14, 1892    - d. Dec     1986      buried New Castle, IN  

The Mo Bygdebok shows that Olaf utvandra til Stoughton (emigrated to Stoughton), Wisconsin, in 1878. "Ole" is found in the 1900 U.S. Census living at the Dane County Asylum in Verona, WI. He was still there in the 1930 Census, shown to be working at the power plant. There is also an entry in the 1880 U.S. Census for Ole Slettveit living in Pleasant Springs, Dane, WI, age 21. This would be a spelling closer to the actual spelling in Norway.

As reported in the Mo Ministerialbok, Tollef emigrated in 1881. The family was known to be in Glyndon township, Clay County, in 1895, and in Equality township, Red Lake County, by 1899, as his daughter, Hilda, was confirmed at the Salem church there, Nov. 19, 1899. He is found in the 1900 U.S. Census for Equality, Red Lake, MN. He is also in the 1910, 1920 and 1930 census records for Equality township.

Tollef married Gunlaug Eivindsdotter SKÅLEN. Gunlaug was the daughter of Eivind Torsteinson HUSDALEN (1824-1884) and Guro Olavsdotter SKÅLEN (1821-1899). See Mo Bygdebok (p. 295). SKÅLEN is a sub-farm of the HAUGEHÅTVEIT farm, which was the home of TORSTEIN STEINARSON (Tollef's grandfather). Gunlaug was Tollef's first cousin.

Gunlaug used the name, Julia, in the 1895 census, but later went by Gunlaug again. She died April 9, 1936. Tollef died July 15, 1946. Both are buried at Salem Cemetery.

Tollef and Gunlaug had ten children.

 
      Anna        - b. March   1883  
      Evend "Ed"  - b. Sep  3, 1884    - d. May 31, 1946      buried Salem Cemetery  
      Sophia      - b. June    1887    - d.         1963
      Olga        - b. Aug 13, 1889    - d. Jul  3, 1964      buried Salem Cemetery
      Theodore O. - b. Mar  8, 1892    - d. Jul  5, 1967      buried Salem Cemetery
      Gena B.     - b. August  1894
      Clara       - b. June    1896     
      Hilda       - b. August  1899
      Salvie      - b. Jul  8, 1901    - d. Jan  4, 1973      buried Salem Cemetery
      unknown                          - d. before  1900

grave of Sigurd Torstenson, Salem Cemetery, Garnes MN
photo courtesy LaVonne Brown

Sigurd, the youngest child, married in Otter Tail County. He, his wife Andrine, and three young children joined the rest of the family in the move to Red Lake County. Sigurd had been there only a short time when tragedy struck in the form of a violent storm. As is prominently displayed on his gravestone, Sigurd was "killed in storm."

According to the 1900 census, Sigurd and Andrine had already lost two children. Then Sigurd was killed. And daughter Sina must have died within the next five years as she is missing from the 1905 census. After Sigurd's death, "Annie" married Ole Lerfald, a widowed grocery merchant from Fergus Falls, and she and her children returned to Fergus Falls.

All must not have gone well there, as by 1915, Ole had moved away from Fergus Falls and was with his children, from his first marriage, in North Dakota. Annie continued to run the grocery store in Fergus Falls and was still doing so in 1930.

The two surviving children were Theodore and Alvin. As adults they each dropped the "son" from their name and went by Thorsten. Theodore had two daughters, and he died in 1972 in Austin, Mower, MN. Alvin, a dentist in Isanti, MN, retired and moved to Clearwater, Pinellas, FL. He and his wife Dorothy died there in the 1970's.

old Salem Luthern Church
(1902-1936)
Garnes, MN

The four brothers, BJORN, Kittel, Tollef, and Sigurd, came to Red Lake County between 1897 and 1899. In 1905, they all acquired Patent Land in Equality township. The land became available May 15, 1896, when the Ojibway indians ceded the land to the government.

The family belonged to the Salem Lutheran Church (photo right), founded in adjacent Garnes township in 1895. The three brothers can be found on the second membership list of the church. TORSTEIN and SIGNE are buried at Salem Cemetery. THEA and Amanda were confirmed at the church. The confirmation classes, as well as most of the services, were in Norwegian.

The homesteads were located about six miles to the east of the church, in Equality township. The land is a mixture of trees, tillable land and wetlands. Many of the farmers, at the time, would go to North Dakota in the fall for the grain harvest. They would find work in the winter to the east, at the lumber camps. Then in the spring they would float the logs down the rivers to the mills.

When the family arrived in Red Lake County, Ole Klostoe was serving as pastor of the Salem church. A few excerpts from his biography shed some light on the conditions at the time:

In Norway the children of TORSTEIN would have had the patryonic name of Torsteinson or Torsteinsdotter. They also would have their farm name, Slettetveit. But, the immigrant families coming to America had to choose one or the other for their last name. Which would this family choose?

Kittel and BJORN both filed papers in the fall of 1882, declaring their intention to become citizens of the United States. On October 31, Kittel did so using the name, Kittel T. Slettvedt. Four days later, on November 4, BJORN filed using the name, BJORN TORSTENSON.

In the 1900 U.S. Census, TORSTEIN and three of his sons can be found in Red Lake County, using the name Sletteveit. This is the only time that BJORN used the farm name. In the same census, three of BJORN's children, in Otter Tail County, were all using the name Thorstenson. Sigurd used Torstenson.

By 1910, BJORN and his family were all using the name Thorstenson, while his father and siblings were using the name, Slettvedt. The spelling of the farm name in Norway is Slettetveit.

Sigurd used the name Torstenson, although,in 1905, his widow used Thorstenson when buying land.

In Wisconsin, Olaf and Thorstein chose the name Slettvet, without the silent "d."

 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
 name                       birth1       baptism   confirmation   marriage      death2     emigration
 ______________________   __________   __________   __________   __________   __________   __________

 Torstein Torsteinson     01-13-1821   02-25-1821                06-06-1845   05-11-1905   05-06-1882 
 Signe Bjørnsdotter       01-08-1821   03-11-1821        -1836   06-06-1845   09-20-1902   05-06-1882

 Kjetil Torsteinson       12-31-1845   01-18-1846   06-16-1860                09-14-1927   05-06-1882
 Anne Torsteinsdotter     12-11-1848   12-23-1848                             12-23-1848
 Bjorn Thorstenson        11-24-1849   12-09-1849   06-25-1865   01-23-1872   10-28-1921   05-21-1881
 Thorstein Torsteinson    09-13-1852   10-03-1852                             04-20-1853             
 Thorstein Torsteinson    05-19-1854   06-05-1854   06-12-1870                             05-27-1878
 Olaf Torsteinson         01-16-1857   02-01-1857   06-16-1872                             05-27-1878
 Olaf Torsteinson         05-24-1860   06-10-1860   06-20-1878                01-18-1879
 Tallef Torstinson        02-14-1863   03-15-1863   06-20-1878                07-15-1946   05-21-1881   
 Anne Torsteinsdotter     04-05-1865   05-14-1865   06-20-1880                             05-06-1882
 Sigurd Torsteinson       09-08-1867   10-19-1867                             08-04-1900   05-06-1882

 1 - births are recorded in baptism record
 2 - deaths after emigration are not in Ministerialbok

                           enumerated at Midjaas Søndre, Mo, Telemark, Norway
 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  navn               familiestatus           yrke                             alder            Fødested
 (name)              (fam. member)       (occupation)                         (age)  year    (birthplace)
 __________________  __________________  ___________________________________  _____  ____    ____________

 Tostein Tosteins.   Husfader (head)     Leilending                             44   1821      Moe Prgj.
                                         (tenant farmer with lease)
 Signe Bjørnsd.      hans Kone (wife)                                           45   1820         "
 Kittil Tosteins.    deres Søn           hjælper Faderen med Gaardsbruget       20   1845         "
                                         (helps father with farming)
 Bjørn Tosteins.     deres Søn           hjælper Faderen med Gaardsbruget       17   1848         "
 Thostein Thosteins. deres Søn                                                  12   1853         "
 Olaf Thosteins.     deres Søn                                                   9   1856         "
 Olaf Thosteins.     deres Søn                                                   6   1859         "
 Tallef Thosteins.   deres Søn                                                   3   1862         "
 Anne Thosteinsd.    deres Datter                                                1   1864         "

 Gunvor Vetlesd.     sindssvag (insane)  Lægdslem (welfare recipient)           47   1818      Valle Prgj.
 Ingebør Bjørnsd.    Inderst (renter)    Spinning og Vavning                    53   1812      Moe Prgj.
                                         (spinner and weaver)