Moving to Dakota Territory

In 1862, Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, through which individuals could obtain 160 acres by filing an application, improving the land, and filing for deed. This brought many settlers to the plains, including European immigrants.

The Lillehaugen family moved west in 1888, taking the new railroad to Dakota Territory. The hard work in Minnesota had paid off: their property now included ten head of cattle.

Tosten and Sigrid had also added a daughter to their family: Cecilia Birgitte, born January 12, 1887.

First Years in Minnesota

Tosten, Sigrid, and their children were now living in Hayfield, Minnesota. We pick up the story inTosten's autobiography.

"I rented a house from Ole Vastvt, called 'jalgan huset," for the family while I continued working for others. I bought two cows in the spring and one in the fall, because we could use the pasture on the place we stayed. Here we stayed for three years.

In the fall of 1887, I went to Dakota Territory, Nelson County. I had friends there so was going to visit, and I stayed through threshing. Wages were good. They paid $2.00 a day. So I earned enough to pay my fare both ways and a little besides.

There was still free land to be had. But I did not decide then but thought about it through the winter, and the outcome was that we decided to move to Dakota."

Excerpt from Tosten's autobiography, written in 1917

Memorial Day 2009, North Dakota

My Dad, his family, and neighbors are buried in a country cemetery in North Dakota. Trees surround it on three sides; it's open to the south. 

During a windy week last summer, I mapped the cemetery. 118 graves; a handful of headstones with photos, many with Norwegian inscriptions. 

Headstones tell a story, but I'm greedy. I want details. What did their voices sound like? Did they laugh quietly or could you hear it across the fields? How did they look when they were worried? Why did they choose those names for their kids? 

Make a list of the things you'd like someone to remember about you. Even if (especially if) it's a small thing. Like bringing lilac branches inside in late March so you could see green leaves in April. Which hat you liked to wear at a ball game. How you grabbed a handful of carrots out of the garden on your way to the tractor. The first book that made you laugh out loud.

50 years from now, your memories will be gold.