$1.00 in My Pocket

Tosten had $1.00 when he started in Minnesota. The first summer he earned $55 working for two elderly neighbors, cutting hay with a scythe. When winter came, he went to Wisconsin to work at a logging camp.

While he was gone, his brother Lars arranged tickets for Sigrid, Anna, Michael, and baby Lars to come to America. Companies were competing against each other, lowering the price for passage. They bought five tickets -- two adults and three children -- for $65. The extra ticket was for a young man who had worked for them in Norway. Tosten was glad to buy him a ticket, as he could help Sigrid and the children during the trip. They arrived at Lars' house on May 26, 1885.

Tosten Mikkelsen Lillehaugen (1847–1934)

Tosten and his twin sister Sissel were born on June 21 on the Lillehaugen farm in Leveld, Al, Hallingdal to Mikkel Sevatsen and Sissell Tostendatter. On April 25, 1878, he married Sigrid Larsdatter Gjeldaker. “Seeing that was taken care of, it was to settle down for good.”

Sigrid mentions Tosten in her letters, but we don’t get a lot of detail. (My husband pointed this out.) We could speculate on family dynamics, but I prefer a simple theory: paper and time were scarce, and Sigrid’s top priority in her letters was to describe her children and their lives in the U.S.

Fortunately, we have a wealth of information about Tosten’s life from an even better source: Tosten himself. In 1917, he wrote a short account of his life in Norway and the U.S. We’re going to spend the next few posts filling in the background and details of his life.

Letter Excerpt: February 25, 1892

February 25, 1892

Dear unforgettable Father! Mother and Brothers,

Now that at last your long-awaited letter has come, I want to send you my thanks for the letter. I often wondered why Father waited so long before he sent us a letter. How lovingly welcome to receive your dear familiar hand again and read the dear lines from Father. Yes, I thank God for letting that happen. With gladness I see that everything is well with you at home. And the same I can say from here because we have our health to date, which is the best of everything good. God gives us His grace.

First we must tell you that on November 4 we were blessed with a little well-shaped son, Theodore, who now is growing and bright for his age.

The crops were good last year, the first wheat harvest in Dakota. Now we will see if it will be better here. Some have given up their land and moved away.

Tosten and Micheal have much work in the barn, as we have many animals. They also bought a team of horses. There is much to buy when a man is beginning to farm, and here it is expensive. Machine and tools we need, but we are afraid to buy before we can pay.

You must all now live and greet everyone we know and would like to hear from us. Loving greetings from me and mine. Clara now has a pen. She will write to Grandfather later.

Sigrid