Little School on the Prairie

Sigrid weaves the theme of education throughout her letters, frequently describing what the children learned, books they read, and the teachers' praise.

Lars Gjeldaker was likely (and justifiably) skeptical of the educational opportunities in Dakota territory. If the family had stayed in Norway, the grandchildren would have studied with him. Instead, an ocean separated them.

In 1892, Anna, the oldest grandchild, sent Grandfather some details:

"Micheal has now read in the Forklaring, and then we have read in the Bible History and are reading in the Testament. Then we have the Sunday School papers and newspapers. Micheal and Lars have the China Missionary paper. Last fall we borrowed one of Ole Skjervem's books and it was so much fun to read in that. Could grandfather please send one with Knud Jallo? Lars reads in the catechism, and Birgit [Cecelia] in the ABC. She spells and makes words. Clara is a little of each. She reads the ABC and sings a little of each song she hears from us."

Anna also assures Grandfather that he would like Clara. "She is a good girl. You should hear and see her. I think you would like her. She is a comfort to us all. Papa and she are very good friends. One time she said she liked whiskers, butter and bread."

Anna realizes her life would be different in Hallingdal. "I hear in your letter how cozy you have it. It would be good for us to get to go to school at your place and if we did that we would be satisfied--and we would really try to learn to read and be smart."

She closes with a postscript on behalf of her little sister: "I shall greet you from Birgit that she is good to take care of little brother and to read."

New Family Members: Clara, Theodore, and Nils

The family was growing too. Tosten presents the situation like a farmer: "There had been considerable increase in the stock, but not only that, the family too, increased. So then I knew that we had found a good place. September 26, 1889, a girl was born and was named Clara; November 4, 1891, a boy named Theodore; September 5, 1893, a boy named Nils."

Sigrid adds context in her letter to Norway. "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. . . 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."

Getting Settled in Dakota

On June 1, 1888, Tosten, Sigrid, and their children moved into their new home in Walsh county.

Tosten writes, "I bought the improvement from a Bohemian . . . with the understanding that I file on that quarter, which I did. The improvement consisted of a log house 24 by 16, a well, a stable, and 25 acres that had been broken. I paid $150 for this. I did not have the money but was to pay it in the fall."

Neighbors banded together. "There was plenty of hay and pasture land around about us, but to get the hay together was not so easy. I had neither team nor machinery at first. So it was to exchange work with neighbors, and that took lots of strength for one man. When I came, I had a yoke of oxen three years old. So when I got them broke and got a wagon and rack, I could haul my own hay with the help I had. So things started to get better."

Sigrid also describes the first years. In 1892, she wrote, "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."

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.

 

Newcomers at church

"The first time there were services after our arrival was Palm Sunday, and they wanted us to go to church with them. Oh my! How embarrassing it was. Only strange faces, not a soul that we knew, and we felt that everybody stared at us, and, of course, we were odd in that we were "newcomers." 

It was summer and warm weather. Everybody was dressed in summer dresses, and I wore my heavy homespun wool dress--the only dress I had. We were invited to Eric Himle's for dinner (Gjertrud Lillehaugen's home)  and there were lots of grownups, both boys and girls at home, so I was not very much enthused about the idea. And I said something to that effect to Mrs. Himle, but she only said that they "had seen newcomers before." 

At Gjertrude's (wife of Lars) I got some clothes washed, learned to make bread and fried cake (doughnuts?) and with this knowledge of American food, we moved to a nearby farm on June first. This place was vacant. We rented the house, got our wood from the wooded pasture nearby. We bought two cows and one calf, two hens and one rooster from Lars (Lillehaugen)."

Final excerpt from Sigrid's account of her journey to America, written in 1919.