GOLBERG, Amos N.

GOLBERG, WONG, CULBERTSON, HESGARD

Posted By: Gordon Felland (email)
Date: 11/25/2007 at 21:50:33

Amos Golberg's Oral History

Amos N. Golberg (1857 - Sept. 19, 1946), son of Narve Golberg and his wife Anna, was born on a farm 3/4 mile North of St. Ansgar, Iowa, February 14, 1857. He had one step-brother, two half-brothers, one brother and five sisters. Of these, John Wong, his step-brother, Olaf Culbertson, a half-brother, and three sisters, Christina, Belle, and Olena, came to Dakota Territory.

In January, 1880 he married Miss Maggie Hesgard at Orfordville, Wisconson. Rev. Egger, a Lutheran Minister performed the ceremony.

Both parents of Amos Golberg worked in the vicinity of Golberg, Norway and adopted that name. This is why both are named Golberg. His father's sir name was Culbertson until he assumed the name of the estate where he had been employed. Within three weeks after their marriage, his parents left their native Norway for America. They embarked at Chistiania (Oslo) taking passage on a sail boat. The voyage took six weeks. Amos Golberg knows nothing about his parents voyage, neither when nor where they landed in the United States. Upon landing in the United States his parents took a train to Orfordville, Wisconson where they had relatives and friends. Here his father bought a 40 acre farm, built a small house on it and made this their home. Within two years (not sure) Narve Golberg sold this farm and went to St. Ansgar, Iowa and bought 160 acres near the village. Here Amos was born - he is the second Golberg child born in Iowa.

Land was cheap. One neighbor, (Tore Mork Whomson) hauled one hog to McGregor, Iowa, 150 miles distant. This hog sold for $40.00. He then bought and paid for 40 acres of land with this $40.00.

At the age of 7 years Amos Golberg started school in St. Ansgar. At 14 years of age he was in the 5th reader and his schooling completed. Besides reading, his studies included writing, arithmetic, spelling, history, grammar and singing. There were no grades. During the summer vacation he attended the Lutheran Parochial School where he was taught the principles of religion in the Norwegian language, which he also learned to read and write. At 14 years of age he was confirmed in the Lutheran Church at St. Ansgar, Iowa by Rev. C. L. Clausen. From now on until he was 21 he worked for his father on the farm. Receiving his board and clothing.

Early in March (exact date not known) 1878, Amos Golberg left St. Ansgar, Iowa for Dakota Territory, where he arrived after a 4 days journey, by railroad from St. Ansgar, Iowa to Fisher's Landing, Minnesota, via St. Paul, Minnesota, where the party tarried for three days to buy clothing and supplies. With him came his step-brother, George Wong, a cousin, Ole Oleson, and Mr. and Mrs. Knute Rauck and their three daughters; Georgina, Margret, and ?; and their four sons, Ole, Lars, Christian and Karl.. This was a heavy family. The average weight of the girls was over 200 pounds and around 250 pounds for the boys. Karl was the heaviest, weighing 550 pounds. Karl Rauck died in 1900 and Knute Hesgard made a coffin for him as there were no coffins on the market big enough to hold the body.

The parties stayed at a hotel overnight in Fisher's Landing and the next morning after breakfast a half-breed Indian took them across the Red Lake River in a row boat, 4 persons at a time at 50 cents per person and 50 cents for a trunk.

They were met on the opposite side of the river by Lise Sinneson with a lumber wagon and team of horses. He put the luggage and women folks in the wagon while the men walked 18 miles across the prairie to the Red River, opposite of where Paul Blakkestad, an acquainance from St. Ansgar, Iowa lived who came across the Red River in a boat and took them to his home on the Dakota side.

Mr. Blakkestad's house was comfortable but small. The door was so low that Mr. Amos Golberg who is 5 ft. 7 in., tall bumped his head against the doorframe giving him a jar which he long remembered. Here they stayed overnight. They wrapped up in their overcoats and slept on the floor.

The following morning the started out on foot looking for a sutable piece of land. They arrived at a coulee along which was a plum thicket. When Mr. Golberg saw this, he said: "This is my claim". The next day he left for Fargo, by stage, where on March 18, 1878 he filed on the land. (Location and description of claim forgotten). The trip to Fargo cost $5.00. The route went from Grand Forks via Frog Point (now Belmont) Caladonia, Quinsey, where they were taken across the Red River by ferry, than to George-town, Moorhead and across the bridge to Fargo. It is claimed that Mr. Golberg was the first to file on a claim in the township which, as it appears, was Belmont Township. On the 19 of March 1878 a snowstorm came up which blocked roads making travel impossible so that Golberg was detained in Fargo for a week. When travel was resumed he took the stage to Frog Point(Belmont) from where he walked to his claim where he built his claim shack. This was a cellar dug in the bank along the coulee. He piled the sod around the outside, laid logs along the top than logs across this and covered these with brush and dirt. The shack faced north. It had one window, and one door. The door was made of rough boards hung on hinges and fastened with a latch.

Upon completing his log shack he began looking for work. After being unsuccessful in this for three weeks he returned to his former home in Iowa. Here he bought a pair of oxen with yoke for $100.00. A wagon for $30.00(not sure) and a span of three year old colts. These were broken, from his brother who owed him some money which he couldn't pay so the brother gave him the colts, one of which was balky, to satisfy the debt.

He started from St. Ansgar, Iowa, for Frog Point(Belmont) D.T. with the oxen hitched to the wagon, in which he had considerable oats, corn and a breaking plow; and trailed the colts. The route went via. Mankato, New Ulm, Benson, Morris, Breckenridge, and Moorhead Minnesota. At Mankato he bought another pair of oxen, with yoke for $100.00. He hitched these to the wagon too, trailing the colts as before. He arrived in New Ulm, toward evening and put up for the night. Conditions as they were in New Ulm at that time gave him an uncanny feeling and he slept in his wagon. He learned the next morning that a man had been killed in the street of the village the previous night. Mr. Golberg cannot verify this and did not tarry to investigate. When he reached Moorhead he camped for a day and a half where Concordia College now stands. From Moorhead he took the Grand Forks trail to Frog Point(Belmont). This end of the trip required three days while the entire journey from St. Ansgar, Iowa to Frog Point, (Belmont) Dakota Territory took 21 days.

Soon after the arrived at Frog Point (Belmont) he sold his entire outfit at a profit (doesn't remember the buyer's name) and got a 4 day job at one dollar fifty cents per day digging a cellar for "Jumping smith". Smith, as his name implies, was a claim jumper. In 1878 he tried to jump the claim of Targer Thompson (location of claim no known) who had lived on his claim since 1872.

Mr. Golberg now hired Halmer Klase, a settler, to break 20 acres for him at $3.00 per acre. He now returned to Iowa, arriving in St. Ansgar, July 4th. He helped his father during haying and harvest. His father had a Marsh Harvester grain reaper. Amos was one of the two men that bound the grain on the harvester. He than worked out for one month at $50.00 per month. This gave him more money than his father made from his farming during the whole year.

The latter part of September 1878 Amos Golberg returned to Dakota Territory going to Grand Forks where he worked at the carpenter's trade in partnership with Sam Lean, a friend from Iowa. Mr. Golberg bought a lot (location and price not known) Golberg and Lean built a store and went into business for themselves. This building housed the first Norwegian saloon in Grand Forks.

In December 1879 he went to Orfordville, Wisconson to spend Christmas. Here in January 1880 he married Miss Magie Hersgard and the young people went into the hotel business operating the Golberg House in Grand Forks which Mr. Golberg owned. After nine months Mr. Golberg rented the hotel (don't know to whom) for $50.00 per month and moved on his farm.

Up to this time he had rented his farm to his brother-in-law. H. Hendrickson, on a 50-50-share basis. In 1879 while living in Grand Forks Mr. Golberg built a one room, one story 12x14 foot house on his farm. The lumber for the house was hauled from Grand Forks. The house was sheathed with rough boards and covered with tar paper over all. The stove pipe stuck out of the peak of the roof served as a chimney. The furnishings consisted of a bed, table, chairs and cupboard. The sheet iron, claim shack, stove, was replaced by a 4 lid cast iron cook stove with oven for baking. Wood, for fuel was obtained in the timber along the Red River at 75 cents per load. Water was secured from a well 18 feet deep. This well was dug, by hand by Mr. Golberg and his brother-in-law Henry Hendrickson. They used a windless, and rope and bucket to draw out the dirt. Groceries were bought in the store at Belmont where Mr. Robert Ray had a store. Flour was obtained at a mill located on the Goose River where Mr. Clark operated a custom mill on a toll basis. Thirty-two pounds of flour and middlings and bran in proportion were returned to the customer for every bushel (60 pounds) of wheat delivered. The difference was retained by the miller. A dam was built across the Goose River and a flume constructed along the bank. An undershot water-wheel placed at the end of the flume furnished power for operating the mill which had been built in 1871.

The first crop grown on Mr. Goldberg's homestead was wheat raised while Mr. Hendrickson had rented the land in 1879. The yield was 20 bushels, No. 1 wheat, per acre. This sold for 80 cents (not sure) per bushel in Grand Forks. In addition to raising grain Mr. Golberg had a good garden which reduced living expenses. He also tried growing tobacco. In 1882 he had a tobacco patch 2 by 3 rods in size. He obtained the seed from his brother-in-law in Wisconson who was in the tobacco business. His tobacco grew fully four feet high and developed large leaves but an early frost that year ruined his crop and he never again tried raising tobacco in Dakota. His pasture was ten acres in size, the enclosure was a rail fence. Posts and rails were obtained from trees felled in the woods along the Red River. Posts were set 8 feet apart and the rails spiked to the posts with square, tapering iron spikes.

In the winter and spring of 1884 Mr. Golberg had a six months contract for carrying the mail from Buxton to Belmont 11 miles distant at $2.50 per round trip, 3 trips per week. On one of these trips in spring, in order to avoid a 6 mile detour he tied the mail bag high on his back, to prevent the mail from getting wet and swam a coulee, he augmented his income by carrying express and passengers. On one of these trips he had a school teacher (he forgot her name) as a passenger to Belmont. He got stuck in the mud in a coulee. The singletree broke and he had to get out into the water and carry his passenger to dry ground. Than he returned to his buggy, tied the singletree together and got out. However, he was wet to his waist. His fare was one dollar per passenger one way.

In the winter of 1883 to 1884 the snow was 5 feet deep on the level and roads were much higher than the snow on the sides. Roads really seemed like high grades winging their way through the country. Farmers made a practice of going to town in troops. There were side tracts at regular intervals where teams would switch in order that teams coming in the opposite direction might pass. In cases where drivers did not cooperate in this manner there were many tip overs.

In 1887 Mr. Golberg sold his homestead taking in payment 5 shares, at $100.00 each, in a Meat Packing plant in St. Ansgar, Iowa, and moved there operating a meat market for nine years. The first two years that he was in business in St. Ansgar, he had a contract for making summer sausage to the packing company. After three years of operation the packing company went broke and Mr. Golberg lost $400.00. He then sold his meat business and started a furniture store which he operated for one year. In 1897 he bought 180 acres 5 miles south of Enderlin, North Dakota at 9 dollars per acre and hired his brother-in-law, Ole Christensen to break 50 acres at 5 dollars per acre. The following spring he came to Enderlin in an immigrant car bringing 3 horses, farm machinery, household goods, finishing lumber, window and door frames and a stairway. This was to be used in the house which he built on his farm the following summer. In Minneapolis he bought a carload of lumber which he used in erecting farm buildings on his farm in Ranson County, North Dakota.

In 1899 Mrs. Golberg dies and his daughter Anna kept house for him. In August 1880 his daughter Miss Anna Golberg married Mr. William Campbell who was a Railway Mail Clerk on the Soo Line. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell made their home in Enderlin for a while then going to St. Paul, Minnesota where Mr. Campbell was transferred to the Great Northern running from St. Paul, Minnesota to Devil's Lake, North Dakota. This left Mr. Golberg without a housekeeper and he sold his farm to Ole Christensen in 1901. This left Mr. Golberg without a home and for 12 years he lived with relatives in Minnesota and North Dakota. On March 14, 1915 he married Mrs. Shermoen in Moorhead Minnesota. His wife had a 160 acre farm near Stockwood, Minnesota and then made their home on this farm for six years when his second wife dies. He lived in Dilworth, Minnesota for three years then came to Fargo where he made his home with his daughter Anna, Mrs. William Campbell, 1208-13th Street South, Fargo.

He has two children, six grandchildren, and two great grand children. And Seven stepchildren by his marriage to Mrs. Susie Shermoen who was the Mother of nine children by her marriage to Mr. Ole Shermoen.

Added by Mike Golberg on 7 Oct 2007
Historical Data Project, Otto O. Uhlhorn, Field Worker

The above information was provided by Mike Golberg, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada