Knute Bouge (1821-1910)

BOUGE, WEE

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 7/20/2023 at 18:58:33

From The Slater News December 1, 1910 (page 1)

MANY ATTEND K. BOUGE'S FUNERAL

Deceased was one of the oldest and highly respected citizens of southern Story County. Was prominent in church work.

Knute Bouge, whose death was briefly mentioned in these columns last week, was a native of Norway where he was born on the 2nd day of February, 1821. He spent the first twenty-six years of his life under parental roof where he received the training that was of so much value to him in later years. In 1847 he immigrated to America and settled down in Kendall Co., Ill. While making that place his home he was joined in marriage to Miss Carrie Wee in 1854. They made Illinois their home till after the close of the Civil war when they moved to Iowa and bought a farm west of Cambridge where they lived ever since and till death called him.

Deceased was one of the early settlers of southern Story. As such he had much to do with the community's earliest history, especially as regards to religious matters, and his name is closely interwoven with the early life of the Palestine church of which he was a member. Confirmed and brought up in the Lutheran faith in his fatherland on his arrival here he affiliated himself with that church and was the first parochial school teacher of the Palestine congregation. When it came to other matters of a religious instruction ----------------sulted and he was of inestimable value and help in Sunday school work as well as in other auxiliary church work.

His long career, however, had its sorrows and trials and dark days. Of these he could recite as sad a chapter as man is called upon to go through. This took him back of the year of 1849 when he lived at Lisbon, Illinois. While making that place their home the Asiatic cholera entered the home and removed six of his brothers and sisters from the family circle in lass than ten days. They were sad times. One by one a brother or sister was carried away and it seemed as if the whole family would be wiped out. It was not, however, and Knute was one among the children who was left to tell the story.

In 1865 he moved to Iowa. With no railroads to take them hither the trip across the prairies was a tedious one and fraught with not a few hardships, such as this generation know nothing about. They were not alone, however, and many others shared the covered wagon caravan with them. They settled on the homestead where he lived when death called him.

Funeral services on Sunday was attended by an immense congregation. He left to mourn his death an aged wife and a host of friends. He had no children and all his brothers and sisters had preceded him into the other world.