Mrs. Anna Haaland (1831-1921)

HAALAND, NAESS, NEREIM, SHELDAHL, OPSTWEDT

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 5/8/2006 at 22:07:21

From The Roland Record, Roland, Story County, Iowa, Thursday, March 21, 1921, page 1:

Mrs. Anna Haaland Died Wednesday Evening

Mrs. Anna Haaland, on the Roland's oldest citizens, passed away at her home in East Roland Wednesday evening after a lingering illness of several years. Mrs. Haaland was 89 years, 7 months of age at the time of her death.

Funeral services will be held Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock from Bergen church.
Obituary next week.

From The Roland Record, Roland, Story County, Iowa, Thurday, March 28, 1921, page 8:
Pioneer Lady Laid to Rest Saturday Afternoon

A large concourse of relatives and friends were present at the funeral of Mrs. Anna Haaland, held Saturday afternoon from Bergen church. Mrs. Haaland was one of Story county's early pioneers, having settled in this community in 1858.

Anna Naess-Haaland was born in Skaanevig, Norway, on July 8, 1831, and died at her home in Roland on Thursday, March 31, being at the time of her death 89 years, 8 months and 22 days old.

In 1849 she emigrated to this country, settling first at Lisbon, Ill., where a few years later, in 1856, she was united in marriage to Samuel J. Haaland. The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. P. A. Rasmusson at the Norwegian Lutheran church at Lisbon. At this same time four other couples were united in marriage. They were Mr. and Mrs. E.R. Sheldahl, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Lein, Mr. and Mrs. John Michaelson, Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Johnson.

In 1858 Mr. and Mrs. Haaland together with a number of their friends set out for Iowa, traveling overland in wagons. These people were the real pioneers of this section of the state, most of them settling in the vicinity of Roland. Mr. and Mrs. Haaland settled on a farm on the east edge of Roland, where Mr. Haaland died on April 20, 1884. A few years later Mrs. Haaland moved to Roland.

Mr. and Mrs. Haaland were amoung the leaders in those early pioneer days. Both of them took an active part in the organizing of the Bergen Lutheran church. Mr. Haaland was a member of the committee that superintened the building of the church. Mrs. Haaland has been one of the faithful members of the church all these years and was a regular attendant at services as long as her health would permit.

Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Haaland, six of whom died in childhood, and Henry and Ole having died after reaching their maturity. The surviving children are Mrs. Malinda Nereim of Langford, S. D., and Christ Haaland of this place. Two sisters also survive her, they being Mrs. Betsey Sheldahl and Mrs. Ingeborg Opstwedt.

Mrs. Haaland has always enjoyed the best of health up until eleven years ago, when she fell and broke her hip and has been an invalid since that time. Last Saturday morning whe was taken worse and from then on she gradually failed until death came and relieved her of her sufferings.