Hans Bergan

BERGAN, LATTESTAD, HOMELIN, FIKAN

Posted By: Peter Gausmann (email)
Date: 1/19/2010 at 17:33:02

HANS BERGAN

After many years devoted to agricultural pursuits Hans Bergan is now living retired in Forest City, Iowa, enjoying a well earned rest and the fruits of his former toil. He was born in Norway, on the 10th of February, 1841, and is a son of Hans and Beret (Lattestad) Bergan, who spent their entire lives in that country. He was educated in the common schools of his native land and remained at home with his parents until thirty-two years of age.

Having determined to try his fortune in the new world, where he believed that better opportunities were afforded an ambitious young man, Mr. Bergan came to the United States in 1873, though he had to borrow the money to pay his passage. He first located in Dane county, Wisconsin, and resided there until 1882, when he came to Winnebago county, Iowa, and for six or seven years engaged in farming on rented land. Having lived economically he was then able to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of land in Newton township. This was a wild tract for which he paid six dollars and twenty-five cents per acre. Mr. Bergan built thereon a residence and farm buildings and as time passed placed his land under excellent cultivation, so that it became a very valuable tract. After operating that farm for about twenty-six years, he sold it in 1914 for one hundred dollars per acre and then removed to Forest City, where he is now living retired, having a comfortable town residence surrounded by about five acres of ground.

On September 12, 1885, Mr. Bergan was united in marriage to Miss Ingeborg Homelin, of Winnebago county. She is a native of Norway and on coming to the United States in 1873 settled in Dane county, Wisconsin, where she spent four years. At the end of that time she became a resident of Winnebago county, Iowa. She is a daughter of Ole and Carrie (Fikan) Homelin, the former of whom died in Norway in 1853. The mother came to the United States in 1871 and died in 1898 in Newton township, when eighty-five years old. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bergan are earnest and consistent members of the Lutheran synod and are held in the highest esteem by all who know them. Although Mr. Bergan came to the new world in debt he steadily worked his way upward to prosperity until he is now accounted one of the well-to-do men of his community, for he possesses good business ability and has never been afraid of hard work.

Source: History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol. II. Pioneer Publishing Company (Chicago), 1917. pp. 73-74.