Hans Lars Michaelson

MICHAELSON HILDEROEN FOSSE

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/6/2010 at 23:33:25

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

Hans Lars Michaelson
By L H Michaelson

Hans L Michaelson was the son of Mikkel L Bakke (Glaesnes) and Ingebor Monsdatter Hilderoen of Bakke. Hans was born on March 12, 1846 on a very small island, named Hilleroy, which is approximately thirty miles southwest of Bergen, Norway. He had one sister, Synneve, born November 3, 1843 and a brother, Mikkel, born September 6, 1849. These three children and a half brother, Peter, were reared by their father as Ingebor died on December 12, 1849. In 1864 the church confirmed Hans with the following notation, ‘After many years preparation, his knowledge is tolerable good in spite of modest abilities, application tolerable.’ On the 25th of April, 1866 the church dismissed him and recorded that he was giving to the United States.

Hans must have met and married Christi Torgalsdatter Fosse soon after her arrival in Iowa in 1868 as their first child, Isabelle, was born in 1870 or 1871. They were living in Waukon, Allamakee County, when Henry was born in 1872. On October 7, 1873, Hans received his naturalization papers at the Allamakee County Court House. They soon moved to Winneshiek County where Caroline Annie, called Carrie by family and friends, was born on February 17, 1874.

Whether the Mikklesen’s, which is the way they spelled their name in the early days, and the Fosse’s, Christi’s parents, kept together or one followed the other is not clear, but they both settled just outside Forest City. Hans and Christi bought two 40 acre tracts for a total of $195.00 and started clearing the land in November, 1879. It was a happy occasion now that they had their own farm, but it was also sad as they buried their last born son, Theodore Ishmael, who was only two years old. On his tombstone in the Forest City Cemetery, the stonecutter had carved “H’S” instead of HANS for his father’s name. Another girl, Theodora, was born, but she lived only a few months. Determined to have a ‘Theodore’ in the family, they named their next son, Ishmael Theodore, born on October 27, 1880. Elma Luring was also born in Winnebago County on October 29, 1881.

In June of 1883 the Michaelson’s pulled up stakes, sold their farm to Torgils Fosse and continued their westward migration to Sergeant Bluff. This was to become Hans’ and Christi’s permanent home. Their last four children were born in Sergeant Bluff: Violet Marinda, born June 6, 1887; Clara Isabelle, born June 13, 1891; Leo Adolf, born August 7, 1894; and Clarence who died in infancy. The seven surviving children attended school in Sergeant Bluff and participated in local activities. They had purchased a city lot in Whiting, but I do not believe they ever lived there. In 1887 they bought a lot in the Blair Addition of Sergeant Bluff and built a home where they lived the rest of their lives. Hans went to work for the Holman Brick Company and Christi took in boarders from time to time.

Hans died on March 16, 1906 while at work. His obituary and a letter form one of his daughters tell of his last day and burial. He had felt fine when he left for the brick factory but suddenly became ill, sat down and all he said was ‘Home’, apparently dying of a heart attack. Earlier he had visited relatives in the Black Hills of South Dakota and brought back pine boughs from there. His grave was lined with these boughs when he was buried in the Sergeant Bluff cemetery a short distance from where he worked. Christi died in January 1919 and is buried beside Hans.
1) Henry Mikkel (see separate history)
2) Carrie met Halvor Hovland when he was a boarder at the Hans Michaelson’s and they were married on November 6, 1891. They lived next door until they moved to Eldon, Missouri around 1900. Their first two children were born in Sergeant Bluff: Bertha, 1893-1965, married Adolf Tweed; Homer, 1895-1968, married Anna Moen. Their last three children were born in Eldon, Missouri: Opal, b 1901, married Joe Tweed; Tammy, b 1905, married Arthur Myre; Cecil, b 1908, married Ardythe Juhl. Carrie died in 1937 and Halvor died in 1962 at the age of 98. Both are buried in Forest City. Many descendants of this family live in the Mason City, Iowa, area, Minnesota and North Dakota.
3) Ishmael Theodore was a great baseball fan and in his younger days played on the Sergeant Bluff Brickyard team. (see accompanying picture.) He traveled selling McLaughlin coffee and later Calumet baking powder. While calling on the Sioux Indians he learned to speak the Sioux Indians he learned to speak the Sioux language. He married Regina Schenebricker on April 30, 1912 in Wichita, Kansas and they settled first in Sioux City where their first child, Ruth, was born in 1914.
In a few years, I T and family moved to Wichita, Kansas, bought a home and lived there the rest of their lives. He sold grease and oil for Skelly Oil Company for a while then later went into the advertising business for himself. He died February 20, 1957 and Regula died the same year. They both are buried in Wichita Park Cemetery. The family name, Michaelseon, has been continued through this line as they had a son, Louis H, born February 22, 1919 who married Ruth White in 1946 and their son, Eric, b 1950, has a son, Kirk, born 1979. They are living in Texas.
Elma, who preferred to be called Thelma, married Walter Stadum who was the station agent at Stratford then at Wall Lake, Iowa. She died in Wall Lake about 1937. She was so loved by her husband that when he retired and moved to Minnesota he had her body moved there also so she would be close to him.

Violet married Wren Moore and they farmed for a while near Sergeant Bluff. At some unknown time she went to California and is reported to have been in the movies. Her nieces looked forward to her visits home because she allowed them to play ‘dress up’ in some of her fancy clothes and hats. She died in Culver City, California and her ashes were sent from the County of Los Angeles to Sergeant Bluff. The name on the box was Catherine Griffith, a name she is known to have used in California. In 1966 when Roy Foss died in Sergeant Bluff, her ashes were found at his residence and the people, not knowing what to do with the box, placed it in Roy’s casket. Her burial at the Sergeant Bluff Cemetery was duly noted.

Clara went to Detroit, Michigan to study nursing after graduation from high school. She became an R.N. and for years was in charge of the emergency room at Detroit Receiving Hospital. She married one of the hospital engineers, Albert McGuire. She died in Detroit in 1963.

Leo married a local Sergeant Bluff girl, Ruby Hallenbeck, at Yankton, South Dakota. They lived in Sergeant Bluff and at one time ran a grocery store. They had two children: Robert, born in 1928, lived only a short time; and Karen Lea born September 28, 1935.