Halvorsons Active in
St. Ansgar;
First Came with
Clausen Colony

Blakestad buys Land in County
in May of 1855

The Norman Blakestads can trace their family history back to the earliest settlers in these parts. The original land grant was signed by President Franklin Pierce.

Gullick Halvorson Blakestad picked out 40 acres when he first came to this county. This was eventually turned back to the government and Gullick was given another grant of 80 acres. This grant, taken in May of 1855, was also signed by President Pierce.

Gullick had come to the United States with his wife, daughter and three younger brothers. They landed in New York after a voyage of nine weeks.

They traveled by boat as far as Chicago. From there, they went on foot, making their way through boggy marshes and swampy prairies. Their baggage was sent by ox-drawn carts to Jefferson Prairie, Wisconsin. In 1841, the rest of the family - except one son - joined the Blakestads in Wisconsin.

Lived in Wisconsin

Gullick lived in Wisconsin for 15 years. Then he joined the Rev. C. L. Clausen party. They made their way to Mitchell county by oxen and prairie schooners.

Ole Olson Narum, who had married Gullick’s daughter, accompanied the family to Mitchell county. He lived on the farm with them. Ole took his wife’s family name and was known as Ole Blakestad.

The Ole Narum Blakestads had 11 children: Andrew, Julia (Mrs. Peter Erickson), Edward, Halvor, A. Sophia (Mrs. Christian K. Olson), Mina Regina (Mrs. Edmund Gaarder), George, Oliver, Bernt Oscar, Louis and Gullick.

Ole’s son, Gullick, helped his father on the farm. He eventually bought the homestead and lived there until his death in 1905.

Bergette Halvorson Olson Daughter of Hans Halvorson, Mrs. Olson was born in 1849, before her father moved to Mitchell county. She married Ole Olson in 1867. She died on August 7, 1930.

His third child was Otto Blakestad. Otto married Bessie Rust in 1902. Their son, Norman, is the present owner and operator of the homestead farm. He and his wife, Carol, have three children - Sheryl, Alan, and Dale. Mrs. Olson was born in 1849, before her father moved to Mitchell County. She married Ole Olson in 1867. She died on August 7, 1930.

Two Johnson families came to Mitchell county with the Clausen pioneers more than 100 years ago. The farms are adjacent and are now combined under the sole ownership of Ole Johnson of Osage, IA. Ole’s son, Louis Johnson, and his son-in-law, Raymond Borchardt, live on the land.

Helge Johnson, the first of the family to arrive here, was born in Norway in 1804. He married Gunhild Larson in 1829 and came to Wisconsin in 1852. Joining other pioneers, he came by oxen team to Mitchell county in 1853, settling in Cedar township.

Ole Torgerson accompanied Johnson on the trip. The two men bought land from a man who had taken it from the government. The price they paid for the land was two swarms of bees, some hay and $16 in cash.

Returned for family

Helge had come to Iowa without his wife and children. When he returned to Wisconsin to get them, he found his wife had died. But he returned to his new home in Iowa the following spring with his children. They included Christie, Olea, John H., Helge, Louis, Maren, and Ole. Helge Johnson died in June of 1868.

Johnson’ son, Louis, had been born in Norway on February 17, 1835 and had come to America with his parents. He and his first wife, Brita, were the next to take possession of the farm. Before settling down to farming, Louis helped build a dam across Rock Creek for Cutler’s mill, and worked for Dr. A. H. Moore in Osage. Louis began farming for himself in 1860 and the following year he sold his first pork from the farm for 1 ¼ cents a pound.

Louis’ first wife died in 1875. He married again in 1876 to Ingeborg Tollefson of St. Ansgar, Iowa.

Ole Born on Farm

Their son, Ole J., was born on March 31, 1872, on the family farm. He attended the Dudley school and later the Cedar Valley seminary. A Mr. Westfall was his first rural teacher.

Students went to school all year round in 1880. There were 52 students in school in the winter. During planting, growing, and harvesting season, however, enrollment and attendance dropped considerably.

Families who had children in school with Ole Johnson were the Wilks, the Smalleys, the Armstrongs, the Olsons, the Johnsons, the Smiths, the Dunnings, the Larsons, the Nelsons, the Millers, the Hansens, the Staffs, the Hutchins, and Strubens, and the Mayfields.

Ole’s family had one hen. She laid an egg a day and each member of the family had his or her turn at having the egg for breakfast.

Married Marie Beball

Ole married Marie Beball of Charles City. She died in 1925, when their children were small. Their names were Louis, Mrs. Borchardt, Mrs. Wilmer Brandau and Marie. He raised the family and operated the farm. Ole acquired more property until he had more than doubled the original farm land.

Like most of the pioneers, the Johnson’s first farm buildings were of hewn logs. Some of the original buildings still stand on the farm. One building held the first wheat crop harvested on the farm and has held some kind of small grain or corn since. On the Nelson farm, owned by Ole Johnson, is an old log cabin still intact.

All of the Johnson families have taken part in the progress of the Rock Creek Lutheran church. The original family members assisted in organizing the church. Several of them were charter members.

The area west and northwest of Osage, including the Cedar, Rock and St. Ansgar region, was settled mostly by Scandinavians. In the Stacyville territory, Germans were the first to settle - and here we find the Decker family.

Jacob Decker was one of the first to arrive in Union township. He had married Margaret Iinsfield of Rhine river county, Germany. He brought her and his parents, Mr. & Mrs. John George Decker, to Mitchell county, settling west of Stacyville.

Jacob’s father was born in Germany on November 12, 1804. Jacob’s mother, Anna Mary Decker, was also born in Germany, on November 16, 1808. They lived with their son and daughter-in-law until their death on March 28, 1887 and July 7, 1885, respectively.

Had Two Neighbors

The Deckers’ only close neighbors in Union township were Joe Scott, who lived east of them and Sam Woolworth, who lived south of the Decker property. Woolworth owned the first log house in the neighborhood.

The Deckers were attracted to this particular tract of land because of its naturally flat formation. They liked prairie land. Their first house was a temporary one, as they couldn’t locate water in the immediate vicinity. Moving farther east, however, they struck a good well and here they built their permanent home.

The original house was built mostly of hand-hewn logs. It has been changed through the years to fit the needs of the family. All 11 children of Jacob and Margaret Decker were born in that house, as were all the children of the next two generations.

Went to McGregor

Decker’s crops, like many other pioneers’, had to be taken to McGregor, 90 miles away, to be sold. Trips were made once a year by oxen.

Decker’s team had a stubborn streak and wouldn’t cross a stream of water with a loaded wagon. Decker would have to unhitch the load and drive the oxen across the stream. Then he would go back, unload the wagon, and drive it across. He would return time and time again to the far bank to carry the bags of feed or grain across the stream himself.

Since there were few bridges between here and McGregor, this process was repeated often. For all his work, he was often forced to return home with scarcely enough supplies to last the family through the winter.

Promoted Presbyterian Church

One of the first religious meetings in the community was at the Decker home. Jacob donated land for the Union Presbyterian church and parsonage. He even hauled the lumber for the building from Lyle, MN. The church was finished in 1874. Prior to that, worship services were held in the schoolhouse.

Originally, the road from Stacyville to the Decker farm went on an angle all the way to Lyle. It began as a stage coach road, running diagonally across the prairie. All but one mile of the road has been straightened now.

A round ornament found in the center of what is now the Decker’s kitchen, was originally painted red, white and blue. It is about 4 feet across and is made of plaster of paris. Many such ornaments in other old homes were made of wood.

Jacob Decker died on March 12, 1900 and his wife,

Jacob Decker Jacob was the first to arrive in Union township. He claimed land west of Stacyville. He died on March 12, 1900.

Margaret, died on July 15, 1923.

George J. Decker remained on the family farm, buying it from his parents in 1889. He installed the first electricity on the far. This was a 32-vvolt plant. Rural electrification brought real power to the farm in 1939. He also had one of the first three silos in the county. It was used for nearly 30 years before it was torn down.

George Decker married Mary Spuhler in 1888. They had seven children, four of whom are still living. These included Mrs. Fred Pacey and Mrs. Elmer Morische of Osage; Mrs. Maynard Laetsler of Joliet, Illinois; and Bert Decker, who is the present owner of the family farm.

Decker Family This was the George Decker family around 1910. Front row, left to right: Bert Decker, George Decker, Edith (Mrs. Maynard Leatsler), and Mary (Mrs. George Decker). Back row, left to right: Martha (Mrs. Fred Pacey), Reuben Decker, Ralph Decker, and Stella (Mrs. Elmer Morische) Larger version

Bert was born on the farm on May 10, 1903. He began farming the land for himself in 1921, when he was 18 years old.

He married Grace Haugen of Osage on Christmas day in 1923,

Margaret Einsfield Decker Mrs. Decker married Jacob when they lived in Germany.

at the Union Presbyterian church. Their three children - Darrell of San Diego, Lester of osgae, and Mary Helen (Mrs. E. Wells Hubbard) of Tokyo, Japan - were born in the Decker house. All three of Bert’s children graduated from the Osage high school, as did Bert and his wife.

For more than 100 years, the farm has remained in Decker hands. Nineteen members of the family were born there and many of the older generation died there. The farm has housed the old and the new alike.

Jacob was the first to arrive in Union township. He claimed land west of Stacyville. He died on March 12, 1900.

George was the son of Jacob Decker, who first settled on the Decker farm.