Ole Hansen Rustand and His Sons:
Ole the Older, Erik, and Ole the Younger,
Who Emigrated to America.By
Ingeborg and Wilhelm Elsrud(As translated from the Norwegian)
The following is a copy of the Norway letters that were found in the Norwegian-American Historical Association, located on the lower level of the Rolvaag Memorial Library on the St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. They are a sub file under the Sanford K. Fosholt (1915) #1311. Ron and Jean Hendrix of Apple Valley, Minnesota were told of these letters while traveling in Norway in the fall of 1997. The letters were found in one of the buildings on the Elsrud farm about a hundred miles north of Oslo, Norway. They were written to friends or family in Norway by people living in America. The Hendrixs are not related to these people. Thanks to them for compiling this report.
Note: One of the farms lived on by the emigrants was located in Meroa, Mitchell County, Iowa, just south of the Rock Creek Lutheran Church. It is owned in 2003 by LaVerne Olsen and was before that owned by his father, Lawrence Olsen, and before that his grandfather, Lars Iver Olsen.
FOREWORD: Until Elling O. Elsrud some years ago found about 130 American letters in the insulation space below the attic floor in the building for the pensioner (former owner) at Nordre Elsrud farm in Adal, Norway, Wilhelm's great-great-grandfather, Ole H. Rustand and his three sons were nearly unknown to us. Most of these letters were from these four relatives as well as Iver Elsrud, who emigrated later on and lived for some years with his mother's brother, Ole the younger. The letters told a fantastic story, which inspired us to find more material.
The other information that this narrative is based on is partly provided by Ole the younger's grandchildren, Lloyd Peterson in Saskatchewan, Canada, and Sanford K. Fosholt, Muscatine, Iowa. Fosholt had grown up on a farm in the same area of Iowa as the Rustand family settled on. Sanford Fosholt and his wife, Wilma, were the gracious hosts and guides during a trip we made in Minnesota and Iowa in September of 1991.
When the emigrants came to America, they bought or were allotted square pieces of land called "sections". Each section was divided into four equally large parts called "quarters". One section is 640 acres, and one quarter is 160 acres. One acre equals 4.047 "mal".
OUTLINE OF THE FAMILY: Ole Hansen Rustand (1789-1861) and Guri Torgrimsdatter Holte (1789-1882) from Vestre Holte, Norway, had seven children:
1. Kari, born 1816. Married first time to Nils Sand, second time to Erik Gullerud.
2. Olia, born 1817, died 1909. Married to Elling O. Elsrud, Nordre Elsrud.
3. Hans, born 1819. Married to Inger Finsand. Took over Rustand farm.
4. Torgrim, born 1822, died 1913. Took over Haugerud, which he sold in 1870. Married first time to Ingeborg Holte, second time to Kjersti Blakstvedt.
5. Ole the Older, born 1824, died 1869. Emigrated to America in 1851.
6. Erik, born 1827, died 1888 in New Zealand. Emigrated to America in 1851.
7. Ole the Younger, born 1831, died 1915, in Canada. Emigrated to America in 1851.
OLE HANSEN RUSTAND (1789-1881) Ole and Guri got married in Viker Church 24, March, 1815. In 1832after all the children had been born, he purchased Haugerud in Adal, Norway and moved there. It appears that most of the children gradually also moved to Haugerud. The youngest ones later used Haugerud as their family name. Even Ole was called "Haugeruden" (the Haugerud) in every day speech in the settlement.
It might seem strange that many of the children moved with their father from Rustand to Haugerud. It has been said that it was difficult to live with Guri, and perhaps that is part of the explanation. But certain stories told about Haugeruden might indicate that he also had a strong willed personality. One time he was supposed to have rowed across Sperillen with Lang-Ola Nesmoen and some other fellows. Haugeruden bragged that he was good at fighting. "It is a real wedding for me to fight", he said. "Row to shore, fellows!" said Lang-Ola. "It is a pity that Haugeruden won't come to the wedding." Lang-Ola was known to be especially strong, and Haugeruden fled as fast as he could when the boat got to shore.
In any case, it is certain that the relationship between Ole and Guri got to be very bad as time went on. Their life together ended with divorce, and Ole confirmed this in a document which was signed at Skagnes 15, May, 1852.
On the holding named Olshullet belonging to Haugerud, there lived at that time a young girl called Berit. She was born 18, July, 1813, and was about twenty years old when the new farmer came to Haugerud. Olshullet is now vacated and the fields overgrown, but the house is still standing. After a while, Berit moved down to Haugerud as Ole's housekeeper. On the 13, July, 1839, Berit had a daughter who was baptized Kirsti. The baptismal records show that the father was Jacob.
At that time it was not unusual that parents who did not want to acknowledge paternity of "illegitimate" children simply "bought" a father for the child. Although we have not found conclusive proof, it is a natural thing to believe that Ole was Kirsti's real father. This might also explain why Ole, Berit and Kirsti traveled together from Adalen to America at the end of May, 1852. For what other reason would he want to leave? He was a rich man, owned two large farms, the four oldest children were married and well off on nice farms, three of his sisters were married on the farms of Rognerud, Granum, and Vasenden, his brother Nils had bought Viker, and his youngest brother, Simon, lived at Sorum in Bjonroa. At that time, it would have been a scandal for the well-to-do farmer at Haugerud to have had a child with the cotter's girl from Olshullet. Besides, at that point of time he was still not divorced from Guri. In the emigration papers, he is listed as Ole Hansen Haugerud and she as Berit Rodningssand.
It is likely that they went by sailskip via Liverpool to Quebec in Canada and from there across the Great Lakes in North America to Milwaukee in Wisconsin. This was the usual route at the time. In any case, we know that they arrived in a little town by the name of Muskego just southwest of Milwaukee late in the summer of 1852. This town was a gathering place for the Norwegian emigrants. Immediately after their arrival, Ole and Berit were married by Pastor Claus L. Clausen.
Pastor Clausen was a very well known person among the immigrants and got to be of great importance to the Haugerud family. He was born in Denmark in 1820 but had been in Norway for a while before traveling westward. When Ole with his new family arrived, Clausen had been the "first minister of Muscego" for several years. During this period, among other things he had received the Heg family from Lier. Hans Heg came as a young boy to Muskego during the 1840's with his mother and some siblings.
He developed into a tall, beautiful and an unusually capable man. During the Civil War (1881-1885), he served as the leader of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment, where he became famous for his courage. In 1863, he was hit by a bullet from a sniper but continued advancing for more than one English mile before he fell. He died the following day.
During the summer of 1851, Pastor Clausen had traveled around in Wisconsin and Minnesota to find suitable land to settle on, but he did not find any. In the spring of 1852, he left again with two scouts and came westward in Minnesota to Albert Lea Lake. The land was quite wet there, and they decided to go southward. After having crossed the Iowa border, they found a little creek in a wooded area. They gave the creek the name of Deer Creek. They followed the creek until it emptied into the big Cedar River, which is a tributary to the Mississippi. They had then found the place they sought, and they hastily returned to Wisconsin with the good news.
In the fall of the same year, Clausen set off for Iowa again, but this time with Ole Hansen Haugerud who had just arrived. In the group were also Levor Lindelien, Hans H. Smesrud and others. They found the place to be just as nice as it had been in the spring, and to make sure that they would get the land, each one of them built a log house with one room. All of them built close to the place which today is called St. Ansgar, except for Haugerud and Smesrud who built by Deer Creek. After that they returned to Wisconsin for the winter.
In May of 1853, a strange group left Muskego heading westward. There were about 75 men, women and children, 30 prairie schooners, presumably pulled by oxen, three horses, one vehicle and 150 cattle. In the group were Ole Hansen Haugerud, 64 years old, Berit Olsdatter Haugerud, 40 years old, and Kirsti Jacobsdatter Haugerud, 15 years old. It is difficult for us today to imagine how strenuous and difficult this trip was. They crossed the Mississippi River by ferry at McGregor, wandered across the prairie of Iowa, through forests, crossed smaller rivers and boggy areas, either without or on poor roads. The leader of the group was Pastor Clausen, who had his whole family with him.
When they arrived, it turned out that other people had moved into the log houses that were built the fall of 1852. Hans H. Smesrud had dug down his carpenter chest in the dirt floor, but after some discussion he was permitted to retrieve it. All of them had to build new log houses closer to Cedar River.
Most of them settled near the present St. Ansgar. They were the first pioneers in this area of Mitchell County. Pastor Clausen founded the town of St. Ansgar and baptized it in memory of the Benedictine monk Ansgar (801-885), who was nicknamed "The Apostle of the North".
The miles south of St.Ansgar there was also a smaller river which flowed into Cedar River. The name of this river was (and still is) Rock Creek. Six of the families in the group continued southward and took land at Rock Creek as the first settlers in this area, which as time went on would become very important to the Haugerud family. One of them was Levor Olsen Lindelien from Nes in Adal, Norway.
The chosen area was probably one of the best to be found in the Midwest. The soil is today considered to be the best in America, they got water and fish from the rivers, and the forest gave building materials, firewood and game. The forest consisted only of different species of leaf trees, mostly oak, and they were used in the construction of the log houses.
Ole and Berit settled down and took land approximately on mile southwest of St. Ansgar. The Cedar River flows between the town and their farm, and the family had to cross the river by boat every time they were going to the post office or had other errands in town. According to an old map, it appears that the property was somewhat more than one quarter or about 800 mal.
We have in the collection of letters four letters from Ole Hansen written during the period of 1857-1859. In the first one, he wrote that two years earlier he had gotten a letter from his brother Nils Viker, in which he voiced the wish of emigrating. Ole advised against his coming and said that he probably would do better in Norway. (Nils sold Viker anyway some years later and emigrated with his children. Viker farm can be found in Dakota and is still in the hands of the family)
He wrote further: "The winter is also very cold here, therefore, especially the last two winters, I have never known such a biting cold at any time in Norway, and the driving snow here across the big prairies is so strong; at no time is it stronger across the large mountain areas in Norway, and during the last two winters several people have lost their lives."
Finally, in a letter three pages long, he came up with a little piece of information that he probably did not figure the family in Norway was especially interested in : "My wife died ("changed time with eternity") last 25, July, following only two days of illness; for that matter she had poor health the last two years she lived." Berit died, in other words, in 1857, 44 years old.
When Berit died, Ole and Kirsti were left alone on the farm. Ole's three sons had probably to some extent lived with their father during the first years, but Erik had gone to Australia in 1854, Ole the younger to California in 1855, and Ole the older had left to find his brothers during the summer of 1857. But the loneliness did not last long. The summer and fall of 1857 turned out to be a very eventful time. About the time that Berit died and Ole the Older left, Kirsti got married to Andrew Erickson, and Ole Hansen sold the farm to Kirsti and Andrew who he called his son-in-law.
No money exchanged hands. Instead he arranged it so that he could live and get his food there.
In the fall of 1857, Ole visited his friends, Peder Lunde and Endre Oymoen, who had taken land at Hayward, east of Lake Albert Lea in Minnesota. This was before the time of the railroad, so it is likely that he walked all the way, which he stated to be 26 miles. At home in Norway, Ole had fished a lot in Sperillen, and this place at Lake Albert Lea probably was to his liking, because there was so much fish in the lake. He wrote that in the course of 14 to 15 nights, he got three barrels of fish by having used two nets, and that the fish on the average weighed about four "merker" or one kilo.
During his stay, Ole took claim again to a section of land, which was located between the farms of Peder Lunde and Endre Oymoen. Here he again built a house, and the last years of his life he mostly stayed on his new farm.
In a letter from Gulbrand Jonsrud to Ole's sister, Olia Elsrud, dated 29, January, 1859, Gulbrand reported that Ole got married for the third time to an old widow from Nes in Hadeland. Her name was Anne Hansdatter Svensrud, Anne had no children in her first marriage. Gulbrand also wrote that Ole had $800 coming from Kirsti and her husband. Although Ole the younger in a letter also stated that his father was married, it is somewhat unclear that this marriage was properly entered into.
Gulbrand Jonsrud and Gjertrud Elsrud from Sondre (Southern) Elsrud with their family emigrated from Adal in 1857, and Gulbrand worked as a teacher in the Hayward area during the years of 1860-1863. In 1863 they took land in Bancroft a few miles north of Albert lea. The family has many descendants in America.
In a letter dated 23, December, 1861, from Albert Lea, Freeborn County, Minnesota, Ole O. Haugerud the younger wrote: "I want to notify you that our Father has left this sinful world. He passed away the night of 2 July, this year, following illness of only two days. In his last days he was just like a different person, because he thought too much about the errors he had committed, that he had committed against his wife and children."
Ole had not prepared a written will. When he noticed that death was drawing near, he summoned two men and announced that all of his assets should go to his surviving wife. One of these men was Gulbrand Jonsrud. This was the introduction to a dispute about the inheritance, which was to last for many years and create big problems in the family.
Ole's coffin was taken down to St. Ansgar, where it was interred next to Berit. The burial site was Mill Road Cemetery, right next to Cedar River beyond his old farm. This burial site is now discontinued, and in addition to a couple of unknown graves, only the grave stones of Ole, Berit, and one of Kirsti's children are preserved. On Ole's grave stone appears in Norwegian: "Herunder hviler stovet af afdode Ole Hanson. Dod I Freeborn County, Minnesota, July 22, 1861, I en alder af 72 aar. Fred med hans Stov og velsignet vaere hans minde." (Under here rests the dust of the departed Ole Hanson. Died in Freeborn County, Minnesota, July 22, 1861, at an age of 72 years. Peace with his dust and blessed be his memory)
Kirsti and Andrew Erickson had eleven (or maybe 12) children and have many descendants in America.
OLE O. HAUGERUD THE OLDER
LATER KNOWN AS OLE O. RUSTAND (1824-1869)Ole the older emigrated to America in 1851 with his two brothers. We do not know what they did the first period of time, but probably they took whatever chores there were, until they got together on their father's farm during the summer of 1853. We know that all of them took land in the area around St. Ansgar, probably in 1853.
After Erik had gone to search for gold in Australia in 1854 and Ole the younger had left for California in 1855, Ole the Older was at home with his father and stepmother for two years. In a letter written in the fall of 1857, the father stated: "My son, Ole the Older, had been here up to this time, but now this summer he found it best to sell his and his brother's land. For his own land he got $4,000 and for his brother's land he got $2,400. On the 9th of this month, he traveled from here to New York; but if he ended up traveling from there to California or Australia, we do not know yet, but he made his trip trying to find his brothers again".
On 29, September, Ole arrived in Liverpool and stayed there for some days in anticipation of getting a boat to Australia. He wrote a little about the city: "Liverpool has made a powerful impression on me, The high nobility, and the e low peasant, the great wealth, and the miserable poverty, along the side of thieves and murderers, but all of this is needed to make a sinful world; I have looked at the greater part of the city, it is not of a beautiful appearance, it has narrow uneven streets and low, black buildings. The strangest of all are the twelve mile long docks, that are filled with ships by the thousands, from all corners of the world."
Full of optimism and desire for adventure, Ole started the 14 October, 1857, a voyage lasting 76 days from Liverpool to Melbourne in Australia. He wrote a long letter from the voyage, which was published in "Ringerike" in 1987. Here is just a short excerpt: "God willing, I shall send you a letter which is written from the three corners of the earth, on a voyage of 16,000 miles. If it should happen (which I assume) that my letter will come before the eyes of a learned person, I must humbly request, first of all, that they will excuse my unlearned spelling, and thereafter my irregular handwriting. As an excuse I can give three reasons: 1) My head is not educated. 2) My hand is not trained. 3) A flying, swimming, tumbling, bumbling house in motion, in which sometimes the head is up in the air, sometimes the legs are and then again both parts are. My office is my berth, my desk is my bunk. The lighting is a window pane, eight inches long, four wide and four thick. It is on deck, one foot into another berth."
"After we get out on the ocean, the wind starts and the fog disappears. The sails are hoisted until there are twenty in all to catch the wind which still blows gently from the northeast. We split the foaming waves in a southwest direction at a speed of eleven miles an hour." "On the 27th, a beautiful morning, we are lying a short distance from the island of Teroa (one of the Canary Islands), 28 degrees north of the equator. It is calm. The air is clear. The queen of light rises from the ocean and throws a golden crown on the peaks of the island, which all the kings of the earth are unable to conquer! The pyramidal form of the island repeats itself in the mirror like sea, and who can forbid that! In the evening the wind comes up again from the foaming waves and our direction is again southwest. On the 29th, we will cross the Tropic of Capricorn at 23 degrees north latitude and that way will have come into the tropics! The white heads of the waves chase us away at a speed of 12 miles an hour."
"It is unpleasant for our flesh and blood this period of time. Besides the oppressive heat, we must consume water which stinks when one touches it on the ship. All of our provisions are more or less damaged! The only thing I ask and wish for is my health, everything has changed. But realizing that such a voyage should have illness, yes, even death as a result, it does not matter where the body lies. No one dies from the hardships of a voyage, if one's hourglass has not emptied. That we shall die -- that we know, but when -- that we do not know."
"Merry Christmas is now at hand. Can you guess what I am eating Christmas Eve? It is a slice of dry bread and very little butter, hardly anything else. For breakfast Christmas Day I will be eating some dry, old ship biscuits, very little butter and a cup of poor coffee. This is all I want you to know about my diet on this voyage because a complete description of it would be too terrible. In the belief that we shall see each other again on this sinful earth, I wish you all, both my brothers and sisters and friends a Merry Christmas!"
"On the 4, January, we go ashore in Melbourne. Oh yes, now I am there. Oh yes, now I am in Melbourne! On the 5th we make the trip to Oven Deegen, which is 180 miles from Melbourne, each one of us pays 2 Pounds Sterling.
This trip lasts eight days. We sleep at night under the leafy Gome trees on the bare turf under a blanket. "Australia is truthfully the wrong part of the world. Every thing is backwards, and wrong, the sun and the moon are to the north, but that is not all. The moon shows another face than at home in Norway. But htat is not all. The leaves on the trees turn the wrong way. One seeks in vain shade from the burning rays of the sun. More about this another time!"
This letter, which was written to his brother Torgrim Haugerud, shows us that Ole was a brilliant writer, especially when one considers his school background, the way it was in Adalen during the years of 1835-40. His beautiful descriptions of nature and elegant formulations indicate that he ought to have been a journalist instead of an unsuccessful gold digger.
The next letter he sent was dated 7, November, 1858. Here he gives a very negative description of the conditions. Just listen: "...I must regret that I have come to such a country. As far as the land goes, it is a heathen's nest in the desert, full of wolves, ravens and eagles! If some people say that Australia is a well organized moral country, then I say out loud that they are being fooled and that it is far from the truth. But if they say that it is a whole gang of murderers and thieves, then I must stand up and say yes-yes-yes! It is appalling to see the news that from time to time fill the newspapers of this country, there is nothing but "Murders and Robbery" to read. I cannot pass up telling you that I have been robbed twice since I came to Melvor. I have lost my gold watch, that I had given $80 for, a gold ring, a revolver that I bought in New York for $31, all my clothes except the rags I had on my body, even every single bit of provisions and $5 in cash. Oh, such an abominable country, where are it's morals, are they also hidden in the ground, just like the gold, and very few have found it." In this letter he told that he had still not found Erik, and sent a little gold lump to his mother.
The last letter from Ole the Older that was save, was dated 21, August, 1860, and was written in Inglewood Gold Mines in Victoria. He had then met his brother Erik, and they had worked together from then on without finding more than needed just to buy food. What kept up their spirits was the chance of making the big discovery. One day three fellows had found a lump of gold up on the hill. The lump weighed 16 "skaalpund" at a value of 4,000 "spesiedaler" (one spesidaler is equal to 4 kroner).
Ole the Older was in Australia and New Zealand from the time he was 34 years old in 1858 till he was 42 years old in 1886, in other words for eight years. Those years were marked by illness and poverty, and it did not turn out the way he had hoped. Without Erik's help he would hardly have gotten back to America.
After having worked together for awhile, they agreed to separate. Ole had $1,100 for traveling purposes when he left America, but this had been spent along with Erik's money. Eric then began to make money again, and after six months he had earned 400 pounds (about $2000), while Ole had had to borrow money to get along. Erik paid Ole's debt amounting to 60 pounds and offered him to take over one half of his claim.
At this time, reports came about large discoveries of gold on the South Island in New Zealand, and in 1882, Erik went to Queenstown. A little later, Ole also traveled to New Zealand but did not meet Erik and soon returned to Victoria in Australia. There he was sick in bed for a long time. Ole was now in great difficulty. He had no money left and had neither relatives nor friends nearby who could help him. But it is often darkest before dawn. An old acquaintance of Ole and Erik lived about 30 English miles from where Ole was ill. He was so poor that he could not help, but when he heard that Ole was ill, he wrote to Erik. Erik immediately sent 30 pounds and again invited Ole to join him digging for gold in the mountains outside of Queenstown in New Zealand. Ole would get 4 pounds a week in pay.
Ole traveled a second time to New Zealand and was with Erik for nine months, but he was ill also part of this time.
In march of 1866, Ole decided to return to America, and Erik sent along with him 300 pounds Sterling for Ole to manage for him until Erik came back. Ole had invested his money in America at 10% before he left and therefore had money to buy a farm when he came home. He purchased 153.35 acres from Levor Olsen Lindelien who had his farm at Rock Creek, about 10 miles south of St. Ansgar. The area lacked 6.65 acres to make a whole quarter, and it is likely that it is the lot for the school in Rock Creek built in 1857. He paid $4,461 for the property.
Ole's new farm was the neighboring farm to Haugerud, the one his brother Ole the Younger had started when he returned from British Columbia in 1860. Ole the Older called his farm Rustand and changed his own surname from Haugerud to Rustand, apparently to avoid misunderstandings with the names.
In 1867, Ole got married to Maren Nilsdatter Lunde from Nes In Adal. Maren was a sister of Martha Marie Lunde who got married to Syver Fosholt from Hedalen, the grandfather of Sanford K. Fosholt. Martha Marie died when having a baby in the old log house on the Docken farm in 1868 (Galen Docken owns this farm in 2003), right after the family had come to America. Maren had been married once before.
1869 turned out to be a tragic year at Rustand. The year started well with Maren having a son the middle of February, who was christened Niels Julius. Ole's health began to fail in the middle of the summer, and he got worse during the fall. Late in the fall, Niels Julius also became ill, he got an illness of the throat, and in the middle of December, he died. There were two deaths that month, on the 28, December, Ole the Older died, only 45 years old. His mind was clear until the end and he said that he was not sick. The illness was declared to be dropsy around the heart and consumption (tuberculosis) of the liver. The burial took place New Year's Eve and many people were present. Ole is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, which is located on Ole the Younger's property about 200 meters west of the Haugerud farm. Ole the Younger had given the churchyard free land, which is still in use. The gravestone reads: "O.O.Rustand, Born 16, October 1824; died 29 December 1869."
OLE O. HAUGERUD THE YOUNGER -- (1831-1915) Ole the younger was born at Rustand, 16 November, 1831 and was confirmed in Viker Church 17 September, 1848. In everyday language, he was called Vesle-Ola (Little Ola) to distinguish him from his older brother who was called Stor-Ola (Big Ole).
Vesle-Ola had an adventurous life and died nearly 84 years old in Canada. He has many descendants in America and Canada.
Together with his two brothers he emigrated to America in 1851, only 20 years old. After a while in Wisconsin, he made his way to Iowa during the summer of 1853 and took land near his father's farm by St. Ansgar.
At that time, lots of gold was found in California east of San Francisco, and Ole got the desire for adventure. It still was not common to cross America by land, and in 1855, he went by a a sailing vessel from New York round Cape Horn to San Francisco. It was the beginning of five dramatic years as a gold digger. In an excerpt from a letter, we let Ole himself tell us:
"I arrived in San Francisco 6, January, 1856, and continued my trip up to the mines. I started mining hoping that I had come to a glittering land of gold, but instead of that, I was in the worst den of thieves to be found on earth, however, I still continued working with good courage. I tried different places, but everything was in vain, but finally I had the good luck of earning a few hundred dollars. When I got a letter from our brother Ole that he had emigrated to Australia, I decided immediately to go there with the purpose of finding him.
On the 28, June, 1858, I started traveling, but when I got to San Francisco, I could not get any transportation to Australia, as all the ships and steamships went to British Columbia. The rumor was that discoveries of gold had been made there, discoveries that were supposed to be very rich. I soon decided to go there, I got transportation on a steamship, and we sailed the 10, July. But what a scare we had there on the way. It was early one Sunday morning. A steady storm of northwest winds came up, so the ship was washed by the waves, but that was not the worst thing. Moment by moment the storm increased so terribly that it finally knocked a hole in the bottom of the boat. There were 500 people on board. Everyone had more than enough to do, until after five days without food and drink we reached land again. At that time I really wondered what I should do, but anyway, I mustered up courage to try a voyage from there. I got transportation on a sailing vessel, and within a period of six weeks I had happily reached my destination, and this voyage cost me 250 daler.
Here I again began mining, and as far as my income is concerned, I have partly earned a day's wage, partly not.
The spring of 1859, I decided to go up the river, Fraser River, in a little boat with two other Norwegians and an Irishman. We bought provisions for all the money we had and started on our way. There we again encountered a difficulty. The boat got out into a strong current, so it capsized and we lost about 500 dollars worth. In May, I started to dig again, and as far as the income goes this summer, I don't need to write about it, because you just would not believe me.
The winter of 1859-1860, I stayed in a little town named Fort Yeale, from where I along with my traveling companions, made our way to a place name Cannal River about 600 English miles from the town stated. We saddled our own horses, or to be more correct, our own shoulders. We had to carry our bedding, our provisions, mining equipment and or kitchen utensils, which consisted of a coffee pot along with some cups made of birch bark. In the evening, when we laid down to rest, we placed our bedding, which consisted of a small piece of woolen cloth, down on the snow to rest our tired limbs until the next morning. That is how we spent one day after the other, across high mountains and deep valleys, at times we had to crawl, sometimes we had to walk. There were neither roads nor paths to see, but what we saw was an unpleasant sight, namely wild Indians moving around, just like when one saw wolves in Norway. They were as naked as they were when they came into this world. They sought to hide behind cliffs or trees, they were just like wild animals running around in the forest.
With good courage, we continued on our journey until after about the course of three weeks we came to a little town by the name of Fort Alexander about 525 English miles from our starting point. There we rested our tired and weary limbs for two whole days, but after this rest, something else really happened. There I bought provisions again, namely wheat flour, smoke-cured bacon, beans, coffee and sugar. I took along 130 "skaalpund" (1 skaalpund is slightly more than a pound) of provisions as well as my tools and started across a mountain, 75 English miles wide, which I covered with much trouble in ten days and arrived at my destination, which I thought would make me happy with a glorious view, but what I saw were high mountains and deep valleys, perpetually covered with snow and spruce and so cold that one could nearly freeze to death, and not a single place where I could make my food. Then I had a strange feeling, how would this work out, no money and little food, no house and no more of a home than a hare had out in the forest, being located so many hundreds of miles in the lonesome valleys where the sound of the forest produces an echo. I put my trust in the hand of the Almighty, who previously had guided me on all my dangerous roads and paths.
There I wandered from place to place in the valley, but finally I found my little treasure, which was hidden far away in between the mountain peaks. There I began to work, my smallest pay per day was $30, and the highest pay I don't have to mention. I worked until the hot beams of the sun rose above the steep mountain walls. And the water flowed down into the valley in unbelievable quantities and soon made me forget my troubles. There was now nothing more to do, and I decided to hike home, which I did right away. On the 18, May, 1880, I left the place and after a long and difficult journey, on the 12 September, I arrived at the home of our dear Father and have lived here very satisfied since my return. My trip home cost me $475.
A "skaalpund" is the same as one pound; it equals 498.1 grams. Ole, in other words, carried about 65 kilos of provisions as well as tools and clothing when he started from Fort Alexander on his last trip.
When Ole the Younger came home, he lived on his father's new farm at Albert Lea. Being together with his father did not last long, because Ole Hansen Haugerud died as early as July, 1861. Ole was now well-off, because in addition to the gold, he also had money from the land he had taken in 1853. Ole the Older had sold it for him. Right after his father's death, Ole bought new land at Rock Creek ten miles south of St. Ansgar in Mitchell County, Iowa. His new farm was on section 12-97-18 and apparently must have belonged to Levor Olsen Lindelien, who in 1866 sold the rest of his farm to Ole the Older. He called the farm Haugerud, and this name is still on a map of the district printed in 1875.
The Haugerud farm is still in operation in 1991 (at the time this narrative was written, and also still in 2003), but only one of the original houses remains. It was built of stone. The Haugerud name is no longer used. The farm is now owned by LaVerne Olsen The Olsen family emigrated from Hardanger in 1874 and settled in Lodi, Wisconsin. Years later, they moved to and settled in Mitchell County, Iowa. A branch of the family came from Opheim in Hardanger/Voss, Norway.
When Iver Elsrud came to Haugerud in 1869 to live with his mother's brother, he wrote in a letter: "Here at Haugerud it is exceptionally beautiful because a river flows about 20 steps from the houses. A beautiful oak forest is on the other side of the river; it is full of fish and the forest is full of hares, doves and some geese, so I have missed having my rifle many times. Surrounding the houses, there is a lovely garden, which is in full bloom now."
When Iver wrote that the river (Rock Creek) flowed 20 steps from the houses, it must have been an expression that was used to show that it was a short way to it. The actual distance is at least 200 meters. The river was of great importance to the people on the farm. In the summer, it was used for swimming and fishing and in the winter for skating. The forest that Iver told about is called Walnut Grove and consists mostly of oak, elm and walnut. Oak as a rule was used for building the first small log houses. It was difficult to find straight logs, and therefore the houses were not tight and they were cold. To fill the cracks between the logs, they used bark, moss and clay. A house like that still stands on Dokken farm, a neighboring farm. The Dokken family from Hedalen settled in Rock Creek in 1858. They had eleven children of their own, but still took in other families from Hedalen in their little log house, which only had one room and a little attic. Among them were Knut Klemesrud, Syver Fosholt, Ole Moe, Knut Berget, Chris Goplerud and Ole Aspeholt. Among these emigrant families there were four deaths and seven births while they lived with the Dokken family. "Where there is room in the heart, there is room in the house!"
One of Ole's daughters has told that her father was a soldier participating in battles against the Indians. There is nothing to indicate that he participated in the Civil War between the South and North in 1861-65.
According to "Utvandringshistorie fra Ringerikabygdene" (History of Emigration from the Ringerike Settlements), Ole's cousin, Iver Viker, participated in the Civil War. Iver was Nils Viker's youngest son. The story tells us: "Iver Nilsen Viker got married, and when the Civil War broke out, he let himself be recruited as a soldier. He was sent down to the battlefield, where he participated in several battles. In the end, he was caught by the Rebels and taken to the infamous Andersonville prison, where along with 14,000 young men from the North by terrible, cruel, and inhuman treatment, he was tortured in such a way that he died immediately after returning home. He left behind one child."
One time during the middle of the 1860's, Ole met a young Norwegian girl, who had come from Norway at the age of four in 1850. Her name was Maren Torine Ask, and she was born 5 December, 1846, at Norderhov, of parents Lars and Torine Ask. The Ask family lived at Highland in Fillmore County, Minnesota. Maren and Ole got married 27 November, 1865, in Highland Prairie Lutheran Church. Ole was 34 years old at the time, and Maren was 19 years old. Maren and Ole got nine children and 33 grandchildren.
Ole O. Haugerud the Younger must have been a deeply religious man with great interest in the work of the congregation. His most important lifework was the establishment of the congregation and the building of the Rock Creek Lutheran Church. Here is a brief history, partly in Ole's own words written in a letter from 1911:
"In 1862, there had gotten to be so many of us in Rock Creek that we wanted to have our own congregation. During the summer, we had a meeting to agree on what we should do, and I was selected to travel to St. Ansgar to speak with Pastor Clausen. We got the pastor to come down to us to give the sermon (the first one at Rock Creek). We talked with him about organizing a congregation. Then he said that we had to resign from the St. Ansgar congregation before being able to organize our own. At the annual meeting of the congregation of St. Ansgar in the winter of 1863, we showed up so that we could resign. The St. Ansgar people would not give their approval, as they intended to build their own church, and they wanted us to join them. There was some debate about this, but we did not give in, because we thought traveling 10 miles to church was too far. St. Ansgar finally gave in on the condition that we should help them with the building of the church. Later on, in the winter of 1863, we organized the Rock Creek Congregation, and I was chosen as the first secretary and singer of the congregation".
Before 1863, it was common that people walked from Rock Creek to St. Ansgar on Sundays for church services, etc., as the horses had to get a rest from the heavy work in the fields.
In 1857, the first school was built on Levor Lindelien's property. The name of the school was Walnut Grove School but was often called Haugerud School, because it was located right next to the farm. From 1863 on, regular church service was held in Haugerud School conducted by Pastor Clausen. (Note: in 2003, this school has been renovated by the community and is open for tours and one-day school sessions in Meroa, Iowa)
In 1867, Ole donated a plot for a burial ground to Rock Creek Lutheran Church, about 200 meters west of the farm. At the time, he did not know that two years later, he would follow his brother, Ole the Older, and his son to the grave at this place. Not far from the grave for Ole the Older, there is today a big Norwegian spruce. As the Norwegian spruce is not native to America, the tree has no doubt come from seed that Iver had along from the forest at Elsrud, when he was home in Norway in 1878-79. Iver also planted spruce seed from Elsrud on his farm in North Dakota that he moved to at the beginning of the 1880's.
Emigrants arrived continually in the Rock Creek area, and at the end of the 1880's, there were about 25 families that were members of the congregation. Ole continued as secretary of the congregation, and at a meeting 1 February, 1868, in Ole's home at Haugerud, it was agreed that the school had become too small and that they should build a church. At a later meeting that same year, Ole donated a lot to the church. The lot was about four "mal" (one mal equals about .247 acre) and lies about 150 meters northeast of the houses on the farm. Construction started in 1870 and was not completed until 1875, however, the church was put to use in 1871. (Church membership records exist starting in 1874) The total costs amounted to about $5000, and the inauguration took place 12 December, 1875. It was added on to twice later on. Rock Creek Lutheran Church is a very beautiful church in a beautiful rural setting.
In addition to his duty as secretary of the congregation, Ole Haugerud in 1871 was selected as the administrator, cashier and sexton. He had these duties until 1878. Because of poor health, Pastor Clausen retired in 1873, and Pastor Olsen was appointed in his place.
As previously mentioned, Iver Elsrud came from Nordre (Northern) Elsrud to his mother's brother in 1869 and remained at Haugerud until 1878, when he went home to Norway for about one year. Iver was a son of Ole's sister, Olia, who was married to Elling O. Elsrud. Iver wrote many letters home to his parents and siblings telling about life at Haugerud. Iver traveled with Fingal Enger from Nordre Enger, and in his first letter home, he wrote:
"We traveled from Kristiansand on the 10th, but then you can imagine the racket when nearly everyone got sick. I would have liked to have had someone intending to emigrate on board just for one hour, he certainly would not think about going to America. The food was also so bad that we were unable to eat any of it, because the meat was so raw that the juice ran out of it, so you can imagine how the soup was. We came to Hul on the 12th in the morning. There we had dinner in an Emigrant house. We set out from there at 3 o'clock and arrived at Liverpool at 10 o'clock. We boarded a large ship by the name of Idaho. It was 500 feet long and 40 feet wide. You can imagine that it was not a pleasant voyage, as more than 1,100 emigrants were packed together, most of them were worse than wild animals.
At first, we hardly ate anything as we could not act as pigs, but when we got to know the situation and our provisions ran short, we had to be thankful for the food the pigs got. Oh, yes, I have to say pig food. When one walked on deck, the filth went above the shoes and right into the storage place for the meat. One should have washed it off, of course, but the Irish had first washed their diapers and night pots. We complained to the captain about this and it helped. We hoped to land on the 20th, but we did not make it until the 30th. As far as the voyage itself goes, it was quite pleasant. From Adam's Station, we went by "Delesjangsen" to West Mitchell which cost $2. From Mitchell to Haugerud, we walked.
Fingal has now gone to an American, where he has hired himself out for four months. I promised Mother that I would tell her how the food is here at Haugerud. For breakfast: wheat bread, egg, syrup, "fattigmansbagels" (a deep-fried diamond-shaped Christmas cookie), cream cakes, and coffee. Dinner: fried pork, otherwise the same as for breakfast. For afternoon meal: the same as for breakfast except for egg cakes, with fried pork to go with it. For evening meal: mostly milk porridge made of wheat flour."
On 8 August, 1869, a stranger entered the kitchen at Haugerud. Without introducing himself, he said "Is Ola at home?" Only Maren and the oldest daughter, Laura, were at home and they really wondered who this stranger could be. It turned out that it was Ole's brother, Torgrim Haugerud, who had come from Norway to visit. Torgrim returned home again already on the 17th of August and there was speculation in the family about the purpose of the short visit.
Around 1877, Ole started a post office on the farm that he called "Drammen". He got permission for this from the U.S. Postal Service in Washington, D.C.
At the end of the 1870's, the authorities began to parcel out free land to the emigrants in North Dakota. In a letter of 9 June, 1879, Iver wrote: "You can be sure that there is lot of commotion among the people here, as everyone is going west to Dakota, and nearly every farmer wants to sell, as one gets land there for nothing." Iver had just returned from a year's stay in Norway and became very surprised to hear that his uncle had sold Haugerud. He also told in his letter that Ole had to borrow some money because of unfortunate speculations and a poor year for farming. On 29 March, 1879, Ole sold the farm to the Hedal-ite, Knud O. Haugen, for $5,700. He had to pay off three mortgages totaling $3,650 and therefore barely got $2,000 to boot.
Ole and Maren, including their six children, took new land in Park River near Grafton in North Dakota. As time went on, a large Norwegian colony developed in this area. Names from Adalen include: Simen Oen from Gravlimoen, Henrik Ohnstad from Sondre (Southern) Elsrud, Fingal and Gudbrand Rundhaug, Jens Nordby, Ole Stoa, Simon Myra, Elling Hogfoss and others.
The family lived in the Park River area for about 20 years, and also here Ole helped to build a church. In time he became a very respected person and was chosen to be a member of the North Dakota State Legislature for one year. This is the legislative assembly for North Dakota.
At the end of the 1890's, the family again moved, this time to a place in Wisconsin, and after that finally to Bagley in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, where he also took land. Ole helped a third time to build the local church, where he was appointed sexton. There was no parsonage in Bagley, and for that reason the pastor stayed with the Haugerud family when he officiated. Ole's grandson, Lloyd Peterson, lived close to his grandfather for six years and remembers him well. Ole was a serious man with great authority. One Sunday in the month of March, 1915, Lloyd was in church as usual with his mother, and his grandfather, as always, sat alone in the first pew leading the song. In the middle of the service, Ole had a stroke and fell down unconscious. He stayed in bed partly lame through the summer and died 7 November, 1915.
Pastor J.A. Urness
Melfort, Saskatchewan, CanadaOsage, Iowa
May 23, 1911
Dear Friend:
I have received your writing of May 11, and note that you wish to know about the organizing of Rock Creek Congregation. Shall give you the information as I remember it.
First want to say that I was along organizing St. Ansgar congregation in 1853 when there was no one at Rock Creek. Went to California in 1855 and returned in 1860. In this period many had moved to Rock Creek. And in 1862, there was so many of us that we wished to have our own congregation. During the summer, we had a meeting to discuss what we should do and I was elected to go to St. Ansgar to talk with Pastor Clausen. We got the pastor to come to Rock Creek to conduct services (the first for Rock Creek). We talked with him about organizing a congregation and he advised us to withdraw from St. Ansgar first before we could organize our won congregation.
At the annual meeting in St. Ansgar in the winter of 1863, we met up for this purpose. The St. Ansgar people wouldn't give their consent because they wished to build their church and wanted our help. A great deal of discussion resulted but we didn't give up because we thought 10 miles to church was too far. Finally St. Ansgar gave in on the condition that we help them with their church and they would help us with a like amount when we built our church. We did contribute $200 and also hauled some of the stone for the St. Ansgar church which was built in the summer of 1864.
In the winter of 1863, Rock Creek congregation was organized and I was elected as the congregation's first secretary and precentor (kirkesanger). There is a likelihood that the minutes of these first meetings are lost as we had no congregational record book. Services were held in the school houses until 1870 when the congregation was incorporated and we built the nave. This we used for five years until in 1875 when the church was completed like it is now. A. Sorenson from Green Bay, Wisconsin did the carpenter work and Hanson from Skandinavia, Wisconsin did the painting.
If there is anymore information you wish, let me know as I remember most of what happened at that time. All is well here. We like our pastor H.O.Gronlid well. The crop looks very promising. Greet John H. Johnson, Goplerud and all friends there. Hearty greetings to you!
Sincerely,
Ole O. Haugerud