John Larssen and
Ingrid Iverdatter
John Larssen
b. 15 Mar 1834, d. bef. 1900
John Larssen was born in Alvdal, Hedmark Norway. The city was originally named Lille Elvedalen. He married Ingrid Iverdatter (Iverson) in Norway on Feb 26, 1869. Records indicate that John Larssen followed Ingrid to the United States with their son Lars in 1884, after Ingrid had settled here. He travelled with official papers that included an innoculation record and a second document that I have not been able to translate.
Note that John Larssen was a "Larssen, or Larson" in the common naming convention of the time. His father was Lars, and so he was Lars' son. John Larssen's children carried the surname Johnson, as did his wife Ingrid.
From Katherine Lobdell's letter to Luverne about the family's history in Norway, dated 10/10/1977:
- John Larssen purchased the farm "Rytterbakken" at auction
- He was a skinfellmaker (worker with hides and leather)
- He had a crippled back - whether born that way, or accident, or polio is unknown
- His father (Lars) had a crippled foot
By 1900, John Larssen is deceased, as Ingrid is listed as a widow in the 1900 census.
Ingrid Iverdatter
"Ingrid the hot-tempered"
b. 01 Oct 1841, d. 1928
Ingrid was born in Tonset, Norway. Census show her birth year as 1841, but her innoculation certificate shows her birth year as 1845. She married John Larssen in in Norway on Feb 26, 1869. It appears that Ingrid immigrated to America ahead of John in 1880, with daughter Annie in tow. 1900 Polk County Census shows Ingrid as head of household, and Lars and Iver living with her. She was a widow by this time.
Some of her descendents remember Ingrid smoking a pipe--a rare indulgence for women in her time.
In 1921, age 80, Ingrid lived with her daughter Annie & Husband David Peppard in Winnipeg Canada. She died in 1928 and is buried in Grygla, MN.
References
Lars N. Johnson
b. 4 Mar 1869, d. 4 June 1947
Lars Johnson was born on March 4, 1869 in Tonset (now Tynset) Norway. A record in Ancestry.com shows this as his baptism date as well. Lars and his brother were associated with a group of Norwegians called Men of Tonset.
He immigrated to the United States with his father John Larssen at the age of 15 in 1884. The family lived in Reis township near Beltrami in Polk County, MN.
Lars married Thea Anderson in 1901 and they lived in Beltrami for 2 years. Some say that because of Thea’s health problems, Lars was given a generous dowry to marry her.
In 1902 they moved to Tabor, Polk County, MN where Lars was appointed postmaster. He served in that role until they moved to Minneapolis in 1906. He also ran the General Store in Belgrade, Stearns County. According to grandson Douglas Franzman, Lars’ business partner ran off with the proceeds from the store.
In 1906 Lars and Thea moved to Minneapolis. (1910, 1920 census) By this time Laura (1903) and Mabel (1906) had been born. They may have lived with Thea’s parents, Theodore and Anna Anderson, at 749 Buchanan.
In 1921, after Theodore and Anna died, and when Mabel graduated high school, Lars and Thea moved to Valley Township near Grygla, MN with Mabel, Clifford, and Muriel.
Thea died in 1938, and their son Clifford lived with Lars for a time. In 1942, Lars moved in with his daughter Mabel and son-in-law John Franzman in Becker. Luverne recalls how angry he was with daughters Laura (who moved to Minneapolis) and Muriel (for marrying a Catholic) that he never spoke to them again. When they came to visit, he would leave the house until they left...and yet Lars was known to have knitted scarves and mittens.
He lived with the Franzmans until 1946, when he moved to a nursing home in Saulk Center. Lars died on June 4th, 1947 in Sauk Rapids, MN at the age of 78, and is buried in Grygla, Minnesota.
References
Iver Johnson
b. 27 Mar 1871, d 28 Oct 1940
Iver Johnson was born on March 27, 1871 in Tonset (now Tynset) Norway. He was baptized in May of 1871. Iver joined his mother and Annie in the United States in 1882, travelling here by himself at age 11.
Iver married Mathilde Agneberg in 1900. They had seven children in 14 years:
- Norman Jerome (1907-1960)
- Ignatius Malcom (1908-1967)
- Constance Bernice (1911-1962)
- Erling (1913-1913, 1 month old)
- Kathrine Minerva (1914-1996)
- Erland Sylvester (1916-1916, few days old)
- Mathilda (Mae) (1920-2011)
Iver was the Postmaster in Beltrami, Polk County from June of 1904 until Aug 1919. In August, the postal office burned down. Iver and Mathilde planned to move to Yakima after Mae was born. However, Mathilde died during childbirth. Eventually, Iver decided to move to Yakima anyway, but left Mae with his mother-in-law at her request. Mae was born with a club foot, and Grandma was concerned about her getting adequate care in Yakima. One story also says that she was angry with Iver because Mathilde had died during childbirth.
The Agnebergs sent Mae to Norway a number of times over the years to get to know her relatives there. During the summers in Norway, she stayed on the high farm with the goats and also helped with making cheese. Mae kep in touch with the Agnebergs over the years, and also met the Johnson relatives on her visits to Norway.
In 1930, Iver Johnson was 60 years old and lived in Seattle, Washington with his son and 2 daughters. He died in 1936 in Seattle, Washington, at the age of 64.
References
Annie Johnson
b. 30 Apr 1875, d Mar 1953
Annie Johnson was born in Norway on April 30, 1875, in Norway. Records are mixed as to when she came to the U.S. It seems as though she travelled here with her mother Ingrid in 1880, however census records show her arrival as 1883 or 1884.
She married David Peppard in 1900 in Winnipeg, Canada. They lived in Michigan for a few years and eventually settled in Winnipeg Canada. They had five children in 11 years:
- Houghton (1904-1970)
- Gordon D (1908-1936)
- Muriel (1901-1921)
- Mollie (1911-1936)
- Margaret (1913-1940)
Annie died in 1953 in Winnipeg, Canada, at the age of 77. She is buried in the Elmwood Cemetery in Winnipeg.