Find Family

[ Home Page | First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page ]

Descendants of Ågota Nilsdatter Fylkesnes


5. ANNA MARIE HANSDTR3 ALVSVÅG (ÅGOTA NILSDATTER2 FYLKESNES, NILS1 FILIPPUSSON)25,26 was born 30 Apr 1867 in Alvsvåg , NORWAY [Finnås parish, near Bremnæs, on Bømlo ], and died 03 Dec 1963 in Alhambra, AB, Canada27. She married LARS ANDREAS PEDERSON ERITSLAND 25 May 1889 in St. Paul, Minnesota (Ramsey County), son of PEDER OLSEN and LARINE LARSDATTER. He was born 07 Nov 1864 in Eritsland [farm], NORWAY [Finnås parish, near Bremnæs, on Bømlo ]28, and died 02 Jun 1930 in Leslieville, AB, Canada.

Notes for ANNA MARIE HANSDTR ALVSVÅG:
Her great-grandniece Brit Lankaas (granddaughter of Anna Marie's youngest sister Lydia Kristine, in email message from Norway February 2002] says " We used to call her [Anna Marie] only by one name, Marie, and that was the name she also used herself in her letters to my grandmother." Anna Marie's daughter Alma (Eritsland/von Tettenborn) confirmed this: "Apparently my mother was always called Marie."

Alma wrote: "She came to the USA in 1888 [a year before Lars] but they were engaged in Norway. They took up residence in Ridgeway, Iowa, where they lived about 13 years."

Betty (Lowe) Wulff forwarded a note written by Hilda (Eritsland) Stratton:

"Lars Pederson and Marie Hanson met as teenagers when they went for religious intstruction at their church. Lars was then apprenticed to learn the painting trade -- had a year to finish. My Aunt Johanna -- my mother's sister -- had gone to America in 1887 or 1888 -- auntie was disappointed in love. Their mother said it would be better if the two of them (my mother and my aunt) went over together. Whether they left at the same time I don't know. Anyway I can only know that papa and mamma were married in 1889 - they lived in St. Paul Minnesota for a while then moved to Iowa, to a place a couple of miles north of Ridgeway - Iowa -- Mamma had worked there with Auntie the year before."

Earlier in the same note Hilda says "Papa's father was Peder from Eritsland place in Norway. Norwegian custom was to call the children by father's name which made papa Pederson -- but in Iowa there were so many Pedersons - Petersons & so on their mail got mixed up. When Uncle Peder and Papa bought land in Minnesota they decided on Eritsland the name of the farm they came from in Norway. Our cousins in Madison Wisconsin knocked the IT out of Eritsland and called it Ersland."

Alma Eritsland wrote: "My mother's mother [Agota] had brown eyes and wavy auburn hair. Her father's eyes [Hans] were very blue. All the children had hazel eyes. When my mother was still a young girl, her father died. My mother said she overheard her father and mother talking before he died. Evidently they had been much in love and had vowed never to marry any other, but since there were so many children, he advised her to marry again, which she did later.

Alma also wrote: "My mother said she had scarlet fever when 10 years old and 'died.' At least everyone thought her dead, though she was aware of what went on. She said they even measured her for her coffin (all home-made then.) I don't know how they discovered she was not dead. Anyway she grew up to raise a large family and live to be almost 97 years old.

"My mother came to America in the spring of 1888 on the ship 'Eldorado' from Bergen to Hull, England one or 2 days, arriving on a Saturday, then by train to Liverpool. She admired the fields of England, such a contrast to rocky Norway. After a week in Liverpool, left on a Saturday morning on the ship 'Etruria' came to New York on a Sunday night one week later. Came by train to Ridgeway, Iowa, May 6 where her sister Johanne was already working at Aakre. Johanne had come over at least a year before. I heard a rumor she had left Norway because of a disappointed love affair, but am not sure. Anyway, Johanne probably helped with her fare. Aakre was not a town but a family, fairly enterprising and well to do. / After a few weeks my mother went to St. Paul Minnesota and worked (housework) for about a year." [see continuation on Lars Andreas' entry]

Alma continues "... he [Lars Andreas] and my mother were married in St. Paul, May 28, 1889. That fall they went back to Ridgeway (Winneshiek County) - lived there till 1901 or so. [Note: in 2002, according to http://www.usacitiesonline.com/, Ridgeway had a population of about 295 (127families); so who knows what size it was in 1901!)

"Children born in Ridgeway: Lydia (died), Lydia, Hilda, Oscar, Emma, Paul. Then they moved to Nassau, Minnesota, where they had 4 more children: Ida, Agnes, Alma & Esther. [Nassau is about 4-5 mi north of Marietta, MN)
Note: apparently they moved first to Marietta -- where they lived with Anna Marie's sister Johanne and husband Andrew Dahle before buying Peg Lake farm in Nassau in 1902. (email from Iris Nast, May 2002 -- based on note written on photo of the house they lived in in Marietta, by Kimary Nast when she visited that house and the Nassau house in August 1982 with Mel and Myrtle Dahle.)

more from Alma: "In Nov 1909 they moved to Eugene Oregon, then in July 1916 to Alberta Canada. In Eugene they had a 100 acre farm, and 2 houses in the city, but one was small. This they traded, sight unseen, for 2 quarter sections in Alberta.

"My mother enjoyed telling that after they were married, my father had 3 cents left in his pocket. He had wages coming at the end of the week, but it made a good story anyway."

email from Betty (Lowe) Wulff, January 2002: "the house they lived in in Nassau still stands, well kept by owners who welcomed us in to see the 'L.P. Eritsland' carved on a basement ceiling beam. He has shown others who came to ask, and has kept the beam that way. Nice man....

"Anna Marie had been a house maid, cook, laundress, seamstress, babysitter, etc. etc., as all good Scandinavian immigrant ladies generally were, but she stopped to "look after her man and have a family herself." They bought a farm at Nassau, Lac Qui Parle county, Minnesota, and moved there, had the four more children, and attended church in Marietta, MN.
In 1909, when Esther was a 4 month old baby and Alma just 2 1/2 years old, and Ida only 6 years, they sold the Nassau farm, had an auction, and moved to the city of Eugene, Oregon, living near the University there. A minister friend from Minnesota recommended that they purchase a farm 9 miles out of Eugene, as he had a farm there also. He wanted Lars to lend him $1,000.00 but instead Lars offered to purchase the ministers farm, and they made a deal. They travelled into Eugene by train, but only lived on the farm for two years until they rented it and purchased two houses in Eugene. They lived at 855 Agate St., but these numbers have now changed to 1355 - Agate Ave., but the house is long gone from that address now. In 1916 they "traded" ?? the two houses and farm for two quarter sections of farmland at Leslieville--North of Alhambra, AB. When I asked, "Why?" I was told that John Eggen, (who turned out to be my mother's brother-in-law, because he was married to Clara Lowe, my papa's only sister) and his father-in-law, Per or Peder H. Lowe ( my paternal grandpa) convinced Lars and Anna Marie to come up to Blackfalds and work for John Eggen and make some $$$$ for three months. Lars liked it around central Alberta, made the deal to buy the Leslieville place, and went down to bring his family up by train. Anna Marie and the four younger children came, coming across the "line" at Kingsgate (BC), where they first met with the wee pest called, mosquitoes, and 'bulldog" flies, also called "horseflies." They had never had them down south.... Anna Marie died December 3, 1963--96 years of age, and with Lars is buried in the Leslieville Cemetery, 1 mile E and 1/2 mile S of Leslieville, Alberta. I have a clear picture of their headstones--quietly resting under the branches there." (all in Jan 2002 email from Betty (Lowe) Wulff, granddaughter of Anna Marie]

Document on microfilm in the National Archives in Ottawa says that Mrs. L.P. Eritsland entered Canada at Kingsgate B.C. by train on July 12, 1916, accompanied by Paul, Ida, Agnes, Alma and Esther, travelling from Eugene Oregon to Blackfalds Alberta. The declared value of their cash and effects was $150. The document has some errors: it spells "Alma" as "Elma," and though Paul's age is correctly given as 15, the girls' ages are confused. Ida was 13 at the time (given as 11), Agnes was 11 (given as 9), Alma was 9 (given as 7) and Esther was not quite 7 (given as 8). However, the date and port of entry at least is presumably correct, and matches Betty Wulff's report.

Her granddaughter Carol Wait (Oscar's daughter) says Anna Marie drove to Chicago in 1954 with Oscar, Mildred and Carol. "Yes Grandma was with us in 1954. She didn't go to the Madison reunion [Erslands] with us. We had gone to Chicago to visit Esther and family and went to Madison from there. Grandma thought she would be too tired and it was extremely hot in Chicago. She wanted to stay at the farm with Aunt Lydia."

There is a photo from 1956 -- the year Anna Marie was 89 (published in Red Deer paper, Carol Wait has a copy) of a 5 generation photo taken in Minneapolis. The photo has Anna Marie, Lydia, Agnes (Aggie), Joan, and Diane Dooley as a baby. (Diane was born July 1956). It says Anna Marie moved to Alhambra five years before, ie 1951.

Pallbearers: Lawrence Lowe, Ralph Lowe, Norman Lowe, Bob Stollings, Cecil Stollings, Lawrence Eritsland. Services at Alhambra Community Hall, Alhambra AB, Dec 7 1963.

More About ANNA MARIE HANSDTR ALVSVÅG:
Burial: 07 Dec 1963, Leslieville Cemetery, 1 mile E and 1/2 mile S of Leslieville, Alberta
Cause of Death: Pneumonia29
Emigration: 19 Apr 1888, Left Finnås Kommune, Bømlo, Norway30,31
Immigration to Canada: 12 Jul 1916, Kingsgate BC(fr Eugene OR to Blackfalds BC)32
Immigration to USA: 1888, landed in New York (steamship fr Liverpool)33
Moved to Eugene Oregon: 190933,34

Notes for LARS ANDREAS PEDERSON ERITSLAND:
[Note: Ersland/Eritsland and Alvsvåg -- where Lars & Anna Marie came from, respectively -- are on the island of Bømlo. Both are near the town of Bremnæs, in Finaas parish, on Bømlo, which is in Hordaland fylke [region? county?) in western Norway. As of 2001, there is a bridge connecting Bømlo and the next island, Stord, to the mainland near Bergen.]

Lars emigrated from Norway in 1889. His brother Peder came in 1893.

Note written by Lars' daughter Hilda Eritsland Stratton - copy sent by Betty Wulff 1998: "Papa's father was Peder from Eritsland place in Norway. Norwegian custom was to call the children by father's name which made papa Pederson - but in Iowa there were so many Pedersons/Petersons & so on that their mail got mixed up. When Uncle Peder and Papa bought land in Minnesota they decided on Eritsland the name of the farm they came from in Norway. Our cousins in Madison Wisconsin knocked the "IT" out of Eritsland and called it "Ersland". [Note: these are simply alternate spellings for the farm name, and both spellings are in use in the family back in Norway today. Konrad Eritsland wrote in 1969, "In the churchbook for Finnås parish in 1858 the farm name Eritsland is written as Eritsland, Eritzland and Erritzland." A chapter on "Ersland" in a book tracing ownership of Bømlo farms also gives other spellings dating back to 1519: Ericksland, Eresland, Ericklanndt, Erichslanndtt, Erichslannd, Eridsland, Erisland, Errisland, Eridtzland, Eridsland, Eriitsland, Erridtzland, Erridsland. Since 1890 it has been Ersland.]

Alma (Eritsland) von Tettenborn wrote: "My father Lars Peterson, came from Norway the next year [1889], my mother probably helped him as her sister had helped her. They were probably engaged before either left Norway. They went to the same church in Norway and were in the same confirmation class, but did not attend the same school. If they had, my father indicated, there would probably not have been any romance. In Norway the 'Gaars' or farms had been subdivided until they could no longer be. The land always went to the oldest son, in this case Ole. My father apprenticed for 4 years in Bergen, learning the craft of painting and interior decorating, which craft he followed in America between bouts of trying to farm, at which he wasn't too successful. For his 4 years apprenticing, besides his necessary food and clothing, he received the grand sum of $32.00.

"He probably followed a similar route to my mother's [see Anna Marie's entry: by ship from Bergen to Hull, by rail to Liverpool, and from there by ship to New York -- a typical itinerary for thousands of Norwegian emigrants] but I have no record of ships' names. On arriving in New York he knew no one, and understood no English. Undaunted he set out to knock on every door and ask, "Can you speak Norwegian" -- in Norwegian, of course. As luck would have it, he met with success on his first attempt. Arriving in St. Paul, he probably worked for a while, then he and my mother were married in St. Paul May 28, 1889. That fall they went back to Ridgeway - lived there till 1901 or so.

" I remember seeing a reference about Peder and Lars working for farmers in the Marshalltown, Iowa area right after they came to the USA. Later, Peder was living in Decorah, Iowa for awhile. " email from Ron George, husband of Peder's granddaughter Gail (ie Violet's son-in-law) May 2002)

Lars became a US citizen on Oct 1, 1895, "abjuring all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, State and Sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly to the King of Norway and Sweden." [his granddaughter Carol Eritsland Wait has the original document]

More from Alma's narrative: "Children born in Ridgeway: Lydia (died), Lydia, Hilda, Oscar, Emma, Paul. Then they moved to Nassau, Minnesota, where they had 4 more children: Ida, Agnes, Alma & Esther.

"In Nov 1909 they moved to Eugene Oregon, then in July 1916 to Alberta Canada. In Eugene they had a 100 acre farm, and 2 houses in the city, but one was small. This they traded, sight unseen, for 2 quarter sections in Alberta.

"My mother enjoyed telling that after they were married, my father had 3 cents left in his pocket. He had wages coming at the end of the week, but it made a good story anyway."

email from Betty (Lowe) Wulff, Jan 2002 [info she got from Hilda (Eritsland) Stratton[: "In Ridgeway, Iowa Lars did housepainting and interior decoration--wall papering, special paint finishes--using feathers and rags and spattering by flipping paint brushes, -- which are all the rage right now, again!" Betty also gave more information about how/why they moved to Eugene and then to Alberta -- see Anna Marie's entry below.

More About LARS ANDREAS PEDERSON ERITSLAND:
Burial: Leslieville Cemetery, 1 mile E and 1/2 mile S of Leslieville, Alberta
Emigration: 29 Mar 188935
Immigration to USA: 1889, came to USA to St Paul Minnesota
Moved: Nov 1909, moved to Eugene Oregon
Naturalization: 01 Oct 1895, US Citizen36
Worked: 1889, Marshalltown Iowa (possibly on arrival, w. Peder)37
     
Children of ANNA ALVSVÅG and LARS ERITSLAND are:
  i.   LYDIA4 PEDERSON, b. 16 Jun 1890, Ridgeway, Iowa; d. 21 May 1891, Ridgeway, Iowa USA38.
  Notes for LYDIA PEDERSON:
died of "black measles" - "went spinal meningitis" - note written by
Hilda Eritsland, copy of note sent by Betty Wulff 1998

Alma Eritsland wrote that Lydia died of measles 1 year after birth.

19. ii.   LYDIA AMANDA (PEDERSON) ERITSLAND, b. 01 Jan 1892, Ridgeway, Iowa; d. 26 Mar 1960.
20. iii.   HILDA MARIE (PEDERSON) ERITSLAND, b. 22 Apr 1894, Ridgeway, Iowa; d. 10 May 1988, Cottage Grove, Oregon.
21. iv.   OSCAR BERNARD (PEDERSON) ERITSLAND, b. 06 May 1896, Ridgeway Iowa; d. 24 Dec 1971, North Vancouver B.C..
22. v.   EMMA LILLIAN (PEDERSON) ERITSLAND, b. 14 Apr 1898, Ridgeway, Iowa, USA; d. 01 Dec 1986, Camrose, AB.
  vi.   PAUL GERHARD (PEDERSON) ERITSLAND, b. 28 Jul 1900, Ridgeway, Iowa, USA; d. 09 Apr 1977; m. CECIL HOGBERG.
  More About PAUL GERHARD (PEDERSON) ERITSLAND:
Cause of Death: cancer
Immigration to Canada: 12 Jul 1916, Kingsgate BC (from Eugene to Blackfalds)39
23. vii.   IDA ALICE ERITSLAND, b. 18 Jan 1903, Nassau, Minnesota, USA; d. 25 Oct 1966, Red Deer, Alberta (Red Deer General Hospital).
24. viii.   AGNES ELISE ERITSLAND, b. 03 Mar 1905, Nassau, Minnesota, USA; d. 24 Aug 1964.
25. ix.   ALMA BERTINE ERITSLAND, b. 19 Jun 1907, Nassau, Lac Qui Parle (county), MN, USA; d. 05 Aug 1994, Red Deer, AB, CANADA.
26. x.   ESTHER MATHILDE ERITSLAND, b. 02 Aug 1909, Nassau, Minnesota, USA; d. 19 Dec 1971.


6. LYDIA KRISTINE HANSDTR3 ALVSVÅG (ÅGOTA NILSDATTER2 FYLKESNES, NILS1 FILIPPUSSON) was born 1874 in Alvsvåg, on Bømlo (Norway), and died 24 Oct 1951 in Hiskjo, Norway. She married LARS LARSSON MÆLAND, son of LARS MÆLAND and RAGNA HISKJO. He was born 1863 in Mæland, on Bømlo (Norway), and died 1947 in Hiskjo, Norway.

Notes for LYDIA KRISTINE HANSDTR ALVSVÅG:
"Lydia and Lars Mæland moved to Hiskjo in 189t. there they bought a little farm, and settled. Hiskjo is a little island, belonging to the community Bømlo. Lydia and Lars had 10 children, seven boys and three daughters. The little son Edvard Severin (born 1913) died in 1916 of inflammation of the lungs. Lars was a farmer until 1937, then he made over the farm to his oldest son, Lars. As the farms in Hiskjo were small, the farmers often had to be fishermen as well. The six sons bought a fishing boat together, and most of the year they were fishing. Then they lived in the boat for several weeks, fishing in the North Sea, along shore of Norway. Hiskjo had a good harbour, and a lot of fishing boats used to arrive there. In Hiskjo there was also a factory for salting of herring and a smoking-place, and many people were working in that factory." [their granddaughter Brit Langkaas, writing in February 2002 and April 2002.]
     
Children of LYDIA ALVSVÅG and LARS MÆLAND are:
27. i.   LARS4 LARSEN, b. 1896; d. 1973.
  ii.   HANS ANDREAS LARSEN40, b. 189841; d. 1956; m. THORA FOLGERØ; b. 1896; d. 1982.
28. iii.   RAGNA KRISTINE MÆLAND, b. 1900; d. 1986.
  iv.   (JOHANNE) MARIE LARSEN41, b. 1903; d. 1954.
  Notes for (JOHANNE) MARIE LARSEN:
"She was called Marie -- never used the name Johanne." email from her niece Brit Langkaas, Dec 2002

She was unmarried, lived with her mother. "since I was very young, I have been unwell, but now I am much better." (letter from Marie to her aunt Anna Marie, Nov 13, 1951)

29. v.   GUSTAV BERTIN LARSEN, b. 1905; d. 1995.
30. vi.   JØRGEN MARTIN LARSEN, b. 1907; d. 1996.
31. vii.   BORGHILD ELISABETH LARSEN, b. 1909; d. 1989.
  viii.   LUDVIK KRISTIAN LARSEN41, b. 1911; d. 198941.
  Notes for LUDVIK KRISTIAN LARSEN:
Lived for many years in Hiskjo (Brit Langkaas,Maeland family genealogy written 2002

  ix.   EDVARD SEVERIN LARSEN41, b. 1913; d. 1916.
32. x.   EDVARD SEVERIN LARSEN, b. 01 Jul 1918; d. 07 Jul 2003.

[ Home Page | First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page ]
Home | Help | About Us | Biography.com | HistoryChannel.com | Site Index | Terms of Service | PRIVACY
© 2009 Ancestry.com