Robert Owen BYE

Notes:

In the 1955 Klamath Falls city directory, he lived with his mother and step-father and sister (and, presumably, his 10 year-old half-brother) at 4680 Peck Drive. He worked at the Klamath Basin Pine Mills where his step-father also worked.

In the 1957 Portland city directory, he lived with his father and step-mother at 2817 NW Thurman. He was a mail distributor for the OPRR.

In the 1959 Spokane city directory, he was a freight clerk for the UPRR. He and his wife Charlene lived at W 1505 6th Avenue, apartment C.

He lived in Lake Oswego, Oregon, in 1993.

Robert Owen Bye died Feb. 19, 2001, of lung cancer at age 68. No service will be held. Mr. Bye was born March 16, 1932, in Los Angeles and grew up in Klamath Falls. From 1950 to 1954, he served in the U.S. Air Force. He moved to Portland in the late 1950s and was a sales representative for Union Pacific Railroad until retiring in 1987. In 1976, he married Luanne Pinardi.

Survivors include his wife; daughters, Vicki and Julie; sister, Mary Lou Rice; half-brother, Mike Boyle; and one grandchild.

Robert married Charlene Joanne MACKENZIE on 21 Feb 1959 in Multnomah County, Oregon, and was divorced on 4 Aug 1969 in Multnomah County, Oregon. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
White Temple Baptist Church

Robert married L.M. PINARDI [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• MN Birth Cert Checked: Y
• Minnesota Birth Certificate: 1900-17366
• Oregon Death Certificate: 76-07163
• Baptism: 27 Sep 1900, Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Notes:

He was “at home” at the time of his father’s death.

An unnamed Bye was born to a mother named Gertie in Otter Tail County on September 7, 1900. We’ll assume that this was John.

John Gustave Bye registered for the draft on September 12, 1918. His birthday is listed as September 7, 1900. He lives at 420 Channing Ave. N., Fergus Falls. He is a clerk with the H. P. Bye and Co. at 220 Lincoln Avenue N., Fergus Falls. His nearest relative is J. M. Bye of the Channing Avenue address. He is medium height and build with blue eyes and light hair.

He worked for Otter Tail Power Company in Fergus Falls at the time of his mother’s death in 1926.

In the 1929 Portland, Oregon, city directory, he was a sander for the D Manufacturing Co. He and Evelyn lived at 5254 74th SE.

John G. was married and he and his wife were living with George in an apartment in Los Angeles at the time of the 1930 census. John and his wife Evelyn A. had been married a year. John was a sander at a furniture company.

In the 1932 California voter registration, John G and Mrs Evelyn A Bye lived at 308 E 74th Street in Los Angeles. He registered as a Democrat, she as a Republican. This may be the “74th and San Pedro” address that George cites as the address of “Jno. G. Bye” in George’s admission to the Sawtelle home in July of 1932.

For the 1932-33 registration year, John’s car registered in Oregon was a 1928 Pontiac coupe. He lived at 7228 55th Avenue SE.

In the 1936/37 Portland (Oregon) city directory, John G Bye is a factory worker at DMfgCo. He and his wife Evelyn live at 5830 SE 80th Avenue. In the 1937/38 Portland (Oregon) city directory, John G is a “furnwkr DMfgCo.” He and Evelyn still live at 5830 SE 80th Avenue.

In the 1940 census, he and Evelyn and Robert and Mary live at 5839 SE 80th in Portland, Oregon. John had had 1 year of high school, Evelyn had had 3 years. John was a machine sander in the furniture industry.

A John G. Bye married a Ruth Ella Hardin (neé Descombes), both of Multnomah County, in Vancouver, Clark County, Washington, on 21 Jul 1945. That Ruth died 6 Feb 1993 in Multnomah County as Ruth E Johnson.

In the 1953 Portland, Oregon, city directory, John G Bye and his wife Ruth E lived at 2817 NW Thurman. He was a machinist. They were still together at 2817 NW Thurman in the 1956 city directory. At that time, John was a machinist for Schmitt Steel and Ruth was a machine operator for Thurlow, Inc. Listed as also living at the 2817 NW Thurman address in that 1956 directory was Robert E Bye, a tracer for Willamette Iron & Steel. John G and Ruth E were still listed together as spouses in the 1959 and 1960 Portland city directories.

John G. Bye, born Sep of 1900, died April 9, 1976, in Washington County, Oregon. His wife was named Betty. His death cert was 76-07163.

Johnny and Betty lived in Beaverton, Oregon, according to Michael.

Baptism:
First English Lutheran of Fergus Falls. As Johan Gustav Bye.

Buried:
urn memorial, Garden of the Apostles

John married Evelyn Agnes BOGUSLASKI on 8 Sep 1928 in Multnomah County, Oregon, and was divorced on 2 Jun 1942 in Multnomah County, Oregon. Evelyn was born on 20 Jun 1909 in Wisconsin; died on 22 Apr 1978 in Lane County, Oregon; was buried in Rest-Haven Memorial Park, Eugene, Lane County, Oregon. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Both of her parents were born in Poland and came to the U.S. as young children.

The Evelyn A Boguslaski in the 1910 census (daughter of Stanley and Josephine of Portland, Oregon) was 10 months old, implying a birthdate of May or June.

She was Mrs. Leo Boyle at the time of Robert Owen Bye’s marriage to Charlene MacKenzie in 1959.

Her father, Stanley A Boguslaski, died 15 January 1967.

An Evelyn Agn Boyle, b. 20 Jun 1909, died 22 April 1978 in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon. Her husband’s name was Leo.

Other Events and Attributes:

• MN Death Cert Checked: Y
• Minnesota Death Certificate: 1922-MN-010119
• Occupation: Grocer in his brother’s business, dealer in farm products
• Baptism: 4 Mar 1870, Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
• Confirmation: 4 Oct 1885, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota

Notes:

Oleanna Johannesdatter, 43, and her four children (Jon Martinussen, 11, Marie Martinussdatter, 7, Anna Martinussdatter, 9, and Hans Martinussen, 5) left Norway on 5 April 1882 on the feeder ship Tasso to Hull, England. Their destination was Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

He married his 2nd cousin.

In the 1895 census, J. M. and Gertie are living in Fergus Falls. J. M. is a clerk.

In the 1900 census, John is shown as 30, having been born in Norway in December of 1869. He and Gertie had been married 5 years. Gertie is 27, born in December of 1872, and has had two children, both still living. The children are Mabel, 3 (born June 1896) and George, 2 (born in August of 1897). John is shown as having emigrated in 1882, Gertie in 1892. John is a grocer. Gertie is shown as not being able to speak English. John owns his home without mortgage.

In the 1902 Fergus Falls city directory, he and Gertie live at the west end of Channing Avenue. He is in business with his father as J M Bye & Co. at 103 Bismarck Avenue E.

In the 1903 Fergus Falls city directory, he was John M Bye, a grocer with his business at 103 Bismarck Avenue E. He and Gertie resided at the west end of Channing Avenue.

In the 1905 directory, he was John M Bye, a dealer in Groceries, Crockery, Glassware and Gents’ Furnishings at 103 Bismarck Avenue E. He and Gertie resided at 420 Channing Avenue W.

In the 1905 state census, he and his family live on Channing Avenue in Fergus Falls. John is a grocery merchant.

In the 1907 directory, his name is listed with bold letters but he has no occupation shown. He and Gertie still live at 420 Channing Avenue W.

As J. M. Bye, he was one of the charter members of Trønderlag of America in 1908. This was (and still is) the bygdelag for emigrants and their descendants from the Trøndelag region of Norway. J. M. Bye, of Fergus Falls and from Vårdalen, was listed in the Trønderlaget’s 1910 yearbook. In that yearbook, J. M. is shown to have emigrated to the U.S. in 1882.

In the 1909 directory, he is John M Bye, no bold letters or occupation or wife’s name shown. He lives at 420 Channing Avenue W.

In the 1910 census, he is shown as age 40 and a widower; apparently a fairly recent widower because he has a one-year old daughter. John is a dealer in farm produce. He owned his home without mortgage.

In the 1911 city directory, he is now in the grocery business with his brother Hans as part of the Hans P Bye & Co. with a store at 220 Lincoln Avenue W. He still lives at 420 Channing Ave W.

John, his brother Hans, and perhaps their uncle Theodor were original shareholders of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Fergus Falls when it was organized on May 22, 1915.

In the 1920 census, (incorrectly indexed as Beel) the family was living at 425 Channing Avenue in a home he owned without mortgage. The family is John, 50, no occupation, Mabel, 24, a school teacher, George M., 22, a clerk at the post office, John G., 19, a shipping clerk at a wholesale house, Myrtle T., 16, and Margaret, 10. John is shown as married. He came to this country in 1882 and is naturalized.

His obit noted that he had been 20 years with H P Bye & Company on Washington in Fergus Falls but had retired on account of ill health. “One of his daughters teaches school at Stanley, N.D.”

John M.’s Minnesota death certificate #1922-MN-010119. Another John Bye died in Otter Tail County on Jan 31, 1922.

There was no such house as 425 Channing in 2008.

John prepared his will on June 21, 1920. His brother was named as the executor of his will. That will was recognized by the probate judge of Otter Tail County on 6 Jul 1922. The terms of the will granted his wife a life estate on his homestead in the city of Fergus Falls. The rest of his property was to go to his children, “share and share alike.” The will notes that his wife is not included in the distribution of his personal property because John had a $2000 life insurance policy “payable direct to her.”

According to the obit, John died “at 6:45 PM, “from apoplexy.” According to his death certificate, he died from a cerebral hemorrhage for which cardiovascular disease was a contributory cause. The doctor filling out the death certificate said that he confirmed the diagnosis of cerebral hemorrhage by the fact of “paralysis.” The informant for the information in John’s death certificate was his brother Hans. John was a retired merchant. He was married but the death certificate did not include a name for John’s wife. Hans knew that John’s father was M. E. Bye but all he knew of his mother, or at least all he had included in John’s death certificate, was “Olianna” with no last name.

According to Mike, “John Bye put out ‘year plates’ for his grocery store and my mother has several of them with the dates.”

His naturalization records:

John M. Bye
Otter Tail County
Reel 2
Volume C
Code 4
Page 434

and

John M. Bye
Otter Tail County
Reel 6
Volume J
Code 18
Page 273

Died:
St. Luke’s Hospital. Find-A-Grave says June 1st.

Buried:
1:30 PM funeral at Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Johan married Grethe Johanna Mikalsdatter (Gertie) HAGA on 4 Jun 1895 in Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Grethe (daughter of Michael Olsen HAGE and Gurina Johnsdatter SKOGN) was born on 20 Dec 1872 in Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway; died on 12 Oct 1926 in Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota; was buried on 15 Oct 1926 in Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• MN Death Cert Checked: Y
• Minnesota Death Certificate: 1926-MN-011049
• Baptism: 9 Mar 1873, Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
• Confirmation: 25 Sep 1887, Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway

Notes:

She is the Grethe Haga, age 18, from Norway and headed to Minnesota, who arrived in Boston on 19 Jun 1892 aboard the Cephalonia. She had left Trondheim, as the 18 year-old Grethe Haga, on June 1st aboard the feeder ship Juno. She gave Boston, Massachusetts, as her destination.

She married her 2nd cousin.

She is Mrs. Gertie M. Bye in the 1905 state census. She had been in Minnesota for 13 years.

Although John is shown as a widower in the 1910 census (although not in the 1920 census), this is incorrect. Gertie spent her last years (perhaps her last 15-17 years) as an inmate in the county insane asylum. A Gertie Bye, age 37 and married, was in the Fergus Falls State Hospital at the time of the 1910 census. A Gertie Bye, age 46 and married, was in the Fergus Falls State Hospital for the Insane in the 1920 census.

She died of pneumonia brought on by septic tonsilitis. The hospital records showed her parents were Mekal Hoga and Gurena Johnson.

The coordinates of the Fergus Falls State Hospital:

461759N (=46.29972°)
0960452W (=-96.08111°)

Died:
her obit gives her death date as October 13th

Notes:

Married:
First English Lutheran

Other Events and Attributes:

• Minnesota Death Certificate: 1932-MN-010908
• Occupation: Flour mill worker in the U.S., Skomager (shoemaker) in Norway, Tjener at the time of John’s birth
• Baptism: 10 Oct 1847, Vinne, Verdal (Vårdalen), Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
• Confirmation: 4 Oct 1863, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway

Notes:

Or Mortinus Eliasen.

Shown in the 1865 Norwegian census as Martinus Eliassen, living with his parents and four younger siblings. Dee Austring says that in this census Martinus was shown as “19 yo skomager” and was living at Storøren gård #265, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway.

Martinus was living in Byvald, Verdal, and Oleanna in Maritvoldvald, Verdal (Vårdalen), at the time of John’s birth. At the time of their marriage, those locations were called Baglovald and Marithvoldvald. Both were living in Maritvoldvald at the time of Hans Peter’s birth.

In the 1875 Norwegian census the family was living on Maritvoldvald with Oleanna’s mother. Martin’s occupation appears to be telegraph operator and farmer.

Martin and Oleanna emigrated to the US from Norway in the early 1880s with all four children. Martin arrived first in 1880 and the rest of the family followed two years later. The family settled in Fergus Falls. The family is listed in the 1885 Minnesota state census as living in Fergus Falls. Martin’s brother Elling is living with them. Martin is 37, Oleana is 48, Johan is 15, Anna is 13, Maria is 11, and Hans is 9.

The girls (and, apparently, Hans) later moved to Duluth, probably after their mother died. Martin remarried after Oleanna's death, according to Edna Cartwright and confirmed in the obituary in the Fergus Falls newspaper. John Everson said that his mother and Marie had a half-sister born in the U.S.

Martin Bye’s obituary said that he arrived in Fergus Falls on May 9, 1880. “Shortly after his arrival, he was employed by H. G. Page in the Red River Mill, and later worked as a miller in the Big A Mill for many years. After retiring from the milling business, he went into business and conducted a store where the Tobacco Mart is now located. Always honest and upright in his business dealings, he gained the respect and good will of all.”

The Red River Mill was built in 1872 and was located on the site of the present Con Agra Montana Inc. on Stanton west of Union Bridge. The old mill burned on March 18, 1915. A story in the Fergus Falls newspaper in 1972 described how Martin’s sons, “John and Hans Bye”, noticed smoke and alerted the night duty men at the mill. One elevator was saved but the total loss was “near $75,000.”

Reportedly survived by 18 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren but these numbers must include the Wold stepchildren.

Living with the family of his brother-in-law, Theodore Johnson, a butcher, in Fergus Falls at the time of the 1880 census. Shown as “Martinus E. Bye”, age 32, married, laborer.

In the 1885 state census, the whole family is in Fergus Falls. Living with them is 34 year-old Elling Bye.

Couldn’t find him in the 1895 state census.

Living alone as a clothing merchant at the time of the 1900 census.

In the 1902 Fergus Falls city directory, Martin and Sophie live at 123 Bancroft Ave W. Martin is in business with his son (J M Bye & Co.). Boarding with them is Alfred Bye, a student.

In the 1903 Fergus Falls city directory, Martin and Sophie still live at 123 Bancroft Avenue W. He had no occupation.

In the 1905 census he is Martin Bye, 58, living at 123 Bancroft Avenue West in Fergus Falls with Mrs. Carin S., 49, and her two children, Harold S., 17, and Alma O., 13. No one has an occupation. Although Martin and Carin are each shown to have been in Minnesota for 20 years, Martin is shown to have been in the present enumeration district for only 5 years. This may refer to Martin’s moving into Carin’s home on Bancroft Avenue five years before.

In the 1907 directory, he and Sophie live at 123 Bancroft.

In the 1909 directory, he is a farmer, still living with Sophie at 123 Bancroft.

Martin was living with his 2nd wife and her two children at 123 Remington in Fergus Falls at the time of the 1910 census. The house is owned by Carin. Martin’s occupation is peddler of notions.

He was not listed in the 1920 census. The house at 123 Bancroft is owned by a recently-immigrated family from Denmark.

He was living with his son Hans at the time of the 1930 census.

In the 1931 Fergus Falls city directory, Martin lived with Hans and Mary at 126 Channing Avenue W.

Minnesota death certificate 1932-MN-010908 issued in Otter Tail County for “M. E. Bye.”

According to a researcher who posted a family tree on Ancestry.com, Martin was born in Storøren gård #265, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway.

Naturalization records:

Martinius E Bye
Otter Tail County
Reel 1
Volume B
Code 3
Page 231

and

Martinus Bye
Otter Tail County
Reel 6
Volume J
Code 18
Page 307

Birth:
On Baglovald according to Sven Tore

Confirmation:
Stikelstad

Died:
“died Tuesday noon at the home of his son, H. P. Bye....”

Buried:
funeral at 2 PM, Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Martinus married Olianna Johannesdatter JOHNSON on 18 Nov 1870 in Vinne, Verdal (Vårdalen), Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Olianna (daughter of Johannes Hansen ØREN and Gürü Halvorsdatter NESS) was born on 27 Jan 1836 in Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway; was christened on 20 Mar 1836 in Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway; died on 26 Oct 1890 in Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota; was buried on 28 Oct 1890 in Oak Grove Cemetery, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 20 Mar 1836, Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
• Confirmation: 10 Jun 1850

Notes:

Also spelled Oleanna (the way it’s spelled in her birth record). Called herself Olianna Bye in calling cards that she used in Fergus Falls.

Last name in Norway is also Martitvoldvald. Could not find her in the 1865 census. There was a 27 year-old Olianna Johansdatter who lived on Mikvoldvald and was the wife of the husmand Jørgen Andersen. That couple had two children.

She had 3 siblings living in Fergus Falls.

Oleanna Johannesdatter, 43, and her four children (Jon Martinussen, 11, Marie Martinussdatter, 7, Anna Martinussdatter, 9, and Hans Martinussen, 5) left Norway on 5 April 1882 on the feeder ship Tasso to Hull, England. Their destination was Fergus Falls, Minnesota. They are not listed among the emigrants in the Stiklestad church book.

Birth:
Øhr farm. Her gravestone in Oak Grove Cemetery has her birth date as 12 Dec 1835 (repeated in the Dalby Database), a date which is patently correct.

Died:
month and day from Dalby database

Buried:
she has a stone that says “Mother” near Martin’s at Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery

Notes:

Also Mikal or Mekal. Gaardbruger og Selveier of Hage østre in Verdal in the 1875 Norwegian census.

Michael married Gurina Johnsdatter SKOGN on 12 Sep 1865 in Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Gurina (daughter of John Johnsen HALLAN and Guru Madsdatter) was born on 25 Dec 1846 in Alstadhoug, Skogn, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway; died on 24 Apr 1892 in Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway; was buried on 5 May 1892 in Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 14 Mar 1847, Alstadhoug, Skogn, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway

Notes:

Or Gurina Johnsdatter Hallan.

Her cause of death was “strutehoste” (bursting cough?). The location of her death was Kvinderkjøn.