Norma Lee NUNDAHL

Notes:

Norma L. Pierce of Onalaska, WI passed away at 80 years of age at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center on April 13, 2022. She was born in rural Vernon County on September 26, 1941 to Carl and Mearl (Crook) Nundahl. Norma was raised in a large and loving Norwegian-English farming family. She graduated from Viroqua High School in 1959.

Norma married Earl Pierce on June 6, 1959 and they later divorced. She subsequently married Richard Karth on February 4, 1984 and they were together for a number of years.

In 1972, as a newly single mother to young children, Norma set out to conquer the world and show her children that a strong work ethic can provide opportunities. She began working as a bookkeeper at Home Savings and Loan late that year and within 6 years was promoted to Assistant Vice President and branch manager of the Onalaska location. She later served as a residential home loan specialist and manager of local branches of First Home Mortgage and First Financial Savings and Loan, and ended her career as Assistant Vice President for Residential Real Estate Lending at First Bank.

Norma served on the Board of Directors for the La Crosse Area Home Builders Association and was the only woman on that board for many years. She was awarded Spike Club status by the National Home Builders Association in recognition of her achievements in member recruitment and retention. Norma was elected to the Riverfront Foundation Board in 1989 and served as President of the Optimist Club of La Crosse. She was a career-long member of the Greater La Crosse Board of Realtors. Norma also volunteered with the La Crosse Area Habitat for Humanity chapter and donated generously to the cause of providing homes to people who need a helping hand.

Norma was an accomplished soprano soloist and performed at a number of events over the years. At home, she was an excellent cook and baker whose cinnamon rolls and apple pie have yet to be beat, and an expert seamstress.

Norma raised four children and did it well, with tremendous support from her large extended family and neighbors Berniece Johnson and Nonie Curran. She is survived by her daughter Kim Pierce, Irvine, CA; daughter Carmen Perrizo and son-in-law John, Eden Prairie, MN; son Brian Pierce, La Crosse, WI; and son Brad Pierce and daughter-in-law Jill, Green Bay, WI. Norma was an excellent grandmother to Jared Pierce, Paul Perrizo, Evan Perrizo, Chloe Perrizo, Tyler Pierce, Taylor Pierce, and Tiffani Pierce. She was very proud to be great-grandmother to Cora Jo Pierce. Norma is also survived by her sisters Marlene Carrel, Martha Brewer, and Judy Collins, and sister-in-law Janus Nundahl.

Norma was preceded in death by her mother in 1960 and her father in 1968; sister Eileen Mikkelson (2005); and brothers Ivan (1934), Selmer (1995), Kenneth (2005), Merlin (2009), and Donald (2014).

Norma married Earl Paul PIERCE on 6 Jun 1959 in Vernon County, Wisconsin, and was divorced. Earl (son of Lawrence E PIERCE and Esther ZINTZ) was born on 18 Nov 1938 in Readstown, Kickapoo Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin; died on 21 Apr 1996 in La Crosse County, Wisconsin; was buried in Viroqua Cemetery, Viroqua, Vernon County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Norma married R.J. KARTH [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Social Security Number: 396-26-1219 issued in Wisconsin before 1951
• Vernon County Death Index: V35, P340

Notes:

At the time of the 1930 census, Carl and Mearl and family were living on a farm in Franklin Township at "Brookville & Black Bottom Road" next to the Odin Olson farm. The household consisted of Carl, 32, his wife Mearl, 25, daughter Eileen, 7, and sons Selmer, 5, Kenneth, 2, and Ivan, 0. Also living with the family was a lodger/servant named Edwin McKnight, 43. Carl was 24 when he was first married, Mearl was 17. Carl was not a veteran. Down the road past Carl's farm was Sever Nundahl's farm and Tilman Nundahl's farm.

The history of the Kickapoo United Lutheran Church in Soldiers Grove records the death of a Carl Nundahl in 1968.



Carl registered for the draft on August 14, 1918, in Vernon County. The draft registrar was A E Smith. He claimed to be 21 and to have been born on August 12, 1897. His home address was Route 5, Viroqua, and he was born in Soldiers Grove. He claimed employment as a farmer, employed by Sever Nundahl of Route 5, Viroqua, who was also Carl’s nearest relative. Carl was described as tall and of medium build with dark brown eyes and black hair.

In the 1940 census, he was a farmer in Franklin Twp on the Viroqua to Black Bottom Road. He and his wife had been educated through the 8th grade. Eileen was no longer living at home.

In the 1950 census, mis-indexed as Mundahl in Ancestry, he and his family live on a farm in the town of Franklin, Vernon County, on “14 toward Brookville.” Kenneth and Eileen are no longer at home. Merlin works as an usher in a theatre.

Carl’s daughter says: My parents bought the Bowe farm and moved there when Eileen was eleven months old, which would be the year 1923. If there was someone else living there between that time and when Sever and Andrew left, I do not know who that would be. I have many, many pleasant memories of the farm and growing up. It was the place where a lot of gatherings were held. When I was growing up, Sunday was the day that everyone visited.”



The 1948 Vernon County plat book shows that Carl’s 115 acres were a bit different from Claus’s original homestead. In Section 27, Carl’s farm could be described as all of the SE corner of the SW corner, nearly all of the SW corner of the SE corner, and most, but not all (he didn’t own what was on the east side of the road) of the NW corner of the SE corner. Carl’s farm adjoined, and was east of, Ernest Ekum’s farm which was also all in Section 27. Bertha (who was not alive in 1948) is shown as the owner of 40 acres in the other section immediately south of Section 27. Bertha’s 40 was the NE corner of the NW corner of that section.

He auctioned off his cattle and farm equipment on March 6, 1956.

Died:
not listed in the Wisconsin death index because 1968 was excluded for some reason

Carl married Mearl Margaret CROOK on 12 Oct 1921 in Vernon County, Wisconsin. Mearl (daughter of William Frank CROOK and Prudence Mabel (Mable) REYNOLDS) was born on 7 May 1905 in Brookville, Franklin Township, Vernon County, Wisconsin; died on 6 Nov 1960 in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin; was buried on 9 Nov 1960 in North Kickapoo Lutheran Church Cemetery, Franklin Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Vernon County Death Index: V29, P450 As Mearl M.
• Wisconsin Death Certificate: 031805

Notes:

Or Merl. Spelled Mearl on the 1930 census interview form.

Her obituary says that Mearl and Carl resided on a farm near Viroqua until 1955 when they moved into Viroqua.

Mearl died at Wisconsin General Hospital in Madison after a brief illness and surgery. The pallbearers at Mearl’s funeral were all Crooks: Otto, Clair, Floyd, Faye, Harold, and Gale.

Died:
at a Madison hospital

Notes:

Married:
at the parsonage of the Circuit M.E. Church

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Stone Mason, Farmer
• Vernon County Death Index: V25, P549 As Sever O.
• Baptism: 1 Jan 1862, Årdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

Born Sjur. Called Sever S. in the 1900 census.

Because a Wisconsin Nundahl is a member of the Fjord Heritage Club, Sever’s family may have come from the Årdal and Lærdal region of Sogn and Fjordane fylke, Norway.

His obituary said, incorrectly, that Sever was born May 12th.

His obituary claims that Sever joined his brothers and sisters in Wisconsin when he was 19 years old. It appears that Sever left Norway on June 1, 1880. The emigration records from Bergen for people from Årdal note a Sjur Olsen Nundal, age 18, unmarried, born in 1862, leaving on the Amerikanske Linie on that date.

Sever married Bertha in a “condensed M E ritual” conducted by G. N. Nuzum and witnessed by Sever Bowe and Ida Anderson. Sever’s occupation is shown as “mason” in his marriage record.

His obituary also says that Sever was survived by 22 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren.

Played the violin at dances.

In the 1905 state census, the family is recorded as Sever Nundal, 44, stone mason, Bertha, 36, Carl, 7, Clara, 6, and Tillman, 3. By that time, the family had moved to Franklin Twp. In the 1915 plat book for Vernon County, Sever Nundahl owns the 40 acres to the southwest of the original Claus Bowe homestead. By comparing the 1915 and 1896 plats, it would appear that Sever Nundahl bought the southern half of an 80 (two 40s) that Andrew and Sever Bowe owned in 1896.

Sever’s brother, Ole Nundahl, lived not too far from Sever according to the 1920 census. Ole’s children included Martin, Mabel, and another Tilman who was apparently about 2 years older than Sever’s Tilman. The two boys may have spelled their names slightly differently.

At the time of the 1930 census, Sever, 66, and Bertha, 62, were living on Black Bottom Road in Franklin Township on the same road as their children and their families. Sever was 31 when he was first married; Bertha was 27. Sever was born in Norway and emigrated in 1889.

In the 1940 census (indexed as Memlahl), Sever, Brita, Tilman Oliver, and Tilman’s children lived on a farm on Highway 14. For all of them, it was the same house that they had lived in in 1935.

In the 1950 census, he was the 88 year-old widower living with his son Tillman and Tillman’s three children in the town of Franklin, Vernon County. His grandson Sylvan was listed as the head of household.

According to the history of the Kickapoo Church, “Sjur Nundal” was a member of the building committee responsible, in 1926, for the building of the basement under the church.



Find A Grave contributor Deir claims that “Undoubtedly, Sever was the last living person in the U.S. with a memory of the Ekra farm {in Norway}.” This is probably not true because Sever’s older sister Anna survived him by four years.

Sever’s obit said that he had a sister, Mrs. Annie Oren, living in DeForest.

Birth:
The Luster bygdebok, in its description of Kari’s family, says that Sever was from “Ekra under Nundal i Årdal.”

Baptism:
In the churchbook as Sjur Olssen, son of O. Trondssen N?ndal and Kari Mathiasdatter.

Died:
Cora’s diary of May 20, 1954, says that she “got message Sever N. passed away.”

Sever married Brithe (Bertha) BOWE on 19 Sep 1896 in Vernon County, Wisconsin. Brithe (daughter of Claus Sjursen BØE (BOWE) and Kari Andersdatter MAREIM) was born on 28 Sep 1868 in Franklin Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin; died on 16 May 1944 in La Crosse County, Wisconsin; was buried on 19 May 1944 in North Kickapoo Lutheran Church Cemetery, Franklin Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Vernon County Death Index: V21, P126 As Berthe

Notes:

Probably named after her paternal grandmother according to the Norwegian naming convention.

If Sever Bowe was born in May of 1866, Bertha could not have been born in September of 1866, the date shown in the 1900 census. Later censuses, and the 1870 census, suggest that September of 1867 may make more sense. Beth’s research says September 28, 1868. Bertha’s obit said September 28, 1869. Norma said, in a 4-1-2004 email, that her sister Eileen told her that Bertha was born in the house that Norma grew up in. That would seem to argue for the 1869 birthdate for Bertha although 1868 would not be ruled out.

“Ancestors of Benetta Celia Olson” says that Bertha was born on 28 Sep 1867. If that is true, Kari was pregnant during the passage to the U.S. and Bertha was born soon after the famiy’s arrival in Wisconsin. That would have been too soon for Claus to have completed building his house on his farm. If Bertha was born in September of 1867, she probably would have been born in Liberty Pole, not the farm house. If Bertha was born in the farmhouse, then her birth year couldn’t have been any earlier than 1868 and was probably 1869. If we believe the age two in the 1870 census, Bertha was born in 1867. If we believe the age 11 in the 1880 census, Bertha was born in 1868.

Her death was precipitated by a fall that broke her hip about 4 weeks before she died. After that, she had been taken to the Lutheran hospital in La Crosse where she died.

She and her family initially lived in Soldiers Grove and later moved to a farm next to Clause Bowe's (where Cora was living by that time).

Loved to dance according to Cora.

At the time of the 1900 census (June 6th), the Nundahls were living in the village of Soldiers Grove. Sever is 34 (born Nov 1865), Bertha is 33 (born Sept 1866), Carl O. is 2 (born Aug 1897), and Clara S. is 1 (born July 1898). The couple had been married 4 years; Bertha had had 2 children, both still living. Sever’s occupation is stone mason. They owned their home free and clear and it was not a farm.

In the 1905 state census, Sever and family are living in Franklin Township. Sever is 44 and a stone mason. Bertha is 36, Carl is 7, Clara is 6, and Tillman is 3.

In Sever Nundahl’s obituary, it is noted that “for a few years they resided in Soldiers Grove. Later they moved to a farm near Mason City where they lived the rest of their lives.”

The 1910 census shows Sever and Bertha living in Franklin Town, not far from the Bowes and Andersons apparently. Sever is 45, born in Norway, apparently came to the U.S. in 1886 (the date is not clear) and owns his mortgaged farm. Bertha, 42, is shown as having had three live births, all still living. Carl is 12, Clara is 11, and Tilman is 8. Everyone can read and write (except Tilman) and the three children were all attending school. Sever and Bertha had been married for 13 years.

Census-taker Douglas Nelson visited the Anderson/Nundahl/Ekum farms (they were contiguous, apparently, which is consistent with Cora’s memory) on January 11, 1920, and found:

Sever Nundahl, 56, owner of home free and clear, immigrated in 1880, naturalized citizen in 1905, can’t speak English, farmer in general farming, an employer. His wife is shown as “Brita”, 52, born in Wisconsin. Carl O, son, 22, farm worker working on own account. Clara (middle initial maybe “L”), 21, daughter. Tilman O., son, 17, had not attended school since September 1, 1919.

Her obit said that she was preceded in death by two grandchildren (which must be Clara’s Clifford and Carl’s Ivan).

Birth:
born in Wisconsin according to the 1870 and 1880 census

Died:
died at Lutheran Hospital

Notes:

Married:
date according to his obit, confirmed by La Crosse marriage record Vol. 4 p. 66

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Farmer
• Vernon County Death Index: V21, P203

Notes:

Frank’s father was born in England and his mother in Ohio according to the 1900 and 1910 censuses.

Living in Franklin Twp in the 1900 census.

Although Frank is shown in the 1910 census as having only been married to Prudence (“M1”), there is a gravestone in the Brookville Cemetery for a Lillian Crook “27 y 2 m 12 d wife of W.F. Crook.” Lillian’s maiden name is indicated in the church records as Aikens. Buried with this Lillian is Eula May Crook, 19 Mar 1895 - 8 Sep 1907. This Eula May is shown as living with her grandparents, Charles and Isabelle Aikins, in Readstown, Vernon County, at the time of the 1900 census. Not too far away from the Aikinses (on the same census page) is the William Crook family (with wife Catharine, 45, and daughter Pora, 16, along with Minnie and Edward Potter and Harold and Fred Crook). William and Catharine had been married for 30 years and are the parents of William Frank Crook. In the 1880 census, the William and Katherine Crook family farm is only a few farms away from the Clouse Bowe farm. Neither Eula nor Lillian are listed in the index of Vernon County deaths.

Either this William Crook, or, possibly his father if he was also William, helped to build the Readstown United Methodist Church in 1900.

William married Prudence Mabel (Mable) REYNOLDS on 21 May 1899 in Crawford County, Wisconsin. Prudence was born in 1881; died on 3 Mar 1943; was buried in North Kickapoo Lutheran Church Cemetery, Franklin Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Vernon County Death Index: V20, P337 As Prudence Mabel

Notes:

Both of her parents were born in Wisconsin in the 1910 census but in the 1900 census her father is shown as having been borne in Pennsylvania and her mother in Canada.

In the 1910 census, she was shown as having had four children, all still living.

Notes:

Shown in the 1865 Norwegian census with his wife and 8 of their children. The municipality/parish is Årdal i Sogn og Fjordane and the name of the domicile is Ækren. The school district is Nundal, Fardal og Ve. Living with the family were Ole’s parents.

The farm is also called Ekra. Arne Moen’s site has a brief history of this Nundahl farm at:

Ekra

Ole Throndsen and Kari were not living on Ekra in the 1900 Norwegian census. Arne Moen says that Ole and Kari emigrated in 1890 and sold the farm to Anders Throndsen who then gave it to his son Trond Andersen.

In the 1900 U.S. census, Ole was a widower and lived with his son Mathias in Vernon County, Wisconsin. That census shows his age as 78, born July 1821. He came to the U.S. in 1886.

He’s not living with Mathias in the 1905 state census so it’s likely that he had died by that time.

Ole married Kari Mathiasdatter on 29 Oct 1848 in Lærdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Kari (daughter of Mathias THOMASEN and Anna JORGENSDATTER) was born about 1823 in Årdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; was christened on 27 Mar 1823 in Lærdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died on 22 Jan 1892 in Vernon County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Her first name is shown as Shana (Carrie) in Sever and Bertha’s marriage record.

Arne Moen calls her Kari Matiasdatter Øvstetun.

In the marriage record for her son Mathias, she is called Kari M Mithun.

A Kari Trondson is shown in the Vernon County death index as dying on 22 January 1892.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Shoemaker, Tobacco Farmer
• Vernon County Death Index: V8, P85 As Claus Boe
• Baptism: 7 Jul 1833, Vangen, Voss, Hordaland, Norway
• Confirmation: 15 Oct 1848, Voss, Hordaland, Norway

Notes:

His parents’ names and his birth, baptism, and confirmation dates confirmed by the confirmation record in the Voss church book.

Shown as Clouse Bowe on his gravestone.

The database Digitalarkivet: Migrants from Voss 1837-1864 shows that Claus Sjursen Boe left home on July 5, 1849, for “Christiania for at indtræde i Guldsmedlære.” This probably means that Claus originally intended to be a goldsmith or jeweler and may have begun an apprenticeship in Oslo.

Shown in the 1865 Norwegian census as Claus Sjursen, shoemaker, born in Wos in 1830, a husfader on the Svigum domicile in Hafslo, living with his wife, two daughters, Susanna and Anna, and stepson Anders Larsen.

In Susanna’s baptism record in Digitalarkivit, Claus’s farm is shown as “Bøe fra Voss.” In Anna’s baptism record, Claus’s farm is shown as Bøe. In Sever’s baptism record, Claus Sjursen Bøe’s farm is shown as Sviggum. The Luster bygdebok describes Claus as “frå Bø på Voss.”

An incorrect family tradition has Claus and Carrie emigrating to the US from Norway in 1862 and settling in Liberty Pole, WI. Their Viroqua homestead was supposedly applied for on May 20, 1862, and approved on June 15, 1874. Although the 1862 date is wrong because Claus and his family were still in Norway at that time, the 1874 date is correct as confirmed by the land patent on the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office web site. The homestead papers were signed by President U S Grant on June 15, 1874.

The Bowe farm was Box 22, Wisconsin Route 3 in Franklin Township, Vernon County.

Claus declared his intention to become a citizen of the U.S. in Vernon County (still known as Bad Ax County at the time). This was recorded September 30, 1868, and the hearing, order, and filing was completed December 9, 1873.

Claus and his family were recorded in the 1870 census which took place on July 8th. At that time they were living in Vernon County with the post office shown as New Brookville. The family was Clouse, 38, Carrie, 26 (sic), Susan, 10, Ann, 6, Severt, 4, and Betsey, 2. (No Andrew! No Nels.) Everyone is shown as born in Norway except Betsey who is shown as born in Wisconsin. If Bertha (“Betsey”) was indeed born in Wisconsin, then the family must have been in Wisconsin in 1867.

In the 1870 census, the value of Claus’s real estate is shown as $400 and the value of his personal estate is $200. This is an order of magnitude less than some his neighbors but is more than a few others shown on the same census page.

The history of the Kickapoo United Lutheran Church indicates that "Klaus Boe" settled in the area in the time period 1859-1862. This is too early and is probably a continuation of the false family legend.

Claus moved in with Louise after Carrie died.

Claus died intestate so a judicial process to certify descent was carried out (probated) on April 22, 1919, in the Vernon County court. Claus’s property was identified to be the west half of the SE quarter of section 27 so Claus must have sold the NE quarter of the SE quarter (which had been part of his original homestead) before he died. The court order declared that a one-sixth undivided share of the property was to go to: Louise Larson, Anna Anderson, Susanna Ekum, Betha Nundahl, Martha Hendrickson of Minneapolis, and Sever Bowe. The ownership and descendants were verified by the testimony of N. H. Sviggum. (For some reason, this name was whited-out in the court document. It took some effort to discern the name.)

Dorothy's family stories say that Claus "homesteaded a farm in what is now called Black Bottom in Vernon County." This is between Viroqua and Readstown.

"He came from Norway where he had been trained as a shoemaker and started a shoe shop in Liberty Pole (southwest of Viroqua) until he got his land. There he dug a hole in a bluff and lived in it with his family until he got his home built. This hole was later used as a root cellar and still remains on the farm."

The 1875 Wisconsin state census records, for Clouse Bowe, 5 males and 6 females. These 11 people may have been: Claus, Nels, Anders, Sever, and Albert, and Kari, Susan, Anna, Bertha, Martha, and Louise. If not Nels, the extra male could be that unknown boy who Louise remembers as a brother who ran away.

Census-taker O.K. Fortney visited the Bowe farm in Franklin Township, Vernon County, on June 12, 1880, and found Claus, age 47, Kari, age 46, Andrew, age 18, Ana, age 17, Sever, age 14, Bertha, age 11, Martha, age 8, Louisa, age 3, and Albertina, age 3. Kari was indicated as “cannot write.” Andrew, Ana, and Sever were indicated as having been born in Norway; the younger children were indicated as having been born in Wisconsin. Andrew, Ana, Sever, and Martha (but not Bertha) were indicated as having attended school within the census year.

Census-taker Torge Berge visited the Bowe farm on June 13, 1900. The family consisted of Claus, 67 (born in June 1833), Carrie, 66 (born in Sept 1833), Sever, 34 (born May 1866), Louisa, 22 (born April 1878), Nils, step-son, widower, 46 (born Sep 1853), Andrew, adopted son, 37 (born Sep 1862), Susanna Monson, married, 39 (born December 1860), Martin, 10 (born March 1890), Clara, 7 (born May 1893), and Rhody, 4 (born May 1896). Louisa and Susan’s kids are shown as born in Wisconsin, everyone else was born in Norway. Claus, Carrie, Sever, Nils, Andrew, and Susanna emigrated in 1867. Carrie is shown as having borne 10 children, 7 still living. Susanna is shown as having borne 8 children, 5 still living.

Susan’s husband Thomas “Munston”, along with their son Albert and daughter Caroline (“Carrie”), are in Butte Township, Siskiyou County, California at the time (June 12) of the 1900 census. Thomas doesn’t have an occupation shown but Albert is already working in a box factory and Carrie is in school.

Census-taker Frank Munyon visited the Bowe/Anderson farm on May 6-7, 1910, and found Clause, age 77, widowed, Sever, age 44, and Bertha Oren, 18, servant. Next door to them, on a separate listing, is Charley C. Anderson, age 42, Anna, age 43, and Cora C., age 14. Clause, Sever, and Anna are shown as coming to the U.S. in 1867, Charley in 1868, and Bertha Oren (later to marry cousin Albert) in 1909. Clause is shown as owning his farm free and clear. Charley is shown as owning his farm with a mortgage. Clause is shown as having his “own income”, Sever and Charley are farmers, and Bertha is a house work servant. Sever and Bertha are shown as employees (presumably both by Clause) and Charley is shown as working on own account. All speak English except Bertha who only speaks Norwegian. All six are able to able to read but Anna is shown as not being able to write. Cora is shown as having attended school in the period since Sept. 1, 1909. Charley and Anna are shown as having been married 15 years and Anna is shown as having borne one child, still living.

The Wisconsin Deaths data base on Ancestry.com shows the deaths of Louise Bowe on 12 Dec 1876 and Albert Bowe died three days earlier. These are the only Bowe deaths listed for Vernon County; the database extends only up through 1907. (Albertina Bowe is not listed.) These two children died of scarlet fever while Kari was pregnant with her twins. It seems a good guess the 1877 twins, Louise and Albertina, were named after their dead siblings. Similarly, it seems a good guess that Albert Ekum was named after Albertina who may have died at about the time that Albert was born.

The IGI shows that the Claus Sjursen, the son of Sjur Nielsen, married Susanna Kristoffersdatter on 18 August 1857 in Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. This woman’s father was Kristoffer Andersen. The IGI records for this are:

Batch No.: M423033
Dates:  1841 - 1859
Source Call No.:  0278148
Type:  Film
Printout Call No.: NONE
Type: 
Sheet:  00

This Susanna was born 5 Jun 1827 and christened 24 Jun 1827 in Luster. Her parents were Christopher Andersen and Kisti Olsdatter.

The Luster church book shows Klaus Sjursen Böe, unmarried shoemaker, b. 1 Jun 1833, arriving in Luster in May of 1857. He was coming from the Hadsel farm in Vos to the Landvig farm.

The Sogn og Fjordane flytting records show Clause Bowe leaving the Luster parish and going to the Hafslo parish with the following comments: “'Bo af Vos' innflyttar til Luster, som flytte til Hafslo. Att. 17/1-61.” The “aar hendling” for that record is 1858. This may mean that Claus joined the Luster parish in 1858 and left it in 1861.

The Digitalarkivet database for marriages in Hafslo shows that Claus Sjursen Boe, an Enkermand (widower), Skomager, married Kari Andersdatter Mareim, pige, on March 27, 1861 in Fedt in Haflso. Bride and groom were each 27.5 years old. Bride’s father’s name was Anders Andersen Mareim.

The Digitalarkivet database for Sogn og Fjordane flytting shows Claus Bø of Sviggum, a shoemaker born in 1833, leaving Hafslo for “Amerika” on April 9, 1867. Thirty people left Hafslo that day for Amerika. Accompanying Claus, all of Sviggum, were his wife, Kari Melheim, and children, all with surname Bø, Susanne, born 1860, Anna, born 1863, Sjur, born 1866, and Anders, born 1862. Kari’s son, Nils Pedersen, “dreng”, born 1854, left Hafslo for Amerika at the same time. Also leaving Hafslo for Amerika on April 9, 1867, were Anders Andersen of Mareim (Kari’s brother), born 1840, unmarried, no occupation shown.

The family departed from Bergen, bound for Quebec, on the frigate Roska, under a Capt. P. A. Stoesen. This ship departed Bergen on April 25th and arrived in Quebec on May 31st (Stoesen’s manifest is dated the 30th). A total of about 341 people (including 292 adults) were on board this ship and one man and one young girl died during the passage. Some others of the 30 people who left Hafslo on April 9th were also on the Roska.

Two days ahead of the Roska was the frigate Claus Hefty, under a Capt. Andersen Jr., which departed Bergen on April 23rd and arrived in Quebec on May 28. Niels Sjursen Ekum, 50, his wife Ragnhilde Ekum, 48, both of Haflso, and Thomas Monsen Ekum, 17, of Lyster, were on that boat as were many other ex-residents of Hafslo and Lyster.

In the 1885 Wisconsin census, the “Clouse Bowe” household consisted of 4 males and 6 females. Of these 10, 5 were born in the U.S. and 5 in Scandinavia. Eight of those people probably were: Sever, Claus, and Andrew; and Louise, Bertha, Martha, Kari, and Anna. But that leaves a boy and a girl born in the U.S. which suggests that Albertina was still alive and that there was another boy, born in the U.S., living with the Bowes. Could that boy be the one who Louise remembers ran away? Could that boy be one of Anders Anderson’s children?

In the 1895 Wisconsin census, the household consisted of 4 males and 4 females, of which 2 were born in the U.S. and 6 in Scandinavia. Those people probably were: Sever, Claus, Andrew, and Nels; and Louise, Bertha, Kari, and Anna. By this reasoning, Martha must have been married and gone and Albertina must have died.

In the 1905 Wisconsin census, the household consisted of Clouse, 72, Carrie, 71, Nels, 50, Andrew, 42, and Sever, 40. All three of the younger men are shown as “son.” Nels is shown as a widower. Also living in the household were Chas Anderson, 39, son-in-law, Anna Anderson, 43, daughter, and Cora Anderson, 9, niece.

In the index to the 1896 Vernon County plat book, Claus’s property is described as Franklin 12 Sec 27 R4. Claus is listed as a “patron” of the 1896 plat book and his business is referred to in the Patrons’ Directory as the “Bowe Stock, Grain and Tobacco Farm”, Liberty Pole. In that 1896 plat book, Claus’s property is still the original 120 acre homestead in the SE corner (all but the SE 40 which was owned by O.B. Fortney) of Section 27 of Franklin Twp. The property is shown on the plat book map as “Bowe Stock & Tobacco Farm.”

Also in the 1896 plat book, two 40s adjacent to Claus’s farm on the west and southwest seem to be collectively owned by Andrew and Sever Bowe. In the plat book, this 80 is shown as owned by “A.S. Bowe.” The two 40s are 1) the SE quarter of the SW quarter of Section 27, and 2) the NE quarter of the NW quarter of Section 34.

In the 1915 plat book, Charley Anderson owns 45 (42 in the Farmers’ Directory) acres of that northeast leg of Claus’s original homestead (apparently all of the original homestead east of the road) and Sever Bowe owns the remaining 75 acres of the original homestead plus the northern 40 of the 80 that he and Andrew apparently owned in the 1896 plat book. That gave Sever a contiguous 115 acres (120 in the Farmers’ Directory). In the 1915 plat book, the southern 40 of Andrew and Sever’s 80 is now owned by Sever Nundahl. Andrew Sherry is the owner of that other 40 next to the Bowe property (the SE quarter of the SE quarter which was owned by O.B. Fortney in the 1896 plat book).

Claus died intestate and his estate wasn’t settled until April of 1919 when his 80 acres (West half of the SE quarter of Sec 27, Twp 12 N, range 4 west) were divided equally among his six children: Susanna Ekum, Anna Anderson, Bertha Nundahl, Martha Hendrickson, Sever Bowe, and Louise Larson.

Baptism:
as Claus, son of Sjur Nielsen Böe

Claus married Kari Andersdatter MAREIM on 27 Mar 1861 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Kari (daughter of Anders Andersen MAREIM and Anna Eriksdatter OPHEIM) was born on 27 Sep 1833 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; was christened on 29 Sep 1833 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died on 31 Oct 1908 in Vernon County, Wisconsin; was buried in North Kickapoo Lutheran Church Cemetery, Franklin Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Vernon County Death Index: V5, P63
• Baptism: 29 Sep 1833, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
• Confirmation: 6 Aug 1848, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

Baptismal sponsors: Peder Anderssen Mareim, Johannes Ericksen Opheim, Bertha Jorgensdatter Opheim, Britta Pedersdatter Opheim, Christie Pedersdatter Mareim.

Of Marem or Mareim farm initially, later, at the time of Anna’s baptism, shown as Sviggum farm. The Luster bygdebok lists her as “Kari Andersdotter frå ein plass under Mareim.”

Shown as Carrie Bowe on her gravestone.

Shown as having been born in 1830 in the 1865 Norwegian census.

Listed in the 1880 U.S. census as “cannot write.”

Notes:

Married:
Fedt

William married Cathryn. Cathryn was born about 1856 in Ohio. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]