Johannes (John) Berntson ORFALD

1866 - 1947  (80 years)

• Name	Johannes (John) Berntson ORFALD
  Birth	1 Aug 1866	Inderøy, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
  Gender	Male
  MN Death Cert Checked	Y
  Minnesota Death Certificate	1947-MN-014408
  Occupation	cook, “Stationary furnace, iron mine”
  Death	23 May 1947	Biwabik, St. Louis County, Minnesota
  Burial	26 May 1947	Lakeside Cemetery, Biwabik, St. Louis County, Minnesota
  Notes	John married his first cousin. Immigrated from Norway 1885, naturalized in 1892. He appears not to have emigrated from Trondheim. In the 1890-1891 Duluth city directory, he is John Orfald, “boarding house 23 1st av E.” In that same directory, Mary Bye is shown as "domestic, John Orfald" and living in West Duluth. John is listed in the 1891-1892 Duluth city directory as John Orfald “boarding house Central Ave. sw corner N 3d W. Duluth.” John’s brother, Martin Orfald, was a partner with Peter Aune in a meat store at 2101 W. Superior in Duluth. (Hans Bye is listed in the 1891 Duluth city directory as a “driver” for Orfald & Aune.) In the 1895 Minnesota state census, John, 30, Mary, 23, and “Helma” 1, (with 20 year-old boarder Hans Westby) live in “Town 58, Range 19” in St. Louis County with Mountain Iron as their post office. At the time of the 1900 census, John is living apart from the family and Marie is the head of houshold and is living in Missabe Mountain Township in St. Louis County. The family consists of Marie, 27 (born April 1873), Alma O., 5 (born Oct 1894), Marvin B., 3 (born April 1897), and Jennie M., 8 months, born in September, 1899. Marie is shown as married and having been so for 7 years. She had had 3 children, all still living. Her occupation is shown as cook. She emigrated from Norway in 1880. John Orfald, 38, cook, and Petter Aune, 62, butcher, both of 2224 West Superior Street in Duluth, went to Norway in the early 1900s. They arrived back in New York on September 1, 1904, aboard the S.S. Baltic which had sailed from Liverpool on August 24th. Arriving in the U.S. with John and Petter was Ingvald Aune, age 9, a citizen of Norway, who is indicated on the Baltic’s manifest to be the “ward” of Petter. The child’s passage had been paid for by his grandfather. Petter had become a citizen by action of the District Court of St. Louis County on July 17, 1893, and John by that same authority on April 2, 1888. Ingvald is shown as going to join his mother. In the 1905 state census, the Orfalds live in Biwabik. John is a cook. In the 1907 Range Towns directory, Peter L. Aune has a meat business at 2224 W. Superior. In that 1907 Range Towns directory, there is no entry for Orfald. At the time of the 1910 census, the family is together in Biwabik in a house they are renting. The family consists of John (“Jno”), 43, Marie, 36, Alma, 15, Marvin, 13, Jennie, 10, Myrtle, 6, Ruth, 4, Mabel, 2, and Roy, a few months old. John and Marie had been married 17 years. Marie had had 7 children, all still living. John is a cook at a logging camp. He is Jno B Orfald in the 1912 Hibbing city directory, which includes Biwabik. He is an engineer for the Ruddy Mine, residing at the Duluth Location. In the 1917 Virginia city directory, which includes Biwabik, he is Jno B Orfald, a fireman, residing ¼ mile n w of Canton Location. In the 1920 census (January 20th), the family is in Biwabik in a house they are renting. The household consists of John Orfold, 52, a stationary fireman in an iron mine, Marie, 46, Marvin, 22, and a miner in the iron mine, Ruth, 14, Mabel, 12, Robert, 9, and Edna, 7. Also living with John and Marie’s family is Fred Goodman, 29, an iron miner, Jennie Goodman, 20, Marie Goodman, 2 and 7 months, Gladys Goodman, 1 and 2 months, and Harry Goodman, a 26 year old boarder who is an iron miner. John came to this country in 1885 and became a citizen in 1892. Marie came to this country in 1883 and became a citizen in 1892. Fred came to this country in 1912 and was not a citizen (Jennie, even though she was born in Minnesota, is shown as an alien in the census because of her husband’s status). Harry came to this country in 1914 and became a citizen in 1919. In the 1922 Virginia city directory, which includes Biwabik, he is the only Orfald listed. He is still a fireman, housed ¼ mile n w of the Canton Location. A January 13, 1922, article in the Duluth News-Tribune mentions that John was an officer of the Diamond lodge No. 262 of the International Order of the Odd Fellows. John was “district deputy grand warden.” In the 1924 Virginia city directory, which includes Biwabik, he is a watchman at the Canton Location. His daughters, Mabel, Myrtle, and Ruth, are also listed in this directory, in all three cases still residing at home. In the 1930 census, John and Marie and family were living on Chicago Avenue in Biwabik. The household consisted of John B., 63, Marie, 56, Myrtle (absent, but not to attend school), 25, Robert, 20, Edna, 17, Lawrence, 9, grandson, and Anton, 50, brother of John. Everyone is shown as single except John and Marie who were married when they were 27 and 20, respectively. John and Marie own the house, which is worth $4000, and they have a radio. John, Marie, and Anton were born in Norway. Lawrence’s father was born in England and his mother was born in Minnesota. (Lawrence is Jennie’s son.) Anton and John came to this country in 1888, Marie in 1893. John’s occupation is “cook” and the industry is illegible, may be “county”, and he is currently employed. Anton’s occupation is listed as “none” although the census-taker had one filled in initially and then crossed it out. Myrtle is a telephone operator for Bell Telephone and she is also currently employed. Robert is a sample-taker for the “Evith Furnace Co.” (Eveleth?) and he is unemployed. Neither John nor Anton are veterans. In the 1940 census, John, Marie, Edna, and Anton lived in Biwabik. John was a janitor for the village hall. Edna was a stenographer for a school paper. John, Marie, and Anton had had an eighth-grade education. Edna was a high school graduate. None of the four were living at the same house in which they had lived in 1935. At that time they had been living elsewhere in St. Louis County. John died of complications from Parkinson’s disease, which he had had for 9 years.
  Person ID	I145	Don Carlson's Tree
  Last Modified	16 Feb 2016

  
  

  Father	Bernt Andreas Monson AARFALD,   b. 4 Jul 1825, Inderøy, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway d. Aug 1909, Inderøy, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway (Age 84 years)
  Mother	Anne Johannesdatter,   b. 3 Sep 1830, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway d. 1905, Inderøy, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway (Age 74 years)
  Marriage	25 Nov 1853	Saxhaug, Inderøy, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
  Family ID	F306	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Marie Othelie Martinusdatter BYE,   b. 27 Apr 1873, Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway d. 19 Jun 1966, Virginia, St. Louis County, Minnesota (Age 93 years)
  Marriage	3 Apr 1893	Duluth, St. Louis County, Minnesota
  	St. Louis County Marriage index. ELCA records agree and say Zion Lutheran.
  Children	1. Alma O ORFALD,   b. 23 Oct 1894, Minnesota d. 30 May 1954, St. Louis County, Minnesota (Age 59 years)   2. Marvin Bernard ORFALD,   b. 3 Apr 1897, Minnesota d. 14 Jul 1948, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois (Age 51 years)   3. Jennie Mathilda ORFALD,   b. 3 Sep 1899, Minnesota d. 8 Nov 1984, Aurora, St. Louis County, Minnesota (Age 85 years)   4. Unnamed Baby Boy ORFALD,   b. 25 Feb 1902, Biwabik, St. Louis County, Minnesota d. 26 Feb 1902, Biwabik, St. Louis County, Minnesota (Age 0 years)   5. Myrtle Marie ORFALD,   b. 27 Apr 1903, Biwabik, St. Louis County, Minnesota d. Sep 1982, Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas (Age 79 years)   6. Ruth Eleanor ORFALD,   b. 6 Jul 1905, Biwabik, St. Louis County, Minnesota d. 27 Sep 1978, St. Louis County, Minnesota (Age 73 years)   7. Mabel Theodora ORFALD,   b. 23 Dec 1907, St. Louis County, Minnesota d. Mar 1991, Illinois (Age 83 years)   8. Robert William ORFALD,   b. 28 Feb 1910, St. Louis County, Minnesota d. 4 Mar 1982, Virginia, St. Louis County, Minnesota (Age 72 years)   9. Edna Elizabeth ORFALD,   b. 16 Sep 1912, St. Louis County, Minnesota d. 30 Nov 1978, St. Louis County, Minnesota (Age 66 years)
  Family ID	F103	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	25 Sep 2015