Velgjerd Torsteinsdatter NYSTUEN

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 13 Nov 1842, Vang i Valdres, Oppland, Norway

Notes:

Went by Ellen in the U.S. In the 1910 census, she had had four children, only two still living.

From the Dalby database:

Funeral services for Mrs. Velgjer Svien, who passed away at her home Saturday morning, January 24, were held in St. John's Lutheran church this afternoon at 2 p.m. with the pastor the Rev. B. R. Biorn officiating. Burial was made in the family lot beside the graves of her husband and four children. Pallbearers were six grand-nephews, Elmer, Clarence, Luther, George, Paul and Maurice Nystuen. Velgjer Nystuen Svien was born in Norway on October 10, 1842. After the death of her mother, Mr. Nystuen came to America with his family when Velgjer was 11 years of age. The trip from Norway to Quebec, Canada in 1854 took seven weeks aboard the slow sailing ship. The Nystuens first settled in Spring Prairie, Wis. and later moved to St. Ansgar, Iowa. It was there in 1860 that Velgjer married Andrew Svien. They moved to Goodhue county, Minnesota in 1865 where they were engaged in farming until 1876 when they moved to Northfield. She and her husband operated a hotel on Division Street. Mr. Svien also served as policeman. Mrs. Svien was a charter member of the Ladies Aid society of St. John's church and a long time member of the congregation. Mr. Svien passed away inn 1927. For several years she continued to reside at the home on Washington Street. She was cared for later in a rest home and at the time of her death was being cared for by her grandson and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. William Lockren. She is survived by one sister, Mrs. Hans Bergan, Lake Mills, Iowa; six grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. A foster daughter, Mrs. H. E. Frazee (Susie) of Pelican Rapids, also survives.

and:

The state’s oldest resident, Mrs. Velgjer Svien, passed away Friday, Jan. 23,1953, at the age of 110 years, 3 months, and 13 days. Funeral services were conducted by the Rev. B. R. Biorn at St. Johns Lutheran church Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 2 oclock. Gertrude Boe Overby was soloist and Mrs. H. J. Westwood was organist. Burial was beside her husband in Northfield cemetery.

Velgjer Nystuen was born at Valdres, Norway, Oct. 10, 1842. After the death of her mother which occurred when Velgjer was only eight, she came with her father and his other children to the United States in 1854. The trip across the ocean was made on a sailing vessel, taking eleven weeks. The familys first home was in Spring Prairie, Wis. After three years they moved to St. Ansgar, la., and it was here in 1860 that Velgjer was married to Andrew J. Svien. She was then 18 years of age. In 1865 Mr. and Mrs. Svien moved to a farm in Goodhue county, Minnesota. Northfield became their home in 1876 and for the remaining years of their lives. Mr. Svien died in 1926, and Mrs. Svien spent 77 years as a resident here. For a time Mr. and Mrs. Svien had a hotel on Division street in the building now occupied by the Berg and Son Upholstery business, but Mr. Svien is better remembered by the generations of his day as the town policeman, an affable man faithfully walking his beat. Mrs. Svien’s recipe for long life, “Don’t hurry,” she practiced indeed. She never allowed herself to be hurried or worried, taking each moment, as well as each day, as it came, and maintaining a serenity rarely found in this mechanized day of speed. She enjoyed remarkably good health and strength for her advanced years. On her 100th birthday she sat through an afternoon of festivities in her honor given by the ladies aid at St. John’s church, and she showed no weariness from the experience. She was a charter member of the ladies aid and a member of the church. That birthday was also marked by an interview with her on the radio, as well as another party given her at her home, at which about 100 relatives and friends came to greet her. On her 105th birthday another sizable celebration was held at her home. This too she enjoyed thoroughly, making frequent trips outside to pose for pictures. Until she was 98 Mrs. Svien lived alone and took care of her home and of herself. Her daughter Carrie, Mrs. Lervik, then came to live with her. The daughter passed away after a few years. Seven years ago a grandson, William Lockren, and Mrs. Lockren came to care for Mrs. Svien. She clung to the practice of ministering to her own needs until frailty prevented, and that was only about three years ago. The Sviens had two sons and two daughters: Carrie, John, Tom, and Anna, all of whom have died; also a foster daughter, Susie, Mrs. H. E. Frazee, who lives in Pelican Rapids. There are six grandchildren,10 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren. Mrs. Svien has one sister living, Mrs. Hans Bergan, Lake Mills, la. Mrs. Bergan is in her 90s. The pallbearers for Mrs. Svien were all grandnephews. They were all Nystuens, Elmer, Clarence, Luther, George, Paul, and Maurice. Mrs. Svien had seen in her life-time a panorama of marvelous changes—from sailing vessels to steamboats to aircraft; from prairie and woodland country to cities and paved highways; from covered wagons and horses to trains and automobiles. She had seen the wonders of science bring in the telephone, the electric light, the phonograph, the radio, and television. She had seen her country in the throes of five wars; The Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the present Korean conflict. She had lived in this country under 20 presidents. Franklin Pierce was president when she arrived in 1854. The Civil War was raging when she came with her husband to Goodhue county. And their arrival in Northfield was the same year the James-Younger raid invaded the city and met its Waterloo. Her life in the Midwest embraced the period of the development of this great area from its rudest beginnings.

Birth:
Nystuen 1/ husmannsplass

Velgjerd married Anders Johannessen SVIEN in 1860 in Iowa. Anders (son of Johannes J H SVIEN and Anna Andrisdatter LUNDE) was born on 11 Mar 1837 in Vang i Valdres, Oppland, Norway; died in 1927 in Rice County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In Jim’s VS, her birthdate is 13 Dec 1868. Other’s say 13 Dec 1869. Neither are correct since she is not listed in the 1870 census.

In the 1900 census, she is shown as age 28, born in June of 1871. She had had four children, only three still alive, and she had been married to Christopher Strand for 10 years.

Anna married Christopher STRAND about 1890. Christopher (son of Torgeir Olsen STRAND and Anne Kristoffersdatter SØYNE) was born on 27 Sep 1864 in Goodhue County, Minnesota; died on 20 Nov 1903 in Goodhue County, Minnesota; was buried in Vang Lutheran Church Cemetery, Dennison, Goodhue County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Susie attended St. Olaf College in 1903-1904, studying in its Music department. She did not graduate.

Susie married Harry E FRAZEE on 7 Jun 1909 in Rice County, Minnesota. Harry was born on 18 Jan 1873; died on 24 May 1945; was buried in Lake View Cemetery, Pelican Rapids, Otter Tail County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth:
Shown as age 2 in 1900 census

Ida married Austin STRAND on 11 Jul 1921 in Goodhue County, Minnesota. Austin (son of Ole Olson STRAND and Martha TUFTE) was born on 11 Jul 1890 in Northfield Twp, Rice County, Minnesota; died on 20 Apr 1951 in Rice County, Minnesota; was buried in Oaklawn Cemetery, Northfield, Rice County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Minnesota Death Certificate: 2016-MN-024663

Notes:

Fremont Frazee of Fergus Falls, age 98, passed away on July 28, 2016, at PioneerCare. He was born on November 1, 1917 to Harry and Susie Frazee in Pelican Rapids, MN.

Fremont was a no-frills, independent-minded man. He lived his life on his terms, with his family and faith at the forefront. If his life was made into a movie, the song “My Way”, sung by Frank Sinatra, would be the theme song.

His parents and grandparents were involved in flour milling, lumber milling, and banking in northern Minnesota. Fremont began his work life at the age of 12, necessitated by the losses his family endured as a result of the Great Depression. He was a news boy for the Minneapolis Tribune. He continued in this role until he graduated from Pelican High School in 1935. After graduating, he moved to Thief River where he supervised delivery of the Tribune for northern Minnesota. He developed close relationships with the newsboys he supervised and remained in contact with some of them his entire life. He joined the US Army when World War II began. He served as an operating room technician/medic in northern France and England. Many stories were told of his experiences in the war and he remained in contact with several friends that he met during the war throughout his life.

When he returned from his service in World War II, he began his career as a wholesale produce dealer. He delivered locally grown produce (a novel idea at the time), mostly potatoes, to area stores, restaurants, schools, and nursing homes. He continued in this job until larger companies took over that market. The most important event that occurred when he returned from World War II was meeting Pauline Ekeberg in 1948 in Pelican Rapids. After several years of courtship, they married in 1953 in Ft. Collins, CO. This was followed by a six-week honeymoon along the West Coast. They began their married lives in Pelican Rapids and at Fish Lake. They later moved to Fergus Falls, where they have lived for over 50 years. They had three children: Paula, Linda, and Jana. He was very proud of his children and later, his 3 grandchildren, Luke, Ryan, and Laura, children of Paula and Dan. There was nothing more important to him than attending their events and supporting their endeavors. Linda, their Down Syndrome daughter, held a very special place in his heart. She passed away in December of 2015 and was missed terribly.

Fremont enjoyed travel with his family, especially visiting extended family across the country. He insisted on family pictures to commemorate those events and every other family event, much to the dismay, at times, of those involved. He also loved tape recording/interviewing family members, friends, and sometimes even tour guides at places the family visited. He was always curious and enjoyed learning as much as he could about where we were.

One of his favorite places to be was Fish Lake, north of Pelican Rapids. He purchased the land where their cabin still stands in the 1940s. It has been the go-to gathering place for family and extended family from the beginning. One of his favorite memories was of their young grandchildren running to greet them when they got to the lake. It continues to be a gathering place for family to this day.

Another one of Fremont’s loves was big band Jazz! He saw almost every well-known jazz band from his era, with the exclusion of Glenn Miller, which he still regretted into his 90s! He even went to see Louie Armstrong in Fargo the week after his first daughter was born, leaving his wife and daughter behind. You can see why their marriage lasted 63 years ~ his wife, Pauline, understood the importance of his passion! When he was in basic training and/or leave in the Army, he would often visit New York and, and as a soldier in uniform, was given the royal treatment when attending jazz events. He never had any qualms about starting up a conversation with anyone, and would simply walk up to the bands and visit with the band members during their breaks. Another favorite memory of his was when he was assigned to be an army escort for Jimmy Durante when he was performing in a club in New York City.

Fremont was a voracious reader, especially non-fiction. If he finished a book he was reading, an encyclopedia was just as fun until he got his next book! He had a terrific memory for facts, dates, and people that amazed many, even until his last day when he recalled the family members of his Hospice nurse who grew up in Pelican Rapids over 60 years ago.

He will be terribly missed by his family and those that knew him. As Clarence said in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “A man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?” There is/will be a definite hole in many of our lives. But, quoting from “It’s a Wonderful Life” again, “All you can take with you is that which you've given away... that things of true worth are not measured in dollars, but in the currency of friendship and family, and the good karma one puts out into the world.” He gave so many so much, most of which did not cost a dime or give him any recognition. He has now received his reward. May he rest in peace.

Fremont is survived by his wife, Pauline Frazee of Fergus Falls; daughters, Paula (Dan Sperling) Frazee-Sperling and Jana Frazee, all of Fargo, ND; and grandchildren, Luke (Megan) Sperling of Omaha, NB, Ryan Sperling and Laura Sperling, both of Fargo, ND.

Died:
Pioneer Care Center, Fergus Falls

Family/Spouse: Pauline. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]