Mons Monsen Schancke EIKUM

Notes:

He was bonde og gaard beboer on Eichum Indre at the time of the 1801 census.

Family/Spouse: Anne Christensdatter. Anne was born about 1750. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He was a soldier at the time of the 1801 Norwegian census.

Mons married Anna Trondsdatter LI on 10 Apr 1805 in Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Anna was born on 21 Mar 1784; died on 22 Jul 1806 in Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mons married Astrid Kristensdatter on 20 Apr 1808 in Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Astrid was born on 30 Apr 1783 in Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died on 26 Sep 1875 in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The father of Thomas Munson is listed as Mons Monson in Thomas and Susan’s marriage record.

In Mons’s confirmation record in the church book, he is Mons Monsen Schanke Eikum.

In the 1865 Norwegian census, he is the owner of the Eikum indre farm (68-2) in Hafslo. This seems to be a relatively prosperous farm with 3 horses, 20 cattle, 55 sheep and 4 pigs.

Birth:
birth and death information from the bygdebøk

Mons married Brithe Olsdatter LIE on 7 Nov 1837 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Brithe was born on 20 May 1820; died on 20 Aug 1849 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Birthe Torbjornsdatter TEIGHE. Birthe was born in 1817 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died in 1889 in Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mons married Kari Larsdatter LIE on 1 Jul 1852 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Kari was born on 18 Jul 1827 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died on 9 Jan 1887 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

She and Ingebrigt came to the U.S. in 1868.

Family/Spouse: Johannes Christopherson BJØRNETUN. Johannes was born in 1822; died in 1897. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sophia married Ingebrigt Olson VEDVIK on 25 Apr 1849. Ingebrigt was born on 18 Dec 1824 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died on 10 Nov 1905 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:

• Baptism: 21 Oct 1838, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Other Events and Attributes:

• Confirmation: 10 Feb 1856, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

In the 1865 census, he was the Husmand med jord on Eikum indre hagen with his wife Anne Larsdatter and their 3 children.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Confirmation: 19 Jun 1859, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

On Eikum indre with her parents and siblings in the 1865 Norwegian census.

According to the out-migration records, Anne came to the U.S. with Thomas, or at least is listed together with Thomas and the Bolstads in their April 4th entry for 1867. The church book lists her right after Thomas as “piga Anne Monsdatter Eikum, age 23.”

Couldn’t find her in the U.S. 1870 census.

According to the bygdebok, she married Elias Jacobson i Vedviki. She died in 1910, he died in 1914.

Perhaps she chickened out of actually emigrating or else she returned to Norway. The 1875 census shows an Anna Monsdatter, b. 1844 in Urnes, Hafslo, as the wife of Elias Jacobsen, b. 1844, Gaardbruger, Selveier. They have a son, Jacob Eliasen, b. 1874 in Urnes, Hafslo. The live on the Vedviken farm, no. 69 (179). However, Anne Monsdatter, the half-sister of Thomas, was not born in Urnes. She was born on Eikum.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 27 Dec 1846, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
• Confirmation: 15 Jun 1862, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

He was shown in the 1865 census as 19 year-old unmarried Mons Monssen living on the Eikum indre farm in Hafslo with 60 year-old Mons Monssen and his wife, 39 year-old Kari Larsdatter.

He may be the Mons Ekum, operator of grocery store and saloon in Soldiers Grove, who is listed in “A Few Good Men of Crawford County.” That Mons Ekum came to the U.S. in 1873.

Settled in the Cornell, Wisconsin, area. Living in Colburn, Chippewa County, Wisconsin, in the 1920 census, just down the road from Albert Mercier (#8007).

Living as Mons Ekum in the town of Clayton, Crawford County, at the time of the 1880 census. He was a farmer, age 32, his wife Martha was 25, and his sons were Martin C., 3, and Lawrence, 1.

Still living in the town of Clayton in the 1900 census. The family consisted of Mons, 53, Martha, 46, Martin C., 23, Lawrence, 21, Mabel B., 19, Stina, 17, Grace, 14, Carie, 12, and Tressa M., 9. Martha had borne 8 children, only these 7 still living.

In the 1905 Wisconsin state census, the family lives in Colburn Twp, Chippewa County. Mons is a farmer.

According to an index published on the internet for the book "The First 100 Years - A History of Soldiers Grove" by W. M. Ward, Published June 1964, a Mons Ekum reference is on p. 45.

From a message board on Rootsweb in 2004:

I've been tracking the Mons and Martha Ekum family of Cornell, Chippewa County, Wisconsin. They had several daughters - Mabel, born in 1880; Stina, born in 1883; Grace born in 1886; Carrie in 1888. In a check of the name Ekum, two death notices popped up in Minnesota. Carol Jean Perry, Mower county, died in 1990, mother's maiden name was Ekum and Wilber George Hendrickson, Hennepin county, died in 1996, mother's maiden name Ekum. Would anyone have a way of finding out who the parents were of Carol and Wilber -- am I looking at daughters of Mons and Martha? Thanks!!!

With the reply from someone in Norway:

I read with great interest that you have been tracking the Ekum family of Chippewa Co., WI. Then you may be aware of the fact that Mons Schanke Monsson Ekum (1846-1928) was a native of Hafslo parish in Luster Co., Norway. He emigrated in 1871 and married Martha Johnson (1854-1920) of Vernon Co., WI, a daughter of former goldminer Christopher Nitter Johnson, also known as "California-Johnson" (1826-1875), who had emigrated from Luster Co., Norway in 1847.

As far as Mons and Martha Ekum's daughters are concerned, only Stena (1883) appears to have left children. She married Peter Helgeson of Eau Claire, WI, and they had three daughters, Myrtle, Olga and Hazel.

Off hand, I don't know the background of Carol Jean Perry, but Wilber George Hendrickson appears to be a son of George Hendrickson and his wife Caroline Ekum. They lived in Minneapolis, MN. Caroline was born in 1885, and her father was Thomas Monsson Ekum (1850-1905) of Vernon Co., WI and of Siskiyou Co., CA. a halfbrother of Mons Schanke Ekum!

Birth:
birthdate per confirmation record

Family/Spouse: Marie Andersdatter EIKUM. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mons married Martha JOHNSON about 1876. Martha (daughter of Christopher Nitter “California” Johnson REESE and Gunnilda Torgersdatter FORTNEY) was born in Dec 1854 in Wisconsin; died in Dec 1920 in Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 25 Mar 1849, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
• Confirmation: 12 Jun 1864, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

Seems to have gotten favorable comments on her performance in confirmation classes or tests. She is unmarried and on Eikum indre with her parents and siblings in the 1865 Norwegian census.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 6 Oct 1850, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
• Confirmation: 18 Jun 1865, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

Shown as Tomas Monssen, 16 years old, in the 1865 census, a “tjenestekarl” living on the Eikum indre farm with Mons Monssen and Kari Larsdatter.

Raised by Nels (d. 11 Oct 1890) and Rognild (d. 10 Oct 1880) Bolstad. {Neither of these deaths are included in the index of Vernon County deaths, either as Bolstad or as Ekum (see below).} Came to the U.S. when he was a year-and-a-half old. {No. See below.} There were several Bolstads shown in the Town of Franklin in the 1910 census but none in the 1870 census. Neither Thomas Munson nor Nels Bolstad is shown in the 1870 census for Wisconsin.

A Niels Sjursen Ekum, age 50, of Hafslo, and a Ragnhilde Ekum, age 48, also of Hafslo were on the boat “Claus Heftye” that sailed from Bergen on April 23, 1867, and arrived in Quebec on May 28, 1867. Thomas Monsen Eikum, age 17, of Lyster, was also on that boat. In the 1865 census, Niels Sjurssen, 50, husmand med jord, and Ragnilde Botolfsdatter, 48, were the only two people on Eikum indre bakken.

From the Sogn og Fjordane emigration records, we learn that four people from the Eikjum indre farm in Haflso moved out of Haflso, destination Amerika, on April 4, 1867. Those four were Nils Sjurssen, b. 1819; his wife Ragnhilde Botolphsdatter, b. 1819; Thomas Monssen, b. 1850; and Anne Monsdatter, b. 1844. (The date for the Bowes is April 9th.) Also leaving on April 4th were Andrea Johannesdatter Vadvig, age 19. (Andrea was born 31 Jan 1848 to the unmarried Johannes Christophersen Bjørno or Bjørnethune and Sophie Monsdatter Eikum.)

In the 1865 census, Niels Sjurssen, 50, and Ragnilde Botolfsdatter, 48, were the only two people living on the Eikum indre Bakken farm in Hafslo. Both were born in Luster. Niels was a husmand with land.

Thomas and Susan were married in a civil ceremony witnessed by J. H. Layne and Claus Bowe.

In the 1895 Wisconsin state census, Thomas Monson and family live in the town of Franklin, Vernon County. The household consists of seven people, five of whom were born in Wisconsin and 2 in Scandinavia. Four are males, 3 are females.

Thomas moved his family, which included six (?) children, to California because of his health. He died in California and his two surviving sons went to work in a factory making fruit boxes to make a living for the family. (The story says that Albert was 17 and Martin was 10 at that time. But that would put the date at about 1899, well before Tom died. Albert may well have started at the box factory in 1899.)

Because Susan and family is living with her parents in the 1900 census, Thomas had moved to California by that time and sent for his family later. In the 1900 census, Caroline, Albert and Tom “Munston” were living in Butte Township, Siskiyou County. Caroline was in school. Albert was working in a box factory, Tom had no occupation listed.

While they were living in northern California near Mt. Shasta, the family experienced an earthquake in 1906. This was probably the great San Francisco earthquake on April 18th. "They could feel it but weren't damaged by it too much." The family moved back to Wisconsin in either 1907 or 1909.

According to Dorothy's family story, Tom brought a bible with him from Norway, dated 1848, that Martin kept.

Census-taker O.K. Fortney visited the Munson farm in the Town of Franklin, Vernon County, on June 6, 1880, and found Thomas, age 29, and Susan B, wife, age 19. No children at that time, apparently.

In the 1896 Vernon County plat book index, Thomas’s land is listed as being record #3415 in Franklin 12, Section 31, R4.

Couldn’t find a separate Thomas Munson or Monson household in the 1885 Wisconsin census. The Thomas Monson household in the 1895 Wisconsin census consisted of 4 males and 3 females, of which 5 were born in the U.S. and 2 in Scandinavia. That mix is not consistent with other family information.

Died:
Date from the California Death Index images on FS. Thomas died in county #47, age 55, state file number 12258 for 1905.

Buried:
As Thomas M Ekum. He shares a gravestone with his daughter Theresa. CW block 31, lot 3, space 5.

Thomas married Susanna Clausdatter (Susan) BOWE on 8 Mar 1880 in Vernon County, Wisconsin. Susanna (daughter of Claus Sjursen BØE (BOWE) and Kari Andersdatter MAREIM) was born on 18 Dec 1860 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; was christened on 30 Dec 1860 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died on 9 Aug 1943 in Viroqua, Vernon County, Wisconsin; was buried on 12 Aug 1943 in Viroqua Cemetery, Viroqua, Vernon County, Wisconsin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 28 Aug 1853, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

She is age 13 in the 1865 Norwegian census.

Her mother was called Kari Sjursdatter in the Baptisms in Hafslo database.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 2 Aug 1857, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

She is age 9 and living with her parents and siblings on Eikum indre in the 1865 Norwegian census.

In the 1910 census she had had 7 children, all still living.

Baptism:
Urnæs subparish

Family/Spouse: Hans Bugge Johannessen EIKUM. Hans was born about 1859 in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died on 12 Mar 1925 in Nicollet County, Minnesota; was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Blue Earth County, Minnesota. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 2 Aug 1857, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

He is not listed in the 1865 census and there is a later son with the same name who is. Thus, it is likely that this Lars died before 1861.

Birth:
Urnæs subparish

Other Events and Attributes:

• Baptism: 1 Apr 1861, Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway

Notes:

Shown as age 5 in the 1865 Norwegian census.

Baptism:
Urnæs subparish

Notes:

Came to the U.S. with Thomas (#159) and the Bolstads in 1867.

Called Anna in the 1880 census.

Andrea married Olaf Gustav Martinson BREKKE about 1875 in Wisconsin. Olaf was born on 12 Feb 1848 in Norway; died on 20 Mar 1918 in Santa Clara County, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Lived with her siblings and parents in Kickapoo Twp, Vernon County, Wisconsin, in the 1870 census.

The 19 year-old Thomas Peterson, “nephew”, was living with her father and brother in Kickapoo Twp in the 1900 census.

In the 1905 state census, she lived with George and Thomas on a farm in George’s name in Liberty Twp, Wisconsin.

In the 1910 census, she was the head of household on a farm she owned in Liberty Twp. The rest of the household was George, Thomas, and her brother Oley Wedwick.

Family/Spouse: Sjur Pederson SVIGGUM. Sjur was born on 22 Feb 1839 in Hafslo, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died in 1882 in United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Monsina married Nile JENNINGS on 22 Dec 1889 in Wisconsin. Nile was born on 5 Apr 1846 in Ohio; died on 30 May 1910 in Virginia; was buried in Woodland Cemetery, Chase City, Mecklenburg County, Virginia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]