Individual Details
Torvald Mathison
(6 Jun 1844 - 26 Jan 1924)
Received from Jerry Mathison, January 2005:
Last Remaining Couple of the Old Pioneers in the town of Hendricks(Compiled Nov. 1999 by Janet Digre with much appreciation to The Hendricks Pioneer, Clifford Digre, Pearl Johnson, Clara Johnson, Bonnie Blue, and the late Carrie Digre and Gyda Pederson for information and previously recorded material.)
Torvald and Gunhild Mathison were married in Aalen, Norway, June 16, 1866. On May 2, 1867 they came to the United States. According to Gyda Mathison, Gunhild said they came with Torvald's brother, Anders, and their first born, Mathias. Mathias had his first birthday on the ship voyage. Gunhild got very sea sick and was in bed most of the trip. It took weeks to cross the ocean and the only food they had was what they brought in their food chest: flat bread and dried meat. They could cook coffee in the ship's kitchen, if they had some. The ship was full of hungry, poor, lice infested immigrants. There was a little child that died and the parents tried to hide it so they could keep it with them and bury it in America. The child was found and had to be buried at sea. Like everyone else, they landed at Ellis Island in New York Harbor. Their first sight of America was the Statue of Liberty. They arrived at Lansing, Iowa, June 27th and located at Waterloo Ridge and later Locust Lane. At first, Torvald got a job working for the railroad.
After thirteen years residence in Iowa, they cam to Lincoln County, MN in the fall of 1880. Torvald and Mathias drove their covered wagon and set off to meet Gunhild and the children who were coming by train. On the train trip to Minnesota, one of the children, two year old Kari, died of diphtheria and had to be buried along their route near Elkton, South Dakota in a shallow grave because the ground was already frozen. However, in the Spring, after the family was settled, her body was brought here and was buried in a small cemetery near what was the Arnold Eggen farm north of Hendricks.
Gunhild found a man from Hendricks driving a team of horses who was on his way home. He offered to take her and the children with him. He gave them a ride to Per Knutson's place and from there walked with the children to her brother's place. The first few nights in this area, Torvald and Gunhild spent at the John Knutson home (now the Glen Kvernmo home). From there they went to the Knute Nelson's home, Gunhild's brother's farm east and south of Hendricks. Knute had a two or three room sod house. There were 10 people all together there that winter. Knute had harvested wheat and been to Canby to grind it into flour. They had flour and milk from two cows to live on for the whole winter. Torvald, Gunhild, and four children stayed there the remaining winter months, waiting for their sod house to be finished. It was there, locating on a homestead in Hendricks Township in the spring of 1881, where they remained all their life.
Their sod house was located 4 miles east and 1 1/4 miles south of what is now the town of Hendricks. It was in this sod home that Theodor Gustav and Kary Anna (Mrs. P. O. Digre) were born joining three other brothers and one sister, a family of eight living in a little sod house. Carrie Digre remembered that the sod house was so small that when her mother scrubbed the wooden floor, she had to sit the children on the deep window sills. In 1891 or 1892 a new wooden house was built, one of the first frame houses in the area.
When the train came to Hendricks, the tracks were laid very close to Torvald and Gunhild's farm. Gunhild fed and boarded some of the crew working on the railroad. Their son Carl and one of Gunhild's cousins from Arlington, SD, worked on the railroad for several days. The first train came through on Carrie's Confirmation day, June 24, 1900.
Carrie Digre told of a time in Iowa when one of the older children was born and her father, Torvald, was very sick. "So Mother got out of bed, waded out into the snow that was waist deep, went out into the trees and chopped down a large branch. She dragged it back into the house for firewood. Mother got very sick from this, and lost all of her hair from a high fever. It all grew back eventually."
Carrie also remembered that her father hauled his grain to White, SC. He seemed to get the best price for it there. The family did most of their trading and shopping in Canby though because they had more stores and shops. Hendricks did not have any stores at all.
Gyda Pederson said that Torvald and Gunhild spoke mostly Norwegian, but picked up a lot of the English language. She remembered a story Gunhild had told her about one time when she was alone with the children on the farm. "It was a cold day. She and the children were all in the house. She heard some noise outside and looked to see three or four Indians coming toward the house. She was afraid for her life and for her children. The Indians opened the door and walked right in. They spoke to her but she understood nothing. They made motions for what they wanted; coffee and tobacco. Grandma Gunhild smoked a pipe now and then so she had some tobacco to give them. She also gladly gave them all her coffee. They were not satisfied at first and searched for more. After they had taken all they wanted, they left peacefully."
Excerpts from Theodor Gustav's diary dating from Jan 1, 1900 to June 27, 1900 give insights into the life the family lived and the building of the railroad through Hendricks. Theodor was born January 29, 1882, and died Dec. 31, 1901. He died at nearly 20 years of age from poison instead of medicine given by mistake by the doctor. He was born with a physical affliction. Some say he was a "hunch back" - "pukkelryg" in Norwegian.
In other excerpts not included, one can see that there was much back and forth between neighbors and family. Tasks such as butchering, building, quilting, wall papering, haying and other more time consuming and difficult jobs were made lighter by many hands. The school house was also the house of worship. Carrie Digre stated, "Our family had been going to church at the small school house north of town. Our minister was Rev. Solonstein, and he would come from Toronto in a cart drawn by two horses. He would tell us that one horse was a Democrat and one was a Republican, because one was so slow and one was fast. Rev. Solenstein was always interested in politics. At the end of each of his services he would say "Aa moder vi eggen I 'Skole Huset' ned Buseth", which means, "Then we will meet again in the school near Buseths". The farm just north of the school house was the Buseth farm.
Torvald was the son of Mathias and Dordi or Dorthea (Reitan) Kulbotten. He was born in Norway June 6, 1844. Gunhild was also a native of Norway, a daughter of Nils Olsen Stover and Kari (Knutsdatter Heggvold) Stover. She was born Jan. 3, 1845. Torvald died Jan. 26, 1924 and Gunhild died on Feb. 11th, 1924. To this union were born seven children, five of whom were living at the time of their parents death. They were Mathias (Martin), Nils (Nels), Carl, Mrs. Ole J. (Dorthea) Eggen, and Mrs. P. O. [Carrie (Kari) Anna] Digre. All of these children located on farms close to the old homestead with the exception of Mrs. Digre who lived in Hendricks. Mr. Torvald Mathison left a sister, Mrs. John P. Moe of Arlington, SD and Mrs. Mathison left a brother, Knud Nelson of Hendricks to mourn them. They had 31 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. Mr. Knud Nelson and Mrs. John P. Moe were present at their wedding in Norway in 1866, at their Golden Wedding in 1916, and at their funerals in 1924.
The obituary in the Feb. 22, 1924 issue of the Pioneer stated "A resume of the forty-four years of Torvald and Gunhild Mathison's life spent here would make interesting reading. It would tell of the simple life of these people, the hardships they endured, the privation which they accepted as a necessity in the struggle, and the courageous battle which they waged for a better period. Only could Mr. and Mrs. Mathison and the pioneers who struggled with them do justice to the incidents of those years. Rev. Christensen who conducted the memorial services for this grand old couple, paid a glowing tribute to their worth as citizens and their faith as Christians".
In the issue prior to this, Feb. 15, 1924, it stated, "Mrs. Gunhild Mathison passed away at her home Monday evening. The funeral occurred Thursday afternoon. Rev. O. L. Chistensen officiating, at the home and at the Lutheran Church near the late home of the deceased. Mrs. Mathison survived her husband but a few days. They were the last couple of the first settlers in this part of the country, and had their honorable part in developing this finely developed country from the raw and wild state...."
Last Remaining Couple of the Old Pioneers in the town of Hendricks(Compiled Nov. 1999 by Janet Digre with much appreciation to The Hendricks Pioneer, Clifford Digre, Pearl Johnson, Clara Johnson, Bonnie Blue, and the late Carrie Digre and Gyda Pederson for information and previously recorded material.)
Torvald and Gunhild Mathison were married in Aalen, Norway, June 16, 1866. On May 2, 1867 they came to the United States. According to Gyda Mathison, Gunhild said they came with Torvald's brother, Anders, and their first born, Mathias. Mathias had his first birthday on the ship voyage. Gunhild got very sea sick and was in bed most of the trip. It took weeks to cross the ocean and the only food they had was what they brought in their food chest: flat bread and dried meat. They could cook coffee in the ship's kitchen, if they had some. The ship was full of hungry, poor, lice infested immigrants. There was a little child that died and the parents tried to hide it so they could keep it with them and bury it in America. The child was found and had to be buried at sea. Like everyone else, they landed at Ellis Island in New York Harbor. Their first sight of America was the Statue of Liberty. They arrived at Lansing, Iowa, June 27th and located at Waterloo Ridge and later Locust Lane. At first, Torvald got a job working for the railroad.
After thirteen years residence in Iowa, they cam to Lincoln County, MN in the fall of 1880. Torvald and Mathias drove their covered wagon and set off to meet Gunhild and the children who were coming by train. On the train trip to Minnesota, one of the children, two year old Kari, died of diphtheria and had to be buried along their route near Elkton, South Dakota in a shallow grave because the ground was already frozen. However, in the Spring, after the family was settled, her body was brought here and was buried in a small cemetery near what was the Arnold Eggen farm north of Hendricks.
Gunhild found a man from Hendricks driving a team of horses who was on his way home. He offered to take her and the children with him. He gave them a ride to Per Knutson's place and from there walked with the children to her brother's place. The first few nights in this area, Torvald and Gunhild spent at the John Knutson home (now the Glen Kvernmo home). From there they went to the Knute Nelson's home, Gunhild's brother's farm east and south of Hendricks. Knute had a two or three room sod house. There were 10 people all together there that winter. Knute had harvested wheat and been to Canby to grind it into flour. They had flour and milk from two cows to live on for the whole winter. Torvald, Gunhild, and four children stayed there the remaining winter months, waiting for their sod house to be finished. It was there, locating on a homestead in Hendricks Township in the spring of 1881, where they remained all their life.
Their sod house was located 4 miles east and 1 1/4 miles south of what is now the town of Hendricks. It was in this sod home that Theodor Gustav and Kary Anna (Mrs. P. O. Digre) were born joining three other brothers and one sister, a family of eight living in a little sod house. Carrie Digre remembered that the sod house was so small that when her mother scrubbed the wooden floor, she had to sit the children on the deep window sills. In 1891 or 1892 a new wooden house was built, one of the first frame houses in the area.
When the train came to Hendricks, the tracks were laid very close to Torvald and Gunhild's farm. Gunhild fed and boarded some of the crew working on the railroad. Their son Carl and one of Gunhild's cousins from Arlington, SD, worked on the railroad for several days. The first train came through on Carrie's Confirmation day, June 24, 1900.
Carrie Digre told of a time in Iowa when one of the older children was born and her father, Torvald, was very sick. "So Mother got out of bed, waded out into the snow that was waist deep, went out into the trees and chopped down a large branch. She dragged it back into the house for firewood. Mother got very sick from this, and lost all of her hair from a high fever. It all grew back eventually."
Carrie also remembered that her father hauled his grain to White, SC. He seemed to get the best price for it there. The family did most of their trading and shopping in Canby though because they had more stores and shops. Hendricks did not have any stores at all.
Gyda Pederson said that Torvald and Gunhild spoke mostly Norwegian, but picked up a lot of the English language. She remembered a story Gunhild had told her about one time when she was alone with the children on the farm. "It was a cold day. She and the children were all in the house. She heard some noise outside and looked to see three or four Indians coming toward the house. She was afraid for her life and for her children. The Indians opened the door and walked right in. They spoke to her but she understood nothing. They made motions for what they wanted; coffee and tobacco. Grandma Gunhild smoked a pipe now and then so she had some tobacco to give them. She also gladly gave them all her coffee. They were not satisfied at first and searched for more. After they had taken all they wanted, they left peacefully."
Excerpts from Theodor Gustav's diary dating from Jan 1, 1900 to June 27, 1900 give insights into the life the family lived and the building of the railroad through Hendricks. Theodor was born January 29, 1882, and died Dec. 31, 1901. He died at nearly 20 years of age from poison instead of medicine given by mistake by the doctor. He was born with a physical affliction. Some say he was a "hunch back" - "pukkelryg" in Norwegian.
In other excerpts not included, one can see that there was much back and forth between neighbors and family. Tasks such as butchering, building, quilting, wall papering, haying and other more time consuming and difficult jobs were made lighter by many hands. The school house was also the house of worship. Carrie Digre stated, "Our family had been going to church at the small school house north of town. Our minister was Rev. Solonstein, and he would come from Toronto in a cart drawn by two horses. He would tell us that one horse was a Democrat and one was a Republican, because one was so slow and one was fast. Rev. Solenstein was always interested in politics. At the end of each of his services he would say "Aa moder vi eggen I 'Skole Huset' ned Buseth", which means, "Then we will meet again in the school near Buseths". The farm just north of the school house was the Buseth farm.
Torvald was the son of Mathias and Dordi or Dorthea (Reitan) Kulbotten. He was born in Norway June 6, 1844. Gunhild was also a native of Norway, a daughter of Nils Olsen Stover and Kari (Knutsdatter Heggvold) Stover. She was born Jan. 3, 1845. Torvald died Jan. 26, 1924 and Gunhild died on Feb. 11th, 1924. To this union were born seven children, five of whom were living at the time of their parents death. They were Mathias (Martin), Nils (Nels), Carl, Mrs. Ole J. (Dorthea) Eggen, and Mrs. P. O. [Carrie (Kari) Anna] Digre. All of these children located on farms close to the old homestead with the exception of Mrs. Digre who lived in Hendricks. Mr. Torvald Mathison left a sister, Mrs. John P. Moe of Arlington, SD and Mrs. Mathison left a brother, Knud Nelson of Hendricks to mourn them. They had 31 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. Mr. Knud Nelson and Mrs. John P. Moe were present at their wedding in Norway in 1866, at their Golden Wedding in 1916, and at their funerals in 1924.
The obituary in the Feb. 22, 1924 issue of the Pioneer stated "A resume of the forty-four years of Torvald and Gunhild Mathison's life spent here would make interesting reading. It would tell of the simple life of these people, the hardships they endured, the privation which they accepted as a necessity in the struggle, and the courageous battle which they waged for a better period. Only could Mr. and Mrs. Mathison and the pioneers who struggled with them do justice to the incidents of those years. Rev. Christensen who conducted the memorial services for this grand old couple, paid a glowing tribute to their worth as citizens and their faith as Christians".
In the issue prior to this, Feb. 15, 1924, it stated, "Mrs. Gunhild Mathison passed away at her home Monday evening. The funeral occurred Thursday afternoon. Rev. O. L. Chistensen officiating, at the home and at the Lutheran Church near the late home of the deceased. Mrs. Mathison survived her husband but a few days. They were the last couple of the first settlers in this part of the country, and had their honorable part in developing this finely developed country from the raw and wild state...."
Events
| Birth | 6 Jun 1844 | ||||
| Marriage | 15 Jun 1866 | Aalen, Norway - Gunhild Nilsdatter Stover | |||
| Death | 26 Jan 1924 |
Families
| Spouse | Gunhild Nilsdatter Stover (1845 - 1924) |
| Child | Carl Mathison (1872 - ) |
| Child | Kari Anna Mathison (1878 - ) |
| Child | Nils Mathison (1869 - ) |
| Child | Dorthea Mathison |
| Child | Mathias Mathison (1867 - ) |
| Father | Mathias Kulbotten |
| Mother | Dordi Reitan |
| Sibling | Sister Mathison |