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James Oscarson - A Short Biography |
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From
A History of Richland County 1886
- 1986
by Horace B Crandall
JAMES OSCARSON James Oscarson was born in Holmedal, Norway on October 15, 1852. He was baptized Jens, son of Aksel Holmedal and his wife Seri1. He used the name Jens Akselson2. He had two brother and two sisters3. Little is known about his childhood. His father died and his mother remarried4. Gunhild Hansdatter Opstvedt was born on May 27, 1857 to Hans Opstvedt and his wife, the former Kari Fjeldhaugem5, in Skånevik, Prestegjold6, Norway. She had four brothers and three sisters. On March 1877, Jens and Gunhild who then lived in Fjeldhaugen were married in Norway. In May of the same year they joined many of their countrymen and immigrated to the United States of America.6.01 They first went to Clinton, Iowa, then to Newark, Illinois.7 Later when the United States Government gave land to Homesteaders, Jens and Gunhild moved to what became Kingsbury County, South Dakota.8 Several of their children were born here.9 In 1898, Jens and his family moved to North Dakota where he bought a farm west of Galchutt.10 Their sons Carl, Enoch, Nathan, Melvin lived on this farm later on, too, with their families. A year or two later they moved to a farm five and one half miles southwest of Abercrombie near the Wild Rice River.11
James and Gunhild were members of St. Johns Lutheran Church four and one half miles south of Abercrombie on Highway 81. James served as precentor13 (klokker) for the congregation for many years. They were very active in the work of the church. During the summers he taught parochial school district14. Some of his grandchildren were his pupils. They were also very active in the work of the Evangelistic Movement of his day. In 1911, Jens retired from farming. The family moved to Fergus Falls15, where he died from a paralytic stroke16, suffered two weeks before, on March 27, 1929 at the age of 76 years. Gunhild sold the home in Fergus Falls and went to live with her children. Most of the time was spent with her son John and his wife who lived on the home farm. Here she passed away on January 1, 1944 from complications of old age. She was 87 years old. To this union eleven children were born, three are living: Sarah (Mrs. Andrew Reinertson) 1878-1967, Hans 1880 - 186717, Leva (Mrs. Carl Erstad) 1882 - 1950, Oscar 1884 - 1919, Enoch 1889 - 1919, Oscars and Enoch passed away during the influenza epidemic of 1918 - 1919, Nathan 1891 - 1973, John 1894 - 1967, Jacob 189718 lives in the St. Francis Home in Breckenridge, Helen, (Mrs. Ulrik Larson) 189919 whose home is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Melvin 190420 of Portland, Oregon.
Other Resources Scan of James Oscarson, Column 1 Scan of James Oscarson, Column 2
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