The Kaski & Untiedt Family Trees

Many Versions of Bertha My great-grandmother, Tillie Anderson Morud, was the child of John Henry Anderson and Bertha Olson. Tillie told me that her mother came to the US alone from Norway and didn't speak the same dialect as her spouse and had no family in the area. Unable to communicate, living on a rural homestead, she birthed 6 children, enduring what must have been a very difficult South Dakotan farm life. For decades, I've tried to research her and trace her roots. Likely due to her lack of English skills and limited ability to read and write, each confirmed record told different versions of the same facts. The 1925 South Dakota census shows her as "Betsey" while the 1935 South Dakota census lists her as "Bertha". Other spellings are "Bertina", "Brita", and "Betsy". The U.S. Census records from 1900 to 1940 indicate that she was born sometime between 1858 and 1865. And then, there's when she immigrated to the U.S.; the ...

 From 1946, below is the obituary that was published in the Sioux Falls, Argus-Leader.

 I found this note in my family history records.  "My great-grandmother, Tilla Morud, told me that Betsy [her mother] came to the US by herself, to marry a man she had never met.  They both didn't speak the same language and she felt very lonely.  She would cry and cry for her homeland."  *************************** What must 1880s Norwegian life have felt like to compel a young woman to travel across the seas to a foreign land all alone to marry a stranger?  When my great-grandmother told me this story, I could feel Betsy's lonely sadness living out in the Deuel, South Dakota prairie, hanging laundry, surviving the bitter cold, bearing 6 children out-of-duty.  What areas of Norway did she and he come from such that they did not speak the same language? Betsy lived in the US for 30 years before records show that she learned to speak English.  How did they communicate? I shiver imaging the mental isolation she must have endured.  Such an enorm...

196 years ago today, Andreas Andersen,  my great-great-great grandfather was born! October 25, 1827. The 1865 Norway census tells us that by the age of 38, Andreas had a farm with 1 horse, 2 large cattle, 2 sheep and some seed to grow grain and potatoes. He and his wife, Marie Guldbransdatter, had been married for 11 years. The Ringsaker church where they were wed was built in the 1100s (see picture below). The church would also serve as the baptism site for their children. Marie & Andreas would live all their lives in the Ringsaker region. The last of Andreas and Marie’s 7 children, Agnethe Carrie Andreasdatter, was also born in 1865. Agnethe would marry Ole Hansen Maurud, and their son, Birger Maurud, 2 years in to the Great War (WWII), would come to the US in 1916, beginning one of our US immigration branches. Source of the picture below showing the Ringsaker Church and the surrounding farm land: https://www.ravlling.com/things-to-do/norway/eastern-norway/culture/ringsaker-c...

Such a great treasured picture was just a Facebook conversation away. So excited to share this picture provided by Jean Winkleman, a first cousin twice removed.  To the far left, is Carrie Anderson, my 3 times great-grandmother. Standing in the middle is Bertha (Brita) Olson Anderson, my 2 times great-grandmother; she's next to her husband, John H. Anderson, my 2 times great-grandfather. The children must be (left to right) Annie, Karoline, and Sarah Anderson. My great-grandmother, Tillie Anderson, was not born when this was taken.

 Recently I created a Facebook group to connect with my Morud & Anderson relatives.  Click here to join the  Morud & Anderson Facebook group . ****************** The descendants of Arvin Lokkeberg joined the group, and I was able to share a few interested findings also archived below. Picture of Sarah Anderson & John Lokkeberg     Picture of Marvina Lokkeberg & granddaughter Jessica VanDyke Baptism record of Arvin Lokkeberg Marriage record of Serina "Sarah" Anderson & John Lokkeberg WWII Draft Registration card of John Lokkeberg

Another incredible find. Today I found the Declaration of Intention of my great-great grandfather John H. Anderson, declaring his intention to become a citizen of the United States, disavowing his loyalty to King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway. The document also appears to bear my 2 times great-grandfather's signature from 1888.   Here's the first two generations of descendants that were directly impacted by this declaration.