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Christopherson and Hjelle Families

As we look at the Mankell family, Herman Mankell (grandson of HW Mankell who settled on the homestead in Lake Andrew Township) married Cornelia (Cora) Christopherson who was born and grew up on the Christopherson homestead in Arctander Township (Section 26), just one township west of Lake Andrew Township in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. Cora's parents, Bastina Hjelle and August Christopherson, were from Norway; they met and married in Minnesota.

CHRISTOPHERSON FAMILY

The Christopherson family is originally from the Nannestad and Ullensaker areas of Norway, north of Oslo. August (c1863-1906) was born in Nannestad. His father, Lars Christopherson (1827-1925) was born in Holter (Ullensaker township), He was baptized at the Holter Church. Lars was a teacher in Maura (Nannestad township) Norway. He married Anna Tangen, (c1844-1886), who was from Tangen, just north of Maura. (see maps)

When referring to the Christopherson ancestors from Norway, who then moved to Arctander, there often is confusion because they also used the Holter name. In Norway people often take the name of the location (usually a farm) where he/she lives. Because the Christopherson family rented a building on the Holter farm (which was next to the Holter Church) they were also known as Holter.

Lars and Anna Christopherson and their children (3 sons; 2 daughters) left Norway in 1868 and arrived in Arctander Township, first living in a sod house. They settled on their homestead in Arctander Township in 1969 (indexed as Lars Kristofferson with the Bureau of Land Records) , having filed their papers in the Litchfield Land Office. On this farm in Section 26 (Homestead Entry # 2574) Lars built the first wooden house on the property. The homestead has remained in the Christopherson family, later farmed by Lars' son August, then August's son Otto, and now by Otto's son Alloys and his wife Diane.

In Norway Lars was educated to be a teacher, which included religious instruction. In August 1868, shortly after arriving in Arctander Township, Lars Christopherson (aka Lars Christopherson Holter or Lars Kristofferson) was hired as teacher for the Norway Lake Lutheran congregation. At this time there was no church or school building for the congregation; worshipers and students met in homes. (The log church was finished in the fall of 1868.) The parochial school met in the home of Thomas Osmundson on the south side of Norway Lake. Norwegian was spoken in the classroom and studies included reading, writing and religion.

Lars became a citizen of the United States on March 24, 1874.
Document at National Archives, Washington DC.

Lars and Anna were parents of 7 children:

• August (c1863-1906), married Bastina Hjelle and had seven children .
• Carrie, married Nels Abrahamson
• Olai
• Anne
• Julius
• Christine, married Edward Evenson
• Lewis, married Bertha Walby; 3 chiildren

Here is the 1925 obituary of Lars Christopherson. Lars and Anna Christopherson, are buried in the Lundby Cemetery in Dovre Township, south of the Christopherson homestead.

Bastina and August are buried at the Church of God Cemetery across the road from the Christopherson homestead. Both lived most of their lives on the homestead. August died from pneumonia in 1906 (age 43) at his home, leaving Bastina a widow for many years before her death in 1944. Bastina lived her last 6 years in Willmar, MN.

Here is the obituary for August Christopherson, which was in the April 11, 1906 issue of the Willmar Tribune:

AUGUST CHRISTOPHERSON DEAD
This week it is our duty to report the death of August L. Christopherson, of town of Arctander, which occurred at his home on Saturday, April 7, about noon. The cause of death was pneumonia. The deceased leaves a wife and seven children to mourn his sudden departure, besides an aged father who has made his home with the deceased for a number of years, two brothers--Olai and Louis Christopherson--and two sisters--Mrs. N N. Abrahamson of Mamre and Mrs. Ed Evenson of Willmar. The grief stricken relatives have the sympathy of the entire community. The funeral will occur Tuesday, April 10, and the remains will be laid to rest in the "Church of God " cemetery, located on the deceased's farm.

Pioneer Norwegian settler, Gabriel Stene, wrote stories about pioneer settlers which appeared in 1925 issues of the Willmar Tribune. Stene wrote about Lars Christopherson and Lars' sister, Anna Olson, and their experiences as immigrants and settlers in Kandiyohi County.

In 1985 Orlynn Mankell wrote an article about a Pioneer Woman and her family, who traveled from Norway to Arctander Township. This article is about the sister of Lars Christopherson, Anne Christopherson Olson.

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HJELLE FAMILY

The wife of August Christopherson was Bastina Hjelle (1870-1944), born in Fåvang Norway. Sometimes her name was spelled Bastine. Fåvang is in the valley known as Gudbrandsdalen (see maps), just a few kilometers north of Lillehammer, the home of the 1994 Winter Olympics. (The downhill skiing events were in Fåvang.) The Hjelle farm was located southeast of the village; only foundations of the farm remain on the hillside.

Bastina's parents were Ole Hjelle (American pronounciation is "jelly") and Kjersti Hansdatter Prestangen. Ole Hjelle (1818-1910) was born in Fåvang Norway and married twice. Ole's father was Hans Olson Trosuck, (1790-?).

Ole Hjelle and Marte Engebritdatter Hjelstuen (1831-1856) had three children, all born in Fåvang, who grew to adulthood. One baby girl died at birth. Siblings Engebret and Marie immigrated to Minnesota.

• Baby Girl Hjelstuen (1849)
• Engebret O. (E.O.) Hjelle (1851-1938), married Karen Smidesang; 11 children, with 7 surviving to adulthood
• Marie Hjelle (1853-1927), married Edward Hauge; 10 children
• Hans Olson Hjelle Hjelstuen (1855-1951), married Berit Brastadlokken; 6 children

Ole's second marriage was to Kjersti Hansdatter Prestangen (1833-1905), born in Fåvang. They had 11 children, all born in Fåvang, and all immigrated to Minnesota:

• Hans Hjelle (1857-1942) m. Oline Brostadlakken; 9 children
• Martha Hjelle (1860-1929) married Ole Hjelle; 8 children
• Christian Hjelle (1863-1887)
• Olina Hjelle, (1866-?) married Hans Bjorsness; 5 children
• Gilbert (Gudbrand) Hjelle (1868-1920), married Ingeborg Kolstad; 6 children
• Mattias Hjelle (1868-1950), married Gladys Johnson; 1 child
• Bastina Hjelle (1870-1944), married August Christopherson; 7 chilldren
• Anna Hjelle (1873-1925), married Hans Krogh; 8 children
• Clara Hjelle (1875-1949), married Torger Thompson; 5 children with one dying as an infant
• Randine Hjelle (1879-1923) not married
• Ole O. Hjelle (1881-1958) not married

As a girl in Norway, Bastina was a "Seter" girl, meaing that she spent her summers on the “seter” or summer farm located up in the mountains. Seters often comprise a cabin, barn and other out buildings. Historically, families would bring their cows or sheep to the seter for the summer months. One girl would live there and tend to the animals. She would make butter and cheese for the family to use during the winter months or to sell. One family story states that as a seter girl, Bastina would sing to bring the cows home from the pasture for milking. Only foundations remain of the Hjelle seter in Norway.

Bastina Hjelle, 12 siblings, and their parents came to the USA at different times over a span of 20 years. Bastina, her parents and 3 siblings (Oline, Anna, Mattias) arrived at the Port of New York on May 21, 1888 on the ship "Umbria". The ship departed from Liverpool, England, and Queenstown, Ireland. Father Ole was 70 at the time of the voyage; Mother Kjersti was age 55. Several siblings were already in the US. Bastina's parents and most of her siblings (Engrebret--son of Ole and first wife Marte, Hans, Gilbert, Christian, Oline, Mattias, Anna, Clara, Randine, Ole) settled in the Marshall County area of northern Minnesota. Some later moved from Marshall County: Clara to Ottertail County, Ole to Kittson County; Christian to Pennington County.

Bastina immigrated to Kandiyohi County in 1888 or 1889, and was one of the last in her family to leave Norway. One brother, Hans, remained in Fåvang, Norway. Hans then moved to his grandparents farm, took the farm name as his last name and became Hans Hjelstuen. Several of his descendants currently live near Fåvang and Oslo in Norway.

Bastina and 2 sisters (Martha and half-sister Marie) settled in Kandiyohi County, primarily in Arctander Township. Many of the descendants of these three sisters remain in area, in Arctander and Lake Andrew Townships and in the town of New London.

Martha Hjelle married Ole Hjelle in 1885 and had 8 children. Grandchildren include Lloyd Lindquist, Glen Lindquist, Muriel (Thorson) Bengtson, Ruby Thorson, Kern Hjelle, Orlando Hjelle, Marvin Hjelle, Sadie (Hjelle) Orson, Elvin Hjelle, and Kermit Hjelle.

Marie Hjelle and Edward Hauge married in 1873 in Norway and had 10 children. Their grandchildren include Myron Hauge, Marvin Hauge, Elvin Henjum, Ellen (Foshager) Edman, Myrtle (Foshager) Skindelien, Alice (Foshager) Larson, Gladys (Foshager) Beck, and Evelyn (Foshager) Kleven.

Bastina settled in Arctander Township because August Christopherson paid for Bastina’s ticket to come to Kandiyohi County, with the agreement that Bastina would work at the Christopherson homestead in Arctander Township to pay off her debt. Before the agreement was over, Bastina and August married in 1889 and continued to live on the homestead. They had 7 children

• Otto (1890-1971), married Ella Negaard; 2 children
• Anphia (1892-1974), married Elmer Myhre; 4 children
• Julius (1894-1953)
• Edward (Eddie) (1897-c1980), married Olive; 6 children
• Ellen (1899-1972), married Herman Landquist
• Millie (1891-1994), married Eugene Bergan
• Cornelia (Cora) (1903-1963), married Herman Mankell; 7 children

There is a separate web page regarding the children of August and Bastina.

Bastina and August had 16 grandchildren including Alloys Christopherson who lives and farms on the Christopherson homestead, Orlynn Mankell, Marjorie (Mankell) Larimer, Sherman Mankell, Mary Ann (Mankell) Petteway, Douglas Mankell, Marlys (Mankell) Schilz, Gloria (Myrhe) Halvorson, Lorraine (Myrhe) Broberg, Doris (Myrhe) Broberg, Warren Christopherson, and Gus Christopherson.

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