Caroline Hilson (1863-1940)

Today is the 153rd anniversary of the birth of Caroline Hilson.

Birth

Caroline Hilson was born on 04 Mar 1863 in Westfield, Dodge, Minnesota as the third child of Guttorm Hillson Wenaas and Jorand Christiansdtr Rukke. She had seven siblings, namely: Inger Randina, Helena, Ragnild G, Christian G, Henry G, Marie, and Thomas Bennett. Caroline Hilson was baptized on 01 May 1863 at First Lutheran Church in St Ansgar, Mitchell, Iowa.

Three months after her birth, Caroline’s father was drafted for the Civil War. Fortunately for him (and us) there were several options when Guttorm’s number was called. You could go to war. But you also had the option of paying someone else to go as your substitute or to pay a “commutation” fee of $300 to avoid serving.¹ Guttorm chose to pay the fee and avoid service.² A year later, in July 1864, President Lincoln signed a bill eliminating commutation except for conscientious objectors.³

As a child, she lived with  her parents in Westfield, Dodge, Minnesota.

Marriage

When she was 22, she married Lars Olson Aldahl, son of Ole Knutson Aldahl and Ragnild Torkjelsdtr Ofstedal, on 19 Nov 1885 in Blooming Prairie, Steele, Minnesota.

Caroline and Lars lived in the Blooming Prairie community for about six years then purchased a farm northwest of Austin, in Lansing Township, Mower, Minnesota. They resided in the Lansing home until their deaths.

Family

Lars Olson Aldahl and Caroline Hilson had 12 children over a span of 18 years:

1. Johanna Ragnila Aldahl was born on 02 May 1886 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. She died on 15 Sep 1969 in Minnesota. She married Astor H. Thompson on 28 Jun 1911 in Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, Austin, Mower, Minnesota.
2. George Oscar Aldahl was born on 06 Jul 1887 in Mower, Minnesota. He died on 12 Apr 1949 in Los Angeles, California. He married Sylvia Bertina Aldal on 23 Jul 1919 in Emmons Lutheran Church, Emmons, Freeborn, Minnesota.
3. Clara Marie Aldahl was born on 20 Jun 1889 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. She died on 16 Aug 1985 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota. She married Ole Edwin Stemson on 18 Mar 1914 in Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, Austin, Mower, Minnesota.
4. Selmer Ludvig Aldahl was born on 28 Jun 1890 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. He died on 21 Aug 1923 in Cedar Rapids, Linn, Iowa.
5. Ida Bertina Aldahl was born on 27 Aug 1891 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. She died on 29 Oct 1966 in Wadena, Wadena, Minnesota. She married Henry Bennett Stemson on 30 Mar 1921 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota.
6. Hilda Melvina Aldahl was born on 22 Feb 1893 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. She died on 16 Aug 1987 in Steele, Minnesota. She married Peter O Knutson on 23 Jun 1920 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota (Witnesses were George Knutson and Margaret Aldahl).
7. Judith Ronellie Aldahl was born on 01 Oct 1894 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. She died on 04 Mar 1986 in Mower, Minnesota. She married Andrew Clarence Thompson on 06 Dec 1917 in Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, Austin, Mower, Minnesota.
8. Olga Mathilda Aldahl was born on 15 Apr 1896 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. She died on 03 Jun 1901 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota.
9. Noel Clarence Ruben Aldahl was born on 25 Dec 1898 in Mower, Minnesota. He died on 06 Jun 1993 in Blooming Prairie, Steele, Minnesota.
10. Joseph Tilman Aldahl was born on 06 Mar 1900 in Mower, Minnesota. He died on 29 Jan 1985 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota.
11. Margaret Olga Aldahl was born on 21 Jan 1902 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. She died on 09 May 1972 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota. She married Bennett Nils Christianson on 21 May 1930 in Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, Austin, Mower, Minnesota.
12. Martha Cornelia Aldahl was born on 17 Nov 1904 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. She died on 24 Jun 1995 in Prairie Manor Nursing Home, Blooming Prairie, Steele, Minnesota. She married Osmund Oscar Knutson on 18 Dec 1940 in Blooming Prairie, Steele, Minnesota.

Adulthood

Caroline saw heartbreak when her daughter Olga died by drowning in a tank of water at age 5 and again when her son Selmer died in a train accident as a young man of 33.

In 1920, when she was 56 years old, Caroline may have voted for the first time as this is when women gained the constitutional right to vote.

Caroline was remembered by neighbors as being very hospitable and always serving plenty of food, but she was known to rarely smile. She suffered from diabetes and was often sick. Being unwell often caused her to have a pained look on her face. Diabetes was a lot harder to control in those days and the American Diabetes Association was not even founded until the year of Caroline’s death.∇

Death

Caroline Hilson Aldahl died on 16 Mar 1940 in Mower, Minnesota at the age of 77. She was buried in  Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church Cemetery, Austin, Mower, Minnesota.

Where is she in the tree?

Where can I learn more?

The Aldahl Family

Selected Sources

¹ Gooley, Lawrence P., “Avoiding The Draft, Civil War Style” The New York History Blog. 26 June 2013. Web. newyorkhistory.blog.org/2013/06/26/avoiding-the-draft-civil-war-style/

²Hill, H. H. (1884). History of Winona, Olmsted, and Dodge Counties Together with Biographical Matter, Statistics, Etc. Chicago: H.H. Hill and Company, Publishers.

³ Perri, Timothy J. “The Evolution of Military Conscription in the United States.” The Independent Review. 2013. Web. 4 March 2016.  www.appstate.edu/~perritj/IndeRev

∇”75th Anniversary Timeline” American Diabetes Association. 2015. Web. 3 March 2016. http://www.diabetes.org/about-us/75th-anniversary/timeline.html