Halvor Stemson (1835-1927)

Halvor Stemson was born on 14 Feb 1835 in Nes i Hallingdal, Buskerud, Norway (Stolsdokken) as the fourth child of Stengrim Halvorsen and Kristi Knudsdr. He had ten siblings, namely: Barbo, Anne, Margit, Barbro, Guri, Aasa, Kari, Knut, Thora, and Magrethe. Halvor Stemson was baptized on 22 Mar 1835 in Gol, Buskerud, Norway (Gol Parish). He was confirmed in the Lutheran faith on 30 Jun 1850 in Gol, Buskerud, Norway. His last name was sometimes listed at Stemgrimson or Stenson or variations thereof.

Halvor first married Ingeborg Myraset in Gol, Buskerud, Norway. They had a couple children who died at birth. Ingeborg died.

When he was 29, he married Birgit Nilsdtr Lostegaard, daughter of Nils Olson Ro Lostegaard and Barbo Eriksdatter Lostegaard, on 21 Apr 1864 at the Lostegaard farm in Gol, Buskerud, Norway.

Halvor Stemson and Birgit Nilsdtr Lostegaard had twelve children:

1. Ingeborg Stemson was born on 05 Jun 1864 in Gol, Buskerud, Norway. She married Thor Thompson on 03 Dec 1884 in Freeborn, Minnesota. She died on 02 May 1953 in Wessington Springs, Jerauld, South Dakota.
2. Barbra Stemson was born on 20 Feb 1866 in Gol, Buskerud, Norway (Other sources say 24 Feb). She died on 20 Oct 1875 in Mower, Minnesota.
3. Christina Stemson was born on 09 Feb 1868 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota.  She married Samuel Austin Swan on 23 Oct 1889 in Mower, Minnesota. She died on 03 Mar 1971 in Preeceville, Saskatchewan, Canada.
4. Nels Stemson was born on 20 Oct 1869 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota. He died on 12 Sep 1896 in Barrett, Grant, Minnesota.
5. Sam Stemson was born on 16 Oct 1871 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota. He died on 11 Jun 1913 in Minnesota.
6. Carl Stemson was born on 15 Nov 1873 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota. He died on 04 Apr 1874 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota.
7. Carl Gilbert Stemson was born on 25 Apr 1875 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota. He married Laura Margarette Quam on 07 Jan 1905 in Freeborn, Minnesota (The record said Austin, Freeborn, Minnesota, but Austin is in Mower County). He died on 26 Aug 1961 in Udolpho, Mower, Minnesota.
8. Bertha H Stemson was born on 05 Mar 1877 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota. She married Christian Bennett Christianson on 05 Mar 1898 in Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, Austin, Mower, Minnesota, She died on 11 Jun 1968 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota.
9. Berthena Olivia Stemson was born on 09 Dec 1878 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota. She married Edward Ferdinand Kittelson on 28 Nov 1917 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota. She died on 07 Apr 1967 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota.
10. Julia Helene Stemson was born on 03 Nov 1880 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota.  She married Lewis A. Ulland on 05 Mar 1901 in Freeborn, Minnesota. She died on 27 Jul 1956 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota.
11. Henry Bennett Stemson was born on 21 Aug 1882 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota. He married Ida Bertina Aldahl on 30 Mar 1921 in Austin, Mower, Minnesota. She was a daughter of our ancestors Caroline Hilson and Lars Aldahl. Henry died on 13 Apr 1974 in Wadena, Wadena, Minnesota.
12. Ole Edwin Stemson was born on 09 Oct 1884 in Newry, Freeborn, Minnesota. He married Clara Marie Aldahl on 18 Mar 1914 in Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, Austin, Mower, Minnesota. She was a daughter of our ancestors Caroline Hilson and Lars Aldahl. Ole died on 27 Jan 1971 in Mower, Minnesota.

Birgit and Halvor started their family in Norway with the birth of two daughters. Then they decided to leave Norway. They were just four of the 134 people who left Gol Parish in 1866. On 31 March 1866, with a toddler and newborn in tow, they boarded a three-masted ship called the Sirius in Bergen, Norway and set sail for Quebec, Canada. The cargo ship had been modified to accommodate emigrants between decks. After about six weeks of sailing, the ship landed at the quarantine station near Quebec, Canada. After several days wait, a steamship took the emigrants ashore and then the Stemson and other families boarded a train. The train took them to Sarnia, at the end of Lake Huron, where they boarded a large steamboat. The boat took them as far as Milwaukee. They then got on another train that took them to Prairie du Chein, Wisconsin. The train line ended there because of the Mississippi River, so it was onto another steamboat to cross the river and then by land to Minnesota. They finally arrived at their destination on 15 June 1866, about two and a half months after they’d left their home in Norway.

Halvor wasn’t in Minnesota long before he bought land and filed for naturalization. He farmed in Newry Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota. He became a citizen on 16 Jul 1867.

Halvor and family were early members of Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church.

Birgit Nilsdtr Lostegaard Stemson died of pneumonia on 5 November 1887. She was only 44-years old. At age 52, Halvor was a widower with children between the ages of 23 and three.

Outliving his wife by nearly forty years, Halvor Stemson died on 08 Apr 1927 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota. He was 92-years old. He was buried at Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church Cemetery.

Where is he in the tree?

How can I learn more?

The Stemson Family

Selected Sources:

Ancestry.com, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015), ancestry.com, 1872 Membership,U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1826-1945, Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, Austin, Minnesota, image 9 of 1038, (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/60722/41742_314640-00000?backurl=https%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fsearch%2fdb.aspx%3fdbid%3d60722%26path%3d&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnBrowsing#?imageId=41742_314640-00008 : accessed 9 Feb 2018).

Arkivverket Digitalarkivet (Norway), http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20061115040324.jpg. Confirmation record for Halvor Stemson.

Arkivverket Digitalarkivet (Norway), Halvor Stemson, emigration, SAKO, Gol kirkebøker, F/Fa/L0003: Parish register (official) no. I 3, 1863-1875, p. 311 (http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20051116041221.jpg : accessed 9 Feb 2018).

Mower County, Minnesota, Naturalization Records, Minnesota State Historical Society, Microfilm, Code 14, Reel 4, Volume LNPS, page 30.