Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

This site is dedicated to the descendents of Henrik and Beret (Haugen) Torgerson. Henrik, along with his 10 siblings, emigrated to Albert Lea, Minnesota with his parents, Torbjørn Torgerson (Aaberge) and Krist Eriksdotter (Næs). The family sailed from Bergen, Norway in April 1851. We know this family left the Naes farm of Kristi's uncle Peder located in Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. Research by one of our cousins, Sharon (Jackson) Van Putten, has documented excellently the ancestral history of our family back to the 1600's.

Since beginning my genealogy research nearly 25 years ago, I have been tracking down the descendents of Henry and Beret. They married shortly after arriving in Albert Lea. Beret Tollevsdatter (Haugen) came from Valdres, Norway with her mother, Marit, and her 7 siblings in March 1854. By April 1855, Henry and Beret were married and moved to their farm on Sugar Creek in Crawford County, Wisconsin.

Until the 20th century Norwegians did not actually use a surname or last name. Children received a first name and then the name of their father either as -son for male children and -datter for female children. They were also know by the farm region where they were currently located. For our family, Torbjørn was born on the Aaberge farm but later took over the farm of his wife's uncle. When he did this he took on that farm name - Næs. When they emigrated to America, some of his sons used Torgerson as a last name - such as Hendrik and some used an Americanized version of the farm name - Nash.

With this website I hope to connect to other Torgerson cousins and to share information about our genealogy and Norwegian culture with others.

ANCESTORS

HENDRIK TORGERSON
Henry Torbjørnson (Aaberge/Næs)
Born: January 12, 1834, Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Married: April 18, 1855, Albert Lea, Freeborn, MN
Died: April 17, 1902, Soldiers Grove, Crawford, WI

Father: Torbjøn Henrickson (Aaberge-Næs) 1812-1892
Mother: Kristi Eriksdotter (Årstu-Nygård-Næs) 1814-1893

Siblings: Peter Nash==Emily Larson; Betsy==Jorgen Sanderson (1) ==Erick Fossen (2); Andrew Torgerson; Ole Nash==Gunnhild Haugen; Torger Torgerson; Ellen; John Torgerson; Julia; Christian Torgerson/Nash==Johanna Kvale; Bud (may be Torger) 		BERET HAUGEN
Beret Tollevsdatter (Haugen)
Born: July 27, 1836; Vestre Slidre, Oppland, Norway

Died: September 15, 1988, Ferryville, Crawford, WI

Father: Tollev Tordson (Berge-Haugen) 1804-1846
Mother: Marit Oldsdatter (Kvale) 1799-unk

Siblings: 7 unknown

CHILDREN OF HENRY AND BERET

MARIA TORGERSON
Born: April 18, 1856, Filmore County, MN (poss.)
Married: Jacob Jackson - November 5, 1875, Vernon County, WI
Died: March 6, 1924, Crawford County, WI

Children: 		TOLEF TORGERSON
Born: June 1, 1857, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married (1): Ingebor Johnson - December 5, 1879, Crawford County, WI
Married (2): Josephine Salthun - abt. 1901, Iowa (poss.)
Died: January 29, 1936, Charles City, Floyd, IA

Children: 		CHRISTINE TORGERSON
Born: November 2, 1958, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married (1): Gordon Hildah - December 20, 1882, Rising Sun, Crawford, WI
Married (2): Joe Sime - abt. September 1889, Lane, Jerauld, SD
Died: November 1889, Lane, Jerauld, SD

Children:
PETER HENRY TORGERSON
Born: February 26, 1860, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married: Nancy Alice Copper - March 2, 1886, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Died: August 11, 1933, Retreat, Vernon, WI

Children: 		THOMAS TORGERSON
Born: January 18, 1862, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married: Bertha Nes(Nash) - February 6, 1882, Vernon County, WI
Died: November 10, 1892, Vancouver, Clark, WA

Children: 		ANNA TORGERSON
Born: October 29, 1863, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married: Edward McKalson (Mikkelson) - abt. 1890, Oregon (poss.)
Died: May 25, 1909, Portland, Multnomah, OR

Children:
GHUNILDE TORGERSON
Born: September 27, 1865, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married: Andrew Haugen - abt. 1890, Minnesota (poss.)
Died: January 7, 1931, Albert Lea, Freeborn, MN

Children: 		MALENA TORGERSON
Born: June 29, 1867, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married: Otto Wing - October 25, 1887, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN
Died: July 18, 1838, Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN

Children: 		ELIZABETH TORGERSON
Born: September 5, 1869, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married: Thomas Jackson - January 23, 1890, Mt. Sterling, Vernon, WI
Died: June 1, 1932, Home, Grant, ND

Children:
OLINE TORGERSON
Born: August 25, 1871, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Died: November 17, 1877, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI 		EMMA TORGERSON
Born: January 27, 1876, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married: Jens Sime - November 18, 1897, Crawford County, WI
Died: December 1, 1934, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI

Children: 		OLINE TORGERSON
Born: March 4, 1878, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Died: June 22, 1879, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
  OLEMA TORGERSON
Born: April 27, 1880, Freeman Twp., Crawford, WI
Married: Karl Salthun - November 18, 1901, Crawford County, WI
Died: March 28, 1932, Albert Lea, Freeborn, MN

Children: 		 

FAMILY NEWS


TORGERSON 2002 FAMILY REUNION


August 23-25, 2002
Sugar Creek Bible Camp
Ferryville, Wisconsin

Contact: Michelle Rickard

TORGERSON TIMES FAMILY NEWSLETTER

Back Issues
Jan-Mar 1997      Apr-June 1997
July-Sept 1997      Oct-Dec 1997
Jan-Mar 1998      Apr-June 1998
July-Sept 1998      Oct-Dec 1998
Jan-Mar 1999      Apr-June 1999
July-Sept 1999      Oct-Dec 1999
Jan-Mar 2000      Apr-June 2000
July-Sept 2000      Oct-Dec 2000
Jan-Mar 2001      Apr-June 2001
July-Sept 2001      Oct-Dec 2001
 

CELEBRATING OUR NORWEGIAN HERITAGE

Link
Link
Link

CELEBRATING FAMILY TIES

We have a family site at MyFamily.com so that we can share personal information for living family members such as news items (births, deaths, marriages), pictures, events, and chat groups. This site is password protected for our privacy. If you are a Torgerson cousin, email Michelle Rickard for further information about joining our very leafy family tree.