Aasgaard's & Brohaugh's from Akershus & Hedmark

Ole Christophersen Brohaugh
1808-1873
Eidsvoll, Akershus, Norway From the book “The Brohaugh’s in America” by Agnes Brohaugh and Don Brohaugh, published 1985, used with permission from Don Brohaugh.
Ole is the grandfather to Martinus Aasgaard, and the great grandfather to Mina (Aasgaard) Nysetvold Ole Christophersen was born in Norway in 1808. He bought Søndre Brohaug (Southern Brohaug) in 1831 for 400 daler.
Brohaug Farm in the 1865 Census of Norway The official records show that he bought the farm from his uncle, Peder Bentsen, who then moved to Rønsen for better pasture and hay fields. Other records, however, show that Ole’s father, Christopher Bentsen, also lived on the farm, and had obtained free maintenance for himself and his wife in exchange for the deed to the property. Possibly both his father and his uncle had previously farmed Southern Brohaug.
Ole had married Berthe Olea (Oline?) Jensdatter in 1830. Berthe died in March of 1836, only 25 years old, leaving one daughter Marthe Christine.

After the death of his first wife, Ole married Karen Andersdatter Langseth in 1838. Although we have generally not delved into the genealogy of the wives, the following information was found about Karen’s family:

*Karen’s grandfather was:
Henrik Andersen, born 1749. He married Berte Taraldsdatter and had a farm at Langsettun from 1790-1807.
Their son, Anders Henriksen, born 1785 (died 1849), he married Olea Olsdatter and had the farm at Langsettun from 1807-1849. Their children were:
Ole, Hans, Berthe Marie, Anne Dorthea, Karen and Ingeborg Marie.

Karen and Ole had eight children, but one, Gustava,died at about three years of age.
Karen herself died in Norway in 1861.

In addition to farming, Ole apparently engaged in logging some of the forested area of the farm. Once a violent storm came up while his logs were being floated down the river (Vorma?) to a mill. Rafts were broken apart and logs scattered. Since the value of the timber would have been almost one thousand dollars (U.S.), it was a tragic loss for the family. One of Ole’s sons said later it was the only time he saw his father cry. In 1869, Ole Christophersen Brohaugh and the seven children from his second marriage emigrated to America. Rumors have persisted that he left to avoid local pressures to get married again, but these were probably jocular. The more likely reasons would have been economic, as discussed in Chapter 1. They left Norway in April, 1869 and arrived in New York City in May, on board the ship "Alepo".
The passenger list for this ship shows the following arriving passengers. Ole Borhaug age 59 and his occupation was a Laborer from Germany.
Christophin Borhaug age 27 and his occupation was a Laborer from Germany.
Berd Borhaug age 25 and his occupation was a Laborer from Germany.
Olava Borhaug age 29 and she was a spinster from Germany.
Olina Borhaug age 22 and she was a spinster from Germany.
Ole Borhaug age 14 and his occupation was a Laborer from Germany.
Gustav Borhaug age 11 and he was listed as a child.
Marthia Borhaug age 10 and she was listed as a child from Germany.
Hans Borhaug age 38 and his occupation was listed as a Laborer from Germany. Note the typical misinformation in public records, notably the atrocious misspellings and the wrong country of origin. From New York they traveled on to Red Wing, Minnesota, the last stage of the journey being made by river steamboat. The youngest son, Gustave, kept a brief record of the trip in a little notebook (which we still have) given to him before he left Norway. A translation of the trip commentary from this notebook follows: (Translation by George Olaf Brohaugh)
I left Christiania (now Oslo) the 23rd of April. Had good weather over the North Sea and Arrived at Hull in England the 26th at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and then left by train at 10 o'clock in the evening. The train travelled fast and we came to Liverpool at 6 o'clock April 27th where we quartered in a hotel. And now we had time to see the city: its parks, musuem, its cemetery and D.O.L. (????) Tuesday, May 4th at 4 o'clock in the afternoon we left Liverpool on the ship Alepo and had good weather all the time over the ocean. On the 25th we took on board the harbor pilot and on the 16th we saw land. On the 17th at 11 o'clock in the forenoon we landed in New York. Travelled fast and came to Pittsburgh where we changed cars and lay there several hours. Travelled again on the train and came to Chicago the 21st at 7 o'clock in the forenoon. We lay there until the 24th. Left there and came to Red Wing, Minnesota on the 25th of May 1869. The family lived in Red Wing for about a year. Then Ole purchased an 80 acre farm near the village of Esdaile, in Pierce County, Wisconsin, just across the river from Red Wing. This farm, the S 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of Section 16, is labeled B.O. Brohaugh in the 1877 plat map shown in Fig. 3.2. As part of an 1846 Act of the U.S. Congress approving Wisconsin as a state within the Union, sections numbered "16" in every township were granted to the state for use of schools. This particular section number 16 was sold to a William N. Fairbanks in 1865. He in turn sold the S 1/2 of the SE 1/4 to Ole C. Brohaugh on September 9, 1870 for $800. Thus Ole was only the second private owner of the land, and almost certainly the first one to farm it. Apparently no cash changed hands during this sale, as a mortgage for $800 was also recorded on September 9, 1870 from Ole C. to William Fairbanks. Ole Christophersen and his family became charter members of the Eidsvold Lutheran Church in Esdaile. The Congregational Member Inventory of 1873 showed them among the 95 members as: Ole Chr. Brohaugh
Chr. O. Brohaugh
Bernt O. Brohaugh
Ole O. Brohaugh
Gustave O.Brohaugh
Olava Olsdtr. Brohaugh
Oliana Brohaugh
Martine Brohaugh Ole lived only three years on his new farm: he died on December 16, 1873. Eidsvold Lutheran Cemetery
Hartland Township
Pierce County, Wisconsin Brohaugh Clarence O. 1890-28 Mar 1943 WI Pvt. 3rd Inf.
" Mabel 1894-1974
" Joel 1926-1927
Brohaugh George N. 1897-1953
Brohaugh Nels 1865-1942
" Gitta 1866-1946
Brohaugh Ole C. 1808-1873
" Bernt O. 1843-1904 Since he died intestate, with property, several legal documents had to be created which are still on file in the Pierce County courthouse. For instance, the Estate Inventory and Appraisal shows the extent of his possessions: Real Estate:
40 acres..........$850.00
40 acres..........$300.00 Personal Property
One Cow..........$ 20.00
One Cooking Stove..........$ 8.00
One Bedsted..........$ 2.00
One Featherbed..........$ 6.00
Two Chairs.......... 50¢ There were insufficient funds to pay Ole's debts (which included the mortgage) so the farm was put up for sale. At a public auction, held December 14, 1874, one of Ole's sons, Bernt, was the highest bidder and purchased the property for $1,150.00, that amount to be paid in two years. In a complicated financial arrangement, the mortgage was paid off by the eldest son, Christopher and two new mortgages, payable to Christopher and another son, Ole O., were issued by Bernt.
Naturalization Record of Bernt: Brohaugh, Bernt O; 15 Dec 1885; Pierce County WI The two minor children, Gustave and Martina, were awarded $300.00 each as a part of the settlement at the same time that the court appointed a guardian (Petter Johnson) for them. The two older daughters, Olava and Oliana, apparently received nothing from the estate.

Marthe Christine Olsdatter Brohaugh
1830-1901
Martha Christine was the daughter of Ole and his first wife Berthe. Since she was only 5 years old when her mother died, she was brought up with Ole's second family. Christine married Lars Aasgaard and emigrated to America at about the same time as her father (1869) although she did not travel with him. Marthe's Family,Leaving Norway The Aasgaards settled near Osseo, Wisconsin.
Their son Martinus, married Anna Maria Larsen in Wisconsin who was also from Eidsvold and went to Home Lake Township in Norman County, Minnesota and homesteaded. Martinus died in 1904 when a barn door fell on him. [Photo]
Martinus Larsen AasgaardAt the turn of the century Martinus Larsen Aasgaard was one of the best known and most progressive farmers and stockmen of Home Lake Township in Norman County of Minnesota. He was born in Norway in 1858 and came to the United States in 1869 settled in Arena in Dane County, Wisconsin, where he worked for fifteen years. The name Aasgaard means "farm by the creek" in Norway and is located north of Oslo near Lake Mjosa, the largest lake in Norway.
(Note: The Aasgaard Farm that they came from was in Stange, Hedmark, not in Eidsvold, Akershus)
He was married in Wisconsin and in April of 1885 they moved to Minnesota. All their worldly possessions were represented by fifty dollars in cash. His brother Ole, had come to Norman County before him and was teaching school in Home Lake Township, School District No. 44. He was rooming at the John Homelvig farm to which Martinus and his bride came with a rented team of horses and wagon. He returned the team to Ada, making the trip back on foot: twenty six miles largely covered by swamps and water. In the spring of 1886 Martinus Aasgaard homestead one hundred and sixty acres of land in Section 26, Home Lake Township; and in 1898 he bought forty adjoining acres to increase his holding. He carried out an extensive series of improvements, including new buildings, the erection of fences and the setting out of groves. One well known feature of the farm was a well built round barn.
In those days farmers had no cream separators so they took their milk to a creamery to be separated--sold the cream and took the skim milk back home with them. In 1891 a creamery was established in Home Lake Township. It was located north of what was known as Home Lake--the only lake in Norman County. Martinus Aasgaard and Anton Lerud helped organize this creamery and were stockholders. A few years later this creamery was sold to the Twin Valley Creamery Association and they moved the building to a site north of Twin Valley where it was operated for many years.
Mr. Aasgaard helped organize School District No. 16 in 1886--to serve the children living farther south in the township. A new building was put up for $55--the lumber cost $278.18 and M. Aasgaard painted it for $5. The first teacher was Ole Aasgaard who received $105 for a three month term. The school year was divided into two terms: the first starting about March 10 and running to the first part of June--and the second from November first to the middle of January. Spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, grammar, and history were taught. Ole clerked in a general store in Twin Valley when he was not teaching and children loved to have him wait on them because he gave such generous helpings of candy for their pennies.
Martinus was the first clerk of the school board of District No. 16 and held that position for several years. He was a life long member of Wild Rice Synod Church and served the congregation as trustee for several years. He died in 1904 at the early age of forty six years.
In 1884 Martinus Aasgaard was united in marriage to Anna Maria Larson, a native of Norway, coming from the Sorlie farm near Eidsvold in Eastern Norway. She was born in 1863. She came to America with her parents at the age of three years. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took thirteen weeks.
The first year in Home Lake Township was one of harships; credit was difficult to obtain and money was still more difficult to secure.
Lawrence, the oldest of their nine children, was born at this time (1885). He grew up to the life of a farmer and in 1909 bought a farm of his own in Home Lake Township and married Hannah Albertson. Both are now deceased. They had six children.
Inez, the second child of Martinus and Maria, was born in 1887. She was married to Warner Johnson and they had five children. They also farrmed in Home Lake Township and are now deceased.
Mina was born in 1891 and was married to Ole Nysetvold, a contractor and builder, and they lived in Twin Valley. They are now deceased. To their union eleven children were born.
Oliver was born in 1893 and he stayed at home and helped his mother farm until he died in 1922.
Almer was born in 1895. He was drafted to serve in the first World War and gave his life for his country in France on September 15, 1918 and is buried at Plot D Row 07 Grave 11, Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, Fere-en-Tardenois, France. He was a private in the USA Army, 305th Field Artillery Regiment, 77th Infantry Division.
Julia was born in 1897. She married Sidney Aamoth and they had two children. He died and later she married John M. Bentley and they had two daughters. Julia died and John has died also.
Clarence was born in 1900 and was killed in an accident in 1928.
Two sons died in infancy.
The Aasgaard's were esteemed people in the community and were interested in the welfare of their family and were sympathetic to the needs of their neighbor's. Often, in the abscence of a doctor, an undertaker, or a pastor, Martinus acted in those capacities, doing the best he knew how to show concern for his fellow man.

Anna Olava Olsdatter Brohaugh
1839-1905
When Olava's mother died in Norway, the youngest child in the family was only three years old. Olava therefore gave up plans for marriage to assume the responsibility of caring for the family. She continued to do this after they came to America. Later she lived in Chicago and then moved to Minneapolis. The Minneapolis City Directories list her as being a laundress in the early 1890's. They also list her as being a nurse, but since she had no nurses's training, we have assumed "nurse" was a misunderstanding of a heavily accented pronunciation of "laundress".
Olava moved to the home of her brother, Rev. Christopher, for the last few months of her life, and died in St. Paul in 1905. She is buried in Oakland Cemetery, St. Paul, Minnesota. [Photo]

Christopher Olsen Brohaugh
1841-1908
Christopher Olson Brohaugh was Ole's eldest son. He apparently stayed in Red Wing, Minnesota for a while after the family moved to Pierce County in Wisconsin, for he was the only Brohaugh recorded in either the Minnesota or the Wisconsin 1870 Federal Census.
Christopher was ordained a Lutheran pastor October 9, 1873 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since he was 28 years old when he came to the United States, he may have had some theological training in Norway.
He started his pastoral career as a member of the Ellings Synod, a synod organized by Elling Eielsen in 1846. Eielsen was a Norwegian lay preacher who came to America in 1839, became very active in the Fox River Norwegian settlement in Illinois and later was officially ordained by a German pastor.
The Ellings Synod changed its name to the Hauges Synod in 1876, remained independent until the large Lutheran merger f 1917, and then became part of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America.
Thus for most of his career, Christopher was a Hauges Lutheran. He served pastorates at the following locations:
1873-1876, Red Wing, Minnesota and Esdaile, Wisconsin
1876-1880, Minneapolis
1880-1893, Chicago, Illinois
1893-1906, St. Paul, Minnesota
He was a prolific writer, hymn writer and editor, and is even listed in the St. Paul, Minnesota Directories for 1907 and 1908 as an editor. Some of his editing responsibilities included:
1873-1898, Budbaereren
1885, Bornenes harpe
1887, Vaegteren
1903-1907, Budbaereren
1907-1908, Haugianeren
1907-1908, Bornevennen
The Norwegian paper "Budbaereren" was the official organ of the Hauges Lutheran Synod and "Bornevennen" was an illustrated Sunday school paper established by Rev. Brohaugh in 1877.
He was also the author of several books, including (as co-author) a popular biography of Elling Eielsen, and some music books. Some of his works are:
1883, Eilling Eielsens liv og virke
1887, Vaegterrosten
1887, Missionaer Chr. Borchgrevink
1898, Harpelegeren med guitarskole
1900, Harpelegeren
Christopher married Julia Nelson in 1877, and they raised four children who all graduated from the University of Minnesota.
Their children are:
Mary, the oldest, was a teacher and never married, and died when she was only twenty-eight years old.
Peter Adolph, who worked for the federal government in Washington, D.C. and married Amy Owen, but did not have any children.
Oscar, who obtained a legal degree from the Atlanta Law School and became chief of the commerce department for the Southern Freight Association. He married Mabel Wilkes, but they had no children either.
Gustave, who worked as a civil engineer for the Minnesota Highway Department until his retirement and then established his own engineering consulting firm. He married Eulalie Bern (Lally), and they did have several children.

Bernt Olsen Brohaugh
1843-1904
Bernt Olson Brohaugh bought the family farm in Pierce County in December of 1874. In 1879, he must have been strapped for cash, as he sold half of it (40 acres) to Andrew O. Lund for $400.00. The deed contained the following stipulation:
Andrew Lund is to have right of way across Brohaugh land from ...to said Brohaugh's grainary. Brohaugh reserves the right to cut and take away all timber except for what Lund will need for fencing and building a house. It is agreed that all of said timber except 5 acres is to be taken off before 1882 and the last five acres in 1882.
The deal apparently fell through, as Bernt bought back the 40 acres later the same year.
Later on, in 1893, he bought the adjacent 40 acres in Section 15 and an additional 40 acres in Section 17.
Bernt married Julia Paulson in 1875, and they raised seven children on the farm. It was interesting to find that they preferred not to use (or perhaps to spell) the Brohaugh name for the 1880 Federal Census taker. The census lists them as:
Olson, Bernt age 36 and a farmer
Olson, Julia age 28 and his wife
Olson, Clara M. age 4
Olson, Ole A. age 2
Olson, George P. 1/12
Bernt died on his farm, July 23, 1904.

Oliana Olsdatter Brohaugh
1846-1932
Esdaile church records show that Oliana married Olaus J. Dorr on December 14, 1873, just two days before her father, Ole C., died. They lived on a farm near Esdaile for many years.
Oliana and O.J. raised five children on their farm before they sold it and retired.
Their children were: Karen, who taught in Wisconsin and North Dakota rural schools. She married Gustave Simmons and they operated a drug store in Montana for a while. They had no children. Later she married Bjorlin Orbeck.
Joseph, who operated a hardware store in Norman County, Minnesota for a while and later ranched in Arizona. He never married. Oscar, who stayed on the farm.
Marie was a seamstress who married Frank Ulberth. They too had no children.
Emelia and Oscar remained on the farm, and when their parents retired, moved with them to St. Paul, Minnesota, securing employment in Minneapolis.
Then they bought a house on Keston St. in St. Paul, Minnesota, where several of their nieces and nephews used to visit them while attending the university nearby.

Ole Olsen Brohaugh
1852-1932
Ole Olson Brohaugh apparently stayed at the family farm in Wisconsin for a while after his father's death, for he applied for U.S. citizenship in Pierce County on March 27, 1874 as Ole O. Brohaug. Shortly thereafter, he went to Red Wing, Minnesota to engage in business, and then moved to Minneapolis.
In Minneapolis, he and a partner established a meat market (Brohaugh and Sather, 1519 South 5th St.) which operated from 1876 to 1879. In 1880, the partnership was dissolved and Ole ran the market by himself for a short time.
While living in Minneapolis, he met and married Albertina Hansen, and their first children were born there. In 1881, he moved to Ada, Minnesota in Norman County in western Minnesota, just a few years after the village was started. In Ada, he also operated a meat market and in 1885 bought some lots within the city. Later he moved a short distance to Hendrum, Minnesota where he bought into a mercantile store and also became the village postmaster. Some of his children have said that he was too lenient with credit to the local farmers and did not do well financially as a store owner. Anyway about 1900 (the deed transfer is dated Nov. 1900) he traded the store for the A.H. Gordon farm near Shelly, Minnesota and farmed there for twenty years.
In 1920, the farm was rented, the machinery, animals, supplies, etc., were auctioned off, and Ole and his wife moved back to Ada for their retirement.
As mentioned before, Ole married Albertina Hansen, and their first children were born in Minneapolis. Albertina had come from Norway when she was fourteen years old. She had travelled alone, in care of the ship's captain, to join her mother in Madison, Wisconsin. Later she moved to Minneapolis where she was a milliner and met Ole. Ole and Albertina had ten children, nine of whom lived beyond early childhood. The children were encouraged to obtain advanced education, in spite of the lack of available funds. Education came first, before any of life's amenities.

Gustave Olsen Brohaugh
1855-1928
Gustave was the scholar of the family. He attended a Normal School, as teacher's colleges were called then, at River Falls, Wisconsin to earn a teacher's certificate, and then began his long teaching career. He continued his formal education until he had earned four degrees. A tabulation of his career highlights include:
December 1878, Normal School Certificate, River Falls, Wisconsin
1879-1928, Professor at Red Wing Seminary (except for 1893-1895)
June 1889, BA Literature, University of Minnesota
June 1893, LLB, University of Minnesota
1893-1895, Sup. of Schools, Red Wing, Minnesota
June 1895, Admitted to the Bar, Dakota Territory
June 1895, Admitted to the Bar, State of Minnesota
October 1906, MA, University of Wisconsin, Political Economy and History
June 1909, Ph.D, University of Minnesota, (Thesis: The Minnesota Pine Lands)
The Red Wing Seminary played an important part in Gustave's life. The Seminary opened in September, 1879 with Rev. I. Eistenson as principal and Prof. G.O. Brohaugh as his assistant. The purpose of the school was to furnish a general Christian culture and more particularly to prepare ministers for the Hauge Synod. In addition to the theological department, the Seminary had a "preparatory" department in which Gustave taught. He taught English language and literature, mathematics, political science, history and penmanship! He spoke four languages fluently: Norwegian, English, French and German and spent several of his summer vacations in Europe to perfect his linguistic ability. For many years he was the only Ph.D on the staff, giving academic stature and acceptance to the Seminary.
Gustave had several hobbies, including painting. One of his efforts still survives: a large oil painting of the bridge across the Vorma River at Minne, near Eidsvoll, Norway was painted from an old photograph.
Professor Brohaugh was also noted for his frugality and his astute business sense. He told one of his nieces (Agnes) that he had taken his $300 share from the sale of the family farm in Wisconsin, deposited it in a bank, and never withdrew any part of it. He became president of the 1st National Bank in Red Wing and later president of a bank in Dawson, Minnesota.
For forty-nine years Professor Gustave Brohaugh was involved with and taught at the Red Wing Seminary. He had planned to make it fifty years and then retire. Death intervened; he died June 5, 1928 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, overlooking the Seminary. That was his wish. [Photo]

Karen Martina Olsdatter Brohaugh
1858-1940
Karen Martina was only fifteen years old when her father died, so she may have remained on the family farm after Bernt bought it. She lived for awhile in Chicago, Illinois with her brother, Rev. Christopher's family.
There is no record to indicate when or whey she came to live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but we know she was there in 1885. At that time she became the housekeeper for Dr. and Mrs. George Edwin MacLean and stayed with that family for fifty-three years. She followed them throughout Dr. MacLean's career as:
Profesor English Literature, University of Minnesota, 1883-1895.
Chancellor, University of Nebraska, 1895-1899
President, University of Iowa, 1899-1911
U.S.A. Educational Commission, Washington, D.C.
Martina was a kind, pleasant, genteel person. She was fond of her nieces and nephews and remembered their special days, such as graduation, with appropriate gifts.
After the death of Dr. MacLean in 1938, she returned to Minneapolis where she lived with her niece, Karen Dorr Simmons. She died on August 3, 1940 and was buried in the Red Wing Cemetery beside her brother, Gustave.