Hans and Anne LYSTAD

Hans OLESON was born 9 Jul 1841 in Ullensaker, Akershus, Norway to Ole CHRISTOPHERSON and Barbara/Barbro AMUNDSDATTER on the Lystad farm. On 29 Aug 1841, he was baptized in the Ullensaker church.

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Anne was born Anne ANDERSDATTER 9 Feb 1837 to  Anders GUNLOFSEN and Anne Margrethe JOHANSDATTER and was baptized 12 Mar of the same year. All I know of her parents is that her father apparently died before she married Hans in 1864. Her life gets interesting before that.

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She was the mother of 2 daughters. She had her first daughter with a man named Ole Jacob HANSON, who was living with a grocer and a baker at the time. That little girl was named Marthea, born 9 Apr 1857, and baptized on 13 Apr 1857 in Gjerdrum, Akershus, Norway. At the time of Marthea's birth and baptism, Anne and Ole never married.

A couple years later, Anne had another little girl with Hans, which they named Berte Maria. Berte (Bertha) was born 29 Dec 1863 in Akershus county, Norway.

From what the parish records show, Anne and Hans planned to be married in Dec 1863. To the best of what I can see, on the 29th, but they postponed the wedding. According to the parish record, it was postponed due to illness. If I'm getting the crossed out date correct, that "illness" was Anne giving birth to Bertha. On 10 Jan 1864, Hans and Anne did get married in Ullensaker, Akershus, Norway. Bertha was baptised at the same church on the same day. Hans and Anne must have gotten married first because Bertha was marked as legitimate in the entry of her baptism.

Hans and Anne's marriage entries. Full image

In Norway's 1865 census (taken in Dec), Anne is living with Hans's parents and siblings and both her girls, but not Hans. The note with Anne though says that he had been gone for about 2 years, but she didn't know where he was. So, he left his wife, step-daughter, and baby girl not long after he was married. From his marriage on, I don't even have a hint of where he went.

Sometime between 1866 and Bertha's marriage in 1887, Anne and both girls left Norway for the US. I have hints for their immigration being in 1871. I have hints saying that Anne died 25 May 1909 in Valley City, Barnes, North Dakota. The most likely grave marker for her has the surname of Olson, so I'm not sure it's her.

I have found Anne on the following censuses:

• 1865 Norwegian census - 

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Berte Maria "Mary" (LYSTAD) LOVEN

Berte Maria (or in some records Bertha Mary) LYSTAD was born 29 Dec 1863 in Sørum, Akershus, Norway as Berte Maria HANSEN to Hans OLSON and Anne ANDERSDATTER. (HANSEN, OLSON, and ANDERSDATTER all being surnames based on the name of the father as explained in my last post.) My grandma (her granddaughter-in-law) has told me that she went by Mary.

Her baptismal record in the Ministralbok for Gjerdum, Akershus, Norway as Berte Maria.

From what I've gathered, Mary's father left her family around the time that she was born. While I don't know when she came to America, I suspect that she came with her mother and her older half-sister. I can say that she came sometime between 1865 (when she showed up on the census in Norway) and her marriage in 1887. I suspect her arrival was closer to 1887.

She married John LOVEN 1 Mar 1887 in Glenwood township, Winneshiek county, Iowa. They had 9 children: Albert Herman on 15 Jun 1887, Adolph Melvin on 16 Oct 1887 (he went by Melvin), Henry Rudolph on 1 Oct 1890, Anga Cornelia on 6 May 1892 (she died 7 Sep 1893), Carl Alfred on 7 Dec 1893, Julius Bernard on 25 Sep 1895, Anga Cornelia Minerva on 30 Sep 1897, Hannah Violeta "Violet" on 5 Apr 1899, and Roy Philip on 17 Jun 1903.

Mary died 10 Apr 1948 in Waukon, Alamakee county, Iowa. I do have a PDF of her obit which was posted in the Decorah Journal (Decorah, Iowa) on 15 Apr 1948. She also has a memorial on findagrave.

I have Mary on the following censuses.

• 1865 Norwegian census for the Lystad farm in Ullensager
• 1895 IA Census, page 474, Glenwood township, Winneshiek, Iowa
• 1910 US Census, page 8B, Glenwood township, Winneshiek, Iowa.
• 1920 US Census, page 3A, Glenwood township, Winneshiek, Iowa.
• 1930 US Census, page 2B, Glenwood township, Winneshiek, Iowa
• 1940 US Census, page 3B, Glenwood township, Winnehsiek, Iowa

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