Biography: Mikkel Mikkelsen Braaten (1834–1901)
Øya Farm
My great-grandfather, Mikkel Mikkelsen (who would adopt the surname Braaten after immigrating to the United States), was born on 1 April 1834 on the Øya farm in Vang Parish, Innlandet (formerly Hedmark) County, in eastern Norway. [1]
Because Øya [ø is pronounced like the oo in soot] was so remote, and the main Vang Kirke [SHIR-keh] (church) so far away, his baptism took place on 8 June 1834 at the Åmot [OH-moot] Kirke in the town of Rena in northern Vang Parish. [3]
Øya, which means island, is situated on the banks of the Åsta [OH-stah] River, east of Lillehammer, in a remote, sparsely populated region of northern Vang Parish called the Almendingen (see map above). Mikkel was the the fifth of eight children born to Mikkel (often spelled Michel) Gulbrandsen (1796–1867) and Sophie Pedersdatter (1797–1884). They moved to Øya by 1831, his father purchased the farm in 1833, and by 1836 he had built a sawmill, which as of 1989, was still standing. [5] Like his father, Mikkel became a carpenter.
Decades later, Mikkel’s older sister Eli Mikkelsdatter (1831–1918) related stories about their life there. She remembered that there were bears living in the rocks just southeast of the farm along the river. Their father Mikkel was a carpenter and handyman, and served as the family’s teacher, midwife, and doctor. They owned a book on medicine and they were rarely ill. They used the fat of snakes that they killed to create a kind of “universal medicine.” In particular, she remembered that it was applied to the skin to avoid frostbite. [7]
Braaten Farm
The family sold the farm in 1842 and moved forty kilometers south to the Braaten farm. [8] Part of the larger Bjørge farm, Braaten (pronounced BROH-tn) lay ten kilometers north-northeast of the city of Hamar (see map above). The name Braaten refers to land that had been cleared for cultivation by burning.
Children in Norway typically received the smallpox vaccination in the first year or two of life. First administered in Norway in 1801, the smallpox vaccine had a dramatic impact on death rates. This led, in part, to Norway’s 19th-century population explosion, a major cause of the mass emigration to the United States. [9] Proof that one had received the smallpox vaccination was required in order to be confirmed, married, or secure reputable employment. [10] But because Mikkel’s family was so remote on the Øya farm, it wasn’t until they moved to Braaten that he was vaccinated on 2 November 1842 at the unusually-late age of eight. [11] Mikkel was confirmed at the age of 15 on 30 September 1849 at the Vang Kirke. [12]
It was common for young people, upon reaching confirmation age, to leave home and begin earning their own living. As a young man, Mikkel lived and worked on the nearby Opsal and Kartomten farms. [14] Mikkel married Anne Tollefsdatter on 29 August 1857 when he was 23 and she was 26. [15] Anne was the daughter of Tollef Jensen (1801–1889) and Marte Poulsdatter (1802–1889). Prior to their marriage, however, there seems to have been some family drama. Anne, unmarried at the time, had given birth to a daughter, Severine, fathered by Mikkel’s eldest brother Gulbrand. Severine’s baptismal record states that while this was Anne’s first child born out of wedlock, this was the third such child fathered by Gulbrand. Severine was born in 1854 but lived only two years. [16] Mikkel and Anne wed the year after she died.
Nybakken, Slemsrud Farm
After their marriage, Mikkel and Anne lived on the Nybakken farm, part of the larger Slemsrud farm in Vang Parish. In addition to being a carpenter, Mikkel was a lease-holding tenant farmer. [17] Mikkel and Anne had three daughters: Mina (4 March 1859–14 November 1925), Severine (11 March 1862–5 July 1940 and likely named after Anne’s deceased first daughter), and Tonette (born 20 October 1864). [18]
Immigration
Like so many in Norway at the time, life was very difficult for the family. Dinner often consisted of nothing but boiled potato peelings, and they would often go to bed hungry. [19] The decision, which must have been difficult, was made to leave Norway and emigrate to America. Mikkel ventured first, traveling with his sister Sissel and her family. They departed Oslo on 15 April 1868, and endured a torturous 78-day journey aboard the SS Nornen. [20] Built in 1850, the Nornen was a three-masted bark, only 106 feet long and 28 feet wide, with just an upper and lower deck. [21] Crammed on board were 227 passengers. [22]
Immigrants were expected to bring their own provisions for the trip, enough for up to ten weeks. For each adult, they were to bring:
- 70 pounds hard bread (or the equivalent in soft or flatbread)
- 8 pounds butter
- 24 pounds meat
- 10 pounds bacon
- 1 small keg herring
- 2⅔ kegs potatoes
- 20 pounds rye and barley flour
- ½ bushel dried peas
- ½ bushel pearl barley
- 3 pounds coffee
- 3 pounds sugar
- 2½ pounds syrup
- quantities of salt, pepper, vinegar, onions
- water bucket, pot, kettle, dishes, cups, eating utensils, bedding, blankets, and clothing [23]
My aunt Mildred (Hovick) Monge (1907–2003), our late family historian, interviewed her mother, my maternal grandmother, Pauline (Braaten) Hovick (1884–1975), about her father Mikkel. Of the journey, Mildred wrote:
“Ahead of them were weeks onboard ship, crowded together with all the other passengers in very tight quarters with only blankets draped between families for a semblance of privacy. Seasickness plagued most of them, and with no clothes-washing facilities, the vomit and diarrhea dried on their clothing, causing a terrible stench in the airless quarters below deck. Their food, brought from home, became scarce toward the end of the trip and was often spoiled due to the lack of refrigeration. The women had to take turns at the stove in the ship’s kitchen cooking for their families after the ship’s cook had served the crew of sailors. Water was at a premium. The fear of sickness and death at sea was constant.” [24]
After a trip of just over eleven weeks (with food enough for ten), they finally arrived in Quebec on 6 July 1868. [26] After being processed through Grosse Île, Canada’s Ellis Island, immigrants often made their way to the United States via train or steamship, entering the country at Detroit. [27]
Anne and the girls immigrated the following year. Mikkel, certainly not wanting them to experience the hell that he had on his crossing, paid for them to travel on a faster, combination sail-and-steam ship. They departed from Oslo on 24 July 1869 aboard the SS Oder, bound for Hull, England. After a train ride across the country, they departed Liverpool on 29 July aboard the SS Moravian and arrived in Quebec on 8 August, their trip taking a mere fifteen days. [29]
Minneapolis
From Detroit, Mikkel made his way to Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. Oral tradition holds that he quickly found work with a railroad company, and in that first year, presumably saved enough to pay for Anne and the girls to immigrate. He adopted the name of the Braaten farm as their new American surname. He filed his intent to become a naturalized citizen in Ramsey County, Minnesota on 5 April 1869. [31] In 1870, Mikkel worked as a “lumberman” (perhaps a railroad company carpenter), and they lived somewhere in Ward 3, just across the Mississippi River from downtown Minneapolis. [32]
Otter Tail County
In 1872, they moved 190 miles northwest to a farm outside of Fergus Falls in Friberg Township, Otter Tail County, Minnesota. [34] Nine years after arriving in the United States, he became a naturalized citizen on 21 November 1877. [35] In 1879, he was granted an 80-acre farm in Fergus Falls Township (see maps below). [36]
The Pelican River flowed through their land, perhaps reminding him of his boyhood on the Åsta River. Mikkel and Anne had four more children: Martin (born May 1870 and died prior to 1872), Martin M. (23 July 1872–20 February 1943, and in keeping with Norwegian custom, he was named after his deceased older brother), August Henry (11 January 1875–21 March 1951), and Anne Maria (12 March 1877–28 January 1926). [38]
Anne died of cancer on 29 November 1882 at the age of 51, and is buried at First Lutheran North Cemetery, a few miles north of Fergus Falls. [39]
Waiting only four months after Anne’s death, Mikkel very quickly remarried, wedding a recent immigrant from Norway, a widow with five surviving children, Gunhild Mathea Johannesdatter Pedersen (1844–1921). [41] Known as Mathea, she was born in Vestby Parish, Viken County, the daughter of Johannes Andersen (1797–1858) and Kirstine Andreasdatter (1818–1905). Mikkel and Mathea met when Mikkel delivered milk to the farm on which she was working. She had only been able to immigrate with her youngest daughter, Ragnhild Lydia (1876–1956), leaving her four older children back in Norway. Before agreeing to marry him, she insisted that Mikkel agree to pay to bring the remaining children from Norway. [42] He agreed, and they were wed on 2 April 1883 when she was 38 and he was 49. Together they had two more children: my maternal grandmother, Inger Pauline (29 January 1884–15 August 1975), and Johan Arndt (16 June 1886–3 February 1887). [43]
My aunt Mildred wrote:
“Mama Pauline smiled as she talked about Mikkel, her father. He had a flute which he carried around with him as he worked, and she remembers seeing him leaning against a tree during rest periods with his flute, trilling forth variations of his own well-known melodies. The children loved to listen.” [44]
Due to Mikkel’s asthma and emphysema, they sold their farm and bought a home on the outskirts of Fergus Falls in 1891. [45] When they moved, they kept two cows for their milk supply and two horses for transportation. By 1899, he had become the town’s official street sprinkler, driving a large water tank pulled by his two horses (see below). [46]
Mildred wrote:
“In those days, the streets were just plain dirt, turning to mud after a rain. In order to keep the dust at a minimum nuisance level, a wagon filled with water was drawn up and down, back and forth on all the streets in town. Children cheered whenever he came down the street, daring each other to see how close they could get to the sprinkler attachment on the rear of the wagon without running home with soaked clothes.” [47]
Mikkel died on 29 January 1901 at the age of 66 from pneumonia, complicated by his asthma and emphysema. [49] Mikkel, alongside Mathea and their youngest son Johan, are buried in unmarked graves in the Bethlehem Cemetery in Fergus Falls. [50]
Mikkel’s Family Tree
Footnotes
[1] Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 9, 1826–1841, Fødte og Døpte [Born and Baptized], p. 99, line 115, baptism of Michel 8 June 1834; digital images, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (media.digitalarkivet.no/view/9060/104 : accessed 8 July 2020).
[2] For base map, Kartverket (www.norgeskart.no). Details added by author.
[3] Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 9, 1826–1841, Fødte og Døpte [Born and Baptized], p. 99, line 115, baptism of Michel 8 June 1834.
[4] “Åmot Kirke,” Norske Kirker (www.norske-kirker.net/home/hedmark/aamot-kirke/ : accessed 8 July 2020).
[5] Odd Stensrud and Ole Jacob Tomter, Vangsboka Nr. 3: Gard Nummer 115–152, (Hamar Kommune, Norway: Elverum Trykk, 2004), .Øya, 460.
[6] GPS coordinates 61°05’58.5″N 11°05’01.1″E, Kartverket (www.norgeskart.no : accessed 8 July 2020).
[7] Stensrud and Tomter, Vangsboka Nr. 3, 464. Stories related by Eli Mikkelsdatter to Anders Gjørsli, recorded by historian Reidar Bækkelund (1922–2007).
[8] Ibid.
[9] For vaccine, Hanne Jakobsen, “The Epidemic That Was Wiped Out,” Science Nordic (sciencenordic.com/epidemic-was-wiped-out : accessed 5 August 2019). For causes of population increase, Ingrid Gaustad Semmingsen, “Norwegian Emigration to America During the Nineteenth Century,” Norwegian-American Historical Association (www.naha.stolaf.edu/pubs/nas/volume11/vol11_5.htm : accessed 5 August 2019).
[10] Solveig Schavland Quinney, Norwegian American Genealogical Center, Madison, Wisconsin, interview by David Hovick Lohman, 6 May 2016.
[11] Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 10, 1841–1855, Vaksinerte [Vaccinated], p. 439, line 70, vaccination of Michel Michelsen, 2 November 1842; digital images, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (media.digitalarkivet.no/view/8840/447 : accessed 8 July 2020).
[12] Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 10, 1841–1855, Konfirmente [Confirmed], p. 215, line 22, confirmation of Mikkel, 30 September 1849; digital images, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (media.digitalarkivet.no/view/8840/42893/36 : accessed 8 July 2020).
[13] David Hovick Lohman, 5 September 2016
[14] For Mikkel’s residence at Opsal (Opsahl), he served as witness for the baptism of Anne’s daughter Severine. See Note 12. For Mikkel’s residence at Kartomten at time of marriage, see Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 12, 1855–1870, Viede [Married], p. 228, line 16, marriage of Mikel Mikelsen and Anne Tollefsdatter, 29 August 1857; digital images, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (media.digitalarkivet.no/view/8841/227 : accessed 8 July 2020). For transcription, see Church Book for Vang Parish 1855–1870 (0414Q), Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway); transcription, Digital Archives of Norway (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/327/pv00000001026178 : accessed 8 July 2020).
[15] Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 12, 1855–1870, Viede [Married], p. 228, line 16, marriage of Mikel Mikelsen and Anne Tollefsdatter, 29 August 1857.
[16] Baptism, see Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 10, 1841–1855, Fødte og Døpte [Born and Baptized], p. 262, line 20, baptism of Syverine, 22 December 1855; digital images, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8840/42889/190 : accessed 8 July 2020). For transcription, see Church Book for Vang Parish 1855–1870 (0141Q) (Hedmark, Norway); transcription, Digital Archives of Norway (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/255/pd00000012920939 : accessed 8 July 2020). Death, see Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 12, 1855–1870, Døde og Begravede [Died and Buried], p. 299, line 8, death of Syverine Gudbrands, 26 December 1856; digital images, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (media.digitalarkivet.no/view/8841/277 : accessed 8 July 2020). For transcription, see Church Book for Vang Parish 1855–1870 (0414Q), (Hedmark, Norway); transcription, Digital Archives of Norway (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/267/pg00000000252941 : accessed 8 July 2020).
[17] 1865 census for Norway, Hedmark county, Vang parish, census district 010 Opsahl, image 287, line 6 (unnumbered), Nybakken farm, Mikkel Mikkelsen household; digital images, Digitalarkivet (media.digitalarkivet.no/view/38032/287 : accessed 8 July 2020). For transcription, see Digitalarkivet, 18xx census for 0414L Vang/Vang og Furnes, census district 010 Opsahl, rural residence 0109 Nybakken, transcription; www.digitalarkivet.no/census/person/pf01038032009127 : accessed 8 July). Mikkel is listed as a husmand med Jord (cotter or tenant farmer with land) and a tømmermand (carpenter).
[18] For Mina, Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 12, 1855–1870, Fødte og Døpte [Born and Baptized], p. 53, line 69, baptism of Mina, 1 May 1859; digital images, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/8841/42902/49 : accessed 8 July 2020). For transcription, see Ministerialbok Vang prestegjeld, Vang sokn 1855–1870 (0414Q), (Hedmark, Norway); transcription, Digital Archives of Norway (www.digitalarkivet.no/view/255/pd00000011395666 : accessed 8 July 2020). For Severine, Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 12, 1855–1870, Fødte og Døpte [Born and Baptized], p. 94, line 83, baptism of Severine, 20 July 1862; digital images, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8841/42902/90 : accessed 8 July 2020). For transcription, see Church Book for Vang Parish 1855–1870 (0414Q), (Hedmark, Norway); transcription, Digital Archives of Norway (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/255/pd00000011399276 : accessed 8 July 2020). For Tonetta, Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Ministerialbok nr. 12, 1855–1870, Fødte og Døpte [Born and Baptized], p. 131, line 55, baptism of Tonetta, 19 November 1865; digital images, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8841/132 : accessed 8 July 2020). For transcription, see Church Book for Vang Parish 1855–1870 (0141Q) (Hedmark, Norway); transcription, Digital Archives of Norway (media.digitalarkivet.no/view/1495/67278/103 : accessed 8 July 2020). Also, Vang Parish (Hedmark, Norway), Klokkerbok nr. 10a, 1854–1896, Fødte og Døpte [Born and Baptized], p. 190, line 128, baptism of Tonetta, 19 November 1865; digital items, National Archives of Norway, Digitized Parish Registers (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/255/pd00000011402770 : accessed 8 July).
[19] Mildred Hovick Monge, “Remember,” family history, 1974; “Remember,” blog entry, Hovick Lohman History, blog (hovicklohmanhistory.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/remember/ : accessed 30 August 2020), pdf, pt. 1, ch. 4, “Recollections with Pauline,” p. 45 (printed).
[19] For base map, Kartverket (www.norgeskart.no). Details added by author.
[20] “Emigrants from Oslo 1867–1930,” Mikkel Mikelsen Braaten, 15 April 1868; transcription, Digital Archives (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8/pe00000000390971 : accessed 8 July 2020).
[21] “Bark Nornen, Brødrene Rød,” Norway-Heritage: Hands Across the Sea (http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=norna : accessed 8 July 2020).
[22] “Passenger List 1868 – Bark Nornen,” Norway-Heritage: Hands Across the Sea (www.norwayheritage.com/udvandret.asp?type=passengerlist&ps=37555&jo=1349 : accessed 8 July 2020).
[23] Børge Solem, “Sailing Ship Provisions – Food and Drink,” Norway-Heritage: Hands Across the Sea (www.norwayheritage.com/provisions.htm : accessed 8 July 2020); quoting “Det Norske Udvandringsselskap,” Oslo, 1870s.
[24] Monge, “Remember,” 45.
[25] “Fartøyet Nornen av Trondhjem med fulle seil,” Digital Museum (digitaltmuseum.org/011025188940/bilde : accessed 8 July 2020).
[26] “Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865–1935,” 6 July 1868, list 59, SS Nornen, page 2, line 19 (unnumbered), Mikkel M Braaten; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020) > Quebec, Quebec > 1868 > July > image 57; citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm series RG 76-C, roll C-4523.
[27] Odd S. Lovell, Across the Deep Blue Sea: The Sage of Early Norwegian Immigrants: From Norway to America Through the Canadian Gateway (Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2015), 37, 145.
[28] For base map, Kartverket (www.norgeskart.no). Details added by author.
[29] For Anne’s departure, “Emigrants from Oslo 1867–1930,” Anne Tollefsdatter, 24 July 1869; transcription, Digital Archives (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8/pe00000000401572 : accessed 8 July 2020). For Mina, ibid, (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8/pe00000000401573 : accessed 8 July 2020). For Severine, ibid, (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8/pe00000000401574 : accessed 8 July 2020). For Tonnette, ibid, (www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8/pe00000000401575 : accessed 8 July 2020). For arrival in Quebec, “Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865–1935,” 8 August 1869, SS Moravian, p. 11 (unnumbered), lines 22–25 (unnumbered), Anne Tollefsdatter, et. al.; digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020) > Quebec, Quebec > 1869 > August > image 48; citing Library and Archives Canada microfilm series RG 76-C.
[30] SS. Moravian, Mennonite Archival Image Database (archives.mhsc.ca/ss-moravian : accessed 8 July 2020).
[31] Ramsey County, Minnesota, naturalization intent form, Mikkel Braaten, 5 April 1869; photocopy, author’s personal collection, 1995.
[32] 1870 U.S. census, Hennepin County, Minnesota, population schedule, Minneapolis Ward 3, p. 48 (penned), dwell. 248, fam. 820, line 28, Michel Gortheen [sic] household; digital images, Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020), citing NARA microfilm publication M582, roll 132.
[33] Map of the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota (Minneapolis: Cutler & Craves, 1873.) Details added by author.
[34] “Fergus Falls Ugeblad (Fergus Falls, Minn.) 1882–1938,” Chronicling America, (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025227/1899-06-22/ed-1/seq-3/ : accessed 20 July 2020), 22 June 1899, image 3, column 3. Article “Old Settlers Association” cites his arrival in Friberg Township in 1872.
[35] “Minnesota, Naturalization Records Index, 1854–1957,” final papers, Mekel Braaten; Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020), citing 1877–1880, reel 4, code 11, volume C, page 25, numbers 1–378.
[36] “Land Patent Search,” images, General Land Office Records (glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx# : accessed 8 July 2020, Mikkel Braaden, Otter Tail County, Minnesota, document no. 2498.
[37] Fergus Falls Township, Otter Tail County Plat Book, 1884, Historic Map Works (www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/478655/Fergus+Falls+Township/Otter+Tail+County+1884/Minnesota/ : accessed #.). Details and highlighting added by author.
[38] For birth of Martin (the elder), 1870 U.S. census, Hennepin County, Minnesota, population schedule, Minneapolis Ward 3, p. 48 (penned), dwell. 248, fam. 820, line 28, Michel Gortheen [sic] household. For Martin M, Hennepin County, Minnesota, Births 1872, p. 34, line 212, male child, 23 July 1872; digital images, “Minnesota, County Birth Records, 1863–1983,” FamilySearch (familysearch.org : accessed 8 July 2020). For August Henry, “Ministerialbog, for Den Evang. Luth. Kongeberg Menighed, Ottertail, Co. Minn. (Ministerial Records, Kongsberg Lutheran Church, Otter Tail County, Minnesota), 1872–1918,” Døbte (Baptized), p. 3, 1875, line 3, August Henry, 18 May 1875; digital images, “U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781–1969,” Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020). For Anne Maria, ibid., p. 4, 1877, line 3, 20 May 1877; image 514. Kongsberg later merged with another congregation to form Bethlehem, as referred to in the database. See “Welcome,” Bethlehem Lutheran Church (bethlehemff.org/welcome.html#history : accessed 22 March 2019), para. 5.
[39] Find A Grave (findagrave.com/memorial/40783571 : accessed 8 July 2020), memorial 40783571, Anne T. Braaten (1831–1882), citing First Lutheran North Cemetery; memorial created by Churndash, maintained by David Hovick Lohman.
[40] David Hovick Lohman, 13 June 2016.
[41] “Ministerialbog, for Den Evang. Luth. Kongeberg Menighed, Ottertail, Co. Minn. (Ministerial Records, Kongsberg Lutheran Church, Otter Tail County, Minnesota), 1872–1918,” Ægteviede (Married), p. 56, line 6, marriage of Mikkel Braaten and Mrs. M. Pedersen, 2 April 1883; digital images, “U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781–1969,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020).
[42] Kay Pederson Cripe to David Hovick Lohman, email, 29 July 2020; privately held by author. Kay is granddaughter of Mathea’s son August Hjalmer Pederson (1870–1943).
[43] For birth of Inger Pauline, ibid., Døbte (Baptized), p. 9, line 21, birth of Inger Pauline, 29 January 1884; digital images, “U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781–1969,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020). For birth of Johan, ibid., Døbte (Baptized), p. 14, line 36, birth of Johan Arnt, 16 June 1886; digital images, “U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781–1969,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020). For death of Johan, ibid., Jordfæstede (Buried), p. 65, line 36, death of Johan Arnt, 3 February 1887; digital images, “U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781–1969,” Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020).
[44] Mildred Hovick Monge, “Remember,” family history, 1974; “Remember,” blog entry, Hovick Lohman History, blog (hovicklohmanhistory.wordpress.com/2020/08/26/remember/ : accessed 30 August 2020), pdf, pt. 1, ch. 4, “Recollections with Pauline,” p. 47 (printed).
[45] “Fergus Falls Ugeblad (Fergus Falls, Minn.) 1882–1938,” Chronicling America, (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025227/1891-07-08/ed-1/seq-5/ : accessed 20 July 2020), 8 July 1891, image 5, column 6.
[46] “Seventy-Five Years Ago – 1899,” Fergus Falls (Minnesota) Daily Journal, 8 April 1974, p. 4, col. 5, para. 3. This 1974 article quotes the 22 April 1899 issue.
[47] Monge, “Remember,” 47.
[48] Mikkel Braaten, official street sprinkler, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, ca. 1899; digital image, author’s private collection. Enhanced and colorized by MyHeritage.com.
[49] Otter Tail County, Minnesota, death certificate, Mikkel Brosten, 28 January 1901; photocopy, “Hovick Genealogy, vol. I,” binder, author’s private collection, 1995. Also, “Death of Mikkel Brotten,” obituary, Fergus Falls (Minnesota) Daily Journal, 28 January 1901, p. 3; photocopy, “Hovick Genealogy, vol. I,” binder, author’s private collection, 2016. Also, Congregational Records, Bethlehem Lutheran, Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Jordfestede (Buried), p. 58 (stamped), 1901, line 1, Mickel Braaten, 28 January 1901; digital images, “U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in American Church Records, 1781–1969,” Ancestry (ancestry.com : accessed 8 July 2020).
[50] Find A Grave (findagrave.com/memorial/199769039 : accessed 8 July 2020), memorial 199769039, Mikkel Mikkelsen Braaten (1834–1901), citing Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery; memorial created and maintained by David Hovick Lohman.
[51] Family tree, Mikkel Mikkelsen Braaten (1834–1901); created by David Hovick Lohman.
Hovick Lohman History 