Descendants of Iver Endreson & Unni Vangsness

Iver E. was born 1819 and died 1905 at the age of 86. Unni was born 1823 and died 1868 at the age of 45. She died almost 40 years before her husband. While in Norway, they lived in or around the town of Vik, perhaps on the fjord called Sognafjorden. That has to be checked. But they worked on a farm called the Lee Farm. Generations of their for bearers had worked on that farm.

Iver and Unni's Five, possibly six Children

Iver Endreson and his wife Unni Andersdatter, had five children.
There may have been a 6th child that died in infancy which is mentioned in John E.'s obituary dated 1938. We have no name or dates for this child.

1. John E. Vangsness -born in Norway and came with them to United States in 1854 when he was two. Born 1852 Died 1938
2. Anders Vangsness - Born 1858 Died Possibly 1923
3. Carl E. Vangsness -Born 1860 Died 1928
4. Andrew Vangsness -Born 1863 Died 1945
5. Cornelias A. Vangsness -Born 1864 Died 1945

There is a very interesting site called Find A Grave. There we have found many of the graves of our relatives. Here are some of the earliest ones.:

The father

    Iver Endreson Vangsness 

Two of his sons:

    John E. Vangsness
    Carl E. Vangsness
You can find other relatives linked to these people.

John E. Vangsness's surviving children

In earlier entries I have shown photos of John E. Vangsness's surviving children: Alfred, Adolph, Unni, Nellie, Olga, Ida and Lydia.

Anders Vangsness

Little is known about Anders at this time.

Carl E. Vangsness's children

I hope to get some photos of Carl's children. Carl and his wife, Elizabeth Iverson, had 13 children. Ingmar U., Iver B., Bella, Henery A., Rudulph J., George L., Ida Louise, Clarence J., Luella, Snella C., Florence E., Chester G., Celia G.

Elizabeth must have been a busy Mom!

Andrew Vangsness's children

Andrew and his wife, Anna Johnson, had three children: Unni A., Ingvald, Baby Vangsness who lived less than a year and Julius.

Cornelias A. Vangsness

Cornelias had no children as far as we know, nor did he get married according to the Family Tree. In a 1920 US Census report, Cornelias is listed as living with Carl, his brother, at the age of 56.

Lydia Vangsness

Lydia

Lydia is the daughter of Ida Vangness and was raised as one of the sisters by her grandfather John Vangsness. She was born 5.26.1903, the same year her mother died and she died 5.12.1974. Reuben Sjoquist, her husband, was born 1898 and died 1974.

Lydia as a young girl

Lydia is married to Reuben Sjoquist in September 24, 1927

Group wedding photo

Lydia Sjoquist, her husband, Reuben, and Unni Vangsness

Ida Vangsness

Ida Vangsness

Ida died as a young woman, perhaps around 23. She was survived by her daughter, Lydia. She was born 1880 and died 1903.

Ida at 15

Ida, at 15, looked very mature and grown up.

Does anyone have any other photos of Ida, perhaps when she was older or much younger?

Unni Vangsness

Unni

She was born 6.12.1877 and died 3.30.1976.

Unni as a young woman

Lydia, Reuben, Unni

Unni and Nellie

Olga Vangsness

Olga

She was born 1885 and died 10.11.1941.

Olga, a brides maid perhaps

Olga is standing on the left

Nellie Vangsness

Nellie

Nellie Vangsness was one of the first women to become a Navy Nurse during WWI. She was also an early business woman, running her own nursing home after the war. She was born 7.11.1888 and died Feb. 6th, 1964 at the age of 76.

Nellie in her communion dress, age 16

Nellie in her later years as we all remember her best!

Nellie as a student nurse

Nellie in her military Nurse's uniform

Nellie and Paul C Sylvester
during WWI

Nellie 1918
stationed at
Mare Island Ca

Nellie & Paul C Sylvester

Nellie married Paul Conner Sylvester and they had three children, Virginia, Paul John & Una. They were divorced some time later. Paul C. Sylvester was born 1895 and died 1963.

Nellie with her 3 children

Nellie with Una, 3 months old

Nellie with Virginia

Nellie collecting scrap for WWII 1943

Nellie with me, Pamela, daughter of Virginia

Nellie and her sister, Unni

Alfred Vangsness Wedding Photos

Alfred

Alfred stayed on the farm with his farther.
He was born 10.11.1886 and died 1.17.1973.
Sally Manson Vangsness was born 1901 and died 1981.

Alfred & Sally Manson Vangsness Wedding photo

My 3 year old mother, Virginia, is sitting in front.

If you know any of the people in this photo, please let me know.

Where were they married and when?

Adolph B. Vangsness Wedding Photos

As I know more about our relatives, I will add stories, but right  now, for the most part, all I have is photos.

John Vangsness and his wife, Synnova Berge Vangsness, had ten children, three having died in infancy and two older daughters, Severina and Ida, who died as young adults. His five surviving children were; Alfred, Adolph, Unnie, Olga, and Nellie. He also raised Lydia, the daughter of Ida.

Adolph

Adolph lived in St. Paul. He was the youngest of John and Synnova's surviving children.
He was born 2.10.1890, died 9.9.1978.
Mabel Sjoquist Vangsness was born 5.13.1896 and died 7.3.1947.

Adolph & Mabel Sjoquist Vangsness Wedding Photo

Group photo

If you know any of the people in this photo, please let me know.

Where were they married and when?

Where they Ended Up

Iver E. Vangsness and his wife Unni and their two year old son, John E. Vangsness settled in Madison, Dane county, Wisconsin on July 4th, 1854. John E. was the first of their 5 children. (As I mentioned earlier, there may have been 6 children, one having died in infancy according to John E.'s obituary.)

Their children were:

• John E. Vangsness:            born 1852 - died 1938
• Andres Vangsness              born 1858 - died possibly 1923 See 1880 Census
• Carl Vangsness:                 born 1860 - died 1928
• Andrew Vangsness:            born 1863 - died 1945 See 1880 Census
• Cornelius A. Vangsness:      born 1864 - died 1945

There, Iver, worked as a laborer for about eight years in Madison. (In some places, the arrival date is set at 1853.)
Click on this link to read some of the work he might have done:
Guide to Madison

In 1862, the whole family traveled to Belle Creek township in Goodhue County MN. John Vangsness II remembers his grandfather telling him stories about that trip. They traveled in an ox-drawn wagon. They saw stage coaches filled with Union soldiers - the Civil War still being fought at that time.  Iver purchased 130 acres of wild, never farmed land in Section 31. He cleared the land and improved it.

The Log Cabin

It is believed that they lived in a sod cabin for the first few years. Then, after a few years, a log cabin was built. An excavation of the site discovered when they moved the log cabin / house to a museum site in the 1960's confirms this. This dates the house to approximately 1866. Since that time, the log cabin was added on to, additions were built, sheet rock was added, layers of stucco were applied. Rooms were no doubt added and enlarged. But, at the inner core of the house, the logs were still there.

 The Barn - Front

The Barn - Back

The sons helped their father with the farm until they purchased their own places in the area.

In 1994, Steve Bauer and his colleague, Chris Romness purchased the old 128 year old log cabin / house and barn to move them to the Little Log House Pioneer Village. It seems that Mr. Bauer had been buying up old log houses and other old buildings to use in his Pioneer Village. The barn was used as lumber to build a shed and other smaller structures.

This is what I believe is the old Vangsness log house, re-built and "remodeled" by Steve Bauer at his Little Log House Pioneer Village Event site. Unfortunately, this theme park site is only open to the public 3 days a year, the last full week-end in July. The rest of the year, it is used as a wedding, event, meeting hall, convention center type facility.

(Information from a newspaper article dated about 1994 and John E. Vangsness' obituary dated 1938)

What they took to the US

When Iver E. Vangsness and Unni went to the US from Norway, they brought some furniture and other items with them. Some of them are still cherished by family members.

Here is what John G. Vangsness says in his letter about these items:

I have enclosed some pictures of things. some you'll recognize, some you may not. Stanley gave me the tina box (for which I am very appreciative!) My mother has the pictured cup. These two items came over on the boat with Iver & Unni in 1854. 

Trunk

The trunk also came over with them. The writing reads Unni Andersdatter, Frames 1847. Frammes is the farm she came from.

Cup

I'm sure you recognize the clock. My Grandmother (Sally) promised this to Stanley and he was kind enough to let her give it to me. As a matter of fact she gave it to me at Christmas 1980. That was the last time I ever saw her. Your Grandfather John bought it in Red Wing, Minnesota in 1895. He also bought a buggy that day. If memory serves correctly, I think I heard that he spent a total of $7.50 for both items. the clock sat on this shelf on the West wall of Grandpa's hour from 1895 until 1973. It now is on my wall and working fine.

This clock was on Grandpa's wall from 1895 - 1973

John G. Vangsness asks if anyone else has old item from the early settlers. He had heard that someone might have a ring. He was hoping for photos of any old items that someone might have. I am too. If you have any old items from our early relatives, please send me a photo!

(Information from a letter by John G. Vangsness, 1996)

Where they came From

Iver E. Vangsness and his wife Unni left Vik, Sogning Norway (Sognafjorden) in 1854.

John Vangsness II and his wife Jerry in the early 1990's visited Norway looking for information about their relatives. They originally looked for a town named Vangsness or people named Vangsness. But they were having no luck.

In Vik they met a woman named, Anna Nummedal, who gave them information where to find their relatives who are mostly called "Lee" in Norway as their relatives came from the Lee farm. We have many second cousins named Lee in Norway.

John and Jerry found the original Lee farm house and other old structures that stood on the steep banks of a fjord. They found the actual house where Iver E. Vangsness was born.

Vik, Sogning, Norway - Vangsness Home

Their guide said that the closest building was 200 years old and that the Vangsness home was even older.

John and Jerry purchased a wooden bowl painted by Anna and a book of statistics about people who had moved to the States from the Vik area. Many, many people in Vik had moved to Kenyon and Goodhue County and other places close by.

They stayed an extra day in Vik and found out many interesting things about the Vangsness family. "That will be the next chapter in the story of the Vangsness trip to Norway,...." said the newspaper article.  Sad to say, the article ends there. I do not have the next chapter, even if there was one.

(From information provided by John G. Vangseness in 1996.)

Iver Endreson Vangsness - First in the US

Our First Relative - Mother's Side

In 1854, most likely April, Iver Endreson Vangsness with his wife, Unni, left Sogning, Norway (also sited as Vik, Sogning, Norway - I am not sure if these are the same place = we also have this name: Sognafjorden as the name of the fjord) and emigrated to the United States. They came with their first son, John E. Vangsness, who was just two years old at the time. He was the first of five children*. John E. Vangsness is our Great Grandfather!

Iver Endreson Vangsness is our Great, great grandfather! And he is the first member of our family on our mother's (Virginia Sylvester Anderson) side to come to the United States.

Names of Norwegians

Endreson? ... Anderson? ... Vangsness? ... Nisstad? ... Lee?
Names are complicated when it comes to people from Norway. Often they took their village and/or farm name as their last name when they came to the United States. And that is the case with our family. It seems that our relatives on our mother's side of the family lived/worked on a farm named Lee. They also went by the name of Anderson and in early records which possible misspellings occurred by immigration officials, they were entered into records as Enderson. But, there seems to be a relative in Norway, with the name Endreson, so perhaps it is a correct spelling. It seems we have cousins in Vik, Norway by the name of Lee.

• Lee - farm name
• Vangsness - place name in Norway (?) OR farm name in US
• Anderson - old name from Norway
• Endreson - old name from Norway

Iver's Names
It is important to remember that in Norway, Iver E. Vangsness had a different name! In Norwegian documents he was called Iver Endreson, Nisstad. It was not until about 1870 that all Norwegians had last names. In Iver's day, his name would have meant "Iver, son of Endre, living/working on the Nisstad Farm". If, on other documents as seen in the following letter, his name was listed as Iver Endreson, Lee, it means that he changed his place of employment or changed the farm he was working on. I am going to call Iver by the name he used in America, Iver E. Vangness, but when we start talking about documents in Norway, I will have to use his Norwegian name. I will try to keep all the names straight.

 Letter from John G. Vangsness 

To quote from a letter from John G. Vangsness, who did most of the research for the family tree along with his father:

Dad got me interested in this after he & mom returned from Norway. When they went they had no idea of where Iver came from. All they knew was that there was a town by the name of Vangsness close to Vik in Sogenfjoird. It didn't take them long  to discover that they were not related to anyone with the name of Vangsness in Norway. Iver came from the Lee farm. His ancestors lived there as far back as 1666.

Ivar's name in Norway was, "Ivar Enderson, Lee". I have done some research & found that they didn't change their name to Vangsness until after 1870. I have some census info that shows Iver going by the name Anderson on July 2, 1870. In the June 17, 1880 census Iver is calling himself Vangsness. But your Grandfather, John, is still going by Anderson. Why Anderson? My guess is that some Englishman couldn't understand Endreson with an accent and mistook it for Anderson. Just a guess of course. 

I'd like to find out why they took Vangsness for a name. Stanley Vangsness thinks they kept getting their mail mixed up with all the other Andersons in the neighborhood. Probably as good an explanation as any. I have read that Iver & Unni got married and left for America from the town of Vangsness. I also found in searching land transaction documents that a man by the name of Vangsness owned the farm Iver bought in 1863 in Goodhue country. The custom in Norway was taking the farm name you lived on as part of your name. Maybe this farm was referred to as the old "Vangsness" farm, so they took that name.

Please note that spelling is not consistent sometimes. I have seen Iver spelt "Ivar" and "Iver". Also, Enderson is spelt "Endreson" and "Enderson".

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*There were possibly 6 children, one having died in infancy according to the 1938 obituary of John E. Vangsness. We do not have direct proof of this child except the above mentioned obituary nor do we have a name or any dates. If anyone has any information about this child, I would appreciate hearing about it.

Nellie Vangsness

Nellie Vangsness was one of Great grandfather's 6 children. During WWI, she worked as a nurse over in Europe. In fact, she was one of the first female nurses to serve in the military.

Here were see Nellie in her communion dress, age 16.

Nellie

Nellie is older in this photo, perhaps this is a graduation photo.

Later, Nellie will marry Paul C. Sylvester and have three children, Virgina, Paul John, & Una.

Great Grandfather John Vangsness

He had 6 children that lived and perhaps two others that died young.

Here we see Great Grandfather John E. Vangsness with Lydia, Olga, Adolph, Nellie, Alfred and Unni. Nellie is our Grandmother.

My Family

I have heard so many stories that I wish I had written down. I always think, I need a tape recorder so that when mom tells me a story, I won't forget. But, I don't have a tape recorder and I do forget the stories.

I am trying to put them together, the stories and the photos.

This will be the place I try to do that.

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Oh, by the way, min familien is "my family" in Norwegian.