1The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical index, Family History Library, 35 N. West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150, USA, www.familysearch.org. "Charles Wesley Autrey; Male; Death: 31 JUL 1910; Spouse: Julia Smith; Marriage: 16 MAR 1898 Port Lavaca, Calhoun, Texas."
1The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical index, Family History Library, 35 N. West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150, USA, www.familysearch.org. "Charles Wesley Autrey; Male; Death: 31 JUL 1910; Spouse: Julia Smith; Marriage: 16 MAR 1898 Port Lavaca, Calhoun, Texas."
1Book Entitled "Courage Enough" MONDAK FAMILY HISTORIES (Richland County, Montana), Page 990,991,992. "History on Mr. and Mrs. Ole Olsen; from Book "Courage Enough" Bi Centinnel Edition 1974:by Dorothy Emma Olsen Petersen: Daughter.
My mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Ole Olsen and Josephine Olsen, and their four children, Laurence, age six, Nels, four, Marie, two and Baby John, left their farm home near Melby, Denmark and arrived in Glendive, Montana April 1, 1899. There were seven others in that party: Uncle Walter Josephson (my mother's brother), Aunt Eliza and their two children, Marie, age eight and Chris, five years old, Mother's mother, Maren Josephson, Uncle Louie Josephson and his wife, Katrin.
Uncle Louie had come here previously and had homesteaded in the Ridgelawn community and had then returned to Denmark to help Grandmother and other members of the family get to this country. They were met by Uncle Peter Anderson (Mother's sister's husband) and Mike Kelly. They had each driven a pair of horses and lumber wagon and had each trailed another team and wagon behind them. They stayed in Glendive several days gathering supplies since Glendive and Mondak were the only towns in the area at that time. This was at the time of the big spring thaw and the river and creeks were very high. There was a bridge over the Yellowstone River and sometime after they had crossed it, it collapsed from the flood situation. In crossing one of the creeks their supplies were washed overboard. Uncle Louie and a small enclosure around the windmill on homestead and that is where Mother and Dad and their four children stayed while their log home was being built on father's homestead. It took until fall to complete a large one-room log building that was to be home for many years. A well was first dug and the building built around it. The logs were 12 to 14 inches in diameter. For some time the family lived in this one room with the well with a hand pump on it in the kitchen area. Later a barn, a chicken coop and a granary were built and also a kitchen and two bedrooms added to the house, all of the logs. the well in the house had to be abandoned and another one was dug.
The first organized church was Methodist. Our parents were Lutherans but they, together with other Protestants and Catholics, helped build the church and worshipped together there. Bertha and Hans were baptized in that church. Our parents were charter members of the Pella Lutheran Church after it was established.
We became a large family of 13 children but three brothers died during birth or shortly afterwards. One was the twin brother of my sister, Anna (Ann as we now call her). The children were from oldest to youngest: Laurence, Nels, Marie, John, Bertha, Hans, Carl, George Emil, Emma, Anna and baby brother, Henry, who lived six weeks.
My Older brothers and sisters took jobs away from home as soon as they were able to go out to work. In the early years father also went out to work for others. One man he worked for was Soren Andersen in the Brorson community a few miles to the west of us. Soren used oxen instead of horses. Mother had a great deal of work to do too. It was customary in Denmark for the women to do the milking so Mother always had several cows to milk besides the cooking and washing for a large family. Wash days were days of hard work. The water had to be brought in and heated on the stove in a large oblong clipper boiler. The water was very hard so sye had to be used to soften it. Mother made her own lye soap from tallow. Clothes were scrubbed by hand on a scrub board, the white clothes boiled in the boiler and then rinsed and hung on the line.
Christmas was a happy and wonderful time with the special programs at the church and school and all the family home if possible. The men would cut a native cedar from the woods, the women baked and the small children popped corn to string for the tree and also strung cranberries and made other decorations for the tree. In early days the candles were made at home but in later years we were able to buy them and buy special candle holders that clipped onto the tree branch. After supper on Christmas Eve they were lit and one person would always stand with a wet cloth on a stick and watch that no fire occurred. The children would recite the school and church memory verses and sing Christmas songs and then the gifts were opened. We played games and had a very good time.
We had kerosene lamps and lanterns. The wick had to be kept trimmed or it would cause the chimney to blacken. This glass chimney had to be washed and polished or we didn't have very good light from it. Later we had what was called an Aladdin Lamp. It also was a kerosene lamp with a glass chimney but it had a mantle that when lit became a glaring white and gave a lot of light. What a wonderful difference! But we had to be very careful because after it was lit the mantle turned to ash that held its shape unless touched. If the flame was too high it would blacken the mantle and the chimney, but by turning down the flame very low, we could burn off the black.
Father subscribed to a Danish paper called "Decorah Posten" that I believe was printed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It carried a continued story and he would fold these portions away and bring them out and read them to the family during the long winter evenings. While he read, Mother knitted but Dad was also good at knitting and did a lot of it.
My five older brothers and sisters were home only occasionally. Marie worked for George Dores and then at Jensen's Cafe for many years. Our brothers worked for other farmers and Bertha worked at the telephone office in Sidney and went to high school. Marie married Marcus Larsen and lived on their farm home near Mohall, North Dakota for many years. They had no children. Bertha married Hans Mattson and went to live on his homestead farm near Richmond, Saskatchewan, Canada. Hans was the brother of Mrs. Nick Hansen. They had 11 children. Three of them became teachers, two registered nurses; one is in charge of an export office in Houston, Texas; one a Canadian Mounties; one a carpenter; one in the Canadian air Force; the oldest daughter was also in the Canadian Air Force during World War II and the next to the youngest son (Vernon) lost his life in an airplane accident while repairing the wing on an airplane in England during World War II.
On June 22, 1922 tragedy struck our home. We lost Mother and our newly-built home that night in a tornado. My sister Ann, and I were also injured, she with a cut and I had a two and one-half inch board in my left knee. Our neighbor, Martha Josephson, poured a lot of peroxide in our wounds and at dawn Chris took us to the hospital in Sidney. I was especially fortunate to have the services of Dr. Parsons who had been a surgeon overseas during World War I. Many other buildings were blown down that night or moved off their foundations. Ann and I went to Mohall and lived with our sister, Marie and her husband. All was destroyed at home so Dad and our brothers found work with other farmers. A couple years later Ann went to live with aunt Bertha Anderson in Portland, Oregon and I lived for a year and a half with Henry Hendrickson in the Brorson community. Our brothers, John, Hans, Carl and Emil, went to Chicago, Illinois and worked for a Danish contractor and later Hans and John worked for years at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Marcus and Marie came back to Sidney and I made my home with them most of the time while I went to high school. Ann also came back to Sidney and made her home with them while she went to high School. After high school graduation she married LaVern Miller of Savage. They have lived in Sidney, Medford, Oregon and at the present time they live in Kent, Washington. He has worked at Boeing in Seattle for years and Ann has worked at Sears for 23 years. They have one daughter and two grandchildren. Their daughter, Norita, is married to Paul Liebelt who is a mathematics teacher at Pacific Lutheran College in Tacoma, Washington.
Laurence and Nels served in World War I. Laurence was one of the survivors of the Meuse-Argonne offensive in France. He returned with no apparent injuries but I can remember that his steel helmet showed that a bullet had grazed it.
After Laurence returned home he married Tyra Larsen a sister of Marcus Larsen, and they also farmed near Mohall for many years. They had one son, Floyd, who died during infancy and one daughter, Gladys, who is married to Clarence Bjergaard and they farm near Powers Lake, North Dakota. They have one son, Floyd, Laurence died of emphysema. He had also worked at carpentering in Chicago.
Nels worked at various jobs, mostly in Chicago. His last years were spent at a soldiers' home at Woods, Wisconsin.
John retired after working at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and now also makes his home with Marie but spends his winters in Arizona.
Hans has also retired after many years of work at the Mart. He is married and he and wife, Ann, live in Wonder Lake, Illinois.
Emil spent many years as a commercial fisherman, Later he became a painter. He was foreman of a crew that painted on the San Francisco Bay bridge when it was built.
I took nurses training at Trinity Hospital, Minot, North Dakota and became a registered nurse. I married Raymond Petersen of the Brorson community. We still live on the homestead of his parents, the Jorgen Petersens.
Several miles to the east of us we see the old familiar landmark called Cheney Peak. It reminds me of my old home, of our dear mother and father and our relatives, the Peter Andersons, the Josephsons, the John Thorsens and of all our good and wonderful neighbors of those early days. I count my blessings that I live here in the United States and particularly that I am again back in this wonderful Mondak area."
1Courage Enough B-Centennial Edition.
1"Courage Enough", MonDAK Families Histories,Richland Counties: Page
, Pages 990, 991,992. "From book "Courage Enough"
Nels served in World War I. with no apparent injuries. Nels worked at various jobs, mostly in chicago. His last years were spent at a soldiers home at Woods, Wisconsin where he was active with the American Legion. He died of lung cancer."
1"Courage Enough", MonDAK Families Histories,Richland Counties: Page
, Pages 990, 991,992. "Book, "Courage Enough", MonDAK Families Histories By Centennial Edition:Richland Counties: Page 992
John retired after working at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and now also makes his home with Marie but spends his winters in Arizona."
1Multiple Books and Sources. "Title: From Saddlebags to Satellites
Author: Harold E. Ball
Publication: Privately published 1990
Note: None
Note: Excellent
Repository:
Note: Chesebro' Reference Material
Call Number:
Media: Book
Page: pages 4 and 9
Title: Duerigen Family Records
Author: Robert "Bob" Duerigen
Publication: Mar 2001
Note: RDuerigen@aol.com,
633 Clossey Drive,
Indianapolis, IN 46227-2525
Note: Excellent
Repository:
Note: Ball Source File with GEDCOM
Call Number:
Media: Letter
Title: IGI, British Isles, v3.06 - 5.0
Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Publication: FamilySearch(tm), (c) 1999-2001 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
Note: None
Note: Good
Repository:
Note: Subject Surname Source File
Call Number:
Media: Church Record
Text: Batch number: F507174, Sheet: 13 and Batch number: 6020922, Sheet: 70 and Batch number: F508806, Sheet: 20 and Batch number: 6020817, Sheet: 40.".2Duerigen Family Records. "1666 in (Duerigen source): 1684 Norfolk County, VA.".