Guttormson History

The Guttormsons Come to America

Did you know that Grandpa LeRoy's dad's name was Hans Olans Guttormson? Hans was born in Norway on January 20, 1880 to Oal (sp?) and Maren Guttormson. When he was just three years old, Hans's family immigrated to the United States and settled in Steele County, North Dakota.

As a young adult, Hans lived with his older brother's family. He worked as a hired hand on a number of farms before marrying Betsy (Kvernen) Knudson in 1922 and settling on the farm Betsy had owned since October 1916. The farm in Primrose Township, Steele County, located south of Portland, North Dakota, is where LeRoy grew up. Hans was Betsy's second husband. She was married first to Odin Knudson, but he died in 1921.

Hans had three brothers named Ingvald, Otto and Martin and one sister named Amanda. There was also a Sophie, but no one's sure where she fit in. Neither Martin nor Amanda ever married, but Ingvald was married to Cora and they had three daughters named Irene, Avis and Luella.

Somewhere along the way, Hans had lost part of a finger, as indicated on his military draft registration card. He left Betsy and the family when LeRoy was a very young boy. Census records suggest this happened by 1930. LeRoy was born in 1924. Years later, Hans reportedly was kicked in the head by a horse, never fully recovered and died in Montana in 1956.

Personal accounts indicated that Hans was a hard working man. When he was caught up with work on their own farm, he pitched in to help his neighbors. He was well liked by the community. However, he reportedly had abusive tendencies that led to his separation from Betsy and his family.

Ingvald died in 1962. Martin continued to live in the Portland area and was buried in Hatton, ND. Amanda lived in Carrington, North Dakota, where she worked at a nursing home until she retired. She'a also buried in Hatton. At age 27, Otto died in 1915 of tuberculosis at Martin Kloste's house in Traill County. Luella married Ted Jorgenson, stayed in the area and reportedly was the last of that generation of Guttormsons.

The American Generation

Grandpa LeRoy was raised in a big family. He had two sisters and four brothers. Ovidia, born in 1914, is the first and as of this post, the last one living. After Ovidia, the siblings listed by birth order are Rhoda (b. 1915), Oscar (b. 1917), Abner (b. 1920), Marvel (b. 1922), LeRoy (b. 1924)and Jennings (b. 1927). The first four were born Knudsons. The last three were born Guttormsons.

Struggling Through the Depression

During the Great Depression and several of the years growing up, the family home lacked a father figure. They struggled, worked hard and got along on their farm south of Portland, North Dakota. Some of the time a nice couple named Theodor and Clara Jorgenson lived with the family and helped out. The couple was listed as household members in 1930.

"I knew Ted and Clara very well," says Jodie Jorgenson, a distant Guttormson relative. "Ted worked as a farm hand and Clara took care of an elderly man and his parents in a huge house in Mayville. Ted and Clara lived in that house for many years. Any family thing on my dad's side, other than immediate family events, was spent there. They were wonderful people."

Jodie lives in Mayville, North Dakota. Her grandmother was Hans Guttormson's sister, Luella.

Another couple, Fred and Anna Warren, were counted as residents on the Guttormson farm in 1930. At one time they had owned and operated 1780 acres. They were much older than Betsy at the time and also had their grandson, Warren Gullickson, living with them there. Warren's mother, Lenora, had died and they adopted and raised Warren. I don't think he took their last name at the time but if he did, he would be Warren Warren.

The Guttormson/Knudson Brood Grows Up

Oscar (wife Hazel Tykeson) bought the family farm from his mother, Betsy, in September 1959. Abner (wife Alvia Knudson) purchased property adjacent the home farm and their son, Ordean, still farms there today. Rhoda married Sylvan Peterson and lived her adult life in Plentywood, Montana. Ovidia married Andy Haldorson and has lived in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, since she was a young woman. You may know this, but for consistency's sake, LeRoy married Sylvia Grinde and they lived most of their adult life in the area of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. LeRoy passed away October 23, 2003 and Sylvia passed away on April 23, 2009. Marvel married Ragna (Roni) Ambrosen, who is still living in Portland as of this posting. Jennings married Dolores Paulson and they spent most of their adult life in Elbow Lake, Minnesota. Jennings passed away November 4,2009. Ovidia, the oldest, is the last of the siblings living.

LeRoy's mother, Betsy, spent her later life living with her sister, Alma Kvernen and with her daughter, Ovidia. Her primary language was still Norwegian. She died at Mayville in 1983 at the age of 93.

LeRoy and Sylvia Elope

The Guttormson and Grinde farms were just a few miles apart. As a young man, LeRoy periodically worked as a hired hand on the Grinde farm under the direction of Joseph Grinde. Sylvia was attending high school in Portland and on occasion, Joseph would ask LeRoy to take Sylvia into town. The two eventually fell in love.

But Joseph had a plan for Sylvia: to become the first woman in North Dakota to operate a mobile library. Joseph had a friend in the state legislature who said Sylvia was a shoe-in for the job. After graduating high school she was sent to Concordia College in Moorhead. Sylvia didn't feel it was the right fit, and to her father's disappointment, she came home and enrolled at Mayville State Teachers College.

LeRoy and Sylvia had another plan: to get married. On October 27, 1951, LeRoy and his brother, Marvil and his wife Ragna, drove to Mayville State. They collected Sylvia and drove to Barnesville to tie the knot. Marvil and Ragna served as witnesses.

Sylvia was terrified to tell her parents. When they returned from Barnesville they dropped Sylvia off at the college campus and LeRoy bravely drove out to the Grinde farm alone to announce their marriage.

A letter dated November 12, 1951, from Pastor Isaac Rotto to his daughter, Christine (one of Sylvia's lifelong friends) relayed the gossip:

Tonite's a shower for Sylvia Grinde. Did you know she and LeRoy ran off to Minnesota to get married? Her parents had 'Open House' for them Sunday afternoon and evening, so we were out there.

According to Christine (Hefte), Pastor Rotto baptised and confirmed Sylvia, so he was devastated to miss the opportunity to perform the marriage.

After Sylvia finished college, the couple moved to Fergus Falls where LeRoy had landed an accounting position at the Fergus Dairy.

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