The record of Grethe Brekke, who is chronicling her father Ole Halverson’s side of the family. The word “gaard” is a Norwegian term meaning “farm.”

The Following Is the Record of Our Father, Ole Halverson’s Side of the Family by Hannah Mathilde Teslow and Ida Amalie Warner

Ole Lein and Margit

In the early years of the 1800s, Ole Lien and his wife Margit came from Tuddal and Tinn with their two sons, Hans and Anund, to the district called Sandsver. They lived for a time in Sauherred before homesteading in Brekke, where they secured a tract of about 200 acres, much of which was wooded or timber. It was named Brekke, which means, in Norwegian, a slope or high ridge. Brekke was located on the Buskerud-Bratsberg borderline in Sandsver, sometimes called Lower Telemarken. Skien and Kongsberg were both 20 English miles away. Their earlier market was Kongsberg, but it soon became easier to travel to Skien, though they had to travel across two lakes, Oktern and Luksevandet; believed so-called.

Hans and Kari Oldalen

Ole and Margit’s eldest son, Hans, married Kari Oldalen. They had two daughters, Margit and Gurine. Margit was 18 years old when Gurine was born. Hans remained on the original Brekke-Place, later called Brekke-Pladsen. His oldest daughter, Margit, married Halver Knutsen from Gjerpen, near Skien. They remained at Brekke-Pladsen with her parents until Halver, Margit and family departed for America in 1865. 0ld Hans, Margit’s father, died in the spring of 1865 before the family came to America. His old wife, Kari, came along to America. She became blind later on. Margit and Halver Knutsen-Brekke-Pladsen brought with them to America 7 children, 3 sons, and 4 daughters. Their sons were Knute Halverson, the oldest, then Ole Halverson (our father), whose twin brother died as a child in Norway. Hans Halverson died in Wisconsin at the age of 19 years. (The boys added “son” to the name of their father, Halver, which was often done by immigrants who came to this country; perhaps it was sort of a custom). The girls were Ingeborg, who also died young and unmarried. Karen Nelson lived to be 80 years old. Gunhild Malum lived to be 78 years old. Maren died in her early teens.

Gurine and Jon Johnson Furuvold

Hans Lien Brekke-Pladsen‘s second daughter, Gurine, married Jon Johnson Furuvold and came to Portage County, Wisconsin, likely before 1860. Later on, they moved to Pierce County, Wisconsin, near the town of Ellsworth. They had one son, Hans Johnson, and three daughters, Maren Hulback, Calla Bradwell, and Annie Marie, who died unmarried and quite young.

Margit

Our father’s mother, Margit, died on the way from Norway in 1865, from typhoid fever, near Waupaca, Wisconsin. She was buried either in Waupaca or Scandinavia. The family came from Norway to Furuvold’s, Margit’s sister Gurine, who then lived in the Town of Sharon, Portage County, Wisconsin.

The Following is the Record of Our Mother, Grethe Brekke’s Side of the Family

Anund and Grethe

Ole and Margit’s other son, Anund married Grethe Karine from Sandsver. (Perhaps from a place called Rokstad.) They had 7 children, 4 boys, and 3 girls. Their names were Ole (our grandpa Brekke) of Alban, Portage County, Wisconsin; Anund, who lived near Scandinavia, Wisconsin; Tosten, who lived near Pukwana, South Dakota; and young Ole, who never married but lived with relatives in or near Scandinavia. (It was a sort of custom among some families at that time to give some popular name to two children in the same family.) The girls were Margit Anundson (?) Kolden in the Town of Sharon, Portage County, Wisconsin; Gurine Bestul; and Randine Lysjen. Both lived in or near Scandinavia.

Ole Lien’s other son, Anund, built what was called “Nedre Brekke” (Lower or Nether Brekke) on part of the original Brekke farm, which became his home. He wrote letters to America for his neighbors – everyone in those days did not have an opportunity to learn to write. When his wife, Grethe Karine, died, his eldest son Ole, our mother‘s father (our grandfather), moved with his family to “NedreBrekke” and in with his father. His oldest child Grethe (our mother), was 11 years old at the time. His father Anund died in 1869, 4 years after his old brother Hans died.

Tosten and Sophie

In the meantime, Tosten, Anund‘s son, had established a home and built on another part of the original Brekke farm, which was called “Ovre Brekke”(Upper Brekke). Tosten married Sophie Berg, came to America in 1872, and settled at Blooming Prairie, Minnesota. He spelled Brekke thus Brakke. They had 10 children, 6 boys and 4 girls. They were: Anund Brakke, Grethe Brakke Nelson, Marie Brakke Gunderson, Andrew Brakke, Karen Brakke Garness, Olaves Brakke (called Louis), Nina Brakke Moe, Christian Brakke, Sam Brakke, and Martin Brakke.

Ole and Maren

Ole Brekke, Anund’s son, married Maren Hopstul, a neighbor girl, who thus became our grandmother Brekke. They had 8 children, 3 boys, and 5 girls. The boys were Anund, Isak, and Peder. The girls were Grethe (our mother), Karen Daabu, Maren Ellingson, Anne (who was single), and Mina Leer. Two infants died in Norway. Grandpa, Ole Brekke was the Last of the Brekke family to come to America in 1873. His father, old Anund, died 4 years before they left for America. All the other brothers and sisters had gone earlier.

Anund and Ingeborg

Anund, grandpa Brekke’s brother, married Ingeborg Bestul, and went to America in April 1849. They were the first of the Brekkes to come to this country. They had 6 children, 3 boys, and 3 girls. The boys were Anders, Rasmus, and Lewi. The girls were Karine Ness, Ida, and Maren, who did not marry. Lewi did not marry either.

Gurine and Nils Bestul

Gurine and Nils Bestul’s children were Andrew, Martin, Gustav (who died when 8 or 9 years old), Dorothea, Resine, Julia, and Caroline. The last two are still living but are widows.

Margit and Torkel Satre

Margit, Anund’s daughter, married Torkel Satre. They had one son, Torkel, who was born three days after his father’s death by drowning. Torkel died of TB. He was not married. Margit and her second husband, Osten Anundson Kolden, had 4 children, Anund, Bertha(Mrs. Knute Halverson), Inger (Mrs. Bernt Colrud), and Karine(Mrs. Adolph Torgerson).

Randine and Knut Lysjen

Randine was married to Knut Lysjen. They had no children. 0le, the youngest, never married.

The Trip From Norway to America

Grethe, our mother, and her sister Karen paid for their own transportation from Norway to America. Money or ticket had been advanced by their uncle, Anund, in Scandinavia. It was around $55, all told, for each of them. They worked for $1.50 and $2.00 per week and had to save out of that to pay back after coming to this country. A yard of calico was worth 50 or 60 cents at that time.

Brekke – Pladsen was used as a seder (chalet) by the Rokstad family after Dad’s folks came to America, we have been told. Our mother heard that “Nedre Brekke” house had burned down many years after Ole Brekke and his family had come to America. This was her old home also. Grandpa Ole Brekke did not want to come to America and leave any of his children in Norway, so they all came together at one time, and thus his brother advanced the money for the two or three oldest, which was paid back to him. Without a doubt, 0le Lien, both mother’s and Father’s great-grandfather, originated the Brekke name. He homesteaded Brekke, we would say now.

Ole Havverson Brekke-Pladsen and Grethe Brekke

Ole Halverson Brekke – Pladsen, Ole Lien’s great-grandson, married Grethe Brekke, Ole Lien’s great-granddaughter, who became the parents of Hannah Mathilde Teslow and Ida Amalie Warner, who compiled this record in 1955. They are the two oldest daughters of Ole Halverson.