Tøraasen (nordre), Halvor Pedersen
Born: 17 Sep 1812, Trysil, Hedmark, Norway
Married: 1) 1837, Trysil, Hedmark, Norway to Berte Jonsdatter Moren
2) 3 Jan 1854, Trysil, Norway to Anne Marie Holtløkken, Storsveen
Died: 10 Jan 1889, presumably Becker co, MN
Buried:
Parents: Per Engebretsen Tøraasen (Nordre) (1777-1862) and Kari Halvorsdtr Barje (1779-1865)
In Trysil Boka 3, p 26-31 we find interesting information about Halvor while in Norway:
It was prosperous in Nordre-Tøraasen under Halvor Persen. When he took out a loan in 1848 he got an appraisal over the property which consisted of Tøraasen and a forest of Vesterbækken that his father had bought in 1828 and owed 17 shillings. The farm, they said, had a good, partly new house, 3 horses, 25-30- cattle and 50-60 small animals, and crops of corn and potatoes. In the forest from Vesterbækken they could cut 30 cords of mast timber. The farm had water the year round. ….
Halvor Tøraasen became a widower in 1852. Before he could marry again, he was required to settle the estate. Besides his property in Tøraasen he had Moen-Dieset in Amot. Prior to the settlement he had transferred half of his property to Ole Hansen Osneset for 400 dollars. (Norwegian) . All the forest to the farm was rented out to dr. Uchermann and Tarald Hole in Amot. The entire estate came to 5014 dalers gross, 2105 dalers net. In 1868 Halvor Tøraasen left the farm to his son Per, but the property was divided.
In late autumn 1853, an ugly incident happened at nordre Tøraasen when Hans Olsen Presterudseter killed Berte Pedersdatter Vitberg and then himself. Neither of the two were Tryslinger and both were new in Halvor Tøraasen’s service. (newly hired / new servants) . They had been engaged, but during an auction that had just been held at Tøraasen, there was a problem and as a result of that Hans Olsen had been acting menancingly. Halvor Tøraasen had a good word for the two of them and Berte had promised that everything would be like it was before. In the afternoon, Hans Olsen arrived and asked about a settlement. He would leave the farm if there was someone he could not stand – it must presumably have been his rival, who was also in service in Tøraasen. When Halvor was resting after dinner, his mother suddenly appeared and said he must come to the barn for there was something terrible there. When he got there, Berte lay on the floor and over her breast was Hans Olsen. She was beaten with an ax, he had cut himself with a knife. Both were breathing when they were found but life was not to be. The bodies were put into a summer barn on Osneset, and in the man’s coffin was laid the murder weapons, an ax, a sheath knife and a small barn stool. After the first of the year they were buried and the committal service when earth is sprinkled on the coffin was not done until May. Under current rules there could be no earth sprinkled on Hans Olsen’s coffin when he had caused his own death.
Halvor and Berte Jonsdatter had six children born in Norway. Berte died in 1852 in Trysil.
1 Per Halvorsen, b 21 Feb 1838
2 Jon Halvorsen, b. 19 Mar 1840
3 Justinus Halvorsen, b 13 Apr 1841
4 Karen Halvorsdtr, b 1844
5 Halvor Halvorsen, b 20 May 1845
6 Bertinus Halvorsen, b. 14 May 1849; d. 15 May 1886. Find Bertinus elsewhere on this website as “Halverson, Bertinus”
Halvor and Anne Marie had 10 children: They immigrated to Holmes City twp, Douglas Co, MN in Aug 1868 with the first seven children and the two youngest children from Halvor’s 1st marriage, Halvor and Bertinus. The following Jun 1869, in one week four of them died ~ Oline, Dordi, Hermana and Albert, two of them buried in the same coffin. The church and graveyard were not established yet so perhaps they were buried on their land.
1 Bernhard Halvorsen, b. 14 Feb 1854, Trysil, Norway ~ died 1883
2 Oline Halvorsdtr, b. 14 May 1855, Trysil, Norway ~ died Jun 1869, Holmes City, MN
3 Elemine Charlotte, b. 1 Aug 1857, Trysil, Norway ~ died 14 May 1932, Willmar, Kandiyohi Co, MN
4 Olinus Halvorsen, b. 7 Aug 1859, Trysil, Norway ~ died 31 Mar 1943, Beltrami Co, MN
5 Dordi Halvorsdtr, b 6 Jan 1862, Trysil, Norway ~ died Jun 1869, Holmes City, MN
6 Hermana Mathea Halvorsdtr, b. 8 Apr 1864, Trysil, Norway ~ died Jun 1869, Holmes City, MN
7 Albert Halvorsen, b 3 Jan 1867, Trysil, Norway ~ died Jun 1869, Holmes City, MN
8 Amanda /Alberta Halvordtr, b. 2 Jan 1870, Holmes City twp, MN ( Find her elsewhere on this website as Amanda Myhre)
9 Christian Randolf (Thorson), b. 3 Apr 1873, Holmes City twp, MN (Christian Thorson (1873 – 1955) – Find A Grave Memorial
10 Hulda Maria (Thorson), b 18 Sep 1876, Holmes City twp, MN ( Find her on Find A Grave as Hulda Marie Thorson Goodbeau Hulda Marie Thorson Goodbeau (1876 – 1973) – Find A Grave Memorial Her husband Eli Pierre Goodbeau can be found at Eli Pierre “Frenchy” Goodbeau (1865 – 1940) – Find A Grave Memorial
About 1876-1878, the family took land near Detroit Lakes, Becker Co, MN.
When the family left Norway for America, Halvor’s son Per continued the family records and kept in contact. Per recorded that life was difficult in America for the family including an injury by a gunshot through Halvor’s right hand which rendered it useless.