Trysil Historielag

Born:     1 Mar 1859, Trysil, Østerdalen, Norway

Married: 27 Dec 1884, Trysil, Hedmark, Norway

Died:     25 Apr 1928, Clayton, Spokane co, WA

Buried:   Zion Hill cemetery, Clayton, Spokane co, WA

Spouse:  Helene Olsdatter

Parents:  Torgal Torgalsen Vestby, Søndre

Helene Henriksdtr Vestby (Henriks)

Ole T. Westby

Ole T. Westby and his wife Helene emigrated to the US in 1887, with their first son Torvald. They spent their first year at Norman County in northwestern Minnesota, on a small farm they had started. But the winter that year was so harsh that animals and humans alike were in extreme peril throughout the season. Ole was on the brink of despair. He recalled many years later that he was ready to beg, borrow, or steal whatever money was needed to return to Norway should Spring ever return to Minnesota. That same winter, a second son was born to them.

Ole’s cousin Torgal and wife Inger had immigrated from Norway to Spokane County WA in the Wild Rose area. They were without children, and would be happy to have relatives join them at their homestead. So they invited Ole and family to stay with them there, since, as Torgal assured him, the winters would be more to his liking. So Ole and Helene packed up their sons and their belongings and moved to Spokane County WA. While residing with Torgal and Inger, Ole worked in sawmills along the Little Spokane River and as a blacksmith, eventually earning enough money by 1893 to purchase timberland from the railroad in the NW quarter of Section 21, T.29N, R.42E, WM, near his cousins Erling K. and Ola A. Westby along Spotted Road.

The family moved to their new farmstead and began clearing the land. Prime timber was hand sawn into railroad ties and sold to the railroad. Some logs were delivered to the Deer Park Lumber Company, and the remainder was cut into cordwood and shipped by rail to Spokane. Ole operated a blacksmith shop in nearby Clayton, at the same time employing relatives and hired woodcutters to assist with the timber operations on the farmstead.

Children born to Ole and Helene were: Torvald (1886-1972), Olaf (1888-1918), Inga (1890-1975), Hilda (1893-1986), Olga (1895-1987), Ida (1898-1989), Otene (1900-1978), Harald (1902-1999), and Peter (1904-1983).

Torvald “Bill” married Hilda Halsten, and worked for the DuPont Company near Ft. Lewis until his retirement there. He opened a resort at Spencer Lake near Shelton, WA. They had six children: Oscar, Helen, Oliver, Esther, Thora, and Weldon.

Olaf “Dud” married Charlotte Culp, and worked for the DuPont Company with his brothers until his retirement. They had no children.

Inga married Erik Holstad in 1908, but by 1921 they had returned to Norway so that Erik could manage his father’s farmstead there. Their children were: Clara, Ernest, Alfred, and Olga, all of whom remained in Norway.

Hilda married Jim Forgey. They moved to DuPont, WA where Jim worked at the DuPont company with his brothers-in-law. They had five children: Roy, Ole, Marie, James, and Gordon.

Olga “Helen” married Fred Forgey, brother of Jim Forgey. They lived near Peone Prairie and had two sons, Orville and Lyle.

Ida married Cloyd Nolan in 1915. Their children were: Harris, Clarice, Violet, Lillie, Harold, James, Richard, Cloyd, Dorothy, and Donald.

Otene married Archie Warner in 1920. Archie did maintenance work at the Deer Park sawmill, then operated an automotive service station into the 1940’s, and later began a radio/TV repair business at his home in Deer Park. They had three children: Evelyn, Arthur, and Robert.

Harald married Thelma Norseth in 1939. In partnership with his brother-in-law, Archie Warner, he operated an automotive service station in Deer Park until 1944, when failing health forced him to withdraw from that business. After major surgery and a nearly year-long recovery, he was hired by the Deer Park / Clayton School District to maintain its fleet of school busses. He continued in that capacity until his retirement in 1967. Harald and Thelma had one son, Kenneth.

Peter married Thora Olson in 1936. Peter joined his brothers at the DuPont Company where he worked until his retirement there. They had four children: Gail, Norman, Elaine, and Wes.

~ submitted by Ken Westby, grandson of Ole T. Westby