The trip from New Orleans to Wisconsin likely took between 4 and 5 weeks.  It must have been a joyous reunion when a travel-weary Kristi and her family finally arrived at her brother Aslach's farm in Deerfield township after what was a journey of over 5 months from their old home in Norway!   Kristi and her family lived with members of Aslach's family for their first four years in America.   Tarje and his arrival in 1846 are listed in the Koshkonong Church register. 228 KB PDF format opens in a new window   The 1850 census shows Kristi and her family, using the surname "Aslaksen,"  living with her nephew  Ole's family near her brother Aslach and his family in Deerfield Township.    As more and more Norwegian immigrants arrived, land in Koshkonong became both hard to come by and expensive.  Many from this area, including Kristi and her children, moved on to Iowa and Minnesota when those territories opened for settlement in the early 1850's.      An American Letter   Lutheran Legacy essay - pdf file opens in a new window

The first immigrants from the Graver farm, Sondre Sondreson and his wife Ingileiv, came to Dane County Wisconsin in 1840. Three years later Kristi's  brother  Aslach,  his wife Marthe, children Egil and his wife Berith, Ole and Ann left Norway with over 180 others from Telemark to settle in "Kaskeland or Koshkonong" as the settlement was called.

The census taker seems to have been somewhat confused. Tarje is listed with Tone's name, but that is only the beginning! Records indicate that Aslak's son Ole and then-22 year old Tone were married in 1849. The census apparently lists her as Ann, age 21. It was not altogether unusual for first cousins to marry in Norway and in the early Norse-American settlements. Minnesota would outlaw the practice with the stated purpose that "people should mix."   Click for actual census image (Opens in a new window)