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Torjus Haraldson's
Story
(told about 1912)
I was born at Utigar in Byrte,
Mo parish, on July 17, 1830.
My
father’s name was Harald Utigar Loftsgarden and Mother’s
name was Anne Evensdatter Flaaten in
Byrte. Mother died when I
was 12 years old.
We were six brothers that
mourned Mother’s death. After
four years father remarried.
This
time to Aase Lee, a cousin of his first
wife. Our home was good and
all was well, so I can look back to happy childhood days.
Once in a while I would work out in order to make a little money.
A days wages were about 1 mark (25 cents), except in haying and
harvest times, it would be a little more.
My younger brother Odd and I were confirmed on the same day by
Rev. Folkestad. I stayed at
home for some time after my confirmation.
Like so many of the young
Telemark boys, I had a great desire for the violin. My mother’s brother, Aslak Ostford, was a good wood carver and he made a
small violin for me from an evergreen ski.
For strings he used horse mane hair and I played till you could
hear the echo. Myllargutten1,
a good friend and musician, came often to visit us.
He would play strange tunes on my violin and that frightened me,
as I was only 8 years old them.
My
grandmother, Sigri Riamyrem, was
a good musician and played a strange stringed instrument mostly.
On that she played hymms and church music.
My mother used to play for Myllargutten and he called her a very
good musician. He also
taught me to play many melodies.
When
I was 16 years old I got a real good violin and learned to play very
well.
In 1858 two of my brothers,
Even and Knut and
myself went to America. We
left from Drammen in a new sail boat and it took 8 weeks and 4 days to
get to Quebec. An American
trip was tedious and a big undertaking in those days.
We had to have all our own provisions and it was a pity on those
whose provisions were scant.
We
left Quebec by steamboat to Hamilton, and than by train to McGregor.
We walked from McGregor to Ole Lee’s farm near Northwood, Iowa, a distance of
130 miles. I stayed there a
couple of years and later took land in Freeborn County, Minnesota.
Then I got a notion to get
married and was fortunate to find a girl who would have me.
Her name was Aase Graver
I was then 25 years old2.
Ole
Lee was married to a sister of Aase (Tone).
We lived at Round Prairie for 12 years.
There we had 6 children- one girl and five boys.
Two boys died in infancy.
"I know the
Norwegians .... no immigrants have served America better than
they..."
Abraham Lincoln, 1865
 In 1864 war broke out, and I
had to go to war. In July
1865, we were discharged and got our wages at Fort Snelling. I bought the gun I had used from the government.
As I was on the way home, I would shoot now and then as I was so
happy just going home. My
shots frightened my wife, who thought we were Indians, and she hid in
the cornfield until she knew it was safe to come home.
I sold the farm there in
Freeborn County and moved to Bristol, Iowa.
There I bought 80 acres and lived there 4 years.
Then I sold that land and moved to Lyon County, Minnesota, where
my boys bought land, too, and did well.
We had a nice home there on the prairie and woodland.
My wife died in 1910, so now I am left alone with the 3 sons and
1 daughter. I have now been blind for 12 years, but my children are good
to me so I do not complain.
1.
Myllarguten
was Torgier Augundsson, born 1801 in Lunde, the son of a Miller, thus
the name “Myllarguten”-Miller’s boy. He became legendary for his ability to play many, many tunes,
and always with new versions and nuances in melody. He is renowned as one of the first and best fiddle players of
Telemark.
2.
If Torjus was born in 1830, he would
have been 25 in 1855 - before he came to America. Torjus and Aase's first
child was born early in 1862. This would lead one to believe that he was
more likely about 30 when he married Aase Graver.
Torjus' Civil War Pension Record
Torjus Haraldson and Minnesota's
Second Infantry in the Civil War
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