Bio of Gunerius ANONBY (b.1845 d.1920), Goodhue Co., MN USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Kenneth Smith Gunerius Iverson Anonby was a brother of Maren Anonby. Gunerius Iverson Anonby was also known by the name Peder Gunerius in his later life. He was well known by both names around Kenyon, but his legal name was Gunerius. The following information was given to me by my wife's father, Howard Kyllo. He said that he had been told about his great grandfather, during visits to the family farm in Kenyon when he was a young boy in the 1940's. It seems that Gunerius was a stonemason in Norway. He became sick and supposedly was told that his illness was life threatening, but possibly the climate in America, specifically in Minnesota, would help to prolong his life. That Minnesota was a healthy place to live was a recurring theme, at the time, in the advertising in Europe for imigrants to America. So he came to Minnesota and became a farmer. According to the family lore, being a stonemason was possibly contributing to his sickness. His health improved and he prospered, so much so that he rest of his family moved here from Norway. Peder's mother had died shortly before he left Norway, and it is possible that he was sent ahead to pave the way for the rest of the family to come to America. There is no doubt that Peder did prosper in Minnesota however. His father took over the original farm, so Gunerius bought another across the road and began farming there. This second farm is the one that remained in the family for over 100 years. Peder sold it to his daughter's husband, Julius Kyllo, and Julius' son, Mickey died at the farm in June, 1990. A few years later, some of the Norwegian immigrants in the Kenyon area wanted to build another Lutheran church. It seems there was some falling out among the members of the current church. They could have built one of wood, but they wanted something more permanent. They asked Gunerius if he would erect a stone building, if the rest of the congregation would furnish the stone. He agreed to build the church, and the others hauled stone from a quarry some distance away. Gunerius the stonemason erected the building now known as the "Old Stone Church", near Kenyon. The church is still standing, but is not at present the home of a congregation because of it's small size. Guneruis' father, Iver Anonby, died in 1875 and is buried in the churchyard. Minnesota must have been a very healthy place at the time, for Gunerius lived to be 75. He was born in Smaalens, Aremark, Norway on May 28th, 1845. He left Norway, bound for America on June 14th, 1867 and settled in Kenyon, Minnesota. The rest of his family followed him in 1868. He married Sophia Lien about 1878. They had five daughters, and finally a son George, in 1902. Sadly, George died in 1903. Gunerius died on January 15th, 1920 and is buried in the Kenyon City Cemetery.