BIOGRAPHIES: Ole TORGERSON, Clinton Township, Barron County, WI ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, or the legal representative of the contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Victor Gulickson 19 March 2000 -- Updated 7 May 2000 (Update includes spelling correction from Hawkan to Haakan.) ==================================================================== Ole Torgerson, a substantial and respected citizen of Section 6, Clinton Township, was born in Norway, Nov. 26, 1850, the son of Torger and Johannah Christianson, both of whom spent the span of their years in Norway, where the father was a blacksmith. In the family there were two children, Ole and Haakon. Ole was reared in his native land, attended school there, and as a youth worked on neighboring farms. In 1884 he came to the United States, and found his way directly to Barron County, reaching Prairie Farm Village, on June 30, 1884. Here he entered the employ of Knapp, Stout & Co., at $20 a month, making hay in the summer, and working in the lumber camps in the winter. In the spring of 1885 he started on the lumber drives for a short time, but left that to enter the employ of Louis J. Breen, Arland Township, first on his farm and then in the hay fields. In the fall he entered the employ of the Beaver Lake Lumber Co. at Cumberland. In the spring of 1886, he went to work in the mills at Comstock. That winter he worked for Miller & Waterman in the woods. In the spring of 1887 he went to work for the Omaha line, making his headquarters for some years at Turtle Lake, and then at Comstock. In 1898 he bought 64 acres in Clinton Township, to which not long after he added 40 acres more, making in all, 104 acres, located in sections 5 and 6, Clinton Township. When he secured the tract it was covered with timber. Out of this he has built up an excellent farm. He has cleared the land, put up a set of buildings, and since 1902 has carried on general farming and dairying here. He has a herd of mixed Holsteins and Guernseys, and a good drove of swine. Mr. Torgerson was married July 3, 1897 at Cumberland, this county, to Louisa, the widow of Tom Anderson, and the daughter of Benedick and Carrie Larson, natives of the northern part of Norway, who came to this country, and for many years farmed in Cumberland Township, this county, ending their days at the home of Ole Torgerson, in Clinton Township. Mr. and Mrs. Torgerson have five children: Theodore, Olga, Helmer, Josie and Lennox. Olga is cashier in a store at Cumberland. By her first marriage, Mrs. Torgerson had three children, Matilda, Alma and Laura Anderson. In the old country she learned the trade of weaving, and she now occupies her spare time in weaving carpets and rugs for her neighbors and friends, her handicraft being in high demand. The family adheres to the Norwegian Lutheran Church in Clinton Township, of which Mr. Torgerson has been the custodian for some time. --Taken from: History of Barron Co., Wisconsin, H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co., 1922, pg. 413