| Summary: | to British Columbia. Christian Opgaard came to Northland in 1887. His wife, Jorgine, was born in Ytteroens, Norway. Jorgine was a widow (Mrs. Rasmusson) when she married Christian. They had a daughter, Gunilia, who died at the age of nineteen. Mrs. Opgaard had one son, Oldus, by her first marriage. After leaving the farm, the Opgaards moved to Kathryn, N.D. Ole Overby farmed in section 4, which he homesteaded in 1881. No record of how long he remained here or whether he left any relatives has been found. Hans Paulson came to Northland in 1882 and homesteaded in section 22. The 1910 atlas shows that Marie Paulson lived in the SEVa of section 22 at that time. She was probably his wife. Carl Peterson was a brother of Theodore Peterson Slattum. He homesteaded in this township in 1879 and farmed here. He was also a good carpenter and built the Standing Rock parsonage and also the Henry Martinson house where Betsy Martinson and her brother, Hilmer, now reside. Helmer Peterson was one of the five homesteaders who filed on land in the township in 1878. He had two sons, Peter and John, and a daughter, Mrs. James Nelson, in Nome. Jens Peterson was one of six settlers who came in 1879. No trace of descendants has been found. John Peterson came to this township in the eighties. He is believed to have settled in section 10. P.K. Peterson, who came to Northland in the eighties, was another of the family that included Theodore Peterson Berg. P.K. Peterson had two sons, Alfred and Paul. Paul T. Peterson settled on a claim in section 21 of Northland. His wife, Mary Olson, was a sister of Willie Olson in Preston Township. Paul was one of the family that included P.K. Peterson and Theodore Peterson Berg. Anton Prestrud came to Northland in 1878 and settled in section 2. He came from Hedemark, Norway in 1868 to Preston, Minnesota. Anton did not marry. Roy Prestrud, son of Martin Prestrud, bought and farmed Anton's land, later selling it to Earl Nelson. Anders and Martha Prestrude came to Northland Township in 1879 following the two oldest sons, Anton and Olaus, who had homesteaded in 1878. Anders did not file on a homestead but lived with his sons either in Northland or in Preston. (See Preston Township history for full history of Prestrud family.) Ander's youngest son, Severin, was only eleven years old when they came here. In 1907, Severin, Martin and Erick went to Hettinger and homesteaded near Bucyrus. They came back to Ransom County later. Roger Ray Redetzke was born in Fargo, October 3, 1933. He attended school in Fargo, then worked for Rex Brace for eleven years. He married Herma Loraine Bjugstad, November 20, 1955, in Lisbon. Herma was born September 22, 1934 , the daughter of Carl and Anna (Schultz) Bjugstad of Sheldon. Their first four years of married life were spent on the Brace Ranch. Randy, their son, was born December 15,1956 in Fargo. They bought and moved onto their own ranch 2Vi miles northwest of Fort Ransom in 1959. This is the old Sunne Ranch. Carla LeAnn was born November 29, 1959. Roger was in the rodeo business for 18 years. He has driven a school bus for nine years and has been a member of a dance band known as 'The Long Branch Boys' for eight years. Herma cooked for the Fort Ransom School for ten years. Severt, Peter, Simon and D. Reitan came to Northland and homesteaded in the eighties. Peter came in 1880 and filed on a quarter in section 4 A year or so later his brother, Severt, filed on the SWVi of section 8. Simon and D. Reitan came in the mid eighties, D. Reitan settling in section 8. There are no known relatives in the township but there are some in the Hastings area in Barnes County. O.L. Selsand came in the mid eighties and filed on a homestead in section 30. The 1910 atlas lists him as a farmer in this section but we have no record of relatives. A. Severson came to the township in the mid eighties and filed on land in section 13. He was still on this farm in 1910, but we have no later information. Joe Severson was one of two settlers who came in 1880. He filed on a claim in section 4. His name does not appear in the 1910 atlas so presumably he was gone by that time. Sever Severson was an 1881 settler in the township. He filed on land in section 13 in the mid eighties. Joe Severson lived in section 13 and is shown as still there in the 1910 atlas. Whether Sever and Joe were related, we do not know. Oluf Skjerbak was born in Norway, May 2, 1834 and died Sept. 6, 1890. His wife, Martha, was born in Norway, May 5, 1839 and died December 14, 1915. They came to the township in 1890 and lived in section 22. Martha evidently continued to operate the farm for she is listed as the owner in the 1910 atlas. Elinas Skonseng was born in Mo i Rana, Norway in 1877 and came to Fort Ransom in 1896. He worked for Israel Henrikson. Elinas married Bernhardina (Dina) Olson, April 25, 1914. She came from Junkerdalen, Norway in 1905. They moved to a farm in section 35 of Northland in 1935. They had three children: Arthur, Helen and Melvin. Arthur married Ardella Bjone, daughter of Christ and Ella Bjone. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. Arthur served in the armed forces in World War II. Helen married Morris Bjone. They have four daughters and thirteen grandchildren. Melvin and his wife Sue, have four children, two sons and two daughters. Melvin served in the 11 th Airborne Division in the Pacific. He was wounded in action and received the Purple Heart and Silver Star. Hans Smedstuen homesteaded the SEVa of section 32 in the mid eighties. The 1910 atlas shows him as the owner and operator. We have no later information. Thomas Soleby filed on the NEVi of section 6 in the mid eighties. In 1910 the owner of this land is listed as Marit Flattin, so Thomas must have gone elsewhere. Andrew Sunne was born in Oslo, Norway, September 9, 1853. His wife, Johanne E., was also born in Oslo, 25 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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