Genea-Musings: Natvig Family

Showing posts with label Natvig Family. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Compendium of Family Biographies, Stories and Videos For My Wife's Leland, Brocke, Natvig, and Grieser Lines

My wife Linda Joan (Leland) Seaver has an interesting ancestry but there were only a few family stories handed down by her grandparents and parents over the years. She is the daughter of Leo Severt Leland (1911-2002) and Edna May Schaffner (1913-1979) and was born and educated in San Francisco, California, and became an elementary school teacher. In 1967, she moved to the San Diego, California area, and married Randall J. Seaver in 1970.

Over decades, I have searched for her ancestry, and found quite a bit of information about her ancestral families. Over the past year, I have written and published genealogical sketches for each couple in her ancestry back through the 2nd great-grandparents (with the exception of her parents). From the genealogical sketches have come AI-assisted biographies based solely on the ssketches, and from the biographies have come AI-assisted ancestor life memoirs and stories for each couple.

The purpose of this blog post is to collect the information for each family line in one compendium for Linda's Leland ancestral families:

1) Parents, Leo Severt Leland (1911-2002) and Edna May (Schaffner) Leland (1913-1979):

Genealogical Sketch: pending

2) Grandparents Severt Oliver Leland (1878-1940) and Amelia Anna (Brocke) Leland (1884-1975):

3) Great-grandparents Torger Sjursen Leland (1850-1933) and Anna Ellingsdatter (Natvig) Leland (1853-1911):

4) Great-grandparents John Nicholas Brocke (1855-1938) and Anna (Grieser) Brocke (1859-1936):

5) 2nd Great-grandparents Sjur Torgersen Leland (1804-1889) and Brita (Olksdatter) Leland (1818-1895):

6) 2nd Great-grandparents Elling Eriksen Natvig (1820-1896) and Anna (Elligsdatter) Natvig (1812-1901):

7) 2nd Great-grandparents John Peter Brocke (1826-1891) and Christina (Webber) Brocke (1831-1914):

8) 2nd Great-grandparents Ignatius Grieser (1835-1879) and Katharina (Gute) Greiser (1837-1920):

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First Updated: 1 June 2026

Last Updated: 13 June 2026

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The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/06/compendium-of-family-biographies.html

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

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Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Life Memoir of Elling Eriksen Natvig (1820-1896) of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin in 1895

I wrote an AI-assisted ABC biography for my wife's 2nd great-grandfather Elling Eriksen Natvig in ABC Biography of the Elling Eriksen (1820-1896) and Anna Ellingsdatter (1812-1901) Natvig Family of Sogndal, Norway and Dane County, Wisconsin, based on my genealogical research over 38 years.

I wondered what Elling Eriksen Natvig might have told his grandchildren in a life memoir in 1895.

(AI Google NotebookLM Infographic for Elling Natvig's life memoir)

1) I requested Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 to "Please write a life memoir for Elling Eriksen Natvig based on the attached biography, as he might tell to his grandchildren in 1895."

2) The AI Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 memoir (edited for accuracy and completeness) is:

My Life Story

As told by Elling Eriksen Natvig to his grandchildren, 1895

Come here, children, and sit close. Your grandmother has gone to tend the chickens, and I have time before supper to tell you something of my life. You know me only as an old farmer here in Cottage Grove, but I have not always been old, and I have not always lived in Wisconsin. Let me tell you of a different world, across the ocean, where I was born seventy-five years ago.

My Childhood in Eskestrand

I was born on the twelfth of October, 1820, on a farm called Eskestrand in Sogndal, Norway. Sogndal sits deep in a fjord, surrounded by mountains so tall their peaks touch the clouds. The farm clung to the hillside above the water, and from our door we could see the fjord stretching like a ribbon of dark blue glass between the cliffs.

My father was Erik Hanssen, and my mother was Kristi Ellingsdatter. I was the youngest of six children—the baby of the family, you might say. My oldest brother Sjur was already twelve years old when I was born. Then came Hans, who was nine, and my sisters Brithe, Helga, and Gunhild. With so many older siblings, I was never lonely as a boy.

But I must tell you something sad. My father died when I was only two years old, too young to remember him. The year was 1822, and I know the story only from what my mother and older brothers told me. After Father died, Mother had to run the farm alone, with the help of my brothers. It was hard for a widow with six children, but we Norwegians are stubborn people. We survived.

Growing up without a father meant I learned to work early. By the time I was six or seven, I was helping tend the animals and carrying water from the stream. The Norwegian growing season is short—the snow comes early and stays late—so when summer came, everyone worked from dawn to dark getting in the hay and barley. Even us children had our tasks.

I remember the winters best. The days were so short that the sun barely rose above the mountain peaks before it set again. We would sit by the fire while Mother spun wool or mended clothes, and my older siblings would tell stories of the old days, of trolls in the mountains and sea serpents in the fjord. My brother Hans liked to tease me with tales meant to frighten, but I always knew they were just stories.

Becoming a Man

As I grew older, I watched my brothers and sisters marry and start their own families. My brother Sjur married in 1832, when I was twelve, but he died just a year later. I remember how hard that was for Mother, to lose a son so young. My sister Helga married Ola Gjestsen in 1839, and my sister Gunhild married Nils Nilsen. These weddings were bright spots in our hard life—days of celebration with food and drink and fiddle music that made even old folks dance.

By the time I was in my twenties, I was courting a woman from Vatlestad, another farm in Sogndal. Her name was Anna Ellingsdatter, and she was eight years older than me—thirty-three to my twenty-five when we married. Some might think this strange, but age mattered less than character and hard work. Anna had been married before, to a man named Solfest Johannesen, and she had children from that marriage. But by the time I knew her, her first husband had died.

Anna was strong and capable, qualities I needed in a wife. She knew how to manage a household, how to preserve food for the long winter, how to spin and weave and bake. She had lost both her parents by the time we met—her father when she was twenty-one and her mother when she was twenty-four. Like me, she knew what it meant to carry on after loss.

We were married on the nineteenth of November, 1845, in Sogndal. It was a cold, gray day—November in Norway is always gray—but inside the church, with our families around us, it felt warm. My mother was still alive then, though she would die six years later in 1851. She was happy to see me settled with a good woman.

Our Children

Anna and I settled at Øvretun, another farm in Sogndal, and started our family. Our first child, Christina, was born just two months after our wedding, in January of 1846. Then came Solfest—your father, children, though you know him as Sylvester—in December 1847. Our son Erik was born in August 1850, and our youngest, Anna, in May 1853.

Along with our four children, we were raising Anna's three children from her first marriage—Ragnhild and Britha. So we had six children in all to feed and clothe and teach. Those were busy years, full of work but also full of life. I would come in from the fields and find the house full of children's voices, the smell of bread baking, Anna at her spinning wheel. These were good years, hard but good.

But as the years passed, I began to worry. The farm at Øvretun was not large, and Norway was not a land of plenty. I saw other young men from Sogndal leaving for America, and we heard stories of land so rich and plentiful that any man willing to work could own his own farm. In Norway, the best farms had been in the same families for generations. There was no land for my sons to inherit, no future I could see for them here.

The Decision to Leave

It was not an easy decision, leaving Norway. This was my home, the home of my fathers and grandfathers stretching back beyond memory. Every rock and tree was familiar to me. I knew every turn of the path down to the fjord, every pasture where we took the animals in summer. The mountains and the water were in my blood.

But I knew that love of home was not enough to feed children or give them a future. Anna and I talked long into many nights. She was fifty years old by then—not a young woman to be starting over in a strange land. But she was brave, and she agreed. We would go to America.

In 1862, we sold what we could and packed what we could carry. Can you imagine, children? Everything we owned had to fit in trunks and bags we could carry onto a ship. We left behind the farm, the mountains, the fjord—everything I had known for forty-one years. We took with us our four children: Christina was sixteen, Sylvester was fourteen, Erik was eleven, and little Anna was only nine. Anna's daughters Britha and Ragnhild came with us too. Eight of us, heading into the unknown.

Crossing the Ocean

The journey to America—ah, children, that is something I will never forget. We traveled in the lowest part of the ship, in steerage, packed in with hundreds of other emigrants. The space was dark and crowded, the air thick with the smell of too many people in too small a space. We slept on narrow bunks stacked three high, and the ship rolled and pitched with every wave.

Most of the passengers were sick from the motion of the ship. Your grandmother was sick for days, and I feared for her health. The children were frightened by the endless water, by the creaking of the ship's timbers, by the storms that sometimes struck. I remember standing on deck one night, watching the waves as tall as mountains rolling toward us, and wondering if we would ever see land again.

But God watched over us. After many weeks at sea, we saw the coast of America. I cannot tell you the feeling of that moment—after so long seeing nothing but water in every direction, to see land rising from the sea. We had made it. We were in America.

Starting Over in Wisconsin

We came to Wisconsin because we had heard there were many Norwegians here, and land was available. We settled here in Cottage Grove, in Dane County. When we first arrived, we had almost nothing. We lived in a small cabin—rough-built, not like the solid houses in Norway—and we worked to clear land and plant crops.

Those first years were the hardest of my life. I was forty-one years old, starting over like a young man. Everything was strange—the language, the customs, even the birds and trees were different from home. Many times I wondered if we had made a terrible mistake. But there was no going back. We had burned our bridges, as the saying goes.

Slowly, slowly, things got better. The land here is good—not as rocky as Norway, easier to plow. We raised wheat and corn and oats. We had cows and pigs and chickens. Your father Sylvester and your Uncle Erik worked alongside me, learning to farm the American way. The girls helped their mother with the endless work of the house—cooking, washing, preserving food, making clothes.

In 1880, I went to Madison and declared my intention to become a citizen of the United States. I stood before an official and renounced my allegiance to the King of Norway and Sweden. It was a strange moment, children. Part of me felt like a traitor to my homeland. But another part of me knew that I was already American. This land had become my home, and your grandmother and I had decided our future was here.

Watching You Grow

The years have passed quickly. Your Aunt Christina never married, and she lives here with us still—a good daughter who has been a comfort to us in our old age. Your father Sylvester married your mother Christina and has given us a house full of grandchildren. Your Uncle Erik has stayed on the farm too, working alongside his brother. And your Aunt Anna married Torger Leland and moved to Deerfield, where she has her own family.

Anna's daughters from her first marriage have their own paths. Britha married Thomas Johnson and lives in Sauk County. Ragnhild married Thorvald Olsen Hegg and lives in Madison. Eli stayed in Norway and married Lars Teigen.

Now I watch you children growing up, and I see the future. You speak English better than Norwegian. You have never seen the fjords or the mountains of my childhood. You are Americans, born in this land, and this is as it should be. The struggles your grandmother and I went through—the journey across the ocean, the hard early years—we endured them so that you could have better lives than we had.

Not everything has been happy. This year we lost your Aunt Ragnhilda—your father's sister Anna's daughter—and that has been hard for all of us. She left behind four children, your cousins Oscar, Adolph, Gyda, and Alexander. They are being raised by their father now, and we pray they will grow up strong and good despite losing their mother so young. I know too well what it is to grow up without a parent.

What I Have Learned

I am seventy-four years old now, and I feel the weight of my years. My hands are gnarled from a lifetime of work, and I move more slowly than I once did. But I have lived a good life, a full life. I have seen things and done things my father never dreamed of. I crossed an ocean. I learned a new language. I built a farm from raw land. I raised children and watched them raise children of their own.

If I have learned anything, it is this: life is hard, but people are strong. When your grandmother and I stood on the deck of that ship, watching Norway disappear behind us, I was terrified. I had no idea if we would survive the journey, or if we could make a life in America. But we did. We survived. We built something here.

I want you children to remember where you came from. Your ancestors were Norwegian farmers who worked hard and endured much. They were not rich or famous, but they were strong and faithful. They loved their families and did what they had to do to give them a better life.

This farm will go to your father Sylvester when I am gone. I have already arranged it. He has worked it alongside me for more than thirty years, and he has earned it. Your grandmother will have everything she needs for as long as she lives—I have made sure of that. The other children will receive what I can leave them, but the farm must stay together, must stay in the family.

My Blessing to You

You children are Americans, and you will have opportunities I never had. You can read and write English. You can own land without being born to it. You can make your own way in this big country. But remember—remember that you come from people who were brave enough to cross an ocean for a better life. Remember that you come from the fjords of Norway, even if you have never seen them. Remember that you come from people who knew how to work hard and endure hardship.

And remember your grandmother and me. Remember that we loved you, even the ones we will never meet—the great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren who will come after. We did this for you. We left everything behind and started over so that you could have this life, this land, this future.

Now run along—I hear your grandmother calling us to supper. And don't tell her I was sentimental with you. She'll say I'm getting soft in my old age. Maybe I am. But when you are old, you will understand.

— Elling Eriksen Natvig, Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, 1895

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3) The Video Overview of Elling Natvig's life memoir, created by the Google NotebookLM AI tool, is:

4) I edited the Claude memoir text to correct minor inconsistencies and errors. Every large language model (LLM) AI tool writes descriptive text much better than I can write. The AI tools are very perceptive, insightful and inspiring, creating engaging text in seconds, including local and national historical events and social history detail when requested.

5) This is historical fiction, based on my own genealogical research. It is what Elling Natvig might have told his grandchildren in 1895.

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Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compen dium page.

Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2026/04/ife-memoir-of-elling-edriksen-natvig.html

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com. Please note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Wednesday, February 11, 2026

ABC Biography of the Elling Eriksen (1820-1896) and Anna Ellingsdatter (1812-1901) Natvig Family of Sogndal, Norway and Dane County, Wisconsin

Using the ABC method described in Using Artificial Intelligence In the Ancestor Biography Creation (ABC) Process, here is another ancestor couple biography using the Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 AI tool.

1) The genealogical sketch for my wife Linda's 2nd great-grandparents, Elling Eriksen and Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig, including family members, record abstracts and sources, is in

Genealogical Sketch of the Elling Eriksen (1820-1896) and Anna Ellingsdatter (1812-1901) Natvig Family of Sogndal, Norway and Dane County, Wisconsin.

(AI NotebookLM Infographic - Elling Eriksen and Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig Family)

2) For the Claude AI biography, I attached a PDF of the genealogical sketch for the specific ancestors using the plus (+) icon, and then prompted the AI tool with: "You are an expert genealogist and family historian. Please create a biography based on information in the attached file for the Elling Eriksen and Anna Elligsdatter Natvig family. Include parents, siblings, spouses and children (with birth and death dates and places). Summarize life events, add historical events as appropriate, but do not add or embellish any extra genealogical details. Use section headings. Expand the information in each section to add more details. The tone should be engaging and suitable for family members."

3) The Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 biography (lightly edited for accuracy) is:

The Elling Eriksen and Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig Family - From Sogndal, Norway to Cottage Grove, Wisconsin

Elling Eriksen: The Youngest Son

Elling Eriksen was born on October 12, 1820, in Eskestrand, Sogndal, a beautiful area in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He came into the world as the youngest child in his family, which probably meant he was pretty spoiled by his older siblings! His parents were Erik Hanssen (1779-1822) and Kristi Ellingsdatter (1781-1851), who had married back in 1807.

Unfortunately, Elling's father Erik died when Elling was just a toddler, around two years old. This meant his mother Kristi had to raise him and manage the family farm as a widow for nearly three decades until her death in 1851. Growing up without a father in early 19th-century Norway must have been challenging, but Elling had plenty of older brothers and sisters to help show him the ropes.

Elling grew up in a large family with five older siblings:
Sjur Eriksen (1808-1834) was the oldest, born when their parents had only been married about a year. He married Synneva Jensdtr in November 1832, but tragically died just over a year later in January 1834 at the young age of 25.
Hans Eriksen was born in January 1811, making him about nine years older than Elling. As the second son, he probably helped run the family farm after their father died.
Brithe Eriksdtr was born in January 1814, the first daughter in the family.
Helga Eriksdtr was born in January 1816. She married Ola Gjestsen in December 1839, when Elling was about 19 years old
Gunhild Eriksdtr was born in February 1818, just two and a half years before Elling. She married Nils Nilsen and lived in Kvåle, Sogndal, where she died in January 1852 at the age of 33.
Anna Ellingsdatter: A Woman with a Story

Anna Ellingsdatter was born on July 18, 1812, in Vatlestad, Sogndal—the same parish where Elling grew up, though on a different farm. She was about eight years older than Elling, which was not unusual for marriages at that time. Anna came from an even larger family than Elling did!

Her parents were Elling Olssen (1779-1833) and Brita Rasmusdatter (1783-1836), who married in 1804. Sadly, both of Anna's parents died when she was in her early twenties—her father when she was 21 and her mother when she was 24. By the time she married Elling in 1845, both of their mothers had passed away, so neither couple had their mothers present at the wedding.

Anna was the fourth of nine children. Here's the whole crew:
Hans Ellingsen (born October 1806) was the oldest brother, about six years older than Anna.
Randi Ellingsdtr (1808-1882) was born in August 1808. She married Mads Olssen in June 1837 and lived a long life, dying at Vatlestad in April 1882 at the age of 73.
Ranveig Ellingsdtr was born in March 1810, just a couple years older than Anna.
Then came Anna herself in July 1812.
Ola Ellingsen was born in February 1815.
Brita Ellingsdtr was born in January 1818 and named after their mother.
Maria Ellingsdtr (1820-1890) was born in May 1820. She married Nils Johannessen in June 1850 and died in Sogndal in March 1890.
Rasmus Ellingsen was born in January 1823.
Ingeborg Ellingsdtr was the baby of the family, born in January 1826 when Anna was already 13 years old.
Anna's First Marriage

Before marrying Elling, Anna had been married once before. On October 31, 1837, when she was 25 years old, she married Solfest Johannesen. This first marriage ended with Solfest's death in 1843. Anna had at least three children from this first marriage, and two of the children later came with the family to America. They were:
Eli Solfestdtr (1838-1876), married 1862 in Sogndal to Erik Larsen (1831-1876), six children, remained in Norway.
Brita Solfestdtr (1840-1913), married 27 May 1871 in Dane County, Wisconsin to Torsten Johnson (1840-1919), eight children.
Ragnhild Solfestdtr (1843-1891), married 4 Jan 1869 in Dane, Wisconsin, United States to Thorvald Olsen Hegg (1844-1916), five children.
Elling and Anna's Marriage

Elling and Anna were married on November 19, 1845, in Sogndal. Elling was 25 years old and Anna was 33. They settled in Øvretun, also in Sogndal, where they would have their four children together over the next eight years.

Elling and Anna had four children:
Christina Ellingsdatter Natvig (1846-1911) was born on January 13, 1846, just two months after their wedding. She never married and lived with her parents throughout her life. Christina made the journey to America with the family when she was about 16 years old. She died on July 11, 1911, at age 65 in Dane County, Wisconsin, and was buried at Lower McFarland Cemetery, the same cemetery where her parents rest.
Solfest Ellingsen Natvig (1847-1922), who went by the Americanized name "Sylvester," was born on December 15, 1847. He married Christina Erikson Vornos on December 12, 1885, in Madison, Wisconsin, when he was 37 years old. Sylvester and Christina had at least seven children together. By 1900, Sylvester owned the family farm free and clear—no mortgage!—and his elderly mother Anna and unmarried sister Christina lived with his family. Sylvester died on January 2, 1922, in Dane County.
Erik Ellingsen Natvig was born on August 6, 1850. He came to Wisconsin with his parents and is listed in the 1880 census as a 29-year-old single farmer living at home. We know he died in Wisconsin, but the specific date isn't recorded in these documents.
Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig (1853-1911) was born on May 16, 1853. She married Torger Sjursen Leland on May 30, 1876, in Deerfield, Dane County, Wisconsin. Anna and Torger had ten children between 1877 and 1893. Anna died on October 26, 1911, in Madison, Wisconsin, just a few months after her sister Christina passed away.
Life in Sogndal, Norway

For about 17 years, Elling and Anna raised their family in Øvretun, Sogndal. Sogndal sits in the Sogn og Fjordane region of Norway, an area famous for its stunning fjords and mountains. Life in mid-19th century Norway was hard for most farming families. The growing season was short, farms were often small, and opportunities were limited.

During the 1800s, Norway experienced massive emigration. Between 1825 and 1925, more than 800,000 Norwegians left their homeland, with the vast majority heading to America. They were seeking better farmland, more economic opportunities, and a chance to own their own land—something that was difficult in Norway where the best farms had been in families for generations.

The Big Move to America

In 1862, when Elling was 41 and Anna was 50, they made the life-changing decision to emigrate to America. This was during the American Civil War, which shows how desperate conditions must have been in Norway—they were willing to move to a country in the middle of a war!

The family that made the journey included Elling and Anna, plus their four children together: Christina (age 16), Sylvester (age 14), Erik (age 11), and Anna (age 9). They also brought along Britha and Ragnhild, two of Anna’s children from her first marriage to Solfest Johannesen. So altogether, this was a party of eight people making the long and difficult journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

The typical journey from Norway to America in the 1860s took about 4 to 6 weeks by sailing ship, though steamships were starting to make the crossing faster. Passengers traveled in cramped, uncomfortable conditions in steerage class. Many Norwegian emigrants left from ports like Bergen or Trondheim, sailed around the southern coast of Norway, across the North Sea, and then across the Atlantic to ports like Quebec, New York, or Boston.

Starting Over in Wisconsin

The family settled in Cottage Grove township, Dane County, Wisconsin. This area had become a magnet for Norwegian immigrants. Dane County, with Madison as its county seat, had rich farmland and a growing Norwegian community. Many Norwegian families specifically chose Wisconsin because they heard from earlier immigrants that the landscape—with its rolling hills and scattered lakes—reminded them of home.

Sometime before 1880, the family changed their surname from the Norwegian patronymic system (where Elling was "Eriksen" meaning "son of Erik") to the more American-style surname "Natvig" (or "Netweg" or "Netwig" as census takers spelled it various ways). This was a common practice among Norwegian immigrants, who often took a farm name from Norway as their permanent family surname.

Building a Life in Cottage Grove

The family doesn't appear in the 1870 census, which might mean they were still getting established or that the census taker missed them. But by 1880, they were well-rooted in Cottage Grove. The census that year shows Elling (age 57) and Annie (age 67) living with three of their adult children: Christina (34), Sylvester (31), and Erick (29). All three of the children who still lived at home were single. The sons were listed as farmers, working the family land alongside their father.

They also had a boarder, Ole Hanson, a 39-year-old single man from Norway who worked as a laborer on the farm. Having a hired hand suggests the farm was substantial enough to need extra help beyond family labor.

Becoming an American Citizen

On September 30, 1880, Elling "Natvik" made his declaration of intention to become a United States citizen in Madison, Dane County. This was an important step in the naturalization process. While we don't have his final naturalization certificate in these records, we can be pretty confident he completed the process because the 1900 census lists both his wife Anna and son Sylvester as naturalized citizens.

The naturalization process in the 1880s typically required living in the United States for at least five years, filing a declaration of intention (sometimes called "first papers"), and then after a waiting period, filing a petition for naturalization and taking an oath of allegiance. For Elling, who had arrived in 1862, the five-year residency requirement was long satisfied by 1880.

Planning for the Future: Elling's Will

On September 2, 1895, when Elling was 74 years old, he wrote his last will and testament. Since he couldn't write in English, he made his mark with an "X" and had three witnesses sign: William Nelson, Isabel Dykesten, and Bertha Anderson, all from Deerfield, Dane County.

The will tells us a lot about the family situation. First and most importantly, Elling left everything to his "beloved wife Anna" to use during her lifetime. This was his way of making sure she would be taken care of in her old age—she was 83 when he wrote the will.
After Anna's death, the estate was to be divided among various family members. Here's what we learn about the children:
His daughter Anna Leland (married to T.S. Leland of London, Dane County) was to receive $300—the largest individual bequest.
Britha Johnson (married to Thomas Johnson of Walton, Sauk County, Wisconsin) was to receive $100. Britha was Anna's daughter from her first marriage, so it's touching that Elling included his stepdaughter in his will.
Eli Teigen (widow of Lars Teigen) was to receive $100. The will specifically notes she was living in "Sogndals Praxtigjeld Bergens Stoft Norway Europe"—she stayed in Sogndal and married in 1862. Eli was Anna's other daughter from her first marriage.
The four grandchildren of his deceased daughter Ragnhilda (Oscar, Adolph, Gyda, and Alexander Hegg) were to share $100 equally. Ragnhilda had been married to T.O. Hegg of Madison and had died sometime before 1895. Ragnhilda was Anna’s daughter from her first marriage.
Notably, Elling didn't leave anything to his son Sylvester (Solfest) in the will. This doesn't mean he was disinherited or out of favor—quite the opposite! The most likely explanation is that Elling had already deeded the farm to Sylvester before writing the will. This was a common practice: the son who would take over the farm got the land itself, while other children received money. And indeed, the 1900 census confirms that Sylvester owned the farm "free of mortgage," meaning it was fully paid off.

The will also mentions that if the estate wasn't large enough to cover all the bequests after debts and Anna's expenses, each person would receive a proportional share. And if there was money left over after all the bequests, it would be divided proportionally as well. Elling appointed Thomas Johnson (his son-in-law) and T.S. Leland (his other son-in-law) as executors, showing his trust in these men.

The End of Elling's Journey

Elling Eriksen Natvig died on March 15, 1896, at the age of 75, in Cottage Grove, Dane County, Wisconsin. He was buried at Lower McFarland Cemetery in McFarland, just a short distance from the family farm. He had lived in America for 34 years after leaving Norway at age 41—so he spent almost half his life in his adopted country.

Anna's Final Years

After Elling's death, Anna continued living with her son Sylvester and his wife Christina (who was also Norwegian) on the family farm in Cottage Grove. The 1900 census gives us a wonderful snapshot of this multi-generational household:

At age 89 (the census says she was born in May 1811, but her actual birth year was 1812—a one-year discrepancy that's common in census records), Anna was living with a houseful of family. Sylvester and Christina had seven children living at home: Elaxender (14), Anna (12), Susen (11), Ida (9), Rolph (7), Bertha (2), and baby Sewert who was less than a year old. Also in the household was Anna's unmarried daughter Christina, age 54, who had lived with her parents her entire life.

The census notes that Anna was a widow with "2 children born, 2 living." This is confusing because we know she had at least six children (four with Elling plus three from her first marriage). The census taker may have only recorded children from her marriage to Elling who were still living at that time, or there may have been an error in recording.

Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig died on June 16, 1901, at the age of 88 (nearly 89), in Cottage Grove. She was buried next to Elling at Lower McFarland Cemetery. She had outlived her husband by five years and had spent 39 years in America after emigrating at age 50—a remarkable woman who survived the difficult ocean crossing and adapted to life in a new country when many people would have been settling into old age.

The Family Legacy

Elling and Anna's story is a classic immigrant tale of leaving behind everything familiar to seek a better life. They left the beautiful fjords of Sogndal, Norway, where both their families had lived for generations, and took a huge risk moving to Wisconsin in the middle of the American Civil War.

Their courage paid off. By the time of Elling's death, they had established a successful farm that son Sylvester owned free and clear. Their children and grandchildren were Americans, though they maintained their Norwegian heritage. Some of their descendants remained in the Cottage Grove area for generations, and many are probably still in Wisconsin today.

The name "Natvig" continues as their family name, a reminder of their Norwegian roots. Today, their final resting place at Lower McFarland Cemetery in McFarland, Wisconsin, marks the end of a journey that began in the mountains and fjords of western Norway and ended in the rolling farmland of America's Midwest.

Though separated by an ocean and more than a century, the descendants of Elling and Anna can take pride in these hardy ancestors who dared to dream of a better life and had the courage to pursue it.

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4) An Audio Overview (essentially a podcast) created by the Google NotebookLM AI tool) describing and celebrating the lives of Elling Eriksen and Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig can be heard here (click on "Audio Overview" and wait for it to load).

5) The Video Overview discussing the lives of Elling Eriksen and Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig created by the Google NotebookLM AI tool is:

6) I edited the Claude biography text to correct minor inconsistencies and errors. Every large language model (LLM) AI tool writes descriptive text much better than I can write. I was an aerospace engineer in my former life, and my research reports and genealogical sketches reflect "just the facts gleaned from my research." The AI tools are very perceptive, insightful and create readable text in seconds, including local and national historical events and social history detail when requested.

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Saturday, February 7, 2026

Genealogical Sketch of the Elling Eriksen (1820-1896) and Anna Ellingsdatter (1812-1901) Natvig Family of Sogndal, Norway and Dane County, Wisconsin

This is a genealogical sketch of the lives of Elling Eriksen (1820-1896) and Anna Ellingsdatter (1812-1901) Natvig family from Sogndal in Norway who migrated to Dane County, Wisconsin in about 1862. They are my wife Linda's second great-grandparents.

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ELLING'S EARLY YEARS:

Elling Eriksen, was born on 12 October 1820 in Eskestrand, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.[1-2] Elling was the youngest child of Erik Hanssen (1779-1822) and Kristi Ellingsdatter (1781-1851), who married in 1807 in Sogndal, and had children:
Sjur Eriksen, born 17 Dec 1808, Eskestrand, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Synneva Jensdtr, 13 Nov 1832, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died 19 Jan 1834, Eskestrand, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Hans Eriksen was born on 27 Jan 1811 in Eskestrand, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Brithe Eriksdtr was born on 16 Jan 1814 in Eskestrand, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Anders Rasmussen, 9 May 1842, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Helga Eriksdtr, born 12 Jan 1816, Eskestrand, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Ola Gjestsen, 3 Dec 1839, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died 28 Feb 1901, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.
Gunhild Eriksdtr, born 8 Feb 1818, Eskestrand, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Nils Nilsen; died 26 Jan 1852, Kvåle, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Elling Eriksen, born 12 Oct 1820, Eskestrand, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Anna Ellingsdatter, 19 Nov 1845, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died 15 Mar 1896, Cottage Grove, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.
ANNA'S EARLY YEARS:

Anna Ellingsdatter was born on 18 July 1812 in Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.[3-4] She was the daughter of Elling Olssen (1779-1833) and Brita Rasmusdatter (1783-1836) who married in 1804 in Sogndal, and had nine children:
Hans Ellingsen was born before 6 Oct 1806 in Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He died in probably Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Randi Ellingsdtr, born 24 Aug 1808, Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Mads Olssen, 21 Jun 1837, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died 23 Apr 1882, Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Ranveig Ellingsdtr was born on 10 Mar 1810 in Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Anna Ellingsdatter, born 18 Jul 1812, Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Solfest Johannesen, 31 Oct 1837, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Elling Eriksen Natvig, 19 Nov 1845, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died 16 Jun 1901, Cottage Grove, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.
Ola Ellingsen was born on 21 Feb 1815 in Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Brita Ellingsdtr was born on 28 Jan 1818 in Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Maria Ellingsdtr, born 11 May 1820, Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Nils Johannessen, 4 Jun 1850, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; died 29 Mar 1890, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Rasmus Ellingsen was born on 2 Jan 1823 in Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Ingeborg Ellingsdtr was born on 10 Jan 1826 in Vatlestad, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.
Anna Ellingsdatter married first Solfest Johannesen (1812-1843) in Sogndal, Norway. They had three children:

Eli Solfestdtr (1838-1876), married 1862 in Sogndal to Erik Larsen (1831-1876), six children.
Brita Solfestdtr (1840-1913), married 27 May 1871 in Dane County, Wisconsin to Torsten Johnson (1840-1919), eight chilren.
Ragnhild Solfestdtr (1843-1891), married 4 Jan 1869 in Dane, Wisconsin, United States to Thorvald Olsen Hegg (1844-1916), five children.

MARRIED LIFE:

Elling Eriksen and Anna Ellingsdatter were married on 19 November 1845 in Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway.[5]

Elling Eriksen Natvig and Anna Ellingsdatter had the following children:
Christina Ellingsdatter Natvig was born on 13 Jan 1846 in Øvretun, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. She died on 11 Jul 1911 at the age of 65 in Dane, Wisconsin, United States. She was buried after 11 Jul 1911 at Lower McFarland Cemetery in McFarland, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.
Solfest Ellingsen "Sylvester" Natvig, born 15 Dec 1847, Øvretun, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Christina Erikson Vornos, 12 Dec 1885, Madison, Dane, Wisconsin, United States, twelve children; died 2 Jan 1922, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.
Erik Ellingsen Natvig was born on 6 Aug 1850 in Øvretun, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He died in Wisconsin, United States.
Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig, born 16 May 1853, Øvretun, Sogndal, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway; married Torger Sjursen Leland, 30 May 1876, Deerfield, Dane, Wisconsin, United States, ten children; died 26 Oct 1911, Madison, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.
According to a query that was posted in the NORWAY-L Rootsweb Message Board in 2002 (no longer available) by Jinger (in part):
“Elling Erickson Njos/Njøs (1820-1896) and wife Anne Ellingsdatter (1812-1901) left Norway in 1862. They had the following children with them: Kristi, Erik, Sølfest & Anna. Also with them were 2 children of Anne's from her marriage to Sølfest Johanneson Haug.

“This family went to Dane County Wisconsin and settled in Cottage Grove township. They took the name Natvig before 1880.”
There is no listing for the Elling Eriksen (or Natvig or similar names) in the 1870 United States Census.

In the 1880 United States Census, the Elling “Netweg” family was enumerated in Cottage Grove township, Dane County Wisconsin.[6] The household included:
Elling Netweg - white, male, age 57, married, farmer, born Norway, parents born Norway/Norway
Annie Netweg - white, female, age 67, wife, married, keeping house, born Norway, parents born Norway/Norway
Christina Netweg - white, female, age 34, daughter, single, at home, born Norway, parents born Norway/Norway
Sylvester Netweg - white, male, age 31, son, single, farmer, born Norway, parents born Norway/Norway
Erick Netweg - white, male, age 29, son, single, farmer, born Norway, parents born Norway/Norway
Ole Hanson - white, male, age 39, boarder, single, laborer, born Norway, parents born Norway/Norway
Elling Eriksen Natvik made a declaration of intention to naturalize as a United States citizen on 30 September 1880 in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin.[7] It is not known if he received his naturalization certificate. He probably did because his wife and son Sylvester are listed as naturalized citizens in the 1900 United States census.

LATER YEARS:

Elling Eriksen Natvig wrote his will on 2 September 1895, saying:[8]
In the name of God, Amen. I the under-signed Elling Erickson Natvig, of the town of Cottage Grove in the County of Dane and State of Wisconsin, being of sound mind and memory and mindful of the uncertainties of human life do here by make publish and declare this my last will and testament in manner following to wit:

1st After the payment of my just and lawful debts, funeral expenses and expense of last illness I give devise and bequeath to my beloved wife Anna Natvig the use and enjoyment of all property of which I shall die seized be it personal or real estate as long as she shall live and survive me.

2nd I give devise and bequeath of the remainder of my estate which shall remain after the death of my said wife unto my daughter Anna Leland, wife of T.S. Leland of London Dane County, Wisconsin the sum of Three Hundred Dollars ($300$).

3rd I give devise and bequeath further out of such remainder unto my Britha Johnson, wife of Thomas Johnson of Valton Sauk County Wisconsin the sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100$)

4th I further give, devise and bequeath out of such said remainder unto my daughter Eli Teigen, widow after Lars Teigen, of Sogndals Praxtigjeld Bergens Stoft Norway Europe the sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100$)

5th I further give, devise and bequeathout of such aforesaid remainder unto my grandchildren Oscar, Adolph, Gyda and Alexander children of my deceased daughter Ragnhilda in her life time wife of T.O. Hegg now of Madison Dane County Wisconsin the sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100$) to be divided among them my said grandchildren equally share and share alike.

6th It is my will and desire that if my estate shall not amount after the payment of my said debts and after the uses thereof by my said wife to a sum equal to the sum total of all of said bequests then each of my said devises shall take thereof in same proportion as his or her bequest shall bear to the whole amount so remaining and that if my estate shall exceed the same total of said bequests then each shall take of such excess a sum equal in Proportion to the amount of his or her bequest to the whole amount of said bequests aforesaid.

7th I appoint and nominate Thomas Johnson of Sauk County Wisconsin and T.S. Leland of London Dane County Wisconsin executors of this my last will and testament. I hereby revoke and annul all former wills by me maid.

In witness where of I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 2nd day of September AD 1895 in presence of the witnesses here subscribing. his
Elling Erickson X Natvig {seal}
mark

The above instrument of 3 pages legal cab was on the 2nd day of September 1895 signed, sealed published and declared by Elling Erickson Natvig to be his last will and testament in presence of us who at his request and in his presence and in the presence of each other have signed our names hereto as attending witnesses
William Nelson of Deerfield Dane Co., Wis.
Isabel Dykesten of Deerfield Dane Co., Wis.
Bertha Anderson of Deerfield Dane Co., Wis
Note that Elling Eriksen Natvig did not bequeath anything to his son, Solfest (known as Sylvester). He may have deeded the farm to Sylvester before he wrote the will.

Elling Eriksen Natvig died on 15 March 1896 at the age of 75 in Cottage Grove, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.[2,8] He was buried after 15 March 1896 at Lower McFarland Cemetery in McFarland, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.[2]

In the 1900 United States Census, the remnant of this family was enumerated in Cottage Grove township, Dane County Wisconsin. The household included:
Sylvester Netwig - head, white, male, born Dec 1847, age 52, married 15 years, born Norway, parents born Norway/Norway, immigrated in 1862, US resident for 28 years, naturalized, a farmer, owns farm free of mortgage
Christiana Netwig - wife, white, female, born May 1864, age 36, married 15 years, 8 children born, 7 living, born Norway, parents born Norway, immigrated in 1862, US citizen for 28 years
Elaxender Netwig - son, white, male, born Apr 1886, age 14, single, born Wisconsin, parents born Norway/Norway, labor at home
Anna Netwig - daughter, white, female, born Aug 1887, age 12, single, born Wisconsin, parents born Norway/Norway, labor at home
Susen Netwig - daughter, white, female, born Mar 1889, age 11, single, born Wisconsin, parents born Norway/Norway, labor at home
Ida Netwig - daughter, white, female, born July 1891, age 9, single, born Wisconsin, parents born Norway/Norway
Rolph Netwig - son, white, male, born Feb 1893, age 7, single, born Wisconsin, parents born Norway/Norway
Bertha Netwig - daughter, white, female, born June 1897, age 2, single, born Wisconsin, parents born Norway/Norway
Sewert Netwig - son, white, male, born June 1899, age 11/12, single, born Wisconsin, parents born Norway/Norway
Anna Netwig - mother, white, female, born May 1811, age 89, widow, 2 children born, 2 living, born Norway, parents born Norway/Norway, immigrated in 1862, US resident for 28 years
Christina Netwig - sister, white, female, born Jan 1846, age 54, single, born Norway, parents born Norway/Norway, immigrated in 1862, US resident for 28 year
The head of household in the 1900 census is Sylvester Natvig, the son of Elling Eriksen and Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig. Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig is the mother in the 1900 census, although her birth year is wrong by one year.

Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig died on 16 June 1901 at the age of 88 in Cottage Grove, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.[4,9] She was buried after 16 June 1901 at Lower McFarland Cemetery in McFarland, Dane, Wisconsin, United States.[4]

SOURCES:

1. Den Norske kirke, Sogndal prestegjeld (Sogn og Fjordane), Kirkebøker [Sogndal, Norway Church Register], Elling Eriksen birth entry, 12 October 1820, Eskestrand farm, parents Erik Hanssen and Kristi Elligsdtr; FamilySearch Library (on 11 FHL Microfilm reels, citing digital images from The National Archives of Norway).

2. Find A Grave, indexed database, (https://www.findagrave.com), Lower McFarland Cemetery, McFarland, Wis., Elling Erickson Natvig (1820-1896) memorial #199854554.

3. Den Norske kirke, Sogndal prestegjeld (Sogn og Fjordane), Kirkebøker [Sogndal, Norway Church Register], Anna Ellingsdtr birth entry, 18 July 1812, Vatlestad farm, parents Elling Olssen and Brita Rasmusdtr; FamilySearch Library (on 11 FHL Microfilm reels, citing digital images from The National Archives of Norway).

4. Find A Grave, indexed database, (https://www.findagrave.com), Lower McFarland Cemetery, McFarland, Wis., Anna Ellingsdtr Natvig memorial #199854524.

5. "Norway Marriages, 1660-1927," indexed database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), Sogndal, Elling Eriksen and Anna Ellingsdr marriage entry, 19 November 1845.

6. 1880 United States Federal Census, Dane County, Wisconsin, population schedule, Cottage Grove Township, Enumeration District 64, Page 284A (stamped), Dwelling #82, Family #82, Elling Netweg household; imaged, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 July 2009); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication T9, Roll 1421.

7. "Wisconsin, County Naturalization Records, 1807-1992," imaged, FamilySearch (https://FamilySearch.org), Dane County > Declarations of Intention, 1880, image 144 of 226, Elling Erikson Natvik entry, 30 September 1880.

8. Dane County, Wisconsin, Dane County Probate Records, "Dane County Probate Records, Box 159 - 160," Box 160, images 1076-1108 of 1335, Estate of Elling Erickson Natvig, images 1091-1093, will of Elling Erickson Natvig, 1895; imaged, "Wisconsin, Wills and Probates, 1800-1987," Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com: accessed 10 September 2015).

9. "Wisconsin Death Records, 1867-1907," indexed database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org), Anna Natvig death entry, 16 June 1901, age 90, spouse Elling Natvig.

RELATIONSHIP:

Elling Eriksen Natvig (1820-1896) and Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig (1812-1901) are paternal 2nd- great-grandparents of my wife, Linda (Leland) Seaver (1942-still living), through:

her great-grandmother Anna Ellingsdatter Natvig (1853-1911)who married Torger Sjursen Leland (1850-1933) in 1876 in Wisconsin,
her grandfather Severt Oliver Leland (1878-1940) who married Amelia Anna Brocke (1884-1975) in 1904 in Montana,
her father Leo Severt Leland (1911-2002) who married Edna May Schaffner (1913-1979) in 1937 in California.

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Pages

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Compendium of Family Biographies, Stories and Videos For My Wife's Leland, Brocke, Natvig, and Grieser Lines

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Life Memoir of Elling Eriksen Natvig (1820-1896) of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin in 1895

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

ABC Biography of the Elling Eriksen (1820-1896) and Anna Ellingsdatter (1812-1901) Natvig Family of Sogndal, Norway and Dane County, Wisconsin

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Genealogical Sketch of the Elling Eriksen (1820-1896) and Anna Ellingsdatter (1812-1901) Natvig Family of Sogndal, Norway and Dane County, Wisconsin