GRATIOT — Descendants of a pioneer family that settled near Argyle in the 1850’s will gather on Sunday, August 13 at The General Store banquet venue, 7765 Cherry Road, Gratiot, just NW of Wiota, to visit, reminisce, and enjoy good company.
This reunion will mark the 102nd anniversary of the first reunion held by members of this family line in 1921. Attendees will begin gathering at 11 a.m. for coffee & bakery items. Lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. and will be potluck style. Attendees are asked to bring a hot or cold dish proportional to their family size.
The Gilbertson-Sogn reunion is held biennially and rotates between venues in Lafayette, Clark and Chippewa counties, where a large majority of descendants still reside. Family members from Ohio, Florida, New Jersey and California are expected to attend and, possibly, cousins from Norway.
In 1852, Torsten Rolfson Sogn and his wife, Kari Larsdatter Sogn, left Jevnaker, Norway in the Hadeland region and came to America with three young daughters, Anne, Randi, and Mari. They made the very difficult decision to leave their homeland and their oldest daughter, Lise, who was already married at that time. During the 6-week voyage on the sailing ship that brought them to America, the Sogn family became well-acquainted with a young man named Ole Gulbrandsen Roisum, whom they had known in Hadeland, and was from the neighboring parish of Gran, Norway. The Sogn’s purchased and settled on a farm west of Argyle.
Ole Gulbrandsen (later Gilbertson) initially took a different approach to life in America and joined a group of men who drove a herd of dairy cattle to the California Gold Rush. Ole ended up spending about five years out west before deciding to come back to the Argyle area, where his older brother, Gulbrand Vinger, had settled.
Back in Wisconsin, Ole became reacquainted with the Sogn family, married Anne, and settled down to life as a farmer on the land originally purchased by Anne’s parents. Ole and Anne had three daughters between 1860 and 1863. Sadly, Anne succumbed to typhoid fever in 1864. Anne’s younger sister, Randi, came into the home to help care for the three young daughters (her nieces) and, eventually, married Ole. Between the two marriages, Ole and the Rolfson-Sogn sisters had eight children who grew to adulthood. They were, in birth order:
1. Christine Gilbertson who married Martin Watrud and farmed north of Blanchardville.
2. Clara Gilbertson who married Ole Monson and farmed near Argyle.
3. Augusta (Gusta) Gilbertson who married John Anderson and farmed near Barneveld and, after 1912, near Stanley.
4. Anna Gilbertson who married Gilbert Halverson and farmed in Cedar County, Neb.
5. Emma Gilbertson who married Peter Alm and farmed on the Gilbertson homestead of her father west of Argyle.
6. Robert (Oscar) Gilbertson who married Emilie Hanson and lived near Spokane, Wash.
7. Tilda Gilbertson who married Andrew Skattum and farmed in Lafayette County.
8. Laura Gilbertson who married Louis Nelson and farmed just southeast of the Gilbertson homestead, west of Argyle.
Mari (Mary) Torstensdatter Sogn, the younger sister of Anne and Randi Sogn, married Gunder Ingwell and they farmed near Blanchardville. Gunder and Mari had eight children but only four lived to adulthood, married, and had families: Gustave, George, Clara, and Emma.
Historically, descendants of this Ingwell family have participated in this family reunion event. On occasion, descendants of the oldest Sogn daughter, Lise, and her husband John Sogn, (who remained in Norway), have also traveled to Wisconsin for this family gathering,
The family names Watrud, Monson, Alm, Skattum, Nelson, and Ingwell are still found in the vicinity of Argyle and throughout Lafayette and Iowa counties. Many descendants with the surname Anderson reside near Stanley. Other branches have fanned out to other locales and descendants now reside in many of the 50 states and parts of Canada. It is estimated that there are now over 2,000 living descendants from these families.
