Clemenson, Lovell, Wyo. Myrna Clemenson of Tigard,
Ore., and one granddaughter, Kristin Lee, daughter of
Richard and Ruth Clemenson.
Submitted by Irene Clemenson.
services every three weeks for over two years in the
Knudson log house. This was the beginning of Zion
Lutheran Church. The first minister was Rev. 0. H.
Aaberg, who drove with horses from Grand Forks.
Thomas Knudson was one of the first trustees of the
church.
They had two children - Hilda, bom Aug. 4, 1880,
and Mary, born Sept. 6, 1882. Hilda Knudson married
Henty Clemenson of Horace, Aug. 30,1904. Hilda was one
of the first white girls bom in Fertile Township. They had
five children, Ethel, Lenore, Ruby (all Uve in CaUfornia)
and Arnold and TUphare in Walsh County. Henry, Hilda's
husband, farmed this homestead, still in the Clemenson
family, owned by Ethel.
Martin and Guro Olsen, Mrs. Knudson's parents,
Uved with the Thomas Knudsons. Martin died Nov. 27,
1908. He is buried at Zion Cemetery. Guro Olsen died
Nov. 25, 1891 and is buried at Zion. Mrs. Henry
Clemenson died Aug. 21, 1941, and is buried at Zion.
Henry Clemenson died Feb. 8,1954, and is buried at Zion.
Mary Knudson moved to California as a young woman.
She died June 20,1970. She had a daughter, Beatrice. She
Uves in Los Angeles.
Thomas Knudson was bom Oct. 11, 1827, in Bergen,
Norway. He came to Fertile Township in 1878, f Ued for a
homestead, the first settler in Fertile Township. He lived
there until his death April 10, 1907. He was a carpenter
and had been aU around the world. He came to Fertile
Township by covered wagon drawn by oxen. He married
Anne Serene Martinseth, Dec. 3,1879. She was born Jan.
3, 1844, in Kongsberg, Norway. She came with her
parents, Martin and Guro Olsen, from Christiana,
Norway. She was the first bride of Zion Congregation.
They had two children, Hilda, born Aug. 4, 1880, and
Mary born Sept. 6, 1882. Hilda was one of the first white
children born in Fertile Township. Hilda married Henry
Clemenson of Horace on Aug. 30, 1904.
Henry, Hilda's husband, farmed this homestead for
many years, which is still in the Clemenson family,
owned by Ethel, now. Henry and Hilda had five children,
Ethel Page, Gardena, CaUf.; Mrs. Sig (Lenore)
Jangaard, Culver City, Calif.; Mrs. WUliam SmaUey
(Ruby) Gardena, Calif.; Arnold and TUphare farm in
Walsh County. Martin and Guro Olsen, Mrs. Knudson's
parents, lived with the Tom Knudsons and were members of Zion Congregation.
Mary Knudson moved to California when a young
woman. She has one daughter, Beatrice, Uving in Los
Angeles, CaUf.
Ethel Clemenson married Charles Page in St.
Joseph, Mo., in 1934. Her husband passed away in 1938.
She lives in Gardena, Calif., now.
Lenore married Sig Jangaard in Santa Ana, Calif.
They now live in Culver City, CaUf. They have two
children, Spencer Jangaard of Lennox, CaUf., and Mrs.
Dan (Lavon) Daniels of Lincoln. Ore.
Ruby married WUliam SmaUey. They Uve in Gardena, CaUf. They have two children, Mrs. Ervin
(Sharon) Cooley, Fountain VaUey, CalU., and Darryl
SmaUey of Simi VaUey, CaUf.
Arnold married Oleanna Helgeson of Grafton. They
have two chUdren, Mrs. Calvin (Bonita) Clark, Jr., of
Newport Beach, CaUf., and Rodney Clemenson, Grafton,
and one granddaughter, Lisa Anne Clark.
TUphare married Irene Thompson. They have three
children. Richard Clemenson of Hoople and Janice
GULBRAND H. L E E
Gulbrand H. Lee was bom in 1850 in Aadalen, Norway. He married Thorine Fosholm Storkson in Norway
and they immigrated to the United States in 1877. They
first settled in southern Minnesota, where then first two
children were born, Anna in 1877 and Henry G. in 1879.
When Henry was nine months old they moved to Walsh
County and fUed a claim in Prairie Centre Township near
Veseleyville. Two more children were born there, Gena
in 1881 and John, 1885, who died in infancy.
Gulbrand Lee Family—Henry Lee and Gena Lee
(Hanson)
The early years were rugged and Gulbrand told
many stories of the hardships that settlers endured.
When they arrived in Grand Forks on then way to Walsh
County, Gulbrand, a tall strong Viking, carried the
trunks on his back across the river so they would not get
wet. To insure free transportation in a covered wagon for
his famUy, Gulbrand herded cattle from Grand Forks to
Grafton.
The first year, after breaking sod, Gulbrand walked
to Hatton where he worked during the harvest for Fingar
Enger, an acquaintance from Norway. Enger employed
30 hired men and later became a bonanza farmer.
Gulbrand made enough money to last through the first
winter.
Gulbrand and his neighbor and good friend,
Engebret Birk, helped one another in many ways. Thenwives exchanged midwife favors when Gena Lee and
Pete Birk were bom. The chUdren were also baptized in
the same water in one of the homes.
One of the saddest stories Gulbrand told was when
then- oldest daughter, Anna, died on Christmas Eve at
the age of seven, after a lingering iUness termed brain
fever. Gulbrand went out to the granary that night and
made a rough box to bury his chUd. Thorine stayed in the
house with Henry and Gena whUe Gulbrand, grief
stricken, did what he had to do. Imagine the agony for
them on the prairie, alone! Anna was buried on the
homestead and later reburied in the cemetery when
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