Heroine of Hendricks
The first 2 pages of the book telling the incredible story of Gjartru Bogen, born as Gjartrud Johansdatter Hermomoen, is available at:
The first 2 pages of the book follow:
Gjartrud Johansdatter Hermomoen
1847 – 1917
Her story of strength, determination, and dedication to her children.
by Jim Winsness
Kathy Grindeland contacted me in April of 2011 and asked if I knew of the ancestry of her husband's family from Hendricks. She did this on our Hendricks MN Genealogy Group webpage on Facebook.
I located the family's record quickly using the Singsåsboka but due to the circumstances of the birth of Gjartrud's daughter Kari, Kathy's husband's grandmother, I replied only through email. Several in the group continued the research and we all agreed to remove the discussion from the more public forum honoring the request of Kathy. What we had found were unknown family relationships that could be considered embarrassing to Kari/Carrie's last living child, Gladys Capp, who was in the nursing home at Hendricks MN at 101 years of age.
The family has asked that the research not be made public while Gladys lived, and we honored that wish. This document was provided only to the family until in February 2012, Gladys died.
The more we found, the more we were impressed with the strength of Gjartrud and her obvious determination to provide the best possible life for her children in spite of the circumstances of her life. All the immigrants from Norway were of poor backgrounds and moved to America in hopes of a better life, but most were males bringing family or wives with them. Few were women.
What follows is dedicated to the memory of this incredible woman who I have declared in my mind, “The Heroine of Hendricks”.
Jim Winsness
The woman known in Hendricks as Gjartru Bogen, was born Gjartrud Johansdatter Hermomoen in 1847 at the Hermomen farm, Singsaas, Norway. In 1872 she married Ola Estensen Kjellstad and they had 3 children, Berit, John, and Johan in 1873, 1875, and 1878.
In 1878, the year of the birth of Johan, her husband Ola died leaving Gjartrud to care for the 3 young children on her own. As a tenant farmer, they owned nothing but the land on which their small building stood. She clearly had to have support from the neighbors, but she was otherwise in desperate situation.
Gjartrud became pregnant by John Persen Sandrodstoen per the Singsaasboka page that follows, however, John leaves for America before the birth of their daughter Kari in 1881.
Now, 130 years later, no one knows of the promises made between Gjartrud and John and if there were plans for Gjartrud and her children to follow John to America and some of the descendants feel that publishing this document tarnishes her memory. But in fact, I can't find even a single person who knew of the relationship at this point.
Therefore, I'll add here a scenario that I think totally reasonable and leave judgment to others.
I believe that John and Gjartru were in love, and it could have been planned that he would leave for America and make enough money to bring her and her children over. Unknown to him, Gjartru became pregnant just before his departure. America turns out to be much more difficult than they had conceived, and he works for four years trying unsuccessfully to have enough money to bring Gjartru and her children to America. He finally falls in love with Anne Midtuane, they marry, and together raise 8 children.
Eventually, Gjartru comes to America and then brings 3 of her 4 children. Neither John or Gjartru let it be known that Carrie was not born of Gjartru's dead husband.
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