Jacob Olsen Lillevold

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Jacob was the oldest of three children born to Ole Nielsen and Ingri Torgersdatter. Fron church records give his birth date as 1 Oct 1832, while his gravestone and death certificate have 16 Sep 1832. Jacob was baptized 14 Oct 1832 at the Kvikne church in Nord-Fron, with baptismal sponsors Marit Skjeftskogen, Rønnoug Skjeftskogen, Anders Hougen, Bersven Lien, and Niels Dalen. He was born and raised on the tenant farm Lien under Huskelien (61.56640 9.63336), on the south side of the Vinstra River, near the Kvikne church. (A Coon Valley biography of Jacob incorrectly says he was born in Espedalen. Jacob moved to Lillevolden in Espedalen sometime after he was confirmed.) He had three older half-sisters, two younger full sisters, and a younger half-brother. Jacob was confirmed at the Kvikne church 13 Jun 1847.

In approx. the 1850s, Jacob's family moved to Lillevolden in Espedalen in Sør-Fron (just outside of Nord-Fron), but continued to attend the Kvikne church. Jacob’s farm name was Lillevolden in November 1859 (as his nephew’s baptismal sponsor) and February 1860 (as a buyer at the auction at the nickel works).

Jacob married Kari Halvorsdatter Veslum 6 June 1861 at the Kvikne church in Nord-Fron, with witnesses Peder Skabo and Johannes Groupe. Jacob’s farm name in this record is Huskelien, though it isn’t clear if this was his residence or just his birth farm (the column heading of the church book called for both the groom’s birth place and current residence). His moving back to Huskelien seems unlikely. It appears that Jacob and Kari lived on her home farm of Veslum after their marriage, as their two children born in Norway, Ingeborg and Ole, were born there.

Jacob and Kari and their two children, Ingeborg and Ole, signed out of Nord-Fron to go to America 27 March 1864. The usual route for Norwegians bound for the United States at this time was to go by sailing ship to Quebec and then lake boat to Chicago or Milwaukee. As 1864 was too early for the Norwegian Emigrant Protocol or Canadian records, no other information is available.

(Among the errors I have seen about this emigration: (1) that they traveled on either the ships Amerika or Kong Carl, confusing them with other relatives, as neither of these ships was built yet in 1864; (2) that they lived at Huskelien at the time of their emigration, 27 Mar 1864, which is very unlikely since they lived at Veslum 31 Jan 1864, and had no known relatives at Huskelien in 1864; (3) that they also had a daughter Isabel, as there were no Isabels, any spelling, any family, born in Fron from 1799 to 1900, and their daughter Ingeborg later Americanized her name to Isabel; and (4) that Ingeborg drowned on the voyage to America at age two and a half, as there are pictures of her at older ages and documents showing that she died of natural causes in Wisconsin fifteen years after their voyage to America.)

Jacob Olson Lillevold's biography in “Coon Valley History” (1928) says that he arrived in Coon Valley, Wisconsin, in July 1864 “and worked in Coon Valley's saw mill and other labor a few years, and then settled in La Crosse County, 3 miles north west of Coon Valley village in the fall of 1873, where he owned 80 Acres.” The tax rolls show that Jacob purchased the following 80 acres in Greenfield Township, La Crosse County, in 1870 or ’71: the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 34 and the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 35. This is a quarter mile north of Vernon County. I don’t find them on the 1870 U.S. census, but the 1875 Wisconsin state census shows "Jacob Oleson" in Greenfield Township, La Crosse County, in a household of three white males and five white females. Though this census only names the head of the household, this would fit with Jacob and Kari and the children they had by that date (Ingeborg, Ole, Hannah Caroline, Fritz Martinus, Anna, and Juline Clara). The 1880 U.S. census shows them in Greenfield twp, La Crosse Co., all with the last name Olson.

In the area of Coon Valley, they had seven more children. They attended the Øvre (Upper) Coon Valley Lutheran Church in the village of Coon Valley. Their first six children were confirmed here (1876 through 1886), and their last seven children were probably baptized there (records are only available for the last three: 1877 through 1881).

An 1888 Dunn County plat book shows "Jacob Olesen" in the southwest quarter of Section 6 of Sheridan Township, so it appears as if Jacob and Kari and their children still with them moved from the area of Coon Valley to the area of Prairie Farm (three hours north by modern travel times) between 1886 and 1888, though Jacob and Kari sold their farm in La Crosse County 11 July 1893 to Ole S. Ihle for $940.00. The deed showed Jacob and Kari as residents "of the County of Dunn and State of Wisconsin," as if they had moved up there before selling the La Crosse County farm. Jacob’s two sisters and his father lived near Prairie Farm, so that may have been their reason for moving there.

Jacob's Y-DNA (paternal) haplogroup was I-M253 (also called I1) (based on a 2016 23andMe test of a male-line great-grandson of his).

Jacob was born (according to his baptism record) 1 Oct 1832 at Lien under Huskelien, Kvikne, Nord-Fron, Oppland County, Norway, the oldest child of Ole Nielsen and Ingri Torgersdatter. He had three older half sisters and two younger full sisters. (A Coon Valley biography of Jacob states incorrectly that he was born in Espedalen. He lived at Lillevolden in Espedalen briefly in his twenties. For a discussion regarding Jacob's half-brother Jacob, see the bio of his father, Ole Nelson.)

Jacob was baptized at the Kvikne Church Sunday, 14 Oct 1832, and confirmed there Sunday, 13 Jun 1847.

On 6 Nov 1859, a Jacob living at Lillevolden was a baptismal sponsor for Jacob Olsen's sister, so he had apparently moved to Lillevolden (61.46312 9.44777) by that time. Jacob is referred to as “Jakob O. Lillevolden” when he attended the auction at the former nickel works in February 1860. I have no information on whether Jacob worked at the nickel works, but Lillevolden was created as housing for nickel workers, so it is possible.

Jacob married Kari Halvorsdatter Veslum 6 Jun 1861 in Nord-Fron. Their two children who were born in Norway were born at Veslum, so Jacob apparently moved to his wife's home farm. Jacob and Kari and their two children, Ingeborg and Ole, signed out of the Kvikne Church 27 Mar 1864 to go to America. The name of the ship Jacob and his family emigrated on isn’t known. (Some genealogical sites erroneously list the Kong Carl or the Amerika, confusing Jacob with his parents and daughter-in-law, respectively.)

They settled near Coon Valley, Wisconsin, and had seven more children there. It appears that they moved to Sheridan twp, Dunn County, Wisconsin, near Prairie Farm, between 1886 and 1888, where Jacob died 6 Jul 1904.

Jacob’s Y-DNA haplogroup was I-M253 (from a 2016 23andMe test of his male-line great-grandson).