Finding my roots

This is going to be a lengthy post so I apologize in advance.

I made a last minute decision last week to jump in the car and drive up to South Dakota for the Norgaard Family Reunion.  I had been to this reunion a few times in my life, but my dad had always been there.  This would be the first time without a parent there, but luckily my brother was going to attend also.

We never spent much time with my dad's family so I don't know much about them.  This year I went up there with the thirst to learn as much as I could.

Pictured above are Nels and Carrie (Sorenson) Norgaard.  They left Denmark in 1869 to flee two things:  Nels' conscription into the army and religious persecution.  You see, the state religion of Denmark in those days was Lutheranism.  The Norgaard clan was a bunch of Baptists.

Nels joined a family member in Harlan, Iowa and by 1871 Nels had saved enough money for this own farmstead and headed north to the Dakota territory where he built a shanty for he and Carrie on a beautiful spot overlooking the Big Sioux River.  He registered his claim according to the Homestead Act of 1862 then went back to Iowa for Carrie.

Nothing remains of the shanty other than an indentation in the ground where we all gathered on the first morning of the reunion.  Nels and Carrie were the first permanent European residents of Moody County, South Dakota.  Nels and Carrie had twelve children, ten girls and two boys.  Three of the daughters died in infancy and are buried in the cemetery that Nels and Carrie donated the land for adjacent to their shanty.

Eventually the farm was built starting with the barn.  Above is a really old phone of the farmstead.

The barn no longer exists.  Above is the building where the giant windmill was located.  It was 16 feet across and generated energy to run the farm. 

 The family still has one of the blades from the windmill.

Above is the farmstead house which has obviously been renovated dramatically over the years.  Only the center of the house is original.  There are lots of stories about the house.  It was only two bedrooms.  Can you imagine how crowded it was with two parents and the nine surviving children?  I

It's also said that in the winter when the ground was frozen, if someone died they were hung from the rafters of the barn until the spring thaw.  One thing is for sure...these people were way tougher than me.

We also visited the church that is directly east of the farmstead.  Nels and Carrie donated the land for this church, it was the first permanent church in the county.  It is still a Baptist church.

We were lucky enough to be able to worship there on Sunday morning.  It's an incredible feeling to worship in the same place as your ancestors.  My Uncle Glenn said nothing has changed since he was a kid.  At some point, my line of the family became Lutherans and no longer attended this church.

My great grandfather was James (Jim) Norgaard.  When James retired from farming, he and his wife bought a house that was in town.  This house now belongs to a cousin and we're always treated to dinner at the house during the reunion.

We're told that Nels was quite hard on his sons and James ran-away when he was 15.  He ended up in Chicago where he found employment.  Somehow James was seriously injured in an accident and ended up in the hospital.  A story on him showed up in the newspaper and Nels called to inquire if it was his son, which it was.  Nels brought James home and it has been described as the return of the prodigal son.  James stayed on the farm, but never worked for his father again.  When it was time for James to marry, his bride was brought over from Denmark.  Her name was Christina Anderson.  James also served in the Spanish American War.

Oddly enough, Nels and Carrie were not buried in the cemetery that they had donated land for.   Nels thought that cemetery would fall into disarray and would not be cared for.  Quite the opposite is true, the "Norgaard" cemetery is incredibly beautiful, well-maintained, and peaceful.  Instead they are buried in the Dell Rapaids cemetery.  

Alan and I also found the grave stone for our great grandparent, Christina and James, in the Dell Rapids cemetery.  I have no memory of James, but I recall meeting Christina in her nursing home when I was nine years old which must have been shortly before she died. My dad always talked fondly of his grandparents.  My grandmother was widowed at a very young age and had four young children. James and Christina helped her out as much as possible as did many others.  Unfortunately, my dad's father's family was unwilling or unable to help out much.  This all occurred at the height of the great depression so I'm sure it was hard for everyone.  Because of this I know almost nothing about the Bates side of my family.

For some reason, James has two headstones.  Perhaps this is something they used to do for veterans.

On Sunday we had the actual reunion picnic.  There was quite a large crowd that attended.  Above are the descendants of James and Christina.  

Above is my Uncle Glenn and Aunt Pat.  Glenn is my last surviving uncle.  He's the spitting image of my dad.

That night we were in for another treat.  My cousin Ordell invited us over to his house.  When I got there I was thrilled because I had fond memories of this place from my childhood.

At the time my Great Aunt Grace and her husband ran this farm (Ordell's parents).  They had a dairy cow operation and I spent most of my time in the barn playing with the dairy calves and the kittens.  To me it seemed like there was dozens of cats.  When it was time to go home I remember Grace giving me a bag of grain to take home to my pony in Arizona.

This is Gracie.  She welcomes all visitors.

It was such an incredible feeling to spend time in this house again. 

It was the best decision to jump in the car and make the 700 mile drive to South Dakota.  I reconnected with cousins from long ago, met new cousins, and got to learn so much about my roots.  I'm sure my dad was beaming down from heaven happy in the knowledge that his kids were carrying on the tradition of attending the reunion.

I've already found my camping spot for my next visit!