Arthur Torgerson

  Research Notes:

1. Birth

- 1900 US Census - Queen Twp, Polk Co, MN
- Torgerson67 data base gives 4 Nov 1885 and place as Telemark, Norway ?

b. Confirmation: Froen Lutheran Church (US Evangelical Church Records, Fosston "North") image 32?

21 Oct 1900



2. 1910 Census - Fosston, MN

- Arthur, wife Julia M (born in Iowa), married 3 years
- son, Clarence T, 10/12 months <1909>
- also step-daugther, Elizabeth A Gannon, age 8 <1902> in MN and step-son, James M Gannon, age 6<1904>, born in MN -- mostly likely from Julia's first marriage - 1910 Census reports she had 5 children, 3 living
- Arthur is listed as a House Carpenter as a worker (wage); Rents home
- Julia - mother of 5 children, 3 living (see below, 1916 - Isabell and James); this is her second marriage - married 3 years <1907>

3. a. 1916 Canada - RM of Lone Pine, Maple Creek, SK - Twp 3, Range 18, W 3rd (p 25), RM of Lone Tree -- Climax Area; as of June 1, 1916; age is "age at last birthdate"

- Arthur, age 29 <1886 or 1887>, Julia age 34 <1881 or 1882>, Isabell, age 16 <1900 or 1899>, James age 12 <1903 or 1904>, Clarence, age 9 <1906 or 1907>, Wilfred, age 7 <1908 or 1909>, Palmer, age 4 <1911 or 1912>, Earl, age 1 <1915> - all born in US, except Earl - Saskatchewan
- however, ages and therefore dates, don't seem to match well - Arthur and Earl matches; perhaps, Wilfred and Palmer swtiched
- emigration as 1912; Arthur naturalized 1916

+++ But on page 20 --- Twp 3, Range 19, W 3rd, RM of Frontier - the family is also recorded ???
- no dates are recorded for the actual date of the enumeration

a. 1921 Canada - RM of Lone Pine, Maple Creek, SK - Twp 3, Range 18, W 3rd (p 3), RM of Lone Tree -- Climax Area; as of June 1, 1921; age is "age at last birthdate"

- Arthur age 37 born in USA; emigrated in 1911; naturalized 1920; Norwegian .. Lutheran; farm - own account; own home wood constuction
- Julia age 43 born in USA; emigrated 1912
- Clarence son age 12 born in USA; emigrated 1912; Wilfred, son age 10 born in USA, emigrated 1912;
Palmer, age 8 born in USA, emigrated 1912; all of these children naturalized 1920 all students; Earl son age 5 born in Sask; Roy, son age 2 born in SK; James Gannon, son age 12 born in USA; emigrated 1912, nat 1920; farmer



[ 23 & 25 July 2010 - see emails to and from Glen/Erick Torgerson ]

"Arthur did not stay in Canada. He lost the farm to taxes in the thirties and moved south of the border to farm near Havre, Montana. In the early war years he moved to the west coast where Clarence and Earl had moved to work in the shipyards. I think he also worked for a time on the Grand Coulee dam. In any event he established a cabinet making shop in Puyallup, Washington".





4. Western Land Grants: NE Sec 6, Twp 3, Range 18, W 3rd; (SK homestead file # 2458695 - not on-line at familysearch as of 21 Mar 2013)


5. WA Digital -- US SSDI
- James Torgerson - birth 16 Sept 1904; death Jan 1986, Mentone, CA --- James Gannon? -- But 1977 living in Swift Current, SK (from his mother's obit)
- Earl M Torgerson - birth 12 Aug 1915; death 20 June 2001, Auburn, WA


6. Obituaries: available through the Tacoma Public Library
- see index at http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/obits/browseobits.asp;

Arthur, 9 June 1954
- died age 68
- lived at 410 37 Ave NE, Puyallup, WA
- came to Puyallup in 1934 from Canada [ in Prairie Wool write-up, Wilfred Torgerson says his dad left the Climax, SK farm in 1936 to go to the US West Coast; Glen Torgerson says he farmed near Harve, MT and then to Puyallup in the early war years - see point 3 above; but Glen Torgerson's comment likely is related to his father, Wilfred, not his grandfather Arthur, since Wilfred was living in Saskatoon in 1940 - see Wilfred's notes ]
- leaves his wife, Julia; four sons, Clarence T of Milton [ abt 10 kms east of Tacoma ], Wilford M of Winnipeg, MB, Earl M of Auburn, Roy W of Puyallup; a daughter, Mrs Doris Rumpf of Wenatchee; a stepson, James Gammon [Gannon] of Tompkin, SK and step-daughter, Mrs Isabel Crocker of Bend, OR; a brother, Louis Torgerson of Austin, MN [ abt 100 kms south of Minneapolis ]; a half-brother, Anton Olson of Powers Lake, ND and a half-sister, Mrs Alice Adamson of Virginia, MN [ abt 80 kms north of Duluth ]

Julia, 19 Nov 1977
- died at age 97
- lived at 410 37th Ave, NE, Puyallup, WA
- born in Decorah, IA; resided in MN for 35 years and then 22 years at SK
- moved to Puyallup, WA 41 years ago <1936>
- survived by five sons, Clarence of Federal Way, WA, Earl of Aubun, Roy of Puyallup, and James Gannon of Swift Current, SK; two daughters, Mrs Drois Rumpf of Bellevue, and Mrs Paul Crocker of Bend OR



7. Prairie Wool: History of Climax .... from ourroots.ca

- pages 363-366 - a. Art Torgerson's family - includes a photo of Art digging a well in 1913 and a photo of the family in 1925 standing outside with a shed in the background and the front end of a car
- p 388 - photo of Art Torgerson's threshing crew
- this indicates that Art came to Canada in 1912, traveling to Winnipeg, then the train to Gull Lake, Sk, then walked 70 miles to the homestead (Sec 6, Twp 3, Range 18); the family came in Mar of 1913 to Harve, MT and then by wagon to the homestead


b. General

- the village of Climax was established in 1923
- trading before this was at Gull Lake or Harlem, MT



8. SK homestead files : 1910 file # 2174617; familysearch.org Saskatchewan Provincial Records,1879-1987

[ 17 Aug 2013 - images failed to load - try later ] ^{3478,3479,3480}

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Residence - 1910, 15 Apr 1910, Fosston, Polk Co, Minnesota, United States. ³⁴⁸¹

2. Residence - 1916, Jul 1916, RM of Lone Tree, Saskatechewan, Canada. ³⁴⁸² Farm: Twp 3, Range 18, W 3rd

3. Residence - 1921, 1 Jun 1921, Rural Municipality of Lone Tree, Saskatchewan, Canada. ³⁴⁸³ Farm: Sec 6, Twp 3, Range 18, W 3rd

Arthur married Julia Mathilda Strande on 20 Jun 1907 in Fosston, Polk Co , Minnesota, United States ³⁴⁷⁴.^,3484 (Julia Mathilda Strande was born about 1878 in Iowa, United States,³⁴⁸¹ died on 17 Nov 1977 in Issaquah, King Co, Washington, United States ³⁴⁸⁵ and was buried in Sumner Cemetery, Puyallup, Pierce Co, Washington, United States ³⁴⁷⁸.)