Rev. Rasmus Lavik And His Family’s Life Story
[SPECIAL NOTE: This page is very long and rich in content. It is organized chronologically - Rasmus Lavik’s life in Norway and his immigration, his life after he arrived in Minnesota and as a teacher, the start of his family with wife Ingeborg, his entry into the ministry, his different pastoral postings, his second marriage to Antonette Hagen and his posting in Sargent County, North Dakota; the lives of his children, his life in retirement, and his widow Antonette’s time after Rasmus passed away. You can scroll ahead to one of these times in his life if you have a particular interest. The children of Rasmus are placed chronologically based on the time of their death, although there are references sprinkled throughout, such as Peter Lavik’s service in the Spanish-American War whichis placed in that time frame.
Also, there are limited photographs of Rasmus and his family posted to this biographical section - the index of the photo collection can be accessed on an adjoining page, and it will guide you to the many family photos that are posted by image number on other adjoining pages and match the stories of the people included in this biographical section.]
Rev. Rasmus A. Lavik is shown in the Lavik Ancestry page as born in Norway in 1841, the son of Anders Johanneson Lavik and Dordei Vetlejord. Later on these pages are 319 photos and items primarily from the Rasmus Lavik family. Pages in this Lavik section address the Phtograph Project and what is contained in the Lavik collection, what the Lavik history is in Norway, where the Lavik family members - and members of families who intermarried - lived; and then pages with the 319 items and descriptions of each, along with a page that is an index of the items..
Central to the Lavik family history and to identifying the photos is the biography of Rev. Rasmus Lavik and his family members. This page contains that biography of him, and will include brief biographies and obituaries for the members of his immediate family. This background will be necessary in going through the family members and their locations - and then going through each of the 319 items. Descriptions of those items will also fill in the picture.
As I am putting together the various website pages on the Lavik family, it seemed that the history of Rasmus was buried with other pieces - and I decided just to give Rasmus and his family their own page so he is a top line subject of what will eventually be a photo gallery of his family. This page turns out to be very long and packed with content. Rasmus had a rich life, as did his immediate family members.
One place to start is with the biography of Rasmus written by his son, the Rev. John R. Lavik, which was included in the “Saga of the Laviks of Eksingadalen” - a book John authored roughly sixty years ago. Later in this section, I will include the brief biographies that John wrote about all his siblings. Taken together, it will be a good background on the family. I will post John’s bio of Rasmus, a work sheet on Rasmus’ family from the former archivist at the Norwegian American Historical Association, his photo and biography from the Norwegian-American Lutheran Pastor Directory (the one from the 1928 book is the header on this page), a letter from his son John about the Lavik and Ofstedahl families, histories of the churches he pastored from the early Norwegian-American Lutheran Church Directory - and then the entries about Rasmus in public records. I’ll intertwine this story with biographies of his children from John R. Lavik’s book, and their obituaries - to have a fairly complete background on Rasmus and his family.
The entry for Rasmus in the 1914 Norwegian-American Lutheran pastor directory contains his photo and his biography:
For many years, Forrest Brown was the archivist at the Norwegian-American Historical Association. He kept a binder where he recorded information about the early Norwegian-American families in some of the churches in Goodhue County, Minnesota - where Rasmus arrived after immigration, married, and went to school before he went into the ministry. When I visited the association in Northfield ca 1995, Forrest made copies for me of his binder sheets for families I might be researching, which have been very helpful. One of them was the family sheet for Rasmus Lavik. I have posted it below. While it might seem hard to read - as Forrest came across Lavik records in Bygdeboks, church records, marriages, births, deaths, and other records - he hand wrote them on to the sheet.
On the right is the biography of Rasmus Lavik in Norwegian in a book on the immigration from Voss to America. There are biographies for all the Ofstedal brothers in this volume as well.
In 1966 while in high school, I was briefly interested family history. My grandparents had returned from a trip to the Midwest, and mentioned that the youngest brother of my grandfather’s mother (siblings in a family of thirteen children!) – Albert Markuson – was still alive in Minnesota and they had visited him. I wrote him, and had a correspondence with him in what turned out to be the last months of his life. Two of his sisters married Rev. John and Rev. Andreas Ofstedahl, who were nephews of Rasmus. Because they were the sons of his oldest sister, they had more of a fraternal relationship with Rasmus.
When I inquired about my family history with Albert, mentioned he recalled meeting Rev. John Lavik in the 1940’s in Canada. He wrote John Lavik in order to help get information for me about my Ofstedahl ancestry, since John R. Lavik’s aunt was my g-g-grandmother Agate Lavik Ofstedal. John wrote a letter back to Albert, which he promptly sent to me - and it is a treasured posession from my earliest efforts at genealogy. I have posted the letter below.
And I will post one final more biographical piece about Rasmus. This is actually from a biography of his son John R. Lavik in the 2006 book titled “Bread to Share . . . Stories about Saskatchewan early Lutheran Pastors and Their Wives”. There is a touching anecdote about the death of Rasmus’ first wife and John’s mother - Ingeborg Tuff Lavik. I will include that brief portion for the narrative biography of Rasmus that follows.
(Rev.) Rasmus Anderson Lavik – his life and family. Above are narratives that are biographical about Rasmus’ entire life. Now I will narrate the individual events of his life from various records, and include those individual records as possible. Rasmus was the ninth and youngest child of Anders and Dordei Vetlejord Lavik, born on October 15, 1841, on the Lavik farm in Eksingedalen. As stated in one of the biographies above, he appears to be named for the oldest brother of his mother Dordei - Rasmus Vetlejord, who continued to live on the Vetleford farm after their father’s death. The name Rasmus does not seem to appear in his direct ancestry or in the families of any of his descendants.
Rasmus was shown as baptized on October 20, 1841 with his parents as Anders Johaneson and Dordi Knudsdatter. Rasmus’ baptism record, shown as in the Hosanger section of Hordaland Is posted below, the left page of the record is first and then the right page of the record is below that. The handwriting is hard to read but the record confirms Rasmus’ birth on October 15, 1841, looks like the baptism was on October 24 or 25, lists his name as Rasmus Anderson, and while the handwriting of the sponsor’s names is hard to read, two of them are Rasmus uncle Johannes Johanneson and his oldest sister Anna Andersdatter.
As shown above in the biography of Rasmus authored by his son John, Rasmus’ father died when he was seven, and he was brought up by his oldest brother John – who appeared to have the Lavik farm after his father’s death.
Rasmus attended Stords Normal School from 1861-63. I have been unable to find for certain where this school was, but there is a Stords Commun, south of Bergen, also in Hordaland.
Rasmus was a teacher at “Laerdalsoren” (which appears to be about one hundred miles north east of Lavik in Sogn og Fjordane County) from 1863 to the time he immigrated in 1871. Rasmus is shown below in the 1865 Norwegian census in Laerdal - age 25, living with a family, and with his occupation listed as school teacher. It validates that Rasmus was not living with his brother in Lavik at this time - who is enumerated there with his family in 1865 - but that Rasmus was at the location where he was teaching.
Rasmus immigrated to America in August 1871 a few months before his thirtieth birthday,, arriving in Quebec Canada on the S. S. Hibernian, travelling with his nephew Andreas Anderson [Oefstedal], who was sixteen at the time.
Above is ship passenger record for the Hibernian, which shows Rasmus as a 30 year old laborer and Andreas Andreason (Ofstedal), a 16 year old laborer as well. The first page of the passenger list was dated August 18, 1871 and was shown as arriving in Quebec. I read an article that Quebec was a major shipping port from Scandinavia in this period, because immigrants would come west, and loads of timber would go back east. The website for Noregian heritage ships - which has some passenger records - also has images of some of the ships, and the image below is the Hibernian.
The first record I have found for Rasmus after immigration was his marriage on December 30, 1873, in Minneola, Goodhue County, Minnesota, to Ingeborg Pedersdatter Tuff. She was born on May 23, 1853, in Vestre Slidre, Oppland fylke, Norway. Ingeborg and her family immigrated in 1867 from Vestre Slidre Norway. Ingeborg’s sister Kari Tuff married Rasmus’ nephew Simon Ofstedal. The Goodhue County record of the marriage is below.
In this Goodhue County marriage record above, officiating was Rev. Niels Ylvisaker. Witnesses were Peder Tuff, Ingeborg’s father and Preden Totenson (?). Both Rasmus and Ingeborg were shown as being of Goodhue County. Rev. Ylvisaker was shown in the Lavik photo collection - Rasmus had a photo of him, and that photo matches the same photo included in the Norwegian Lutheran pastor directory. Niels was shown in that directory as pastor in Zumbrota at the time, and was shown to have died in 1877 - four years after the marriage. The first child of Rasmus and Ingeborg - Andreas, or Andrew in later records - arrived the next year.
This baptism record is from St. John’s Lutheran Church In Northfield, Minnesota. Andreas is shown as born on June 5, baptized on August 9, the son of Rasmus Anderson Lavik and Ingeborg Pedersdatter. Five people are listed in the record (as sponsors?) - Neils Th. Ylvislaker, Kirtine Ylvisaker, Johannes Ylvisaker, Andreas A. Oefstedal - Rasmus’ nephew and the person with whom he immigrated three years before - and a fifth person who’s name is not clear from the handwriting, first name beings with a P and surname with an O.
Rasmus, Ingeborg, and their young son Andrew, age one, are shown above in the 1875 Minnesota State Census in Roscoe Township, Goodhue County. Rasmus and Ingeborg are shown as born in Norway with both their parents born in Norway - and both of Andrew’s parents are shown as born in Norway. No other family members appear to be near them in this entry.
Maria Lavik’s baptism record is shown in St. John’s Lutheran Church in Northfield, the same church where her brother Andrew was baptized in 1874. Her parents are shown as Rasmus Lavik and Ingeborg Pedersdatter. Maria is shown as born on Feburary 7, 1876 and baptized on March 5, 1876. There are five “sponsors” - Mikael Gullemand (?), Karen Gullemand (?), and three members of the Tuff family, Kari P. (Ingeborg’s sister who married Rasmus’ nephew Simon Ofstedal in 1878), Even (?) P., and Barbra.
The church record above -the baptism of Peter Lavik (probably named for Ingeborg’s father) is from the St. John’s Church in Northfield - the same church where Andrew and Maria were baptized. Peter was shown in other records as born on October 10, and the date on this record is November 2 - which is likely the date of the baptism. The sponsors were listed as Martha Fladland (?), Sjur J. Fladland (?), Andreas Erstad, Marie Erstad, and Gullik Moen. Gullik Moen married Dorothy Ofstedal in 1881, Dorothy being Rasmus’ nephew - and at the time of the record in 1877, Dorothy had not immigrated yet, coming to America the next year with Rasmus’ sister Agate, her husband, and three of their children, including Dorothy.
The 1875 and 1877 deeds above involved Rasmus Lavik during this period. According to the Goodhue County deed index, there was also a mortgage indexed in Goodhue County for Rasmus Lavik at the time of the first deed above. Peder Tuff is shown in the index purchasing land in the same area in 1873. I reviewed the original homestead records for this township, and they all were dated roughly ten years before these deeds. So any family member that lived in this area bought from a previous property owner.
The map below is from the 1877 Goodhue County map book for Kenyon Township. Shown nearby in this map are P. J. Tuff, S. A. Ofstedal, and A. A. Ofstedal. P. J. is Ingeborg Tuff Lavik’s father Peder Johnson Tuff. S. A. Ofstedal is Simon Anderson Ofstedal. A. A. Ofstedal is Anders Anderson Ofstedal, brother of Simon. In May 1877, Andrew and Maria Ofstedal’s daughter Ingeborg was baptized in the Gol Church in Kenyon, with Simon and Kari Ofstedal as sponsors.
Rasmus would have sold the land to Simon shown below in Section 27, not long before the date of this map. Peder Tuff is shown right nearby, as is Simon’s brother A. A. Ofstedal. Both Simon and Rasmus married daughters of Peder Tuff - and the map shows that all families lived right by each other. Most of the names of adjoining property owners appear to be Norwegian-American.
From the 1877 Goodhue County map book is the above map - which outlines ethnicity in different parts of Goodhue County. In the plat map just above this ethnicity map is the location of Rasmus Lavik, Peder J. Tuff, and the Ofstedals in Kenyon Township. It is not far from the Skyberg marking in that township. Rasmus lived at other times in Roscoe Township. Nils Ofstedal lived in the Zumbrota area, and his father in law Christian Peterson Lunde lived in Minneola Township not far from Zumbrota on the line of Norwegian settlement on the above map. Knute and Martha Reppen Markuson, parents of two daughters who married two Ofstedahl ministers, lived in Wanamingo Township. Nils Ofstedahl’s last pastorate was at the Vang Church in Nerstrand, which appears to be in Warsaw Township. Nils Ofstedahl was teaching in Pine River Township in the 1880 census. Four photos in the Lavik collection were in Red Wing studios; six photos - including the one of Rasmus and Ingeborg’s six young children were taken in Zumbrota; and four were taken in studios in Kenyon, Minnesota.
The St. John’s Lutheran Church baptismal record book for 1879 shows Dora Lavik born on August 13, and baptized on August 31, the daughter of Rasmus Anderson Lavik and Ingeborg Pedersdatter. Dora was quite possibly named for Rasmus’ mother Dordei. The entry for Dora was near the bottom of the page, and there was really no way to post this but to put the entire page up. Shown as sponsors were Frederick Peterson and Anne Peterson, Nils Ofstedal, and Tjorborg Anderson Lavik. Nils was the nephew of Rasmus - Rasmus was a witness at Nils’ wedding and attended his funeral, both shown below, and Tjorborg was Rasmus’ sister. I have not found a relationship for the Petersons. I believed that he might be a brother to Ingeborg, but I have not seen in any census or other record a Frederick in that family. This baptismal record was the fourth in the St. Johns records - one for each of the first four children of Rasmus and Ingeborg. I have not found a baptismal record for the last two children - John or Hannah - in the records for St. John’s Lutheran Church or in the records of another congregation.
Above is shown the entry for Rasmus Lavik and his family in the 1880 federal census in Roscoe Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota, in an entry taken on June 9, 1880. Rasmus is shown as a teacher and ingeborg as keeping house. Four children are shown with them, although Peter is listed as Theodore. Also shown is Rasmus’ sister Torberg (sic), listed as a domestic servant and Anders Knutson, 24, a servant and farm laborer born in Norway. Rasmus nephew Anders, son of his brother Knute, was born in Norway in 1856 and took the name Anders (Andrew) Flakoll in the United States and became a Lutheran Minister. However, the Lutheran pastor book in 1928 lists that he immigrated in 1882, and the 1900 census indicates he immigrated in 1884, the year that his father is thought to have immigrated. However, this is a perfect fit for that Anders in this listing, and it would be logical he would be with his uncle, since his father had not immigrated by this time.
The deed above from 1882 was Simon Ofstedal and his wife - Simon being Rasmus’ nephew and Kari his wife being the sister of Rasmus’ wife Ingeborg - put Rasmus back into the same place where he sold land in 1877. The deed symbolizes the fact that almost all of Rasmus’ extended family members moved to the Red River Valley at this time - his sister Agate, the Tuffs, Simon Ofstedal, Andreas Oefstedal, and others. Rasmus would joint them in that general area in the late 1880’s.
On June 4, 1885 Rev. Nils Ofstedahl, nephew of Rasmus, married Matilde Lunde in Goodhue County. R. Lavik is listed as one of the witnesses. Nils died just seven years later, while minister to the Vang Congregation in Goodhue County. He left three young children. One of them, Theodore Ofstedahl, was in World War I and is mentioned in Rudy Lavik’s World War I journal as seeing him while in training.
Rasmus and his family are shown above in the 1885 Minnesota state census in post office Roscoe, Roscoe Township, Goodhue County, in an entry taken on June 4, 1885. Rasmus and Ingeborg are shown with all six of their children. This was the high point for the family for Rasmus and Ingeborg. In the next year, Ingeborg died of tuberculosis. Only John and Dora lived to old age. A photograph of the Lavik children in their youth is in the photo collection. The only known photo of Ingeborg is in the section that explains the photo project and was sent by Rev. John Lavik’s son, Paul. In the biography of John Lavik in the Canadian book on Lutheran prairie pastors, “Bread to Share”, there is a touching reference to Ingeborg’s death: “In 1886, when she was only thirty-three years old, Ingeborg died from tuberculosis. John always remembered that on the evening of the funeral and burial, his father took the children out under the evening starlit sky and explained to them that Jesus had, in love, called their mother to be with him in heaven..” That biography goes on to state that “In 1887 Rasmus sold his farm and begin studying theology.”
Rasmus Lavik Moves Into the Ministry
As stated just above, Rasmus began studying theology in 1887, a year after the death of his wife Ingeborg. He followed his three nephews into the ministry at a time of energy and conflict in the Norwegian-American Lutheran Church. Andreas Oefstedal, with whom Rasmus emigrated in 1871, was ordained in 1881 and started six churches in the Red River Valley area of Minnesota. Nils Ofstedal, who was a sponsor at the baptism of one of Rasmus’ children, and for whom Rasmus was a witness at his wedding as shown above, was ordained and was instrumental in starting or growing nine churches in the Aberdeen area of Dakota Territory. John Ofstedahl, ordained in 1884 was in Wisconsin working with two churches there, and came to North Dakota as a pastor a year after Rasmus came to Devils Lake.
This period was characterized by a vehement conflict between factions within the Norwegian-American Lutheran church. There was a Hauge faction, an anti-Missourian faction, and then those in the anti-Missourian faction joined with others to form the United Norwegian Lutheran Church in 1890. The Ofstedals were all active in the “Anti-Missourian” faction, and became part of the United Church in 1890. Rev. John Ofstedahl (as discussed in the biographical section in a page in the Ofstedahl section on this web site), struggled with the divisions in the church during his first pastorate in Winchester, Wisconsin. Rev. Nils Ofstedahl (also as discussed in the biographical section in a page in the Ofstedahl section on this web site), carried on a strong correspondence with the Thorbjorg Mohn, the founding president of St. Olaf and a leading anti-Missourian - and those letters are shown in that Nils section.
It is important to discuss this religious climate, because that was the climate in which Rasmus Lavik went to divinity school. In fact, he attended the “Northfield Academy” - which was formed the year before he enrolled specifically in response to the splits in the Norwegian-American Lutheran Church. The Seminary is described in the O. M. Norlie’s 1925 book “History of the Norwegian People in America” below. And also referenced in the brief excerpt about new ministers from this faction coming to North Dakota from the North Dakota volume of history collections.
As can be seen from this book excerpt, Rasmus was in the middle of the Lutheran disputes by enrolling in the seminary in Northfield. His biography in the Norwegian-American pastor directory, the heading for this page, lists his affiliation as Anti-Missourian, and then United Church. It was also significant that he was in Northfield, where at least his first four children were baptized, and where some of his children went to school at St. Olaf as well.
The article on the left, from the Minneapolis Star Tribune of October 5, 1887, describes how a Northfield Publishing Company is being formed - with Rasmus being a board member and officer. The president of the company was Professor Thorbjorn Mohn, the founding and long-time president of St. Olaf College. Rasmus was keeping high-ranking company during his time in Northfield.
The article on the right, from a December 12, 1888 Red Wing Minnesota newspaper, appears to be about Rasmus graduating, or being a candidate for the ministry. I tried to translate, but found it difficult.
Rasmus is mentioned in the History of Rice and Steele Counties (Minnesota). Northfield, where Rasmus studied, is in Rice County. The segment at the left is a further commentary on the politics within the Norwegian-American Lutheran Church - and includes Rasmus Lavik on a list of people “who did noble work at this critical time”.
Rasmus Lavik’s first posting after graduating from seminary was in Devils Lake, North Dakota. Living there was Antonette Hagen, who had immigrated with her family from Norway in 1886, and in the citizenship papers below, applied for citizenship in Ramsey County, North Dakota the next year. It is likely this is where he met Antonette, who he married in Garden Township, Polk County, Minnesota on December 3, 1889. His nephew Andreas was a minister in the area of Garden Township at the time, and his sister Agate and her husband - along with his nephew Simon, as well as Rasmus’ sister Tjorbjorg - were all in that area then. I do not have a record of their marriage, but it shows in the Minnesota Official Marriage System (MMS) Index: POLK/12/03/1889LAVIK, RASMUS HAGEN, ANTIONETTA.
I did not find a listing in the 1918 Norwegian-Lutheran Church directory for a posting of Rasmus Lavik to a chuch in Devils Lake in 1888 - but I did find the above article in the December 29, 1888 Devils Lake Inter-Ocean newspaper of the Christmas service at St. Olaf Lutheran Church, which places him there during this period. Rev. Lavik is listed on the program as having given a speech.
These church listings are from the 1918 directory of Norwegian-American Lutheran churches. Above is the one church in Ramsey County, ND that shows Rasmus as pastor, but it lists him as pastor from 1889-1890 - when other records show he had begun his pastorate in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota.
From the 1918 Lutheran Church Directory are these two listings for churches in Red Lake County, Minnesota, that Rasmus Lavik pastored from 1889 through 1992. There are roughly eight photos in the Lavik Photograph Collection from a studio in Red Lake Falls. Rasmus married Antonette Hagen while posted here - I have a note that they were married in Garden Township Polk County this year, and as stated above they are in the Minnesota marriage index for having been married on that date in Polk County. The first child of Rasmus and Antonette - Ingvald Lavik - was born while they were in Red Lake Falls. During this time, Rasmus pastored two other congregations.
The two postings above from the 1918 Lutheran church directory represent one listing for a Crookston church - the entry just carried over to a second page in the directory - showing that Rasmus pastored this Crookston church while located in Red Lake Falls. Crookston, which is in Polk County, is roughly twenty-five miles southwest of Red Lake Falls.
The entry for the Washburn church in the 1918 church directory confused me at first. It shows that Rasmus was pastor here in the same years he was assigned to Red Lake Falls - but Washburn is about 275 miles west of Red Lake Falls and about forty miles north of Bismarck. Yet, I found the three newspaper articles below from a Washburn newspaper that validates that Rasmus worked here during this period - as well as the Bismarck newspaper refrence below that implies he passed through travelling at the time of one of these newspaper articles.
All three articles were from the Washburn Leader - the one in the upper left was from November 7, 1891, in the upper right was dated November 28, 1891, and the one on the lower left was dated May 21, 1892. Two of them place Rasmus as being from Red Lake Falls - two are announcements of Rasmus preaching, and the third is about Rasmus instructing a confirmation class. It’s a tribute to his dedication that he would make two 550 mile round trips in November to pastor an additional church.
The article to the right is from the Bismarck Tribune of November 14, 1891. The heading “personal”, is not defined around this article or in this edition. It seems to represent people who passed through, and either a train or direction they came by. This edition is days after one of the Washburn Leader articles above - indicating that Rev. Lavik came by train the long distance from Red Lake Falls to Washburn.
The article on the left is from the June 23, 1892 issue of the Kenyon Leader (Polk County, Minnesota), in the Holden section. Rasmus’ nephew, Nils Ofstedal, the son of his sister Agate, died young in Polk County, while he was the minister of the Vang Church there. There was a significant obituary on the front of this issue, but this article was inside and described family members who attended the funeral.
Mrs. Agatha Ofstedal, Rasmus’ sister was listed. Rasmus was one of the attendees, listed as Rev. R. Lavik rather than as a family member. All four of Nils brothers, two of whom were Lutheran ministers, were also listed. They list Andrew Ofstedal as from Rindal, Minnesota - but it was Simon Ofstedal, with whom Rasmus’ sister Tjorborg was also living at the time. Agate’s husband Anders Simonson Ofstedal, Rasmus’ brother-in-law, had died just weeks before his son Nils died.
The Milnor, North Dakota Period . . . .
In 1892, Rasmus Lavik left Red Lake Falls for Sargent County, North Dakota - where he worked and lived for the rest of his life. In the first year the Lavik family lived in Forman, where son Rudy was born. The next year they moved to Milnor. Rasmus pastored multiple churches in the region until he retired in 1913. Rasmus died here in 1927 and Antonette in 1940. It was a time of sadness as well, as five of Rasmus’ children died - some in Milnor. Son Anton lived on in the area, and represented it in the State Legislature. The Laviks were active members of the community in this period and left a broad community legacy. The Lavik photograph collection has photos from Forman, Milnor, and Oakes - as well as some from the greater region such as Lidgerwood. But Rasmus’ job, and the reason for coming back to North Dakota, was pastoring many churches in the area . . .
In the 1918 Norwegian-American Church Directory, there are seven churches in Sargent County that list service by Rev. Rasmus Lavik - all shown above. The Forman Church indicates a starting year for Rasmus of 1890 - which seems questionable - although it is recorded that Rasmus and his family lived in Forman for a year before moving to Milnor. Rasmus was still at Red Lake Falls in 1890. The Milnor Church shows 1892-1913 as years of service, and that seems to be the bookends of local service. Just as with his nephews shown in the Ofstedal family histories - Rev. Andreas Oefstedal, Rev. John Ofstedahl, and Rev. Nils Ofstedal - each pastored multiple churches at the same time. The section on John Ofstedahl has a memory of a parishioner that saw John hook up his team of horses after Sunday services in order to preach at a second church. It is quite possible that Rasmus followed a similar practice.
In the History of Forman At 100 years, there is a section on churches - and I have included the section on the Trinity Lutheran Church at left. It mentions the pastorate of Rasmus Lavik and that he held church services in different places until a permanent church was constructed. Additionally, it states that the congregation wanted a services in English, indicating that Rasmus has always conducted services in Norwegian.
There was also a series of long articles in the North Dakota History Collections, in a volume seven published in 1925, that chronicles the Norwegian settlements in North Dakota and focused on church issues. Below is a brief section that talks about Anti-Missourian Lutheran ministers who came to North Dakota between 1886 and 1890, and Rasmus Lavik is listed as one. Another of those six ministers mentioned is Rev. Th. H. Larson. Twenty years later his daughter Charlotte Larson married the son of Rasmus Lavik, Rudy Lavik. Rasmus’ nephew the Rev. John Ofstedahl is mentioned as coming to North Dakota two pages later.
The Sargent County History had an article on the history of the Cogswell Church, which is shown below as well and includes information about Rasmus Lavik’s time there - mentioning that Rev. Lavik drove to Cogswell once a month to conduct services.
Mike Collins had two articles about the Rasmus Lavik family occupying what became the family farm two miles northwest of Milnor. They are undated, and I had assumed they were from the earlier part of the Lavik pastorate rather than the later - but the 1913 article on his retirement below suggests that maybe they were closer to his retirement in 1913. They are likely from the Sargent Teller. In the Lavik photo collection, there are a couple of photos that were appear to be taken at the farm.
Peter Lavik was in a Minnesota unit in the Spanish-American War. In the Lavik Photo Collection, there is a photo of he and two other soldiers. Below is his service card, an article in the Chicago Inter Ocean of September 7, 1898, and an excerpt from a book on Minnesota involvement in the Spanish-American War. There is a pension file for Peter Lavik which I have obtained, and a page from it is below also. That page lists where Peter was during the war, his place of birth and other facts, and his time of service. That card mentions that he contracted malaria and was in a hospital in the Philippines.
The photo to the right is of Tjorbor Lavik, Rasmus’ sister, with the family of Andrew and Maria Ofstedal - Andrew being Rasmus and Tjorbor’s nephew. The photo was provided by Andrew descendant Dallas Loken and was enhanced and colorized through a “MyHeritage” website process. In 1956, Rudy Lavik wrote a letter to his daughter and grandchildren, about family history, in which he wrote about “Tante Torbjor. She lived with us a year or so about the turn of the century and is considered to be chiefly responsible for ‘spoiling’ my youngest brother Ted. Anyway, she was a sourpuss and we gave three cheers when she went back to Minnesota. . . Later Tante Agate visited us and I remember how surprised we were at the difference.” Andrew was living by the border of North and South Dakota at the same time, and it is possible that Tjorbor was staying with the Laviks at the time this photo was taken. She is shown in some histories that she died ca 1896, but she appears to have lived past that period.
The 1900 census entry for Rasmus and his family, taken on June 7, 1900, included all of Rasmus Lavik’s children by both Ingborg and Antonette - except son Peter, shown above, who was off on his own. The oldest son Andrew died just a month after this census entry. By the time of the 1910 census, Marie and Hannah Marie had died as well.
The Book “The Saga of the Laviks of Eksingadalen”, by Rev. John Lavik, Rasmus and Ingeborg Lavik’s son, contains biographies of family members. The biography of Andrew - the oldest child - is at the right below. It talks of his studies, his illness, and his death. On the left is Andrew’s obituary from the Minneapolis Star Tribune of July 8, 1900. As shown above, he was in the census entry with his family one month before he died.
Marie Lavik, the second oldest child of Rasmus and Ingeborg, died in 1902. Below is her biography from the John Lavik book - and her obituary from the Minneapolis Journal of November 10, 1902. The death time reported by the obituary and the death date in John Lavik’s biography are a month apart.
The article at right from the Oakes Times of January 2, 1908, mentions Hannah Lavik and likely her father, "Messr." Lavik. It was the last known record of Hannah Lavik. She died sometime later in 1908. She is shown below in her biography in John Lavik's book as having taught, including in Spokane. There are five brown tone photos in the Lavik Collection that have the initials "H M L" and "H L" on the back - and are photos of a mountain outing. This was likely Hannah and friends somewhere near Spokane. She was the third of Rasmus' older children to have died in the decade. I have not found an obituary for her as yet.
Peter Lavik, son of Rasmus and Ingeborg, died in November 1910. He is shown above as a Spanish-American war veteran He is also in the photo collection with his siblings. In that collection also is an election card for a race he ran to be Polk County Attorney in 1908, a card that appears to have been kept by his brother Anton. I have been unable to find the 1908 Polk County election results online anywhere - Peter did not win - but I did find an article in a Twin Cities Norwegian newspaper about his candidacy. Peter was shown in a few Minneapolis City Directories in these years - I have included an entry from the 1906 Minneapolis Directory right below. Interestingly, it states that he was a student.
Peter is in the Minnesota death record index, showing that he died in Hennepin County, but I haven’t found a death certificate yet. There was a record for him in the Milnor Lutheran Church, where his father was pastor at the time, showing his death and that is below on the right. It was likely recorded there because Peter was buried with other family members in the Milnor Cemetery. That record shows Peter was born in Goodhue County, Minnesota, died in Hennepin, Minnesota at age 33 on November 13, 1910. John Lavik, in his Lavik book, included a biography of Peter, included below left, which tells how close Peter was to Rasmus in his last years and tells about Peter’s life. In the Milnor burial records far below, Peter is shown with the other Laviks in the Milnor Cemetery and lists his army unit with his listing.
In the 1910 census below, the Rasmus Lavik family is shown in Milnor, in an entry taken in April. All four of the younger sons were home with their parents.
The Sargent Teller reported on the surprise retirement party for Rasmus and Antonette Lavik as he retired from the local churches. The article, provided by Mike Collins, is undated but is likely from 1913. I was surprised by the reference to the “large purse” in the headline but realized that the gift was cash. There is a reference to the newer farm, so the articles posted earlier about the family moving into a newly completed farm was likely close to this date.
The 1915 North Dakota State census shows Rasmus and Antonette and their four sons all in Milnor at the time of the entry.
Rudolph Lavik of Milnor was elected Captain of the Concordia basketball team for 1916. The article at left is from the Grand Forks Daily Herald of January 8, 1916. The article also lists Anton Lavik and Ing Lavik as also being on the basketball team.
Below is a photo that includes Rudy and Ingvald Lavik - titled “Art College Graduates at Concordia [College] from the Fargo Forum and Daily Republican of May 25, 1917.
The news item to the right was from the Wahpeton Times of August 9, 1917. It is significant because it indicates that Rev. Lavik would continue to conduct services - and also because of the brief biographical reference. It is also significant that he was staying with the Ulsaker family. Records show that here were different generations of a Norwegian Ulsaker family in this area. Rasmus was friends - and there is a photo in the collection - of Rev. Niels Ylvisaker.
Wahpeton is the county seat for Richland County and is about forty miles east of Milnor. There are at least three photos in the Lavik Collection that were taken in Wahpeton. It is possible that they are of the Ulsaker family, but I have no photos to compare or use for an identification.
World War I - Draft Registrations and Army Service by the Lavik brothers. Four Lavik brothers registered for the World War I draft - and Rudy and Ingvald served in the army. The fifth brother Rev. John Lavik was serving the church in Canada during this entire period. Below are the registrations for Anton and Theodore, who did not go into the service, and below that service biographies of Ingvald and Rudy from a book of North Dakotans who served in World War I. According to John Lavik’s biography of Theodore below, he was called to service, but the Armistice happened the day before he was to report to training camp.
The 1920 census below shows Rasmus and family in Milnor Township in Sargent County and lists Rasmus as a farmer. All four sons are listed with them, including both Ingvald and Rudolph, who had both returned from service in World War I. Ingvald is listed as a seminary student, while the other three sons are listed as farmers. Theodore died just days after this entry was taken.
Theodore Lavik, the youngest of the four sons of Rasmus and Antonette, died on January 28, 1920. He was a student at Concordia College. Below is John Lavik’s biography of Theodore from his book - and the record of his death and burial from the Milnor Church records. He was shown as age 23.
The 1925 North Dakota state census shows Rasmus, Antonette, and Anton all in the entry in Milnor Township.
Rasmus Lavik’s obituary - likely from the Sargent Teller in 1927.
I obtained the probate for Rasmus in Sargent County. A will provided for Antonetta and his children by her, there’s a description of property, and public notice - this page listed the heirs and where they lived at the time of the probate.
The 1930 census lists Anton and Antonette living together in Milnor Township.
Dora Lavik Grimsrud died on May 29, 1934 at Hitterdal, Minnesota. The biography below is from her brother John Lavik’s book on the Lavik Family. Her obituary to the left was in the Sargent Teller of June 7, 1934. There are many photos of her children in the Lavik Photo Collection, and a few photos of Dora while she was young. Even though her widower Carl Grimsrud did not pass away until 1945, I have posted his obituary below as well.
The 1940 census shows Anton and Antonette in Milnor Township again. Antonette passed away later in the year, and her obituary is posted below the census entry.
Antonette died intestate, and there was a probate in Sargent County. I have posted two documents below from the estate - from that has the signatures of her sons, and a second that shows everyone signed to transfer the farm to Anton Lavik.
A cemetery records book that contains the Milnor Cemetery included the Lavik burials below. According to an item about Rasmus’ oldest son Andrew above, he was buried in Goodhue County by his mother Ingeborg. Below are all the children who died before Rasmus and Antonette. Peter’s grave lists his military service.
The Sons Who Survived Rasmus and Antonette . . . .
John R. Lavik had a distinguished pastoral career in Canada and the United States. He authored the Lavik family history and was the subject of a long biography in the Canadian Bread to Share book. Rudy Lavik had a long and distinguished career as a college coach and athletic director. Ingvald Lavik had a long stint as a pastor in different congregations. Anton Lavik was elected to the North Dakota legislature and was a state appointed official at high levels. Each would be worthy of their own page on this website. Below, I will just include their biography in the John Lavik book and the obituaries of them and their spouses - to give a summary of their lives.
