Nikolai på Bjøringen og hans søsken

Mail fra Janis I USA, som her forteller meg litt om Nikolai, ting som jeg ikke visste.


Peder and Elisabet were the parents of Nikolais and Ragnhild. Peder and Elisabet had eight children. They were Marie, Nikolina, Beret, Elen, Elisabet, Nikolais, Torberg, and Ragnhild and I believe they were born in that order. Marie and Beret died in their early 20's.
A couple of other sisters came to America besides Ragnhild and died there. Jean, Janis sister was wondering where they lived and if anyone knows where they are buried. Janis know Elisabet was one and she don't remember now who the other one was beside Ragnhild. I do know Ragnhild's husband died when my mother was six years old so Ragnhild had a pretty tough life trying to run a farm and raise three children. Her husband was quite a bit older than she was and had been married before and had other children, but his wife had died. His children were pretty much grown when he married, but Janis do remember her mom, Mabel, being very close to his youngest daughter, Julia, who was a very nice woman. Janis  mother told her children when they were growing up that they had a pretty rough life, working very hard on the farm, and there was not much money to go around. But they survived and did okay. Janis know her mom learned English in school for the first time because they spoke Norwegian at home and even the church services were in Norwegian in North Dakota where they lived because there were so many Norwegians in the area.