Sorry, but I was not able to find any Woods listed in the Pine Island section. Unfortunately, the book only tells about town founders and families that started the first businesses. Good luck in your future research.

Rachel

I was unable to find any Lemmerman(n)s in my book. I guess it isn't the old book you are looking for. I know there are other Goodhue Co. history books, but don't know of any ways to access them online. Good luck!

Rachel

Rachel, my Hillig fam was in Red Wing Early...do any of these names appear in your book? George Rehmer Hillig b. 1873, Anna Hennen Hillig one of first settlers Omro; her husband Richard Hillig b. 1848; Anna Sarah Hillig Ziegler b. 1877, d. 1902 Tyro twp. Pls e-mail me at Sue33@AOL.com and thanks!

I am wondering if you have any information on the Holm family of Cannon Falls in your book on Goodhue County. I am looking for information on Cherstin (or some form of the name)Holm (maiden name Svard/Sward) who emigrated in 1856. I think her husbands name was Karl. She was a member of the Spring Garden Lutheran Church, and was buried in Cannon Falls in 1913.
Any help is much appreciated.

I found a reference to a Gustaf Holm in my book in Leon Twp. Spring Garden Lutheran Church is in Leon Twp. (I am a member of the church and live 1/2 mi. down the road). The following is on pg.168:

"In 1856, came Gustaf Holm, S.A. Young, and a number of American families. These people did not remain long, moving to other localities (the Americans did not stay). The permanent settlers were nearly all of Norwegian and Swedish stock."

I was able to find many listings for Carl Johan Holm and Christine Sward, buried in the Spring Garden Cem., in the Eleven Co. Cemetery Incription Index at Ancestry.com. In fact, too many for me to include in this message. PLEASE contact me directly, (benfarm@rconnect.com) and I will try to find a way to get them to you. I may have access to other information since I am on the archives committee at our church. The Holm family was also one of the original founders of the Spring Garden Church, so my guess is that they and some of the Swards are buried in the Spring Garden Cem., not in Cannon Falls

Rachel,
What a great thing for you to do. I am looking for information on Amund Larsen/Larson his wife Bertha who settled in the twp of Belvidere in 1855. They had a church built on their propery called Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church and thier son Rev. Lewis (Lars) Larson was one of the clergy to serve at the church. I will give you names.
Amund and Bertha Larsen/Larson
Children:
Rev. Lewis A. Larson and his wife Martha E. Hansen/Hanson
Mary Martha Larson
Johanna (Jennie) Larson
David A. Larson
Johannes (John) A. Larson
Angnette Larson
Maria Mary Larson.
If you need dates let me know.
Thank you,
Denise

Denise,

I re-read the section on Belvidere Twp. and didn't find any Larsons at all. The only churches listed were A German Methodist church built in 1862, a Catholic church built in 1865, a Norwegian Lutheran church built in 1867, and a German Lutheran church built in 1872. The first white settlement in the area was by N.B. and George Gaylord in the spring of 1855. The first religious services were held as early as 1856 in the home of N.B Gaylord and were conducted by Rev. John Watson, a traveling Methodist missionary.

Belvidere Twp. was a part of Goodhue Twp. until 1858 when it was made a separate unit and called York Twp. Since there already was a township by that name, they changed the name to Elmira. There was also an Elmira Twp. already, so they changed the name to Belvidere.

I read the chapters about Goodhue Twp. and Goodhue Village and still didn't see any Larsons. On pg. 154 in the Goodhue Village chapter it says: "There are four church organizations, Methodist Episcopal, English Lutheran, Catholic, and German Lutheran." It does not go into the history of the churches.

There are two Larsons listed in the Biographical Sketches. Ferdie L. Larson, born in Vasa and moved to Cannon Falls, and the A.C. Larson Company of Zumbrota which was a furniture store, a funeral home, and also ran the ambulance service.

The chapters on each township are only a few pages long, so your ancestors may have been left out. Sorry I couldn' find more information. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Rachel

The Lemmermanns are listed in the 1914 Goodhue County plat map book for Hay Creek Township:
Could this be your "Heinrich Lemmermann'?
Henry Lemmermann and wife Engel. Their children were: Mary, Emma, Annie, Freda, Alma, Henry, Leona, Arthur and Harry. (They had 198.5 acres in Secton 16 of the township) In 1914 Henry Lemmermann had been living in Goodhue County for 28 years.

from John Dalby's cemetery database:
LEMMERMANN, OTTO   born: 01/OCT/1819 died: 06/SEP/1889 Buried at: Immanuel German Lutheran, Hay Creek, Goodhue County. He died of dysentery. No spouse given.

LEMMERMAN HENRY born: 26/OCT/1862 died: 29/MAR/1939 Buried at: Immanuel German Lutheran, Hay Creek, Goodhue SPOUSE: ENGIL

LEMMERMAN, ENGIL born: 11/NOV/1868 died: 01/JUL/1953 Buried at: Immanuel German Lutheran, Hay Creek Goodhue SPOUSE: HENRY

Hope this helps!
Vickie
joyhart@aol.com

Hello Rachel,

I would like to take you up on your offer for look up's. My family immigrated from Norway in 1871. In the parish records at Tretten Norway it indicates the family left Norway with a final destination of Red Wing. The only record I can locate for them in Red Wing is the father's death record. Halvor Knudsen LEDUM died in 1874 at 22 mi W of Redwing, Goodhue, MN and is buried at Zumbrota, Goodhue, MN.

What I would like to know is, did Red Wing send out information to advertise themselves as a place to relocate to? I know this sounds strange but how did these people who lived in a small inland valley farm where they had been for 600 years find out about a small place deep in the middle of the US. I live in the same country and never heard of it till I found this death record. I never associated my Red Wing boots with the town. I looked at the city site last night and know much more now.

And I would like to know where Halvor is buried. Some had noted that Red Wing had a Norweigen Luthern Church. How can I obtain an address for this church? Does it still exist?

I know your book doesnt have an index and my family wasnt one of the promonient ones they write bios on, but maybe they are mentioned somewhere.

Feel free to post to this board or email me melro416@pacbell.net

Thanks for your help and your time.

Melanie

Melanie,
I was not able to find your ancestor, but I will try to answer some of your questions about the area.

I am not sure if Red Wing advertised to attract immigrants. I do know that it is along the Mississippi River, and started out as a major trade area. The original inhabitants of the area were Indians. Ft. Snelling is north of Red Wing and was also a major trade area at the time. The first steamboat stopped in Red Wing in 1823. Two missonaries from Switzerland came to "educate" the Indians in 1836. They married, but had little success and abandoned their work in 1845. In 1848, another missionary arrived, and in the summer of 1849 was joined by a second man and his wife. The second couple stayed and continued to live in the area until their death. From this time the area was permanently settled by whites. A post office was established in 1851, the town was platted in 1853 and became the Goodhue Co. seat, the first school opened in 1853. From this point on, the development of the city was very rapid and it soon was ranked as one of the leading business points of the new territory.

Since I live about 20 mi. west of Red Wing, I find it hard to believe that it is unknown to some! :-) I know that the area here was settled by mostly Swedes and Norwigians. There are many churches around here that were started by these people. Most still exist. It is possible that the area reminded those first settlers of their homeland. The farming is very good here, and they probably wrote home to Norway and encouraged their families to join them. I know that some of my husband's ancestors came from Sweeden to avoid the mandatory military service that was demanded of young men at the time. They liked it here, sent letters to their relatives, established farms (our house was built in 1880), married, started churches and schools, and sent for more relatives. I do know that the Norwegians and Swedes did not mix. Their churches were separate and they settled in different areas. The people who live here now still know where the lines are!

If Halvor was buried in Zumbrota, then it would be best to look for a church there. I don't know if asking the church in Red Wing would help. There are at least 6 Norwegian or Swedish Lutheran Churches within 15 miles of our house. Zumbrota and Goodhue are towns which still exist. I'm sure there are just as many churches in that area. It would help if you had at least part of a name for the church. Most of the churches around here are known by more than just their denomination (Spring Garden Luth., Holden Luth., Urland Luth., etc.) If you can find out the name, it will usually point to the township where the church and cemetery are located. Ancestry.com also has a 11 County Cemetery Inscription Index. This index includes Goodhue Co. The index would list dates and the location of his burial.

Please let me know if I can be of more help. Good luck!

Rachel