In the 1830's and 40's there was a farming area named MISTUN near the city of Voss in Norway. The families of two of our ancestors were living next to each other in log houses. They may have lived in this same area for several generations. We do not know anything about the quality of their lives but additional research into the political and economic climate of the area could reveal many possible circumstances of their lives. Here, on November 16, 1832, BRITA FENNEY was born; she was the second of three children born to Knute and his wife (name unknown). The next year; on February 2, 1834; SJUR FENNEY was born next door. He was the third of four children born to Knute Sjurson Rogne and Ranveig Nilsdatter Fenne. Ranveig had been the heir to the FENNE farm and when the children immigrated they took their last name from the name of the farm where they were born and raised.

In 1980 we made a trip to Norway and were able to visit this area. We found the log house where SJUR was born and raised with his sisters. It was now used as a storehouse for old farm equipment. BRITA's birthplace (about 100 yards away) had been replaced with a new house where the current occupants lived. We also visited the FENNNE road running thru the area. It was a typical farm area for that part of Norway.

Late in the 1840's conditions were such that several of the young people from these families decided to immigrate to America. Perhaps it was the "potato famines" of the times that made immigration seem to be an attractive alternative to their existing way of life. It was also a fact of life tht there was not enough tillable land to support the young people who were beginning to form families of their own. They may have also seen some of the books and pamphlets that were in circulation which encouraged people to immigrate to the promising new world.

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We do not know how large a group from the area decided to immigrate. The sailing vessel carrying them over the ocean was crowded with other young immigrants from Norway and they all had their dreams and plans to meet friends in the new world.

The group emigrating in 1849 from Midtun included the following: Nils (age 20) - - -brother of BRITA; Anna (age 19) - - -Nils' wife - - -sister of SJUR - - -SJUR (age 15)

SJUR probably came with Nils and Anna so that he could help Nils establish a farm in the new country. I do not know the culture of the times but it could be that SJUR's involvement was a part of a dowry agreement between the families.

It should also be noted that they left their parents and several siblings in Norway, including BRITA. We will catch up with their siblins later as they also immigrate to America.

The story of the journey from Norway was not documented by any of the family; but we can assume tht it was similiar to the trip of Signa Anderson as described in Chapter I-1. It carried them across the ocean in a sailing vessel to New York City, then by boats to Buffalo, New York and into the great lakes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They then made their way to Jefferson County, Wisconsin to meet up with other Norwegian pioneers that had immigrated a year or two earlier. Here they lived and farmed for 5 years. They supposedly sent many letters home to their families in Norway to tell them about their new life and to encourage others to join them in America.

By 1854 most of the land in Jefferson County had been claimed and there was no room for friends and relatives to settle if they came to join them. In Wisconsin at the time there was vast acreage of land that was "in the public domain," especially in western Wisconsin. The land was waiting for squatters to occupy and to obtain ownership of the land.

Therefore, it is likely that the following was the situation with the Fenney group in Jefferson County. In February, 1854, SJUR turned 20 years old and he would need a wife to enter the Wisconsin frontier to start a new life. It was more than a coincidence that Nils had an eligible sister back in Norway. It may have been the plan all the time, that BRITA would emigrate and marry SJUR as soon as things were settled down in the new country. So, in 1854, BRITA came and married SJUR while they were still in Jefferson County, Wisconsin.

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The next spring the family group sold their Jefferson County land, gathered their belongings into three covered wagons, and started a journey into the western Wisconsin wilderness.

The pioneer group consisted of;

1. Nils and Anna Fenney with their 3 daughters.

2. SJUR and BRITA (newlyweds)

Unders Skutely (a friend from Norway who later changed his first name to Andrew).

We do not know how they picked out the town of Springfield in Jackson County, Wisconsin as their destination. Taylor Church history suggests that the area had been scouted by other Norwegians and had been recommended as a suitable area for settlement. Their group was the second group to settle this area. The first group had arrived the prior summer and it included the widow Helga Lunden Anderson and her 6 children. Refer to Chapter I - 1, "Joseph and Signa" for their story.

Shortly after their arrival, and even before they could build a log hut, Brita gave birth to her first child, Knute. He was born in their covered wagon on August 25, 1855; the first white child born in Springfield Township. Their early years were full of hardships and joys. Farming was their livelihood. Their second son, Andrew, was born on August 26, 1858. In 1927 he wrote a short biography to describe their life in those early days. He wrote as follows;

"Many were the trials and hardships for these early settlers as they were poor people; but had lots of strength and ambition. When the husband at harvest time took his cradle to cut his grain his good wife would take the hand rake and bind the grain in bundles or Sheifs (sheaves) while she would have her baby either on a blanket on the ground or tied on her back. They had no market place to sell any of their product. The nearest market was Monterville; now it is called Trempealeau. The next place was Sparta. It would take 3 days and 2 nights to make this trip with a yoke of cattle. They had no creameries or cheese factories in them days. The egg case was not invented. To ship eggs was to pack them in barrels in sawdust or bran. There were no stock buyers. Their houses were what they call log huts. Most of them had kitchen, dining room, sitting room, parlor, bedroom, all in one room. Their stables, granaries, were built of log with straw for the roof. They built their homes close by a spring or on a creek so they had water for themselve and their stock. Their hay they had to stack outdoors as they had no barn to put it in."

Andrew's biography is continued on the next page

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"The good woman would sit evenings when her days work was done, card the wool, spin it, or weave it. Then she would cut and sew the cloth into garments for the whole family. There were no dressmakers them days. She would also knit the mittens, socks, and hose for the family. But you will ask - Were these people happy? Indeed they were, they would visit one another. On Sunday they would gather at one of the largest houses for worship, to sing songs, to pray and read sermons from a book written by some pastor in their fatherland Norway. They had no Church building. After a while they built School Houses and then they had their services there...Most of these early settlers passed away before they saw the modern improvements of today like the automobile, self binder, phonograph, telephone or the most wonderful of all, the radio. But maybe 100 years from now (2027) most of the people will have an aeroplane, just as they today have their Automobiles. And it will run either by air pressure, or by perpetual motion. So when people want to visit some of their friends or relatives in Chicago they will get up Sunday morning, do their morning chores, get their family in the plane or airship and sail thru the air to Chicago. They will visit for four or five hours and sail back in the evening. Or I imagine if they want to go to New York or San Francisco they would start Saturday, visit on Sunday, and fly back home on Monday. Well now friends don't laugh. 100 years ago if someone would have told their friends what inventions we have today they would have been looked upon as their mind was unbalanced."

The above is a word - for - word quotation from Andrew Fenney, written in 1927. The only additions are a few comma, periods and parenthetical inserts to help capture the true meaning of his thoughts.

Between their arrival in 1855 and the year 1875, SJUR and BRITA ahd 8 healthy children as they worked and improved their farm.

The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865

Also during this period their siblings from Norway immigrated and set up farming in the same area. Their siblings were SJUR's sister, Ingebor and her husband, Torger Peterson. BRITA's brother, Knute and his wife. Both couples had children and today we have many third cousins across the USA. Nils and Anna's 3 children (Lena, Rhoda, Betsy) lived a long life in the Taylor area but they did not have any children.

The area where they all had their farms became known as "SKUTELY COULEE." It was apparently named after the immigrant Unders Skutely who came from Jefferson County with SJUR and BRITA, Nils and Anna.

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Their 8 children were all raised on the farm and became farm workers as they grew. The children were born as follows;

Knute, born August 25, 1855

ANDREW, born October 26, 1858

Lewis, born June 22, 1861

Sam, born October 5, 1867

Eli, born June 20, 1869

Anna, born September 22, 1871

Martin, born July 8, 1873

Ellen, born August 20, 1875

It should also be noted here that the Fenney families were leaders in the formation of the Lutheran Church in the community. SJUR and Nils helped conduct the church services. In 1875, Nils, donated the land to build the first church; the church became known as the Fenney Church.

TRADGEDY STRIKES

Just as SJUR was a religious man, his oldest son, Knute, became involved in the Lutheran religion. Knute decided to become a minister and in 1880 he left the farm to go to Minneapolis to attend the Augsburg Seminary.

Diptheria was a dreaded disease of the time. Knute, having been raised in the remote area of western Jackson County, Wisconsin, had no chance to build immunity to the disease. He was struck down by the disease in Minneapolis and died on January 14, 1881.

It was apparently the practice of the time to return a person's personal belongins to their surviving family. So, the authorities at the seminary put all of Knute's belongins into a trunk and had it shipped to SJUR and BRITA at the farm in Springfield County. Without realizing the danger the trunk was opened and the contents unpacked.

Almost immediately the youngest children contracted the disease and became critically ill. Elias, 11 years old was the first to die in late march of 1881. Next was Anna, age 9, and in a few days, Martin, age 7, died. Ellen, the baby of the family, was the last one to die on April 13, 1881.

SJUR, BRITA and the three older children, Andrew, Lewis and Sam, were in shock. Five of their family were gone in just a few weeks time. SJUR had to build the coffins for the four children; he even had to dig their graves, with the help of his three sons. He conducted the church services himself and the children were buired in the newly opened church cemetery. To this day the graves remain unmarked.

SJUR and BRITA's remaining life will be followed in the chapter titled ANDREW and GERTIE. the chapter also will include the references to their other two sons, Lewis and Sam.