Ancestors of Martha Green

Martha Green was born in 1883 in Richland County, North Dakota. Her parents Torger Nelson Green and Christina Christensdotter Hoff were Norwegian immigrants who arrived in the U.S. by 1874.

Norway at the time used almost an exclusively patronymic naming system. Sometimes farm or village names would be attached to families or individuals, but these could change as people moved away from the places they were named for.

For this reason, this family has no single surname. This account includes the paternal relatives of Martha Green and avoids detailing all the maternal relatives to limit its scope, but it does include a few more maternal relatives than in other accounts to create a better picture of these ancestors.

Origins

Martha’s ancestry traces back to the area around Sigdal, in Buskerud County, in Norway, and to Hof parish in Vestfold County. The immediate villages can be determined by the surnames her parents brought with them to America: Green and Hoff.

Counties of Norway (from FamilySearch). Martha’s father was from Buskerud (in gray) and her mother was from Vestfold (in brown)

The parish of Sigdal had three villages called (essentially) North Green, South Green, and Middle Green (Gren nordre, Gren søndre, and Gren mellem). It also had a village called Hov (however, it seems more likely that Christina came from Hoff, Vestfold). Records from the Episcopal Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) mention Torger’s birthplace as Sigdal without mentioning the specific village, and Christina’s birthplace as Hoff. Norwegian records confirm those places.

(Google Maps) Street view of area near Green farm, September 2010. Torger Green lived on property now in the wooded area behind the buildings on the left.

Torger Christensen (b. c. 1740)

The earliest ancestor on Martha’s paternal line via Torger was Torger Christensen born roughly 1740. His name is only known via the baptism record of his son Christofer Torgersen.

Christofer Torgersen (b. c. 1765)

Christofer Torgersen was born about 1765 in Sigdal, Norway. There are three baptism records in Sigdal at about that time, all with the same name for his father.

It’s possible this is not the correct father for Niels Christofersen (which would also bring into question his father). Niels was probably born in Hurum in the southern part of Buskerud County, and came to Green, Sigdal later. Possibly Sigdal was the family’s long-term home, but he might have been born to someone who originated in Hurum parish. No matching baptism has been found there, however.

Niels Christofersen (c. 1804-aft. 1891)

Niels Christofersen was born about 1804. Records disagree on the place, but it appears he was probably born in Hurum parish in Buskerud (the only part of the county on the coast) and later moved to Green village/farm, Sigdal parish, also in Buskerud.

Cities, parishes, and clerical districts of Buskerud (FamilySearch). Torger Green’s family was from Sigdal (in yellow) and Hurum (teal in lower right), and later moved to Modum (in purple)

Niels might have been married before 1827 and had at least one son Kristoffer from an earlier relationship.

Wife Gunnild Olsdatter and family

On 12 Dec 1850, Niels married Gunnild Olsdatter Anfinrud. Anfinrud is a neighboring farm to Nordre Gren and not far from Green.

(Google Maps) Street view of Upper Anfinnrud farm, Sigdal, Sep 2019

Gunnild was born 2 Jan 1813, the daughter of Ole Kittilsen who was born about 1792. Ole Kittilsen was born in Sigdal in 1792 and baptized 7 Oct 1792 (father Kittil Olsen). He lived in Bergan, a farm in Sigdal. Ole married Anna Larsdatter in 1821 so he must have had an earlier wife who was Gunnild’s mother.

(Google Maps) There are no street views of these farms, but here’s a satellite view of Bergan, 2023 (Bergheim in the wooded area to the west, and North, Middle, and South Bergan farms to the east)

Ole’s parents were Kittil Olsen (b. c. 1761) and Kistj Jacobsdatter (b. c. 1767). They had a daughter Ingebor (1786) before they were married, married before 1789, and then had Aase (1789), Ole (1792), and Jacob (1797).

Map of farms (https://kart.gulesider.no/) showing Green’s location (blue 1), other Gren farms in the area, and Bergan farms to the east

A slightly broader view of the area showing the location of Anfinnrud (two farms, Upper and Lower). The location of Green (unmarked on this map) and Bergan are still shown.

Torger

Niels and Gunnild’s son Torger was born only 15 days after their wedding on 27 Dec 1850, suggesting they married quickly to avoid having an illegitimate son. Sometime after Torger’s birth the family moved to Modum. They are listed in the 1865 census there, without other children.

Location of Thorud, Modum, residence in 1865 Norway Census, with closer view

(Google Maps) Street view of Thorud (now in Skotselv), April 2023

After Gunnild’s death

Gunnild died probably between 1866 and 1868, with three possibilities for her burial record in that period.

Niels’ son Torger moved to America from Norway in 1874.

Niels is listed in the 1875 census living in Sigdal (in Gren, in Kolsrud, east across the Storelva River from Anfinnrud) in the household of a man named Kristen (aka Kristoffer) Nilsen (b. 1827) which suggests this might be a son from an earlier relationship who was an adult before his second marriage.

Niels is also listed in the 1891 census in Sigdal, still living with Kristoffer Nilsen. That is the last record of his life, at age 87, and he likely died a short time later.

(Google Maps) Street view of Kolsrud, the home of Niels when he died, September 2019

Torger Nilsen Green (1850-1930)

Torger Nilsen Green was born 27 December 1850 in Green, Sigdal, Buskerud, Norway. He was born only 15 days after his parents were married.

He moved with his parents to Modum before the 1865 census. His mother died within a couple of years, and in 1874 he decided to head to America. On 29 May 1874, he got on the Hero in Oslo and headed across the Atlantic.

He eventually arrived in Minnesota, marrying Christina Christensdatter Hoff in Renville County on 4 April 1877.

Their first two children were Gunnel (aka Nellie, 1878) and Nils Christian (1880). By 1880 they were living in Spruce Hill, Minnesota.

They had three children born in Richland County, North Dakota, indicating a move before 1883: Martha (1883), Torvald (1885), and Laura (1887).

By 1900 they were living in Shuman, Sargent County, North Dakota. The 1900 census mentions 20-year old railroad engineer Carl Anton Green (1872), a son born 5 years before they married. His background is a bit of a mystery as he is not with either parent in the 1880 census but was too young to be on his own. Possibly he was adopted by the family–perhaps a nephew? A couple Ancestry.com trees identify him with a Charley Green of Ellsborough, Minnesota in the 1880 census, born in Minnesota to Swedish immigrants C. Frederick and Maria Green. But there’s nothing tying these two people together and it seems unlikely Torger and Christina would adopt a Swedish boy from another town 160 miles away who just happens to have the same surname.

In 1920, Torger and Christina were still living in Shuman. Christina died 27 Dec 1928 in Mooreton, Richland County, North Dakota and was buried in Milnor in Sargent County. Torger died 19 Jul 1930 in Mooreton and was also buried in Milnor.

Locations in Minnesota and North Dakota associated with Torger and Christina Green (Google Maps)

Martha Maria Green (1883-1963)

Martha Maria Green was born in 10 January 1883 in Richland County, North Dakota. Both her first and middle names were in honor of her maternal grandmother Marte Maria Olsdotter.

Her confirmation in the Lutheran church occurred on 14 Nov 1896 in Milnor, Sargent County, North Dakota, although her family lived in Shuman.

On 29 March 1902 she married Charles Mirza Weller in Forman, North Dakota. After marrying, they moved a short distance just across the state border to Aberdeen, Brown County, South Dakota. Their first two children were born there: Ruth (1903-1913) and Carroll Leroy (1905). They lived close enough to still attend church in Milnor, with Ruth and Carroll being baptized there.

Their daughter Mabel (1907) was born in Rutland, North Dakota. It’s unclear if they lived there, because property and census records show the family living in Ransom from 1909 through 1940. Their other children (some born in Rutland) include Ethel (1909), Frances (1913), Clifton (1915), Lloyd and George (1918), Alice (1920), Alvin (1924), and Earl (1926).

Charles Weller property in Rutland, North Dakota, 1909
(portion of full map: Ransom Township, Cayuga, Rutland, Perry Station, Long Lake; Sargent County 1909; Alden Publishing Co. URL: https://historicmapworks.com/Map/US/224107/Ransom+Township++Cayuga++Rutland++Perry+Station++Long+Lake/Sargent+County+1909/North+Dakota/; Retrieved 23 Sep 2023)

Charles Weller died in 1948 in Marshall County, South Dakota, just over the state border from Rutland. Martha died 29 June 1963, in Rutland.

Ancestors of Christina Hoff (1845-1928)

Christina Hoff was born in Hoff, Norway. The ELCA records have the date as 4 Aug 1845, but the closest record in Norway found so far has her born 5 Oct 1844 (possibly a different person with a similar name). Her parents are clearly listed as Christian Christianson Hoff and Marthe Maria Olsdotter.

Christian Christensen Hoff

Christian Christensen Hoff was born 26 Feb 1816 and baptized 3 Mar 1816 in Hof, Vestfold, Norway. His parents were Christen Nielsen and Gurine Christiansdatter.

On 11 January 1842, in Lardal, Christian married Marthe Maria Olsdotter, a native of Simmelstad (?) and daughter of Ole Olson Schevig and Marie Andersdatter. They had at least two daughters Christine (1845) and Karen (1849).

At some point he lived in Rodsoen and took that as a place surname.

He might have moved later in life to America, with a man of his name owning property in Walcott, North Dakota and dying there on 27 Jul 1910.

Descent

Torger Christensen (b. c. 1740)

Christofer Torgersen (b. c. 1765)

Niels Christofersen (Hurum) Green (c. 1804-aft. 1891)

m. 12 Dec 1850 Gunnild Olsdatter Anfinrud (1813-bef. 1868)

Torger Nelson Green (1850-1930)

m. 4 Apr 1877 Christina Christensen Hoff (1845-1928)

Martha Green (1883-1963)

m. Charles Mirza Weller (1869-1948)

11 children (all deceased)

Many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren (most still living)