Category - Genealogy

West Prairie Hauge Norwegian Lutheran Church

West Prairie Hauge Lutheran Cemetery is a small cemetery located on a ridge in Crawford County on Highway 82, and had it’s closing service on June 24, 1990. On December 21, 1990 the church building and surrounding one-half acre of land was deeded over to the Crawford County Historical Society to be used for a Norwegian History Center.

My Grand-Father Rudalph Peterson had his service here upon his death in 1943.

The following family members are buried here:

  • Rudalph Peterson (Grand-Father)
  • Peter L. Peterson
  • Steen Peterson
  • Elmer Peterson
  • Lloyd O. Peterson

Other pics and information can be found at the https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2431832/west-prairie-hauge-lutheran-cemetery

Cemeteries and Churches

In researching the history of the Peterson and Johnson families, there are a large number of cemeteries and churches associated with our families.  I am attempting to consolidate the various pictures for these churches, cemeteries, and headstones within this section as I continue to provide updates.

  • West Prairie Hauge Lutheran Cemetery, Crawford County, Wisconsin
  • West Prairie Hauge Norwegian Lutheran Church, Crawford County, Wisconsin
  • Country Coon Prairie Lutheran Church Cemetery, Vernon County, Wisconsin
  • Vang Norwegian Lutheran Church and Cemetery, Vernon County, Wisconsin
  • Viroqua Cemetery, Vernon County, Wisconsin
  • Moen Cemetery, Monroe County, Wisconsin

Johnson Family Overview

The Johnson side of the family came primarily from Ringebu in the Gudbransdalen Valley (“God’s Shining Valley”).

Much of this information was obtained from the now defunct web site listed below with information back to 0 A.D.

Jens Olsen Bjørgerønningen would be my G-G-G-Grandfather, and was the one person that converges upon the family tree from this Norwegian site and mine.

Defunct Web Source: http://www.itk.ntnu.no/ansatte/Onshus_Tor/slekt/html/fam37352.html

Peder Pederson Teigen

The following information was authorized for reuse by Scott Meeker and the now defunct website previously located at:http://www.15thwisconsin.net/index.html

Peter Peterson (Petersen), Peder Pederson Teigen, Private, Company B,15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment

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Born: February 1, 1839, Teigen Farm, Hafslo, Kingdom of Norway
Married: Britha “Betsy” Eriksdotter, January, 1865, Crawford County, Wisconsin
Died: Old Soldiers Home, Town of Lisbon, North Dakota
Buried: Oakwood Cemetery, Lisbon, North Dakota. His gravesite is the 4th one in, 2nd row from the north

Peder Pederson Teigen enlisted under the name Peter Peterson in Company B of the 15th Wisconsin by Captain Ole C. Johnson on October 16, 1861, for a 3 year term of service. The men of Company B called themselves the Wergeland Guards in honor of the famous Norwegian writer and poet Henrik Wergeland. Peter was mustered into Federal service as a Private on November 16, 1861, at Camp Randall, near Madison, Wisconsin. At the time, he was listed as not married and as both 20 and 21 years old. His residence was recorded as Primrose Township, Dane County, Wisconsin.

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Peterson Family Overview

The Peterson family emigrated to America during the mid to late 1800’s, primarily from the Luster Sognefjorden region of Norway.

Peder Pederson Teigen (b. 1809) had three sons that emigrated to the United States: Peder in 1861, Hans in 1864, and my G-Grandfather (Lars) in 1882. 

Peder emigrated in 1861 during the Civil War and enlisted in the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.  Peder lived at Dulsvik (subfarm), Lingjerde (main farm) in Luster where he had his first child. Lingjerde is on the Eastern side of the fjord northeast of Teigen.

My G-Grandfather (Lars Pederson Teigen) was born at the Teigen farm under Sandvik farm in Luster parish (Gaupne subparish) in 8 Sep 1848. He was the 6th child (of 10) of Peder Pederson Teigen (1809-1885) from the Aurland parish and Christenca Torbjørnsdatter Eikum (1813-1883) from the Hafslo parish. Lars emigrated to Crawford County, Wisconsin in 1882 and married Oline Olsdatterthere in 6 Jan 1887. Lars (also called Louis) and Oline (called Olena) farmed at Rush Creek, Freeman township, Crawford Co. and had 11 children: Elmer, Peter, Lottie, Christina, John, Steen, Anna, Rudolph, Alfred, Oscar, and Hannah. There are a number of details found within the Norwegian Bygdebook for the Luster area.  Teigen is located near Marifjøra in Luster (Lyster) in western Norway.

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Overall Genelogy

Over the past few years, I have started working on the Peterson family tree. This entailed gathering quite a bit of data from numerous sources and entering it into a family tree database and trying to ensure the accuracy of the data.  I’ve been fortunate with a trip to Norway while we lived in England for three years. It was a great experience visiting the locations our ancestors emigrated from. Although Norway is a beautiful country, one quickly realizes the limited amount of land available to the growing population, which forced a new generation to seek their own fortune in another country. As I gather information, I will post as much of it here as possible. I am especially looking for any pictures of my Great-Grandparents and their direct ancestors.