ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: OGL #599
DATES: 1880-1975
SIZE: .25 linear feet
ACQUISITION: The Marie Torbenson Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Mildred Torbenson, Grand Forks, North Dakota, on July 9, 1980 (Acc.#81-695).
ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
Marie Louise Syverson was born on June 28, 1880 in rural North Dakota. She was the daughter of Thore and Karina Syverson, Norwegian immigrants who were married in Decorah, Iowa, on July 21, 1879. Thore Syverson was born in Valdres, Norway, on April 20, 1854; Karina Syverson was born June 27, 1853, also in Norway.
On October 20, 1880, the family moved to a homestead claim in Moore Township, Ransom County. A son, Albert, was born in 1885, while a second daughter, Millie, arrived on September 4, 1888.
Thore Syverson was a driving force behind the 1885 founding of Fillmore Lutheran Church in Enderlin, North Dakota. Many settlers came from Fillmore County, Minnesota. In 1908, Thore retired from farming and moved the family to Enderlin. Thore died in 1941, and Karina died eight years later, in 1949.
In 1907, Marie Syverson married Oscar Torbenson, the son of Norwegian immigrants who settled in Moore Township. The ceremony took place at Fillmore Lutheran Church. They farmed in Moore Township and raised two daughters, Cora and Mildred, and three sons: Osmond, Richard and Donovan. Marie Torbenson died in 1966, preceded by her husband, Oscar, in 1965.
The Marie Torbenson Papers consist of a photocopy of Marie Torbenson’s undated, eleven page manuscript entitled The First Ten Years of Pioneer Life in Moore Township. Torbenson discusses the adventures, joys and hardships of pioneer life in Ransom County from 1880 to 1890. Also included is a photocopy of a 1937 newspaper article from the Fargo Forum regarding the 58th Wedding Anniversary of Thore and Karina Syverson. A photocopy of a page from Ninetieth Anniversary of Fillmore Lutheran Church, Enderlin, North Dakota, October 12, 1975 is also included. The photocopy deals with Thore Syverson’s role in the founding of the church. Three photographs were separated and placed in the Orin G. Libby Photograph Collection.
Box 1
Folder
Photographs
| OGL#599-1 | Oscar and Marie Torbenson, 50th Wedding Anniversary, June 27, 1957 |
| OGL#599-2 | Wheat field, Moore Township, undated |
| OGL#599-3 | Fillmore Lutheran Church, Enderlin, North Dakota, undated |
| Original Donation | First Addition: 1914, 1941, 1949, 1966 |
Return to: Pioneer Life
Return to: Women's Papers
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