Early Pioneers of New Solum Township

Let's think about the early settlers. I am trying to think about how this is best accomplished. I would like to list in numerically according to section but I think what is most important is what was settled first. Once we get the first settler's determined, then we can better understand how the village was founded.

If you have printed the New Solum map, you may wish to fill in who was granted government land and where. I think the dates are more important that the names, it gives one a feel for where the best land, (ridge land) may have been. MAY HAVE BEEN. I read somewhere that one man went to Crookston in the winter and picked out his land during a snowstorm and had no idea what he got until spring! We do know the ridge land was considered THE BEST! I am giving the first date on the map although others settled in the same section of land on a later date. Think about the swamps when you look at the map. Remember the map was made later, therefore it includes roads and railroads, churches and schools. At the time it was settled there was none of these. Remember the land grant was for 160 acres, so mulitple settlers were in some of the sections.

Let's review how townships are measured. Townships are approximately 6 miles on each side and contain approximately 23,040 acres. The sections are numbered to identify a tract of land, usually 1 mile square, within a township. Most townships contain 36 sections. Standard sections contain 640 acres. A section number identifies each section within a township. A section contains 640 acres,- a half section contains 320 acres,- a quarter section contains 160 acres,- a half of a quarter contains 80 acres, and a quarter of a quarter contains 40 acres. That means that on multiple homesteading a section of 640 acres may be shared by four people to get a full land share of 160 acres. What we learn as we look at later land plats of New Solum Township is, a grantee may have 120 acres in one portion and 40 in another. The ancestors are underlined.

1882

John Halvorson - 1882 - Section 30
Nels Melve - 1882 - Section 7
Iverson - 1882 - Section 28

1883
John Sor - 1883 - Section 3 Strip
John Hellquist - Spring 1883 - Sections 3 and 4 Strip
Fredrick Blomberg - 1883 - Section 35
Thorinus Mellem - Fall 1883 - Section 3 Strip
Gilbert Haugen - 1883 - Section 4 Strip
Andrew Larson - 1883 - Section 32
Albert Paulson - 1883 - Section 2 Strip
Reinhart C. M. Nelson -1883 - Section 8
Ole Silverness - 1883 - Section 3
Louis Thompson - 1883 - Section 28
Edik P. Stengelson - 1883 - Section 29
H. M. Mork - 1883 - Section 29

1884
John Forsberg - 1884 - Section 8
Carl Hanson - 1884 - Section 19
Rasmus Nelson - 1884 - Section 9
Andrew Opseth - 1884 - Section 10 Strip
Knut Ranum - 1884 - Section 29
Ole Dahl - 1884 - Section 22

1885

Hans Stromsmoe - 1885 - Section 11
Even Anderson - 1885 - Section 3 Strip
Sorenson Brothers, Peder, John and Sam, and aged father, Sor en - 1886 - Section

1886

Lars Loseth - 1886 - Section 13

Fredrick Styrlund - 1886 - Section 34

John Sjolsvold - 1886 - Section 11

John Carlson - and Paul T. Olson - -Section 3

Knut Lappegaard - and Sven Johnson - -Section 4

John Nordhagen - and Martin Nordhagen - -Section

Ole Nyhus - -Section 27

Erick Braaten - -Section 5

Amund Remmem - -Section 5 Strip

Ole Nesha -Gunelius, Edward. Ole Seines , and Retsius Nelson - -Section 9

Axel Larson - -Section 3 Strip

E.O. Setness - -Section 9 Strip

Ole Hanson - -Section 19

Hans Hanson - -Section 19

Peder Evenson and Charles Rasmusson - -Section 8

Gunder Vigen - -Section 3

What does it mean when it says STRIP behind the name? It means that is the parcel of land that was not surveyed and was later added to Marshall County.