Lavik Images #121-#160
This page is part of the sequential posting of the 319 Lavik Photograph Images, and contains Images #121 - #160. The first pages in the Lavik section provide the context for these photos - by describing the background on this collection, the Lavik ancestry in Norway, the biography of Rev. Rasmus Lavik and his family, a listing of all the extended family members and the locations where they lived, and an index to the 319 images. The image at right is #129, of football “scrubs” at Concordia College, with Rudy Lavik in the center as coach, is posted below with an explanation.
The Lavik Photograph Items
Items #121-#160
Item #121 - Antonette and Unidentified Woman, W. A. Riechel, Red Lake Falls, Minnesota. It is a possibility that the woman in this photo is Antonette’s sister Karen. Karen was born in 1871, and Antonette married Rasmus in 1889 – the year he took over the parish in Red Lake Falls. A photograph at that time would make Karen age eighteen. Karen married Peter Matson ca 1892, and was Antonette’s only sister. Rasmus’ three daughters by his first wife would have been thirteen, ten, and seven in 1889. Each of the eleven photos in the Lavik Collection from Red Lake Falls were taken at the Riechel Studio.
Item #122 - Unidentified Couple, Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, W. A. Riechel Studio. This does not appear to be Rasmus and/or Antonette. This is an exact match to photo #76, with that previous photo print being of better quality.
Item 123 - Four Women, the one in the upper left appears to be a Lavik. Taken at the F. W. Gertson Studio, Lidgerwood, North Dakota.
The Lavik sister looks like Hannah, who died in 1908. It is unclear who the other three women were. The Gertson studio is discussed in the Introduction – and F. W. Gertson photographed in five locations – including Lidgerwood, from 1900 to 1921. In the 1900 census he was shown in Aurora County, South Dakota – but in the 1910 and 1920 censuses was shown in Lidgerwood.
Item #124 - Unidentified Baby, postcard format, undated, Anderson Studio, Milnor, North Dakota.
The baby is shown in the same chair that seems to be shown in photo #115. The baby in this photo looks similar to the youngest child in that photo. I concluded that the children in that photo were likely the three oldest children of Ingvald Lavik. This is in postcard photo format, no unusual markings or information on the reverse side, but a marking in the lower right showing Anderson’s Studio, Milnor, N. D.
Items #125 and #125a - Postcard dated January 25, 1919 with the illustration of Monaco - image above message side below. The reason this document lists “items” and not just photographs, are things like this postcard. The message side of this postcard, bearing no stamp, but with “soldier stamp” written, is addressed to Mrs. Rev. R. Lavik of Milnor, N. D. and with a stamp indicating it passed the censor. Possibly it passed the censor because there was no written message. It’s postage was “soldier mail”. This matches the World War I letters of Rudy Lavik, where a letter of January 28 who indicated he was had just passed through Monaco.
Item #126 - Gudrun Leonora Grimsrud, taken in August 1906 at J. A. Horswill, Aberdeen, South Dakota. This photo was taken during the period that Carl Grimsrud was a pastor in Aberdeen. Above left is the photo of Gundrun Leonora Grimsrud, and shown above right is the writing on the back of the photograph, where her name is written along with the notation that it was taken at seven months, ten days [Based on her birth date of January 15, 1906, that would place the date of the photo about August 25, 1906]. The photo was taken by J. A. Horswill, a photographer at Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Dakota photographer guide indicates he was taking photographs there from 1900 to 1914. Gudrun was born in 1906, and the photo was taken in 1908. Her father was a minister in Aberdeen from 1902 to 1908 - so this photo was taken near the end of his service in Aberdeen and during the time frame that Horswill was photographing in Aberdeen..
Item #127 - Farm House, undated, nothing written on the back, two women on the house front step.
The photo above is likely the Lavik farm, and Kay Funk sent the set of two photos of the farm in recent years, shown above right. Antonette’s 1940 obituary indicates that the “farm home” was two miles west of Milnor, and indicates that it was the residence of Anton at the time of her death. The size and style of this photo matches exactly to the photos in items #83
and #109, which appear to include Anton in an outdoor farm location. The recent photos were sent to Kay by her brother Mack with the statement: “I found these two pictures that Kay took. Her caption read, ‘Farmhouse at Milnor built by Tobe & Ing.’ A few modifications over the decades and the trees got bigger...” It is likely that the photo batch was housed at this farm until the last Lavik passed away and the photos passed to the local historical society. I did scan the two women in the photo at high resolution, also shown above right, to see if they could be identified. They are wearing dresses of the time, and don’t seem to include an older Antonette – so it is possible that it is Anton’s wife and a second woman – although no clear identification can be made. I’ll list Borghild Lavik in the index for this item in case it guides someone here who might know.
Item #128 - Bishop Whipple School, Concordia College, taken by the Flaten Studio, also in Moorhead, Minnesota.
Descendant Joe Langemo was very helpful in identifying this photo: “This is the original building of the Bishop Whipple School built in 1882 on what is now the campus of Concordia College in Moorhead. It is still there and in use as a dormitory I believe. It has been renovated several times of course.” In her list of photograph id’s Joyce Tsongas also identified this building as “Bishop Whipple Hall at Concordia”. There is another photo in the collection (I will link it when I find it) that has this hall in the background.
The photo was taken by Flaten photography, Moorhead, Minnesota – a studio that has taken many other photos in this collection and is shown above as Ole Flaten, who from 1884 to 1928 photographed in Moorhead.
Handwritten on the back of the photo is “compliments of Louis S. Marvick”. He is shown in the 1952 directory of Norwegian-American pastors as a pastor born in 1866 and died in 1951. He was shown in his biography to an Instructor and Field Secretary at Concordia College in 1892-95, which was the only time he would have been in or near Moorhead in his postings. And Rasmus Lavik’s 1894 citizenship certificate in Sargent County shows Louis S. Marvick as one of the two sworn witnesses, indicating that a relationship existed in those years.
Item #129 - Post Card of Rudy Lavik Football Team at Concordia College, posted as the header on this page. The message side reads “Here are a few of our scrubs. Our ends Tanner and Moe aren’t here or Lindahl either. The guy holding the ball is my pal Skinny.” The photo shows Rudy Lavik standing in the middle of the lined-up football players, indicating he was the coach. He was at Concordia as football coach in 1920-22. In 1920 and 1921 Concordia on-line records list the football captains as “Tanner, Gronningen”. The listing of the name “Tanner” matches the name listed in the note.
That online record has a brief description that “in 1920 Rudolph Lavik replaced Pop Sattre as football coach for Concordia. Coach Lavik had just graduated from Springfield College where he had played against such teams as Harvard and Yale. He had 20 to 30 players out, most of whom were inexperienced. Only three football games were played under Coach Lavik against Fargo College, Moorhead Normal and Jamestown College. The only game reported was the opener against Jamestown College -- Concordia lost the game put kept the score respectable.”
Item #130 - Three Unidentified young children, Baer Studio, Kenyon, Minnesota, undated. The imprint at the bottom right shows “Baer Studio”, Kenyon, Minnesota. There is an Alfred Baer who is shown in the Minnesota directory of photographers as having a business in Kenyon in the 1896-1906 period. In a previous reference to a Kenyon photo, it was mentioned that Tuffs and Ofstedals, as well as Laviks in the early period, were in the area of Kenyon. By the time period that Alfred Baer was photographing - Rasmus Lavik and his family were were in North Dakota. But if this photo was taken in 18956 at the beginning of Alfred Baer’s time in Kenyon - the three children match the ages of Ingvald, Rudy, and Anton Lavik.
Item #131 - Unidentified Couple in Wedding Clothes, undated, M. Brown Studio, Wahpeton, North Dakota. The Dakota photographer directory shows a Murray Brown in Wahpeton (and some surrounding North Dakota cities – Hankinson, Fairmont, and Abercrombie), operating from 1894 to 1910. That gives the date range for this photo. The Wahpeton Times indicates that Rev. Rasmus Lavik preached in this area from time to time during his time as a minister.
Item #132 - Unidentified Woman with children, taken by F. W. Gertson Studio, Lidgerwood, North Dakota, Undated. As previously noted, in the Dakota photographer directory he appears to have been a photographer in Lidgerwood from 1900 to 1921. It appears that there were ten different photos from this photographer in this Lavik family collection.
Item #133 - Postcard of eleven students, undated, no location listed. Rudy Lavik looks to be the student in the second row from the top in the middle. The closeup of him is shown above.
Rudy Lavik studied at Concordia College from 1913 to 1917, and did additional work at Springfield College in Massachusetts in about 1919 after his war service – so this card could be students from either of those locations.
Item #134- Two men in a study or office (dorm room?), undated, no location, looks like the 1890’s - based on evidence below, possibly Peter Lavik at St. Olaf College in the 1896-1898 period. This photograph was a mystery, obvious only by the apparent period of the photo and frame - which made me guess the 1890’s. First, I did a high resolution scan of the photos in the background to see if I can make anything out. The photos are of the cabinet card format of this era. There is a photo of a man on the bookcase, third from left, and at high resolution it seems that it matches Item #267 (who knows, it may be the same photo that was at the Lavik house and is in this collection), which was taken at a studio in Northfield, Minnesota. In this period there were three Laviks who attended St. Olaf College in Northfield: Andrew from 1892 to 1896; Peter from 1896 to 1898 (and maybe after the Spanish-American War, where he served); and John R. Lavik, who attended from 1898 to 1903.
The enlargement of the man at left from the photo bears some resemblance to Peter Lavik. It is clearly not Andrew, who had slightly difference features. And I’m guessing Peter over John. That would likely make this Peter Lavik, at St. Olaf, in the 1896-1989 period.
Item #135 - Both sides of a postcard of the Poughkeepsie, New York Adriance Memorial Library – from Nanna Jelstrup to Mrs. and Rev. R Lavik, Milnor N. D., in 1911. The card appears to have been postmarked December 30, 1911 in North Dakota. The message was in Norwegian, and appears to have been signed by Nanna Jelstrup. Mike Collins provided a Bulletin of the University of Minnesota, Morris, Minnesota for 1944-46 that lists a Nanna Jelstrup, B. A., as Dean of Women. The Social Security Death Index shows a Nanna Jelstrup born November 18, 1894 and died at age 91 in September 1986 with her last address being in Kalispell, Flathead County, Montana. A 1986 obituary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune indicates she graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1924 and was a teacher and woman’s dean for 35 years – and died in Minneapolis. A 1913 North Dakota clipping shows her as a resident of Edmore, North Dakota – which is in the same County as Devils Lake.
Item #136 - Portrait of unidentified young man, post card format, undated, no studio or location.
Item #137 - Marvin N. Anderson. He looks like he is the age of thirteen or fifteen, and the art deco photo frame suggests the 1930’s. On the backside shown above is a handwritten note, “Marvin N. Anderson. Confirmed July 11, 1937.”
A social security record shows Marvin N. Anderson, born April 30, 1923 and died August 3, 1992. His last benefit was at Milnor, Sargent County, North Dakota. If Marvin was born in 1923, he could have been confirmed in 1937 - at age fourteen. A Marvin N. Anderson is listed in the 1930 census in Shuman Township in Sargent County, born ca 1924. His father Hans, a farmer born in Sweden, and mother Pauline, born in North Dakota with both her parents born in Norway, and four siblings.
Item #138 - Anton Lavik, undated, no location. Anton is shown in a photo with Rudy in front of a house, number #83, that appears to be him a little older – as is the portrait of an older Anton in #84. This matches photos #24 and #309 – same frame, same outfit, same sitting, different photo.
Item #139 - Rev. Anton J. Gravdal family, Anderson’s studio, Milnor, North Dakota. Rev. Gravdal came to Milnor in 1927 to be pastor of the Lutheran church, served there until 1947, and participated in Rasmus’ funeral service. The photo of him in the 1952 Norwegian pastor book below, is taken from this photo. His oldest son, A. Bernard Gravdal, became a minister as well, and is shown in the same 1952 directory – born in 1915, which helps date this photo. This photo was shown in the introduction as one of five showing the pastor directory as an aid in identifying photos in the Lavik Collection.
Item #140 - Howard Nelson, Devils Lake, North Dakota, Slorby Studio. This is the name of the studio that developed many photos in this collection, including the black and white photos from Devils Lake that are included. This identification was made by Joyce Tsongas, daughter of Dorothy Nelson Monson. Howard was Joyce’s uncle, was born in 1913, and was a son of a niece of Antonette Lavik.
Item #141 - Dorothy Nelson (Monson), Devils Lake North Dakota, developed on October 4, 1930, Slorby Studio. The identification was made by Joyce Tsongas, Dorothy’s daughter.
Item #142 - Dorothy Nelson in front of car, developed on December 5, 1930 in Slorby Studio, Devils Lake, North Dakota. The identification of Dorothy Nelson, niece of Antonette, in this photo was also made by her daughter Joyce Tsongas.
Item #143 - Two Carlson boys in Uniform, with Musical Instruments, Slorby Developed Photo, dated October 30, 1936. The older boy seems to match the person in photo #140 – which was probably taken a few years after this photo. It seems that the older boy is Raymond Carlson, and it is quite possible that the other boy is the next oldest boy in that family, Duane Carlson. They seem to match the two kids in Photo #56, and the one on the left is a clear match to photos #56 and #140. This is the first of four different photos of what appears to be the same kids in band uniforms with musical instruments.
Joyce Tsongas identified this and the next few photos: “#143, 144, 145 one of the three Carlson brothers whose mother was Hilda Mattson Carlson who was the sister of Antonette (Nettie) Mattson Nelson my grandmother. Nettie was married to Carl Nelson and was the mother of Dorhty and Howard Nelson my mother and my uncle. The three brothers were named Ray, Duane (called Buddy) and Glen. Two of them were optometrists.”
Item #144 - Same two Carlson boys as in previous picture, just in uniform, no musical instruments, taken in the same batch, dated October 30, 1936.
Item #145 - The younger of the two Carlson boys shown in this series of photos, in uniform, taken solo in a front yard, dated October 30, 1936.
Item #146 - The older of the two Carlson boys in this series of photos, in inform, in front yard, playing instrument, Devils Lake, in same batch dated October 30, 1936.
Item #147 - Front and Back - Photo of Grain Fields with harvesting machines. Developed in September 1930. Unclear note written in ink on the photo – appears to be “This is 40 bus corp” but the last part is not really legible and this was a haphazard guess. 147a. The back of this photo is at right. In the center is “Sparkletone”, processed on September 18, 1930. I played digitally with this to try to decipher the wording. The wording across the top begins with the word “your”. The words right above and below Sparkletone, within the circle are “genuine prints”. The words about the bottom of the circle are an unclear word and then “photo supply”. It looks like the letters “ina” are at the end of the word before “photo supply”. None of this helps with the location or identification of the photograph, or who is in it.
Item #148 - Farmhouse, two kids, man on horse, two horses drawing a carriage with a person in it. The second image above is the back of the photo and handwriting there, which gives a little clue to who might be in this photo. Note on back of photo – “Trixy & Trotty at Barrett, Minn. On a thousand mile overland trek during 1898. Compliments of E. A. M.” Barrett, Minnesota is in Lien Township, Grant County, Minnesota. I checked the 1895 Minnesota census for Lien Township, and found no one with these initials. I also checked the 1900 census for this township, which was sixteen pages and had a large percentage of residents that were Norwegian-American. I found only one person with the E. A. M. initials – E. A. Malmin, 30, a day laborer living with the Martin Lund family, born in Minnesota with both his parents born in Norway. This does not present an obvious link to any Lavik family member. Barrett is roughly ninety miles from Milnor – Grant County, Minnesota is near southeastern North Dakota.
Item #149 - Mother and baby in separate photos, and note on back of photo, that refers to Geo. S. Hall’s Ground Floor Photograph Gallery, Plainfield, Wis.[Plainfield is in Waushara County, Wisconsin – in the central part of the state.] Written in pencil on the back is “Mrs. Wm. Whiteley and Ralph Whiteley. To Mrs. Carrie (?) Matson”. Karen Matson was Antonette’s sister from Devils Lake, married to Peter Matson ca 1892. In the 1900 census, Karen is listed by her brothers in Noonan Township, Ramsey County, North Dakota. Two entries before the Hagans in Noonan Township were William Whiteley, his wife Chloe Ann, and their son Ralph Whiteley, who was about two months old at the time of the census in June of that year. The fact that the photo is of a baby and it’s Ralph, must mean the photograph was from about 1900 when the Whiteleys, Mattsons, and Hagens were all living by each other. In 1910 the Whiteleys were still in Ramsey County in Lawton Township. It is likely that the photo processor was from Plainfield, Wisconsin, but not that the Whiteley’s lived there.
Item #150 - Photo of Rock Formation outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. “Kissing Camels Rock, 600 feet high” written on back. Online I have matched this photo to the rock formation by this name outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado - and the black and white photo does not do the red rock-type colors justice. Ingvald Lavik was a pastor in this area and was there with his family from 1921 to 1931. The type of photo finishing matches that time frame. The handwriting on the back of the photo of "Kissing Camels Rock" is shown above right, in case a family member recognizes the handwriting.
Item #151 - Postcard, six unidentified girls, no date. Written on message side, shown above, “Taken in the fountain on the rocks”. I tried to search for a “Fountain on the Rocks” in any of these North Dakota areas, but turned up empty. It looks like a park, public space, or campus – maybe someone will recognize it.
Item #152 - Postcard, Unidentified Mother, three boys, undated with note from Mrs. Newgard on back.. The back of the postcard, shown below, with a note in Norwegian from Mrs. Newgard: “En Gledelig Jul og Et godt nyt aar onsker feg dere alle. Mrs. Newgard.” [Which I loosely translate to: “A Pleasing Christmas and a good new year (?) I wish get all.” I cannot find a Newgard in the Sargent County censuses in 1900-1930. There are Newgard’s throughout North Dakota, including in Ramsey County, where Antonette was from. Allen Newgard was my grandfather Carl Ofstedahl’s best friend in Grafton, North Dakota. There is a Nygard family in Hall, Sargent County. The handwriting clearly reads Newgard.
Item #153 - Torn Postcard, the photo side shows five people front steps of a house, the man is likely Ingvald Lavik. Magnified photos of Ing and the woman on the front porch are posted above as well. The reverse side of the card, postmarked Minne . . . N. Dak. August 24, 1912. [The one city in the photographer directory for the Dakotas that might fit was Minnewaukon, North Dakota. In the atlas, Minnewaukon is a few miles to the west of Devils Lake.] Appears to be addressed to Mr. Ing . . .” It looks like it was torn to get the stamp. The first portion of the note on the message side is in English and states that “I don’t think there will be a threshing here before the first part of Sept. Henry Rae said I should greet you. Greet your folks for me. LCD” The rest of the note was in Norwegian, with my really bad translation: ““Good day and thank you for the last I do write again words to you united [sig koger saffee]. I have a hard time rich good dad at rest about a week yesterday was ola and yes poa.” It will take someone who reads Norwegian to get a more accurate translation. The magnified photo of Ingvald confirms it was him - the magnified photo of the older woman does not seem to help with an identification.
Item #154 - Unidentified Woman. Frame looks like a style of the 1920’s or 1930’s. The bottom right states “Silvers”, which may be the photographer, and then states “1929”. The note states in ink, Christmas ’29, H. O. Slied (or Shied?), which actually might be the name of the person. There was a photographer in the Minnesota directory of early photographers – M. J. Silvers of Silvers Studio. He was located in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, for sure 1923-1924 and 1934-1935, and states that he was working in Minnesota in the 1920’s and the 1930’s. I have not found a census reference for a Sleid or Shied that matches this name.
Item #155 - A holiday greeting card and envelope - Karen Matson to the Laviks, 1921. These were separated in the batch, and I matched them together due to the handwriting, paper type, and size. It is always possible they were not a match. This is another instance where the stamp was taken – possibly for someone’s stamp collection. The card was signed “From: Karen Matson”. The envelope was postmarked December twenty-something, 1921, M ----, North Dakota, and was addressed to Mr. and Mrs. R. Lavik, Milnor N. D. Karen Matson was Antonette Lavik’s sister, who lived in Devils Lake and also Minot in North Dakota. Her husband would have died the year before this card was sent.
Item #156 - Wedding invitation. This invitation had Mrs. Catherine Agnes Leahy announcing the marriage of her daughter Madeleine to Mr. Oliver Melvin Jorgenson on Saturday the sixth of April, 1929, San Francisco. It further stated that the couple would be “At home” after the first of May in Billings, Montana. [Oliver M. and Madeliane Jorgenson were shown in the First Ward of the City of Billings in Yellowstone County, Montana in the census taken on April 11, 1930. He is shown as a bank cashier, 33, married at 32, born in Minnesota with both his parents born in Norway. She is shown with no occupation, 31, married at 30, born in Minnesota with her father born in English Canada, and her mother born in Iowa.] Oliver is shown in 1896 Milnor Lutheran church records with Rasmus and Nettie as godparents. Rasmus would have been the pastor of the church in that year.
Item #157 - Undated Christmas greeting card signed by Norma Lavik. John R. Lavik had a daughter named Norma. She was born in 1911 and married in 1935. This card was likely sent in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s.
Item #158 - Invitation to 1915 Bismarck North Dakota High School graduation. The only Lavik family member who clearly lived in Bismarck was Anton, who was there while serving in the State Legislature, much later than this graduation, and who had no children.
Item #159 - Wedding Party, Unidentified People, No Date or Location. Unclear how there is a link to the Lavik family.
Item #160 - Unidentified Man, S. P. Eggan Studio, Minneapolis. There are a number of Eggans who photographed out of Minneapolis, who appear to have been related. Sever P. Eggan, who appears to have taken this photograph, worked out of Cedar St. from about 1896 to 1915, and worked out of another address in the years after. It is unclear who this man is and how he was connected to the Lavik family.