Engebret Kristiansen Haugan (1834-1905)

Engebret Kristiansen Haugan was a Minnesota pioneer from Norway.

Background
Engebret was born on September 8, 1834 at his family farm in Sigdal, Buskerud. Engebret was the eldest son of Kristian Engebretsen (1804-1880) and Boel Olsdatter (1808-1871). His parents had married during June 1833 in Sigdal and subsequently moved onto the Haugan farm. Engebret Haugan was descended from generations of farmers and small land owners in Sigdal. Among others, he was a descendant of Jens Pettersen Volgast, a sexton from Denmark, who moved to Sigdal during 1724 and became a local farmer.

Sigrid Pedersdatter
Sigrid Pedersdatter was born at the nearby Reistad farm in Sigdal on September 29, 1832. She was the daughter of Peder Torstensen (1800 -1871) a husmann in Sigdal and Anne Nilsdatter (1802-1831). Engebret Haugan and Sigrid Pedersdatter were married November 20, 1857 in Sigdal.

Haugan Farm
According to the 1865 – Telling for 0621 Sigdal, by the year 1865 the Haugan farm supported three generation of the same family: grandparents Kristian and Boel, son Engebret, his wife Sigrid, their two eldest daughters, Boel and Anne, son Ole and his wife Berte, their son and daughter Kristian and Ragne. Ownership in the farm transferred to sons Engebret and Ole during 1878, just prior to the death of their father.

Immigration
In 1881, Engebret and Sigrid Haugan sold their interest in the Haugan farm and moved to the United States. Engebret and Sigrid Haugan left Oslo harbor on May 18, 1881 on the Wilson Line SS Cameo together with their three youngest daughters, Anne, Christi and Julia. They entered the Port of New York on June 13, 1881 on board the Monarch Line SS Egyptian Monarch.

Eldest daughter, Boletta had been married in 1878 to Anders Torsen Haugan from neighboring Krødsherad. The couple first established residence on Lykka, a leasehold on the Haugan farm. Here their first two sons Theodor and Edvard were born. Boletta, Anders and their sons left Oslo harbor on October 23, 1882 aboard the Danish registry ship, SS Hekla of the Thingvalla Line. The ship left Oslo and entered New York harbor with 147 Norwegian passengers on November 7, 1882.

Otter Tail County
Following immigration to America, the members of the extended Haugan family first settled in Section 35 in the Township of Leaf Lake of Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Engebret Haugan and his son-in-law Anders Haugan jointly operated a family farm. Here the seven younger children of Anders and Boletta were all born. Here also infant Edward died within the first year following the immigration. Sigrid Pedersdatter Haugan died in Leaf Lake Township on April 9, 1897 at age 65.

Hubbard County
Shortly thereafter, Engebret joined his family in Hubbard County, Minnesota and helped them with their enterprises. The younger Haugan daughters, Anne, Christi and Julia together with their husbands and children started relocating to Hubbard County near the community of Becida early in 1897. Engebret Haugan died at age 71 on July 2, 1905 in Hubbard County, Minnesota.

Ancestry

 * Kristian Engebretsen Haugan  (1804 - 1880) Married Boel Olesdatter Rolstad (1808 - 1871). Boel was the daughter of Ola Tollevsen Rolstad and Else Olsdatter Gren. Ola Tollevsen was the son of Tollev Olsen Rolstad and Åse Andersdatter Hoffart. Kristian and Boel established residence at Haugan farm in 1833.  In 1878, Kristian transferred Haugan to his two sons, Engebret and Ole Haugan.
 * Engebret Fredriksen Kringstad  (1771 - 1850) Married Eli Sjulsdatter (1769 – 1848) during 1799. Engebret and Eli first resided at the Kringstad farm. During 1833, they acquired lower Haugan in an exchange for a part of the Narum farm. Their son Kristian Engebretsen inherited the Haugan farm.
 * Johan Fredrik Jensen Kringstad  (1735 - 1774) The youngest son of Jens Pettersen and Helge Halvorsdatter. In 1771, Johan Fredrik Jensen married Marit Engebretsdatter (1741 - 1832) of Sund. The family established residence at the Kringstad farm. The family appears in the 1801 Census for Sigdal. Listed as living at Kringstad are Fredrik Jensen, his wife Marit Engebretsdatter, daughter Karen Fredriksdatter, son Engebret Fredriksen and his wife Eli Sjulsdatter.  Their son Engebret Fredriksen inherited their interest in the Kringstad farm.
 * Jens Pettersen Volgast came from Denmark as a Sexton, an assistant to a pastor and school master. Volgast (modern German Wolgast) was a village in western Pomerania on the Baltic coast of Germany. This area had formed a part of Swedish Pomerania from 1648-1815. Today Wolgast is located within the Germany federal state of Mecklenburg- Pomerania. Jens was born approximately 1700. In 1724 he moved to Norway where in 1725, he married Helge Halvorsdatter. The couple resided at the farm known as Slette in Sigdal raising a family of five children.

Children

 * Boletta Haugan was born on January 22, 1858 in Sigdal. On October 9, 1878, at age 20, Boletta married Anders Torsen Haugan in Sigdal. Anders Haugan was born on Humlegaard farm during December, 1850. Humlegaard was located on the west side of Krøderfjorden in Krødsherad, Buskerud. Anders and Boletta settled in Leaf Lake Township, Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Boletta Haugan died in July 1898 at age 40. Anders died at the Anoka State Hospital on November 26, 1926 at age 76.
 * Anne Haugan was born October 21, 1864 in Sigdal. In 1887, at age 23, she married Even Knudsen Nyhus in Leaf Lake. Even Nyhus was born in Soknedalen, Buskerud, Norway on November 15, 1862 and died June 23, 1921 at age 58. Anne died at age 71 on February 3, 1935.
 * Christi Haugan was born October 17, 1868 in Sigdal. During 1887, at age 21, she married Christen A. Olson in Leaf Lake. Christen was born in Wisconsin during January 1864 to parents from Telemark, Norway. Christi died August 1, 1935 at age 67. Christen died in February 27, 1955 at age 91.
 * Julia Haugan was born January 11, 1874 in Sigdal. On December 22, 1894, at age 20 she married Louis E. Hanson in Henning, Minnesota. Louis Hanson was born at Fox Lake in Rice County, Minnesota on October 17, 1868. Julia died in October 13, 1907 at age 33. Louis Hanson died March 16, 1941 at age 73.

Primary Source

 * Engebret Kristiansen Haugan and Family, Pioneers From Sigdal, Norway (by Mel C. Haugan and Verna C. Haines. Phoenix, Arizona: published by authors. 2008)
 * Slektsminner fra klokkeren Jens Pettersen Volgast (Bakken. O.O. Sigdal og Eggedal Bygdemuseum. u.st.1953, 8vo.7 p)