Bear Lake Thomsens Minnesota

The home of Tolleif George Thomsen on the shores of Bear Lake.

STORIES FROM NORWAY | STORIES FROM BEAR LAKE | PHOTOS | LINKS | CONTACT

THE FOUNDERS OF THE THOMSEN FAMILY IN AMERICA were Taulerius Thomsen and his wife, Marie Magdalene Olsdatter (Olsen), who immigrated to the United States from Norway in 1882. With their sons, they filed for homesteads at Bear Lake, Minnesota, in 1893.

This web site covers three generations of Thomsens: Taulerius and Marie Magdalene; their sons; and their grandchildren, the first generation born in America.

There is extensive information about forebears in Norway. Records and stories dating back as far as 1626 are included. See Stories from Norway.

After the parents and sons - (shown left to right) Cornelius, Lorentz, and Tolleif George - each filed for a homestead at Bear Lake and built "claim shacks" there in 1893, they moved to Bear Lake in 1894. Before that, they lived in Kandiyohi County in West-Central Minnesota for 12 years. Lorentz sold his farm and moved to Bickleigh, Saskatchewan, in 1918. Many of the remaining Thomsen cousins, shown below with other children from the neighborhood, formed bonds that endured for their lifetimes.

At Bear Lake in 1926
(on dock, from right) Ida Mickelson, Marie Thomsen, Astrid Thomsen, Christina Mickelson, Selma Mickelson, Ruth Walters, Johanna Thomsen, Erling Thomsen, Leif Thomsen, Haakon Thomsen, and Thor Thomsen
(in the boat, from right) Joseph "Bud" Thomsen, Ralph Thomsen, Alf Thomsen, Grant Rowe, Ted Thomsen, Nels Thompson (Bobin), Gertrude Thompson (Tootsie), Bertha Thomsen, Millie Adolphson, and Ragna Thomsen