The following was written by Ramona Ufen (granddaughter of Emret Sivertsen). It was published in the book "Bring on the Pioneers" which is a book about Hand County.

"My grandfather, Emret Sivertsen, was born December 11, 1849, at Opdal, Norway. As a young man he heard about the opportunities in America and both he and his brother, Sivert, decided to set sail for the United States. I was unable to discover upon which ship they sailed to America or the exact date of their departure, but I believe it to be in 1868 when Emret was 19 years of age.

Emret, with 20 other men from Opdal, Norway, came to Sioux City, Iowa, on May 16, 1869, just in time to celebrate Norway's Independence Day--May 17th. It was difficult to find a job at Sioux City so it was necessary for the men folk to strike out for the forts on the upper Missouri in order to earn a little money by cutting wood or working on other government jobs.

In the spring of 1871, the Sivertsen brothers, along with sixteen other young Norwegian men, gathered at Yankton and trekked over the country to Fort Sully, 300 miles away, in search of work.

It is interesting to note that when Emret and Sivert first came to America their surname was Mjoen. Both of the brothers felt that this name did not have enough of an American sound and decided to change it. Since their father's name had been Sivert they called themselves Sivertson. Through some quirk which I do not understand Emret spelled his name Sivertsen while Sivert became Sivertson. This difference in spelling and the "e" and "o" must have been due to personal taste. Sivert soon went to Platte, South Dakota, where he established his residence.

The following summer Emret went again to Fort Thompson, but this time as a worker on the Indian Agency. He worked here for about 30 years and under eight different agents--men like Dr. Livingston and Fred Treon. His job was to take care of the government horses and to teach Indians how to farm and to harness horses, etc.

In the fall that General Custer took his troopers to Big Horn, Montana, Emret took his Bishop Hare, the Episcopal missionary known as "Apostle to the Sioux" on one of his trips in the district. When they were on their way back home they met General Custer between Fort Sully and Fort Pierre. My grandfather never had much time for General Custer.

Emret then had to take Bishop Hare back to Yankton. Along this route lived very few white men. There were numerous deer, antelopes, and buffalo, however. The only white men lived at least 50 miles apart. These whites were mostly of French descent. The closest railroad was at Sioux City and all transportation to military posts and outlaying areas was by steamboat. These were the flat river boats with the paddles on the sides. To this date there were no cattle ranches and few "good" dwellings. The general thing was rude dwellings of logs, sod, or dugouts.

Emret always tried to deal squarely with the Indians and they always felt that he was a good friend to them and would do almost anything for him. One morning the wife of an Indian died and her husband vowed to kill the first man who came up on the hill as revenge. It was Emret who came early in the morning from the valley of Fort Thompson up on "the hill" to teach this Indian man how to plow. Seeing it was his friend, the man went out and shot his good team of horses instead. It was a pretty black team which probably had been issued to this man by the government. Even when Grandfather left the agency to live in Como Township in Hand County, Indians still visited him in friendship.
In early days there was no church or school at Fort Thompson. It was a stockade. A young Indian boy once gave Emret a police club made from the wood of this old stockade. This is now owned by his son, my father, Fred Sivertsen.

The soldiers were moved to Fort Hale between Yankton and Chamberlain in 1870. Some miles farther down the Missouri from Fort Hale was another Indian Agency called Bruel Agency. Brule was 2 miles west of Chamberlain across from where Oacoma is now. Crow Creek, of course, was where Emret worked for so many years. When the flour mill was first built at Fort Thompson both Emret and the blacksmith worked at it most of the time. An Indian named High Dog who was inexperienced and shouldn't have been there at all since such orders weren't given him by the agent--was also working there. High Dog chopped his own thumb off as a result and was so angry that he said he was going to kill the blacksmith. High Dog drove around on his pony afterwards with both his Winchester Rifle and an axe. Emret warned the blacksmith who went home and hid. One day, however, when the blacksmith was at work on a log at the mill, High Dog chased off his pony and entered the building with his axe to kill him. He threw his axe at the blacksmith, but struck the saw instead and broke it so that pieces of the saw flew all over. After that High Dog became more quiet since he was superstitious. After this incident the agent gave them an Indian constable. This was close to the outbreak when General Custer and his men were ruined. The Indians were very unruly at this time. One night Indians came in and shot the horse that belonged to the Indian constable.

At last a government pension school was started at Fort Thompson. Some missionaries were sent and then it began to be a little more civilized. Bishop Hare, sometimes called the "Apostle to the Sioux," traveled around the district although his headquarters were in Sioux Falls. Bishop Hare stayed at Emret's house very often when he was at Fort Thompson. He began an Episcopal church there and Reverend Burt was the first minister. Reverend and Mrs. Burt were from New York State and spoke with a strong eastern accent. They were wonderful people and began a Sunday School and Ladies Aid attended by Indians and whites alike. Reverend Burt died in about 1915 or 1916. Indians came to see him every day when he was ill and would hold his hand and weep. Both of these dear pioneer workers remain buried in the Fort Thompson cemetery high on the hill.
My father and my aunt, Sena Sivertsen Stanton recall that Miss Blanchard and Miss King taught at the agency school where they also attended classes. Miss Blanchard was a sister of Mrs. Burt and taught there for many years. At one time there were seven white children at this agency school: Martha, Ed, Fred, Sena, and Norman Sivertsen and two Weerts children. Mr. Weerts was the miller at the agency flower mill.

It was the good fortune of Emret Sivertsen on April 8, 1884 to be married to Ingebord Holm who was also from Opdal, Norway. She came to Fort Thompson to Mr. and Mrs. Stengrim Detlie in 1880. These folks went to Norway for a visit and brought her back with them when they returned. Ingebord was 15 when she came to America and 19 when she married. She and Emret were married in Mitchell by Pastor Tjomsland. Ingebord had also stayed with Governor Peter Norbeck's parents and she went to school with Peter. His family dug artesian wells and owned large well diggers.
In time, Emret and Ingebord became the parents of 12 children--7 daughter and 5 sons. When Ingebord's first baby was born, a girl named Martha; the Indians were excited about the new arrival. They named Martha the Indian name of "Winona" for the first girl child; just as later they named Ed, "Chuskee" for the first boy child's name. Ingebord was tiny and pretty and the Indians liked to watch her work and take care of her little white baby. They would stand in clusters by the windows to peek in. They spread their heavy shawls over the windows in order to be able to see inside better. Ingebord would finally have to motion them away because they shut off so much light and darkened the room.
These Indians shawls served other purposes too, for if a young man would see a girl he liked, he would stand around waiting for her and if she happened to like him she might come over to talk with him and spread her shawl over both of their heads making it a most convenient privacy. One could hear much whispering under shawls that covered two heads in such a manner. This was the Indian manner of courtship. These shawls also caused trouble for my father and his brother Ed. Because they were the only white boys in the Indian school all the Indian girls liked them and wanted to feel their white skin. After school was dismissed the teenage Indian girls would try to catch the little boys and throw their shawls over them. A fence surrounded the school and the Indian children were not allowed outside that fence so Ed and Fred made mad scrambles after school to try to get over or under that fence and run for home. Sometimes one could escape and run back into the school and tell teacher. I suppose the Indian girls had great fun teasing the two little white boys, especially since they hated such treatment so much.

In 1891, Emret Sivertsen took a homestead 16 miles northeast of Fort Thompson, in Hand County, but he still worked at the agency. His family lived on this homestead in the summer. Emret homesteaded this quarter and later bought another quarter. He always seemed satisfied with South Dakota living and made the most of his hardships. He could have homesteaded in Iowa not far from Sioux City, but said that he didn't like it there. He broke up 5 acres out of 160 acres to prove up his homestead. This homestead was in Section 32 and part of 33 in Como Township in Hand County. Emret and his family left Fort Thompson in 1896 and moved on this homestead. There was a Norwegian settlement there in those years. All up and down the creek were Norwegians: Olson, Anderson, Pederson, See, Evenson, Grundseth, Clevens, Sorenson, Ausman. Very few of these settlers stayed, but most of them moved to Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, etc., in bad years. Some proved up and sold out and some never did prove up. Later the Bohemians moved into that section southwest of Ree Heights.
Mail came to the farm by two routes--one from Chamberlain and one from Highmore. Both of these mail routes were by horse team. Mail came three times a week. Bailey post office was an important place even though it was just the mail niches in the postmaster's house in section 33 of Como Township. These post office boxes are now in my father's garage and there is no Bailey post office in southwest Hand County, so many people have never even heard of Bailey, South Dakota. Freight came up by boat from Chamberlain. On the farm, there was no real social life other than being neighborly. Visiting was the social life and any stranger was welcomed and not feared as now. Trips to town were anticipated occasions and groceries and necessary items were purchased in Ree Heights.
At last a Lutheran minister came up from Chamberlain about once or twice a month. Emret and Ingebord were both Lutheran although several of the children had been brought up Episcopalian since no other protestant church had been available for so long: my own father being confirmed by Bishop Hobart Hare. The Lutheran minister stayed at Emret's and preached in the schoolhouse when he visited the district. The rural schoolhouse shaped the community in many ways. It served as education center, community meeting place, church, and polling place. Emret was always active in township politics and served as township supervisor and school treasurer.

Ingebord was a delight as a pioneer wife for even though the role of wife was often hard and of few rewards, none of her 12 children ever once her hear complain. She baked bread by the fifty pound sack full and her own family ate a sack a week. Besides baking for her own hungry brood, Ingebord also baked for neighboring ranchers. They furnished the flour and she received 40 cents a sack for baking the bread. Though the work in a pioneer household must have been staggering, Ingebord planted a flower garden and put a woven wire fence around it. She would work for hours in her little flower garden. Emret planted trees on the farm and it soon became a good place to live. The children always called their parents "Pa and Ma."Ingebord and Emret always had a friendly open door for neighbors and friends. The door need not have been open, however, for many Indian friends would just walk right in without ever knocking. If Ingebord was serving a meal, they were always invited to eat with the family, but they seldom wanted to sit at the table. They preferred to sit cross-legged on the floor and tear their meat to pieces with their fingers. The squaws would often stop in the fall with one dress on and the next spring have that dress moved down a layer or so with other dresses on top. They wore dress upon dress--perhaps for warmth.

Emret Sivertsen died August 16, 1923, of cancer. He was 74 years old and was buried in Morningside Cemetery in Ree Heights, South Dakota. Pastor Berg and John Reese of Mitchell preached the funeral sermon. Pastor John Reese sort of summed up the whole life of this man when he said "he was cut out for a real pioneer. He was a real worker, and helper in time of need. It is great what a man can do--make a home in such a wild place and have a whole dozen children, give them a good upbringing and teach them to be good citizens.

"Although I have never known either my grandfather or grandmother, for they were both dead before I was born, I know that their pioneer spirit has shaped even my own life for they contributed much in helping to build a good community for us all to live in. They built a community which we believe still teaches differences between right and wrong, regards spiritual values highly, and thrives on good, honest work. It is a good life that they have made for us. Surely it is people like these pioneers who have laid the groundwork for a large share of the greatness of our nation. We should be thankful to have such a heritage to pass down to our children--for it is GREAT what a man can do."

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OBITUARY-
Everett [Emret] Sivertsen - A Pioneer called to Final Reward.
He was born in Norway December 11, 1849, and passed to the Great Beyond August 16, 1923, having been a patient sufferer for almost a year.
He came to this country in 1869 and with the exception of about 29 years while working in the government service at Ft. Thompson, he has always lived on his farm in southern Hand county. In the year of 1884 he was united in marriage to Miss Emma Holm. To this union 12 children were born: Mrs. J.S. Puffer, Edwin, Fred, Norman, Sena, Marie, Mrs. M.B. Erwin, Mrs. F.W. Longnecker, Henry, Reuben, Hilda and Vera, all of whom, with the sorrowing wife, survive and mourn their great loss.