KJERSTEN ADRIANSON

Kjersten was the mother of five sons and one
daughter who helped to settle Roland Township
under the family name, Larson. Born in Northern
Norway in 1820, she married Lars Adrianson and
bore five sons, Adrian, Hans Peder, Hemming,
Lars, and Martin. She also had three daughters,
Petrina and two others who chose not to immigrate
and whose names have been lost over the span of
years. Following the Scandinavian custom, all ofthe
sons took their father's first name, added "son" and
thus created the family name, Larson.
By 1882 Kjersten had been a widow for some
years and was 62 years ofage. But she chose tojoin
other family members who were leaving their home
at Balsfiord, near Tromso, Norway, to seek a new
life in a new land. In America she went first to
Artichoke Lake in Minnesota, then to a son's home-
stead north of Minot, and finally in 1 890, to Roland
Township near Lake Metigoshe. Here at age 70 she
tookup her own homestead in Section 14, Township
163, R-75. She lived alone, took care of her live stock, and with the help ofher sons, cleared the 1and.
After she had proved her homestead and was near-
ing the age of 90, she divided her land between two
of her sons, Hans Peder and Martin.
Her last years were spent among her children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Kjersten
was remembered for her stamina in getting around
the neighborhood on foot. She would walk as far as
four miles one way to visit friends and family
members - and this she did frequently until she was
well into her nineties. This matriarch of the Larson
family, a hardy Norwegian mother and pioneer,
died in 1915, shortly before her 95th birthday. She
lies in Nordland Cemetery, a scant two miles from
her homestead; for her, just a short stroll from home.