[396] John Hill died in 1892, but Mrs. Susanne Hill is still living with her daughter, Mrs. Austin Osmond (b. 1845), in Morris, Grundy County, Illinois.
[397] Lars Fruland of Newark is a son of Nils Fröland, who emigrated from Samnanger, near Bergen, in 1837, settling in La Salle County.
[398] Mr. Strand has given a very complete sketch of W. S. Weeks to which I am indebted for these facts.
[399] His parents died in Norway when he was a child; a brother and sister also came to America at the same time.
[400] Mrs. Holland died in 1884 and Mr. Holland married Christina Peterson of Skien, Norway, in 1885.
[401] Cassem married Margaret Fritz in 1851; she died in 1872. There are five children: Randall Cassem, attorney at Aurora, Ill.; Mrs. Olive J. Osmondson of Seward Township, Kendall County; Oscar E. Cassem, Mitchell, South Dakota; Mrs. Margaret Olson, Aurora, Illinois; and Mrs. Anna O. Rood, Chicago, Illinois.
[402] Kari Melhus of Newark, Illinois, who came to America about 1852, is said to be the oldest Norwegian woman in America. She was born in Hjelmeland Parish, Ryfylke, in 1804.
[403] A. K. Vetti’s oldest daughter, Mrs. Samuel Mather (b. 1853) of Springdale, Linn County, Iowa, says that it was in 1849, or 1850 perhaps, but she is not certain which.
[404] The words “universal education” contain a reference to his fight for the common schools.
[405] The latter family included a son Nels (b. 1840), who is Nels S. Nelson of Helmar, well known as a successful farmer and a Republican leader in Kendall County.