Sever C. Tolstad (1859-1935) first came to Dakota Territory in 1880 as a member of a horse powered threshing rig. He returned to his home in Rushford, Minnesota, the last of November. The two men who owned the rig stayed until Christmas to finish. Though the fields were small the moving and the distance between jobs took a long time, more than the threshing actually.
Sever returned to Dakota Territory in 1881 to homestead on the Northwest ¼ of Section 10-142-60, what is now Edna township of Barnes County. When he settled on his claim, Sanborn was the closest town to which he could ski for supplies. He and Alfred Anderson caught two antelope in the deep snow but one died in captivity and they let the other one loose. He built on the present location Southeast ¼ of Section 10 in 1891.
He married Karen Peterson (1870 - 1947) in 1892 at Winona, Minnesota. They had four children: Clara Taylor (December 9, 1893), now of The Dalles, Oregon; Alice (November 30, 1896) of Van Nuys, California; Clifford xxx(April 48, 1899 - 1921); Albert (August 2, 1902) who, with his wife Johanna (Berg) still lives on the home place.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 250