Martin Ueland was born in Stavanger, Norway in 1858. He was the youngest son of Ole Gabrial Ueland, a member of the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) who was at one time president of that body. Martin attended high school and went to a technical school and became a civil engineer.
In 1880 Martin left Norway and reached America ten days later. The trip cost $52. He spent a year in Minneapolis and came to Dakota Territory in 1881, homesteading in Sverdrup Township in Section 26.
In 1882 the land on which he built his farmstead was purchased from the Northern Pacific Railroad for $640 ($4 an acre). This was Section 23. He was elected surveyor that year and served in that capacity for 50 years.
In spite of the many things we would consider trials in early pioneer life such as walking to Valley City for supplies, in later years his response to a question in a questionnaire asking him to relate some hardships of pioneer life was that there were none that he remembered.
In 1888 he married Elizabeth Holland who was also born in Stavanger, Norway and had come to Griggs County where her brothers Knud and Hans Holland lived at that time.
Eight children were born to them. There were two boys who died in infancy, and Olav, Knute, Alf, Anne, Magnus, and Bjorn who died in 1981.
Olav married Dagney Edland and their ten children were Mervil, Eunice, Verna, Garvin, Clarice, Anne, Arla, Blanche, Olav, and Duane. Knute married Inga Loge. Their children were Shirley and Kermit. Alf married Olga Paulson and had one daughter Winnifred. Anne married Aadne Windingland and had a son, Alan. Magnus married Milda Hagglund.
Elizabeth Ueland died in 1937 and Martin in 1941. At the time of his death, the home place was given to his son, Bjorn. In 1978 the farm was purchased by Martin Ueland, Kermit Ueland's son.
Source: Cooperstown, North Dakota 1882-1982 Centennial page 96