Bendick and Severine Bendickson were born in Norway and lived at Rognaldsvog on an Island near Flora all their life. Two months out of the year in the middle of the summer, they have twenty-four hours of daylight.
They were the parents of thirteen children, four died very young. A number of the children came to settle at Cooperstown, North Dakota
The oldest child was Solomon who was a sailor on the North Sea for fifteen years.
Henry left Norway in 1900 for New York, was on a sail ship and died at sea.
MATT came to America in 1905 and worked as a hired man four years in Minnesota, before coming to Cooperstown in 1909, where he rented the farm from Albert Retzlaff. He met Anna Erickson who had come from Norway in 1911, and were married the same year. She died in 1955. Their children were:
Borghild
Milo
Art, (deceased)
Lil and
Ralph.
Matt now resides at Wenatchee, Washington
Carl migrated to Cooperstown with sister Julia in 1910 and worked on a farm for a year, then went to the Great Lakes, had an accident on a ship and died.
Julia came to Cooperstown in 1910 to work for her brother Matt, also worked in Cooperstown and for others. She returned to Norway with Brothers Matt and Ben in 1916 and stayed 3 months. In 1917 she returned to Cooperstown and married ALFRED RETZLAFF in 1917. The Retzlaff farmed west of Cooperstown until 1950 when they moved to Cooperstown, built their home and retired in 1960. The same year they went with Mrs. Retzlaff's brothers, Matt, Ben and his wife to Norway and the second day out on the ocean Mr. Retzlaff died of a heart attack on the boat. The Retzlaffs were the parents of two sons, Carrol and Marvin and also brought up a little girl, Mildred Clauson at the age of ten, when her mother died, and kept her until she married LeRoy Schmidt, living at Tacoma, Washington.
Helen married Midtved in 1913. They were the parents of nine children.
BEN came to Cooperstown in 1914, returned to Norway in 1916. He was married in Norway in 1919 to Sanna Olson. Their children are:
1. Elsie and Sigrid in Chicago and Bennie near Cooperstown. Ben returned to North Dakota, in 1923 and his family came in 1926. They made their home on farms west of Cooperstown, and in 1950 retired and moved to town.
Constance migrated from Norway to Cooperstown in 1914 and worked in the area before she married Frank Papenfuss in 1919. They farmed in Foster County and her husband died several years later. They had a large family.
Olufine married Emil Mikkelson. He died when the children were very young. They were Kristian and Karen. Mrs. Mikkelson, son Kristian and a friend made their first trip to America, spending the month of July 1975, visiting with her brothers Matt and Ben and sister Julia at Cooperstown. Matt of Wenatchee, Washington, at the age of 90, arrived at the home of his sister, Julia, June 25, 1975 to visit his sister Olufine and nephew from Norway, and other relatives at Cooperstown.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 255