Swen Loge was born in Thime, Stavanger, Norway on October 27, 1852. At the age of 26 he was married to Serina Thime. With a few of his neighbors, his wife and child, Elizabeth, they left for America on April 9, 1881. They crossed the North Sea on a cattle boat, named "Johan Sverdrup." At Liverpool, England, they boarded a ship named "Palmyra," which was in poor condition and lost a propeller at sea. During the voyage, their little girl, Elizabeth became ill and died.
From New York the group went to Granite Falls, Minnesota They were delayed a few days in St. Paul. Here their son, Swen, was born. The men bought equipment at Granite Falls, drove to Benson, Minnesota, where they loaded their oxen and goods on railroad cars. At Fargo, they unloaded and drove the oxen along the railroad track to Valley City, where they stocked up on supplies.
Swen Loge and Valdemar Klubben picked quarters next to each other, Section 26-145-58. They built a sod house over their quarter line, of two rooms, one for each family. When the men had made initial preparations they informed their families to come. On July 5 they left Granite Falls. They were met in Valley City by the men.
In May 1883, a second son, Lars, was born. After living in the sod house three years, Swen built a log house. In the following years more rooms were added to the log house and was lived in for 32 years, at which time it was replaced with the present house. In 1888, the oxen were replaced by a team of horses, one of the first in the area.
The six youngest children were born in the log house, Elizabeth, 1885
Martin, 1887
Bernard, 1889
Pauline, 1891
Inga, 1893
and Hans, 1895. They all attended the Gallatin School, located by the Sheyenne River.
In 1905, Swen Loge built a home in Cooperstown and lived there until he died on August 17, 1906. His wife, Serina died in August 1937.
Swen Loge's children are:
Truman of Cooperstown, Spencer of Hannaford, and Kenneth, Melvin and Maynard, who live out of state.
Lars Loge's children are:
Richard of Hannaford, Sheila Nevland, Fergus and Lawrence of Cooperstown, Arlien (Mrs. Clarence Troness) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Rosella (Mrs. Clifford Knutson) of Cambridge, Ray of Walla Walla, Washington, Dorothy (Mrs. Gordon Moothart) Oregon, Dennis of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Marilyn (Mrs. Don Sand) of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Elizabeth and Elmer Asplund's children are:
Marjorie (Mrs. Ray Osmundson), Minerva (Mrs. Ernest Nelson), and LeRoy Asplund.
Martin Loge's children are:
Edythe (Mrs. John Carroll, died in 1954), Dorcas (Mrs. Ernest McMahon), Elverda (Mrs. Leland Hughes), and adopted son, Dean, died in 1967.
Bernard Loge's children are:
Homer, Marshall, Burnette (she died in 1961), Luann (Mrs. Tom Greear).
Pauline and Peter Ewert's child, Ardis (Mrs. Robert George Townsend).
Inga (Loge) Ueland's children are:
Kermit and Shirley (Mrs. Lester Erickson) both of Cooperstown. (Kermit owns and lives on the original Swen Loge homestead.)
Hans Loge's children are:
Harlowe of Cooperstown, Delphine (Mrs. Herbert Larson) of Eugene, Oregon, and Gerald of Fargo, North Dakota
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 434