| The Story Of Helfred Matson & Mary Garson Introduction |
 |
 |
| The Matson-Garson Story, the joining and sharing of these two families, begins with the wedding of Helfred Syver Madsen and Maria Martha Garson on May 30, 1908. St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Strum, Wisconsin, USA, was the sight for this special occasion. Remodeling of this wood, white painted structure, was completed in about 1902. The marriage of Helfred & Mary was a joyous event; it was probably shared by family and non-family congregation members. Marriage was an important religious event in the norwegian lutheran church. As we might expect, the ceremony for this early twentieth century event was delivered in norwegian. Nils Garson and Clara Frodahl gave their daughter, Maria (Mary) to Helfred Madsen, first son of Syver Johannes Madsen and Helene Olsdtr who we have come to know as Grandma Bjerkebakken. Maria was the second daughter of Nils & Clara, their first daughter, their first-born child, died in infancy. We can assume that many family and congregation members attended this wonderful happening. Or, I could be dead wrong! It was probably as common to attend weddings of any member of the congregation as it was to attend funerals. Both weddings and funerals are very important religious events in Norwegian parish history. We can believe that food and beverage might have been provided by the Ladies Aid, itself organized well before this time. This was probably not an extravagant affair. May 30 was a special day in more ways than one. Mary?s parents, Nils Nordbraaten Garson and Clara Julianne Hansdatter Frodahl, also were married on this day, twenty-five years earlier in 1883. What a tribute to Mom and Dad. And, of course, this day would some years later become a national holiday in the United States of America, Memorial Day. When that happened I would imagine celebrating a wedding aniversary and acknowledging our deceased on memorial day became a mixed blessing. To understand who we are, we must travel as far back as we can and then track the descendants of those people toward today. While it would be impossible to write about all of these people, this writing will focus on direct descendants and mention as many others as possible. By mentioning siblings and ?shirt-tail? relatives, perhaps some readers will learn what I have learned, that far more people than I ever realized who live around my home town, Strum, Wisconsin, and Eleva and Osseo, are in some way related by blood or marriage. It was the norwegian way, and it continued to a great degree in America. But, on with the story. We must retreat to Norway, back to the areas in Oppland and Akershus and perhaps other fylke (counties or such), where this story really begins long ago with my ancestors and, of course, the ancestors of Helfred and Mary. North of Oslo, Norway about 35 miles is the base of Lake Mjösa, the largest inland lake in Norway. On the west side of this lake and south of it we find Hurdal and Hurdal Lake and an intersection of the three religious parishes that comprise the stomping ground for Helfred and Mary?s ancestors: Hurdal, Østre Toten, and Vestre Toten. The first is located in the northernmost part of Akershus Fylke, the other two in Oppland Fylke, but adjacent to Hurdal Parish. The main churches for these parishes are located in Hurdal on the northern tip and west side of Hurdalsjöen Lake; Hoff, locate 20 miles further north and east near Kapp, Norway; and Kolbu, maybe 5 miles down the road to the south of Hoff Parish. While some of the Matson-Garson ancestors lived at one time in the northern part of Toten, the intersection of these three parishes in south Toten near the Akershus Fylke border, up the valleys to the north and just west of Hurdal, is where we often see them on farms. This is the area where I believe these people learned of each other long before coming to America and Strum, Wisconsin. |