Sverre Mathisen 1865-1902, Olea Andrea Nilssen 1870-1939: Hattfjelldal and Estherville

An obituary for S. Mathisen (assumed here, to be Sverre Mathisen) held a sweet story: he asked Ella Nelsen, his childhood playmate in Norway, to emigrate, so to marry him in Iowa. It was 1896.¹ It said they shared a child around 1899. Also, that S., a stonemason, was interred in the Norwegian Cemetery of Estherville, in 1902; that the couple had but six years together. No burial site was found for S. or Sverre Mathisen using Sverre’s knowns.

If Sverre, he and his little family seemed to disappear. He was our great-grandma’s little brother, so we wanted to find them and know his own story.

RECAP: Previous posts here show Sverre Mathisen b. 9 Oct 1865, on Hatfjelddalen Farm, in Hattfjelldal, NO, to Mathis Bentson/Bendigtsen and Marit Jonsdatter.² He emigrated to Estherville, IA in 1888, by tagging along with his brother, Mathias-Martinus and wife, Anna-Oline Hemmingsdtr. Anna-Oline was of nearby Groli Farm.³ His brothers, Hans-Matias and Benjamin-Matias-Arnsberg had preceded them all, in 1868, when they offed to Minnesota. Their sister, our great-grandmother, Berit-Has Mathisdatter, went next. In 1886, she joined her husband, Ole-Mathias Hemmingsen, also of Groli Farm, already in Wisconsin. The rest of Sverre’s siblings had died, migrated within Norway or went to Sweden, except for Johan-Olaus. He and his children remained to manage Hatfjelddalen Farm, at least until Census 1920. The graphic below is from a related post.

Mr. and Mrs. Sverre Mathisen

Sverre Mathisen wed on 31 May 1896.⁴ The bride penned her marital document as Olea Andrea Larsen, not Ella Nelsen. She claimed an 1867 birth in Norway, to Peter and Elise Larsen. So far, we have an assumed obituary and contrary wedding notice – they will not suffice!

Ella in Norway as Olea-Andrea

Records suggest that Ella Nelsen was born Olea-Andrea, on 3 May 1870, to Peder-Anton Larsen and Elise-Johanna Silversdtr, in Tjøtta Parish of Nordland, Norway. Since her father was Peder, her birth surname was Pedersdatter.⁵ Census 1875 for Tjotta Parish confirms this and widens information on her family.

Changing Pedersdatter to Larsen is easily understood. Nelsen requires work. Census 1891 enumerated Olea-Andrea Nilssen, at the home of her father, Peder-Anton Larssen, in Tjotta. Of note, her census said Tjotta was an assumed home, with habitual residency at Hatfjelddalen. The towns are about 180 km apart.  

In 1891, Hatfjelddalen was a Census District in Hattfjelldal Municipality. Nyborg was a Rural Residence within, where Nils-Andrea Nilsson was head of household.⁶ His wife, Hanna (Hanna-Lydia Larsen b. 1836 Tjotta), was likely second cousin to Olea. Sverre Mathisen and family lived in an adjacent Rural Residence.

Olea was not cross-referenced to the 1891 Hattfjelldal census of Nyborg; her sister, Karen Johanne, b. 1875 Tjotta, was. Karen was surnamed Larsen in Tjotta and Pedersdatter in Hatfjelldal. It seems there was some laxity around surname use.

These, from the Church Books of Hattfjelldal Parish at DigitalArkivet.no for Olea-Andrea:

• 1877: Olea-Andrea Pedersdatter migrated to Nyborg from Tjotta – this came as annotation on an 1893 record that was prompted by the birth of a daughter.⁷
• 1893: Olea-Andrea Pedersdatter, of Nyborg, had a daughter, Nelly-Johanna Kristofa, on 26 Aug with Peter Marius Person, of Mosjoen.⁸ They were unwed. Nelly was confirmed in 1908. That record bears annotation that her mother was in America. Census 1900 of Nyborg shows Nelly Nilssen, under foster care of Hanna Nilssen (Hanna-Lydia Larsen). The two remained there, at least until Census 1920.
• 1895: Olea-Andrea Nilssen began to out-migrate from Hattfjelldal to Iowa.⁹
• 1896: Olea A. Nilsen was in Trondheim on 19 Feb 1896 preparing to board the Allen Line with destination of Estherville, Iowa.¹⁰ She arrived in Halifax on SS Mongolian from Liverpool, on 9 Mar 1896.¹¹ Per arrival notes, she was intended for her sweetheart who was S. Mathisen in Estherville IA, he having paid her ticket.

Update 24 Aug 2025: Sverre in Norway

Sverre Mathisen had fathered Mikal Kornelius Sverresen on 7 Jan 1886 with Kristine Marie Mikkelsdtr, b. 1866. Mother and child appeared in the Hatfjelldal Census of 1891. Mikal was confirmed there, in 1901, but later, may have left the area. A possible half-brother was born in 1903, at Mikkelsjord, but his mother’s surname would have been misspelled and with residence at Vilhelmina, Sweden. (At Digitalarkivet.no Census 1891, Church Book Hatfjelldal Parish; Confirmations 1901-05-19, CBHP Births and Baptisms 1878-1898 for Mikal Kornelius and CBHP 1899-1919 for Karl Konrad)

The Journey of Sverre and Olea-Andrea Mathisen in the United States

The family should have been included in US Federal Census 1900, but was not in Iowa. The obit mentioned that they lived in Estherville for most of their six years. “Most of” allowed a look elsewhere, but the apparent find, if correct, put lie to “most of”.

Sam and Ella Mattson

With Nelsen now an acceptable surname for Olea, Sverre might have assumed forename Sam and Olea, Ella. That is, a Sam and Ella Mattson, whose data were a close match, were in Census 1900 for Ashland, Ashland County WI. (An earlier post provides some support to Mattson, since brother Benjamin-Matias-Arnsberg was likely Benjamin Matteson of Iowa and Minnesota).

The obit referenced one child. The census for the Ashland Mattsons had a son: Palmer, age two, born in Wisconsin. Ella claimed another child, not living, for whom there was no record. If Ella were Olea, perhaps she meant Nelly, but she was alive. There was no birth record for Palmer, nor did any later life document outright associate him with Sverre.

Sam was a lumber piler here, and Ella a dressmaker. Dressmaker followed in later censuses. Still, there were too many assumptions around the Ashland Mattsons to make the case for Sverre and Olea as Sam and Ella.

Ella Johnson and Palmer Eli Mathisen

Life records of a Palmer Eli Mathisen, excluding one for birth, show him born 11 Jan 1899, in Bayfield County, WI. Such would make sense for a son of Sverre Mathisen, as there were a number of Hemmingsen relatives there, who could assist with birth.

Other records show Palmer Eli Mathisen as son of Ella Johnson, who proved to be Olea-Andrea. Louis and Ella Johnson appear in Census 1920 at Minneapolis, MN. She died there in 1939.¹² None of her own records could close the case. Her obituary cited two siblings in the US, who obliged.

Found as described, they proved to be Jacob Larson of Brooklyn, NY (Peder-Jacob Pedersen b.1880) and Marie Haugen of Minneapolis (Hanna-Marie Pedersdatter b.1877). Data behind the names convinced that the three were children of Peter Larson and Elise Silvertsdatter, of Tjotta, NO.¹³ Their ancestry is well teased out on MyHeritage.com.

RIP Sverre Mathisen (1865-1902), Olea-Andrea Pedersdatter/Larson/Nilssen, with variants/ Mathisen aka Ella Nelsen/Mathisen/Johnson (1870-1939), Palmer Eli Mathison (1899-1975).

Addendum: The blog tells the story of our great grandmother, Berit Has Mathisdatter. This piece is the last of three that follow her four brother siblings, who also went to America. The others are https://wp.me/p9ORWJ-3aL “Matt Hemmingsen 1867-1976: Uncle’s photo but for a decade?” and https://wp.me/p9ORWJ-gk  “Hemmingsen-Mathisdatter: Mathisen-Hemmingsdatter”.

Copyright © Marilee Wein and DoubleGenealogyTheAdoptionWitness 2018-2025, author and owner. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright author and owner.

^{Notes and Sources}

• 1 Obituary from Estherville Enterprise, Estherville, IA, June 18, 1902 via Iagenweb.org as Obituaries: S. Mathison 1865-1902 posted by Merllene Andre Bendixen Date 2/2/2012 at 23:43:25.
• 2 Sverre: birth and baptism; Church Book of Hatfjelldal Parish 1860-1878 at DigitalArchivet. no. for Sverre, b. 9 Oct 1865, baptized 12 Nov 1865.
• 3 Sverre emigration a) DigitalArchivet Utflyttar CBHP 1878-1898 for Sverre Mathiasen (also shows brother and Anna O. Hemmingsdtr. b) All Norway, Emigration Records, 1867-1960 for emigration 5 Sep 1888, from Trondheim with destination Estherville, Iowa aboard the Allen, for Sverre Mathiassen.
• 4 Sverre Mathisen Marriage: May 31 1896 Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880-1949 for Mathison to Olea Andrea Larsen. Curtesy Jerry Fish at Ancestry. Death: U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969 for Sverre Mathison. Died 16 June, buried 17 June 1902 in Estherville.
• 5 CBTP [Church Book Tjotta Parish at DigitalArkivet.no] Births and Baptisms. 1862–1877
• 6 CBHP [Church Book Hatfjelldal Parish at DigitalArkivet.no] 1865-1878. Census 1891.
• 7 CBHP 1878-1898. Innflyttar.
• 8 CBHP 1879-1916 Birth and Baptisms.
• 9 CBHP 1878-1898. Utflyttar (Andrea and Iowa were misspelled).
• 10 For Olea A Nilsen at DigitalArkivet.no AV/SAT-A-1887 Trondheim politikammer, Emigrant protokollor, Trondheim police office, First accession, Emigrant protocols, no. Emigrant protocol no. 10, 1895-1902.
• 11 US Border Crossings from Canada to U.S 1895-1960 for Olea A Nilsen at Ancestry.com
• 12 The Minneapolis Star 11 Dec 1939, page 28 for Ella Johnson at Newspapers.com
• 13 CBTP Tjøtta local parish 1870-1883 (1817P) Births and Baptisms