The History of an Ylvisaker Family

This site contains an evolving collection of information on Nils Torbjorn Ylvisaker and Kirstine (Bestemor) Orbek Hundere Ylvisaker and their descendants. Kirstine and Nils emigrated to the United States in 1868. After Nils' death in 1877, Kirstine married Andreas Erstad and lived on the Erstad farm outside Zumbrota, MN until she passed on in 1929. Nils and Kirstine had seven children. The sites’ information primarily flows from Nils and Kirstine through their son Andreas and his wife Maria and then on through their seven children.

The pictures and documents found on these web pages are just a sample of the available information. The full collection of letters, pictures, and other information is linked to throughout these pages.

For those new to the site, or those new to the family history, knowing where to begin can be difficult. Here are a few tips for getting started.

1) Items of general interest are a good way to put the family in historical context. There is an Ancestry page that follows a path back to the sixteenth century, and a Descendants page that details much of Nils Torbjorn’s branch of a family tree. These compilations are the work of Oddvin Ylvisaker of Sogndal, a great grandson of Nils Torbjorn's brother Ola. The second compilation on the Descendants page is the result of work by Mary Ylvisaker Cannons, a great granddaughter of Nils Torbjorn. The 19th Century page provides a history of the family through its migration and early years in America.

The Historical Spotlight page points to items of wide interest, such as the loss of the family home (Homewood) in a fire, with letters from Andreas and Anna detailing the event to Paul, then studying at Luther College. The Family Reunions page gives us some information on the frequent and large family reunions. And if you have ever wondered at the large number of pastors in the family then the Role of Religion in the Family is a good starting point.

2) If your main interest is in a particular person, the Family Member Listing page is a place to begin. The links on this page, or the expandable name list on the left, will direct you to individual pages for each family member. On a given page there is some brief information on the individual and a link taking you to the relevant portion of the collection. Some pages have a limited amount of information, but there is more to come! In particular, many of you have material that can be added to appropriate pages to help in this.

Letters and pictures can tell quite a story!

Send comments, corrections, and historical contributions to: Mark ylvis001@gmail.com