This page is dedicated to information about Emigration from Gjøvik "kommune", i.e. the areas Vardal, Biri, Snertingdal and Gjøvik city.

Gjøvik is located west of the lake Mjøsa in Oppland County. The main areas within Gjøvik are today  Vardal, Biri, Snertingdal and Gjøvik City. Snertingdal is part of Biri Parish, and Gjøvik Town was previously part of Vardal Parish. (For maps etc. see Links page)

From 1846 to 1915, some 8000 persons emigrated from Gjøvik to America. As a result, the population, at least in Biri and Snertingdal, went up and down. The total population in Snertingdal and Biri was 4667 in 1845, and 4996 in 1920 - less than 10% growth in 75 years.  Many of them (and in many cases their parents and descendants) are documented in sources listed below.

The table below lists persons that emigrated, sorted by farm name in Gjøvik where the person lived before emigration, or by other surname. A person may appear several times. The information pointed to by the reference number link (e.g. #2)  supplements or corrects that in the sources below and/or lists persons that you can contact that may have more information about ascendants or descendants of the person.

Note: Norwegian sorting. The last characters in the alphabet are Æ, Ø, and Å. Two consecutive "A"s (AA) are sorted as one Å.

Person list:
 

Bekkemellem (Snertingdal), Ole Olsen, #6 Børresdatter, Anne Mathea, 1863, #6 Dokken, Ingeborg, 1884, #2 Gamlestuen, Anne Mathea, #6 Gryte, Hans Christiansen, 1820,#1 Gullord, Ingeborg Pedersdatter,  b 1796, #5 Hegge, Hans Christiansen, 1820, #1 Hegge, Ingeborg Nilsen, 1884, #2 Johnson, Lars, 1846 (48?), #4 Kopperud, Anne Marie Amundsdatter, 1813, #3 Kopperud, Anne Randine, 1841, #3 Kveaernstuen, John (Joe) Larsen, 1791, #5 Nelson (Nilsen), Nikolai, 1859, #6 Nøsvolden, Hans Thorkildsen, #6 Rolieiet, John (Joe) Larsen, 1791, #5

Sherven, John, 1848 (49), #4 Skjerven, John, 1848 (49), #4 Skonnord, Mathea Eriksdatter, 1824, #1 Smith, Hanna Louise, #5 Snuggerud, Anne Marie Hansdatter, #6 Storsveen, Børre Hansen, #6 Thingvold, Erik Hansen, #4 Tingvold, Erik Hansen, #4 Thingvold, Johannes, 1868, #4 Torke, Lars Jensen, 1846 (48?), #3 Tortelien, John (Joe) Larsen, 1791, #5 Øverby, Beate, 1823, #3 Aalset, Johannes Olsen, 1802, #3 Aaseiet, John Jensen, 1848 (49), #3 Aaslund, John Jensen, 1848 (49), #3

Some places where they lived:
 

Canoe (Pleasent) township Winnishiek, IA, #4 Coon Prairie, WI ,#5 Decorah, IA, #4 Greenfield, La Crosse County, WI, #1 Hatton, ND, #2

Koshkonong, #5 Norwegian Grove, MN, #3 Saginaw, MN, #6 Sascatchewan, Canada, #2 Superior, WI, #6 Westby, WI, #5

Persons that emigrated to Coon Valley
 

Please send me an e-mail if you want to add info to this list, new persons etc. BUT, you may prefer to use this page instead.  Remember to include your postal address in addition to e-mail.At the moment I have very limited resources for finding ancestors in Gjøvik, so don't expect  much, except in the Snertingdal Area where I have a lot of material. There may however be other readers of the page that can help. If e-mail address dont work, see the Hovedside.

Emigration sources:

• A. "Utvandringen til Amerika" (The emigration to America) by Halvard Oudenstad, published in Gjøvik in 1981, in Norwegian.
• B. "Coon Prairie" by Hjalmar R. Holand, published Minneapolis 1927 in Norwegian. Translated to English in 1977 by Øivind M. Hovde, publishe in Decorah, Iowa. A name index has also been published in the US.  Many emigrants from Biri and Snertingdal (and other areas) settled in Coon Prairie and Coon Valley in Wisconsin.
• C. "Coon Valley", by Hjalmar R. Holand, published in Minneapolis 1928 in Norwegian. If you need lookups in this book, Mr. Gary Richardson RICHARDSON2000@prodigy.net has offered to do lookups.
• D. "Normændene i Amerika, deres Hitorie og Record, 1 - 2", by Martin Ulvestad, published in Minneapolis 1907-1913, in Norwegian.
• E. "Norwegian Immigrants to the United States", A biographical Directory, 1825-1850, by Gerhard B. Naeseth. Volume 1 (1825-1843) published 1993, Volume 2 (1844-46) published 1997 (?). Volume 2 can be ordered from Vesterheim Genealogical Center and Naeseth Library. See also under Emigration in the Digitalarkivet. I assume volume 2 to covers the first emigrants from Gjøvik in 1846?