Erik Bergersen SANDER (c. 1739-1818)

Berger and Marte's son, Erik, was baptized early in the year 1739. Unfortunately my Norwegian isn't quite good enough to decipher exactly what date the document shown below indicates. Note the upper left hand corner. Ancestry.com (Norway, Select Baptisms, 1634-1927) has the date as 23 Jan 1739.


SAH, Grue prestekontor, Ministerialbok nr. 1, 1712-1748, s. 366-367.

Erik married Eli Sørensdtr Årstad, daughter of Søren Toresen Årstad and Marte Tostensdtr Fuglerud, on 25 Oct 1768 (outlined in red). This is also confirmed in the Brandval-Hokåsen bygdebok (Amundsen & Neskvern, 2012: 23).


SAH, Grue prestekontor, Ministerialbok nr. 2, 1749-1774, s. 411-412.

Eli was baptized on Septuagesima Sunday, the 9th Sunday before Easter in 1744. If my calculations are correct, that would have been on 2 Feb.


SAH, Grue prestekontor, Ministerialbok nr. 1, 1712-1748, s. 434-435.

They had at least two children, Brede (b. 7 Mar 1779) and Eli (b. 20 Apr 1789). Erik, his wife Eli, son Brede, and daughter Eli along with two servants are listed in the 1801 Norway Census. 

Eli, died c. 1809 and was buried 8 Jan 1809 (outlined in red).


SAH, Grue prestekontor, Parish register (official) no. 5, 1805-1814, p. 138-139.

Erik died ten years later on 8 Jan 1818 and was buried on 20 Jan (See entry #7).


SAH, Grue prestekontor, Ministerialbok nr. 6, 1814-1830, s. 102.

Brede Eriksen SANDER (1779-1862)

The Grue parish records show the baptism of Erik and Eli's son, Brede Eriksen SANDER in Mar 1779. Ancestry.com (Norway, Select Baptisms, 1634-1927) confirms the date as 21 Mar 1779.


SAH, Grue prestekontor, Parish register (official) no. 3, 1774-1792, p. 112-113.

On 3 Jan 1808 Brede married Anne Larsdtr Skaare, the daughter of Lars Pedersen Skaare and Eli Olsdtr Digernes. She was born on 25 Jan 1784 and baptized on 22 Feb (See entry #16).


SAH, Grue prestekontor, Ministerialbok nr. 3, 1774-1792, s. 248-249.

Brede and Anne had six children: Lars, Eli, Erik, Brede, Ole, and Maren. For their vital information please refer to the family group sheet below.


Family group sheet. Brede Eriksen SANDER (1779-1862). Image courtesy of Williams Family Pages.

The bygdebok for Brandval [Brandval-Boka II], mentions that in 1831, the widow Anne Arnesdatter deeded the property of Nord-Sjøli Søndre to Brede Eriksen Sander for 500 spd. He sold it again to his son, Lars Bredesen, in 1845 (Mandt, 1968: 512). Some of Lars' offspring would adopt the surname "Sjøli" which was then anglicized to "Shirley."

Brede's wife, Anne, died on 1 Apr 1848 and was buried on the 13th (See entry #56).


SAH, Grue prestekontor, Ministerialbok nr. 8, 1847-1858, s. 282.

Brede died on 8 Apr 1862 at the ripe old age of 83 and was buried on the 17th (Ancestry.com: Norway, Church Records, 1812-1938; See entry #56).


SAH, Grue prestekontor, Ministerialbok nr. 9, 1859-1863, s. 265.

Eli Eriksdtr SANDER (1789- )

The Grue parish records show the birth and baptism of Erik and Eli's daughter, Eli Eriksdtr SANDER, on 26 Apr 1789 and 1 Jun respectively.


Hedmark fylke, Grue, Ministerialbok nr. 3 (1774-1792), Kronologisk liste 1789, side 456-457. Image courtesy of Digitalarkivet.

On 5 Jan 1817 Eli married Svenning Svenningsen Helgebøl, the son of Svenning Eriksen Helgebøl and Kari Andersdtr Skulstad.


Hedmark fylke, Grue, Ministerialbok nr. 6 (1814-1830), Ekteviede 1817, side 199. Image courtesy of Digitalarkivet.

Svenning was born on 26 Dec 1789 and was baptized on 31 Jan 1790.


Hedmark fylke, Grue, Ministerialbok nr. 3 (1774-1792), Kronologisk liste 1789, side 486-487. Image courtesy of Digitalarkivet.

Eli and Svenning had at least three children: Eli (b. 7 Jul 1818), Karen (b. 11 Jan 1821), and Maren (b. 3 Sep 1825, d. 1857). Svenning passed away c. 1846.

On 6 Apr 1848, their daughter, Karen, married first cousin Brede Bredesen SANDER, the son of Eli's brother, Brede Eriksen SANDER and his wife, Anne Larsdtr Skaare.

We know from a 1944 newspaper article, "Roadside Ramblings," that Eli migrated to the US and lived for a while with Brede SANDER in Winneshiek County, Iowa. She helped care for his family after Karen died in 1868. Strangely she does not appear with them in either the 1860, 1870, or 1880 censuses. What happened to Eli for now must remain a mystery.

Brede Bredesen SANDER (1822-1905)

This photograph of Brede SANDER is the only one in the family's possession. The date it was taken is unknown, but it obviously would have to have been prior to his death in 1905.


Portrait. Brede Bredesen SANDER (Bef. 1905). Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

The parish records for Brandval i Grue, Hedmark fylke record the birth and baptism of Brede Bredesen SANDER on 12 Jan and 3 Feb 1822 respectively.


Detail of Hedmark fylke, Brandval i Grue, Klokkerbok nr. 1 (1814-1841), Fødte og døpte 1822, side 37. Image courtesy of Digitalarkivet.

Recently I noticed there is another parish record for Brede's birth and baptism in the Grue Ministerialbok (1814-1830) where on page 73b he is listed as entry 13. Since the information is the same, I will simply refer the reader to the link if they are interested in a comparison.

Karen Svenningsdtr (Huseby) SANDER (1821-1868)

Karen Svenningsdtr Huseby was born 11 Jan 1821 and was baptized 18 Feb 1821 in the Brandval church. As seen in the pedigree chart above, she was the daughter of Svenning Svenningsen Helgebøl and Eli Eriksdatter SANDER, which also makes Brede Bredesen SANDER her first cousin.


Detail of Hedmark fylke, Brandval i Grue, Klokkerbok nr. 1 (1814-1841), Fødte og døpte 1821, side 32. Image courtesy of Digitalarkivet.

Just as Brede had an additional record, there is also an additional one for Karen in the Grue Ministerialbok (1814-1830) p. 63, no. 15.

Brede Bredesen SANDER: Family Group Sheet

At the age of 26, Brede, and Karen, who was 27, got married on 6 Apr 1848 as the parish records attest.


Detail of Hedmark fylke, Grue, Ministerialbok nr. 8 (1847-1858), Ekteviede 1848, side 244. Image courtesy of Digitalarkivet.

However, the records also show that Brede and a woman named Anne Gudmundsdtr had a daughter named Gunne, (aka Jane; see below) who was born on 10 Nov 1847. For Brede's children, please refer to the family group sheet below.


Family group sheet. Brede Bredesen SANDER. Image courtesy of Williams Family Pages.

Coming to America

Brede and Karen SANDER, along with their children, Brede Jr. and Anton, and Brede's daughter, Gunne (Jane) left Norway for America in 1853. The Grue parish records indicate that they relocated on 8 Apr.


Detail of Hedmark fylke, Grue, Ministerialbok nr. 8 (1847-1858), Inn- og utflyttede 1853-1857, side 371. Image courtesy of Digitalarkivet.