Connecting with the past- The Hans Volla Family

During a recent chat with my sister- we both commented that we wish we knew more about our paternal grandmother's side of the family.  Growing up as a "Granum girl" the focus often seemed to be on the Granum side of the tree.   

So you can imagine my surprise when in that "hot mess" of a bin that contained all things Granum was this document 

Now- perhaps Laura had seen this document- but I had not...

Not only is this a family tree involving our paternal grandmother's family..

But in addition to the typical names and dates...

the authors included a brief bio of all the various ancestors!

Side bar:  I did find it interesting that this document starts on page 4?   What happened to pages 1-3?    

As best I can figure out- that since the document is signed by Raymond and Lillian Volla Penn (Grandma Hazel's sister)- the first pages focus on Raymond's family- which would not be relevant to us.  

 The story starts with these two...my great-great grandparents?

*I easily lose track of how many greats

Hans (Olsen)Volla and Agnetha (Andersdatter) Volla

Both Hans and Agnetha were born in Norway (in the parish of Furnes, in Hedmark county).   Records suggest that they married around 1853 and would have at least 2 children before they packed their bags and immigrated to the United States- somewhere in the 1870s-1875.  

Upon arriving in America, they settled on what is described as a "very poor piece of land" in the Halfway Creek region of Lacrosse County, WI.  This property was across the creek and within sight of the Maple Shade Farm.  We'll learn more about the Maple Shade Farm as the stories progress.

Hans and Agnetha outside their first home in WI

date unknown

The Volla siblings-1929

Olena Dokkebakken (aka Alma Olsen Volla Dokkebakken), Bertha Daglum (aka Bertha Olsdatter), Minnie Larson, Ben Volla, Martin Volla and Andrew Volla.  *not pictured- Agnette Volla Snuggerud, and Helmer Volla

Of the 8 children- 5 would remain in the local area-all farmed or homesteaded to some degree and three of the brothers would earn the nickname of "the three woodsmen" for their trips to the forests of Northern WI  where they would do what woodsmen do- collect the wood and in turn sell it for cash.

The other 3 siblings would find their way to the Dakotas

The Daglum farm, store, community center and post office

Bertha Volla and her husband, John O. Daglum, would not only homestead- but in 1906 he would build the area's first store, community center and post office.  The community would go on to honor his contribution by naming the village in his honor.  

Brother Ben Volla and his wife Minnie would try their hand at homesteading in an area near where sister Bertha had settled- Simpson township in Stark County, North Dakota....but it sounds like they would end up returning to the Onalaska-Holmen area of his youth. 

As for the one who wandered over to South Dakota- that would be sister Agnetta Volla.   She'd marry Ole Snuggerud and they would try their hand at homesteading on a "very good piece of prairie land" near Flandreau South Dakota.  It is recorded that as of 1980- when the reference document was written- the farm was still owned by descendants of the Snuggeruds!  

Well...maybe she wouldn't be the lone sibling to experience the "Homesteading ways" of South Dakota- stay tuned for more on how Great Grandpa Martin would find his way there too...

Those who stayed behind...

Volla siblings-and spouses- date unknown

"taken in Lacrosse at Albert and Helga Dokkebakken's home"

Albert would have been a cousin to Grandma Hazel?

Andrew Volla and wife Helena, Martin and Lena (Larson) Volla, Helmer and Luella Volla and Minnie (Volla) and husband Austin Larson (no relation to great-grandma Lena Larson)

And while I'm sure all these lovely people had very interesting stories to tell- the one we are most interested in is of course- Martin ...for he and his wife would go on to have a family that included our grandmother, Hazel...

So- what I've learned thus far 

• Names change a lot! I'm cross referencing some of the information with a free genealogy website- Family Search (yeah the one run by the LDS church- what can I say- I'm going for the freebies).
• For example- good old Hans- didn't become a Volla until he arrived in America.  I get that was pretty common- but it seems like a rather distinct change.  In Norway- he was an Olsen- but his parents had surnames of Anderson and Halvorsdatter.  Where did Volla come from?  A question we may never learn the answer to.  
• Agnetta Volla sort of fades away on the ancestry website- only to pop up as Agnetta Snuggerud.   Dates match up- so I'm guessing somewhere the link that this is the same person was lost?  
• Olena, Olina- that is written out by many credible and accurate family members (Grandma Hazel, Aunt Lillian and Uncle Ray- they were smart cookies that is for sure).  Well-if you look on Family search- she is nowhere to be seen.  I've teased out the puzzle- and I think on the website- she's referred to as Alma Olson Volla- who goes on to marry Mr. Andrew Dokkebakken.   Their family would remain in the Halfway Creek area
• Learning to read cursive may be a lost art- but boy am I grateful that I learned it!
• Fortunately- the documents I'm working from are in pretty good condition and my Grandmother Hazel- had the penmanship of a school teacher that's for sure!
• Spelling counts
• In notes that I think are Richard's...there was a tendency to make it close enough.  And when there are Lenas and Helenes, Anders and Andrews-and don't even get me started on the Larsons that aren't related to the other Larsons...finding "close enough" spelling to be frustrating.   Kudos to the cemetery records of Halfway Creek- as I figure they've got the more accurate spellings of some of these very similar names. 
• Labeling pictures helps a lot!  Thank you Grandma Hazel!

Until next time...it feels good to have dusted off layer one of this "hot mess"...but time to hit publish- for if I spend too much time digging around...that pile will never get smaller!