Mjøen
In old Norwegian means "where the river is most narrow"
The Mjøen family comes from Oppdal Norway.
http://www.oppdal.com/?pageid=447The Mjøen house on a Norwegian phone card. Known as Baker's Place as grandpa's brother was the baker there.
http://www.norskfolke.museum.no/en/Exhibits/The-Open-Air-Museum/The-Countyrside/The-Tenant-Farmers-Holding/The house on the upper right and far below is the house my grandfather was born in. It was on land leased from the crown. The house was later disassembled and placed in the Norsk Folkemusuem in
Oslo. (Mjoen's are tourist attractions!) When I did the family tree and emailed to the Mjøen's in Oppdal, none knew the house was in the musuem in Oslo. Back in the 1990s, at times I was emailing so many in Oppdal so often that I would know what there neighbors were doing before they did. A Mjøen was the mailman there and he would hear from several on his route that I was writing.
Halvor Iversen Mjøen b. 1826 my great grandfather(mentioned on that museum website)
John Halvorsen Mjøen b. 1869 my grandfather(came to
North Dakota)
John Alfred Mjoen b. 1916
Timothy Wade Mjoen b.1962. the tradition of having a son in your mid 40's ends here.
My grandfather, John Halvorsen Mjøen, competed in the biathlon in Scandinavia and
France. That sport where you cross country ski and shoot targets. He came to America in 1893. His immigration register in
Norway says he was headed for Quebec. I have a photo of him with his sister Carrie Gunderson taken in
Minneapolis. He was a stone mason in Hillsboro ND and homesteaded our farm in 1899. He traveled by bike. He was a stone mason and farmer. He may of built the foundation of the Traill County courthouse, not sure yet. He built the stone foundation of the Bottineau and Williams County courthouses as well as many basements, cellars and barns. He cut the huge stones by drilling holes with a manual drill and pouring water in the holes, the water froze and cut the stones very straight. Hauled them on horse drawn sleigh. I don't know how he stacked them??? Must of been strong. He traveled to town on skis up into his 70's and hauled the groceries on his back. His wife, my grandmother only spoke Norwegian. In fact my father Alfred only spoke Norwegian up until he started school. Grandpa had a brother Ole in Saskatoon, that bunch is all in the Vancouver area now. They owned an asbestos mine in western Canada. Not a real good business these days. Grandpa had one half sister who lived in Michigan, her husband was the cabinet maker for
Henry Ford (the
Bill Gates of his time) A descendant of one the brothers who stayed in Oppdal was Haakon Mjøen who should of had a gold medal in the 1968 French Olympics but was DQ'd by a French judge. "tricherie salaud juge!"
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_/ai_n9674963
