|
||||||||||
|
Meet Our Genealogist
is familiar to many of our members who have sought her help in researching their family history. Three of her grandparents came from Norway: two from Vang and the other was born in America of Valdres parentage. Be was born in Wang township of Renville County, Minnesota and attended high school in New York Mills MN and college at St. Cloud (MN) State. After putting in 9 years as a school librarian, she married James Gunelson, a direct descendant of Gunnul Olson Vindegg, one of the early settlers in Koshkonong Wisconsin. They have three sons, two of whom are married, and three grandchildren. James is retired and Be is working in that direction. They live on a lake in Crosslake in central Minnesota.
The Samband's Genealogist Emeritus Betty Rockswold provided many years of tireless service to the members of the Valdres Samband before handing off the day to day work of assisting our members to Be. Betty passed away on February 6, 2008. By introducing so many to their Norwegian ancestors, she created a wonderful legacy that will be shared by those families for generations to come.
Koshkonong
Norwegians settled in what would become known as the Koshkonong settlement beginning in 1839. Named for a local lake, it was the largest and most prosperous Norwegian settlement in Wisconsin. The settlement was located southeast of Madison in Dane County. Koshkonong became the parent colony for Norwegian settlements throughout the United States. Gunnul Olsen Vindegg was probably the first to clear land and he became a well known writer of "America letters".
