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- https://www.nb.no/items/360030798c7bbb1281783e5301a8db9d?page=95&searchText=%22johan%20petter%20strand%22~2
- John Helmersen Strand was born in 1877 on Otteroystranda farm near Skomsvoll on Otteroya Island northwest of Namsos, Norway, the son of Helmer Edvin Karlsen and Anna Ovidia Nysfjord. His name on his 1895 immigration record was Johann Helmersen but by 1900 he was calling himself John Strand. "Strand" was the family name that his parents and siblings adopted from their farm name when it became a requirement in the early 20th century for Norwegians to have a fixed family name. The word "strand" in Norwegian means "beach" in English. Thus, "Otteroystranda" would refer to the beach of Otteroy Island. A satellite view of the island shows that of the entire 50-mile coastline of the island, the only part appearing to have a beach is the area adjoining their farm.
John immigrated to the United States as a 17-year-old, traveling alone, to join his older brother Martin, who had settled in St. James, Minnesota a year or two earlier. He arrived at Ellis Island aboard the ship Teutonic on May 7, 1895 sailing from Liverpool, England. After clearing immigration, he embarked on a one-week rail journey to St. James by way of Chicago and St. Paul. The train from St. Paul passed through St. James at midnight each night, and Martin, uncertain of when his brother would be arriving, went down to the depot every night for a week, but he never saw his brother. After a week of no success, he decided to stay home one night, and that turned out to be the night when John arrived. Fortunately someone at the depot was able to get word to Martin that his brother was there waiting for him.
John worked as a farm laborer in St. James and nearby Windom for about five years before moving briefly to Montana and then on to Seattle, where he took up the trade of a plasterer. One of his major projects was helping to build the Washington State Capital building in Olympia during the late 1920's. The detailed plaster scrollwork decorating the inside of the Capitol rotunda is his handiwork.
In 1910 he married Martha Hannesdale, a Norwegian immigrant who had moved to Washington State with her sister and two brothers. They had two children, Harold, born in 1912, and Alice, born in 1915. John and Martha lived at the southeast corner of 88th Avenue and 228th Street in Edmonds for over 50 years. John was well-known locally for growing strawberries in his one-acre garden next to his house. Martha passed away in 1963 and John died in 1976.
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Vår Slekts Historie
1877 - 1976 (98 år)