[#46383] Per A. Nermo rømte på ski fra Trysil til Sverige ca.1860-70, em. til USA ca.1893

[Gjest Chris Bingefors]

At work today I received copies of Per Nermo´s prison register. Some of the more interesting entries:He was 1 meter 95 centimeters tall (very tall for those days!)'strong grown' ie bigbrown eyes, black hair, straight nose, oval face, one small scar under his chinHe brought the following items + what was taken out when he left: Cash 2 kronor 1 pair trousers 1 krona, 1 scarf 25 öre, 1 hat 75 öre 1 pair of braces 25 öre, 2 pairs of underwear 1 krona, 1 comb 10 öre, 1 wallet 50 öre, 2 coats 10 kronor, 1 snuff box 25 öre, 2 shirts 1 krona, 1 pair of shoes 2 kronor, 1 pair of socks 50 öre, 1 waistcoat 1,25, 1 pair of mittens 25 öre,Value of clothes 19.10 Own money 1.70 Earnings 0.40Signed forPA Nermo (his own signature!)I will scan the signature later, I am working tonight.By the way, he was apparently nicknamed 'Norsk Per', ie 'Norwegian Per'

[Gjest Arnie Patrick Nermo]

First, I would like to personally thank the following people: Per Nermo of Oslo for getting and keeping this research going; with special contributions from Anne Lene Hagen, Bjørn Olav Åsvold, A.E. Ferner, Vanja Persson, and especially Chris Bingefors. (and many others). So much has been discovered and shared in so little time!What started out slowly has really snow-balled! It has really been an interesting look into the past. The ''trial'' sure helps bring the person of Per A. Nermo alive. In some ways I must admit the oral history has been larger than life, speculative and hard to verify. Nevertheless, I am sure there are more interesting tales that we shall never know. Nevertheless, every phone call to my relatives brings a few new recollections (hard to verify of course). For example: I just spoke to Paul Arne Nermo in Seattle, today. He just remembered a story told, of how a man who kept saying rude comments about Per's girlfriend. When Per had heard enough, he challenged the man to a fight. Per beat-up and drop-kicked the man in the chest and almost killed him. It reminds me of hearing of how Per fought with another man on a train and threw him off. Some might say Per was a bully.....I tend to think of him as a tough fellow who didn't back down. It's hard to know a person four generations ago....different time, different circumstances, different place; however, there is enough to say he was very kind to his grandchildren and loved by his sons, Pete and Louis. I just wish that the family had taken more care to record the oral history. This is a warning for younger folks, as very little is now remembered about Per, by those who are left alive in the family.One last tidbit, he used to sew his money into his underpants when he traveled. I wouldn't want to be the thief trying to steal his money...from all reports he would be punched, lights out.....Per A. Nermo sure seems to have been a character...dumb as a FOX. I can not help but be proud of him .Once again it has been a collaborative effort to reconstruct this man's life We have all contributed so many different things, to make it successful. Thanks again for the enjoyable discoveries.Arnie P. Nermo

[Gjest Chris Bingefors]

Arnie, he behaved well in prison according to his rcord. But he was a BIG man, much bigger than most around the turn of the century, and probably really strong having worked in the forests. He never had a chance here, there were no opportunities at all, no matter how clever you were. To go off and apparently make a success of himself in America at the age of 50 is an achievement!Will do the rest of the trial at the weekend I hope, I am working long hours.

[Gjest Per Nermo]

(327:) Thanks for the kind words, 'Arne the 3rd' ! What startet out a month ago as an attempt to investigate the origins of what I thougt was a relative of mine from Øyer in Gudbrandsdalen, ended up with quite an extensive review of the troublesome life of the flint-hard giant Mr. 'Norsk-Per' Arnesen Nermo from Trysil (born 1843) and his parents, steph-family, wife and descendants, spanning four countries and two centuries.A lot of hard-dug information has been brought into daylight, and a lot of misinformation has been corrected. This debate, with 328 inserates so far, has been read 6730 times up to this moment, which puts it among the most ''popular'' ones. And it has certainly been among the most informative, interesting and intreaging debates I've ever read at DA, thanks to the hard work and thorough contributions from numerous enthusiatic people.Let's raise our tiny glasses of Aqua Vitae and bring out a booming 'SKÅL' to Per A. and the achivements he made, in spite of everything !! 'Godspeed' to his descendants !!

[Gjest Arnie P. Nermo]

And ''Thank You'' for the hearty cheer, Per!!!! You have me crying, laughing and cheering, all at the same time!What an appropriate description ''flint-hard giant.'' I believe he was that. When Per came to North America to start his new life he wasn't alone or abandoned, later he wasn't lost to the family. There is a strong tradition in our family (and probably in many Scandinavian families) to look out for each other. We can see Per moved with the family to Saskatchewan, and lived with his sons Pete, Louis and John, always nearby. He adored his children and grandchildren, and they adored him. This tradition stayed with the family. Look, how Pete returned from Sweden with his sister in 1912. When they all moved to the West Coast (British Columbia and Washington State) Louis and Laura would visit from Haney B.C., to Pete and Agnes in Washington State, and vice versa, staying for a week at a time. They always remained close. My father made it a habit ''every'' weekend to load-up (over load) the station wagon with us seven children and drive 20 km. to Haney to visit Grandma and Grandpa (and Alice, Avis, Ellen, Ida, Lloyd, & Warren) who also lived there or nearby. Of course, for years there was the ''Nermo Picnic'' in Washington state, where 100 to 150 of all got together, for two to three days each summer. There was always lots of cheers and happy greetings. I really do believe it started with Per's relationship with his children: Martha, Pete, Louis, and John, and carried on down to my generation. The family is quite extended now, but we still have this closeness, this tradition.I mentioned it to my sister Laurie one time (in comparison to other families). She gave a long laugh and with a twinkle in her eyes said: ''Yeah, us Nermo's are known to be thick as thieves.'' Yes, and some of us are known to be rascals too, like Per......I think it must be the Viking blood!''SKÅL''Arnie Nermo

[Gjest Arnie Patrick Nermo]

Re: # 324.I have checked several sources here and they believe Pete and Louis sent money for their father Per's ticket to Minessota. All three of them worked in the logging industry, at first, escorting loads of logs down the Red River...dangerous but well paying. Of course, everyone applied to get land, but it was tough work clearing it. According to Aunt Alice, when it came to work, Per was one very tough individual....in fact all his children and grandchildren were quite strong minded and very tireless workers. My father is a perfect example; he would work at the lumber mill for 8 hours and then work for another 8 hours at home. It intrigues me that in my family, we can trace working in the lumber industry through 5 generations, all the way back to Per's father Arne Olsen Gropen. My 4 brothers and myself are working or have worked in the BC lumber industry. Also intrigueing is that the name 'Arne' repeats its way through the generations, as a first or second name. You may wonder why mine is spelled 'Arnie'. Well my father insisted I be named Arne, but my mother registered it with the english variation of the spelling...was he ever mad!....You know, after being on the Data Archive lately, I think I will start spelling it the Scandinavian way!All the best!Arne

[Gjest Arne Solås]

Per - har du fått med deg land-patentene til Per A. Nermo? Du kan søke på dem her: LenkeMvh. Arne.

[Gjest Per Nermo]

Thanks. I think one of the Land Patents received by Per A. Nermo in Minnesota in 1904 is shown i #121 above.

[Gjest Vanja Persson]

Here is a picture of Anders Olsson's family. Hilding, Marta, Anna, Anders and Ida.

[Gjest Per Nermo]

Would you dear a guess on where and when this picture was taken ?

[Gjest Vanja Persson]

I'm not sure, but I think it is in Sweden. In that case it must be before spring 1912.

[Gjest Per Nermo]

Per A. Nermo (born 1843) came from Trysil and not from Øyer/Oyer i Gudbrandsdalen (close to Lillehammer).However, there were numerous immigrants to the U.S. in the same period that actually came from Nermo in Øyer, Gudbrandsdalen, and in an attempt to track down descendants of these Nermos 'over there' I've just started a new debate :47925: ''Peder J. Nermo (emigr 1891), Johannes P. Nermo (emigr 1866) fr Øyer/Oyer t. USA''(The latter of the two mentioned is discussed in inserated #2 and #41-42 above. He is not my retalive, but the first guy Peder is !).(Lenke)Hopefully, someone will assist me in this attempt to 'track down' more ''Nermo''-people in North America !

[Gjest Arnie P. Nermo]

Thank you for the photo in #334, Vanja. It's nice to put a face to a name. I have just put 2+2 together and realized that the farm just up the road from my Grandfather Louis, at Shell Lake, belonged to his sister Marta and Anders Olsson. I have a lot to relay about the Olsson farmstead, as it has many (chilling) stories. and figures in a large way, in my youth. I hope to make an interesting, larger entry in the next few days when I have some better time. Suffice to say that Louis and ''some'' of his children hated Hilding with a passion. I am sure he felt the same because the story goes that when the winds were favourable Hilding started a fire that ''accidently'' caught in the forest between the farms and almost burnt Louis and family out of their farmstead on the lake. Hilding apparently had the Nermo Eye Disease, and was quite blind in his old age. He died in the the Olsson farmhouse under unusual circumstances. Stay Tuned??!!!!Arnie

[Gjest Arnie P. Nermo]

Until very recently, I didn't know that Marta was married to Anders Olson and that they were the family that lived just up the road in what we called the Olson Place. (In fact I am shocked to learn this, as my father never told me). The farm house was very elegant, one of the most beautiful in the whole district. I first saw it about 40 years ago. We would go up the road and get fresh water from the hand pumped well, in the barn. There was no fresh drinking water at the lake. I visited it 26 years ago and went inside to look around, as it was dilapidated and still abandoned. On a visit a few years ago all that was left was the pump on the side of the road. All the buildings had been bulldozed to make way for a new road to the back of the lake.I have just found out that there was some tension between the two families, I asked Aunt Alice about it and she said Marta and Louis would have very friendly visits but the men didn't care much for each other. When a fire broke out in the woods and endangered Louis's place, all were very angry with Hilding for burning, without being too careful, as it could have spread. When Per A. Nermo passed away, everyone attended the funeral but afterwards Marta inherited a stove and antique cabinet from the estate..... I’m not sure why but that caused some more tension.Some people say that the place was haunted, I remember on my visit 26 years ago, an incident that convinced me that this was true. I walked up the road and over the bridge at about nine in the morning. Through the trees, in the distance, it looked to me that there was a large woman in an upstairs window cradling a baby. I blinked to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. At the beginning of the driveway there was a severed head of a cow that had been turned upside down and buried in mud. I reluctantly went in to the abandoned farmhouse and remarked to myself that the builder must have been a master craftsman. It was all hand carpentered. The floors were beautifully done with two tones of inlaid trim on the edges and the fireplace mantel was gorgeous. I looked down a green slimy stairway to the basement and said, “I’m not going down there!” The windows had all been knocked out but there was a wooden stairways to the upstairs with a door, flat on the ceiling. I went into the kitchen and a small barn swallow flew right past my face. It got caught in a screen and struggle to escape. Maybe I was that little swallow too. I got angry at myself for being frightened and made a conscious choice to walk the stairs and open the door to the upstairs. Immediately, there was a very very loud bang from upstairs. As loud as a rifle shot. I quickly ran, not feeling invited by the angry ghosts. Little did I know, my sister had exactly the same experience when she went into the Olson farm house several years earlier. I believe that Martha died in the house and I think a baby died there too; maybe that was the woman and baby in the window. I know that Hilding died there unexpectedly, in about the summer of 1959. Vera Buck came running up the road to inform Wallace and Bertha Nermo that he had passed away suddenly. To this day I believe that I had witnessed poltergeist activity at the abandoned house. I’m not sure when the house was abandoned, but I know in 1968 no one was there. Alice said she didn’t have too much to do with either Ida or Anna, as the were much older than her. May all their spirits rest in peace. Amen!Arnie Nermo

[Gjest Per Nermo]

Some frightening story you're relaying here, Arnie !Martha Olivia Nermo (1869-1956) probably had her last child in 1902 (Anna Martina). In addition to (Oscar) Hilding (1888-c1959), her daughters Ida Kristina lived beyond 1951 and Anna Martina beyond 1948, in Victoria, B.C. and Big Shell Lake, respectively. So, any baby that may have died on the farm must probably have been a grandchild of Martha, then, a child of one of the siblings mentioned ?By the way, I have not seen what became of Olof Gunnar Halfdan (born 1890), who came with his father to Sascatchewan in 1911 or 1912. Was he a farmer as well ?What was the names of the farms in Sascatchewan (Big Shell Lake) that was owned by Martha/Anders, Pete/Agnes and Louis/Laura respectively ?

[Gjest Vanja Persson]

Arnie: Martha did NOT die in the 'house'. In 1951 she and her husbond Anders moved to Victoria, B.C. to be with their daughter Ida. Anders died February 16, 1953 and Martha April 12, 1956. (160)Per: Gunnar was killed in a logging accident in Big River, Sask. in Jauary, 1913. (se 165)

[Gjest Arnie P. Nermo]

Small Map

[Gjest Arnie P. Nermo]

Hi Folks,As to the question in (#340) What was the names of the farms in Sascatchewan (Big Shell Lake) that was owned by Martha/Anders, Pete/Agnes and Louis/Laura respectively? ~ I dont think they had any particular names, that I am aware of. I will of course ask.Sorry about my mistake , supported in (#341) by Vanja. I thought that Marta had died at the Olsson Farm, but she didn't. By the way there was a lot of poltergistic activity at Louis's Farm as well. I will elabourate later.Arnie Nermo

[Gjest Per Nermo]

Thanks, Arnie !For those who have (already) forgotten: Wallace Nermo (born ca.1910) was the son of Louis Nermo (1873-1961), and thus the uncle of Arnie (above), and Martha (1869-1956) (married to Anders Olsson) was Louis' sister.Did Wallace inherit land that was already claimed and used by another 'Nermo' or did he buy it from someone else ?But, Arnie, where was the farm of Pete® Nermo (1871-1952), the brother of Louis and Martha ?

[Gjest Arnie P. Nermo]

Re:(#344) My family originally owned farms in Mont Nebo, a community just east of Shell Lake (1/2 hour drive). Per. A Nermo died and was burried there, in the small family graveyard. I visited the old farms there in 1980. The land had deep , rich black soil and setting was absolutely gorgeous, with a small river runing through the back of the property. When I visited with my father and Aunt Ellen, there were two of the original buildings built by Pete, Per, and Louis. The logs were dove-tailed in the corners, in a similar fashion to the ones I have seen in Sweden and Norway. My uncles and Aunts all lamented the fact that the farm was lost (sold sometime between 1920 and 1930) I will have to ask Alice for more details, but I think it was because of the Depression. Louis's older children all considered themselves from Mont Nebo. Pete packed up and left for the West Coast, and started another small farm in Washington State. Wallace, Louis, and Lloyd then all registered for new farmland at Shell Lake. The land was rocky and the soil was not as good. I remember Wallace as the primordial prairie farmer; straw hat and old dirty hanky, his face weather-beaten like a shoe. I will always remember what he said about the hot summers, ''so dry you could spit dust''. Lloyd's farm land was directly across the road from Louis's place but with no buildings. Wallace sold out in the 70's and retired on Vancouver Island B.C.(a very beautiful place). Lloyds land was inherited by my cousin Sharon (Warren's daughter) Louis's place was sold to my father and mother. You can always see some of us Nermo's in Shell Lake every few years on a viait. It is about 1.5 to 2 day drive from Vancouver, so we can't visit too often. Louis's land starts on the point and stretches along the shoreline for about 1 km. (see map #342) It goes back to the east. The house was on a bluff overlooking the lake. It was burned down by vandals in the 80's. I will post some photos as soon as I can find them. There seemed to be some interesting ghosts in the area. A ghost horse that ran through the property almost every midnight, and a ghost boatman out in the lake. My uncle Wallace had one of the most interesting stories I have ever heard. He was out bringing in his cows after dusk when a Centaur (half horse half man) came bursting upon him through a thicket, looked at him and then ran off. It shocked him as he had never heard of such a creature before. He was a very down to earth person, who didn't tell tall tales, so I wondered if he had been drinking or was hallucinating. I sure couldn't figure out what a Greek Centaur would be doing in Shell Lake, Saskatchewan. I heard him tell the incident to my father.....he was quite frightened, unsure what to make of it, as he claimed to have never heard of a creature called a centaur.....strange.....Stay Tuned... Arnie Nermo

[Gjest A. E. Ferner]

#194: Omsider har jeg vært på Statsarkivet og funnet originalen til Stamrullen for Østerdalske kompani: anmerkningen her gjalt flyttingen nordover til 'T.jems St. eller Nordlandene' sammen med foreldrene i 1852. # 274: Denne Arne som ble far til et barn på Lilleholm, var Arne Olsen Juluskvernen. God påske til alle! Anne Elise

[Gjest Per Nermo]

Det er vel forsåvidt ingen ting i veien for at 'Arne Olsen Juluskvernen' (barnefar på Lilleholm (Osen) den 14 Sep 1836) kan være samme mann som 'Arne Olsen Gropen' (barnefar i nabodalføret Eltdalen den 23 Jun 1843, innført i Osen kirkebok) ? Eller kan AOJ identifiseres som en annen person ? (Hvem var moren i 1836 ?)

[Gjest Arnie P. Nermo]

Re: 328Hi Chris!Is there any chance that we can get ''the rest of the story'' on the Per Nermo trial? I am hoping to get some new photo's soon but I can't believe we have reached the bottom of the well - has it gone dry?All the best to everyone!Arnie Nermo

[Gjest Chris Bingefors]

Hi Arnie!Looked in by chance this morning. Sorry about the delay, but we had a major crisis at work so that has taken most of my time for a while. Will try to do the rest (which is mostly about the leader of the gang) as soon as possible.

[Gjest Arnie P. Nermo]

Hi Chris, Welcome back........I have some new photo's too, but I have been trying to get good scans before I post them on the DA. I am looking forward to the rest of the trial. Thank you so much! Arnie Nermo