1834-1924
Knud is pronounced K-nute and is the old Danish spelling of Knut
(Danish being the written language of Norway into the 1800s)
The content of this page was published in the May 2013 issue of the Budstikken,
the Valdres Samband newsletter. Click here to see the article.
Knud Hermansen Klemesrud, was a man of great strength and many skills. He was born in Hedalen of Valdres, Norway. Knud grew up at Nørdre Klemmetsrud, and when he was 22, learned the cabinet maker, carpenter, mason, and blacksmith trades (see tool chest). In 1858 he married Liv Haraldsdatter Grøv in the Hedalen church, and their son Harald was born in 1859.
This is a 1930 photo of a cabin Knud built on the Nordre Grøv farm where they lived from 1858 to 1862.
In 1862 they purchased the Nørdre Ildjarnstadhaugen farm near the Hedalen church. It was recorded that Knud & Liv had grain, potatoes, timber, two cows, four goats, and six sheep. Knud was the first to build on that part of the farm (Original Farm Deed). Along with building and farming, one of Knud’s jobs was to ring the church bell (see video below).
Herman Knudsen Klemesrud visited Nørdre Ildjarnstadhaugen and is shown here (hand in coat) with the people that lived there in 1930. The farm is now called Nordre Haugen.
Because bears would often come out of the woods and kill livestock on the farm, hunting parties were organized. When there was snow they followed tracks to a bear den, and if they saw tracks going in and not going out, they knew their prey was inside. They would then proceed to scare the bear out and shoot it. Back then the rifles would only fire one shot before needing to be reloaded. They had to make the first shot count as a wounded bear was very dangerous. One day one of the men got separated a little from the rest. He discovered a bear not far away and shot it. However, he only wounded it. The bear rushed at him and clawed over his head before Knud and the others could kill the bear. The wounded man almost had his scalp completely ripped off, and with no doctor for many miles, they slapped the scalp back on the man’s head where it eventually grew fast.
Knud was quite a hunter and a good marksman. There was a contest and a prize offered to the one who killed the most wild and dangerous game. In February of 1863, he killed six bears and won the contest. His prize from the king of Norway was $25 in cash, a breech-loading rifle with bayonet (Kammerlader), 100 cartridges, and the bounty of $3 for each animal. This is a record that still stands according to a Norwegian hunting magazine published in 2003. The rifle, engraved with “Knud Hermansen Ildjarnstadhaugen”, currently resides in the Mitchell County Historical Museum in Osage, Iowa.
In 1865 a daughter, Kari, was born, and it was about this time when people were getting excited about the accounts of the immigrants who had gone to America. They sailed in 1866 with Harald, Kari, and Liv’s sister, Ingeborg, from Bergen to Kingston upon Hull, England aboard a barque saling ship called the “Adler” (which means Eagle). They would have taken a train to Liverpool, and on June 7th, Captain Ballantine began their long journey across the Atlantic on the SS Peruvian. Many passengers became seasick, and one time they were told to go up on the deck while some of the crew cleaned below. There was a man posted on the stairs to see that no one came down. It was quite cold up on deck especially for the baby, Kari. Her father sought to get her below, but the guard on the stairs had a whip. However, Knud wasn’t afraid of anybody. When the guard swung out at him, Knud grabbed the whip and yanked him right off his feet!
On the ship there was a pump for drinking water. The crew took away the handle to force passengers to conserve. But when his children became thirsty, Knud was strong enough to pump water without the handle, taking the short rod in his bare hands. Other people crowded around wanting him to pump for them too.
The SS Peruvian in Liverpool (launched in 1863)
They reached Quebec on June 18th and made their way to Black Earth, Dane County, Wisconsin. They reverted back to the Klemesrud name, and Knud worked at his trades. He bought eight lots in the village and put up a good building. In February of 1868 their son, Herman, was born, and later that year, Knud sold out and they moved to Meroa in Mitchell county, Iowa.
They stayed in the Docken cabin along Rock Creek initially (photos), but bought a tract of wild prairie land, somewhat broken, in 1869. He planted a grove, good fruit garden, and got his farm under good cultivation. Sons, Martin and Syver, were born in 1870 and 1873.
In 1878 Knud finished construction of their house. He also built a barn, granary, workshop, windmill, and sheds. He was skilled in carpentry and cabinet making and built many of the buildings on the early pioneer farms, and constructed much of the furniture for the homes. He built desks for all of his children and furniture that could be found as far away as Virginia and New Orleans. He was also one of the builders of Rock Creek Lutheran Church and became superintendent of the Sunday school.
click here for more photos
As his sons got older they helped him. One time after cutting down a tree, he told his sons to pick it up and move it to where the shed was being built. They tried but were unable to move the tree. So, Knud picked up the tree and moved it himself, another example of his strength.
In the 1890s the Klemesrud brothers bought a threshing machine. They stayed busy during threshing season hiring out on other farms in the area.
At one point Knud took a trip back to visit Norway. While there, he took on his former duty of ringing the church bells which he did with a unique style. When people heard the bells they knew, “Knud’s back!”
We can be thankful for the late Stanley Klemesrud who wrote down most of these stories many years ago, and to Brian Mellmann, Eric Jennings, and Gertrude Norby-Crowell who have documented some as well. All of us who are descendants certainly have many reasons to be proud. The legacy of Knud is a great heritage for us to embrace.
In the video, we hear the same bells Knud rang! Overall, the church has five bells. The belfry has one from the Middle Ages and and one dated 1822 (two years after Knud’s parents came to Hedalen). The bells in the tower are not used anymore, but one of those is from the Middle Ages as well. Another is in the church. It’s a hand bell from the Middle Ages that was used when someone got lost in the woods. It seems likely that the oldest bells come from the 1160-1350 range.
Stories about the Hedalen Church
Photo by
Cardinal Guzman
