Ole Nelson Tossett

Ole N. Tossett, the son of Nels Tosetbakk and Ann Lien, was born 29 Oct 1860in Inset, Norway. In Norway he had the name Ole Nelson because he was Nels's son. In 1882 he immigrated to Wisconsin where he worked as a lumberjack.In 1885 he married Maret (Mary) Stavne at Menominie, Wisconsin. Mary was born oct 12, 1863 in Rennebu, Norway, near Trondheim. She immigrated to the United States in 1884. Ole and Mary farmed near Albert Lea, Minnesota. Because there were so many Ole Nelsons living in the area, they changed their name to Tossett. In 1905 they loaded all their possessions and children on an immigrant train and went to Glenburn, North Dakota. They reassembled their wagons, loaded them, and went to their farm on which they had purchased homesteadrights seven miles to the northwest in Elms Township. The one-room shack on the land had a loft, so there was room for all to lie down, and a tin heater burning flax straw furnished heat. Ole added onto the one room and it eventually became a two-story house. A large barn was built and it still stands today. Ole died in 1932 after a long illness resulting from being chilled during a cold storm. Mary died in 1947.