Of the ministers in the 1700's the first one, Mikkel, seems to have been the most remarkable character. He is the only one the community has preserved in memory till today. He served in the period 1694-1729, and was consequently partly contemporaneous with Petter Dass. One finds many references to him in written sources, some in connection with the many conflicts in which he was involved. These conflicts were partly the result of his honesty and social consciousness, partly because of stubbornness and obstinance. For us today is it not easy to determine what is true, but all in all there seems to be the impression of an argumentative and perhaps obstinate person.

He is most famous for his defense of the ill fated child killer Anne Larsdatter, who was to be executed in 1702. By employing various tricks, he was able to postpone the execution until 1715. Hegelund fell out of favor with the local authorities and his superiors. In 1703 he was suspended from public office, and in 1704 he was dismissed by judgement. In 1706-07 he got his public office again upon appeal. According to tradition, his wife, Rebekka Elisabeth Myhlenphort traveled to Copenhagen and put things in order with the help of rich and distinguished relatives at court.

The vicar was constantly in conflict with the bailiff in connection with Hegelund's refusal to pay taxes on Vannstua, which he had leased. In 1716 the bailiff asked his superiors in the government for a settlement of the dispute so that "I can at last be liberated from this harassment". In 1722 the taxes were over 24 Norwegian dollars. From older times the priests/ministers had not paid taxes on the farmland they leased. At this point the bailiff denied Hegelund this privilege. Eventually tax-free status was granted.

Other conflicts with the bailiff concerned a tax on Mikkel's horse. He was in dispute with people in Stakkvik on cutting pastures in Langsund, there were many matters concerning defemation, he got involved in the conflict on Klokkerjorda at Reinsvoll, he got mixed up with a beached whale at Karlsøy, he was sentenced for desecrating a holy day, he was convicted for tearing down the prison house at Karlsøy and ordered to repair it, and he was convicted for not paying a tithe of fish.

Not the least Mikkel Hegelund was known to be an opponent of missions to the Sammi, according to von Westens own letters. In 1726 he was convicted of opposing the building of a meeting house in Lyngen. In 1729 he was convicted for refusing to turn over the church's account books to the churchwarden. Otherwise, we can read in the oldest preserved churchbook, which stems from Heggelund's time, that he started writing it in 1709, but that he stopped in 1712 until he died in 1729 without us knowing the reason why. One case concerned his denial of communion to some Sami people. From a legal reference, we see that on Easter 1720 he denied a Sami from Lyngen to go to the alter at Karlsøy.

The stories about the vicar/priest/minister are still well known today. One reason might be his wife's claim to be of noble descent, and illegitimate daughter of the Danish prince Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve, or even of royal birth, the illegitimate daughter of the Danish king. It is correct that she descended from Hungarian-German nobility, von Muhlenphort, and she had rich relatives in Fosen (Kristiansund), where she was born. Through her mother, born von Badenhaupt, she had connections to the distinguished Gabel family in Copenhagen. Her aunt's husband was a chamberlain for Fredrik III (the King of Denmark). Rebekka Elisabeth lived with them in her youth. She therefore had contacts at court at the time when she went there to get help for her husband in the Child Killer-case. Her sister Anna was married to the bailiff Riber at Karlsøy. They both died in 1695; a year before Rebekka married Hegelund.

In 1729 Mikkel Hegelund became sick and bedridden, and Rebekka had to appear in court and sign documents on his behalf due to his illness. This illness took Mikkel's life in August of that year, 67 years old. Rebekka was 49 years old. Mikkel and Rebekka’s descendants continued to live at Vannstua. Here is found in the last century some of her clothing, and a gold ring still belongs in the family.