LUND AND KNESTANG FAMILIES

Sigurd M. Lund was born in Hjørundfjord, the son of Michael Heggelund Kildal Lund (b. January 20 - d. 1913) and Ane Olsdatter Hustadvigen (b. 1834). They were never married. Michael had come to Hjørundfjord to serve as sheriff of the district. A sheriff was a combination of judge and police officer.

Michael left and became a sheriff in Vanylven where he married Marie Mottke Bugge Nielson.

Ane married a man named Jetmund Hans Jennson Urke. They had three children including a son named Bernt. He was known in america as Ben. Both Sigurd and his half brother Ben immigrated to the United States. Sigurd left Norway on July 22, 1881, taking a small ship named the Rallo to Hull, England. From there he transferred to a passenger ship named the State of Georgia in Glasgow, Scotland. He arrived in New York on August 11, 1881.

Gunhild Knestang (b. February 28, 1866 - d. August 31, 1946) was the daughter of Anders Gudbrandsen Knestang (b. May 16, 1842 - d. April 17, 1906) and his wife Hannah Gudbrandsdatter (b. March 20, 1838 - d. March 13, 1926). The farm Knestang is located near the town of Hønefoss. On May 7, 1869, the Knestang family left Oslo on the steamship Argo. After going to Liverpool, England, they took the ship Hibernian to Quebec City, Canada, arriving on May 24, 1869. There is evidence that the Knestang family lived briefly in Iowa.

The Knestang family settled in Ericson Township near Sacred Heart, Minnesota in 1871. In addition to Gunhild, the other children were Anna, John, and Hilma. One daughter, Martha, stayed in Norway.

Sigurd Lund also moved to Sacred Heart. Sigurd and Gunhild were married September 3, 1885 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. Sigurd and Gunhild lived for a time at 2400 29th Avenue South (now a park) in Minneapolis. By 1900, Sigurd and Gunhild, their children, and the Knestang family had moved to Kerrick Township in Pine County.