USA  Emigrants From Aal in 1880 Years
         by  Botolv  Baklien

   The Kristiania Police Station Emigration Record from 1867 to 1927 comprising of 36 large record books plus books of names is interesting reading.  
It shows that several decades in the last half to the last Century there was a clear migration from Hallingdal over to America.  
Almost every day went one or more passenger ships from Kristiania.   In almost all passenger lists there are Halling names.

   At first it was said boats that went, "Helvetia", "Roska", "Argonaut",  "Anna Delius",  and "Atlas"  were well known said boats
that went to America,  which had many Hallings as passangers.  In 1870 they were all steam boats and after a few years they were
occupied with traffic on the Atlantic Ocean.  Of the boats that carried many Hallings in the years 1870 to 1880 we must mention
"Oder", "Pacific", "Albion",  "Argo",  "Hero", "Rollo", "Angelo",  "Kong Bjorn", "Thingvalla",  and "Atlas".  
Many of these were large boats.  Therefor there were 715 passengers on board the "Rollo" when my Father's sister, 
Guri Botolvsdtr (b. 1865 d. 1942)  and the Norwegian American Eirik Person south Baklien (b. 1859 d. 1913) 
sailed from Kristiania May 11, 1883 as newlyweds.
   Around 1870 the ticket price was about 40 dollars.  In  1880 the ticket cost from $19 to $40  depending on the boat a person went on
and also depending on the amount cargo a person had along.
   Emigration lists shows that the Emigration from Hallingdal to U. S. A. was the most in the 1880 years.  
Just from Aal Community there were 877 Emigrants during the 15 years 1876 - 1890.
Passenger lists shows that there were many bachlers between the ages of 18 and 45 that emigrated.  
It also happened that the whole family left.   For instance Paul Botolvson Trintrud  brother of Botolv Baklien's great grandfather
with a Family of 11 who in April 23, 1870 emigrated from Kristiania by the sailboat "Anna Delius".

   Often we see that the oldest son in the Family emigrated first.  In the years that followed the Siblings would come after
as they grew up and the Father was able to have enough money for the ticket.  Now, it can be of interest to follow the future
of such Emigrant Family and see what happened to them.   To see what the reliable farm boys from Hallingdal could go "over there"
some three fourths of a Century ago.
   On the farm Helgelien west of Sundre there grew up a group of Siblings of 8.   The oldest was born in 1848 and the youngest in 1867. 
Their parents were Knut Halvorson Helgelien born July 30, 1820 and died September 8, 1907 and Guri Aslesdtr Baklien,
born March 3, 1823, died in Helgelien November 19, 1906.

   Halvor, the oldest of the children, bought the Family farm in 1870 and many of the older Hallings will remember this reliable farmer
and business man at Helgelien.   Halvor died childless.

   The next five Siblings emigrated to U. S. A. in the following order:
Anders was the first to emigrate from Helgelien.  He was born January 1, 1859 and emigrated from Kristiania on the ship "Albion"  March 14, 1879.  
His ticket cost about 40 dollars and he had along some traveling money of 10 dollars.
   Two years later Asle t.o. (born Nov. 23, 1853) emigrated and Asle t.y. (born March 28, 1862).  They went together on the steamboat "Rollo".  
The ticket for both was only 35 dollars.
   Two years later the two oldest sisters Guri (born April 1, 1851)  and Anne (born July 13, 1856).  
Of the Siblings there was only the oldest son and two youngest daughters left at Helgelien.

   We shall now see how it went with the 5 Emigrants.
   Anne was married to a "Scandinavian" Farmer in South Dakota.   She died childless in 1937.

   Guri died unmarried shortly after she arrived in USA.  
Asle t.y. took the name Henry when he came to America.   He died unmarried in Minnesota in 1941.
Asle t.o. farmed and built up a large Helgelien Farm near Mansfield, South Dakota.   He married in 1895 to Isabelle Christina Arnott (Scotish)
and they had one daughter and three sons.   The daughter is still living and has 4 children and 10 Grandchildren. Oldest son of Asle is still living.  
He is a farmer and his name is Newton Asle Helgelien,  and has 3 children,  11 grandchildren  and 2 great grandchildren.  Asle t. o. died in 1941.
   Anders, the first of 5 Emigrants also got an 80 acre farm in South Dakota.  After 29 years in America, Anders became a well to do man and still unmarried.   That was his missfortune.   Anders was murdered in Jan. 1, 1908 by a Norwegian American widow, Bella Gunnes.  
She  specialized in robbing and murdering wealthy unmarried men.   There was much written about this in American and Norwegian American
newspapers during May 1908.   I will produce the letter that brother Asle t.o. wrote about his gruesome happening home to his sisters in Aal.   This letter was written in correct spelling as Asle used, but to make it easier understood, I have made some corrections.

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 Mansfred,  May  21, 1908
   Dear Brother and Sister
   I will now send you the sorrowful news that Brother Anders is not among the living.   But one thing makes me happy is that he came to his death as innocent as a young child.   He has sort of been unlucky all his days.   I have just gotten back from the State of Indiana and was so fortunate in my searching for Andres that I exposed the largest mrder that has happened in America and maybe the whole World and it was done by a Norwegian Woman.   It came as a flood over the Norwegian People.
   Brother Anders had been in correspondence with this woman for over two years.   I had often heard him talking about a rich Norwegian widow from Indiana who had written to him.   I  did not pay much attention to it and did not see any of the letters that he had gotten from her.   I did not think that there was anything serious about it.   He did not tell me where he was going, but he had gotten the idea that he wanted to go down there to visit and see her.   That was the last thing he did in this World.
   She wrote many friendly letters to him, which I found in his house.   I have now read them all.   They were written in Norwegian.   I found over 80 letters she had written to him.   They are now in Government hands and were translated to English in Indiana.
   She lived in a beautiful house and had everything nice and that was what helped swindel Anders.   He came to Indiana January 5th  and on the 6th Anders and Bella Gunnes were together in a Bank in Laport.   He deposited in the Bank notes for three thousand dollars that he had in the bank in Aledon and then January 14 she and Anders got together and got the money.   That was the last time anyone had seen him alive.
   As far as I can understand he was murdered by her the same night.   She gave him some form of anesthesia or chloroform and then she cut his head off and buried him in an inclosure that she had by the house.
   I found Anders there the first.   Since then they have dug up 16 more in the same place.   Chances are that there have been many more.   I do not think the government knew anything about her murdering until I found Anders.   I had written to many there and read her letter to Anders  so I was certain something tragic had happened to him there in town.   In her letters to Anders she had asked him to take his money along with him,  sh had some good mortgage letters that he could get in security and she had two houses in Chicago.   She did everything big and nice and it was that that fooled so many.   She used the newspapers to advertise for a rich and good man and when they came she murderd them and took their money.
   It is not known how many she had murdered.   It was terrible to see.   If there was someone that she thought would report her murdering by her own Family she would take them to her house and that would be the end of them.
   Anders was not the first but I think he was the last which they have me to thank.   Anders was buried May 5th in the Church Cemetery at Laport, Indiana.  He was buried in the Norwegian Lutheran Church.   Pastor August Johnson conducted the funeral Services.   It was too far to take him to Dakota.   It is about 800 miles.
   It is sad to think about it but there is one thing that I am glad about and that is he did not have any misery in this tragedy.   He was fooled into his death.   There was no one who could think that a woman could be so false and that she could keep on murdering so many so close to town and that the Government did not find it out before.   She attended Church regularly and had everything the nicest and the best.   I am now satisfied that I found out what had been going on.   He is now resting in peace.   It is sorrowful  but there are many who have gotten an unlucky death and have themselves been responsible for it and so many who live their days in jail or in insane asylums.   That is much worse.
   As for me, I think that Anders had been happy and satisfied.   I had never seen more contented as he has been lucky in his business.   He built many buildings.   He built a hay loft,  farn with stalls which cost him 800 dollars.   He lived on 80 acres of land.   His business was not in order.  Many of his papers are none.   But I will try to do the best I can.
   I ask you Brother and Sister,  do not sorrow too much.   It could of been worse.   We are all well up to now and hope you are the same.   I could write much more but now the letter is going in the mail.   What the outcome will be and how much help Bella Gunnes has had is not known.   They are now investigating.   I  think I will go there again.
   Brother t.y. is here helping me.   I am about finished with our work.

        Greetings from you Brother Asle Knudsen Helgelien

   Asle t.y. got a lot of compliments from newspapers for having exposed the robber Murderes Bella Gunnes.   But the gruesome departing of his brother was hard on Asle.   He got to be only 60 years old.
   Even if there grew up 8 children at Helgelien  there are no one left with the Helgelien name in Hallingdal today.   The farm went out of the Family in 1935.
   But in South Dakota and in other places in U.S.A. lives the relatives and the name Helgelien.