To read stores about each of the 13 children of Bendick and Olava Tweeten, go to the Children of Bendick and Olava Tweeten page.
One of the two “Journeys: The Women Who Came” books that Ruth Tweeten Holtan wrote in 1990 was a book about the Tweetens, Dahlby’s, Kittleson’s and Lee’s, all the women who contributed to this family. We include them all here at this link: Tweeten Women’s Stories
The Tweeten family, like the Holtans, are descended from the Mandt family through two sisters, Margit Nordgarden Holtan, and Sigri, mother to Bendick Tweeten. We refer you to the section on the Mandt family for many stories about that branch of the family.
Sigrid is certainly one of the mysteries in the family tree. She came from a privileged background with her father Tarjei Nordgarden, and mother Elsie Mandt, both high class figures and her father the “Lensmann”, the sheriff of the district. We’re not entirely convinced, but there has been a persistent family rumor that both she and her sister Margit “married down” with men of a lower class and were both therefore more or less disowned. Margit left Norway completely. Sigrid stayed but her family did move far away to a farm in Nissedal, almost 60 miles away, several days travel in those day. it’s a tragic story, in which 6 of her ten birth children died very young. Eventually, three of her four surviving children got America fever and left, but first Jorgen and then Sigrid had already died, nearly 10 years before they left, when they were quite young.
But the scuttlebut has always suggested a more complex story. One story says her husband Jorgen disappeared, with various explanations, including joining a cult, or falling with his horse into a crevice, or leaving to protect the family from his diagnosis of tuberculosis. They had moved to a farm in Nissedal called Tveitane, hence the Tweeten name. Some sources even say Sigrid and her two sons left for America, but we have no record of them ever arriving. We will keep working to find more of their story. Read Sigrid’s story written by Ruth Tweeten Holtan here; https://holtanheritage.com/heritage/tweeten-stories/sigri-tarjeisdotter-nordgarden/ A newer story, written by Ruth’s son, Phil Holtan, tries to marshal the best most up-to-date evidence we have to tell their story. Read that with this link- Jorgen Bendickson Tveitane and Sigrid Tarjeisdatter Nordgarden.
Another ancestor was Halvard Graatopp, who led a rebellion against the king many years ago. Hallvard Graatopp peasant uprising 1438
Bendick Tweeten came to America as a young man of 23 years old, by some reports to avoid the military draft in Norway. He came with his two sisters, Elsie Sime and Aasne Kingland. Their voyage was paid for by their aunt and uncle, Hans and Margit Holtan. Margit was sister to their mother Sigri. In fact, at first, they were often called by the name of Holtan. That was the Norwegian style- your surname was the name of the farm where you lived. Check out his story on the Bendick and Olava Tweeten page. You can read about their 13 children, who each have their own page on the Tweeten Children’s Page
The following is a story by Gena Nelson, one of Bendick and Olava’s daughters, and has a pious religious context. Bendick Tweeten, Dad’s Bad Luck by Gena Nelson
Gilbert Tweeten was one of Bendick’s sons. The family of Gilbert Tweeten and his young wife Cora Myhre was terribly changed on October 16, 1917 when Cora died of a brain tumor at the University of MN hospital. This is the obituary and other information about that death. She left two small children behind, Olive, 19 months and Alvin, 3 1/2 years old.
An ironic twist in the story that was recently re-discovered (2025), was that Cora’s sister Mabel was married to Albert Anderson and lived on the former Lundstrom farm in Forest township that Stan and Ruth Holtan bought and farmed after World War II. Albert’s first wife was a Lundstrom daughter and also a Swedish Baptist.
One of Bendick’s sons, Oliver, was a soldier in World War I and sent back this letter which was printed in the Forest City Summit. Oliver Tweeten WW 1 letter
After losing his wife, Cora in 1917, with two young children to care for, Alvin and Olive, Gilbert married again, Mae Dahlby Johnson, a widow with her own young son, Komer. Short years later, with 3 more young children together, Mae’s tuberculosis seemed to have no cure. All the doctor could suggest was a long-shot solution, travel to the South west United States for the “climate cure.” What a tough decision and situatiion, to leave the three oldest with grandparents, rent out the farm, and travel to strange places in hope of prolonging her life. Ruth Tweeten Holtan, the oldest of the travelling children, tells of Gilbert’s camper solution. My Dad’s Camper Solution- Gilbert Tweeten to New Mexico.docx Miraculously, Mae Tweeten lived long into her 90’s.
Here is Gilbert Tweeten’s Obituary. Gilbert Tweeten Obituary
In 1989, in preparation for a Tweeten Family Reunion, a number of contributors prepared a Tweeten Family Book, almost 200 pages, with lists of family and details of birth, death and marriage, photos and stories on each of Bendick and Olava’s 13 children. Vivian Westerberg Charlson was the primary editor and we thank them for the good work they did. We will list those children separately and include a link to each section of the book. The links to those 13 webpages is in the Children of Bendick and Olava Tweeten page.
For those interested in how the family tree looks for the Tweetens, we include 3 pedigree charts. First, a chart for the Holtan kids, children of Ruth Tweeten and Stan Holtan.
5 Gen Pedigree Chart for the Stan Holtan children
Then, charts for Sigri Tarjeisdotter Tveitane and her husband, Jorgen.
5 Gen Pedigree Chart for Sigrid Tarjeisdatter Mandt Nordgarden_