Lauritz Severin Gundersen - Louis Gunderson

When my grandma Dagmar came to Chicago in 1924 she followed her husband, my grandfather Paul. Paul chose Chicago as he had an aunt here who had immigrated many years before. The young couple lived in a small apartment in the basement of her home. Through my genealogy work I have found that Dagmar also had family in Chicago that had come before her. I do not know if she was even aware of that. Neither she or my mother ever mentioned having family in Chicago. Dagmar had an uncle Lauritz who settled in Chicago and raised a family there. It is quite likely that there are Gundersen cousins within a few miles of me today. Where are you my cousins?

Lauritz Severin Gundersen was born the 22 January 1882 in Muhle, Eidanger, Telemark, Norway. He was the younger brother of my great grandfather Nils and the uncle of my grandmother Dagmar. In the Norwegian census of 1900 he is living unmarried on the family farm Øvald in Eidanger along with his father, Gunder Andreas Nilsen, his sister Gunda Marie, his brother Nils, Nils' wife Gunhild Marie, and Nils' two daughters, Gudrun and Dagmar (my grandmother). The family farm, which was owned by the church but worked by our family since the mid 1600's had been sold. Nov of 1901 Lauritz emigrated to Chicago. There he met another Norwegian immigrant named Karin Olive Erlingsen. They married in 1902 and had the children  George, Alice Marie, Lucile, Louise, Mildred, Earl, Sylvia, Ralph, Adeline and Caroline. In America the couple was known as Louis and Carrie Gunderson.

Here he is with his wife on his 50th wedding anniversary.

Would Louis be your ancestor? We are cousins. Contact me if you would like to share information, photos or memories.

Just a shot in the dark - Ranae