Geline was born in Land kommune, Oppland County, Norway and was baptized at Haugner church on November 30th, 1834.  She immigrated with her parents, Gulbrand Kassenborg and Astri Andersdotter Skjerstein,to Rock County, Wisconsin in 1850.    On her 1834 baptismal certificate her name is listed as Gelina Andrine. The udflyttede (record of leaving the church parish - when the family left for America) shows her name as Louise Galena. Once in America, her name is spelled in various ways on legal and personal documents: Galena, Galene, Geline, Gelene. The family name as well went through a number of changes: Thomleeie (the farm on which the family resided in Norway), Gilbertson, and finally in Clay County, Kassenborg.    When Gulbrand moved the family from Wisconsin to Houston County, MN, Geline was drawn to St.  Paul, Minnesota and worked in a hotel. Orabel Thortvedt reported that Geline remembered when famed Norwegian violinist Ole Bull stayed at the hotel when he played a concert in St. Paul.  She and the other Norwegian workers weren't able to attend. When he came down for breakfast the morning after the concert, Ole asked one of the Norwegian waitresses if she had been at the concert.  She replied that sadly she had not.  He promptly went up to his room, retrieved his violin, and played a longer 'concert' for the people at the hotel than he had played the night before!  Geline rejoined her family in Houston County in late 1856.    After she and Tarje were married in 1857, she busied herself with the responsibilities of a farm wife -raising her eight children, keeping the house accounts, caring for her parents, entertaining Tarje's many community and political friends, and managing the needs of farm help which during threshing could number over 100! Geline was a quiet force and source of steady support for her husband and family. She was a clear-headed and intelligent woman who held her own opinions, and in the best tradition of Norwegians, could stand her ground when necessary. After Tarje's death, she continued to live on the home farm.  She maintained the house for Ed until his death in 1903.    1895 Census            1900 Census   Geline suffered often from respiratory problems.  Her bouts of asthma were often complicated by allergies and humidity.  The weather seems to have been hot and rainy at the time she died. Inhalers and bronchodilators had yet to be invented.  This may help explain why this otherwise still strong and vital woman succumbed to asthma at age 74.      Death Index (149 KB PDF document opens in a new window) Tarje & Geline's Gravesite  More about Geline's Family