Niels Madsen Bøe
Utreist med/Emigrated on:
Utreist til/Emigrated to: Manitowoc Co., Wisconsin.
Niels Madsen Bøe: He was born January
22, 1826 on the farm Bøe in Gjerpen. Parents were Mads Christensen
Bøe and Kari Gundersdatter. He was baptized in church February 5th.
His father Mads died already Nov 2, 1832 and left his widow with 8 children.
The entire family emigrated in 1847, except Niels.
Niels worked in 1845 as a helper to the sawmiller Lars Madsen Langangen.
Lars Madsen was also his uncle.
But
in 1848 he emigrates to New York where he arrived in July. It is not known
what he did in America, but he ended up in Cato township, Manitowoc Co.,
where he is found buried May 8, 1853 in Gjerpen church. This is one of the
first burials recorded for that church.. He is buried on the Madson lot
where
his mother Kari and his brother Hans and his wife, Maren were later
buried. Richard C.Madson tells in his book "Gjerpen
to Gjerpen" that the old tombstone
was taken back to the Hans Madson
farm, when a new stone was erected. In 1993 the old stone was discovered
when an old building at the farm was moved.
That stone is now in the church
yard at Pinecrest Historical Village west of Manitowoc.
Niels filed his citizenship intention on September 1, 1850 and he is found
to be the 34th to sign the 1851 Gjerpen Church Constitution that pledged
payment
of the salary for the minister that was called to serve the new
congregation.