Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/479

 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY 105 erected. The eireuil of the congregation then reached within ten miles of Faribaull and cast to Zumbrota, and consisted of upwards of seventy heads of families. The organization was effected under the supervision of the Rev. H. A. Stub. The trustees were Knut K. Finseth, Kjostel Gr. Naeset, Ilalvon O. Huset and Christopher Loekrem. The trustees secured 100 acres of land, on section 19, for church purposes, which they afterward improved by the erec- tion of a good parsonage, barn, granary and outbuildings. After their organization they hail no regular pastor, bid were occasion- ally visited by Revs. J. S. Munck, L. Larson and A. C. Preus, until the arrival of Rev. B. J. Muus, in 1850. In 1861 they built their present church, a tine building capable of seating at least 500. The Rev. Fjelstad is pastor. Lands and Minneola Congregations were originally a part of the Holden Congregations and were served by the Rev. B. J. Muus. In 1868 the two congregations were organized as a sepa- rate charge and the Rev. N. Th. Ylvisaker chosen as minister. The church in Lands was built in 1868 and the church in Minneola in 1871. Rev. N. Th. Ylvisaker died in 1877 and his brother, Rev. John Ylvisaker, was called, remaining until 1879, when he be- came a theological professor. In 1879, Rev. L. M. Biorn was called and he served the charge twenty-nine years. He died in June, 1908, and is buried at Lands Church. Rev. G. S. Froiland was chosen as his successor and still remains. In the controversy in the Synod, these congregations sided with the anti-Missou- rians. The minister has free use of a beautiful piece of land of about fifty-six acres, upon which is situated the pleasant parson- age. Lands has a membership of about 1,000 souls. The present church is too small and the congregation is contemplating build- ing a new church. Parochial schools are held about eight months in the year, divided between the several school districts. Minne- ola has a membership of about 500 souls, and also maintains paro- chial school eight months of the year. The congregations have young people's societies, a young ladies' society and several ladies' aid societies. Ludvig Marinus Biorn, now deceased, was born in Moss, Nor- way, September 7. 1835. • His father was a minister in the state church of Norway, and some of his ancestors held high military and ecclesiastical positions in Slesvig. Biorn became a student at the University of Norway in 1855, graduating as a theological candidate in 1861. The following year he emigrated to America, being called as pastor by the congregation of the Norwegian Synod in Manitowoc county, Wisconsin. Here Rev. Biorn met all the hardships incident to pioneer life. The war, too, added to the difficulty. Company F, of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Regiment, was mostly taken from his congregation. In 1879 he removed to Good-