Eli Gregoriussdatter Nysaeter was born in May 1815 and baptised on the 18th of May in Stord, Hordaland, Norway1 as the first child of Gregorius Nielssen Sæterbøe and Guro Fridrichsdatter Wante.1 Her sponsors were Lars Torstiensen Nysæter, Torstien Halvorsen Bion began, Torstien Larssen Nysæter, Britte Torstiensdatter Watne and Kari Nielsdatter Nyessot (apologies for any and all mis-spellings)
She had six younger siblings: Ragnhild (1816), Frederick (1819-1819), Christi (1820-1894), Frederiche (1822), Britte (1824), and Njels (1827).
Eli Gregoriussdatter Nysaeter was confirmed on 20 Nov 1831 and is indicated as a very good student.5
When she was 19, on 2 July 1834, she married Halvor Tørrissen Digernes, son of Tørres Halvorsen Digernes and Valgjerd Oldsdatter Øvre Valen, on 02 Jul 18344 in Stord, Hordaland, Norway4.
Eli, as the oldest of seven children had more experience with children than Halvor who was the youngest of two. One wonders if it was her decision to have so many children, or if it was just a matter of nature. The 1800s in Norway saw both better nutrition, through potatoes and herring, as well as lower infant mortality, through better hygiene. No matter the reason, Halvor and Eli had 15 children during their marriage. Most of whom lived long lives and many of them joined the exodus of Norwegian people to America.
1. Torres Halvorsen Digernes was born on 12 Dec 183410 in Hordaland, Norway10 (Digernes, Stord10). He married Guro Andersdatter Valvatna on 30 Aug 186211 in Hordaland, Norway11 (Stord11). He died in 1912.
2. Helga Halvorsdatter Digernes was born on 08 Oct 183712 in Hordaland, Norway12 (Digernes, Stord12). She is named after Halvor’s sister who died in 1830, which is a departure from the standard naming convention of the first daughters being named for their grandmothers.
3. Gregorius Halvorsen Digernes was born on 20 Sep 1839 in Hordaland, Norway (Digernes, Stord). He lived only a short time and died on 24 Feb 184013 in Hordaland, Norway13 (Digernes, Stord13).
4. Valgjerd Halvorsdatter Digernes was born on 10 Dec 184014 in Hordaland, Norway14 (Digernes, Stord14). She married Lars Andersen Valen on 04 Apr 1864 in Hordaland, Norway (Digernes, Stord). She died in 1920.
5. Gregorius Halvorsen Digernes was born on 22 Sep 184215 in Hordaland, Norway15 (Digernes, Stord15). He married Kari Madsdatter on 04 Jul 1866 in Hordaland, Norway.
6. Frederick Halvorsen Digernes was born on 22 Sep 184216 in Hordaland, Norway16 (Digernes, Stord16).
7. Guro Halvorsdatter Digernes was born on 21 Sep 1843 in Hordaland, Norway (Digernes, Stord).
8. Hans Frederick Halvorsen Digernes was born on 02 Feb 184617 in Hordaland, Norway17 (Digernes, Stord17).
9. Cicele Halvorsdatter Digernes was born on 12 Mar 184718 in Hordaland, Norway18 (Digernes, Stord18). She married Ole Olsen Tommervik on 25 Jun 1868.
10. Ole Halvorsen Digernes was born on 20 Apr 184919 in Hordaland, Norway19 (Digernes, Stord19).
11. Jorgen Halvorsen Degerness was born on 25 Sep 185020,21 in Hordaland, Norway20,21 (Digernes, Stord20,21). He married Martha Johannesdatter Eldoen on 01 May 187325,26,23 in Stord, Hordaland, Norway25,26,23. He died on 14 Apr 193322,23,24 in Rose Valley, Saskatchewan, Canada22,23,24 (senile degeneration22,23,24).
12. Eli Halvorsdatter Digernes was born on 29 May 185227 in Hordaland, Norway27 (Digernes, Stord27). She married Johannes Olsson Bunes on 25 May 1874.
13. Aasa Halvorsen Digernes was born on 12 Dec 185328 in Hordaland, Norway28 (Digernes, Stord28).
14. Halvor Halvorsen Digernes was born on 18 Mar 185529 in Hordaland, Norway29 (Digernes, Stord29). He married Elen Margrete Magnussen on 24 Nov 1883. He died in 1943.
15. Viking Halvorsen Digernes was born on 22 Jun 186130 in Hordaland, Norway30 (Digernes, Stord30). He married Annie A. Lommen on 23 Dec 188231 in Decorah, Winneshiek, Iowa, USA31. He died in 1933.
Eli lived with Halvor on the Digernes farm for the remainder of her life, bringing up her children and working as a farmer’s wife 7,8,9.
She lived in Hordaland, Norway6 in 18656 (Digernes, Stord6). She lived in Stord, Hordaland, Norway7 in 18757 (Degernes7). She lived in Stord, Hordaland, Norway8 on 01 Jan 18918.
She died on 27 March 1898, at the age of 83, at the Digernes farm in Stord, Hordaland, Norway2,3 and she was buried on 02 April 1898.2,3
Link to Eli Gregoriussdatter Nysaeter in genealogy.
1 Baptisms. Norway, Nysater, Stord, Hordaland. 18 May 1815. Gregoriussdatter, Eli. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/11673/139 : accessed 7 April 2019.
2 Burials. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 2 April 1898. Gregoriussdatter, Eli. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/2156/259 : accessed 7 April 2019.
3 Marriages. Norway, Stord, Hordaland. 2 July 1834. TORISSEN DIGERNES, Halvor and Gregoriussdatter NYSAETER, Eli. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/11675/204 : accessed 6 April 2019.
4 Confirmations. Norway, Stord, Hordaland. 20 November 1831. Gregoriussdatter NYSÆTER, Eli. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/11675/48339/28 : accessed 8 March 2021.
5,6 Not referenced.
7 Census. 1865. Norway. Stord, Hordaland. Digernes, Jorgen Halvorsen. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/38228/92 : accessed April 2019.
8 Census, 1875. Norway. Degernes, Stord, Hordaland. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/52269/530?indexing= : accessed 17 March 2021.
9 Census, 1891. Norway. Degernæs, Stord, Hordaland. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/52964/2031 : accessed 17 March 2021.
10 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 14 December 1834. Halvorsen, Torres. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/11675/89 : accessed 7 April 2019.
11 Marriages. Norway, Stord, Hordaland. 30 August 1862. Halvorsen Digernes, Torres and Andersdatter Valvanta, Guro. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 23 February 2021.
12 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 20 October 1837. Halvorsdatter, Helga. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/11675/105 : accessed 7 April 2019.
13 Burials. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 1 March 1840. Halvorsen, Gregorius. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/11675/263 : accessed 7 April 2019.
14 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 13 December 1840. Halvorsdatter, Valgjerd. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/11675/125 : accessed 7 April 2019.
15 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 26 September 1842. Halvorsen, Gregorius. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8303/19 : accessed 7 April 2019.
16 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 26 September 1842. Halvorsen, Frederick. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8303/19 : accessed 7 April 2019.
17 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 7 February 1846. Halvorsen, Hans Frederick. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8303/43 : accessed 7 April 2019.
18 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 17 March 1847. HAVORSDATTER, Cicele. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8303/50 : accessed 7 April 2019.
19 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 22 April 1849. Halvorsen, Ole. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8303/65 : accessed 7 April 2019.
20 Baptisms, Norway. Stord, Hordaland. Digernes, Jorgen. 3 October 1850. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/8303/74 : accessed April 2017.
21 Deaths (CR) Canada. Rose Valley, Ponass Lake, Saskatchewan. DEGERNESS, Jorgen Halvor. 14 April 1933. Record # 2218 1933.
22 Monumental Inscriptions. Rose Valley, Saskatchewan. 1933. DEGERNESS, Jorgen.
23 Rose Valley and District Historical Society (1981). A tribute to our Pioneers. Saskatchewan: Rose Valley & District Historical Society. Pp. 201-202.
24 Deaths (CR) Canada, Rose Valley, Saskatchewan. 14 April 1933. DEGERNESS, Jørgen Halvor. #2218.
25 Marriages. Norway. Stord, Hordaland. 01 May 1873. Digernes, Jorgen Halvorsen and Eldoen, Martha Johannesdatter. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/8304/116 : accessed April 2019.
26 Marriages. Norway. Stord, Hordaland. Copy of parish records. 01 May 1873. Digernes, Jorgen Halvorsen and Eldoen, Martha Johannesdatter. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/view/11676/112 : accessed April 2019.
27 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 30 May 1852. Halvorsdatter, Eli. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8303/87 : accessed 7 April 2019.
28 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 18 December 1853. Halvorsen, Aasa. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8303/97 : accessed 7 April 2019.
29 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 8 April 1855. Halvorsen, Halvor. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8303/106 : accessed 7 April 2019.
30 Baptisms. Norway, Digernes, Stord, Hordaland. 1 July 1861. Halvorsen, Viking. https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8303/146 : accessed 7 April 2019.
31 Marriages. United States, Decorah, Winnishiek, Iowa. 23 December 1882. Digernes, Viking and Lommen, Annie A. https://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 24 Februrary 2021.