of Iowa and has served as a Decorah community representative on a regional health planning council.

Karen, daughter of Melvin (b. 22 Jan 1902) and Alice Voxland (b. 14 Feb 1906) grew up in southern Minnesota where Melvin was a school administrator at Red Wing and Rochester, MN. Melvin has authored extensive family histories on the Vikheim and Voxland families. Karen has been an active leader and volunteer at Decorah Lutheran Church, including leadership with Bible study programs and refugee resettlement. She volunteered her services as a guide at Vesterheim Museum for many years and has frequently made presentations for elementary classes in Decorah Community Schools.

John and Karen have 3 children: Paul Melvin, David Carl and Ann Louise. Paul Melvin resides in Minneapolis; David Carl  is a teacher and lives in the Decorah area. Ann Louise married James Gilbert Kephart 24 Jun 1989. James, a Decorah native, is the son of Russell Lee and Thela Lynne Kephart. The senior Kepharts are founders of Kephart’s Music Center. James and Ann live in the Decorah area where Ann is a teacher. They have 2 children: Allison Marcia and Peter John.

Tobiasen, Henry and Amelia (Arneson-Berg)

(Jeanne Horn Ross)

Henry T Tobiasen (1861 -1937) was the fourth of 8 children born to Norwegian immigrants Tobias Tobiason and Mari Henrickson in Decorah, IA. He lived there for many years attending public schools and then learned the harness-maker business in the H. A. Gregg Shop in Decorah.

Amelia (Berg) and Henry Tobiasen 50th Anniversary 1936

About 1883 he moved to LaCrosse, Wl and lived at the Hotel Delasker on North 7th St. At some point Henry changed the spelling of his last name Tobiason to Tobiasen. He worked for William Imhoff in the Imhoff Harness Shop on South 3rd Avenue. Henry courted Amelia Arneson-Berg (1863-1939), formerly from Chaseburg, Wl who was a dressmaker in LaCrosse. They lived within three blocks of each other. Henry and Amelia were married 24 Nov 1886 at LaCrosse Trinity Lutheran Church. After their marriage they resided at 1113 Pines Street. By 1887 the young couple were living in Wells, MN where Henry was again employed as a harness maker. Their stay in Wells was destined to be a short one.

In 1888 Henry and Amelia moved to the State of Washington stopping first in Spokane. Then in 1889 they made their last move to Davenport, WA 40 miles west of Spokane. Here they truly planted their roots. They became Washington State Pioneers. Henry owned his own harness shop, built a two-story red brick home similar to his mother’s on Riverside Avenue in Decorah, and raised a family.

Henry and Amelia had 5 children but only Powell (b. 1892 - d. 1976) and Belva, my mother, survived to adulthood. Belva (b. 1900 - d. 1981) married Carl Horn (b. 1896 - d. 1975) 11 Apr 1921 in Odessa, WA. The Horns raised 4 daughters: Beatrix (b. 1922 -d. 1995); Dolores; Carla; and Jeanne.

Beatrix married D. Terry Buchser and resided in Arizona and Idaho. They have 3 children, 4 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Dolores married Victor Moeller in Hawaii. They have both retired from banking and reside in Kaneohe, HI. Carla married Everett Boleneus and they farm in Davenport, WA. They have 3 children and 6 grandchildren. Jeanne married Jack Ross and they are retired and reside in Spokane, WA. They have 3 children and 3 grandsons.

The Davenport and Spokane, Washington areas have seen 6 generations of descendants of Henry and Amelia Tobiasen.

Tobiason, Roland and Marit (Istad)

(Alice Hamre Arneson)

Roland Tobiason (b. 20 Dec 1824 - d. 1910) was the 6th son of Ingri Quil and Tommas Tobias Larson. In 1851 Roland left Valdres, Norway with his wife Marit Tollefsdtr Istad and daughter Ingri, by ship to Quebec and train to Madison, Wl where they farmed for 2 years. Then they homesteaded 6 miles from Decorah in Springfield Twp until 1882. In 1881 his wife Marit and youngest daughter Emma died and daughter Mary married. Roland and son Tollef took an immigrant train to Dakota Territory in 1882 After their horses and wagons were unloaded they drove from Grand Forks to Traill Co., Hatton, ND. Eldest daughter Ingri and her husband Andres Knutson were already there. When Tollef married Dorothea Arneson, Roland made his home with Ingri. He died in 1910 at Hatton.

Roland and Marit had 5 children: Tobias, Inger, Mary, Tollef and Emma. Tobias lived on his father’s homestead. He had 3 sons by his first wife. Tobias and Oliva, his second wife, had 8 children: Adolph, Bennie, Theodore, Erling, Emma, Luella, Joseph and Orlando. Adolph (Grand Forks, ND); Bennie (b. 1898) Los Angeles had 2 children; Jean and Jim. Jean married a Robinson and had 2 children: William and Theresa.  Jim has 2 sons and one daughter: Theodore (Moorhead, MN); Erling; Emma (South Bend, WA); Luella (m. Homestead); Joseph (South Bend, WA) and Orlando (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada). Inaer married Andres Knutson and homesteaded at Hatton. When her 3 children, Sophia, Clara and Carl, were grown, she moved to South Bend. Mary was born 23 Feb 1856. She