Among the early pioneers of Otter Tail County, Minnesota , were the seven Dahl brothers.  These seven brothers; Ole, Christian, Anders, John, Borre, Simon and Aners were all born in Gulbrandalen, Norway.

Ole C. Dahl was the oldest, born December 18, 1817.   He came to America together with his brothers Simon and Brre in the spring of 1865, first settling in Iowa, where he followed his trade as painter for two years and saved up enough money to sent to Norway to his wife to pay for the passage for her and their six children.  In 1867 they emigrated to Ott Tail county with a number of other settlers with ox teams and covered wagons. At that time Ole Dahl did not have a team or wagon, so he paid one of the settlers to let his wife and daughter ride in their wagon. Ole Dahl and his twelve year old son walked the whole distance, averaging about twenty-five miles per day for a distance of three hundred miles. They left four of the children at Rochester, Minnesota where they worked for a while and joined the family later in Otter Tail County.


Ole C. Dahl married Oline Olstad at Faaberg, Norway in 1839. To this union were born the following children: Christian; Randine; (Mrs. O. M. Wick) Gunder, Martinus Caroline (Mrs. G.O. Hammer); Jettemina (Mrs. G.W. Boyington); Gustav and Tilda (Mrs. Oliver A. Rustad)

Ole Dahl homesteaded the Southwest Quarter of section 12, in Tumuli Township, and in 1882 the northwest corner of his farm was platted in the Village of Dalton, Minnesota USA which was named after him.

Ole C. Dahl died August 17, 1908 and Mrs. Dahl died January 13, 1893.

The Simon C. Dahl family.

Simon C. Dahl was next to the youngest boy and the sixth in the family. He learned the wagon makers trade in Norway.

In 1865 Simon C. Dahl came to America with his brother Ole. He first settled in Iowa where he worked for three years. During this time he was married to Anna Berg of Norwegian parentage.

To this union were born the following children: Christian; Sirrena (Mrs. Olaf Melby); Conrad; Minnie (Mrs. Dan Formo); Albert; John; Oscar; Manton and Clara (Mrs. Soren Larson).

In 1869 Simon C. Dahl with his family moved to Otter Tail County, Minnesota. They came all the way with a team of horses and covered wagon. Simon Dahl homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in Tumuli Township, where he lived until six years before his death, when he moved to Nelson, Minnesota. His wife is still living.

The Brre Dahl family;

Brre Dahl, the fifth oldest of the boys, was a painter by trade. He came to America in 1865 with his two brothers Ole and Simon, first settling in Iowa where he worked at his trade until 1868, when he came to Otter Tail County and homesteaded the Northeast Quarter of Section 12, where he and his wife lived out their lives.

Brre Dahl was married in Norway to Anna Wick, and to this union were born two children: Olena (Mrs. Sigurd Skrove) of Dalton, Minnesota and Kaia who died at the age of thirteen.

The John Dahl family:

John Dahl was the fourth oldest of the Dahl brothers. He was also a painter by trade. He married in Norway and in 1866 came to America. They first settled in Rochester, Minnesota, where he followed his trade until 1869, when he moved to Otter Tail County and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land in St. Olaf township, where they lived for thirty years, after which they moved to Minot, North Dakota, where Mr. Dahl worked at the painters trade until his death, which occured in 1909.

Mr. and Mrs. John Dahl were the parents of the following children: Christian, Mary (Mrs. Wheeler); Holmes; Mathies; Clara (Mrs. Boe); Nickoli; Anna and Julia

The Andreas Dahl Family:

Andreas Dahl, the third oldest of the Dahl brothers, was a blacksmith by trade. He was married in Norway to Anna Haugen and in 1871 came to America, where they homesteaded in St. Olaf Township. Here he did the blacksmith work for the community, where he lived until he moved to Grafton, North Dakota, where he lived the last two years of his life. Andreas Dahl and wife were the parents of nine children: Christian: Matheas; Olaus; Caroline; Anna; Martine; Fredericka; Carl and Albert.

The Christian Dahl family:

Christian Dahl, the second oldest of the family, was the last one to come to America. He was a butcher in Norway and worked at this trade until he came to America.

Christian Dahl was married in Norway and raised a family of seven boys and three girls, namely: Conrad; Caroline (Mrs. Martinus Dahl); Rigina (Mrs. Anderus Strinden); Hans, Anton, Oluf, Bernhart and Berntine, who were twins; Constance and Carl.

The wife of Christian Dahl died in Norway and in 1882, he came to America and homesteaded in St. Olaf Townstip, Otter Tail County, Minnesota.

The children all came to America except Conrad, who was a fisherman in Norway, where he lived out his life.

Christian Dahl spent the last few years of his life in Grafton, North Dakota, USA.

Aners Dahl was the youngest of the Dahl brothers. He was married in Norway and in 1879 came to America. The first three years he lived in Otter Tail County, where he worked for his brothers. In 1882 he moved to Devils Lake, North Dakota, where he spent the rest of his life.

There were three girls in the Dahl family: Johanna (Mrs. Peter Dahl); who lived in Devils Lake, North Dakota; Karen (Mrs. Bloihovede) first settled in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and later moved to Wisconsin; Martha (Mrs. Schow), who settled in Ashby, Minnesota.

Interviewed:    Mrs. Tilda Rustad.

Dated:              September 12, 1938.

By:                   C. M. Meyer.