The Founding of Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Freeborn County

Services

Sundays at Central at 8:30AM and Sundays at East at 10:30AM

A Call, A Document, A Beginning

(Excerpt from the 70th Anniversary booklet of Central, East and North Freeborn Lutheran Congregations, May 31, 1931, page 17)

"When the Freeborn congregations celebrated the Fiftieth Anniversary in 1911, Pastor H.J. Strand read a history of the congregations written by himself.  Many of you remember this.  It would have been interesting to have this history written in this anniversary book, but it has not been found.  The oldest document now found among the records of the congregations is dated June 24, 1860, and is the report from the Manchester district that took place on that day for the purpose of extending a call to C.L. Clausen of St. Ansgar, Iowa, to serve the Norwegians of Freeborn county temporarily with six to eight services during the year."

From our records, we can find some Norwegian and Danish children baptized in Freeborn as early as the mid 1850's that may have been baptized by "circuit riding" pastors of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod.   We can only discern this from our Confirmation records.   Most likely these pastors came from Western Wisconsin and Northeastern Iowa.   Our oldest records date from 1865 with the call of the Rev. T. A. Torgerson, our second called Pastor.

Pastors Called from Central and East Freeborn (1860-1960)

Claus Lauritz Clausen 1860-1865

Torger Andreas Torgerson 1865-1868

Frants Einar Wulfsberg 1868-1883

     Oluf  Hanson Smeby, assistant 1874-1876 (Founding pastor "synod" First Lutheran Church of Albert Lea)

     Johan Thorbjoern Ylvisaker, assistant 1876-1883

Johan Thornbjoern  Ylvisaker 1883-1889

             Lars Peter Jensen, assistant 1886-1891

Henrik Johannesen Strand 1889-1913

Johan Rasmus Roervik 1914-1916

Jentoft Antonius Hansen Myrwang 1916-1925

     Atle Johnson Lee, assistant 1923-1925

Finn Magelssen 1925-1948

C. Scriver Pederson 1948-1960

After Pastor Pederson's call ended (He became the First Chaplain for St. John's Lutheran Community), the parish was divided between East Freeborn on one side and Central/North Freeborn parish on the other side.  You can see their respective histories by clicking on the name in the last sentence.