Lars P. Moe - Short Biography

Lars Moe, Minnesota Pioneer

Lars Moe was born on July 14, 1844 in Norway. He came to America in 1864 with his parents, Peter Olsen Moe and Anna Augundsdatter Lad and a number of siblings. They first went to Black Earth, Wisconsin and then settled on Section One in the northeast corner of Town of Blue Mounds.

Lars and Ingeri about 1890

In 1870, Lars married Ingeri Mennes. Also from Norway, she was born on August 24, 1847 and came to America with her parents Ole Mennes and Britta Hatleleid and her siblings. The Mennes farmed in the Town of Springdale which was east of the Moe farm. It is unclear if the families knew each other in Norway but they must have been good friends in America as there were three Moe – Mennes marriages between the children of Peter Moe and Ole Mennes.

In the 1870’s Lars and Ingeri were enticed to head west after a visit from Ingeri’s sister, Gjertrud and here husband, A.B. Lund, who had settled in far west Minnesota at Lac Qui Parle County. They traveled by covered wagon with their first born son, Ole, crossed the Mississippi River at La Crosse, went west across the prairie and settled in the Town of Riverside in 1876. In 1882, Lars Moe was granted 152.5 acres of land on Section 23 and Section 24 in Riverside by the United States of America. The deed was executed at the Federal Land Office in Benson. The 1913 map of Riverside shows Lars with over 241 acres in the southeast corner of section 23. The farm was located about two miles east of the Village of Dawson, Minnesota.

Lars Moe Land Grant from 1882 

At the time Lars came to Riverside, western Minnesota still had the vestiges of frontier. Settlement had taken hold but there were townships without names, unclaimed land and Indians were known to roam the area. Their first born, Ole, who traveled with them from Wisconsin died in a diphtheria epidemic in 1879 and was buried with two young Lund cousins and other children in a burial plot on the former Lund farm in what was known as Lone Tree Cemetery. This became the first cemetery in the area and remained in use for a number of years. Lutheran Church records show 46 were buried there. A brother of Lars also came to Lac Qui Parle County. Around 1880 Claus Moe brought horses form Madison, Wisconsin and started a livery stable near present day Madison, Minnesota. He is generally credited with naming Madison, Minnesota which would become the county seat. Clause and his wife Ellen Mennes, the sister of Lars's wife Ingeri, would settle in Madison and raise five children.

Partial map of the Town of Riverside in 1913. The Lars Moe farm is on Section 23,
just to the east of Dawson. It has been noted that they first lived in a log house. 

The former Lars Moe homestead, from Google Earth. the outline
of the original Moe farm is still visible on Google Earth.

Lars Moe family in the 1900 Federal Census. By this time, son, Peter, 24 has left home. 

In addition to Ole, the child who died at about age 7 (b.1872, d1879), Lars and Ingeri would raise six children, who were all born on the farm.

• Son Peter (b.1876, d.1951) married Sarah Erikson in 1898. Sarah was born in Norway. They had at least two children and are buried at Grace Cemetery in Dawson.

Peter Moe with his father Lars (left), son Edward (center)
and  grandson Derlyn (the little guy), circa 1925.

• Albert (b.1878, d.1905). Albert died young and does not seem to have married. He is buried at Grace Cemetery in Dawson
• Daughter Betsy (b.1881, d.1964) married Martin Agre and they had at least 2 children, Lyla and Amy. They are buried at Trinity Cemetery in Boyd.
• Daughter Mary (b.1883, d.1924) married August Ellefson in 1899. August was born in Norway. They had at least five children,  Omar, Leonard, Anton, Arthur, and Merlin and are buried at Grace Cemetery in Dawson.
• Daughter Ida (b.1889, d.1943) married Robert Swenson in 1911. Robert was born in Illinois. They had at least two children, Glenn and Roy and are buried at Grace Cemetery in Dawson
• Son Louis (b.1891, d.1966) was married twice. His first wife was Ann Jerde; they were married in 1915 and had three children, Audrey, Irene, and Wayne . He second wife was Hazel Hanson; they were married in 1945. Hazel was also married twice but had no children. Louis and both his wives are buried at Grace Cemetery in Dawson.

Louis Moe, Son of Lars Moe and Ingeri Mennes

• The youngest son of Louis was Wayne Moe, who was career army and rose to the rank of Colonel before retiring in 1973. He served as a company commander in WW2 and was noted to be at the Battle of the Bulge. He was stationed in Germany after the war and was then sent to Korean when that conflict started where he served as a Battalion Executive Officer. After that he was back in Germany and also served at the US Embassy in Finland as Military Attaché. He spent the last few years of his career in Vietnam and then as an Army Inspector General. He retired in Virginia and is buried at Arlington Cemetery along with his wife, Audrey, also from Dawson who was an Army Nurse in WW2.

Portrait of Wayne Moe, the son of Louis and Ann.

In 1898, a frame house was built, which still stands today. Ingeri died in 1907, after which, Lars moved to Dawson with his two youngest children. Eventually, he would sell the farm and buy several other pieces of land in area. Around 1912, he and son Louis would move to one of those parcels on section 26, where Louis would establish a farm. Louis and his young family would build a house on the land in 1919. Lars would spend the rest of his life with his son and died on the 3rd of April, 1932 at the age of 88.

Additional Information:
Read about the complete Peterson / Moe saga here . . .
Read about Norwegian Naming Conventions here . . .

Research Notes: Much of the information for this post was found in an article written by Audrey Froiland. Other sources include the United States Census and other web-based sources and my own personal family information. 

This is one of a series of short biographies of individual ancestors. These will be undertaken, from time-to-time, when enough information becomes available about an individual. Post updated on 02/2022 and 07/2024.