Andrew Tweit was born in Simahal, Hardanger, Norway in 1876. He grew to manhood there and worked as powder man on the mountain roads where a lot of blasting had to be done.
He heard of the great opportunities in America and decided to leave his homeland and seek his fortune in America. He landed in Philadelphia in 1903 and sought employment in the coal mines as a powder man, but decided work so far underground was not for him so he went on to Wisconsin and worked in a cheese factory for a time. From there he went to Red Wing, Minnesota where he was employed by the Red Wing Crockery Company.
The urge to come further west caused him to come to North Dakota where he worked as a farm hand for Ivor Skaar in Dover Township. He began farming on his own in 1908. In 1907 he married Helena Legreid who was working at the time as a "hired girl" at the Tom Sad farm, also in Dover. To them eight children were born:
Andrew rented a farm in Bartley Township from Nicolai Swenson and lived in an old house that had originally belonged to Nicolai's sister, Anna. It was a small house, but fairly comfortable. In 1916 when a tornado went through parts of Dover and Bartley Townships, Andrew and his hired man held the door of the house with all their might and the house stood, but many barns and churches went in that storm. A new house was built on the farm by Mr. Swenson for the Tweit family and the little old house used as a schoolhouse because the school had been destroyed by the tornado. Miss Minnie Anderson taught for the first time in this school that summer. She had all eight grades. The little house was later moved back to the Swenson farm and is still there.
With the exception of five years spent in Washington State, Andrew lived in Bartley and Dover Townships. He died March 21, 1969. Mrs. Tweit died April 21, 1953 at the age of 71.
Harold Tweit is at present living on the home place. He married Gladys Sorenson of Oberon in May 1955. They have four children, Joan, John, Julie and Joel.
Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 232