Moorhead, Minnesota
was born in Vang on November 6, 1854 and emigrated to America in 1872 to Goodhue County, Minnesota and lived there for eight years. He came to Minneapolis and from there to Moorhead in 1879 and has since had the photography business, the oldest in the Red River Valley.
His wife, Clara Skou, is from Kristiania. Her father Martin Skou came to America and moved near Perley, Minnesota in 1870.
They have seven children. His oldest son is the Postmaster in Moorhead, Minnesota. J. L. Flaten was born in Moorhead, Minnesota on September 26, 1881. He went to the Normal School and Concordia College. In 1903 he became an accountant in the First State Bank. He was later assintant cashier and then he advanced to cashier. He became a Postmaster in Moorhead in 1913. One of the most beautiful and best arranged Post Offices in the Northwest was built since he became Postmaster. The Post Offic is a landmark and an embellishment for the town. His wife, Gunhild Stafne, is the daughter of the well known farmer Erik Stafne of Abercrombie, North Dakota.
Source: Norwegians and Norwegian Homes in America by Hans Jervell - 1916 - Page 128