Biography of John Arneson
--Marian Anderson daughter of Nels Arneson and granddaughter of John Arneson
John Arneson’s father was Hans Trappen Arneson. The pioneer’s full name was Johanus Arneson. He was born October 5, 1838 near the city of Bergen in Norway.
He left Norway after his marriage to establish his own home. He first went to Minnesota, then to Oregon and later back to Minnesota, when he heard about some friends in North Dakota, so he and his family moved here.
He traveled by boat across the ocean, by train as far as it went which was Iowa, and from Iowa to Minnesota he traveled by covered wagon and oxen, part of the time walking.
John Arneson came to North Dakota in 1881, Early Experiences: His land is in section 6 Greenview Township. John Arneson’s first house was a log cabin, later he built a frame house. The nearest towns were Valley City and Mayville; he went to town by oxen and a wagon.
In his pioneer life, John Arneson experienced many hardships. For instance, one year there was a flood, sometimes there were prairie fires, and often during the winter there were very severe blizzards.
His nearest neighbors were Monsons, Qualeys and Johnsons.
Early farm machinery was a walking plow and a team of oxen.
There was not church nor school when John settled here in North Dakota.
John Arneson married Christie Storbor about 1963 or 1864. They were married in Norway.
John Arneson died March 13, 1925 and was buried in the Sheyenne Valley Cemetery.