Last updated: August 3, 2026
Person
Gertrude Lassesen
DOI Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records, Accession Nr: SD1090__.086
Quick Facts
Significance:
immigrant homesteader
Place of Birth:
Meraker, Norway
Date of Birth:
August 20, 1892
Place of Death:
Minnehaha County, South Dakota, USA
Date of Death:
April 15, 1989
Place of Burial:
Baltic, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, USA
Cemetery Name:
East Nidaros Lutheran Cemetery
The American frontier was defined by constant movement, but for sixteen-year-old Gertrude Lassesen, her boldest act was choosing to stay. Working as a seamstress in Renner, South Dakota, she became an anchor in her small-town community. She met Olymph Volden and their encounter joined two immigrant stories to form a new chapter on a single piece of homestead soil.
Both the Lassesen and Volden families immigrated to the United States from Meraker, Norway, but their paths didn’t cross until their families made the decision to homestead in South Dakota. Olymph’s grandfather Ole Thomassen proved up on his homesteaded in Mapletown Township in 1878 (GLO Accession No. SD 1090__.086). He built a sod house, where he raised his daughter, Tomine, as a single father. Tomine would marry Ole Volden on the homestead, where the couple would give birth and raise their son Olymph Volden.
Gertrude’s parents Erick Lassessen and Ingeborg Overbrende left for the United States after a family timber dispute. They arrived in Renner in approximately 1902 where they raised Gertrude from childhood to adolescence. In 1910, Gertrude’s parents decided to file for a homestead in Harding County (GLO Accession No. 579952). Rather than travel with them, Gertrude stayed behind in Renner working as a seamstress. She met Olymph and they eventually married in 1916.2
After their marriage, Gertrude and Olymph settled on his family’s farm – the homestead that his grandfather claimed in 1878. His grandfather had proved up on the land, but the challenges that defined homesteading continued. Maintaining the farm was full of hard work and uncertainty. Days were long and chores never ended. The Voldens and their neighbors faced drought, bad weather, and money shortages, particularly in the 1930s. The Voldens and their neighbors depended on each other for work tasks on the farm and for social support. They were active in the local 4-H club and the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Renner. Gertrude and Olymph would raise seven children over the course of their 50 year marriage, and expanded the acreage of the farm.
Homesteading defined the Lassesen and Volden family’s history. Gertrude’s choice to stay in Renner and not join her family on their new homestead claim showed a self-reliance that was not common for girls her age. Working as a seamstress provided income and put her in contact with many of her neighbors like Olymph Volden. Together, their lives were defined by hard work, community, and stability when isolation often took a toll. Homesteading was not only about settling land, but building a life and a community. Gertrude and Olymph built their life on the Volden family farm, continuing the legacy of homesteading that defined much of their family’s stories and the origins of their relationship.
By John Mortrude and Maxwell Chakrabarti with research support from Augustana University
Bibliography
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The Daily Argus-Leader (Sioux Falls, SD), August 22, 1940, 2. Accessed via ProQuest September 26, 2025. https://augie.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/august-22-1940-page-2/docview/2049706434/se-2
Edlefsen, David. How the West Was Claimed: The Homestead Act and the General Allotment Act. Paper presented at the Western Political Science Association conference, San Francisco, March 31, 2018. https://www.wpsanet.org/papers/docs/WPSA_HtWwC.pdf.
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Land Patent Under Ole Thomasen, August 20, 1878. General Land Office, Bureau of Land Management. https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=SD1090__.086&docClass=STA&sid=xiv5l5ks.j0c#patentDetailsTabIndex=0
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United States. Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Mapleton Township, Minnehaha County, South Dakota. Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration. “Minnehaha, South Dakota, United States Records.” FamilySearch. Image 329 of 837. Accessed September 26, 2025. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9M1-R8RF?view=explore
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