Ellingson/Erlandson 1880's Ridgeway Iowa
Guess I will jump into the fray on the great Ellingson debate. My Great grandparents came from Norway - some in the family claimed it was a town called Gjovik - in the late 1880's and settled in Ridgeway, Iowa. They moved to Spokane, WA in the early part of the 1900's.
In 1980 I traveled to Ridgeway and saw the family burial plot and - lo and behold - it wasn't Ellingson at all, but ERLANDSON. To complicate the matter, one of my Great Grandfather's brother didn't like Ellingson or Erlandson and changed his name to BECK! Oh,those headstrong Norwegians! I've never been able to get back to Norway, but have good information on Carlius Ellingson and Martha Hansdatter and their descendents.
Would be happy to exchange information with any relatives out there. Barbara Ulrich