CURRENT PROJECTS
The Lawrence House and Studio
About the H.W. Lawrence Family
Norway to Minnesota
Haakon Waldemar Lawrence (1867 – 1950), the man who would become Ellsworth, Wisconsin’s most significant photographer, was among thousands of Norwegians leaving their land-poor country in the 19th century for better opportunities in America. One of ten children born to Ingebrigt and Margarete Lorentzen of Trondheim, Haakon graduated from Norway’s common schools, clerked in a store and spent two years in compulsory military service before sailing across the Atlantic at age 24.
Had he remained in Norway, he most likely would have been known as Haakon Ingebrigtsen, or “Haakon, son of Ingebrigt,” but upon arrival in New York City in October 1891, he registered his last name as Lawrence, an Angicized version of Lorentzen. Many Norwegian immigrants discovered that Anglicized surnames were easier for Americans to pronounce and spell than those in Norwegian and often simplified assimilation into American culture.
After working for 18 months in a Manistee, Michigan light plant, Haakon moved west to Red Wing, Minnesota, where in 1893 he became an apprentice of photographer James D. Kellogg. He then struck out on his own to set up a gallery in Dodge County, Minnesota. While living in Mantorville, he met and courted 18-year-old Julia Anna Carlson (1877 – 1962), the daughter of Norwegian immigrants Ole and Kjirsten “Clara” Carlson from neighboring Canisteo Township. The handsome couple wed in February 1896.
Haakon and Julia’s first daughter Hilma arrived the following December. The young family then moved to Claremont, Minnesota. Before long, though, the photography business grew “dull” and Haakon looked for greener pastures. Hayfield, Minnesota, seemed to hold promise so he moved his family and gallery there in 1898 and promoted his business energetically.
Two additional Lawrence children arrived in Hayfield – sons Clarence Oscar in May 1899 and Walter Beckman in December 1901. But after five years, Haakon’s photography business needed new customers. He moved his family and photo gallery in early 1904, this time to Kasson, Minnesota. Despite traveling to other communities to take portraits, it appears that Haakon found business in Kasson inadequate. He could not ignore a new business opportunity, one in which his family’s future would not be determined by a fickle farm economy. By November 1904, he was on his way to Ellsworth, Wisconsin, where his sister Ida Isa Bye had settled. Julia and the children remained behind with Julia’s parents until his business was established and the last Lawrence daughter, Opal Ida, was born.