history of Butte (Minot, Velva, Turtle Lake: house, high school, living in)

[historygirl]

Hi all, Does anyone know of material about the earliest history of the area-Dogden (Butte) etc? Does the centennial book of Max cover this area? My great-grandparents lived there 1905ish to maybe early teens or beyond, and would love to get the feel of what their life was like. Thanks from a Californian.

[Kamsack]

Originally Posted by historygirl

Hi all, Does anyone know of material about the earliest history of the area-Dogden (Butte) etc? Does the centennial book of Max cover this area? My great-grandparents lived there 1905ish to maybe early teens or beyond, and would love to get the feel of what their life was like. Thanks from a Californian.

Here is all I could find about Butte ND in McLean county ND...
Links on the main web page may help you out more.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~ndmclean/Mc...s/ButteTwp.htm

My wife's parents grew in up in the Velva area just north of your area in question and currently live between Max and Minot. Very open area but somewhat hilly at times. Farming is the mainstay with very small towns.

Dan

[historygirl]

Thanks, Dan. I was also able to find out a bit more from some history books. It's funny to think it was more populated in 1910 than it is now.

[tim042849]

I grew up on a farm south of Turtle Lake, which is south and west of Butte,
to the best of my memory. Mind you, I have been in Alaska since 1971, but
still have much family in that area. My father, who still lives on the family
farm is 96 and slipping into dementia. His current memory is not at all
reliable, but I'm am going to try to quote from my memory what he has told
me about the Butte area.

At one time there were people in the Butte area who described themselves
as being of Russian descent. It is likely that their ancestors were Germans
who first migrated to Russia, perhaps during the adminstration of Katherine the
Great, and then to North Dakota.

My last name is Johnson, I believe that there people now living in the Butte
area with the last name Johnson. Not related to my family, but probably
known to my family, and perhaps a wife originally from the Turtle Lake or
Coleharbor area.
Referencing the link in the first post to this thread, I see mention of Ruso.
I knew people from Ruso, their name was Ravnaas. I believe that Lui Ravnaas,
once a teacher at Turtle Lake High School, still lives in Turtle Lake.
It is sad to see these little towns dwindle away. The farming life is a good life,
and it is farming that gives these towns there life, although I believe that
Turtle Lake has also benefited from a nearby coal mine. (Falkirk)
Tim Johnson

[lewabbie]

not sure why these folks are telling germans from Russia. I grew up South of Ruso and have and had many
relatives in the Butte, Ruso area. The are Russians with the majority of them coming from the Ukraine.
The German's were mainly in the Turtle Lake region. I have walked the Butte hills or Dogden hills many times.
I have also hunted there and picked Juneberries and chokecherries in them hills. lots of posin ivy also.

Lew

[hhwdavid]

Perhaps you can find something here

Germans from Russia Heritage Collection

[ttarasen]

Originally Posted by historygirl

Hi all, Does anyone know of material about the earliest history of the area-Dogden (Butte) etc? Does the centennial book of Max cover this area? My great-grandparents lived there 1905ish to maybe early teens or beyond, and would love to get the feel of what their life was like. Thanks from a Californian.

I came across this thread googling dogden butte. My great great grandfather came from the Ukraine and settle in Butte, ND in 1896. He was drafted into the Russian army against his will which back then was basically a death sentence. So he hopped on a boat with his wife and children and originally ended up in Virginia before coming to North Dakota. They where from a small villiage south of Kiev which i believe most of the Ukranians in the area came from. My dad knows the name of the villiage. They lost a child on the boat to illness. Our family name is Tarasenko. The butte area is mostly if not completely Ukrainian. You can tell by the "ko" on the last name.

My grandparents farmed in Butte and spoke English and Russian but did not teach their children the language because they wanted them to adapt. They are no longer with us but I still frequent the family farm to hunt. My cousin owns the top of the Butte's which is a somewhat high altitude hilly area which was well know to settlers and indians as a landmark. Indians lived in the Butte's and believed it to have Ghosts. "the ghosts of dogden Butte's". I think it was just coyotes howling lol.

History Girl, I am curious what is your family name.

P.S. I miss my Grandma's Borsch

[yvonnerg]

I am a descendant of a family that settled in Butte, ND in 1900. They came over from the Ukraine. I am trying to find out more information about them before they came to ND. Like their religion and reasons for coming. Who they came with and why. The name is Nechiporenko. They farmed there for several generations. Anyone have any info?

I see that ttarasen knows a bit. Maybe you can fill me in some more. Thanks!

[DevonTT]

I see I'm coming into the discussion very late--I hope the original posters still check back here from time to time! I am descended from Sinefon Kritsky (sometimes spelled Krietsky), husband of Lily Plesuk, who emigrated from Ukraine to Butte in 1900.

ttarasen, apparently there was a feud between your family and mine. According to my grandmother's oral history (transcribed in 1986), a man named Tarasenko staked out a claim west of Butte, then decided he didn't like the land because a creek ran diagonally through it and made it hard to plow. So he abandoned the claim. My great grandfather then claimed the land, but Tarasenko grumbled thereafter that the land had been stolen from him. I believe the homestead was in the SE corner of Section 6 in Dogden Township. I'd like to know exactly where my great grandparents' sod house was on that property. So far I haven't been able to find a plat map with a building marked on it.

My family came from a village in Ukraine called Tarascha, which is south of Kiev. There were other families in Butte from the same area.

[jecovli]

I also came across this thread googling Dogden Butte so I thought I would add what I know about my family as they too were from Ukraine in the Kiev region. The family name when my great great grandparents left Russia was Kolesenko. The name was changed to Covlin when they landed in the US. They started in Louisville KY and came to ND in the spring of 1900. They had 8 children and part of the family ended up in the Ruso area while the rest settled in the Dogden Butte area. Great great grandma's maiden name was Yakoshenko. Not sure if they retained that name or if it was changed.

I currently live in MN about 4 hours east of Dogden Butte, My wife and I are planning a trip out that way for later on this summer to see if we can find some of the family farm sites where these folks lived. If I come across any of the family names I read in previous posts I will update this one.