Descendants of a pioneer family that settled near Argyle, Wisconsin in the 1850’s will gather on Sunday, August 13 at The General Store banquet venue, 7765 Cherry Road, Gratiot, WI (just NW of Wiota, WI) to visit, reminisce, and enjoy good company.  Many descendants with the surname Anderson reside near Stanley.  Other branches have fanned out to other locales and descendants now reside in many of the 50 states and parts of Canada.  It is estimated that there are now over 2000 living descendants from these families.

As to the Anderson branch of the family, it hearkens back to 1886, and the union between John Anderson and Gusta Gilbertson.

Gilbertson, the third daughter of Ole and Anne (Torstensdatter) Gilbertson, married John Anderson (a Norwegian immigrant) on October 9, 1886 at the Wiota parsonage in Lafayette County.  John and Gusta farmed near Fayette in Lafayette County and near Barneveld in Iowa County until 1912.  In that year, they moved their entire family of ten children, along with their farm animals, by train 200 miles north to the Stanley area.  They settled on a farm that they purchased in Worden Township, about four miles southeast of Stanley.  John’s sister, Karen, was already living in the area with her husband and five children and was, no doubt, instrumental in influencing the Anderson family to move to the Stanley area.  John and Gusta Anderson prospered on their farm near Stanley.  Their 10 children gave them 41 grandchildren who, in turn, then brought 131 children (great-grandchildren in to the world).  Many of these descendants still reside in the Stanley-Boyd-Cadott area.  Some of the family names that are prevalent in Clark & Chippewa County are Anderson, Arneson, Anason, Baldwin, Barthelmy, Hoeting, Konwinski, McGann, Nerdrum, Wagner, and Witt.

With several members now residing in the Stanley-Boyd area and planning to attend, this reunion will mark the 102nd anniversary of the first reunion held by members of this family line in 1921.  Attendees will begin gathering at 11 a.m. for coffee & bakery items.  Lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. and will be potluck style.  Attendees are asked to bring a hot or cold dish proportional to their family size.  The Gilbertson-Sogn reunion is held biennially and rotates between venues in Lafayette County and Clark & Chippewa County, Wisconsin where a large majority of descendants still reside.  Family members from Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, and California are expected to attend and, possibly, cousins from Norway.