Johan Edvard Martinusson (John M) BYE

1869 - 1922  (52 years)

• Name	Johan Edvard Martinusson (John M) BYE
  Birth	28 Dec 1869	Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
  Gender	Male
  Baptism	4 Mar 1870	Stiklestad, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
  Confirmation	4 Oct 1885	Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota
  MN Death Cert Checked	Y
  Minnesota Death Certificate	1922-MN-010119
  Occupation	Grocer in his brother’s business, dealer in farm products
  Death	2 Jun 1922	Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota
  	St. Luke’s Hospital. Find-A-Grave says June 1st.
  Burial	4 Jun 1922	Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota
  	1:30 PM funeral at Bethlehem Lutheran Church
  Notes	Oleanna Johannesdatter, 43, and her four children (Jon Martinussen, 11, Marie Martinussdatter, 7, Anna Martinussdatter, 9, and Hans Martinussen, 5) left Norway on 5 April 1882 on the feeder ship Tasso to Hull, England. Their destination was Fergus Falls, Minnesota. He married his 2nd cousin. In the 1895 census, J. M. and Gertie are living in Fergus Falls. J. M. is a clerk. In the 1900 census, John is shown as 30, having been born in Norway in December of 1869. He and Gertie had been married 5 years. Gertie is 27, born in December of 1872, and has had two children, both still living. The children are Mabel, 3 (born June 1896) and George, 2 (born in August of 1897). John is shown as having emigrated in 1882, Gertie in 1892. John is a grocer. Gertie is shown as not being able to speak English. John owns his home without mortgage. In the 1902 Fergus Falls city directory, he and Gertie live at the west end of Channing Avenue. He is in business with his father as J M Bye & Co. at 103 Bismarck Avenue E. In the 1903 Fergus Falls city directory, he was John M Bye, a grocer with his business at 103 Bismarck Avenue E. He and Gertie resided at the west end of Channing Avenue. In the 1905 directory, he was John M Bye, a dealer in Groceries, Crockery, Glassware and Gents’ Furnishings at 103 Bismarck Avenue E. He and Gertie resided at 420 Channing Avenue W. In the 1905 state census, he and his family live on Channing Avenue in Fergus Falls. John is a grocery merchant. In the 1907 directory, his name is listed with bold letters but he has no occupation shown. He and Gertie still live at 420 Channing Avenue W. As J. M. Bye, he was one of the charter members of Trønderlag of America in 1908. This was (and still is) the bygdelag for emigrants and their descendants from the Trøndelag region of Norway. J. M. Bye, of Fergus Falls and from Vårdalen, was listed in the Trønderlaget’s 1910 yearbook. In that yearbook, J. M. is shown to have emigrated to the U.S. in 1882. In the 1909 directory, he is John M Bye, no bold letters or occupation or wife’s name shown. He lives at 420 Channing Avenue W. In the 1910 census, he is shown as age 40 and a widower; apparently a fairly recent widower because he has a one-year old daughter. John is a dealer in farm produce. He owned his home without mortgage. In the 1911 city directory, he is now in the grocery business with his brother Hans as part of the Hans P Bye & Co. with a store at 220 Lincoln Avenue W. He still lives at 420 Channing Ave W. John, his brother Hans, and perhaps their uncle Theodor were original shareholders of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Fergus Falls when it was organized on May 22, 1915. In the 1920 census, (incorrectly indexed as Beel) the family was living at 425 Channing Avenue in a home he owned without mortgage. The family is John, 50, no occupation, Mabel, 24, a school teacher, George M., 22, a clerk at the post office, John G., 19, a shipping clerk at a wholesale house, Myrtle T., 16, and Margaret, 10. John is shown as married. He came to this country in 1882 and is naturalized. His obit noted that he had been 20 years with H P Bye & Company on Washington in Fergus Falls but had retired on account of ill health. “One of his daughters teaches school at Stanley, N.D.” John M.’s Minnesota death certificate #1922-MN-010119. Another John Bye died in Otter Tail County on Jan 31, 1922. There was no such house as 425 Channing in 2008. John prepared his will on June 21, 1920. His brother was named as the executor of his will. That will was recognized by the probate judge of Otter Tail County on 6 Jul 1922. The terms of the will granted his wife a life estate on his homestead in the city of Fergus Falls. The rest of his property was to go to his children, “share and share alike.” The will notes that his wife is not included in the distribution of his personal property because John had a $2000 life insurance policy “payable direct to her.” According to the obit, John died “at 6:45 PM, “from apoplexy.” According to his death certificate, he died from a cerebral hemorrhage for which cardiovascular disease was a contributory cause. The doctor filling out the death certificate said that he confirmed the diagnosis of cerebral hemorrhage by the fact of “paralysis.” The informant for the information in John’s death certificate was his brother Hans. John was a retired merchant. He was married but the death certificate did not include a name for John’s wife. Hans knew that John’s father was M. E. Bye but all he knew of his mother, or at least all he had included in John’s death certificate, was “Olianna” with no last name. According to Mike, “John Bye put out ‘year plates’ for his grocery store and my mother has several of them with the dates.” His naturalization records: John M. Bye Otter Tail County Reel 2 Volume C Code 4 Page 434 and John M. Bye Otter Tail County Reel 6 Volume J Code 18 Page 273
  Person ID	I139	Don Carlson's Tree
  Last Modified	22 Mar 2022

  
  

  Father	Martinus Eliassen BYE,   b. 18 Aug 1847, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway d. 29 Nov 1932, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota (Age 85 years)
  Mother	Olianna Johannesdatter JOHNSON,   b. 27 Jan 1836, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway d. 26 Oct 1890, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota (Age 54 years)
  Marriage	18 Nov 1870	Vinne, Verdal (Vårdalen), Nord-Trøndelag, Norway
  Family ID	F41	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Grethe Johanna Mikalsdatter (Gertie) HAGA,   b. 20 Dec 1872, Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway d. 12 Oct 1926, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	4 Jun 1895	Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota
  	First English Lutheran
  Children	1. Mabel Oline BYE,   b. 2 Jun 1896, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota d. 15 Mar 1992, Multnomah County, Oregon (Age 95 years)   2. George Marvin BYE,   b. 28 Aug 1897, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota d. 10 Sep 1977, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon (Age 80 years)   3. John Gustave (Johnny) BYE,   b. 7 Sep 1900, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota d. 9 Apr 1976, Washington County, Oregon (Age 75 years)   4. Myrtle Theodora BYE,   b. 25 Aug 1903, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota d. 8 Feb 1967, Multnomah County, Oregon (Age 63 years)   5. Margaret BYE,   b. 7 Nov 1908, Fergus Falls, Otter Tail County, Minnesota d. 25 Jan 2004, Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona (Age 95 years)
  Family ID	F100	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	8 Sep 2015