My great grandfather was
Erick Anderson Himle (spelled Hemle on his gravestone in
Deerfield,
Dane County, WI). He was born in 1930 in Norway and died in 1900.
My grandfather, Edward
Cornelius, was born in
Dane County in 1877 and died in Fond du Lac about 1950. Of the nine children of
Erick and Ellen, Edward and Susan were the only two to have children, one each.
My father, one of the two,
Newman Edward
Himley, was born in 1918 in Minneapolis and died here in Edgefield, SC in 1998.
My father told me that
Erick Anderson was my great grandfather’s original name, but he changed it so as not to be confused with another man of the same name. I have often wondered how he came to the name Hemle/Himle.
In “ Early Norwegian settlers on Koshkonong
Prairie 1839-41”, a man named
ODD JOHANNESON HIMLE (Born: 15 Mar 1816; Died: 5 May 1893) is described as one of the earlier settlers in
Dane County.
There is also reference to a Himle farm in
Voss, Norway.
I have run across other Himleys but have no idea if my family is related. If not, my son, Matthew
Himley, is the last of the line.
James Edward
HimleyEdgefield, SC
jamesehimley@bellsouth.net