Hi Tiffanie Anne,
Ordinarily we would tell you to do your homework but I am sure you are tired of hearing that at 16! ;-) I would like to think that the majority of people who post here are trying to do or learn genealogy and the process. You are doing the right thing by asking the questions of your living relatives. This is like a giant puzzle where each and every piece is important.
You will need to do some work in the community in which they lived. Bruseth isn't a hugely common name but I would not go so far as to say that every one of them is related to you. There are other Bruseth or similar spellings in Norway and these people are not related. As far as the Bruseth Estates...well...I hate to tell you....don't get too attached to the idea. Bruseth came from the farm where John lived at some point in his life. It remains to be seen if it is an estate. Our family oral histories are sometimes a bit grandiose.
As far as why people left Norway...well...one of the biggest reasons was there wasn't enough farmable land in Norway for farmers. The eldest son usually got the farm - if their fathers even owned one. The younger children were on their own. The US had free land waiting for the taking. Our Norwegian ancestors thought this was the promised land. It was a tough life but at least they ended up with something that was theirs. There are lots of good books if you are interested.
There is a good site for your area and there are some Bruseths recorded if you use the search engine.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~wasnohom/index.htm Since John was there early, I bet there are articles about him and his family in local histories. There was another Bruseth in the area who may have been John's relative - a Nels.
The US 1900 census says that John and Ellen were married 22 years at that time and had 11 children, 10 of which were living with them and recorded in the 1900 census. Julius F. is recorded so that is your Julius. It does say he was born July 1897 but it also says that he is 11/12 years old so he had to have been born in 1899 - just an entry error.
Ellen immigrated in 1870 and John 1872.
John is recorded as born in Sept 1850 in Norway. I can't find him in the Norway 1865 census.
You must go to
www.familysearch.org and click search and type in Bruseth. There is a bunch of them to sort out. Since that family was so huge, you'll find a lot of them will be yours.
I found another record that says Ellen Hilseth married a John A. Bruseth about 1880 in Stanwood and it refers to this John as having died 09 JAN 1926. BUT, you can't believe everything you see online. YOU NEED PROOF! That is the RULE in genealogy. Ok, so I found Olaf recorded with these same parents, John Anderson Bruseth and Elen Gundersdtr. Hilseth. Now Ellen is much easier to find. This is mostly likely her with her family in Norway in 1865
http://draug.rhd.isv.uit.no/ftsoek/ftsoek.asp?kommando=boste...Dictionary
http://home.online.no/~otjoerge/files/word.htmElen Gundersdatter hans Datter ug 1861 Qværnæs Prgj.
When looking for John in 1880, I found a likely candidate.
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp?P... John ANDERSON Self M Male W 29 NORWAY Farmer NORWAY NORWAY
Ellen ANDERSON Wife M Female W 18 NORWAY Keeping House NORWAY NORWAY
Anie ANDERSON Dau S Female W 1 DAKOTA NORWAY NORWAY
If this is them, Anie was born in SD -- SO were they really married in WA or somewhere else like SD. You need proof.
So, how much work do you want to put into this? It is always great to see a young person start this. You have your whole life to work on this - and that is what it often takes to get to the nitty gritty and prove it all so it is not just a hodge podge of guesses.
Ok, that is all for tonight. Maybe some of the others here will jump in and help with the Norway records to find your John or anything else I may have missed.
Stephanie