Anna (Aunli) Haugen was born on December 24, 1897 in Hemne, S©ır-Tr©ındelag, Norway, and was one of seven children by Ingeborg and Andreas Halvorson Aunli; her father, Andreas, was a fisherman and did odd jobs. She went to school, and attended church in Kyrksaeteroera, which was a forty-five minute walk away, where she was confirmed at age 14. After confirmation, she worked for two years as a housekeeper for a minister in Trondheim, and after she finished school, she worked on an estate haying. In March 1915, her older sister, Ellen, who was married and lived in North Dakota, sent Anna a ticket to come to the U.S. At that time, Anna was milking cows on a different farm in Selva, Norway, and she went home to Hemne and stayed with her family for a month before leaving. She went through Liverpool, England, and the ship had to travel a different route because of the threat from German war planes and submarines, a redirection that made the trip last two weeks instead of one.
From the description of Anna Aunli Lee Haugen Oral History Interview 1983. (Eugene Public Library). WorldCat record id: 658210580
