Jorgine Emilie Morck was born on April 12, 1878 in Vestvaag, Norway. Her father was Ole Benjamin Pedersen Vestvaag, and her mother was Else Marie Johansdatter. She was one of at least nine children, four sisters, and four brothers. Her father was a farmer on the Vestvaagan farm. She was baptized in Tjotta Church on June 9, 1878. She led a typical Norwegian childhood in the late 1800s. She had recollections of riding on homemade toboggans down the hill a few yards from their home. Years later, as an adult in America, Jorgine was asked to write down her memories of Christmas in Norway. A copy of her reply has been preserved, and is a rich picture of Norwegian life: Holiday food (lefse, sylte, fattigmann), carols sung (“Glade Jul, Hellige Jul”), Christmas Day worship (done at home – church was so far away), the 2nd Day of Christmas (visits from and to family, friends and acquaintances), etc.
When Jorgine was 20 years old, she married Hans Eldor Morck in Tjotta. Her first child was born when she was 21 years old, on February 23, 1900, Agnes Hansine. Her second child, Harald, was born a year later. In September 1902, Jorgine, her two children, and her father, Ole, left Norway to come to America. Her husband had already settled in North Dakota. They departed Liverpool October 1, 1902, and arrived in Philadelphia, PA on October 14. Jorgine was pregnant with her third child on this journey. She kept a detailed diary of the trip, and it has been passed town to her descendants. It is a treasured family record. Her two children contacted the measles on the voyage, and were deathly sick, along with Jorgine, when they arrived in Philadelphia. They were all hospitalized. Harald eventually died of complications at the age of 1 ½ years.
Two months after settling in North Dakota, Jorgine gave birth to her third child, whom they also named Harold. Jorgine believed that God had sent her 2nd son to take the place of her departed one. In June 1904, Elsie, their last child was born.
Just before arriving in Mandan, North Dakota, Jorgine’s eldest sister, Anna Bergetta died, and another older sister, Annette Marie, moved to the west coast of the United States. Jorgine and Hans eventually followed Annette and her family when they moved to Seattle, Washington in 1919.
Jorgine was accomplished in knitting, and many of her works are still around. She knitted an outfit for my sister’s, Janet’s, doll when she was a child. She was extremely close to her sisters and their families, with over 35 nieces and nephews. She was also very musical, and was a good guitar player in her younger years.
Her life in America revolved around her extended family and her local church. Jorgine was remembered as being very devoted to Christ. Her account of her emigration to America is full of prayers for God’s will to be done, His watchful eye on her family, and her confidence in his purposes for her life. She and Hans were convinced that Sundays were for rest, and that some “worldly activities” should be put aside on that day. Many years later, when her grandson, Jim (my father) married his wife, Nancy, Jorgine accused Agnes Jeffrey (her daughter, and Jim’s mother) of being a bad influence. When asked why, Jorgine replied that she had observed Nancy sewing on a Sunday, and Agnes should’ve mentioned something to Nancy about this.
Jorgine was also remembered as being the “matriarch” of the family. She very much was the strict and serious one of the family. However this didn’t prevent her loved ones from enjoying her. A story is told about one of her grandsons, Bill, who, as a young boy, played a joke on her. He took her bifocal eyeglasses from her nightstand while she was still sleeping, and painted a thin layer of glue on the lower part of the bifocals. She refused to get of bed that day, because she was convinced she had had a stroke! She, too, enjoyed joking with her loved ones. Nancy, her grand-daughter-in-law, remembers taking her baby, Janet, for a stroll in the buggy. Jorgine came along for the walk, too, and started expressing her disappointment with Nancy, in Nancy’s housekeeping, mothering, etc. Nancy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. As the walk came to a close, she was near tears, and couldn’t understand what she had done wrong. When she expressed her disagreement with Jorgine, Jorgine just smiled and said, “You don’t have any hiccoughs anymore, do you?” Nancy had been hiccoughing quite a bit before the walk.
Jorgine was widowed in 1942, and lived the remainder of her years with her youngest daughter, Elsie. She died on November 19, 1961, at the age of 83, in Seattle, of complications due to ovarian cancer. She is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Seattle.