Thorbjorn N. Mohn
Encyclopedia
Thorbjorn N. Mohn was an American Lutheran church leader and the first president of St. Olaf College
.
municipality in Telemark
county, Norway
. He was a youngest of eight children of Nils Torbjornson Mohn and Ragnild Johnson Rui. He emigrated from Norway with his family in 1852 at age nine. The family first settled in Columbia County, Wisconsin
. Eventually they moved to in rural Dodge County, Minnesota
during 1860. He graduated in 1870 from Luther College
in Decorah, Iowa
, and from Concordia Seminary
in St. Louis in 1873. He was ordained into the Norwegian Synod during 1873.
, President of the Norwegian Synod. Mohn was called the following year as principal of the newly founded St. Olaf's School and pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minnesota
. St. Olaf opened on January 8, 1875 as an academy or preparatory school in an old public school building that the Northfield community had outgrown. The religious intentions of the institution were clear, but the school began without the official endorsement of any Lutheran church body.
The Anti-Missourian Brotherhood
began to function as an entity within the Norwegian Synod during 1886. About one third of its congregations left the Synod at its annual meeting in Stoughton, Wisconsin
during 1887. Thorbjorn N. Mohn was among the leading advocates of the anti-Missourian position together with Bernt Julius Muus
and John N. Kildahl
as well as Luther Seminary
Professor Marcus Olaus Bøckmann
. These dissenting "Anti-Missourian Brotherhood" congregations joined in 1890 with the Norwegian Augustana Synod
and the Norwegian-Danish Conference
to form the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
. The United Norwegian Lutheran Church first adopted and then abandoned St. Olaf as its official college. Mohn worked for the college's re-adoption by the Church, which came in being during 1899.
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
.
Background
Thorbjorn N. Mohn was born in Saude, SkienSkien
' is a city and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien. Skien is also the administrative centre of Telemark county....
municipality in Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
county, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. He was a youngest of eight children of Nils Torbjornson Mohn and Ragnild Johnson Rui. He emigrated from Norway with his family in 1852 at age nine. The family first settled in Columbia County, Wisconsin
Columbia County, Wisconsin
-Unincorporated communities:*Anacker*Belle Fountain*Durwards Glen*East Friesland*Harmony Grove*Ingle*Keyeser*Lake Wisconsin*Leeds*Lowville*Marcellon*North Leeds*Okee*Otsego-External links:***...
. Eventually they moved to in rural Dodge County, Minnesota
Dodge County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,731 people, 6,420 households, and 4,853 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile . There were 6,642 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...
during 1860. He graduated in 1870 from Luther College
Luther College (Iowa)
Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...
in Decorah, Iowa
Decorah, Iowa
Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,172 at the 2000 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S...
, and from Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary is located in Clayton, Missouri, an inner-ring suburb on the western border of St. Louis, Missouri. The institution's primary mission is to train pastors, deaconesses, missionaries, chaplains, and church leaders for the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod . The current president of...
in St. Louis in 1873. He was ordained into the Norwegian Synod during 1873.
Career
During May, 1873, Mohn received a call from the congregation of St. Paul's Norwegian Evangelical Church in Chicago from Herman Amberg PreusHerman Amberg Preus
Herman Amberg Preus was an American Lutheran clergyman and church leader. He was a key figure in organizing the Norwegian Synod.-Background:Herman Amberg Preus was born in Kristiansand, Norway...
, President of the Norwegian Synod. Mohn was called the following year as principal of the newly founded St. Olaf's School and pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minnesota
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
. St. Olaf opened on January 8, 1875 as an academy or preparatory school in an old public school building that the Northfield community had outgrown. The religious intentions of the institution were clear, but the school began without the official endorsement of any Lutheran church body.
The Anti-Missourian Brotherhood
Anti-Missourian Brotherhood
Anti-Missourian Brotherhood was the name of a group of Lutheran pastors and churches in the United States that left the Norwegian Synod. In 1872, the Norwegian Synod had been a co-founder of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America, along with the Missouri, Wisconsin, and...
began to function as an entity within the Norwegian Synod during 1886. About one third of its congregations left the Synod at its annual meeting in Stoughton, Wisconsin
Stoughton, Wisconsin
Stoughton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States and is a neighbor of Madison. It straddles the Yahara River about 20 miles southeast of the capital, Madison. Stoughton is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area...
during 1887. Thorbjorn N. Mohn was among the leading advocates of the anti-Missourian position together with Bernt Julius Muus
Bernt Julius Muus
Bernt Julius Muus was a Norwegian-American Lutheran minister and church leader. He helped found St. Olaf College.-Background:Muus was born in the parish Snaasen in Throndhjems Stift in Snåsa, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway...
and John N. Kildahl
John N. Kildahl
John Nathan Kildahl was an American Lutheran church minister, author and educator.-Background:Kildahl was born in Beitstaden parish , Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Kildahl emigrated as a boy from Norway to rural Goodhue County, Minnesota. He was educated at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa...
as well as Luther Seminary
Luther Seminary
Luther Seminary is the largest seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . Located in the Saint Anthony Park neighborhood of St...
Professor Marcus Olaus Bøckmann
Marcus Olaus Bøckmann
Marcus Olaus Bøckmann , also recorded as Marcus O. Bockman, was a Norwegian-American Lutheran theologian.-Background:...
. These dissenting "Anti-Missourian Brotherhood" congregations joined in 1890 with the Norwegian Augustana Synod
Norwegian Augustana Synod
Norwegian Augustana Synod was a Lutheran church body in the United States from 1870 to 1890. The group's original name was the Norwegian-Danish Augustana Synod in America. The name was shorted in 1878.-Background:...
and the Norwegian-Danish Conference
Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America usually called the Conference was a Lutheran church body that existed in the United States from 1870 to 1890, when it merged into the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America....
to form the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America was the result of the union formed in 1890 between the Norwegian Augustana Synod , the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America , and the Anti-Missourian Brotherhood .In 1897, a group of churches left the UNLC and...
. The United Norwegian Lutheran Church first adopted and then abandoned St. Olaf as its official college. Mohn worked for the college's re-adoption by the Church, which came in being during 1899.
Other sources
- C. A. Mellby, St. Olaf College through Fifty Years, 1874-1924 (Northfield, Mn. 1925)
- Johan Arnd AasgaardJohan Arnd AasgaardJohan Arnd Aasgaard was an American Lutheran church leader.-Biography:Johan Arnd Aasgaard was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota. He was educated at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota . He graduated from the United Church Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota...
, ed., Quarter Centennial Souvenir of St. Olaf College, 1874-1899 (Northfield, Mn. 1900) - Ingebrikt GroseIngebrikt GroseIngebrikt Fredrick Grose or Ingebricks F. Grose was an author, college professor and founding president of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota.-Background:...
. The Beginnings of St. Olaf College (Studies and Records, 5:110-121. Northfield, Mn. 1930)