His name is spelled both Mikel, Michal and Mikkel, Mekkel, and alternate speling of his middle name as Tollefson. From Lokji farm.
He came to the US because he was the 2nd oldest son and did not inherit the farm. He and a cousin, Ole? Bakken, decided to go to America. He immigrated in 1886, and arrived in Boston on 19 Apr 1886 aboard the Catalonia from Queenstown, Ireland and Liverpool, England, age 20.
He and his cousin first went to Nebraska and worked as farm hands for several years. He then went to South Dakota where another relative was farming outside of Bristol, SD. His relative had 2 children, neither of whom wanted to be farmers, so Mikkel bought the farm for $600 (~1897).
He was lonely for his family (mother) and went back to Norway. He is recorded as sailing from New York to Liverpool aboard the either the Etruria, arriving Nov 1896; or aboard the Teutonic, arriiving on 28 Dec 1896. While there, he met Olaug, who wanted to meet the visiting American, and they were married during the winter of 1898. They traveled to Oslo by sleigh, before the ice melted on the large lake, and then to America. Immigration records for US Border Crossings show him returning as Mikel T. Loken with his wife Olaug on board the S.S. Laurentian, which arrived in Quebec from Liverpool on May 1st, 1898. It lists him as a Norwegian farmer (32), with his wife Olaug (25) from Christiania, destined for Bristol, Dakota. It says he was returning to Bristol, but she had not been in the U.S. before.
They lived in the chicken coop the first year until Mikkel could build a home. In 1900 (hard to read) he is listed in South Dakota as a farmer (36, NOR) born in Oct 1864 with his new wife Olga (27, NOR) and daughter Genia (11/12, SD). It confirms that he immigrated in 1886 and was naturalized, and his wife immigrated in 1898. Olaug had 1 child per year for the first 6 years then spaced them out every 2 years after that. Diapers did not always get washed before being put back on the baby. Most of the family was sent to Aberdeen, SD for school and lived together in a boarding home.
1910 census lists him as a farmer (46, NOR), married 12 yrs, who immigrated in 1886. He is with his wife and 8 children.
In 1920 he is listed as Michal Lokkan (55, NOR), a farmer who immigrated in 1886 (alien). It shows his wife Olga (46, NOR) as having immigrated in 1898, after they were married in Norway.
He is listed again as Mikel Loken (65, NOR) in 1930, although indexed as Laken. It says he was first married at age 33, and Olga at 24, both naturalized.
In 1940 he is listed as Michael Lokan (75, NOR) with wife Olga (65, NOR) and they are living with son Melvin, but have moved to Barnes Co, ND. Melvin is still single and a farmer, and it says they were living in rural Day Co, SD in 1935. Both Michael and Olga were naturalized.
They later moved back to Day Co, SD, perhaps when Melvin married.