Lutheran pastor history:
1930-31 Mahnomen,MN
1931-39 Williston, ND
1939-46 Menomonie, WI
1946-53 Parkland, WA
1953- Madison, WI

Thesis for 1942 Th.D. degree: “The Authority of Scripture according to Martin Luther.”

Ernest Bennet Steen was born in Clinton, Minnesota on July 31, 1901. He passed away on January 26, 1997 at the age of 95. Ernest received his B.A. degree from Luther College of Decorah, Iowa, his C.T. degree from Luther Theological Seminary of St. Paul, Minnesota, his M.Th degree from Princeton Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey, and his Th.D. from New York Theological Seminary of New York, New York.

For almost seventy years he served Lutheran congregations in Mahnomen, Minn.; Williston, N. Dak.; Menomonie and Madison, Wisc.; Parkland, Wash.; and Mesa and Kearney, Ariz. He traveled extensively; wrote numerous articles and books, and was an accomplished musician, choir director and liturgist. He was also active in many sports, especially golf where he had his last hole-in-one at the age of 89.

Ernest was married to Inez V. Ingebrigtson Steen in June 1929 until her death in January of 1994. He is survived by his five children: sons Ernest L. and his wife Barbara of Newtown, Penn.; Paul J. and his wife Judy of San Diego, Calif.; Rev. David S. and his wife Lorilie of Olympia, Wash; James R. of Seattle, Wash., and daughter Ruth I. and her husband Rev. Kenneth DeFor of Bloomington, Minn.; 19 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren; sister Mrs. Beatrice Boe and brother Julian Steen; several sisters-in-law, nephews, and nieces.

-- Funeral Bulletin, January 1997

See http://www.steen-frost.org/Pub/Docs/Steen_files/1981_Farm_Life.pdf for Ernest’s humorous account of life as a young boy growing up on a farm in western Minnnesota.

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On Norwegian Immigration ...

“Norway has been called "Nature's Wonderland". The description is espeoially apropos for the fjord oountry in western Norway with its majestic mountain ranges, its scenic fjord waters meandering through rock fortresses that are indescribably awesome, and the thundering waterfalls that emerge from the rock walls and plunge into the waters below. It 1s an unforgettable experience to travel by boat through the fjords of Norway.

“The people, before the modern era and before rapid travel means were developed, lived in isolation. The world, in their experience, was oircumscribed by nature's barriers of rock and water. True, there were those who sailed the ocean to fish. There were the early Vikings, also, who travelled far on marauding expeditions. But most people were confined to their limited areas with limited opportunity for cultural and language exchange with other sections of Norway. Many dialects developed that, in some instances, were as different as foreign languages.

“Gradually news filtered in from the United states about wonderful opportunities which were denied them in the restricted fjord country where they lived. Population growth had created problems and limited opportunities in the restricted areas where they lived. Then followed a mass exodus that populated the [American] midwest especially and other areas to a lesser extent until finally there were more Norwegians in the United states than in Norway.

“The writer's personal interest in the following geneological s~ centers in the faot that ancestors from Nordfjord were among those who emigrated in the 19th century and arrived in the midwest to become, for the most part, tillers of the soil in open spaces that were not restricted by rock walls, water and over-population. This study will attempt to trace the family lineage back as far as possible to develop a more complete understanding of the roots from which present personalities have grown.”

-- Introduction to Family Tree, Ernest B. Steen, 1981,