Brithe P. Myhre née Pedersdatter Aasene, 1831-1894
Headstone GPS Coordinates:
Birth: 8 January 1831, Davik Indre, Davik, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway,
Death: 1894, poss. Crosby, Kitsap County, Washington
Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: Nils P. Myhre
American Revolutionary War Patriots*: None
Brithe Pedersdatter Aasene was born on January 8, 1831, in Davik Indre, Davik, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway, and was baptized on January 16, 1831. She was the eldest of four children born to Peder Jorgensen Aasene and Lizbeth Lasesdatter Skord, who spent their entire lives in the Davik area. Brithe was named in honor of both of her grandmothers, Brithe Josepsdotter Aasene and Brithe Johannesdatter Kirkejde, reflecting a cherished family tradition.
On June 21, 1856, Brithe married Niles Pederson Tejgen (Muri) Myhre in Davik Parish, Nordfjord Prosti, Norway. Niles had been born on June 5, 1829, in Innvik, Sogn og Fjordane, to Peder Michelsen (Mikkelsen) Teigen and Sara Andersdatter Scharsteen. He was the second of eight children. Prior to his marriage to Brithe, Niles is believed to have been married to Johanne Davidsdotter Nelson, though no marriage record has been found. Their son, Anders Nilson Muir, was born in 1849 on the Muri farm in Innvik. Niles later married Berte Marie Larsdotter on May 17, 1854, in Selje Parish, Nordfjord Prosti. Tragically, Berte and their infant daughter both died in childbirth on July 6, 1855, at the Myhre farm in Selje Parish.
When Brithe married Niles, she became both wife and stepmother, beginning a life marked by resilience and devotion to family. The couple settled on the Myhre farm in Selje Parish, where they raised seven children: Bertine Serene, Sise Patrine, Peder Martinus, Johan, Johanne Samuline, Paul Andreas, and Lars Mikal. Like many families of the era, they endured heartbreaking loss; only three of their children—Peter (Peder Martinus), Johanne, and Paul—survived to adulthood.
In 1888, at the age of 57, Brithe made the life-changing decision to leave her homeland. On June 1, she and Niles departed Bergen, Norway, emigrating to America with Niles’s son Anders Nelson and his family. (In Norwegian naming tradition, surnames were typically patronymic—based on the father’s given name. Thus, “Nelson” means “son of Nels.”) They arrived in America on June 7, 1888, seeking new opportunity and stability after decades of farming and family life in Norway.
By 1891, Brithe and Niles were living in Crosby, Washington, with the Qualheim family. Niles received two federal land grants of 160 acres each, located just north of Dyes Inlet in what is now Silverdale, Washington.
Niles died in 1893 at the age of 64. Brithe followed the next year, passing away in 1894. The causes of their deaths are unknown. They are buried together at Seabeck Cemetery. Their shared headstone reads:
“Nils P. Myhre 1829–1893 — Brithe P. Myhre 1830–1894 — At Rest.”
All three of Brithe’s surviving children eventually emigrated to Kitsap County. Her youngest son, Paul, continued farming and raising chickens on his father’s land. In 1909, Paul and Peter opened a sawmill along Clear Creek. Today, a major road in Silverdale bears the Myhre family name—a lasting tribute to the courage and determination of Brithe and her family, whose journey from rural Norway helped shape the community for generations to come.
Descendants of the Myhre family clarified that the name is pronounced like “Meyer.”