Some Research Helps

Check with your local library (in America), most subscribe to Heritagequest, which has many biographical books online and census records up to 1920 that are searchable. Usually access is free and can be easily accessed from your home computer with a library card number.

Buy a Norwegian Dictionary, one of the best is "Norwegian-English Dictionary" by Einar Haugen. I use the "Engelsk blå ordbok" Engelsk-norsk / norsk-engelsk also. I also will use the "Engelsk/Dansk/Norsk Ordbog" by Martin Ulvestad from 1895 on occasion.

Illinois:
Illinois Biographies online
http://geneasearch.com/biography/states/illinois.htm http://www.illinoishistory.com/regbios.html
Illinois Genweb
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgenweb/il/ilfiles.htm
Multipe Searchable Databases in Illinois
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases.html

Wisconsin:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin Public Library Local Genealogy Indexes Obituaries (1904-1959) & (1983-Present) Births - by Parents' Name (1987-Present) Divorces (1992-Present) Marriages (1987-Present) Cemeteries (La Crosse County, WI)
http://archives.lacrosselibrary.org/
Waushara County Baptisms 1853-1880
http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn= MTMORRIS&spraak=n&metanr=2115
Western Wisconsin Scandinavian Obituaries http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wisobits/ Wisconsin Biographies online http://www.rockvillemama.com/wicountyindex.htm Wisconsin Genweb http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wigenweb/ Wisconsin Marriage - Bio's - Birth & Death Records up to 1907 http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/vitalrecords/index.asp Iowa: Chickasaw County, Iowa Baptisms 1857-1876 http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn= SAUDE&spraak=n&metanr=1938 Iowa Biographies online http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iabiog/cobios.htm Iowa Genweb http://iagenweb.org/ Scott County, Iowa Local Indexes to Search http://www.qcmemory.org/Default.aspx?PageId=203&nt=203 Winnebago County, Iowa Baptisms 1864-1891 http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn= mtpleas&spraak=n&metanr=1922 Winnebago County, Iowa Baptisms 1868-1890 http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn= Mtpleasa&spraak=n&metanr=1923 Winnebago County, Iowa Confirmations 1868-1890 http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn= Mtpleasa&spraak=e&metanr=1921 Worth County, Iowa Baptisms 1853-1881 http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn= chiaworb&spraak=n&metanr=1917 WPA 1930 Graves Registration Project http://iowawpagraves.org/