Although the parish register in Norway recorded his birth under the spelling "Ingebrett," most subsequent records have it as "Engebret" (with one or two T's). In Norway, he and his family lived on the Stigen farm located in the Ringsaker municipality of Hedmark County. This farm still exists and can be seen from the E6 highway, just northwest of Brumunddal. The farm overlooks the east arm of Lake Mjøsa. Since his name was sometimes recorded with "Dælieie" rather than "Stigen," he may also have spent some time at the nearby farm of Dæli or it simply may have been that Stigen was a sub-farm of Dæli. It is believed that he was not a farmer but rather a carpenter for the farm. A hand-carved wooden beer tankard that has been handed down through the generations is believed to have been made by Ingebrett. The emigration register shows that the family departed Ringsaker, 27-APR-1858, husband, wife and five children. It is not known what Norwegian port they sailed from, though Christiania (present day Oslo) would have been the closest. Their first destination in North America was Quebec, Canada, the most common port of entry for Norwegians from 1850 to 1865. From Quebec they made their way through the Great Lakes, entering the United States at Detroit, Michigan, July, 1858. From there they traveled to Wisconsin and settled on farm land about fourteen miles from La Crosse, and about four miles north of Neshonoc (an extinct village that was near present day West Salem). There he built a log house, 1-1/2 stories high, 14 x 20 feet, with a shingle roof, 2 board floors, 2 outside doors, and 6 windows. He also had a second log house on the property, measuring 14 x 16 feet. He then applied under the Homestead Act to obtain an adjoining 40 acre parcel. To qualify for the Homestead, in May of 1866, he began cultivating the government land, putting up about 40 rods of rail fence and breaking about half an acre of land. Then he constructed a new log house, similar in construction to the first house. Additionally he built a 12 x 14 foot frame barn, a log stable and planted some fruit trees. On 18-Nov-1871, Engebret was granted U.S. citizenship, the final requirement for the Homestead. On 01-Oct-1872, Engebret was officially granted a Homestead certificate for the 40 acres (SE 1/4 of SW 1/4 of Sect. 10, Twp. 17 N, Range 6 W, 4th Principal Meridian). He sold the original farm and moved permanently onto the new farm. The official court records noted that the land was "rocky and bluffy and not susceptible of much cultivation." [574], [3425]

A land ownership map of Hamilton Twp. published in 1874 shows the farm labeled “E. O.Stigen” [2437]