"When the Reverend Halvor Ronning, his sister Thea, and fellow missionary Hannah Rorem set out in 1891 to found a Lutheran mission and school in the interior of China, they could not have foreseen the ways in which that decision would ripple across generations of the Ronning family. Halvor and Hannah would marry, and their son Chester, born in Hubei Province in 1894, would spend over half his life in China as a student, teacher, and a Canadian diplomat. Chester’s daughter, Audrey, studied at Nanking University during the Chinese Civil War and later spent decades reporting on the People’s Republic of China for the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and many other publications. 

“During the last century,” [book author] Audrey Topping notes, “a member of our family was there for almost every event of importance.” China Mission presents a personal history of her family’s ties to their adopted home and the momentous events that radically changed one of the most powerful countries in the world. 

  Introduction by the author Gracia Grindal of Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, "Torbjørg (Thea) Nilsdatter Rønning (1865-1898), was born on a farm outside the town of Bø in Telemark, Norway. Thea and her two brothers, Nils Nilson and Halvor Nilson, immigrated to America in the 1880s. All three distinguished themselves in God's service." 

E. Clifford Nelson in The Lutherans in North America (Revised Edition, 1980) points out, as does Grindahl, that the Ronnings were formed in the Norwegian Lutheran tradition later identified as the Hauge Synod.  "In 1890 an independent Norwegian Lutheran China Mission Society was organized. Early missionaries were Daniel Nelson, Halvor N. Ronning and his sister Thea, the pioneer vanguard of the many American Lutherans who served in China." (p. 280). 

Thea married Carl Landahl. Following Thea's death Carl remarried and the Ronnings and Landahls remained close.

Nils Nilson Ronning, bother to Thea and Halvor also attended the Redwing Seminary in Minnesota (Hauge Synod) . He went on to have a distinguished career as a writer., editor and publishing including work for  the Augsburg Publishing House of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America. Particularly, he advanced the preservation of Norwegian pioneer heritage in North America. His book Fifty Years in America  can be read online here.

See also the Scholarly article Travel Narratives, Popular Religious Literature, Autobiography: N. N. Rønning's Contribution to Norwegian-American Culture by Øyvind T. Gulliksen and the Excursus on Thea and Nils by Mark Granquist in A New History of Lutherans in America, 2015.

 The Ronning family left China in 1899 after eight years in the field for "furlough." They narrowly missed perishing in  the "Boxer Rebellion" some considerations of which  are available through the  Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada.

For a brief biography in the Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity, see: 

https://bdcconline.net/en/stories/ronning-halvor

 The Hauge Synod seminary at Redwing, Minnesota where Halvor and Nils studied (while Nils and Thea determined to head to China)  is described by E. Clifford Nelson (The Lutherans in North America, 1980, p. 289), as being more "pietistic and lay-oriented"

While home in North America on furlough the Ronnings connected with the Norwegian Lutherans from Bardo (USA) who were looking to move to Canada. They established  Norden  (later known as Bardo) in Alberta. 

In 1907 Hanna died in China and and Halvor returned to North America with their children to Bardo, Alberta, where they joined the congregation.

In 1912 Halvor married Gunhilda Horte, The Ronnings and Horte's were among the founders of the Lutheran congregation in the community they named  Valhalla, Alberta.Later Chester would marry Inga Horte Gunhilda's sister. 

The Bardo congregation produced many missionaries.  More details are available in the  publication for the 75th Anniversary of the congregation at Bardo. as found at https://archive.org/stream/P011258/P011258_djvu.txt

 Image Source: "China Mission: The Chester Ronning Story," a 1980 film by Tom Radford for the National Film Board of Canada (www.nfb.ca). 

 For more on Hannah Rorem see: https://www.arisefromthedust.com/hannah-ronning-missionary-to-china/  

"When word got around that Hannah and Thea had started a foundling home, dozens of castoff infant girls were left at the mission gate." 

Hannah (Rorem) Ronning died in   Phin Chin, China with seven children left in the care of her husband  Halvor. The Mission in China relied on the approach of the women and Thea and Hannah were both gone at this point. It is essential to read the early stories of them women and not simply the ordained men.

See also 

 Watch this video made with the cooperation of the Ronning Family to learn more about the changing perspectives of Hannah and Halvor. 

From "Family Reunion in China" February 12, 1984 New York Times Magazine by Audrey Ronning Topping:

  "The next day, we walked along the top of the great city wall of Fancheng's twin city, Xiangyang. It was on this wall that Hannah and Halvor had found their first abandoned baby girl. I heard the story first from my Grandfather, who married again and lived to a ripe old age in Canada. After church one morning in 1893, as he and grandmother strolled along the wall, they noticed a dog sniffing a pile of red rags. Suddenly they heard a piteous cry. Halvor ran ahead, kicked the dog away and knelt over the bundle. He saw a trembling, blue- faced baby girl not more than a day old. She had been left to die. Hannah picked up the infant and rushed her home. Halvor baptized her Lydia, and she grew up as one of the family. When word got around that Hannah and Thea had started a foundling home, dozens of castoff infant girls were left at the mission gate. 

.See the entry for the Canadian Encyclopedia available at https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chester-alvin-ronning

 The New York Times Obituary upon the death of Chester A. Ronning. can be found at the publication on Section 1, Page 34, January 1, 1985, 

 The LA Times obituary indicates that after teachers training Chester "Ronning returned to China to teach at a school his father had founded, but was forced to leave during the upheaval at the end of the Great Revolution in 1927. He became president of Camrose Lutheran College that year.." 

A blogpost on is here on the making of China Mission: The Chester Ronning Story.

The actual film by the National Film Board can be seen digitally at  https://www.nfb.ca/film/china_mission_the_chester_ronning_story/

University of Alberta Historian Brian Evans wrote the book on Chester and Inga Marie (Horte) Ronning,closing common gaps left by many biographers who failed to notice that Inga was on the global journey too. .A YouTube video is available at 

https://youtu.be/dLAmpp0OQuI?t=5

Inga Marie Horte and Chester Ronning first met in 1908 in Dorenlee near Camrose in 1908 after Chester and his siblings were brought to Alberta from China by their father Halvor after the death of their mother Hannah. 

Inga Marie was the youngest sister of Gunhilda Horte whom Halvor took for his second wife in 1912.

Chester and Inga Marie married in 1918. She became a missionary to China and a partner in foreign service.

Talbert Ronning served in China, the years are difficult to discern,

 They were members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as residents of the USA. It does not seem that they were ever located in Canada. 

Talbert Rorem Ronning is another successful son of Halvar Ronning. He completed his M.A. Thesis on  The Hauge Synod Mission Enterprise in China, by Talbert R. Ronning, 1930. for Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN in 1930. In 1931 he married Ella G. Gryting who after returning from China would complete her own M.A. at the Kennedy School for Mission. He is described as an "LUM Missionary" by some sources, he was a pastor for St. Timothy's Chicagop. 

A photo in China Mission indicates Talbert and Ella  had at least one child in China (1932).

See also the Book Christianity in China online to search

Chicago Tribune Obituary for Talbert Ronning

Regarding Talbert and Ella in China in the 1970s, read this New York Times article 

https://www.nytimes.com/1979/03/20/archives/jesuits-say-china-has-not-asked-them-to-return-order-eager-to.html

 Dr. Audrey Topping (PhD,), is the oldest child of Chester and Inga Ronning, and an award winning writer. She studied at Nanking University during the Chinese Civil War and later spent decades reporting on the People's Republic of China for the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and many other publications. Image and more available here.

"During the last century," Audrey Topping notes, "a member of our family was there for almost every event of importance." China Mission presents a personal history of her family's ties to their adopted home and the momentous events that radically changed one of the most powerful countries in the world. 

 By Audrey Topping While  The crowd led us around the wall and down a narrow street. ''Clear the way,'' called the elderly man. '' Lao Fuzi is back. They want to see the old church.'' Finally we found it, hidden behind a wall that had been built in front of it. It was a pathetic sight, only a shell of its former self. Laundry hung on poles from gaping holes that had once been adorned by stained- glass windows. Lumber was stacked against the outer walls, but we could see the cross carved into the cement under the eaves. The altar and pews were gone. In their stead was a carpenter's workshop. We were terribly upset: ''Look what they have done to grandpa's church!''The elderly man who had led us there wrung his hands and smiled apologetically. ''We are sorry about the church,'' he said, ''We are using it as a workshop to build houses for the poor.''''Who are you?'' I asked.''I was a student of your father's. I went to his school. I have known your family all my life.''I called Dad over to take a picture of the two of them. Tears came to the old man's eyes as he grabbed Dad's hand and welcomed him back to his birthplace.Then others came forward. ''I remember your mother, she saved me.''''I went to school with you.''''My mother was your baby amah.''They all wanted photos with Lao Fuzi. Dad was deeply touched.''Don't worry about the church,'' he told them. ''It doesn't matter. It is being put to good use. Remember, Jesus Christ was a carpenter's son!''That night we celebrated Dad's 90th birthday. Family, friends and officials gathered around circular tables brimming with symbols of long life. The centerpiece was a butter-sculptured crane. The chef himself presented the last of the 16 courses: longevity noodles that hung over a foot long when held on high with chop sticks.