Norway, Days 11 and 12

On Day 11 in Norway, we took a tour of different farms in the area of Baerum, Norway, where ancestors had lived.  Some of the farms I visited were Bryn, Løken, Grorud, Skollerud, Burud, Bye, and Jordbaerhaugen.  Bryn, Burud, Løken, Skollerud, and Jordbaerhaugen are mostly important to my Christopherson (Kristoffersen) line I often blog about.  This line goes back from my grandmother's father.  Grorud and Bye are farms in the line of my grandmother's mother.  There were other farms I was not able to visit because of lack of time or the logistics of getting there, such as Burudhaugen and Stokker, but I received pictures of them from relatives.

Løken Farm today.  My ggg-grandmother, Ellen Hansen Christopherson
 was born and raised here.

Bryn Farm.  My ggggggg-grandfather (yes, 7 greats) moved from Stokker Farm
to Bryn Farm.  Four generations later, the line moved to Burud Farm.

Houses on Burud Farm (above and below).  Three generations lived on Burud.

Part of Burud today is a golf course.

Jordbaerhaugen Farm where my gg-grandparents, Jonette Kristoffersdatter and
Olaus Kristensen, lived.

Bye Farm.  Several generations on my grandmother's mother's line lived here.

In the afternoon, my grandmother's oldest brother's daughter (aka, her niece) came to visit us with some pictures.  There is an interesting story about my grandmother's oldest brother, John.  When he was born, my g-grandparent's were living in Midtskogen where my g-grandfather worked, tending to the telegraph lines.  But this place was far from civilization, so to speak, and my g-grandparents left their son with his aunt and uncle.  When they left Midtskogen and went to get their son, he didn't want to leave the people he now considered his parents.  I was told that my g-grandmother would say "never give away your children, even for a little while."  She obviously had regrets.  However, John was often visiting his biological parents and all his siblings.

The altar in Tanum Church (built circa 1200).

Day 12 was a Sunday, and we thought we would take advantage of the church services, so we could see the inside of our ancestral churches and also to participate in a Lutheran service.  First we went over to Tanum church in Baerum, which was built around 1200.  The inside was beautiful, and I took several pictures.  We found out that the old baptismal font had to be removed because it needed repair.  It was in the back room of the church, and I was able to see it.  It is about 300 years old and was used for many of my ancestors and even my brother.  Afterward, we drove over to Haslum Church, also a very nice church, and we stayed for their service.  There were two baptisms on this day, which was very nice to see.  I could well imagine a baptism during older times.  After the service, we walked around the cemetery.  The grounds are so lovely and peaceful. 

The baptismal font in Haslum Church (built
about 800 years ago).

For lunch, we went over to another cousin's home -- my father's cousin to be exact.  Several other relatives joined us, and we ate a lovely typical Scandinavian display of cold foods.  Later, when we had coffee, my father's cousin gave me a very thoughtful and wonderful gift.  She had been given a silver necklace with a cross pendant after my great-grandmother's death. and she decided to pass it on to me.  Wow.  I was rather emotional at the unexpected gift.  I have been wearing it quite often, and I was told it was something my g-grandmother Jørgine liked to wear often.  It was probably a gift from my g-grandfather Thomas.  Anyway, we had a wonderful time, and after all that food, we went to our next stop for dinner at the house of some old Italian-Norwegian friends.  Of course, they made a wonderful pizza I was barely able to eat because I was so full from my previous event.

Haslum Church

This marked the last day in Baerum.  The next day, we were to take a trip to Western Norway.  So stay tuned for those pictures and stories coming up soon!