Sunday Biography Series -- Akoline Oleane Jakobsdatter Part III

I left off on my last post with Akoline/Oleane's roots in Sweden and her migration with her mother to Sarpsborg and the Fredrikstad area of Oestfold, Norway.  We also know she married a Swedish sailor who also emigrated to the same area of Norway and died at sea about 5 years later when their son, my gg-grandfather, Emil, was only 4 years old.  She then married another Swedish man, a shoemaker, and had two children with him, Hartvig and Harda, who were baptized at a very late age.  I had also never found the baptismal certificate for my gg-grandfather, her son from the first marriage to my ggg-grandfather Samuel, but he had been confirmed in the Lutheran church.

One day, I stubbornly decided I was going to find my gg-grandfather's birth/baptismal record... and that was that.  I had searched the Glemmen and Vestre Fredrikstad records time and time again with no luck.  But I decided to check all the diary and "other notes" digitized parish records.  It took a while, but I struck gold!  I found a note regarding Oleane and Samuel having a son, Emil Georg, on September 10, 1871.  I was ecstatic.  But why would this be in the "notes" section? I found the answer two pages prior to this note.  Another notation said: 7 February 1871, the spouses, sailor (”matros”) Samuel Andreasen, Swedish of birth, born 3 May 1841, and wife Oleane Johansdatter born 17 February 1850, living at Trosvigbjerget, have announced today that they have left the State Church (Statskirken) and will join the Methodist society. This occurred before my great-great grandfather was born; therefore, I was sure his birth record could be found in the records of the Methodist Church of Fredrikstad. (Unfortunately, I found these records were not available online; however, my father did manage, a few months ago, to receive a copy of my gg-grandfather's baptismal record from the Methodist Church -- very exciting to finally have this after so much hunting.)

7 February, 1871, my great-great-great grandparents leave the State Church for the Methodist Church. Østfold county, Glemmen, Parish register (official) nr. 8 (1862-1871), Other type of list 1871, page 510. Note: click on picture for larger viewing.

When I learned about the Methodist connection, I immediately told my father, who grew up in Norway, what I had found.  He was quite surprised about this as he had not heard much about Methodists in Norway, nor had he ever heard any mention of these facts in the family. My research shows that Methodism was introduced in Norway in 1853 by the Norwegian sailor Ole P. Peterson, who was from Oestfold and had been converted from Lutheranism while in America. The first Methodist Church in Fredrikstad was built in 1868. John Follesdal wrote an article on Rootsweb (here) where he explains how for several hundred years Norwegian law made membership in the Lutheran State church mandatory. Legal protection of religious freedom was not introduced in Norway until 1845 and allowed Norwegians for the first time to resign their membership in the Lutheran State Church, and also allowed non-Lutheran Christian congregations to be established. The dissenter law required that the local parish priest make an entry in the parish register when someone resigned their membership in the State Church. Parish priests were also required to enter information about the births, marriages, and deaths of dissenters in their parish registers, and dissenters were required to notify their local parish priest of these events. In addition, dissenters were required to maintain their own congregation registers, and once a year they had to submit a report to the amtmann, or county governor, detailing the births, marriages and deaths in their congregation, as well as a list of their members. The amtmann, in turn, passed this information on to the local parish priest. As a result, information regarding the births, marriages, and deaths of dissenters should have been included in the parish registers maintained by the parish priests, although this was not always the case.  (Again, see John Follesdal's article here.)

I soon found more religious dissent related to my ggg-grandmother when she married the second time, in 1877, to Lauritz Andersen, the shoemaker.  I already mentioned she had two children with him – Harda born in 1877 and Hartvig born in 1879.  I had found Oleane and Lauritz’s civil marriage record scribbled into the parish book without a number, and a notation that said “Anmeldelse fra Byfogden af 2/3-77,” which means, “notification from the Stipendiary magistrate March 2, 1877.”  As you may recall, her two children were baptized quite late, on the same day, when Hartvig was 8 years old and Harda 10 years old. On their baptismal records, it said their mother Oleane was no longer a member of the Methodist Church, but it also said their father was a Plymouth Brother and was in America – I am guessing he went there for missionary work.

When Harda Marie is baptized her mother is “forhenv. Methodist” (used to be a Methodist) and her father is a Plymouth Brother. Østfold county, Borge in Borge, Parish register (official) nr. I 8A (1887-1902), Birth and baptism records 1887, page 5.

Yet again, I was struck with a new religion to study. I had never heard of the Plymouth Brothers, but they still exist today and now prefer the name Christian Brethren. This religion began in Plymouth, England and spread throughout Europe in the 1860’s, Norway being one of the countries. The Plymouth Brothers are highly conservative and evangelical and focus on their Bible. Women also subordinate to the men in the church, so I wondered how Oleane was still married to a Plymouth Brother but joined the State Church again and had her children baptized as well. I soon found my answer with the record for Oleane’s fourth child by another man in 1890.  Apparently, she had a "fling" or romance of some sort with her much younger boarder!  They were never married.  The pastor noted in the record belonging to her new daughter that her husband, Lauritz Andersen, had gone to America 10 years ago, circa 1880, and that she had not heard from him in 6 years. In other words, when she had her two children by him baptized, he had already been in America for several years.  She was also still a "wife" without knowledge of her husband's whereabouts in America for several years during her fourth child's baptism.  Perhaps she did not expect he would come back when she had a relationship with the father of this child.

Birth record for Oleane's fourth child, Amine Mathilde.  The record says Amine is the daughter of the bachelor Martinius Johannesen and married woman, Oleane Johannesdatter.  The note in parentheses says she is married to Lauritz Andersen who went to America ten years ago and from whom she had not heard news in six years.  Østfold county, Borge in Borge, Parish register (official) nr. I 8A (1887-1902), Birth and baptism records 1890, page 30.

Stay tuned for part IV coming next Sunday on this Sunday Biography Series.
Part I found here.
Part II found here.

Treasure Chest Thursday

Kitchen towel embroidered by my great-great grandmother Hanna Marie Andreasdatter (Haugen) (1871 - 1943).  The initials H.H. stand for Hanna Haugen.

Memory Monday -- Sicily

Picture from http://stellasur.com/articles_7_Sicily.html

I have many memories of Sicily; they live in the corners of my mind and poke at me when something familiar, like the scent of baking bread, tickles my senses.  Then the movie in my head, the one that stars this jewel of the Mediterranean, speaks to me like a dear old friend.  I see the young girl I once was, hair flying in the warm wind, straddling the back of a Vespa, speeding through narrow, winding roads, the glitter of the sea seen in glimpses as I carom in and out of a white-washed-building-spattered landscape and the occasional thicket of wild olive trees. 

The Vespa in my mind evolves into a small Fiat packed like sardines with family and friends, ascending and plunging over the hills of volcanic streets while hugging the curves with Formula-One-like maneuvers.  If I close my eyes, I can see the orange trees whizzing by, and the open window that lets in centuries old fragrant gusts -- relished smells of old stone buildings, sweet country wine, and, yes, that savory peasant bread that started this all in the first place.  The Mediterranean hugs the landscape as we drive higher on the rocky cliffs. The bright sun glares off the arid terrain and makes halos over the hot-pink bougainvillea flowers. I glimpse a crumbling Greco-Roman ruin and a gray-stoned, medieval castle in the distance.

Sometimes, when I close my eyes, I can smell the air. Citrus. Jasmine. I can almost imagine opening my eyes to the view of Mt. Etna smoking in the distance. The sea surrounding it is always bluer than topaz. And it is the same view my ancestors witnessed.  I think to myself, Yes, I have been here before when my ancestors watched the volcano spew its lazy plume of smoke; when they dreamed their dreams while looking out at the sea's horizon.  I have been here many times... because they all still live in me.

Sunday Biography Series -- Akoline Oleane Jakobsdatter Part II

My last blog post regarding my ggg-grandmother Akoline Oleane Jakobsdatter left off where I found out she was born in Sweden, in Tanum Parish--Göteborgs och Bohus län (Bohuslän).  She had also married my ggg-grandfather Samuel Andreasen, who was also from Tanum Parish in Sweden.  Of course, I right away wanted to take a trip into Swedish records, but I had never searched them before.  The other problem was I really needed a birth date for Akoline (or rather Oleane, as she seemed to be named in most records I was finding).

I had learned from my father's cousin in Norway that Akoline/Oleane had had three husbands, so I hoped that in finding more records belonging to her that one of them would have a birth date.  I assumed Akoline would have stayed in the same area after her first husband Samuel died and decided to search both the Glemmen and the Vestre Fredrikstad marriage records.  I calculated a death date for Samuel based on my father's recollection of his great-grandfather telling him his father had died when he was around four years old.  I then searched the marriage records, pretty much one name at a time, until I hit the names Oleane Jakobsdatter and Lauritz Andersen (a shoemaker), where it was noted both were born in Sweden.  Interestingly, they did not have a number next to their registration, and it looked as if the pastor had squeezed their names into the books as an afterthought.  I soon realized the marriage was a civil marriage that had been recorded in the parish book.  The civil marriage record number was noted by the pastor. 

As I looked at the names of Oleane and Lauritz Andersen, something looked familiar.  It finally struck me -- I had seen the combination of names before.  As you may recall, my last post stated that the 1900 census showed my great-great grandfather living in Moum Soendre Farm with his family and three people I did not recognize.  I don't know why the census-takers never recorded he was living with his mother, but I took a good look at that record and realized that the Lena Andersen listed had to be Oleane with her husband's surname, and there were two children listed with birth years and place of birth as well.  But Lauritz Andersen was not living with them, so I figured he was probably dead.  However, I had to find her children's birth records to prove my theory that Lena and Oleane were the same person.  I searched the Glemmen baptismal records (the same parish where Oleane's and Lauritz's marriage had been recorded) for children and found two, Harda and Hartvig.  They had both been baptized as older children, 10 and 8, respectively.  They each had godparents I recognized, and Oleane Jakobsdatter and Lauritz Andersen were named as the parents, so I knew I had the right people.  But why were these children baptized so late?  I was coming to realize that Oleane didn't quite do things as expected.  And now I also had a third variation of her name -- Lena.  Anyway, more details on her children's late baptisms will follow on another post; instead, I will focus on her Swedish roots and her arrival in Norway.

I now had a few records that tied together, and the marriage record for Akoline/Oleane had a birth date -- 17 February, 1850.  Sweden, here I come!  I researched a bit regarding finding records from Sweden and soon found out I had to pay a subscription to access these records with Genline.  I have since learned there is an "equivalent" site to the Digitalarkivet site of Norway (found here) that seems cheaper; I have used the latter site on a free trial, and it is very easy to use.  But back then, I only knew about Genline, which was not financially feasible for me at the time... so I did the next best thing -- I posted a request on the Swedish forums on Ancestry.com.  Amazingly, I received a response within an hour containing information from Oleane's birth record, her household examination record, and her emigration to Norway!

One interesting thing I learned was that my ggg-grandmother was named "Olleana" in her baptismal record, and there was no "Akoline" anywhere to be seen.  This still puzzles me; also, Akoline is a very unusual name, so it must have some meaning that she used it.  In any case, Oleane was born the 17th of February and baptized the 24th of February, 1850.  She was the illegitimate daughter of the farmhand maid Helena Magnusdotter (31 years old) who lived "under" Rungtung in that parish.  The record elaborates that Helena "lives with a soldier, Johan Jakob Ruth, but has a child from another."  Witnesses were Soldier Hvällberg from the croft under Kvarlös in that parish, Catharina Olsdotter in Kålstad in that parish and Anders Magnusson from the same place, and Carolina Olsdotter in Underslös in that parish.  Wow!  No one in Norway who knew some things about Akoline that had been passed down knew any of this!  Oleane used the names Johansdatter and Jakobsdatter, but Johan Jakob Ruth was not her father.  As was often the case with illegitimacy, the father's name was not given in the record, and I wonder if she ever knew it since she uses a surname derived from her non-biological father.  Household examination rolls show that Oleane grew up with Johan Jakob before leaving with her mother for Norway in 1863, and her mother and Johan Jakob did have other children together, although they never married.

Akoline/Oleane's baptismal record (click on picture to view)

On the 14th of December, 1863, thirteen-year-old Oleane and her mother Helena Magnusdotter crossed the border to a new life in Norway; they were headed to Sarpsborg.  I have since learned that during this period in the 1800's, Norway was "America" to many Swedes from the Bohuslän region, who flocked to the Fredrikstad area in search of work in the sawmills and stone-cutting quarries.  My father sent me a link to a site that tells the history behind a play in Norway called "The Barefoot Girl."  Apparently, Swedish girls walked the miles barefoot from Bohuslän, Sweden, into the Fredrikastad area because they did not want to wear out their shoes.  If this is true, then December may not have been the best month for Oleane and her mother to emigrate!

Emigration record for Oleane and her mother Helena Magnusdotter (click on picture to view)

On the next installment of Sunday Biography Series, Akoline/Oleane searches for her religion... and the truth behind her "third husband"...

Wordless Wednesday -- Four Generations in One Picture

Left to right: my grandparents, Gyda Kristiansen (holding my father) and Thorolf Haugen; my great-grandparents, Thomas Haugen and Joergine Ludvigsdatter; and my great-great grandparents Hanna Andreasdatter and Emil Samuelsen Haugen

Happy Mother's Day

Since today is Mother's Day, I will have to push my Sunday Biography Series to next week.  Instead, I want to say thanks to the women who have been in my life...

A Mystery Solved

Greta of http://gretasreiseblogg.blogspot.com/ solved the mystery of the location in the picture of my grandmother and her sisters wearing their flour sack dresses (posted here).  Thank you, Greta!  The pictures were taken circa 1930, and I didn't know where.  Greta sent me a link to a site that featured old postcards from the fortress Fredriksten in Halden, Norway, and sure enough the Carl XII monument matched another picture I had with the three sisters standing in front of it.  Now I have another place to visit in Norway.  I do in fact have one set of gggg-grandparents from Halden, so why not?  In fact, as I recall, my gggg-grandfather was a soldier in the 3rd Musketeer company in Halden.  I need to go over my notes to check on the details regarding this, but I wonder if he would have been working at this fortress.  I should note that this ancestor is from my grandfather's line, but it is my grandmother in the picture.

I now know that this (above) is the Carl XII monument in Fredriksten, Halden, Norway

Astrid, Raghnild, and Gyda Kristiansen (my grandmother) wearing their flour sack dresses

I wonder if this gazebo is also located in Fredriksten. I'm thinking the photograph must be from the same day since the three sisters are wearing the same dresses, so it is likely.

Happy Birthday, Bestemor!

Happy Birthday to my grandmother... you are always remembered...

Wordless Wednesday -- Three Sisters in Flour Sack Dresses

From left to right: Astrid, Raghnild, and Gyda Kristiansen (my grandmother).  This photo was taken circa 1930.  My grandmother's sister, Astrid, told me all three wore dresses made from white flour sacks!  They look pretty nice don't they?  I believe this was taken at Akershus Castle in Oslo, but I'm not positive.

Tombstone Tuesday

My father recently visited the grave of his gg-grandmother (my ggg-grandmother) Ellen (Hansen) Christophersen (1822 -1899) in Salt Lake City, Utah

Sunday Biography Series -- Akoline Oleane Jakobsdatter, Part 1

It was less than two years ago I read the name Akoline Oleane Jakobsdatter for the first time.  She is my great-great-great grandmother on my paternal grandfather's line... or maybe it is clearer to say she is my paternal grandfather's great-grandmother.  And in a matter of months, I went from never having heard her name to putting together the pieces of an interesting and sometimes dramatic life. 

My search for Akoline began with my search for her son, my great-great grandfather, Emil Georg Samuelsen Haugen.  I knew more about him because my father and relatives remembered him well.  I also found him in the 1900 census, living in the Fredrikstad area (Moum Soendre farm), Borge Parish, with his wife, son, and three other people I did not recognize.  I next found his confirmation record in the Vestre Fredrikstad parish records, and his mother was listed as Akoline Oleane Johansdatter. (Note: I was unable to find a birth record for Emil, but that is a whole other story for another blog post).  My father had also contacted his cousin, who still lived in the same area and was also a direct descendant, and she knew from yet another descendant she'd contacted that Emil's mother's name was Akoline Jakobsdatter.  Therefore, the first name correlated with the confirmation record I had found but the surname did not.  However, the mystery was solved when my father's cousin told me she'd learned Akoline's father's name was Johan Jakob Roos.  This explained how Akoline could be either Johansdatter or Jakobsdatter. 

Everything so far seemed simple enough, right?  Well, Akoline turned out to be anything but a simple woman.  I knew that Emil's father had died while out at sea when Emil was but 4 years old.  My father had written a school book report on Norway's maritime history and adventures, and he had interviewed his great-grandfather Emil who had once sailed the seas, following in his father's footsteps.  His father was Samuel Andreasen, and all he knew was that Samuel had died off the coast of South America after climbing the mast to make a repair on the bramsail and falling to his death.

Having some knowledge of names and a date of birth for Emil, thanks to the 1900 census, I had an idea of where to start looking for his parents' marriage record.  I assumed they married shortly before he was born but decided to start looking through the records starting two years prior to his birth.  Vestre Fredrikstad did not become its own parish until 1871, the year Emil was born, so I had to search the Glemmen parish records starting in 1869.  These particular records were quite hard to read because the writing was faded, but luckily there were parish register copies for these years.  And when I did find the record, I was more than blown away!  In the marriage record, Akoline was written in by her middle name alone, Oleane, and the surname, Jakobsdatter.  Her husband was Samuel Andreasen.  And both were born in Sweden, Tanum Parish!  My father had never heard of Swedish ancestors, so this was big news to him... and to me. 

Record Translation:
Oleane Jacobsdatter marries bachelor seaman Samuel Andreasen from Trosvigbjerget, Glemmen Parish, 12 December, 1869.

Information: Østfold county, Glemmen, Parish register copy nr. 4 (1867-1875), Marriage records 1870, page 349-350.

Permanent sidelenke: http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?idx_kildeid=7458&idx_id=7458&uid=ny&idx_side=-172

Samuel was 28 and one-half years old. Oleane was 19 and one-half years old. They were both born in Tanum, Sweden -- “begge fodt i Tanum i Sverige.” They married in Glemmen Kirke, 12 December 1869.

The previous record from the parish register copy was easier to read. Here is the record from the official book. However, again there is the Tanum parish in Sweden listed for both as a birthplace. Also, her father is Johan Jacob Ru?? (hard to make out the name). His father is Andreas Pettersen. You may need to zoom or use a magnifying glass to read it well.

Information: Østfold county, Glemmen, Parish register (official) nr. 8 (1862-1871), Marriage records 1870, page 284.

Permanent sidelenke: http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?idx_kildeid=377&idx_id=377&uid=ny&idx_side=-271

Stay tuned next Sunday to learn more about the mystery of Akoline/Oleane, her Swedish beginnings, and what I learned about her father Johan Jakob and who he really was.

Wordless Wednesday

My brother and I in Spain with Bestefar (grandfather) circa 1977

Who Do You Think You Are? Tonight!

Tonight is the next to last episode of the season, and it stars Susan Sarandon.  I believe she will trace her family history to Italy.  It is should be as exciting as the previous episodes, so be sure and catch it.

Part 2 of Researching Norwegian Ancestors: The Basics of Online Parish Registers

When it comes to researching your Norwegian ancestor, the good news is you are very lucky.  In fact, there are a multitude of genealogy sources available, much of it can be found online, and your ancestor is as good as found -- so long as you have some basic information, that is.  Now on to the good stuff! To start you on your journey to the past, I will focus on the Lutheran parish registers, since this is where you are likely to do most of your research.

For a long time in Norway, there were no birth, marriage, or death certificates; there were only parish registers (ministerialbok) to record these life events.  Some parish registers go back to the 1600's, but most go back to the 1700's.  There are also duplicate books called klokkerbok.  My understanding is that due to possible destruction from fire, duplicate registers were kept in separate locations.  I am very thankful for this because of the following reasons: 1) I have had to research the duplicate registers before due to no available "official" parish book; 2) the duplicate register has sometimes had the person I was searching for in the "official book" where he was missing -- parish priests did make mistakes and forget entries; 3) sometimes when a record is illegible in the official book, I have found it easier to read it in the duplicate book; and 4) in some cases, I have found extra information in the duplicate register.  So keep duplicate registers in mind as you pursue your research.  But the overall take-home message is that there is ample opportunity to discover your ancestor and perhaps several generations before him.  The online site to view these registers is at http://www.digitalarkivet.no/ .

You will need some basic information before you can start your search, so I will tell you what is vital.  The first thing you need to know is the fylke or county your ancestor was from -- no easy task for some.  However, if you have the essential name and a decent idea about year of birth, there is a good chance to find your ancestor in one of the census databases available (1801, 1865, 1875 [not complete online], and 1900), which will pinpoint the county and parish for you.  (I will explain census searches in another post.)

Assuming you know where your ancestor was from, you can now search for the parish and the right book.  Next, start going through the digitized pages until you find your ancestor.  The information in each book can vary somewhat, but generally for baptisms there is the date of birth, date of baptism, child's name, parents' names, parents' ages, place of residence, and witnesses.  The parish priest would also record whether the child was born in or out of wedlock. 

The Basic Anatomy of the Digitalarkivet Parish Record Site (you may click on the pictures to enlarge)

1)

  Go to http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?idx_reset=ja ; if it loads in Norwegian, click on "English" at the top right of the menu on the Digitized Parish Registers page.  Now note the search fields to the left.

2)

Click on the county selection button, and you will get a menu of all the counties.

 3)

Next, select the type of register you want.

4) 

Pick your parish.

5) 

Choose the record book of interest by the year you wish to search.

6)

Start searching the names, keeping in mind what I said about naming practices in Norway here.  The menu bar at the top allows you to search page by page or skip 5 pages or 20.

 7)

Find the record you want?  Note the source!  Click on "Image Information," then click "On Top."

 8)

The "source" and "permanent pagelink" now appear at the top.  NOTE: When emailing a link of a record to someone, DO NOT email the site address that appears on your browser.  It will NOT work.  Instead, copy and paste the "permanent pagelink" that appears above the record, as seen here.  You can also send the "permanent imagelink."  Save these links for your source notations.  Now you may also click on "PDF" found at the top right of the menu.

 9)

You will be able to download a high resolution PDF of your record with the source noted on top.  You can zoom in and out easily for clear viewing.  I love the PDF feature!

This concludes the lesson on the basics of using Norwegian parish records from http://www.digitalarkivet.no/ .

Researching Norwegian Ancestors: What's the Deal with those Norwegian Names?

I enjoy reading genealogy forum discussions because I often learn tricks of the trade from the answers that are posted.  But there is one question that crops up regularly that really needs addressing on a wider scope.  It goes something like this: I am researching the surname Hansen in Norway.  My great-grandfather Johan Hansen came to America in 1880, and I would like to learn more about the Hansen name in Norway.  This person has obviously just started looking into his/her Norwegian family history and has no idea how names work in Norway.

Norway used a patronymic naming system until the Family Name Act was passed in 1923 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patronymic .  From this point forward, a patronymic name was "fixed" and passed down, or some chose the current farm of residence as a final surname.  I should point out, however, that in some areas of Norway, or in certain families, fixed surnames started a bit earlier -- generally, the turn of the 20th century.  But before I go further, let me backtrack and discuss the issue of surnames before the law came into play. 

The truth is surnames did not truly exist.  Norwegian baptismal records, for example, only have the child's first or first and second names inscribed.  The next column on the record contains the name of the parents, which tells you how the child will go through life explaining who he is: I am Kristian, son of Olaus.  In Norwegian this is Kristian Olausen.  Kristian's son Johan will be Johan Kristiansen, and Johan's son Peder will be Peder Johansen.  Get the picture?  If the person is female, she would say: I am Hanna Marie, daughter of Anders... or Hanna Andersdatter. 

Now let's take this to the next level for more confusion.  Many names in Norway are extremely common, and even in a small town there may be several Kristian Olausens.  Kristian would, therefore, have to add the farm where he lived to explain who he was: I am Kristian, son of Olaus, who lives in Jordbaerhaugen farm... or Kristian Olausen Jordbaerhaugen.  As you may imagine, this practice can make you pull your hair out because sometimes the farm is used as a surname and sometimes it is the patronymic name, and worst of all, your ancestors may change "surnames" several times because they may move from farm to farm over the course of their lives.  For example, my great-great grandfather was Olaus Christensen Haugen when he was born but later became Olaus Christensen Jordbaerhaugen when he moved to Jordbaerhaugen farm.

Long-story-short, your ancestor who came to "Amerika" would have "frozen" his name a lot earlier due to lack of a patronymic system in the U.S.  He may have used his father's name with "sen" or "son" as his surname to pass down from that point on, or many preferred the farm of their last residence.  A woman would have traded "datter" for "sen" such as in Hanna Andersen rather than Andersdatter.  The good news is that this confusing system can provide some solid starting points to finding ancestors in Norway if you learn how to work the system.  A farm name can be traced easily in Norway, though there may be many with the same name.  In the case of a patronymic name, you know the father's name, so when you find the record of your ancestor and his/her father's first name matches the surname, it is one more item of proof to convince you this is the right person. 

Of course, when tracing back to Norway, it is essential to start with what you know now and move back.  Interview your family, go through your pictures, document everything.  It is much easier to find your Norwegian ancestors if you can attain a location in Norway to start, which will then point you to the right parish records  -- yes, Lutheran parish records are where your family history is located for the most part, along with census records.  Online national census records for 1801, 1865, 1875 (not complete), and 1900 may be the best place to look for someone if you are unsure of location.  Census records may be found at the Digitalarkivet site or The Norwegian Historical Data Center .  If you are a novice, you may find the latter site a bit easier to handle, but I often find more information using the Digitalarkivet site.  There are parish records also available in database search format at the Norwegian Historical Data Center and may also be easier for an initial search if your parish and year of need is available.  Otherwise, the Digitalarkivet site is much more complete, and if you want to see the original record, then this is the site you want.  Since many records in Asker Parish are available using the NHDC site, I search there first because it is easier, and I then go to the Digitalarkivet site to look up the original record.  But chances are you will have records you can't find with NHDC, and so yes, you will need to look for the record at the Digitalarkivet site page by page until you find it.  If you know the dates to search, or can guesstimate, then it is not too hard, so long as you have some patience.

One last piece of advice: when searching ancestors you will have to be creative with name spellings.  Most names can be spelled several ways and will vary from record to record for the same person; this is the only real "chaos" I find with the wonderful legacy of records Norway has left for us and made available FOR FREE online.  Ellen might be Elen; Birgitta could be Birgitte, Bergitte, Bergitta, Bergaetha; Christen or Kristen or Chresten or Xten (not kidding); Jon or John or Johan... you get the picture.  The same goes for farm names.  Some of this comes from Norway's Danish and Swedish influences.  "Kristian" is a Norwegian spelling, but "Christian" comes from the Danish influence.  The use of "Ch" could be from the period when Norway was part of the Danish kingdom, or perhaps the parish vicar was educated during the Danish period.  And sometimes there just is no explanation for the spelling differences except that it was written as the person thought it should based on his perception of phonetics.  In any case, you will soon find you can think of many creative ways to spell a name when searching the census records, for example.  On another note, when searching for ancestors who came to "Amerika" the same rules apply, except names were changed to sound and look more American -- so keep this in mind.

Finally, we come to the end of this lesson in Norwegian names.  So happy name hunting!

Oh, I forgot one piece of trivia: Do you know which country today still uses a patronymic naming system?.............................................................. Iceland!

I am providing two links below for two more articles that may be helpful when researching ancestors in Norway.

Part 2 of Researching Norwegian Ancestors: The Basics of Online Parish Registers


Finding Ancestors with DIS Gravminner -- A Grave Database

Wordless Wednesday -- Carmelo Di Bennardo

Carmelo Di Bennardo (b. 186? - d. ?).  My great-grandfather from Palagonia, Sicily.  Parents are most likely Vincenzo Di Bennardo (ABT. 1831 - ?) and Maria Blandini (1835 - ?), both from Palagonia and married in 1855.

Tombstone Tuesday -- Arlington Cemetery

One of many beautiful pictures my husband took at Arlington Cemetery

Ancestor Approved Award -- Yay!

Linda McCauley of the blog Documenting the Details awarded me with the Ancestor Approved Award, and I am really happy about it.  Thanks Linda! 

As a recipient of this award, I am to list 10 things I have learned about my ancestors that have surprised, humbled or thrilled me and then pass the award on to 10 other genealogy bloggers I feel are doing their ancestors proud.  So here goes...

Surprised
1) I thought my father was the first one in my direct line to come to America, but I discovered a ggg-grandmother who became a Mormon and moved to Utah in 1875.  She is buried in Salt Lake City.
2) I thought my family was strictly Lutheran on my father's side or Catholic on my mother's side.  However, on my father's side, my ggg-grandmother (above) and three of her children converted to Mormonism.  Another ggg-grandmother became a Methodist along with her husband, my ggg-grandfather.  Their son was baptized in the Methodist church, which explained why I was banging my head against the wall trying to find his birth/christening record.
3) One of my sets of ggg-grandparents was actually from Sweden!  I had always thought I was Norwegian and Italian, but I am also Swedish -- an exciting find.

Humbled
4) My Italian grandfather had a sad childhood, living in a religious boarding school after his mother died.  It is obvious as I have read his diary that he missed his family terribly.
5) My Italian g-grandmother was unable to divorce her abusive husband because of the Catholic church and their rules.  She had to "live in sin" with my g-grandfather for the rest of her life, and each of their 5 children had to have the surname that belonged to her legal husband.  My g-grandfather would pay her husband a bribe so he could put his name on the birth certificate rather than see his own name -- so sad.
6) My ancestors worked hard.  My Norwegian ancestors took to the seas on long journeys, were loggers on the Glomma river, and farmers, too.  The women bore many children, and life could be harsh, cold, and unforgiving at times.

Thrilled

7) I found American descendants of my great-grandfather's brother Christen who went to North Dakota in 1905.  One of Christen's daughters was still alive, and I was able to get some pictures and information.
8) I found descendants of my great-grandfather's other brother, Nils, who ended up in Canada.  From them I also received pictures and information.
9) I have made several connections with relatives in Norway I had not been aware of before.  From them I attained information and fantastic pictures of ancestors vital to my search and journey of discovery into the past.
10) My parents went to Salt Lake City and met descendants of my Mormon branch.  They received valuable information, stories, pictures etc... from them.  They also went to the Family History Library and found some documents.  My mother may have even found my Italian great-great grandparents' wedding record, which also mentions their parents!

I could go on with so many other thrilling moments of discovery, but this is where I must stop and name 10 blogs that I feel deserve this award, too.  Now, this is really hard because I love all the blogs I follow. 

1) Herstoryan http://herstoryan.blogspot.com/
2) Slekt og Slikt http://lailanc.blogspot.com/
3) A Multitude of Sens http://multitudeofsens.blogspot.com/
4) Nordic Blue http://nordicblue.blogspot.com/
5) Ginisology http://ginisology.blogspot.com/
6) Are You My Cousin? http://areyoumycousin-lisa.blogspot.com/
7) Swedish Thoughts http://swedenroots.blogspot.com/
8) A Tale of Two Ancestors http://ataleoftwoancestors.blogspot.com/
9) Lessons from my Ancestors http://www.lessonsfrommyancestors.com/
10) Kinfolk News http://kinfolknews.blogspot.com/

Happy reading and blogging!

Istituto San Francesco di Sales -- My Grandfather Vincenzo's School Life

As I have posted previously, my Italian grandfather lost his mother as a young boy and was sent to a religious boarding school.  In 1915 and 1916, when he was 15 years old, he kept a diary during the school year at the Salesian school -- Sacro Cuore -- in San Gregorio, Catania, Sicily.  It is a true gift to have such a wonderful testament to his life at the time.  The diary spans his entire school year, almost 100 years ago, and gives light to a boy with a great talent for writing, his emotions, and the stories he witnessed. 

I have been slowly reading and savoring the diary, a task that is a bit difficult because of his old style Italian language and old-fashioned handwriting; and I'm fluent in Italian!  Even my native-born mother has difficulty reading it.  But together we are transcribing it into a computerized document, and I plan to also translate it into English. 

One thing I have learned is that prior to the school in San Gregorio, where he was located while writing the diary, he was at another Salesian school in Catania -- the Istituto San Francesco di Sales.  I googled the school, and, in fact, the school temporarily closed down from 1915 to the end of WWI because it served as a hospital for the wounded -- hence the reason he went to Sacro Cuore in San Gregorio.  My grandfather does describe in his diary a visit to his old school and the wounded he saw there.  But what is really fascinating to me is that the school Web site has some old photographs of students during the year 1914 BEFORE it was turned into a hospital.  I can't help wonder if my grandfather is among the students in the pictures.  Following are pictures I obtained from the school Web site here.

Historic picture of the San Francesco di Sales school in Catania.

http://www.salesianicibali.it/index.php?q=node/11

Students from the year 1914 (above and below).  Is my grandfather among them? Probably.

http://www.salesianicibali.it/index.php?q=node/11

Wordless Wednesday -- Ellen Hansen (Christophersen)

This picture is one of my latest prizes!  My parents recently went to Salt Lake City and met descendants of my ggg-grandmother Ellen Hansdatter (Christophersen) born in Baerum, Norway 27 August, 1822 and deceased in Salt Lake City, Utah, 24 March, 1899.  Her son Martin Christophersen became a Mormon and an important figure in the church.  She followed in his footsteps and moved to Utah, along with another son and a daughter.  Her other daughter, my gg-grandmother Jonette, stayed in Norway and remained Lutheran -- as did her descendants.  I only discovered this Mormon branch and my ggg-grandmother's grave in Salt Lake City last summer (2009).  It has been an exciting journey, and now I have her picture!!!