tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1144813046319503572024-03-12T21:03:01.168-07:00Fjeld TownshipFjeld Township is a blog about ancestors from Nelson County, North Dakota. Field is an actual township in this county. It is a blog about my Norwegian ancestors, who settled in Nelson County and the ancestors of others who settled in Nelson, North Dakota. Along with random acts of genealogical kindness, you can expect to see information regarding Norway and Norwegian ancestors.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-55580594982951457492015-04-19T14:03:00.001-07:002015-04-19T14:03:46.545-07:00Stigen Family Reunion!Hey all! I know it's been a long, long time since I've posted in this blog, but work has kept me too busy to write anything. However, now that I've made my exit, I'm back and here to let you all know about the Stigen Family Reunion taking place in the summer of 2015. The reunion will take place over the weekend of June 20-21st. A block of 10 rooms has been set aside at the Hampton in Grand Forks, North Dakota by cousin, Ken Stigen. If anyone would like to attend, email me and I'll send you an invite to the Facebook group page for the reunion.<br />
<br />
The first day of the reunion we will be attending the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aneta-Turkey-Barbecue-and-Summer-Festival/621528107859498?fref=ts" target="_blank">Aneta Turkey BBQ</a>. The second day - Sunday - we will spend attending services and paying respects to our ancestors at the Our Savior Church in rural Kloten, where many of our Fjeld and Stigen ancestors are buried. Pictures to come!<br />
<br />
So if you are descended from Ole Knudsen Stigen (1854-1937) and Ragnhild Renden (1865-1937) and/or Knud Knudsen Stigen (1820-1896) and Berthe Ellefsdatter Aamodteie (1820-1883), please contact me. The more the merrier!<br />
<br />
If you're not sure if you're descended from one of these couples, here are the lists of their children. Hopefully this helps!<br />
<br />
Children of Ole Knudsen Stigen and Ragnhild Renden:<br />
<ul>
<li>Christian Stigen 1886-1949</li>
<li>Martin Stigen 1888-1948</li>
<li>Carl Stigen 1889-1918</li>
<li>Bertha Stigen 1891-1943</li>
<li>Oline Stigen 1893-1977</li>
<li>Ragna Stigen 1895-1989</li>
<li>Emma Stigen 1902-1974</li>
<li>Ole Stigen 1905-1992</li>
</ul>
<br />
Children of Knud Knudsen Stigen and Berthe Ellefsdatter Aamodteie:<br />
<ul>
<li>Caroline Uhlen Stigen 1845-</li>
<li>Elling Stigen 1847-</li>
<li>Ole Knudsen Stigen 1854-1937</li>
<li>Hans Christian Stigen 1857-1936 a.k.a Christian Knudson/Chris Knudsen/Charles Knudsen</li>
<li>Olaus Stigen 1860-</li>
</ul>
See you at the reunion! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-27904865644565445572012-09-21T12:00:00.001-07:002012-09-21T12:01:08.402-07:00Digging Deeper - a Possible Connection<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container zemanta-img" style="float: right; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hova1763.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: clear:right;"><img alt="Hova1763" border="0" class="zemanta-img-inserted" height="89" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Hova1763.jpg/300px-Hova1763.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption zemanta-img-attribution" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">Hova1763 (Photo credit: <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hova1763.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>)</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container zemanta-img" style="float: right; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Crazy_Monday_-_church_register_from_Os_parish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: clear:right;"><img alt="A page showing dead people from the church reg..." border="0" class="zemanta-img-inserted" height="460" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/The_Crazy_Monday_-_church_register_from_Os_parish.jpg/300px-The_Crazy_Monday_-_church_register_from_Os_parish.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="300" /></a></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption zemanta-img-attribution" style="text-align: center; width: 300px;">A page showing dead people from the church register at Os parish in Hordaland in Norway. 27 of 28 people on this page died at sea during a storm known as "Crazy Monday". (Photo credit: <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Crazy_Monday_-_church_register_from_Os_parish.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>)</td></tr>
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I decided I needed to dig deeper if I wanted to uncover a possible family connection between Marit Fjeld's family and my Fjeld family. (I just hope I am not digging myself a metaphorical grave). So, to that end, I decided it was time to dig deeper into the roots of Marit's biological parents to see where these led. I knew Marit's biological parents were Marith Olsdatter and Hans Andreassen Fjeld, but I knew little else. It was time for some more digging in the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parish_register" rel="wikipedia" target="_blank" title="Parish register">parish registers</a> and the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_in_Norway" rel="wikipedia" target="_blank" title="Census in Norway">Norwegian census</a>.<br />
<br />
They were easy to find in the 1865 Norwegian Census. Of course, they are living on <a href="http://digitalarkivet.arkivverket.no/ft/person/pf01038073008100" target="_blank">Fjeld farm</a> in Søndre Aurdal in 1865 and the census data list members of the family, their ages and places of birth... and this is why I like to find people in the census first, before perusing the parish registers. The further back in time you go in the parish registers, the more difficult they become to read. Not only is the style of lettering different, but in many cases the "events" are crammed together with sloppy handwriting and oodles of ink smears everywhere... in short, it looks every bit like something I wrote by hand with a calligraphy pen, or <i>any</i> ink pen for that matter. Not very legible at all, even if you <i>are</i> well-versed in the old scripts. (Of course, being left-handed makes me extra gifted at smearing ink all over the page)! Additional difficulties with parish records can be faded text, torn pages, holes in pages and missing pages.<br />
<br />
It is what it is, though, and I highly recommend looking through the parish records. It's worth developing the patience. Tenacity helps, too, especially when the information you thought was correct is farther from veracity than India is from Sirius. It helps to remember that the parish records were not written for genealogists to peruse at leisure centuries later. They were written to conform to church edicts and Norwegian law and were probably viewed as a make-work chore by those who were forced to write in them. A nuisance at best. I confess, I would write sloppy too. Not necessarily intentionally, but in speeding through the chore just to get it over with.<br />
<br />
Enough about parish registers. If you follow the link I've provided for the Fjeld Farm two paragraphs above this one, you will see the census listing for the Fjeld farm. You will see Marit, her parents and some of her siblings. I used this information to find birth, baptism and even marriage and death information for some of these people. I also uncovered both sets of grandparents in the parish records using this information as a result.<br />
<br />
What did I discover? Marit's maternal grandparents were Helena Andersdatter Hestekind (1812-1898) and Ole Andersen Kompelien (1807-1902) and that this couple themselves immigrated to the U.S. in the 1880's. They can be found on the <a href="http://digitalarkivet.arkivverket.no/ft/person/pf01038073006717" target="_blank">Brosveen</a> farm in the 1865 Norwegian Census. Marit's paternal grandparents are Andreas Hansen Brufladt, born 1805, and Marith Andersdatter Espelien av Brufladt (1808-before 1865). I also found many of Marit's parent's siblings this way.<br />
<br />
How did this help? Well, I plugged all this information into my Nussberger Fjeld family tree on Ancestry.com and came up with links to photos of many of these family members (joy!) and stories about these family members. One of the stories I came across was about Marit Fjeld herself. It was written by Lillian Skarperud in 1980 and tells how Marit came to America to live with an Aunt Kari Nysveen... and there's my connection! Maybe. I am a direct descendent of Anne Nysveen and perhaps this Aunt Kari or, if she was married at the time, which I am sure she must have been, her husband is related to my Anne Nysveen. This would mean there is a biological relationship between my Fjelds and Marit's Fjelds.<br />
<br />
Voila! Another possibility to research and a blog post for another day! Aunt Kari Nysveen.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-50721567741942651112012-09-19T21:12:00.001-07:002012-09-21T11:00:50.987-07:00Marit Olsdatter Fjeld - a Mystery Solved...Well, sort of. I am writing this post not only because it is a mystery I have been trying to solve for years, but as a more detailed response to an email a gentleman was kind enough to send me inviting me to connect regarding this branch of my family tree as well as inviting me to have a look at his <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.photobucket.com/" rel="homepage" target="_blank" title="Photobucket">Photobucket</a> albums containing old family photos from this branch of my tree.<br />
<br />
Now for some background. Marit Olsdatter Fjeld was born 10 February 1863, married an Andrew Skarperud around 1885 and came to the U.S. with my Fjelds in 1882. The mystery was this: Marit was born the same year as Ingri and Ole Knudsen Fjeld's daughter, Anne, yet Marit was not listed in the 1865 Norwegian Census with the rest of the family. Anne, however, <i>is</i> listed with her family on this census. Note that I did not know either of these ladies birthdays initially and it would be their birthdays that would prove the key to unlocking the mystery. <br />
<br />
I <i>thought</i> I knew Anne's birthday because other researchers had listed her birthday as 4 July 1863. So I assumed that Marit was a twin born the same day or that something was awry with Marit's age as listed in the immigration records.<br />
<br />
Beware the work of other researchers, especially where sources are not elucidated. Both assumptions regarding Marit Fjeld were wrong as was the July 4th birthdate listed for Anne! This I discovered perusing the confirmation records for <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.8877777778,9.63972222222&spn=0.01,0.01&q=60.8877777778,9.63972222222%20(Bruflat)&t=h" rel="geolocation" target="_blank" title="Bruflat">Bruflat</a> parish. I was hoping to find the birth dates of the Fjeld children born during the years for which the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parish_register" rel="wikipedia" target="_blank" title="Parish register">parish records</a> no longer exist, as those records burned during WWII. What I discovered was that miss Anne was born 7 April 1863 and not 4 July 1863 as other researchers had listed! (Thus far I have yet to find any hard evidence for the 4 July date). As for miss Marit, I found her birth date in the confirmation records as well... 10 February 1863. It is biologically impossible, then, for these two women to be sisters and, thus, one of them is not the biological daughter of Ingri and Ole Knudsen Fjeld. The final nail in the coffin lay in the confirmation record for Marit, where her parents are listed as Hans Andersen and Marith Olsdatter Fjeld, who themselves came to America in 1889.<br />
<br />
So, perhaps, my Fjelds adopted Marit, if only temporarily, in order for her to immigrate to the United States? I am keeping an open mind in this instance, because, for all I know, miss Marit may have been living with my Fjeld family long before they decided to travel to the U.S. Now, the question remains, What is the connection between these two Fjeld families? Is there a biological connection I have yet to uncover? Or were these simply two close families living on the same farm back in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=59.9333333333,10.6833333333&spn=10.0,10.0&q=59.9333333333,10.6833333333%20(Norway)&t=h" rel="geolocation" target="_blank" title="Norway">Norway</a>? The Fjeld farm <i>was</i> rather large... and I <i>do</i> love a good mystery.<br />
<br />
In fact, it seems the more mysteries I solve, the more I discover. No wonder my parents used to send me from adult to adult with my endless questions! I am sure I was an exhausting child!<br />
<br />
Now, the connection to the email. The gentleman who sent me the email regarding this branch of our tree is a direct descendant of Kari Hansdatter Fjeld, sister of Marit, our mystery lady. So the answer to the question as to how we are related is we are not related...maybe.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-60181156596262437172010-01-11T06:06:00.000-08:002010-01-11T06:06:00.779-08:00Found in the 1920 U.S. Census! The Martin and Kari Fjeld Family<p class="zemanta-img" style="margin: 1em; float: right; display: block; width: 310px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Norwegianmalforms.png"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Norwegianmalforms.png/300px-Norwegianmalforms.png" alt="A map of the official language forms (målform)..." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="374" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Norwegianmalforms.png">Wikipedia</a></span></p>Sunday...<br /><br />This morning, for the first time in ages, I noticed a little leaf attached to my great grandfather, Ole Martinsen Fjeld (1892-1954), on the Ancestry website. It turns out, the little leaf hinted at an entry for the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_United_States_Census" title="1920 United States Census" rel="wikipedia">1920 U.S. Census</a>. My Fjelds were listed as "Feld" in the 1920 census, which, actually, is a close approximation of how "Fjeld" is correctly pronounced in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_language" title="Norwegian language" rel="wikipedia">Norwegian</a>.<br /><br />Interestingly, they are not enumerated as "Feld," but are indexed by Ancestry as "Feld." In the actual document, the surname is spelled correctly - F-j-e-l-d. At this point I'm just happy they weren't listed as Felt or, worse, Fert (or Fart), as some regional pronunciations of Fjeld can sound, to the untrained ear, as ending with a sound approximating an English r or rt.<br /><br />Indexes don't always make family research easier.<br /><br />Members of the Martin Olsen and Kari Knudsdatter (Ruse) Fjeld Family listed in the 1920 Census are:<br /><ul><li>Martin Olsen Fjeld</li><li>Kari Knudsdatter Fjeld</li><li>Ole Martinsen Fjeld</li><li>Alma Martinsdatter Fjeld</li><li>Albert Martinsen Fjeld</li><li>Melvin Martinsen Fjeld</li><li>Agnes Martinsdatter Fjeld</li></ul><br /><fieldset class="zemanta-related"><legend class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles by Zemanta</legend><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://groups.csail.mit.edu/haystack/blog/2010/01/01/happy-new-year-its-week-53-in-norway/">Happy New Year; It's Week 53 in Norway</a> (groups.csail.mit.edu)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.visionaryrealtynews.com/2010/01/05/warning-2010-census-cautions-from-the-better-business-bureau-how-do-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-u-s-census-worker-and-a-con-artist/">WARNING: 2010 Census Cautions from the Better Business Bureau. How do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist?</a> (visionaryrealtynews.com)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/crossroads/at-last-estimate-the-u-s-population-is/353/">At last estimate, the U.S. population is...</a> (timesunion.com)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.americablog.com/2009/09/breaking-ap-source-census-worker-hanged.html">BREAKING: AP source, Census worker hanged with word 'fed' scrawled on his body</a> (americablog.com)</li><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.insidefacebook.com/2010/01/06/2010-census-turns-to-facebook-to-maximize-impact-reach-young-adults/">2010 Census Turns to Facebook to Maximize Impact, Reach Young Adults</a> (insidefacebook.com)</li></ul></fieldset> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px;" class="zemanta-pixie"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/281a5b55-b49f-4528-aecc-f0eab1767105/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img style="border: medium none ; float: right;" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=281a5b55-b49f-4528-aecc-f0eab1767105" alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" defer="defer"></script></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-74152349410603721982010-01-10T10:49:00.000-08:002010-01-10T10:49:44.320-08:00Simply Looking Sometimes Assists<div class="zemanta-img" style="display: block; float: right; margin: 1em; width: 310px;"><a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NO_0417_Stange.svg"><img alt="Stange within Hedmark" height="585" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/NO_0417_Stange.svg/300px-NO_0417_Stange.svg.png" style="border: medium none; display: block;" width="300" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution">Image via <a href="http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NO_0417_Stange.svg">Wikipedia</a></span><br />
</div>On occasion I spend so much time on one small branch of the family tree that I forget where I am at or what I have done with other branches of the family tree. In other words, I manage to create my own genealogical disorientation, in the worst cases imagining brick walls that don't exist or nonexistent vacuums of information.<br />
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In recent months I have spent so much time on the Mellom and Fjeld branches of my tree that the Stigen and Renden branches have languished. I returned to my Stigen and Renden branches this weekend and found them lacking in vital information and, at first, assumed I had been unable to find any information or had found all the information humanly possible due to <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.8877777778,9.63972222222&spn=1.0,1.0&q=60.8877777778,9.63972222222%20%28Bruflat%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Bruflat">Bruflat</a> parish records having been destroyed during World War II.<br />
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Then a little light bulb turned on in my head. Karoline Knudsdatter Renden (a.k.a. Caroline Amb) had been born in Bruflat, Sør Aurdal in 1864 and was - so far as I was aware - the firstborn child of Knud Knudsen Renden and Maria Olsdatter Laglund (a.k.a. Maria Olson or Maria Solibråten)... but what if I was wrong? Maria Olsdatter was born in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.6494444444,11.3663888889&spn=0.1,0.1&q=60.6494444444,11.3663888889%20%28Stange%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Stange">Stange</a>, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.8333333333,11.6666666667&spn=1.0,1.0&q=60.8333333333,11.6666666667%20%28Hedmark%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Hedmark">Hedmark</a>, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=59.9333333333,10.6833333333&spn=10.0,10.0&q=59.9333333333,10.6833333333%20%28Norway%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Norway">Norway</a> and it was still a mystery to me how she met Knud Knudsen Renden of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.9166666667,9.16666666667&spn=1.0,1.0&q=60.9166666667,9.16666666667%20%28Valdres%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Valdres">Valdres</a>. I had assumed that Maria Olsdatter moved with her family to Valdres before meeting Knud Knudsen. However, what if Knud Knudsen had moved to Stange and later returned to Valdres? It was certainly a possibility. If I was lucky, this was exactly what happened because the time period from the 1850's to 1866 would have been when this couple was married and these are precisely the Bruflat records that were destroyed during World War II.<br />
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Simply looking sometimes assists. I looked at the records for Stange from the 1850's and 1860's, reasoning that marriages often took place in the bride's parish and, guess what?<br />
<br />
I got lucky.<br />
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I found the marriage of Knud Knudsen Renden and Maria Olsdatter in the Ottestad Church records, the same church in which Maria Olsdatter was baptized 30 years previous. The marriage occurred on 30 December 1862 in the Ottestad church in Stange, Hedmark, Norway. I came away with a bonus - the name of the bruk on which the bridegroom was born. Kulhuusbraaten, for those who are interested. The parish records of Sør Aurdal list only the main farm, Landsend, as his birthplace in the baptismal records. In addition, at the time of their marriage, the couple was living on the Hosmestad, or Hemstad, farm in Stange, Hemstad being the bride's mother's farm.<br />
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After this success, I thought there seemed to be a rather large time gap between the birth of my ancestress, Ragnhild Knudsdatter, and her brother, Knud Knudsen, so I endeavored to research the existing Bruflat records further and found a second brother, Ole Knudsen, born 4 April 1869 and died 2 February 1877 on the Renden farm.<br />
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Further research in the Stange parish records revealed no children born to Knud Knudsen and Maria Olsdatter from 30 December 1862 to 2 January 1864, when Karoline Knudsdatter was born. (Karoline's birthdate is known from her 16 June 1878 confirmation record.) Of course, this appears logical, as Maria Olsdatter would have to have become pregnant around the beginning of April 1863 to give birth in January of 1864. I found no other children born to Knud Knudsen and Maria Olsdatter between the birth of Karoline and the birth of Ragnhild in 1865; I also found no children born to this couple between the birth of Ragnhild and the birth of Ole and between the birth of Ole and the birth of Knud. Nor were there any births recorded from the time following Knud's birth to the family's immigration in March of 1882. They appeared to have left around the same time as my Fjelds - March of 1882. The immigration of the Rendens is listed on page 631 of the Sør Aurdal 1877-1885 Ministerialbok. The Fjelds are found on the same page of the same book.<br />
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</div>I apologize for not posting an entry for more than a month. Certain economic necessities have made writing impossible of late, but I believe things are winding down now.<br />
<br />
Last time, I promised a continuation on the paternal ancestry of the descendants of Ole Andersen Melom (born 1807 on Granum farm in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.8877777778,9.63972222222&spn=1.0,1.0&q=60.8877777778,9.63972222222%20%28Bruflat%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Bruflat">Bruflat</a>, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.6963888889,9.65888888889&spn=0.1,0.1&q=60.6963888889,9.65888888889%20%28S%C3%B8r-Aurdal%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Sør-Aurdal">Sør Aurdal</a>, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=59.9333333333,10.6833333333&spn=10.0,10.0&q=59.9333333333,10.6833333333%20%28Norway%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Norway">Norway</a>) and Anne Knudsdatter Espelien (born 2 April 1808 on Espelien farm in Bruflat, Sør Aurdal, Norway). Although I have had many items I could have chosen to write about in the interim, I have chosen not to write about these new discoveries until I have posted the second part of this particular entry. I apologize in advance if this entry is too long, but here we go...<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Paternal Heritage</span></b><br />
</div>So that no one has to go back and read the previous entry on the subject, I will start by listing the children of Ole Andersen Melom and Anne Knudsdatter Espelien:<br />
<br />
Knud (1829-????)<br />
Ingri (1832-1916)*<br />
Anders (1839-1893)<br />
Ole (1844-1912)*<br />
Maria (1847-????)<br />
Anders/Andreas (1849-????)<br />
Tollef (1853-1936)*<br />
* Immigrated to the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.8833333333,-77.0166666667&spn=10.0,10.0&q=38.8833333333,-77.0166666667%20%28United%20States%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="United States">United States</a><br />
<br />
Other researchers have listed a daughter, Anne, as well, but I have no information regarding Anne as of yet.<br />
<br />
Following the paternal heritage of this family, Ole Andersen Melom was the son of Anders Halvorsen Melom (nee Kringli) and Ingri Olsdatter Granum (1777-????). I am not aware of any other children born to this particular couple as I have not done enough in depth research on this particular family. My only excuse is lack of time and the fact that 18th century research is more difficult than 19th century research.<br />
<br />
In any case, I do know the identities of Anders Halvorsen's parents. Anders Halvorsen was born on Kringli farm to Halvor Andersen Kringli and Berit Eriksdatter Espelien. So here we see another connection to the Espelien farm! Anders Halvorsen was baptized in the Bruflat church on 24 November 1771 (Aurdal Ministerialbok 1763-1781, page 141). Anders was confirmed in Bruflat in 1785 (Aurdal Ministerialbok nr. 6, 1781-1804, page 161). The family is still living on Kringli farm, but this would not last into the 19th century...<br />
<br />
By the time of the 1801 Norwegian Census, we find Anders Halvorsen, his parents, and his siblings living on the larger Lie farm in Bruflat, Sør Aurdal, Norway. Children of Halvor Andersen Kringli Melom and Berit Eriksdatter Espelien listed in the 1801 Census are:<br />
<br />
Anders (1771-????)<br />
Thor (1783-????)<br />
Knudt (1785-????)<br />
Erik (1787-????)<br />
Gulbrand (1789-????)<br />
Thidemand (1793-????)<br />
<br />
Further research yields the marriage of Halvor Andersen and Berit Eriksdatter, which occurs 6 October 1771 in Bruflat Church with banns 8 September 1771 (Aurdal Ministerialbok nr. 5, 1763-1781, Trolovede, page 233). It is here we discover Berit Eriksdatter hails from the Espelien farm.<br />
<br />
Digging further into the past, we discover Halvor Andersen's baptismal record. Halvor Andersen was born on Kringli farm to Anders Halvorsen Kringli and Marthe Nielsdatter and baptized in Bruflat Church on 4 September 1742, information which can be found in the Aurdal Ministerialbok nr. 4, 1730-1762, Fødte og Døpte, page 245. This brings us to the end of my research so far.<br />
<br />
Where in the United States did the Meloms immigrate?<br />
<br />
Ingri Melom, having married Ole Knudsen Fjeld circa 1856, immigrated with her children to Nelson County in North Dakota, where she (and her children) can be found in the 1885 Dakota Territory Census. Her two eldest sons, Knud Olsen and Ole Olsen immigrated to the United States before the rest of the family and resided in Arctander, Kandiyohi, Minnesota, where they are enumerated in the 1880 U.S. Census. The latter married Randi Jensdatter Iverbakken in Kerkhoven, Swift, Minnesota on 12 June 1881. After Ingri Melom and the rest of her children immigrated to the United States in the Spring of 1882, the family resided in Nelson County, North Dakota, with some eventually taking up residence in Ward, Grand Forks, or Traill Counties. Inger Fjeld married the author, Hans Andersen Foss of Normanden fame, and lived in Minnesota as well. The couple may have been married in the Knud Knudsen Renden household, which served as a church until Our Savior's Lutheran Church was built near Kloten in Field Township, Nelson, North Dakota. Some of the Fjelds are themselves descendants of Knud Knudsen Renden, through his granddaughter, Oline Stigen, a daughter of Ragnhild Renden.<br />
<br />
As for Ingri's brother, Ole, he immigrated to Jackson County, Wisconsin in about 1879 and would eventually die in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in April of 1912. His children lived also in Trempeauleau, Barron, and Eau Claire, Wisonsin as well as Sheridan and Benson Counties in North Dakota. Ole married Anne Knudsdatter of Hestekind farm on 14 May 1869 in Bruflat Church (Sør Aurdal Ministerialbok, 1866-1872, page 62).<br />
<br />
Their younger brother, Tollef, married Clara Amundson in Maple Grove, Barron, Wisconsin in 1894 and lived in Maple Grove until his death on 16 October 1936. So far as I know, Tollef's children remained in Maple Grove at least through the early part of the 20th century.<br />
<br />
<br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-22575542837604266512009-09-04T20:06:00.000-07:002009-09-04T20:06:26.129-07:00Ancestors of Ole Andersen Melom and Anne Knudsdatter Espelien Part ISince my last entry, I have made a bit more progress in the research on the Melom/Espelien branch of the family tree. I now have the branch back to the mid to early 1700's. I have a bit more on the Melom side than the Espelien side, but this is more the result of more work having been done on the Melom side than the Espelien side on my part.<br />
<br />
<h3>The Maternal Heritage<br />
</h3>Anne Knudsdatter Espelien was born 2 April 1808 on Espelien farm in Bruflat, Sør Aurdal, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.9166666667,9.16666666667&spn=1.0,1.0&q=60.9166666667,9.16666666667%20%28Valdres%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Valdres">Valdres</a> <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=59.9333333333,10.6833333333&spn=10.0,10.0&q=59.9333333333,10.6833333333%20%28Norway%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Norway">Norway</a> and was baptized at the Bruflat church on 10 April 1808. Her parents are listed as Guri Andersdatter and Knud Andersen Espelien. All of this information can be found in the eighth entry on page 14 of the Sør Aurdal Ministerialbok 1807-1815. Further perusal of the Aurdal parish records reveal her parents were married 10 October 1800 and that Guri Andersdatter hailed from Øyen farm, a bruk of Nordre Hestekind. Parish records reveal that Guri Andersdatter was born on Øyen farm in April of 1781 and Knud Andersen was born on Espelien farm in 1769. Guri's parents are listed as Anders Knudsen Øyen and Barbro Engebretsdatter. Barbro Engebretsdatter can be found in the 1801 Norwegian Census living on Præstøen farm in Bruflat, Sør Aurdal in Valdres, Norway. She is remarried to Arne Halstensen Præstøen and her children by her previous marriage are also living on Præstøen farm, with the exception of daughter Guri, who is by then married to Knud Andersen Espelien and living on Espelien farm.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Children of Barbro Engebretsdatter and Anders Knudsen Øyen</span><br />
<ul><li>Guri Andersdatter Øyen Espelien (1781-xxxx)<br />
</li>
<li>Sigri Andersdatter Øyen Præstøen (1786-xxxx)<br />
</li>
<li>Anne Andersdatter Øyen Præstøen (1790-xxxx)<br />
</li>
<li>Ingri Andersdatter Øyen Præstøen (1793-xxxx)<br />
</li>
<li>Knud Andersen Øyen Præstøen (1797-xxxx)</li>
</ul>That is as far back as I have the Øyen line as of this writing. The Espelien line is a different story altogether.<br />
<br />
Anders Knudsen Espelien, father of Anne Knudsdatter Espelien, was born in late February or early March of 1769. He was baptized 5 March 1769 at the Bruflat church. Parish records for the baptism reveal his parents to be Anne Knudsdatter and Anders Hendriksen Espelien. Anne Knudsdatter married Anders Hendriksen Espelien at Bruflat church on 19 October 1768, showing that pregnancy before wedlock was a problem that existed long before many people would prefer to acknowledge. According to the marriage entry (Aurdal Ministerialbok 1763-1781, page 226, fifth entry), Anna Knudsdatter lived on Breien farm at the time of her marriage. In fact, the Aurdal Ministerialbok from 1730-1762 reveals she was actually born on Breien farm sometime before 13 July 1748, the date she was baptized at the Bruflat church. Her parents are listed as Sigri Andersdatter and Knud Arnesen Breien. <br />
<br />
It was not so easy to find the baptism entry for her husband, Anders Hendriksen Espelien, since he was not born on Espelien farm. Rather, Anders Hendriksen was born on Ødegaard farm in April 1751 and was baptized 18 April 1751 in the Bruflat church. The story would be similar for Anne Knudsdatter Breien's father. People did move after all. <br />
<br />
Anne Knudsdatter Breien's parents married 11 October 1743 at Bruflat church. The marriage entry lists the bride as Sigri Andersdatter Lunde so that we know she was living on the Lunde farm at the time of her marriage. We cannot assume she was born on the same farm, however, any more than we can safely assume Knud Arnesen Breien was born on the Breien farm. It's a good start, but not rock solid evidence. As it turns out, I have yet to find Sigri Andersdatter Lunde's baptismal entry. As for Knud Arnesen Breien, he was not born Knud Arnesen Breien. Instead, he was born on Brufladt farm and that is as far as I have gone on these lines.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Children of Sigri Andersdatter Lunde and Knud Arnesen Brufladt/Breien</span><br />
<ul><li>Marthe Knudsdatter Brufladt/Breien (1744-xxxx)</li>
<li>Birthe Knudsdatter Breien (1746-xxxx)</li>
<li>Anne Knudsdatter Breien (1748-xxxx)</li>
</ul>Marthe is the only one of their children born on the Brufladt farm. Sigri Andersdatter and Knud Arnesen may have had more children after 1748, but I do not know because I have not looked into the possibility yet.<br />
<br />
Next time I will write about the Melom side of the family, since this entry has become excessively long. For those who are tired of reading the words "Bruflat church" and would like to see some pictures, here is a link to Mango Slice's photos of the church on <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.flickr.com/" rel="homepage" title="Flickr">Flickr</a>:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12212466@N06/sets/72157601677273666/" target="_blank">Mango Slices Norway June 2007 Set On Flickr</a><br />
<br />
She has some lovely photos of Norway in this set and not just of Bruflat Kirke.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://reblog.zemanta.com/zemified/7d991133-84b0-4041-9687-43466f73ebc7/" title="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]"><img alt="Reblog this post [with Zemanta]" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7d991133-84b0-4041-9687-43466f73ebc7" style="border: medium none; float: right;" /></a><span class="zem-script more-related pretty-attribution"><script defer="defer" src="http://static.zemanta.com/readside/loader.js" type="text/javascript">
</script></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-131428141327726522009-08-28T09:44:00.000-07:002009-08-28T09:44:18.217-07:00Lots of Fjelds and MelomsIt's true, there are a lot of <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_people" rel="wikipedia" title="Norwegian people">Norwegians</a> on <a class="zem_slink" href="http://facebook.com/" rel="homepage" title="Facebook">Facebook</a> (I looked), including a lot of Fjelds and Meloms. However, I recently joined <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.microsoft.com/" rel="homepage" title="Microsoft">Microsoft</a>'s Live Spaces and it appears there are lots of Fjelds and Meloms there as well. Most Meloms spell the name with two l's, however. Of course, there are lots of Stigens as well!<br />
<br />
To see my space just go to <a href="http://qywyntyna.spaces.live.com/">http://qywyntyna.spaces.live.com/</a><br />
<br />
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</script></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-3475145319408902502009-08-14T08:28:00.000-07:002009-08-14T08:28:44.187-07:00Berthe Ellefsdatter BreakthroughIt has been awhile, but I have made a breakthrough in the Berthe Ellefsdatter conundrum. I have found her birth, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism" rel="wikipedia" title="Baptism">baptism</a>, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation" rel="wikipedia" title="Confirmation">confirmation</a>, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage" rel="wikipedia" title="Marriage">marriage</a>, and death in the Norwegian parish records.<br />
<br />
Berthe Ellefsdatter was born 5 June 1820 in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.8252777778,11.3908333333&spn=0.1,0.1&q=60.8252777778,11.3908333333%20%28L%C3%B8ten%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Løten">Løten</a>, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.hedmark-f.kommune.no/" rel="homepage" title="Hedmark">Hedmark</a>, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=59.9333333333,10.6833333333&spn=10.0,10.0&q=59.9333333333,10.6833333333%20%28Norway%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Norway">Norway</a> and baptized 25 June 1820 in the Løten church (Løten 1812-1832, page 119, line 28). According to the Løten 1814-1832 Ministerialbok (page 594, line 5), Berthe Ellefsdatter left Løten for Aamodt farm in <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=59.9575,9.98277777778&spn=0.1,0.1&q=59.9575,9.98277777778%20%28Modum%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Modum">Modum</a> with her sister, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_people" rel="wikipedia" title="Mari people">Mari</a>, on 13 February 1830. There is no mention of the girls' parents and the girls were living on different farms at the time - Berthe on Rokoeier and Mari on Bergseng, the latter being their mother's family farm. Berthe Ellefsdatter was confirmed in 1835 in Modum, <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.bfk.no/" rel="homepage" title="Buskerud">Buskerud</a>, Norway (Modum 1832-1841, page 573, line 17). She married <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knud_Knudsen_%28photographer%29" rel="wikipedia" title="Knud Knudsen (photographer)">Knud Knudsen</a> Stigen on 14 June 1844 (Modum 1841-1850 Ministerialbok, page 287, line 30) in Heggen kirke and died 2 October 1883 (Snarum i Modum 1877-1889 Ministerialbok, page 275, number 4 under 1883).<br />
<br />
Berthe Ellefsdatter can be found in both the 1865 and 1875 censuses living on Stigen farm in Snarum, Modum, Buskerud, Norway. Her sister, Mari, married Truls Pedersen Skretteberg on 26 January 1838 in Heggen Kirke, Modum, Buskerud, Norway (Modum 1832-1842 Klokkerbok, page 399, line 8; Modum 1832-1841 Ministerialbok, page 406, line 8) and lived on Krogen farm in Heggen, Modum, Buskerud, Norway for the 1865 census and on Skretteberg farm in Modum, Buskerud, Norway for the 1875 census.<br />
<br />
The girls' parents are Ellef Hansen Aamodteie and Siri Olsdatter Bergseng and I have found birthdates, a marriage date, confirmations, etc. for these individuals as well as the names, marriages and birthdates of their parents. In fact, I now have their lines back to their grandparents.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Whew! That's quite a mouthful.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless, both brothers of my great grandmother, Oline Stigen, are found in the records. They can be found on pages 3108-3109. Listed is their birth dates, service dates, civilian occupations, induction dates, etc. Pretty much a summary of their military records.<br />
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<br />
Recall that one of my concerns was Berthe Ellefsdatter's birthplace. Listed as <a class="zem_slink" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=60.6494444444,11.3663888889&spn=0.1,0.1&q=60.6494444444,11.3663888889%20%28Stange%29&t=h" rel="geolocation" title="Stange">Stange</a> Presetgjeld in the 1865 Norwegian Census, I had questions regarding the accuracy of this information stemming from the lack of "Berthe Ellefsdatters" born in Stange from a few years before the 1820's and into the 1840's. Then, I found Berthe Ellefsdatter's father, Ellef Hansen, in the 1801 Norwegian Census living on the Aamodt farm with two siblings, his father, and his stepmother. No Ellef Hansen can be found in the 1801 Census for Stange. These results are suggestive... perhaps Berthe Ellefsdatter was born in Buskerud rather than <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.hedmark-f.kommune.no/" rel="homepage" title="Hedmark">Hedmark</a>!<br />
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<br />
Berthe's husband, Knud Knudsen, was also born around 1820, according to this census, and I have already found the parish register entry for his birth - 24 September 1820. My third great grandfather was born on Ager farm, Lunder, Norderhov, Buskerud, Norway (Norderhov 1819-1837, page 46, line 36; Lunder, Viker i Norderhov, 1814-1876, page 84, line 35.) So I thought I would peruse the Stange parish records, where the 1865 Norwegian Census indicates Berthe Ellefsdatter was born, in hopes of finding my third great grandmother's date of birth as well.<br />
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As luck would have it, I perused the Stange Klokkerbok, 1814-1825 and the Stange Ministerialbok, 1826-1835 and discovered no Berthe Ellefsdatters had been recorded in the births and baptisms. Perhaps Berthe Ellefsdatter's age in the 1865 Census had been listed incorrectly or her birth parish listed incorrectly? I remembered I had discovered her in the parish records before and had discovered she had come from Fuhre farm. So I looked for Fuhre farm in the 1950 farm lists for Stange and could find no such farm listed. I began to wonder if the Fuhre farm was a farm in Buskerud rather than Stange or if I had simply imagined the name.<br />
<br />
I needed to see where I had come up with the Fuhre farm. I knew I had seen it in the parish registers, but I had neglected to document where. Perhaps, it was in a marriage entry that I also had not documented properly?<br />
<br />
I then began studying the parish record books for Modum, Buskerud, Norway from 1833-1841. No marriage record.<br />
<br />
I looked at their children's birthdates and then it hit me. Their firstborn child was Caroline Knudsdatter Stigen, whom I had listed as being born around 1840. The other children were born in the mid to late 1840's. Suspicious, I revisited the 1865 census data for this family. Caroline's age as listed would indicate she had been born in 1845, not 1840. So I had entered the wrong birth year and had been looking in the wrong parish records all along.<br />
<br />
After revisiting the 1865 Norwegian Census for the Stigen farm of Snarum, Modum, Buskerud, Norway and discovering the census revealed Caroline's birth year to be around 1845 rather than 1840, I studied the marriages for 1844 in Modum. Finally! I found the marriage of Berthe Ellefsdatter and Knud Knudsen. Their marriage can be found in the Modum 1841-1850 Ministerialbok on page 287, line 30.<br />
<br />
Both bride and groom are listed as being born around 1820 and the fathers of both are listed. The groom is listed as coming from the Ager farm and the bride's father is listed as Ellev Hanson, no farm listed. However, in another column, the bride's farm is listed as Aamodteie, meaning "belonging to Aamodt" farm. Therefore, the bride was from a subfarm or bruk of the Aamodt farm. I will have to look elswhere for the name of the actual bruk.<br />
<br />
I know I saw Fuhre farm somewhere!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-88546503871652616182009-05-25T13:08:00.000-07:002009-05-25T13:08:00.312-07:00Who is Emil Melom?Who is Emil Melom? The LDS lists an Emil Melom, born about 1869 or 1870, as a son of Ole Olsen Melom and his wife Anne. Norwegian parish records reveal no Emil born to Anne and Ole Melom in any year from 1866 to 1883. In fact, the first child born to this couple was baptized Ole on 10 October 1869.<br />
<br />
There is an Emmanuel Malum born in Jackson County on 17 May 1883 and an Inges O. Malum born in Jackson on 1 July 1884. However, if one of these individuals is the mythical "Emil," why is it that neither shows up in the census with the rest of the family? Death is not always the answer...<br />
<br />
There is an Emmell Mullin in the 1905 Wisconsin State Census, a male born about 1883 and whose parents are James and Nellie. Perhaps he is the mythical Emil and has simply been attached to the wrong family.<br />
<br />
There is also an Emil Meilahn, son of Charles and Minnie, born about 1882, appearing in the 1905 Texas State Census.<br />
<br />
There are no death records extant for anyone who could be an Emil Melom or for anyone who was born 17 May 1883. The closest match is an "Emil Mallon" born 15 May 1883 and died October 1971 in Pinellas, Florida. (I believe he <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">may</span> be the Emmanuel Malum born in Jackson.) The state of Florida, meanwhile, lists this man's birth as occurring in 1882.<br />
<br />
Let us suppose this is our Emil Melom. An Emil Mallon appears in the Minnesota Naturalization Records Index 1854-1957, for the years 1897-1903, having filed or received his final papers in Wadena County. There is also an Otto Frederick Emil Mallon appearing in the same index for the county of Carlton.<br />
<br />
Other than the Social Security Death Index, the LDS appears to remain silent on "Emil Mallon."<br />
<br />
In the 1900 U.S. Census, we find the man who may be Emil Mallon living in Minnesota, enumerated as "Emil Moline." The man living in Minnesota was born in May of 1883 in the state of Illinois.<br />
<br />
It would seem there is no Emil Melom...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-59537820639753638822009-05-24T11:24:00.000-07:002009-05-24T11:24:01.370-07:00The Archives SpeakWe have many possible dates for the Melom family's immigration, ranging from before 1876 to 1883. In addition, we have multiple U.S. records displaying the same dates of birth and dates of death for our family members and, notably, for Andrew Olsen Melom. Then, there are the LDS records for the family, revealing the names and approximate dates of birth for these family members.<br />
<br />
However, what do the parish records say about these names and dates? These are the records closer to the actual dates in time and I would expect them to clinch the matter and have a higher likelihood of being accurate, although it is not unheard of to find mistakes in parish records, even those kept close to the date of the event, with higher accuracy for baptisms than actual births. What do we find for the Ole Olsen Melom family?<br />
<br />
In short, we find conflicting data at every turn.<br />
<br />
The LDS data, while providing a good guide, is incorrect regarding both names and dates. A perusal of the actual parish records reveals that "Emil" Melom was actually named "Ole Olsen Melom" and that he was born 4 September 1869, baptized 10 October 1869, and died 13 November 1869. The child was buried on 1 January 1870. This proves Anne Knudsdatter Hestekindeie was pregnant when she wed Ole Olsen Melom on 14 May 1869. She and Ole would not have another child until 1874, when Anne Knudsdatter gave birth to Ole Olsen Melom on 2 January 1874. Parish registers indicate another child, baptized Anders Olsen Melom on 5 September 1875, was born 8 August 1875, revealing the American records to be incorrect with regards to the year of birth and, possibly, the day of birth as well, although I have a little less confidence in the birth dates listed in the parish records than I do in the actual baptism dates. Andrew is the Americanized form of Anders.<br />
<br />
The next child born to Ole and Anne Melom, often listed as Olive in the United States, would be Olava Melom. According to the parish registers, Olava Melom was baptized in Bruflat kirke on 26 December 1876, having been born on 20 November 1876. No child would follow for another three years. Then, on 11 May 1879, Martin Olsen is baptized, having been born on 13 April 1879, according to the parish registers.<br />
<br />
This implies that if the Meloms left Norway in 1879, they did so after 11 May 1879. There are no parish records listing their departure. Perusal of the remaining baptisms through the year 1884 - a year past the latest date given for their immigration - reveal no further baptisms in the family. We know Julius Ingvald and Anne Olsdatter were born in the United States in 1887 and 1890 respectively. The question remained, where was Carl Olsen Melom born? The U.S. or Norway? <br />
<br />
A quick glance at the Wisconsin Genealogy Index would reveal the answer. Carl Olsen Melom was born in Jackson County, Wisconsin (probably in Garfield) on 21 December 1881. He died in May of 1968 in Barron, Barron, Wisconsin. What this means is the Melom family immigrated to the United States sometime between 12 May 1879 and 20 December 1881.<br />
<br />
One last question remains: Who is Emil Melom and did he really exist? Is Emil the first Ole who died in Norway in 1869, or is he a different person, possibly born in the United States?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-20216579300393023062009-05-23T11:11:00.000-07:002009-05-23T11:11:00.837-07:00Andrew MelomAccording to his WWI draft registration card, Andrew Olsen Melom was born 5 August 1876. (This is also the date that shows up on his death records.) Andrew Melom was living in Mountain, Sheridan, North Dakota for the 1920 U.S. Census and supposedly immigrated in 1880. Yet another year for the family's immigration!<br />
<br />
Andrew married a woman named "Tille," according to this census - I assume Tille is a nickname for Mathilda - and their children as listed in the 1920 census are Millard A, Lillian V, and Adaline J. Andrew became a U.S. citizen in 1888... that is, according to the census. His wife, Tille, was born in Wisconsin in about 1881. Millard A. was supposedly born around 1907, Lillian V. around 1909, and Adaline J. around 1913 - all in North Dakota.<br />
<br />
Tille and Andrew Melom had been married five years according to the 1910 U.S. Census, placing their marriage in about 1905. The North Dakota Public Death Index lists Andrew's death at the age of 88 years on 7 September 1964 in Burleigh County, North Dakota. It also lists his birth date as 5 August 1876. LDS records indicate Andrew Olsen Melom was born 5 August 1876 in Osseo, Trempeleau, Wisconsin and that he married Matilda O. Laska on 25 March 1905, also in Osseo.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-65436489270362846002009-05-22T11:09:00.000-07:002009-05-22T11:09:57.910-07:00Meloms Part DeuxFound: The rest of Ole Olsen Melom's and Anne Knudsdatter Hestekindeie's children. Drum roll please... and the children are: Martin Olsen Melom, Emil Olsen Melom, Ole Olsen Melom, Carl Olsen Melom, Andrew/Anders Olsen Melom, Olive/Olava Olsdatter Melom, Julius Ingvald/Ingvald Julius Melom and Anna Melom.<br />
<br />
I do not yet know much about them - more research needs to be done. What I found, I found on the LDS web site, Family Search... or, at least, what I initially found.<br />
<br />
I found the birth and baptism information for Ole Olsen Melom in Bruflat i Sør Aurdal 1866-1893 on page 29, line 6. He was born 2 January 1874 in Sør Aurdal and baptized at Bruflat Kirke on 1 March 1874. His older cousin, Knud Olsen Fjeld (first-born son of my immigrant ancestor, Ingri Melom) was one of the witnesses at his baptism.<br />
<br />
In addition, I found Ole Olsen Melom in the 1910 U.S. Census living in Herr, Sheridan, North Dakota. According to that census, he immigrated to the United States in 1883. Ole would have been about nine years old in 1883.<br />
<br />
By contrast, the 1910 and 1900 census data for his father, the elder Ole, indicate the family immigrated in 1879. Thinking to resolve these discrepancies once and for all, I went to the digitalarkivet and checked up on the entries for those leaving the Norway in the parish records. Then, I went to the "Digital Inn" and perused the emigrantprotokoller, etc. I looked under every year available in all the records and could not find this family anywhere. However, it must be noted that over 800,000 Norwegians immigrated to the United States between 1825 and 1939. The Digital Archives of Norway has 700,000 of these people digitized. So, perhaps, the Meloms are among the 100,000 plus individuals who left Norway and do not appear in the digital records?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-11278876127545995552009-05-20T18:51:00.000-07:002009-05-20T23:45:43.775-07:00The Meloms Arrive in the U.S.I have long wondered what inspired my ancestor, Ingeri Mælum av Lie, a.k.a. Ingri Melom, to immigrate to the United States. I had assumed she simply traveled to the Dakotas because her two oldest sons had already immigrated to the United States and her husband had died. However, her husband had died in 1873, so a husband's death could not be the main impetus behind the move.<br />
<br />
Then, I discovered Ingeri's sons were not the only members of the family who immigrated from Norway to the United States. Thanks to new databases on the Ancestry web site, I discovered Ingeri's brother, Ole Melom, also immigrated to the United States.<br />
<br />
According to the 1900 U.S. Census, Ole Melom immigrated in 1879 and settled in the town of Garfield in Jackson County, Wisconsin. The 1900 Census also revealed that Ole Melom was born in June of 1844 and that he had been married in Norway in 1869 to his wife, Anna. This provided enough information to pay a visit to the parish records of Sør Aurdal and Bruflat, where I found Ole Melom's birth, baptism, and marriage information. Ole Melom was born on 26 June 1844 and baptized 16 July 1844 in Bruflat Kirke, Sør Aurdal, Valdres, Norway and was married 14 May 1869 in Bruflat Kirke to Anne Knudsdatter Hestekindeie.<br />
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For those who know little or nothing of Norwegian pronunciation of words, let me explain the Anne/Anna difference. In truth, there is no difference between the two names because the Norwegian pronouncing Anne will sound, to a native English speaker, as though he or she is pronouncing the name, Anna. Hence, Anna will be recorded in U.S. documents and Anne will be recorded in Norwegian documents. I knew going into this to look for "Anne" in the Norwegian parish records rather than "Anna." I also knew, when I first saw the name of Ole's wife in the U.S. census that her name was most likely Anne.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Digital Archives of Norway</span><br />
For those who would like to check the accuracy of my findings, Ole Melom's birth and baptism information can be found in the Sør Aurdal Ministerialbok, 1841-1849, on page 111, line 82. His marriage can be found in the Sør Aurdal Ministerialbok, 1866-1872, on page 62, line 11. These books can be found at <a href="http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/">http://digitalarkivet.uib.no</a> .<br />
<br />
Select English if you do not read Norwegian and then "Digitised Parish Records" in the menu bar at the top of the page. From there, select "Read the digitised parish records." For "fylke," select "Oppland." From there you can scroll down to the Sør Aurdal books. Ministerialboks are the originals, klokkerboks are the copies kept by the clerks. If both are available, it is wise to look at both, since one may be more legible or contain more information than the other.<br />
<br />
Please note that the Melom farm is a subfarm of the Lie farm. This means it may be denoted in parish records as Melom, Melom av Lie, or simply Lieseie, the latter meaning something akin to "belonging to Lie." In the latter case, the farm referred to need not be the Melom farm, as there were several subfarms on the Lie main farm. Thirty eight to be exact, of which Melom/Melum is but one. (Southern Lie has thirteen more subfarms.) There are also numerous spellings of the Melom farm, including Molum and Molum af Lie. I assure you, it is the same farm. You may peruse the parish records hosted by the digitalarkivet to prove this fact to yourself.<br />
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In addition, in the U.S., Melom was sometimes enumerated as Mellem and transcribed as Melom, Mellem, Melone, Melon, and Malone. It will sometimes appear as Malum and even Mahlum. I have found the name listed as Maolum in some genealogies, although I have yet to come across this spelling in the parish records.<br />
<br />
Note, too, that there is more than one Melom farm in Norway. The Melom farm I am concerned with is in the Bruflat subparish in the Valdres region of Norway. For most of its history, the Bruflat kirke was a subparish of the Sør Aurdal parish. Bruflat belongs now to the Etnedal parish in the Valdres region of what is now Oppland. Records for families immigrating from this area may be found in the Aurdal, Sør Aurdal, and Bruflat records. The Etnedal books only cover Thon. The reason for this is that many of the Bruflat records were destroyed when Bruflat was attacked in World War II.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Children of Anne Hestekindeie and Ole Melom</span><br />
The children of Anne Hestekindeie and Ole Melom, according to the 1900 U.S. Census are Julius I. and Anna. Julius I is listed elsewhere as Julius Ingvald and Ingvald Julius. He was born 19 June 1887 according to his WWI draft registration and his wife was Inga, whom he married in 1913. By 1920 Ingvald Julius Melom had moved to Eau Claire, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Sister, Anna, was born in June of 1890 and that is all I know of her. Like her brother, she may have been enumerated in the 1900 census under her middle name rather than the name she wound up using in later life. I do not yet know who she married.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-89023655149261296222009-03-07T11:04:00.000-08:002009-03-07T11:57:41.755-08:00Fjeld Family Death RecordsAwhile back, so many moons ago that I cannot remember so much as what season had just passed, I ordered the death certificates for most of my Fjeld ancestors (and a few others) from the State of North Dakota. I attempted to order the birth certificate of my grandmother, Rosella Fjeld, too because the death records that I have found for her list an incorrect birth date of 4 November 1922, but the State of North Dakota wouldn't provide that record. They probably thought I was trying to run some identity theft scam against someone who was still alive. Grandmother died in 1967, but North Dakota may not be aware of this fact. Or, if they are, perhaps her death is too recent to allow release of records.<div><br /></div><div>In any case, I have the death records of all my direct Fjeld ancestors who came to the States. I also have great grandmother Fjeld's father, Ole Knudsen Stigen's death certificate. There is a wealth of information on these North Dakota death certificates: occupation, cause of death, parents, date of burial, place of burial, name of undertaker, birth date and place of birth, spouse... you name it, it's on there. The information I have found on them is relatively accurate and jibes with my other research and other sources, although there are some errors -- for example, my great grandfather's wife being listed as "Otina Fjeld." A minor error, as this is probably a typo - should be Oline Fjeld.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ole M. Fjeld's occupation is listed as farming and stock and grain in particular. I knew he was a farmer, but I didn't know what sorts of things he farmed... although I knew he owned cows and goats because I have a picture of his farm with those sorts of animals in the picture. Birth date is listed as 9 April 1892, which is true, and death date is listed as February 18, 1954. Parents are listed as Martin O. Fjeld and Kari Ruse and the informant is Mrs. Ole M. Fjeld, which accounts for the accuracy. So why is her own name incorrectly spelled on the death certificate? More than likely, a typo. There is a also a question on the certificate asking if the deceased was ever in the U.S. armed forces. In this case, the answer on the certificate is no. Ole M. Fjeld did register for the draft in WWI, but he was never called. Great grandfather died of cardiac failure due to a coronary occlusion at 3:20 p.m. at McVille Community Hospital after a four day stay -- and yes, I got all this from his death certificate. He was buried 23 February 1954 at Our Saviors Lutheran Cemetery in Field Township, Nelson, North Dakota. Great grandfather's social security number is on the death certificate, but I won't list that here.</div><div><br /></div><div>By contrast, the death certificate of Ingri (Mælum av Lie) Fjeld seems to list very little information. The informant is Ole M. Fjeld's father (my second great grandfather), Martin Olsen Fjeld, the son who travelled with her from Norway to the United States. Ingri's date of birth is listed as 7 December 1832 and her date of death is listed as 20 January 1916. The birth date differs from what we find in the Norwegian parish records, which list Ingri's birth as 5 December 1832. Perhaps the parish records are wrong, or, perhaps, Martin Olsen gave an incorrect birthday for his mother. He was grieving after all. From her death certificate, we learn that Ingri was widowed when she died, was 24 years of age at first marriage, and had 8 children of whom 6 were actually living. The names of her parents are listed as Ole Melum and Anne Aspelien and this is pretty much what we find in the old parish records, although spellings may differ. "Aspelien" is a misspelling of Espelien, a farm in Bruflat parish, Valdres, Norway. "Melum" is yet another spelling of Mælum and is a shortened form of Melum af Lie. Other spellings include Molum and Mellum (there are others). Date of burial is listed as 25 January 1916. A place of burial is not listed. So, the question remains, where was Ingri Fjeld buried? On one of the Fjeld farms perhaps? Or at Our Saviors Lutheran Cemetery? Time to pay a visit to the cemetery...</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there is the death certificate of Ole Knudsen Stigen, who died 24 April 1937 at 5:30 a.m. of senility somewhere in Rugh Township, Nelson County, North Dakota. Date of birth is listed as 9 March 1854 and occupation is listed as retired farmer, although it doesn't say what he farmed. His spouse is listed as Ragnhild Stigen of Aneta, who is also the informant. Ole K. Stigen was buried 28 April 1937 at Sogn Cemetery. His parents are listed as "Knudt Knudson Uhlen" and "Bertha Elefson," the latter of which is an Americanization, for in Norway his mother would have been known as "Bertha Elefsdatter," meaning daughter of Elef. Uhlen is a farm in Norway and is indeed the farm listed in the parish records. We are not, unfortunately, provided with Berthe Elefsdatter's farm name. Perhaps, Ragnhild (Renden) Stigen did not know which farm her husband's mother hailed from. Or perhaps, she did not care to provide the name. Or it was provided, but not listed. Parish records to the rescue! Norwegian parish records list Berthe Ellefsdatter's farm as Fuhre in Stange, Hedmark, Norway.</div><div><br /></div><div>Enough. The idea is that a lot of information can be found on a death certificate. There are a lot of clues there, even if the information provided doesn't seem like much at the time.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-18116771726801017822008-09-24T20:18:00.001-07:002008-09-24T20:29:04.922-07:00One Farm or Two?<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGjXchqWPhAa7AzXy3ovbwetwCte1XQ-hD-jRkTRrxvgcplWZEq9sVEDCXZmzOZlim_kClI40sWqb8UURUZ13l7ZaPUBFYEViO3uOhk-PiokJrCLHymwRJvUHksuCM990QAz8d_RP4GY/s1600-h/img002.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGjXchqWPhAa7AzXy3ovbwetwCte1XQ-hD-jRkTRrxvgcplWZEq9sVEDCXZmzOZlim_kClI40sWqb8UURUZ13l7ZaPUBFYEViO3uOhk-PiokJrCLHymwRJvUHksuCM990QAz8d_RP4GY/s320/img002.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249793601902345394" /></a><br /></div><p>Grandmother was a Fjeld. She married a Nussberger from Wisconsin shortly after they met in a hospital at the end of WWII. If I remember correctly, Grandfather was wounded (yet again!) and Grandmother (this is the part I <em>am</em> certain of) had been badly injured in an automobile accident.</p><br /><p>Grandmother was from North Dakota. Her ancestors had been in the Dakotas since the Dakotas were mere territories. The Fjelds can be found in the 1885 Dakota Territory Census living in Nelson County, where most of them remained into the late 20th century. Some still live there today. In fact, the farm belonging to Grandmother Fjeld's branch of the family remained in family hands until the 1970's when Great Grandmother Fjeld sold the farm.</p><br /><p>You will not find the Fjelds in the 1885 Dakota Territory Census by searching under the name, Fjeld, for census takers usually spelled family names the way they sounded or simply "Americanized" them for this particular census. It is helpful to know that American Fjelds often pronounce their name "Field." In this case, if you search on the name, "Field," you will find all of Grandmother Fjeld's then living ancestors, as well as living collateral family members with the surname, Fjeld. In short, all those who immigrated to America.</p><br /><p>Ingeri Mælum av Lie, Grandmother's great grandmother, is listed as "Ingrary Field." Her age is given as 50 even though she was 53 years old at the time. Perhaps the census taker rounded. Perhaps not. In any case, it is clear from perusing the U.S. censuses in which this immigrant ancestor appears that she had little patience for census takers, even Norwegian census takers. She likely considered them a nuisance at best, nosey at worst. Grandmother's great grandmother died in January of 1916, six years before Grandmother was born.</p><br /><p>Another feisty woman, and an immigrant ancestor to boot, lived on until 1952 - Grandmother's grandmother, Kari Knudsdatter Ruse. Kari Ruse married Ingeri's thirdborn son, Martin Olsen Fjeld, and she was from the Old Country. She was from the same sokn that Ingeri Mælum av Lie hailed from - Bruflat subparish in the Valdres region of Norway. She is the likely source of the information my own grandmother had on her Norwegian family tree, which she wrote down and stashed in a book she gave to my mother when my mother was a girl:</p><p><br /></p><br /><p>The family story is that the Fjelds came from Norway and lived on the Fjeld farm in that country. What succeeding generations neglected to mention in the telling or else forgot altogether was that there are many Fjeld farms in many Norwegian fylke. Mother certainly neglected to mention it. Actually, I don't think Mother knew. Mother had never heard of Bruflat until I discovered it in my own research.</p><br /><p>Another fact that I must mention is that I did not have access to this simple pedigree chart when I started my research. Truthfully, I only came across this pedigree chart a couple of months ago when Mother gave me all the family photo albums, books and negatives in her possession. She was afraid my brother would file them in the circular file - either some Saturday when she was at work, without her knowledge or her consent, or, upon her death, as he has threatened to do with most of her items.</p><br /><p>Some people just don't know what they have!</p><br /><p>Armed with nothing but a family story, I marched into my research of the family farm in Norway as wide-eyed and innocent as any of the patriotic soldiers that marched to war at the beginning of our Civil War. Therefore, it was with no small dose of consternation that I discovered my ancestors living on Thorshaugen farm in the 1865 Telling. Ice cold water had been doused upon my research and the realities of war were sinking in...</p><br /><p>Perusal of church records found my ancestors living alternately on Thorshaugen farm and Fjeld farm. Now, I was truly confused. I had read that sometimes farms were known locally by one name and were listed by authorities under another name and I thought that this must have been what happened in the case of Thorshaugen/Fjeld. Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that parish priests could choose which name to use in their own records, often alternating between several different names for the same farm.</p><br /><p>Enter the real estate records. These records show Thorshaugen farm being sold by Ole Knudsen Thorshaugen to Even Mikkelsen Byfuglien before 1868 (I don't now recall the exact year). A daughter of the latter - Berthe Evensdatter - was born at Thorshaugen farm on 26 December 1868. Meanwhile, records show my ancestors living on the Fjeld farm, or Midtfjeld and, indeed, the years following the sale of Thorshaugen are the years in the parish records wherein my ancestors are shown living on Fjeld farm. That clinched it.</p><br /><p>One farm or two? Thorshaugen and Fjeld are clearly two separate farms.</p><br /><p>Oluf Rygh and the Matrikkelutkastet av 1950 state that Thorshaugen is an old farm, either a part of Bakke or another name for the Bakke farm itself. The Fjeld and Midtfjeld (Fjeld Mellem) farms are different farms entirely. Looking at a map, they are quite a distance from each other.</p><br /><p>For those who are curious, Wikipedia has a list of farms in Bruflat:</p><br /><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_farms_in_Etnedal">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_farms_in_Etnedal</a></p><br /><p></p><br /><p><small>Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Norwegian+farms">Norwegian farms</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Thorshaugen">Thorshaugen</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Fjeld">Fjeld</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Bruflat">Bruflat</a></small></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p style="color:#008;text-align:right;"><small><em>Powered by</em> <a href="http://www.qumana.com/">Qumana</a></small></p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-75873491740659243282008-09-23T22:58:00.001-07:002008-09-23T22:58:25.395-07:00Breech-Birth Luck<p>In an earlier post, I mentioned that I found it excessively easy to find records on my female relatives, as well as whereabouts, husbands, and married names. In fact, it is usually through a female ancestor that I discover bits and pieces of the puzzle regarding male ancestors and my family history.</p><br /><p>This is, of course, quite backwards from the normal experience of genealogical research. Let us say, that breech is the natural way my intuition works. It is the natural way in which synchronicity plays a role in my research.</p><br /><p>At the risk of sounding like a lunatic in desperate need of a fancy white jacket with extra long arms and walls with white padding, I firmly believe that certain of my ancestors - female ancestors - are assisting me in my research from beyond the grave and that their male counterparts are desperately ducking discovery. Hmm... sounds like waking life!</p><br /><p>But I digress.</p><br /><p>The point is, my luck with research runs counter to the normal experience, which brings me to surprises.</p><br /><p>In the same post, I mentioned my ancestors had a few surprises in store for me. One such surprise involved Thorshaugen farm. I had - quite wrongly, I might add - assumed that my immigrant ancestors had lived on Thorshaugen farm most, if not all, of their lives. At least as long as Ingri Olsdatter Mælum av Lie and Ole Knudsen Fjeld had been married. At the same time, I had assumed - <em>quite wrongly again</em> - that Ole Knudsen Fjeld had immigrated to the United States as well. This assumption led to the further assumption that Ole Knudsen had died soon after his arrival, or during the journey to America itself, as he appeared nowhere in the American records from 1865 onwards.</p><br /><p>Then I discovered the Norwegian immigration records of Ingri (Mælum av Lie) Fjeld and her children. Nowhere did Ole Knudsen Fjeld appear in these records. Perhaps, he had immigrated alone?</p><br /><p>Really? Then why were there no U.S. records, no U.S. census records, no property records, etc., involving Ole Knudsen Fjeld? Ingri appears in all the censuses after the 1880 U.S. census and in not one of these does her husband make an appearance. Ingri even appears in the 1885 Dakota Territory Census, living in Nelson County, North Dakota. No Ole Knudsen Fjeld there either.</p><br /><p>It was time to face the fact that Ole Knudsen Fjeld may have died on Norwegian soil before his wife immigrated to the United States.</p><br /><p>At this time, the Digitalarkivet of Norway was in the process of uploading parish records to their web site. This meant that some records were online, but others were not. At the time of my research, most were not online. This dearth of information held especially true for Bruflat parish records, which, I had read had been burned during WWII. Or, at least, the records for the years that I needed had burned.</p><br /><p>Therefore, over a long period, I returned to the parish records on a weekly or monthly basis, praying for records. Finally, the Bruflat parish records for 1866-1893 were uploaded. I spent months searching because I had never laid eyes on Gothic handwriting, which is very different from our own. Many Gothic letters are unrecognizable to modern readers. To make matters worse, some letters have multiple forms in the Gothic, which vaguely resemble some of our modern cursive letters, but which usually turn out to be different letters entirely in the Gothic. Nor did i speak or read Norwegian.</p><br /><p>I was illiterate.</p><br /><p>Frustrated, I Googled away and taught myself to read Gothic handwriting.</p><br /><p>Once I had learned how to read Gothic handwriting, I combed through every page in the deaths and burials section of the 1866-1893 Bruflat i Sør Aurdal klokkerbok. I was looking for Ole Knudsen of Thorshaugen or Fjeld farm. In previous searches through the Bruflat parish records, I had discovered births of some of Ole and Ingri's children and that their residence changed from Thorshaugen to Fjeld farm to midt Fjeld farm. I had two theories:</p><br /><ol><br /> <li>Thorshaugen, Fjeld and midt Fjeld were names for the same farm.</li><br /> <li>Thorshaugen, Fjeld and midt Fjeld were names for different farms.</li><br /></ol><br /><p>That is why I was searching for an Ole Knudsen who had died while residing at either Thorshaugen or Fjeld farm. On page 198, I found what I had been looking for... and it left me breathless because I had expected to come away from the klokkerbok empty-handed and blind. (Klokkerboks are not easy to read.)</p><br /><p>The answer to why Ole Knudsen Fjeld did not appear in the American records with his wife, Ingri, stared back at me in all its starkness, as if to say, "Boo!"</p><br /><p>Ole Knudsen, Farmer, Fjeld farm, died 17 December 1873, buried 11 January 1874.</p><br /><p>A single line.</p><br /><p>Mystery solved.</p><br /><p>Next up: Thorshaugen and Fjeld - One Farm or Two?</p><br /><p><small>Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/farm">farm</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Thorshaugen">Thorshaugen</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Fjeld">Fjeld</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/genealogy">genealogy</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/ancestors">ancestors</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Norwegian">Norwegian</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Gothic+handwriting">Gothic handwriting</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/klokkerbok">klokkerbok</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/digitalarkivet">digitalarkivet</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/parish+records">parish records</a></small></p><br /><p style="color:#008;text-align:right;"><small><em>Powered by</em> <a href="http://www.qumana.com/">Qumana</a></small></p><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-40656657623921954912008-09-16T20:13:00.001-07:002008-09-16T20:13:24.524-07:00Pioneering Women Part II<p><em><strong><span style="font-size:14pt">Kari Knudsdatter Ruse</span></strong></em></p><br /><p>Kari Knudsdatter Ruse was born on the 17th of July in 1867 on the Ruse (Lundeseie) farm in Bruflat sokn in the Sør Aurdal parish of the Valdres region of Norway. Traveling aboard the Island, a steamship, Kari Ruse arrived at the Port of New York on 7 July 1888. Alone. She would later marry Martin Olsen Fjeld - son of Ingeri Olsdatter Mælum av Lie and Ole Knudsen Fjeld - in about 1891, probably in Our Savior's Lutheran Church in rural Kloten, Nelson County, North Dakota.</p><br /><p></p><br /><p><em><strong>Children of Kari Knudsdatter Ruse and Martin Olsen Fjeld:</strong></em></p><br /><ol><br /> <li>Ole Martinsen Fjeld* (1892-1954)</li><br /> <li>Christian Martinsen Fjeld (1893-1993)</li><br /> <li>Clarence Martinsen Fjeld (1895-1916)</li><br /> <li>Inger Martinsdatter Fjeld (1896-1976)</li><br /> <li>Alma Martinsdatter Fjeld (1899-1974)</li><br /> <li>Agnetta Martinsdatter Fjeld (1900-1902)</li><br /> <li>Albert Martinsen Fjeld (1903- ????)</li><br /> <li>Melvin Martinsen Fjeld (1905-1989)</li><br /> <li>Agnes Martinsdatter Fjeld (1909- ????)</li><br /></ol><br /><p></p><br /><p>According to parish records (Bruflat i Sør Aurdal, 1866-1893), Kari Knudsdatter was born to parents Knud Syversen Ruse and Anne Arnesdatter (of Hovde farm, as marriage records reveal) on 17 July 1867 and baptized on 29 September 1867 in Bruflat Kirke. Siblings of Kari Knudsdatter Ruse are Syver, Arne, Martin, Anders, Ole, and Kristian, the latter three being her younger siblings. This family can be found in the 1865 Telling living on the Ruse farm.</p><br /><p></p><br /><p><em><strong>Ancestors of Kari Knudsdatter Ruse:</strong></em></p><br /><ul><br /> <li>Knud Syversen Ruse, Father</li><br /> <li>Anne Arnesdatter Hovde, Mother</li><br /> <li>Syver Thidemansen Ruse, Paternal Grandfather</li><br /> <li>Marthe Olsdatter, Paternal Grandmother</li><br /> <li>Arne Syversen Hovde, Maternal Grandfather</li><br /> <li>Kari Andersdatter, Maternal Grandmother</li><br /></ul><br /><p></p><br /><p><strong>Sources:</strong></p><br /><ul><br /> <li>Bruflat i Sør Aurdal, 1866-1893</li><br /> <li>1865 Telling for 0540 Søndre Aurdal</li><br /> <li>Sør Aurdal 1825-1840 Ministerialbok</li><br /></ul><br /><p><small>Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Bruflat">Bruflat</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/S%C3%B8r+Aurdal">Sør Aurdal</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Fjeld">Fjeld</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Ruse">Ruse</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Kari+Ruse">Kari Ruse</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Kari+Knudsdatter+Ruse">Kari Knudsdatter Ruse</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Norway">Norway</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Valdres">Valdres</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Nelson">Nelson</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/North+Dakota">North Dakota</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/ancestors">ancestors</a></small></p><br /><p style="color:#008;text-align:right;"><small><em>Powered by</em> <a href="http://www.qumana.com/">Qumana</a></small></p><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-10516725458592714912008-09-06T12:58:00.001-07:002008-09-06T13:04:26.247-07:00Pioneering Women Part I<p><span style="font-size:14pt">Ingeri Olsdatter Mælum av Lie</span></p><br /><p>Ingeri Olsdatter Mælum av Lie was born on 5 December 1832 on the Mælum av Lie farm in Bruflat Sokn in what was then the parish of Sør Aurdal (now Etnedal). She married Ole Knudsen of Lie farm around 1855 and later lived on Thorshaugen and Fjeld farms, both in Bruflat. Her husband, Ole Knudsen, died on Fjeld farm in December of 1873 and Ingeri left Norway nearly 10 years later aboard the Angelo with her youngest children. Her two eldest sons had already immigrated to the United States.</p><br /><p></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:12pt"><em>Children of Ingeri Olsdatter Mælum av Lie and Ole Knudsen Fjeld</em></span></p><br /><ol><br /> <li>Knud Olsen Fjeld</li><br /> <li>Ole Olsen Fjeld</li><br /> <li>Martin Olsen Fjeld*</li><br /> <li>Anne Olsdatter Fjeld (and possible Marit Olsdatter Fjeld)</li><br /> <li>Inger Olsdatter Fjeld</li><br /> <li>Christian Olsen Fjeld</li><br /> <li>Christopher Olsen Fjeld</li><br /> <li>Olava Olsdatter Fjeld</li><br /></ol><br /><p></p><br /><p>In the Sør Aurdal parish registers of 1826-1840, we find Ingeri's parents listed as Ole Andersen Mælum av Lie and his wife, Anne Knudsdatter. The marriage record of this couple can be found on page 395 of the Sør Aurdal 1825-1840 Ministerialbok. Here, we find that Anne Knudsdatter is from Espelien farm and, in fact, that Ole Andersen was living on Granum farm at the time of their marriage.</p><br /><p></p><br /><p><em>Children of Anne Knudsdatter Espelien and Ole Andersen (Granum) Mælum av Lie:</em></p><br /><ol><br /> <li>Knud Olsen Mælum av Lie</li><br /> <li>Ingeri Olsdatter Mælum av Lie</li><br /> <li>Anders Olsen Mælum av Lie</li><br /> <li>Ole Olsen Mælum av Lie</li><br /> <li>Maria Olsdatter Mælum av Lie</li><br /> <li>Andreas Olsen Mælum av Lie</li><br /> <li>Tollef Olsen Mælum av Lie</li><br /></ol><br /><p></p><br /><p>Sources:</p><br /><ul><br /> <li>Sør Aurdal Parish Register 1826-1840, page 95, line 12</li><br /> <li>Bruflat i Sør Aurdal Klokkerbok 1866-1893, page 30, line 25</li><br /> <li>1865 Folketelling for 0540 Sør Aurdal</li><br /> <li>Bruflat i Sør Aurdal Klokkerbok 1866-1893, page 198, line 3</li><br /> <li>Sør Aurdal Ministerialbok 1825-1840, page 395, line 28</li><br /> <li>Sør Aurdal Ministerialbok 1825-1840, page 50, line 94</li><br /> <li>Sør Aurdal Ministerialbok 1825-1840, page 3058, line 39</li><br /> <li>Sør Aurdal 1841-1849, page 111, line 82</li><br /> <li>Sør Aurdal 1841-1849, page 183, line 27</li><br /> <li>1865 Folketelling for 0540 Søndre Aurdal, page 207</li><br /></ul><br /><p style="color:#008;text-align:right;"></p><br /><p><small>Tags: <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Fjeld">Fjeld</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Lie">Lie</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Bruflat">Bruflat</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Granum">Granum</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Espelien">Espelien</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Ingeri+M%C3%A6lum+av+Lie">Ingeri Mælum av Lie</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Ingeri+Maelum+av+Lie">Ingeri Maelum av Lie</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/Angelo">Angelo</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/immigrant">immigrant</a>, <a rel="tag" href="http://technorati.com/tag/immigrant+ancestor">immigrant ancestor</a></small></p><br /><p style="color:#008;text-align:right;"><small><em>Powered by</em> <a href="http://www.qumana.com/">Qumana</a></small></p><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-87642856237003501572008-08-23T16:35:00.001-07:002008-08-23T16:38:10.282-07:00Can't is a Four Letter Word<p>In my previous post, I discovered that the Zentz web site that had drawn me into genealogy - and my Norwegian roots - had ceased to exist.</p><p> </p><p>Then I got to thinking.</p><p> </p><p>As opposed to rearranging my prejudices.</p><p> </p><p>Archives...</p><p> </p><p>Somewhere, someone is archiving something everywhere. Even if the archives are incomplete. Hmm... fun and games. Or more accurately, my Fun and Games folder of bookmarks. In this handy little folder is the link to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Fun and games indeed.</p><p> </p><p>I decided to give the Wayback Machine a try. It was worth the effort, because it worked. The Wayback Machine has archives of the Zentz web site from July 12, 2001 to August 6, 2007. They have nothing for 2008. Why, I don't know. The last time I accessed the Zentz site was April 14, 2008 to check my link from the blog post of the same date. So, I'm guessing the Zentz site went down sometime between April 14, 2008 and August 22, 2008. Who knows? When it came down is not all that relevant. What is relevant is that you can still view it through the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. It's what genealogists of the future will be using to trace <em>our</em> footsteps.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-47176524354354517712008-08-23T13:13:00.001-07:002008-08-23T14:26:39.258-07:00You Can't Go Back<blockquote><p><span style="color:#663333;">I recently discovered a site called AncestralSpace.com - a sort of My Space for genealogy buffs. While exploring the site and deciding whether I wanted to join or not, I flipped over to my Ancestry.com tab and started looking up other researchers who were researching Fjelds in North Dakota. In the end, I wound up looking at Selmer Fjeld, who is also in my family tree. At this point, I do not remember whose tree I was looking at on Ancestry.com, but I remember a Tina Haug in that tree...</span></p><p><span style="color:#663333;">It occurred to me that there was also a Tina married to a Selmer Fjeld in my own family tree, so I switched to look at my family tree. No Tina. I had neglected to add that bit of information to my tree, probably because it is not part of my direct line and I have been neglecting some of the more recent Fjeld family members in favor of their Old Country counterparts. My research lately has been focused on parish records and real estate records in Norway.</span></p><p><span style="color:#663333;">Time to return to the U.S. for a bit!</span></p><p><span style="color:#663333;">Then, I remembered my roots. My roots in family research, that is. The Gary Zentz tree sprung to mind. I knew Tina was in that tree. I just wanted to see if the two Tina's were the same person. So I typed my grandmother's name into the Google search engine as I had always done when looking for the Zentz tree in the past...</span></p><p><span style="color:#663333;">The only entries that popped up were my own entries for this blog and other web sites I am a member of. I typed in Gary Zentz. I typed "Ole Knudsen Fjeld." Some of the old links are there, but they no longer connect to an actual web page, so the Zentz site is gone. The link that I posted to the Zentz site in another blog entry is broken.</span></p><p><span style="color:#663333;">Elsewhere on the net, I read that the Zentz site can be found through FamilySearch.org. So I paid a visit to the LDS web site and typed in "Peter Zentz" as instructed. Nothing. It no longer exists there either. The skeleton has turned to dust, so to speak, and the ashes have been blown to the four winds.</span></p><p><span style="color:#663333;">It's the end of an era. But when did it end? I have no clue because I have been out of town and without personal Internet access for a few months. Ca ne fait rien. <em>It matters little, </em>for I have come so far in my own research that the information I have on the Fjeld family from Bruflat exceeds that of what Gary Zentz posted on his web site.</span></p><p><span style="color:#663333;">Still, it is a little sad. His research made my research possible.</span></p></blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114481304631950357.post-50038931669909291392008-04-29T11:05:00.001-07:002008-04-29T11:09:34.485-07:00As Promised...<h4>The Military Career of Oliver S. Aas</h4><p>Oliver Samuel Aas was the son of Fjeld Township enumerator, Samuel S. Aas. Born on 3 October 1898 in Aneta, North Dakota, Oliver is listed as a teacher in the Ancestry.com database, North Dakota Military Men, 1917-1918. The information in this database is derived from <em>Roster of the Men and Women Who Served in the Army or Naval Service (including the Marine Corps) of the United States or its Allies from the State of North Dakota in the World War, 1917-1918.</em> Vol. I-IV. Bismark, ND, USA: Bismark Tribune Co., 1931. In particular, Oliver Samuel Aas is listed in <em>Volume I Aaberg to Flagg.</em></p><p>According to this work, Oliver S. Aas was inducted two days after his twentieth birthday and was sent to the University of North Dakota, where he served in the Students Army Training Corps until Halloween of 1918. Then, he was sent to Central Officers Training School in Camp Grant, Illinois, where he remained until he was discharged as a Private on 12 December 1918.</p><p>Not much of a career.</p><p>His army number was 3,455,562 and he was a registrant of Barnes County, North Dakota. So it is likely that we may find other Aas relatives in Barnes, North Dakota around this time. In WWI Civilian Draft Registrations, another Ancestry.com database, he is listed as residing in Grant, having a relative in Valley City, North Dakota, and the state is listed as South Dakota. Looking at his actual draft registration card, we find that Grant is in South Dakota and Oliver claims to be a teacher there at Milbank Schools in Milbank. Oh, and the relative listed as living in Valley City? One S.S. Aas. Probably Oliver's father, Samuel. Valley City is in Barnes County, North Dakota, for those who don't know.</p><p>Two years later, the 1920 U.S. Federal Census finds Oliver S. Aas living as a lodger in La Moure, La Moure, North Dakota in the the Frederick Muralt household. There, his profession is listed as a high school teacher. So Oliver Aas, not unexpectedly, returned to teaching after the Great War.</p><p>He would later move to Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the 1939 passenger list of the S.S. Talamanca would reveal. In fact, he lived at 4817 East Lake Harriett Boulevard. There is an Oliver S. Aas listed as having died 22 Mar 1950 in the Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002, in the county of Hennepin.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572657221015776658noreply@blogger.com0