A Family History Blog
The old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost
– J.R.R. Tolkien
- Notes from the heartland (Part 5: Home)I am home now after my road trip, a road trip long enough to permit some reflection. If you’ve read my previous posts, you won’t be surprised that I’ve been reflecting on our place in history. We Americans… Read more: Notes from the heartland (Part 5: Home)
- Notes from the heartland (Part 4: Nebraska)Starting out from Fort Worth yesterday, my canine companion and I traced the Chisholm Trail up to where it peters out near Salina, Kansas. From there we headed due north on a lonely stretch of US 81 into… Read more: Notes from the heartland (Part 4: Nebraska)
- Notes from the heartland (Part 3: Texas)Happy Rudesgiving! I can’t remember when Rudesgiving originated, but with such a geographically dispersed family — and with each of my brothers having their own families and in-laws — we needed to come up with our own convenient… Read more: Notes from the heartland (Part 3: Texas)
- Notes from the heartland (Part 2: Kansas and Missouri)It’s our second day on the road to Fort Worth, and Spence and I are traveling through the rolling hills of the Kansas and Missouri borderlands. Yesterday I told you a little about my 3x great-grandmother’s brothers, John… Read more: Notes from the heartland (Part 2: Kansas and Missouri)
- Notes from the heartland (Part 1: Iowa)I’m on a kind of pilgrimage through America’s heartland with my trusty companion, my six-year-old Golden Doodle, Spence. This isn’t your average road trip; we’ll be traveling through time as well as space. We have a destination —… Read more: Notes from the heartland (Part 1: Iowa)
- Center of the worldMy dog Spence and I journeyed to the center of the world on Wednesday. We’re back, and we thought we’d tell you a little about it. Minnesota’s indigenous people have passed down a variety of creation stories. Several… Read more: Center of the world
- Glimmers from a golden ageNorway is one of those countries – like Macedonia or Mongolia – that has a modest footprint today but once settled and ruled distant lands. This is not to say that Norway’s best days are behind it. But… Read more: Glimmers from a golden age
- Twisted symbolsPick any aspect of ancient Scandinavian culture – from Norse religion to runic writing – and do an online search. It won’t take you long to find groups and individuals who are co-opting this culture to serve white… Read more: Twisted symbols
- Bridges across the pondTo travel abroad as an American in 2025, particularly to Western Europe, is to open yourself up to questions about what it means to be an American. For 80 years, Europe knew it could rely on the U.S.… Read more: Bridges across the pond
- Norway’s scattered children (part 2)One-third of Norway’s population left the country between 1825 and 1925 — nearly a million people. As a citizen of a country that has more often been the recipient of migrants, I can scarcely imagine the impact those… Read more: Norway’s scattered children (part 2)
- Norway’s scattered children (part 1)Two hundred years ago this year, a small ship set sail from Stavanger, Norway bound for New York City with 52 passengers and crew. This was Norway’s “Mayflower moment”.* Who could have guessed that over the coming century… Read more: Norway’s scattered children (part 1)
- Bertha Thorpe Veum and her family from NesAs I mentioned in a prior post, my biological great-great grandfather, Erik Veum (1864-1942), made a journey back to Norway in 1921 with two of his daughters. Erik’s wife Bertha (1864-1937) did not accompany them. Perhaps she had… Read more: Bertha Thorpe Veum and her family from Nes
- The ancestors of Erik Embretsen Veum, father of J. Oscar VeumThree years ago, I wrote a blog post about my biological great-grandfather, Johan “Oscar” Veum, even while asserting my belief that family is not biology. I still strongly believe this. You’d think then that I might leave this… Read more: The ancestors of Erik Embretsen Veum, father of J. Oscar Veum
- The cup that launched a shipThe year is 1850, and in a small village perched at the end of a fjord in Western Norway, a young servant hurries through her tasks. Malene has no education and very little savings, but for the first… Read more: The cup that launched a ship
- A history of the Hauge farms of the Arna Valley, by Ole Johan HaugeWhen I was preparing for this trip to Norway, I posted on a Facebook page for the community of Arna that I was seeking some local history expertise. I had discovered that my great-great-great grandfather, Ole Jensen Hauge,… Read more: A history of the Hauge farms of the Arna Valley, by Ole Johan Hauge
- Oh, those JohnsonsMy grandmother’s Aunt Glenrose – my great-great aunt – was a beloved character, full of stories, jokes and poems. A spinster for life, she was always taking care of others in the family: nursing parents and siblings through… Read more: Oh, those Johnsons
- O Christmas TreeChristmas trees look even more out of place in Costa Rica than I do. Michael and I don’t have one at the AirBnB that we’ve rented, and it’s probably for the best. Christmas itself seems slightly out of… Read more: O Christmas Tree
- A tip of the hat to Britanno-American friendshipEverywhere I travelled over the past 10 days, I was reminded of the close and abiding ties between Great Britain and my home country. What might have started as a begrudging alliance between mother Britannia and her uncouth,… Read more: A tip of the hat to Britanno-American friendship
- The Wells family of WorcesterMy grandmother’s grandmother Fannie Wells was born just north of Madison, Wisconsin in 1854, a few years after her parents Maria and William Wells had emigrated from Worcester, England. Fannie died in 1931, but she is remembered in… Read more: The Wells family of Worcester
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Jesse Rude is a professionally trained sociologist and amateur historian. To learn more about this blog, click here.
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