Category: Family history
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Meeting the Anderson-Lindalen family of Vardal
My great-grandma Elvina Anderson Smith’s father was born as Anton Andreasen Mustadeie on April 24, 1875 in Vardal, Norway to Elisa Christiansdatter (1838-1888) and Andreas Andersen (1834-1920). I only have two photos of Grandpa Anton Anderson. The first is above – an enlargement of Anton from the photo I posted a few days ago (see…
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The Hansons and Helgestads of Østre Toten
My dad’s paternal grandparents were Borghild Helgestad Rude (1904-1975) and John Rude (1900-1997). The photo below was taken in May of 1975 shortly after I was born and shortly before my great-grandma Borghild died. Grandma Borghild was so weakened by illness at the time this photo was taken that she asked Grandpa John to hold…
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The Rudes – an origin story
My dad’s paternal grandfather, John Rude (1900-1997), was born in the U.S. – but only barely. He was actually conceived in Norway and born in Wisconsin five months after his parents and older sister Anna arrived in Wisconsin from Olso by way of Liverpool, England and New York City. Grandpa John’s parents were Ole Johannesen…
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Mjøsa
Ancestors on both my mother and father’s sides have lived around Mjøsa – Norway’s largest lake – for hundreds (if not thousands) of years. Mjøsa is massive – from end to end 73 miles (117 km). And at its deepest point, it’s nearly 1,500 feet (450 m). The lake is the dividing line between two…
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Echoes of home: visiting Greibesland and the Øvrebø Church
(This post is a continuation from yesterday’s post about the Greibesland family of Øvrebø in Southern Norway.) Back in June, I wrote about having a sense of place, a sense of origin. And even though my family left Wisconsin when I was five years old (and even though I have no plans to live there…
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A reunion with the Greibeslands
My grandpa Eugene Smith’s mother, Elvina Anderson Smith (1898-1983), was born in Wisconsin to Norwegian immigrants Marie Alfsdatter Greibesland (1867-1950) and Anton Andreasen (1875-1931). Elvina never visited Norway, but she felt a close connection to her parents’ homeland. In her later years she jotted down notes about the family’s history and passed those along to…
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The Torblå farm
(This post is a continuation from yesterday’s post about Anders Andersen Torblaa and Anna Nilsdatter Skeie of Ulvik) The Torblå farm (also spelled Torblao or Torblaa) is – like many Norwegian farms – actually a collection of several farmsteads rather than a single entity. The breaking up of farms into smaller and smaller parcels occurred…
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Trading fjords for prairies: the Torblå-Skeie family of Ulvik
My great-grandma Jessie Johnson Reiner’s mother was Julia Torbleau Johnson (1855-1940). Like her husband Albert Jens Johnson (1853-1934), Julia was born soon after her parents arrived in Wisconsin from Norway. Julia (who was called Guri in Norwegian) was the third of seven children born to Anna Nilsdatter Skeie (1824-1891) and Anders Andersen Torblaa (1826-1902). It’s…
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A visit to Ulvik kyrkje
I came to Ulvik to try to imagine how my ancestors might have worked, prayed, lived and died. And the town does not disappoint in this regard. There is clearly a certain reverence for the past here, and many old houses and farm buildings have been lovingly preserved and restored. And yet, Ulvik is not…
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Norway’s Wild West – the origins of the Johnson-Hauge family
When you fly into Bergen, you are treated to glimpses through the clouds of an almost surreal landscape. Mountains rise straight up from the fjords with brightly colored buildings perched at intervals. Here and there a waterfall gushes down the steep slopes. One branch of my mom’s family, the branch we call “the Johnsons”, hails…
Deep Roots 