An obituary for S. Mathisen (assumed here, to be Sverre Mathisen) held a sweet story: he asked Ella Nelsen, his childhood playmate in Norway, to emigrate, so to marry him in Iowa. It was 1896.1 It said they shared a child around 1899. Also, that S., a stonemason, was interred in the Norwegian Cemetery of … Continue reading Sverre Mathisen 1865-1902, Olea Andrea Nilssen 1870-1939: Hattfjelldal and Estherville
Tag: genealogy
Sigurd Edvin Olaussen Olson Grolid (1880-1946) of Hattfjelldal
Sigurd Edvin Olaussen and Granddad, Matt Hemmingsen, were cousins of Hattfjelldal's Groli Farm. Matt emigrated in late 1887, at eleven. Sigurd was seven then, but not yet an orphan. He left Norway early in 1902, for the Thief River Falls area of Minnesota.1 This locale was familiar to Granddad through his work, both there and … Continue reading Sigurd Edvin Olaussen Olson Grolid (1880-1946) of Hattfjelldal
Christmas Uproar at Groli Farm. God Jul! 25. desember 1880
It was Christmas Day of 1880 at the home of our great-greats, Hemming Paulsen and Gurine Olsdatter. Their children were grown and most had arrived to celebrate with young families of their own. Dear Elen was remembered, their daughter gone since spring, but babbles from Ingeborg Anna Marie's infant son filled the house with expectation … Continue reading Christmas Uproar at Groli Farm. God Jul! 25. desember 1880
Adoption Witness: John Kelly of Portland, Multnomah, OR: To Whom Do You Belong?
John Kelly was born in the US in 1860 and had a Scottish mother, or so he said in Portland OR, 1900.1 Antennas up; maybe he was our direct biological ancestor. Then he dimmed his chances in 1920 by alleging himself two years younger, of an Irish mother. We wanted him ours and would get … Continue reading Adoption Witness: John Kelly of Portland, Multnomah, OR: To Whom Do You Belong?
The Adoption Witness: Those Peripatetic Skog-Vefsn Folk At Lake Cowichan
Our story has been about Anna, wife of great uncle Ed Hemmingsen and their adopted daughter, Betty, aka Baroness of Skog-Vefsn, who was also Anna’s great niece. They were Norwegians living at Lake Cowichan, B.C. mid-1920. Descendant Skog-folk from Vefsn sought an even broader emigrant accounting to include Anna’s brothers, Edvin and Theodur, plus Betty’s … Continue reading The Adoption Witness: Those Peripatetic Skog-Vefsn Folk At Lake Cowichan
Who’da Thunk? Canada Births Found In Scotland Old Parish Records
This blog has a section "Not My Ancestor; Maybe Yours". We post no story there, just data found from trips down rabbit holes. Information that would otherwise be deleted. Search engine evidence shows that others do access the information. So, this entry could easily have gone there, but for the surprise find, alluded to by … Continue reading Who’da Thunk? Canada Births Found In Scotland Old Parish Records
Hemmingson: One Entrepreneur and One Radical Socialist
Once in the new land of opportunity, many ancestral parents could barely afford their family an elementary level education, yet saw a child attain distinction. Greatgrandfather, Ole Hemmingson (1851-1903), headed such a family.1, 2 He produced two such children. Same father, different mothers. Matt Hemmingsen (1876-1967) was told “your mother has died, so you must … Continue reading Hemmingson: One Entrepreneur and One Radical Socialist
Our Anecdotal Jewishness
Dad did a family history with intent to cover his, and our mother’s ancestry.1 He wrote mostly of his memories, but hired professional genealogists to document what came before. They outright failed his father-in-law on our Scots side, understandably, for the reason that made him subject of “Double Genealogy: The Adoption Witness”.2 They equally failed … Continue reading Our Anecdotal Jewishness
Genealogy Imagined from the US Civil War, past River Clyde, to a UK Chemical Plant
Double Genealogy: the Adoption Witness; Update 2, Addendum 6 Little was known of John Kelly; he was born in the US about 1859 and resided in Lanarkshire Scotland from 1881-1882 where he worked as a farm servant.² ³ His family was not identified. "Double Genealogy: the Adoption Witness" found that our grandfather was likely adopted … Continue reading Genealogy Imagined from the US Civil War, past River Clyde, to a UK Chemical Plant
Not My Ancestor: Maybe Yours?
This column will be continuously updated as time permits, but is not for my usual blog readers. It is just data; no story. Leads we chase in research often result in dead-end, as far as our own needs are concerned. The path is sometimes convoluted by data gaps or inconsistencies. A heap of work is … Continue reading Not My Ancestor: Maybe Yours?
