Norwegian Naming Patterns, Expertly explained in a YouTube Video

Brad Imsdahl is a descendant of Norwegian immigrants who came to Minnesota. He's done a wonderful job of telling his family immigrant story, via a 25 minute mini-documentary, from Oppland Co., Norway to Brooten, Stearns and Pope Co. Minnesota. Brad’s great-grandparents, Peder and Marit Imsdal came from the Imsdalen, a remote valley located north of Lillehammer in Oppland County Norway. Peder immigrated in May 1884, worked on a farm, and later sent money to Norway for his wife and son to immigrate. 

The YouTube video explores the reasons why so many Norwegians immigrated to Minnesota, about the Homestead Act, and why people changed their name, after immigrating.  Of note, is Brad's explanation of the naming patterns, of Norwegians, (4 minutes) at 9:48. It should also be noted that these patterns varied through time and from area to area.

I learned of Brad, and his video, from a Norwegian Blogger named Martin Eidhammer. His picture and brief bio are below, as well as a link to his blog:  Norwegian Genealogy and then some: Genealogy, history and culture from Norway.

Martin Roe Eidhammer is a Norwegian Blogger, living in Norway. He’s married,
has three children and is, by profession, a psychiatric nurse. He grew up in Vestnes in Romsdal
 (Møre og Romsdal county) and we are now living in Skjevik, east of the town Molde (M&R county)

Understanding the new Digitalarkivet website - Launched May 2017

Kitty Munson Cooper is a "a blogger, genetic genealogist, genealogist, programmer, web designer, speaker, mother, grandmother, gardener, dog lover, cat lover, and World Champion Bridge player." who writes a blog titled:

KITTY COOPER'S BLOG

I recently discovered this blog when I went on a journey to understand the new Digitalarkivet web site. The site, at first glance, appears to be rather stright forward, however I'm having challenges navigating it and wanted some insights. Kitty provided this in a blog posting that she wrote February 6, 2017 and updated on June 6, 2017.

In Kitty's own words ...

Searching the Norwegian Digital Archives, a Rootstech Talk 

Many of us Norwegian-American researchers have been complaining about the new archives and its search function. So I went to the talk by Finn Karlsen of the Digitalarkivet hoping to gain a better understanding. Of course the first thing he told us was that the old archive would die at the end of March as would the links we might have been using in our trees to reference data there. This is not news as we have been hearing it for a while... keep reading.

Kitty also has some other interesting posts that may be of interest:

• Kittiy's Family History - her father is 100% Norwegian-American
• Norwegian Genealogy
• Norway DNA Norgesprosjektet • Norwegian Names in your GEDCOM
• Translating Farm Books Using a Norwegian OCR Program

Check out her blog. It's well worth reading.

You can also read about the 'launching of the new digital archives (website) on the sites blog: 

Digital Archive blog

New digital archives are launched with some reduced functionality

posted, May 26, 2017

Uncoding Gothic Script

I recently attended an online Webinar (a seminar that is conducted over the World Wide Web) hosted by the Illinois State Genealogical Society. The title was  "Luxembourgers on the Prairie: Researching your Luxembourg Ancestors" presented by a good friend, Lisa Oberg,  She is a self proclaimed librarian, genealogist, and history enthusiast who lives and works in Seattle.  The premise of the webinar, as stated in her fabulous handout, begins with "Small, but might, Luxembourg is a European county with a distinct culture and heritage. Throughout history, the county has been ruled by Germany, Franc, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain."  I'm not a Luxembourger, but the information she shared was amazing and useful for anyone.

One of the many items she discussed was the fact that the records are written in a script that is not easy to decipher. Blackletter (sometimes 'black letter'), also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura is frequently encountered in northern European texts. It is also referenced as Fraktur, a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and the several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. 

To date, there are no known online tools to automatically translate from documents written in this script into English. :( 

That said, I want to share with you a few links that I learned from Lisa as well as a recent reference to Gothic Script that I read in the Fall 2016 issue of Currents - The Newsletter of the Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA). Below is a clipping from that newsletter. It provides suggestions on how to read the Dano-Norwegian language that was used in Norway. 

The author of the piece, Dale Hovland, is a member of the Hadeland Lag and a volunteer with the NAHA at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Kudos to him for sharing his knowledge.

Two of the many weblinks Lisa provided in her webinar handout help the user understand how to navigate the script. 

The first: German Script Tutorial, provided by the BYU Family History Center. This site provides background information that can be useful in understanding what you are seeing on the printed page. 

The second: German Scripts – Stephen P. Morse is located on the website produced by Stephen P. Morse: One Step Search Pages.  These links are widely used by genealogists throughout the world. 

I highly recommend that you check out all of the links in the Blog post, for further insight on how to read documents 'from the old country.'

Still Yule-festing!

Four out of five Nearby Norwegians made it to this year's Yulefest at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle on Sunday, November 20.  Within a few years, the Nordic Heritage Museum will be moving to a brand new site, and we'll have more to explore during our Yulefest get-togethers.

Clockwise from upper left:  Carolyn Merritt, Chery Kinnick, Cathy Lykes, and Luci Baker Johnson (missing this year is Barbara Holz Sullivan).

Poulsbo AYPE Viking #6: Halvor Holte

Halvor O. Holte was part of the "Viking" contingent to represent his community in the Norway Day parade at the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition (AYPE) in Seattle. See the explanatory blog entry for this series: Poulsbo Vikings at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, 1909.

It is not known whether or not Halvor Holte actually lived in Poulsbo, Washington, or how he was selected as a representative member of that community for the AYPE.  By 1913, the Seattle City Directory listed Holte as a watchmaker, so it is likely he was living in Seattle by 1913.

Holte was born on October 7, 1881 in Rindal, Norway.  Having immigrated from Norway in 1906, he was a more recent arrival than the other Poulsbo "Vikings" who participated in the 1909 AYPE Norway Day activities.  Holte, a naturalized citizen, was also younger than the others.  He was about 27 years old when the photograph to the left was taken.

Holte had the dubious distinction of having to register for two United States drafts in his lifetime.  His registration card for World War I lists his brother, Nils Holte, from Bellingham, as the next-of-kin, so it is assumed he was unmarried at that time.  Tall and slender, he had brown eyes and brown hair., and it is very probable that the mustache he sported in his Viking photograph was a real one.  By 1918, he lived at 921 Water Street in South Bend, Washington.

Holte registered for the World War II draft in 1942, when he was about 60 years of age.  At that time, he still lived in South Bend, with his wife, Dora, from Montana, and their son, George.  At some point in his professional career, he began advertising himself as a "jeweler" instead of "watchmaker," as the add from the 1958 Raymond High School yearbook shows.

Fortunate to be very long lived, Holte passed away at age 97 in Pacific, Washington.


Sources:

--Seattle City Directory, 1913
--U. S. Federal Census, South Bend, Pacific, Washington, 1930
--U. S. School Yearbooks, 1880-2012, Raymond High School, Raymond, Washington, 1958
--U. S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Halvor Holte
--U. S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, Havlor Holte
--Washington Death Index, 1940-1996

_________________________
Chery Kinnick

Poulsbo AYPE Viking #8: John J. Twedt

John J. Twedt, of Poulsbo, Washington, was part of the "Viking" contingent to represent his community in the Norway Day parade at the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition (AYPE) in Seattle. See the explanatory blog entry for this series: Poulsbo Vikings at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, 1909.

John J. Twedt was born in Norway on January 18, 1874, and came to Washington State by way of Iowa.  He immigrated to America in about 1888, and became a naturalized citizen.  In 1910, while still a single man, he rented a house along with his sixteen years-younger brother, Chris Twedt, who became known for being a player on the local baseball team.

On his World War I draft registration card for 1918, Twedt was noted as a man of medium height and build, with brown eyes and dark hair.  His occupation was listed as "auto driver."  An ad running in the Poulsbo Record on June 27, 1918  indicated that he would answer calls for driver service, day or night.

By 1920, Twedt was working as a barber in Poulsbo.  The family resided on Second Street, just a few doors down from Peter Iverson, a fellow AYPE Viking participant.  Twedt lived with his spouse, Amanda, and their two daughters:  Alice Aletta (Twedt) Seely, and June N. (Twedt) Davis.

Five years following Twedt's involvement in the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, a fire devastated about a third of the Poulsbo business section, including his own barber shop.  The hardy town business owners did not take very long to re-establish themselves, by any means possible, with Twedt setting up his barber shop temporarily in A. N. Nelson's machine shop.

John Twedt reportedly died on June 24, 1958 in Bremerton, Washington.


Sources:

--"Remembering the Great Fire of 1914."  Kitsap County Herald, September 15, 2014,  http://www.northkitsapherald.com/news/274914941.html?mobile=true (accessed June 2, 2016).
--U.S. Federal Census, Poulsbo, Kitsap, Washington, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940.
--World War I Draft Registration Cards, U.S., 1917-1918, John J. Twedt, Ancestry.com, Registration State: Washington; Registration County: Kitsap; Roll: 1991652.
_________________________
Chery Kinnick

Poulsbo AYPE Viking #1: Stener Thorsen

Stener Thorsen, of Poulsbo, Washington, was part of the "Viking" contingent to represent his community in the Norway Day parade at the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition (AYPE) in Seattle. See the explanatory blog entry for this series: Poulsbo Vikings at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, 1909.

Stener [Stenar] Thorsen was born in about 1850 and immigrated to the U.S. from Heidalen, Gudbrandsdalen, Norway in 1869, together with his three brothers:  Iver, Paul, and Ole. Stener and his wife, Ragnild, were married in about 1879, the year after Ragnild arrived in America.

A Poulsbo pioneer, Thorsen was one of two earliest settlers in Big Valley, on Valley Road, about a mile north of the town of Poulsbo, Washington.  Deeds owned by a friend and neighbor, Fred Frederickson, show that Thorsen had his property as early as 1879.  Being in all probability the first settler in the valley, perhaps that is why he won the AYPE "Viking #1" position in the 1909 photographs.

Thorsen was a logging operator, and the land he chose was optimally situated near the head of Liberty Bay, which allowed easy access for loggers who needed to float out their logs.  He developed an extensive farming operation, and maintained a large market garden on his farm.  Thorsen's produce included an acre of oxheart carrots that were marketed at the company store in Port Gamble, or peddled to ships waiting in the bay to take on lumber.  He also raised potatoes, and picked from cherry trees on his property during market season.

Stener Thorsen was a community minded man, as many early Norwegian-American settlers were, and he often served as an official in precinct elections.  He also took an interest in the state of Poulsbo's schools, church, and roads.  He died on September 28, 1931, the day before his 81st birthday, and was buried at the First Lutheran Church Cemetery in Poulsbo, Washington.
 

Stener Thorsen farming (date unknown).  Image was uploaded
 to Ancestry.com by member "boggiedog7" on April 27, 2008.

Sources:

--Driscoll, Judy and Sherry White.  Poulsbo, Images of America series (Arcadia Publishing:  Charlestown, South Carolina, 2013).
--Poulsbo Centennial Book Committee.  Poulsbo:  Its First Hundred Years, compiled and edited by Rangvald Kvelstad (Centennial Book Committee:  Poulsbo, Washington, 1986). 
--U. S. Federal Census, Poulsbo, Kitsap, Washington, 1910.
--U. S. Find-a-Grave, Stener Thorsen.
_________________________
Chery Kinnick