After some translation help, and some cross-checking, I have concluded that Ragnhild Kjorstad was mistaken about the origin of Lars Paulsen’s father, Paul Svensen (see previous post). The last sentence in the bygdebok quote I copied there is better translated: [Paul Sveinsen] was possibly from Litlgard. But it is quite certainly not the same Paul who held the Litlgard farm from 1760 to 1790. That Paul was still living at Lillegard (Litlgard) in 1801, according to the census, along with the current owner, (his son) Sven Paulsen and family, whereas our ancestor Paul Svensen Flåtå died in 1797, according to the bygdebok.
What that means is, we have lost the four prior generations traced by Ragnhild from this branch of our ancestry; that is, the ancestors of Paul Svensen Lillegard don’t belong to us. Oh well, win a few and lose a few …
I am posting the paragraph about Paul Svensen Lillegard here, even though he is not an ancestor, because it sounds like a pretty good story in its own right.
Rough paraphrase: Paul Sveinsen received deed to Litlegard in 1760, as the eldest brother of his siblings. The farm was valued at 800 [dollars]. He married Rønnaug Amundsdatter Tåkåstad. In 1762 Paul Sveinsen received permission from the authority to cultivate 6-8 [land measure] of meadow and hayfield … [to compensate for] damage from a landslide in 1760. This improvement was not accomplished. A storm in 1789 caused extreme damage to Litlgard. Of 50 [measure] of cultivated land, 10 were destroyed by landslide and flood. Of 38 [measure] of meadow, 24 were turned into a rockpile by the river. They were covered by so much rock and gravel, they could not be salvaged. Only 7 [measure] could possibly be repaired … it would take 10 years. 2 haystacks were swept away by the river, as were 2 peasant plots and houses, also barns, food storage buildings, etc …
Elsewhere in the entry it says that Paul’s wife Rønnaug died the same year (1789). That may or may not have been connected with the devastating flood.
My, oh my! To twist an old cliché: “Hard times were had by all.”
[...] his putative father, Lars Paulsen. In fact, if my deduction is correct about Lars’ father, Paul Sveinsen Flaade, the line ends right there. Even if I am incorrect, and previous work holds up, the pedigree peters [...]
[...] must humbly apologize to Ragnhild Kjorstad, whom I earlier accused of erring in her work on the ancestry of our 2nd great-grandfather, Lars Poulsen. In a later post, though, I [...]