with curators
Sandy Catt and Scott Hall
If you’re lucky enough to have a hobby genealogist in your family…you’re lucky enough!
And, Ole’s Folks have been fortunate to have George Larson in the family.
George’s paternal ancestors all came from Gudbrandsdalen, a valley in central Norway, in the late 1800s, His immigrant great-grandparents settled in western Wisconsin and a generation later, George’s grandparents homesteaded in western North Dakota. George’s parents moved to Washington State in the 1930s.
George’s maternal ancestors, for the most part, came to North America prior to the Revolutionary War, from England and present-day Germany. Those ancestors also expanded west, with various branches progressing from Maryland and New England, through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, to the Dakotas, where George’s mom was born and eventually met his dad in Montana.
The genealogy bug hit George nearly two decades ago as he archived his mom’s extensive collection of photos and home movies. He has done extensive online research and traveled domestically and abroad to visit distant relatives, ancestral home sites and gravesites.
“I find that seeking the stories behind the facts is far more rewarding than facts alone. You must not consider my work authoritative, but I dearly hope you find it engaging, and worthy of the sharing.”
When George contemplated retiring—and retiring the site in late-2024—niece Sandy Catt and first cousin once removed Scott Hall joined forces to keep alive the treasured documentation of remarkable lives.
Scott is a veteran photojournalist who has spent most of his career at CBS 8 / KFMB in San Diego, CA. He is a great-great grandson of Ole Larson and son of George’s cousin Lois.
Sandy is a former public school administrator with a journalism and public relations background. She is the great-great granddaughter of Ole Larson and daughter of George’s older sister Darlene.
Surnames of nearest ancestors include (besides Larson) Myers, Moen, Drayer, Samuelson, Volden, and Sprung. More distant and marriage-related surnames are Pederson, Sletten, Nesseth, Erickson, and Johnson. George has also researched the ancestry of his wife, née Thiel Beechel, with surnames Beechel, Litch, Mohler, Thiel, Green, and Jordan.
We hope you enjoy visiting Ole Larson’s Folks!
Ryan Volden
Nov 6, 2017
Incredible site, you managed to trace my family back to 1750’s. Not sure if you are still updating to current but if you need any information on the Volden branch let me know.
George
Nov 6, 2017
Thank you, cousin. I think you are the first Volden to comment here. I would love to update your branch. Please email me to exchange information – glarson@bendbroadband.com.
Dawn Johnston
Mar 8, 2018
This is an awesome site you have created. My youngest son was named after my great great grandfather – Gunder Moen.
sallie
Apr 17, 2018
My great grandfather had a ranch in Thunderhawk. Are you on FB? I have an article talking about his success in 1910 on his farm. I would love to know if you have more photos of the town. I saw the country store your family owned then. My great Grandfather had to know your family from that time. sallieboballie@aol.com
Stephen Myers
Dec 23, 2018
Really great web site. I am really glad I found my papers on the site. You have done a great job building it.
Tricia Scott
Sep 12, 2019
My father-in-law (David Kasold) just passed away today . We are trying to find out his father’s name (His Mom was Edna Purdy) and his siblings names(Anna was one). Can you please send me a link or answer the questions . Thank you so much
Kathy (Lillevold) Rush
Oct 16, 2019
Hi George, I have known of you for quite a while, through Joanne. She sent me your story and I am so impressed. Obvious you have some awesome computer skills. I was with Joanne (niece of Ella), Ella, Ella’s daughter, Donna when we found about this tragedy. I had already been doing research on all of my roots for several years. All of my roots are from Oppland Fylke – 3/4s from the Fron Parish area and the other 1/4 from south in Tosten Parish.
I get really lazy sometimes and don’t follow up on suggestions. That’s probably why I didn’t follow up on your name or the Kjorstad name. I suspect your pal is a grandson (or son) of the lady I got a lot of information from. I have a picture of her and me together. She lived across the street from the main area of Vinstra. I had the opportunity to visit her after chatting for so many years. Again, I’m so impressed with your work. It’s amazing. Kat
Dean Huseby
Aug 23, 2020
Loved your website. I am developing a website to eventually house my 120 articles on Norwegian and Norwegian American culture and family history and three family history books. Thanks for developing yours to give me ideas on design. Still in a very rough form.
Dean Huseby
San Diego
George
Aug 23, 2020
Thank you. I look forward to reading your articles and linking to them where appropriate. Please let me know when any are posted or ready for posting.
Dan Helgeson
Sep 3, 2020
George,
I would like to help with your research. Can you send me email?
Thanks,
Dan