Prologue On the website of the Regional State Archive of Hamar, Norway, is a remarkable story, written in English, about a woman who was imprisoned in Oslo (Christiania) at the same time as Anne Larsdatter Skurdal, and whose story parallels Anne’s in many ways. Let’s begin at the end … the top photo shows Peace Lutheran Church and Northwest Rush Cemetery in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. It is the final resting place of one Ragnild Christiansdatter, the subject of this study…
Another Nesseth connection Top photo: Anton Hogstad Junior and Senior – Below, Anton Jr. and Ebba Nesseth. They were married in 1920; unknown whether the two snapshots were taken on that occasion. In early 2016, I met with Tom Hogstad (not pictured), a third cousin who happens to live in my town. His grandmother, Ebba Nesseth (1888-1952), is our biological connection; Ebba is my second cousin, once removed. Click on Ebba’s name to explore her line back to our common ancestors, Lars Paulsen…
Leap year day! Died in Sør-Fron, Norway, on this date in 1840: third great grandfather Lars Davidsen Skurdal. Lars was the father of Anne Larsdatter, thus grandfather of Ole Larson. Lars’ father was David Jonsen, origins unknown, who was the original tenant of a plot under Skurdal now called Davidhaugen.
My great-grandmother, first wife of Ole Larson. Anne Samuelsdatter (m. Larson) was born 25 Jan 1845 in Tretten, Norway, at the farm Bjerke, where her father and many other ancestors were also born. She was christened on 16 February, as shown above, along with a twin sister named Ingebor, who apparently died during infancy, as another sister with the same name was born in 1852. While that is not conclusive proof that the first Ingebor died, it is a good bet, since…
Here is a link to a PowerPoint presentation I gave Jan. 19 at Bend Genealogical Society. Just click on the image below. You may then view or download all the slides and notes in PDF format. This serves as the “handout” for the talk, and may also be of interest to some Erickson relatives. It illustrates my two-step search approach, using the indexes of FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com to find key details, then locating the corresponding records in the online archives of Norway and Sweden…
Out of Norway Great-grandfather, patriarch of the huge Larson clan (including descendants with surnames Sletten, Raiten, Lunde, and others), and namesake of this very website, Ole Larson was born on 10 December 1841, in Oslo, Norway. His home, however, was 150 miles to the north, on the farm Skurdal, Sør-Fron parish, in the region of Gudbrandsdal. This is a rich farming valley, landlocked in the center of southern Norway, a part of the present-day county of Oppland. And why was Ole born in…