Baptized in Øyer, Norway, on this date in 1709(!): Christen Gudbrandsen Strangstad, 5th great-grandfather via the Samuelson line. The Gothic handwriting in churchbooks that old is difficult to decipher, but with practice one can make out the names Guldbrand, Strangstad, and Christen in this image of the minister’s actual penstrokes over 300 years ago.
