Need advice and/or help finding information

[Dave Peterson from US]

Hi Norwegian friends,

   I am from the US and I'm trying to find information about my great grandfather. I know very little about him and I need to get advice on how to find him in Norway's records. Where do I start? 

Here is what I know: my great grandfather was John Olsen. He was born 15 August 1847 somewhere in Troms province. He emigrated to the US in 1865. What is the best way to find information about him. Thank you for your help.

[Trond Geir Strandhaug]

004 John P. Olsen - 0002 Selset nedre* - 007 Roldøen nordre og Andorgen - Tellingskretsoversikt - Folketelling 1865 for 1917P Ibestad prestegjeld - Digitalarkivet ?

[Anton Hagelee]

Trond has given you a good candidate to evaluate. You seem to have a birth date, month and year for your John Olsen. If you can find the same for the candidate it would give you a good starting point. 

 

You can also search the DA data base for Joh* born 1847 in Troms. Role child and related person Ole. The search for me turned up only these 12 candidates. None of them born 15 August.

 

I used the English version of the Digital Archives. Found here.

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/search/persons/advanced

 

Here is the result of my search.

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/search/persons/advanced?from=&to=&lt[]=dp&c[]=19&firstname=joh*&lastname=&roles[]=barn&birth_year_from=1847&birth_year_to=1847&birth_date=&birth_place=&domicile=&position=&event_year_from=&event_year_to=&event_date=&related_first_name=ole&related_last_name=&related_birth_year=&sort=rel

Endret Januar 30, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Anton Hagelee]

According to the Ancestry.com data base the John Peter found by Trond was born 13 July 1848. 

 

Johan Peder Olsen

in the Norway, Select Baptisms, 1634-1927

Name:Johan Peder Olsen

Gender:Male

Birth Date:13 Jul 1848

Baptism Date:10 Sep 1848

Baptism Place:, Ibestad, Troms, Norway

Father:Ole Johnsen

Mother:Andrea Danielsdr

FHL Film Number:127109

 

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/3854999:60092

 

Here is the original record. 

 

Nr. 107

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20070604660654

 

Here is the transcribed version in DA

 

    https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/255/pd00000027886831

 

 

Endret Januar 30, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Anton Hagelee]

 

A search on Ancestry data base for Joh* born 15 Aug 1847 father named Ole born in Troms did not turn up any candidates that meet that criteria.

 

You might try providing more information to this thread on where he lived in America and see what we can find. 

 

Endret Januar 30, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Anton Hagelee]

4 hours ago, Dave Peterson from US said:

 

Here is what I know: my great grandfather was John Olsen. He was born 15 August 1847 somewhere in Troms province. He emigrated to the US in 1865.

 

Where does this information come from?

 

In many searches the more information know the better the search.

 

 

Endret Januar 30, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Odd Annar Tangen]

På Erik Berntsens slektssider finner man disse folkene. Danielsdattera kommer fra Røros. 

[Anton Hagelee]

Following the suggestion of Odd, I find this family tree for the John Peter found by Trond. According to this Tree John Peter was married and had many children in Norway so he probably is not the man you are looking for. 

 

https://vestraat.net/TNG/getperson.php?personID=I57230&tree=IEA

 

Mothe Andrea Danielsdatter

 

https://vestraat.net/TNG/getperson.php?personID=I57206&tree=IEA

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Anton Hagelee]

Dave

 

There is a chance that your John did not have a father name Ole. Here is a John Olson with the correct birth date. He has the father listed as Christopher Olson. That means he chose to use his fathers last name as his last name and thus did not follow the usual patronymic pattern of Norwegian naming. 

 

John Olson

in the North Dakota, U.S., State Death Certificates, 1908-2007

Name:John Olson

Gender:Male

Race:White

Age:70

Birth Date:15 Aug 1847

Birth Place:Norway

Death Date:20 Dec 1917

Death Place:Fargo, Cass, North Dakota, USA

Father:Christopher Olson

Mother:Olson

Certificate Number:0930

 

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/496240:61747?ssrc=pt&tid=28052204&pid=12686723171

 

 

[Anton Hagelee]

Here is the marriage record for the man born 15 Aug 1847 in Tromsø, Norway, who lived in  North Dakota.

 

John Olson

in the U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969

Name:John Olson

Gender:Male

Record Type:Marriage

Birth Place:Tromsó, Norge

Marriage Date:5 Sep 1883

Marriage Place:Fargo, North Dakota, USA

Father:Chr Olsen

Mother:Karen J Olsen

Spouse:Sine Knudsen

Church Name:First Lutheran

Church Location:Fargo, North Dakota

 

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1666957:60722

 

 

Endret Januar 30, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Dave Peterson from US]

7 hours ago, Anton Hagelee said:

 

A search on Ancestry data base for Joh* born 15 Aug 1847 father named Ole born in Troms did not turn up any candidates that meet that criteria.

 

You might try providing more information to this thread on where he lived in America and see what we can find. 

 

Anton,

  Thank you for finding this information. I have John Olsen's death certificate but didn't see his dad's name on it. My mom had told me John's dad's name was either Christopher (Kristofer) or Christen (Kristen). I'm still trying to find my way around this site. What's the fastest way to do a search on a Christopher Olsen from Troms? I owe you several beers for all of your help. Dave

[Anton Hagelee]

43 minutes ago, Dave Peterson from US said:

What's the fastest way to do a search on a Christopher Olsen from Troms

 

Here is a step by step on searching the transcribed records in Norway. 

 

Go to this site 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/

Notice up in the right hand corner I am using the English version

Click on Advanced Person Search"

Scroll down, you will see a lot of other data bases you can search in but we are going all the way down to Geography 

Click on Geography and scroll down to Nord-Norge, click on it and then click on Troms and then click on Select All, it will be highlighted.

Go back up to the Individual Information section and put in Chris* The asterisk will cover other name variations  Put in Olsen for a last name. 

Fill in other boxes as you want. Perhaps for a starter put in 1845 to 1847 Event Information

As you can see there are a lot of other boxes that you can play with as you learn how the site works. 

Click on the big Search box up in the right hand corner. 

You will see

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/search/persons/advanced?from=&to=&c[]=19&firstname=christopher+&lastname=olsen&birth_year_from=&birth_year_to=&birth_date=&birth_place=&domicile=&position=&event_year_from=1845&event_year_to=1847&event_date=&related_first_name=&related_last_name=&related_birth_year=

 

Lots of names and information to look at.

 

The names are on the left along with some information about the person,  On the right are the dates of the event and below the role of the person. Far of course is father and avdød is died etc. 

 

Click on a name and you will see a page of transcribed information from the original Norwegian parish record. 

 

Click on the sixth name down and you will be at 

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/255/pd00000039864039

 

The original record that gave the transcription above is Nr. 76 bottom of the page 

 

 https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20050309020911

 

 

 

 

 

 

Endret Januar 31, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Anton Hagelee]

47 minutes ago, Dave Peterson from US said:

Thank you for finding this information. I have John Olsen's death certificate but didn't see his dad's name on it.

 

Here is the original from Ancestry.com

 

[Anton Hagelee]

Here is the original from the marriage. John is Nr. 13 

 

Endret Januar 31, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Anton Hagelee]

Now those two documents above are fairly clear as to the fathers name. It is Christopher Olsen. In the marriage document he is clear that he comes from Tromsø. But something is a little off, because he is so difficult to find. 

 

Sometimes the location is off. An example is his bride Sina Knudsdatter is listed as being from Stavanger. But she is actually from  Finnøy parish, which is in Rogaland as is Stavanger. But Finnøy is a little distance from Stavanger. Look at the map of Roagaland on this site.

 

https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Rogaland_County,_Norway_Genealogy

 

So the question is, was John born in some other year than 1847. Or born in Troms but not in the parish of Tronsø. Or is his father not Christopher Olsen.

 

If his father was named Christopher Olsen, he would be called John Christophersen in the Norwegian records in most cases. I think in 1847 it would be rather rare for the son to not go with the patronymic name. 

 

 

[Dave Peterson from US]

John's death certificate says he was born in 1847, but that could be wrong. You're right about location. I suspect he was born near Tromso, but not in the city. As for his last name, our family thinks he was born John Christophersen, but changed his last name to Olsen when he emigrated. Only more research and finding the records will reveal the facts. Now, I just need to find his dad Christopher and mom Karen. 

[Anton Hagelee]

5 hours ago, Dave Peterson from US said:

Now, I just need to find his dad Christopher and mom Karen. 

 

There are not a lot of candidates that I found using DA search. Here is one that is probably worth a little more effort. A Jens Johan born in 1846. Father is Christopher Zacharias Olsen and mother is Karen Johnsdatter. He was born in Berg Parish, Troms Fylke.  He was born 8 Aug 1846. 

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/255/pd00000033435781

 

Here is the original baptism record for him. 

 

Nr. 24 

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20050311020408

 

In the 1865 Census he has moved away from home and is living in Tromsøysund, Troms. Using the name Jens J. Kristoffersen. 

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/census/person/pf01038396001348

 

I have not been able to find him after the 1865 Census.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Endret Januar 31, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Anton Hagelee]

Here is some information on the other children of Christopher Zacarias Olsen. They have been difficult to track. 

 

Petrine Randine born in 2 jul 1844 in Berg, Troms was married in 1864 in Tromsø. Married to Peder Sjursen Ottum. 

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/327/pv00000006675831

 

They ended up in Wisconsin and are found in this ELCA record for the birth of a son, using the last name of Ottum.

 

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1201375:60722

 

Peter S Ottum

Migration • Wisconsin, County Naturalization Records, 1807-1992

 

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:8JG6-K13Z

 

And Peter in FAG

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183538810/peder-s.-ottum?_gl=1*1noq9sm*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE2NzUxODkwNjIuRUFJYUlRb2JDaE1JME9PWXc3WHlfQUlWVnppekFCMkRCUTNTRUFBWUFTQUFFZ0lNWFBEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_dc*R0NMLjE2NzUxODkwNjIuRUFJYUlRb2JDaE1JME9PWXc3WHlfQUlWVnppekFCMkRCUTNTRUFBWUFTQUFFZ0lNWFBEX0J3RQ..*_ga*MTYzMTgxMzk2OC4xNjY5NTc2ODI0*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY3NTE5OTcyNi44Mi4xLjE2NzUyMDgxMzcuMzYuMC4w*_ga_B2YGR3SSMB*NzllOTdhNDItYTM0OS00ZDgwLWE0YTQtNzk3NWY5NGMwZDg0LjE2Mi4xLjE2NzUyMDgxMzguMzUuMC4w

 

 

 

 

Endret Februar 1, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Anton Hagelee]

Nicolai Anton Kristoffersen was born 24 des 1850 and seems to have lived in America. He travelled to New York in 1889 but is listed as living in America. 

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/8/pe00000000102351

 

Anton Nic Kristoffersen

in the Norway, Emigration Records, 1867-1960

Name:Anton Nic Kristoffersen

Gender:Mannlig (Male)

Marital Status:Ugift (Single)

Emigration Age:38

Birth Date:abt 1851

Last Known Residence Place:America

Emigration Date:19 Juni 1889

Emigration Place:Trondheim, Norge

Emigration Destination:New York

Emigration Ship:Inman

Household Members (Name)

Anton Nic Kristoffersen

 

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/779635:61757

 

 

 

 

 

[Anton Hagelee]

For the baptism of two of the children the farm that Christopher Zacharias Olsen and Karen Johansdatter lived on was called Finnsater (Finsæter)

 

Oline Fredrikke in 1853

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/255/pd00000033436324

 

Nicolai Anton in 1851 

 

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/view/255/pd00000033436134

 

It is a long shot but if there is a Bygdebok for Berg, Troms that has a section for that farm, it could give us some clue as to what happens to the children especially Jens Johan. 

 

Maybe this one. 

 

Berg og Torsken bygdebok by Arthur Brox. A history of Berg and Torsken in Berg clerical district in Troms county and a genealogy of the people and their farms. Text in Norwegian.

 

Seems to be a copy at UND

 

https://apps.library.und.edu/bygdebok/place/37

 

 

 

Endret Februar 1, 2023 av Anton Hagelee

[Dave Peterson from US]

Hi Anton,

   Thanks again for finding this information. At this point, I'm thinking Jens Johan Christophersen and John Olsen may be the same person. I'll have to do more research, but certain things stand out. 

1. Both Jens Johan and John have parents with the same names.

2. I was told John Olsen was from near Tromso. Jens Johan comes from an area very close to Tromso. 

3. Both were born in August, however one year apart and on separate dates. 

4. John Olsen later in life began listing his name as John J. Olsen. I never knew what the J stood for and thought it was just a way to distinguish himself from other John Olsens. Now I think he just switched the order of his names and anglicized Johan to John. Now I think the J stands for Jens. He decided to take Olsen as his last name maybe because it was easier than Christophersen or keep it the same as his father. I'll never know. 

I'm familiar with the bygdebok at UND. I plan to contact them soon. 

 

Dave

[Bjarne Rosenstrøm]

"Berg og Torsken bygdebok. Bind 1. Gardshistoria" -  from 1959: https://www.nb.no/search?mediatype=bøker&title="Berg og Torsken bygdebok. 1 : Gardshistoria"

 

Page 219 & 220:

 

 

[Bjarne Rosenstrøm]

The information about Kristofer Olsens brother Aron:

 

Page 217:

 

 

[Bjarne Rosenstrøm]

Information about the parents/siblings of Kristofer and Aron. They grew up on the farm Lutnes. Page 173-174 i the bygdebok.

 

 

[Dave Peterson from US]

Bjarne, thank you for finding this information.