Inquiry about 1900 Census – Aurland / Brække Farm

[Laura]

 

Dear Digitalarkivet team,

I live in the United States, but my family immigrated to the US from Norway in the late 1800s/early 1900s. 

I am planning a visit to Norway next year and would very much like to visit the exact area my family is from. 

I located my ancestor in the 1900 census, and was hoping this was enough info to pinpoint a location today. 

Here is the information from the census:

• Name: Jon Lassesen Brække
• Gender: Male
• Birth Year: 1800
• Birthplace: Aurland herred
• Residence Year: 1900
• Residence Place: Aurland, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
• Street Address (Farm): Brække 0014
• Marital Status: Enke (Widow)
• Relation to Head of Household: Husfar (Head)
• Child Listed: Ingeborg Jonsdtr Brække
• Enumeration District: 005
• Farm Number: Under 49

I am trying to determine where this farm (Brække 0014) would be located today, or if there are any land or cadastral records that could help pinpoint it on a modern map. Any guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

If there is another office or person that would be better to reach out to, please let me know.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Laura Brekke

 

 

[Thore Senneset]

It is quite possible that the farm you are looking for is Brekke near the village Flåm located in Aurland county. I have pinned the location in this map (the red pin, ignore the blue ones):
https://norgeskart.no/#!?project=norgeskart&layers=1001&zoom=12&lat=6773451.76&lon=72246.89&markerLat=6772657.893687383&markerLon=71857.38318328804&p=searchOptionsPanel&showSelection=true&sok=Brekke, Aurland

 

If you decide upon this location, you might want to consider going for a trip on Flåmsbanen (Flåm Railroad) from Flåm to Myrdal (it should be possible to do a round trip).

Endret Tirsdag 22:31 av Thore Senneset

[Ivar S. Ertesvåg]

I am not the Arkivverket/Digitalarkivet .... , nevertheless:

 

Census here: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/census/person/pf01037346001217

It appears that it is bruksnummer (holding No.) 2 and 5.  Thore has pinned No. 1, that is, the neighbour.

It can be noted that Jon (and daughter Ingeborg) lives in a house/cottage separate from the main house at holding No.2/5.

 

Holding No. 1 is Brekkevegen 12; while it seems that Brekkevegen 19 is the oldest existing house at No. 2/5 (however, probably not from 1900; and anyhow, not Jon's place.)

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Brekkevegen+19,+5743+Flåm/@60.8551469,7.104464,3a,75y,286.22h,81.16t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sviXGuuYZOIIJDK5b54QrWw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D8.841643533993619%26panoid%3DviXGuuYZOIIJDK5b54QrWw%26yaw%3D286.2189676034934!7i16384!8i8192!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x463e122b729fe56d:0x87fdcc02d8860286!2sBrekkevegen+19,+5743+Flåm!3b1!8m2!3d60.8552243!4d7.1043679!16s%2Fg%2F11c18llbs_!3m5!1s0x463e122b729fe56d:0x87fdcc02d8860286!8m2!3d60.8552243!4d7.1043679!16s%2Fg%2F11c18llbs_?hl=no&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDcwNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

 

 

Endret i går, 09:32 av Ivar S. Ertesvåg

[Laura]

Thank you both so much! Ivar- so "Brekkevegen 19, 5743 Flåm, Norge" is what we would enter into a GPS system to get to that location, is that right? Would it be reasonable for us to drive by and get out and walk around, or would that be rude? I can't tell how private of property it is, and don't want to be rude.

Thore- we are planning to take the train from Flam to Oslo on our way back- I think this would include that portion of the Flam Railroad?

Thank you both again for helping me pin down a location, I really appreciate it! 

[Thore Senneset]

10 minutter siden, Laura skrev:

Thank you both so much! Ivar- so "Brekkevegen 19, 5743 Flåm, Norge" is what we would enter into a GPS system to get to that location, is that right? Would it be reasonable for us to drive by and get out and walk around, or would that be rude? I can't tell how private of property it is, and don't want to be rude.

Thore- we are planning to take the train from Flam to Oslo on our way back- I think this would include that portion of the Flam Railroad?

Thank you both again for helping me pin down a location, I really appreciate it! 

 

Unless you wander into someone's back yard/garden, Norwegians tend to accept a lot. And there is of course always the possibility of asking for permission when you get there. Just explain your history.

 

If you're going to do Flåm-Oslo this includes the Flåm Railroad.

[Ivar S. Ertesvåg]

1 time siden, Laura skrev:

Thank you both so much! Ivar- so "Brekkevegen 19, 5743 Flåm, Norge" is what we would enter into a GPS system to get to that location, is that right? Would it be reasonable for us to drive by and get out and walk around, or would that be rude? I can't tell how private of property it is, and don't want to be rude.

Thore- we are planning to take the train from Flam to Oslo on our way back- I think this would include that portion of the Flam Railroad?

Thank you both again for helping me pin down a location, I really appreciate it! 

 

Brekkevegen 19 is today a hostel ...  - most likely visitors are very welcome.

 

However, Jon Lasseson did not live in that building, but somewhere nearby.

The map extract (from norgeskart.no) shows the extent (yellow) of holding No. 2/5 at Brekke.  Jon's house must have been located somewhere in this area.

It might be possible to pinpoint the exact lot, but that would require local knowledge.

 

[Laura]

I don't have my heart set on finding the location of his house specifically- I am mostly just interested in seeing/stepping foot on the land my family owned/occupied. So the yellow area was all owned by Jon/his family? It seems like a big area, but I don't have a lot of context for how land was owned/divided in Norway at the time. 

[Ivar S. Ertesvåg]

17 minutter siden, Laura skrev:

I don't have my heart set on finding the location of his house specifically- I am mostly just interested in seeing/stepping foot on the land my family owned/occupied. So the yellow area was all owned by Jon/his family? It seems like a big area, but I don't have a lot of context for how land was owned/divided in Norway at the time. 

 

No, Jon did not own any land. He was a "husmann", which means that he held a small piece of land ("plass", unregistered land) that was part of a holding ("bruk"; here No 2/5, marked yellow).  Holding No. 2/5 by itself seems not as a large estate.

 

In the 1865 census Jon and family har 3  cows, 12 sheeps and 1 pig and grew some barely and some potatoes. Probably Jon had some income from other work. (In 1900, he was 100 years old and was supported by the municipality.)

https://www.digitalarkivet.no/census/person/pf01038257001846

Similarly in 1875 (3 cows, 12 goats): https://www.digitalarkivet.no/census/person/pf01052304001779

(for livestock and crops, we have to look into the scanned original)

 

 

[Laura]

Thank you for your time explaining all this. So he, more or less, rented a small part of land for a house and farming that was part of a bigger area of land that was owned by someone else (or the government)? And the area he rented was within the yellow area, but it's hard to know exactly where that would have been? Again, thank you for your help understanding! 

[Ivar S. Ertesvåg]

1 time siden, Laura skrev:

Thank you for your time explaining all this. So he, more or less, rented a small part of land for a house and farming that was part of a bigger area of land that was owned by someone else (or the government)? And the area he rented was within the yellow area, but it's hard to know exactly where that would have been?

Right; the land was owned by this family (in 1875): https://www.digitalarkivet.no/census/rural-residence/bf01052304000306

(in 1900): https://www.digitalarkivet.no/census/rural-residence/bf01037346000215

 

For what I know, it may be "straightforward" to locate Jon Lassesen's lot - with the right knowledge;  but hard for me ...