[#3570] South Shields

[Gjest Jim Bayard]

My great grandmother, Kristofa Nilssen (born 1875 in Bergen), is listed in the 1900 census. Under the column, "Midlertidig bosted," is written "South Shields." Does anyone know if this is a ship? I know that my great grandma came to the U.S. between 1895 and 1900, but I have not been able to find her in the emigration records on the internet. Any help in this regards would be greatly appreciated.

[Gjest Harald Storaker]

South Shields is the sea port west of Newcastle upon Tyne, England."Midlertidig bosted" means temporary place of living. Perhaps you must check ship lists from England to find her.

[Gjest Egil Thee Danielsen]

Your great grandmother was born 7 Des 1875 and baptized 2 Jan 1876 as Christopha, daughter of “Musiksergeant” Carl Ludvig Nielsen and Bertha Marie Mørk. She had two elder sisters — there could be one or two more between N° 1 (b. 17 Mar 1870) and N° 2 (b. 26 Dec 1874) — and she had at least five younger brothers and sisters between N° 4 (b. 28 Oct 1877) and N° 10 (b. 24 Aug 1893). As you already know, “only” eight children are listed in the 1900 census — Christopha being among them, but absent.Her father is always registered as Karl Ludvig Nilsen — except here (as Nielsen), and when his child N° 9 was born, as Nilssen. But these graphic details are rather confusing than distinctive. In a branch of my own family exactly the same “confusion” exists — until quite recently.It is Christopha’s presence in South Shields that caught my attention. I wonder if she might have married a relative of mine. This name is not very common. So I’d appreciate to know whom she eventually married before heading for the States. If my hypothesis proves to be correct, I’ll provide a lot more data about your family in Norway.PS: Harald Storaker of course means e a s t of Newcastle.

[Gjest Jim Bayard]

First of all, thank you Harald and Egil for clarifying "South Shields." I thought, perhaps, it might have been a ship, since there is a family story that says my great grandma worked on a ship prior to coming to America.In regards to the spelling of her name, I know that she spelled it "Kristofa" here in the U.S. Unfortunately, she did not marry prior to coming to the U.S., and when she arrived in America, she made Oakland, California her home. In Oakland, she met my great grandfather, Otto William Bayerd (a Swede, who I still have not been able to trace back to Sweden), and they married in 1904. I do not believe that Otto's last name was originally Bayerd, but instead, it was probably Gustafsson, Nilsson, etc. He probably changed it when he came to the U.S.in 1880.To be honest, I have been very lucky in tracing my Norwegian roots. I have been able to trace my roots to Hordaland (Fusa, Strandvik, Os, etc.), Sogn og Fjordane (Naustdal), and Akershus (Hakadal/Nittedal). However, I have not been able to find out that much about why my great grandma came to America and on what ship. The other question that I am trying to figure out is whether her father, Karl Ludvig, was well known. We have picture postcards of him leading a troop of kids in a parade. He was in the military and taught brass instruments. Finally, I am still trying to locate the farm of birth for my ancestor, Hans Pedersen Berg, who is listed as being from Askvoll in the Examination Rolls in 1804.Anyhow, thank you again for your help.

[Gjest Egil Thee Danielsen]

Not the person I suspected. Anyway, elimination is an important process, also in genealogy.The way you write your name (Bayard), it sounds French. In fact, there are many persons with this name in France — and even some here in Brussels. Perhaps your great grandfather met a person on the boat whose name he “adopted” in order to get away from a possible thirteen-in-a-dozen patronymic back home? The Swedes always had a flair for things French.Good luck with your further research!