[#3842] Farm names as surnames Hedemark/Oppland

[Gjest Sue Barham]

I just received information from Statsarkivet i Hamar regarding my gr gr grandfather, Haagen Olsen and am completely confused. At the time of his marriage, both he and his wife have Smedrud in addition to their patronymic surnames. That is a farm in Oppland, but they were married in Hedemark, Hof parish. They had two daughters, whose births are recorded in the Hof register, and at that time, he had Eigsmoen added. I can't even find an Eigsmoen until the 1865 Census. Their son Bernt, my gr grandfather has no birth listing in the Hof register and he was born in 1835 or 1836. However, his confirmation in 1854, at age 18, says he was born at Tangen. Where are these places in relationship to one another. Who should I contact regarding the registration of his birth, now that I know his parents? Any suggestions would be so appreciated. They couldn't find any information at all about his wife, Maren, who is listed in US Census of 1900 as having Sveiven as a surname. HELP!

[Gjest Knut Bryn]

1. At that time people were as usually identified with their given name, their patronym, and their address. The adress could be the name of the farm or the subfarm ("bruk" in Norwegian) where they lived. A subfarm could be a named part of a larger farm which they hired in some way. Such subfarms are sometimes more difficult to find than farms. When Haagen in one record was called Haagen Olsen Smedrud and in another is calledHaagen Olsen Eigsmoen, it tells you that he had moved from Smedrud to Eigsmoen.2. Eigsmoen in Hof is also called Eidsmoen, so I suppose that is the right place. It is a subfarm under Østre Eid. You will find it very close to Haslemoen in Våler (Vaaler). It was a part of Hof parish until 1848.3. About 20 miles West of Hof you will a place called Tangen. It is in Stange parish. Perhaps that is the right Tangen? In Tangen there are some subfarms called Smedsrud. Perhaps your gr gr grandparents originally came from Tangen? However you have to know that Smedsrud/Smedrud/Smedsrød are quite common names on such places, so this is just a long shot.

[Gjest Steinar Vasaasen]

I have taken a look in the churchbooks for Stange. Unfortunately Bernt is not recorded in this book from 1835-1837. In Hedmark the farm-name Tangen is also used in Sør-Odal , farm nr. 36,3, in Vinger (70,31), in Grue (42,51) and Lille Elvdalen (Folldal) farm nr. 115. The name Smedsrud is also used in Nord-Odal (south of Stange).Best wishes from Steinar Vasaasen svasaasen@hotmail.com

[Gjest Per Håkon Christiansen]

To Sue Barham, just another question: are you certain of the year of birth of your gr grandfather Bernt? If you are positive that he was confirmed in 1854 it seems more reasonable that his birth should be around 1840. Is this maybe the reason you don't find him?

[Gjest Sue Barham]

According to the US Censuses of 1900 and 1910, Bernt was born in June, 1835. On records of the births of two of his children, his birth year was 1835. This would certainly make him 18 in 1854 as the parish records indicate. The Haagen Olsen that is designated as his father in this record, was born in about 1796. Perhaps I am trying to connect him to the wrong father, Haagen. The Haagen Olsen that appears in the 1865 Census, is living with his daughter Olia, was 80, making his birth year about 1785. The only reason I am exploring this Haagen and his daughter is because I have information that a sister named Olia came to USA to join her brother, Bernt in Renville County Minnesota. This sister had a daughter named Serena in American records. There were too many common factors to ignore. Våler parish records ONLY record his confirmation, but not his birth. His parents were married in late December 1835, so perhaps he was born prior to their marriage and somehow that explains his absent christening date. I don't know how that would have worked in that time in Norway. Did "illegitimate" children have the surname of their mothers, and then if parents later married, did they assume a patronymic name? I know this is the case in Sweden, as evidenced by the birth of my paternal grandmother. She and her unmarried mother had the same last name as her grandfather. Perhaps I should be looking for a grandfather's birth in the name of Bernt Amundsen. Should I try that path?

[Gjest Per Helge Seglsten]

Nothing should be untried, but it would be extremely unusual if the children had his mother's name. The only reason I can think of for such a practice is if the father was completely unknown.In my tree for instace I have a woman whose father was only known as "Abraham, a travelling wig maker". She was brought up at her grandparents because of the shame connected to her illegimate birth I guess, but she was called Abrahamsdatter all the way from baptism to burial.Per Helge

[Gjest Gunleif Seldal]

Hello Sue, I see that you are working hard to find your Norwegian ancestors. Based on the info you have given so far in various fora, I hope I can participate in helping you a little bit further.Starting with your gr gr grandfather Haagen Olsen, I am convinced that he is identical with person at the subfarm (cotter's place) Rudsrønningen under the farm Rud in Vaaler; 1865 cencus. The info given there dowtails perfectly with the info you have from your family as you have pointed out. His name Haagen together with his unmarried daughter Olia and her "illegitimate" daughter Syrine Martinusdatter is definetly more than a coincidence. Besides, it fits with Solør.Regarding your gr grandfather Bernt Haagensen, I think you should stick to him being born in june 1835, as this info is most likely given by himself or by his close family. Eventhough it was not common, it was certainly not unusual to be confirmed at an age of 18.So where was Bernt born? You mentioned that those who are believed to be his parents; Haagen Olsen and NN, used the name Smedrud at their marriage in December 1835. Well, there is a subfarm with this name in Vaaler parish, namely under the main farm Kapperud. Obviously Bernt was born 6 months before the marriage, and according to your info at a place called Tangen. Since Bernt's birth is not recorded in Hof, he must have been born in another parish. This could well have been in his mothers home parish. Or if she belonged to Hof, she may have choosen to give birth to and christen her child in another (neighbouring?) parish to avoid all the gossip at her home place. Such incidents were not unusual in those days.Tangen seems to be the key for tracing Bernts birth. Unfortenately this is an extremely common name. If we consider Hedmark county (fylke)only, the 1886 matricule shows this name as subfarms or cotter's farms at 22 places, whereof twice as the name of a main farm. They were scattered over 12 parishes, so it is quite a task to check the various church records. However, the number of parishes were less in 1835 than in 1886, so here a person with local knowledge could help. To locate these "Tangen" places by municipality (herad) and parish (sogn), go to "useful links", "The Norwegian Historical Data Centre", switch to Norwegian language, go to "SØKING I MATRIKKELEN", fill in "Bruksnavn", (tangen), limit search to "Hedmark" in the square, press "Søk" and there you go. Here you also will find Eidsmoen, Smedrud and Smedsrud. Rudsrønningen was probably still belonging to the main farm, and is therefor not listed here.As to illegitimate children, they normally got their patronymic name after their father. However, if the mother refused to reveal the fathers name, or if the accused denied, I have seen cases where the child used the "matronymic"??, e.g. Sirisøn. In your case, it is very likely that Haagen was the father of Bernt, otherwise he would not have married her so shortly after her having a child. There are only three other reasons why he would: Either she was wealthy (pocessed farm or money) which I doubt; she was a widow after his brother, or she was the only woman he could hope for.Finally Maren Sveiven, Bernts wife? To my knowledge there are only two places in Norway with that name. One is in Rogaland county, Nedstrand (Nærstrand) municipality, under the main farm Kvam, ytre, and the other is in Vestfold county, Sem municipality under the main farm Bøengen. I guess that Maren and Bernt met in USA and married there? If you know Marens patronymic, you may find some traces at these places in the 1865 cencus, as she may have emigrated after that year.Good look in your further research and best regards!

[Gjest Sue Barham]

Gunlief: Thanks so much for your help in pointing me to the farm level data base. I now am able to place many of my ancestors on the exact correct farm, which will aid when determining which municipal and religious records to access. Thanks again. Sue