[#5559] Freda Amanda Johnson/Tastad f. 25.2.1882 nær Stava

[Gjest Kjellaug Robberstad Petit]

Jeg prøver her å hjelpe en amerikansk seks menning med å finne ut hvor hans farmor kom fra. Sender kopi av hans brev: My grandmother (my father's mother) was name Freda Amanda Johnson (in the US). She was born 25 Feb 1882 in Stavanger (I believe). She married my grandfather Mons Johannesson VIK ("Mike Wicks" in the US) 15 Mar 1905 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Her parents were (and all I really have are the "Americanized" versions of names) John Johnson (no known dates) and Bertha Johnson born 1847. My family history says the family came from Stavanger, Norway.Here's a history from my dad's youngest brother Amos about their mother:Freda came to the USA by herself. Freda came through Ellis Island when she came over from Norway. Freda was 18 years old when she came over. Freda Johnson had three sisters and four brothers. The sister's names were Josephine Anderson [married name], Anna Olson [married name], and Dora Stalsvick. Dora stayed in Norway. The brothers took the last name of Tastetd (or something similar to this.) This name represented the township or area that they came from in Norway. They came from Stavanger, Norway. They didn't want to take the name of Johnson because there were too many Johnson's already in the USA. The first names of the boys were Bert, Conrad, Jacob, and John. Jacob was in WWI. He had just come over to the USA, and he had to enter the service or he couldn't become a citizen. John was nothing but a bum. Bert and Conrad did live at Everett, Washington. They are now dead.Dora stayed in Stavanger, Norway. She lived in the house that Freda was born in. Dora had three boys and no girls in Norway. The boys still live in Norway. (**Dora wrote after WWII wanting help over in Norway. She mentioned that it didn't do any good to send money as there wasn't anything there to buy. At that time, we got chicken feed in print cloth flour sacks. Mother must have had 50 or 100 of these sacks that she washed and took apart. She packed these sacks up and sent them over to Dora. She also sent needle and thread, coffee, and ham or spam over to her during the war. She wrote back and said that "You indeed must be rich to send us wonderful stuff such as this".)Jahn Stalsvick married and his wife's name was Anna. They had one boy and one daughter. The daughter's name is Turid and she speaks English. She is a school teacher and has built her own home near her brother. The son, Jon, married Ranveig and had two sons, John Ivor, and Gunnar. Cora [my dad's older sister who is turning 90 next summer] wrote to Jahn Stalsvick so he is still alive over in Norway. Cora thinks that one of the other brothers is still alive also.Carstens Stalsvick married Johanna and had three girls, Kari, Astred, and Jordes. Per letters of Helen's [another of my dad's sisters, now dead], Carsten was 80 years old about 10 years ago, which would put him at 90 or so now.The youngest son is Toralf Stalsvick, who married Berta. They have two daughters. Eli speaks English. She was in Iowa at one time. Geir and Randi Stalsvick live in Troudheuri, the land of the Midnight sun. Tone is a folk dancer. Toralf was in the Merchant Marines and visited the Tastedts at one time.According to Wanda, Si's [another of my father's brothers] wife, one of the girls in Norway traced the family history back to the 12th century. The Johnson's were supposed to be a head family in the Lutheran church such as a bishop or something. There were also some rascals within the family.I believe the spelling of the "Tastedt" is actually "Tastad"; at least I've found some Tastad descendents in Washington state, who appear to be related to me, but my correspondence with them has not been very fruitful. They seem to know very little about the "Tastad" part of their family.I also have an account of a visit to Norway my uncle Si and his wife Wanda made in 1982. They found many of the people listed above, and actually visited the house in which Freda grew up. Unfortunately, both Si and Wanda are also dead now. I don't know if they kept in touch with any of these relatives after they returned from Norway.

[Gjest Hans Mathisen]

Hallo Kjellaug! Har du forsøkt ft 1900? Jeg mener å ha funnet Fredas familie på Tastad Øvre, g.nr. 28, br.nr. 58 i Hetland, Rogaland. I 1900 bor disse personene der:Jon Jonsen, Gårdbruger og kjører i Stavang., f. 1845 i Hetland Berta Sofia Pedersd., Gårdmandskone, f. 1850 i Hetland Theodora Jonsdatr., ugift, Datter, f. 1880 Bertinius Jonsen, ugift, Søn, f. 1885 Konrad Jonsen, ugift, Søn, f. 1888 Jakob Jonsen, ugift, Søn, f. 1892.Alle barna født i tellekretsen (Hetland).Dette er nok Fredas familie - alt synes å stemme. Theodora er sikkert Dora, Bertinius er Bert osv.. Så da har du svar på hvor din amerikanske seksmennings farmor kom fra: Tastad Øvre, Hetland, Rogaland! Hils din seksmenning så mye fra Hans!

[Gjest Kjellaug Robberstad Petit]

Mange takk skal du ha, han kommer nok til å bli glad at det begynner å løsne litt på seg her-:) mvh Kjellaug