[#5682] Hougen family

[Gjest Max Swanson]

Hello - I am trying to get information about my great grandfather, Ole T. Hougen, born between 1816 and 1817, presumably in Norway, and died May 2, 1899 in Mount Vernon, Washington, U.S.A. He was married to Anne, who died July 27, 1897 in the same city. I have this information from their gravestones. Ole Hougen had several sons, one of whom, Abraham, was my grandfather. He was born about 1855 in Decorah, Iowa, U.S.A. He married Mary Vemstedt(?), who was born in Norway about 1867 (maybe in Kristiansen or Kristiansand) and came to the U.S.A. about 1887. This isn't much information, but I would appreciate any advice on how to find out more about my Norwegen-born ancestors. I have tried searching land records and ship passenger records with no success. Thanks for any assistance you can give. Max Swanson

[Gjest Heidi Tofterå Slettemoen]

Have you tried searching for their entry to the US at the new site www.ellisisland.org?Hougen may have been spelled Haugen, and is a VERY common farmname in Norway. When Ole uses T. as a middle initial, his fathers name probably started with that letter. Kristiansen is also a patronym, meaning the father was called K/Christian. Kristiansand is a town in southern Norway.Worth checking out is Vemstad, a farm in Hedmark, in eastern Norway. As far as I can see that is the closest to the Vemstedt-spelling.These are just a few pointers, I am sure others are able to help you more...Good luck!

[Gjest Rune Bjerke]

The Ellis Island entries cover the period 1892-1924, which seems to be a bit too late in this case.Knowing that Ole was born after the 1801 census and left before the 1865 census, and realizing that he has a common Norwegian name, makes this a bit tricky when you cannot find him in the emigrant protocols. I think that I would have tried to get as much information as possible out of the records in his hometown. Or have you already made that attempt?It could be that the emigration centre in Stavanger could help, if other searches fail. (http://www.utvandrersenteret.no/index_eng.html)Rune