[#6425] Farm Names

[Gjest robert d. sabo]

These Digitalarkivet records are truly wonderful and have helped me put together a good history of my family from Norway. I have many questions on things I'd like to better understand. I'll ask them one at a time. It seems therewas a great deal of intermarriage between farms and a considerable movement of people from one farm t another nearby farm. Is this a correct impression or am I perhaps being misled by name similarities?

[Gjest robert d. sabo]

Anotherquestion relates to translation of farm names. My family came mostly from Saebo nedre. I think I have a translation of that name. Can anyone help me with Saetre, Tofte, Eid, Hvidevold and Sjo. They are beautiful names without translation but if they have another meaning I' be interested.

[Gjest robert d. sabo]

A final question for now. I have been looking at these records for several months now and am getting the feeling that I must be related to everyone in Fjellberg parish. That would be fine with me. my grandfatherwas from Saebo nedre farm. Jonas Larsen (Sabo) son of Lars Abrahamsen and Boe Hilgedatter. My grandmother was from Melkevik farm in Skanevik, daughter of Mons Olsen and Brita Olsdatter. She was Else Monsdatter. Might there be anyone there now to whom I might be related?

[Gjest robert d. sabo]

Sorry. My great grandmothers name was Boel Hilgesdatter, from Saetre.

[Gjest Magne Godberg]

Hi, Robert!I'll try to help youCheck out this link: The search results are in Norwegian, but that way you can ask us Norwegians more directly.Professor Rygh was and, though dead, still remains an autority on farm nameshttp://dina.uio.no/rygh_ng/rygh_form.htmlTofte means site for farm or houseEid means a small patch of land that separates two bodies of waterSjo in this case means landing area for watercraft by the local churchSætre means living area, living quartersI couldn't find Hvidevold. It could mean White embankment, but that's wholly my translation.I'm sure others could render more accurate translations, but I gave it my best shot. These words are so old that their original meanings have been lost, that is at least to me.In the searchprogram you can't use the Norwegian letters æ, ø or å, I'm afraidLooking forward to your reply Magne

[Gjest robert d. sabo]

Thank you Magne. Your tranlations are more than I had before today and I'll use them unless or until someone provides something better, if that's possible. I have gotten much information from the Oluf Rygh website and it's very good information. I caanot, regrettably, read, write or speak Norwegian although mtGrandmother did try to teach me a littl when I was young. Thank yu again. I have a lot tolearn.

[Gjest Heidi Tofterå Slettemoen]

Your first and third questions are closely linked. It was very common to marry between naighbouring farms and within the family. Bot because Norway was scarcely populated at the time, and because they didn`t get around as much then as they do now.Quite often the parents would look to cousins or to neighbours to find a good match for their children, which would explain why you are related to most of the old Fjelberg area.Both Skånevik, Etne and Fjelberg were founded as kommuner in 1838. This minimized the quite large Fjelberg area to just a small kommune in southern Hordaland.In 1862 Fjelberg kommune gave 21 % of its area to Sveio, in 1898 3 % to Stord and in 1916 50 % to Ølen. In 1965 Etne got 55 % of Skånevik, Kvinnherad got 100 % of Fjelberg (which ceaced to exist as a kommune) and 44 % of Skånevik. Today the area consists of the two kommuner Kvinnherad and Etne, of which Etne is the kommune that contains most of the farms you mention.To find relatives in the area, I would suggest that you wrote the local newspaper GRANNAR. Either through their snail-mail address: GRANNAR, Nyvoll, Postboks 84, 5590 Etne, Norwayor through their website: http://www.grannar.no/ or e-mail grannar@online.noI am sure they can help you get in touch with genealogists in the area, and/or relatives.Good luck!

[Gjest Heidi Tofterå Slettemoen]

Here are some more usefull links with pictures from Skånevik (kart/bilete):[url="http://www.skaanevik.no/Under>http://www.skaanevik.no/Under kultur/kyrkje (culture/church) there are links to Entes genealogical sources 1500-1900.And to an emigration site from Skånevik:

[Gjest robert d. sabo]

Thank you very much for the information Heide. I appreciate it and it helps me tounderstand more what life mght have been like in times past. The present organization of the area will help me when I get tothe point of tracing present day relatives. At the moment, I am still in the past and very much enjoying it. Thanks again. rds