Finnestad Ancestry

I had posted the 1910 and 1920 US Federal Census for Ole and Mari Finnestad's grandson, Ole Alfred Knutson but had a difficult time locating the 1930 Census. By the time of the 1930 Census, the Watertown State Hospital changed its name to East Moline State Hospital. The hospital also fell within two areas, Hampton township and a second in the city of East Moline. Alfred's fell within the Hampton township and I had been looking through the city of East Moline's census records. Alfred was never released from the hospital but did work as a steamfitter, most likely at the hospital. Alfred passed away on January 8, 1934, just under four months from his 52nd birthday. Alfred was the son of Elizabeth and Ole Andreas (Andrew) Knutson.

I had posted earlier that Ole and Mari Finnestad's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was never really a Finnestad as she had not lived on the Finnestad farm prior to getting married. I was wrong. I was going through some of my documents and came across a confirmation from the Regional State Archives of Stavanger, that Ole Finnestad had purchased a lot of property (Merknad 387b, which is now property nr. 16) on the Finnestad farm in 1862. Because Elizabeth did not marry Ole Andreas Knutson until 1864, it stand to reason she was most likely living with her parents on the Finnestad farm from 1862 through 1864. I have updated the family tree (right hand column) and added "Finnestad" to Elizabeth's name.

Here is a summary of Ole and Mari Finnestad and their 11 children along with their final resting places: Ole Oleson Finnestad February 14, 1814 - November 22, 1906 Union Cemetery - Lee County, Illinois Mari Iversdatter Skaar Finnestad July 12, 1824 - November 1, 1905 Union Cemetery - Lee County, Illinois Elizabeth Olsdatter Finnestad Knutson April 10, 1844 - March 14, 1930 Lawnridge Cemetery - Rochelle, Illinois Sarah (Serina) Olsdatter Finnestad July 5, 1846 - August 21, 1923 Union Cemetery - Lee County, Illinois Maria Olsdatter March 7, 1848 - May 15, 1851 Fister , Norway Dana (Iverdine) Olsdatter Finnestad Travland December 2, 1850 - November 3, 1879 Union Cemetery - Lee County, Illinois Bertha Olsdatter Finnestad Haaland December 2, 1850 - April 29, 1929 Union Cemetery - Lee County, Illinois Rachel (Rakkel) Marie Olsdatter Finnestad Vallem December 2, 1853 - April 8, 1932 Lawnridge Cemetery - Rochelle, Illinois Ole Oleson Finnestad June 4, 1856 - July 7, 1928 Fairview Cemet...

Barnel Oluf Oleson was the 11th and final child born to Ole and Mari Finnestad. Church records from the Hetland church in Stavanger, Norway document Barnel's birth and death. Below is a photo* of the "Our Lady Church" or "Hetland Church" Barnel was born July 8, 1866 and died February 18, 1868. *Photo by Arne Toftøy-Anderson

Rachel was the 6th child born to Ole and Mari Finnestad. Rachel is buried at the Lawnridge Cemetery in Rochelle, Illinois. Rachel was born December 2, 1853 and died April 8, 1932. Coincidentally, her older twin sisters, Bertha and Iverdine were also born on December 2nd. Rachel's husband, Lewis is buried in Norway; I do not have a photo or exact location but believe it is a cemetery in the village of Valheim. Rachel's last name was spelled as 'Vallum' rather than the correct spelling of "Vallem" on the marker.

Bertha was the twin sister of Iverdine, born to Ole and Mari Finnestad. Bertha and her husband, Andrew Haaland are buried at the Union Cemetery in Lee County, Illinois. Bertha was born December 2, 1850 and died April 29, 1929. Unfortunately they spelled her name incorrectly as "Bartha" on her marker.

There was a tie for the 4th born child to Ole and Mari Finnestad; between Iverdine and Bertha, who were twins. Iverdine (or Dana) is buried with her daughter, Ane Maria Travland at the Union Cemetery in Lee County, Illinois. Iverdine was born December 2, 1850 and died November 3, 1879. Ane Maria was born June 1, 1873 and died August 12, 1873. If you look at Trish Hodgen's website , you can see how much of Iverdine's marker has worn away based upon these photos. I am not sure when Trish took the photo on her web page ; the two photos above were taken June 17, 2010.

Church records from the village of Fister in Hjelemeland, Norway document the burial for Ole and Mari Finnestad's third child, Maria Olsdatter. Maria Olsdatter was born March 7, 1848 and died May 15, 1851. The photo* below is the Fister church, built in 1867, several years after Maria had died. I do not know whether this church replaced another or whether there is a second church in the village. I have not come across any records that confirm exactly where she may have been buried, but considering the village of Fister is quite small, hopefully it will not be too difficult to locate when I eventually go to Norway. * Photo: Arne Toftøy-Andersen

Ole and Mari Finnestad, along with their daughter Sarah and granddaughter Josephine are buried at the Union Cemetery in Lee County, Illinois. I had posted photos after the granite marker had been put in place last year, so here are photos in the summer, without snow. I still have no idea whether the plot had a previous marker; if it did, I do not know what became of it. Sarah was the second child born to Ole and Mari Finnestad. She never married or had children, so that branch of the Finnestad family tree ends with her. Josephine was Ole Jr and Caroline Finnestad's daughter. Ole was born February 14, 1814 and died November 22, 1906. Mari was born July 12, 1824 and died November 1, 1905. Sarah was born July 5, 1846 and died August 21, 1923. Josephine was born February 13, 1886 and died December 6, 1902. Here is the archway to the cemetery with an arrow pointing out the location of the granite marker for Ole Finnestad, wife Mari, their daughter Sarah and granddaughter Jose...

Ole and Mari Finnestad's eldest daughter, Elizabeth was laid to rest at the Lawnridge Cemetery in Rochelle, Illinois. Elizabeth was born April 10, 1844 and died March 14, 1930. Here is another photo of Elizabeth's marker. I do not know when Elizabeth's husband Ole Andreas Knutson died, but it was sometime between 1910 and 1920. I also do not know the facts surrounding his death so I do not know why he wasn't buried next to Elizabeth or whether his burial place is even located in a cemetery in Illinois. Here is a photo of the entrance to the Lawnridge Cemetery, Rochelle, Illinois.

Here is the WW II enlistment information for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandchild, Robert W Ludwig. Yesterday, I posted the WW II enlistment information for his brother, Charles. Robert enlisted May 16, 1942, probably in Rochelle, Illinois. I haven't been able to verify whether the Ludwig brothers had married and started their respective families following World War II, so at this point, their family tree appears at a dead end.

Here is the WW II enlistment information for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandchild, Charles A Ludwig. Charles enlisted November 14, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois. He was a machinist at the time of his enlistment. Charles was the son of Edith (Knutson) and Charles E Ludwig. Charles' grandparents were Elizabeth and Ole Andreas Knutson.

Here are a couple of photos* of Ole and Mari Finnestad's granddaughter, Frances (Finnestad) Svetica. These photos were taken August 19, 1973, and what looks like in the background, a church, I believe, in DeKalb, Illinois. (Though it looks familiar, I can't recall which one). Frances was the youngest daughter of Caroline (Quitno) and Ole (Jr) Finnestad. Frances and Peter did not have any children, so Frances' branch ends with her. Frances and Peter were my great great aunt and uncle, though I never met them and did not know of their existence until I began this project. * Photos provided by Ole and Mari Finnestad's great great granddaughter, Jill (McKay) Clinton.

I've discussed in previous posts Ole and Mari Finnestad's eldest daughter, Elizabeth Olsdatter, who had married Ole Andreas Knutson. Here is an index card that led me to the immigration documents for Elizabeth's husband which had been filed at the Ogle County, Illinois clerk's office. The original immigration document was signed September 5, 1890. At the time, King Oscar II was the ruler of Norway and Sweden. A second document was signed February 28, 1910, which provided more information, though unfortunately, Ole did not know which ship or have the correct date he had arrived in New York from Norway. At the time of this second document, Norway had broken off from the rule of Sweden and King Haakon VII was king of Norway. I do not know why a second immigration document was completed by Ole Knutson, but it did provide additional information that was not contained on the 1890 document. What is interesting about this document is that: - Ole had a tattoo "OAK...

Here is the WW I draft registration for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandson, Oral Irving Hall. According to this document, Oral worked on a farm for his father, Ole Hall. Oral was the son of Isabel (Vallem) Hall and grandson of Rachel (Finnestad) and husband Lewis Vallem.

Here is the WW I draft registration for Ole and Mari Finnestad's grandson, Peter Vallem. Peter was living in Rockford, Illinois and working as a machinist for Ingersoll Milling Machine company when this document was signed on September 12, 1918. Peter was the eldest son of Rachel (Finnestad) and Lewis Vallem.

Here is a copy of the draft registration of Ole and Mari Finnestad's grandson, Ole L Vallem. Ole was a farmer living in Rochelle, Illinois at the time this was completed on September 12, 1918. Also mentioned in the document was his wife, Sophia. Ole was the son of Rachel (Finnestad) and Lewis Vallem.

A couple of weeks ago I posted the World War II registration for Ole and Mari Finnestad's grandchild, Elmer Vallem. I recently located his World War I draft registration. He was living in Creston, Illinois at the time this document was completed on June 5, 1917. Note the incorrect year of birth (1883) even though it indicates he was 24 at the time. Elmer was the youngest child born to Rachel (Finnestad) Vallem; his father was Jacob Johnson who apparently never married Rachel after the death of her first husband, Lewis.

Here is a copy of the World War I registration for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandson, Orville Olson. The document was completed June 5, 1917. Orville had married and started a family by the time of this document and was living in McIntosh, Minnesota. Orville was the eldest son of Mary Olson (and husband Stephen), the daughter of Elizabeth, who married Ole Andreas Knutson.

In 1910, Ole and Mari Finnestad's granddaughter, Ella was living (line #79) with husband George Olson and their first son, George Jr in Milan township, DeKalb County, Illinois. Ella was the daughter of Rachel (Finnestad) and Lewis Vallem.

Here is a photo* of three of Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandchildren. Wanda (Risetter) Dearth, her brother Rodney Risetter, and cousin Norraine (Richardson) Carlson. This photo looks like it may have been taken in the late 1930's or early 1940's, before Wanda married Leo and Norraine married William. Wanda and Rodney were two of Lillian (Finnestad) and George Risetter's three children. Norraine was the daughter of Evelyn (Finnestad) and Charles Richardson. *Photo provided by Roxanne (Dearth) Hamilton.

I came across a few immigration documentation index cards the other day for three of Ole and Mari Finnestad's sons. This index card references eldest brother Ole Finnestad's immigration document. Andrew Arent and Lewis Travland were listed as witnesses. When I originally obtained the complete immigration document a few years ago, I did not know that Andrew was the husband of Linnie Vallem (Ole's niece), if it refers to Andrew Jr. I also wasn't aware at the time, that Lewis was the husband of Ole's sister, Iverdine. This card references Bert Finnestad's immigration document. This card references Rasmus Finnestad's immigration document. Witnesses for both Bert and Rasmus were Edmond Aske and Asa Dixon. I'm guessing they were neighbors or friends of Bert as I've not found any other connection.

Here is a photo* of sisters, Evelyn (Finnestad) Richardson and Frances (Finnestad) Svetica - December 24, 1960. * Photos provided by Ole and Mari Finnestad's great great granddaughter, Jill (McKay) Clinton.

In 1930, Ole and Mari Finnestad's granddaughter Lillian (Finnestad) Risetter was living with husband George, son Rodney and daughters Betty Lou and Wanda. They were living on State Street in DeKalb, Illinois. Lillian was the daughter of Ole Jr and Caroline Finnestad

In 1930, Ole and Mari Finnestad's granddaughter, Lettie (Clara Olette Finnestad) was living with husband Christopher, son Hamilton and daughter Verdell in Willow Creek Township, Lee County, Illinois. Lettie was the daughter of Ole Jr and Caroline Finnestad.

Another photo* below of Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandchildren, granddaughter and great great granddaughter. Left to right: Betty (Risetter) Shipman, Lillian (Finnestad) Risetter, Deborah (Dearth) Craig and Wanda (Risetter) Dearth. I'm guessing this photo was taken probably in early to mid 1960's. *Photo provided by Roxanne (Dearth) Hamilton

In 1930, Ole and Mari Finnestad's granddaughter, Alice Marie (Finnestad) Gittleson was living with husband Selmer on East Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, Illinois. Alice was the daughter of Ole and Caroline Finnestad. Alice and Selmer did not have any children, so their family tree ends with them.