Finnestad Ancestry

Here is the 1920 US Census for Alice (Finnestad) Reigard living with her husband, Walter Reigard in Genoa, DeKalb county, Illinois. Walter was working as a mechanic at a garage he owned with his brother in law, George Risetter.  Alice was the daughter of Caroline (Quitno) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Jr. and the granddaughter of  Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr.

Walter Reigard, husband of Alice Marie Finnestad served in the military from September 20, 1917 through March 7, 1919, during World War I.    The United States Congress declared war April 6, 1917.    The war ended November 11, 1918 and the Treaty of Versailles was signed June 28, 1919. A few months following the completion of his service in the military, Walter and his brother-in-law, George Risetter ran an automobile and tractor repair business in DeKalb, Illinois named Reigard and Risetter. The opening of the shop made front page news in the DeKalb Daily Chronicle on July 8, 1919. George Risetter was the husband of Lillian May Finnestad, sister of Alice Finnestad.   Both Lillian and Alice were the daughters of Caroline (Quitno) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Jr. and the granddaughters of  Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr.

Alice Marie Finnestad, daughter of Caroline (Quitno) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Jr. and the granddaughter of  Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr married Walter John Reigard on April 11, 1918 in Houston, Texas. The DeKalb Daily Chronicle reported the news in their April 19, 1918 edition, page 3, 2nd column toward the bottom of the page. The True Republican reported a few days later in their April 24, 1918 edition on page 4, the upper portion of columns 3 and 4. Walter Reigard was the son of Ellen (Christlief) and Frank Reigard.    George Renwick was Walter's stepfather following the death of his father. I do not have any information on where Walter Reigard may have served in Europe during World War I, but current events  remind me of the importance of knowing and understanding history. When you stop to consider the Spanish Flu was an unknown threat to those serving in the military during the first World War, the risk th...

Here is the 1940 US Census for Oliver Finnestad Jr living in Malta township, DeKalb county, Illinois. Oliver, located on line 7, was living with the Quitno family, Leonard, wife Dorothy (Bradley) and their children, Charles and James.    Oliver was a hired farm hand for the family. Oliver was the son of Mary (Kurth) and Oliver Finnestad, granddaughter of Caroline (Quitno) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Jr. and the great granddaughter of  Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr. Leonard Quitno was related to Oliver's grandmother, Caroline.    Leonard's family tree separated from Caroline's at her grandparents, Anna (Jorgensdatter) and Samson Jonson who were Leonard's great great grandparents.

Here is the 1940 US census for Elmer James Vallem living in Dement township, Ogle county, Illinois. Elmer, found on line 42, was living as a farm hand for the Oliver Vesta family.   Another family is listed as lodgers, Askeland. Elmer was the son of Rachel (Finnestad) Vallem and Jacob Jacobson (after the death of Rachel's husband, Lewis Vallem) and the grandson of Mari Iversdatter Nordskår and Ole Olson Finnestad.

Here is the 1940 US Census for Lyle Elmer Sanderson, found on lines 55 - 56. Lyle was living in Ward 3 of DeKalb, DeKalb county, Illinois with his wife, Harriet Ruth (Munch).    Lyle was employed at a piano factory and Harriet was employed as a stenographer for the 'Ag assn seed House' which I would speculate was DeKalb Ag . If you lived in the midwest you might be familiar with their logo, particularly in DeKalb, Illinois and surrounding counties.    You may also have worked for them as a teenager detasseling corn .  Monsanto bought DeKalb Ag in 1998 and sold it to Bayer in 2017.    Lyle was the son of Myrtle (Colby) and Stanley Harland Sanderson, grandson of Martha (Cody) and Seward Oscar Sanderson and the step-grandson of Ellen Marie 'Mary' (Vallem) Sanderson.

In 1940 Ellen Marie 'Mary' (Vallem) Sanderson was living near her step-son, Stanley.    Both families were living in Milan township, DeKalb county, Illinois.    Mary can be found on lines 41 - 43 living with husband, Seward Oscar Sanderson and their youngest son, Gordon.     Both Seward and his son were employed as farmers. Found on lines 67 - 68, Stanley Harland Sanderson was living a few homes away with wife Myrtle Edna (Colby).   Stanley was also employed as a farmer. Ellen Marie (Vallem) Sanderson was the daughter of of Rachel (Olsdatter Finnestad) and Lewis (Lars Pederson Valheim) Vallem and granddaughter of Mari Iversdatter Nordskår and Ole Olson Finnestad. Stanley Harland Sanderson was the son of Martha (Cody) and Seward Oscar Sanderson.  He was born September 23, 1892, two and a half years before Mary (Vallem) married Seward Sanderson.

Here is a census with two branches of the Finnestad/Vallem tree, Elabata Bertina (Vallem) Olson and Walter Orlando Sanderson.    Both families were living in Milan township, DeKalb county, Illinois during the 1940 US census. Ella and family, found on lines 42 - 51 included husband George Olson and their children George Jr, Harold, Vernon, Stanley, Dorothy, Duane, Genevieve and Eugene.    George Sr was employed as a farmer and George Jr, Harold and Duane were farm laborers.   Vernon was a laborer for the 'corn dept' which I wonder whether that was DeKalb Ag Research which was a large employer in the area.    Stanley was employed as a manager of a poultry company and Dorothy was employed as a teacher at a rural school. Walter Orlando Sanderson, found on lines 55 - 64 was living with wife Mildred (Lindass) and their children, Donna, Wilma, Luann, Norma, Walter Jr and Mary Ann.   Also residing with the Sanderson family was a hired h...

Here is the 1940 US Census for Mary Olson and two of her children, Elmer and Olaf. Found on lines 4 - 7, Elmer was living with wife Mary Ann (Conner) and father-in-law, James E Conner.   Also living in the household was Juanita Spaulding, listed as niece.    Juanita was the granddaughter of James E Conner.      Elmer was employed as an electrician, Mary employed as a bookkeeper. Living next door, lines 8 - 9 is Elmer's mother, Mary (Knutson) Olson and his brother, Olaf.   Olaf was employed as a clerk for a clothing store. Juanita Spaulding was the daughter of Mary's brother, Arthur Edwin Conner and Ella Elizabeth Zapf. Elmer and Olaf were the sons of Mary (Knutson) and Stephen Olson, the grandsons of Elizabeth (Olsdatter) and Ole Andreas Knutson and the great grandsons of Mari Iversdatter Nordskår and Ole Olson Finnestad.

Here is the 1940 US census for Elma Matilda (Johnson) Wright living with her husband, Frank J Wright.   Their entry is listed on lines 17 - 18, living in the town of Cylinder, Fairfield township, Palo Alto county, Iowa.    Frank was employed as a trucker. Elma, also known as 'Lillie' was the daughter of Andrea Elizabeth 'Lizzie' (Knutson) and Lambert Johnson, the granddaughter of Elizabeth (Olsdatter) and Ole Andreas Knutson and the great granddaughter of Mari Iversdatter Nordskår and Ole Olson Finnestad.

Here is the 1940 US Census for Edith (Knutson) Ludwig daughter of Elizabeth (Finnestad) and Ole Andreas (Andrew) Knutson and the granddaughter of Mari Iversdatter Nordskår and Ole Olson Finnestad. Lines 6 - 7 list Edith, living in the city of Rochelle, Flagg township, Ogle county, Illinois with daughter Elizabeth.     Employment information is not provided for Edith.  Edith's husband, Charles Ludwig was serving a sentence in the Illinois State Penitentiary at Lockport, Will county, Illinois, known as Stateville Correctional Center.    There were some infamous inmates that served time at Statesville, from John Wayne Gacy to Leopold and Loeb.      Apparently the section of US route 66 that ran past the prison was changed to Illinois state highway 53 sometime after 1940. Charles is listed on line 77 of the census.    Charles was arrested and charged for arson and admitted to setting several tavern fires acc...

In 1940 there were different branches of the family living in Bee county in Texas.   Here is the 1940 US Census for  Ole Travland, Peter Travland, Otto Travland and Ben Travland. All were living in Normanna, Justice precinct 8, Bee county, Texas.    Ole Travland was living alone and is listed on line 60.      Ole was employed as a farmer. Ole was the son of  Iverdine (Olsdatter Finnestad) and Lewis (Peterson) Travland and the grandson of Mari (Iversdatter Nordskår) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad. Peter Travland and family are listed on lines 61 - 65.   Peter was living with wife Blanche (Hallberg) and daughter Alice.   Also living at the same residence was Peter's father, John Otto Travland and Peter's brother, Odin.     Peter was also employed as a farmer and Odin was employed at a cafe. Peter and Odin were the sons of Annie (Helling) and John Otto Travland, the grandsons of Susanne (Iversdatter No...

Here is the obituary for Alice Leota (Finnestad) Hansen who passed away late 2017. Alice was the daughter of Mary (Kurth) and Oliver Finnestad, granddaughter of Caroline (Quitno) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Jr. and the great granddaughter of  Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr.      Alice was the last of Mary and Oliver Finnestad's 9 children to pass away.

Here is the 1926 Canada census for Celia (Derdall) Finnestad, widow of Bert Finnestad. Celia (Sikke) was living with their children, Oscar, George, Selma as well as Celia's mother, Karen.  They are listed on lines 10 - 14. The Finnestad family was living in the municipality and village of Rudy, District 22 (Long Lake), sub-district 77 (Townships 30 and 31 in range 6 and 7, west of the third meridian, lying east of the South Saskatchewan River), Saskatchewan province, Canada.

Here is the 1926 Canada Census for Minerva 'Minnie' (Finnestad) Burlingame, daughter of Sikke 'Celia' Derdall* and granddaughter of Mari (Iversdatter Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad. Minnie along with her husband Bruce and their children, Wayne and Glen were living in municipality and village of Rudy (sub-district 7. township 18 in ranges 22 and 23, west of the second meridian),  Long Lake (District 22), Saskatchewan province, Canada.    They are listed on lines 46 - 49. *I've encountered various spellings of the last name:  Derdall, Dirdal, Dirdall,

Here is the 1926 Canada Census for Charlotte (Finnestad) Pearson, daughter of Celia (Derdall) and Rasmus Finnestad and granddaughter of Mari (Iversdatter) and Ole Finnestad. Living with Charlotte was her husband, Martin Oscar Pearson and their daughter, Selma in the municipality and village of Broderick (sub-district 80),  Long Lake (District 22), Saskatchewan province, Canada.     They are listed on lines 47 - 49. Charlotte married Martin Oscar Pearson, the husband of her cousin, Rose Clara Finnestad following the death of Rose in 1920. The 1926 census for Canada did not request information regarding employment.

Rasmus Finnestad, son of Mari (Iversdatter) and Ole Finnestad was living near his sister-in-law Celia (Derdall) Finnestad in 1921.  Celia (Sikke) Finnestad and her children, Oscar, George, Minnie, Charlotte and Selma were living in the municipality of Rudy, district 218 (Last Mountain, which was district 20 in previous census records), sub-district 60 (Townships 28, 29 and 30 in range 7, west of the third Meridian), Saskatchewan province, Canada.    Celia was no longer working but her sons Oscar and George continued to work the farm. Celia and family can be found on lines 3 - 8. Living a few houses away was Rasmus Finnestad and wife Carrie (Derdall) and two of their children Olaf and Mable Bell and the family of Mabel, husband Edward Bell and their children, Vivian and Corrine. Rasmus and family can be found on page 1,  lines 47 - 50 and page 2, lines 1 - 3. According to the census, Mabel and family moved from Iowa to Canada in 1915.   I...

Bert Finnestad, son of Mari (Iversdatter) and Ole Finnestad had passed away 2 years prior to the Canada census of 1916.    His wife, Celia (Derdall) Finnestad was living in District 20 (Last Mountain), sub-district 12 (Townships 29 and 30, ranges 5, 6 and 7, west of third meridian, including the villages of Glenside and Broderick), Saskatchewan province, Canada with their children, Oscar, George, Minnie, Charlotte and Selma. The Finnestad family is found at the bottom of page 16, lines 46 - 50 and continuing on page 17 line 1.    Celia continued to work the family farm with the help of Oscar and George.     

Rasmsus Finnestad, son of Mari (Iversdatter) and Ole Finnestad moved to Canada in 1912 from Fenton township, Kossuth county, Iowa.    Here is the 1916 Canada census. They were living in District 20 (Last Mountain), sub-district 12 (Townships 29 and 30, ranges 5, 6 and 7, west of third meridian, including the villages of Glenside and Broderick), Saskatchewan province, Canada.    Living with Rasmsus was wife Carrie (Derdall) and their two youngest children, Clara and Oluf.    Rasmus was still a Norwegian citizen in 1916 and employed as a farmer.

Berthel (Bert) Finnestad, son of Mari (Iversdatter) and Ole Finnestad moved to Canada in 1903 from Reynolds township, Lee county, Illinois. Here is the 1911 Canada census for Bert, wife Celia (Derdall) and their children Oscar, George, Minnie, Charlotte and Selma found on lines 40 - 46. The Finnestad family was living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan province, Canada.    Bert had become a Canadian citizen by 1906.     Bert and his sons were employed as farmers.      Oluf Finnestad, Bert's nephew would eventually marry Myrtle Myhre, Bert's neighbor located on line 29.  The Finnestad family was living next door to Bert's brother-in-law and his family, Bert Derdall. Here is a blank form of the 1911 Canada census.

A few years ago I had posted  a transcription of the 1865 Norway census for Ole Olson Finnestad and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår and family.   The weblink to that census has since been broken but I have tracked down a copy of the original document. This census was from the municipality 1103, Hetland and the parish of Frue in Rogaland county.    In addition to Ole and Mari, their children Serina (Sarah), Iverdine (Dina), Bertha, Rachel, Ole Jr, Mary, Bert and Rasmus were living on the Finnestad farm.    Eldest daughter Elizabeth had married and were living elsewhere in the Stavanger area. Ole raised horse, cattle and sheep as well as harvested barley, oats and potatoes on the Finnestad farm.

Here is an aerial view of the lot on the Finnestad farm purchased by Ole Olson Søndenå.    Here is a map from 1957 which also lists Gårdsnr 31 and Bruksnr 16. This is the most recent aerial photo that resembles a farm,  from 1979. This photo is from 2011 prior to the home being torn down. Finnestadveien 24 The house was located on Finnestadveien. Finnestadveien street sign Here is an aerial view from 2003. 2003 Here is the house as it looked in 2008 at Finnestadveien 24, 4029 Stavanger, Norway. Finnestadveien 24 The house was torn down 2011 - 2012.  Here is an aerial view sometime after the home was demolished. Finnestadveien 24 Finnestadveien 24 Here is the lot as it looked in 2016. Finnestadveien 24 Finnestadveien 24 Here is a panoramic shot of the general area around what used to be the Finnestad farm.

The Finnestad lot purchased by Ole Olson Søndenå in 1862 from Bjørn Larsen was located northwest of Stavanger on the western coast of Norway.      Here is a map of the area from 1866 four years after that transaction. 1866 - Stavanger 1866 - Finnestad Here is a map from 1919 many years after Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår had already left Norway for America. 1919 - Stavanger This aerial photo details the property boundaries in 1937 including the previously owned property of Ole Olson Søndenå which was merged with a neighboring property. Here is a plat map of the property in 1937. A note on the last name Finnestad.     If your last name is Finnestad it means your ancestor lived on the farm.     For example, Ole Olson Søndenå: Olson represents the son of father Ole (in this case, the first name of son Ole was the same as his father).    Søndenå represents the farm where Ole Olson ...

Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår left Skåreflådå on the Nordskår farm for the Finnestad farm northwest of Stavanger in 1863.     The property was purchased by Ole Olson Søndenå on November 3, 1862.    The farm number was 31 and the use number was 16.   The use number appears to be the particular building or home.    I have not encountered a better explanation for the word "bruk" The borders of farm 31 - 16 were established November 11, 1853 according to the state archives,  "Jæren og Dalane sorenskriverembete, pantebok 5a Jæren, side 21-22, no. 70f" "Jæren and Dalane sorority writing office, mortgage book 5a Jæren, pages 21-22, no. 70f" Below is a copy of the pages from the Mortgage book. Mortgage Book Mortgage Book The pertinent transaction of the purchase can be seen below: Mortgage register From the mapping authority:  "According to our registry, gårdsnummer 31 bruksnummer 16 i 11...