Årdal gamle kirke (Årdal old church)

The Årdal gamle kirke (Årdal old church) is located east of the Nordskår farm. The son-in-law of Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår, Lars Pederson Valheim (Americanized to Vallem) was laid to rest at this wooden church which dates back to 1619, one year before the Pilgrims landed at Provincetown, Massachusetts.

This map provides perspective where Lars was born, the church location and the residence of Rachel Olsdatter (Finnestad) Vallem.

Nordskår, Årdal and Valheim

Very few grave markers exist today as shown by the exterior photos.

Entrance

Side yard and rear of the church

View from rear of church

Side view

Interior shots of the church.

View from the entrance

Ceiling and wall panels

Rear portion of the church

The stained glass window depicts the Danish flag and a sailor holding a stein of beer. Unusual religious symbolism but very unique. Denmark ruled Norway at the time the church was built which explains the use of the their flag in the stained glass.

Stained glass window

Here, a ceiling panel depicts the sun.

Ceiling panel

More artwork.

Wall at the rear of the church

A stove.

Pews for wealthy farmers had their names on the door to the pew.

Pew door

This is NOT the church that the family of Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår attended. Their parish was Hjelmeland/Fister. In any event, if ever in the area, it is well worth a visit for the historical value and rarity of a wooden church still standing today from 1619.

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Finnestad Farm - Stavanger, Norway

It was customary in Norway to take the farm name as the family name. Prior to arriving in America, Ole Finnestad was known as Ole Olson. According to the Regional State Archives of Stavanger, in 1862, Ole Olsen bought a farm from Bjørn Larsen. The following link provides some farm information along with the family members in 1865: http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&sidenr=59&filnamn=f61126&gardpostnr=582&sokefelt=vis “Merknad 387b” now means property nr. 16 of the farm Finnestad. (Please keep in mind that accuracy of records is less than perfect - so ages and other information are not always correct) For more information on Stavanger and a map of the area, please go to the following wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stavanger

Rasmus Finnestad - death certificate

I had previously written two posts regarding the death of Rasmus Finnestad. Those can be found here and here . Here is his Washington state death certificate: The death certificate incorrectly lists his father as "Oluf". His father was Ole (Olson) Finnestad. His mother was Mari Skaar, misspelled as "Skaare" on the death certificate.

Mary Olsdatter (Finnestad) Bell: Witness for the Prosecution

Mary Olsdatter Skåreflådå (Finnestad) Bell appeared as a witness in a murder trial that took place in Dixon, Lee county, Illinois from April 26, 1898 through May 5, 1898. The December 27, 1898 issue of the Dixon Evening Telegraph reported the initial details of the December 24th murder of Fred Tolsted on their front page. From page 2 of the Wood County Reporter (Grand Rapids, Wisconsin) in their December 30, 1897 issue, the 'suspect' alleged the victim connected him 'unpleasantly' with the housekeeper (Mary Finnestad Bell). The local newspaper in the adjoining county, published a brief article on the murder on January 12, 1898 on the front page of The True Republican in Sycamore, DeKalb county, Illinois. The Sterling Standard published the names of the law firm, prosecuting attorney and judge in the upcoming murder trial on page 12 of their January 13, 1898 issue. The trial began on April 26, 1898 as reported in the April 27, 1898 issue of the Dixon ...

Finnestad Ancestry

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