Finnestad Ancestry

Here is the 1950 US Census for Alice Marie (Finnestad) Gittleson and her husband Selmer, listed as Sal.  They were living at 200 Grove Street in DeKalb, DeKalb county, Illinois the same place they were living during the 1940 census . Their entries are located on lines 19 and 20.   Selmer was employed in construction.     Alice Marie (Finnestad) Gittleson was the daughter of Caroline (Quitno) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Jr. and the granddaughter of  Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr.

I had previously posted the 1930 US Census for Alice (Finnestad) Gittleson.   At the time I did not know she had a prior marriage which is why I was unable to locate a 1920 US Census for her.    Here is the 1940 US Census for Alice, living with husband, Selmer Gittleson. The Gittleson's were living in DeKalb, DeKalb county, Illinois.  Their entry can be found on lines 60 - 61.    Selmer was employed as a butcher. Alice Marie (Finnestad) Gittleson was the daughter of Caroline (Quitno) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Jr. and the granddaughter of  Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr.

Alice Marie (Finnestad) Reigard, daughter of Caroline (Quitno) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Jr. and the granddaughter of  Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr filed for divorce in September 1927 The divorce filing was reported by the DeKalb Daily Chronicle on September 26, 1927, page 2, column 3.      As far as I know, no children resulted from this marriage.

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...

Alice Marie Finnestad, granddaughter of Ole and Mari Finnestad, was confirmed at Calvary Lutheran Church on November 3, 1907. She was 14 at the time of her confirmation. In attendance was her father, Ole Finnestad (Jr). In the photo above, Alice is in the second row on the far right.