Finnestad Ancestry

A decade ago I posted  a 1900 US census record for the widower, Lambert Johnson following the death of his wife, Andrea Elizabeth Knutson.      Andrea 'Lizzie' had passed away two years prior to the census; her husband had moved in with his older brother Jacob.    At the time I was not aware that Jacob Johnson was the father of Rachel (Finnestad) Vallem's youngest child, Elmer James Vallem . I also posted the census records to confirm where Andrea and Lambert's children went to live following the death of their mother.   I did not know at the time that two of the children, Lillian and Truman were living with their aunt, Ellen* Josephine (Johnson) Govig and uncle Benjamin Govig.    Ellen was Lambert's older sister.    Their brother, Jacob, father of Elmer James Vallem was the oldest of the Johnson siblings. Andrea 'Lizzie' Elizabeth (Knutson) Johnson was the daughter of Elizabeth (Finnestad) Knutson and Ole Andreas (Andrew...

Ole and Mari Finnestad's granddaughter, Andrea Elizabeth (Knutson) and husband Lambert Johnson were buried at the St John's Lutheran Cemetery (South) which is located northeast of Cylinder, Iowa. Here is a photo of Andrea's headstone. Andrea (Lizzie) was born January 29, 1873 in Stavanger, Norway.   She died August 27, 1898 in Cylinder, Iowa. Here is a photo of Lambert Johnson's headstone.  Lambert was born April 24, 1870 in Illinois and died October 22, 1918 in Palo Alto County, Iowa. Here is a photo of the entrance to the cemetery. Here is a view of the cemetery located at the corner of 360th Street & 550th Avenue. Andrea was the daughter of Elizabeth (Finnestad) and Ole Andreas Knutson.

With some help from Kathleen Puis with the Palo Alto County, Iowa GenWeb Project, I was able to obtain a copy of Andrea Elizabeth (Knutson) Johnson's obituary: Emmetsburg Democrat, Wednesday, August 31, 1898 General Local News Mrs. Lambert Johnson died Friday and was buried in the Lutheran cemetery in Fairfield twp. Sunday afternoon. She was 25 years of age and leaves a husband and three small children to mourn her loss. While it does confirm Elizabeth and Lambert had three children, it doesn't provide any information on her sisters and brothers. I have only been able to find 9 of the 10 children born to Elizabeth and Ole Andreas Knutson.

Last week after some digging, I finally discovered who married Andrea Elizabeth Knutson. Considering people generally meet at school, church, work or live in the neighborhood, it wasn't too much of a stretch of the imagination that Andrea would marry someone that also attended the same church. I posted her confirmation record from the Calvary Lutheran church and it seems her future brother-in-law, Lewis T Johnson was on the same page. Also on this same page are the children of Rachel and Lewis Vallem; Peter and Ole. Andrea Elizabeth Knutson married Lambert Johnson, I believe sometime in 1891. They eventually moved to Cylinder, Iowa where her sister Mary Olson and family were living. I have also tracked down three children born to Andrea Elizabeth and Lambert: - Lillie, born January 17, 1892 in Illinois - Truman Levi, born August 30, 1895 in Rochelle, Illinois - Elmer Levi, born August 12, 1898 in Cylinder, Iowa Andrea died August 27, 1898 in Cylinder, Iowa, two weeks ...

Andrea Elizabeth Knutson, granddaughter of Ole and Mari Finnestad, was born to Elizabeth and Ole Andreas Knutson on January 29, 1873 and baptized on February 16, 1873. Here is the official parish record from the St. Petri church of Stavanger, Norway (entry #60). Here is the copy of the parish record from the St Petri church of Stavanger, Norway (entry #60).

Elizabeth, Ole and Mari's eldest daughter was listed on the 1900 census with husband Ole Andreas, son Ole Alfred, daughter, Anna (or Annie), daughter Ella (Edith) and a grandson, Elmer, (last name undecipherable). This record was difficult to find because the handwriting was not clear, so I had to individually scan the Flagg township, city of Rochelle census records until I found it. I also have not yet been able to find out which of Elizabeth and Ole's daughters had the child, Elmer. It does state that Elizabeth had 10 children and 5 were living in 1900, so I'm guessing that Elmer's mother had died. I presently have tracked down 7 of Elizabeth and Ole's children, though one I am not 100% positive is their child. The missing 3 others may have been born in Norway and I'm presently reviewing Norwegian records in an attempt to locate them.

In 1910, Ole and Mari Finnestad's eldest daughter, Elizabeth and her husband, Ole Andreas Knutson were living in Flagg township, Ogle County, Illinois. Also living with them at the time was Elizabeth's younger sister, Sarah. A grandson is listed by the name of Albert Johnson who was 11 at the time of the census, born in Iowa. I have not been able to locate his parents names and proceed with locating all of the descendants of Elizabeth and Ole Knutson as of this post. If I do, I will be updating the Finnestad family tree spreadsheet.

These confirmation records of 3 Finnestad ancestors are located on this document from Calvary Lutheran Church in Lee, Illinois. Andrea Elizabeth Knutson, daughter of Ole Andreas and Elizabeth Finnestad and granddaughter of Ole and Mari Finnestad was confirmed May 19, 1889. She was 16 at the time of her confirmation. Rasmus Finnestad was confirmed March 4, 1890. He was 25 at the time of his confirmation. Bert Finnestad was confirmed December 25, 1891. He was 30 at the time of his confirmation. Both Rasmus and Bert were the sons of Ole and Mari Finnestad.