Finnestad Ancestry

The 1855 Census provided residence information for Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår living at Skåreflådå on the Nordskår farm outside the village of Fister in the municipality of Hjelmeland, county of Rogaland, Norway. Hjelmeland municipality Entering the village of Fister Nordskår road signs   Nordskår Farm Fister and surrounding area Nordskår Farm   Nordskår and Skåreflådå According to the local archives,  Ole Olson and family moved a few times between 1844 and the 1850's.  "They were living at Skåråflådå in 1844, in 1846 we find them at Helgøy, in 1848 they are back in Skåråflådå, in 1850 they live at Bratt-Hetland, and after that they are back in Skåråflådå again. It was quite common for “husmenn” to move a lot, as some of them had quite hard living conditions."

Here is the 1855 Norway Census for Ole Olson, before they moved to the Finnestad farm in 1863. Living at Skaareflaaden on the Nord-Skaar farm in Fister, Number 22 on the right side lists Ole Olson Søndenå at line 6, followed by wife Mari Iversdatter and daughters Elizabeth, Sarah, Iverdine, Bertha and Rachel. The last line (#13) isn't legible but looks like Magda Iversdatter (birth/farm name illegible).   This might be her aunt; sister to Mari's father, Iver Reierson. 

According to the 1900 US Federal Census, Ole Sr and Mari Finnestad had 11 children, 8 had survived as of 1900. I believe I have found the 11th child. Reviewing the Norwegian digital archives (above), Oluf was born July 8, 1866 at the Finnestad farm in Norway. A year and a half later, the archives indicate (below) he passed away on February 18, 1868; the cause is unknown. There is a first name, which looks like "Bernel", though the handwriting is difficult to read. There were two archives for Oluf's birth, the first which is the parish register "copy": http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?show=208&uid=72400&urnread_imagesize=full&hode=nei&ls=1 I could read the Ole Olson portion, but due to the handwriting, I was unable to decipher Mari's last name, though Finnestad clearly showed up. I checked the 2nd archive, which is the "official parish register": http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?show=53&uid=72445&urnread_images...

The first document above contains the log entry from the Unger Horner funeral home in Rochelle, Illinois, listing my great great great grandfather, Ole Finnestad Sr. Ole is listed by counting to the 17th position. The second document contains the log entry from the Unger Horner funeral home which helped me to track down the gravesite for Mari Finnestad. Mari is listed by counting to the 11th position. Spelling errors didn't help my search. Without Unger Horner's records, and their willingness to put up with my incessant calls over a 9 month period attempting to track down Ole Sr, I would never have been able to locate Mari and Ole Sr Finnestad. I guess having been an investigator for over 20 years was a big help in tracking down this information. Plus a keen interest in history and genealogy. Update: 9/26/2009 The "ordered by" indicates a "Mrs. Vallem". It wasn't until several months later I discovered that "Mrs. Vallem" was Ole and ...