Finnestad Ancestry

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. 

Here is a photo* of Rachel (Finnestad) Vallem and family. Back row:  Ole and Peter Middle row:  Linnie, Lewis, Josephine, Mary, Rachel Front row:  Ella, Iverdena   This photo would have been taken probably in late 1888 or early 1889 based upon Iverdena's birth of April 16, 1888. Rachel's son with Jacob Jacobson, (after the death of her husband, Lewis Vallem) had not yet been born (1893) at the time of this photo. *Photo provided by Ole and Mari Finnestad's great granddaughter, Genevieve Berg.

I had previously posted Bertha Haaland's trip in 1912 on the Lusitania. Ole and Mari Finnestad's great great granddaughter, Rose Kolberg had done some research that indicated Rachel had also been on the Lusitania. It appears Bertha and Rachel had traveled together on that particular voyage. I located the passenger record, (below) however, when I attempted to bring up the original ship's manifest with the passenger list, the S.S. Hamburg popped up instead and Rachel was no where to be found. I went through the passenger records where I found Bertha and on page 10, found Rachel Vallem (#28). Here is another photo of the Lusitania.

In 1920, Ole and Mari's daughter Rachel was living in Dement township, Ogle County, Illinois. Rachel was widowed by that time and was living with her son Elmer and granddaughter Lena Verdell (census record seems to be a misspelling - Berdell), daughter of Peter Vallem.

Here is the 1910 US Federal Census I have for the remaining child of Ole and Mari, Rachel (Rakkel) Vallem. Rachel was widowed by 1910 and living in Alto Township, Lee County, Illinois with her son, Ole and Elmer & daughters Linnie Rebecca, and Iverdena (listed as D Anna). Rachel's brother, Ole Finnestad Jr and family were living in the same township. Living next door was Rachel's eldest son Peter, his wife Lena and their children, Lawrence, Perry, Lucille and Lena. As I stated in an earlier post, I was unable to locate Ole and Mari's daughter, Mary and her 1910 census record. If I come across it, I'll post it.

I had previously posted the 1900 US Federal Census which listed Ole Sr & Mari living between daughter Rachel and her children and Ole Jr & Caroline and family. On the page (above) where Ole and Caroline's daughters, (Carrie) Evelyn and Lillian were listed as "boarders" in the Oftedal household, you will see at the top of the census document, Rachel and Lewis' eldest son Peter, wife Lena and son Lawrence living next to Rachel and Lewis' daughter, Isabel Josephine, husband Ole Hall along with their son Oral and Ole's father, Peter. This is the Alto township, Lee County, Illinois census record

A few weeks ago I posted documentation of the first (that I have located) of our ancestors to move to North America. Iverdine and Rakkel's big adventure. I finally located the original documents regarding Iverdine and Rakkel's (Rachel is the Americanized version of Rakkel) trip to North America from Norway. Above, Iverdine is listed just below Peder Pedersen Nordskaar and wife Suzanne and above children Peder Pedersen Finnestad and Iverdine Finnestad. Below, Rakkel is listed just above Marthe Iversatter Nordskaar. I am guessing that the Pedersen/Nordskaar family are the aunt and uncle of Iverdine and Rakkel. From a previous post, Ole and Mari wedding record I discovered Nord-Skaar was the farm where Mari had lived and was also included in several other documents. It only stands to reason that two young Finnestad girls were accompanied with relatives on their journey to North America. I also note there was one other family, Knud, wife Inger and their 4 children from the F...

  The 1890 US Federal Census was destroyed in a fire, so the location and members of the household are unknown, however, here is the 1900 Census for Rachel Vallem. I had posted this particular census last year, but at that time I did not realize Rachel was Ole Sr's daughter. Rachel was widowed by 1900 and lived with son Ole, daughters, Linnie, Ella, Dena, and son Elmer in Alto Township, Lee County, Illinois. They lived on the same road as Rachel's father and mother Ole Sr and Mari Finnestad, sister's Sarah and Mary, and further down on the same road, brother Ole Finnestad Jr and his family.

Here is a copy of the 1880 US Census. Ole and Marie's daughter, Rachel lived with her husband Louis Vallem, sons Louis and Ole and daughter Ellen in Dement Township. Dement township is located in Ogle County, just north of Alto Township in Lee Illinois where Ole and Marie Finnestad would eventually reside. My grandparents, Kenneth and Lillian Finnestad would eventually move to Creston in Dement township.

Being a little motivated today, I found some more ancestors. Iverdine and Rachel (or Rakkel) Olson (Finnestad), two of Ole and Marie's daughters came over from Norway to the United States in 1871. So far from what I have found, they are the earliest to emigrate to the United States. Here is the link to the passenger list: Iverdine and Rakkel's big adventure As you can see, they sailed from Stavanger May 26 1871 and arrived in Quebec July 14 1871 on the ship Nordens Dronning. The Nordens Dronning was owned by Køhler & Co in Stavanger. This ship is referred to as a clipper ship. In 1871 the Nordens Dronning departed from Christiania (Oslo) on May 13th, and sailed for Stavanger. She departed from Stavanger on May 26th, and arrived at Quebec July 14th. She was sailing in ballast, and was carrying 9 cabin and 397 steerage passengers. There was one birth and five deaths on the voyage. When the ship arrived at the quarantine station on Grosse Île on July 9th, 13 were sick after...