Finnestad Ancestry

Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår primarily lived at Skåreflådå on the Nordskår farm outside the village of Fister in the municipality of Hjelmeland, county of Rogaland, Norway following their marriage on July 4, 1844 until they moved to the Finnestad farm northwest of Stavanger in 1863. Over 170 years later, here are a few photos of what the property looked like a few years ago.  Skåreflådå on the Nordskår farm  Skåreflådå on the Nordskår farm  Skåreflådå on the Nordskår farm  Skåreflådå on the Nordskår farm  From the local archives which also provides insight regarding Norwegian immigration to the United States: 1) Skaareflaaden = skåreflådå Skåre means a ledge, shelf, flattening of the mountain side. Skår = cut Flådå means about the same, it is often used on a flat area in a steep terrain. Flat areas like that was suitable for farming. 2) Skåreflåden was a “husmannsplass”. The Eng...

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."