Finnestad Ancestry

The records from the Methodist Episcopal Church recorded Perry Orlando Vallem, his sister Lena Verdel Vallem and their cousin Lillian Rosabelle were baptized in Ogle county, Illinois on June 4, 1904.   Their entries are located near the bottom of the page.      The baptism record indicates Perry's birthdate was February 19, 1904, Lena's birthdate was July 20, 1907 and Lillian's birthdate was February 2, 1911.    I do not know whether Lena's middle name was spelled 'Verdelle' or as in the baptism record, 'Verdel'. The record indicates the baptisms took place in Ogle county, Illinois; I do not know where in Ogle county.  Perhaps the reverend made house calls for baptisms.   The Methodist Episcopal Church still stands today and is located at 507 Main Street, Steward, Lee county, Illinois.    It is currently named the Steward United Methodist Church.   A little bit of history about the church can be found here .  Scr...

Orville Olin Olson was baptized on June 2, 1889 in Steward, Lee county, Illinois at the Methodist Episcopal Church.     His sister Alma Elizabeth Olson was baptized on June 21, 1891. Orville's baptism record can be found on line 8.   This is the earliest entry that included the use of his middle name and the only document I've encountered with the spelling of 'Ilin' as 'Iling'.   His birth is confirmed as March 24, 1889.    Alma's record is located further down the page on line 30 and her birth is confirmed as March 19, 1891.  Alma Elizabeth Olson passed away sometime before the family moved to Independence township, Palo Alto County, Iowa.    Her death can be narrowed down as sometime between June 21, 1891 and June 14, 1900 based upon the census data.   I do not know the date the family moved so Alma died either in Illinois or Iowa. Orville and Alma were the first two children born to Mary (Knutson) and Stephen Olso...

With the information available in the lawsuit I mentioned earlier this week, I was able to locate the original parish record for my great great great grandmother, Mari (Iversdatter Skaar) Finnestad. Here is the official Hjelmeland Årdal parish record for her baptism.   Mari is listed as the last entry on the right side. Mari was born July 5, 1823 on the Nord-Skaar farm in Fister and baptized August 3, 1823.   Mari's parents were Iver Reiersen and Siri Rasmusdatter.   The baptism record states she was born on the Nord-Skaar farm but the family was actually living on Kaltvedt søndre (southern) farm, which is where she was baptized. Here is the Hjelmeland Årdal copy of the parish record, which may or may not be more legible than the official record.   Mari is listed on the right side as number 14. Had I known this information when I had Ole and Mari's marker placed at their burial site, I would have listed the c...

Here is the baptism record for two of Ole and Mari Finnestad's great granddaughters, Ester (Esther?) Eleanor and her sister, Lillian Ruth Sanderson. Ester seems to be a forgotten child of Mary (Vallem) and Seward Sanderson, the 11th of their 14 children,  (Though Seward had a total of 15 children, one having been born to his first wife,  Martha Cody) because this is the only document I've come across with Ester's name. Ester was born February 17, 1914 and was baptized at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Lee County, Illinois on November 14, 1915 (listed 4th from the bottom).   She apparently died prior to the 1920 US census , since her name is not listed, nor has she been listed on any other record from the Calvary Lutheran Church. Ester's older brother, Charles LeRoy Sanderson was born May 13, 1913 so Mary (Vallem) Sanderson apparently didn't have any time off from having children.  Her younger sister would have been a couple of months premature ...

Olava Edvarda Knutson, granddaughter of Ole and Mari Finnestad, was born to Elizabeth and Ole Andreas Knutson on July 12, 1878 and baptized on July 28, 1878. Here is the official parish record from the St. Petri church of Stavanger, Norway (entry #174). Here is the copy of the parish record from the St Petri church of Stavanger, Norway (entry #174). I have now found 9 of Elizabeth and Ole's 10 children. I am not sure whether the unknown 10th child was born in Norway or in Illinois. Since the 1890 US census records were destroyed by fire (as well as the local paper for Rochelle, Illinois), nor do I know know what church they attended after the 1890's, it is questionable that I'll be able to locate the missing child.

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).

Clara Dorthea Knutson, granddaughter of Ole and Mari Finnestad, was born to Elizabeth and Ole Andreas Knutson on February 27, 1870 and baptized on March 27, 1870. Here is the official parish record from the St. Petri church of Stavanger, Norway (entry #130). Here is the copy of the parish record from the St Petri church of Stavanger, Norway (entry #130).

A couple of weeks ago I was attempting to find some documentation to verify the Finnestad family tree going back to 1390. Until I have located records to confirm our lineage back to 1390, such as parish documents, etc, I'm skeptical as to whether I was on the right track. In any event, I stumbled upon a Norwegian website that mentioned Ove Olson, who would have been Ole Olson Finnestad's great grandfather. Ove would be my great great great great great great grandfather. I contacted the owner of the website about a couple of things and also to see if they could assist me in finding information about Ole and Mari Finnestad's eldest daughter, Elizabeth. Incredibly, what I received in response was a PDF file that mentioned the parish where Elizabeth and husband Ole Andreas Knutson had moved sometime prior to the birth of their daughter, Mary in 1867. I have posted previously about Mary, who had married Stephen Olson and a few postings about their descendants, but I did no...

Here is the baptism record from Calvary Lutheran Church in Lee, Illinois for Clara Rose Finnestad, (listed as #2) daughter of Rasmus and Carrie Finnestad. Clara Rose is the granddaughter of Ole and Mari Finnestad Sr. Clara was born April 4, 1894 and baptized May 30, 1894. In attendance were her parents and 3 other unknown individuals.

Here is the baptism record from Calvary Lutheran Church in Lee, Illinois for Marie Alice and Carrie Evelyn Finnestad, (#18 & #19) daughters of Ole and Caroline Finnestad, and Charlot Finnestad, daughter of Bert and Ceclia Finnestad. All three are the grandchildren of Ole and Mari Finnestad Sr. Marie Alice Finnestad was born June 24, 1893 and baptized June 20, 1897. Carrie Evelyn Finnestad was born September 1, 1896 and baptized June 20, 1897. Charlotte Finnestad was born February 12, 1898 and baptized April 10th, 1898. In attendance for Marie's baptism were her parents and Mr and Mrs Christopher Quitno, possibly Caroline's grandparents and 3 other unknown persons. In attendance for Carrie's baptism were her parents and Mr and Mrs Jacob Quitno, unknown relation to Caroline and Carrie's aunt and uncle, Bert and Celia Finnestad. In attendance for Charlotte's baptism were her parents and aunt and uncle, Rasmus and Carrie Finnestad, along with a few other unknown i...

Here is the baptism record from Calvary Lutheran Church in Lee, Illinois for Oliver Finnestad, (2nd from the top) and Clara Olette, (7th from the bottom) son and daughter of Ole and Caroline Finnestad. They are the grandchildren of Ole and Mari Finnestad Sr. Oliver was born October 28, 1887 and baptized July 1, 1888. In attendance were parents, Ole and Caroline, Ole's brothers, Bert and Rasmus Finnestad, Ivar Skaar (which may be a relative of Mari Finnestad - Ole's mother), Nellie Quitno, (I believe this is Caroline's sister-in-law), and Caroline (last name difficult to read). Clara Olette was born April 5, 1889 and baptized June 23, 1889. In attendance were parents, Ole and Caroline and Sam Quitno (Carrie's brother) 4 others that I am unable to read clearly, nor do I know their relationship to Ole and Caroline, and Nellie Quitno (Caroline's sister-in-law).

Above is the baptism record for Ole Alfred Knutson, son of Elizabeth Knutson and Ole Andreas Knutston. He is the grandson of Ole and Mari Finnestad Sr. He was born March 13, 1882 and baptized July 2, 1882 at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Lee County, Illinois.

The earliest known record of the Finnestad family belonging to a church was the Calvary Lutheran Church located at 19 Perry Road (at the corner of County Line Road) in Lee County, Illinois. Above is the baptism record for Bert Otto Knutson, son of Elizabeth Knutson and Ole Andreas Knutston. He is the grandson of Ole and Mari Finnestad Sr. This document records Bert's baptism as January 16, 1881, a couple of months after his November 14, 1880 birth. One of the attendees was Ole Finnestad, brother of Elizabeth. Attendee Serina Olson listed below Ole Finnestad may actually be Ole and Elizabeth's sister. I have been unable to confirm whether Serina took on the name "Finnestad" prior to the 1900 Federal census.