Finnestad Ancestry

 I had previously written two posts regarding the death of Rasmus Finnestad.   Those can be found here and here . Here is his Washington state death certificate: The death certificate incorrectly lists his father as "Oluf".    His father was Ole (Olson) Finnestad.    His mother was Mari Skaar, misspelled as "Skaare" on the death certificate.

Here is the death certificate for Orville Ilin Olson who passed away December 2, 1973 in Seattle, King County, Washington. Margaret J (Chapman) Carlson Olson, Orville's ex-wife provided information to the medical examiner.   Orville was buried at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Seattle, Washington.    His plot does not have a marker.     The photo above is a view looking north.    The blue flag designates the plot in section 1 PA. The photo below is a view looking west. The photo below is a view looking northeast. The photo below is a view looking south. Here is a map of the cemetery with the plot marked with a star indicating the burial location in the event you wish to visit Orville's gravesite. Orville was born March 24, 1889 in Steward, Lee county, Illinois.    He married Ida Julia Govig in Cylinder, Iowa on January 10, 1911.   Several years following Ida's death in 1923, Orville married Ruth Rosemary (Horner) Wilson in C...

I have been searching for the husband of Mary (Finnestad) Bell for quite awhile.    Her death certificate from Snohomish county, state of Washington lists Mary as a widow.    No name was listed in the space for her husband but "no one knew".     That might apply to her actual birth month and day but I can only guess.    Apparently her brother, Rasmus couldn't remember the name of his brother-in-law.   I have yet to encounter a descendant of Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr that does know his name. I previously posted  information on Mary's two burials hoping the original burial place would have more information on the name of Mary's husband, however, they did not have any additional documents. At this point I believe the closest I will get to discovering Mr. Bell's first name will be the deposition Mary provided to the prosecutor's office during the trial in which she was a witness.    ...

I just tracked down the death certificate for Elmer Levi Johnson.    I posted his burial information previously . This solves the mystery as to whether Elmer served in the military.    His leg was injured while in the U.S. Army and passed away in Freedom township, Palo Alto county, Iowa.     The death certificate lists his birthday as July 12, 1898.    The 1900 US Census states his birth month is August as does his World War I draft registration.

Here is the death certificate for Mary (Kurth) Finnestad. Mary was the daughter of Amelia (Witzel) and Christian Kurth.    She married Oliver Finnestad, the son of Caroline Marine (Jonsdatter Quitno) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Jr. and the granddaughter of  Mari (Iversdatter Nord-Skaar) and Ole (Olson) Finnestad Sr.

Here is the death certificate* for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great granddaughter, Maine Elizabeth (Olson) Cannon. Maine's obituary was published in yesterday's entry. *Provided by Beverly Skog, great great granddaughter of Ole and Mari Finnestad.

Here is the death certificate information for the 7th (and first son) of Ole and Mari Finnestad's children, my great great grandfather, Ole Finnestad.  No spelling errors in my great great great grandparent's names, though they did misspell Stavanger as "Slavanger" and Ole's wife was Caroline Quitno, not "Caroline Irut". Below is his death certificate with a misspelling of Mari Skaai, rather than the correct spelling of Mari Skaar.    The informant was his daughter, Clara Risetter.  

Here is the death certificate for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great granddaughter, Gladys Travland. Gladys May Travland was the 7th and youngest child born to Stella Adline (Berkeland) and Thomas Tobias Travland and granddaughter of Iverdine (Finnestad) and Lewis Joseph Peterson Travland. Gladys was born March 30, 1919 in Bee County, Texas and died June 14, 1971 in Corpus Christi, Texas.  She is buried at Seaside Memorial Park Cemetery in Corpus Christi.

Here is the death certificate for Louis Joseph Travland's younger brother, Clarence. Clarence Fulton Travland was born June 8, 1913 in Bee County Texas and died December 29, 1968 in Corpus Christi, Texas.   He is buried at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Corpus Christi.

Here is the death certificate for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandson, Louis Joseph Travland. Louis was born September 23, 1906 in Normanna, Texas and died November 26, 1969 in Corpus Christi, Texas.  He is buried at the Seaside Memorial Park Cemetery in Corpus Christi. Louis was the third child born to Stella Adline (Berkeland) and Thomas Tobias Travland, the son of Iverdine (Finnestad) and Lewis Joseph Peterson Travland.

Here is the death certificate for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandson, Lawrence Wade Travland. Lawrence was the only son of Susan Eola (Sikes) and Ole John Travland.   (Ole John was the first born child of Iverdine (Finnestad) and Lewis Joseph Peterson Travland). Lawrence was born April 20, 1908 in Bee County, Texas and died November 13, 1945 in Temple Texas.    Lawrence died due to a severed spinal cord as the result of an automobile accident.    He is buried at the Killeen City Cemetery in Texas.

Here is the death certificate for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandson, Willard Winfield Travland. As far as I know, Willard was the only child of Hannah (Arno) and Peter Andrew Travland.  (Peter Andrew was the third child born to Iverdine (Finnestad) and Lewis Joseph Peterson Travland.) Willard was born January 18, 1901 in Colony, Texas and died March 25, 1966 in Port Arthur, Texas.

Here is the death certificate for Ole and Mari Finnestad's grandson, Thomas Tobias Travland. Thomas was the 4th and youngest child born to Iverdine (Finnestad) and Lewis Joseph Peterson Travland. Thomas was born May 18, 1879 in Illinois.  The death certificate indicates "Decator" (Decatur), but I highly doubt he was born in Decatur.      Decatur is about 3 hours south of DeKalb county and considering travel was via train or horse back then, it's more likely he was born in DeKalb County since the family lived in Milan township in the 1870's and 1880's. Thomas died in Corpus Christi, Texas on December 5, 1964 and is buried at the Colony cemetery in Normanna, Texas. I haven't seen the death certificate for Iverdine and  Lewis'  second child, Anne Maria who died as an infant in 1873, but this certificate is the closest to getting Iverdine's name correct.    Growing up, we used "Finn" as shorthand whe...

Here is the death certificate for Ole and Mari Finnestad's grandson, Peter Travland who died at the Kerrville State Hospital in Texas. This death certificate has a little more information than yesterday's post about Peter's older brother, Ole John Travland.     The mother's name is listed simply as "Dinah", but her full name was Iverdine (Finnestad) Travland. The birth date lists May 28, 1878, but he was actually born a year earlier, May 28, 1877 in Illinois, probably in Milan township, DeKalb County, Illinois.   Peter died January 15, 1960.    The cemetery location is unknown, but it's possible he was buried at the Colony Cemetery in Normanna, Texas, the same cemetery as his brother, Ole John Travland. Peter was the third child born to Iverdine and Lewis Joseph Peterson Travland.

Here is the death certificate for Ole and Mari Finnestad's grandson, Ole John Travland who died in Tuleta, Bee County, Texas. The death certificate indicates the mother's name was unknown, but it was Iverdine (Finnestad).   Ole's father was Lewis Joseph Peterson Travland. Ole John Travland was the eldest child of Iverdine and Lewis and was born August 6, 1872 in Illinois (possibly the city of Rochelle or Milan Township),  and died September 1, 1946. Ole was buried at the Colony Cemetery in Normanna, Texas

Here is the death certificate for Ole and Mari Finnestad's great great grandson, Verol Truman Johnson. Verol was only 31 when he died of an accidental drowning while fishing in Velasco, Texas. Verol was buried at the Lawnridge Cemetery in Rochelle, Illinois, though I have not yet obtained photographs of his grave. Verol was the son of Tilda (Hansen) and Truman Johnson, grandson of Andrea Elizabeth 'Lizzie' (Knutson) and Lambert Johnson, great grandson of Elizabeth (Finnestad) and Ole Andreas Knutson.

Here is the death certificate for Iverdena (Vallem) Thompson, granddaughter of Ole and Mari Finnestad, daughter of Rachel (Finnestad) and Lewis Vallem. Iverdena (Dena) died on July 28, 1974 in McAllen, Texas.   She had been living in Donna, Texas having moved from Chicago, Illinois. Dena is buried at the Highland Memorial Park Cemetery in Weslaco, Texas.

While researching ancestors you realize how fortunate it is to live a long and prosperous life.    Premature deaths, especially those of infants and children must be extremely difficult for the families and unfortunately are fairly common.    But the following death is probably one of the most tragic I've encountered in my ancestral tree. Ole and Mari Finnestad's great granddaughter, Lillian Thompson, the 4th and youngest child of Dena (Vallem) and Axel  Thompson died due to a plane crash on March 4, 1945 in Weslaco, Texas. According to the death certificate, Lillian had lived in Texas for 9 years and was employed as a bank teller.   She was a few weeks shy of her 27th birthday and had never married.   According to her cousin Genevieve, Lillian loved to ride horses, which must have made Texas a great place for her to live after leaving Chicago. Lillian was the granddaughter of Rachel (Finnestad) and Lewis Va...

Ole and Mari Finnestad's great grandson, Robert Thompson died on May 6, 1916, eight days after his birth in Chicago, Illinois. Robert was the 3rd child of Iverdena (Vallem) and Axel Thompson. The Cook County death certificate indicates Robert was buried at the Mount Olive Cemetery in Chicago. Robert was the grandchild of Rachel (Finnestad) and Lewis Vallem

The granddaughter-in-law of Ole and Mari Finnestad, Lena (Travland) Vallem died on March 1, 1911 due to complications following an appendectomy. Lena was the first wife of Peter John Vallem, the eldest son of Rachel (Finnestad) and Lewis Vallem. Lena was also the niece of Iverdine (Finnestad) and Lewis Travland. (Iverdine was one of Rachel's older sisters.)