Finnestad family photo

I had posted this photo of the Finnestad family taken about 1870 in Norway and recently* located the original, which is slightly clearer than the one I posted in March 2010.

The correct positions are, based upon what was written on the back of the photo:

Back row: Bert, Mary, Rasmus, Ole Jr, Bertha, Serina (Sarah)
Front row: Rachel, Ole Sr, Mari and Elizabeth

My original guess that the photo was taken just before Iverdine and Rachel left Stavanger in May 1871 and moved to the United States was based upon the copy I'd received from Trish Hodgens.

This photo was probably taken prior to the 1900 US Census, the last census before Rasmus appeared in the 1905 Iowa Census and Bert had moved to Saskatchewan in 1903. This makes more sense than my original post as Bert would have been 10 and Rasmus would have been 8 in a photo taken in 1871.

Iverdine passed away November 3, 1879 prior to this photo. Narrowing the date, this photo was taken sometime between 1882 (when Mary and Ole Sr moved from Norway to the United States) and 1903 (when Bert moved to Saskatchewan).

*Photo provided by Genevieve Berg, great granddaughter of Mari and Ole Finnestad.

Post updated November 11, 2020.

Comments

Ole Finnestad Jr obituary

Here is the obituary for my great, great grandfather, Ole Finnestad Jr from the Dixon Evening Telegraph of July 9, 1928. Note the misspelling of his first and last name, though Finnestad was spelled correctly within the content of the article. You will also note that his brother Rasmus had moved from Canada to Washington by the time of his brother's death. Oddly, there is no mention of the sisters that survived him, leading me to believe they may have lost touch by the time of his death.

Kenneth and Lillian Finnestad obituaries

I have had previously posted the obituary for my great great grandfather Ole Finnestad several posts back. I have not yet been able to locate an obituary for my great grandparents Oliver and Mary Finnestad, though here are the obituaries for my grandparents, Kenneth and Lillian Finnestad.

Finnestad Farm - Stavanger, Norway

It was customary in Norway to take the farm name as the family name. Prior to arriving in America, Ole Finnestad was known as Ole Olson. According to the Regional State Archives of Stavanger, in 1862, Ole Olsen bought a farm from Bjørn Larsen. The following link provides some farm information along with the family members in 1865: http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&sidenr=59&filnamn=f61126&gardpostnr=582&sokefelt=vis “Merknad 387b” now means property nr. 16 of the farm Finnestad. (Please keep in mind that accuracy of records is less than perfect - so ages and other information are not always correct) For more information on Stavanger and a map of the area, please go to the following wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stavanger

Finnestad Ancestry

Search This Blog