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.

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Rasmus Finnestad - death certificate

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.

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

Mary Olsdatter (Finnestad) Bell: Witness for the Prosecution

Mary Olsdatter Skåreflådå (Finnestad) Bell appeared as a witness in a murder trial that took place in Dixon, Lee county, Illinois from April 26, 1898 through May 5, 1898. The December 27, 1898 issue of the Dixon Evening Telegraph reported the initial details of the December 24th murder of Fred Tolsted on their front page. From page 2 of the Wood County Reporter (Grand Rapids, Wisconsin) in their December 30, 1897 issue, the 'suspect' alleged the victim connected him 'unpleasantly' with the housekeeper (Mary Finnestad Bell). The local newspaper in the adjoining county, published a brief article on the murder on January 12, 1898 on the front page of The True Republican in Sycamore, DeKalb county, Illinois. The Sterling Standard published the names of the law firm, prosecuting attorney and judge in the upcoming murder trial on page 12 of their January 13, 1898 issue. The trial began on April 26, 1898 as reported in the April 27, 1898 issue of the Dixon ...

Finnestad Ancestry

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