The Finnestad lot purchased by Ole Olson Søndenå in 1862 from Bjørn Larsen was located northwest of Stavanger on the western coast of Norway. Here is a map of the area from 1866 four years after that transaction.
Here is a map from 1919 many years after Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår had already left Norway for America.
This aerial photo details the property boundaries in 1937 including the previously owned property of Ole Olson Søndenå which was merged with a neighboring property.
Here is a plat map of the property in 1937.
A note on the last name Finnestad. If your last name is Finnestad it means your ancestor lived on the farm. For example, Ole Olson Søndenå: Olson represents the son of father Ole (in this case, the first name of son Ole was the same as his father). Søndenå represents the farm where Ole Olson was born. The post yesterday showing documentation of the purchase listed Ole Olson Skaar (or Skår) because Ole had moved from Søndenå to Nordskår (or Skår: I do not know why Nord is often omitted). Once Ole Olson Søndenå and family moved to the Finnestad farm, they adopted Finnestad as their last name and retained that last name when they arrived in America.
During his lifetime, Ole Olson had 3 different last names. Had he married and remained on the Søndenå farm then moved to the United States, his last name may have been Americanized to something resembling Sondena, Sonders, Sanders, etc.
Having lived on the Finnestad farm does not necessarily make you a blood relative of anyone else on the farm unless a marriage occurred between neighbors on the Finnestad property. For example, you would be no more likely to be a blood relative to someone in your current community, unless, for example, your sister married the neighbor down the street on 123 Main Street, Anytown and eventually had children. Not until that point would there be a blood relative from your family and the family of your sister's husband.
I have only found one example of a family living in the United States with the last name Finnestad that did have a bloodline relationship to the Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår family. As you can see, it can be very complicated.
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| 1866 - Stavanger |
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| 1866 - Finnestad |
Here is a map from 1919 many years after Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår had already left Norway for America.
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| 1919 - Stavanger |
This aerial photo details the property boundaries in 1937 including the previously owned property of Ole Olson Søndenå which was merged with a neighboring property.
Here is a plat map of the property in 1937.
A note on the last name Finnestad. If your last name is Finnestad it means your ancestor lived on the farm. For example, Ole Olson Søndenå: Olson represents the son of father Ole (in this case, the first name of son Ole was the same as his father). Søndenå represents the farm where Ole Olson was born. The post yesterday showing documentation of the purchase listed Ole Olson Skaar (or Skår) because Ole had moved from Søndenå to Nordskår (or Skår: I do not know why Nord is often omitted). Once Ole Olson Søndenå and family moved to the Finnestad farm, they adopted Finnestad as their last name and retained that last name when they arrived in America.
During his lifetime, Ole Olson had 3 different last names. Had he married and remained on the Søndenå farm then moved to the United States, his last name may have been Americanized to something resembling Sondena, Sonders, Sanders, etc.
Having lived on the Finnestad farm does not necessarily make you a blood relative of anyone else on the farm unless a marriage occurred between neighbors on the Finnestad property. For example, you would be no more likely to be a blood relative to someone in your current community, unless, for example, your sister married the neighbor down the street on 123 Main Street, Anytown and eventually had children. Not until that point would there be a blood relative from your family and the family of your sister's husband.
I have only found one example of a family living in the United States with the last name Finnestad that did have a bloodline relationship to the Ole Olson Søndenå and Mari Iversdatter Nordskår family. As you can see, it can be very complicated.
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