A Young Olaus Ostrom (1850-1924)

Ed's Day Wednesday

Dear FOLKS,

Last week I introduced you to Olaus Ostrom, providing details about his life through records and documents. Some of the documents and photos were a part of the collection my late cousin, Edwin J. Ostrom left to me. Other items are from family files that I have rounded up. I have compiled what we both have to share with you. If you would like a fresh look at Olaus' records, timeline, etc. you can see that here.

As we have already learned, Olaus was born in Norway. His childhood home was in Austrheim, Rogaland, southeast of Stavanger. Olaus was born on Bruk/sub-farm #6, a part of the Østrem farm; in old times this bruk was called the Neset farm. The word "neset" translates into the english word "headland." The property sticks out flat like a nose; long and narrow, where grass was grown for winter use. The land in all directions is very steep. Bruk #6 was the last sub-farm added to the Østrem farm.

It is also possible that Olaus was born at the home of the midwife that helped with his birth. The records of the time are not clear. The midwife's home comes from a passage in an interview that Olaus' widow participated in during 1934. Repeating from this interview, Olaus' birthplace was Sundsorgen Moi per Stavanger Amt i Norge. That roughly translates to a medical place in Moi. The town of Moi is about 7.5 miles from the Østrem farm. Stavanger Amt is today Rogaland Fylke; as county names changed in 1919. Norge is Norway.

IMAGE: An old photograph of Neset where Olaus grew up,
possibly where he was born. This photograph from
Edwin J. Ostrom's collection; shared with him by
Ostrem family in 2008 when Ed visited Norway. 

IMAGE: The red indicator in the center of this map shows
the location of the Østrem farm. Provided by the website
Kartverket, Norwegian Mapping Authority; accessed 2011.

IMAGE: The blue oval indicates the pale yellow area beneath
it is the Neset sub-farm. Provided by the website
Kartverket, Norwegian Mapping Authority; accessed 2011.

The building where Olaus grew up no longer stands. But it is wonderful to learn that an Ostrem relative still lives on this land today.

      

IMAGE: Lund Church, Lund Parish, Moi, Rogaland, Norway.
Photograph contributed to Wikimedia Commons by Jarvin -
Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2553880

During this time period in Norway's history the major record keeper was the local parish priest. The priests kept the current events of births/baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths/burials, in what is called Kirkebøker, or church registers. The Lund Church in Moi, a part of the Lund Parish is where Olaus' birth and baptism was registered.

IMAGE: Birth/Baptism record of Olaus Ommundson
from the Lund Parish church register, dated 1848-1885,
for 1850, page 14. Olaus' record in red. [1]

Here is a link to this record: http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20070103360031.jpg

-------- Lund Parish register for Olaus translated from page 14: [2]

Døbte

[Baptisms]

No.

[Entry Number]   35

Den opgivne Fødsels Datum

[Stated Date of Birth] 30 September [1850]

Daabs-Datum

[Date of Baptism] 20 October [1850]

Barnets fulde Navn 
[Child's Full Name] Olåus

Om ægte eller uægte født 

[Legitimate or Illegitimate birth] legitimate [ditto mark from above record]

 Dets forældres fulde Navn, borgerlige Stilling og Opholdssted 
[Parent' full names, occupation and residence] Ommund Ommundson, and Malene Andreasdatter, Østrem, farmer

Faddernes Navne 
[Godparents' name] from Østrem [rest unclear, difficult to translate/transcribe] 

Om og af hvem hjemmedøbt

[If Baptised at home, who performed the baptism]  [blank]

Ved uægte børn af hvem Opgaven er skeet, enten barnemoderen, eller hvilket bekjendt og troværdigt Medlem af Menigheden
[For illegitimate children, who reported this status: either the child's mother, or which known and trustworthy member of the Parish]  [blank]

------- end of record --------

We also have Olaus' confirmation record: this too is found in the Lund church register in Moi. Confirmations are usually held on a church holiday and the participants who are becoming confirmed are between the ages of 14 to 18.

IMAGE: Confirmation record of Olaus Ommundson
from the Lund Parish church register, dated 1853-1877,
for 1864, page 144. Olaus' record in red. [3]

Here is a link to above record: http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20051212050683.jpg

-------- Lund Parish register for Olaus translated from page 144: [4]

Confirmerede

[Confirmations]

No. 

[Entry Number]  8

Confirmationsdag

[Date of Confirmation]  2 October [1864]

Confirmandens fulde Navn 
[Full name of person confirmed] Olaus Ommundson 9/30/50 [1850]

Alder
[Age]  14 

Fødested 

[Place of birth] Østrem

Forældre 

[Names of Parents] Farmer Ommund Ommundson and his wife Anna Malene Andreasdatter

Christensdomskundskab og Flid m.v. 
[Religious knowledge, diligence, etc.] [difficult to read/transcribe]

Naar havt de naturlige Kopper eller vaccineret 

[When did the person have smallpox or get vaccinated] 9/17/53 [1853]

------- end of record --------

Source:

1.) "Parish Register, Birth and Baptism Records," National Archives of Norway, (http://www.digitalarkivet.no : accessed 12 July 2012), Lund in Lund Parish register (copy) Number B3 (1848-1885), Birth and baptism records 1850, page 14; showing Olaus Ommundson on line #35.

2). John Follesdal, "Norwegian Kirkebøker - Parish Registers," Rootsweb (http://www.rootsweb.com : accessed 15 November 2016), Column Headings, 1820-1876,


3.) "Norway, Select Baptisms, 1634-1927," Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 08 November 2016), for Olaus Ommundson, birth 30 Sep 1850; baptism 20 Oct 1850.

4.) Follesdal, "Norwegian Kirkebøker - Parish Registers," Column Headings, 1820-1876

The genealogy of the folks who lived on the many farms in Norway is being collected and written into "Bygdebøker" [farm books]. The farm book that includes the Austreim/Øtrem farm is titled "Lunds Historie I : Gårdens of  Slektens Liv" by Ingjald Mehus, A genealogy of the people and their farms in Lund in Rogaland county for about 450 years; it was published in 1961. This book has been very helpful to me. As I try to work my way through the Norwegian records and documents, I have memorized the path to Google Translate. ;-)

Family who live in Norway are encouraged to share on Facebook comments, photos of the Neset farm as it looks today. I know some of you are faithful readers of Ed's Day Wednesday posts.

I hope you have enjoyed this portion of Olaus' life story. I look forward to seeing you next time.

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Please comment regarding this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then use the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Or contact me by email at dsteff4246[at]gmail[dot]com. Thank you. I am glad you stopped by today.

Copyright (c) 2016, Darlene M. Steffens