Ed's Day Wednesday
Dear FOLKS,
Nice to see you here again. Last week I introduced you to Anna Olsdatter Stavaas, my late cousin Ed Ostrom's great-grandmother. Specifically Anna was Ed's father's mother's mother. You can review her timeline and see the records found for her here.
In this post, I want to share what is known about Anna's early life with she still lived in Norway. The first record found is her birth/baptism record. It like other parish register entries is handwritten and in this case VERY difficult to read. I had a difficult time reading it and I think you'll agree. With my dilemma, I sent a request off to the Norway List Message Board from Rootsweb.com, asking if they would translate some of the difficult words for me. I thank a number of those fine volunteers who provided me with input that I can now pass along to you.
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| IMAGE: Birth and Baptism record for Anna Olsdatter, 1853, line #78 [see arrow]. Hjartdal church book, parish register no I-8 (1844-1859). [1] |
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| IMAGE: Snippet -- Line #78, left page |
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| IMAGE: Snippet -- Line #78, right page |
Church record translated:
Year 1853 --- Baptisms --- Page 61
Entry Number. 78
[left page]
Stated Date of Birth. 27 July 1853
Date of Baptism. 20 August 1853
The Child's Full Name. Anne [Olsdatter is implied]
Legitimate or illegitimate birth. legitimate
Parents' full names, occupation, and residence. Farmer Ole Johnsen and Kjerstie Olsdatter in the church district of Saudland [Sauland].
[right page]
Godparents' names. Auslaug Son?esdatter, ?????, Johannes Johnsen, ???????? ????? Anna Johnsdatter ????? ????
If Baptised at home, who performed the baptism. Not illegitimate
For illegitimate children, who reported. [blank]
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Note about the translation: The word before "Ole Johnsen" would be his occupation. It is difficult to read but it is thought the word to be "lodbruger," perhaps spelled "lotbruger." I am told it is a kind of farmer, but I have yet to find a clear definition of what kind of a farmer. The explanation I was given goes on to say; it is a farmer "like a Plassbruger." The definition of this kind of farmer is one who rents the land, either works for the owner, a concept much like a sharecropper.
The birth/baptism document is, so far, the only record that has been found for a young Anna. A confirmation record has been searched for, but nothing found. The family is found in the 1865 Norway census, Anna who would be age 12 is not listed, maybe she is living or working elsewhere. It is known that her father died young. The record I found is for an 1863 death, yet he is shown as age 49 in that 1865 census, so that is still a conflict. I may have found another Ole Johnsen and I need to look some more. Nevertheless, this family had a difficult time staying together while living in Norway.
Curious about his Norwegian roots, cousin Ed made more than one trip to Norway in search of information there. For Anna and her family he was most interested in learning about the surname taken after her arrival in the United States. In Anna's case her birth surname was a patronymic of her father's, "Olsdatter." In most cases that surname is spelled as Olesdatter, so Olsdatter is unusual to many. But in America she went by Anna O. Stavaas. Ed asked, where does the name Stavaas, Stavas or Stavos come from? Others of Ed's great-grandparents took as a new surname, the name of their family's farm or farm location. Was Stavaas the same, a farm? He had to find out.
Before a summer 2008 trip to southern Norway, Ed spent quite a bit of time researching this question. If Anna Stavaas had lived on a farm near Sauland what was it called? Ed also contacted locals in Sauland to learn from them. He worked with his research-buddy and cousin "margiel" and map experts from where he purchased detailed Norwegian maps.
Ed's most recent conclusion, created from input from many sources, was that the name Stavaas was the name of a dwelling that no longer exists. This small house was named after a small creek that ran nearby, called "Stava." It appears that this house quickly came and went; the family didn't live there long, no children were born there. Not long after the census was made the house on this farm burned
In a review that was made of 1865 Norway Census, there is a building called Stavaasen. It has a single person named Johannes Johnsen living there. Maybe this Johannes Johnsen is the same man as mentioned as a godparent to Anna in her birth/baptism document I translated above. It is not known how he is related to Ole Johnsen, Anna's father, but likely Ole's brother, making Johannes, Anna's uncle. A small farm nearby is called Dalen, it would appear that farms Stavaasen and Dalen were close together because of their close proximity on this census list.
A look at some maps shows us some details to prove this. The first map shows the location of the stone ruins of the old Stavaas farm, on the road between Sauland to the south and Tuddal to the north.
Next, a colored map shows where the Dalen farm building is located, on the same country road mentioned on the upper map. In blue text you can also see the Stavå [Stavaa] Creek, leading up from the bottom left-hand corner of the map.
The next is a labeled aerial photo of the area of the road, showing [top] old Stavasen location and [middle] new Stavasen, a home that came along much later and the name was re-used. Then [bottom] the location of the Dalen farm, now abandoned. This photo was kindly provided by director of the Hjartdal Kommune [municipality, similar to a county in the US]. Sauland is a part of the Hjartdal Kommune.
Ed was able meet and learn from the author of the local bygdebok and another who is a local citizen and contributor to this book. The name of the book is "Hjartdalsoga Gard og ætt, Band 2, Sauland," published in 1992. Also Ed met a nearby resident who was very helpful.* These men were familiar with the Stavaasen farm and knew of its rocky remains. Lucky for us, they took Ed to these ruins and where he took these photos for us to see. The first are of the Stavå [Stavaa] Creek, that we think the Stavaas surname came from.
Halvor, a local history buff, from Sualand took Ed on a tour of the ruined Stavaasen building. On this tour Ed took these photographs.
It is thought that the Stavaasen house probably had a similar design to the following buildings.
On this tour there seemed to be an honorary greeter or perhaps more realistically an inquisitive red fox wanting to see who was "invading" his territory.
Then too since it was summer, there were many beautiful plants and flowers to see near the Stavaas ruins. Including this dainty little item. It resembles a bachelor button or a wildflower similar.
It is unfortunate that we haven't yet identified exactly where Anna was during her growing up years. I am hoping that with some more time, we will learn more about her childhood years. Every once in a while new records will become available and we'll find more on her life in Norway. She is a bit of our mystery person.
For now we have a good idea of the appearance of the area she was from. It reminds me of a deciduous wooded area in the western half of the Pacific Northwest. I think I would feel right at home. How about you?
Source:
1. "SAKO, Hjartdal kirkebøker, F/Fa/L008: Parish Register (official ) no. I 8, 1844-1859," database and image, The National Archives of Norway-Arkivverket (www.digitalarkivet.no : accessed 20 March 2017); Baptisms, 1853, page 61, line #78, Anna Olsdatter. Quick Link: https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/kb20061129030065.
* I didn't mention the names of the local individuals that helped Ed gather this information as I did not ask their permission to include their names here. If you would like more information about these helpful gentlemen, please get word to me. You can contact me by leaving a comment.
Thank you for stopping to read this article. I hope you are having a good week and I look forward to next time. Your visit here is appreciated.
Copyright (c) 2017, Darlene M. Steffens
--------------
Note about the translation: The word before "Ole Johnsen" would be his occupation. It is difficult to read but it is thought the word to be "lodbruger," perhaps spelled "lotbruger." I am told it is a kind of farmer, but I have yet to find a clear definition of what kind of a farmer. The explanation I was given goes on to say; it is a farmer "like a Plassbruger." The definition of this kind of farmer is one who rents the land, either works for the owner, a concept much like a sharecropper.
The birth/baptism document is, so far, the only record that has been found for a young Anna. A confirmation record has been searched for, but nothing found. The family is found in the 1865 Norway census, Anna who would be age 12 is not listed, maybe she is living or working elsewhere. It is known that her father died young. The record I found is for an 1863 death, yet he is shown as age 49 in that 1865 census, so that is still a conflict. I may have found another Ole Johnsen and I need to look some more. Nevertheless, this family had a difficult time staying together while living in Norway.
Curious about his Norwegian roots, cousin Ed made more than one trip to Norway in search of information there. For Anna and her family he was most interested in learning about the surname taken after her arrival in the United States. In Anna's case her birth surname was a patronymic of her father's, "Olsdatter." In most cases that surname is spelled as Olesdatter, so Olsdatter is unusual to many. But in America she went by Anna O. Stavaas. Ed asked, where does the name Stavaas, Stavas or Stavos come from? Others of Ed's great-grandparents took as a new surname, the name of their family's farm or farm location. Was Stavaas the same, a farm? He had to find out.
Before a summer 2008 trip to southern Norway, Ed spent quite a bit of time researching this question. If Anna Stavaas had lived on a farm near Sauland what was it called? Ed also contacted locals in Sauland to learn from them. He worked with his research-buddy and cousin "margiel" and map experts from where he purchased detailed Norwegian maps.
Ed's most recent conclusion, created from input from many sources, was that the name Stavaas was the name of a dwelling that no longer exists. This small house was named after a small creek that ran nearby, called "Stava." It appears that this house quickly came and went; the family didn't live there long, no children were born there. Not long after the census was made the house on this farm burned
In a review that was made of 1865 Norway Census, there is a building called Stavaasen. It has a single person named Johannes Johnsen living there. Maybe this Johannes Johnsen is the same man as mentioned as a godparent to Anna in her birth/baptism document I translated above. It is not known how he is related to Ole Johnsen, Anna's father, but likely Ole's brother, making Johannes, Anna's uncle. A small farm nearby is called Dalen, it would appear that farms Stavaasen and Dalen were close together because of their close proximity on this census list.
A look at some maps shows us some details to prove this. The first map shows the location of the stone ruins of the old Stavaas farm, on the road between Sauland to the south and Tuddal to the north.
Next, a colored map shows where the Dalen farm building is located, on the same country road mentioned on the upper map. In blue text you can also see the Stavå [Stavaa] Creek, leading up from the bottom left-hand corner of the map.
The next is a labeled aerial photo of the area of the road, showing [top] old Stavasen location and [middle] new Stavasen, a home that came along much later and the name was re-used. Then [bottom] the location of the Dalen farm, now abandoned. This photo was kindly provided by director of the Hjartdal Kommune [municipality, similar to a county in the US]. Sauland is a part of the Hjartdal Kommune.
 |
| Aerial view of the area provided by the local director of the Sauland Kommune director.* |
Ed was able meet and learn from the author of the local bygdebok and another who is a local citizen and contributor to this book. The name of the book is "Hjartdalsoga Gard og ætt, Band 2, Sauland," published in 1992. Also Ed met a nearby resident who was very helpful.* These men were familiar with the Stavaasen farm and knew of its rocky remains. Lucky for us, they took Ed to these ruins and where he took these photos for us to see. The first are of the Stavå [Stavaa] Creek, that we think the Stavaas surname came from.
Halvor, a local history buff, from Sualand took Ed on a tour of the ruined Stavaasen building. On this tour Ed took these photographs.
It is thought that the Stavaasen house probably had a similar design to the following buildings.
On this tour there seemed to be an honorary greeter or perhaps more realistically an inquisitive red fox wanting to see who was "invading" his territory.
Then too since it was summer, there were many beautiful plants and flowers to see near the Stavaas ruins. Including this dainty little item. It resembles a bachelor button or a wildflower similar.
It is unfortunate that we haven't yet identified exactly where Anna was during her growing up years. I am hoping that with some more time, we will learn more about her childhood years. Every once in a while new records will become available and we'll find more on her life in Norway. She is a bit of our mystery person.
For now we have a good idea of the appearance of the area she was from. It reminds me of a deciduous wooded area in the western half of the Pacific Northwest. I think I would feel right at home. How about you?
Source:
1. "SAKO, Hjartdal kirkebøker, F/Fa/L008: Parish Register (official ) no. I 8, 1844-1859," database and image, The National Archives of Norway-Arkivverket (www.digitalarkivet.no : accessed 20 March 2017); Baptisms, 1853, page 61, line #78, Anna Olsdatter. Quick Link: https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/kb20061129030065.
* I didn't mention the names of the local individuals that helped Ed gather this information as I did not ask their permission to include their names here. If you would like more information about these helpful gentlemen, please get word to me. You can contact me by leaving a comment.
Thank you for stopping to read this article. I hope you are having a good week and I look forward to next time. Your visit here is appreciated.
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The URL for this post is: http://homefolktales.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-young-anna-olsdatter-stavaas-1853-1931.html.
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.Copyright (c) 2017, Darlene M. Steffens
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