Vessel Indiana #8
Thomas E. GilesLooking for the passenger manifest on the above vessel. Grandfather emigrated out of Christianaia on June 8, 1891 on the vessel bound for the Port of Philidelphia. Information on the vessel would be appreciated.
BorgeHello Thomas You do not give much information, but this could be the S/S Indiana built in 1873 for the International Navigation Co of New Jersey. It was later known as the American Line. The agent in Kristiania was Harald Helgesen, and he had authorization to convey emigrants by steamship via Hull and Liverpool to Philadelphia and from there to the final destination in America. This means that your grandfather probably traveled by a Wilson Line steamship to Hull on the first stage of the voyage. We have no registered departures from Kristiania on June 8th, where did you get that information? We have the S/S Montebello departing on June 5th and the S/S Angelo departing on June 12th. Anyway, the S/S Indiania was a 3,104 gross ton ship, length 343 feet x beam 43 feet, one funnel, two masts, iron construction, single screw and a speed of 12 knots. There was accommodation for 46 first, 132 intermediate and 789 third class passengers. Built by W. Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia. In 1891 she was equipped with triple expansion engines and rebuilt to accommodate intermediate and third class passengers only. Børge Solem Edited by - borge
Thomas E. GilesHi Borge,I understand there is not much to go on. The information I have came off of grand fathers Petition for Naturalization In it he states "I emigrated to the US from Christiania, Norway on or about the 8th of June 1891. I entered the US at the Port of Philidelphia, PA on the 9th day of July 1891 on the vessel Indiana #8" That is all I have and I feel lucky to have that. He would not tell any of his children anything about his past. It really has been a mystery for almost a century and I am trying to get to the bottom of it. He refused to divulge his past and some of his children thought the police may have forced him out of Norway. Great site you have and I am not going to give up quite yet. Thanks Tom
BorgeDid you try looking for him at the Digitalarkivet? Børge Solem
Thomas E. GilesBorge, I have looked at the site but have not spent a lot of time in it. That will probably be the next place I will go. I am also trying to get some information out of the Port of Philidelphia. I think one of the real problems I am going to have is, how truthful was my grand father. I have to do a little geography on Norway to figure out exactly where Lom county is and what larger towns are nearby. I have a cousin who is a teacher at a university in Oslo and maybe it is time to get her involved... Thanks again Tom
BorgeIf you let me know his name (and date of birth) I will see if I can find him in any of the Norwegian online databases Børge Solem
Thomas E. GilesHans Olson(Horton?) Date of Birth Oct 28, 1871 Lom County. Father...Nels Olson, Mother...Ronug Hanson. This information I got off of his application for Social Security. Thanks you very much, it is appreciated. Tom
BorgeI did some searching in the online emigration databases in Norway, and was not successful in finding him. You should try to gather some more information to get more leads. Børge Solem
Thomas E. GilesThanks, I was afraid of that. His children often talked about how he refused to talk about his family or background. I will keep looking. Best Tom
BriningHi Thomas, In the 1865 census there is a Nils Olsen in Lom, Oppland, Gardsnavn (farm) Horten age 38. Possibly your great grandfather. Also on the LDS Family Search site http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp I found a Ronnaug HANSDR married to Niels OLSEN on 8 Dec 1869 in Lom, Oppland, Norway which also looks like a good possiblity. Hopefully this gives you a little more to go on in your search. Carla
Thomas E. GilesHi Brining, thank you for the effort. The information sure ties into what little I have. Seems Ironic that I have a Nels and a Ronug and you came up with the same. I am going to have to assume what you found is my family. I don't understand the farm Horten though. I have been told that his name may have been Horten. How do they tie together. Thanks again, I do appreciate it. Tom
BriningHi Thomas In the 1800's and earlier the Norwegians commonly used the farm name as a "last name" althought this name would change if they moved to another farm. A good site that has an article explaining this is Ancestor's from Norway. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/%7Enorway/ Click on My articles to find it. Good luck on your search Carla
thelebrityI haven't found him at Digitalarivet either, but you should be aware of that he could be registered with Nilsen/Nielsen/Nelsen as surname if he used the patronym that still was the a quite common surname pattern on the countryside of Norway in 1891. In 1900 a Guttorm Nilsen Horten from Lom emigrates, and would be surprised if he and Hans weren't relatives. Per Helge Seglsten
Thomas E. GilesIt is really difficult for me to really understand these last names and farms. I am going to read the articles on the farm name. As far I know Hans had no other relatives that came to the US with the Exception of a cousin that came to North Dakota. His or her name was Bertil or Bertle Quam or Quamme. In the 1865 census of Lom, domicile Horten I did find a Bertil Olsen but the date of birth was to early. Thanks for the help and look forward to more info. Tom