Looking for grandmother's records
Debra	Hi, I am really new to this but am really excited to try it. I have a family tree book from one grandparent already done by another relative (Norway too). I need to know how to start. I have been looking at websites and that has helped. All I know for positive right now is my grandmother's name was Inga Nelson when she came over. I am not positive of the year but hope to find that out soon. I believe they settled in Buffalo ND where she met my grandfather and they married there and also raised their children there, my mother being the oldest and born in 1908 (Cora Anderson). All of a sudden I realize what all I dont know!! I am involved with people in SON and they will help me and my cousin is actively involved in Madison, WI with SON and he will help too as he is the one who did my grandmother's side and he did an excellent job and has visited Norway a couple of times. Thanks for any help you can give me as I am sort of overwhelmed already and haven't started. [xx(]My sister (who has my mother's family history stuff) is supposed to see what she can find for me. [:)] Deb
Debra	This is just an add on to my other post. I did find out my grandmother (one I am doing family tree on) was born on September 18, 1878 in Trondjeon, Norway and died on April 6, 1965 in Moorehead, MN (USA) I believe. We believe she came over around 1900 (either a few years before or after?). I hope to find out the exact year soon. Her maiden name was (Inga) Nelson and married name was (Inga) Anderson. She married John Anderson (from Sweden) in Buffalo, ND I believe. We are guessing she was about 25 when she got married? Those are some facts I hope to find soon. I am just starting this and just putting out feelers for facts now. She did have some siblings that came over also but I don't have names or ages or any other information about them at this time. I can see where this will be very exciting as information starts coming in. I am already waiting for emails from different people about this subject! Debra
Brining	I think she is in [url="http://dp3.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/marriage/"]Cass County (N.D.) Marriage License Index[/url] You can get copies of the marriage license from them. You should try and obtain as much documentation in the US as possible, marriage license, death certificates, obituaries, naturalization papers. [url="http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndirs/bio&genealogy/index.html"]NDSU Institute for Regional Studies,[/url] has some good links for ND info Carla
Jo Anne Sadler	Try the Minnesota Historical Society 1908-1996 death certificate index - http://people.mnhs.org/dci/Search.cfm - for $8.00 you can order an uncertified copy of the death certificate and the turnaround time is usually 3 weeks or less. Your parents birth certificates, marriage license and other vital records would usually indicate mother's maiden name. For information on ordering vital records - www.vitalrec.com. Also contact the local historical societies in the community where there lived. The 1910 and 1920 census would indicate year of immigration, dates of naturalization. Good luck [8)]
Jo Anne Sadler	Trondheim is a major port for the Trondelag area, there is a chance that your grandmother was not born there but from an area around Trondheim. [xx(] Many immigrants would use the name of the largest city near where they lived or their port of departure instead of their actual place of residence when they got to the "new country". It is good to keep this in mind while searching for records. Trondheim is located in Sør-Trondelag and is on the border with Nord-Trondelag, a different county (flyke). JS
Debra	Thanks so much for the responses. They were very interesting. I have emailed Buffalo ND historical Society and am waiting to hear from them. I asked them to tell me what to do next as far as records from there and if becomming a member would benefit me as I have several relatives that lived there that I would like to learn about. Actually, my sister was telling me they had a book made and there was a little snip in there about my grandparents and when they came over. I may need to get that book. I copied that area that grandmother came from exactly like Mom had it written in her Bible, do you think she mispelled it as there definately was a 'j' in the name? I am really getting excited about finding things. I have a video of me asking Mom different things about her family and like a dummy (!!) I told her I wasn't interested (I was young and foolish) in hearing much about my grandparents as I didn't know them but wanted to hear about other relatives (like aunts and uncles, some of which I didn't know). Now (Mom is deceased) I could clobber myself for that as she wanted to keep going back to her family. I am really enjoying reading about all of your adventures with the family trees. Debra
Brining	You'd better get used to spelling variations when researching Norwegian genealogy[:D] It can drive you nuts sometimes. Your Trondjeon is most likely Tronhjem, Throndhjem, Trondheim (that is only the Norwegian variations that come to mind) add to that the "American way" and you get a wide variety. Don't dismiss the Aunts and Uncles, they can lead back to your Grandparents, especially if they came from Norway. Be sure and read the articles about Norwegian names and Hunting Passenger lists on the NorwayHeritage home page. They can be a great help. If you haven't found it yet [url="http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/WebFront.exe?slag=vis&tekst=meldingar&spraak=e"]Digitalarkivet[/url] is a great source Carla
Borge	I do not fine any Inga that matches the age in the Trondhjem emigration records at Digitalarkivet. Maybe her name was Ingeborg, and she Americanized it to Inga? Here are a few to consider from the Trondhjem emigration records, mostly Swedes. If any of them are interesting let us know and we will let you know what all those other words mean: 1899 - Ingeborg Nilson - ug - Arb - k - 22 - Sverige - Winnipeg Manit. - Dominion - Zero - Bill. bet. i Trondhjem - Udfl. Bev 1897 - Inga Elisabeth Nielsson - ug - Arb - k - 20 - Sverige - New York - Amerikan - Tasso - Bill. bet. i Amerika - Udfl. 1903 - Ingeborg Nilson - g - Arb - k - 1877 - Sverige - Winepeg, Canada - Allan - Salmo - Bill. bet. i Amerika - Udfl. betyg
Brining	Cass County has the census images on line and I found her in the [url="http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/nd/cass/census/1910/33-12a.gif"]1910 census[/url] emigrating in 1897 parents are Norwegian so I think that eliminates the ones you found Borge [:(]. On the [url="http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/nd/cass/census/1930/14-03a.gif"]1930 Census[/url] she is listed as Ingeborg so you were correct on that guess. I didn't have any luck locating her on the emigration records either, at least with the last name Nelson. I hope you can find out what her father's name was Debra, since that could help in locating her. Last names were often changed after coming to America. Here is the [url="http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/nd/cass/cass.htm"]Cass County[/url] website with the census records and other information. Carla
Borge	She might not be listed with the patronymic at all. At least now we know to look for Ingeborg! I found nothing for 1894, except [url="http://129.177.171.80/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=EMITROND&variabel=0&postnr=81125&fulle=true&spraak=e"]Inga Trelstad[/url], but some in 1893: [url="http://129.177.171.80/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=EMITROND&variabel=0&postnr=77203&fulle=true&spraak=e"]Ingeborg Fuglaas[/url] 15 years [url="http://129.177.171.80/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=EMITROND&variabel=0&postnr=76481&fulle=true&spraak=e"]Ingeborg Midtlyng[/url] 16 years [url="http://129.177.171.80/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=EMITROND&variabel=0&postnr=75568&fulle=true&spraak=e"]Ingeborg Skomagernes[/url] 16 years
Debra	Wow, thanks for all the help. I found her in the census too. I also found her marriage license and death thing of the web so far. It looks like she was the one in 1897 but I don't understand what those other words are for that you said you would explain? Can you tell me anything else about her as far as in Norway, like her parents names and anything else. I had a hard time reading the census report, any hints? This is really fun. My sister and I are really getting in to this, wish I had more time. Went to a wedding today and couldn't wait to get home to see if there was anything else on here for me. I am waiting for a reply from the Buffalo Historical Society as they should hav elots of information on my grandparents and hopefully I will be able to start doing more tracing when I find out more records. Thanks so much for any information you all are finding for me. I love waiting to see what you find. I am considering joining the Ancestry.com for a year, do you all think it is worth it? I got some really good leads to some other family information that I know very little abo9ut and when I got right there it says I had to join, what a dispaoointment. I am considering it but not sure if it will really help more than the freebies? Debra
Brining	Hi Debra The 1897 Inga is probably not yours since she is from Sverige (Sweden) If you click on one of the links Borge put in for other Ingeborgs you will see headings that correspond to the information. Finding her is not going to be easy since she was born after the 1875 census and left before the 1900 census in Norway. Hopefully when you get copies of her death certificate and marriage license her parents names will be listed. Also the ND census indicated that she was naturalized, so getting copies of her naturalization papers might help. The question is where was she naturalized. ND has the naturalization index on line [url="http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/database/naturalrec.html"]Click Here[/url] but she could have lived in another state before moving to North Dakota. Minnesota records are on line through Ancestry. I've seen 14 day free trials for Ancestry someplaces on the web, that might be worth a try rather than a year subscription. Just keep gathering information and hopefully you will get all of the pieces of the puzzel to lead back to Norway Carla
Debra	Hi again, I have been working on getting more facts but haven't gotten many more. I did find out that my grandmother came over with her two sisters, Mary and Sarah (Nelson) and it would have been about 1897 as she was 19 years old (found that information in Mom's Bible). She didn't have the year but going by her birthddate that would be the year as it said she was 19. Another question, how do you read the census reports? The print is so small I can't read the words above the columns. Also, when I print it, I can't figure out how to print the whole thing, have tried portrait but that doesn't do it either. I am hoping to get the marriage license and death certificate copies within a week or so and hopefully that will have some more information on it? I did sign up for the Ancestry.com for a short time to see if it helps, so far I haven't done that well with it. Thanks for all your help so faar. This is fun but frustrating right now as there are way too many Ingeborg Nelson (Anderson)s! [:(] Everything has to be double checked to make sure it is the right person. Debra
Brining	To get the census headings go to Google http://www.google.com/ and type in 1910 census form. One of the 1st sites to come up should be a pdf form from Ancestry which you can download and print or just look at the headings (enlarge them by clcking on the magnefying glass and then click in the document) . Change the year on the google search to get 1920 and 1930. To print the census image try saving the file and open it with a photo editor Carla
Debra	Thanks Carla, I had tried saving it and working with it (census report) but just couldn't enlarge it and read it well enough but will try it again now. I want to be able to print it out to save it with my other stuff I am saving. Deb
Debra	I am now waiting for some copies and hoping that there will be names and dates on them. I sent for grandmother's death certificate, marriage license and the three census reports for my records. I am hoping there will be some information in something about her family as I thought she had two sisters, Mary and Sarah and on a tape I have of Mom talkign she says she had five sisters (or there were five girls) and three brothers but she wasn't sure fi they came over or not and she didn't know any of the sisters other than Mary and Sarah for some reason. I am hitting a brick wall right now but still trying. I get excited thinking about reading about the boat she came on etc but may never know if I don't get more information. I will lose her in Norway if I don't get her parents names on something and that is sad. Thanks for all the information everyone has helped me with. I am hoping to get some more information so I will have something more to put on here to help so maybe someone can help me with my research. I do know that her maiden name here in US was Nelson as it is on her marriage certificate. Debra
Debra	[:(] I am still not doing very well with the records I have received. Today I got the marriage license and the three census reports and a family sketch from a Buffalo, ND book. The marriage license has no names on it other than theirs and their witnesses. No parents or anyone else's names. The census copies are the ones I could see on line and aren't that great of copies but I can read them. From them I found out that grandmother for sure came over from Norway in 1897 and grandfather came from Sweden in1886, both were nineteen when they came over. I am hoping the death certificate shows something as far as parents' names etc. Right now I have nothing to go on any further than grandmother and grandfater! And I am having problems just getting that family stuff. So far this is what I know: [:D] Grandmother Ingeborg Nelson (Inga) was born Sept 18, 1878 in Trondjeon Norway, died April 6, 1965 in Moorehead, MN. [:)] Inga (Ingeborg Nelson) married John A. Anderson on July 18, 1904 in Fargo, ND (John A. Anderson was born in Sweden on 6/17/1868 and come to the US in 1886 at the age of 19. John died in 11/30/1935 in Moorehead, MN). [:I] I can't find Naturalization papers for either grandmother or grandfather, mostly likely grandmother did not have any as she got married soon after arriving in the US. On census papers it says NA for naturalization papers for both of them, why is that? [|)] Known sisters that maybe came over with Ingeborh Nelson would have been Sarah and Mary but there could have been more? Her sister Sarah (?) married I believe Ole Halstad and had two children, Louise and Olea born in Halstad MN. I am still waiting for Inga's death certificate and hoping some names will be on there as so far I have gotten no names or dates from anything I have gotten. Sorry this is so long but I am hoping someone will have a clue for me about my family roots or where to go from here. Thank you. Debra
Jo Anne Sadler	Until women got the vote, they were automatically naturalized with their husband, as well as the children, too. So she was "naturalized" but no records for her. Before 1907, there isn't much information to get anyway unless the Petition for Naturalization survived. Naturalizations records can be located on the County, State or Federal level. Probably at that time, they were done in the County but you never know and you need to check all sources. As far as the marriage license, did you ask if there was a marriage application available? Getting married is a two step procedure, apply for the license and get married at a later date and these records usually are kept separately. A separate fee would apply for a copy of the application. Also, where did they get married? In a church? If so, try to obtain a copy of the church register or any other information the church might have. If they were Lutheran, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America located in Chicago has extensive archives, you can even rent microfilms of church records. You can find their website by searching on Google.com. Remember that census records have a lot of errors in them, and death certificates are based on second hand knowledge. Don't get discouraged, I have been doing this since the 1970's and still haven't found my Swedish ggrandfather, but the search is alot of fun.[:0]
Debra	Thanks, I am trying not to get discouraged but even the things I DO know I am not finding on Ancestry.com. I do know my uncles and aunts, their birth places and where they died but I still can't find them on there for the dates for the tree. I realize most were born at home but weren't there records and I am sure most had some sort of records when they died, but they just disappear! I have found a couple but not many. I did have someone research for me about grandpa's naturalization and he said he couldn't find any paperwork on it. I have no idea where grandpa and grandma got married but have so far had no luck with any church records that I have found on the Internet but will keep looking as now it is getting to be a passion with me!! Please keep letting me know what to do next and I will keep you all up to date on what I find. I may never get to the Norway stuff the way this is going LOL. Debra [|)]
Debra	Just a note to say I have gotten a little further and want to thank everyone for helping with what I do have. I am now checking all the leads I do have more thoroughly to see if I missed anything. I am also waiting for more information, hoping something will give me a hint as to Grandmother's last name for sure in Norway and more about her relatives over there and the ones who came over to the US. We are also going through more of Mom's stuff to hopefully find out more. I have some query letters out in the family to see if anyone else knows anything although the ones I have gotten back so far, they know nothing about her past in Norway. I will start a new query on here when I find out more information and have something to go on as far as getting somewhere in Norway, thanks for all your help. Debra