Help!
scotsprncs	I am having some trouble finding information on my great grandfather, Olaf Martinsen. He was born February 5, 1857 in Frederickstad, Norway. His parents were Martin Jorgensen & Inga Oline Jensen. He emigrated to the US around 1880. I cannot find them on the 1865 census. Does anyone have any suggestions? Are the sites http://www.rhd.uit.no/folketellinger_engelsk_britisk.html & http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/ pretty much the only sites that have the censuses? Are they complete?
Brining	Here they are in the 1865 census for Borge (near Fredrickstad) [url="http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=f60113.wc2&variabel=0&postnr=3023&fulle=true&spraak=n"]Click Here[/url] Carla
scotsprncs	Thank you so much! Is Ole an abbreviation or just another way to spell Olaf? Also, the interesting thing is that on his marriage certificate and I beleive my grandfather's birht certificate they have his name spellef Oluf, but he signed his name Olof. Do you think he changed the spelling in America?
Jo Anne Sadler	Recommend you read the excellent article on this site - Those Norwegian Names.
jwiborg	Hi, Ole and Olaf are normally two different names in Norway..., it's not like Ole is a nickname for Oluf or vice versa..., atleast nowadays they are two unique names. However, he might have been christened Olaf, and then in "everyday language" been called Ole...? [:)] Olaf and Oluf are norwegian spellings, while Olof is more of a swedish spelling of the name. [url="http://www.norwayheritage.com/articles/anmviewer.asp?a=2&z=2"]Those Norwegian Names[/url] //Jan
NancyC	As to the names Ole and Olav, Olaf, Oluf and Olof: These are all forms of the same name. Ole is the Danish form of Olav, and the forms Ola, Olaf, Oluf and Olof are variants of Olav. Norway was a part of Denmark for 400 years, ending in 1814 following the Napoleonic Wars. During the Danish period and many decades following it, most of the ministers were Danish or of Danish extraction. The written language was also Danish, and the ministers naturally wrote Danish forms of Norwegian names when they entered them into the Church Register of Births. Therefore, many people whose name was Olav or another of the Norwegian forms, were given Ole as an official name. For many of them, this was just a formality on paper, and the local pronunciation could be the basis for "unofficial" spellings. Today, all of the forms of Olav exist as separate names. In case you are interested, the oldest form of this name now known is AnulaibaR. This form is in the Proto-Norwegian language, which was spoken from around the birth of Christ until the Viking Age. The form Olof is normally a woman's name, but in the US it is an alternate spelling of Olav or Olaf.
scotsprncs	Thank you Nancy. That was very interesting!