Ovidia Bernhardine Clausen
NancyC	We are looking for information on the wife of a relative of my husband's. Her name was Ovidia Bernhardine Clausen (7 April 1844-1915), and she was probably the daughter of a minister or government official, living in Bærum before her marriage. We presume that her father's name was Clausen, since the masculine form is used in regard to her, rather than the feminine patronym. However, some family members think that her father was Bernt Olsen (born 10 June 1814), and they therefore assume that her last name was Olsen. We are fairly certain that her mother was Anna Torgerson Holm, born 21 January 1810. Ovidia married Kittel Kittelsen Helland (1822-1909) from Helland in Sand, Rogaland. He decided to become a minister, sold his farm to his sister, studied theology, and was sent to Wiota, Wisconsin. After some years he returned to Norway and served as minister at churches in Kongsvinger and Sola (Håland). The couple were married ca. 1867 and had nine children. We would appreciate any information about Ovidia's parents and family!
maeven	May find clues about Clausen at this site: http://www2.naha.stolaf.edu/cgi-bin/quickswish.pl
ninakarls	Link to census 1900: http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=f01103.wc2&variabel=0&postnr=4320&fulle=true&spraak=e Kittel Helland m b Husf g forhv. Sognepræst Pens. 1822 Sand Sta N S Ovidia Bernhardine Helland k b Hm g 1844 Bærum Ak N S Christian B Helland m f Søen S ug 2den Styrmand 1873 Viota America N S Alfred Oscar Helland m f Søen S ug 1ste Styrmand 1876 Kongsvinger Hed N S Gustav Waldemar Helland m b S ug Murersvend 1878 Nissedal Brb N S Otto Gerhard Helland m f Bergen S ug Postassistent Vikar 1881 Nissedal Brb N S Sigurd Conrad Helland m b S ug Skolegut 1887 Haaland Sta N S Alvilde Marie Helland k b D ug Skolepige 1884 Haaland Sta There is only one Ovidia Bernhardine of correct age in the 1865 census (mother: Marie Skaustad, grandmother Anne Ols.) http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=f60301.wc2&variabel=0&postnr=53308&fulle=true&spraak=e May be her brother?: http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=f60218b.wc2&variabel=0&postnr=3398&fulle=true&spraak=e She emigrated in 1873: http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=EMIOSLO&brukar=&loc=8367272&spraak=n&postnr=1&previous=10 Kittel emigrated 1866: http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=STAV&variabel=0&postnr=26363&fulle=true&spraak=e
askeroi	I too found the only Ovidia Bernhardine in the entire 1865 cencus, but I didn't put it here as I thought it was NOT the right one. I still think so - how could Schønnesen become Clausen (or Olsen)? And the mother isn't correct, either. And NOTE: the birthplace is wrong, too. So I think you should forget this Ovidia and her brother... I found the mother and her husband Bernt Olsen (and probably the mother's father) in the 1865 cencus http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=f60220.wc2&variabel=0&postnr=7729&fulle=true&spraak=n but it's not to much help as there's no Ovidia there. If the mother is correct, Bernt Olsen could be her second (or third etc) husband - Bernt doesn't have to be Ovidia's father just because he's married to her mother. But where IS Ovidia in the 1865 cencus? Maybe she's hidden among the Ovidia's being servants at the time? And, finally: her father could very well be a Claus/Klaus or even a Nicolaus (in various spellings) though she's called Clausen not Clausdatter. It was fairly common at this time to drop the -datter form and change it to -sen at this time. Sorry I did not have much positive information, but hopefully I've saved you from a lot of work on (what I believe is) the wrong person...
NancyC	Thanks to those who have replied to my posting! You are so kind to use your time and knowledge. However, it looks as if Ovidia is as elusive to the experts who are so kind as to answer questions like these as to the rest of us! Ovidia certainly did not immigrate to New Zealand, and as far as we know, she did not immigrate to the US before her marriage. Her name is a puzzle. She may, of course, have been in another country at the time of the 1865 census. But we have never heard anything to that effect. Her name is typical of those given to children of clergymen or officials of Danish or Northern German extraction, but whether this tells us anything is another question!
Brining	On the LDS OVIDIE BERN HARDINE BERNTSEN Female Event(s): Birth: Christening: 28 JUL 1844 Asker, Akershus, Norway Parents: Father: BERNT OLSEN Mother: ANNE OLSDR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Messages: Extracted birth or christening record for the locality listed in the record. There is also a Bernt Olson and and Anne Holm in the 1865 census [url="http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=f60220&variabel=0&postnr=7728&fulle=true&spraak=n"]Click Here[/url] But I don't know if it is the same one since no Ovidie is listed living with them but she could be living elsewhere Carla
askeroi	Kittel Kittelsen Helland was reverend in Nissedal 1877-84 and in Håland 1884-96. He was born 29. sept. 1822 and died 3. dec. 1910 according to the database of immigrants from Stavanger at Digitalarkivet. He left for "Wiota Wis" in 1866. There's no sign of Ovidia in the same database. So, I believe she left Norway BEFORE 31. dec. 1865 (the "cencus day") and that they met in the US. Probably they were married there, too - I've noticed that the first child is born in the US. If the LDS information is correct, she was originally a "Berntsdatter", but, like so many others at that time she stuck to her father's patrymicon, Olsen. Where Clausen comes from I couldn't tell - it could of course be from a (short) first marriage at very young age - or it could a misunderstanding of Olsen in very bad handwriting (allmost) a century ago. Unfortunately there's very few departures from so early - at least online. I could not find her, anyway... But tahe a closer look at the reverends carier in the US and maybe you'll find the marriage there... [8D]
NancyC	Thank you for the additional information. We may be getting somewhere now. My husband and I will be going to Wiota, WI next week, so we can check on the church records there. If Ovidia did immigrate to the US on her own and before marrying, this might explain the name Clausen or Olsen or both. In the 1860s it was not "common" in Norway for women to use the male patronym instead of the female one. On the contrary, the use of -dotter/-datter was well established until around 1900. The law was changed in 1923, requiring all persons to have a surname. This is why the famous former prime minister of Norway was named Einar Gerhardsen (son of Gerhard, which he was), but his politician son is named Rune Gerhardsen, instead of Rune Einarsen. However, those who immigrated to the US rarely used -dotter/-datter, and the use of the male form was also abandoned, the family often keeping the patronymic -sen/-son form they had when they immigrated. So all this probably means that we should try to find Ovidia among the emigrants from Norway and then try to figure out what happened to her name.
askeroi	You are of course right when you say the male patronymic was not common among women IN NORWAY in the 1860s, but please remember that the trend had started - first in the main cities then gradually spread throughout the country. I haven't counted what was most "common" but quite many women in Oslo was listed with male patronymic (or their husbands surname if married) in the 1865 cencus in Christiania. The same impression I'm getting from the emmigrant lists from Christiania 1867-1869 (the first three years on Digitalarkivet). It's not sure, but she may very well have been using the -sen-form even before travelling. Even more so as she's called Olsen (Clausen) not Berntsen. I'm just mentioning this to remind you to look for both forms. GOOD LUCK!!
NancyC	Thank you! We will look for Olsen, Clausen, Berntsen and even Helland when we go to Wiota!