Jorgen Aa. Grave - dead of booze?
askeroiPlease forgive a foreigner if this isn't the right forum for this enquiery - and if the english isn't perfect. But my mother-in-law was brought up with the following story about her grandfather: After having an illegitimate daughter in 1901 he "went to America where he died of booze". I've find him in the norwegian emmigrant list departure date from Kristiania (Oslo), Norway, 20. oct 1905, Jorgen (written with the norwegian letter o with a slash) Aasmundsson Grave, 41 years, heading for Canada on the ship "Montebello" and the agent "Rasch". That's my last knowledge of him. But it could be helpful to know that his older brother, Jens Aasmundsson Grave left Oslo for the third time 23. june 1927 on the ship "Bergensfjord", agent "Henriksen". He is then a canadian citizen and listed as "farmer" (not translated - the list actually sais farmer). Any suggestions on how to solve this nearly 100 years old family mystery will be appreciated. askeroi
askeroiI'm sorry I forgot to tell you that there was a "huge" class difference so Jorgen was not allowed to marry the mother of his child (according to family history) and there was no contact between her and Jorgens family. They may of course have a different story to tell... askeroi
BorgeIn 1905 agent Olaf Rasch of Kristiania was the general agent for the Dominion Line. His authorization was to convey emigrants via Hull, London, Newcastle, Grangemouth, Glasgow and Liverpool to the landingstages in Canada, North-America, South-America and to the final destinations in those countries. The S/S Motebello sailed between Kristiania and Hull in Englend. The Dominion routes in 1905 were: Liverpool - Boston Liverpool - Cobh - Baltimore (winter) Liverpool - New Orleans Liverpool - Queenstown - Quebec - Montreal Liverpool/Brostol - Halifax - Portland/Philadelphia "Booze" is usually used for alcoholic beverage or drunkenness. Looks like Jørgen ended up drowning his sorrows over having had to leave his young love in to much drink. What a sad story! I don't know if this answers your question or not. Børge Solem
BriningI found a Jens Grave in the Canadian archives western land grants http://www.archives.ca/02/02011102_e.html If you type Grave in the names area and click on submit query you will get the information. It looks like this site could help in your search. The online help will give you some good information. Also I noticed on that there was an Asmund Grave that emmigrated in 1893. Could this have been another relative. If so he registered for a land patent in Lake of the Woods County Minnesota and this might be another area to look for information. Carla
askeroiThank you, Børge and Carla. The story says he "drowned his sorrow". But people can be cruel - it may have been said to hurt the "fatherless" child.? And Aasmund and Jens are two of his brothers who both went to America. And as I found out Jørgen headed for Canada I thought maybe he was heading for the place Jens was living. But it is just a guess. Another problem for me is I can't find any date for Jens' transaction - and I don't understand WHERE the land he bought is. This place - and "your" harbours, Børge, are my only clues for a where to start looking. So I'm most grateful for your help. Thanks. askeroi
BriningIt is hard to figure out where Jen's land is from the information on that site but I think it is in Saskatchewan Canada. Here is a link to the area I think Jens homestead was in Range 26 (the numbers across the bottom) and township 3(the numbers on the side of the map) http://www.rootsweb.com/~skwheat/eastend1924.gif So it looks like it would have been near Consul. You can try looking at census records to see if you can locate Jorgen in Minnesota or Saskatchewan. If you do try searching the census look for both Grave and Asmundson since he could have gone by either name. Have you tried posting a query on Digitalarkivet? http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/index.htm They have a lot of helpful people there. Carla
askeroiOnce again THANKS. I've consulted maps and ecyclopedias to find this place and it's history. And if I have got it right it wasn't "free" for establishing before 1905, so I can assume Jens' bying was then or later. And that leads to the unavoidable question: Are that new cencus' available? I also thank you for the Digital-arkivet address here in Norway, though I do know about the site - it was actaully there I was tipped about your site... But anyway, I appreciate your help very much. THANK YOU! askeroi
BriningYou are welcome. I found another site that might help in your Canadian research http://www.rootsweb.com/~cansk/Saskatchewan/ It looks like it could be helpful. Also on the Digital-arkivet site there is a link to Deaths in Minnesota. There is an Asmund Asmundson listed. They don't give birth date information so it is hard to tell if it is your Asmund but you can order a copy of the death certificate which will give more info such as parents, wife's name and who provided the information (this could be a son or daughter). The death certificate was issued in Polk county which isn't too far from the county where a land patent was issued to Asmund Asmundson. You will get more information about the death Certificates if you click on FAQ page on that site. Good Luck on your search Carla
askeroiOnce again: Thank you, Carla. I'm afraid I've been fooling around on that Saskatchewan site for a time - and maybe it's me who's stupid, or my english isn't good enough - but I feel like being sent around in circles without getting any data - but of course a lot of information. Am I clicking the wrong places? I have my doubts about this Asmund Asmundsson - "mine" bought his land in 1906 and then called himself Aasmund Grave. And being "a Grave" was allmost being notability where he came from. Jens still called himself Jens Grave when he left Norway for the third time in 1927. I believe they were very proud of the name. But of course Asmund Asmundsson is a possibility. I'll keep it in mind if everything else fails. I have got confirmation, by the way, that you've found the right locating of Jens' land. Unfortunately there's no one by the name Grave there today. Actually none in the Saskatchewan phone book either - just a lot of Graves (people by the name Graves). But as the "first generations" with this name seems to have french sounding given names - at least not norwegian sounding at all - I'm afraid it's not the same family. If you - or anybody else - have any more tips I'll be thankful. If not I allready am very thankful for what you have given me. THANKS! askeroi
askeroiHello, just to keep you updated on the progress. Jens Grave claimed his land in 1910 and got it three years later at age 47, born in Norway - he simply has to be the right person. At this time he is "single" while he was a married man when he left Norway both in 1904 and 1927. Maybe his wife died before 1913 and that he had remarried by 1927? But no traces og Jørgen so far, unfortunately... askeroi
BriningHi It sounds like you are making some progress on Jens. It's too bad that the 1920 Canadian census isn't available for research. That could help you a lot. I saw on the Digital Archive site that you thought Jens's wife's name was Alma. There is a death record for Almena Grave on the Minnesota death record site. She died Jan. 1910 so could fit in. I think that Jens and Jorgen probably lived in Minnesota up to 1910 since Jens destination in 1895 & 1904 were both to Minnesota. Jorgen's destination was probably also Minnesota since a lot of immigrants traveled through Canada with a final destination of the USA (that is how my grandparents came) and that is where his brothers were. Do you know what county Asmund Grave had his land in. The site that you can search for land records in the USA has been shut down by a court order so can't look it up. Hopefully they will be up again soon. If you know the county for Asmund you might be able to search the 1910 census to see if Jorgen is also there. Carla
askeroiHi Carla, this sounds like a very good idea. Almena died in Faribault. So did also an Amund O. Grave at about the same time. Could be a son of one of the brothers? But... Luckily I did take a print out of Aasmunds land paper before it vanished, and it says "Aasmund Grave of Betrami County Minnesota". And his land was "...the West half of the North West quarter of Section thirteen and the South half of the North East quarter of Section fourteenth in Township one hundred and sixty North of Range thirty-two West of the Fifth Principal Meridian in Minnesota,..." What all this means relatively to each other I have no idea. According to the Death Certificates site only one Grave died i Beltrami, Margaret Lynn Grave - but that was in 1946. She could of course be a daughter or, more likely due to the non-norwegian sounding name, be a daughter-in-law...? I'm just guessing, of course. But your idea sounds reasonable... THANK YOU!! askeroi
askeroiGratulation on the new site - it's great! And I would like to use the opportunety to wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS! THANKS again! askeroi
askeroiHello again. Here's what Jens' homestead papers tell: 1) Jens Grave's address on Jan 27, 1910 (when he applied for the first homestead) was - Mayville, North Dakota. Jens must have been in Moose Jaw, Sask on that day, as that is what the official stamp indicates. 2). As mentioned before he cancels that first homestead, and applies for the NE 24-3-26 W3rd on June 21, 1910. On that date, he gives his address as Maple Creek, Saskatchewan (north of Consul). So now we know he has been living in the area and has a mailing address. 3). The following information was given on the Homestead Application dated June 21, 1910: - Number in family = 2 , Nationality = Norwegian, Where from = N.D. (North Dakota), Previous occupation = Farmer 4) On July 31, 1914, Jens Grave fills out the Sworn Statement to say he had completed the required homestead duties. - age 47 - address - Rangeview, Sask. - Here he states he is single. - Built his house and commenced living on the homestead on April 10th, 1911. - Naturalized Citizen - these papers were received and returned to the homesteader on 5/9/1916. 5) Jens received Patent (title) to his homestead on October 25, 1916. - his address is still Rangeview, Sk. ******************************************** That's about all the information on the forms that is of importance now. The rest is just interesting, such as the size of his house, how many acres of land he broke (plowed), etc. You should get in contact with Carla and ask her where Mayville, N.D. is located. askeroi
askeroiHello, again. FOUND HIM. On the ship the "SS CANADA" Dominion Line, the following passenger left Liverpool, England on October 26th, 1905 and landed in the Ports of Quebec/Montreal on November 4th, 1905. #25762, Jorgen Aa Grave, Male, Age = 41, Country of Birth = Norway, Destination = WETASKIWIN. Wetaskiwin is a small city in the province of Alberta, 68 km south and a little east of Edmonton. He definitely knew where he was going, as the spelling of Wetaskiwin was correct. It's not easy to pronounce, let alone spell. I also looked up the name Grave in the telephone listings for Alberta. There are 4 people listed: A. Grave - Calgary, John Grave - Calgary, Maureen Grave - Edmonton, Mike Grave - Edmonton. That's not many people, but there is a possibility that one or all of them are related to either Jørgen or Jens. Just to keep you updated. I'm not quite sure of what to do next, but... Any suggestions? askeroi
BorgeGood news! Please let us know what you did to find him! Børge Solem
askeroiTo be honest: I myself haven't done much. I started a debate on the subject on "Digitalarkivet" and among the help was a hint of this site. So I started a debate here, too. Here were some nice helpers and my contribution was to keep the "Digitalarkivet" users informed of the progress here. When you closed down on dec. 23rd the debate continued on "Digitalarkivet" (and I tried to keep you informed of the progress there). Finally a helping hand had the opportunety to look at the ships list for arrivals - and there Jørgen (or his name) was! Simple at that. And, again to keep you informed, I copied the e-mail I received stating "Found him". I assume it's nothing for this forum as we have safely placed Jørgen on American soil, but if anybody know of good/helpful sites for Alberta I'll be very glad to know about it. But, anyway, you've (all) been wonderful. I really appreciate your help. THANK YOU! Hopefully my small contributions to other debates has been to some help, too. I'll have this site in memory and do my best to "pay back" by giving a hand when I'm able... Again THANK YOU!! askeroi
askeroiHello again. According to the ship's list he suddenly was married upon arrival. It probably is a mistake by the purser, but if he was married on board wouldn't it be a note of it in the ships log book? Would the captain report it somewhere? askeroi
BriningI posted this on the Digitalarkivet site but thought I should post here also since this site could be helpful to others. I came across this site by accident but it might help you. It is the Public Records catalog for the UK and has information on births, deaths & marriages at sea. http://catalogue.pro.gov.uk/ExternalRequest.asp?RequestReference=ri2168 If you click on the picture in the upper right corner it will take you to the main page which will give you more info on where the records are and how to access them. Carla
askeroiI have received copies of the ships list and of Jens' land claims from my helpful friends. Very nice-to-have items to illustrate the (hopefully one day coming) family book, and some "new" information on Jens' home (10x14feet! - cost $50) and 40 acres fenced in (cost $75). I tried to look up the ship SS Canada, Dominion Line, on this site - but couldn't find it? Am I doing something wrong or isn't it here? Is there anybody who's having any information on the ship? askeroi
BorgeI do have some info on that ship, and a picture that I will put up ASP! Børge Solem
askeroiGREAT! Will you let me know when it's put up? THANKS! askeroi
askeroiHallo again. I've come to wonder about one more information in the ships list. It says Jørgen had a railway ticket for further travelling. Was there a railway going to Wetaskiwin at that time? Could he sit down in a train and go all the way or did he have to use more trains or even more transport systems? Or did he have to ride/walk part of the distance? askeroi
askeroiSorry for being so unpatient - but I'm still waiting for the information on the ship. I can see a "new" SS Canada has turned up on the "find a ship" list, but still not mine... Or have I missed something? askeroi
BorgeThe waiting time is over http://www.norwayheritage.com/ships/canada-dom.htm Børge Solem
askeroiHallo again, friends - long time no news about Jorgen. But for those of you reading norwegian and being curious about Jorgens girlfriend: Part of her story is now available at Digitalarkivets debate no. 10007... askeroi