Rognholt Farm in Nordre Land, Oppland
mrognholt	I am seeking any information regarding my g-grandfather who was born Jens Nelson (Nilsen) in 1854. He left Norway around 1871 for South America but the ship dropped all passengers in Ireland where he remained for 3 years. He reportably made arrangements with a banker from Iowa and worked 3 years to pay his passage. He eventually moved to Wisconsin and took the Rognholt farm name as his last name. If anyone has any information regarding him or the Rognholt farm, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Mitch Rognholt
Hopkins	The only young boy named Jens Nilsen/Nielsen/or other spelling variation of that patronymic surname and with a birth year between 1853 and 1855 in Oppland - is Jens Nilsen who lives on a farm called Fosumengen in Søndre Land, Oppland. http://www.rhd.uit.no/folketellinger/ftliste_e.aspx?ft=1865&knr=0536&kenr=004&bnr=0165&lnr=000 The closest farm in Oppland with a name anything like Rognholt is Ragnholdt which was in Torpa, Land, Oppland.
Jerry	I have read somewhere that a lot of Norwegian emigrants went to England first, from there to Canada, and from there to the US. The main reason for that was because Canada shipped so much lumber to England, and had a lot of empty space on the way back, so they could offer emigrants a lower-priced trip than anyone else could.
Jerry	Mitch, I never got any e-mail from you. However, I probably don't have anything to send you, anyway, because I think you have all the Rognholt information from Boka Om Land Vol. IX. Jerry
jmonson	Rongholt has been a farm in Nord Torpa since at least the mid-1600's. Like other old farms, it has been split, formed rental units, recombined various parts, etc. over its history. Torpa is no longer a separate "kommune". It has been combined with Nordre Land under the name Nordre Land. This is a possible explanation for you hearing that Rongholt is in Nordre Land. The churches of Torpa have also been combined with the churches of Nord Torpa, Sondre Torpa, and Fluberg into one "synod" or "diocese", to use American terms. Thus, as you research the church microfilms, you have to watch for the combinations of the parishes, as this combination did not occur all at once. Most of your best resources for this area are not on line. For example, I have been trying to follow "Rognholt's" through the centuries in Boka om Land Vol. 9 (748 pages) and Vol. 10 (640 pages). These two volumes contain the consolidated farm histories for Torpa from the earliest known records to nearly the year 2000. Unfortunately I have not been able to find a Nils living on Rongholt or one of the Rongholt subfarms or who was married to a woman from one of the Rongholts who had a son Jens born in the early 1850's. If you have not joined as yet, you should consider joining the Landingslaget. http://www.rootsweb.com/~mnlandgs/ As a member, you will be able to get genealogy assistance from the Lag genealogist. During the annual meeting each July, you can use their impressive library to search further. At the same time six other Lags representing areas bordering Land are also meeting. If your search takes you into a neighboring area, you can search their genealogical resources also. Some of my ancestors came from the farm next to Rongholt (Gnr. 69), which is Synstelia (Gnr. 68).
Jerry	Hello Mitch, I live in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and my Landing ancestor, Agnete Pedersdatter Verhaug (Vaerhaug), lived in Decorah. Her father, Peder Syveren Verhauj, was the son of Syver Olsen Finnstuen Nordre and Berit Johannesdatter Aspegarden. Her paternal grandparents were Ole Johannesen Odde and Helge Syversdatter Rognholt, (1735-1801.) Helge was the daughter of Syver Olsen Sondre Fossum, (1711-1782), and Anne Arnesdatter Synstelia, (1703-1784.) They were married in 1763. All this information and more was provided to me by Carol Olson, the genealogist of the Landing Lag. I think "Rognholt" might mean "Rowan Wood," perhaps because a grove of those trees might once have grown on that farm. The rowan, also known as "mountain ash," was a kind of "magic tree" in some folklore, and I think that a bunch of its red berries, hung over a door, was supposed to prevent the entry of witches. I'd have to check reference materials to be sure of this. Carol wrote on my chart that information about Helga Rognholt and her parents cme from P. 642 of Torpa A and that further information about her ancestors came from P. 638 and P. 696-7 of the same book, and P. 531 of Nordsinni. (She furnished me copies of the relevant pages.) If you join the Landing Lag, she can do a genealogy for you. I might be able to answer further questions you may have, too. Jerry
mrognholt	Hopkiins, jmonson and Jerry, I appreciate all the valuable information that has been provided and am in the process of joining the Landing Lag. I do believe that the Jens Nilsen listed in the 1865 census on the Fosumengen farm is my great grandfather. I've since learned that it might be Jen's father, Nils Olsen who was born on the Rognholt farm. I have only been able to find volumn 1-4 of Bokka om Land so am not able to confirm it. It appears volumns 9 and 10 are the ones that contain info from Land. Do you know where I might find these volumns? Jerry, I believe you are correct about the meaning of Rognholt. In the past my father has told me that Rognholt meant "Grove of Ash trees". I was able to find a tree named "Rogn" on a Norwegian website. It listed the Scientific name as "Sorbus Aucuparia" which lists the tree as a European Mountain Ash. I wonder if we might be distantly related through Helge Syversdatter Rognholt and Nils Olsen Rognholt. Thanks again for the information. Mitch
Jerry	Mitch, Would you please tell me your mailing address, so I could send you information I photocopied from books? I was looking today for information about the rowan tree. It seems that its Icelandic name, which is Old Norwegian, is closely related to the word "rune." I found this in "The Oxford Icelandic Dictionary" of Cleasby and Vigfusson, and made photocopies of the rellevant pages. The Icelandic name of the rowan-tree, "reynir," is related to words for "asking a question," as was done when one "cast the runes." The rowan was a holy tree consecrated to Thor. The Latin name for the rowan, "ornus," differs from that of the other ash-tree, which is "fraxinus." However, I once made a joking pun with the German word "fragen," which means "to ask a question." I thought some of this might be of interest to you. Jerry
jmonson	Mitch, There is finally enough pieces posted to find the answer to your question. (Boka om Land Vol. 9, Torpa A, p. 623) Jens Nilsen Nørstelieie was born in 1854 on Nørstelieie under Nørstelia to Nils Olsen Rognholt and Kristine Kristoffersdatter Bardaleneie (mother was from Nordsinni). The birth and baptism should be recorded in the Åmot church records in Nord. Torpa. Be sure to use the microfilm of the original records to ensure there are no transcribing mistakes in on-line indexes. Jens was the fourth of six children. Two apparently emigrated to the US (Agnette Olsdatter Fossumengen was the other, in 1882). Jens parents Nils and Kristina rented Nørstelieie 1850-1857, Fossumengen under Fossum 1859-1867, and Hullet under Nørstelia 1867-1890, where both parents died (Nils 1890, Kristina 1887). Hullet became available when some of my ancestors emigrated to "Viskonsin i Amerika" in 1866. Jens emigrated "til Amerika" in 1873 meaning "to (North) America". Check the "exits" in the Åmot church records and the ship records on this site for 1873. Don't try to "prove" his story. Instead trace his travels and the story will prove or disprove itself. I have found a lot of stories got "improved" around a hundred years ago when people did not realize that records would become readily available in the future. I suspect he boarded a ship in Drammen or Oslo and landed in either Quebec or New York and proceded to the Midwest. Try to attend the Landingslaget meeting in Whitewater Wisconsin in early July. The microfilms, the Boka om Land books, and many other interesting records will be there. Help will be available in using them. Seeing your ancestors names in the original records provides a reality that electronic indexes do not convey. To correct an inadvertant error in another posting. Fossum, the overfarm for the Fossumengen your ancestor lived on at the time of the 1865 census, is right next to Rognholt in Nord Torpa. Duplicates of common names are relatively common among farms as well as among people. The Nord Torpa Fossumengen must have been a very poor farm as the Nils Olsen family is the only one listed as ever living on it. They moved as soon as another farm became available (Hullet). John Monson
Hopkins	The LDS Library catalog indicates that they have 11 volumes of the "Boka om Land" available on microfiche.
mrognholt	Jerry - I sent you an email with my mailing address. I appreciate your generosity. John - Thanks for the information. That is interesting information regarding the church and farm. I will try to make it to the Landingslaget in July. You are correct regarding how the stories "improved" over time. I was able to find a record of a Jens Nilsen who left Kristiania on 3/28/1873 on a ship named Oder with a destination of Baltimore. I did a search on the Oder and it appears it was used to take Norwegian immigrants to Hull, UK where they transfered to other ships. Hopkins - Thanks for the info regarding the LDS Library. I am going to locate a Family History Center near me.