Norwegian student asking you about Norway
SkiakerHey everybody. Im 17 year old boy from Gran, Hadeland. Please excuse my grammar, english is not my best side. I am doing a report in school about norweigians who moved overseas and settled, and especially theyre children and family. I am not looking for any specific person, but i would like to ask a few questions that i hope you will answer. Those of you who has family that left Norway in the time period 1800-1900, how are your relations with Norway? How many of you speek norwegian? Do you still have contact with your family from the old country? Also, since i know hadeland so well maybe i could help some of you with varíous things. Sincerly yours Tobias Ingvar Skiaker
skbristol Hi Tobias, My family left Norway in the 1860s. Beginning with the first generation born in America, we do not speak Norwegian and do not have contact with family in Norway. We have been here for five generations (six now with my children). My ancestors came from Rogaland, Hordaland and Akershus. Good luck with your report! Sara Bristol, Yakima, Washington
Jo Anne SadlerStudies have been done here and, in general, by the fourth generation, the native language of the "crossing over" generation is no longer spoken. There are many reasons for this, desire to assimilate, children marry people of other ethnic groups, english only schooling/media. That said, Norwegian-Americans have managed to maintain their identity better than most groups.There are regional bygdelag organizations that promote Norwegian heritage, arrange heritage tours to their specific region in Norway and encourage members to locate family members in Norway. http://www.fellesraad.com/ There are Norwegian festivals, mainly in the midwest, the largest is the Høstfest in Minot, North Dakota. www.hostfest.com
HopkinsHello Tobias, My great-grandfather, Rolf, was born in Jevnaker/Gran area in the 1860s and came to the United States with a friend when he was only 18 years old. His widowed mother and sisters also came to the US in the next few years. Rolf worked the railroad for a number of years and then began to farm. He married a girl from Kvinnherad, Hordaland that he met in Iowa and they had 12 children. He was never a wealthy man but he was healthy and happy and he lived a long life. He enjoyed fishing and ice cream and large family parties. I never had any contact with any Norwegian relatives until I started the hobby of genealogy. Since then I've made many friends in Norway by email contact and have two distant relatives come to visit me in the US. I've never made any deliberate effort to find relatives in Norway - but we seem to find each other anyway by our interest in our common ancestors and our family history. I've learned to read some Norwegian - especially the old church records, census records and books that I've used to search for ancestors. I don't even try to speak Norwegian anymore. I've tried and people who DO know the language find my efforts hysterically funny. I'm told that my Texas accent just doesn't help at all. I haven't been to visit in Norway YET. I hope to get the chance sometime in the next few years. Good luck on your school report!
BriningHi Tobias My father's father, Ed Olson, came from Norway in the 1860's from the Verdal area of Nord Trøndelag and Dad's mother was born in the US, but her parents came over in the 1860/1870's. The rest of the grandparents came in the early 1900's. Dad spoke some Norwegian and I'm not sure about Mom. I know that one of Ed's brothers kept in contact since I have seen the letters he wrote. I don't believe there was any contact with the 2nd generation but when planing our trip to Norway I was lucky enough to connect with cousins on Dad's side plus my Uncle on Mom's side had already been in contact with cousins from that side. The highlite of our trip was meeting and staying with relatives. Hopefully some of them will be coming over this summer to our reunion. So far we have kept up the contact but don't know if the next generation will. I can't speak Norwegian but could read it fairly well for a while when I was translating some articles. Good luck with the report Carla
jwknudsenHi Tobias! My g-grandparents, Petter Martin Knudsen, (born Hidra, 1853) and Marie Sofie Andreasdatter, (born Åkerøya, 1853) were married at Hisøy (Arendal) in 1878 and emigrated with their four sons to New York in 1891. They returned to Norway, along with a US-born daughter in late 1894, shortly before the birth of their fifth son. Petter died at Hisøy in July 1895. Marie lived there until April 1909. Five of the six siblings eventually returned to live in New York, while one remained to make his home at Hisøy. Of those who returned to the US, only one continued to speak Norwegian at home, and only 4 US-born children in the next generation (12 US; 2 Norwegian), spoke Norwegian into adulthood. No one of the 7 members of my own generation speaks Norwegian. I have learned to read some for purposes of genealogical research, and to speak a very little for purposes of two trips to Norway. My father remembered only a few Norwegian nursery rhymes, and that his parents only spoke the language when they wanted to keep their conversations private. While serving in the Eighth Airforce during WWII, he was swept up along with other Norwegian-Americans in his unit to assist British commandos into Norway. His nursery Norwegian didn't serve serve their purposes, so he remained in England. Since the recent death of a cousin whose family retained the language and had kept correspondance with friends and relatives in Norway, the extended family has lost direct contact. My g-grandfather's family in Norway is all deceased. I'm currently trying to reconnect with some of my g-grandmother's decendants, but my cousin's records have proven to be quite sparse and the relationships rather vague. Best of luck with your report. JK
edrHi Tobias, My great-great-grandfather and -mother left Hedmark in 1866. They settled in Wisconsin and took their Norwegian farm name (Ringnes) as their "American" last name. Although they were farmers in Norway, and probably their ancestors had been farming for a long time, when they moved to America they became city dwellers, and none of their descendents took up farming. Their children and grandchildren have moved all over the United States. Very few are left in Wisconsin. Unfortunately by my generation no-one speaks Norwegian or knows much about Norwegian culture, or knows any relatives in Norway. This sounds silly, but when I was a kid my only exposure to Norwegian culture was that my dad and his brothers used to eat pickled herring at family gatherings. Until I started researching genealogy I didn't know anything about my Norwegian ancestors before they came to America. It is fascinating to find out who they were and what their lives were like. I am learning the Norwegian language now. Best of luck with your schooling. Your English is very good. Ed, from Seattle, Washington
trea
quote:
Originally posted by Skiaker
Hey everybody. Im 17 year old boy from Gran, Hadeland. Please excuse my grammar, english is not my best side. I am doing a report in school about norweigians who moved overseas and settled, and especially theyre children and family. I am not looking for any specific person, but i would like to ask a few questions that i hope you will answer. Those of you who has family that left Norway in the time period 1800-1900, how are your relations with Norway? How many of you speek norwegian? Do you still have contact with your family from the old country? Also, since i know hadeland so well maybe i could help some of you with varíous things. Sincerly yours Tobias Ingvar Skiaker
treaHello, I'm 3rd generation, My great grandparents came from Tune, Aremark area of Norway. I have a Norweigen learner's book , but no one who speaks Norweigen anymore. Would love to know if I have any relatives in Norway. I remember my Grandfather speaking Norweigen and The Lutheran church I went to as a child was in Norweigen until I was about 6 or 7.when it went to English. I remember my grandfather drinking his coffee out of his saucer black in the morning and with cream and sugar at night. Lutefisk every Christmas Eve. Any thing else can I help you with Trea