Capt. Rolaf Olesen
stevejI am seeking any info. on a Capt. Rolaf Olesen.He was married to Maren Torkelson around 1867 in Norway, place unknown.Maren was the widow of Johannes Hisholt who died in an accident around 1865.Maren had 5 children from her previous marriage: Carrie b.1856,Ole b.1858,Josephine b.?,John b.1862,and Theodore b.1864. Capt.Olesen,Maren,and the children emmigrated to the U.S. about 1873.By that time they were known by the Olesen surname.Sometime after their arrival in the U.S. their name changed to Olson. I have no info. on where they came from in Norway,but Marens first husband was supposedly from Skien,Telemark.I dont even know what kind of Capt. Rolaf was- naval or military. I have tried finding the Capt. on the Norway and U.S. sides with no results, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, stevej
askeroiHi Steve I wish I could give you some positive information about your captain - but I can't. I have no problem finding his wife in her first marriage in the 1865 cencus, they're here http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=arkivverket/ft1865/f60806&variabel=0&postnr=1133&fulle=true&spraak=F But neither Rolaf nor Olesen are norwegian names. It could be Rolf, Rollef, Rolleiv, Rollev. And Olafsen/son, Olavsen/son, Olufsen/son but most likely Olsen/son. Unfortunately the combination doesn't reveal any captains in the 1865 census, and the names are too common, even in the Skien area, to spot without a smallest hint of how old he was / when he was born. On the other hand I'm pretty shure he was a ships captain, not a military captain. There was a "sailor" by approximately that name in the area in 1865, born about 1848, but maybe he's too young? Have you given us absolutely all information you have on this captain of yours? askeroi
stevejHello askeroi,good to hear from you again. The only other hint I have on the Capt. is that he had been married before. He had previously been married to Katrina (no last name), and had 2 stepdaughters - Ilsa and Olava Jacobsen. I dont know anything about the date or location , but it has to be before 1867. I cant find a trace of these people in Norway, or where they first went to in the U.S.. Marens children show up in Wisconsin in the 1880s.But before that the family is a mystery. Thanks, stevej
stevejI have tried to do a little digging on Capt. Olesens first marriage to try to find any clues, and I believe I found her in the 1865 census for Kvikne.But I am not familiar enough with the language to be sure. But even if this is her , it doesnt give me any more on the Capt. If Capt. Olesen was a ships Capt. shouldnt he be listed in a maritime registry somewhere? Thanks, stevej
askeroiHi, Steve Now I'm a bit confused. How/where did you find his first marriage in the 1865 cencus? I find an Olava Dorothea (not shure of spelling) Jacobsdatter in Kvikne, but not with a mother called anything like Katrine. There is absolutely no person in the 1865 cencus called Ilsa Jac/kop/bsen/son/datter at all as far as I can see. And to search for a Katrine (with all spelling variations) without knowing anything but the first name - how did you manage that??? Or did you mean something else? askeroi
askeroiAnd I forgot to ask: Didn't the captain at any time have an age? And when/where did he die? askeroi
stevejHello Askeroi, The only entry in the 1865 census that I thought could be close was : Knud Jakobs - Husfader 69 Peter Knuds. - Hans son 37 Katrina Pedersd. - Dennes Kone 47 Anders Peders. - Hans son 15 Olava Knudsd. - Logerende 28 All of the above were in Kvikne,Hedmark. But Ilsa is not listed. Am I just grasping at something that isnt there? It wouldnt be the first time. As to the Captains age, or where he came from, I have nothing.He just pops up in our family when he marries my ancestor Maren . Even when they came to this country , I have nothing , until they show up in Wisconsin in the 1880s. Thanks, stevej
stevejCorrection: The children show up in Wisconsin in the 1870s. stevej
askeroiKvikne is inland - very much so - but Skien is by the coast. This makes it rather doubtful that this is the right family. Besides this children are not "Jacobsons/daughters" but "Knudssons/daughters", aren't they? I think we'll have to look elsewhere... askeroi
stevejHello askeroi, You had mentioned that Olesen didnt sound like a Norwegian name to you. Did you mean that the spelling might be wrong , or that the Capt. could be from somewhere other than Norway ?. I have also went back and read Borges article again on "maritime inscription", if the Capt. is from Norway he could be listed in the "Kapteinsrulle".But again , it does me no good unless I can find out anything about where he came from. Thanks, stevej
askeroiHello, Steve. In norway sons of Ole, Ola, Olaf, Olav were rarely called anything else than Ols(s)en/Ols(s)on. Even sons of Oluf, Olaus and Olaves usually were called Ols(s)en/Ols(s)on. In Denmark on the other hand you often see Olesen, but scarcely in Norway. But I didn't mean he wasn't norwegian - I just meant you'll ALLMOST certainly have to look for an Ols(s)en/Ols(s)on. But I have a qualified guess for where he is found in the 1865 cencus, in Skien, Telemark (where his second wife also were), with a wife called Katrine and a daughter called Olava: http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&filnamn=arkivverket/ft1865/f60806.wc2&variabel=0&postnr=2928&fulle=true&spraak=n Though his occupation is wrong (sawmill worker) this is the best I can find. So far... I'm afraid I have no knowledge of any "kapteinsrulle" system in those days (which doesn't mean there wasn't any - just my lack of knowledge!) We'll have to work hard on this one... askeroi
stevejAskeroi, Thanks for the lead. Have you ever heard of a sea Capt. working in a saw mill? Do you think that he could be military? The rest of the info. makes sense though , and that would at least give me an approx. age to work with. Thanks again, stevej
stevejI went through the 1875 census for Skien and couldnt find either family listed anymore, and that would fit with the date of emigration that I had -1873. What would be a possible port of passage located near Skien? stevej
askeroiI should have told you - I too checked the 1875 cencus and came to the same conclusion. And no, I never heard of a ships captain working at a sawmill. I foumd that strange, too. I must admit I immediately thought of ships captain partly because of the placing by the sea and the fact that a ships captain very often is mentioned as a ships captain for the rest of his life. But of course the placing by the sea olso could give a "coast guarding" military background. I didn't think of that. Partly because a military captain not that often is still called a captain after military service - today. It could of course have been different back then. But I've never heard of a military captain working at a sawmill either... He was pretty "old" for being in active military service. He should have been retired by 1865, don't you think? Let's keep all posibilities open - but I do think the ship background is a bit more likely, though. askeroi
askeroiPS Doesn't anybody else have a view on this "career" question? I mean in general? askeroi
K.P. HansenStevej, If these people were from Skien, do try www.slekt.org That is the wesite of the local historical organization. It is great and also in english. K.P.
stevejK.P., Thank you very much, and you were right it is a great site! I ran Rollefs name through their database and found him on his way to Quebec. The problem is that he is with Katrine and her children , and NOT with Maren and her children. I am starting to think that this is not the man we were looking for. What do you think? stevej
askeroiWell, his occupation is suspicious, but isn't this Maren (married) Olsen and her children on this list? http://www.slekt.org/utvandring/passlist/rjukan72.html It seems like they met in America (rather common to marry someone from your homeplace for first generation immigrants...) askeroi
askeroiI do mean Mrs. Johannes Olsen, of course - not Mrs Rollev Olsen... askeroi
stevejHi askeroi, The ship I had found him on was the "Skien" leaving in 1870. The records I had on him said that he was already re-married to Maren around 1867.The records are pretty sketchy though,so my dates could be wrong. On the list for the "Skien" ,they have him as Rollef Olsen Braekkejordet, what does Braekkejordet mean? Thanks, stevej
K.P. Hansenstevej, Brækkejordet is just the name of a place where he lived or was born. I will however mention that captain in the military whas a quite high post at that time in Norway, or to put it more correctly - he would have been a rather important man. From where do you know that he was a capitain ? Thanks for helping me with my "fellows" in Wisconsin. K.P.
stevejK.P., "Capt." is the only way he was mentioned in any family record.As I had mentioned to askeroi, I had nothing for info. on him except that he married my ancestor Maren and came to the U.S. about 1873. No place or date of birth were ever given , and no clue as to why they called him "Capt." stevej
stevejHeres a question: If Rollef left Skien with his first wife Katrine in 1870 , and Maren and her children left in 1872 , where along the line did she become Maren Olsen ? He must of returned to marry her between 1870 and 1872.Correct? He is also not listed on the manifest of the "Rjukan" when Maren leaves , so was he still in Norway or had he left ahead of them? Getting a HUGE headache, stevej
K.P. HansenBut Stevej, Did they marry in USA or in Norway? It can be the same people, but youre dates can be incorrect. K.P.
stevejK.P., Supposedly they were married in Norway.The point I was trying to make is that in the 1865 census she was listed as Maren Torkildsd. and when she boarded the "Rjuken" in 1872 she was Maren Olsen. Edited by - stevej
askeroiPlease remember that at this time name "systems" were changing. The old way of everybody keeping their birth name were wanishing, and more and more women tokk their husbuands name as surname. Maren Thorkildsdatter called herself Maren Olsen as her first husband was named Johannes Olsen. She left for US under that name. There she met your captain. But you can very well understand why you're information is wrong about them being married in Norway: they allready had the same name. Please remember that BOTH her husbands were Olsens... Another thing I wonder about: WHY are you interested in these people - if we've found the right ones they're probably too old to have common children? askeroi
askeroiK.P. is right about a military captain being a highly ranked person, but ANY floating thing had a "captain". What did he do for a living in the US? My guess is sailing a small boat giving him the title IN THE US. From the 1865 census you can see that he was born in Sauda, Telemark. That's not exactly by the sea. He didn't have a naval growing up - he probably was one of the younger sons on a small farm he couldn't inherit an left for Skien - to him "the big city" - to get work. He was living at just the right time when "everybody" was doing that - leaving the farm land and went to the cities for work. I do think a bit more research on his time in the US would of great help... askeroi
askeroiBut if he has a seamen's record in Norway, here's the adress to write to: Riksarkivet, Sjømannsseksjonen, Folke Bernadottes vei 21, NO-0862 OSLO, NORWAY. Don't forget to give them ALL information you (think you) have on him and YOUR OWN (snail mail) address they can reply to. GOOD LUCK! askeroi
stevejHello askeroi, The "Capt." has been an enigma in our family for as long as I can remember.Maren Olsen was my GGGrandmother and after they left Norway they vanished. Marens children show up in Wisconsin , and 3 of them settled around the town where I live. Even Olava Jacobsen lived nearby. If we can finally place the "Capt" and Maren in Canada - as it appears we can - hopefully I can find where they both are buried. And maybe even alittle about there life there. Thanks, stevej