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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9301 Posts |
 Posted - 20/05/2013 : 17:12:46
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| I would come back to my earlier question about his mother. It would appear from several of the census forms that his mother lived with him. See the 1900 census above. If his mother never left Norway one could likely rule out Edward Haugen (Hagen etc). What do you know about the life of his mother that would or would not eliininate this candidate. |
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9301 Posts |
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AntonH
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
9301 Posts |
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NancyC
Medium member
Norway
198 Posts |
Posted - 20/05/2013 : 22:11:31
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You are right about the mother, and I also noticed this when reviewing the census material. Abelone Embretsdotter died in 1894, as I found her death in the records for Ringebu Parish. This may be why I ruled this Edward out seven years ago! And it is also the reason for the mother's absence in the 1900 census. The link to Ableu Haugen is interesting though, and it makes you wonder what this name comes from, especially since this is a Norwegian cemetery from a time when traditional naming traditions were very strictly observed. The name Abelone was fairly common in this part of Gudbrandsdalen, and Abelone Embretsdotter had several name sisters born around the same time as she was.
It is also correct that Rødalshaugen is listed as "Haugen" in the census for 1865, while it is called "Rødalshaugen, vestre" in the 1875 census. The church records always list the name as "Rødalshaugen" for all the children born to this family from 1847 on, so the name was certainly well established during this period, though it may have been shortened to "Haugen" as a familiar form or nickname. I just checked several sources with my husband, whose field is names, and to our surprise, we found that the official name today is "Røldalshaugen". This name was approved in 1977. But a map from 1975 shows the farm as "Rødalshaugen". Near the farm is a subdivision, and the road along this farm is named "Rødalsvegen". This name was apparently not changed when the farm name "Røldalshaugen" was approved in 1977. Very confusing. The locals probably still call it Rødalshaugen. Farm names like this are subject to national review and approval, while street names are determined by the municipality. |
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NancyC
Medium member
Norway
198 Posts |
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
3020 Posts |
Posted - 20/05/2013 : 23:54:22
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| Hi - back in an edit to try to improve my phrasing. If you have more information about Edward's siblings you could share, Nancy, it might help the forum. If any are in the USA, Edward might be nearby. Thanks! Also, fyi some people can't access Ancestry.com links. |
Edited by - JaneC on 22/05/2013 00:50:04 |
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NancyC
Medium member
Norway
198 Posts |
Posted - 21/05/2013 : 17:59:51
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I hope the general impression from this discussion is not that I am withholding information! This is a case where you are looking for the needle in the haystack, and there are several other needles in that haystack that are related to the one you are looking for, and if you found these, it might be easier to find the one you are looking for. But you must ask yourself how many needles you are going to look for simultaneously, and I have a need to focus on the Edvard needle.
I have been trying to help our neighbor, who is descended from Edvard Hansen, find out what became of him after he emigrated, and the search has taken place off and on for at least seven years. Some of the information I collected in 2006 has proven not to hold water. This is the case with Edvard's brother Hans, who apparently did not emigrate. There are many men named Hans Hansen who were born about the same time and who emigrated, so a hunch that this is your man doesn't always hold true.
But it turns out Edvard did have a brother who went to the minister in Ringebu and was entered in the church record as leaving the parish to immigrate to America. This was Edvard's brother Niels Hansen Rødalshaugen, born 26 Dec. 1857, listed as "utflyttede" 31 May 1879. I assume he did emigrate, based on information you will find below, but I have so far not found him in the lists of emigrants or in US censuses. Again, there is the problem of what he used as his surname and possibly also his given name (Nels? Nils? Niels? another N name?). This is one of the needles that I am not using a lot of time on, but it might be true that it would be easier to find Edvard if I found Niels...
The story:
Edvard Hansen Rødalshaugen fell in love with Eli Olsdotter Kaurstadrønningen, born 3 (?) June 1859, in the early 1880s. See http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?urnread_imagesize=medium&info=ingen&hode=nei&show=129&uid=585804&js=j
Around April 1882, Eli and Edvard conceived a baby, but when Edvard emigrated in May 1882, he probably did not know that he was soon to become a father. Eli bore her child on 4 Jan. 1883, and her daughter was christened Kristine 23 March the same year. http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?idx_kildeid=4073&uid=ny&idx_side=-28 The plan was probably that Eli and Kristine would follow Edvard to America after he got settled and could support a family. However, Eli stayed in Norway, never married, supported herself and her daughter as a cook, and was apparently generally evasive about what happened between herself and Edvard, and as to what happened to Edvard. Their descendants have created a good many myths about Edvard's fate in America, always involving gunslinging bandits and Edvard's violent death at gunpoint in various scenarios (Boston, the wild west, Alaska, etc.). (The present US debate on the constitutional right to bear arms doesn't do much to counter the picture. But I digress.) Apparently, there were letters from Edvard to Eli, but it seems that Eli's granddaughters found it best to burn these at some point, and the myths have enjoyed the opportunity to develop uncontested ever since. There were certainly people who knew something, but they are all dead and gone now. I have always felt the psychology was faulty here. If Edvard had suffered a violent death shortly after arriving in the lawless USA, Eli would more likely have mourned him for the rest of her life. In my opinion it is more believable that Edvard found someone else, and that Eli, as the abandoned sweetheart and mother of his child, cultivated anger that was passed down in the family. But I will let everyone embroider their own fantasies here!
A few years ago, I was in Westby, and I took the occasion to speak with a good many locals about this puzzle, and I also went to the local Norwegian Lutheran Church to run it by them. They were kind enough to look through their church records for traces of Edvard, but without results. Several locals promised to check in the Coon Valley area, but none of these feelers amounted to anything either. With one exception, all the searches I have made on Ancestry have been fruitless, so I will not belabor the members of this forum with all the dead-end material I have turned up. The one valid reference is the "Ed Balshanger" one, which is quoted above.
But today I have found further evidence that Edvard must be hiding somewhere in the US censuses. I visited the State Archives in Hamar to see whether there was any inheritance that had been distributed among the heirs following the deaths of Edvard's parents, Abelone (d. 1894 in Ringebu) and Hans (d. 1904 in Ringebu). There was not much, so they are only listed in the "Fortegnelse over anmeldte Dødsfald for Ringebu Thinglag". But there is one important piece of information to be gleaned from the sparse entries. Abelone and Hans had eight children, and all of them were alive in 1894 and 1904. The entry for Abelone (1894): "Tenant farmer's wife Abelone Engebretsdtr. Rødalshaugen, 61 years old, d. 26 Feb. Her husband survives her, as well as 8 children". The entry for Hans (1904): "Hans Hansen Rødalshaugen, d. 22 May, b. 4 July 1824. 8 children who have reached their majority, of which 2 in America. 60 kr. in the savings bank, possessions worth 20 kr. " I discussed the question of whether we can interpret this to mean that all of the 8 children were still alive at the time, and the archivist confirmed that deceased children would not be mentioned in the court protocol. So, it seems we can conclude that Edvard was alive and living in the USA in 1904, and that the other child in America was most likely his brother Niels. That being the case, it should be possible to fine Edvard (and Niels) in the census for 1900 - if we only knew his name.
So this brings us back to the question of what name he was using. The emigrant protocol, where he is listed as "Edvard Hansen" is not certain proof that he was using Hansen instead of Rødalshaugen. This protocol lists most of the people on this page after their patronymics, so it is just as likely that the person who made this list thought this was appropriate. The passenger list for the Nevada tries to render Rødalshaugen as Edvard's surname, and this is probably the name Edvard provided. In addition, all of the entries in the church records for this family list the patronymic followed by Rødalshaugen/Røldalshaugen, and the pattern of using the farm name seems to be well established in the local protocols. But it is still not easy to figure out what Edvard would do with his surname when he came to the USA. |
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
3020 Posts |
Posted - 22/05/2013 : 00:57:45
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!!! Wow, that is an amazing narrative! What a journey you have taken in this search. The story is so interesting (and your comments are very entertaining). That is good news about Edward being alive in 1904. Thank you so much for sharing.
I follow your reasoning re. Rødalshaugen as a likely surname. Problem is - as you know - there is no Edward Rødalshaugen / Rodalshaugen (and variations) in US census. Discouraging. |
Edited by - JaneC on 22/05/2013 04:31:44 |
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
Posted - 22/05/2013 : 16:00:49
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As to names, if he keeps Edvard, American equivalents, roughly equivalent, and nicknames:
Edvard = Ed, Edd, Eddie, Eddy, Edward, or Edwin, Ted or Ned, & perhaps Ward
Likeliest last name would be Hanson; Dahl, Dal, or Doll; Haug, Hagen or Haugen; Roldal, Rodahl, Rod, Rud, Rude, Ruud.
His last name would still be Hanson if he was required at some time to give his father's name--the assumption would be that it was the same as Dad's so Hanson.
Did the family ever live on another farm? Or were either Dad or Mom from a different farm? Is there someone admirable in his family that he might have adopted their name?
Have you tracked down his siblings' descendants in Norway to see if any of them know about Edvard's fate?
You might also try a subscription to Archives.com. They have the Evangelical Lutheran Church Ass'n. parish registers as searchable databases, giving you access to hundreds of church registers. |
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NancyC
Medium member
Norway
198 Posts |
Posted - 23/05/2013 : 12:44:47
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| Thanks for these suggestions! I will await possible further information from the family and others who are following other tracks before I spend a lot more time searching the censuses. But if anything more emerges, I will add it to the discussion. |
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WIKings
New on board
Norway
2 Posts |
Posted - 24/05/2013 : 17:28:59
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Hello. I just stumbled upon this tread, searching for information about my relatives.
I find this very interesting. It seems like the man you are talking about, Edvard, is my great-great-grandfathers brother. My great-great-grandfathers name was Hans Hansen Rødalshaugen (Later Hans H. Mæhlumssveen).
I'm trying to find out more about my ancestors and if there are any descendants in the USA from Edvards family. If anyone knows anything more about Edvard or his family, I would love to hear about it! |
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NancyC
Medium member
Norway
198 Posts |
Posted - 25/05/2013 : 12:15:50
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| It´s great to hear from a descendant of this Rødalshaugen family! It sounds like you don´t know much either. But please follow the discussion, and let other members of your family know. There seem to be a large number of descendants of Edvard´s siblings in Norway. I just talked to a descendant of Edvard and Eli who lives in Sør-Fron, and apparently there are several descendants of Gjertrud Hansdotter Rødalshaugen living in that area. When I visited the State Archives in Hamar the other day, I found it very interesting to learn that all of the children of Edvard´s parents, Hans and Abelone, survived infancy and were alive when their parents died. This must have been rather unusual at this time. I hope more descendants will eventually stumble on this thread - there must be someone in the family who has heard about the family members in the USA! |
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NancyC
Medium member
Norway
198 Posts |
Posted - 25/05/2013 : 13:25:54
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This must be the family of Hans Hansen Rødalshaugen Mæhlumssveen http://digitalarkivet.no/cgi-win/WebCens.exe?slag=visbase&sidenr=2&filnamn=f00520&gardpostnr=133&personpostnr=775&merk=775#ovre
This information seems to confirm what I wrote above, that Hans did not emigrate. I just spoke with a descendant of Edvard and Eli, and there is some doubt as to whether Hans and Abelone had 8 or 9 children. I will try to go through the church records again to see if a ninth child turns up. The descendant is also going to check information in a booklet about the family of Gjertrud Hansdotter. We will post more information as we find it. |
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WIKings
New on board
Norway
2 Posts |
Posted - 25/05/2013 : 16:49:36
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I have tried to do some research, but there is not much traces of my great grandfather Engebret Hansen Mæhlumssveen (later Engebret Høglien) and his life.
After speaking with my family, it does not seem like there's a lot of knowledge about Engebret and his family.
The link you posted seems to possess right information. I can see that Engebret is not there, but he was born the same year as Ragna, and after speaking with my father about it, I find it likely that Ragna and Engebret were twins.
The same can be seen here: http://www.onshus.no/pedigree.php?personID=I180208&tree=1
Engebret married Hanna Olsdatter Bakken. They took the name Høglien or Höglien after they lived on a farm with the same name? Later Engebret and Hanna moved further north, to Otta.
All I know about their relocation is that, when they came to Otta, Engebret did lease a farm?, but I have not been able to find out anything about it. I have found neither information nor pictures of my great grandparents.
I'm going to continue searching, and will follow this thread. Looking forward to hear what you do find out. |
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