| Author |
 Topic  |
|
finebush
Starting member
South Africa
7 Posts |
 Posted - 22/03/2006 : 20:25:57
|
My information is that my great great grandfather Ole Olsen (oh this should be fun) born in March 1835 Stavanger married Bertha marie born in November 1836 in Stavanger. both died in Durban, South Africa 27/10/1909 and 02/09/1906 respectively. there were 6 children, some or most ofwhom were born in Norway, some came to south Africa, and others stayed behind. There is a legend that one of the children was born on the ship on the way to South Africa. Children were
1 Martha Raswith(Rostring) stayed in Norway
2 Olaf Berthinius(My great grandfather) brought his parents ,brothers and sisters to SA Born 1868 Stavanger, appears to have died on the same day as his father 27.10.1909??
3. Ingwall (brother)
4. Gudmand (brother)
5. Ingeborg Christina (Grung)
6. Anna
Olaf Berthinius Olsen married Agnes katrina magdalena on 02.04.1902 at Isinganbusi Church Kranskop Natal
I would like to find out more details about where this family orignated from and when they came to South Africa. There are a lot of Norwegian descendants in South Africa. From what I understand there was a large 'fishing" community along the south coast of natal. anyone have any further info. Would be really interested and grateful
Thank you
Carla (what else!!)
|
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 23/03/2006 : 18:08:58
|
Hi Carla,
could this be them in census-1865 for Stavanger, Rogaland?
Ole Olsen (31), able seaman
Berthe Marie (30) his wife
Marthe Serine Olsdatter (3)
Sivert Olsen (2)
Ingeborg Kistine Olsdatter (1)
Link
Could this Martha Røstvig in Stavanger be the Martha Raswith (Rostring) you're talking about?  Her husband Lars Røstvig is a missionary on Madagascar at the time of the 1900-census. 4 of their 7 children are born on Madagascar, the rest are born in Stavanger.
Jan Peter
|
Edited by - jwiborg on 23/03/2006 18:29:02 |
 |
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 23/03/2006 : 18:44:34
|
From "GARD OG ÆTT I SOLA s.308", (Farms and families in Sola, Rogaland, page 308):
Berta Maria Gudmundson, born 1836, from Sola Norway. Destination Durban.
D.T. SIVERT GUDMUNDSON & INGEBORG KRISTINA O.
Link
D.T. stands for "datter til" (daughter of), so her parents are Sivert Gudmundson & Ingeborg Kristina Olsdatter!
Gard og ætt i Sola.
By Sigurd Refheim
Publisher: [Stavanger] Sola kommune, 1974
(Farm histories and genealogy)
Here is Berta Marie's christening record from 09 OCT 1836: Click here
Here is Berta Maria Sivertsdtr. born 23/9-1836 listed among emigrated people from the Sola area. Destination reads Sør-Afrika (South Africa), married, see page 308.
She is listed as coming from farm number 27, cotter's farm # 2, called "Heia II". Main farm is called "Myklebust". Looks like she had a sister named Berta Sivertsdtr., born 4-mar-1834 , also going to S.A., but it could be that this older sister died young. It looks strange to name two daughters Bertha... A possibility is that Bertha b.1834 died as an infant.
Here is her parents in census-1865, living on the Møglebustad (Myklebust) farm.
The emigrant registers for Stavanger was lost in a fire in 1929, so this database is a reconstruction based on letters, newspapers and other info.
The family looks to have a big naming tradition. Sivert & Ingeborg Kristine are both named after their maternal grandparents. So could this Marthe Serine be named after her paternal grandmother? 
Here is a christening record from Stavanger in April 1835, ie. this Ole could be born in March...
Ole, christening: 05 APR 1835, Stavanger, Rogaland
Parents: Ole Hansen & Marte Rasmusdr Link
Here is Ole Hansen Haredal (65) and wife Marthe S. Rasmusdatter (69) in census-1865 for Hetland, Stavanger. Living in Tastad district, same district as Berta Marie's husband claim to be born in! I bet $100 that the "S" in Marthes name stands for Serine... 
Jan Peter |
Edited by - jwiborg on 23/03/2006 20:35:56 |
|
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 23/03/2006 : 20:53:11
|
4 Grung's christened in St. Olaf Lutheran church, Durban:
Agnes K. Grung 1887 St. Olaf Lutheran, Durban
Georg J. H. Grung 1889 St. Olaf Lutheran, Durban
Olaf Grung 1891 St. Olaf Lutheran, Durban
Solveig Grung 1909 St. Olaf Lutheran, Durban
Source
Jan Peter
|
|
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 24/03/2006 : 00:37:51
|
Hi,
just an update on the farm locations.
Ole Olsen is from the farm Finnastad, christening: 05 APR 1835. Parents: Ole Hansen Haredal & Marte Rasmusdatter
His wife Bertha Marie Sivertsdatter (Gudmundson) is from the farm Myklabust, born 23 SEP 1836. Parents: Sivert Gudmundsen & Ingeborg Kirstine Olsdatter.
Jan Peter
|
|
|
|
Hopkins
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
3351 Posts |
Posted - 24/03/2006 : 01:30:20
|
Jan Peter -
What is the web address or addresses where you find these marvelous maps and the detail maps?
I'd like to try to learn how to use the website(s) - I greatly admire the maps.
|
|
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 24/03/2006 : 16:50:58
|
Hi Hopkins,
well, thank you!
The maps are mostly made from two sources from the Norwegian Mapping Authority; National Road Database and Norgesglasset.
However, it's maybe not as straight forward as it may look. The farmnames on the map above are written with a photo application locally on my pc. After editing, the picture was then uploaded to the web through a free image hosting service...
Jan Peter |
|
|
|
finebush
Starting member
South Africa
7 Posts |
Posted - 24/03/2006 : 18:28:19
|
you folk are amazing. Aren't computers incredible sources of information. I need to digest all this and will reply asap.
Thank you
Carla Syme(nee Olsen)
XXXXXXX(kisses) |
|
|
|
finebush
Starting member
South Africa
7 Posts |
Posted - 24/03/2006 : 18:35:22
|
So Now I would like to make contact with some of my long lost cousins. I met some Norwegian folk in Zanzibar a while ago and they were so very very nice. Is there any possiblitly of contacting anyone who may share my DNA??
Thank you
Carla Syme(nee Olsen)
XXXXXXX(kisses) |
|
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 24/03/2006 : 20:16:45
|
Hi,
there are some people named Røstvig and Røstvik in the phonebook for Stavanger today.
They could be descendants from Olaf Berthinius' sister Marthe Serine, who in census-1900 was married to Lars Røstvig....
Jan Peter |
|
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 25/03/2006 : 13:41:37
|
The Debora Expedition sailed from Bergen on July 19th, 1879 to establish a Norwegian colony on an Indian Ocean atoll called Aldabra. 47 people were onboard, including one single midwife. The organisers endeavoured to find practical and Christian people to create a settlement based on the teachings of the Norwegian preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771 -1824). The expedition was aborted in Madagascar - a few of the participants remained in Madagascar and the rest settled in the British colony of Port Natal (Durban). They were the first group of Norwegian emigrants to settle in Port Natal. The journey took 90 days from Bergen, and two boys were born at sea, one of them named Atlanter..., must be because he was born on the Atlantic sea... Debora arrived Port Natal on November 12th. l879.
Passenger list:
Captein Tobiassen and wife
Mate Berentsen and wife
Mate Oftedal
A. Olsen and wife
I. Iversen and wife
O. Höidalsvig and wife
J. Finsen and wife
K. Bang and wife w 3 children: Amanda, Severin and Knut
F. Larsen and wife w 6 children: Petra, Angel, Emil, Sigvart, Ludvig and Karl
H. Johnsen and wife w 3 children Sina, Josefine and Karl
A Andreassen and wife with three children
R. Andersen
R. Rasmussen
K. Jensen
Hesselberg
H. Grong (Hans Jacob Elkjær Grung, born Jan. 2, 1858)
O. Fosdal
E. Eriksen
P. Bang
E. Ellingsen
Widow Egelandsdal
Miss Serene Larsen
Among the passengers are one Mr. H. Grong/Grung... Could he be the origin to the Grung name in Durban...?
The Debora Story
Lars Jakobsen Røstvig (1846-1936), was one of Norways first missionares when he arrived at Madagascar in 1874. He and his wife also served at the St. Olaf Lutheran church, Durban for 5 years, and had a boy born there. Outside the church in Hemne, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway, there is a stone monument of this famous man from Hemne. He must be the husband to the girl you know as Martha Raswith.
Lars Røstvig, Pionér på solskinnsøya [ie. Lars Røstvig, a Pioneer on the Sunny Island (Madagascar)]
203 pages, illustrated
Published in Stavanger, year unknown
Author: parish priest Reidar Bolling (1902-76)
This book can be bought at different auction markets on the Net, but I guess the book is in Norwegian...
Lars Jakobsen Røstvig is born in Hemne, Sør-Trøndelag, and studied at the evangelistic university in Stavanger 1868-73. I guess that's how he met Martha!
So there is a link here, Lars & Martha stayed in Durban for 5 years. Did they emigrate together with your family, or did they go after Martha and husband came back to Norway?
Jan Peter
|
Edited by - jwiborg on 26/03/2006 01:06:01 |
|
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 25/03/2006 : 19:45:27
|
Here is one which have some of the same family in his ancestry tree.
Click here
In his tree, he have one "Haakon Røstvig, born 1892 on Madagascar"
Haakon's parents: Lars Jakopson (1846-1936) married 1881 with Martha Serine Olsen (1862-....)
Lars Jakopson parents: Jakop Steffenson (1821-1853) married 1845 with Maren Larsdatter Romundset (1816-1896)
Martha Serine Olsen's parents: Ole Olsen Finnestad (....-1911) and Marie Sivertsen (b.1836 - d. Nærbø, 19 jan 1941) Almost 105 years old!
BUT: Something is strange here. The death year and deathplace doesn't match... you have 02/09/1906 and Durban... this one says 19-jan-1941 and Nærbø Norway... Hmmm...
Link link2
"Lars Jakopson" is the same as Lars Jacobsen Røstvig, Martha Serine is your great grandfather Olaf Berthinius' sister!
Howver, I can not see how he is connected to this Haakon, but try to send him a mail
Jan Peter |
Edited by - jwiborg on 25/03/2006 22:06:35 |
|
|
|
finebush
Starting member
South Africa
7 Posts |
Posted - 26/03/2006 : 19:25:05
|
Jan Peter, this is fantastically interesting information. After studying all the info I think you are right. Marthe Serine was indeed my great grandfather Olaf Berthinius's sister. You have gone back as far as my great great great grandfather who must have been the Ole Hansen haredal who married Marte serine Rasmusdatter. Their offspring Ole Olsen would have been my great great grandfather. He married the Bertha Marie siversdatter and their offspring included Marthe Serine who married the famous Lars Rostrig. One of her brothers would have been Olaf Berthinius who was my great grandfather. Following that one of Olaf Berthinius offspring was Carl Olaf Olsen, my grandfather, after whom I am named. You would probably not have access to that information as he was, I think born in South Africa. I do not know if they all came out on the same ship together. My info said that the sister Marthe Serine had stayed in Norway. Are there any records of Olaf Berthinius leaving Norway with his parents Ole and Bertha. There seem to be records of the parents leaving but not of that particular son Olaf. The story of a child being born on the ship may indeed have a lot of truth in it although it is still unclear if the child was related to my line of the family?.
It took me a while to understand the naming conventions, but I see now that the woman always have their fathers name (first or surname I am not sure?) followed by the word 'datter' as part of their name.
How far back do the record go in these databases?. It would be interesting to know as on my maternal side they married into the English Brownings. I have a family tree on that family which goes back to 57 BC and at one time the Chief of the Brunii and his offspring the Bruning founded a colony onthe south side of the Bukkan Ford. In 449 this Viking Bruning sailed to England to assist king Vortigern against the Picts and subsequently settled at Melcombe in Wessex in 453. Probably irrelevant in my current search but interesting nevertheless in that originally part of my maternal side was also connected to Norway....
Is there any way to do further searches for Olaf Berthinius. By the way the strong family naming conventions did indeed continue for a while here to as I have a cousin called Berthinius and as you know I am named after my grandfather. Interesting .....
Rgds
Carla |
|
|
|
finebush
Starting member
South Africa
7 Posts |
Posted - 26/03/2006 : 19:52:44
|
| The date of death that you have for Bertha marie does seem strange. The death date of 1906 would be more realistic for that period in our history as that would have made her about 70 years old. a good age for that time.... |
|
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 26/03/2006 : 20:52:29
|
Hi,
the two children who were born on the voyage was a son to Mr and Mrs F Larsen and a son to Mr and Mrs Andreassen. So I dont think there was any family of yours on the Debora Expedition in 1879, maybe except of Mr. H. Grung? The reason I mentioned this expedition, was that they were the first Norwegians to settle in Port Natal.
So your family should have left after this expedition, ie. after 1879.
Mr. Lars Røstvig went to Madagascar in 1874. His future-wife-to-be, Marthe Serine Olsdatter, was then only 12 years old. So I guess they didn't knew each other then. But at some time, probably in the 1870's, Lars came back to Stavanger and met Marthe Serine. A link I saw had their marriage year = 1881.
So, maybe your family and Lars & Marthe went to Port Natal in the 1880's?
The emigration records from Stavanger are not available any more, they were destroyed in a fire in 1929.
But a reconstrution can be found here, and Berta Maria Gudmundson, born 1836, from Sola Norway, destination Durban, is listed there.
The reason she's been "put back" into the re-build database could be that they knew she emigrated based on farmhistory, letters etc.
Her deathdate is wrong, compared to what you have. This could be due to that two different "Marie Sivertsen" have been mixed up.
With regards to the naming conventions in Norway prior to ca 1900, every child got their Lastname from their father. If the child was a boy to someone named Ole, his lastname became Olsen, meaning "son of Ole". If it was a girl, she became an Olsdatter, meaning daughter of Ole. Likewise, Sivertsen means "son of Sivert", Sivertsdatter means "daughter of Sivert".
This naming convention are still in use on Iceland!
Jan Peter |
Edited by - jwiborg on 27/03/2006 11:16:31 |
|
|
|
jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 27/03/2006 : 08:45:59
|
Looks like most of the Røstvig children emigrated to the US:
1904-JUL-04: Olaf Røstvig, Student, b. 1885, from Stavanger, dest Illinois
1905-SEP-20: Karl Roll Rostvig, Arkitekt, b. 1887, from Stavanger, dest Pencylvanien
1909-AUG-06: Lars Røstvig, Elektriker,b. 1890, from Stavanger, dest New York
1920-OCT-27: Haakon Røstvig, Kontorchef, b. 1892, from Stavanger, dest New York
St. Olaf Lutheran church, Durban, christening records 1885-1935:
1892: Olaf H. Olsen
1895: Julius C. Olson
1898: Olav A. Olsen
1899: Ole C. K. Olsen
1900: Didrik J. Olsen
1903: Ida T. Olsen
1904: Oscar G. Olsen
1906: Sigurd Olsen
1908: Olof K. Olsen
1909: Emma M. Olsen
Do you recognize any familiar Olsen's?
I just found out that Lars & Marthe Serine married on Madagascar! So how did they meet??? Did they meet in Port Natal?? She must have been too young to follow him when he went to this sunny Island in 1874...
Lars Jakopson Røstvig
Born: 17 aug 1846, Svaberget, Røstvik, Hemne, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
Dead: 18 feb 1936, Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
Parents: Jakop Steffenson & Maren Larsdatter Romundset
Wife: Martha Serine Olsen
Marrage: 14 apr 1881, Tulear, Madagaskar
Children:
Jacob Røstvig
Olaf Røstvig
Karl Røstvig
Lars Røstvig
Haakon Røstvig
Kristian Røstvig
Marie Røstvig
Jan Peter
|
Edited by - jwiborg on 27/03/2006 11:36:17 |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Durban South Africa
