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norge139
Starting member
USA
6 Posts |
 Posted - 27/12/2013 : 16:15:23
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| My great grandfather supposedly left Bergen in 1859-60 at the age of 15 to learn to be a sailor. I have not been able to find any records of his birth or family, and unfortunately know very little about his Norwegian background. The info I have is as follows: He was supposedly born in April of 1847, although we think this could have been 1845. I do not know his parents names or his place of birth other than the Bergen area. His mother died when he was 12 years old, and he was the oldest of six children. He was sent to sea by his father to learn the trade of seaman. Oliver was not happy about this and jumped ship somewhere in the Atlantic and stowed away aboard a freighter and came to America. We have no idea where he came into the USA, but he ended up in Baltimore, Md. where he spent the rest of his life. Upon entering the USA he supposedly changed the spelling of his last name from "Hanson" to "Hansen". I am also questioning his first name of Oliver, which I have no idea of this was his real given name or if it was changed from Ole Ivar, or something else to Oliver. I have been searching for years to find a record of his brithplace, parents names, or sibling names with no luck. There has to be a record somewhere of a boy who went to sea and jumped ship never to return to Norway, but I have no idea how to research this. Any help is greatly appreciated. |
John Hansen |
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
3020 Posts |
Posted - 27/12/2013 : 17:16:15
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Hi, I hope the forum will be able to help.
Here's the 1880 US census, as transcribed on Ancestry.com (misspellings left intact).
1880
Baltimore, Baltimore (Independent City), Maryland
Oliver Hanson 29 born about 1851 in Norway, occupation mariner
Emma Jane Hanson 22 born about 1858 in Maryland
Charles Katson 20 brother-in-law, b Maryland, occupation boat building
Isaak Katson 15 brother-in-law, b Maryland, stays at home |
Edited by - JaneC on 27/12/2013 18:23:14 |
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Kåarto
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
5861 Posts |
Posted - 27/12/2013 : 17:17:42
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Oliver Hansen b. ca 1845-57, not many to choose in Norway.
Worth a try.
Oliver Hansen born in Fræna municipality, Møre and Romsdal County Sept. 8. 1846, see #44
Parents; Hans Olsen and Ane Pedersdatter:
He was not oldest of 6 siblings, but he 5 siblings I was able to find in a quick search;
- Petre Oline 1840
- Sivert b. 1844
- Oliver 1846
- Lars 1850
- Hans 1856
- Margrete 1861-64
There was an Oliver Hansen age 19, occ. servant, in Fræna 1865.
Both parents to Oliver b. 1846 lived.
Oliver Hansen in 1930?? Link
Kåre |
Edited by - Kåarto on 27/12/2013 17:33:12 |
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Kåarto
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
5861 Posts |
Posted - 27/12/2013 : 17:37:38
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Another Oliver Hansen born in Nedre Stjørdal, Nord Trøndalag County Sept. 7. 1847. Parents; Hans Gundersen and Ingeborg Anna Olsdatter, see #264
He was not in Nedre Stjørdal in the 1865 census, or in Norway if the census is correct.
We have Ingeborg Anna Olsdatter who died on farm Røkke in Nedre Stjørdal June 4. 1859 (when Oliver was 12) she was 43.
This is not the Bergen area, but further north in Norway.
Kåre |
Edited by - Kåarto on 27/12/2013 19:41:36 |
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
Posted - 27/12/2013 : 17:59:39
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Here is a naturalization record mentioned. Might be good to get the original if available. In the various census years Oliver's date of migration vary from 1860 to 1865 to 1866.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XG7J-JT1 |
Edited by - jkmarler on 27/12/2013 18:01:01 |
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norge139
Starting member
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 27/12/2013 : 18:40:52
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| All: Tusen takk for the info so far. We are pretty certain that Oliver arrived in the USA in 1860, and that the spelling was "Hansen". I have found the records for USA census for the correct Oliver in the late 1800's and the name is spelling correctly then. As far as his birthdate what has been passed down is April, I think the 7th, of 1847, but that does not work out for being 15 in 1860 and able to board a ship as a seaman. Nothing in the family records from that time I feel is accurate and have been told that birth years could be off by 2 years, so am guessing at 1845 to 1847 to have the age he was sent to sea be reliable. I would really love to find some kind of record of seaman gone to sea, and then being able to find ones that did not return. I am work now and not able to reply in more detail, but greatly appreciate the efforts of those who have replied so far. Look forward to more responses. |
John Hansen |
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Kåarto
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
5861 Posts |
Posted - 27/12/2013 : 19:55:35
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Oliver Hansen has been discussed in 2009.
Question in this topic.'
"Where came Oliver Hansen from" and a link to another discuccion, link
Kåre |
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norge139
Starting member
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 27/12/2013 : 23:21:20
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| Yes, this is MY Oliver. I think someone was trying to help me out several years ago, but I never received the response that you have in Norwegian. Can you translate for me, so I can see if this info helps in my search???? Please! |
John Hansen |
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
Posted - 27/12/2013 : 23:50:06
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| Oliver apparently died in 1934--did you get his death certificate? |
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norge139
Starting member
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2013 : 00:24:38
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| Have not been able to get a death certificate or a marriage license. Apparently the records have been lost or misplaced in the Maryland state system. We have nothing that shows names or links to anything Norwegian either people or place. all the records we have found online only show parents as Norwegian with no names or cities. |
John Hansen |
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Kåarto
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
5861 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2013 : 00:27:14
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Its lots of pages to translate and passed midnight in Norway.
No sign of your Oliver, but an Oliver Andersen Hansen is mentioned down page in the link included born 1852 in Askøy.
The info is believed to come from America, but the names of the parents (Anders Hansen and Gjertrud Askjeldsdatter) does not correspond, and no Oliver was born 1852 in Askøy.
Askøy is close to Bergen.
Pleace try to translate with this
An Oliver Hansen was born in Bergen to Gjertrud Askjeldsdatter and Hans Olsen, but that was June 15. 1862 
Kåre |
Edited by - Kåarto on 28/12/2013 00:42:27 |
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2013 : 14:46:06
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In the 1865 Norwegian census (the closest in time to action dates of your Oliver and comprehensive including all of Norway) lists 280 folk either named Oliver or with a first name that includes Oliver of all ages. Here are the fylke breakdowns:
Østfold 26, Akershus 6, Oslo 10, Hedmark 14, Oppland 0, Buskerud 1, Vestfold 2, Telemark 1, Aust-Agder 1, Vest Agder 15, Rogaland 21, Hordaland 15, Sogn og Fjordane 70, Møre og Romsdal 44, Sør-Trøndelag 19, Nord-Trøndelag 15, Nordland 3, Troms 14, Finnmark 3
If you add birthyear as another category of information, birthyear 1848 +/- 5 years so 1843-1853 the total number becomes 71 and the proportion breakdowns per county are similar to the numbers above
Østfold 8, Akershus 2, Oslo 1, Hedmark 3, Oppland 0, Buskerud 0, Vestfold 0, Telemark 0, Aust-Agder 0, Vest Agder 4, Rogaland 8, Hordaland 2, Sogn og Fjordane 23, Møre og Romsdal 13, Sør-Trøndelag 4, Nord-Trøndelag 0, Nordland 0, Troms 2, Finnmark 1
Next would be to find which parish has the most Olivers and then search the parishes looking for possible Olivers.
But based on the popularity of the name Oliver in 1865 the fylke most likely are Sogn og Fjordane, Møre og Romsdal, Østfold, Rogaland.
But you have raised the possibility that his name might have been Ole and that, if true, would change everything. Ole is the most common first name in Norway by far, it cuts across geography, class, age and every other characteristic.
About the death certificate, you mentioned the state records. My old Handybook says for the City of Baltimore the City Health department has records of birth, death and burial (no dates specified) and that the Common Pleas Court has the marriage records (no dates specified). For the county of Baltimore marriages from 1851 & + are held by Clerk of Circuit Court. So even if state-level records are missing there is the possibility that there are more local records to search.
Do you know what religion Oliver practiced? Were his children baptized and if so, who were the godparents? Do you know if & where Oliver was buried? Was an obituary published for Oliver?
Even though the family tale says he went "rømt" he apparently learned enough to continue sailoring once he got here. Is there a sailors union or professional organization to which he might have belonged? Was he Masonic or an Elk or belong to any social / fraternal organization?
The naturalization record, if it's your Oliver, and if they're his first papers (the declaration of intention) it will likely tell which US port and possibly a year or month & year of arrival in US. It might be worthwhile to track the original record down not just the index, online or otherwise, to see what it contains.
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Kåarto
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
5861 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2013 : 18:06:27
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Ancestry has;
Oliver Hansen
Born 1841 Bergen, Norway
Died 1934 Baltimore, Maryland.
I cannot open the link since I am not a member.
Kåre |
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norge139
Starting member
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2013 : 18:20:37
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Thanks to all for the responses.
1.) My older cousin has spent considerable time searching for info for Oliver in all the records in Baltimore and Maryland without any luck. Since the timeframe was during the Civil War much was lost in record keeping during those years. I will make a new effort to try the resources that were suggested to see if I have any new luck.
2.) Oliver was Lutheran, but I do not know which church he may have been part of. I am sure his children were baptized but have not searched for those records.
3.) I do know where he was buried, but there are no records there that shed any light on names or places.
4.) Not sure about an obituary, but will try to check the local newspaper, one of them is still in business but not sure how far back there records go.
5.) Oliver worked as a ships carpenter during many of his years in Baltimore, so I can try to look for records from that.
6.) I have no records of Oliver being involved in any fraternal groups but I do not that his youngest sun, my grandfather was very active in the Masons.
7.) Oliver refused to talk of us family or Norwegian background. The story holds that Oliver refused to speak Norwegian or hav anything to do with other Norwegians once he arrived in the USa.
8.) I believe from my research that Oliver was born between 1845 and 1847, and that his arrival in the USA was in 1860.
9.) Are there any ways to get records of boys who went to sea during those years?
10.) Would there be a record of a young boy who jumped ship on his first(?) voyage out?
11.) I am guessing that Oliver may not have been his original name since it was not a common name in Norway at that time, and that his Americanization of his name may have come for Ole or Ole Ivar or some other possible more common first Norwegian name.
Many thanks for all this info from all of you. Tomorrow I am off and will try to translate some of the Norwegian items that were sent.
John Hansen |
John Hansen |
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Kåarto
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
5861 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2013 : 19:00:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Kåarto
Ancestry has;
Oliver Hansen
Born 1841 Bergen, Norway
Died 1934 Baltimore, Maryland.
Click
here
Kåre |
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Kåarto
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
5861 Posts |
Posted - 28/12/2013 : 21:48:58
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Searching Oliver Hansen born in Bergen 1840-48 on FamilySearch I found one person;
Peder Olai Hansen b. Feb. 6. 1841. Parents; Hans Larsen and Ragnilde Pedersdatter link
The bap. record for Peder Olai in Bergen Dome is #21
Cant find him in Bergen 1865.
Was he oldest of the siblings?
Did his mother die when he was 12?
Did he em. to Amerika?
If he did, did he change Olai to Oliver as FamilySearch did?
Kåre |
Edited by - Kåarto on 28/12/2013 22:05:25 |
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Oliver Hansen Depart Bergen 1859-60
