The essential pathway to common ancestry.
Investigating the origins of my genetic inheritance inspires me to learn about my Genetic Ancestors. I honor them by sharing my discoveries with relatives and fellow researchers alike.
Continue reading “Family Patterns”Preserving my family’s Norwegian heritage
Verified through documented research, my mother’s Erickson ancestry traces back several centuries in the Stavanger region of Rogaland County, located in Southwestern Norway.
2018 visit to Rogaland County, Norway
Ragnhild is an Old Norse name: ragn (advice) + hildr (battle) meaning “advisor in battle”. Ragnhild Iversdatter (my mother’s 3rd great grandmother) was born in 1796 on the Helland farm in Strand, Rogaland, Norway. She was the youngest of six children born to Iver Torsteinson Lyse and Marthe Eriksdatter Underberge. Ragnhild’s parents shared deep rooted ancestry (est. 1400’s) in the village of Lysebotn, located at the head of the Lysefjord.
Lysebotn, Rogaland, Norway (photo courtesy of Band of Climbers)
In 1820, Ragnhild married Tollef Torgerson and settled in a flat terrain section on the Helland farm known as Hellandsmoen. Between 1820 to 1825, they had four children; Martha, Helga, (a second Helga) and Iver. In the summer of 1826, tragedy happened when Tollef drowned while fishing at sea. A few years pass by before Ragnhild married her second husband; Erik Olson, on April 9th, 1829 at Strand Church.
Rogaland County, Norway
Erik Olson (my mother’s 3rd great grandfather) was born in May of 1800 in a section of the Nedre Fjelde farm known as Grøtnæs. Nedre Fjelde is one mile southeast of the Helland farm, located in the town of Jørpeland. Erik was the youngest of three children born to Ole Erikson Barkved and his fourth wife, Marthe Olsdatter Birkeland.
(click-view all images)
In Norwegian tradition, it is customary to name the firstborn son in a second marriage after the deceased husband (and vice versa for a deceased wife) from the first marriage. On August 2nd, 1829, Erik and Ragnhild had their firstborn son and named him Tollef (in homage to Ragnhild’s late husband). Between 1831 to 1838, they had four children; Jonas, Elen, Marthe and Berthe.
Erik Olson (age 29) married Ragnhild Iversdatter (age 32) in 1829 at Strand Church
Tollef Erikson married Ingeborg Svendsdatter on March 24th, 1854 at Strand Church. Ingeborg was born on February 14th, 1824 on the Nedre Fjelde farm. She was the middle child of three children born to Svend Endreson Erevik and his second wife, Berthe Knudsdatter Nedre Fjelde.
Tollef Erikson (age 24) married Ingeborg Svendsdatter (age 29) in 1854 at Strand Church
Less than two weeks after their marriage, Tollef and Ingeborg (along with Tollef’s younger sister, Marthe) traveled a short distance by boat across the Idsefjord to the port of Stavanger; Where on April 4th, 1854, they immigrated to America.
Tollef’s older half-brother; Iver, was the first in the family to immigrate to America, in 1848. He went to work and lived in one of the earliest Norwegian settlements in America; LaSalle County, Illinois. Iver sent letters back to Norway, describing his livelihood in America. During the summer harvest, he earned 50 cents a day swinging the cradle and scythe throughout the rich crop fields while in the fall, he traveled down the Mississippi River and cut cordwood for 50 cents a cord, including room and board.
Tollef, Ingeborg and Marthe arrived at Ellis Island in late Spring of 1854. Following Iver’s path, their destination was La Salle County, Ill. During the 1850’s, the journey from New York to Chicago took one month, which was accomplished by traversing the riverway with boats drawn by horses on land.
In 1855, Tollef and Ingeborg had their second child; a daughter named Rachel Marie Erickson. Their firstborn son; Erick, died during infancy.
The first Norwegian settlement in the territory of Minnesota was established in Fillmore County and therefore, this county is mentioned in connection with the first settlers. The first Norwegian American child born in Minnesota was in 1852, also in Fillmore County. Prospectors from LaSalle County, Illinois described the climate and terrain as similar to their homeland in Norway. In 1853, a small influx of Norwegian immigrants came to settle in Fillmore Co. Some of the early pioneer families came by way of LaSalle County, including Christian Christopherson and his wife, Helga (Tollef’s older half-sister).
Cedar Valley Resort in Fillmore County, MN
In 1856, Tollef moved his family to Fillmore County, MN. He acquired 60 acres of farmland in the village of Highland in Holt Township, and named his farm: Vindhaug [Windy Hill]. Iver Thompson (Tollef’s older half-brother) moved here as well and acquired 120 acres of farmland, just two tracts to the north of the Erickson’s. Tollef and Ingeborg’s third child; Betsey, was born on May 27th, 1858 (just two weeks after the state of Minnesota joined the Union). By 1860, all of Tollef’s siblings, including his parents, had immigrated to America and would eventually settle in Fillmore County.
Erik Olson (Tollef’s father) was buried at North Highland Cemetery in 1874. Transcription at the bottom reads: Fred med din støv. Velsigne være din minde – Peace with your remains (dust). Blessed be your memory
Between 1860 to 1868, Tollef and his wife would have four more children; Elen Serine, Elias, Sven and Ellen Sorine (the latter named in homage of Elen Serine, who died in 1863).
1870 census – Holt, Fillmore, MN. Thomas [Tollef] and Isabel [Ingeborg] Erickson with their children
The neighbors to the west of the Erickson’s were Osmund and Barbro Johnson. Osmund Johnson was a local Civil War hero who served in the Wisconsin Scandinavian Regiment and was once a prisoner of war who was fortunate to survive an eight month sentence at the infamous Andersonville Prison.
1870 plat of Holt Township. Tollef Erickson’s property (highlighted) with neighbors; Osmund Johnson and Tollef’s older half-brother, Iver Thompson [Tollefson]
On July 4th, 1893, Osmund’s daughter; Clara, and his nephew, John Paul Johnson, took part in a double wedding in La Crosse, Wisconsin. John married his aunt & uncle’s next door neighbor, Betsey Erickson. John’s mother; Kirsti Reierson, was the younger sister of Barbro Johnson. The Erickson’s, Johnson’s and Reierson’s were not only family, but close friends and pioneer members of Elstad: The second oldest Norwegian Lutheran congregation in Minnesota.
1893 Double wedding – On the left: BRIDE Clara Johnson and her husband, Ervin Keifer. In the middle: WITNESSES Ellen (Erickson) Vaaler and her brother, Elias Erickson. On the right: BRIDE Betsey Erickson and her husband, John P. Johnson. *Note- Clara Johnson was John P. Johnson’s first cousin, and the witnesses were Betsey Erickson’s siblings.
John and Betsey (Erickson) Johnson were my mother’s great grandparents.
Tollef Erickson died from heart disease on January 1st, 1890 in Highland. He was 60 years of age. His wife; Ingeborg, passed away at their daughter (Ellen)’s house in nearby Whalan on March 2nd, 1913. They were buried at Elstad Cemetery.
sources; Elstad Lutheran Church records, the Digitalarkivet and family obituaries
How I used Y-DNA analysis in tandem with autosomal DNA to solve a distant family mystery.
1918 – John and Betsey Johnson (on the right) were my mother’s great grandparents
John Paul Johnson (my mother’s great grandfather) was born out of wedlock and was by far, the most challenging ancestor to research. Nothing was known about his parents.. Who were they? Where did they come from? In 2014, the floodgates opened when I took a DNA test.
My origins at Family Tree DNA
In December of 2013, I, Devin Flato, took the autosomal DNA test with Family Tree DNA. On January 14th, 2014, my results appeared in the FTDNA database. The next day, someone contacted me with the following message…
Hi, You match me, my sister Victoria, and my mother Helen, on a DNA segment which is associated with cousins who descend from common ancestors; Lars Bjørnson Ekrene (1780 – 1822) and Marta Larsdatter Nordbø (1786 – 1876). They came from Southwest Norway- Rennesøy, Rogaland. Unfortunately, I have limited information about them, to the disgust of my cousins on my mom’s side, but if you are interested I could probably ask someone who might know more.
Risa farm in Rennesøy, Norway
The message was from a predicted ‘second to fourth cousin’ named Julianne. Her revelation was intriguing yet, baffling to me at the same time. My mother’s paternal grandmother’s ancestry was from Sogn og Fjordane County, which is far north of Rogaland and out of the realm of possibility. Without a doubt, the relation would certainly come from my mother’s paternal grandfather; Temmen Johnson (1895 – 1960). Temmen’s maternal side of the family (the Erickson’s) have deep roots in Rogaland. The dilemma with this query is that the names and place that she mentioned are not found in my Rogaland ancestry, which is well documented through the 1700’s and beyond. In Julianne’s second message, she wrote…
Dear Devin, both my mom and I have also tested at 23andMe, where we both match a cousin whose most obvious connection to us is through common descent from that couple [Lars Bjørnson and Marta Larsdatter]. I descend through their daughter Marta and through her daughter Stine Johnson who married John Ludvig Larson. My cousin descends through their son, Rasmus Larson Hauske (1815-1900), Rasmus Hauske (1860-1925) and Mabel Hauske. She shares another segment match with us on Chromosome 2 and matches us on the same segment we match with you. I know we are looking at the same half of the chromosome pair because both of you match my mother.
Chromosome browser at Family Tree DNA
After exchanging a few emails, Julianne sent me an invitation to view her family tree at Ancestry.com. While searching for clues in her family tree, I noticed a mutual place of interest. Her Norwegian ancestors settled in Fillmore County, Minnesota (the same county where my Norwegian ancestors settled). Another interesting clue is that the island of Rennesøy is less than two nautical miles southwest of the island of Finnøy, where Kirsti Kjellsdatter (John P. Johnson’s mother) was born and raised. Then it dawned on me, could Julianne’s family be the missing link in John P. Johnson’s paternal ancestry?
Rogaland County, Norway
John Paul Johnson was born in 1858 in Wisconsin. Nothing was known about his parentage until in 2011, when I randomly found John and his mother in an 1870 Iowa census record; However, the identity of John’s biological father remained a mystery.
1870 Forest City, IA. John Johnson (age 12) with his mother (Christy) and step-father; Paul Ryerson and half-siblings
Julianne’s great great grandmother was Stine Marie Johannesdatter (1843 – 1909). Stine, along with her brother (Peder) and her mother (Martha) immigrated to America in 1862. Stine had two older brothers; Lars and Sivert, who immigrated in 1853 and 1854. Upon arrival in America, all of the brothers changed their patronymic name of Johannesson to the surname of Johnson. Could one of the older brother’s be the biological father of John P. Johnson?
While searching for more answers, I found a descendant and family historian of the Johnson/Rennesøy family named Rachel Gibson. Like Julianne, Rachel is also a descendant of Stine Marie Johnson and has been a tremendous help with her own research and knowledge of the family. We learned that Stine’s eldest brother; Lars, settled in Minnesota in 1855, long before the birth of John Johnson in the State of Wisconsin. Suddenly, the scope of possibility was narrowed down to one brother; Sivert Johnson.
In the following months after taking the DNA test, four more descendants of the Johnson/Rennesøy family tested at Family Tree DNA and the results confirm that I am closely related to all of them. One of the testers; Phillip Johnson (great grandson of Sivert Johnson) took the Y-DNA test, which traces the paternal “father to father” line exclusively. My mother’s first cousin; Larry Johnson, agreed to take the Y-DNA test as well. In July of 2014, the results were in, and confirmed that Larry and Phillip Johnson are Y-DNA cousins! Now we have proof that our Johnson lineage descends from the Johnson family of Rennesøy!
Y-DNA genetic distance report at Family Tree DNA
It has been concluded that Sivert H. Johnson (1836 – 1896) was the biological father of John P. Johnson. The extent of Sivert and Kirsti’s relationship continues to be a mystery. I suspect that Sivert remained close to Kirsti until the time of John’s birth for one reason in theory.. If Sivert and Kirsti parted ways shortly after conception, then Kirsti would have likely named her son: Kjell (after her father). Instead, she named her son: John, in homage to Sivert’s father (Johannes). This pattern is traditional in the Norwegian naming system.
Sivert H. Johnson, circa 1870 – Biological father of John P. Johnson
We may never learn the reason as to why John P. Johnson’s biological father was never mentioned in family lore. Regardless of the matter, it is truly fascinating that with genetic testing and conventional genealogy, our 156 year old family secret was officially solved!
“There are no secrets that time does not reveal.”
Jean Racine
