Ancestral Farm Stuskin by Norgeskart

I have written a page about my grandfathers family's ancestral home, Stuskin. You can click on the tab above or view the story of grandfather Paul Sevald's ancestral home HERE.

Now thanks to NORGESKART, it can be located exactly on the map. East coordinate 337201.498 and North coordinate 7076646.244

Click HERE to go directly to the ancestral family farm Stuskin on NORGESKART  to get to know exactly where the family farm is. Zoom in closer and closer until you can actually see the name of the street it is now on. There is lots of information there about the area. Sure, it is in Norwegian. But isn't that what GOOGLE TRANSLATE  is for?

I had never seen this before and I have to give a big thanks to Martin Roe Eidhammer, Jana Last and Beth Gatlin and their blogs.  These blogs are worth bookmarking (I have) if you are interested in Norwegian genealogy/heritage and all things Norwegian or family history related.

→  Norwegian Genealogy and then some  

       Genealogy, history and culture from Norway

→  Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog

→  So Many Ancestors!

Nils Gundersen Øvald

Nils Gundersen @1898

My Great Grandfather Nils Gundersen Øvald was the father of my maternal grandmother Dagmar Gundersen Sevald. On the parish record of his marriage he is noted to be a sailor. My grandmother spoke of him being away from home for long periods of time but always returning with gifts from foreign places.

Skipper Nils Gundersen @1930

He later was the ship captain on the Union III. A steam powered smaller ship that traveled with goods, from Skien, at the head of the Telemark Canal,  through the canal and on to Oslo and back again. These next pictures were sent to me from a 5th cousin in Norway. He was in contact with another cousin of mine who I believe would be a second or third cousin. They appear to be from a book or newsprint. I have searched but am unable to find the origin of these photos. It appears from the photos that some of his crew were his sons and sons in law.

The Telemark Canal was relatively recent at this time. It was used not only for delivering goods but sending logs downstream. Cut out of mountainous Norway it had 18 locks.  The difference in elevation from Skien to Dalen was 236 feet. You can read more about the Telemark Canal HERE.

my Great Grandfather

Nils Gundersen Øvald

b: 13 September 1875 Eidanger, Telemark, Norway

d: 02 February 1961 Skien, Telemark, Norway

**click on pictures to enlarge for easier viewing**

Saturday Mornings with Daddy

Daddy, my sister and me

Like most familys in the 50's we had just one car and for a time we did not have a car at all because my Dad drove a company truck. My mother would do her shopping on Saturday morning when the car was available. She would take my younger sister with her but my Dad would say, "Ranae stays at home to help me around the house". Looking back, at 7 or 8 years old, how much help was I? But I felt very Important, proud and thought I was big help. Dad would be working around our house repairing, doing a little maintenance etc in our apartment or the one below. I followed proudly right behind him carrying his screwdriver or plunger or whatever so I could hand it to him at the appropriate time. When Mom was home he was the disciplinarian as in "wait till your father comes home, you tell him what you did". He could on those occasions be pretty harsh. On Saturday mornings though it was different. He would call me "firstborn" and we would laugh, tell jokes and talk. He would ask me about my school and friends. He would ask my advice on the particular job he was doing. "What color should I paint this firstborn?" "Should I put another nail in here, firstborn?" And he would listen carefully to me like I had an important opinion. "Good thinking firstborn" he would say with a pat on my back. 

"Mom is coming home soon lets have something good to eat." We would share a can of chili or his other favorite was corn beef hash that he would slice and fry in a pool of bacon grease. The same bacon grease grandma saved in a coffee can. "Don't tell Mom", he would say, "she doesn't understand good eating." And it was good, Saturday mornings back then were real good.

Sirianna Olsdatter

This rather stern looking gal is my third great aunt Sirianna Olsdatter Stuskin. I came across her photo in a bygdebok (family history) of Verdal Nord-Trøndelag Norway. It is always a thrill to come across a photo of an ancestor that you have never before seen. Of course, ideally I would have liked to find a photo of her sister, Karen Maria Olsdatter. Karen Maria, you see, is my great great grandmother on my grandfather Paul's side. Since they are sisters I suppose I can guess that they had similiar features. Sirianna does seem to have kind eyes and as she is fairly elderly in this photo her eyes seem to reflect the many years of heartache and happiness she has most likely seen. In days before all the medical advances we now have she made it to 96 years of age!

Sirianna was the second child and second daughter of Ole Olsen 1792-1873 and Anna Olsdatter 1806-1895, who were my 3rd great grandparents. She had one sister, my 2nd great grandmother Karen Maria 1828-1896, and one brother, Ole Olsen who unfortunately died just after birth in 1841. She married Johannes Andersen-Stuskin 1830-1929 in 1864 and they had three daughters, Anna Kristine 1865-1947,Olina 1868-1917 and Mette 1871-1932. She and her husband lived on Stuskin West while her sister Karen Maria and husband Sevald lived on Stuskin East, right next door to each other.  Perhaps she assisted her sister at the birth of my great grandfather, Anders Sevaldsen. my grandfather Paul's father. I can only guess.

my third great aunt

Sirianna Olsdatter Stubskin

b: 21 Oct 1835 Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway

d: 18 Apr 1931 Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag, Norway