It seems to happen every year in the month of May – the ancestors begin calling again – do some more research, they beckon from the past, do some more research… It begins around Mothers Day, so I am convinced my late mother is egging them on.
In the late 1990s after years of hunting, I found a record of a second marriage for my Norwegian ancestor, Martin Thompson. He had married his housekeeper late in life and after his first wife died, a fact I don’t recall anyone ever mentioning before. Anyhow, my grandfather had told me that Thompson was Americanized from what sounded like (and turned out to be) Tønnesen. This marriage record said that Martin’s parents were John and Dorothy and that he was born 23 July 1818 in Brevig, Norway. John and Dorothy??? Didn’t sound at all Norwegian to me…
Meanwhile, my sister and brother-in-law were living in Sweden and my brother-in-law offered to hop over to Norway to do some research for me, something he excels at. He found that Brevig is now Brevik, a little seaside town in the county of Telemark, and sure enough, Ingebrigt Martinus Hansen, my 3rd-great-grandfather, who became Martin Thompson in America, was born there on 23 July 1818 to Hans Tønnesen & Dorthea Larsdatter. (John & Dorothy!) None of them were using surnames, they were all recorded with patronymics. Hans and his four brothers were sailors, and their father, my 5th-great-grandfather, Tønnes Ingebretsen, was a ship’s carpenter.
And that’s about where the trail ended for more than a few years…
But now through the magic of the internet and Ancestry.com, yesterday I traced back to my 6th-great-grandmother, Anna Dorthea Torbiornsdatter, who was born in 1735 in Arendal, a seaside town south of Brevik, in the county of Aust-Agder. I wonder what her life was like. She gave birth to six children, and the firstborn, Anne Lisbeth, died in infancy so her name was given again to the next baby. Then came Ole, Tønnes (my 5th-great-grandfather), Kirstine and Nicolai. Tønnes is the one who was born in Arendal and relocated to Brevik, where he died. There is so much more I want to know about Anna Dorthea – for some reason, she is the one calling me now!
I find this oh-so-interesting! Barbara, if you have not read “The Virgin Blue” by Tracy Chevalier you simply must. You said, “There is so much more I want to know…” This book runs very much along these ancestral information gathering lines.
I added “Virgin Blue” to my “to-read” list at GoodReads, Laurie! Thanks for the suggestion – it looks very interesting. The first book I ever read about searching for ancestors was “Roots” by Alex Haley – it spurred me on!
Barbara, that is so exciting! You have done so well to trace your Norweigen ancestors back to the time before they changed their names to become Americanised.
It sounds as though Anna Dorthea’s heart is connecting to yours right now, and she will guide you where you need to go, to learn more. 🙂
It’s like a giant puzzle, Joanne! There is always more to learn if one can tease out the clues. And now that I have access to international records there seems to be no end in sight. That feeling of connection, when another ancestor is discovered, it gives me butterflies in my stomach every time. 🙂
Ah yes, the international records are a God-send! That was when my whole family began to appear, and so many questions were answered. I share your butterflies! 🙂
always interesting to find our roots and following them about!
I have not been on your blog for ages for some reason I still miss the post, I found it on facebook this morning.
As I am doing a research for the blog I am about to begin for the Photographic Society of Philadelphia’s 150th, I am pulled in dozens of different direction, and need to stop and reflect in which path I wish to take at that moment or nothing gets done but the research…
The ancestors are always calling, heed their voices, call them forth from the directions.
I’ve missed you, Jeff! I think it was in February that I got a subscription widget that finally works consistently so if you haven’t tried to subscribe in a while you might give it one more try.
I know what you mean about research pulling you in all different directions. At some point you have to stop collecting data and organize it so it can be presented. I remember a wise and patient town clerk who suggested that I slow down and trace one ancestral line at a time. But there are so many, I protest! And they’re all calling, even though they have had to take turns getting my attention. 🙂
Barbara, this is so wonderfully compelling. It literally gives me goosebumps, for some yet unknown reason. It sounds as if Anna Dorthea has much to share. God speed on your journey with her.
Thank you so much, Colleen! I’m not sure what the next step of the journey will be – perhaps a research trip to Arendal and Brevik. As wonderful as the internet is there is still nothing like being closer to where the ancestors have lived and loved and struggled and triumphed. I’ve read Norwegian historical fiction from other eras, but not from Anna Dorthea’s time.
This is very interesting, Barbara. I am smiling at your enthusiasm, and the way you listen to the ancestor’s voices. It sounds like a big mystery game–and you’ve won another round! The ancestors are now applauding. I hear them even here.
P.S. I was really connected to an ancestor during childhood. Her name was Anneke Jens Bogordus and she lived in NYC at the time of Peter Stuyvesant, the first governor. She and I used to talk and I almost named my first child Anneke.
The ancestors are not to be denied, Kathy. I’ve even had them lead me directly to a gravestone when it would have been like searching for a needle in a haystack, some cemeteries are so large! It’s no wonder you hear them applauding. 🙂
Now you’ve got me curious about Anneke Jens Bogordus – I couldn’t help googling her name and it seems she has a lot of descendants posting information about her! Anneke is a pretty name – I wonder what Kiah would have thought of it? How wonderful it must have been talking with her…
Tim has a Dutch ancestor, too – Abraham Isaacse Verplanck, also from what is now NYC.
Hi,
It is so very interesting the things we can find out now about our Ancestors, and also exciting as we trace them back to others, it is a fun journey.
It is indeed, Mags! A journey that borders on obsession! 🙂 Have you found any surprises in your family history?
Hi Barbara,
I enjoyed reading this. I also feel my ancestors calling and recently discovered more information about some of my ancestors who came from the Isle of Skye. The information suddenly came available on the internet after my grandmother passed away and left a painting to me done by her grandmother. I hung it in my bedroom and it seemed to release something, blocks to my research suddenly became free and I felt the call of the ancestors as you do.
When I first read your comment yesterday, Jenny, my heart skipped a beat and I got butterflies in my stomach. I love the synchronicity of how the arrival of your 2nd-great-grandmother’s painting freed up energy for you to locate a new branch on your family tree! I’ve often felt sad that maternal lines are frequently so difficult to trace, but it seems the time has arrived when women of the past are reaching out to their daughters to make the connections. The Isle of Skye sounds like a beautiful place. Who knows? Maybe your ancestors and mine even crossed paths there, I read that there was a period when the island was under Norse rule…
I wouldnt be surprised Barbara. Going back to early 1800’s the eldest son is called Torquil which is a name descended from the old Norse Porketil. It was a viking first sons name in Old Norse possibly meaning Helmet of God. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torquil.
It was fascinating how the female side just suddenly popped out. I have known quite a lot about my fathers family but never my mothers. It always seemed difficult to trace and now suddenly its all out there.
Thanks for the link, Jenny! It’s funny how connections sometimes lead back to home – the name Torquil made me think of Peter Halsten Thorkelson, who is of Norwegian descent and who became Peter Tork of the Monkees. Fifteen years ahead of me, he attended my high school in Storrs, Connecticut. My sister-in-law knew him somehow – I forget the details, perhaps he or one of his girlfriends was babysitting her – but he gave her a guitar he said he wasn’t using anymore.
Happy hunting! 🙂
Very cool! My aunt the genealogist tells me we’re related to Pocahontas. Love the way our stories keep circling back. 🙂
Genealogy certainly is full of circling stories, Emily… How wonderful to be a descendant of a Powhatan princess! We were told we have an ancestor from the Nemasket tribe in Middleborough, Massachusetts, but I haven’t found the connection yet. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Barbara thats very interesting. I always loved the Monkees, had a big poster on my wall of Micky Dolenz. As a little girl I loved him in Circus Boy. My sister liked Peter Tork and Davy Jones. Genealogy is fascinating. I think its important to know what your identity is and this is part of identity though not all. I’m very proud of my ancestors even the early convicts. They struggled so hard to survive and create something out of their lives..
I had to look up Circus Boy – it was from a little before my time! 🙂 I still get a lump in my throat whenever I hear “Daydream Believer”…. It’s funny, the big poster in my room was of Bobby Sherman, which embarrasses me a little bit now. 🙂 By the time I moved on to James Taylor and Carole King I stopped putting posters of musicians on my walls, although I would sometimes leave album covers propped up on a shelf…
We’re on the same page about our ancestors being a large part of our identity. Do you have any stories about your convict ancestors, Jenny? I found one of mine who was hung for murder, and more than a few who were fined or put in the stocks for adultery, fornication and drunkenness. I believe the stories and struggles of ordinary people are every bit as compelling as those of the rich and famous.
I’m impressed with how far back you’ve been able to trace your ancestors. I’m looking forward to hearing more about Anna Dorthea in the near future. What a beautiful, lyrical name!
Thanks, Sheryl! I love Anna Dorthea’s name, too, except for the patronymic which looks like a mouthful and I have no idea how to pronounce it! I’m still wondering if Tim & I can somehow make a trip to Norway to do more research – it seems like the next logical step. But first we have to see how much fixing our latest set of dental problems is going to put us back… I wonder what our ancestors would do about their problem teeth… 🙂
Haha what a coincidence. I also used to prop my Carole King record on my dressing table. That Tapestry record was a classic. Never goes out of date for me.
I also had a murderess in my Irish ancestry. She and her daughter were hung for murdering an Englishman who had taken over their land . He made her husband and son work on a distant property so when the murder occurred the men could not be implicated and they were sent to Australia for life. One way of getting rid of them I suppose. They survived and flourished over here and became better off than their relatives and friends back in Ireland so they set up a town and brought out people from county Kerry I think. They used most of their money helping friends and relatives come over here and setting them up with jobs. I am very proud of that. I think our family motto should be ‘surviving well is the best revenge.’
I still have my original vinyl of Tapestry, too, although I no longer have anything to play it on. 🙂 But I have the album on my iPod – it’s never out of date for me, too.
That would be a great motto, Jenny – surviving well IS the best revenge! I’m glad your ancestors found a way out of a culture that treated them unfairly and even paved the way for their friends and relatives to get out from under the yoke of oppression, too. No doubt it took a lot of courage and hard work – you have every reason to be very proud of them!
THE ‘stories’ are behind us…and so before us, Barbara! And ones like those of your ancestors are so much more interesting than those about Kings and Queens, etc…I least that is how I feel. The painting is exquisite…I always look forward to seeing beautiful images here…and enjoying your reflections. Good luck with taking your ancestral research further!
I feel the same way, Diane – the stories of ordinary people make up most of the history of humans on this planet and it is always exciting for me to discover how they fit in to the context of history, whenever I can. I spent a little too much time doing research and have fallen behind with so many of my responsibilities, but I’m trying to catch up now. Thank you for your kind comments!
Hi. So little remains of the people who made us! It is exciting to find each new bit of information. The ‘Dairymaid’ looks like she is on a mission! Jane
So true, Jane! As we were trudging around town finding someone properly authorized to notarize some updated legal documents last week, I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps a hundred years from now some of our descendants might be looking at these very documents and wondering about us and our lives… Hopefully I can leave them a little more to go on!
The dairymaid does indeed look like she is on a mission – and I can’t imagine what that tool in her hand is for…..