New Discoveries
This is a log of important findings since the book "Our Reigstad Family" was published in 1999.02/04 Four children of Kari Reigstad and Bertel Johan Hansen left Norway at various times,came to America and disappeared. They have now been found in Chicago. Simon Andreas, Clausine Marie, Jensine Martine and Bertel Johan Jr. all lived and died there.
02/04 Hagbert Kristie Olsen, a sailor and grandson of Kristi,emigrated in 1907 giving Brooklyn NY as his destination. The Ellis Island records state that he is going to the Sailor’s Home at 172 Carol St. in Brooklyn. Two years later his sister Bergit leaves her home in Norway to join her brother. Hagbert had been seen before using the name Chris or Christian and as Chris we find him in the 1920 census living in Port Jefferson, NY, with wife Anna,daughters Nancy and Astrid, and son Harold. His occupation is Ship’s Captain. In 1930 we find him at the same place as Christian,but Harold is no longer with them. We can only suppose that he died during those 10 years as he would have been only 12 years old in 1930. We have not yet found any further trace of Bergit.
10/02 Dordi, Dagmar and ‘Milla' have been found. Information received a few years ago from Debbie Dillard and Jane Bamberger included entries for Dordi, a daughter of Kristi Simonsdatter Stokke Reigstad and Ole Olsen Kyrkje-Bruvik. We have been chasing these people ever since, as Dordi's grandchildren would be our third cousins. Debbie's data stated that Dordi had married Jon Jonsen from Valestrand. We finally found a Bergen marriage record naming John Johnson as the groom. Birth records showed two daughters born to Dorothea and John Johnson: Dagmar Johndine born 1886 and Kaja Emilie (‘Milla'!) born in 1888. So now we have the fourth generation. Both the girls died in Bergen, in 1970 and 1975, respectively. Dordi (Dorothea) died in 1948. Those records still show them with the last name of Johnsen, so maybe they did not marry, in which case this is the end of that particular line. No third cousins here.
10/01 Emigration records
indicate that Clausine Hanson, who married Oliver Hanson in Illinois in
1873, visited her homeland some time later. Her return voyage sailed from
Bergen September 4, 1882. Her destination then was Wisconsin. So the search
for the descendants of Kari now moves to that state.
05/01 A visit to Duluth,
Minnesota, yielded a lot of data on the Borgesons who came to this country.
Some is included in the BIO section behind Brita's picture.
05/01 New information found on the internet. http://www.hist.uib.no/arkivverket
Another new database was added to the Bergen Archives - "Deaths in Norway
- 1947-1999". Although the database has very few dates prior to 1990, a
search revealed death dates for a lot of individuals from all sides of
the family. The information also included birth dates, so it served a double
purpose.
02/00 New information found on the internet. http://www.hist.uib.no/arkivverket
A new database was added to the Bergen Archives - "Deaths in Arna". Thinking it might have some death dates for folks who moved to Ytre Arne, I went prowling. And struck gold! Kristi and Ole Olsen (generation 2) had a son named Ole Olsen. We had previously been told that the second Ole moved to Ytre Arne, married 3 times, and had at least 2 children, Haakon and Selma.
(1) The new database revealed that he died on 5/7/1935, that he was a postman. and resided at Breisteinslid in Haus on Osteroy. He was using Reigstad as his last name. This database contains quite a lot of information, in some cases listing the 'provider' - could be the person providing the wherewithal for the funeral.
(2) So I went looking for other folks for whom Ole Olsen Reigstad was the 'provider'. and found Ingeborg Ovidia Olsdatter, married, born Bergen 1853, died 1/9/1889 at Arne Fabrik, Bredstenslid; and Johannna Reigstad, f. (born) Mikkelsen, born Bergen in 1867, died 2/7/1911 at Breisteinslid. Got to be 2 of Ole's 3 wives!
(3) Better double-check. Went to the database for marriages in Bergen (as both wives were reported to have been born there. Only found one marriage: Ole Olsen Reigstad was married to Johanne Olufine Mikkelsen at Domkirken on 3/25/1890. It was Ole's second marriage.
(4) But what of the children, Haakon and Selma? Since Ole annd his second wife were still living in 1900 and that census was available, we checked it out. Didn't find those 2 but did find Ole and Johanna living at Bredstenslid with 5 other children! There were Hans Olai born 1877, Hilmar born 1880, and Olaf born 1881, Johan 1892, and Johanna 1894. The first 3 must have been by Ingeborg and the other 2 by Johanna.
(5) Ole would have been 61 when his second wife died. Did he marry again and father Haakon and Selma? Haven't found any birth records for these 2 yet, but did find death records. Both died in Bergen at Skrivebakken 22, Haakon in 1959 and Selma in 1966.
I'm still on the trail of the 7 children.
01/00 Earlier searching of the internet had found the death of Kari simonsdatter's husband Bertel Johan Hansen. His address was given as 5-78 in Bergen. Another death at the same address was that of a son, Hans Olai Hansen on June 7, 1865. He was 19 3/4 years old. Who was this guy? The oldest child we knew of was Simon Berntin. Yet the traditional naming practices would indicate that the oldest son should be named Hans.
So we appealed to Jan Reigstad in Bergen. He made a trip to the Statsarkivet and verified that Hans Olai was indeed the firstborn of Kari and Bertel.
01/00 Earl's findings on his January 2000 trip:
The Jensina Hansen and Nikkolai
Hansen reported on below are NOT OUR Jensine and Nikolai. Earl checked
the actual marriage license applications and found that the ages were way
off. OOPS!
12/99 New information found on the internet. www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/marriage.html
1. Jensina Hansen married Carl Johan Johnsen in Kankakee, Illinois on March 5, 1887. The Hamre bygdebok reported that she had married Helge Olsen, but no such marriage has been found. Perhaps she was married twice. Her brother Nikkolai Hansen married Sarah Minks, also in Kankakee, on July 12, 1892. Although the first names are spelled slightly different (the bygdebok uses Jensine and Nikolai) this must be two children of Kari Simonsdatter and Bertel Johan Hansen, placing them in Generation 3. Their older sister Clausine Hansen married Oliver Hansen in Chicago earlier.
2. Torger J. Borgesen married Anna A. Heim
in Cook County, Illinois, on May 26, 1883. This confirms an earlier finding:
the 1895 census for Duluth, Minnesota, showed a Thomas J. Bergesen, age
34, and his wife Annie with 2 daughters Bertha Marie and Josephine J. who
were born in Illinois. So Torger Johan Bergesen, as he was known in Norway,
became Thomas J. Bergeson by 1895. Most family members later spelled the
last name as Borgeson.
09/99 New information found on the internet. http://www.hist.uib.no/arkivverket
Johannes Bastesen, an unmarried sailor, died of pnuemonia at the Seamans Home in North Shields, England, on October 23, 1908, and is buried at the North Shields Cemetary. The record states that he was born in 'Reistad in Haus prestegjeld" in 1881, and lists his residence as 'Reistad'. His occupation is 'Matros' - sailor.
Johannes had been a mystery. He was known to have been a sailor but
no further information was available. Earl and Jan had found records where
he had shipped out on a couple of different ships, but that was all. So
now we can put Johannes to rest.
08/99 New information found on the internet http://www.hist.uib.no/arkivverket
1. Berte Bergesen f. Reistad, gesels hustru born 1830, died 6/18/1906. Her place of birth was listed as Bruvik. She had lived at Asylpladsen 17 in Bergen and was buried 6/22 from Domkirken parish.
This is undoubtedly 'our' Berte Simonsdatter Stokke Reigstad. The 'f.' stands for 'fodt' - born. Gesels hustru means she was a businessman's wife.
2. Johan Bergesen Haaland born 1831 at Fuse, died 12/19/1906. His residence was also listed at Asylpladsen 17 and he was buried, also from Domkirken, on 12/28.
This would be the husband of Berte Simonsdatter.
3. Berthel Johan Hanson died at residence
number 5-78 in Bergen on March 5, 1883, and was buried at NK. Berthel was
the husband of Kari Simonsdatter Stokke Reigstad. Still no clue as to when
Kari died other than the Hamre Bygdebok which says it was prior to 1890.
07/99 Discovered in Spring Prairie Church Records, Dane County, Wisconsin:
Ole Simonson Reigstad and his first wife Randi
Roisum had an earlier child than the ones we previously knew of.
A son named Edward Martin was born on July 12, 1876. His date of death
is not known but it must have been before 1880, when the second Edvard
Martin was born. The Wisconsin census for 1880 shows no children.