Family History

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Genealogy

Myrtle's grandmother, Gunhild Gunnulfson, brought with her the Norwegian Forberg family tree when she immigrated to Canada:

Found among Myrtle's parents' possessions when they died, Myrtle took it to the Sons of Norway for translation of the document and help with the unusual format.

Numbers 1 to 8 in the centre of this last page of the family tree shows the children of Gunnulf and Hilleborg Forberg. To the right of #6 is their daughter Aaste who married Einar Forberg. Listed are their children Einar (Myrtle's grandfather), Gunnulf, Knut and Olav.

Puzzling Document

A puzzling document written in the Norwegian language and left with the family tree stated that Einar Einarson was cleared by the church to leave for America.

Myrtle learned that frequently immigrants changed their family name upon leaving the ship to begin life in the new world. This was the case for Einar Einarson who took the name of the family farm, Forberg, in Bö, Telemark. She now knew where the grandfather, whom she had always known as Andy Forberg, had come from.

Mormon Library Research

Further study at the Mormon library in Salt Lake City helped Myrtle discover that Einar's brother, Gunnulf, was her Grandmother Gunhild's father, which meant that Myrtle's grandparents, married in Canada, were actually first cousins.

Patronymic Naming System

You will note that in many such families first names are repeated and the patronymic naming system prevails. Thus Gunhild, daughter of Gunnulf, was born Gunhild Gunnulfson and she continued to use that name after her marriage, as was the custom.

 

These are but a few of the facts that form a preliminary understanding of genealogy of people from the Nordic countries. You can check Myrtle's blog for postings related to her family history research.

Traditional Telemark Pattern Sweater

This sweater was a gift of a Norwegian cousin, Liv, who knit it using a traditional Telemark pattern.

Genealogy Resources

The following are two genealogy resources:

• First Steps in Beginning Family History Research (PDF — 7.7 KB).
• Kinds of Genealogy Charts (PDF — 11.2 KB).

These are free for you to download and use, but please cite their origins.