Østen Olsen ^{1929,1930,1931}

  General Notes:

June 18, 2001

Hi!
I just happened to find your web-page while I was searching for information about what happened to Randine Østensdatter (Ostensdtr.) - first wife of Lars Larsen - after she emigrated.
Your web-page briefly mentions also Randine's parents (Østen Olsen & Kjerstine Ellingsdatter) which are among my ancestors.
What you probably do not know is that also Østen and Kjerstine emigrated to USA - in 1870, the year after their daughter Randine.
Kjerstine died on the ship, while Østen arrived in Quebec June 19. 1870.
After that, I don't know what happened to him; but I guess that he should go to his daughter Randine.

I wondered if you have access to the church records of Halfway Creek (where Randine was buried) to see if also Østen died there (or do you know if these church records are available on the internet)?

Some information that might interest you:
I just looked at a detailed map of the Vardal/Gjøvik area, and found that Haug farm (where Lars Larsen was born, according to your web-site) is located about 10 km west of Gjøvik city, close to Vardal church (earlier called Haug church).
If I remember right from the book about the emigration from Vardal, Lars lived on another farm (Viberg) further west, before he emigrated.

With regards
Svein Skarstæterhagen,
Fetsund, Norway
e-mail: svein.skartsaterhagen@omgroup.com
___________________________________________

  Research Notes:

n 2001. I sent you some information about Østen and Kjerstine. I then said I
should send you information about their baptism dates when they became available
at the Internet, which I thought should happen the same year. However, it didn't
happen until late this autumn.

So, now I can tell you that Kjerstine was baptized 27.05.1798 at Houg church
(i.e. Vardal church).

When I looked for Østen, it turned out that he wasn't baptized in Vardal at all,
but he and his parents had evidently moved to Vardal soon after his birth,
because his younger brother Johannes was baptized there 18.01.1801. Also they
lived in Vardal when the 1801-census was taken. After looking in some of the
neighbouring parishes, I found them in Nordre Land (the parish to the west of
Vardal). Happily, also these church records are available on the Internet. Østen
was baptized 30.09.1798 at Kind church of Nordre Land. (This church doesn't
exist anymore, so you will probably not find it on a map.) Østens parents
married 11.02.1797 in Nordre Land (church not recorded).

Earlier this year, we had some correspondence about finding Østen (Osten) Olsen
in the 1880 census (or other censuses). I've searched some more, supposing some
information was wrongly recorded. I found one old Olsen in Racine, WI; his first
name was written "Olen" (probably misspelling for "Ole"), and he was 80 years
old. But he lived with a younger Olsen-couple, so he probably was the father of
that man. But I wondered if Racine is far away from LaCrosse.

Svein Skartsæterhagen

Østen married Kjerstine Ellingsdatter, daughter of Elling Ellingsen and Berthe Iversdatter, on 16 Dec 1819 in Vardal, Oppland, Norway ¹⁹²⁸.^,1935 (Kjerstine Ellingsdatter was born in 1798 in Norway ^1931,1936, christened on 27 May 1798 in Vardal, Oppland, Norway ^1937,1938 and died on 16 Jun 1870 in Atlantic Ocean, enroute to Quebec ^1932,1939.). The cause of her death was dysentery.

  Marriage Notes:

email from Svein Skartsæterhagen, July 23, 2001

All the following information is according to the Internet version of the church records of Vardal and the 1801 census:

Østen Olsen and Kirstine Ellingsdatter married 16. Des. 1819 in Vardal, and they had the following children:
Oline 1819
Berte Maria 1821
Ingeborg 1824
Marthe 1827 (my great
great great grandmother)
Elie 1829
Kirstine 1832
"dead born boy" 1835
Beata 1836-40
Randine 1839 (to Amerika 1869)
Østen 1843-43
Niels 1845
(where a range of years is given, it means that I've found that the child died young)

I don't have the baptism dates of Østen and Kirstine / Kjerstine yet, as the church records of Vardal around 1800 are VERY difficult to read, but transcriptions are "on it's way" and will probably be available on the Internet during this year.

Parents of Østen Olsen:
Ole Østensen, born about 1769, buried 6. Aug. 1805 (death date was normally not registered in the church records at that time)
Marte Johansdatter, born about 1778.
I have not found their marriage in the Vardal church records, so I guess they married somewhere else, which will normally imply that at least she was born outside Vardal.
They had at least 3 children: Østen, Johannes, Berte.


Parents of Kjerstine Ellingsdatter:
Elling Ellingsen, born about 1766
Berte Iversdatter, born about 1764, buried 15. Feb. 1808
They married 29. Sept. 1789 in Vardal. They had at least 4 children: Ingeborg, Even, Marie, Kjerstine.
After Berte's death, Elling remarried widow Berte Nielsdatter 22. Jan. 1810 in Vardal.


Above I've used both Kjerstine and Kirstine as her name was spelled differently at different occasions (quite common at that time); I've even seen Kjirstine.

Svein Skartsæterhagen, July 23, 2001