Joy's meeting with Vaughn Dragland

Joy and her husband met with Vaughn Dragland in Toronto this summer. I am looking forward to posting a few pictures from their meeting.


Vaughn is planning a trip to Dragland, Norway in the next year or so and he will be adding pictures of his trip on the 
Dragland Family website: Dragland Family Association. This "is a global non-profit organization whose mission is to re-connect all of the Dragland Family members scattered around the world". 
I guess from the picture on the homepage of the website that cowboy hats are in order. 


If you a interested in looking up our lineage click on the family tree link on the left of the page and select #1.
On the family tree Rikard Olsen is found on line 171.1. Our family branch has been a mystery because Rikard disappeard on his way to by a farm. Well, apparently, he ended up with a restaurant in Bismark, North Dakota instead.


More info about our branch of the Dragland/Olsen family:
I have added blue text for the relatives that might interest us the most.-Holly
"Husband: Ola Torson LIMMESAND (Holly added: he would be our great, great grandfather-for most of us)

Born: 24.12.1817 at: Limmesand, Arnafjord sogn, Vik i Sogn Married: 2
2.10.1850 at: Ibestad krk Died: 20.01.1890 at: Dragland,Tjeldsund prgj
Father:Tor Nilsson LIMMESAND Mother:Brita Sjursdtr HALLSETE Other Spo
uses: Brita Olsdtr FINDEN

Wife: Mette Jonette DANIELSDTR (Holly added: she would be our great, great grandmother-for my first cousins)

Born: 04.02.1831 at: Årstein, Gratangen Died: 29.01.1914 at: Dragland
, Tjeldsund prgj Father:Daniel BERTHEUSSEN Mother:Johanna MIKKELSDTR O
ther Spouses:

CHILDREN

Name: Theodor OLSEN Born: 07.06.1850 at: Dragland Married: 05.11.1874
at: Died: at: Spouses: Regine Rask Valberg RASMUSDTR (Holly added: These would be our great-grandparents -for my first cousins)

   Rikard Bernhard was their first born and our grandfather. 

     Theodor and Regine had quite a few other children. 

     Rikard married Polly Margit Rodfus (or Rodfos?) in Bismark, ND 

     (I am not sure of the date).

     They then had 11 children: 

     Theodore, Pete, Ralph, Jenny, John, Margaret, Mary, Richard, 

     Carl, Bruce, Patricia-(I am not sure if I have them in 

     chronological order- please let me know)

Name: Nikoline Marie OLSEN Born: 14 APR 1852 at: Lødingen prgj Married: 

at: Died: at: USA Spouses:

Name: Johanne Bergitte Serine OLSDTR Born: 29 JUN 1854 at: Married:
at: Died: at: Spouses:

Name: Berit Marie OLSDTR Born: 08.10.1856 at: Dragland, Tjeldsund prg
j, Nordland Married: 1877 at: Died: 26.01.1941 at: Fiskefjord, Tjeldsu
nd Prgj, Nordland Spouses: Daniel Harr MARTHINUSSEN

Name: Dorthea Berntine OLSDTR Born: 9.01.1859 at: Dragland Married: at:
Died: 6.07.1861 at: Dragland Spouses:

Name: Daniel Bertheus OLSEN Born: 3.08.1861 at: Dragland Married: at:
Sharon, North Dakota Died: 1931 at: Fargo, North Dakota Spouses: Anna
Louise ERIKSEN

Name: Lars Olai Olsen DRAGLAND Born: 16.7.1863 at: Dragland Married:
17.07.1884 at: Lodingen Prgj, Norway Died: 1907 at: Kloten, North Dako
ta Spouses: Karoline Amalie GREGUSSEN

Name: Mikal Peder Olsen DRAGLAND Born: 13.5.1866 at: Dragland Married
: at: Died: 19.4.1940 at: ?Medicine Hat, Canada Spouses: Mary GULLIKSE
N

Name: Magdalena Olivia Petrike OLSDTR Born: 12.6.1868 at: Married: at
: Dragland Died: at: Spouses: Peder Andreas Berg EIDISSEN Peter Andrea
s Berg EIDISSEN

Name: Emerentse Anna Kristine OLSDTR Born: 17.1.1871 at: Dragland Mar
ried: 1890 at: North Dakota Died: 1955 at: Hårvik Spouses: Petter Jent
oft LARSEN

Name: Joakim Berg OLSEN Born: 28.1.1873 at: Dragland Married: at: Die
d: CIR1920 at: ?Seattle Spouses:

Name: Thomas Olsen DRAGLAND Born: 27.4.1878 at: Dragland Married: 190
1 at: Seattle Died: 6.11.1931 at: Seattle Spouses: Gerharda Johanne JA
COBSEN"

I found the above information on the Dragland Website. http://draglandorg.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/from-our-legacy-blog-family-information/.

We are looking for our mothers.

I have two lost utensils that need to be returned to their owners. Please let me know if you recognize them.

Thanks. Holly

Pictures from the 2010 Black Lake, WA Family Reunion

Just a reminder for the family reunion tomorrow July 18th

Remember, the family reunion is coming up tomorrow and we want to see everyone again!! For details click on the link at the top. Just bring a side dish if you can, the hamburgers, hotdogs and brauts will be waiting for you. We will also be supplying the plates, silverware, and cups. 

Hopefully, the weather will hold and we will have sunshine this year. 

Columbus Park at Black Lake, WA 

It will start about noon and we will be eating around 1:30.

Holly

Joy's Email 3/09/10

Hi, there. I think I've found an area of research we need to pursue about the name RODFOS.
This seems to be the consistent spelling of Grandmother Olsen's maiden name. I've attached a word document with some of the Google references that came up for RODFOS. I'm really interested in any connection to the Runic Stones. I've not yet found a town/region with the name Rodfos which would fit with the name structure of Norway.
I have found a brother of Grandmother Polly Olsen. Her brother PETER JOHANSEN RODFOS appears to have emigrated to the USA and settled in North Dakota. Polly then appears to have come over and possible met Grandpa Olsen in Aneta, ND. Peter appears to have lived in ND for a number of years, then went to Canada as his immigration papers--filed in Seattle, WA in 1916 have his arrival from Vancouver, BC and place of residence before that in Sask. Canada.
Peter went back to Norway in 1908 to bring his mother, Mathilda, to the USA. They entered the USA on 16 July 1908 through Quebec, Canada coming from Liverpool on the vessel Empress of Ireland. I will have to order the hard copy of the ship manifest to read all the small print on it. There is a LOT of fine print on the lines pertaining to Peter. The last foreign residence of Polly appears to have been with a "son, John Stefansen... in...Sarhaburg, Norway". It is really hard to read the script on the screen so the hard copy of needed with a good magnifying glass to figure out all the correct spellings.
This is about all I've found in the last few days that is new on the Olsen side.
I DO have a question for your mom. Could she please look at the attached picture and tell me if the gentleman in it IS Grandfather Olsen--could it perhaps be PETER RODFOS? As Mathea, Polly's mother is in it--could this have been a RODFOS family picture? (Holly adds: the referenced picture is under the Pages section  It is the one where the 3 children are being held with the 3 adults.) Perhaps a picture they intended to send back to the remaining family in Norway?
Unfortunately there does not appear to be a good Genealogy Society in North or South Dakota. These are often great sources of information. I've not found a good source for a marriage date/certificate for Polly and Richard. It should have been in Anita, Nelson, South Dakota. However, I feel I've found more on the Olsen side of the family than I EVER thought I would, so I will celebrate what we do know!
Hugs to all--I tripped at Army this weekend and sprained my left ankle and need to go get it elevated again. Had x-rays today--no fracture but lots of soft tissue damage. Just what I need a month before I head to Italy!
Joy

Joy's Email -more on family history

Hi, guyz. Holly--I cc'd you on my latest email to Vaughn Dragland re our ancestry.I finally located the arrival information for Grandmother Olsen. There is such confusion about her name! However Ellis Island Foundation finally came through. I'm not sure why I was not able to print the information--now they want to charge you for it--when I printed the information (Holly I sent you copies of Mathias and Richard's ship record) for Richard and Mathias I printed right from the website. Go figure. Perhaps they started to charge on 1 March. Anyway, here is the information on her:
Margit Jacobsen Rodfuss

Last residence: Rodfuss, Norway

Arrival: 1 June 1905 New York

Vessel: Oceanic

Departed: Liverpool, England
I googled "Rodfuss, Norway" and am directed to Rothfuss, Norway. But most of the google information on this is German. No time to sort it out now.
When I looked at the online ship manifest there did not appear to be any relations listed with her. Holly--your mom told me a story that Richard B met Polly in Norway where she worked in a bakery or restaurant and he had come ashore from a boat. The men came over in 1903--so perhaps he sent for Polly in 1905? I will need to order the copy of the ship manifest to see if there is destination information listed for her. On the manifest for Richard and Mathias the destination information was for Rasmus in Aneta, North Dakota. So far I've not found a marriage record for Polly and Richard--I expect it will be a North Dakota record and their historic records are not available on-line.
I'm off to Army for a week or so. Will be available on email or cell, but will not be able to play with the genealogy thing until I get back.
I will need help to start to paste together the current generation family tree. What children did each of our parents have, their spouse information, children, birth dates, marriage dates, death dates, pictures.
(Holly adds:  we need to get this info to Joy-if it will be OK I will post her email but for now you can contact me: hollymaren@comcast.net with any family names)
I am doing all my work on ancestry.com so if you have used that service you will know the format I'm working with. There is a way that I can "invite" family members to my family tree--but I've not had time to look at the directions.
I have to go pack and do some Army work (I retire in...28 days...) and I have sooo much to get done!

Joy (Colonel Barnsdale)

Dragland Family Tree Info

We have had quite a break-through on the Olsen Family Tree. Thanks to Joy (Olsen) Barnsdale she found out that we have a large branch of our tree with the surname Dragland.
This was also the name of the town in Norway that our family came from. This information had been lost to us.
Dragland is above the arctic circle and that is probably why Rikard Bernhard Olsen decided to get the heck out of dodge!
The link to the Dragland Family Association is http://www.dragland.org/. You can access the family tree on the left-hand side of the menu bar. You need to click on the top link- Descendants of Nils Hallvardson Limmesand, (1750 - 1804).
Then go down to line 171.1
Rikard Bernhard b: Mar 12 1876. Emigrated to USA. Was married and had many children. Disappeared on his way to buy a farm.
Hmm-what is that all about?
We need now to update the family history to include our missing branch.
More to come...