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...