I’m attempting to reconstruct who they were, what was important to them, and what their lives may have been like. I love history, mysteries, and good stories with unexpected twists and turns. These aptitudes and interests are a perfect complement to researching and writing my family history. The foundation of each article starts with documented genealogical information. From there, I create a biographical sketch incorporating local history and events. This helps to understand how these people were shaped by their environment and times. Clues to their personality and priorities are often found in wills, diaries and newspaper articles.
Bringing Ancestors to Life Through Genealogy and History
Professional genealogists have meticulously researched and documented my family lines through historical records that go back hundreds of years using land deeds and transfers, court, census & church records, military service and pension applications, birth, marriage and death records.
For Norway, I primarily relied on church, court, and the different bygdebøker, which are local history and genealogy books associated with towns and farm communities. Much of this research focuses on my ancestors in Aust-Agder, Norway, including the areas around Froland, Fjære, Grimstad, and Arendal.
Family History, Family Stories, and Memories
Genealogical records are only part of the story. I have also supplemented documented research with handwritten and typed family lineages, letters, family papers, and 19th-century family history booklets relating to colonial-era families such as the Nasons, Rossmans, Barbers, and others.
My interest in genealogy began when I was a teenager. I started asking my parents, aunts, and uncles about our ancestors and their memories of earlier generations. I’m now in my 70s, and that early curiosity has grown into a lifelong exploration of family history.
One particularly important piece of that journey began in 1967 when my Aunt Edith Andersen and a distant cousin, Lars Jacobsen, sat down together to exchange family memories and information. They sketched and wrote the Andersen family tree, tracing the family back to the 18th-century Hurv farm in Froland, Norway. Those notes, written on yellow legal-pad sheets, became an important starting point for my own journey back through the generations—to the farms, villages, and families of Norway.
DNA and Genetic Genealogy
DNA is another tool for exploring the past. It can complement traditional genealogy by providing clues that may help connect family lines and deepen our understanding of where our ancestors came from, and how long they have been associated with a particular place or region.
In my case, DNA testing confirmed several family origins already documented through traditional genealogical research, including Norwegian, English, Irish, and German ancestry. The results also revealed surprises, including unexpected Scottish, Welsh, and Swedish ancestry, as well as a small percentage identified as “Unknown.” Ancient DNA research has provided intriguing possibilities for understanding some of these genetic connections, including DNA associated with ancient populations of the Central Asian steppe and Siberia.
The Psychic Dimension of Family History
Family history is more than names, dates, and documents. It is also about memory, imagination, mystery, and connection.
One fascinating discovery I have made is that there is a psychic dimension to family history research. I believe that ancestors want to be known and remembered. I enjoy finding out about my ancestors, imagining their lives, and getting to know them as people. I get little messages from dreams, intuitions and feathers! Whenever I’m particularly focused, I often find a feather in my path during a walk or errand. I believe it’s an ancestor trying to communicate and connect. “Who’s talking to me today,” I say, when I see a feather. I hold the feather and feel encouraged by my ancestors in my search.