THE QVAMME FAMILY
FROM TALVIK, VARDO, NORDKAPP, HONNINGSVAG
ALL IN FINNMARK COUNTY, NORWAY
The Qvamme Farm aka Stensgjerdet – 4 parts or apartments or buildings
Hans Christian Andreassen Qvamme born in 1815 in Talvik and died in 1871 in Talvik. He is the great great grand father of Susan Louise Darnell [susanldarnell@gmail.com]. At the time of his death about 9 people were on a four part piece of property. Today the parcel is probably number 22 and 23 and maybe 24. It’s called lovingly as The Steingjeerdet Farm, sometimes called The Qvamme Farm. The Qvamme family was in Talvik by the 1700s. Talvik was more or less formally settled in 1690. More easy to find are the Qvammes at the beginning of 1800. Hans CAQ’s children were on the Stensgjeerdet Farm property with him by the mid 1850.
First some back story on his children. Nicolay Norum Qvamme: He was living in the Steingjerdet Farm property at the time of his father’s death in 1871, and stayed on. He would become his mother’s protectorate, they were very close. Others present were Ane Margrete Hansdatter Qvamme. I have not tracked her yet. Next, daughter Petrine Jorgine Hansdatter Qvamme. I know a lot about her. She lived near me eventually. Petrine, from the history I have figured was still at home in 1871. She didn’t mature to womanhood until approximately 1884 when she finally left her beloved Qvamme Farm aka Steinsgjerdet Farm home to go work at the Eid’s residence in Hammerfest. She met her husband to be there, Torjus Aasmundsen. Once married she went to Vardo Finnmark to see her brother who had also left the Qvamme Farm. Her brother that left the house by late teens was Hans Andreas Bernhard Qvamme. He left before his father died. These other children might have been in the house also at the time of Hans death 1871. Other children: Oluf Hansen Qvamme. I know about Oluf. He didn’t leave Norway until about 1888. Maybe a few years earlier. I don’t know anything about his other two daughters Indianna Hansdatter Qvamme and Julianna Hansdatter Qvamme. I have to check on them. They are not present in the house in 1875.
Household members 1875
1 Peder Andreassen Kvamme 1819 Talvik brother to Hans and husband to Juliane
2 Julianna Rakel Jakobsdatter 1820 wife of Peder AK/sister in law to Hans
3 Andreas Bernhof Olsen Kvamme 1793 Han’s father
4 Berit Maria Kirstine Knudsdatter 1805 Talvik Lægdslem e Lægdslem b
5 Nikoline Albertine Hansdatter 1838 Tromsø hm e Hån’s wife
6 Nikolai Norum Hansen Kvamme born 1850 Talvik Han’s son
7 Ane Margrete Hansdatter Kvamme 1852 Talvik daughter of H+N
8 Petrine Jørgine Hansdatter Kvamme 1862 Talvik daughter of H+N
9 Oluf Hansen Kvamme born 1865 Talvik son of H+N
Residence (house/farm/property)
R.no. Residence name Farm no. Number of households Number of people present Number of residents
Stensgjærde 4 parts to property #22
Number of households 4 [Peder’s part 1] [Nikolines part 2 of the building aka apartment] [Andreas part 3 the elder aka grand father] [Berit Maria part 4 the elder aka grand mother] These “parts” are essentially each family in and of itself, whether all members are alive, dead, or present. The family was very close and could live together on the same property, probably like apartment style on the same land, maybe the same building, maybe only one large building.
Steingjerdet property #22 – stories. I’ve been connecting to many people in Talvik through the facebook page and many people have given me information. Census info is also available. The property stands empty and my hunch is after WWII, when the Germans burned down all of Finnmark county and absolutely all of Talvik, except for the church, our property has remained empty, nothing rebuilt upon it. Certainly there would be buried charred remains and maybe a root cellar should anyone go digging.
Han’s brother Peder Andreassen Qvamme married Juliane Jacobsdatter and the new wife was welcome to live at the house with Han’s widow Nikoline/Nicoline Alberthine [Hansdatter Helmer] Qvamme [b. 1826 d. 1907 in Talvik at 81 years] and other family people. Nicolay/Nicolai, an adult son of Nikoline Qvamme lived at Steingjerdet too. Peder Andreassen Qvamme and Juliane Jacobsdatter Qvamme did not have children. However, Juliane had a sister who visited a lot, her name was Jacobine Jacobsdatter ______________.
Ase Ytrestoyl in Talvik currently was the grand daughter of the great grandmother Juliane Jacobsdatter. [As a side note, Susan Louise Darnell and Ase Ytrestoyl are still living today in 2016 and do a lot of this family genealogy study as well as write manuscripts]. Ase Ytrestoyl lives in Talvik and wrote two books about Talvik. She is on facebook.
Juliane Jacobsdatter Qvamme and her husband Peder Andressen Qvamme, took over Steingjerdet Farm property #22 [one source says property #23b] and after Peder and Juliane Qvamme died Jacobine ____________and _____________began paying rent to______________or bought some of the property ________________. Is this how it went…??????
Lars Johannsen Moen [b. 1828 elsewhere, d._______ Talvik] was in building #22a but I’m not sure when, except after Peder and Juliane died, most likely. I think they occupied part 1 of this piece of property. But there were other Qvamme sons and daughters alive as well. [On a modern recent search there is a 23a and 23b piece of property –- so we aren’t sure which property is which or who was where, yet.]
Lars Johannsen Moen let his portion of the bank loan go unpaid for unknown reasons, or one theory, he could not take care of the loan he had in the bank. We need more evidence if this is why he did not pay his portion of loan for his portion of the building. What are the exact measurements? Which plots are we talking about? How much was the property in the first place? Which piece of the property are we talking about. There is a part 1, 2, 3, or 4 section of property. In one census it says Lars Moen was on property 22a, but it was called Sten Fence, not Steingjerdet.
Nothing is on this land. It is still vacant and open for completion including figuring out formal paperwork and land laws written to solve WWII German burn downs. Germans burnt the entire village. No doubt, the Qvamme Family buildings were included. Nothing has been built there because of claim issues. What happened on this land after about 1880 to 1944. That’s about 64 years …
Writing by susanldarnell@gmail.com Dec. 2016
THE NEXT STORY IS ABOUT ONE OF THE CHILDREN – PETRINE...AND HER FATE…
HERE WE INTRODUCE THE OSMUNDSEN FAMILY WHO CAME FROM SANDS NORWAY
The Lovely Life of Petrine and Tom Osmundsen Sands
aka The marriage of Petrine Jorgine Hansdatter Kvamme and Torjus Aasmundsen
This essays is about the lovely life of our relatives Petrine [b. 1862] and Tom Sands[b. 1859]. This was their name and how they were referred to by the Ohio Bahm/Sands/Darnell families in the 1940s. Petrine would be my great grandmother. I never met her, she died about four years before I was born. I do remember her daughter Louise talking about her mother. Louise had a fat picture album of her family members from Norway.
In Norway names are ordered and created differently than in America. In English speaking American we could consider Petrine's name like this: Petrine Jorgine Hansdatter Kvamme Sands. USA would list all of her names in the order in which they were given to her. You can find listings for Petrina Jorgine (Hansdatter) Qvamme Osmundsen in Norway. In that case, her father's last name Qvamme/Kvamme would be dropped after she married. In USA genealogy sites you can find her by Petrine Sands sometimes. She takes on the new last name "Sands" in genealogy and census records in the USA. You can also find genealogy info from Norway. You can find Petrine Jorgine Hansdatter Osmundsen/Aasmundsen (born Qvamme). Her name is often spelled incorrectly such as Petrina. One her husbands death certificate she signs her name Petrine Hanson. She's made an English language, USA adaptation probably because in USA, we do not write Hansdaughter/Hansdatter. One relative listed her as Trine and Tom as Thais.
Tom is most frequently referred to as Torjus in Norway, sometimes Thomas in USA. When Torjus lived with his father his name is writtern Torjus Aasmundsen/Osmundsen. I'm not sure how the last name Sands comes into the picture, save for someone saying it's where he lived geographically in Norway.
Petrine Qvamme was a Norwegian Finnmarkian born in 1862. Her entire young and teen life was lived by a small bay fed by the Norwegian Sea in a tiny, tiny village called Talvik.
Behind her farm house called Stensgjaard, which was right by the shore line, she could see the fjords all around. Indeed, she lived in the stunning land of the mighty fjords, the northern lights, pine trees a plenty and massively beautiful constant sounds from the sea waves. As far as we know, she stayed there with her large family until she was in her late teens. Her father was Hans Andreas Bernhard Qvamme (Kvamme), her mother Nicolai Nærum Kvamme (Qvamme); their children Ane-Margrethe Hansdatter (Qvamme), Caroline Helmine Larsson Herreid (født Hansdatter Qvamme), Indiana Eriksen (født Hansdatter (Qvamme)), Juliana Christina Hansdatter (Qvamme), Oluf Hansen Kvamme and of course, Petrine Jorgine Hansdatter Qvamme/Kvamme.
The kinds of people around her were Norse. Talvik was settled in 1690. Outdoor life played a large role in Petrine's life. Imagine Talvik as rural like with warm, lovely and friendly neighbors all helping each other. The people were Christianized, except the Saami, mostly shamans. Winter was very cold but the families prepared well and stashed foods that dried well, included a lot of salted cod and salmon. Common foods and experiences would be, and probably still are for half the village, fishing, deer raising, elk, bear, grouse, ducks, geese, lakes, forests, rivers, birch trees, heather, small vegetable farming, gardens, sewing, spinning wool, raising sheep, knitting, candle light, chopping wood, keeping fireplaces, skiing, dog-sledding, hunting, trapping and probably some tanning barns. Stories would include those of the Vikings. By 1613 we can find records of a Shaman in Talvik, so it was most likely settled by then. Stories of witchcraft by the Shaman Saami would be in Petrine's ear too.
Talvik, Finnmark, Norway was settled in the 13th century. When you think of the shape of Norway, long and skinny, on the western side of the body of land we ordinarily consider to be Scandinavia, imagine the land of Norway going from south to north. Facing west on it's entire coast is the Norwegian Sea. Along the western side of this land area are thousands of fjords. Norway is long and skinny and as it turns to the right at it's top, that turn is where you can imagine Finnmark, the county in Norway that is located on the curve. Talvik is in Finnmark among fjords. Talvik is a tiny village that curves into the land.
From research, I think their property had 4 structure/apartments, maybe all attached.
The entire village is mostly by the bay. Most or all of Finnmark was destroyed during World War II. About two third of the population was evacuated to Southern Norway by force. During spring and summer of 1945, most of those who had been forced to leave moved back home. Perhaps Hans [born and died in Talvik] would have had to leave and come back. Everything had to be rebuilt. In 2016 the population is no more than 300. In 2016 Talvik has been incorporated into the nearby Alta so the area is Alta-Talvik, Finnmark, Norway. I shall concern myself with Talvik, the tiny village from whence Petrine came and where many, maybe a few dozen of her relatives lived.
Petrine's mother was Nikoline Albertine Helmer Hansdatter Qvamme. Helmer is her last name before marriage. She is the daughter of a man named Hans. Don't confuse this with the man she married whose first name was also Hans. Nikoline married Hans Christian Andreassen Qvamme [b Sept 21, 1815 d. 1871] Hans and Nikoline married in Nov. 28, 1847.Both of Petrine's parents lived in Talvik, raised their 6 [or seven depending on how you read the names] kids there and while some or all kids left, the parents stayed and died in Talvik. Petrine Jorgine Hansdatter Qvamme's mother, Nicoline Alberthine Hansdatter Helmer was born in 1823 in Tromsø, Troms, Norge and at some point moved to Talvik and had her family. Nicoline died in. Talvik, Finnmark, Norge. As of today, I'm on facebook page for Talvik people/village to try to get someone to find their grave. Geni.com and other sources say they both died in that village.
The family would have attended the one church in Talvik. Here's it's history: At first, it was the Aroya Church and located off shore, by ferry, and on an teenie island. The Årøya Church was barely in use and already in 1703 the people were expressing a desire to move the church to the village of Talvik on the mainland, and the following year the governor approved the move. Årøya Church was demolished and transported across the fjord to Talvik. In 1705, the church was ready for use in Talvik. This church was a cruciform church, somewhat larger than the one that was on Årøya. Poor maintenance meant that by 1734, the church already was in such poor condition that it is unable to be repaired. That building was demolished and a new church was completed in 1737. This church had 220 seats and room for 80 people to stand. This church served Talvik for 147 years. On the night of 16 January 1882, there arose a violent storm and the whole church was torn loose and lifted from the foundation. It had to be demolished and rebuilt once again. On 17 October 1883, the new (present) church was consecrated. This church was designed by Jacob Wilhelm Nordan and it has 410 seats.
I have no story yet on how Torjus ever got so far north of his home turf which as far as me and another cousin Christian Sands [in the USA now] can tell, was Sands, Norway. He would have had to have some kind of fascination to travel that far north. The trip would take perhaps like two weeks by boat.
Nevertheless, Torjus/Thomas met Petrine in northern Finnmark county in the town of Hammerfest, Norway.
Thomas and Petrine met, as far as I can tell, by 1884, doing house work or maybe also farm work at the Eids residence, a married couple. Eids lived in Hammerfest, not too far from Talvik...like just north maybe four towns away or so. Petrine was born in 1862 Talvik, Norway. Thomas Osmundsen Sand [often in Norwegian records like this: Torjus Aasumdsen Sands] was born in 1859 and listed as living with his father Osmund Tormundsen Sand in Sand, Norway, way, way, south in Norway.
Away from their birth town, and in Hammerfest, Norway, in 1884, Petrine Qvamme and Torjus Osmundsen are both listed as "fadder" meaning "sponsor" or "mentor". In the USA this could mean "godparents." It could also mean they were house helpers/caretakers. They were not married at the time. Perhaps Petrine was godparent to new baby. Petrine was born in 1862, [also saw 1860, 1861, 1863] so this would be about right for the age of "work." She'd be about 22. By 1885 the role for Petrine is changed to tjenestegipge, meaning, female servant and she is still in Hammerfest, Norway. Thomas is not listed that year with her. In the 1884, in a Hammerfest Baptism document, I assume who I call Thomas is the same as Torjus Aasmunds, he is listed. It could be one of the children of the owner of the house, the Eids, was getting baptized and Petrine is just present in attendance. None the less, it appears they were both working at the same place in 1884, mentoring for some reason, and probably provided help to the owners.
Petrine and Thomas marry in 1886 [Torjus Osmundsen] and by 1887, in Vardo, Finnmark, Norway, they are baptising their first son Trygve who is a newborn. This suggests that they could have married in 1886, birthed their first son Trygve in 1887, and emigration paperwork shows emigrated to USA by 1888. It appears once they got to the shores of USA, they went to Clearfield County, Houtzdale, Pennsylvanis in 1888. They settle there for a short time, maybe one or two years. When the couple arrive in USA, they say their name is Petrine and Thomas Sands. Noteworthy is her trip to Vardo, an astonishing place to go. Why go? Her brother Hans Andreassen Bernhard Qvamme was there so she was probably going visiting and the baby was born there. We are unsure of this first child because records in Norway and the USA confuse the situation.
It could be true that Trygve, the first child born died in Norway while a baby. This seems true by some docs I've seen, but there is no death record yet. However, in the USA another birth records a child Twigg/Trigg as born in the USA and records also record that this is the couples first child. This could be a mistake by a record keeper. The name by then is Americanized in spelling. Could they have had a first child who died and who was called Trygve, and then a second child shortly after who used the Americanized spelling Trigg? The second child theory is speculation. However, our relative Christian Sands, with whom I communicated, is a descendent of the Trigg in the USA. Christians father, Doug Sands, was a son of Trigg N. Sands. In USA records, it shows their first child is Twigg N. Sands. Therefore, in USA, Petrine and Tom's "Charles" is the 2nd born, if those two sons --Twigg and Tryggve are the same or if the one died and then another was born here. Records show that Trigg was born here. So there is confusion about this point. Charles lists his birth in Houtzdale in 1891. Trigg N. Sands lists his birth in Houtzdale. I speculate that there was a Trygve and he was the first son, born in Norway, but died before arriving in the USA. It appears, if interpreted correctly, Petrine and Tom had 8 or 9 pregnancies, but 6 lived. The birth order in general is Trygve, Trigg, Charles, Mary, Louise (Asora), Clarence, Rubye, Margaret. It is still unclear if Asora is my grandmother Louise. Asora may be a baby who dies shortly after birth. I've seen Louise and Asora's birth year as the same. More checking.
After emigration, the family firsts moves to Houztvale, then I'm not sure exactly when the family moves to another residence in the USA, but their next move is a few counties to the west in Pennsylvania, in McCalmont township, Jefferson county PA, by a 1900 census. It's not too far away.
I read some of the history to guess why they moved: it could have been because of the budding coal mining industry. I wonder at times if Oluf Hanson, Petrine's brother, was already in Punxsutawny first and sent news.
By 1910 the family lives at 112 Cherry St., Greater Punxsutawny Borough, Ward 1, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.Thomas, Petrina and children: Twigg, Charles, Mary, Louise, Clarence, Rubye, Margaret, Petrina’s brother Oluf Hansen Kvamme. Note the spelling of Petrine’s name changes.
There are about five variations of the spelling in the genealogy banks, even Sands has been spelled incorrectly to San...so it’s hard to find.
By 1915, Trigg aka Twigg, is marrying in Mahoning Country, where I grew up [Susan Louise Darnell, grand daughter to Petrine's daughter Louise Sands Bahm]...so the whole Sands family may be in Mahoning county at this point. Petrine and Thomas die in this county or nearby. Tommy was born to Trigg, but Trigg died in 1918. Twigg names his son after his father Thomas Sands but the child was always called Tommy Sands. Tommy bore a son named Doug Sands. Doug has a son Christian, who in 2016 is 39 years old, lives in Colorado and his daughter is 4 and named Rowan Sands. I, Susan Louise Darnell, am in Connecticut. Whoever reads this can get on geni.com and see more about the family tree. Geni.com is free for everything necessary even though it has a premium plan, you can bypass the premium plan and just start a tree. I've gone all the way back to our Viking relatives. We have plenty of kings, queens, barons, knights and so on in our line. Once you see how geni.com has a function that traces back in time, you will love it. You just start your tree, and in the search bar put another relative you know and geni.com will bring into the same page a section that says something like "just a minute we are searching to see if you are related to the person"....Other people can click to follow your tree people or you can too. Do it as in time, the information and track grows. For us, well we have relations all over: Norway, Denmark, Scotland, England, Ireland...all over the place. I have traced back to the 1400s.
1917 Petrine and Tom Sands are in Youngstown, Ohio, USA with Rubye, Margaret, Charles Sands, Louise Sands Bahm and George Anthony Bahm. [Mary and Clarence are out of their parents house at this time. Clarence might be enlisted in WWI, and Mary might be married. Twigg married in 1915]. All live at 399 W. Warren Ave. house in Youngstown, Ohio
1928 Thomas Sands died at 69. At the time, the Sands occupied 399 W. Warren Ave., in Youngstown., OH.
1930 In an Ohio listing we find living together: Petrina age 67, Rubye age 25, Margaret 22.
I’d guess Petrine went to live with her son Charles at some point, maybe in her last months of life. Charles R. Sands is listed as her son who lives with Petrina at Regents St., Yo. Ohio. He might have lived there as a single man. Other siblings were there too: Clarence and Margaret and Charles. [At some point, Charles is dating a woman named like his two sister but the spelling of her name is different. The gals name is Mary Margarette. Recall, Charles has a sister named Mary and another one named Margaret. This is only important when tracking documents online because Charles new wife uses the name Mary sometimes or Margarette sometimes, or the recorders do. Charles marries Mary Margarette so it’s confusing. Charles moves out and to Market Street, as seen next. 1945 When Petrina dies in 1945, the address listed for the person who signed the death certificate is 1749 Market Street ...and the signature is Charles R. Sands. It seems Petrina lived with him at the end of her life.
THE NEXT STORY IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ANOTHER KID --- HANS ANDREASSEN BERNHARD QVAMME...WHO WENT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF HIS SISTER PETRINE. HE WENT NORTH. WE WILL MEET OUT NORSTAD CONNECTION HERE TOO.
We Are Way Up In Northernmost Norway To Write About Our Family who lives in Talvik, Alta, Honningsvag; Nordkapp; and lastly Gjesvaer, our families Viking Land
Based on genealogical studies I’ve hunted down our Viking roots. It was great grandmother Petrine Jorgine Hansdatter Qvamme Osmundsen Sands who led me back in time to get the story and then she led me forward in time to write it down. I asked her to. Petrine absorbed some of our Norwegian custom while she was growing up. In particular, her family in the 1800s used the way names were given in her cultures linguistic tradition. The Norse had an interesting surname system, where every child was known by their father’s (and sometimes even their mother’s) first name followed by the suffix of -son or -dóttir (depending on their gender of course). Petrine was the daughter of Hans. This would be written like this: Hansdottir or Hansdatter. At some point in the 1900s, this kind of naming system is dropped. But when doing genealogy research, it’s everywhere.
The star of this essay is Little Harald who lived among fishers whose waters mixed together the Barent Straights, the White Sea and the Norwegian Sea in the farthest city north in the world - Honningsvag, Finnmark, Norway. Harald’s birthright is made known today. In his early life, unbenounced to him, he was given heartbreaking strength of purpose by his birth mother Hilda and his step mother _________________. Harald’s grandson Finn Harald Norstad gives us the small child’s story. In this essay, we are going to trace this line of decendents: Petrine Jorgine Hansdatter Qvamme = sister of Hans Andreas Bernholf Qvamme (1847-1942). HABQ moved from his hometown Talvik, to Vardo, to Northkapp to Henningsvag – all places in the northern most area of Norway. HABQ’s is the father of Einar Andreas Qvamme (1883-1975)- his entire life was also lived in Honningsvag, Finnmark, Norway. Einars wife died, and even though not married, Einar had one last son after his wife’s death with Hilda Olson. That child was adopted so the last name changes but the DNA keeps him our relative. Einar’s last son was Harald Bergeton Nørstad (1914-1974). Einar died in 1915, a year after his last son was born. HBN had a son still living named Finn Norstad (b. 1937). Finn Norstad is the father of Finn Harald Nørstad born in 1966. Finn Harald Norstad is helping me research. Most recently, Finn moved from Henningsvag to Alta, right next door to Talvik, our root village in Finnmark. We have from FHN another relative, his son, Lasse Rismo Nørstad (b. 1993).
Chapter Title:
Grandpa Lumberjack, a Fisherman in Mourning, a Little Harold Surprise
My name is Susan Louise Darnell [b.12/26/1949] At the time of this writing I’m still in America on the east coast in a place I do not like, but it has been educational and useful to my habit of writing manuscripts. Currently, it is December 2016. I’m talking to a family relative Finn Harold Norstad [b. 1966]. He is in Finnmark, Norway right now in a place called Alta. The middle picture above is from his visit today in Talvik, which is only 18 miles from his home in Alta. Finn spent his first fifty years of life less than 350 miles from the Arctic Circle; certainly close enough to make the arctic news a part of regular family conversations. He was in Honningsvag, Finnmark, Norway, the most Northern city in the world. During the time of the northern lights, his nights looked like this:
Finn knows a lot about that exotic, quixotic part of the hemisphere most of us just read about. His entire childhood, teen life and adult life up until fifty was about amazing phenomenon like seeing the northern lights which of themselves, must cause mystical states of mind. Our Viking relatives thought these skies were alive and when the skies and lights moving around in it are clearly in a kind of figuration, they look like a bridge. The story goes like this: Some the Norse, Saami and Kven people thought these lights in the sky were created a bridge that went from earth to another place in the sky. Finn would experience the northern lights in the sky as moving, psychedelic colors. These skies move something like water, only more whispier and translucent to the senses. The lights are at their most frequent in late autumn, during the winter and up until early spring. October, February and March are the best months for auroral observations. Dinner time for this family meant looking out your window when the highest northern lights frequency is between 6 pm and 1 am. In order to get full value from the show you should avoid the full moon and places with a lot of light as they make the experience considerably paler. Theoretically, you can see the northern lights all over Norway. However, the best places are above the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway.”
Enjoy this little piece of writing he and I put together at the end of 2016. Somehow, between me and him, the love for this family, our nostalgia, our people’s lives and history must remain long and strong. Writing can be a vehicle to remember us. In the far future our relatives will just take DNA tests to figure out where they came from. If DNA has anything to do with our hunt for others with the same kind of blood running through our veins, I’d like to know. Some of our family members have passed on to Valhalla, some to heaven, some just to the dirt ground upon which some customs depend. Unite and chat I say. Someone who leaves their body can communicate with you. Some souls have the job of guiding us on earth, in this birth.
We’ve just discovered our great grandmother is the same. Her full name from all the names she’s had in her life is Petrine Jorgine Hansdatter Qvamme Osmundsen Sands. On her husbands death certificate, she writes her name Petrine Hanson. I figured she’d Americanized herself by the time Torjus/Tom, her husband passed on and that she decided to recreate her father’s first name, Hans, and her name Hansdatter, which the latter being how children were named in Norway. Hanson was a good guess, it’s what we use in America most often. We never see the Norwegian’s habit of writing the father’s first name and the word daughter after. If we did, I’d be Susan Jacksdatter Louise Darnell.
When Petrine arrived in America in 1888, she dropped all the names except for her married one and was known as Petrine Sands. She and husband Thomas dropped the Osmundsen name altogether, but in Norway her marriage signature would be Petrine Osmundsen. Someone suggested the name Sands came from where Thomas was geographically in Norway...down south in some place called Sand something. That’s another research project. When I meet Tom and Petrine, they are in Hammerfest, not far from Petrine’s birth place - each place in Finnmark, out near the Norwegian sea.
This particular story has been researched and recorded to give attention to the Qvamme Family.
We turn next to one of Petrine’s brothers named Hans Andreas Bernholf Qvamme b. 1847- d. 1942. Like Petrine, he was born and raised in Talvik, Finnmark, Norway on property #22, and it was called Stensgjaart Farm. One researcher suggested his home was on plot 23b. We can easily see they lived right on the water’s edge.
What is unusual about Hans Andreas Bernhard/Berholf Qvamme/Kvamme is he traveled to new places around Finnmark once he was of age. And man did he ever travel and seek out the most unusual place. Who would have told him about these places? For one thing, even when I was in Ohio in the 1950s my grandmother said she came from Vikings. And indeed, I now see that because I have researched it and have proof. That said, this is what Hans ABQ was like----the super hero of part of my stories. I can just imagine how strong and beautiful those fishers of men and fish must be. And to do it many many decades. Whereas his sister [my great grandmother Petrine] went westward, across the ocean and to America in 1888, HABQ went farther northward, way way way north to as far as you can go in Finnmark. Both kids -- away from their hometown. The parents, Mr. and Mrs. Qvamme/Kvamme stay in Talvik the rest of their life. This pic is the property today. All buildings were burned to the ground during the German invasion, except for the Talvik Church. Mind you, this town only has today 300 people. It’s just a tiny inlet but fishing is great.
As a writer and supernaturalist, I find the metaphysical reasons HABQ might have traveled to be interesting. I know many readers will be blown out by this but I am a cross disciplinary scholar on eastern and western philosophical and religious systems and have studied mysticisms around the world. Love Shamanism, although most people don’t know what it is. I’m not sure if Shaman’s believe in reincarnation, but to think like you do is interesting. I’ll give it a try here to show you how to do it. If you believe god leads your life and you ask him to, what this means metaphysically is that god is leading you to your next place in life where he wants you to be, and, there, you will confront your challenges that he/God puts forth for you to conquer with love. God knows people from past lives hover around trying to help each one of us. We have people on youtube who are very famous in the world because they see angels and talk to them.
Our life is Gods life and on this plane, in this lifetime, God gives you people and places where you have some things to learn and some things to resolve. So it fascinates me to imagine what Hans thought about and how he processed his life’s meaning. In reincarnation theory, which some Christians, most Hindu’s, all Buddhist believe in, you come back through the body of another person, but you are the same soul, returning to learn your lessons. You are just a soul in your body. Your soul can go in and out of the body. You get what appears to be new company along the way. But the surface appearance is not what is going on. Basically, we can say that HABQ revisited places his relatives had been before. Was this to continue the conversations about our people who were Vikings and thus, give my direct grandmother Louise, her Viking stories which she told me. I’d say “certainly.” And did some deceased soul become Hans guide and take him to one of the most astounding, gorgeous places on the planet? I like to think the answer is yes. I have proof for some of this.
All souls are made up of magnetic waves that are being driven by the unseen world of genes, chemistry, light waves, gods and angels. We think we are self directed, but alas, there is this mysterious spiritual nature about us that is in constant contact with the unseen world, like it or not. We have free will to make choices, but so much of life is like a big storm coming at you after you leave the nest. By late teens all of us are bursting to go forth, go beyond our parents reality, go out into the world to explore. But what unseen forces are pulling us to it? What pulled HABQ?
Exploring is human nature! Eventually, HABQ would be guided to a geographical destination where in the 1300s, our relative, King Haakon V Magnusson had built a fortress.
That place was Vardo, Finnmark, Norway, a real edge of the world place magnetic field for sure. Recall the witch hunt was the fiercest in any part of the world. But did you know the deer love lichen and it’s super duper abundant here and it makes people halllucinate and do and say weird things. Check out this lady below who is a real Shaman. If any of us at a piece of this humungous mushroom she has pulled from Vardo...omg, right! We’d be flying around walking. But this is a real Vardo Shaman from way back.
Hans, like all members of our family DNA pool, have Viking roots and this discovery in part is what makes my written history here, lots of fun. It’s taken me about six years, but I’ve finally researched enough to find our relatives are Vikings.
This evolution and movement of family members going off to other territories makes HABQ particularly exciting. As a side note, one of our relatives Joshua Rupe, he does the same thing only multiplied by ten. HABQ had nerve, lots of it. One example of his embrace with the past was when he moved to Vardo as a young man and for certain he would have visited the first fortress erected by Haakon V Magnusson in 1306. Everybody would visit because Vardo is small.
Hans Andreas Bernholf Qvamme [b. 1847]came from a wonderful solid family of many siblings. He was given his second name from his father and his third name Bernholf, from his grandfather. His full name by Norwegian custom would have been Hansson Andreas Bernholf Qvamme, sometimes spelled in genealogy searches as Kvamme. He had a great mother named Nikoline and his father, a well known lifetime Talvik villager was named Hans Christian Andreassen Qvamme [b. Sept 21, 1815 d. 1871. HCAQ (Hans Christian Andreassen Qvamme) had a dad named Andreas Bernhoft Olsen Qvamme born in 1792 in Alta, died in 1882 Talvik. HCAQ’s mother was Ane Pedersdatter Qvamme. Andreas Bernhoft Olsen Qvamme had a dad named Ole Halvoren Qvamme, ABOQ’s mother Ane Qvamme (born Andersdatter). What did this father Hans CAQ do for a living? He was a lumberjack in Talvik, which at first was covered with fir trees.
Back to Hans Christian Andreassen Qvamme’s wife: Nikoline [Hansdatter Helmer] b. June 19, 1823 in Tromso d. 1901 lived in Talvik where she was married and had her kids. The Qvamme family lived in Talvik, Finnmark, on a farmstead called Stensgjaard which by a map looks to be right by the tiny bay/inlet down land from the Altafjord and within a short walk to the water’s edge. Hans CAQ was born and died in Talvik.
And what about this adventurous son, HABQ! He was born in 1847 and raised by his family until his late teen years. Our guess is he moved away from family sometime after Oct 1864. The next town census for Talvik was taken by December 31, 1865 and it show HABQ was gone from Talvik. Old enough to move on his own, his first move was to the extreme northeastern part of Norway, out on a tip of land named Vardo (Vardoe). The town itself is on an island.
Vardo’s town motto is Darkness shall give way to the sun. The land is tundra and treeless.This tiny spot of earth has records and artifacts to prove its settlements stretch back several hundred years and thousands more. In fact our Viking relatives liked to stop here on their way to Bjarmaland. What can be said about HABQ, is that Hans Andreas Berhard/Bernholf Qvamme situated himself in an extraordinary geography that included legendary stories in the worlds history. The many new stories Hans would hear must have made his heart explode with happiness, and his mind explode with new knowledge, much of it told the old fashioned way, the ancient way, by story telling -- instead of reading. I’m writing our family stories now in the hopes that someone will see our stories and know we were a people of faith, family, dreams, spirit, stories and travel.
In the Iron Age the Saami were already in Vardo. It was during the medieval period that Vikings, Saami, Karelians, Finns and Norwegian royal power mixed. A church was built in Vardo in 1307, along with the firsts fortress.
After 1850 the town began to expand, fisheries grew in importance as did Pomor trade with Russia. Hans ABQ obviously heard about this when he was deciding how to strike out on his own, which for him was around 1865. In Vardo he worked as a fisherman and married and raised at least some of his children in Vardo.
Vardo’s population was bigger than Talvik which would have increased the level of new experiences HABQ would ascertain. No doubt he would have heard stories about witchery in this area. During the course of the seventeen century, citizens in the county Finnmark convicted ninety-one men, women, and young girls of witchcraft and burned them at the stake. Vardo has since apologized and honored these women who were simply displaying the activities of the more brilliant kind of thinking woman and men. It’s not that hard to kill of the soul’s way of knowing if a person is being consistently educated to not believe in their own visions, views and mental thoughts. Public education does it all the time. That’s why there’s private education. In Vardo Finnmark now has the Steilneset Memorial dedicated to the victims of the witch trials. Queen Sonja came to celebrate herself and decided to be the general secretary of the Vardo Church City Mission Sturla Stalsett. She has said “the memorial is meant to remind us of the ongoing danger of collectively creating scapegoats.” While we have no evidence that Hans Andreason Bernhard/Bernholf Qwas living in an awakened mind state like many of our current day meditators do, he was, by reincarnation theory, responding to inner drives and inward messages that lead him into the most fantastic geographies near the arctic. Hans ABQ came to this area much later, but were there still saami practicing such mystical arts? The witch trials of Vardø were in the winter of 1662–1663 and were one of the biggest in Scandinavia. Thirty women were put on trial, accused of sorcery and making pacts with the Devil. One was sentenced to a work house, two tortured to death, and eighteen were burned alive at the stake. It was the peak of the witch hunt which had intensified in Northern Norway since the first great Vardø witch trial in 1621.
The Saami were legendary shamans themselves. I’ve read that some Shamans are witches, but it is more like the Shamans have various levels and skills and one kind is witchery. In the medieval times and apparently up into the 1600s, if a witch made spells that harmed people or villages there was hell to pay. Some ninety witches were given death sentences in Vardo area because they had done bad things. It was all apologized for centuries later. Who knew about cognitive sciences and super mental powers like we do today in 2016.
Hans met Marie Frederikka Valenius in Vardo. She came to Vardo from Finland with her two brothers. On July 6 1873 they were married. Whether they thought their meeting place of Vardo was romantic or not, most of us would find it hard not to. The sky alone would send one hallucinating into a long night of sweet dreams.
You can see thousands of birds about a mile away from Vardo and in the Barents Sea. It’s the home to well over 150,00 seabirds. Colonies are abundant including black-legged kittiwakes, Atlantic puffin, razorbills and the common guillemot birds. The "midnight sun" is above the horizon from the 16th of May to the 29th of July. The polar night is from the 24th of November to the 19th of January.
Except for the few heavily guarded and tended trees, the climate is oddly too cold in summer for trees and too windy in the winter for trees. In fact, the sun never sets for two and a half months. Vardø is the only place in Norway proper that has polar climate. It’s warmest month does not reach 10 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature required for tree growth Their daughter Magda Alexandra was born in Vardo February 20th, in 1874 and baptized April 6 1874.
Hans Andreas Bernhard/Bernholf Qvamme and Maria Frederikka Valenius birthed 5 biological children of their own. The names of their children, including the 3 adopted children, are listed below. At some point after 1874 but before 1878, the couple and their children moved from Vardo to Kjelvik Finnmark. Kjelvik is known as Nordkapp today but I’ve seen their registry for Kjelvik – all of them so Kjelvik was in common use. Once again, Hans and family move to a geographical place that is most astonishing. From Nordkapp, if they hopped a boat for a vacation, and stopped at the next tip of land they’d be in the famous Viking haunt known today as Gjevaers.
When the family went from Vardo to Nordkapp, if they went by boat their trip would have taken about 14 hours. Notably, they get off in Honningsvag because to get to Nordkapp, you go through what is referred to as a gateway. Their geography – Nordkapp, is a cape on the northern coast of the island of Magerøya in Northern Norway, still in Finnmark county. The North Cape is the point where the Norwegian Sea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, meets the Barents Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean. The midnight sun can be seen from the 14th of May to the 31st of July.
The Children of Hans and Maria
1. Einar Andreas Kvamme
2. Kristian William Kvamme
3. Magda Nikoline Kvamme
4. Jens Leonart Kvamme
5. Eivin/Edivin Kvamme
and 3 foster children (Ole Olsen, Hilda Olsen and Othelie Kvamme.
Of concern to me because relative Finn Norstad [who lived much of his life in Honningsvag] is giving me information, is the son of Hans and Maria = Einar Andreas Kvamme born January 22, 1883 in Honningsvag. Finnmark, Norway. Our relative, Finn Norstad, shows in his research that the family moved from the island to Honningsvag sometime after the birth of Kristian William Kvamme, therefore, during or after 1876.
Just imagine all these kids walking around in this tiny, tiny fishing village: the sea, the northern light….astounding the mind…….Here they were walking along - Einar Andreas Kvamme, Kristian William Kvamme, Magda Nikoline Kvamme ,Jens Leonart Kvamme, Eivin/Edivin Kvamme and 3 foster or adopted brothers and sisters - Ole Olsen, Hilda Olsen and Othelie Kvamme. Eight kids in all!
Einar’s winter would be frigid and winter days would barely lighten to a spectral gloom. He would learn his history in time: To the north lies only the remote Svalbard Archipelago, Jan Mayan Island, and the polar ice cap. From the cliffs of North Cape, perched 1,000 feet above the Arctic Ocean, one stares into the arctic silence. All the while, the father would keep fishing.
During the summer months, Einar and his family would see the Saami people with their reindeer roaming in herds up on the dry tundra. Saami were allowed to set up camp. They set up temporary camp because they were very nomadic.
Einar and his brothers and sisters surely would have heard stories about the nearby Viking land, Gjesvaer in Finnmark and just south of Henningsvag. If Einar was lucky, he might have read his own Norwegian history written in the famous literary form called the Norwegian Sagas: One such saga is Heimskringla.
When he was of proper age, Einar met a young lady whose name was Hanna Sofie Mathisdatter. She was born May 26, 1886, so they were three years apart. On August 20th, 1905, they married. During 1913, in August, while pregnant, Hanna died.
Hanna’s death was a shock, but not the biggest surprise during that time period. As it turns out, Einar Andreas Kvamme took as a mate, Hilda Sofie Olson. She was his adopted or begotten daughter, so in a formal sense, it was not incest. About nine months after Hanna had died, Hilda Sofie Olsen gave birth.
Nine months after being a widow, Einar and Hilda Olson birthed a new boy. His name was Harold Begerton. By birth rights, his name would be Harold Begerton Qvamme. Begerton might be a name Hilda knew from her past, we don’t know. At any rate, Harold was given away, maybe by adoption or maybe just given away and his new last name became Norstad. Thus, he became Harold Begerton Norstad. Harolds exact birthday is ______1914, the place of birth Honningsvag, Finnmark, Norway. He was raised in Honningsvag by __________________Norstad. Eventually, Harold grew up and met a woman he wanted to marry. Her name was Edith Dahle. The marriage took place in Honningsvag and they lived their whole life in Honningsvag.
In case a reader wants to call, email, or mail:
Finn Norstad on facebook
[Notes for the study of the manuscript Dreams of My Norwegian by Susan Louise Darnell]
susanldarnell@gmail.com
Other places to call or connect to for fun
Vardo municipality
PO Box 292, 9950 Vardø
Tel: 78 94 33 00
Fax: 78 94 33 09
mail reception @ vardo.kommune.no
Org.nr .: 972 418 048
Honningsvag = postmottak@nordkapp.kommune.no
another person to contact for a hello or fish or just because
Ronald Bjorn
bjorn@capefish.com
Address: PB 143, 9751
Honningsvag, Norge
Mobile: +47 908 66 911
skype: bjorn-ronald
