Bordewick Placeline

 Here's the second part of my family placeline, this time starting with my mom and working back from her. Her paternal line is Norwegian/Germanic, but the family as a whole has hit a block with my five times great grandfather, Hans Henrik, who came to Norway from Germany. Bardoweick, or so the family story says. But as of yet, no one in the great extended family has been able to find his family back in Germany.

Same note as before here: Bolded locations are ones where a major life event happened, either Birth, Marriage, or Death. Italicized locations are places where the family lived, but there were no big events in that person's life at that location.

1. My Mom: Ruth Anne Hillinger nee Bordewick

My mom's story is similar to my dad's. She was born outside the US, and came here with her parents. Unlike him, her parents weren't already citizens when she came here, but because she did come with her family, she met my dad, and the rest, as they say, is history.

A. Seattle, Washington. The place my mom lived for most of my life until she passed.

B. Port Orchard, Washington. Where mom and dad lived for a few years after my sister and I moved out before coming back to live in Seattle.

C. Bellevue, Washington. When my mom's family came to the US in 1960, they settled in Bellevue, where mom attended high school, and where she eventually married my dad.

D. Vancouver, BC. Where mom's family lived when she and her siblings were all born. Her family lived there until her father went looking for a better job, which lead them to moving to the US in 1960.

2. My Grandfather, George Robert Bordewick

My grandfather was the first generation on both sides of his family born in Canada, and all his children were born there as well. If he had not chosen to leave the country to find a better living, our family likely would have stayed there for at least another generation, if not more. But we did, so here we are.

A. Bellevue, Washington. Where my grandparents lived together through the remainder of their children's childhood, three marriages, and right until his death.

B. While serving in the war, Grandpa stayed mostly in the south west of England, and even went north to visit his in-laws' families when he had leave time. 

D. Truro, Nova Scotia. His training before he was sent overseas was here, and grandmum came to live here while he was here.

C. Vancouver, BC. Grandpa is another one of my family who really didn't move around much. He ws born in Vancouver and lived there with his parents until he married, went off to war, then settled down with his bride and their growing family after the war was over. I don't have strong details about grandpa's time in the army, but I may add more if I am able to find it.

3. Bjarne Bordewick, born Bordewich

A. Vancouver, BC. Where Bjarne finally settled with his parents after travelling halfway around the world from their home in Norway. Another of his mother's siblings lived here in Vancouver with her husband and their family. Here he met my great-grandmother, Mary. They married here and had two boys, George and Henry (aka Harry), and lived here until he died in a car accident near their new home in 1950.

B. Cleethorps, England. When things went bad in Belgium, the family moved here to be close to Bjarne's mom's younger brother, who I believe lived in Hull. Bjarne spent several years here, and was even starting his testing to go to Cambridge when his family moved again, this time to Canada. I believe he came separate from his family, but the records are a little scattered. It's possible I have records wrong, and he came with his family, but at this time, I do not have a record of all five family members together on a boat.

C. Antwerp, Belgium. When fishing in the Lofoten Islands became difficult, Bjarne's dad and his uncle Eivind tried to set up a fishing venture, sending their fish to markets where they could charge more for them. Unfortunately, Bordewich in Norway became Bordewick in Belgium, and the Belgians heard it as an English name. This was around the time of the Boer War, and feelings about English were at an all time low. The family still tells stories about the family being spit upon on the street. We don't think they even lasted a year here before they moved again.

D: Henningsvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Bjarne was born in a small town south of the town his grandfather ran. He lived here until the family moved when he was young.

4. Henrik Bergithon Bordewick, aka Henry Bordewick, born Bordewich

A. Vancouver, BC. Where Henry lived with his wife and sons until his death in 1930, having moved from England in 1910.

B. Cleethorps, England. He lived here for several years with his family, becoming a UK citizen in 1910 before moving to Canada shortly after.

C. Antwerp, Belgium. Where he'd hoped to start a new business, which failed badly (see above for more details), causing the family to move again.

D. Henningsvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Where he had his own small farm, and his three sons were born before fishing (which he and his brother used to supplement their family larder) became difficult, and he and his brother Eivind came up with an idea for how to make money from the fish they were able to catch.

E. Lingvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Where he was born, and where his father was born before him. A small town his grandfather ran, first as the man in charge of the town trading post, but later also as mayor for a time.

5. Hans Henrik Bordewich

A. Henningsvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway. When Hans's father Johan remarried, he decided to leave, since his father showed no signs of stepping aside so that his sons could take over his business. He and his wife moved to Henningsvaer, where his grandson was born, and where he passed away at the age of 59. 

B. Lingvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway. I believe Hans Henrik lived his most of his life in the town he was born in. If not, he was one of the few of Johan's children not to be born there, but at the moment, my records are not concise enough for me to be certain.

6. Johan Petter Bordewich

A. Lingvaer, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Shortly after his first marriage, he moved to Lingvaer, and all of his sixteen children were born in Lingvaer, if what I believe is correct. He helped run a trading post there, and when his boss needed to leave (quite abruptly, from the family lore), he took over the post and ran it quite well for many years. He even became mayor of the town for a time. After his first wife's death, and a subsequent child by one of his family staff, he eventually married again, having four more children with his second wife. He died here at the age of 76, quite a good age for someone living back in 1879.

B. Trondheim, Norway. Johan was born here to a captain and his wife, and lived there until he was old enough to work. According to the family lore, he eventually began working in the Lofoten Islands for a man who ran a trading post there.

7. Hans Henrik Bordwig (or Bordvik, or many other variations)

A. Trondheim, Norway. Hans Henrik came to Norway and met and married his wife, Anna here. They had three sons, and he started up a shipping concern. He was captain of his own boat, and helped ship goods to many places in Europe before his ship ran aground on an island on the edge of the Lofoten Islands. It was winter, and while the men made it to shore, they all froze before they were found. 

B. Bardoweik, Germany. This is where we have been told that Hans was born, though as of yet, no one in the extended family has been able to find a record that precisely matches his information, so we have been unable to trace back further in his family line.

*

So there are all the locations for my Bordewick/Bordewich/Bordewig line. 11 locations. A very descent amount. The ones coming up next won't be quite as long, though they still extend back quite a ways, so we shall see.

Surname Saturday 2.0: The Bordewichs Part 2

The Bordewich Family

This Bordewich branch is actually an offshoot of the first.

My ancestor Johan Petter Bordewich had three families. The first with his first wife, Leonharde Marine Linkhausen, who died giving birth to their eleventh child. The second was a daughter with a family servant, who according to family records, he wanted to marry, but his children convinced him not to. This child and woman were both sent off, and the child was fostered with more distant family members. She only had peripheral contact with her father during her life according to records. The final was my great-great grandmother’s family.

Johan had been a widower for twelve years when his next child was born. Like with his previous affair, his children managed to convince him he should not marry the girl’s mother. But this time was different. Unlike the other child and woman, who were sent away, Johan put his foot down, and the two stayed in the household. And, eventually against his children’s wishes, he married the woman. The two had three more children together, the first of which was my great-great grandmother, Leonharde Marie, who was named for her father’s first wife. (A tradition on this branch that makes determining records somewhat difficult, as there are something like 5 different Leonhardes in this family.)

She grew up in a very large family of brothers and sisters, many of whom she likely never met, and several of whom probably resented having siblings so much younger who were not their mother’s children around.

I believe Johan’s choice to finally remarry resulted in a break with the son who had been set up to take his place in the family business, which was the care and running of the sea port of the town, if I understand correctly. With another family in place at the family home, Hans Henrick (my great-great-great grandfather on the other branch of this family) chose to set up his own business rather than wait until his father decided to retire.

Hans Henrick’s son, Henrick Bergthon, was a year older than Leonharde, and it is likely the two spent time together at extended family functions as children, though I have no specific proof of this. What I do know is that eventually the two married and had three sons of their own before leaving their families in Norway behind in hopes of finding better employment for Henrick.

The two moved to Antwerp, Belgium, where the Bordewich name was mistaken for British, and caused them to be shunned by the Dutch. They moved again, this time to Grimsby, England, a town across from the large ship-building city of Hull. My great-grandfather and his brothers and a few older female relations (I assume they were relations, though I cannot be entirely sure of this as of yet, but I know that one definitely was Leonharde’s sister’s daughter) grew up. My great-grandfather, Bjarne, had just taken the entrance exams for Cambridge when the family chose to move again, this time to Vancouver, BC in Canada, where they settled near Leonharde’s brother.

Bjarne soon met his wife to be here, and the two had two sons and lived there together for over thirty years before his death in 1950. My family (parents, sister, her kids, and my aunt and uncles) are the only remaining descendants of this line.

The Bordewick line is as follows, for those interested:

* Hans Henrich is the first generation we're certain of. We believe he was born in 1769. He married Anna Tiller 1796 in Trondheim, Norway, and the two had three sons before his death in 1815. She was born 1769 and died in 1846.

* Their three sons were Ole Hansen, Johan Petter, and Hans Oliver.
+ Ole Hansen was born 1801, and died about a year and a half later.
+ Johan Petter was born 1802, and died 1879. His line follows below.
+ Hans Oliver was born 1806 and died 1844. He married Edvardine Tiller, an adopted child of one of the Tiller family (his mother's family), and they had one son, Hans Henrick, who was born 1837 and died 1867.

* Johan Petter married twice, but had children by three different women, all three lines having descendants.
+ Leonhard Marine Linkhausen married Johan in 1827. They had 11 children children together before her death in 1846 due to complications of childbirth with their last child.
+ Jacobine Benjaminsdatter had one daughter by Johan, Petra Johanne Bordewich, born in 1852.
+ Henrikke Roness had one daughter with Johan before their marriage in 1860, after which they had three more children together before his death in 1879.

* Johan and Henrikke's children were:
+ Ida Amalie, born 1858, died 1930, married Peder Olsen in 1881. They had 6 children.
+ Leonharde Marie, born 1861, died 1944. Married Henrick Bergthon 1887. They had 3 children.
+ Anna Magdalena, born 1862, died 1949, married Aksel Kjelsberg in 1890. They had 5 children.
+ Peter Magnus, born 1867, died 1956, married Margaret Priebke in 1891. They had 7 children.

* Third generation – Henrick Bergthon and Leonharde Marie's children:
+ Bjarne Borrdewick, born 1888, died 1950, married Mary Park 1917. They had two children.
+ Harald, born 1890, died 1950.
+ Hans Henrik, born 1892, died 1957, married Winnifred Atwaters in 1919. They had no children.

* Bjarne and Mary had two sons, George and Henry. George was my grandfather. He and his wife had four children, and they have two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He died in 1991. His younger brother, Henry, died in 1942. He never married or had any children.

What I don't know:

* The information I'm most craving is to learn exactly who Hans Henrich's parents were back in Germany. There is some speculation he may have changed his name to Hans Henrich, possibly after someone else in his family.

The descendants of Hans Henrich and Anna Magdalena have been well-traced, but I'm always open to hearing more about them, or finding new branches I was unaware of, so if any of these names seem familiar, feel free to contact me.


Other information about this branch of the family:
Old Surname Posts –
* Bordevick
* Bordewick
Where We're From Posts –
* Where We're From – United States
* Where We're From – Canada
* Where We're From – Germany
* Where We're From – England
* Where We're From – Norway
* Where We're From – Waystations
Other -
* The Bordewick Family
* Four Generations
* Johan Petter Bordewick – Most Prolific Male Ancestor
* Bardoweick
* Women's History Month – Week 1
* Women's History Month – Week 5
* For Vetran's Day: Henry Norman Bordewick