Where We're From – Norway

To everyone who follows this blog—sorry there have been no postings of late. Things have been kind of difficult for me, and this posting in particular was giving me a rough time. It's all sorted now, though, so hopefully I'm back on track.


Unlike my Irish roots, which I had little information on, the Norwegian lines is one of the best-mapped in my family tree. My grandfather even went so far as to do a bit of research on the German town our name comes from. For the direct line, we can trace back to Germany, but most of the family we know of lived in Norway for many generations. Four generations of the direct line were born there, as well as many Norwegian roots on the female lines on the tree (and a few more German).

Because this line is so well-mapped, I have a good deal of documentation, though I have yet to get through all of it. But it does mean I have more of the stories surrounding the lives of my Norwegian family than many of the others I have already posted.

There actually is more than this, but I have yet to prove that branch for certain, and it gets very murky after a few generations, so I have left it off this list. If, at some point, I ever do confirm some of those connections, I will probably redo this map, but as it is, it's still one of the larger ones I have.


A map of the locations (and do check back at the old maps—I've updated them all to embed them in the entries now):

View My Norwegian Roots in a larger map

1. Oslo
Though my line of the family had left Norway by the time she moved here, this is my most recent connection to Norway. My great-great grandmother, Kaja (Angell) Bordewick moved here. I think she may have done so after her husband's death, though I have nothing at this time to confirm that.

2. Lofoten Islands
Many generations of my grandfather's family were born here, the most recent of which in our direct line was my great-grandfather, Bjarne Bordewick. His family's travels from Norway to Vancouver, B.C, Canada can be read here.

His grandfather, Johan Petter, settled there as a young man and took a job with a man who ran a thriving business in the area. When the man was forced to move on, Johan took over his business, and became quite prosperous. At least three generations of his line after him were born there.

2. Henningsvær, Nordland
This is where my great-great grandfather, Henrick Bergthon Bordewick was born, and where his mother in law, Henrikke (Roness) Bordewich died.

3. Lyngvær, Nordland
This is where Johan Petter Bordewich, his first wife, and his mother all died.

4. Vågan, Nordland
Johan Petter and his second wife married here, as did his son, Hans Henrik and his wife Kaja. Hans Henrik was born here in 1834.

5. Grane, Helgeland
This is where my great-great grandmother Kaja Bordewick was born.

6. Vikholmen
I believe this is where Hans Henrich, the father of Johan Petter, shipwrecked in 1815. He and his men made it to shore, but froze to death awaiting rescue.

7. Bergen
This is where my great-great-great grandmother's mother and grandmother were born, and where both her grandparents died.

8. Trondheim, Sor-Trondelag
This is where most of Johan Petter's mother's family was from for many generations before her.


And that's all I have at the moment, though as I said, I do have a few that I'm currently looking into.

As always, if any of my family reading this knows more about this branch, particularly if you have any records or documentation, I'd love to get together to exchange info.

Next up: Waystations (ie, those places my family lived for a time, but never fully settled in.)

Where We're From – Germany

Like Canada, this list will be relatively short, if in slightly a different way. Once I looked into it, it turned out longer than I expected. I considered putting Galicia on this list, but I think I will give it its own list, as it was a separate state, and passed from country to country, even if the original state was more German than not.

A map of these locations:

View My German Roots in a larger map

1. Frankfurt
My father, like my mother, was born out of the country. Unlike my mother, he was actually born a US citizen, as he was born on a military base while his parents were still stationed there. He did not live there long before the family moved back to the US.

My father's father was also born in Frankfurt, or more precisely, Frankfurt am Main, in the Jewish area of the city. He and all of his siblings were born there before things began to get bad for the Jews in Germany, and shortly after his youngest sister was born, the family escaped to France before immigrating to the US, sometime in the early 1930s.

My grandfather's parents moved to Frankfurt shortly after the first world war. My great-grandfather Alex moved there after being expelled from England for being a German national. My great-grandmother, Dora, moved there with her sister from their small town in hopes of finding a better life in the big city. The couple met there and married in 1919, raising their six children there before leaving in the early thirties.

2. Lübeck, Gelting, Schleswig
The Linkhausen family also originates from Germany, though I have only recently discovered this. Leonharde, my great-great grandfather's first wife, was born in Norway, but her father Ditlev was born in Lübeck, Germany, and most of his family seems to have lived in that general area for many generations before Ditlev moved to Norway.

3. Bardowick (Lynesburg), Holstein
My several-greats grandfather, Hans Heinrich Bordevick, was born 1769 in a suburb of Lynesburg, known as Bardowick, and this is where our family name comes from on this side of the family. As a young man, he left Germany and moved to Norway, becoming a citizen there and marrying.

4. Brunswik, Kiel, Holstein
Ditlev's mother Anna Margaretha died here in 1812.

5. Gelting, Schleswig
Ditlev's mother Anna Margaretha was born here in 1754, his father Detelf Anton died here in 1809, and his grandmother, Anna Johansen died here in 1765.

6. Niesgrau, Schleswig
Detlef Anton Linkhusen was born here in 1738, and his mother, Anna Johansen Grot was born here in about 1697.


And currently, that's all I know for both sides of the family. There is a branch of the Hansen tree that may trace back to Germany, but as of yet, I haven't firmed up that connection, so I left it out. As I said, Galicia is still to come as its own entry, even if it will be quite short. I am hoping someday to learn more about my family in that country, so for now I want to keep it separate, even though Galicia was basically a German state. As always, if my family reading this knows more, I'd love to hear it.

Coming Next: England

ETA: More locations in the Schleswig/Holstein area of Northern Germany.

LINKHAUSEN (Germany>Norway)

Meaning/Pronunciation: Pronunciation: Link-how-zen Meaning: German for "Left House."

Origin: Apparently German, though I didn't know that until I looked up the name to find out the origin. Before that, I assumed it Norwegian, despite not sounding too Norwegian, because that was all I knew for this family.

Variations: Linchausen, which I also just saw today.

Relation to me: This is my mother's father's father's father's father's mother.

Ancestors:
i: Linkhausen, Leonharde, 1809 – 1846, Norway; Johan Petter Bordevick, 7 sons, 4 daughters

ii: Linkhausen, Ditlev Anton, 1783 – 1845, Germany ?, Henrikke Oline Brunn, 1 daughter known

Looking for:
Well, I just found a tree that has more info on this branch, though I haven't had a chance to contact them properly yet, but if so, it will extend several more generations back for me, which is very exciting. I did not know that both sides of this family were basically from Germany, aside from Johan's mother. Should be interesting to see what I find about her side…

For those interested, the site I found is here.