Pictures of Fogn July 2007

Blurry photo of a farm map - shows Langeland

Lovely Fogn Inhabitants - Aud-Irene & Ingvild T.

Varland Farm View

Ingvild T. and Peggy

Langeland land

Fogn Island July 2007

Fogn Sign at dock
General Store on Fogn

Langeland Home

Garden on Langeland

Dagrun and Peggy at General Store

My cousin, Peggy O. and her husband have been visiting in Norway. A few days ago they took the ferry to the Fogn Island where our "Thompson" ancestor's came from. In Norway the father's name was Torkild Torkildsen Langeland. He brought his family to America and that included my great grandfather, Halvor and Peggy's gggf Theodor.

Peggy located the Langeland farm and took some pictures. The owner wasn't home. She also took pictures of the Varland Farm where Torkild's 2nd wife had been born. The Varlands that now live there are not related according to Ingvild who invited Peggy into the home. There are other farms on the island such as Eie and Bø that share boundaries with one of the farms that had people who married Varlands.

Since I've been trying to find information out about this place for some time, I was so thrilled that a close cousin decided to go check it out in person. She and Dave loved it. Peggy has given permission for me to post some of the pictures on my blog. Thank you or Mange Takk, Peggy.

The island has only 1 general store and the clerk, Dagrun was very nice to them and very helpful. There is no little motel for people to stay at from what I have read online so you have to be sure to catch the last ferry back to Stavanger.

Cancer Touches So Many...

I've been thinking a lot this week about a cousin in Norway who started her first chemo session after breast cancer surgery this week. I've only had e-mail contacts with her and shared pictures and family history but somehow feel that kin-ship. I wish her well.

Tomorrow will be the 3rd anniversary of my sister-in-law's death from cancer and we miss her. I've been thinking about her family.

I have a son and husband who have had surgeries for cancer. So far, they are cancer free and I hope it stays that way.

I lost a mother to inflammatory breast cancer in 1993. That is such an aggressive one and it was too late for her but she stretched out her life by trying chemo from the predicted 1 or 2 months to 10 months before dying.

With all the millions spent on research over so many years, I can't help but wonder why more isn't known about what causes all the cancers. What triggers that mad cell growth? Virus...chromosome damage...chemicals? Seems to me we should have more answers on prevention by now than we do.

One of my Favorite Artists

Ray Charles...My very favorite song of his is "Georgia" but I like many of his songs. This is "Song for You" by Ray Charles

Music Video Codes By Music Jesus.com

Easter Sunday 2007

In your Easter bonnet...Miss Ella takes a walk around her yard. This grand-daughter of mine is such a lover of the outdoors. It is a good thing, too, because that is where her parents like to be when they aren't working.

Ella is now 2 and talking a lot. She has the most delightful and outgoing personality. She reminds me so much of my mother's personality that I sometimes think she is a 'little Nelly' reincarnated. But then I'm not sure there is such a thing although I know some believe in it. It just might be something in the mtDNA passed on.

On the right is a new picture of my oldest grand-daughter,
Kaitlyn. I love this new photo of her. She lives about 700 miles South of us, so we don't see her often. She is very talented and I understand that math is easy for her! It must be that bit of Greek ancestry! That is on her Mom's side. She also has some Slovenia, Bohemia (Ancient Celt), Norwegian, Irish, English, Finnish and Swedish genes.

She is well liked by her peers and gets top grades in school. She is a good swimmer and dancer and has been active in cheerleading and school politics.

If we can live into our 80's to 90's, we will see what life brings for these lovely ladies. May God Bless them and their guardian angels watch over them!

I don't have new photos of my other 3 grand-children to share today, but will update their pictures when I can.

Czech Republic Only a Memory!

Yesterday, we received a very late Christmas letter from an ex-neighbor with an explanation of why it was late. Yes, we had to laugh a little about it. But, a personal note accompanied the letter and this couple is headed for Europe on 4 May and are taking a train from Salzburg, Austria to Prague where they will stay at the Hilton for a couple of nights and then pick up a Viking River Cruise on the Elbe River to Berlin. As part of their tour, they have a guide around Prague but wanted to know if we had any suggestions on other things to see or a place to eat in their free time.

Here is where the memories come in...I got out my scrapbook and pictures. We kept every receipt and a Journal on our once in a lifetime trip. I would love to go back again and just live there in Bohemia for awhile. I remember our friends in Prague and my cousins in Kutna Hora and new friends in Brzotice with fondness.

Our neighbors will hit most of the highlights on the tour but I think they should just walk around downtown and go into stores and maybe find a courtyard Café to eat lunch as they walk around. We didn't use a tour on our trip and enjoyed discovering places on our own. One of our friends has a diamond store in Prague now so maybe I'll have the neighbors try to find his store.

Oh my...it would be nice to win a lotto so we could do a bit more traveling before we sail into the mysterious beyond...

Haga Farm, Høyland, Norway

My great-great grandfather, Torkjell Torkjellsson was b. 1785 on the Haga farm in Høyland parish of Norway. Torkjell's parents were Torkjell Torkjellsson HAGA b. 1745 and Marta Kristine Tjerandsdtg USSJA b. 1753 in Riska parish.

I believe he is written up in Book I, Vol. II of Farm and Family Saga (with maybe some mistakes). I have the ancestors history but I'm curious about the details of Torkjell's siblings. A researcher had given me names: Torkjell (must have died as infant or child); Gunnhild; Tjeran; then comes my ancestor - Torkjell; Odne; Marta; Tore; Marta Kirstine.

As I'm now looking to find what relatives I have that stayed in Norway, I'd assume that many of these siblings descendants are there.

My relative lived for a time on Fogn. He was married twice. He brought his 2nd wife and children to America in 1854. They lived on Langeland and I do have that history.

If you can help me with scanned pages of the history of Haga or any information about the descendants of the names of my Torkjell's brothers and sisters, please contact me.

I did have a cousin living near Trondheim find me recently. She is a descendant of my Torkjell's daughter, Marte Kristine OSCAR.

My oldest grandchild - Kaitlyn

Griffin, Natalie and Olivia say Hi...

Grand-daughter, Ella loves the outdoors! June 2006

Luck Made My Day!

I'm still having moments of amazement in what happened with my posting about Fogn, Norway.

I had surfed in from a link posted in a Genealogy-DNA list and discovered this blog site. I was curious and decided to try setting up my first blog. Since I've been working on family history for many years, that was the subject I chose to post. I was curious about Fogn. It is where a gg gfather and mother came from in the Spring of 1854. I had recently discovered that Anna Varland had siblings and the information showed that some stayed on Fogn or probably nearby. This is what I was curious about - the Island itself and the possible relatives still living there.

Well, a lady named Elaine had read about blogspot.com in an AARP article recently and for the first time of the afternoon of the day I posted my first blog she checked into the site and put their last name into the search box and this is where my luck begins! It is amazing to me how this all happened from one morning to same evening - it made my day!

Photos

Scarlett

Fogn, Finnøy, Norway

I'm new at this blogging but will give it a whirl.

I'm working on the genealogy of some Norway ancestors this week. I would like to make contact with people familiar with or who live on the Island called Fogn in the Finnøy Kommune in Norway. It is remotely possible that I still have distant cousins living on this island.

The ancestors lived on the farms/bruk called Langeland and Varland. They did leave siblings back in Norway but the whole immediate family immigrated 6 April 1854 and various members settled in Iowa first and then Wisconsin, Minnesota and some homesteaded later in Canada.

GG Grandfather Torkjell "Torkel" Torkjellsson Langeland Thompson was born on Haga and his wife Anna Halvarsdatter Varland was born on Ullestad farm in Årdal, Rogaland, Norway. She later moved to Fogn. They were married in Stavanger 25 Jun 1834.

I have lots of information and at the moment I'm waiting on translations but can read enough Norwegian to know that Anna had siblings who stayed on Fogn and they had children and hopefully some of their children, etc. are still there.

I'm curious about this small Island, so if you are from there or have been there, I'd welcome your comments.

I've been succesful in the past of finding relatives in Finland for my husband and in the Czech Republic for myself.