It's a Small World After All!!!

    

     My great, great grandparents were Ole Olsen and Maria Eriksdotter and they were from Norway. They were tenant farmers on a farm named Petterborg. The Petterborg farm was owned or at least run by the Lutheran Church. The Olsen’s were given a part of the farm to live on and where they could raise crops and animals to sustain their family. They had 9 children, two died as infants. The majority of their time and energy was working the big property for the owner. They also gave quite a hefty percentage of what they raised for their family to the owner. Life was hard and NOT easy. Much like the rest of the world at that time.

     In 1866 much of the family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church). When the Lutheran Church minister, who was the overseer of the farm, found out that Ole and Maria’s family had joined the LDS church, he took the farm away from them. Sometime, while they were living on the farm, they took the name of Petterborg as their surname because when they joined the church they were known as Ole Olsen Petterborg and Maria Petterborg. Some of their children took the Petterborg name and some didn’t. The family moved to Oslo where they worked and saved their money so they could move to America and specifically, Idaho where Ole had a ½ brother—David Jensen. Ole, Maria, Emil (my great grandfather) and youngest daughter, Beate, came to America in 1872. Of their 7 living children all but one eventually immigrated to America.My maiden name is Petterborg.

   Fast forward—In 2010 I started a blog called “From Olsen to Petterborg” where I have been trying to tell the story of Ole and Marie and their children and what happened to them and share as much about them as possible for those of us today to read and share and learn. I have not been very good about posting for the last year but the blog is still out there. A few of the posts on the blog show pictures of the Petterborg farm as it looked about 15 years ago when a second cousin (or something like that) went to Norway and took some pictures of the farm as it was then. I went to Google Earth and found it today. I posted many of the Google Earth pictures. It really has not changed very much in years and years. The landscape is beautiful and I would love to visit.Click on the blog name above to see pictures and read those posts.

     On Tuesday of this week I opened my email and there was the most exciting message. A man, living in Norway, was surfing the Internet and stumbled onto the blog. His name is Hege Johansen and he wrote to tell me that he lives on the Petterborg farm today. He bought the farm from his father, who got it from his father, who got it from his father!!!!!!!! I asked him to tell me when his great grandfather lived on the farm. I might be able to close the gap from 1866 forward. They have farm books in Norway that list the history of the farms and who has lived on them. I am not sure how late they go but I can give it a try. Hege sent me pictures of the farm from 4-5 years ago taken from a plane. He said that he is going to takes some pictures with is camera and send them to me.

     His grammar and spelling is charming. He English is great. I wish I could use Norwegian 1/0000^th as well as he uses English. I am ecstatic that he wrote and at the possibilities because of the Internet. What a small world we live in!

    I am not posting his pictures of the farm until I ask him for permission. As soon as he says it’s ok I will post them.