Where did our ancestors come from and why are Omer and Myrtle’s surnames Espe and Dahl? I’m glad you asked…..
It was a common practice for emigrants to choose their own surname when arriving in North America. Surnames in the Scandinavian countries were used differently than they are nowadays. It is helpful to know that in those countries most farms have a name. And a little knowledge of past Scandinavian naming practices and our family history will be helpful too.
Before 1923 in Norway (1901 in Sweden) people in those countries would have a given name, such as Lorntz or Marit. Surnames were patronymic back then, derived from the father’s given name, with a ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ added to it (ie. Lorntz Ingebrigtsen or Marit Ingebrigtsdatter) – because their father’s name was Ingebrigt). And, in order to be more specific about which Lorntz Ingebrigtsen they meant, they would add the farm name at the end. So if Lorntz were living in 1860 on a Norwegian farm named Espet, his name would have been Lorntz Ingebrigtsen Espet. And in fact, he (Omer’s grandfather) was living there and that is how he got that name.
Side note: Scandinavians often named their children after ancestors, so there are numerous cases of family tree branches that look like this: Ole Larsen, son of Lars Olsen (father), son of Ole Larsen (grandfather), son of Lars Olsen (greatgrandfather), son of Ole Larson (great great grandfather) etc. etc.
So, where are the locations from which our ancestors’ surnames were derived?
Our Espe ancestors lived for a while on a farm named Søre Espet, in the center of THIS MAP (translated as “south aspen”) near the village of Innbygda, in the kommune (municipality) of Selbu, which is in the fylke (county) of Trøndelag. (Hint: Zoom out on that map to see where it is located in Norway) This farm is about a 1 hour drive from the center of the city of Trondheim, Norway. If our ancestor, Lorntz Espe, had stayed in Norway, his name would have remained Lorntz Ingebrigtsen. And if there was any question about which Lorntz Ingebrigtsen was being talked about, they would add the farm name Espet at the end. Likewise, if grandmother Thilda Dahlgren‘s parents had stayed in Sweden, her name would have been Thilda Olofsdotter.
Our Dahl ancestors lived in Norway on a farm named Dal, at the center of THIS MAP. (translated as “valley”) near the village of Maura, in the municipality of Nannestad, which is in the fylke of Akershus. This farm is about a 50 minute drive north of the center of the city of Oslo or about a 15 minute drive from the Oslo Airport (Gardermoen). Lewis Dahl emigrated from this farm with his parents at the age of four, but had he stayed in Norway his name would have remained Lauritz Hansen. And if there was any question about which Lauritz Hansen was being talked about, they would add the farm name Dal at the end.
Our Grensbråten ancestors lived on a farm named Grensbråten, at the center of THIS MAP. (g00gle translates this as “the border cliff”) If you zoom out on that map you will see that this little hytta (cabin) with out buildings is near the small village of Noresund, in the kommune of Krødsherad, in the fylke of Buskerud. This farm is about a 20 minute drive west of the center of the town of Hønefoss or about a 1.5 hour drive from the city of Oslo. Anna Dahl migrated from this place but if she had stayed in Norway, her name would have remained Anne Andersdatter Grensbråten. However, if she had moved to a different location, the last name would have been changed to the name of that farm.
