The Bardahl and Nelson Portraits (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 50 Theme: "Family Heirloom")

 

Carl and Karen (Nilsdatter) Nelson (top); Anna (Elton) and Hans Bardahl (bottom) 

My paternal great grandparents have been watching over my shoulder as I've written each of these weekly stories this year. I treasure these portraits for the way they connect me to them through my father who scoured antique stores for years to find their large domed glass frames. His older sisters, in a crafting fit, had apparently removed the original frames to make table tops, probably long since discarded. Fortunately they hadn't thrown out the pictures! 

Three of my Dad's four grandparents had died by the time he was born in 1926. Because Dad's parents had moved to Canada from Minnesota, Dad only got to meet his remaining grandmother Anna one time, that when he was 4 years old. I suspect his longing for his unknown American grandparents provided his determination to see their portraits properly framed again. 

When my Dad passed on, my siblings very graciously agreed that I should be the one to take these family treasures. I have always appreciated this gesture from them.

As for the ancestors in these portraits:

1. The Nelsons

Carl Nelson was born in 1839 in Norderhov, Ringerike,  Buskerud, Norway. In 1866 he married Karen "Carrie" Marie Nilsdatter who had born nearby in 1842. The following year, the young couple moved to America. They farmed in the area of Erdahl, MN. where they raised a family of 8 children, the youngest of whom was my grandmother Louise born in 1881.

Carl and Carrie Nelson with their 8 children (colourized)

Carl died in 1911 and Karen in 1915. Both are buried in the Erdahl Lutheran Cemetery, Erdahl, MN.

Grandson Ken and his wife Elinor Bardahl at the Nelsen headstone in Erdahl

2. The Bardahls 

Hans Olai Johnson Bardahl was born at Hemnes, Nordland, Norway in 1841. He arrived in North America in 1866, finally settling in the area of Barrett, MN. Anna Ericksdatter Elton was born in 1849 in Vang, Valdres, Oppland and, as a very young girl,  came to America with her family in 1854. She married Hans Bardahl in 1873 in Goodhue County, MN. Hans and Anna had a family of 6 children including son John  born in 1879. Anna had given birth to son Erstein "Steve" from an earlier relationship; he was also part of their family and used the surname "Bardahl". 

Hans and Anna with their 6 children (Steve not present) colourized

Hans died in 1922 and Anna in 1938. Both are buried in the Lien Cemetery, Barrett, MN.

photos courtesy TBurt of Findagrave.com

Handwriting: The Personal Touch (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 49 theme: 'Written")

Genealogists treasure connections to their ancestors. Old family letters, journals and diaries are often especially touching with the ancestor having created it by hand with their own personal flair. Never mind the possible hints that handwriting analysis might reveal. Just the sheer joy of looking at something written by the ancestor's hand can tug at the heart.

With the steady decline in the use of cursive handwriting, written materials left behind now will almost certainly be typed and digitized into conformity. No personal touch except for the content. And even content is being de-personalized with the increasing use of AI. 

Time to revisit some of the handwriting samples left behind by a few members of my family. 

Starting with my Dad Kenneth Bardahl (1926-1997), a keen family historian. I don't have to look far in my materials to find things written by him. Here is one example relating to a copy of a book page about his grandfather Hans Bardahl. 

Written materials provided to me by Kenneth Bardahl 1988 

Yes, Dad, I do enjoy seeing this notation you made and, like you, I hope future generations can also enjoy it. As we do with the writing you did in 1991 at the request of your grandson Grant. Here is the cover letter from Dad's 35 page handwritten life story:

I never heard his story about his day as a sales clerk in menswear and wish I could ask him about that. More stories would have been even better, Dad.

Dad's maternal grandfather Carl Nelson (1839-1911) had beautiful writing as can be seen from these handwritten invitations for his daughter Louise's wedding:

Nor everyone could claim beautiful penmanship. My maternal grandmother Idella Edwards shared a significant amount about her eclectic early American ancestry with her son Robert. Here is an example of her writing from the 1960s relating to her grandfather George Garner Wescott's service in the American Civil War.

Although she had been a school teacher, Della was the first to acknowledge her poor penmanship. I remember when she was learning to type in the late 1950s in preparation for starting a motel business; she told me it would be the only way people could read her writing!

One final person I would like to note is Jorgen Torkelson Neurak (1788-1839), one of my mother's paternal ancestors who was klokkar (sextant) at Nissedal, Telemark, Norway and would have been in charge of keeping the church records. (The Lutheran State Church records are the official vital records for Norway.) For example, the following would have been Jorgen's handwritten entry for the 1835 birth and 1836 baptism of his son Halvor Jorgenson.

Birth and baptism records 1836 from Nissedal Kirkeboker Parish Register 1814-1862, p.49

I find it particularly poignant  to note that upon his death in 1839, the writing in the church books (starting with his burial) took a turn for the worse as a new clerk took over the responsibilities. (Anyone who has experience with old records in Gothic script knows the challenges faced in deciphering even simple words and names when the penmanship is excellent, never mind when it's not.)

Handwritten notations are far more touching than the more easily read and searched digitized version of the same information. It's that personal touch provided by the hand of our ancestors that will be missed when it comes to records being left by us now.

Post Script

After bemoaning the move to digitization and use of AI, it occurred to me that I am not leaving much in the way of handwritten records myself. I have, however, kept journals of my genealogical journey and have copied from a page written by me in January of 1998 at the Alberta Family Histories Society monthly meeting, Beginners' Session. Apparently they were filling us in on local resources available in Calgary. Sadly, I doubt that my log book/journals will provide much of particular interest to future genealogists.

Lefse on the Plate! (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 48 Theme: "Family Recipe")

Norwegian lefse (in North America sometimes spelled with an "a" as lefsa to indicate its pronunciation) is a soft flatbread made with mashed or riced potatoes, butter, cream and flour. It is generally spread with more butter before eating, then sprinkled with sugar (and sometimes cinnamon) and rolled up, or, in my family, more often spread simply with butter and rolled up to be eaten as a bread. It can also be used in savory snacks or lunches by rolling it up with meat, cheese or other fillings as you might with pita, naan or tortillas. It is a staple at Christmas and Thanksgiving in my Canadian family. 

My earliest recollection of lefse-making in my family was at home on the farm when my Grandma Bardahl came to visit. My parents had taken over my grandparents' Saskatchewan homestead in an area populated primarily by people of Norwegian heritage. My paternal grandparents were both 100% Norwegian Americans who had moved across the border to Canada. My maternal grandfather was entirely of Swedish and Norwegian background, but because my maternal grandmother was not Scandinavian at all, my mother Elinor (Anderson) Bardahl did not grow up with lefse (or any other Norwegian treats, for that matter).

That left it up to my Grandma Bardahl to show my mother how it was done. Grandma's old ridged rolling pin and her heavy grill to put on the wood stove were brought out, as was the turning stick (called a lefsepinne or snustikke in Norwegian --  but we just called it the turning stick or poking stick). This long narrow stick normally resided safely at the bottom of the living room pull-down blind and could be pulled out when called into service.

Here is the family recipe for Lefsa in my mother's handwriting:

Bardahl, Elinor, Recipes from Grandma's Kitchen, 2nd edition, privately printed 2013, page 9 (with my notation to refrigerate the potato mixture 1-2 days where the recipe says "cool"; this is the recommendation of my brother Craig and his wife Melanie)

Although the recipe does not indicate this as part of the method, for children most of the fun comes from helping by using the lefsa lifter to poke the bubbles that form when the first side cooks on the grill. Hence, our name of "poking stick".)

My mother became so adept at making lefse that she sold it for many years at the Swift Current Farmers' Market. The following newspaper article featured her lefse-making skills:

The Southwest Booster, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, November 18, 1991 

(I had forgotten my father's comment regarding their specialized car license plate that read "LEFSA" saying he had obtained it so he would always have lefsa on his plate! Groan!)

In the same way that Elinor's mother-in-law had taught her, Elinor in turn got her daughter-in-law Melanie started in the lefsa-making business. Melanie's husband Craig is equally involved and the couple have run a successful business selling their fine product throughout western Canada. They have tweaked the family recipe to make it work very well on a much larger scale. It remains delicious and of consistently excellent quality, making it exceedingly popular. It keeps them very busy for much of the year, particularly ahead of holiday seasons. 

Isaac Barton (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 47 theme: "The Name's the Same")

Isaac Barton is a name that shows up 8 times in my database and numerous times in other databases for various branches of the Barton family. For example, the Barton Database has 207 instances of Isaac included in the first/middle name for a Barton surname. Findagrave.com has 148 matching listings. Even local Victoria genealogist Buxton has 11 Isaac Bartons in her book. It would be interesting but exceedingly time-consuming to investigate all instances of "Isaac Barton".

I have a particular curiosity in sorting out any potential relationships for two of the men sharing this name. Not only do I have a maternal ancestor named Isaac Barton (my 4th great grandfather), but I have a paternal cousin who has a different man of the same name who is her 4th great  grandfather. Both of these men came from the New York State area and were born in the late 18th century. However, the family of my Isaac Barton supported the American cause in the American Revolutionary War, whereas my cousin Louise's branch were "Loyalists", remaining loyal to the British. Louise's Isaac moved north to what would become Canada; he died in 1851 in Prince Edward County, Ontario. My Isaac died in 1857 in Huron, Wayne County, NY.

Try as I may, I have yet to find a connection between these two men who share the same name. What I have been able to learn about these two Isaacs:

1. My 4th great grandfather Isaac Barton was born about 1780 in Huron, Wayne, New York. In 1804 he married Margaret "Abba" Vought/Voak who came from Cortlandt, Westchester, New York. Between 1804 and 1820, they had a family of 5 daughters and a son. 

In the 1850 US Federal Census, Isaac is at Huron, Wayne County, NY.  He was 70 and a farmer; wife Margaret was 65. Enumerated next to them was the family of their son Gerod Barton, 45. 

He died 24 June 1857 at age 77 and is buried in the Huron Evergreen Cemetery in Wayne County, NY.

 

Isaac Barton memorial, Huron Evergreen Cemetery; photo by Robert Byrne of Findagrave.eom

2. Louise's 4th great grandfather Isaac Barton was born about 1770 in New York State. He married Phoebe Vonblack. Following the American Revolutionary War, his father Gilbert Barton (1734-1782) escaped north with his family to start a new life in Canada. Gilbert was a Quaker who had served for the American cause, despite being admonished for breaking Quaker rules against serving in wars. 

[Don't let me get started with all the Gilbert Bartons in my and my cousin Louise's family trees. So far no overlap has been found among the Gilberts either, notwithstanding the names being the same.]

Louise's Isaac died in 1851 in Prince Edward, Ontario.

Buxton had speculated that perhaps these two Isaacs were the same man (and combined data from the two men into one in her listing!) -- at least until she found the inconsistencies. On page 49 of her work she wrote the following:

 224. Isaac BARTON was born in 1770/74 in NY. Died after 1851 in Hillier Twp, Prince Edward County, Ontario. --The 1992 IGI gives marriage date of 1804, in a Presbyterian Church in Westchester Co., NY of Isaac BARTON and Abba C. VOAK; this rules out this Isaac and Abba being the parents of our Gilbert born 1800 in Prince Edward County, Ontario. It also rules out this Isaac being the Quaker Isaac found in 1851 census of Prince Edward County, Ontario, whom I still believe to be the father of Gilbert. . . .

--[1851 census Hillier Twp.] Isaac, age 82, widower, living with Marmanduke ELLIS and his wife Mahatable. Mahatable is prob. d/o Isaac.

Conclusion: Although the names might be the same, these are clearly two different men from two different Barton lines. So it seems I must remain content to be related to cousin Louise through our mutual Norwegian lines on my Dad's side.

 

Some Resources:

• Barton Database accessed online 27 October 2025 at https://www.bartondatabase.com/
• Buxton, Anna Joan, Family History of Barton 1559-1993, privately printed Victoria, BC, Canada December 1995, 199 pp, copy in possession of author of this story
• "The Barton and Ellis Connection",  Loyalist Trails, United Empire Loyalists of Canada, accessed online 29 October 2025 at https://uelac.ca/loyalist-trails/loyalist-trails-2011-50/

Joseph Benson (1640-1705/6), 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 46 theme: "Wartime"

Joseph Benson, my 9th great grandfather, was born in 1640, two years after his parents John and Mary Benson along with two children under age 4 emigrated aboard the ship Confidence from Caversham, Oxfordshire, England to Hingham in New England. Joseph was the first of the family born in America. His early years were spent in Hingham before the family moved to Hull. 

Benson locations at Hingham and Hull, Plymouth Colony - Google Earth map

After his father's death, Joseph bought out his brother's share of the estate and remained in Hull. He married Sarah Bass in about 1666 and had a family of 8 children with her, all born in Hull. Their second child was Sarah Benson who grew up to marry Joseph Pratt; this couple became my 8th great grandparents.

Living where and when he did, it was almost inevitable that Joseph would be called upon to serve in King Philip's War in 1675-76. Several other ancestors were also involved, two of whom have been written about in stories earlier this year: John Wickes and Joseph Turner. King Philip's War  (aka the Great Narraganset War) was an armed conflict between the indigenous people of the northeastern colonies and the  English colonists and some of their indigenous supporters. (With the benefit of historical hindsight, I find it much easier to sympathize with the original inhabitants than with my colonial ancestors.)

The King Philip War - a raid on the settlers. Engraving from The Providence Plantations for 250 Years, Welcome Arnold Greene, 1886. (Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons)

Joseph became a soldier and first appears in the muster rolls of those serving under Captains Johnson and Jacob on 24 March 1675 with the following notation: "02-16-00" (perhaps payment?). Then in the "List of Capt. Johnson's Company" made at Dedham 10 December 1675, he is named among the six men listed from Hull. Captain Isaac Johnson was the older brother of my 9th great grandfather Humphrey Johnson who also served in the same Company.

The Company consisted of 75 men from Hull and the surrounding settlements (Roxbury, Dorchester, Milton, Braintry, Weymouth and Hingham). 

It was one of the two companies that led an attack in the Great Swamp Fight in Rhode Island on 19 December 1675. Captain Johnson and three other men were killed and eight were wounded as they charged a Native American fort in a 3-hour battle. No mention is made of either Joseph Benson or Humphrey Johnson having been among the wounded; both survived the War.

The Great Swamp Fight Monument
Photo by Innapoy 16 July 2013
Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons License ( GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation)

Joseph died in Hull on 2 January 1705/6. For his service, in 1733 he was awarded a grant of land in Narragansett #5, Souhegan East (now Bedford, NH) that was claimed by his son and heir.

Some Resources:

• Benson, Fred H., The Benson Family Records, The Craftsman Pres(s: Syracuse, N.Y., 1920; available online at HathiTrust at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005729634
• Bodge, George M., Soldiers in King Philip's War; containing lists of the soldiers of Massachusetts Colony who served in the Indian War of 1675-1676; Printed for the author, Boston 1891, accessed 8 October 2025 on Internet Archive; pages 111-115 at https://archive.org/details/soldiersinkingph00bodg
• Britannica online article about "King Philip's War"  at https://www.britannica.com/event/King-Philips-War

Ingebrigt Olsen Skarheim and Ingeleiv Johannesdatter, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 45 theme: "Multiple"

My 7th great grandparents Ingebright and Ingeleiv lived out their lives in Borgund parish in Lærdal, Sogn og Fjordane County in Norway in the late 17th-early 18th centuries.

22 August 2006 Flickr: Borgund Stavekirk, Norway; author zoetnet 

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Borgund Stavekirk, built in the year 1200, was already many centuries old at the time Ingebrigt and Ingeleiv were parishioners there. 

Ingebrigt Olsen Skarheim was born c.1652 to Ola Anfinnson Skarheim and his wife Guri Bjornsdatter. Ingeleiv Johannesdatter was born c. 1665 to Johannes Erikson Tonjum and his wife Brita Alvesdatter.

In Norway, the church books (kirkebøker) record the vital statistics for the country. Unfortunately, the church books for Borgund are not available for the time prior to 1711 when one would expect to locate the birth, baptism or confirmation records for Ingebrigt and Ingeleiv. Nor have details been found for their marriage that would seem to have occurred about 1680-85.

The couple had multiple children (9), including my 6th great grandmother Rannveig Ingebritsdatter Skarheim born in 1693.

Fortunately, census records are available for at least the male half of the population in the Manntall in 1701. This census was conducted for military purposes. For Skarheim (Skaarem) farm, Ingebrigt  is listed at age 47 (making his birth year about 1654). His sons Ola 15, Erik 13, Bard 4 and Alf 2 are also listed, along with a couple of 20 year-old male servants. 

1701 Manntall for Skarheim, Lærdal for Ingebrigt Olsen

Sadly, the next record that can be found relates to the deaths of Ingebrigt and Ingeleiv. They died together and were buried  on the same day as multiple neighbours. 

Borgund kirkebøker chronological list 1732, page 54

 

On the second Sunday after Pentecost (15 June in 1732) multiple  burials occurred. Ingebright Olsson 82, and Ingeleif Johannesdatter, 67 were in good company. Nine others were also buried from the beautiful Borgund stave church that same day -- 5 men and 4 women ranging in ages from 20 to 62. No children were listed among the dead. Ingebright and Ingeleif were the oldest. 

An examination of the entire chronological list for the prior year 1731 had a total of 10 deaths plus 6 still births; my understanding is that still births included babies born alive who died within the first 24 hours. In 1732, the total was 37 plus 26 still births. There seemed to be groupings of burials every month or two, rather than on a weekly basis. In both years, the number of deaths exceeded the number of live births.

What was going on in the Borgund community to cause these multiple deaths? Disease? Famine? Accident? Or just a sad coincidence? No explanation has been found for the  loss of nearly a dozen men and women in this relatively small community in June of 1732.

Some Resources:

• The National Archives of Norway, Arkivverket, Parish Register 1732 for Lærdal sokneprestembete, AV/SAB-A-81201: Ministerialbok nr. A 1, 1711-1752, s. 54
• The National Arcives of Norway, Arkivverket, Manntall 1701, Sogn og Fjordane County, Outer Parish Bailiff and Inner Parish Bailiff, p 117.

Rural Life on the Bardahl Farm (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 44 theme "Rural")

When not "doing genealogy" I am often engrossed in another of my passions: creating original quilted fabric wall hangings. My most recently completed one inspired this week's "rural" post. 

John Deere "D" Tractor Quilted Wall Hanging (40 X 31 inches) - Joanne Barnard 2025

I like to tell the story of my entire 15 minute farming career occurring on this tractor when I was 8 or 9 years old. My Dad put me in charge of  driving the tractor so that he could pick up hay bales and load them onto a stone boat attached behind. When he told me to "go", I did it with such enthusiasm that I separated the tractor from the stone boat. The word "clevis" comes to mind -- that was what I broke before being summarily dispatched to the house to "help" my mother. 

The wall hanging was based on a photograph I had taken in the 1980s. Even then, the old tractor was being subsumed into the environment. It somehow seems fair that a machine intended to conquer the prairie was itself being overtaken by nature.

This got me thinking about how farm machinery had changed rural life from when my paternal grandfather John Bardahl homesteaded his Saskatchewan farm in 1910 until his death in 1945. Old family photos document some of those changes. 

When my grandparents started to farm in Saskatchewan, the land was virgin prairie. Horses provided the energy for breaking sod and seeding crops. The horses themselves required food, water and shelter. 

According to my Dad Ken in his memoir written in 1991:

It must have been a dream come true when in 1917 they were able to build a 32’ X 60’ hip roof barn with a hay loft to hold the winter’s supply of hay. . . . This barn was ample storage for up to 6 head of horses, which were his pride and joy.  . . .  He was able to finance the whole building with the proceeds off one flax crop.  

Within a few years, other options started to become available. The number of horses required decreased accordingly. By the 1950s, we had just two horses on the farm, used most often in the winter to pull a wagon or sleigh to visit neighbours.

1911 early tractor - John Bardahl on the left

According to Dad, this tractor purchased in the spring of 1911 was one of the first in the district.

Grandpa's Truck purchased in 1928

The purchase of this truck enabled my Grandfather to do some custom work hauling grain, cattle and gravel. 

 Dad described some of the developments in farm machinery: 

A machine called the one-way disc came into being, replacing the plow.  This machine left much of the stubble, anchoring the straw, which helped greatly in wind erosion of the soils.  A seeder box could be mounted on this machine so a person could till your soil as well as seed your grain in one operation.  About this time tractors came into more practical use.  Prior to this there were steam engines, used mainly for breaking the sod or as a power unit for threshing the crops. They were big and awkward and would not have been very practical for general farm use.  Tractors of 15-30 H.P. seemed to be the best size for farming in this area.  The early models had all steel wheels (rough to ride and dirty also).  Hand crank to start, no cabs and no power steering.  Several years later, rubber tires became a reality for tractors.  These were much easier to ride.  Later advancements were power steering units, wheel brakes (used individually for turning corners), lights and P.T.O. (Power Take Off) which could power a machine being pulled, combine, swather, etc. One of the later gadgets was the hydraulic lift system.  With this the operator could control the depth of the machine being pulled, a truly wonderful creation.  Its use even now is limitless, including of course, hoists for unloading a load of grain.  People in general were quite content with machinery of this size.  I can recall brother Jim and I seeding a field of 145 acres in 3 days by going night and day.  This would be with a 9’ one way disc and a sturdy John Deere “D” tractor.  

John Bardahl and some of his children and grandchildren at stooking time, unknown year c.1938

 

 Once again quoting my Dad:   

Another venture that Dad had was his threshing machine for harvesting purposes. . . . When the grain was not quite ripe a machine called a binder was put into use.  This machine was pulled with 4 horses and the binder would cut and bind into sheaves in one operation.  A unit called the bundle carrier would allow the operator to carry about 6 sheaves when they could be released with a simple fast manipulation.  This procedure was very slow, only cutting an 8 foot swath, 12 to 15 acres per day limit.  After this being completed, these bundles had to be put up in stooks, grain end up for drying, about 6 or 8 bundles to a stook.  People became adept at this and it was a beautiful sight on completion.  It was hard manual work with the old water jug not too far away at any given time.  The next operation was when the threshing machine pulled into this field.  The machine was set on level property, with wind on your back.  Next, the 6 or 8 teams of horses and hayracks would load up their bundles.  Each man went in rotation taking turns into the machine for the threshing.  Each unit was proud of their big and well built loads and if you went in early with a small load, you found out quickly that this wasn’t’ a very popular thing to do.

Threshing 1943

John Bardahl seeding spring 1941 with John Deere "D" model tractor; although this model was produced by John Deere from 1928 until 1953, the fenders weren't added until 1939 so Grandpa's tractor was quite new at this time 

As for the John Deere "D" workhorse of my "farming career", although I wasn't driving it long enough to warrant a photograph,  it had often served as the backdrop for many family photos over the years. 

John's daughter Inez Bardahl

John Bardahl's grandchildren Roger, Audrey and Harry Gordon

John's granddaughter Louise Barton

Some Resources:

• Bardahl, Kenneth, personal memoir written 1991 for his grandson Grant McClure, copy in possession of author
• "John Deere D", Machine Finder blog accessed online 2 October 2025 at https://blog.machinefinder.com/39268/the-john-deere-model-d-a-classic-tractor-spotlight