Tomas Willumsen (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 31 theme: "Earliest Ancestor")

"How far back have you gone? Who was your earliest ancestor?" are questions frequently asked when folks learn I'm "into genealogy". I generally sidestep, claiming greater interest in finding details to flesh out the lives of more recent generations. In truth, I remain a bit of a skeptic when told that Charlemagne was my 36th great grandfather. The earliest ancestor in my database was even earlier than Charlemagne, namely a Norwegian named Svidrii Heytsson (born c.600) but I have indicated in a big bold note: Probably did not exist and is an imaginary person based on Norse mythology!

I won't be tackling Charlemagne or Svidrii - or anyone from that far back. I have instead selected the earliest named person (with at least a bit of information attached to his name) on one particular line of my paternal family tree. This line hailed from Sogn og Fjordane county (now part of Vestland in the Western part of Norway): Tomas Willumson of  Lærdalsøyri (Lærdal), my 10th great grandfather. He was probably born around 1560 but no record has been located. (I have certainly gone back further than this with my early New England ancestors back to England - but not so much in this part of Norway.) 

This Lærdal area was close to the Vang area of Oppland where Tomas's descendants were found, including my Dad's paternal grandmother Anna Elton. 

Sogn og Fjordane (Vestland, Norway) scene between Aurdal and  Laerdal, image by Stefan Wagener under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

Sogn og Fjordane is a land of superlatives: largest glacier in mainland Norway (Jostedalsbreen, in the Breheimen mountain range), the deepest lake (Hornindalsvatnet), and the tallest waterfall in Norway (Ramnefjellsfossen). 

It also has one of the best examples of the Norwegian stave church: Borgund Church. built about 1180. Since the Valdres Samband records connect my family line to Tomas at Borgund, it would be nice to be able to find church records for him here.

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

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

Two different biographical sketches have been presented for Tomas:

1. According to a note from the Valdres Samband genealogy page, Tomas was: "a man who came from Bergen and had much money. He was buying farms and was a "grocery" man at Lærdalsøren. He also had some in Vindedalen."
2. According to the Lærdal bygdebok IV:105 - "Tomas Willumsen var prest.  Han tok borgarskap i 1643, var huseigar på Lærdalsøyri og dreiv med handel.  Ein Guttorm Andersson frå Hallingdal vart bøtelagd for å ha overfalle han i hans eige hus her rundt 1617.  Han er gravlagd under koret i Kaupanger stavkyrkje der det heng eit epitafium som viser han og familien."

[English translation - of sorts] "Tomas Willumsen was a priest.  He received permission to trade in 1643, was a house owner at Lærdalsøyri and worked in commerce.  A Guttorm Andersson from Hallingdal was fined for having [overfalle] him [he] in his to own house here around 1617.  He is buried under [koret] in Kaupanger church [stavkyrkje] where hangs an epitaph which shows he and his family."

Well, that's confusing: businessman or priest - or both? An excellent source for genealogical research in Norway is their church records. Although there are some church records dating from the 1600s, the ones for Lærdal and Borgund do not begin until about 1711. Nor is their a census record to add any clarity to what Tomas was actually up to. 

The following lineage has not been verified but Tomas is said to have been the father of Karen Tomasdatter born 1593 at Lærdal. Karen married a man named Ola Bartsalsen Voll and had a daughter Gunvor Olsdatter Voll born c.1624. Gunvor grew up and married Anders Andersen Hatleberg (1612-1692); we are slowly inching our way into the time frame when actual records can be found. Gunvor and Anders are my 7th great grandparents. 

Fortunately Norway did conduct censuses, albeit of just the male half of the population, in the Manntall of 1664 and 1666. The one conducted in 1664 did not specify ages, but the following image appears to be the one for Anders Andersen Hatleberg and sons Olla and Anders.

1664 Parish Priest's Census Manntall for Sogn og Fjordane p97

I believe the following image shows the record for Anders Anderssen Hatleberg in 1666. His age is given as 53 and three boys aged 20, 16 and 4, all conforming closely to existing family information (which would have Anders at 54, sons Ola and Anders aged 22 and 17 and the youngest boy age 5).

Sogn og Fjordane Manntall 1666 for  Borgund Lærdal p 132

Tomas Willumsen has not been spotted in either of these censuses, meaning he probably died between 1643 (when he was reportedly granted permission to trade) and 1664. 

Anders and Gunvor's daughter Velgjerd Andersdatter (b. abt.1651) was the last of this particular line of my ancestors to be born in Borgund/Lærdal in Sogn og Fjordane; she married a man from nearby Vang, Oppland where she died in 1694. 

Having used this opportunity to dig as deeply as I am able in this line (and not finding it particularly fruitful),  I will continue to focus on ancestors for whom record-finding is a better possibility. The upside, however, is that a visit to the Borgund Stavekirk and some of the superlative geographic features of Sogn og Fjordane will definitely be included in future travel plans to Norway.

Some Resources: 

• Hovland, K. and Espe, A., Lærdal Bygdebok v. 4, 2001; accessible at such places as the University of North Dakota's Brekke Collection: https://apps.library.und.edu/bygdebok/place/186
• Valdres Samband (Genealogy Collection), a Norwegian bygdelag or community organization for descendants of Norwegians who emigrated from the Valdres region in Norway to North America.  

Confirmation: A Lutheran Rite of Passage (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 30 theme: "Religious Traditions" )

1940 Confirmation at Bethel Lutheran Church near Leinan, Saskatchewan - author's father Ken Bardahl back row centre

The Evangelical Lutheran Church was the state church in Norway from 1537 until 2012. It was mandated to keep the official state records including births/baptisms, marriages and deaths/burials. All of these entailed church matters as well as vital statistics. The church records are mostly available online through the Norwegian national archives, albeit only in a browsable format in challenging Gothic script in old Norwegian.

One other church record that is often available is the list of  those confirmed into the Lutheran Church as an affirmation of the baptism done in infancy. From 1736 on, it was a requirement that young people be instructed in the catechism and pass a test before taking their first communion. Confirmation traditionally occurred at around 14-15 years of age and can often be found by searching the church records 14-16 years following a person's baptism record; sometimes confirmands were as old as 20 so scrolling through a few years' records might be required. Confirmations are fairly easy to spot even in chronological church records as lists of young people of about the same specified age. Sometimes it lists the father and, occasionally, the mother. It does not often provide much in the way of new information but is another piece of the genealogical puzzle to map out a person's life in a given location. 

For example, after finding the birth record for my paternal immigrant ancestor Hans Olai Johnson Bardahl in 1841, it was fairly easy to find his Confirmation record from 1857.

1857 Confirmation Record for Hans Olai Johnson (blue underlining) from Nesna, Nordland, Norway church book

Hans's Confirmation record is unusual in containing a generous amount of genealogical information including his name, date and place of birth, father's and mother's names, his religious knowledge and diligence (which I wish I could decipher) and finally the date on which he had been vaccinated for smallpox. Smallpox vaccine was mandated in Norway from 1810 and often shows up in the church records alongside births/baptisms, confirmations or marriages. Hans had been vaccinated 18 September 1845 at age 4.

Both paternal grandparents were Confirmed as Lutherans in the United States; much of the same record-keeping persisted in the Church although not mandated in America. My favourite record is the certificate in Norwegian for my paternal grandmother Louise Nelson, confirmed in 1897 in Erdahl, MN.

My paternal grandfather John Bardahl was confirmed in Elbow Lake, Minnesota in 1893.

1893 Confirmation of John Bardahl from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Records for Elbow Lake, MN

John was 14 when he was confirmed; his parents were Hans and Anna Barda(h)l , his birthplace was Chippewa, Minnesota and his religious knowledge was good. 

My maternal grandfather Ingwald Anderson (1893-1958) should have been confirmed in about 1907; no record can be found. This could be because his mother had been experiencing mental health issues following the still birth of a baby in 1900; family life was very disrupted by this and religious practice and guidance may have fallen by the wayside.

My brother's copy of our first year Confirmation book containing much of the Catechism that was to be learned by memory

My Dad's sister Inez Bardahl's Confirmation Photo c.1932

Conformation was a major milestone deserving of a new dress or suit and a professional photograph.

My Dad Ken Bardahl was the son of John and Louise (Nelson) Bardahl and was confirmed in 1940 at age 14. At that time, confirmands were tested orally in front of the congregation on their memorization of the Catechism. Following my Dad, my brother and I took the two years of religious training and had our Confirmation at the same church. By that time, we were all grateful to learn there would no longer be public testing of one's ability to memorize the Catechism and no record kept of one's religious knowledge as had been the case for our ancestors.

One of the last Confirmations at Bethel Prairie Lutheran Church, June 1964, Leinan area of Saskatchewan; author's brother back row left; author front row right; author's younger sister's Confirmation was also held here a few years later (no photo available as so often happens with younger siblings!)

Some Resources:

• Research Outline Norway, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah (a precursor to materials now available on the familysearch.org website Research WIKI), pages 14-16

Wescott and Bullen Cousins (52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025 Week 29 theme: "Cousins")

 

Wescott - Bullen Cousins photo abt.1893-1894

This photograph shows two sets of sisters who were first cousins, their common grandparents being David Bullen Sr. and  Jane Murdie. The Bullen sisters (on the left) were daughters of David Bullen Jr. (1832-1911) and the Wescott sisters (on the right) were daughters of David's sister Sarah Catherine Bullen (1838-1933). The Bullens were living in Poynette, WI and the Wescotts in Colby, WI., a distance of over 200 miles as the crow flies. 

Pictured are: 

Maude Bullen (married name Branton) upper left

Eva Bullen (married name Wescott) lower left

Idella Wescott (married name Wicker) upper right

Mayme Wescott (married name Edwards) lower right - my maternal great grandmother

The photographer is identified on the back as M. Danks of Colby, Wisconsin. He was registered in business there from 1893-1906 (but had died on 11 February 1905). That limits the timing of this photograph, as does the apparent ages of the young women when compared to other photographs of them.  

I often wonder about the reason for the cousins being together and dressing up with corsages. Perhaps a family wedding? Of the two ring fingers visible in the image, Eva appears to be wearing a wedding ring while Mayme does not; Eva had married her first cousin Harvey Wescott (brother to Idella and Mayme) 14 October 1890 but this would have been prior to Mr. Danks having his photography business in Colby. Mayme married Charles Edwards 1 October 1896 in Great Falls, Montana. There were a couple of family weddings in Colby that occurred in 1894 when Idella Wescott married Frank Wicker and when Idella and Mayme's brother Fred married Josephine Nikodeme. Perhaps the family had gathered for one of those events, but Idella is not dressed in traditional bridal garb if this was at the time of her own wedding. In any event, the gathering of the four of them in Colby was considered worthy of this group photo.

Maude Martha Bullen (1869-1964) was born in Arlington, WI. She married Charles Branton on 16 March 1897. The following is from an undated and unsourced newspaper clipping in the possession of Mrs. A. H. Nelson at the time she and Ruth Dunlop compiled their family history in the 1930s: 

At the Mr. E. Parsonage on Wednesday evening, Nov. 28th, Miss Maude M. Bullen, daughter of Mrs. Hannah Bullen of this city, and Mr. C. H. Branton, also of this place, were joined in holy bonds of matrimony. Following the ceremony the newlyweds started on an auto trip northward to Unity, to spend a few days with the family of the bride's sister, Mrs. Eva Wescott. 

Miss Bullen has spent the major portion of her life in Poynette and was for a number of years a faithful employee of the Poynette Telephone Co. She is held in the highest esteem by her friends. For the past year she has been employed in a hospital in Madison.

Mr. Branton is foreman of a crew of county men, whose business he has successfully conducted for the past eight years; he has been a neighbor to the editor and family for about twenty years, and our associations with each other have been gilt edge. We join in extending congratulations--may they be blessed with health, happiness and prosperity.

This is where the story gets confusing. The good wishes from their wedding announcement did not result in a "happily ever after" story for Maude and Charles. In the 1900 census, just 3 years later, she was a teacher living with her parents under the name Maude Bullen, single. Charles was listed in the same town having been married 3 years to someone named Eliza with two very young children. There is no record of Maude and Charles having any children nor of their marriage having been annulled or ended by divorce. No additional marriage record has been located for Charles and Eliza. Maude is listed as single and a "call girl" with the telephone company in 1920, living with her widowed mother.  From time to time over the years, she used the name Branton. When Charles died in 1959, his obituary lists her as his surviving wife along with the implication that the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren listed were also hers. In fact Eliza had predeceased him but there is no reference to her in his obituary.  

Maude died in 1969 and is buried with her parents in the Bullen section of Hillside Cemetery in Poynette, Wisconsin.

Maude Bullen stone - photo courtesy Findagrave.com member EAK II

 

Eva Lee Bullen (1868-1939) was the first-born child of David Bullen Jr. and Hannah Hodgson in Arlington, WI.  According to her obituary, she received her education in the public schools of Arlngton, and graduated from the Poynette High School.  She went to Marathon County, WI as a teacher, then on 14 October 1890 married her cousin Harvey Wescott and had a family of  3 sons (Harry, Ross and Glenn) with him. 

At the Wescott Homestead in Wisconsin 1895 (colorized). Harvey Wescott is back row, 2nd from left and his wife Eva is on the far right of the picture with young sons Harry and Ross, standing next to her mother-in-law Sarah Catherine (Bullen) Wescott. (Seated front row are Harvey's sisters Idella and Mayme)

Eva was very active in community and church affairs. She died on 8 March 1939 at Marshfield, WI.

Eva Lee (Bullen) Wescott

Idella Louise Wescott (1869-1963)  was the first of two daughters born to George Garner Wescott and Sarah Catherine Bullen. There were 6 brothers. Idella was in the first high school graduating class of Colby, Wisconsin. Like her cousin Eva, she was a school teacher in her early years. At the age of 24, she married Frank Wicker and went on to have a family of 7 children with him. 

Frank and Idella, unknown year - photo courtesy Dawn Wicker

Frank and Idella's Family Celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary
photo courtesy Dawn Wicker 

Frank died in 1949 and Idella survived him until 1963. They are buried beside each other at Colby, WI.

Headstone for Frank and Idella in Colby Cemetery, photo courtesy kclem of findagrave.com

Mary Jane "Mayme" Wescott (1871-1926) was the second daughter born to George and Sarah (Bullen) Wescott. 

Daughter Marion (Edwards) Miller describes Mayme as follows: 

My mother, a small quiet spoken lady, blue eyes, dark auburn hair that turned grey when she was in her thirties or forties, always going around the house singing softly, a very particular housekeeper, with hands that were never idle.  She loved to sew, made all of our clothes, even coats when we were young, and when she had all of us fitted out, she made clothes for poor children. . . . When she was a young woman she went on a trip to Montana, probably around 1895, to visit a cousin in Great Falls.  The cousin had a young man boarding with her, 6 ft. tall and handsome, a railroad man who had headquarters there.  His name was Charles Francis Edwards.

For their wedding in Great Falls, Mayme made her own wedding dress, a pale mint green, soft taffeta.

Mayme and Charles Wedding Photo 1896

My grandmother Idella Edwards was the oldest of their 6 children. The family moved around a bit with Charles working on the railroad and trying his hand at mining and farming. It was during their short attempt at homesteading in Saskatchewan that my grandmother started to teach in the Lancer area, fell in love with my young homesteading grandfather and stayed behind to marry when the rest of the family moved back to the United States. Mayme was not happy about leaving her daughter behind but nevertheless hand-stitched this beautiful wool log cabin quilt for the newlyweds.

Portion of the quilt made by Mayme for daughter's wedding - now in possession of the author

Mayme died in 1926 at the age of 54 years after having had a number of teeth extracted in an apparent attempt to improve an unknown long-standing health issue. She was hospitalized in Kelso, WA on a Sunday, died on Tuesday and the funeral was held on Thursday morning in Castle Rock, WA. Her remains were cremated and the ashes are in the Portland Memorial Mausoleum.  Charles lived until 1941; his ashes are beside hers. 

The four young sisters/cousins gazing out with so much promise (and a bit of trepidation perhaps) in that early group photo were women of their time who led somewhat conventional lives that were certainly stamped with their own individuality. 

Some Resources: 

• Miller, Marion Frances Edwards; My Memories, personal memoir written for her family in January 1978 from her home at 5405 Union Street, Lexington, Michigan, p2
• Nelson, M. and Dunlop, R., Compilers,  Source Book for the Bullen Family; Privately printed in the 1930s
• Train, May Phillips, Samuel Bullen and Some of His Descendants, Privately printed 1941
• Wicker, Frank and Judith, The Wicker-Wescott Heritage, privately printed Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 1998