Hello List, I've just joined at the invitation of Margit. I did a quick browse of the archives, and noticed several messages from a certain Chris about Anthon Arnesen of Ringebu and of Benson, Swift County, Minnesota. Anthon was the older brother of my great grandfather, John Arnesen. I know quite a bit about him and his family (I spent two days at the Minnesota Historical Society last month, and pulled quite a bit of info), but not as much as I'd like. I do have his ancestry traced back to the 1600s, pictures of his family in Benson, the birth dates of all his children, and the death dates of most of them. I also know the names of the men married by his 3 daughters who survived into adulthood, and the names of four of his grandchildren. I'd be very interested in establishing contact with others who are interested in Anthon, or any other members of the family. A quick note in passing. I noticed that someone pointed out that in nineteenth century Norway Anthon would typically have been known as Anthon Arnesen, since his father was Peder Arnesen. That's generally true, but my great great grandfather, Peder Arnesen Bakke, appears to have adopted the "modern" practice of treating his Arnesen patronymic as a permanent surname. In the 1865 and 1875 censuses, his wife and children are all listed as "Arnesen," and to the best of my recollection I've only noticed one instance in the Ringebu kirkebøker where a member of the family was referred to as "Pedersen." That happens to be the record of Anthon's confirmation on 6 May 1866, when he was referred to as Anthon Pedersen Arnesen Grav. Clearly, this was a manifestation of some ambiguity of how to refer to the family, since Anthon bears "his own" patronymic of Pedersen, but also his father's patronymic of Arnesen -- which I think we now have to regard as a surname. Finally, he also bears the "farm address name" of Grav. At that time, Grav was the farm assigned to support the kirkesanger of Ringebu Church, a position that Peder Arnesen had held since 1863. The Grav farmhouse is now in the "urban" part of Ringebu, where it is used as for meetings of the Ringebu Lions Club. When Anthon emigrated from Norway in 1869, he was referred to as Anthon Arnesen Grav. The following year the klokker's residence was shifted to the farm of Halstead, where the house that my Arnesen ancestors lived in is still occupied by a retired Ringebu teacher (my great great grandfather taught in Ringebu from 1847 to 1890). Hoping to hear from somebody and to share information with them. Peter J. Arnesen

Hello List, Margit invited those of us who joined the list last week to summarize our research interests. Five of my eight paternal great great grandparents were from Oppland: Peder Arnesen BAKKE (1817-1890) of Ringebu Anne Arnesdatter BERG (1827-1907) of Ringebu Hans Johannessen BERGUM (1832-1918) of Øyer Kari Johnsdatter STRØMSJORDET (1828-1915) of Øyer Anders Olsen DEHLIN (1809-ca. 1876) of Jevnaker. Anne, Hans, Kari, and Anders all emigrated to the United States. Naturally, as I move back in time I need to consider other "farm address names" as well. In terms of help I can offer others, I have the published kirkebøker of Øyer and Ringebu, and also own Einar Hovdhaugen's "Utvandrigen til Amerika frå Ringebu." I look forward to sharing information with other listers. Peter J. Arnesen 9617 Whispering Pines Court Saline, MI 48176