Dear Listers, While the NORWAY list was down for so lang last spring, I sent an inquiry directly to several of you asking for help to trace my own great uncle, Ole Christian (Colbjornson) aka Christian C. BARNES born Apr. 10, 1873 in Norderhov Co., Buskerud, Norway emigrated in 1889 to join his mother Maren Gausta at Kennedy, Kittson Co., MN I later found out he must have moved about 1900 to Canada and married a 1st time to Jane NN (of Irish background) born about 1880/1883 in Ontario This marriage ended in a divorce, and Christian returned to the US remarrying at Britton, SD July 23, 1905 to Jarand/Joran OLSON born about 1873 in Norway They moved to a farm near Ross in Mountrail Co., ND, but Joran Barnes died Dec. 16, 1911 in Jamestown, ND In April of 1911 Christian Barnes moved again to Moose Jaw, SK from where he returned in Nov. 1911 over Eastport, ID heading for Seattle, WA. According to his WW1 draft record Christian was residing as a rancher at Poulsbo, WA, and his next-of-kin was «daughter Agnes Christianson» of Poulsbo, WA! Christian Barnes died at Conway, Skagit Co., WA on Oct. 15, 1932, and his obituary reads he had resided there «for more than 20 years». From his 2nd marriage Christian had three sons who were all in 1920 residing in an orphanage at Poulsbo, WA: * Magnus Barnes, born in Marshall Co., SD Sep. 29, 1905, had a heart disease and died single in Seattle, WA May 14, 1946 * Clarence Barnes, born in SD or ND about 1907, was 1930 in prison in Bismarck, ND, but lived in 1932 with father at Conway, WA - later destiny unknown * Rudolph Barnes, born in Mountrail Co., ND Mar. 20, 1909, died in Portland, OR June 30, 1973, possibly(?) single. Now back to Christian Barnes’ 1st marriage: I have reason to believe he must have lived with 1st wife Jane at Moose Jaw, SK, but about 1914 Jane took up a «homestead» in Section 27, Township 72 Range 4 near Kleskun Hill/Grande Prairie, AB where she resided in 1916 with her two daughters: * Jessie Barnes, born in SK about 1904 (re census, more likely about 1901) * Agnes Barnes, born in SK about 1907 (re census, more likely about 1904) - who must be identical to Christian’s daughter Agnes Christianson referred to in his WW1 draft record… Strangely enough I have never been able to find Jane or her daughters in any later Alberta censuses (1921 or 1926) although we know she was still residing at Kleskun Hill near Sexsmith and Grande Prairie, AB in 1951 when she applied for support money due to old age. This was declined since the Province of Ontario was unable to find a birth certificate for her to validate her age! However, today I have been in contact with the Probate record department at the Grande Prairie, AB courthouse, and they tell me they have an estate file for: Jane BARNES, died on June 24, 1973 However, there is NO WAY information can be obtained from this file without appearing in person at the courthouse or having someone appear on my behalf! Then I thought: ** Can an OBITUARY be located for Jane BARNES dying near Grande Prairie, AB June 24, 1973? ** Or can a GRAVE be located for Jane BARNES in a local cemetery? I would so much like to enter in contact with some survivor of this branch of my family, and I thank you all once more for any assistance you can give me in this matter! Very sincerely yours, Lars E. Oyane

Hi Lars I will be about 2 hours away from Grande Prairie from August 4 to about August 12. If you can find out how I can access / copy the file let me know and I will make a side trip for you. All the best Thelma From: "Lars E. Oyane" <lars.e.oyane@sdsl.no> To: "norway@rootsweb.com norway@rootsweb.com" <norway@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2018 1:52:00 PM Subject: [NOR] Barnes family - obituary and/or cemetery assistance Grande Prairie, AB 1973, please? Dear Listers, While the NORWAY list was down for so lang last spring, I sent an inquiry directly to several of you asking for help to trace my own great uncle, Ole Christian (Colbjornson) aka Christian C. BARNES born Apr. 10, 1873 in Norderhov Co., Buskerud, Norway emigrated in 1889 to join his mother Maren Gausta at Kennedy, Kittson Co., MN I later found out he must have moved about 1900 to Canada and married a 1st time to Jane NN (of Irish background) born about 1880/1883 in Ontario This marriage ended in a divorce, and Christian returned to the US remarrying at Britton, SD July 23, 1905 to Jarand/Joran OLSON born about 1873 in Norway They moved to a farm near Ross in Mountrail Co., ND, but Joran Barnes died Dec. 16, 1911 in Jamestown, ND In April of 1911 Christian Barnes moved again to Moose Jaw, SK from where he returned in Nov. 1911 over Eastport, ID heading for Seattle, WA. According to his WW1 draft record Christian was residing as a rancher at Poulsbo, WA, and his next-of-kin was «daughter Agnes Christianson» of Poulsbo, WA! Christian Barnes died at Conway, Skagit Co., WA on Oct. 15, 1932, and his obituary reads he had resided there «for more than 20 years». From his 2nd marriage Christian had three sons who were all in 1920 residing in an orphanage at Poulsbo, WA: * Magnus Barnes, born in Marshall Co., SD Sep. 29, 1905, had a heart disease and died single in Seattle, WA May 14, 1946 * Clarence Barnes, born in SD or ND about 1907, was 1930 in prison in Bismarck, ND, but lived in 1932 with father at Conway, WA - later destiny unknown * Rudolph Barnes, born in Mountrail Co., ND Mar. 20, 1909, died in Portland, OR June 30, 1973, possibly(?) single. Now back to Christian Barnes’ 1st marriage: I have reason to believe he must have lived with 1st wife Jane at Moose Jaw, SK, but about 1914 Jane took up a «homestead» in Section 27, Township 72 Range 4 near Kleskun Hill/Grande Prairie, AB where she resided in 1916 with her two daughters: * Jessie Barnes, born in SK about 1904 (re census, more likely about 1901) * Agnes Barnes, born in SK about 1907 (re census, more likely about 1904) - who must be identical to Christian’s daughter Agnes Christianson referred to in his WW1 draft record… Strangely enough I have never been able to find Jane or her daughters in any later Alberta censuses (1921 or 1926) although we know she was still residing at Kleskun Hill near Sexsmith and Grande Prairie, AB in 1951 when she applied for support money due to old age. This was declined since the Province of Ontario was unable to find a birth certificate for her to validate her age! However, today I have been in contact with the Probate record department at the Grande Prairie, AB courthouse, and they tell me they have an estate file for: Jane BARNES, died on June 24, 1973 However, there is NO WAY information can be obtained from this file without appearing in person at the courthouse or having someone appear on my behalf! Then I thought: ** Can an OBITUARY be located for Jane BARNES dying near Grande Prairie, AB June 24, 1973? ** Or can a GRAVE be located for Jane BARNES in a local cemetery? I would so much like to enter in contact with some survivor of this branch of my family, and I thank you all once more for any assistance you can give me in this matter! Very sincerely yours, Lars E. Oyane _______________________________________________ Norwaylist Archiveshttp://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=norway RESUBSCRIBE UNSUB http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/NOR/NORWAY.html guidelines http://www.rootsweb.com/~norway/guidelines.htm _______________________________________________ Email preferences: http://bit.ly/rootswebpref Unsubscribe and Archives https://mailinglists.rootsweb.com/listindexes/search/norway Privacy Statement: https://ancstry.me/2JWBOdY Terms and Conditions: https://ancstry.me/2HDBym9 Rootsweb Blog: http://rootsweb.blog RootsWeb is funded and supported by Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb community

Hi, Lars, This is a hard-to-trace family, which must be more frustrating since they're your own relatives! I think the homesteading laws were the same in Canada as in the US. Women could file for homestead claims on their own if they were unmarried. One of my great aunts filed in SD in 1907 because she was not yet married. Widows and divorced women were also eligible. American women were allowed to own property this way because the government was so eager to fill up the central part of the country. I am sure the same logic applied in Canada. My own mother was b. in SK in 1915, without a birth certificate. She had dual Canadian/US citizenship, because her parents were US citizens. When she turned 21, now living in the US, she dropped the Canadian citizenship so she could vote in US elections. In the 1950s she wanted to get a US passport to travel overseas, which took her a year. Fortunately, she got letters from two witnesses--the doctor who delivered her, and a sister of her mother's, who had been visiting when she was born. That wasn't enough to satisfy the passport office. Her father was a Norwegian immigrant, and a naturalized US citizen through his own father's naturalization. She ultimately had to have her father write to Oslo to get copies of *his* parents' marriage certificate, and his own birth records, to prove he was legitimate. After the year it had taken to find out what she needed to do, the Norwegians sent her the copies in two weeks! My mother's family moved to the US almost immediately after her birth (she was premature, but this is part of the story you only know after the fact, not by having the records), but later moved back into Canada off and on, until in 1929 they moved to the US permanently. Several times during the 1910s and 1920s, my father's family lived in Canada, including some time in Moose Jaw. Even today, those areas are all sparsely settled, as is Mountrail Co. ND and the whole NW corner of ND, where some of my mother's family still live. My g aunt who lived there had 3 daughters, who all married brothers, which tells you there weren't many people to pick from as marriage partners! So I don't have any specific info for you. Just an indication that while Jane homesteaded, once she owned her homestead, she might have moved around, leaving her property in the hands of a tenant to farm. You might check the homestead section to see who was living there in those census years. And if she applied for support in 1951, and was turned down by Ontario because of the lack of her birth certificate, is it possible she was living in Ontario in one or more of the intervening census years? Beste, Doris On Wed, Jul 18, 2018 at 5:27 PM, Thelma Hartman <mominmotion@shaw.ca> wrote: > Hi Lars > > I will be about 2 hours away from Grande Prairie from August 4 to about > August 12. If you can find out how I can access / copy the file let me know > and I will make a side trip for you. > > All the best > > Thelma > > > From: "Lars E. Oyane" <lars.e.oyane@sdsl.no> > To: "norway@rootsweb.com norway@rootsweb.com" <norway@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2018 1:52:00 PM > Subject: [NOR] Barnes family - obituary and/or cemetery assistance Grande > Prairie, AB 1973, please? > > Dear Listers, > > While the NORWAY list was down for so lang last spring, I sent an inquiry > directly to several of you asking for help to trace my own great uncle, > > Ole Christian (Colbjornson) aka Christian C. BARNES > born Apr. 10, 1873 in Norderhov Co., Buskerud, Norway > emigrated in 1889 to join his mother Maren Gausta at Kennedy, Kittson Co., > MN > > I later found out he must have moved about 1900 to Canada and married a > 1st time to > > Jane NN (of Irish background) > born about 1880/1883 in Ontario > > This marriage ended in a divorce, and > Christian returned to the US remarrying at Britton, SD July 23, 1905 to > > Jarand/Joran OLSON > born about 1873 in Norway > They moved to a farm near Ross in Mountrail Co., ND, but > Joran Barnes died Dec. 16, 1911 in Jamestown, ND > > In April of 1911 Christian Barnes moved again to Moose Jaw, SK from where > he returned in Nov. 1911 over Eastport, ID heading for Seattle, WA. > > According to his WW1 draft record Christian was residing as a rancher at > Poulsbo, WA, and his next-of-kin was «daughter Agnes Christianson» of > Poulsbo, WA! > > Christian Barnes died at Conway, Skagit Co., WA on Oct. 15, 1932, and his > obituary reads he had resided there «for more than 20 years». > > From his 2nd marriage Christian had three sons who were all in 1920 > residing in an orphanage at Poulsbo, WA: > > * Magnus Barnes, born in Marshall Co., SD Sep. 29, 1905, had a heart > disease and died single in Seattle, WA May 14, 1946 > > * Clarence Barnes, born in SD or ND about 1907, was 1930 in prison in > Bismarck, ND, but lived in 1932 with father at Conway, WA - later destiny > unknown > > * Rudolph Barnes, born in Mountrail Co., ND Mar. 20, 1909, died in > Portland, OR June 30, 1973, possibly(?) single. > > Now back to Christian Barnes’ 1st marriage: I have reason to believe he > must have lived with 1st wife Jane at Moose Jaw, SK, but about 1914 Jane > took up a «homestead» in Section 27, Township 72 Range 4 near Kleskun > Hill/Grande Prairie, AB where she resided in 1916 with her two daughters: > > * Jessie Barnes, born in SK about 1904 (re census, more likely about 1901) > > * Agnes Barnes, born in SK about 1907 (re census, more likely about 1904) > - who must be identical to Christian’s daughter Agnes Christianson referred > to in his WW1 draft record… > > Strangely enough I have never been able to find Jane or her daughters in > any later Alberta censuses (1921 or 1926) although we know she was still > residing at Kleskun Hill near Sexsmith and Grande Prairie, AB in 1951 when > she applied for support money due to old age. This was declined since the > Province of Ontario was unable to find a birth certificate for her to > validate her age! > > However, today I have been in contact with the Probate record department > at the Grande Prairie, AB courthouse, and they tell me they have an estate > file for: > > Jane BARNES, died on June 24, 1973 > > However, there is NO WAY information can be obtained from this file > without appearing in person at the courthouse or having someone appear on > my behalf! > > Then I thought: > > ** Can an OBITUARY be located for Jane BARNES dying near Grande Prairie, > AB June 24, 1973? > > ** Or can a GRAVE be located for Jane BARNES in a local cemetery? > > I would so much like to enter in contact with some survivor of this branch > of my family, and I thank you all once more for any assistance you can give > me in this matter! > > Very sincerely yours, > > Lars E. Oyane > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Norwaylist Archiveshttp://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=norway > > RESUBSCRIBE UNSUB > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/NOR/NORWAY.html > > guidelines http://www.rootsweb.com/~norway/guidelines.htm > _______________________________________________ > Email preferences: http://bit.ly/rootswebpref > Unsubscribe and Archives https://mailinglists.rootsweb. > com/listindexes/search/norway > Privacy Statement: https://ancstry.me/2JWBOdY Terms and Conditions: > https://ancstry.me/2HDBym9 > Rootsweb Blog: http://rootsweb.blog > RootsWeb is funded and supported by Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb > community > > _______________________________________________ > Norwaylist Archiveshttp://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index?list=norway > > RESUBSCRIBE UNSUB > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/NOR/NORWAY.html > > guidelines http://www.rootsweb.com/~norway/guidelines.htm > _______________________________________________ > Email preferences: http://bit.ly/rootswebpref > Unsubscribe and Archives https://mailinglists.rootsweb. > com/listindexes/search/norway > Privacy Statement: https://ancstry.me/2JWBOdY Terms and Conditions: > https://ancstry.me/2HDBym9 > Rootsweb Blog: http://rootsweb.blog > RootsWeb is funded and supported by Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb > community >

Dear Thelma, Doris, Don and other Listers! Thank you very very much for your interesting and wonderful messages in regard to the Barnes family in Canada! I appreciate very much your willingness, Thelma, to make a trip to Grande Prairie, AB in August, but it may not be necessary, as you will see reading a little further down... I am very glad that you Don found a reference to the family in the 1921 census for Kleskun Hill, AB showing the family at that time: ** BARNES, Jane 38 QB QB QB ** BARNES, Agnes 12 SK QB QB It sounds like Jessie is gone, or maybe she had died… I am kind of «stumped» with Agnes’ age. She was said to be 7 in 1916, and in 1921 she is 12, so born about 1908/1909. This means she must have been born while Christian Barnes was married and lived at Ross, ND. Looking at the map, the distance from Ross, ND to Moose Jaw, SK is about 200 miles, about the same as from Britton, SD to Ross, ND, and I guess he may very well have travelled that far for a summer season to make some extra money? Could it be our Christian lived a «double life» having two wives at the same time??? The fact that we can find no Jane Barnes with daughter Jessie in the 1906 census may confirm this theory, as she would then have been recorded under her maiden name..., but also Jane is nowhere to be found in 1911 either! Or could she have been temporarily in the US (Seattle, WA) with Christian thus «avoiding» the 1910 US census as well as the Canadian 1911 census?? We know for sure Christian did have a daughter Agnes (re: the WW1 draft), and who else can she have been?? Maybe we can get a little closer to an answer thanks to these great news: I called the Grande Prairie Public Library, and this evening I have received this wonderful obituary from «The Daily Herald Tribune» of Thursday December 14, 1972: «BARNES - Mrs. Jean Barnes passed away on December 9, 1972 at the Grande Prairie Hospital at the age of 90 years. Mrs. Barnes was born in Québec and has been a resident of the Grande Prairie and Sexsmith districts since 1914. She leaves to mourn her passing 1 daughter Mrs. Agnes Funk of Ft. McMurray, 3 granddaughters, 16 great grandchildren, 9 great great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband Roy Robertson in April 1963. Funeral services were held December 12, 1972 at 3 p.m. from the Oliver Funeral Chapel with Rev. C. Bigelow of Heiating. Intement followed in the Grande Prairie Cemetery. Arrangements were by the Oliver Funeral Home.» Now how about that? As it appears, no visit at Grand Prairie has to be made, and I can call the cemetery and even contact the funeral home to see what kind of information they have… Apparently the death date I was given at the courthouse wasn’t accurate, or it was for a different person. Now my next project will be to trace Agnes Funk of Ft. McMurray, and if we’re lucky, one of her daughters is still alive… Anyway Agnes’ death certificate would be a very interesting document to look at!! Thanks again for your great assistance in this matter! Very sincerely yours, Lars E. Oyane ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > On Jul 18, 2018, at 10:02 PM, Doris Waggoner <waggonerdoris@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi, Lars, > > This is a hard-to-trace family, which must be more frustrating since > they're your own relatives! > > I think the homesteading laws were the same in Canada as in the US. Women > could file for homestead claims on their own if they were unmarried. One of > my great aunts filed in SD in 1907 because she was not yet married. Widows > and divorced women were also eligible. American women were allowed to own > property this way because the government was so eager to fill up the > central part of the country. I am sure the same logic applied in Canada. > > My own mother was b. in SK in 1915, without a birth certificate. She had > dual Canadian/US citizenship, because her parents were US citizens. When > she turned 21, now living in the US, she dropped the Canadian citizenship > so she could vote in US elections. In the 1950s she wanted to get a US > passport to travel overseas, which took her a year. Fortunately, she got > letters from two witnesses--the doctor who delivered her, and a sister of > her mother's, who had been visiting when she was born. That wasn't enough > to satisfy the passport office. Her father was a Norwegian immigrant, and a > naturalized US citizen through his own father's naturalization. She > ultimately had to have her father write to Oslo to get copies of *his* parents' > marriage certificate, and his own birth records, to prove he was > legitimate. After the year it had taken to find out what she needed to do, > the Norwegians sent her the copies in two weeks! > > My mother's family moved to the US almost immediately after her birth (she > was premature, but this is part of the story you only know after the fact, > not by having the records), but later moved back into Canada off and on, > until in 1929 they moved to the US permanently. > > Several times during the 1910s and 1920s, my father's family lived in > Canada, including some time in Moose Jaw. Even today, those areas are all > sparsely settled, as is Mountrail Co. ND and the whole NW corner of ND, > where some of my mother's family still live. My g aunt who lived there had > 3 daughters, who all married brothers, which tells you there weren't many > people to pick from as marriage partners! > > So I don't have any specific info for you. Just an indication that while > Jane homesteaded, once she owned her homestead, she might have moved > around, leaving her property in the hands of a tenant to farm. You might > check the homestead section to see who was living there in those census > years. And if she applied for support in 1951, and was turned down by > Ontario because of the lack of her birth certificate, is it possible she > was living in Ontario in one or more of the intervening census years? > > Beste, > Doris > > On Wed, Jul 18, 2018 at 5:27 PM, Thelma Hartman <mominmotion@shaw.ca> wrote: > >> Hi Lars >> >> I will be about 2 hours away from Grande Prairie from August 4 to about >> August 12. If you can find out how I can access / copy the file let me know >> and I will make a side trip for you. >> >> All the best >> >> Thelma >> >> >> From: "Lars E. Oyane" <lars.e.oyane@sdsl.no> >> To: "norway@rootsweb.com norway@rootsweb.com" <norway@rootsweb.com> >> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2018 1:52:00 PM >> Subject: [NOR] Barnes family - obituary and/or cemetery assistance Grande >> Prairie, AB 1973, please? >> ~~~~~~~~ >> Dear Listers, >> >> While the NORWAY list was down for so lang last spring, I sent an inquiry >> directly to several of you asking for help to trace my own great uncle, >> >> Ole Christian (Colbjornson) aka Christian C. BARNES >> born Apr. 10, 1873 in Norderhov Co., Buskerud, Norway >> emigrated in 1889 to join his mother Maren Gausta at Kennedy, Kittson Co., >> MN >> >> I later found out he must have moved about 1900 to Canada and married a >> 1st time to >> >> Jane NN (of Irish background) >> born about 1880/1883 in Ontario >> >> This marriage ended in a divorce, and >> Christian returned to the US remarrying at Britton, SD July 23, 1905 to >> >> Jarand/Joran OLSON >> born about 1873 in Norway >> They moved to a farm near Ross in Mountrail Co., ND, but >> Joran Barnes died Dec. 16, 1911 in Jamestown, ND >> >> In April of 1911 Christian Barnes moved again to Moose Jaw, SK from where >> he returned in Nov. 1911 over Eastport, ID heading for Seattle, WA. >> >> According to his WW1 draft record Christian was residing as a rancher at >> Poulsbo, WA, and his next-of-kin was «daughter Agnes Christianson» of >> Poulsbo, WA! >> >> Christian Barnes died at Conway, Skagit Co., WA on Oct. 15, 1932, and his >> obituary reads he had resided there «for more than 20 years». >> >> From his 2nd marriage Christian had three sons who were all in 1920 >> residing in an orphanage at Poulsbo, WA: >> >> * Magnus Barnes, born in Marshall Co., SD Sep. 29, 1905, had a heart >> disease and died single in Seattle, WA May 14, 1946 >> >> * Clarence Barnes, born in SD or ND about 1907, was 1930 in prison in >> Bismarck, ND, but lived in 1932 with father at Conway, WA - later destiny >> unknown >> >> * Rudolph Barnes, born in Mountrail Co., ND Mar. 20, 1909, died in >> Portland, OR June 30, 1973, possibly(?) single. >> >> Now back to Christian Barnes’ 1st marriage: I have reason to believe he >> must have lived with 1st wife Jane at Moose Jaw, SK, but about 1914 Jane >> took up a «homestead» in Section 27, Township 72 Range 4 near Kleskun >> Hill/Grande Prairie, AB where she resided in 1916 with her two daughters: >> >> * Jessie Barnes, born in SK about 1904 (re census, more likely about 1901) >> >> * Agnes Barnes, born in SK about 1907 (re census, more likely about 1904) >> - who must be identical to Christian’s daughter Agnes Christianson referred >> to in his WW1 draft record… >> >> Strangely enough I have never been able to find Jane or her daughters in >> any later Alberta censuses (1921 or 1926) although we know she was still >> residing at Kleskun Hill near Sexsmith and Grande Prairie, AB in 1951 when >> she applied for support money due to old age. This was declined since the >> Province of Ontario was unable to find a birth certificate for her to >> validate her age! >> >> However, today I have been in contact with the Probate record department >> at the Grande Prairie, AB courthouse, and they tell me they have an estate >> file for: >> >> Jane BARNES, died on June 24, 1973 >> >> However, there is NO WAY information can be obtained from this file >> without appearing in person at the courthouse or having someone appear on >> my behalf! >> >> Then I thought: >> >> ** Can an OBITUARY be located for Jane BARNES dying near Grande Prairie, >> AB June 24, 1973? >> >> ** Or can a GRAVE be located for Jane BARNES in a local cemetery? >> >> I would so much like to enter in contact with some survivor of this branch >> of my family, and I thank you all once more for any assistance you can give >> me in this matter! >> >> Very sincerely yours, >> >> Lars E. Oyane >> >>