Reinert Småland - Naming issues with Reinert Fredriksen Smaaland

In Kristoffer Rein's " Ei bok om bygda og folket fra fjern fortid og fram til 1980-åra" binder IV, page 379, they show him on farm Gnr 51/9 (Kvidalsplass) from 1885 till his death when it was transferred to his daughters Kristine and Marta. All of his children who were born on that farm (mother was Anne Birgette), took Kvidal as their surname with the change in naming customs that took place in Norway in 1914 (??). He was my great grandfather and so I think you can also take this as a source, having this history as a part of my family heritage. His son, my grandfather, has Kvidal as his surname on his passport which I have a copy of. If you would like me to send you copies I would be glad to.

Douglas Ole Olsen MD

I have always made it a habit to use both the patronymic and the "farm" name for those born before the 1900. I include both as the "last name" on entries because most programs will recognize one or the other in a search. Using the farm name is helpful because there are so many names that are the same, even with similar birth dates, that it helps narrow down the person you are trying to research. It does become a problem when the individual moves from farm to farm, but when it is a family farm, they often will stay on the farm for several generations. I have found Kristoffer Rein's Bygdebøker to be very accurate for the most part. Sometimes the dates will be off slightly, but I have found the same with the digital archeives. If you don't mind my asking, how are you related to Reinert Fredriksen_. It's been a pleasure chatting with you.

Census 1900 for Kvidalsplads
https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/bf01037434000016
Census 1910 for Kvidalsmyr (plads)
https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/bf01036816000747

Above are links associating Reinart Fredriksen with one of the "Kvidahl" farms. Where I first saw the reference to Småland I can't remember, but I know that Anne-Kristin Gerhardsen Kvidahl shows this also as one of the farm names associated with Reinert. Her father was the owner of the Kvidahl farm, and I believe she was born on the farm. Reinert is her great grandfather. I assumed Småland was the farm in Frosta where Reinert was born, but this also is confusing because his fathers name was Fredrik Renaldsen Risanvald. You have certainly given me more questions to answer in trying to fill in my genealogy.

Doug

What do you mean, fabrication of facts?

Remi,
Thank you for trying to explain the issue from a genealogist standpoint, but one must remember that the majority of people who use these online databases are not trained genealogist. It has been my impression that a large number of people researching their Norweigian heritage have NO idea of the difference between farm names and patronyms. I think one of the unique problems with Scandinavian names is the custom of using a patronymic and farm name. And since this custom change in the early 1900's, it has been extremely confusing to those not fully aware of this custom. I would argue that until the data bases allow for entering this separate name, that it is advantageous to put down the last name at birth (the patronymic) followed by the farm name at birth (for those born before 1914). Otherwise, you will have the problem of people entering a combination of farm names in some cases, and patronymic in others. This has led to a significant problem trying to make sense of some of the trees listed on these sites. Having both names is a tremendous advantage when you are trying to piece together a family tree. The name field on Genie is not "last name at birth", it is simply last name. I am trying to learn the nuances of becoming an amateur geneologist and appreciate constructive comments, so I welcome your response. My original report was prompted by a gross misunderstanding of the genealogy of Reinert Fredriksen, my great grandfather. I tried to make this point of farm names vs patronymic and nothing more.

Douglas Ole Olsen

Don’t disagree, I only knew of him as the patriarch to the Kvidal clan. It was when I started to put together the family tree that I ran across the name Småland associated with his name. This was from “hints” from Ancestry.com and MyHerritage.com. I never was able to find an “official “ document with that name, but didn’t want to discard it for fear that it may have some relevance. Unfortunately the Digital Archives is not complete, and there are records from various areas of Norway from the 1800’s that have not yet been added to the Archives. This is obvious when doing a property search on the Småland Farm.. The search pulls up the Småland farm, but only for a limited number of census. So yes I agree with your statement that on the archives there is no documentation of that association but doesn’t eliminate it as a possibility. My original post was to clarify some of the confusion with his name since there are a significant number of people who list him as Reinert Fredriksen Småland.

I didn’t claim that his marriage certificate showed Småland. And I don’t trust MyHerritage or Ancestry or Genie any more than any other online source. I have even seen discrepancies from documents found on Digital Archives. You have to take ALL the information and put it together to try and find the truth. I’m sorry you have taken such a confrontational approach to this discussion, It was never my intention to insult anyone.