Thora Elvine Magnusdatter Egeland

The Bækkevar name derives from the Bækkevar farm in Eidsberg, a town northeast of Oslo & the Oslofjord in southern Norway. The name literally means "curving brook," as there is a stream on the property. Until the early 20th century, Norwegians used two last names: a patronymic or father's name (Thora's was Magnusdatter because her father's first name was Magnus), and a geographic or farm name. The farm name changed as often as a person moved from one farm to another. Several of Thora's older siblings were born on other farms, but she was born at Bekkevar, and they were all raised there, so they all used that name, including both those who stayed in Norway and those who immigrated. Thora's father adopted the name when the family moved to the farm, but he was born and grew up on the Sperbund farm in the town of Våler, so that's the name I've used for him in this tree.