Follow Us
Like Us
Historical records matching Halvor "Oliver" Johannesen
view all
Immediate Family
-
-
-
-
son
-
daughter
-
-
son
-
father
-
mother
About Halvor "Oliver" Johannesen
Oliver and Rena (Johnson) Johnson brought Thomas (Thor) to Illinois from Norway when he was just a boy.
Oliver's son's, Thor's, marriage certificate to Wilhelmina Johnson lists his namd as Halvor.
Immigration records - Oslo Archives
Telemark - Family left for America on May 25, 1855
Halvor Johannesen, born August 10, 1819 Rannei Thorsdatter, born January 10, 1819 Children: 1. Johannes, born August 17, 1843, Bø in Telemark 2. Thor, born September 16, 1845, Bø in Telemark 3. Gunder, born April 3, 1850, Seljord in Telemark 4. Gunild, born June 3, 1853, Seljord in Telemark Bø is located northwest of the city of Skien, Seljord is located northwest of Bø.
Baptism records from church book Halvor Johanesen, born August 10, 1819 Baptized August 15, 1819 at Church Parents, Johanes Halvorson & Gunild Nilsdatter Kleven - separated or divorced (Kleven = farm name)
Ranej (Rannei), born January 10, 1819 Baptized January 17, 1819 at Church Parents, Thor Ougensen & Gunild Gundersdatter Smestad under nedre Bøe (nedre = lower) - (Smestad & Bøe = farm names)
In Norway, we find the family:
Halvor Johannesen, born August 10, 1819 at Bø, Telemark, Norway, located near the city of Skien and wife Rannei (Ranej) Thorsdatter, born January 10, 1819 at Bø. Children: A.1. Johannes, born August 17, 1843, at Bø. A.2. Thor, born September 16, 1845, at Bø. A.3. Gunder, born April 3, 1850, at Seljord. A.4. Gunild, born June 24, 1853, at Seljord Seljord is near Bø.
Halvor Johannesen was the son of Johannes Halvorson and Gunild Nilsdatter Kleven and Rannei was the daughter of Thor Ougensen and Gunild Gundersdatter Smestad.
The family left for America on May 25, 1855. They landed at Chicago and moved to a homestead in Boone County, Illinois near the village of Capron.
In the 1860 Census of Boone County, Illinois, we find that the family has Americanized their names. Nelson Johnson 45 - farmer (Halvor) Lena 48 (Randina, Rannei, Ranej) A.1. John 15 (Johannes) A.2. Tore 13 (Thor) (Thore) A.3. Henry 10 (Gunder) A.4. Cornelia 7 (Gunild) A.5. Oliver 4 A.6. Nelson 2
All were born in Norway except the youngest two who were born in Illinois. The farm was valued at $800 and the personal property was valued at $225. This is the family of Thore Halvorson Johnson. The correct names of Nelson and Lena are Halvor and Randina. Also listed on the census is a Cornelia Johnson, age 70 years, a widow, and a boy Andrew Johnson, age 17 years. I believe these are related in some way.
So Halvor Johnson was born in Norway. He was reared there as a fisherman and farmer. He married there, but he determined that he would seek the broader opportunities of the new land to which so many of his neighbors were moving. The family immigrated in the mid-1850’s and settled on a homestead near Capron, Illinois.
Sometime between 1860 and 1865, Halvor left his family and all his responsibilities and took off for Montana with two of his neighbors to look for gold. The family was very poor and could have used money, but this left the work on the homestead and the hardships of the pioneer life to mother, Randie and the older boys, John and Thore. During this time the Civil War was going on and I suppose the lure of money, the older boys signed up.
Randina and children were still to be found in Boone County, Illinois on the 1865 state census.
Halvor finally sent a letter to his wife after about 12 years and about eight years after that, about 1885, he came home. After being gone for nearly twenty years, his wife wasn’t terribly excited to see him. As a matter of fact, she would not let him stay with her, so he wandered around the neighborhood for awhile then decided to go back to Montana. His children were all grown, most of them married. This time when Halvor left, he took two of his boys with him, Oliver and Henry, who was also called Jenner. Oliver was married and left his wife to go, Jenner was single. While on their way west going through North Dakota, Oliver decided to split with his father and brother and turned south to South Dakota. Halvor and Jenner continued west and lived out their lives in the area of Butte, Montana. Jenner married there. Halvor died there about 1899, found shot to death in his cabin. He must have still had “Gold Fever”.
Randie, who spoke only Norwegian eventually went to Interior, South Dakota, where Oliver and his wife were living. Oliver was raising sheep and sometimes shipped sheep to Chicago on the train. In 1892 he brought his mother back to South Dakota with him. She died there on November 1893. A new highway that was built later near the cemetery has a curve so as to miss her grave.
view all 11
Halvor "Oliver" Johannesen's Timeline
| 1819 |
August 10, 1819
|
Bø, Drangedal, Telemark, Norway
|
|
|
August 15, 1819
|
Church, Bø, Telemark, Norway
|
||
| 1843 |
August 17, 1843
|
Bø, Drangedal, Telemark, Norway
|
|
| 1845 |
September 16, 1845
|
Bo, Skien, Telemark, Norway
|
|
| 1850 |
April 3, 1850
|
Bo, Skien, Telemark, Norway
|
|
| 1853 |
June 24, 1853
|
Bø, Seljord, Telemark, Norway
|
|
| 1856 |
August 16, 1856
|
Capron, Boone County, Illinois, United States
|
|
| 1858 |
1858
|
Capron, Boone, Illinois, United States
|
|
| 1899 |
1899
Age 79
|
Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana, United States
|