A History About Anne Mathea (Matilda)

One of the documents I recently received from M.G. was a short personal history written about 1965 by Ethel Julian Millard Kendall. She is the daughter of Anne Mathea, Ole and Marie's daughter. I am posting the part that tells Ethel's version of Anne Mathea's history. It is posted just as I received it.

     I, Ethel Julian Millard Kendall, was born June 27, 1890 in Preston, Idaho.  The house is located on East State Street.  My father and mother are William Charles Millard and Anne Mathea Olsen (Peterborg) Millard.

    My mother Anne Mathea Olsen (Peterborg) Millard was born in Helgain Nes Sagn, Norway to Marie and Ole Olsen (Peterborg).  She joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with her parents in Norway.  Her family lived on the Peterborg estate.

     When they joined the Mormon church, they were driven off the Estate and told never to return.  They spent two very hard years in Oslo, Norway while trying to save money to come to America, and to Zion, so they might rear their children among the saints. However, at the end of the two years, they had saved only enough to bring two of their children with them.  They brought their oldest boy ( who was 18, and would have been drafted, had they not), and the youngest girl, who was three years of age.

   Upon reaching Zion, her parents and the two children filed a homestead in Preston, Idaho.  Through the hardships, her mother took sick after three years, and on her death bed, her request was that Mathea ( or Matilda as she was called by her friends) be brought over from Norway to take care of her.

   So mother left her fiancé in Norway and began her journey.  He was to come the following year.  When she had only begun her journey, she received word that her mother had already passed away.  She moved in with her father, and kept house for him.

   She became very lonely and homesick, so she let a rich farmer (Jacob Jensen) convince her to marry him in polygamy two years after she came. (Dec. 2, 1880).  She was his second wife.  After she had been married a little over a year she found that she was pregnant.  At this time, the farmer’s wife became uncontrollably jealous.  Mathea felt very hurt and unwanted.  After standing it as long as she could, she left and went back to her father.

   Three months later she gave birth to twins, Oliver and Hager Mathea. (13 April 1882). She took a stroke near the time of their birth, which almost took her life and the life of the twins.  Hager Mathea lived until October of the same year.  It was only through the special care given by a good neighbor lady, Mrs. Sophia Early, that Oliver’s life was saved.

   She met my father, William Charles Millard, when Oliver was one year old.  They fell in love and were married (24 Sept. 1883) civilly.  (Later after obtaining temple divorce – 19 April 1933 – from the farmer, they were sealed from time and all eternity in the temple. Dad promply adopted Oliver.  Mother and Dad had seven children.  I was the fourth child.  I was born 13 years after my mother came here—to this country.  The other children were Ada, Pearl, William, Lillia, Lavean and Carl.

As with any history written years after the event and by someone else, there can be inconsistencies. I found a couple of things that differ from some of the information I found as I have done research. I am showing a few of them, not to criticize but to clarify. 

            

In an earlier post I wrote about the "farm books" or "bygdebøke" and it showed that the name of the farm was Petterborg. The only reason I am bringing this up is because there was also a farm Peterborg and I don't want someone looking at the wrong farm information. I have seen where the family spelled their name as Peterborg and Petterborg. It changed back and forth from one to the other over the first 50+ years.

The family joined the LDS Church in 1866 but did not emigrate to America until 1876. They lived in Oslo about 10 years, not just 2.

Emil was 20 years old when they came to America and Beate was 12 years old.

I am grateful that Ethel took the time to write about her mother and share the things she knew about her.

I will be posting histories about Ole and Marie's family, written by other family members that I have been given. If anyone, reading this blog, knows of other histories that have been written about the family, please let me know so that we can share with others. Every little bit helps us learn more about this strong and courageous family.

Ole and Marie's Graves

Franklin, Idaho Cemetery

The Franklin Cemetery is a very pretty, well maintained, active cemetery. There is even a spreadsheet of the graves posted on the Internet.

Image from Franklin Cemetery website:http://franklinidaho.org/Cemetery.htm

Marie & Ole came to America in 1876. Marie's health had not been very well for many years. They had lived under some pretty rough conditions. When they first got to Oslo, in the late 1860's, food was scarce and Marie went without many times. I am pretty sure the conditions in Idaho were not much better when they arrived. I have conflicting information on the exact year of her death. I have that she died 24 Jan 1879 but the grave marker says 1878. I will have to do some more research and see if I can find the correct date. She died from consumption or what is known today as tuberculosis.
Ole and Marie were so poor that they couldn't afford to purchase burials plots.The story goes that Hans Olsen and his wife, Nettie, gave the family two plots. At the time they only put up wooden markers to show the grave locations. I am sure these rotted many years ago. Ole died in 1885. The cemetery records burned in a house fire, so the exact location of the unmarked graves in unknown. Lucille Petterborg Perkins showed some family members who attended her sister, Ruby's, funeral the location of the graves, as best you could remember them. She had been shown the location by Nettie Olsen. The Olsen family is no relation to Ole.

R.P. made the following drawing to show the actual location of Ole and Marie.He was with Lucille the day she showed the spot.

Lee Arnold Petterborg's family are the ones who had the marker placed as a memorial to Ole and Marie. Lee is Emil's oldest child with his wife, Annie Dobson. The marker is not on the exact location of the graves. Thank you for your kindness!

The Passing Years by David C. Jensen

A few years ago I decided to do a "Google Search" on Ole and Maria. Boy, was I surprised when I found a website with histories and pictures. I could hardly believe it. The information was part of a website that has since been shut down and has been moved to this blog.
Some of the information was quoted from The Passing Years by David C. Jensen. It took me a long time and many phone calls to find a copy of the "book". It is not a published book but a typewritten manuscript that had been copied for family members. I was able to connect with David's son and he so graciously sent me a copy. I am not going to post the names of living individuals but I would be more than happy to share information if contacted.
David C. Jensen was the son on Antone H. Jensen the son of David Jensen, Ole's younger brother. I am going to quote some of the book that tells about Ole.

Ole Petterborg was born August 15, 1825 in Toten, Norway. He was the son of Ole Olsen and Gulline Olsen. Ole had two half-brothers, David and Antone Jensen. Ole came to America in 1873.

Ole changed his name from Olsen to Petterborg. The name Olsen was common in Ole's section of Norway. The various Olsens were identified by the place they lived. So it was with Ole. He was called Ole of Petterborg. Ole liked Petterborg better than Olsen.

Ole married Marie Eriksen. Marie was born November 6, 1827 in Norway. She died January 24, 1878. To this union were born nine children. The children were born in Norway. There names are Gine, John, Matilda, Emil, Even, Beate, who died in 1862, Beate who was born in 1864, Christine, and Oliane.

Even did not marry. He drank considerably during his life time which caused him to be hospitalized. He died in Walla Walla, Washington at the age of 78. He was brought back to Preston to be buried.

Two of the children died, but the rest married and had families. John Olsen settled in Ohio. He married twice and had two families. He and two boys were killed in a saw mill.

Emil settled in Preston. He is the only one who retained the name Petterborg, so he is the main root of the Petterborgs.

Ole homesteaded the place across from the Fifth Ward church. His place ran one mile north and was 1/4 mile wide. Christensen owned the place were Ole's house sat.

Ole was tall and thin. While he was in Norway, he did some drinking. He was mean during this time and would beat his wife. He was good otherwise. He was very close on money matters.

Ole lived a very quiet life. He did not take an active part in the affairs of the day. He accepted the gospel in April 1866. He was the type of man who tended his own business in a very mild mannered way.

Ole died in December 1885. He is buried in the Preston cemetery.

The name Petterborg is becoming common in the West. Ole left to his kin a unique name. The name started with him and will grow and grow. (from page 49)

 This information and a family group sheet is what I used to help me get started on my research for Ole and Maria. A few things are different than what I have since learned but it was such a thrill to have this information about MY family.
Below is a little more information from The Passing Years. It was written about David but since David and Ole are half-brothers, it also gives a good insight into Ole's life.

David Jensen's father, Jen Johansen, was a miller. Jens operated a small water power mill on the river that runs through the central part of what is called East and West Toten [Norway].

David's mother, Gulline Olsen Johansen, was a very large woman. She was tall and stately. Her hands and feet were very large for a woman. She was known among the people of Toten as Gulline Grotten. Grotten was the name of the place or house that she lived in after her husband, Jens, died. Jens was sixty-four years old when he married Gulline. Gulline was thirty-seven when she married.

Gulline had a child, before her marriage to Jens, who was named Ole Olsen. The records show that Ole's father's name was Ole Olsen. Ole went by the name of Ole Petterborg in America. Ole was born August 15, 1825.

Jens had been married before he married Gulline, and had raised a large family. Jens' first wife was Dorthe Gudmunsen Johansen. David's seven half sisters names were Marie, Agnethe, Johanne, Gulline, Hellene, Elline, and one name unknown.

Jens and Gulline had three children: David, Johannes who lived just a few hours and, Antone.   (from page 3)

Why Was the Name Changed?

With the maiden name of Petterborg, I had always been curious about the origin of the name. I was told that it had been changed from Olsen to Petterborg when the family came from Norway and that the name had some connection to the farm the family lived on before coming to America.
The Scandinavian countries all practiced "patronymics"--each person's surname was the first name of their father with "sen" added for boys and "datter" added for the girls in Norway and Denmark and "son" and "dotter" in Sweden and Finland. Each generation had a new surname. When women married, they didn't change their surname to their husband's. Just by this naming practice, I knew Ole Olsen's father's name was Ole and Maria's father's name was Erik. I had already done research in Sweden and I was familiar with this pattern.  I thought it would be very hard to figure out and find people but it turned out to be just the opposite--I could follow people and keep couples separated quite easily.
As the population really grew, some men were assigned a "new" name to be added to their patronymic name. This helped to differentiate several men with the same names.
I have read in one of Ole and Marie's daughter's journals (another post to come) that when the Olsen family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they lost their farm because of the local persecution. I noticed that in the LDS Church records they were listed as Olsen Petterborg.  I am not sure if they took the name Petterborg to differentiate themselves from the other Olsen families or if they took the name because of the love they had for the farm they lost and that would be a way to remember.
I may never know the answer until I can ask Ole and Maria themselves.

About Sept. 2008 I was able to take a Norwegian research class at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.  One of my main goals was to find the correct name of the farm where they lived. I found a book entitled, Norsk stedsfortegnelse (Norwegian place name index). It shows the community, county, ZIP code, post office name, and the telegraph office name for all most of the villages and farms. As I was looking through the book, I found lots of names that looked familiar--Petersborg, Petersburg, Petraborg and Pettersborg. The reason these all looked so familiar was they were all the different ways my last name had been misspelled my whole life. Imagine how excited I was when I saw Petterborg listed. How was I ever going to know which one, if any, was the correct place where Ole, Marie and their children had lived?
I was then introduced to using the "farm books" or "bygdebøke". They are Norwegian books, arranged by large geographic areas, then broken down into smaller areas.  I found one volume, Utgitt av Nes Historielag ved Gunhild Kolstad (A genealogy and a history of the people and their farms in Nes and Helgøy, Hedmark County, Norway). I checked the book for the area where I knew the family had lived--Nes. Then within Nes, they had lived in Hovinsholm.  I found Hovinsholm-eie on page 56. The book was all in Norwegian, which made it hard to know exactly what I was reading. I am pretty sure I had help from some of the consultants at the Scandinavian desk at the Family History Library. As I am writing this, I am looking at the same pages and it is not as easy to figure out as it was that day. It all just fell into place so easily then. As I looked at the information, I could tell it was in chronological order, so I checked until I found when the family lived there and there they were--listed on page 58! They really had lived on the farm named PETTERBORG!!!!! Wow, my maiden name had been correct all along.
The book listed Ole, Marie and their 8 children. It also gave the year and place they were born and the year of Ole and Maria's marriage.
The following is the information listed in the book: Utgitt av Nes Historielag ved Gunhild Kolstad (FHL Call #948.23/N1 D2k volume 2 part 1), page 58.
Ole Olsen f. ca. 1826 (Toten, pä Vien da han giftet seg) g. 1850 m. Marie Erikdtr. (Hovelsrud-eie).
Barn:
1. Gine f. 1850 (Hovinsholm-eie)
2. Ole Johan f. 1851 (Hovinsholm-eie)
3. Anne Mathea f. 1853 (Hovinsholm-eie)
4. Emil f. 1856 (Hovinsholm-eie)
5. Even f. 1858 (Hovinsholm-eie)
6. Oleane f. 1860 (Prestegardsmoen)
7. Beate f. 1862 (P.g.moen)
8. Beata f. 1864 (Peterborg)
Ole og Marie var husfolk i Øvremoen under Prestegarden i 1865.

There is another book, Utgitt av Nes Historielag ved Gunhild Kolstad (FHL Call #948.23/N1 D2k volume 2 part 2), page 109-110. It gives a one page history of the farm and then gives information on the families who have lived there. The information on Ole and Marie is a little different than in part 1. I am showing it below. The reason I am going into so much detail is because as a genealogist, I have tried to find all the information I can about a person or family. That way I can try and recreate the family as accurately as possible. I never know what information will be in any source. If I had only looked at this book, Part 2,  I would have missed two of their children and where they all were born.
Ole Olsen f. ca. 1842 (Toten) i var husmann med jord 1865. G. 1850 m. Marie Erikdtr. f ca 1844. Han var jeger og hadde tjent på Vien. I 1865 ble denne plassen kalt  Øvermoen av Petterborg ikke ble nevnt.
Barn:
1. Johan f ca 1851
2. Anne Mathea f ca 1853
3. Emil f 1855
4. Even f 1857
5. Oleane f 1859
6. Beate f 1864
I am going to get the information from these two books translated and I will add that as a later post.

Here They Are

This is Ole Olsen Petterborg and Maria Eriksdatter. This picture was sent to me in 2009 by A.M. from Brigham City, Utah. I have seen the pictures individually on the Internet but it was very special when I received this copy from A.M. I am hoping to find more pictures and stories about the Petterborg family so that I can share with others.
I have a Petterborg database, in my genealogy software program, with names, dates and places but I am not sure where I got it. I am using the information as a foundation and a place to jump from into more detailed research.
My goal is to show original records to back up any names, dates or places.
When you read this, if you have anything to share, please contact me via my contact information at the bottom of the blog.
I have set up this blog so that each of Ole and Maria's nine children will have their own separate page.  I am hoping this will be an easier way to track them and for others to find and share information.
Oh, how I wish I could have known and talked to these people. They have gone from names on a computer screen or family group sheet to someone who is real. Someone who I am related to, someone who sacrificed a lot for each other and for others who would follow.  I feel a real connection to them but at the same time, I feel a real void because I don't have a lot of information. I look forward to the day when I can meet them and I can give them a hug and thank them for what they did for me.