Gary showing us how to find shark teeth in Venice I'm not sure why I haven't written about this sooner, but I thought I'd share with you two meetings which I have done in the last year.
In September I went on holiday to Florida. I had never been to the states, so I was immediately amazed by how big everything were. The highways in to Miami for example, was something I had never experienced in my entire life. European roads have got nothing on the American ones. Anyway, while being over there, I thought I'd use the opportunity to meet someone who I have found in all my ancestry research.
In 1926 my grandfather's brother, Erling, left Norway on a ship bound for England. He then boarded a ship which was bound for New York. He was only 23 years old. I have found lots of documentation of his trip over there and his life in Minnesota, but I will save all of that for a different blog entry.
It was when I was searching for information about Erling's death and burial I found his grandson Gary. Luckily for me, he had provided details of Erling's death and burial on an American website. I searched for Gary on Facebook, and there he was. We've been in contact ever since. Gary didn't know much about his Norwegian heritage, other than that his grandfather was from Lillehammer, and I was happy to share everything I had found with him.
It was natural to visit him while in Florida, because that is the state he lives in. He had a few pictures to show me and the meeting was a great success. Unfortunately I didn't have WiFi on my tablet, so I was unable to show him the family tree I had made...but in this day and age all you have to do is send a copy of it online, he wasn't too upset.
During Christmas I went to visit two other relatives. They live quite a bit closer than Gary. Jan Petter and his sister Anne live not far from Oslo, so there was no question as to whether I wanted to go and see them. Jan Petter and Anne were also very welcoming and open about their history (it must be a Burdal thing..?), and he had lots of information to show me. Jan Petter has been researching our family for a long time and was surprised, but delighted, when I showed so much interest. Apparently it is something which is more common for older people to be interested in, not a 21 year old.
That was my experience meeting other relatives. I haven't really met anyone else who shares the same surname as me, apart from my sisters. So it was a great experience, and I believe we'll all keep in touch.
In September I went on holiday to Florida. I had never been to the states, so I was immediately amazed by how big everything were. The highways in to Miami for example, was something I had never experienced in my entire life. European roads have got nothing on the American ones. Anyway, while being over there, I thought I'd use the opportunity to meet someone who I have found in all my ancestry research.
In 1926 my grandfather's brother, Erling, left Norway on a ship bound for England. He then boarded a ship which was bound for New York. He was only 23 years old. I have found lots of documentation of his trip over there and his life in Minnesota, but I will save all of that for a different blog entry.
It was when I was searching for information about Erling's death and burial I found his grandson Gary. Luckily for me, he had provided details of Erling's death and burial on an American website. I searched for Gary on Facebook, and there he was. We've been in contact ever since. Gary didn't know much about his Norwegian heritage, other than that his grandfather was from Lillehammer, and I was happy to share everything I had found with him.
It was natural to visit him while in Florida, because that is the state he lives in. He had a few pictures to show me and the meeting was a great success. Unfortunately I didn't have WiFi on my tablet, so I was unable to show him the family tree I had made...but in this day and age all you have to do is send a copy of it online, he wasn't too upset.
During Christmas I went to visit two other relatives. They live quite a bit closer than Gary. Jan Petter and his sister Anne live not far from Oslo, so there was no question as to whether I wanted to go and see them. Jan Petter and Anne were also very welcoming and open about their history (it must be a Burdal thing..?), and he had lots of information to show me. Jan Petter has been researching our family for a long time and was surprised, but delighted, when I showed so much interest. Apparently it is something which is more common for older people to be interested in, not a 21 year old.
That was my experience meeting other relatives. I haven't really met anyone else who shares the same surname as me, apart from my sisters. So it was a great experience, and I believe we'll all keep in touch.
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