Norwegian Traditions

NORWEGIAN TRADITIONS

The traditional rule for the naming of children born in Norway is referred to as “patronymics’ A child is given a first name and a patronymic name, which consists of the fathers first name with an appended “sen” (son also used) or “datter”(dotter or dtr also used in writing). Thus, if a man named Ole has a son and names him Hendrick, he becomes Hendrick Olesen. If this Hendrick, later in life, has a son and names him Ole, he would be called Ole Hendricksen. Or if he had a daughter and named her Guri, she would be Guri Hendricksdatter. Further tradition required that the first-born son be named for his paternal grandfather. The second-born son would be named for his maternal grandfather. A similar procedure was followed in naming first and second born daughters after their grandmothers. This can be both boon and bane in genealogy research. A bane because there can be so many of the same name, finding the right person can be a matter of chance; a boon, because the system is predictable. For example: I knew that my gr-gr-grandfather, Ole Hendrickson, was the oldest of his brothers. I did not know who his father was. By the patronymic system, I knew his father’s given name had to be Hendrick, and because Ole was the oldest, I knew his grandfather’s given name had to be Ole. Therefore, Ole’s father had to be named Hendrick Olesen. On this premise, I searched the 1801 Norwegian census files and found Hendrick Olesen and his family. In 1925, the use of a family name became compulsory by Norwegian law.

Historically, the common unit of settlemet in the rural districts of Norway, was the farm (Gard), including the main farm and a number of sub-farms (bruk). The person who owns the farm is a selveier, and the land he, or she, is using, has a registered deed as proof of ownership. Way back in history, the Norwegian farm land was owned by the church, the crown, or other landowners, but as early as 1660, a fifth of the farm land in Southern Norway was held by a selveier. The next century the selveier share of the farm land increased, and the selveier system spread to Western Norway and Trøndelag. In Northern Norway, this transition took place after 1850. On the owner's demise, the farm was deeded to his eldest son. The farms also had a number of tenant farmers (leilendinger). The leilending didn't own the land but was granted it's use through a lease contract. The leilending was generally a couple and the lease was good for his, or her lifetime. The biggest threat was the death of either the husband or the wife, since there had to be a "couple" on the farm; consequently, remarriages were very common in the leilending system. In most cases a leilending couple could let offspring inherit the land, but a new lease contract had to be registered. Another category of tenant farmer was the husmann, or cotter (crofter is also used.) The farm land they used was never registered as separate units, and their houses stood on land that belonged to a selveier, or was leased by a leilending. Their lease was for a limited time, and in most cases, the husmann was a couple. There were husmann med jord (cotter with farm land) who had houses and some land to use. There were husmann uten jord (cotter without farm land) who had houses, but no land to use, although the couple might own a cow and a few sheep. Another category of tenant was the innerst. They were roomers; typically newlyweds, seasonal workers, or very poor, sick, or old persons.

Villages, in the ordinary sense of the word, were few and far between. So the center of a community was, most commonly, the gard. This fact, combined with the patronymic tradition, resulted in the adoption of the name of the farm on which one lived, as one’s last name. The farm on which gr-gr-grandfather Ole Hendricksen lived was named Fadnæs. Thus, he was known as Ole Hendricksen Fadnæs. His brother Knut Henricksen Fadnæs married a girl on the Brunborg farm, and moved there to live. He then became Knut Hendricksen Brunborg, and that’s the name he used when he emigrated to America with Ole and John. In researching the ancestry of Norwegian Americans, it is almost essential to know the farms from which they came. With just the first name and patronymic name, it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack; there can be hundreds of the same name.

Another tradition was the old law of primogeniture (odelsrett), which gave the exclusive right of inheritance of an estate, to the eldest son. In the case of farmers (peasants of old) the estates were generally small farms, with limited arable land, and the families were large. The estates were often burdened with debt, which the eldest son also inherited, along with an obligation to care for his brothers and sisters properly, and to provide for the retirement of his parents with food, shelter and an annual allowance. There was rarely enough cash or personal property on hand for the other children to find financial independence elsewhere, and, in the early 1800's, the labor market was so overstocked that strong young men could hardly find work for more than five dollars and clothing a year. This presented a daunting challenge for the eldest son, a bleak future for the other children, and is one of several root causes for emigration to America.