Individual Details
Ole Olsen Solem
(Apr 1880 - 1970)
Received May 2012:
I am the great great granddaughter of Sivert O. and Gjertru Solem. My grandfather, Ole O. Solem, was born prematurely to Anne Haugen and Ole Sivert Solem in 1880 on the North Sea between Trondheim and Hull, England, where his birth was registered. The tiny baby was kept in a grape box (about 5x6x12") in the captain's daughter's cabin, where it was warmer than the passengers' quarters. He lived to be 90, but an older (two-year-old) son died on the voyage over, and the story goes that the first thing His father did on disembarking in Chicago was to find a cabinetmaker to craft a little coffin for the boy.
I'd always assumed that child was buried in Chicago, but now I wonder if his is the grave at Singsaas of Sivert Solem, that you've listed on Find a Grave as born and died in 1880. The child's name is right (his paternal grandfather's). He would have been born in Norway in 1878, but gravestones are often wrong. They can't have had another full term child in 1880, as my grandfather was born in April. The folks who would have known the answers to these thing are all gone, sad to tell.
At any rate, they must have arrived at Singsaas just in time for the 1880 census, for my grandfather is listed there as 1/12 year old! I'd never seen this record before, nor, I imagine, had any of the Solems since the original names were registered. What a thrill to find them on your site! And so many other familiar names as well--especially Rognesses, who were my mother's first cousins.
I'm the daughter of Iola Solem (Boyd Wilson), born 1909 to Ole O. and Kari Thomasdatter Ruttum. My sister, Marni White, Taylor Solem's son, James Solem, and I are now the oldest living generation. My sister and I have children and grandchildren; Jim has none. I was last in Singsaas in 1979 with my mother for Olivia Solem's internment. We drove by the Solem farm that day. I last visited Madison, MN, where my grandparents and aunts lived, about a decade ago.
I'm now reading my way through the various records and narratives. I don't know how the Solems were connected to the original settlers, though I imagine I'm going to find out as I continue to read the accounts. That was never part of the family history that was told to us.I do know that the Solem farm in Norway is still in the the family--or was until very recently, at any rate.
Thank you so very, very much for all your careful work finding the information and making it available. If there is anything I can add to your records, please let me know. I'll certainly try to answer any questions you may have. I suspect, however, that you know more about my family than I do.
All best wishes--
Kari Boyd McBride
I am the great great granddaughter of Sivert O. and Gjertru Solem. My grandfather, Ole O. Solem, was born prematurely to Anne Haugen and Ole Sivert Solem in 1880 on the North Sea between Trondheim and Hull, England, where his birth was registered. The tiny baby was kept in a grape box (about 5x6x12") in the captain's daughter's cabin, where it was warmer than the passengers' quarters. He lived to be 90, but an older (two-year-old) son died on the voyage over, and the story goes that the first thing His father did on disembarking in Chicago was to find a cabinetmaker to craft a little coffin for the boy.
I'd always assumed that child was buried in Chicago, but now I wonder if his is the grave at Singsaas of Sivert Solem, that you've listed on Find a Grave as born and died in 1880. The child's name is right (his paternal grandfather's). He would have been born in Norway in 1878, but gravestones are often wrong. They can't have had another full term child in 1880, as my grandfather was born in April. The folks who would have known the answers to these thing are all gone, sad to tell.
At any rate, they must have arrived at Singsaas just in time for the 1880 census, for my grandfather is listed there as 1/12 year old! I'd never seen this record before, nor, I imagine, had any of the Solems since the original names were registered. What a thrill to find them on your site! And so many other familiar names as well--especially Rognesses, who were my mother's first cousins.
I'm the daughter of Iola Solem (Boyd Wilson), born 1909 to Ole O. and Kari Thomasdatter Ruttum. My sister, Marni White, Taylor Solem's son, James Solem, and I are now the oldest living generation. My sister and I have children and grandchildren; Jim has none. I was last in Singsaas in 1979 with my mother for Olivia Solem's internment. We drove by the Solem farm that day. I last visited Madison, MN, where my grandparents and aunts lived, about a decade ago.
I'm now reading my way through the various records and narratives. I don't know how the Solems were connected to the original settlers, though I imagine I'm going to find out as I continue to read the accounts. That was never part of the family history that was told to us.I do know that the Solem farm in Norway is still in the the family--or was until very recently, at any rate.
Thank you so very, very much for all your careful work finding the information and making it available. If there is anything I can add to your records, please let me know. I'll certainly try to answer any questions you may have. I suspect, however, that you know more about my family than I do.
All best wishes--
Kari Boyd McBride
Events
| Birth | Apr 1880 | ||||
| Death | 1970 | South Dakota |
Families
| Spouse | Kari Thomasdatter Ruttum |
| Child | Iola Wilson Solem (1909 - ) |
| Father | Ole Siversten Solem (1853 - 1935) |
| Mother | Annie Haugen (1856 - 1893) |
| Sibling | Sivert Olsen Solem (1879 - 1880) |