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New Photographs of Bonn Great-Grandparents

This is a newly-obtained photograph of my great-grandfather, Bernt Olsen Bonn (1856-1937).  I got it last month from cousins in Sogndal, Norway.  I had never seen it before.  It seems to show Bernt in his late 30s or early 40s. Because…
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Ancestral Farms in Eidsvoll, Norway

During last month's first-ever trip to Norway, one of my main goals was to drive around the village of Bøn in Eidsvoll Municipality to find ancestral farms. In particular, I wanted to see if I could pin down the precise location of a farm…
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Ancestry Discovery: Photographs of Sogndal Ancestors

To me, discovering photos or images of an ancestor is as important as determining their vital statistics.  It puts a face to a name and reveals character and personality.  Even cooler, sometimes you can see a physical resemblance to yourself…
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Discovery: 1885 Bonn Census Record

Talk about solving a mystery fast! Last week, I outlined some of the new information revealed by the homestead file of my 2nd great-uncle Christ O. Bonn (1858-1943).((Christ O. Bonn, (Marshall County) homestead file, final certificate no.…

Bonn Properties in Red River Valley

I didn't think it would take this long to get back to my Road Trip to Red River Valley series of blog posts.  (Access chapter 1 here and chapter 2 here.)  But here we are.  Finally! As described previously, my 2nd great-grandparents Ole…
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The Hafslo Connection

"Nurse Betty," an aunt of mine whose DNA I manage, recently forwarded an email she received from someone who matched her on FamilyTreeDNA.  I will refer to him as "Mr. Anderson."  My aunt and Mr. Anderson share 118 centimorgans (cM) of DNA. …
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The Perils of Norway Research

I made an error in my last post.  It's the statement that Laura Olsdatter Bohn (1853-1923) immigrated to the United States in 1887, arriving in New York City on the S.S. Island on 8 July. After I posted, one of my SLIG instructors, Finn…

Bønsmoen It Is!

One of the mysteries of my Norwegian ancestry has been the question of the Bonn surname: how did it originate and from where exactly?  In Norway, the family name and location often go together, based on the old tradition of giving every farm…

Deconstructing the Tabele Family

This discovery is actually a couple years old, but I wanted to document it here.  I also have an important new lead to discuss.  It is a nice example of discovering new ancestors whom you never knew about before.  For our family, that's pretty…

Who Were the Parents of Stephen W. King (1824-1865)?

  In 2016, I wrote a series of three articles published in the Minnesota Genealogist regarding my 2GG Fred A. King (1857-1920).((Steven Nelson Jonnes, “Searching for the Parents of Fred A. King of Saginaw, Michigan,” Minnesota Genealogist,…