Was My Great Grandfather Bonn the Child of a Secret Affair?

I wanted to share the possibility that my Norwegian great grandfather, Bernt O. Bonn (1856-1937), was the product of an illicit affair.

 

 

Over 5 years ago, I discovered a DNA match with a cousin in Norway.  She and I share 92 centimorgans (cM).  To this day, that remains the highest amount of DNA I share with any Norwegian match, including all the DNA websites to which I belong.  Because the woman lived in Eidsvoll municipality in Akershus County, Norway, I was able to assign her to my Bønsmoen line rather than my Aaberge line in western Norway.

A match that shares 92 cM would mostly likely indicate a 2C1R, 3C, or 3C1R relationship.(())

When Lucia and I went to Norway in 2019, we visited with the daughter of this woman, whom I also match.  Her name is Kari.  She and I share 55 cM.  A match that shares 55 cM would most likely indicate a 3C, 3C1R, or 4C relationship.

Fortunately, Karen has an extensive tree and is a careful, diligent researcher.  However, in comparing the two trees, we were not able to find a connection.  This was mystifying.  In fact, we still can’t determine how we are related, despite the proximity of the connection.

Normally, Norwegian parish records would reveal the nature of the relationship because 18th and 19th century vital records in Norway are among the most complete and detailed in the world.

However, Eidsvoll Parish suffered a devastating fire in 1877 that destroyed its parsonage and nearly all the church records prior to 1861.  This makes any genealogy research in Eidsvoll very challenging.

between his mother Dorthe Olsdatter Dalum (1819-1893) and a neighbor Han Olsen Løken (1804-1883).