COUSINS BY THE DOZENS IN AMERICA VIA THE “BISHOP OF VÅMARTVEIT”
Ånund Alvsson Våmartveit was his name, the son of Alv Ånundsson Våmartveit and Ingebjørg Torsdrt Bosbøen. He was born in Ringhus, Vinje, Telemark, Norway in 1725. The Bygebok by Rygh and Berge point out that Ånund was noteworthy. Many adjectives, not all complimentary, were used to describe him. He had a zest for life in all its fullness with few if any inhibitions. He was known as the “Bishop of Våmartveit” because of what may have been total recall or a photographic memory, not only of the Bible and liturgy but also the ancient Norwegian legends, lore and fables. He was a gifted and entertaining story teller that ingratiated him with the ladies despite his being a big, ugly, snoose loving man. He had several big, strong children. We know of three of their children (Ånund’s grandchildren) that immigrated to America:
Ragnild Knutsdtr Ljostad (1802) came in 1862 to Winnebago Co., Iowa as a widow (a 1st cousin to Ragnild A).
Ragnild Alfsdtr (1798-1877) came in 1866 to Stoughton, WI as a widow (Gretebeck et al).
Tor Alvsson Kingland and family came in 1869 to Mt. Valley, Iowa (a brother to Ragnild A).
We know of some 37 great grand children of the “Bishop of Våmartveit” that emigrated around the mid 1800’s. They came to WI, Iowa, MN and ND primarily. Among the family names used by these immigrants were Olsen, Grytebekk, Gunderson, Holtan, Monson, Kingland, Håtveit, Ljostad, Reindal, Reine, Midjås Felland and Hovden. Not only the spelling of the names changed but is some cases the name itself over time. Marriage resulted in new names. There may be six or more generations of families by now from the 37 known immigrants. They are likely to be found in most of the States as well as parts of Canada. The result is a multitude of dozens of cousins that trace back to the “Bishop of Våmartveit’.
The superlative efforts of Lorna Mandt Robertson provided the background for this piece. She lives in Issaquah, WA and continues to search for more ancestors. Lorna is a direct descendant of Ragnild Knujtsdtr Ljostad (1802), and related more distantly to all these family lines, some multiple times.
S.H.G. 7/16/2000