| Ancestor 38 (1,001,10): 3GGF Hans Hansen-Svare (12/11/1819 – 6/25/1891) | Ancestor 39 (1,001,11): 3GGM Else Hansdatter-Svare (11/24/1821 – 4/30/1899) | |
| His parents | Their ancestral child | Her parents |
(Click here for a review of Scandinavian nomenclature of the 19th century)
The only known picture of Hans and Else. With their youngest daughter, Ragnhild. c. 1880.
Hans and Else took their surname from the Svare Farm in Vågå Parish, Oppland County, Norway. They were born in Vågå Parish (pronounced “VO-go”) and occupied Svare farm from about 1850 until 1866. My ancestor, Ymbjorg, was born in Svare, the fifth of nine children.
Hans and Else were highly itinerant. Records indicate that their children were born on four different farms in Vågå Parish!
Shortly after the birth of their last child in 1866, they relocated to Fraenen Parish in coastal More og Romsdal County.
Just three or four years later, they moved further north up the coast to Lurøy Parish, Nordland County. At least one of these moves was prompted by famine:
“They left because their area of Norway had years of crop failure and people were starving. Anne 1 told of eating soup cooked from the bark of trees. Going to the area near the North Sea they could become fishermen and thus have food.” 1
Hans and Else’s Lurøy residence was Storskarsvig Farm. 2 Storskarsvig means “The way for large vessels.” It was a harbor for the largest boats on the island.
“All of [their children] emigrated to [the United States] except Veslehans, number 7.” 3 Hans and Else themselves eventually made the big move to America in 1888. They came overseas with Ymbjorg and her growing family. The elder Svares settled in Pelican Rapids, MN and rest there today.
Me at Hans and Else’s grave, Ringsaker Cemetery, Pelican Rapids, MN, 2015