The Fjelds

Fjeld, also spelled as Fjelde, is the surname of Justins' great great grandaprents.  They are his grandma Irene's grandparents and their names were Karen and Christian.  I just started working on his family tree and my staring point is a family history book that Justin gave to her for Christmas in 2001.  It had pages for her to record information and memories about her parents and grandparents and her life growing up and as she started her own family.  I didn't get very far before something caught my interest on the "maternal grandparents" page.  Irene, although she had never met her grandmother and only knew her grandfather until she was 4 years old, was told by other relatives that her Fjeld grandparents lived by the ocean and that her grandmother was talented with a sailboat and that they both liked to fish. 

In the book from Justin, Irene indicated that Christian was born in Stavanger, Norway.

Stavanger is located in Rogaland, which is highlighted in red.

On Ancestry.com, I found records indicating that Christian was born at Strand Kommune on November 4, 1854.  I researched Strand Kommune and discovered that it is part of Rogaland and across a bay type of area from Stavanger.  A ferry runs across the bay to Stavanger, which is a major city in Norway, and the water between is dotted with islands.  And one of the islands is called Fjellsholmen!  Maybe that is why they called themselves Fjeld.

That is Strand highlighted in red.  I also learned that "Strand" is means "beach".  Very interesting. 

This is a photo of Strand that I found online.  It looks beautiful, of course. 

Yeah, it might be fun to go tearing around on a sailboat out there!

This is another view of the Strand area. 

I never visited the Stavanger area while I was in Norway for two months as a student in 2006.  This cliff, called Pulpit Rock, is a famous destination for those who love hiking and outdoor adventures.  Hopefully I will get a chance to see it some day. 

I am kind of confused because Irene's book states that Karen was born in Buskerud, which is in the middle of the "spoon" of Norway and not near the ocean at all.  Ancestry.com lists her as being born at Aadahlen Parish, which is located in Buskerud.  I searched for Aadahlen Parish on Google and found record of a 9 year old named Karen Fingalsdatter living at Rundhaug-Nedstuen Farm in 1875 (her birthday was listed in 1966). 

http://home.hio.no/~bjorn-e/AADALFT1875PHPE.HTM (scroll down to the second farm).

I found references to Karen's father being named Fingal on Ancestry.com.  She had a sister named Ingeborg and a brother named Torvald.  I wish there were records like these for every region in Norway!  There is a large lake called Sperillen in Aadahl so maybe that is where the sailing legend originated.  Norway is filled with waterways and fjords and today boating is still a very popular passtime.  When I was visiting Oslo I wondered if anyone ever worked because the fjord around Oslo was always filled with sailboats!