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Ragnhild Mikalsdatter Hornnes

Ragnhild Mikalsdatter Hornnes as a young woman, born 20 May 1863. Photo ca 1880s
[photo courtesy of Agnes Allpress]

Ragnhild was the first child born to Mikal Alfsen Roland-Hornnes and his second wife, Anne Gundersdatter Uleberg. It was traditional to name the first child after a deceased spouse and Mikal and Anne kept to that by naming her after Mikal’s first wife, Ragnhild Nottosdatter Hornnes. The picture was probably taken near the time she married Ola Johnson Stean-Birkeland in 1883 making her about 20 years old at the time.

Otrøybakken
[photo courtesy of Agnes Allpress]

During the first eight years or so of their married life Ragnhild and Ola moved from rented farm to rented farm until Ola bought Otrøybakken (Stean) in 1893. Otrøybakken was part of Birkeland. Birkeland had belonged to Ola’s family since 1610. He was known as Ola Stean-Birkeland. Ola was the son of John Eivenson Birkeland and Gunhild Jesdatter. He was born 23 May 1848 and died 5 February 1923. Ola and Ragnhild had seven children:*

1. Gunhild, 17 August 1885
2. Anne, 29 March 1888
3. Sigrid also known as Sadie, 1 October 1890
4. John, 31 October 1892
5. Marie, 5 December 1894
6. Ingeborg, 29 March 1898
7. Mikal, 26 June 1901

Three of these children, Anne, Sadie, and John left Norway never to return. Marie also left but she returned home to Norway because she was ill. She died shortly thereafter. Ingeborg never married. I do not have pictures of all the children but here are some that I do have.

Gunhild Stean, ca 1905
[photo courtesy of Odd Svanstrøm]

Gunhild married Hans Svanstrøm and had four sons

Family of Hans and Gunhild Svanstrøm, ca 1939
[photo courtesy of Odd Svanstrøm]

1. Knut
2. Odd
3. Tor
4. Alf

Anne Stean, ca 1910

Anne married Al Bensen. They had two daughters, Carmen and Hellen, and she was expecting twins when she died 20 August 1920.

Carmen (1915-2010) & Hellen Bensen (1918-2006), ca 1922
[photo courtesy of Agnes Allpress]

Sigrid or Sadie Stean, ca 1910

Sadie Stean married Herbert Solwold and had one son, Richard.

Richard Solwold, (1920-2001)

John Steen or Stean, ca 1910
[photo courtesy of Agnes Allpress]

John lived at least part of the time in Canada after leaving Norway. It is not known if he married and had a family.

Marie Stean, ca 1910
[photo courtesy of Odd Svanstrøm]

Ragnhild Mikalsdatter Hornnes as an older woman, ca 1930s (?)
[photo courtesy of Odd Svanstrøm]

.......................................................................................................
Note:

* You can see that Ragnhild and Ola held to the traditional naming patterns. Their first daughter, Gunhild was named after Ola's mother, their second daughter, Anne, was named after Ragnhild's mother. The first son, John, was named after Ola's father while the second son, Mikal, was named after Ragnhild's father. Sigrid, Marie, and Ingeborg were most likely named after other relatives such as great-grandmothers, aunts, or sisters.

Stories from the life of Sadie Stean, part 2

Sadie Stean, ca 1916

Part 2 of the stories from Sadie Stean's life continues where part 1 left off. We next find Sadie as a 14 year old girl ready to make her way in the world.

“I was 14 years old and as my parents were not able financially to send me to high school I had to get a job. I had been nursemaid during school vacations so I knew how to handle children. Mrs. Gundrson wrote I could come to them. I helped with the children. I remember the big stone apartment house on Strandgaten, that is it looked big then to me now after seeing New York, Boston, Chicago and many other large cities when I think back on that apartment house it was not any larger than some of the homes I have seen in this country, but it was home to me that first summer away from home and I liked the nursery. It was a big room with bars over the windows so the children wouldn’t fall out. I slept there with 4 other little beds. It was a happy summer.

“Mrs. Gunderson was wonderfully kind to me. I was green to city ways and had lots to learn. She took me along on shopping trips and she would stop and talk to so many interesting people, everyone loved her. I’ll never forget how beautiful she looked when she was dressed for the big even of entertaining King Håkon and Queen Maud on their first visit as King and Queen to our city. When she was already she stood up on a stool so we could get a good look at her slippers, too. She was dressed in a black satin evening gown and gold slippers, her necklace and bracelets were garnets set in gold, a present from the Captain when they were engaged, she liked them best of all her jewelry. She sure was beautiful. She was very small, dark brown hair and blue eyes and a wonderful complexion. The Captain was handsome too, over 6 feet tall, and in his best dress uniform. I am sure they were the most handsome couple at the party. In the fall I had a chance to work in Jepson’s Factory doing this and that, sorting samples, working in the sewing room they had just installed electric sewing machines, the first I had ever used. I waited on tables at noon and so got my dinner free. Oh, I was getting along fine and liked it.

Stories from the life of Sadie Stean, part 1

Sadie Stean*, ca 1917

Like Anna, Sadie wrote her life story and kept a journal or diary off and on through the years. Her accounts are so long they will need to be split into 2 or 3 parts. Here begins some of Sadie’s stories from her childhood--

“One of the first things I remember happened when I was only 2 ½ years old. My parents rented a small far just a little ways from where we were living. A bachelor friend of my mother and father was helping us move. On the last trip mother took my two older sisters by the and and walked, but the baby was to ride piggy back with my arms around Erick’s neck and we were going on skis and to this day I remember the excitement flying down the hill so to say and Erick had to jump a small stream. What a thrill it gave me. Yes, children do remember things many times and many things happened in the next year, but nothing exciting to a child’s mind until father bought a small piece of land and an old log cabin that he moved and fixed up as a home. I remember mother taking me across the river to look at our new home.

“One day they were putting in a new ceiling and a nail puller fell down and I had to have a hole cut in my curls to get the blood washed off. I cried but after being treated to ginger cookies I forgot about it and it soon healed up. All that reminded me of it was when my hand should touch the bare spot where the hair was cut short.

Ragnhild and Ola Stean (Birkeland), inside the house**
[photo courtesy of Agnes Allpress]

“It seemed like father never could make enough money only for the very necessary things, and sometimes we didn’t always have enough to eat. I remember particular one evening mother gave us the last piece of bread and butter we had in the house. Father was away working in the mine and only came home Saturday nights and we didn’t have a cent in the house to buy with, us children didn’t realize how she must have felt, there were 5 of us then with big appetites and nothing left to give us for breakfast. Us children went to bed and mother sat knitting by the fire. I woke up and heard someone knock on the window and I heard a well known voice say—“I saw the lamplight so I knew you hadn’t gone to bed, something just told me you might need a little money” and she gave mother $2 that she had earned that day washing clothes for our neighbor, Dr. B. Mother told her she was an answer to prayers. “I was praying for something to feed the children for their breakfast.” How well I remember that old lady and I am glad to know that mother was able to return some of the kindness she showed us.

Sadie Stean, Early Years

This photograph of the Stean farmhouse Otrøybakken near Evje og Hornnes, Aust Agder, Norway is one of several pictures Agnes Allpress had in her possession and let me copy. It was taken during the early 1900s. Sitting are Ragnhild and Ola Johnsen Stean (Birkeland), standing by the morning glories is one of their daughters, possibly Ingeborg the little boy next to her probably Mikal.

On 28 December 1883 Ragnhild Mikalsdatter Hornnes married Ola Johnsen Stean (Birkeland) who was 15 years her senior. He was born at Birkeland farm 1848. Ola was the 5th of seven sons born to John Eivenson Birkeland and Gunild Hode. Birkeland farm had been in his family since 1610 but due to a time of economic depression the family had to leave in 1857. When Ragnhild and Ola married they rented a small farm. They continued to live on a rented farm for approximately eight to ten years. Then in 1893 they bought a piece of the original Birkeland farm called Otrøybakken situated by the Otra River (named for the animal, otter).

In her diary Sadie gives us a glimpse of what life was like when she was a little girl growing up.

"Yes, it was happy days. Mother was so pleased to think she really would have a home of her own after being married 8 years and lived in old rented farm houses. I remember her telling about it when I was old enough to understand. How unhappy we must have been before. Mother loved her home and it must be clean, how we used to be down on our knees scouring those floors with nice white sand gathered from the river. She planted morning glory vines that climbed up the stone foundation and on the logs. Little by little she cleared up the ground and planted a garden, nice juicy carrots for us to nibble on and kohlrabi to put in soup and such delicious soup she made out of greens and salted reindeer meat that we bought at the grocery store across the river.

"We had to carry water from the river to water the garden when it got too dry. All I remember of mother in those days and first was she was always moving around doing this and that, scrubbing, washing, keeping us children clean, working outside in the summer time, in the winter there was chores each day, getting wood, milking our cows and there was spinning yarn knitting warm stockings, sweaters and undergarments for us children and father. Sometimes a neighbor's child would be sick and mother would go and sit up nights so the mother could get some rest, then we would go out and work and clean and make some extra money for a new dress for one or us or something to brighten up our home."

Odd Svanstrøm wrote that the cozy little house is no longer there and that another house built by Mikal, Sadie's younger brother, has been sold to an unknown.

Sadie Stean, Reluctant Traveler

Three of the girls Anna Hornnes sponsored were her nieces, Anna and Sigrid Stean and Gunie Osmund. They were all about the same age as Anna Hornnes was the youngest in the family and these girls were children of older sisters. Gunie was the step-daughter of Store Anna. This photo is of Sadie Stean, Anna Hornnes, Gunie Osmund, and Anna Stean sister of Sadie. It was taken circa 1911. Of the seven children in the Stean family four emigrated. Marie was ill and returned to Norway where she died two years later. John disappeared in America. I have since discovered that he went to Canada rather than the United States. Sigrid or Sadie as she was called in America wrote her story down so we have her own words to tell us how she felt about leaving family and home.

“My Aunt Anna came home on a visit from Boston [1907/1908] and my sister wanted to go to America. When she heard of all the nice things about it from Aunt Anna, mother talked me into going with my sister Anna. She didn’t like to have her go alone although she was more than 2 years older than I.* So one stormy December night we sailed for England. It is all like a dream, Mother getting my clothes ready. Father getting the necessary papers fixed up and my kid brother cryng all over the place because his very own favorite sister was leaving him. I can see him now, his little fat rosy cheeks streaked with tears. Loking across the river from the train window, Mother, Father and little brother and sister Ingeborg were waving to me with their handkerchiefs. I was all froze up inside, it didn’t seem real somehow to see all the familiar scenes roll by and not knowing when I would see them again, in an hour’s time or so the train would pass Goosseflaer**, and the train would whistle and someone would run out and wave. How many happy days I had spent on my Aunt Anna’s*** farm; would I ever come there to visit again? I was to meet my sister in the city [Kristiansand] but she had decided to visit some friends in the country so I had to go to a hotel alone, but the next day my aunt and uncle Osmund came to see us, it was all so unreal somehow, perhaps because I didn’t like to go in the first place, more to please mother. It was like a bad dream to board the boat on a stormy night with the storm and foghorns blowing and my first trip on the ocean. I don’t remember much, we got to England, we were both seasick and we had to stay in our cabin, it was too stormy to be on deck. . . .

“We spent our Xmas on the stormy Atlantic Ocean and we were glad when we reached New York and the next day it was Boston. . . . I’ll never forget how lonely I was the first weeks, but time changes everything and I soon learned to talk enough so I could go shopping alone and make myself understood and letters from home helped a lot.”

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Notes:

* Anna Stean was 19 years old and Sadie was 17 when they left Norway.

** I have seen this farm name spelled several different ways Gåseflå, Gaaseflå, Gaaseflaa and as Sadie spelled it here Gooseflaer. It is located across the parish and county line in Hægeland, Vest Agder. From the name it would seem likely that it was a place where the geese landed during migrations.

*** The Anna referred to here is Store Anna the older sister of Lil Anna. Store Anna was married to Osmund Bårdson Gåseflå.