Ole Halvorsen RAAE (1749-1812)

In the section of his book about the history of the Rå farm, Laberg (1938: 293) wrote that:

Ola Hallvardson var fødd 1749 og vart i 1770 g. m. Jesa Olsdtr. Ho var f. 1745 og dotter til ein Ola Andersson under Rå. Det må ha vore ikkje so lite framtak hjå han Ola. Som før sagt, var det kyrkja på Tonjum og Hauge som åtte ein god part av bruket hans. For å verta sjølveigar av dette, kjøpte han kyrkjene og dermed og jordi dei åtte. Kann hende dette vart is so mykje å stå i for han Ola, for i 1805 selde han halvparten av dei to kyrkjene til Jens Æri, og fekk då mest det same for denne parten som det han hadde gjeve for det heile.

Ola og kona hadde 7 born. Av desse vart 6 vaksne: Hallvard og Anders vart på farsgarden, Ola som kom til Ljøsne, Lars døydde ung, Ingeborg g. m. Knut Kvigne, og Brita gift til N. Voll.

Ola Hallvardson var den siste som hadde bruket åleine. I 1807 let han garden frå seg til dei to eldste sønene sine, Hallvard og Anders. Soleis vert det her etter å tala om bruk 1 og 1 a.

TRANSLATION: Ola Hallvardson was born in 1749 and in 1770 married Jesa Olsdtr. She was born in 1745 and was the daughter of one Ola Andersson under Rå. It must have been not so little [framtak] Ola. Like I said, it was the churches at Tønjum and Hauge as eight had use of a good part of his farm. To [ ] himself of this, he bought the churches and thus the earth and the eight. [ ] this was possible is so much to stand in for Ola, for in 1805 he sold half of the two churches to Jens Ærie, and then got mostly the same for that part which he had given of it all.

Ola and his wife had seven children. Of these 6 reached adulthood: Hallvard and Anders were on the family farm, Ola went to Ljøsne, Lars died young, Ingeborg married Knut Kvigne, and Brita married to N. Voll.

Ola Hallvardson was the last to have sole use. In 1807 he passed down the farm to his two eldest sons, Hallvard and Anders. [ ] it here after to talk about using 1 and 1a.

The Lærdal parish records corroborate the marriage date of Ole and Jesa (Giæse) showing that they were married on 29 Oct 1770.


Detail of SAB, Lærdal sokneprestembete, Ministerialbok nr. A 2, 1752-1782, s. 220. https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20070514620290. A search for Ole Halvorsen Raae returns this digital record.

Ole Halvorsen Raae, his wife Jesa (Giese), and their family also appear in the Folketelling 1801 for 1422P Lærdal Prestegjeld, (the 1801 Census for Lærdal parish).


Detail of Folketelling 1801 for 1422P Lærdal prestegjeld. Image courtesy of Digitalarkivet.

The Lærdal parish records also record the deaths and burials of Ole and Jesa.


Detail of SAB, Lærdal sokneprestembete, Ministerialbok nr. A 4, 1805-1821, s. 204-205. https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20070514620636.

One can barely make out the second entry from the bottom, but it is indeed for Ole Halvorsen Raae and it indicates that Ole died on 27 May 1812 at the age of 63 and was buried on 4 Jun 1812. Jesa (Giæsa) died on 5 Apr 1818 at the age of 75 and was buried on the 10th of the same month.


Detail of SAB, Lærdal sokneprestembete, Ministerialbok nr. A 4, 1805-1821, s. 218-219. https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20070514620643.

Halvor Olsen RAAE (1771-1843)

Ole Halvorsen Raae and his wife Jesa followed Norwegian tradition and named their oldest son, Halvor, after his paternal grandfather. Halvor's birth and baptism were recorded in the Lærdal parish records on 15 Aug and 18 Aug 1771 respectively.

 
Detail of SAB, Lærdal sokneprestembete, Ministerialbok nr. A 2, 1752-1782, s. 179. https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20070514620248.

The Minister's book for Hafslo parish contains the marriage record for Halvor Olsen Raae and Anna Asbiørnsdtr Opheimshaug. In the column under Copúlation, the third entry for Halvor and Anna is for the "same day" as the entry above which is dated 29 Apr 1810.


Detail of SAB, Hafslo sokneprestembete, H/Haa/Haaa/L0003: Ministerialbok nr. A 3, 1807-1821, s. 9. https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20050818010661. A search for Halvor Olsen Raae also returns this digital record.

Espe (1990: 362) lists Halvor and Anna's four children as follows: (1) Ole (1811-1887), who took over the farm and married Elsa Nilsdtr Bø; (2) Asbjørn (1813-1890), who married his first cousin Ragnilde Andersdtr Raae; (3) Anders (1816- ), who married Metta Finnsdtr Rikheim; and (4) Halvor (1821- ), who married Ingrid Baardsdtr M. Ljøsno. Laberg (1938: 293) adds a sister, Jesa, but provides little else about her.

I found it strange that the Lærdal parish register recorded the deaths of both Halvor and Anna on the same day, 3 Nov 1843, with burials on the 9th.


Detail of SAB, Lærdal sokneprestembete, Ministerialbok nr. A 9, 1835-1857, s. 30. https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20070514630532.

This would seem to suggest some sort of accident. However, both Laberg and Espe state that Anna died in 1848. And the Lærdal parish records do show another Anna Asbjørnsdtr Raae's death on 26 Oct 1848 at 73 years of age with burial on 2 Nov.


Detail of SAB, Lærdal sokneprestembete, Ministerialbok nr. A 9, 1835-1857, s. 53. https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20070514630555.

So this leaves us with the question of who was the Anna that died the same day as Halvor? Time will tell if we can solve this mystery. 

[UPDATE (24 Apr 2021): I suspect the Anna Asbjørnsdtr Raae that died the same day as Halvor may have been a granddaughter, but I do not have proof of that yet.]