What's New?

20 October 2005
Since March there have been more additions from contributions (tusen takk) and from some additional research. Also a few duplicates were merged and more linkages added. We are now 31,110 in number (some have asked to be "private"). Now I really do intend to rely entirely on contributions.

19 March 2005
I've received more contributions of information and I've made a number of linkages, adding persons to connect ancestors with decendants. Thanks especially to Glen, Oda-Marie, Hans, Gro, and Arne, there are now 28,346 individuals in the forest. Enjoy. My searching is done. I will now depend entirely on contributed info.

22 September 2004
Over the past few weeks a few cousins have contributed their roots through to various branches in the forest. Thanks especially to Jim Anderson and Nannette Anderson. There are now 24,405 of us. This is likely the last update for some time to come. Family calls!

08 July 2004
Well, it's been a year since I last refreshed the site and the trees in the family forest have grown in breadth, depth, and height. A few thousand more leaves have been revealed, now totalling 23,400.

20 December 2003
I just finished examining every farm in the census for Askim for the years 1801, 1865, and 1900. A few people were added as a result, and more information. Over the next while I will do the same for the neighbouring communities: Trøgstad, Eidsberg, and Skiptvedt. Aslo, in late July and early August I received emails from Bengt Strøm with much information about lineages of Onstad, Fusk, and Gjellestad. There are many more relatives added from the U.S.A. as a result, and now 21,325 leaves in total.

31 July 2003
In addition to expanding the family forest by another 2,700 leaves and the recording of some births, and sadly some deaths, I have moved the main website. The previous site will continue without modification until January 2004. This new site provides the needed space and bandwidth. The addition of family members since last November is mainly thanks to Tor A. Aasheim Torp. One year ago Tor sent me a book as a gift, GARDSBRUK - Askim - Eidsberg. I have since been able to go through it, farm by farm and person by person. There are now 19,978 leaves in the forest.

29 October 2002
Glen Rasmussen has forwarded more information about his family line. Also I have now finished adding all relatives (I think) from all 3 volumes of the Gårdshistorie for Askim. We are now 17,217.

23 June 2002
We recently reconnected with relatives from Seattle and Olympia (Washington State), and from New York! Farfar Peder Oskar Nygaard had a sister, Mary (Rasmussen), whose family was raised in Seattle. Her son, Lorang, and her grandchildren have contacted us! They have provided much information about "Tante Mary" and her family. Tor A. Aasheim Torp has sent more family information and some great photos from Askim.

18 April 2002
After rebuilding a crashed computer I added Ingjerd's information (see below) and some others from the Gårdshistorie for Askim. I have also corresponded with cousin Judith Onstad Billings who contacted me in March. Some duplicates were removed as well. Now we are 13,435.

27 January 2002
Early this month I received a package in the mail. Ingjerd van Bruggen wrote a note to let us know that she has finished her book on her family, and enclosed a copy of the chapter about our mutual relatives, the Aasheims! I will add this wonderful work to this site soon.

14 December 2001
Now there are 11,724 persons on the tree. Most of the additions since July have been those recorded in the Gårdshistorie for Askim. The BIG news is that we have made a few more personal connections with cousins over the internet! My third cousin, Gillian Holter, emailed and we discovered our common ancestors. She and her parents live in Vancouver! Gillian then connected me with another mutual cousin, Jan Holter-Andersen who lives in Kristiansand. Jan forwarded more valuable family information.

30 July 2001
I spent much of the past winter and spring adding many more ancestors, distant family members, and others who lived in and around Askim, Norway. As of today there are 9,115 persons on the tree, all connected through blood or marriage.

09 November 2000
I added a search capacity in the Download page. Visitors can search for any keywords on the entire web, or as intended, on this site.

07 November 2000
The site is finally up and running, with the most recent information. It took a few hours to upload all the files to the host, including making sure the navigation buttons are all properly linked.

September and October 2000
It took a couple of months to rebuild the family file in the new software. This was mostly focused on transferring data from the old software datafiles to the new.

July and August 2000
I began a correspondence with relatives in Askim, Norge. First Ingjerd van Bruggen contacted me about the Aasheim family ...especially Josefine Emilie Aasheim (Johansen) and Johan Anton Aasheim who she is writing a book about. She then made contact with Tor A. Aasheim Torp. Since then Ingjerd has been so kind as to help me find an original of Magna Aaser's book, "En Gammel Slekt Fra Askim", as well as the Gårdshistorie for Askim. Meanwhile Tor has been sending me more family information.

"A child's education should begin at least one hundred years before he is born." ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes