As is so often the case, a little knowledge is a dangerous
thing! In my case, my knowledge caused me to make a serious error in my
genealogy file. Since I posted my tree on ancestry.com, that error has been
compounded when others either copied my tree or appended it to theirs.
While I found the error, and corrected it several years
ago, I wanted explain my error with a written
summary. This will be added to my tree on ancestry in the hope that others will see it and correct their information.
When I began searching for my great-grandfather's birth record in Norway, I was looking for Adolf Hansen. When I finally found the christening record, I discovered his name was actually Johannes Adolf Waldemar Hansen. The record was difficult to read in places and I do not read Norwegian. Since every one knows that the Norwegians use the Patronymic naming system, I assumed the
father's name was Hans and so I entered Hans Hansen as the father of Johannes Adolf Waldemar Hansen.
As I continued my research, I found several hints that I
should go back to that christening record and look at it again. The first hint
was found in Adolf’s first marriage record. On 12 December 1877, Johannes Adolf Waldemar Hansen married
Dorette Christensen in Grønland Parish, in Oslo, Norway. Their marriage record[i]
clearly states that Johannes Adolf Hansen’s father is Martin Hansen. Dorette’s father is Daniel Kristensen.
 |
| record of the marriage of Johannes Adolf Hansen marriage to Dorette Kristensen |
 |
| record of the death of Dorette Hansen |
Dorette died[ii]
on 4 July 1887 shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Aagot Dorette. Aagot was the seventh child born to Adolph
and Dorette during the ten years of their marriage.
 |
| record of the marriage of Adolf to Nathalie Egeburg |
Johannes Adolf, as he was then known, married[iii]
Nathalie Bull Egeberg at Garnison Menighet in Oslo on 2 Feb 1889. Once again,
his father’s name was shown to be Martin Hansen.
Now that I had seen Martin listed twice as the father of
Johannes Adolf Valdemar Hansen, it was time to revisit the birth record of
Johannes Adolf Valdemar Hansen and see what new information could be learned.
 |
| birth record of Johannes Adolf Waldemar Hansen |
Johannes Adolf Waldemar was born[iv]
11 October 1852 and christened at Aker, Akershus, Oslo, Norway on 26 December
1852. He was the illegitimate son of Johanne Sophie Johannessen and Martin
Hansen. Martin appears to be in the military but I haven’t yet determined
Johanne Sophie’s occupation. Sponsors at
the christening were Johanne Marie Johannessen, Martha Marie Andersdatter,
Adolf Anderssen and Julius Johnssen.
[i] SAO,
Grønland prestekontor Kirkebøker, F/Fa/L0005: Parish register (official) no. 5,
1869-1880, p. 311 Quick link: https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/kb20060921030440 accessed
23 Oct 2017
[ii] SAO,
Garnison Church Church Books, F / Fa / L0012: Ministerial Book No. 12,
1880-1893, p. 300
[iv] SAO,
Aker prestekontor kirkebøker, F/L0019: Parish register (official) no. 19,
1842-1852, p. 395
All images and records are located online at the Norwegian Digitalarkivet correct as of 26 Oct 2017
