Norway Trip Revised

Trip to Ancestor Farms of John O. Johnson on May 27, 2019 A short write-up for our families of a visit by Leland and Luann, Dick and Vonnie to John O. Johnson ancestors’ Snausen/ Jermstad farms in Verdal, Nord Trøndelag, Norway Our visit to the farms of our grandfather’s ancestors’ farms in Verdal near the town of Stiklestad (about 40 miles northeast of Trondheim) happened on May 27. We were guided on a tour to the farms by Odd Musum and Jostein Molde. Odd Musum is not related to us although his wife is a distant relative. He was a civil engineer but is now retired. We were led to Odd by first contacting the Verdal Historical Society in Stiklestad, a city very close to our ancestors’ farms. They referred us to Odd because he is writing a book on the history of the farms in a portion of the Verdal municipality in Trøndelag county. Verdal occupies much of the area in the map shown below and the farms he is writing about includes the Jermstad and Snausen farms. Figure 1 Map of the area of our Johnson ancestors. Our grandfather John O. Johnson emigrated to America from the Snausen farm when he was 3 years old (in approximately 1874). His grandfather Johannes Jermstad lived at one of the Jermstad farms but later purchased the Snausen farm. There was a massive clay landslide in the area in 1893 that killed 112 people living on the farms in the region. It destroyed a portion of the Jermstad farms, but John’s parents Olaus and Thale Johanessen had already emigrated to America (to Osseo, Wisconsin). Map is from a book by Darrell Trygstad of Lakeville, MN. Odd then introduced us to Jostein Molde. Jostein is a fourth cousin of ours. The family tree indicating how we are connected to Jostein is shown on the next page. Jostein is also writing a book, but in his case it is about families in Nord Trøndelag that emigrated to America in the 1800s. Both Odd and Jostein were quite interested in our visit because we are descendants of some of those they are writing about. Figure 2 Family tree provided by Odd Musum showing our relationship to Jostein Molde who helped guide us on our tour. Notice that our grandfather John Johnson is indicated as being from Snausen. Odd and Jostein arranged for a tour of the region on May 27. We rented a car in Trondheim and drove to meet them at the Stiklestad museum in the morning. Then they drove us to a viewpoint above the massive landslide (Verdalsraset) of 19 May 1893. Pictures taken from the viewpoint are on the next page as is a photo of Odd Musum (left) and Jostein Molde (right). The landslide was one of the most tragic natural disasters in Norway’s history. It occurred in the middle of the night on May 19 when most were asleep. Land slid away along the sloping terrain as shown in the photo below and the clay soil became liquified, sweeping away many farms. A number of the several Jermstad farms were destroyed with many lives lost although our grandfather John Johnson had emigrated to America about 12 years earlier. One of the Jermstad farms that survived was moved several times to new locations on higher ground. Figure 3 Verdal valley from viewpoint above 1893 landslide. Middle photo shows enormity of slide. Odd Musum (left) and Jostein (right) at viewpoint. Odd arranged for us to visit the current Jermstad farm where two of our 4th cousins live. They are Oddmund Gunnar Jermstad (83) and Per Johan Jermstad (73). We went from the landslide viewpoint to the Jermstad farm where we were invited inside for coffee and refreshments. Figure 4 Jermstad farm. Our 4th cousins Per (laft) and Oddmund (right) on the front porch. Coffee, Norwegian waffles (Vafler) with cloud berries and cream, cookies, and cake were served – Oddmund at table. We were treated like kings and queens and food was sooo good. Although a number of the Jermstad farms were destroyed in the landslide, the upper Jermstad farm was spared. Of course, the farm that we saw was a rebuilt version of the original farm. Today much of the area around the farm is owned by sheep ranchers. Each sheep has a bell it carries around its neck which brings a melodic sound to the rolling hills. We were next taken to the Snausen farm where our great-great grandfather Johannes Jermstad farmed. Johannes was crippled most of his life and was unable to get around without crutches. So, Johannes could not farm so he became a tailor. Below are some photos from the Snausen farm. Figure 5 Snausen farm in 1919 (left) and today (right). The farm is on a hill quite high above the valley. Figure 6 The four of us at the Snausen farm. This was a meaningful time for Dick and Vonnie, Rocky and Luann to explore our past and appreciate our present. Through the connection with distant relatives we can have hope for the future. .

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