Ragnild Torkjelsdtr Ofstedal (1816-1880)

Ragnild was another ancestor without a precisely known birth date, so I was planning to celebrate her on 26 January. But, as I was finalizing my post, I tried one more time to find her birth date. Voila! There she was! Well, it wasn’t really that easy. It took minutes (no, I admit, hours) of crawling through the archives to finally find her in the baptism records of Voss Parish. So, instead of celebrating her seven months too early, we are celebrating her now.

Ragnild Torkjelsdtr Ofstedal was born on 26 Aug 1816 in Evanger, Hordaland, Norway, as the fourth child of Torkjel Johannesson Ovstedal and Marta Knudsdtr Horvei. She had eleven siblings, namely: Guri, Johannes, Maria, Knut, Ola, Ivar, Torkjel, Johannes, Nils, Brita, and Knut. She also had four older half siblings, namely Brita, Johannes, Synneva, and Johannes.

Ragnild Torkjelsdtr Ofstedal was baptized on 22 Sep 1816.

When she was 24, she married Ole Knutson Aldahl, son of Knut Olson Aldalen and Jorunn Larsdtr Meland, on 02 Nov 1840 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway.

Ole Knutson Aldahl and Ragnild Torkjelsdtr Ofstedal had the following children:

1. Jorun Olsdtr Aldahl was born on 27 Jun 1840 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm). She married Johannes Jakobson Ovstdal in 1864 in Norway. She died on 31 May 1913 in Polk, Minnesota.
2. Knut Olson Aldahl was born in 1842 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm). He married Maria Olasdtr Hjornevik in 1866 in Norway. He died in 1921 in USA.
3. Torkel Olson Aldal was born on 04 Jun 1844 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm). He married Julia Knutson on 15 Nov 1872 in Mower, Minnesota. He died on 02 Jan 1925 in Mower, Minnesota (Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, Freeborn).
4. Marta Olsdtr Aldahl was born on 04 Dec 1846 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm). She died on 01 Jan 1928 in Mower, Minnesota, USA (Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church).
5. Synneva Olsdtr Aldahl was born in 1849 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm). She married Lars Nilsson Ro in 1878 in Norway. She died in Norway.
6. Brita Olsdtr Aldahl was born in 1853 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm). She died on 04 Aug 1861 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm).
7. Marjo Olsdtr Aldahl was born in 1855 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm). She died in 1855 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm).
8. Lars Olson Aldahl was born on 24 Nov 1856 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway. He married Caroline Hilson on 19 Nov 1885 in Blooming Prairie, Steele, Minnesota. He died on 08 Nov 1940 in Lansing, Mower, Minnesota.
9. Olaf Olson Aldahl was born on 25 Oct 1859 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm). He died on 11 Aug 1861 in Voss, Evanger, Hordaland, Norway (Aldahl farm).

Norway

Most of Ragnild’s life probably revolved around being a wife, mother, and homemaker.  Her seventh child, a daughter named Marjo, died about the time of her birth in 1855. Then, in August 1861, eight-year old daughter Brita and one-year old son Olaf both died. As a mother, she must have been devastated.  By age 45, Ragnild had already experienced great loss with the death of three of her nine children.

She was probably excited to see some of her children have new opportunities in America, but she probably missed them terribly. By the time of her death, almost all of her children were gone, either dead or abroad. Synneva was married and still in Norway, so she was the only one there to look after her aging parents.

Ragnild Torkjelsdtr Ofstedal Aldahl died on 31 Aug 1880 at the Aldal farm in Evanger, Hordaland, Norway. She was about 64-years old at the time of her death. She was buried on 5 Sep 1880.

Where is she in the tree?

Where can I learn more?

The Aldahl Family

Sources:

Arkivverket Digitalarkivet (Norway), Ragnild Torkjelsdtr birth and baptisml, SAB, Voss Sokneprestembete, H/Haa: Parish register (official) no. A 10, 1810-1821, p. 90 ( http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20070524630506.jpg : accessed 26 Jan 2018); digital images, Arkivverket Digitalarkivet.

Arkivverket Digitalarkivet (Norway), Ragnild Torkjelsdtr death and burial, SAB, Evanger sokneprestembete*, Parish register (official) no. A 1, 1877-1899, p. 238 ( http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20060620050229.jpg : accessed 26 Jan 2018); digital images, Arkivverket Digitalarkivet.