25 March 2017

Vestre gravlund (Western Cemetery), Oslo, Norway, Part III

I decided to continue my Vestre gravlund (Western Cemetery) series today, even though it is not «Tombstone Tuesday». For earlier parts about the cemetery, go here and here.

Ulricsen family grave. Johan Christian Ulrichsen (1861–1950) and Berntine Marie «Maja» Ulrichsen, née Hansen (1868–1958) were the grandparents of Queen Sonja of Norway.

 Grave of editor (among other titles) Kåre Valebrokk (1940–2013).

One of several Aubert graves at Vestre gravlund. Aubert is listed in the Danish Book of Nobility (Danmarks Adels Aarbog).

 Hoel family grave.

Ingstad and Trætteberg family grave. Hallvard Trætteberg (1898–1987) worked at the National Archives of Norway and was a well-known heraldic artist and expert. He was married to Gunvor Ingstad Trætteberg (1897–1975), a sister of the Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad (1899–2001).

Grave of Knut Frydenlund (1927–1987), Norwegian Foreign Minister 1973–1976, 1976–1981, 1981 and 1986–1987 under three different prime ministers (including Trygve Bratteli, see below).

 Stoltenberg family grave.

Grave of Trygve Bratteli (1910–1984), prime minister of Norway 1971–1972 and 1973–1976, and his wife Randi Bratteli, née Larssen (1924–2002).

Lange family grave. Hallvard Lange (1902–1970), Norwegian Foreign Minister 1946–1963 and 1963–1965).

Castberg family grave. Johan Castberg (1862–1926) was a Norwegian politician. He was a member of Parliament for many years, Minister of Justice 1908–1910, Minister of Trade 1913 and Minister of Social affairs 1913–1914 as well as an outspoken republican during the monarchy debate in 1905. His son Frede Castberg (1893–1977) was a jurist and professor of law.

All photos: © 2016 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

23 March 2017

Sweden: Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia to become parents again

«Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth ...» (Genesis 1,28).
The Royal House of Sweden continues to expand. The Royal Court released today the following press statement:
Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are delighted to announce that The Princess is expecting their second child.

The birth is expected to take place in September 2017.
«We are happy to announce that we are expecting a child, a sibling to Prince Alexander. We are looking forward to welcoming a new little member to our family,» says Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia.

No changes in the schedule of The Prince Couple's public engagements are planned during the spring and summer of 2017.
The news mean of course that Prince Carl Philip's parents King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia are to become grandparents for the sixth time.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia became parents for the first time on 19 April 2016. The name and ducal title were announced two days later: HRH Prince Alexander Erik Hubertus Bertil of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland.

The future Prince or Princess of Sweden will at birth enter the line of succession to the Swedish throne as no. 6.

22 March 2017

Presidential genealogy in the latest issue of American Ancestors

In the latest issue of American Ancestors, one of the two periodicals of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, there is an interesting article titled The Ancestry of President Donald John Trump. An Initial Exploration, written by Alexander Bannerman, Julie Helen Otto and Gary Boyd Roberts.

Gary Boyd Roberts is Senior Research Scholar Emeritus at NEHGS and is well-known for his book Ancestry of American Presidents, which was printed in 2009 and reprinted with corrections in 2012 (ISBN 978-88082-220-6), and which I (of course!) have a copy of. Julie Helen Otto, a former Staff Genealogist at NEHGS, is currently responsible of indexing the New England Historical and Genealogical Register (shortened to The Register) and serves as transcriber for Mayflower Descendants (which is not included in the membership subscription to NEHGS).

Alexander Bannerman is the editor of the periodical Executive Papers, which is the journal of The Hereditary Order of the Families of the Presidents and First Ladies. An ancestor table for Trump will appear in issue 14 of Executive Papers. The said table will be more detailed than the one published in American Ancestors. The Trump family can be traced to Kallstadt in Germany, while the president's mother was born at the Isle of Lewis in Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Some genealogical information about the president has been published on various webpages, including ThoughtCo.com.

According to the Icelandic genealogist Oddur F. Helgason, Trump is a descendant (of among others) the Norwegian King Håkon V Magnusson, cf. Iceland Monitor 24 Janyar 2017, but I would like to see more details of his sources before making further comments.

Parts of the latest issue deal with early Cape Cod ancestry, as demonstrated on the front cover. Besides the Trump article, I also found the article Bringing the Armenian Genocide to Light by Ann Goolkasian O'Donnell to be particularly interesting.