Name Your Great Grandparents

Across the Fence #547

I once read a statement that said, “100 years from now, even our direct  descendants won’t remember our name.” I’ve been involved with genealogy and researching our family history for many years, so that seemed like a rather harsh statement to me. 100 years ago some of my great grandparents were still alive. I know their names. Then I started asking people to tell me the names of their great grandparents. Very few people could give me an answer. I didn’t ask them to tell me any details about their lives, not even when or where they were born and died. I didn’t ask if they knew where they were buried. I just wanted them to tell me their names. Most people couldn’t even name one.

How quickly we are forgotten, once our journey on planet Earth is over. I was wrong. That statement wasn’t being overly harsh. It was true. I guess if I wasn’t involved in family history research, I’d be clueless too.

During this season of Syttende Mai, when those of us with Norwegian roots celebrate those roots and our Norwegian heritage, lets take some time to look back and discover who our great grandparents were. At least try to find out what their names were. Even if you don’t have Norwegian roots, it’s still a good time to discover where your roots are and who the people are who had an important part in your being here today. 

When we talk about great grandparents we’re only dealing with eight people. We should be able to remember eight names. On my father’s side I have Hans Hanson Sherpe who married Lisa Larsdatter Tomtingen, and Jonas Tonneson Ostrem who married Ane Jensdatter Mageland. On my mother’s side I have Ole Hanson Rustaden who married Anna Christiansdatter Gulseth, and Christian Evenson Borgen who married Lene Evensdatter Vang (Wang).

Granted, Norwegian ancestry can be a bit confusing until you understand the Norwegian naming system. Then it all makes sense. I know the names of my great grandparents, when and where they were born, and when they died. They were all born in Norway and I know where each of them is buried in Vernon County, Wisconsin. What I regret is that I know so little about their lives between their birth and death dates. That – (dash) between the birth and death dates contains the story of their lives. It’s the dash that we know so little about.

What will people know about the dash in your life 100 years from now? Or doesn’t it matter? 

So many times I’ve read the obituary of someone I knew and discovered things about them that I never knew. If only I had known while they were alive, I could have asked them questions about it. We all know, and have known, a lot of people, but did we really know them? When I realize how little I really knew about someone after reading their obituary, “I can’t help but ask myself “Why didn’t I know?” Was I too busy talking about myself instead of asking questions and listening to what they were saying? We can learn more with an open mind and ears, than we can with an open mouth.

This Syttende Mai, start a journey in search of your roots by learning the names of your great grandparents. Then find out when they were born and when they died. Find out where they were buried and take a road trip in search of their graves. Bring a flower and place it on their grave. Chances are; no one has remembered them with a flower for many years. They aren’t just names on a tombstone. They are part of who you are. I think it’s important that we take a few minutes out of our lives to remember our ancestors and families who are no longer with us.

About 20 years ago we found the grave of my great, great grandfather, Hans Hanson Skjerpe, who came to America with his second wife and family in 1864. We were exited to find the original Norwegian spelling of the Sherpe name on his tombstone. I don’t know how long it had been since anyone had paused for a second at his stone to reflect on the life of this man, but no one could even remember hearing his name mentioned, including my father, who was still alive at the time. This was my father’s great grandfather, and he had never heard of him. No one even knew his final resting place was at Bethel Cemetery between Westby and Viroqua, let alone that he had once existed. This was another case of “100 years from now, even our direct descendants won’t remember our name.”  He‘s no longer forgotten. Several years ago, my brother, Arden Sherpe, our cousin, David Ostrem, and myself, with our father doing the supervising, straightened up his tombstone, which had tilted and was in danger of falling over. It still looks great. We have also remembered him with a flower at his grave. 

Three Sherpe descendants at the grave of their Great, Great, Great Grandfather, Hans Hanson Skjerpe in the Bethel Cemetery. Kneeling in Front: Katelyn Sherpe, standing: Amy Sherpe Davis, on right: Erik Hans Sherpe. They remembered their ancestor by helping plant flowers.

Memorial Day will soon be here. It’s a good time to remember your ancestors by leaving a flower on their grave. It’s a small gesture, but an   important one.

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