Genealogy Jottings

Norway did not require family surnames until the 1920’s. Before that, most Norwegians used a patronymic system where each person went by his own name and his father’s first name plus the suffix sen for men and datter for women. Women did not take their husband’s name when they married. Hence, my great-grandmother was always Sofie Marie Sivertsdatter in Norway. Norwegian immigrants to America had to choose a surname when they came here. Often they used the father’s patronymic for everyone. Many also chose the name of their farm in Norway. In Tony’s family, they began with the patronymic Jorgensen but later switched to the farm name Hjelmstad. In my family, all went by the Bentsen or Bentzen name. I have not yet found a reason for this because in Norway my male ancestors lived on the Bervik farm and were known as Ole Lorentsen and Lorents Andersen. I have not yet located anyone named Bent in our family tree. It is a small mystery I would like to solve.

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