“After Bergen, you should consider making a trip to Solvorn, deep into Sognefjorden. Your 4^th great grandma, Anna Maria Fraas had deep roots there via her grandmother Elsa Maria Larsdaughter.”

With that advice from my Norwegian genealogist and friend Egil J., my lovely and patient travel and life partner, XFE and I set off for Solvorn, a beautiful little fjordside village in Luster Municipality in Vestland county.

The drive from Bergen to Solvorn was about four hours and included the Aurlandsfjellet Scenic Road, which was frosty, and rocky, and totally empty. You honestly felt like you were on Mars or something.

After that, since we were doing well on time (the route is scenic, but not that scenic or engaging), we also made a quick, unplanned stop at the surprisingly informative and entertaining Norwegian Wild Salmon Center in Laerdal.  

After a quick lunch (definitely not farmed OR wild salmon after that visit to the Center), we rolled into Solvorn and found the Fraas family farm, also known as Sjøtun.

The Fraas family have been stewards of the farm for almost 300 years since Lars Sørenson Rødberg’s daughter, Elsa Marie Larsdotter married a Danish Lieutenant Balthasar Fredrik, known as Fredrik Philipson Fraas, in 1749.

But the farm itself is much older. According to the book, “Luster I Perioden Fra År 600 Til 1349,”

“Five burial finds are known from the period 600 to 1000. These are at Sie, Øvrebø, Sjøtun, Vallaker and Kristianeslyst. This suggests that there were at least three farms in Solvorn before the year 1000.”

“A man’s grave is known from Sjøtun, probably from the period 800-1000. An axe blade, a spearhead and a pair of scissors have been found. The axe blade is 17 cm long and 8 cm in the edge. The spearhead was broken off at the tip and was 37 cm long. The scissors were 22 cm long. It also had a loose iron ring inside the hoop. The grave was under a large rock in Hjelmshaugen (Undset, 1888). This at least testifies to a settlement before the year 1000. Scissors of the same type (type R443) have been found at Vangstad in Sogndal. The grave there dates from the 10th century (Solberg, 1986).”

This lovely village and farm is where my fourth great-grandmother, Anna Marie Fraas grew up. In 1817, she married my fourth great-grandfather, Didrich Bay Arentz in a nearby church in Hafslo, and the Fraas family continues to own the farm in Solvorn, right up to this very day.

So, while my genealogy research had primarily focused on the Arentz side of things, I could not pass up an opportunity to meet a distant Norwegian relative.

Although, I almost did pass it up. Several times in fact. I had told Egil from the beginning that I was not really interested in seeking out relatives and showing up on their doorsteps like a pushy, entitled American.

Plus, I know what most Europeans think about Americans these days, and well, you might be surprised to learn: It’s not very good.

With all that in mind, I had only planned on driving past the family farm, taking a few photos and going along on my way.

Luckily, Egil ignored me and reached out to my cousin, who, for the sake of privacy, we’ll call “Johansdotter.” We are related through her fourth great-grandfather, Balthazar Frederick Fraas, who was the brother to my fourth great-grandmother, Anna Marie Fraas.

After a brief email exchange, Johansdotter invited us to stop by the farm while we were in the area. I responded that we would be in the area on a Friday and would stop by. We booked an AirBnB (with laundry facilities) in nearby Sogndal, a small town located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden and just 20 minutes away from the Fraas family farm.

We rolled into Solvorn that Friday afternoon and knocked on the door of the first house on the property. No answer. Knocked again. No answer. Hung around and took some pictures, but no one showed up to ask what the hell we were doing, so we left.

I texted with Egil that evening while we were at the AirBnB and said, “Welp, we tried, but nobody was home.” Egil did not take that answer. He thought it was crazy that I would come all that way and not meet my cousin. I tried to demur and said it was no big deal, but he insisted I text Johansdotter and gave me her phone number.

Sure enough, cousin Johansdotter said we should come by the next morning.

Still feeling very awkward, we made our way to the farm the next day, (a Saturday), where we were met by my cousin, her husband, her adorable children and even some friends of theirs from the city (Bergen, I think) who were enjoying a weekend in the country.

Johansdotter explained to me that she has a regular, non-computer focused job and rarely checks email, so she had not seen my earlier proposed date, plus it would not have worked because like a normal, non-holidaying person, she works on Fridays.

And, I had gone to the wrong house. Turns out the cute little Swiss-style, Victorian on the property belongs to her mother and father who are retired but still live on the farm.

Johansdotter and her family have another house, further up the property on a hill. You can see (with binoculars) UNESCO world heritage church, Urnes Stave Church, across the fjord from their porch. (It is truly a gorgeous spot).

The farm itself is mostly a hobby farm. Johansdotter and her husband have normal jobs, but they put a lot of time, love and care into Sjøtun. They have a couple of horses (Johansdotter used to ride and train horses), goats, chickens, and they grow apples and some vegetables. They also lease land and sell hay to a nearby dairy farm. It’s all pretty awesome and wholesome, and I’m so grateful that I got to see it.  

We sat down for a cup of coffee in their cozy, sunny living room and they shared a bit about the history of the farm. At one time, the farm supported over 130 people. Like any farm, there have been ups and downs — bad weather, ruined crops, disease and epidemics, population increases that led to tough times and scarcity. But through it all, the Fraas family has adapted, and in total, 10 generations of Fraases have lived on the land.

Soon, Johannsdotter’s husband brought out a book that — by this point in my genealogy project — I knew quite well. It is “The Luster County farm and family history book,” Vol. 10 by Lars E. Øyane. It is an very thorough book, published in Nynorsk, or Sogne dialect, which I obviously don’t read or understand. Luckily, Johansdotter’s husband does and – when in doubt – Google translate can help (if still a bit wonky on some words).  

In there, on page 251, Johansdotter’s husband points out the first Fraas family member, Lieutenant Fredrik Philipson Fraas, who married Elsa Marie and took over Sjøtun.

From there, we trace the Fraas family down to Philip Christopher Fredrikson Fraas, father of my fourth great grandmother, Anna Marie Fraas, and Johannsdotter’s fourth great-grandfather, Balthazar Frederick Fraas.

We come to Anna Marie and Didrich Bay Arentz on page 253:

“Anna Marie, known as Maria Philipsdotter Fraas, baptized 20.3.1785, Maria Fraas married in Hafslo 9.4.1817 with Didrik Bay Samuelson Arentz from Bergen. He was the son of hairdresser Samuel Arentz in Bergen and his wife Anna Christine Alm and was born in Bergen 12.7.1789. Didrik was a master coppersmith, and he and Maria first lived in Bergen until they moved to Stavanger around 1830. Maria died in Stavanger on 16.6.1849, and in 1850 Didrik Arentz is said to have emigrated to America as a single man with several of his children. He settled in Chicago, Cook Co., Ill. where he died around 1857. Didrik and Maria had five children together:”

**See what I mean? Samuel Arentz was a barber-surgeon, not a hairdresser. Google can only do so much. And Didrich Bay was a widower. Not a “single man.”**

Then all five Arentz children are listed, including my third great-grandfather, Samuel Christopher, who led the way to emigrating to the U.S. around 1843, eventually convincing his widowed father and four sisters to come over as well.

We pondered over what little information we have about Anna Marie and Didrich Bay. Anna Marie was actually quite a catch for our former orphan boy, Didrich Bay. Turns out, Anna Marie and her sister Petronelle Louise, owned a church. An actual church. Their mother, Bertha Marid, bought the Solvorn Church in 1802 and deeded it on to her two daughters in 1811. The two girls later sold it and hopefully made a nice profit (their brother Balthazar Frederick Fraas, inherited the family farm, so this was a way of ensuring that the girls had a little bit of their own money).

Interestingly enough, Anna Marie’s sister, Petronelle Louise also moved to Stavanger in the 1820s where she married Andreas Andersson Egenæs (a hat maker) in 1831. Anna Marie and Didrich Bay moved their young family from Bergen to Stavanger right around 1830, so I like to think of the two sisters (and by extension, their husbands) getting together and sharing stories of growing up on the farm. Petronelle and Andreas did not have children, so maybe they doted on their nieces and nephew?

We assume Anna Marie Fraas and Didrich Bay Arentz had a happy and loving marriage and partnership, but who really knows? Did Anna Marie miss her family farm? Was she happy in Stavanger? Would she have been supportive of her son moving the U.S.? Did she ever consider moving there herself? We know Didrich left soon after Anna died. Was she for it or against it? What would she think of two women, from two different branches of the family, meeting up many generations later on the family farm on a sunny Saturday morning for a cup of coffee?

As so often with genealogy, the more you learn, the more questions you have.