Published articles and Slektshistoriewiki contributions, 2021

I open my blog account of 2022 with a short survey of my «accomplishments» as an historian and genealogist in the previous year. 

Published articles in 2021

• «Praktverk om Heftye-slekten», review  of Heftye, Rolf Erik, Kapitalsterke innvandrere. Christianiaslekten Heftye fra 1769, Bærum: [Private], 2020, in Genealogen no. 1, 2021, pp. 42–43.
• «Kunngjøring av regelverk i Norsk Lovtidend under pandemien» [«Announcing [acts and] regulations during a pandemic», Lovdatas årsmelding 2020 [The Lovdata Foundation's Annual Report 2020], published 29 July2021, pp. 8–10.

Genealogen is the bi-annual newsletter (periodical) of Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening, the Norwegian Genealogical Society. I didn't make any contributions to Genealogen's second issue in 2021, but I was responsible for the proof-reading as well as writing the minutes of Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening's annual meeting, which was printed on pp. 50–51.

I have also written many new articles at Slektshistoriewiki, the Norwegian Genealogy Wiki, during 2021 – genealogies, biographies and other articles.  Here is a survey of my most important contributions at Slektshistoriewiki during 2021:

Genealogies

• Sandefjord-slekter
• Ringerikske slekter (bokserie)
• Lorentzen (fra Drammen) (slekt)

Biographies

• Olaus Heinrich Moller

Others

• Lappekodisillen
• Slektsforskerkonferansen 2021
• Herr Jon Darris Slægte-Linnie (slektstre) 
• Samiske flaggdager
• Godfar
• Ættlegg
• Konungatal
• Reidemeister
• Slektsforskning i New Zealand

I spent a lot of time researching for and writing the Lorentzen article above. I commented on it in a blog article published in November 2021. I have also made some updates to the article about the Lorentzen family from Holmestrand, but far more has to be done in 2022. The number of older articles being updated is in the hundreds. As editor of Slektshistoriewiki, I have also edited contributions made by other wiki users, including helping out with images etc. I have also helped out with genealogical research for a few articles published in Lokalhistoriewiki.

In March 2021 I delivered my work in connection with the Cappelen family project. I have also done more research on the Cappelen genealogy, which I hope will lead to a book, but that is a project that will take years to finish.

I have also worked on several other genealogical projects and plan to at least publish something on the Hoelseth family during 2022.

Concerning the blog, I wrote 41 articles in 2021, which was one less than in the previous year. The blog year started well with 9 articles in January, but I was too busy in November and December to write much. I hope to increase the number of blog articles in 2022, but will not make any promises!

Published articles and Slektshistoriewiki contributions, 2020

It has become a tradition for me to start the new year with an account of my «accomplishments» as an historian and genealogist in the previous year. 

Unfortunately the article this time will be rather short, as I have not got published any (printed) articles during 2020. The main reason for this is not that I have been short of ideas or opportunities, but because my work at the Lovdata Foundation, where I started the year as acting editor of The Norwegian Legal Gazette (Norsk Lovtidend) and continued as editor (without the «acting» part) from 17 December, has taken so much time, mainly because of the pandemic. It has proven too difficult to make promises of contributions to various genealogical newsletter, especially Genealogen, the bi-annual newsletter of the Norwegian Genealogical Society (Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening), because I would never know what would happen at work the next day or week. I did proof-read the second edition of Genealogen this year, though, in addition to the three issues of the flagship periodical Norsk Slektshistorisk Tidsskrift. I had 6 photos published in Genealogen no. 2, 2020, by the way, it that counts ...

I have also written many new articles at Slektshistoriewiki, the Norwegian Genealogy Wiki, during 2020 – genealogies, biographies and other articles. The Norsk prestehistorie project («History of the Norwegian clergy») has progressed extensively with many new articles. Unfortunately the website is down at the moment because the server was recently replaced, so at present it is not possible to give a survey of the most important contributions. From what I recall I was quite satisfied with my biographical article about Magnus Sødem (1897–1985), who was my great-grandmother Anne Sofie Ramstad's brother-in-law, and I was also content with my article about Olav O. Haugen, who was mayor of Stokke in Vestfold from 1946 to 1959. I might return with a survey when Slektshistoriewiki returns.

When my time allowed it, I worked on several short-term and long-term genealogy projects during 2020, but as said above I have nothing to show up for it. The little exception is perhaps my genealogical contribution to the article about Knut Borge at Lokalhistoriewiki.no.

Towards the end of the year I also got involved with a large project on the Cappelen family, and I hope to get it done (can any genealogy projects «get done», though?) in early 2021. The short-term goal is to publish a family tree to be printed and sold to the many members of the Cappelen family. But I think the family deserves a new book as well, but that would definitely take a few more years.

In early December I learnt that my great-great-grandfather Ole Tollefsen Hoelseth (1856–1940) had a son born out of wedlock. This son got married and had several children, which means that as soon as I have finished the work on the Cappelen family (for now), I will enjoy working on this "new" Hoelseth line. The son didn't carry the Hoelseth name, but there will be both agnatic and cognatic lines to explore! 

In other words, there is a lot to look forward to in 2021, and I hope that I will be able to publish a few printed articles in addition to other work.

Concerning the blog, I wrote 42 articles during 2020, which was 2 more than in the previous year. I hope that I can improve that number in 2021.

Siste trykte utgave av Norsk Lovtidend (Last printed edition of the Norwegian Legal Gazette)

I dag ble det skrevet historie – i dobbel forstand – på arbeidsplassen min, Lovdata. Den trykte utgaven av Norsk Lovtidend ble i fjor besluttet avviklet etter at årgangen 2016 var avsluttet, og i dag ble den aller siste utgaven, hefte 19 i avdeling I, publisert.

I den forbindelse har jeg skrevet en artikkel som forklarer bakgrunnen for avviklingen og litt om utviklingen av Norsk Lovtidend fra 1877 til i dag. Det ble til og med plass til litt genealogi! Artikkelen ble publisert på Lovdata.no i dag tidlig.

Den elektroniske kunngjøringen av Norsk Lovtidend ble offisiell versjon i 2001. Jeg har jobbet i Lovdata siden mai 1998 og arbeidet med Norsk Lovtidend har vært og er fortsatt en av hovedoppgavene mine.

Last year it was decided that the printed edition of Norsk Lovtidend, the Norwegian Legal Gazette, was to be discontinued after the publishing year of 2016 was finished. The last printed edition – no. 19, section I – was published today.

In this connection I have written an article (in Norwegian only) which explains the decision for discontinuing the printed edition and which also gives a short outline of the developments of the Legal Gazette from 1877 until today. There was even room for some genealogy stuff! The article was published at Lovdata.no today.

The digital issue became the official version in 2001. I have worked for the Lovdata Foundation since 1998, and the publishing of the Legal Gazette has been and still is one of my main tasks.

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway handed over the Protection of the Law Prize to the Lovdata Foundation

Norges Juristforbund, the Norwegian Association of Lawyers, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2016. It is also 10 years since the association's Protection of the Law Prize (Rettssikkerhetsprisen) was awarded for the first time. This is why Crown Prince Haakon was invited to attend the presentation ceremony and the lecture in connection with the Protection of the law conference at the Grand Hotel in downtown Oslo today.

This year the prize was awarded to the foundation I work for, Lovdata.

As far as I can tell there was no news coverage of the event, but you can find photos of the presentation through the following Twitter links:

• Jon Wessel-Aas, 12.02 P.M. 27 Sep 2016 
• Advokatbladet, 1.14 P.M. 27 Sep 2016

On the last photo you can see from the left to the right board chairperson of the Lovdata Foundation, Herman Bruserud, Lovdata director Odd Storm-Paulsen, former director and founder Trygve Harvold (who received the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, 1st class, in 2000, for his work for Lovdata),  Protection of the Law prize  Prize committee member Siv Hallgren and committee member Sven Ole Fagernæs and Crown Prince Haakon.

The Protection of the Law Prize is awarded one or several persons, an institution or an organisation which during the previous year or for some time has distinguished itself in its work by

• Strengthening the protection of the law and equality before the law within its field of work,
• Working for the rule of law principles, freedom of expression, equality, human rights and safety from trespass to person
• Contributing to increased understanding of and insight into the body of laws and rules
• Contributing to more efficient proceedings and more secure decision making through the use of (legal) competence

(The Norwegian word rettssikkerhet is according to my copy of Åge Lind's Norwegian-English Legal dictionary understood as «law and order», «protection of the law» or «protection accorded by the law», but also «due process protection», as in for instance «protecting an individual against unlawful acts on the part of the state itself».)

Updated on Wednesday 28 September 2016 at 13.40 (photo identification corrected).