UK: Second child for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex became parents to their second child on Friday 4 June 2021 at 11.40 a.m. when their daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California, USA. According to the press statement the baby girl will be called "Lili". The statement in full:

Statement from the press secretary for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex

It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world. Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA.

She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling at home.

Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.

This is the second child for the couple, who also have a two-year-old son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The Duke and Duchess thank you for your warm wishes and prayers as they enjoy this special time as a family.

As a daughter of a duke, the now 2-days-old girl is entitled to be styled Lady Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, but as when her brother was born, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have expressed their wish that their children should not use courtesy titles.

Lili was born as no. 8 in the line of succession to the British throne. She is the Prince of Wales' fifth grandchild and the 11th great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II.

UK: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be returning as working members of the royal family

Buckingham Palace issued the following statement yesterday, 19 February 2021:

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family. 

Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. The honorary military appointments and Royal patronages held by The Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty, before being redistributed among working members of The Royal Family. 

While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.

In a note to the editors, Buckingham Palace added that 

Following The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step away last year as working members of The Royal Family, a 12-month review was agreed. A decision has now been made after conversations between The Duke of Sussex and Members of The Royal Family. The military, Commonwealth and Charitable associations which will revert to The Queen are:

    The Royal Marines, RAF Honington, Royal Navy Small Ships and Diving.

    The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, The Rugby Football Union, The Rugby Football  League, The Royal National Theatre and The Association of Commonwealth Universities.

The decision to step back as senior members of the British royal family was announced on 8 January 2020. Yesterday's statement informing the public that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who currently live in Los Angeles, USA, will not be returning as working members did not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the developments during the last year. I still feel sad about the decision, but I both respect it and understand it well. It should be added, as Michael Rhodes of Peerage News has pointed out, we will most likely still on various occasions be seeing the Duke of Sussex in uniform. He can not wear those uniforms of the regiments of which he was honorary colonel or captain general, but he will retain the right to wear those of the regiments in which he served. 

Last Sunday (Valentine's Day) it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting their second child later this year. Their first child, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, was born on 6 May 2019.

King Harald V of Norway's congratulations to President Biden

King Harald of Norway has offered his congratulations to President Joe Biden on the occasion of his inauguration today:

20.01.2021

The Honorable
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington D.C.

Your Excellency,

On the occasion of your inauguration as President of the United States of America, I wish to extend my warmest congratulations and my best wishes to you personally and to your family, and my hopes for the welfare and prosperity of the American people.

Harald R

Joe Biden took the oath just before noon today local time and became the 46th President of the United States, while Kamala Harris became the 49th Vice President.

The Korean War and Rolv Møll of Norway

Today – 25 June 2020 – marks the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. In Oslo's main street Karl Johans gate the South Korean embassy is behind the exhibition of 24 banners thanking Norway for its contribution to the war, which mainly consisted of a field hospital called Norwegian Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (NORMASH) as part of the UN force. Norway also contributed with financial support, and established together with Denmark and Sweden the hospital National Medical Center.

The banner says «70th Anniversary of the Korean War Remembrance Solidarity Peace» and «Takk, Norge For Støtten under Koreakrigen 1950–53 Republikken Korea» («Thank you, Norway for the support during the Korean War 1950–53 The Republic of Korea»).

Karl Johans gate, Oslo.

Karl Johans gate, Oslo, with the University of Oslo's Law Faculty Library in the background, and further back the Royal Palace.

Photos: © 2020 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

The South Korean embassy is currently hosting a photo contest were people are encouraged to send in their best photos of themselves alongside the banners. The best photos in the categories «best quality picture», «most creative picture», «pictures in special attire», «happiest or funniest picture» or «picture showing cooperation between Korean and Norway» will win a prize from the embassy. I guess I would have to make a better effort than the ones above in order to win ...

623 Norwegian men and women served in NORMASH over seven contingents. Only 2 of them working for the hospital were killed – one was shot, the other killed in a car accident. In addition two two seamen died, one by illness while the ship «Belocean» was in harbour in Pusan, the other by drowning while the ship was in harbour in Japan. But several Norwegan-born men served in the US army. One of them was Rolv Møll, who was born in Holum, Mandal in 1926 and settled in Brooklyn, New York in May 1950. He married the Norwegian-American Rosy Reiersen (Ryerson) (1924–1976) in December 1951, four months after he had joined the US army: He was sent to Korea in April 1952, serving in the 35th Infantry Regiment (25th Infantry (Tropic Lighting) Division) and was killed on the North Korean frontline in July the same year, 26 years old. He was among others awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. I wrote a piece about Rolv in Slektshistoriewiki, the Norwegian genealogy wiki, back in 2017. So whenever I think about the Korean War, I think about Rolv, whose life was taken far too early while in the service of his adopted country.

Updated on Friday 26 June 2020 at 12.40 (typo corrected).

Vita Brevis: Mayor Pete’s cousins

Photo: © 2019 Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons.

The US elections are all over us again. All the votes from the Iowa Democratic caucus this Monday have not been counted yet – as I write these lines about 75 % have been counted for – but it appears that the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg (pronounced Boot-edge-edge, would you believe it) has won in terms of number of State Delegate Equivalents. I have my doubts about him winning the Democratic nomination in the end, and at present I am not very optimistic about the chances of a Democrat winning the presidential elections in November 2020, but would love to be proven wrong.

Regardless of the outcome of the presidential elections, the genealogy of Buttigieg, whose father was born in Malta, is very interesting. Even if Christopher C. Child's Vita Brevis blog article «Mayor Pete's cousins» is a bit old – it was published in June 2019 – it is still both relevant and worth reading. I very much look forward to reading Child's articles on the genealogy of the other Democratic candidates. The Vita Brevis blog is, by the way, published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

Norse Seventh-Day Adventist Church and Cemetery, Bosque County, Texas, USA

The Norse Seventh-Day Adventist Church was the third church I visited during my stay in Bosque County in July 2005. I have given a few details in my earlier article about the visit in my article about the Old Savior's Church.

According to the sign the church was established in 1890 and the Norwegian-American pioneer Ole T. Nystel is listed beneath. According to the Findmygrave entry he was the (or one of?) the founders of the church.

There were several graves in the cemetery, but I only took the time to take one grave photo, that of Ole T. Nystel (1853–1930) and his second wife Annie Olena Nystel (1855–1937).

According to the Findmygrave entry Ole Nystel and his neighbor Karl Qvestad were captured and held by a band of Comanches in 1867. He later wrote a book about his experiences, Lost and Found; or Three Months with the Wild Indians, in 1888. According to the introduction to Bosque Museum's new edition published in 1994, Ole Nystel's father came from Åmli in present-day county of Aust-Agder.

All photos: © 2005 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

Updated on Thursday 9 July 2018 at 14:15  (two links added, one corrected).

St. Olaf Church (The Rock Church) and Cemetery, Cranfills Gap, Bosque County, Texas, USA

I wrote about my visit to Bosque County, Texas in my previous article about Our Savior's Church and Cemetery. The St. Olaf Church, usually called The Rock Church, outside Cranfillls Gap, was built in 1886. See the text of the marker following the third photo.

Text: «Built in 1886 of native stone by architect Andrew Mickelson and his brothers, Christian and Ole Mickelson. It originally had a dirt floor and planks laid on wooden kegs for pews. The bell was acquired in 1897. The church served the Norwegian settlers of this area, who were members of Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Norse (6 miles E). In 1902, the growth of the community necessitated separation from the Norse church, and the St. Olaf Congregation was organized. A new edifice was erected in Cranfills Gap (4 miles W) in 1907, and this church has since been used only for special services. (1974)»

I only took 7 photos during the visit to the Rock Church, and no headstones were recorded.

Here it seems I wanted to show the landscape around the church as well.

All photos: © 2005 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

Our Savior's Church and Cemetery, Norse, Bosque County, Texas, USA

In the summer of 2005 I made a round-trip to the central and Eastern part of Texas, USA. Due to my interest in Norwegian-American emigration history, I stayed a day and night in Clifton, Bosque County in order to visit places where Norwegian settlers made footprints. There was a large Norwegian settlement starting in the 1840s and 1850s in Bosque County.

Now, it has been a while since 2005, so I don't remember all the details of what I did. I am not sure why I have waited so long to write a blog article about the visit either. Up to now I have only published a couple photos of my visit for an article in Slektshistoriewiki, the Norwegian genealogy wiki. I remember, however, that I visited the Bosque Museum in Clifton, which among others houses a chair made by Cleng Peerson (1783–1865), who organised the first group of Norwegian to emigrate in 1825 and has thus been nicknamed «the Father of Norwegian Emigration to the US»). Peerson eventually settled in Norse, Texas. I made a stop near the farm where he died. I also visited three churches and cemeteries in the area – Our Savior's Lutheran Church, the Old Rock Church near Cranfills Gap and the Norse Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Based on the timing of the photos, it seems that I visited Our Savior's Church twice, maybe because I felt the photos of Cleng Peerson's grave were not good enough the first time around. It was also a very warm and sunny day, so it was not too easy to take photographs due to reflection problems. I wish I had taken more grave photos. Don't know remember why I didn't. Can I blame the weather? Or that I wanted to see more «Norwegian» places before I returned to Clifton?

The first group of settlers arrived in Bosque County in the 1840s, and in Norse in 1854. The church was organized in 1859 and the church building was erected in the period 1875–1885.

Text: «Our Savior's Lutheran Church. Mother Church Former Evangelical Lutheran Church in Texas. Organized June 14, 1859 by Norwegian settlers of Bosque County. Building erected 1875–1885.
Cleng Peerson. Pioneer of Norwegian emigration to U.S. (Landed 1821) is buried here. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 1965.» And beneath:

«Our Savior's Lutheran Church E.L.C. 1869 – 1876 – 1956 Soli Deo Gloria.»

Memorial of the 17 original Norwegian settlers in Bosque County, Texas, 1854. Hendrick [Henrik] Olsen Dahl & Christine Pedersdatter Furuseth, Ole Canuteson [Knudson/Knutsen] & Ellen Malene Gunderson, Jens Jensen & Tonje Knudsdatter, Jens Olsen Ringness & Kari Jensdatter, Ole Larsen Ween, Knut Canuteson & Berte Olson, Carl Engebretsen Questad & Sedsel [Sissel] Oldsdatter [Olsdatter] Ringness, Berger Tollefsen Rogstad & Anne Eriksdatter Furuseth Bronstad, Ole Pierson [Perssen/Pedersen] & Anne Helene Oldsdatter [Olsdatter].

Cleng Peerson's grave.

Text: «Cleng Peerson. / The Pioneer of Norse Emigration / to America. / Born in Norway, Europe / May 17, 1782. / Landed in America in 1821. / Died in Texas / December 16, 1865. / Grateful countrymen in Texas / erected this to his memory.» Most sources give 1783 as his birth year, though. A discussion about his birth year (in Norwegian) can be found here.

Backside of the headstone: «Cleng Peerson. / Den förste norske Indvandreren / i [til?] Amerika. / Födt i Norge Europa den / 17 Mai 1782 / Kom til Amerika in 1821. / Döde i Texas, / den 16 December , 1865. / Taknemmelige landsmænd i Texas reiste ham dette minde.»The claim that he was the first Norwegian immigrant is wrong, though. Many Norwegian settled before him, for instance the Norwegians arriving on Dutch ships in the 17th century.

King Olav V visited Our Savior's Lutheran Church in 1982 to commemorate the birth year of Cleng Peerson. Nils Olav Østrem settled on 1783 as birth year in an artice in Ætt og Heim in 1999. See also the NBL article (also in Norwegian).

War memorial of Nels Grimland (1839–1924).

I write «war memorial» above as here is the actual headstone at the grave of Nels Grimland and his wife Maria (1848–1925).

Pauline Rogstad (1863-1944).

The following are photos taken on my second visit later in the evening on 15 July 2005.

Cleng Peerson's headstone (again).

«Her hviler stövet / af / Even Qvæstad / Födt 17de October 1842 / paa Gaarden Öde / Qvæstad i Norge / Död 31 August 1862» («Here rests the dust of ...»)

All photos: © 2005 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

Vita Brevis: Further ancestors of the Princess of Wales

Scott C. Steward's third article about the ancestry of Diana, Princess of Wales was published in the blog Vita Brevis on 12 September 2018.

Since the publication of Richard K. Evans' book The Ancestry of Diana Princess of Wales in 2007, new sources have come available, and Steward have made several updates and corrections to the book.




Articles so far:

• 1 August 2018: Revisiting the Princess of Wales
• 20 August 2018: More Ancestors of the Princess of Wales
• 12 September 2018: Further ancestors of the Princess of Wales

Vita Brevis: More ancestors of the Princess of Wales

Earlier this month I wrote a short blog article telling about Scott C. Steward's updates on the ancestry of Diana, Princess of Wales in the NEHGS blog Vita Brevis.

Now Steward has posted a follow-up, in which he has reached the late Princess’s great-great-great-grandparents.

Vita Brevis: Revisiting the Princess of Wales

In 2007 the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, USA published the book The Ancestry of Diana Princess of Wales for Twelve Generations by Richard K. Evans (ISBN 978-0-88082-208-4).

It is an impressive piece of work, but of course not without errors. More sources have also been made available since it was published. Earlier this month Scott C. Steward, who edited the book and who has been NEHGS’ Editor-in-Chief since 2013, published in the blog Vita Brevis the article «Revisiting the Princess of Wales», in which he corrects errors and adds information which were not available at the time of publishing. The article is worth reading for anyone interested in royal and/or noble genealogy or genealogy in general for that matter.

Maternal family of HRH The Duchess of Sussex

The day before HRH The Duke of Sussex (Prince Harry) married Meghan Markle, the American genealogist Christopher C. Child published the article «Meghan Markle's maternal family» in Vita Brevis, the blog of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

In the blog article Child shows Meghan's matrilineal ancestry back to a Millie Jones, who was born in Georgia around 1815 and appeared last time in the national census of 1880, then living at Smiths in Hart County, Georgia.

Concerning Meghan's first marriage to Trevor Engelson, Child writes that they married at Ocho Rios, Jamaica on 10 September 2011.

His source is the Wikipedia article about the duchess. While there is no doubt that the wedding was celebrated in Jamaica, genealogists would normally focus on the legal marriage, which seems to have taken place in Los Angeles, USA. In his book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, 2018 (Kindle Edition, Loc 1329), Andrew Morton writes:

With the ocean as backdrop, the couple recited vows they had written themselves [...] Though the couple had officially married in Los Angeles in a brief civil ceremony, this was the real celebration for family and friends, [...]

In other words, the legal marriage took place earlier than 10 September 2011. I suspect, however, that Child already knows this. In the third paragraph of his article, he stresses that «The lineage should be considered preliminary, as I have ordered several additional twentieth-century records that might lead to corrections or additions to the facts below.» He might have ordered twentyfirst-century records as well?

Postscript 26 May 2018 at 19:25: My article above was cut short because I had to prepare for a meeting. I had intended to comment on Andrew Morton's sources before signing off. Sources for the claim that the couple married in a civil ceremony in Los Angeles are not explicitly given. In the Acknoweledgement section the author refers to among others certain family members and friends, some by name, some unidentified. The way the ceremony at Ocho Rios was described, however, it seems quite plausible that the couple was already legally married before entering the island. I wonder, though, if documentation of the civil wedding in LA, is available, or do we have to wait some time before such details are released?

Updated on Saturday 26 May 2018 at 19:25 (postscript added).

UK: Sussex wedding

HRH The Duke of Sussex, younger son of the Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, married at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on 19 May 2018 Rachel Meghan Markle, daugher of Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland. I was away for the weekend, so I could not post my observations before now.

From a constitutional and genealogical point of view, and that is usually what I focus on, there is not much to write about. The engagement was announced on 27 November 2017 and the Queen expressed that she was «delighted» for the couple. The formal declaration of consent was given on 14 March 2018. From the Court Circular of 19 May we learn that «The Marriage of Prince Henry of with Ms. Meghan Markle was solemnized in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, today».

In the Court Circular the Duke of Sussex was still referred to as Prince Henry of Wales.  Earlier the same day the following announcement was given:

Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle: Announcement of Titles

Published 19 May 2018

The Queen has today been pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince Henry of Wales.  His titles will be Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel.

Prince Harry thus becomes His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex, and Ms. Meghan Markle on marriage will become Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.

The title «Duke of Sussex» was for unknown reasons always the favourite of the bookmakers and they got it right this time, just like in 2011 when the Queen conferred on Prince William the title «Duke of Cambridge». Harry's new title was created for the first time in 1801 for Prince Augustus Frederick, the sixth son and ninth child of King George III and Queen Charlotte. The prince married twice in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act (the first time before the title creation), so there never was a Duchess of Sussex. Meghan has thus become the first one. And of course, Prince Harry has become the 2nd Duke (1st Duke of the 2nd creation).
 https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/997736471154122752
So, when the constitutional aspects have been touched upon, as well as basic genealogical facts of the marriage, I could move on to the guest list. But as far as I know such a list has not been released. In the Court Circular we only learn, following the sentence of the solemnization:

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, with The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and other Members of the Royal Family, arrived at St. George's Chapel and were received at the Galilee Porch by the Dean and Chapter of Windsor.

Prince Henry of Wales, with The Duke of Cambridge, was received at the West Door by the Dean and Chapter of Windsor and Their Royal Highnesses were conducted to the Bray Chapel.

Ms. Meghan Markle drove to St. George's Chapel and was received at the West Door by the Dean of Windsor.

The Service was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Dean of Windsor.

At the conclusion of the Service the Registers were signed in the Ambulatory.

The Bride and Bridegroom drove to Windsor Castle in an Ascot Landau, processed through the town of Windsor and returned to the Castle where The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh gave a Reception in their honour.

And that is not much to go by. Of course I watched the whole broadcast and as far as I know all the members of the British Royal Family were present except for Prince Louis of Cambridge, who was born earlier this year. Prince Philip, who will be 97 next month, had a hip operation earlier this year, but still walked without crutches. Very impressive.

Members of  Prince Harry's mother's side were of course also present. From the bride's family only her mother Doria Ragland was in attendance. Two days before the wedding Kensington Palace confirmed that Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, would not attend, and his health problems was given as an explanation. It had earlier been revealed that he had  had posed for staged photos with a paparazzi photographer and the embarrassment of it all might have made him feel too uncomfortable to attend. One can only feel sorry both for Meghan as well as for her father. She clearly wanted both her parents present for her wedding. Instead of her father, Ms. markle was accompanied to the altar by the Prince of Wales.

It appears that Meghan has had little or no contact with her half-brother Thomas Markle and Samantha Grant and their families for many years. They have created quite a few headlines before and after the engagement was announced, so it is not difficult to understand that they were not invited. That no uncles and aunts or other family members were invited was perhaps more surprising. It might say something about Meghan's priorities regarding family, but then again one should be careful not to jump to conclusions. She surely has her reasons.

The only royals who attended the royal wedding besides the members of the British Royal Family were Prince Seeiso and Princess Mabereng of Lesotho. Prince Harry has known Prince Seeiso, who is the youngest brother of King Letsie III of Lesotho, for many years. In 2006 the two princes founded Sentebale, a charity that «supports the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana,» to quote the charity's own website. Prince Harry has had little personal contact with members of the European royal family, which probably explains to some extent why no-one was invited. Of course he is only the younger son of the Prince of Wales and thus not in the direct line to inherit the throne, so his wedding could not be as grand as his brother's was. But I still felt something was missing. We already knew that no politicians would attend, but I still find it strange that the 6th in line of succession did not even invite the prime minister. One former prime minister attended, though – John Major – apparently because he following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales had played the role as guardian to Prince William and Prince Harry, being responsible for legal and administrative matters.

Instead of royals and representatives of the official UK, Harry and Meghan had invited representatives of charities and organisations Harry has endorsed as well as a long and impressive list of celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Idris Elba, George Clooney and his wife Amal Alamuddin,  David and Victoria Beckham and Elton John and his husband David Furnish, to mention a few.

It was a great and enjoyable wedding ceremony, though. The couple looked a bit nervous, but very much happy and in love, the weather was great and the church was beautifully decorated. So much could be said about the dresses and the hats. Oh, the hats! But I will leave it at that. The ceremony had many highlights, including the introit, the hymns and the song «Stand by me» performed by Karen Gibson and the Kingdom Choir. Not to mention the address by the American Bishop Michael Curry, the presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. How he could preach! The full text of his address can be read here, while the order of service is available here.

The service was lead by the Dean of Windsor, David Conner, while the marriage was solemnized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Postscript Tuesday 22 May 2018 at 23.35: When commenting on non-British royals attending the wedding last Saturday, I obviously focused on reigning families. That is why I only mentioned the princely couple of Lesotho. But there were members of former reigning families and/or «Gotha members», including Princess Xenia of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (a grand niece of Prince Philip and thus Prince Harry's second cousin) and Hereditary Prince Franz-Albrecht and Hereditary Princess Cleopatra of Oettingen-Spielberg (others would have to enlighten me concerning the motivation for inviting them – they certainly are not close relatives of Prince Harry, but obviously have learnt to know eachother somehow).

Besides the family members, representatives of charities and organisations and the celebrities – I could have mentioned many more than I did – there were of course also many friends of the couple in attendance, including Meghan's colleagues from the TV series Suits. I decided to give only a few examples. No full guest list has been released, but Netty Leistra and other contributors have assembled a survey in the guestlist section at the forum Nobiliana. Please go there if you want more names and details!

Updated last time on Tuesday 22 May 2018 at 23.35 (postscript added).

American Ancestors (Spring 2018) Special Edition: Mayflower 400th Anniversary Guide

The Spring edition of American Ancestors, the periodical of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), was published earlier this week. It provides a guide to the Mayflower 400th Anniversary, which takes place in 2020. The English ship Mayflower arrived in what is today known as Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 with 102 passengers (know today as «the Pilgrims») and a crew of about 30 people.

The 68 pages special edition is packed with information on various events taking place during the anniversary year and articles covering different aspects of Mayflower history, including Notable Mayflower Descendants. A List of 100, with sources by Gary Boyd Roberts. On the list one can find several presidents and first ladies, including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Barbara Pierce Bush, author Laura Ingalls Wilder, actors Clint Eastwood and Henry Fonda as well as Mormon founder Joseph Smith, to mention a few. The contents can be read here. There is so much history to explore, so I look forward to reading the edition in full.

 Photo: © 2016 Dag Trygsland Hoelseth.

Mayflower II, a copy of the original ship. It was built in 1957 and is currently under renovation. The photo was taken during my visit to Plymouth in 2016.

UK: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle engaged

Clarence House announced today at 10 a.m. GMT the engagement between Prince Harry of Wales and Meghan Markle. The announcement said:

His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales and Ms. Meghan Markle are engaged to be married

His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Henry to Ms. Methan Markle.

The wedding will take place in Spring 2018. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course.

His Royal Highness and Ms. Markle became engaged in London earlier this month. Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty The Queen and other close members of his family. Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms. Markle's parents.

The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.

The announcement was followed up by more tweets from Kensington palace's Twitter account and the other secretariats:

Meghan Markle's parents stated the following:

Statement on behalf of Mr. Thomas Markle and Ms. Doria Ragland

On the announcement of their daughter Meghan Markle's engagement to His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales, Mr. Thomas Markle and Ms. Doria Ragland said:

«We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents.

We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.»

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry's brother and sister-in-law, said of the engagement:

«We are very excited for Harry and Meghan. It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together.»

From the official Royal Family Twitter account:

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall followed up with another statement:

On the news of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle's engagement, The Prince of Wales, speaking for himself and The Duchess of Cornwall, said: «We're thrilled. We're both thrilled. We hope they'll be very happy indeed.»

The British Prime Minister Theresa May also offered her congratulations:

I would like to offer my very warmest congratulations to HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle upon their engagement.

This is a time of huge celebration for two people in love and, on behalf of myself, the Government and the country, I wish them great happiness for the future.

Considering the fact that Meghan Markle is an American citizen one could perhaps have expected a statement from the White House as well, but I guess that will come later.

The newly engaged couple met the media for a photo call in Kensington Palace Gardens at 2 p.m. today. Four hours later the couple appeared in a broadcast interview. I was most impressed by them both. They seemed to be very much in love and appeared confident and sure of each other as a couple. From different backgrounds, yes, but still seem to be a good match. Yes, she is an actress and has some experience with the media, but still it was great to see how well she handled the interview situation. She will be a great asset to the British Royal Family I am sure.

Meghan Markle was born in Los Angeles, California, USA on 4 August 1981. Meghan has one half-brother, Tom, and one half-sister, Samantha. She went among others to the Catholic Immaculate Heart High School. In 2003 she graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago, where she took theater studies before completing her bachelor's degree in theater and international studies. As an actress she is best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the legal drama series Suits. She has also been involved with charity work and is an advocate for women's issues. She was married to Trevor Engelson from 2011 to 2013.

There have been some articles already on Ms. Markle's ancestry:

• Daily Mail 4 November 2016: Meet the family! How Harry's American girl's ancestors were a tailor, a teacher and a cleaner in racially-divided Jim Crow South - while his were ruling the British Empire
• Daily Telegraph 18 November 2017: King Henry VIII ordered for Meghan Markle's ancestor to be beheaded

A summary of Ms. Markle's ancestry can be read in the current version of the Wikipedia article about her.

Ms. Markle - an American, an actress, a divorcee and biracial. In late 2016 Elle Magazine republished an article Meghan Markle wrote in July 2015, titled I'm More Than An 'Other', "on creating her identity and finding her voice as a mixed race woman. Personally I don't think the colour of her skin is much an issue in the United Kingdom. She will be welcomed with open arms.

Earlier this fall a good friend of mine from England, Michael Garrard, died, 87 years old. We learnt to know each other from football supporting activities, being fans of Norwich City FC. The last few years we didn't keep in touch as much as we used to earlier, but his last text message, written a few days before Christmas last year, was quite representative of who he was (and of the British people as well, I would think): «I wish Prince Harry would get on with it and marry Meghan. It will make him happy and put UK light years ahead while USA flounders in outdated racism and have elected a maverick president.»

Only a minority would have an issue with her former marriage. Her parents are divorced and she has been through a short marrige herself. This might be a bit worrysome, but every relationship is different. They have both been through long relationships and have hopefully learnt by their mistakes. I have a good feeling for their marriage.

HM The Queen has given her blessings. In accordance with the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, as Prince Harry is currently number five in the line of succession to the British throne, the Queen will also formally have to give her consent in a Privy Council meeting. Most likely the Queen will also bestow upon Prince Harry a ducal title. As of today the title Duke of Sussex seems to the greatest favourite. If he receives such a ducal title, Meghan Markle will have the status as a Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland due to her marriage to a Prince, but will be styled HRH The Duchess of Sussex.

In accordance with the Letters Patent of George V (1917) any children of Harry and Meghan will not be princes or princesses with the style Royal Highness unless the Queen decides to  «upgrade them», as the editor of Peerage News, Michael Rhodes, put it earlier today. This is what happened in 2013 when the Queen issued a Letters Patent where she declared that «all the children of the eldest son of The Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of Royal Highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour.» She just has to issue another Letters Patent where the words «eldest son of The Prince of Wales» are replaced by «youngest son of The Prince of Wales».

Updated on Tuesday 28 November 2017 at 08.40 (minor addition, some typos corrected).

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.

Norskættede ishockeyspillere i NHL (ice hockey players of Norwegian descent in the NHL)

Nettavisen skriver i en artikkel publisert 4. november 2016 om ishockeyspilleren Brady Skjei, f. 1994, som spiller i New York Ranger og som står overfor et gjennombrudd i den amerikanske hockeyligaen NHL. Han omtales som «den tredje nordmannen» i NHL ettersom oldefaren var norsk. Fra før av spiller de vaskekte nordmennene Mats Zuccarello og Andreas Martinsen i henholdsvis New York Rangers og Colorado Avelanche.

På slutten av artikkelen kommer journalisten endelig på at også Dustin Byfuglien, f. 1985, som for tiden spiller for Winnipeg Jets, har norske røtter. På morssiden har Byfuglien røtter i Valdres og på Geilo. Byfuglien var for øvrig med på å vinne Stanley Cup med Chicago Blackhawks i 2010.

For sikkerhets skyld skriver journalisten at det altså er «minst to andre spillere med røtter i Norge». Jeg lurer på hvor mye tid han har brukt på å sjekke spilleroversiktene i NHL-klubbene, for det må være flere andre norskættede som spiller i NHL i dag, både i USA og i Canada. Kriteriet må være at vedkommende er i en NHL-stall i dag og at han har spilt minst én kamp. Utfordringen er at mange slektsnavn kan være både norske, svenske og danske – det er ikke så lett å si hvor Anderson, Erikson, Matheson, Johnson eller Hanson kommer fra. Josh Anderson, f. 1994, i Columbus Blue Jackets, er er et godt eksempel. Canadiske Damon Severson (Syversen?) i New Jersey Devils er også en god mulighet. Og man kan jo stamme fra Norge kognatisk, dvs. gjennom kvinneledd, og da blir utfordringen straks vanskeligere.

Men vi kan gjøre et forsøk. Riley Tufte, f. 1998, som tidligere i år ble draftet av mitt favorittlag Dallas Stars, kan vi se bort fra, for han har ikke debutert i NHL ennå, og spiller for tiden i NCAA for University of Minnesota-Duluth. Paul Gaustad, f. 1982, kunne ha vært kvalifisert, men han la opp etter sesongen 2015–2016 etter å ha spilt for Nashville Predators de siste sesongene. Trevor Moen, f. 1982, ser også ut til å nærme seg karriereslutt. Han er nå såkalt «free agent» etter å ha spilt for Dallas Stars de to siste sesongene.

Brødrene Staal fra Thunder Bay, Canada kan derimot godt vise seg å være av norsk ætt. Jordan Staal, f. 1988, spiller for Carolina Hurricanes, broren Eric, f. 1984, spiller for Minnesota Wild, Marc Staal, f. 1987, er i New York Rangers sammen med Zuccarello og Skjei, mens yngstebroren Jared Staal, f. 1990, har debutert for Carolina Hurricanes, men spiller mest for farmerlaget Edinburgh Capitals. De er oppført som nederlandskættede på Wikipedia, men figurerer også på oversikten «Norwegian Canadians», så her må det undersøkes mer. Samme utfordring med Strome-brødrene? Dylan Strome, f. 1997, spiller i Arizona Coyotes, mens storebroren Ryan Strome, f. 1993, er i New York Islanders. Men her må det også forskes mer.

Men canadieren Ryan Johansen, f. 1992, i Nashville Predators skal visstnok være norskættet. Nick Bjugstad, f. 1992, i Florida Panthers, er bankers. Samme med Erik Gudbranson, f. 1992, i Vancouver Canucks. Jack Skille, f. 1982, høres ikke norsk ut, men årsaken til at han valgte å dra til Norge og Rosenborg under lockouten i 20012–13 var visstnok hans norske aner.

Så da er det minst 6 norskættede spillere per dags dato i NHL, og kanskje også 11 hvis 3 av Staal-brødrene og de to Strome-brødrene kan bekreftes.

English summary: This article is about ice hockey players in NHL of Norwegian ancestry. Some of the players need to be investigated to be absolutely sure about their roots, such as the Staal and Strome brothers, but Erik Gudbrandson and Nick Bjugstad are definately of Norwegian descent, while Jack Skille and Ryan Johanson most surely are. Dustin Byfuglien and Brady Skjei are already confirmed.

Oppdatering 5. november 2016 kl. 19:55: Jeg har opprettet en egen tråd på Digitalarkivets brukerforum. Etter en liten omvei ser det ut til at Brady Skjeis aner kan spores til Nedre Stjørdal i Nord-Trøndelag: https://forum.arkivverket.no/topic/205058-nhl-spillere-med-norske-aner/

Sist oppdatert søndag 6. november 2016 kl. 00:40 (en setningsfeil rettet opp). 

Painter of Crown Princess Märtha portrait finally identified

© Photo: Jan Haug, Det kongelige hoff (The Royal Court).

The portrait of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway (1901–1954) has been a part of The Royal Collections in Oslo, Norway ever since World War II. Unfortunately the portrait was both unsigned and undated. And as the years went by, the few people who knew the history of the painting, were not at the court any longer. Apparently any sort of documentation of its history, for instance correspondence or other paper work, was missing. Until last weekend the identity of the painter of the portrait, which for many years has been hanging in Den gule salong (The Yellow Parlour) at the Royal Palace in Oslo, has been a mystery. A new art book helped to solve the puzzle.

 © Photo: Jan Haug, Det kongelige hoff (The Royal Court). The Yellow Parlour at the Royal Palace in Oslo. The Crown Princess portrait can be seen in the background.

But before I tell the story on how the painter was identified, I would like to cross the Atlantic for a while to tell part of the story from the painter's perspective. Or rather, I should start in Horten, Norway. Because that is the little town where Herbjørn Peter Egeli was born on 15 November 1900 as the eldest of three sons of Even Egeli (1874–1915) and Josefine Mathilde Wennerstrøm (1875–1921). Even Egeli was at the time underkanonér (assistant gunner) at Karljohansvern (naval base), but later took his family to Kristiania (later named Oslo) where Herbjørn went to school at Vålerenga. Besides school, he took art classes and wood-carving taught by his uncle Herman Ekeli (1885–1946). The spelling of the family name – Egeli or Ekeli – has varied in the different branches, I should add. As the story goes in the Egeli family, Herbjørn once sat model for the sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943). The Vigeland Museum in Oslo has not found any evidence of this, however, as pointed out in a letter to me back in November 2003, and thought it was most likely a family myth, but could not rule it out completely.

True or not, Herbjørn descended from an artistic family. As I have written in this blog before, Herbjørn's father was born in Kristiansand, but the Egeli family originally came from the cotter's farm Øykjeli at Haukeli in Vinje, Telemark, where Herbjørn's great-great-grandfather Svein Olsen Egeli (1779–1853) settled around 1826. The Egeli family were well-known for their artistic skills. Bjorn Egeli's great-great-uncle Tor Sveinsen (1825–1882) was a recognized rosepainter in Telemark before he together with his family as well as 2 brothers and also his widowed mother emigrated to Wisconsin, USA in 1861. Tor's father Svein Olsen Egeli and brother Even (1822–1873) were both skilled ski carpenters. After Even Sveinsen's death two of his children – Svein and Hæge – and eventually also his widow Liv Tollevsdatter (1824–1905) – emigrated to the United States, leaving behind the eldest son Herbjørn Evensen Egeli (1848–1893). Herbjørn, who served in Kristiansand as an (non-commissioned) officer and later settled down as a fireman, was Herbjørn's grandfather.

Anyway, when his dad Even died in 1915, Herbjørn went to sea, and after seven years he went on shore in the United States to enter Brooklyn School of Art in New York. After another period at sea, he continued his education at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. He later became a well-known portrait painter (but also painted many maritime subjects) and painted portraits of among others President Dwight D. Eisenhower and President Richard M. Nixon. Herbjørn, who in the States went by the name Bjorn, bought the Glebe Farm in Valley Lee, St. Mary's County, Maryland in 1942, died on 20 October 1984, nearly 84 years old. His five children Peter, Cedric, Bjorn James, Mary Lois and Carolyn all became professional artists. Also several grandchildren followed the same path.

Bjorn Egeli's children knew that he had once painted a portrait of Crown Princess Märtha, but where it had ended up was a mystery to them, and they didn't know too many details about it either. When the American and Norwegian Egeli branches reconnected – one of Bjorn's first cousins, Torborg Hoelseth, née Ekeli (1924–1992), was the grandmother to yours sincerely, and I traced Peter and his family in 1997 – I was asked by Peter if I could try to locate the portrait on this side of the pond. In early 1998 I wrote to the Royal Palace about it, but the court had no knowledge on the matter. At the time I had the understanding that the portrait was of both (the then) Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha, which was also what the Royal Court commented on. But at the time the court had no information which could lead to connecting the Crown Princess Märtha portrait to Bjorn Egeli. Peter and I had several discussions on where the portrait could have ended up. I remember I once suggested the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where Crown Princess Märtha stayed several times while visiting New York City during World War II, and which also had another Norwegian connection, as Jørgine (Georgia) Rolfsdatter Slettede from Bøverdalen (1887–1971) got married to the hotel director and owner Lucius Boomer (1878–1947) and later became the hotel's co-owner and also continued to manage the hotel even after Hilton took over. I never got as far as to contact the hotel to ask if the portrait was there, though.

Now it is on due time to turn back to Oslo again! The Royal Palace houses a number of collections, including paintings, sculptures and silver objects. There is an ongoing effort to catalogue and document the items in these collections, as explained at the Royal Court's website.. One of the people responsible for this task is the art historian Ingeborg Anna Lønning, who is head of The Royal Collections, a section under the Department of Royal Estates and Culture. She has been working at the Royal Palace since 2002, and is the one who solved the mystery of the unknown painter. All thanks to a wonderful art book which was published in 2015.

The Art of Diplomacy. The Art Collection of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (Oslo: Forlaget Press, ISBN 9788275477185) was written by the art historian Kathrine Lund in 2015. There is also a Norwegian edition, Diplomatiets kunst. Utenriksdepartementets samling (Oslo: Forlaget Press, ISBN 9788275477185). The book's photographer is Guri Dahl. Kathrine Lund works as a senior advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was from 2001 to 2012 responsible for the ministry's art collection. As the book title suggests, the book presents a selection of artworks owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and housed in the foreign missions, ambassador residences and in the ministry at Victoria terasse in Oslo. The reader will find many great photos and presentations of artists like Johan Fredrik Eckersberg, Amaldus Nielsen, Edvard Munch, Brynjulf Strandenæs (who made portraits of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud) and many, many others. I might come back to the book another time, as it certainly deserves to be thoroughly presented and reviewed. The book is not on general sale, as it is first of all meant for the ministry's relations and as a documentation of what the ministry has in its collections.

Nevertheless, at least one copy of the book ended up at the Royal Palace, and was studied and enjoyed by Ingeborg Lønning. On page 104 and 105 a portrait of Ambassador Wilhelm Thorleif von Munthe af Morgenstierne (1887–1963) was described and pictured. The portrait, which was made in 1956 by the aforementioned Norwegian-American artist Bjorn Egeli, is displayed in the Norwegian embassy in Washington, DC. Morgenstierne was among others Norway's Consul General to New York City and later minister plenipotentiary and ambassador in Washington, DC. In the very same room where the Morgenstierne portrait is displayed, a portrait of George C. Marshall, who was among other things USA's secretary of state 1946–49, can also be viewed. The portrait is made by Bjorn's son Peter. I visited the embassy to see the portraits during my first visit to the United States in September 1999.

But back to Lønning again! She made a note of, as she has told me by e-mail earlier this week, Bjorn Egeli's portrait of Ambassador Morgenstierne published in the said book, and started to search for information about the artist on the Internet. She learned among others that Peter Egeli fairly recently had published a book about his father. She thought that the photographs of Egeli's portraits showed similarities to the portrait of Crown Prince Märtha displayed at the Royal Palace. She also made a point of the fact that Crown Princess Märtha and her children during WW2 lived in exile at Pook's Hill at Bethesda in Maryland outside Washington, D.C. and was part of the same social circles as Ambassador Morgenstierne. In addition, Bjorn Egeli lived in the Washington, D.C. area during the war and also came from Norway originally. All this strengthened Lønning's newborn theory that he could be the painter of the Crown Princess Märtha portrait. She contacted Peter Egeli, who immediately recognized the portrait as being made by his father, although he had never seen it before. Peter Egeli, who has a large collection of photos of his father's portraits, studied with his father to become an artist and knows the style of his paintings well. He maintained that the Crown Princess portrait showed a classic Bjorn Egeli pose as well as details to colour, figure and lighting. The mystery of the unknown painter has finally been solved! And the Egeli family finally got to know where the portrait is being displayed!

• Information on the Egeli family (some of the dead links will be dealt with soon)

My gratitude goes to Ingeborg Anna Lønning, Jan Haug and Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen at the Royal Court for giving background information and permission to publish the photos. Many thanks also to Kathrine Lund for giving information about and also a copy of her book!

Postscript 24 January 2016: Ingeborg Lønning, head of the Royal Collections at the Royal Palace in Oslo, has sent some new details about the portrait after the article above was posted on late Thursday 21 January 2016:

The portrait is measured at 105,5 cm (width)  x 102, 5 cm (height). Oil on cancas. Unsigned. Inventory number DKS.S01271.

The portrait has earlier been on display at the Crown Princely estate at Skaugum in Asker, but the court does not know when it was transferred to the Royal Palace. It was probably not at the Palace in the 1970s as it was not mentioned in Kavli/Hjelde's book Slottet i Oslo. The portrait was hanging on on the same place (in The Yellow Parlour) when Lønning took her position at the Palace in 2002. 

Last time updated on Sunday 24 January 2016 at 14.30 (postscript added), Monday 11 September 2023 at 19:50 (link corrected).

Grave of Lorene Yarnell Jansson (Sandar Church and Cemetery, Sandefjord, Norway, Part III)

I was pleased to receive several comments to my articles about Sandar Church and Cemetery, Sandefjord, Norway (part I and part II), of 2010, both in the message field and by e-mail. Earlier this year I received among others a request to take a photo of the grave of the California-born mime dancer and Muppet Show particpant Lorene Yarnell Jansson (1944-2010) and publish it at Findagrave.com, a website dovoted to graves and cemeteries all over the world. According to its FAQ, its mission "is to find, record and present final disposition information from around the world as a virtual cemetery experience".

Earlier this month I finally got the time and opportunity to visit Sandar kirkegård (churchyard/cemetery) again, and last Sunday I published two photos on the said website.

Yarnell married the Norwegian Bjørn Jansson - her fourth husband - and in early 1998 moved with him to his hometown Sandefjord. She died there of a ruptured cerebral aneurysm in 2010. I must admit that I had never heard about her before, but at least the local newspaper Sandefjords Blad knew about her claim of fame, as it made a portrait interview with her and also covered her death. For more details, see the Wikipedia article.