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Col. Elizabeth (Joy) Barnsdale
(US Army official Command photograph)

Joy (Olsen) Barnsdale

I am a descendent of Ola (Ole) Thorson Limmesand, via Theodor Olsen Dragland and his eldest son, Rikard Bernhard Olsen Dragland.

I am the granddaughter of Richard Bernhard Olsen of Richmond Beach, WA. I've only started to research my father's Norway ancestors and finding the Dragland Family Assn was a fluke! Richard Bernhard Olsen (171.1) is the oldest son of Theodor Olsen Dragland (171).

I read with real interest that my grandfather (Richard Bernhard Olsen) had 'disappeared' while looking for a farm. Well, we've always known where he was...

I stumbled on the Dragland Family Association website, but what a find! I've only started this quest for my family and had not focused on my paternal grandfather's family as all I had read about doing Scandinavian genealogy sounded too complicated. Far easier to look at my mother's English and German history.

I was born and raised in Seattle (Richmond Beach) WA and now live in Sacramento, CA. I retired from the US Army on 1 April 2010 with 30 years of service. I was a Colonel in the Military Intelligence field and have worked mostly in embassies. My husband (also in the military) left active duty Army in October the same year, and we plan to move back to the Seattle area.