Per-Harald Jensen

Nov-28, 1997

Dear Vaughn

Tanks for mail and having made contact. We are both Draglands, and have the same great-great grandfather Ole Thorsen, born Des 24, 1817 in Sogn in the South-west side of Norway. He came north to Dragland around 1850 and got 12 children, and my great grandfather Theodor Olsen was the first, and he was born 1850. Mikal was number 8. There was 7 who emigrated to America, and we have lot of relatives there.

My great grandfater Theodor took over the farm Dragland, and in two marriage he got 13 children (8+5), and 4 of them emigrated too. My grandmother was Gyda, and she was born 1897 and came to the farm Hol and married my grandfather Johannes Jensen, therefore my second name Jensen. My father, Holter, was born 1920 and he died of cancer 1972 and also my mother Petra, born 1915, died of cancer 1993. As you now can see we are relatives in forth link (generation).

I started surching for relatives for many years ago, and in the beginning it was very difficult to find relatives in America. A letter came around 1980 from America to a person in Lødingen, and that was from one of our relatives in America, who had been in Sweden for holydays, and had been on a litle trip to Narvik, and there he saw the name Lødingen on a bus, and mentioned that one of his forefathers came from that place. He found a phonebox and a phonebook, and there he find a man whith the name Dragland and note the adress. The person was not in our Dragland-family, and he called to the widow on our Dragland-farm, and her grand-daughter wrote a answer, and got a new letter. She came to me as I had the family-charts, and that contact to America got us a lot of adresses and much information. In my book I already had your name and I see that you are born in 1950, and I am born in 1953, so we are closed in age. But I had no information where you lived.

I am living at village nearby the town Harstad. I have my work in Harstad, in a bank, and started my bankwork in 1972. I married 1980 to Solfrid and we have two children, boys at 20 and 15 Years. From my home to the Dragland-farm it is 40 kilometers, and the farm is still owned of our relatives, Kristian Olsen. He is living in South Norway and came to Dragland every year in May and went back in October. In June 1996 we had visit from America of three sisters, granddaughters to Daniel Olsen, brother to Mikal and Teodor. We had a very nice day together with Kristian Olsen in Dragland. It was great.

Of course I share information, and please give me postadress, so I can give you more information of this area and our family.

My address is:

	Per-Harald Jensen
	Box 153
	9440 EVENSKJER, NORWAY

Best wishes from Per-Harald Jensen

May-17, 2002: New Situation