Expert: Nancy Janyszeski - 2/26/2008

Question
Hi!

My name is Jamie Severson, and I have recently tried to do some family history research. My great-uncle (who is 90 now) apparently tried to look into our last name (Severson) and trace it back. I am signed up on Ancestry.com and the furthest back I can go, is finding his great-grandparents. Beyond that, it simply lists the parents as "from Norway". My great-uncle seems to believe that our name changed when we came over from Norway and gave me a list of several possible last names. The problem is, I don't know which one it is. Is there an organization in Norway that would be able to take my last name and figure out what the original Norwegian name is?

Thanks for any help you can give,
Jamie

Answer
Jamie, I would start with the following site.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~wgnorway/

I am sure they can help or point you in the right direction.

I would also post to their message board.

go to the following site and type in Norway for Norway mailing lists.

http://lists.rootsweb.com/


Nancy