QUEBEC-L Archives

From: "kfrog" <>
Subject: [QUEBEC] My very first cousin ever!
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 00:52:49 -0700

I just realized that I did not tell QUEBEC of my brick wall that fell
unexpectedly this week. My grandfather was Rudolph Barthol Olsen and he
emigrated from Vestfold, Norway, to Montreal in 1870. He had changed his
Norwegian middle name to Barthol from Bartolf. This week in a marriage, I
found his second wife, my grandmother, mentioned as witness in her
brother's wedding on April 7, 1890...Bartholomew McGreevy to Catherine
Cronin. I had never seen Bartholomew in regard to McGreevy. (I even started
a Rootsweb list for McGreevy looking for them.) A man, with whom I had been
in contact, told me of a woman living in Montreal with an ancestor named
Bartholomew McGreevy. He put us in contact and voila! Although we are only
one year apart in age, this woman's GREAT-GREAT-grandparents are my
GREAT-grandparents, Bartholomew and Catherine Cronin McGreevy. What is
really strange is that, for 2 1/2 years, I have searched under every
Norwegian and Irish rock in Quebec...and my real live "cousine" married a
French man...I never would have found her!

Needless to say, we are ecstatic! My sister and I have never had a cousin
that we actually knew-there *are* some, but we have no idea where-although I
know some must be in the Montreal area named Haldane.

May this be encouraging to all of you who are searching-miracles DO happen!
In February, 2001, when I began my genealogical journey, ALL that I knew was
that my grandfather was Rudolph Olsen, that he was from Norway and that he
married Catherine McGreevy and raised his family in Montreal. Needless to
say, I never met him-he was born in 1841. I found my great-great
grandparents in Norway this week also, in the census of 1801 on their farm,
Svinevald, in Vaale, Vestfold...and Svinevald translates as "Pigfield". I am
very grateful that my ancestors kept Olsen as their family name when the
patronymic system was changed. Many kept their farm names and I would be
"Kay Pigfield Pearsall"...ack!

Kay Olsen Pearsall
Campbell, CA

What an exciting and encouraging week this has been!

This thread:

• [QUEBEC] My very first cousin ever! by "kfrog" <>