Meet my great-grandparents Nils Olsen Bakke and Helga Oline Severine Bakke (born Seljeset) from Hornindal, Norway:
My great-grandfather Nils was born in 1872 and lived until 1954. My great-grandmother Helga was born in 1879 and lived until 1966, almost long enough for me to meet her (I was born in 1970). They were married in 1898 when she was 19 years old, and she is wearing a traditional wedding costume from Norway. I wore the same costume myself, when I was married in 1997 😀
Ingeborg, Lars, Rasmus and Lise, who I have told you about in the first 2 parts of this series, were siblings of Nils. Since Nils was the oldest boy, he was destined to take over the Bakke farm. The situation in Norway improved somewhat in the early 19th century, but I believe my ancestors were very hard working people. They had 9 children, and this photo is taken around 1912 with the 6 children they had by then:
My grandfather is the handsome looking lad next to his father 🙂
Nils and Helga’s wedding photo has been with me all life and up on my walls as long as I can remember. The other photo I just recently found, and I think it is absolutely precious, and plan to frame it as well. I don’t mind the scratches and bleakness of it, it is just a reminder that we bear the history with us! They are posing for the photographer on the same grass that I played on growing up 🙂
And maybe you would like to use my pictures for crafting too? I know I will, if I ever get around to the projects I’m dreaming of…:.-D
These files are free for your personal use and enjoyment. I scan all my ephemera in 600 dpi. Go to the download folder below to grab your high quality copies:
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Wings of Whimsy 
thank you for sharing your family with us. one to hear about families.
Thank you for the nice comment Sweetie 🙂 xoxoxo
What a heartwarming story 🙂 You are so lucky to have all the photo’s and data to share and let us into your life.I applaud you for showing interest in your family history.Thank You !!
Thank you Dear. The stories have been passed down with the generations, as I continue to pass them down to my children. I guess I have a special interest for vintage images, or else many of these images would still be in a dusty box in the attic…:-P I don’t know if I should cry or smile when I look at many of them, for my mother has written the names on many pictures. From a “preserving the image” view, she has ruined it by writing on it… from a “preserving the memory” view she has saved it by writing on the picture 🙂 Of course on many pictures she wrote on the back, so complete win-win….lol I still have a handful of pictures with no names, and hope to be presenting them here little by little. xoxoxo
This is sooo exiting Gunnvor, thank you so much for sharing all this and your precious pictures with all of us too. It´s a truly exiting story to follow, and I always look forward to hear the next part of it.
Have a great day and lots of fun with your research
I have really enjoyed pairing the story (we learned from my grandmother) with the pictures 🙂 Several of the pictures were tucked away in a box, and I feel like I have “saved” them, if you know what I mean…:-P xoxoxo
I’ve enjoyed the saga of your family! Love the wedding picture. Could you write a post explaining the parts of the traditional wedding costume? That headress must make you feel like a queen! As always, thanks for being so generous of yourself and your talents!
Awww, thank you Paula 🙂 I think it’s a great idea to write a post presenting the bridal costumes more closely, and I’ll start planning asap 🙂 I must rush to tell you that they are not widely used anymore, I was a rare exception when I chose to wear one in 1997…:-P Most brides wear regular white gowns like everywhere else. It’s just me, with a leg (and a half) stuck in the past, I guess…lol!!!
This is so special! I love tracing family roots too, I haven’t put a lot of work into it lately but I was able to find out my ancestors fought with Robert the Bruce against the English, no pics yet thought, although these give me some crafty ideas. I’ll email ya
I’m so glad you are on here Hunny…lol There might be a Canadian twist to this mystery coming up too…;-) kisses!