Roots — a family history site

My interest in family history began with my cousin Roy Skogsrud. He encouraged me to get started, and we collaborated quite a bit before he sadly passed away. Working on this has made me realise how many stories are lost simply because we didn’t ask in time, so it’s worth talking to the older generation while you still can.

I am Norwegian, and my father’s side of the family comes from the west coast of Norway. My mother’s side is more mixed, with ancestors from other parts of Scandinavia, Germany and Scotland. The images below (from MyHeritage) show my DNA ethnicity and the locations of people I share DNA with.

Origins: My Ethnicity Map
Diaspora: My connections – emigrations

This website is a way to organise my research. It is very much a work in progress and will continue to develop as I add new information. In the future, I also plan to include my daughters’ paternal side so their full family history is represented.The site is divided into three main sections:

Family Trees

This section contains my family tree with information about each of my direct ancestors. I include basic details, notes on their lives, and links to church records, census entries and other sources where I have found them. I have also included information about other branches of the family where I have come across it.

Locations

A developing section looking at the places my family came from, including the farms where they lived and worked. The structure of this section may change as I work out the best way to organise it.

Resources

Links to websites, tools and references I have found helpful during my research.