Lars Nilsen Osa (1890 – )

I never knew my paternal grandfather because he emigrated to Canada leaving my grandmother behind in Osa with four young children. I was just told that he died and it has taken some time to discover what happened to him.

Lars Nilsen Osa
Birth: 20 August 1890 in Osa, Norway
Death: 5 August 1933 in Toronto, Canada.
Parents: Nils Davidsson Osa (1841-1910) and Anna Andersdatter (1847-1940)
Siblings: Kari (1871-1873), Kari (1874-?), Anders (1877-?), Guro (1880-?), David (1884-?)
Wife: Kari Marie Larsdatter Vattedal (1887-1975)

He was born in Osa on 8 August 1890 and was the last of Nils and Anna‘s children. In the 1891 census for Osa he is listed as living with his parents and siblings. In the 1900 Census his father was listed as a farmer and they lived on on Hjallane farm; only he and his brother David were then still living with their parents.  Lars was still living there with his mother during the 1910 Census and his occupation was given as a painter’s apprentice.  His brother Anders had now taken over the farm.

Marriage: He married Kari Marie Vattedal in Bergen on 9 October 1911.  He was working as a painter and they probably lived in Brakanæs in the Ulvik municipality. It is the place given for the birth of their first two children but by the time my father was born they were living in Osa.

Lars Nilsen Osa in Kari Osa’s shop.
Kari and Lars Osa with Nelly

Children

Nelly Amanda Osa (1912-2001), Leif Karl Osa (1915-1933), Hans Olai Osa (1917-1991), David Osa (1920-1965)
For more details about the other children, see Kari’s entry.

Life in Osa

In the mid-1910s, the construction of the Osa Hydroelectric Power Station brought an influx of workers and boosted the local economy.  In 1922 Lars applied to run a café and food store in Hordalands Dairy’s property, probably to take advantage of this activity. However, financial difficulties led to the project’s bankruptcy by 1926, causing a rapid decline as workers and families left the area. This downturn possibly influenced my grandfather’s decision to leave for Canada in 1924.

Emigration

In 1924 Lars left Kari and emigrated to Canada. He was living in Voss at the time of his application. He sailed from Bergen on 14 March 1924 on the ‘Canadian Pacific III’ to travel on by rail to Winnipeg, Manitoba and British Columbia.  On the arrivals form for Canada he has $25 and no return ticket as he intended to settle there. He gives his mother as his next of kin which suggests that he didn’t leave on good terms with his wife.

He worked as a painter in Winnipeg for a short while and is listed in the Henderson Directory for 1928 and 29. Then he appears to have moved to Toronto where he is listed in the 1931 Census. In March 1933 his son Leif Karl died. This may have contributed to him turning to drink and he died on 5 August 1933 from chronic alcoholism, just a few months later.

Entry from Ættar-bok for Ulvik, by Bu, Aamund K

Evidence

He was listed as Louis N Osa, occupation painter, in the Henderson directory. He was Lars Nelson, painter, in the 1931 Census. I have newspaper clippings from July 1933 linking Lars Nelson in the 1931 census to Lars Nelson Osa and to his death in August 1933.