Brauteseths in Africa

Emigrants and decendants in South-Africa.
A link to norwegian roots.

Otto Johannes Brauteseth and wife Johanne �ye.
The man in the top right picture is Otto Johannes Brauteseth. In 1882 he went all the way from Norway together with some 60 other families, to build a chiristian society in the Natal-province in South-Africa.

I've been researching his origins in Norway, since he and his family must have been related to some of my Brautaset-ancestors in �rsta. I have put up this homepage to keep track of information in this research, and to make it somewhat easier for the decendants and friends of the family to follow up and supply to the page, whenever they like to.

The picture is scanned from a memorial book that was published 50 years after their landing in Natal in 1882. I have also put up the index and the first chapter for those who want more background on the emigration. For copies of books, and lookups go here:

OJ's wife was Johanne �ye. They had 4 children. In 1997 there were already some 360 decendants after OJ and Johanne in South-Africa.

It was actually an american friend of the Brauteseth's (Kim) who found my name and e-mail address on the Intenet and asked if I am related to the Brauteseth's in South-Africa. Kim not only made me aware of the Brauteseth's, she also gave me lots of useful information. The picture of Otto Johannes on top of this page is a scan from her own copy of the 50 year memorial book called "The Norwegian Settlers" - Marburg, Natal 1882.
- - Anna Halland, Andrew Halland & Ingeborg Kjonstad. (1932)
- - (50th Jubilee of the landing of the settlers.)

Descendants chart for Otto J.Brauteseth and Johanne �ye

From Kim:

"The Norwegian Settlers" Marburg, Natal 1882

The original book was written by Anna and Andrew Halland and Ingeborg Kjonstad.
The book I have is the reprinted book coinciding with their 50th Jubilee of
the landing of the settlers on the 29th of August, 1882. It is from 1932..

They listed the names of 34 families that went over....I just found the name
> Brauteseth...No first name was given, but a Brauteseth was on the Ladies' Aid
> Society of the "Marburg Church". The name changed since from Marburg Church
> to Norwegian Settler's Church. There are photos in the book too...
>...here's the Brauteseth's I found in the book...

O.J. Brauteseth bought Lot 11, married wife Johanne in 1891. They had 4 children:
> 1. Ole Brauteseth married Elizabeth Viljoen - 2 children John and Kathleen
> 2. Kristian Brauteseth married Ruth Larsen - 8 sons Ernst, Ludwig,Rolf, Viktor, Nils, Ronald, Trygvar, Arne.
> 3. Otine Brauteseth married Clarence Riggen - 5 children Doris, Leonard, Clarice, Enid
> 4. Otto B. married Inga Sivertson - 2 children Arhur and Bernhard.

> The 2nd son Kristian was the father of my friends who are Arne, Nils, Trygvar
> etc. Arne was like my adopted father while in South Africa...his son
> Terrance and I were good friends. I know a couple of Arne's brothers are
> dead but not sure which ones. I only met Arne, Nils, Ronald and Trygvar.
> Trygvar is actually a missionary in America, Arne lives in Port Shepstone
> area as does Nils. Ron and his wife live up closer to Johannesburg.
> ..

Norman Brauteseth, e-mail 26.6.97:
"My great, great grandfather was O. J. Brauteseth, who emigrated to Marburg, a small settlement on the South Coast of Natal in the early 1880's. A whole group on Norwegians came out and founded a community there, a community that had many problems with animal diseases and the like. One of their first projects was to build a church, and that church still stands and is a national monument in this country. The landingsfest is celebrated every year, and the centenary was celebrated in 1982.
The settlers were allocated small farms, and my great grandfather and grandfather took our family farm over. The family farm was owned by one of my uncles, and then by my cousin until very recently, but is now out of the family.
There are many Brauteseths in this country now, many of them on the South Coast still. It seems they took seriously the Lord's command to go forth and multiply! My father married the daughter of a Norwegian missionary (a Rodseth - her mother was a Sodahl) so my blood is undiluted Norway!!
One of my uncles has researched extensively the history of the Brauteseth family in Norway. In fact I think that he wrote a short booklet listing all of our ancestors, and traced them back to a very small settlement in western Norway. I will find it and contact you once I have it. I am sure that I can send you the relevant parts."

Peter Brauteseth e-mail 3.7.97:
"OJ Brauteseth did come to South Africa in 1882 with some 60 other families, went back to Norway, found a wife, returned and went on to have 4 children, my grand father being Kristian. Kristian also went back to Norway, and found a wife in Namsos and returned to produce 8 sons, of which my father Ronald was one. My Dad married a lady of Irish/ English origins and produced 6 sons, of which I am one. It looks like nobody had TV's in those days!!!! The family in South Africa is alive and well and there is quite a large number of descendants of OJ Brauteseth, at last count some 360 people!!! We have a "Landing Feast" every year on the 29th of August and the "Brauteseth's" have a reunion over that weekend, every five years. The next one is this year where we will celebrate 115 years in South Africa. ...."
"In 1993 My wife and I attended a World 83 Meeting in Denmark and after that we went to Risor Round Table in Norway. We then took the opportunity to travel to Orsta to visit the "family" The Round Tablers there, led by Per Olav Glimsdal, organised a family reunion and we met everybody. What an experience. It was nice to visit the old home of our great great grandfather, which is a museum that has been maintained by the farmers of that area."

Did Johanne go to South-Africa together with OJ?
It seems that OJ and Johanne's brother (Nils Jonson �ye) went together to Natal in 1882. But I still don't know if Johanne went with the same boat as them, or if she emigrated from �rsta before him or later. I do know that her brother returned to Norway in 1899 (17 years later) and settled in Skudesnes on the south coast of Norway.

From what Peter tells it seems Otto Johannes returned to Norway, then went back to South-Africa with Johanne.

A book says OJ was in Marburg about one year until he moved to Eshowe to help build houses. Here he (first?) met Johanne. She had worked in Kearsney as a house-keeper. They married in the new church in Eshowe, and they took over lot nr.11 when the Standahl' left Marburg in 1891.

The picture you see underneath is also scanned by Kim. She has arrowed 3 grandsons of Otto Johannes who she believes are (from left to right) Nils, Arne and Trygvar. I believe they are standing outside the church that Norman talks about in the e-mail below. I don't know when this picture is taken, maybe close to 1970?

So who are the ancestors of OJ and wife Johanne ?
Norman tells about an uncle who he believes wrote a short booklet, listing all of his ancestors and traced them "back to a very small settlement in western Norway". And Peter tells about his visit to �rsta in 1993 and to the "old home of his great great grandfather, which is a museum that has been maintained by the farmers of that area."

After collecting information from people in �rsta and a book published 1996 called "�rstingar 1600-1900" to my initial database, I can now print the ancestry, and see if my ancestors are common ot the Brauteseth-decendants in S-Africa.

The closest common ancestors on OJ's side are his great, great grand parents Ola Olson Kr�vel(1728-1812) and wife Gjertrud Jonsdatter Kr�vel(ca.1731-1804). They lived together on the farm "Andersgarden" at Kr�vel 7 generations earlier than Peter and I. Peter is a decendant of their first son Ola(1761), and I a decendant of their first daughter, Lisbet(1763):

But we are equally related through Johanne, since her great, great grand parents were Knut Jonson Vatne(1714-83) and wife Berte (Brite) Knutsdatter Sandvik-Ryste(ca.1710-55) who are also two of my ancestors. Knut and Berte lived on the farm "Reiten" at Vatne 7 generations earlier than Peter and I, Peter beeing a decendant of their first son Jon(1746), and I a decendant of Jons younger brother Ola(1751):

The next closest of our common ancestors would be Jakob Knutson Hjarthaug(1666-1754) and wife Anna J�rgensdatter Folkestad(1682-1759). They both came from Volda, but Jakob was married to the main farm "Knutegarden" at Brautaset and became the owner there from 1695 until 1742. He married Anna around 1708 after loosing his first wife (Brite).

As shown here, two of their sons were Knut(1709) and Ottar(1711). Ottar is a grandfather of OJ's grandfather, and Knut is a grandfather of Steinar's grandfather (Steinar beeing the grandfather of my father, and was probably a friend of OJ, since they were almost the same age and both lived at Brautaset from mid 1850 until OJ went to South-Africa in 1882.).

Knut(1709) and his decendants went on to farm the Brautaset-land for generations ("Knutegarden" and later "Steinargarden"). Ottar(1711) and his decendants (Norman and Peter's family line) went to farm at Rebbestad and Myklebust until OJ's father (Ola Jonson Kr�vel,1814-76) came to Brautaset and started two new Brautaset-farms (first "Brune" and then "Strand" -beeing the reason why OJ was also called "Stranda-Otto" and his father "Brune-Ola"). OJ's father was a very handy man. At "Brune" he made a stone house that still stands today. That's where OJ was born, and this stone house is today a museum worth visiting.

I visited this stone house july 2002, Einar Brune told me the family history and showed me inside.

OJ and Johanne had common great grandparents:

More interesting to know that they both decend from Ottar(1711) son of Jakob as mentioned in the second figure:

This means Jakob Knutson Hjarthaug(1666-1754) and wife Anna J�rgensdatter Folkestad(1682-1759) are ancestors common to both OJ and Johanne and I, and to all the Brauteseth's in South-Africa today....And if Jakob hadn't met Anna, maybe neither of us would have been born;-)

Here are the ancestors common to Derek Brauteseth in London and me.

Norway: Brautaset

I have attached 2 photos of the stone house at Brauteset taken july 2002. One showing the house, on the other Einar Brune (inside the house) shows an old photo of the parents of O.J.Brauteseth who once built this stonehouse (Ole Kr�vel 1814-1876 and Ottine Myklebust 1816-1914). The house is until today maintained as a small museum from the time people lived in the house.