This web site covers the family history of Herman Olsen and Petrena Ericksdatter, who left Norway in 1866 and became known in Wisconsin as Herman and Pauline Ringness.
Henry Ringness was the fifth of eight children of Herman and Pauline. He and his brother Ole moved from Stevens Point, Wisconsin to Peoria, Illinois around 1890.
We have a first attempt at an online family tree. As of 28 February 2006, it includes only Herman and Petrena Ringness, their ancestors in Norway, and their immediate children.
If you have information for the Ringness genealogy project, or a question, send an email to genealogy@ringness.org
I created a web page for my son James' class that lists some of the web-based resources I used in my Norwegian genealogy research.
I started writing up my research on the family roots in Norway. I will post the document as I assemble it piece by piece. Currently I have rough notes going back 13 generations, but I still have many pages of Norwegian text to translate and summarize. The document is called The Family History of Herman and Petrine Ringness (last updated 5 February 2008).
Photos of grave markers
Springdale Cemetery, Peoria, Illinois
Family portrait of Henry and Fannie Ringness, with five of their six children.
Portrait of Henry and Fannie in old age.
Photo of Peoria Water Works, where Henry Ringness worked. This photo was taken in 2005.