Caroline Dalager

Recently I have been in communication by email with two distant relatives in Norway (Terje Ofstad and Lars Ofstad) regarding our common ancestor Mathias Ferslev Dalager. Terje sent this copy of the "klokkerbok," a corrected duplicate church book from Orkdal, Norway. The book recorded the birth of my ancestor Caroline Dalager on March 24, 1823.

The father's name was originally written as Captain Stabel, but later corrected to Captain Dalager. When I asked about the apparent change, Lars responded that it was common to keep two books, and that changes were sometimes added if more reliable information became available. He believes that this birth record proves beyond doubt that Captain Mathias Dalager was indeed the father of my ancestor Caroline Dalager. I agree with Lars, and I now fully accept that my ancestry stretches back from Norway to western Greenland, just as I suggested some time ago here.

Much of my initial confusion probably stems from the fact that Caroline Dalager was born out of wedlock. According to Lars, children born under those circumstances in early Norway often lacked clear church records.