Aurland

9 villages
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The Family Farm

Hjellum

The farm this family took its name from — and the reason this whole site exists.

The Hjellum farmstead
The Hjellum farmstead

Where the name comes from

Every branch of this family eventually leads back here, to the small holding of Hjellum on the hillside above the Aurlandsfjord. Like most Aurland farms, it gave its name to the people who worked it — a common Norwegian tradition — and the name traveled with those who eventually left the valley, carried across the fjord, across the North Sea, and further still.

What we know of the farm itself is still being pieced together: who cleared the first field, which generations stayed and which set out for good, and how the name came to be spelled the way it is today. This page — like this whole site — is a living document. As parish records, letters, and family memory turn up more of the story, it will be added here.

If your own family history touches Hjellum, Aurland, we would love to hear from you.

This page is a work in progress. The family tree below is a sample layout — the real names, dates and photographs are still being gathered.

The old fields, Hjellum
Fjord view, Hjellum
Family ground, Hjellum
Sample Layout

The Hjellum Family Tree

Ola Hjellumb. Aurland, ca. 1820
Anders Olsen HjellumAurland → ?
Brita Olsdatter Hjellumm. into the parish
Ingebjørg Hjellumemigrated, ca. 1880s
Nils Hjellumremained in Aurland
Knut HjellumBergen

Placeholder names and dates — replace with the real family record as it is confirmed. This layout can repeat for as many generations as needed.