This
family tree is a work
in progress. It represents over 20 years of research by me,
along with paid professional
research.
Let me
state this right up
front- there are errors and omissions
in this document! My apologies if it involves your family. Much of the 20th
century material has been given to me by extended members of the
families involved.
Additionally,
I know there
are errors and typos in the material furnished by the research agency I
use (which, coincidentally,
is regarded
as the top genealogical firm in the U.S.) Much of it was provided in
Gedcom form, and I continue work on cleaning
this up.
Lastly,
I consider this to
be a "family" tree. It is not intended to be a bloodline. Example- in
medieval Norway, there
were
several cases where a young man, claiming
to be an illegitimate son of the king, was accepted as a son, and heir.
Paternity was not
determined by DNA analysis, but by passing an ordeal of walking over
hot plowshares! Since we can't
prove paternity from those records, I choose to go with the family
relationship, hence, this is a family
tree.
Obviously,
there is a tremendous amount of data and history within this site. My
sources are of course varied, but it can be
stated that there are large portions that were derived from three very
specific areas.
Namely:
The
German records were from microfilm in Salt Lake City, and when that was
not available, paid
research was performed directly on-site in Germany.
The Norwegian records were obtained from several Bygdeboker and
Ættarboker primarily from the fylke of Hordaland, Sør-Trondelag, and Rogaland.
Much of the material comes the kommunes of Ulvik, Kvam, Ullensvang, Jondal, Rissa
and Hå, to name a few.
Lastly, the royalty data all derives from paid research done through the firm,
Lineages, of Salt Lake City. The connection from the farm (gard) histories as found in the
Bygdeboker, to the royalty of Europe, comes entirely from matching the written histories of the kings and their
descendants, to the individuals mentioned in the Bygdeboker. As most students of European history know, a connection to
a royal house of Europe, in most cases, will connect one to royalty of all of Europe, and much of America, even to
this day.
The most interesting material centers on the maternal side
of the ancestry of Eric & Evan Obrock. They are direct descendants of Charlemagne and the Norwegian, Swedish and
Danish kings of the Viking period, including the notorious viking Harald Hardråda of History Channel fame.
You can also follow this line to find their relationship as cousins to
the following:
Presidents George Washington, John Adams, James Madison,
John Quincy Adams, William Harrison, Zachary Taylor, William Henry Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft,
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. They are also cousins to King Edward I
Longshanks, William the Conqueror, and Generals Robert E. Lee and George Patton, among many, many other noteworthy figures
of U.S. and world history.
Feel free to contact me for corrections or additions, or
if you just have a question. Good luck with your own research!
Birkebeiner's
race to save the future King
Håkon IV