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LINKS ABOUT NORWAY:
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Stories from Norway THE FOUNDERS OF THE THOMSEN FAMILY IN AMERICA were Taulerius Thomsen and his wife, Marie Magdalene Olsdatter (Olsen), who immigrated to the United States from Norway in 1882. They both came from the Hardanger Fjord region, one of the heartlands of Norway and a key place in its history and culture.
The Thomsen family saga goes back five generations before Taulerius to the 1600s and a farm called Vallevik. As Colin Thomsen has pointed out, the Thomsens come from a long line of dispossessed "second sons." In Norway, the eldest son traditionally inherited the family farm and had an assured place in society. "Second sons" (as well as third, fourth, fifth, etc. sons) either faced poverty and dependence at home, had to fend for themselves somehow or were forced to move on. Our Thomsen ancestors mostly chose to fend for themselves and move on to new homes at Røo, Kroken-under-Sunda, Engesund and Enstabovol. This meant a precarious existence at times, but it also fostered self-reliance, independence and a sort of dour determination. That self-reliance, independence and determination even showed up in their religious beliefs. We also come from a long line of religious dissenters. Marie Magdalene's family history was quite different. The Olsen family's fortunes were founded by a Bergen ship captain turned tavern-owner named Ole Olsen, who did well enough to send his sons to the university in Copenhagen. Olsen family members became Lutheran pastors, attorneys, teachers and government officials. Some moved in the high social circles and became famous for their hospitality and beautiful homes at Saeverhagen and Enstabovol. And many were people of ideas who proposed farsighted improvment schemes or made inventions. Some of these inventions were highly useful; others could best be described as crackpot. Taulerius' family history features lepers, lawsuits, a persecuted evangelist and a mutiny at sea. To find out more, click on the "Thomsen Family Saga" icon. Marie Magdalene's family history includes tales of a shipwreck, a pompus mayor of Bergen and an unruly Lutheran pastor who got in trouble for reporting something rotten in Denmark. Use the "Olsen Odyssey" icon to get the details. Finally, here is a word about sources. That we know so much about the early Thomsens is due largely to the work of three people:
Astrid Caroline Thomsen, T.G.’s daughter, who helped him translate his stories from Norwegian to English, published them in a book called “Saga from Western Norway,” and befriended the people who now own Engesund and Enstabovoll.
To use it, go to slektsforskning.com and click on the British flag icon to get an English-language version of the website. There are a number of ways to search the website for our ancestors but perhaps the easiest is to click on the Pioneers icon and then on Tolleif George Thomsen. A genealogical file on him will come up with links that can be followed back in time. The source for Olsen family history is Alf Cranner. Detailed information about him can be found in "Olsen Odyessy." Colin Thomsen should also be acknowledged here. His enthusiasm for Norway and the old Thomsen stories, his help in translating Norwegian texts and his discovery of Roger Fossum's work were invaluable to this project. -- Keith Thomsen
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Tolleif George Thomsen, who wrote his memories of Norway as an elderly man, thus preserving priceless stories and information that would otherwise have been lost. 
Roger Fossum, a family member from Karmøy, Norway, who has used his skills in genealogical and computer research to bring much more information to light. He has an internet website with complete genealogical information from 1660 onward. 