burn

Scots for a stream or brook.

but and ben

A two-room Scots cottage: the but was the outer room, for cooking and work; the ben the inner room, for living and sleeping.

bygdebok (plural bygdebøker)

A Norwegian local history, usually a few volumes per district, going farm by farm through who lived there and when. Compiled from church registers, censuses, probate, tax and court records. The Kjemhus line comes from the ones for Flesberg and Rollag.

farm name

In rural Norway a family often took the name of the farm it lived on, and changed it when it moved. Emigrants often kept one as their American surname: Aamodt became Amoth.

homestead claim

Under the Homestead Act of 1862, a settler could claim 160 acres of public land for a small filing fee. After five years of living on and improving it, he could "prove up" and receive the title. Carl Amoth filed his at Wales, North Dakota, in 1896.

kirk

Scots for church.

lensmann

A Norwegian rural official, usually one of the district's farmers, who served as sheriff. He assisted the bailiff and the court, witnessed probate, and made arrests.

Numedal

A long valley in southern Norway, running north-west from Kongsberg, where Flesberg, Rollag and Veggli lie.

patronymic

A second name made from the father's first name: -sen for a son, -datter for a daughter. Tollef Halvorsen was Tollef, son of Halvor; Karen Torkildsdatter was Karen, daughter of Torkild. It changed every generation, which is why Norwegian lines are traced by farm as much as by name.

wynd

Scots for a narrow lane or alley between buildings.