Villy Saltermark from Toftværingen has written the family history of his family. In five volumes, he has told the story of his family members from the 14th century to the year 2000.
The family has been traced back in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. «I would estimate that around 3,000 living South Helgelanders will be able to find information about their ancestors in the five volumes,» he claims in an interview with Brønnøysunds Avis.
The books were published between 2005 and 2008 and the work on them has taken 20 years. It's a huge amount of work, but he's not resting on his laurels. He has now revised Volume 1: «This new edition covers another generation, and all the errors I've received feedback on have been corrected.»
Saltermark says that work on the books began in earnest after he retired in 2003. He spent a month at the library in Brønnøysund checking church books on microfilm. Saltermark, who now lives in Råde, Østfold, often returned to Brønnøysund after this. He visited families in the area and exchanged photos and information with the village book committees for Sømna and Brønnøy.
The interview with Brønnøysunds Avis came in connection with Saltermark handing over the revised edition to the library in Brønnøysund. Library employee Tone Thørnquist says that the entire book series is on display in the reading room and is a good and popular reading material.
