In 1874 (confirmation), he lived in one of Fredrikstad's poorest neighborhoods, namely Apenesberget, also known as Apenesfjellet. This slum area in Fredrikstad was not a priority for the municipality, which did not spend time building roads, water or sewage systems in the area.
Whether it was the poor neighborhoods he came from that caused him to emigrate is unknown, but it seems reasonable to assume so.
However, he was not a lone wolf when he left to seek his fortune in the United States. On November 7, 1886, he married Caroline Gulbrandsen (1867-ca.1955) and together they had two children, a son, Bernt Olaf Olsen (1887-), and a daughter, Sofie Theodora Olsen (1889-1981).
However, he did not gain much experience as a family man in Norway, as he set sail for the USA in the same year that his daughter was born.
Where did he go?
Some attempts have been made to find clues as to what happened to Johan Hilmer Olsen, but his fate remains unknown to his family.
A search on Ancestry only yields results for Caroline's marriage in 1886, but a search on BillionGraves reveals a now-deleted grave for a Johan Olsen who died in New York in 1937. If this is Johan Hilmer Olsen, he would have been 77 years old when he died. However, the name Johan Olsen is too common to be able to leave the matter at that.
Do you know anything about what happened to Johan Hilmer Olsen? Send an email to post@slekt1.com.
