Introduction

Ten, twenty, thirty years ago when I was working on our family genealogy, I neglected to put together a “book” on the family of Mathilda HUSEBY (Mrs. Sigvart Williams). However, I did do some research and corresponded with others, especially with the wife of a descendant of August HUSEBY.

This effort will attempt to put together what I have done into a collection of the information I have. It would be appreciated if others who see it would add to it.

Verla Williams
4333 Pine Ridge Trail NE
Iowa City, IA 52240

HUSEBY Surname History

In United States, the Huseby name is not as common as it is in Norway. Huseby is an ancient name literally meaning “house by the town.” However there is a connotation that is not as readily apparent. During Viking times, Huseby was an administrative center of the ancient royal families. The kings organized their realm by installing an ombudsman on each Huseby farm to administer their royal properties in the area. Whenever there was a royal entourage of nobles and soldiers, they would stay at the Huseby farms and conduct their business. Then they would gather enough supplies to reach the next Huseby farm. Since these were royal properties, these farms were neither small nor poor. Therefore Huseby came to represent a “farm with several fine houses.” The word, “hus,” may also have meant a garrison or fortified farm. For example, the Akershus in Oslo was the name of its royal fortress. So it is easy to understand how this definition could have come to be.

There are about 52 Norwegian farms and estates with variations of the name of Huseby. In Sweden, there are another 70 farms and Denmark has eight farms. The name can even be found in the Orkney Islands and in other places like Estonia where Vikings used to travel. These are the different spellings of the name: Husebye, Husabø, Husaby, Husby, Husebø, Husebo and Husbø. In America, you can also find it changed to Huesby. Since we don’t have the letter “ø” in English, you may find the letter changed to “oe” as in Husaboe or Huseboe. Although Norway did not have a strong medieval society during the Middle Ages, some Huseby farms may have been owned by the church. But with the Reformation, these properties were confiscated by the king and sold to replenish their national treasuries.

[SOURCE: Steinnes, Husebyar. Cited by Ancient Faces (Accessed 25 Aug 2015).]

Map of Norway with Counties and Towns

Norway map. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

Grue, Hedmark, Norway

The HUSEBY family is from the kommune of Grue, in the county of Hedmark in Norway. Grue is part of the traditional region of Solør, which consists of the valley between Elverum in the north and Kongsvinger in the south.


Hedmark county, Norway. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.


Grue kommune, Hedmark, Norway. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

The HUSEBY Farm

The HUSEBY farm is located south of Kirkenær off of Kilavegen.


HUSEBY farm, Grue, Hedmark, NOR. Image courtesy of Google Maps.

"Huseby," Grueboka II

På Huseby har vi frå vest mot aust disse enkelt-gardene: Nystua, Søstua, Nilsstua, Evenstua og Austgarn. Til ut i forrige hundreåret var det ennå et bruk, lengst mot vest, men dette er gått inn under de to Skjelvergardene, med en halvpart under hver. Av de fem bruk som er rekna opp ovafor, er de to nå underbruk under andre gardner -- Nystua under Evenstua, og Nilsstua under Holstad.

Huseby er helst blitt gard ei god stund før vikingtida, og heilt til noe etter 1600 var garden bare ett bruk.

I siste delen av 1300-åra kom en del av Huseby under Hellig-Legemsalteret i Hallvardskjerka (Domkjerka) i Oslo. Alteret var skipa av biskop Øystein, og i den namngjetne jordeboka hans frå omkring 1400 leser vi at det åtte "så mye i Huseby (Husaby) i Grue sokn som Sæbjørn på Sætre åtte der."

Translation (Google Translate)

At Huseby we have from the west to the east these single-farms: Nystua, Søstua, Nilsstua, Evenstua, and Austgarn. For the last century, there was yet another user, farther west, but this is entered under the two Skjelvergardene, with one half under each. Of the five users reckoned upon above, two are now under utilization in other farms - Nystua under Evenstua, and Nilsstua under Holstad.

Huseby has been farmed a good while before the Viking era and completely to anything after 1600 were farms for just one use.

In the last part of the 1300s part of Huseby came under Holy-Legemsalteret in Hallvard church (Domkjerka) in Oslo. Altar were the ship by Bishop Øystein, and in the namngjetne his landbook from around 1400, we read that there are eight "so much in Huseby (Husaby) in Grue parish as in Sæbjørn by Saetre eight there."

Pedigree Charts for Arne and Johanna HUSEBY

Pedigree chart. Arne Johansen HUSEBY (1824-1894). Image courtesy of Williams Family Pages.


Pedigree chart. Johanna Margrete Johansdtr HUSEBY (1827-1904). Image courtesy of Williams Family Pages.

Ole Olsen HUSEBY (d. abt 1660)

The farm histories and parish records allow us to trace Arne Johansen HUSEBY's paternal line back an additional two generations than the pedigree chart above to an Ole Olsen HUSEBY "who had use of the farm from about 1630 until he died in about 1660." (Harald Hveberg, Grueboka II: Gardene, Bind 1, "Evenstua og Austgarn," Grue kommune, 1949, p. 304.)

We also learn that he had a wife named Eli (b. 1614) and at least two sons, Ole Jr. (b. 1636) and Even (b. 1640).

Even Olsen HUSEBY (b. 1640)

Even was born in 1640 and bought the farm in about 1690. Further research is required to determine the various sub-farms of the HUSEBY farm, but for now all we know for certain is that the farm he bought was then named after him and called Evenstua. (Hveberg, 304.)


Evenstua. Image courtesy of Harald Hveberg, Grueboka II: Gardene, Bind 1 (Grue kommune, 1949), p. 305.

Even married Kari Olsdtr and they had a son named Ole who took over the farm after his father.

Ole Evensen HUSEBY (d. 1729)

We don't know for sure when Ole was born, but he married a Marthe Siversdtr and they had at least one son, Even, that they named after his paternal grandfather as was the tradition.

Ole died in 1729 (Hveberg, 304). Unfortunately I was unable to find a record of his burial in the Grue parish records for that or the surrounding years.