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NORWEGIAN EMIGRATION - THE DEBORA EXPEDITION
A Norwegian Colonisation Undertaking

SUMMARY

The Debora Expedition sailed from Bergen in 1879 to establish a Norwegian colony on an Indian Ocean atoll called Aldabra. The organisers endeavoured to find practical and Christian people to create a settlement based on the teachings of the Norwegian preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771 -1824). The expedition was aborted in Madagascar - a few of the participants remained in Madagascar and the rest settled in the British colony of Port Natal (Durban). They were the first group of Norwegian emigrants to settle in Port Natal.

The forty-seven persons who took part in the Debora Expedition were:- Captain Tobiassen and wife, mate Berentsen and wife, mate Oftedal, A Olsen and wife, I Iversen and wife, O Heidalsvig and wife (Høidalsvig), J Finsen and wife, K Bang and wife with three children (Amanda, Severin and Knut), F Larsen and wife with six children (Angel, Emil, Sigvart, the three sons of the late Sivert Andersen Hordnes, and Petra, Ludvig and Karl), H Johnsen and wife with three children (Sina, Josefine and Karl), A Andreassen and wife with three children (I don't remember their names), R Andersen, R Rasmussen, K Jensen, Hesselberg, H Grung (Grong/Grang), O Fosdal, E Eriksen, P Bang, E Ellingsen, widow Egelandsdal and Miss Serene Larsen. Two children were born on the voyage: a son to Mr and Mrs F Larsen and a son to Mr and Mrs Andreassen.

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4. Anders Olsen and wife

Settled in Madagascar. When his wife died a few years later Anders moved to Natal.

During the Debora voyage he tackled the work with materials which would be used in the first settlement.

ref: Michael B. Fisk: Debora Passengers

(DVL Note: Could the grave referred to below be the grave of the wife of Anders Olsen?)

NORWEGIAN GENEALOGY
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Maryse Olsen
Posted: 21/08/2002

As I am a descendant of the capt.John Achil Olsen (married to Thérèse, born about 1900 and dead in 1932 in Tuléar), who used to travelled in this period (1879) from New zealand to Tulear (Madagascar) and died of fever in Tulear on 9th February 1903, and as I saw, once, on a TV show the name of one "Olsen" written on a tomb on Aldabra Island,in searching on internet, I found the following sites with a beginning of list of passengers for this ship:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/6277/home.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/6277/DeboraStory.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/6277/Fiskfamily.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/6277/NielsenAndGorvenFamily.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/6277/myFamily.html
http://digitalarkivet.uib.no/sab/sabang.htm
http://icon.co.za/~salbu/LarList.html
http://hist.uib.no/arkivverket/sab/bergensposten/debora.htm
http://home.mweb.co.za/sa/salbu/Norway.html

Having been on the tombs of my Olsen Family, in Tulear (Toliari in malagasy), I found a tomb I have not identified as my parent :

Caroline Olsen, born in Norway, Toden (spelling of the town maybe wrong), 38,5 years old, died 1st July 1900, Deaconess, daughter of Hansun Ola, and of Olsdaher (or Olsdatter? almost illegible) Henrikke.

I hope all these informations will be helpfull for someone.

Even if my gr-grandfather John (jon?) Achil Olsen was not part of the passengers of the Debora, it seems that all the navigators who came at the bay of St Augustin (about 15 Kms South of Tulear) knew him. His parents had emigrated from Trondheim few years before for New Zealand. My gr-grandfather is born in Trondheim at about 1844.
If someone has some informations on him, please advise.

Thanks.

Maryse Olsen (E-mail: Mso1@wanadoo.fr)

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