Family history · Romsdal, Norway → America

The Vevang Family Tree

The Vevang name comes from Vevang, a farm district on the Romsdal coast of western Norway. In 1888 Iver Andrew Vevang left it for Roslyn, South Dakota, where he and Serina Hustad raised twelve children. A second Vevang line, Engwal and Grace Vevang of Chicago, runs down to Eric Vevang today. This tree shows every person with the record behind them, and says plainly where the records run out.

  • 48people
  • 21sources cited
  • 6generations
  • 1888sailed for America
The Vevang family's journey from Norway to AmericaA map of the North Atlantic. A route runs from Vevang on the coast of Norway to Roslyn, South Dakota, in 1888. A dotted route marked with a question mark runs from Vevang to Chicago, the unproven origin of Engwal Vevang's family. Shorter routes lead on to Georgia and, in 2017, to Sandpoint in Idaho; a dotted route to Seattle marks a likely but unproven branch.Atlantic Ocean1888Iver sails for Dakota?Engwal's family2017Eric heads westVevang, NorwayRoslyn, S.D.ChicagoAtlanta & Athens, Ga.SeattleSandpoint, Idaho
Documented moveNot yet proven
  1. Before 1888Vevang, NorwayA farm district on the Romsdal coast, in Kornstad parish until 1964
  2. 1888Roslyn, South DakotaIver Andrew Vevang settles in Day County
  3. 1920s–1960sChicago, IllinoisEngwal and Grace Vevang raise four sons
  4. Later yearsGeorgiaGordon D. Vevang, engineer, of Athens at his death in 2018
  5. TodaySandpoint, IdahoEric Vevang, who keeps this tree

Family records

By the numbers

93years
Longest life in the recordsPossible
Julius Selmer Vevang & Elmer Nicolai Vevang
12children
The biggest family
Iver Andrew Vevang & Serina Hustad
1847born
Earliest birth in the recordsPossible
Maren Kjerstine Hustad (Stavig)
22years old
When Iver left Vevang for America, 1888
Iver Andrew Vevang
5states
U.S. states in verified records, plus Norway
Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, South Dakota, Virginia

Interactive chart

Explore the tree

ConfirmedProbablePossibleShaded card · living, name onlyYear with ? · from an index, not yet verified
Jakob Vevang's descendantsThe Hustad and Stavig familyThe Chicago Vevangssame? likelyJVJakob VevangIVIver AndrewVevangc.1866?–?SHSerina Hustad1872–1952MHMaren KjerstineHustad (Stavig)1847?–1908?JVJulius SelmerVevang1897?–1990?HVHilda MarieVevang (Olson)b. 1897–1915EVElmer NicolaiVevang1901?–1994?IVIngvald Vevang1902?–1985?SVSelmer NobleVevang1904?–1972?EVEdvin Vevangb. 1897–1915LVLaura MathildaVevang (Hanson)b. 1897–1915EVElla Vevang(Montgomery)b. 1897–1915AVAlida Vevang1910?–1971?JVJacob Vevangb. 1897–1915MVMyrtle HazelVevang (Watkins)b. 1897–1915LVLawrence ArthurVevangb. 1897–1915EVEngwal A. Vevang1894?–1969?GOGrace O. Olson1905?–1994?GVGordon D. Vevangc.1928–2018GEGloria DawnEvans?–bef. 2015?GVGordon B. VevangLivingGVGary A. VevangLivingGVGlen C. Vevangc.1961?–2015?PVParker Vevang1924?–1995?GVGrant Vevang?–bef. 2018CVCurtis BradleyVevang1940–2025POPeter Olson?–bef. 1957?ASAlberta KathrynSyverson1920?–1982?LVLinda Ann Vevang(Forslund)1943?–2013?LSLars A. StavigHHHans HustadMHMelina HustadMWMary Jean WiesenLivingSWSusan WitlerLivingJVJennifer VevangLivingKVKatherine VevangLivingEVEric R. Vevangb. 1985EVElna A. Vevang1911?–1994?AVAllen GeneVevangc.1937?–2012?DVDarlis Vevang(Dedrickson)?–1990?WVWarren VevangLivingSVSelmer E. VevangBSBernice S. ShollBVBeverley JoanVevang (Price)1935?–2026?JVJames ShollVevang1945?–2024?CWCharles WatkinsJWJames Watkins1948?–2020?SVSara VevangLiving

Everyone in the record

People in the Vevang family

Jakob Vevang's descendants

From the Vevang farm in Kornstad parish, Norway, to Roslyn and Webster in Day County, South Dakota, and on to Washington, Minnesota and Florida.

The Chicago Vevangs

Engwal A. and Grace (Olson) Vevang raised four sons in the Chicago area. Their line runs through Georgia to Idaho.

The Hustad and Stavig family

Serina Hustad's family from the Hustad farm in Romsdal. Maren Hustad, likely her older sister, probably married Lars Stavig, who wrote the Stavig Letters.

Reading the old records

Norwegian names, decoded

Jakobsenson of Jakob
Norwegians took their father's first name plus -sen (son) or -datter (daughter). Iver, Jakob's son, would be written Iver Jakobsen in a Norwegian parish book, so the surname changed every generation.
Hansdatterdaughter of Hans
Serina and Maren Hustad are both recorded as Hansdtr, short for Hansdatter. That one word is the best clue that their father was named Hans.
Vevangthe farm name
Alongside the patronymic, people were known by the farm they lived on. Emigrants needed one fixed surname in America, and many picked the farm's. That is how Vevang became a family name.
Engvald, Engwalnames bend in America
Norwegian names were spelled the way American clerks heard them. Ingvald could come out as Engvald or Engwal, and Iver as Ivar. Searching every spelling is half of Norwegian-American genealogy.
Sokn & prestegjeldwhere the records live
Births, confirmations and marriages were written in church books kept by parish. Vevang belonged to Kornstad sokn, the local church, inside Kvernes prestegjeld, the wider clergy district.

Research in progress

Open questions

Genealogy is never finished. These are the questions the next records should answer. If you hold a letter, a photo or a document that settles one, send it in below.

  1. Where was Engwal A. Vevang born, and who were his parents? An index gives his birth as 8 June 1894; his 1917 draft card should confirm it and name his birthplace.
  2. Did Engwal and Fred Vevang (1895–1984), both of Fox Lake, Illinois, belong to an earlier Vevang family that came to America around 1882?
  3. Is the Rev. Selmer E. Vevang of Brooklyn and Seattle the same man as Selmer Noble Vevang, son of Iver?
  4. Who were Serina Hustad's parents? Records point to Hans and Melina Hustad, who came to South Dakota in 1888.
  5. Which Jakob of the Vevang farm was Iver's father? His 1860s baptism should be in the Kvernes parish register.

Questions

About the Vevang family

Where does the Vevang surname come from?

Vevang is a farm and village name from the Romsdal coast of western Norway, in today's Hustadvika municipality (Møre og Romsdal). Norwegians often took the name of the farm they came from, and emigrants from Vevang carried it to America. Until 1964 the Vevang district belonged to Kornstad municipality and Kvernes parish; it then joined Eide, which merged into Hustadvika in 2020.

When did the Vevang family come to America?

Iver Andrew Vevang left Vevang in 1888 at age 22 and settled at Roslyn in Day County, South Dakota. He married Serina Hustad, and their descendants spread across South Dakota, Minnesota, Washington and beyond. Separate records suggest other Vevangs emigrated too, including a Jens Magus Vevang, born at Vevang in 1880, who lived in Northport, Michigan.

Who were Iver and Serina Vevang's children?

Iver Andrew Vevang and Serina (Hustad) Vevang had twelve children born between 1897 and 1915: Julius, Hilda, Elmer, Ingvald, Selmer, Edvin, Laura, Ella, Alida, Jacob, Myrtle and Lawrence. Ten survived to adulthood, according to the family's 2024 history.

Is the Chicago Vevang family related to Iver Vevang of South Dakota?

Not proven. Engwal A. Vevang (1894–1969) of Chicago was born three years before Iver's eldest child, and Iver's son Ingvald (1902–1985) stayed in Webster, South Dakota. Engwal most likely comes from a different Vevang line from the same farm in Norway. Census and draft records are being checked to settle it.

How reliable is this family tree?

Every fact and relationship carries a confidence level and its source. Confirmed means a primary record, or two independent sources that agree. Probable means one good source. Possible means a lead from an index that has not yet been checked against the original record. Conflicting records are kept side by side, not quietly resolved.

How can I add to or correct the Vevang family tree?

Open any person's page and use the form to send a correction, a record or a story. Living relatives appear by name only; they can claim their profile to choose what is shown, or to have their name removed. Eric Vevang reviews every request by hand.

The record

Sources

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Last updated 2026-10-04. Living relatives are shown by name only.