– I had a better overview before, but now it is more difficult, says 100-year-old Solveig Westerheim from Fitjar in Vestland. It is perhaps not so strange. Because one must have good control to keep track of this family. Solveig Westerheim has an impressive line of descendants. 11 children. 33 grandchildren. 77 great-grandchildren. 4 great-great grandchildren. news has asked SSB if this is unique. But they have no say in this. The voluntary organization Slekt og Data believes that Solveig’s story is special. – I have not come across many people who have so many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, and are still alive, says general secretary Lina Bjelland Myrvold of the organization Slekt og Data, an organization for genealogists. It was the newspaper Sunnhordland that first wrote about this case. There were 31 out of 33 grandchildren gathered for the birthday of 100-year-old Solveig. If one is to have 77 great-grandchildren, the grandchildren must also have many children. Photo: Chris Louis Johnsen Having lost her first born, Solveig married Laurits Westerheim in 1942. The couple were allowed to have each other until 2009. Then the man died at the age of 95. They had a total of 13 children. The first-born, little Harald, died at the age of two. One of the children had also died at birth. But eleven of the children grew up, and are today aged 57 to 77. Eldstemann is also called Harald, and came into the world three weeks before little Harald died in 1945. – If you want to have so many descendants, you have to have your first child early, and then have many grandchildren who can have even more great-grandchildren, says Bjelland Myrvold. In the years 1945 to 1965, Solveig Westerheim had eleven children. They are between the ages of 57 and 77. Photo: Chris Louis Johnsen Gathered to celebrate It was therefore full when Westerheim celebrated his day at an assembly hall before Christmas. Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, children-in-law, bonus children and many other acquaintances came here. There were people of all ages, from infants to well into their 90s. Solveig Westerheim’s living room is full of pictures. Only a few have control over who everyone is. Photo: Olav Røli / news Some had made the trip from Spain and Denmark, while others had come from Tromsø to celebrate the day. – She is so clear-headed, and remembers so well from when she was a child. Among other things, she sewed the children’s clothes herself. Nobody can do it today, says great-granddaughter Jeanette Lidal, who came to the birthday together with great-great-grandson Lucas. Solveig’s youngest son, Bjørn André Westerheim, took over the farm from his parents in 1993. His mother still lives there, in a family home. The son had not expected that the mother would be so old. – But it’s very nice. And it is very good that we can meet on such a day. It is not always easy to keep control of who is who, he says. The organization Slekt og Data believes that it is particularly unusual to live so long that one gets to experience more than 70 great-grandchildren. Lina Bjelland Myrvold is general secretary. Photo: Privat Thinking about the war Solveig has lived in a time without both electricity and running water, and where the only connection with the outside world was by boat. She was born in the island municipality of Bømlo in 1922. – Those were hard times. We didn’t have that much. We didn’t have a road and we didn’t have running water and electricity. Times were so different, compared to now, that it is impossible to explain, she says to the local newspaper. From memory, he remembers the years of occupation in the 1940s particularly well. – The war years were not good. Or we managed in a way. We didn’t starve anyway, she says to news. She doesn’t want to talk about the war in Ukraine, and says she can’t do anything about it anyway. Photo: Olav Røli / news But she does not want to talk about the current situation in Ukraine. – No, huff. I can’t do anything about it anyway, she replies. Despite many descendants and many years lived, she has no good advice or miracle cures to share. – I have only done my best to ensure that my children are well. – What is it like to be 100 years old? – I don’t feel any difference, she says with a smile. Hello! Do you have any thoughts after reading this case, or would you like to advise us about similar or other cases. Send me an email.
ttn-69
Solveig (100) has one of the largest families in Norway – news Vestland
