My gg grandfather was born Louis Theodore Olson in Iowa. He was married in Minnesota in 1925, and (according to family lore) changed his name shortly thereafter to Vigoren, which was a name from Norway. He had two brothers, Ole Olson (of North Dakota) and Peder Vigoren (of Canada). I am relatively new to this and am wondering if anyone has some ideas as to how I can connect the two names and prove that he is one and the same person. Any ideas would be tremendously appreciated.

Jennifer,

Do you have Louis's Marriage Records? Do you know why one brother's surname was OLSON and the other VIGOREN? Have you checked the Census to find where Louis's parents were born? Do you have his Death Certificate?

The Birth Certificates of his children might provide useful infomation about his past. Don't neglect to get a Birth and Death Certificate if there were children that died young.

Try searching for VIGOREN Family at http://www.Google.com or any other good search engine.

That should get you started. Let us know what you learn:-)

Rel@ively,
Patrice