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MyHeritage member Dayne Skolmen, 24, of South Africa, has been working on his family history since he was 14, when a family tree school assignment caught his interest. His ancestors come from Norway, Germany and the Netherlands.

Dayne's ancestor, Kristian Skolmen, working on one of his Norwegian landscape paintings

Dayne lives in Port Elizabeth, and is currently completing his Master of Technology (MTech) in Information Technology Research at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

His grandfather, Thorbjorn Christian Synnestvedt Skolmen, died at 81 when Dayne was only 3.

I was the last grandchild born and the youngest of my generation. Therefore I had the least knowledge about the family and grew up not knowing much of my heritage or surname origins.

At 14, he had to create a family tree for a school assignment. Dayne asked his parents about each of their families.

My father, Edward James Skolmen, knew a few minor details. His mother, Eva Hilda Bauer, was of German descent and his father was of Norwegian descent. My father was also the last born grandchild of his grandfather, Thoralf Skolmen. He was 8 when his grandfather died. He didn’t even know his grandfather’s name. He never got to meet him because Thoralf was in an isolation hospital for tuberculosis patients in Durban, South Africa. Hospitalized for eight years, he died in 1962.

The East London (South Africa) Skolmen family c1959. (From left) Back: David Ernest Skolmen, John Frederick Skolmen, Eva Hilda Bauer, Thorbjorn Christian Synnestvedt Skolmen. Front: Linda Marie Skolmen and Edward James Skolmen

Dayne’s mother, Melita-Anne de Bruyn, was a foster child, her parents were of Dutch descent and died when she was very young.

I have only recently uncovered an estate file containing details about my maternal grandmother, born Wilhelmina Magdalena Snyman in Uitenhage, South Africa. This discovery was very emotional for my mother; she had lived her entire life with only one picture of her mother and very few details. The estate file revealed that my mother was 5 when her mother died at the young age of 37.

Melita-Anne de Bruyn and her mother Wilhelmina Magdalena de Bruyn (born Snyman) c1957 – the only photo my mother has of her mother.

At the end of his school project, Dayne discovered he was only able to go back as far as his grandparents – and he wasn’t even sure if the names on his mother’s side were correct!

All the other kids had many branches and generations in their trees. This project ignited a firestorm of unanswered questions. Where did my surname come from? How did my ancestors end up in Africa? Who were my mother’s parents? I had carried the Skolmen name my whole life without knowing where it came from, what it meant or how it had been passed down to me.

Recently, his cousin Gary Skolmen reignited Dayne’s interest in family history and it has become an addiction!

The path of discovery is truly an endless path indeed! I have discovered many interesting things through SmartMatches on MyHeritage and have managed to reconnect with distant relatives in Sweden, Norway and America.

The SKOLMEN surname is believed to have originated from a farm in Nordre Land, Norway – named for the many skulls found there. Skol is assumed to mean skull, and the term men suggests “many.”

A 17th century ancestor, Torger Skolmen (1755-1822), seems to have taken the name. It has descended to the present day on at least four continents. Though there may be other explanations as to the surname’s origin, Dayne discovered that his great grandfather, Thoralf, emigrated from Norway to South Africa in 1909.

The Skolmen surname is so rare that all the Skolmens currently in South Africa are descendants of Thoralf.

Thoralf was the oldest son of Kristian Skolmen, a well-known teacher, painter and choirmaster.

A sketch done by Kristian Skolmen in 1893 showing the ancestral Skolmen farm

Dayne recently compiled a Youtube video of Kristian’s paintings, illustrating the beauty of the Norwegian landscape. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AF-lRtqz64

In 1888, Kristian married Marie Fritsvold and they moved to Kongsberg where they had six children: Thoralf, Pål, Ingeborg, John, Ragnvald and Marie.

The Norwegian Skolmen Family. (From left) Standing: Pål Brynjulf Skolmen, Ingeborg Skolmen, Kristian Skolmen. Sitting: Thoralf Skolmen, John Fritsvold Skolmen, Ragnvald Skolmen, Marie Skolmen and Marie Fritsvold

Thoralf Skolmen, wife Henninge Bölling Hillestad and son Thorbjorn Christian Synnestvedt Skolmen (Dayne’s grandfather) with some Zulu natives c1913

Thoralf’s younger brother Ragnvald also emigrated to South Africa, but had no children and died in 1965. Paul (Pål) Brynjulf Skolmen, Thoralf’s other brother, emigrated to America around 1910.

Earlier this year I made contact with Robert “Bob” Skolmen (one of Paul Skolmen’s six grandchildren) and we have been corresponding nearly every day. It is almost as if the two brothers (Thoralf and Paul) have been united once again through their descendants.

When I mentioned this interesting thought to Robert, he said “I like to think our conversations are bridging the gap between two distant branches of our amazing family.”

Dayne has also contacted Berit Marie Svenman (87) and her daughter Åse Landelius in Sweden. Berit is the daughter of Ingeborg Skolmen and has been a great help in answering his questions.

This year I used the postal service for the first time in my life when I sent Berit two letters and some small gifts for her birthday.

Even though Dayne’s passion for family history may seem strange to some, at his young age, he has seen the good that it brings in reuniting families and creating a stronger bond among close relatives.

I came across this quote in my online searches “Learning about our ancestors helps us better understand who we are—creating a family bond, linking the present to the past, and building a bridge to the future.” Family history brings great joy to people. Old photographs shed light on forgotten times, the lives of distant ancestors are revealed, and people discover that they have relatives all over the world.

Currently my family tree on MyHeritage has 225 people in it and goes back eight generations. Although this may not seem like a lot, this is extensive for our rare surname.

I began this journey to ensure that my children won’t have the same problem I faced when they need to do a family tree in school or when faced with the question, “Where does your surname come from?”

The assistance of MyHeritage’s family tree platform has been an easy and fun-filled way to document the past and to preserve it for the future.

Dayne shared these tips for those just beginning their family history journey:

• Trust but verify: Family stories and information from relatives can be informative, but checking old census and immigration records can expose many wrong details and reveal relatives they had not mentioned or did not know about.
• Be accurate: I often notice errors in other people’s family trees, which makes me constantly aware of the importance of accuracy in my own work.
• Keep an open mind and never give up: One must never be disappointed by what they don’t find in genealogical records. Even the smallest piece of information can point a researcher in exciting new directions.
• Take a chance: Don’t be reluctant to contact another user through a SmartMatch on MyHeritage. This often results in a vast amount of rich information, photos or interesting old family stories and can also build wonderful friendships with distant relatives.

Share your comments about Dayne’s story below. Do you have a story to share? Send it to stories@myheritage.com.