THE NORWAY CONNECTION

By Kenneth Oerke

"It is thought that following a Norway family tradition about emigration to Germany in the 1600’s, the Oerkes were originally Vikings from south of Trondheim, Norway, near the river Oerke (now Ork-la) in the Dale-Fjaler area, or the Oerke (Yrkje or Orke) fjord and farm in the Skjord, Tysvaer area.

They took hire and sailed into Germany through the Weser River on a Dutch ship loaded by timber merchants. The Viking clan went ashore and then stayed in Germany on a farm. (In Norway Oerke is also spelled: Yrke, Orke, the O has a / line through it, pronounced ER, Other spellings are: Oucke, Oreke, Yrecke)."

 This excerpt from George Oerke´s book is what we believe to be true from our research. This research lead us to travel to Norway after checking the Massey´s roots in Scotland. Rowena, George, Elisa, and myself took a overnight ferry from New Castle England to Bergen Norway. We stayed overnight in Bergen and visited the beautiful harbor city and a local family that Rowena knew from her travels. We then traveled by road and ferry to Haugesund. From there we traveled east to the Tysvaer area where the Oerke (Yrkje) fjord is located. They had a nice museum that documented the large emigration from Norway to the States.

Let me explain about the different spellings of Oerke before I have you all confused. Yrkje is a new spelling for Oerke introduced by Denmark when they ruled Norway. Orke with a / through the O is the old spelling. As our alphabet does not have this letter the closest that they can come to it to give the correct pronunciation is to use "Oe" instead.

We went on to the Oerke (yrkje) fjord and a small village called Yrkje. We saw mailboxes with both names Orke and Yrkje. We then traveled up from the village to the end of the fjord and found the Orke farm. They were expecting us because Rowena had written and they had a little American flag at the entrance of their driveway. We felt welcomed!

Randi and Axel Orke came out to greet us as we drove up. Randi had an traditional Norwegian lunch for us, consisting many types of small sandwiches. Axel listened to our findings of the origin of the Oerke family, and then had several points to make.

First was about the origin of the family name. He told us that the Vikings had no last name, so when the government wanted to take a census everyone had to take on a last name so individuals could be identified. Many took on the name of their profession (i.e. Smith), just added son to their father’s name (i.e. Johnson, the son of John) or as in our case where they came from. The fjord was always called Orke, so several that lived there took on that as a last name even though they were not from the same family. He said that some of his neighbors also are Orke or Yrkje but are not related to him.

Second, Axel showed us the farm records going back to the 15th century. The records show that around 1600, all the trees were cut and loaded onto ships in the fjord, the lumber was sold to England, Scotland, Holland, and Germany. It is very likely that some Orke family took passage with one of these ships and emigrated to Germany, but he has no record of this.

Next, the given names of his family from this period of early 1600´s are in many cases the same as were used by our early ancestors in Germany in the late 1600´s. (Harbort, Johann, & Jobst). In those days given names were repeated in the same family, so he thought it was likely that we could have been from his family. But because the records are missing from Germany of the early 1600´s (caused by the destruction during the thirty year's war), we could never know.

Axel also took us out to drive around his farm on the fjord. His main products are still lumber and also sheep. He showed us the construction site where the largest offshore oil-drilling platform in the world was built. They used the Yrkje fjord because it is very deep yet very well protected. He also showed us a fresh water lake on his farm where he has built summer cabins to be rented. They were very well built of wood and looked beautiful among the trees beside the lake.

We reluctantly said goodbye to our gracious host as we had a ferry to make that took us to Denmark where we had breakfast with a family that Rowena had stayed with on one of her world trips.

Hans Oerke, our cousin in Germany, has another tradition handed down by his family.

"Everyone with this name comes from a family originating in the area Hehlin-Brokeln-Ottenstein on the river Weser. Because it was here that the Viking clan went on shore, took the land and settled down. The clan came from an area south of Trondheim in Norway, near the river Oerke (now Ork-la) and mainly from the village Oerke-dalen. Our coat of arms shows on red background two crossed battle axes and is similar to the coat of arms of the bishop of Trondheim which he, like we, still wears.

"Oerke means actually "work" but more in the sense of Power or Energy. And that is what I have heard about all our ancestors: energetic, hard workers, brave and respected by others. Many married into nobility, like I did and my children.
 
 

 Who knows which one of these traditions is correct. With the records destroyed in Germany during the 17th century, neither one can be verified. But it is a near certainty that our ancestors did originate in Norway. Someday maybe we can travel to the Trondheim area and maybe get more information on the origins of the Oerke clan. I know that it would be fun to try.