My Great Great Grandfather....

....Paul Olsen Tomerdal, born in Trondheim, Norway in 1852. As I child, I doubt he knew that in the future he would travel to a place so far DISTANT from his birthplace. He married in  1876  and two of their 4 children were born in Norway--the second being my great grandmother-- before emigrating to the United States in 1881 through the Port of Philadelphia. They settled in what was then known as the "Dakota Territory", where  Paul received his citizenship in 1890. Upon signing his citizenship papers, he Americanized his name to Paul Christian Olson. In 1899 they moved to Minnesota, which is how our family came to be in the Midwest. :))   
Thanks to theAphid for hosting MM for this month, with todays' theme of "distant".