Carl Olavus Bye was born in 1834 in Norway. He was a violin and flute soloist. According to family legend, he was Director of the Norwegian Army Band for 28 years. The King of Sweden and Norway (probably Oscar II) gave him a set of silver spoons which are still in possession of one of his granddaughters. The whereabouts of the ceremonial sword to his uniform is unknown.Carl immigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1887. They arrived in Boston and settled in Kennebunk, Maine. Carl worked as a musician, and as a music teacher, until his return to Norway before 1908. His family remained in the U.S. He died in Oslo, Norway in 1915.
Several of Carl's children were semi-professional musicians. His daughter Clara accompanied the famous violinist Ole Bull on the piano. His son Olaf is the son that accompanied Carl at the Farewell Concert in 1889 when he was only 14 years old. His youngest son Terschak followed in his father's footsteps and performed musical concerts with his entire family as the Nordic Ensemble. Clara's son Julian Tvedt was a noted violinist in New England.
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| Juliana (Christianson), Carl Olavus, and Charles Bye |
There is only one known photo of Carl which was taken about 1908 with his wife Juliana and son Charles.
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That looks like a good 25 centsworth! I wonder how much we’d have to pay these days!
ReplyDeleteWhat a musical family. To have a poster that old as a family treasure is something special.
ReplyDeleteMusic was certainly in their genes... :)
ReplyDeleteCarl certainly looks every inch, a legend.
ReplyDeleteThe farewell concert somehow makes me sad. His playing a flute solo at the end of the concert! Wonder if he got a standing ovation. It would have been a moving tribute to Bye. Bye bye.
ReplyDeleteNancy Javier
That is a wonderful post and a perfect match for the theme. Fine old images tied together with a tale of memories - just what Sepia Saturday is all about.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post Sherri. Is Carl your ancestor? It is sort of sad that he decided to leave his children here, but I can understand the desire to return to one's homeland. My relatives came from Norway about the same time. I am glad they stayed here.
ReplyDeleteWhat a talented family! I especially liked seeing the old poster.
ReplyDeleteA fantastic story. The program is a very rare piece of paper, as records of what music was played and when and where, are very hard to find. He must have been a remarkable man, but why do you think he returned to Norway at such an age?
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for all your kind comments. Carl was my 2nd great grandfather. No one knows now why he returned to Norway. We think it was because he missed the prosperity he had in his homeland. Or maybe he just missed his homeland.
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