We can thank the meticulous record-keeping of the Norwegian Lutheran Church for providing certainty for what would have been left uncertain in many societies. Birth records kept by the church indicated whether a child was born in or out of wedlock and both mother and father went on the record in either case.
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| Viker Kirke, Norderhov, Buskerud Photo by Tove Frovoll Thoresen, Wikimedia Commons |
When my great grandfather Carl Johan Nelson was baptized in 1840, almost a year after his birth, the Norderhov, Buskerud church record indicates his status as the baby of unmarried parents Nils Olsen Sorgefoss and Guri Larsdatter Vesterneie.
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| 1839 birth and 1840 baptism record for Carl Johan Nelson |
Although the unmarried status of a child's parents was obviously of some significance, it was hardly unusual in Norway in those times. Most men didn't marry until they were 27 or 28 years old, and women a year or two younger. Given the number of years a fertile young person was likely to be single, coupled with lack of contraception, it isn't surprising that so many babies were born before their parents would marry. Traditionally, engagements could last for some time and once an engagement was announced, it was acceptable for the couple to behave as if married; as a result, many babies were born shortly after the wedding occurred. However, it does not seem that any engagement had been announced in the case of Nils and Guri. At the time Carl was born, Nils would have been about 37 years old and Guri about 32, certainly prime ages for having their babies.
So why were young people postponing marriage for so long in Norway at the time? I don't know the full answer but expect that it has a lot to do with their economic situation not being stable enough to provide for a family. In Norway in the mid-1800's, the burgeoning population and shortage of land and opportunities led many to head to America in search of a better life. Many of the Norwegian farmers were basically cotters renting just tiny plots barely large enough for a vegetable garden, let alone providing crops for sale. No doubt this left many young people, like Nils and Guri, stranded in an unmarried state for years longer than might have been ideal.
As it turned out, when Carl was born, he already had a couple of half-siblings. The church records show that Nils had fathered another son out of wedlock just a couple of years earlier. Young Martin Nelson had been born in the same community to the same father but a different mother, Berthe Halvorsdatter, early in 1838.
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| 1838 birth and baptism record for Martin Nelsen, 1838 - Father was Nils Olsen Sorgefoss and mother was Berthe Halvorsdatter |
Guri had also previously given birth to another son out of wedlock. Carl's other half-brother, Engebret Nelson, had been born in 1833 to Guri and Nels Ericsen Honnefos.
Amid all this uncertainty of relationships, Carl's father Nils Olsen Sorgefoss married the mother of his other son Martin on 15 July 1842 and went on to have more children with her. They show up on Bergedal farm, Norderhov, Buskerud in the 1865 Norwegian census records as follows:
Nils Olsen, 60
Berthe Halvorsdtr., 47, his wife
Ole Nilsen, their son, 12
Johanne Nilsdtr, their daughter, 9
Berthe Maria Nilsdtr, their daughter, 5
Helle Nilsdtr, their daughter, 20, and her daughter Nikoline Nilsdtr, age 2
The census tells us that Nils had a cow, 3 sheep, barley, mixed grain and potato crops. (Oldest son Martin Nilsen would have been about 23 years old and living away from home by this time.)
No matter how understandable and how common their situation was, one cannot help but wonder at the difficulties these relationships must have caused them over the years.
It seems that Guri raised her two sons, Engebret and Carl, on her own. No evidence has ever been found for a marriage for Guri. She was living with son Engebret and his family in 1865 when the Norwegian census was taken. Engebret and Carl emigrated to America together with their wives and young children in 1867 in the midst of famine in Norway. It is hard to imagine they would have abandoned their mother unless she had other remaining family to provide support. No further record has yet been found regarding Guri's fate although her date of death is generally given as 31 December 1900 which would have made her an elderly 93 at the time of her death.
Any difficulties caused by the uncertainty in establishing his family did not seem to do Nils any long-term damage either. He lived to the advanced age of 90 years, dying in Norderhov, Buskerud 16 January 1892.
Some Resources:
- Norwegian Digital Archives for Norderhov, Buskrud - Norderhov kirkebøker (church books) various dates - records can be searched online through this site: https://media.digitalarkivet.no/en/kb/browse?counties%5B%5D=06&clerical_parishes%5B%5D=0613P&start_year=&end_year=&text=
- Norwegian Digital Archives for 1865 census for Norderhov, Buskerud - records can be searched online through this site: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/en/search/sources?s=&from=&to=&format=all&archive_key=&jt%5B%5D=7&m%5B%5D=0613
- "Norway Social Life and Customs" article in the Familysearch.org wiki located at this site: https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Norway_Social_Life_and_Customs
Fascinating, there must have been no ill-will towards unmarried couples producing children.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there must have been some stigma, but not, I think as much as in some societies.
DeleteI agree with your jigsaw analogy. It is just like putting all the pieces together. Sometimes we don't know where they go so we have to wait till later and hope to find out where they fit.
ReplyDeleteExactly. You never know when something is going to fall into place after seemingly being unrelated for years!
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