A sigh wafted between two maiden sisters long ago that echoes still: Elen and Anne Marie Hemmingsdatter of Groli Farm; Great-granddad Ole Hemmingsen’s sisters.1 They had shared a partner, albeit several years apart.2 To each, came a child. He was a skovdriver, their Gustav Henriksen. Skovdrivers came out of nowhere, and soon, they were gone.
Some in this horde of men met young women who were not braced for hollow promise. So it was; they were responsible for gems in our heritage, whom we do treasure.
The Church Book for Elen’s otherwise blessed event was not hopeful that she would marry and that for Anne Marie said Gustav had abandoned Hattfjelldal Parish. In truth, it looked as if their father, Hemming Paulsen, had run him out of town, but that is conjecture.
To keep things straight: Great-granddad Ole Hemmingsen and the sisters were grandchildren of old patriarch Ole Hemmingsen, b. 1800, who about went mad over goings-on next door at Nerli Farm. That tale was told two posts ago when Gunder Dahlby swooped into their parish and squired their Aunt Elen Oline off to Wisconsin. That good man, Gunder, had skovdriver on his resume too. This picks up where that left off, late Little Ice Age, mid-1870s.
Now, Great-granddad Ole welcomed a bundle two months after Elen’s arrived. That was only two months after his wedding. No tsk in his Church Book, as he conformed to the custom of our people who accepted offspring before a church wedding, if after betrothal.
This attitude of “it is almost ok” increased the burden on young women with insistent suitors, especially in their rural setting with a strong need to marry and their “not-related” choices, few. History would show they were wholesome girls.
On the new half-sibling cousins: Church Books deemed these innocents as uegte and their parents’ unions, leiermaal (archaic term). Not to judge any of it today, for more than fierce cold was dispiriting our people. Elen’s sweet Ingrid Mathilde Gustavsdatter was taken by the measles of 1875, when only eight months old. The child was surely named for Elen’s grandmother, Ingrid; perhaps Mathilde favored his. Then, Hemming Gustavsen, Anne Marie’s son of her short liaison, arrived in 1877. Anne Marie named him for her father, quite likely.
Ole actually married Great-grandmother Beret Has Mathisdatter on the very same day wee Ingrid Mathilde was baptized!
It was Friday, October 30, 1874 at Hattfjelldal Church. Beret’s people of Hatfjelddalen Farm were there for her wedding. Ole’s parents, Hemming and Gurine too, of course. His sister, Pauline and her husband, Lars Rued, witnessed the baptism; those two, all the time plotting their own off to Wisconsin. Anne Marie sponsored the infant too and a Halsten Thorgersen. Halsten was a skovdriver from Oppland, waiting in the wings, it seems.3
The day was eventful beyond marriage for Ole. It fell to him to furnish remarks relevant to the baptismal record. He conveyed that Elen had acknowledged her child was out-of-wedlock, with this the first unlawful act of each partner.
Meanwhile over on our Branne Farm – run by Ole Andersen, widower husband of the old patriarch’s first daughter, Mali – their daughter, Ingrid Oline Olsdatter, who was cousin to Elen and Ann Marie and of similar age, was distraught over grave losses of what looked like a first indiscretion. Her Adolf Marius had been born earlier in 1874. He was baptized at home and died the next day. Poor Ingrid Oline; her partner, Amund Andersen (1847-1873), had drowned in Elsvasselva River some months before, possibly thieving her of a published promise to marry.4
Still, there was no promise ahead of the birth of her Ole Thorvald to that Halsten Thorgersen, in June of 1875.5 The ledger confirmed this as Ingrid Oline’s second unlawful association, and the skovdriver’s first. Elen Hemmingsdatter witnessed this baptism just weeks after burying Ingrid Mathilde, for it would be so that this bereaved mother witnessed many happy events for Groli Farm.
Ole Halvorsen was Ingrid Oline’s third leiermaal partner, who fathered their Anne Marie in 1878. Then he inexplicably hurried on home, leaving little identification and disappearing soon thereafter.6 Apparently he had followed another Halvorsen to town, an older skovdriver. They looked like brothers; both hailed from Stjordal Parish of Nord-Trondelag in the neighborhood where our ancestors originated. If so, Anne Marie’s heritage might be revealed through the elder.
Favored family skovdrivers: Despite this bias toward “she said” many good relationships were had. Ole Saxesen declared himself skovdriver; if only once. His wife was Ingeborg Anna, third daughter of the old patriarch. Some took our farms as surname or reported them as home.
Our Gunder Dahlby was an early example from outside counties. He entered Hatfjelldal late 1860s. Both wives of Ole Hemmingsen were favorably disposed, with Beret Mathisdatter and her siblings witnessing many events. Karl Nikolai, brother to Alette Ingebrigtsdatter, announced at his wedding in the early 1890s; one of the last skovdrivers evidenced in Church Books.
Fallout: the disposition of Groli Farm, the sibling group of Elen and Anne Marie Hemmingsdtr, and their cousin Inger Oline Olsdatter is presented next. Their uegte children are profiled to adulthood, with a weigh-in on their paternal heritage and any responsibility taken by their fathers.
AFTERMATH AT GROLI FARM
Elen Hemmingsdatter died in March of 1880. She never wed. Her ledger of death was quite barren of detail. Perhaps, her heart was broken. Ours was, for her.
Elen’s sisters are graphed above for the further telling, as they included a confusing bunch of Anne: Anne Marie, Ingeborg Anna Marie and Anne Oline. It cannot be left out that while Elen died on March 8, the marriage of Ingeborg went forward on July 4th. Church Books suggested why; the couple had an early event on February 2, and baptized their son on March 29. Their promise needed to be made good, no disrespect to dear Elen.
As the year 1880 was closing, Lars Rued, husband of Pauline Hemmingsdatter, stole off to Wisconsin. They had planned his “escape” whereby she and the children would follow. A later post will tell that tale, informed by output of a 1959 audio tape left by their daughter. Hilarious and poignant, it will be best appreciated with this backdrop of hardship in the 1870’s.
Ole Hemmingsen followed Pauline to Wisconsin just as his third son was born in 1882. Beret Mathisdatter and three children sailed in 1886, the elder two, in 1887. Beret died in Wisconsin soon after her sixth child was born. Alette Ingebrigtsdatter, who had sponsored that third son at baptism, wed Ole in 1892. The blog celebrates these families of our direct ancestry.
Anne Oline Hemmingsdatter wed Beret’s brother, Mathias Martinus Mathisen, in 1883. The family emigrated to Iowa in 1888; another story already blogged. That year was marred when young Matias Hemmingsen died of a chest ailment. Now, both Groli sons were gone from the farm.
Sara Hemmingsdatter, the family baby, married Ivar Ivarsen in July of 1884. They became principals of Uglevatne Farm in Hattfjelldal, former home of patriarch Paul Hemmingsen (1797-1869) and Marith Olsdatter (1807-1849). Source 1, below, leads to information on the Ivarsen family, indeed on extended families of all these siblings.
Anne Marie Hemmingsdatter wed on 20 Nov 1884. Geni.com has a small photo of her. Her husband, Laurits Johnsen, was a farmer. He died in 1915, while she was favored until ninety. Many of their children (Note C) adopted the farm name of Aasen. Many were likewise long lived. Not so Elen Mathilde, who was lost to diphtheria at five. She was likely named for Elen and her child, Ingrid Mathilde. This reminded of Gustav Henriksen and brought the question forward “what became of him and his children”?
Her partner, Elen’s too, Gustav Henriksen, never gave up accountable particulars of age and where from. Best evidence said he was not local. He let the term skovdriver slip, so had he associated with others who might reveal him? That question continues unsatisfied, in the attachment.
Elen’s daughter, Ingrid Mathilde (1874-1875), may have elicited a fatherly gaze. It is not known if Gustav held her during her fatal illness.
Anne Marie’s son, Hemming Gustavsen (1877-1966), left home sometime after 1893. He formalized a forename change to Henning. Whether he met his father, was favored with paternal half-siblings or enjoyed any recognition from that side of his family, is unknown.
Henning, or Hemming, Gustavsen led a remarkable life, a journey of ongoing surprise. He lived in many US States and Canada, but died in Norway. He is memorialized at Granddad’s Cousin: Hemming Gustavsen 1877-1966; A Larger Life Than Lean.
Ingeborg Anna Marie Hemmingsdatter was widowed early, re-marrying in 1885. She had three children with Olaus Olsen, her groom of July 4th, after Elen’s death. She had two with Olaus Nilsen. One survived a day, the other died of meningitis, in 1891. That was Census Year on Groli Farm, with Hemming Paulsen still managing. Apparently, Ingeborg and husband were to caretake Groli next, but she died of TB that same year. After his severe losses, Olaus Nilsen disappeared from records. Her eldest son, Sigurd Edvin Olausen then found life particularly difficult. He became a father at 14, and soon again, to two older women. His rebound may merit an emigrant story.
When the 1880 decade closed, Hemming Paulsen and Gurine Olsdatter had made their statement. Of their eight children, two had passed in town, three would make their lives in Hattfjelldal and three had departed to America.
The 1900 Census informed that while Hemming Paulsen and Gurine Olsdatter were still at Groli, they had signed the farm over to Magnus Invald Nilsen in a manner whereby they would be cared for. Magnus was the younger brother of Olaus Nilsen. His descendants are there, today.
Impact of the unwed skovdriver father of Groli Farm had been profound. Neither of Gustav’s children had known children of their own, ending his legacy as it is known. That of Branne Farm was equally profound and echoed forward.
AFTERMATH at BRANNE FARM
Inger Oline Olsdatter found stability when marrying Ivar Thomassen Lie of Gausdal (1855-1894) in 1881. This farmer announced as a skovdriver, but only once and that was at son Adolf Teodor’s birth in 1882.7 They had four children at Gronlid Farm (Note D).
In 1901, a widowed Inger Oline wed shoemaker, Jonas Olafsen, a Swede. They had no children, at least not in Norway. Her final chapter – and echoes of skovdrivers – follow the account below, of her two surviving leiermaal partners, and the children who were left to navigate complicated dynamics of step, foster and half-sibling relationships. One father was involved; one not.
Her partner, Halsten Thorgersen (1852-1937), son of Torger Halstensen and Berte Johansdtr, identified as a skovdriver in the 1875 Census of Vefsn Parish. He let the title go on marriage to Hyberta Anna Mathilde Olsdatter in 1882. The couple resided in Hemnes Parish with Johanna Marie b 1882, Berte Julie 1885, and Helga 1892. They remained through 1900, but Halsten was a widower by 1910 and resident of Mo, Telemark County. Significantly, in 1920, he was found in Mo again, except this time it was Mo, Nord-Rana, Nordland County. He was likely a responsible father to Ole Torvald.
Their son, Ole Torvald Halstensen, b. 1875-06-15 Hattfjelldal, was a teenaged step-son to Ivar Thomassen in 1891, engaged in livestock and farm maintenance. He likely enjoyed time with his biological father. Hopefully he kept company with his half-sister, the fostered Anne Marie.
Already 25 and single in 1900, Torvald (he dropped Ole) was marked absent from his mother’s household, with an assumed address in Sweden.
He married Emma Kristina Jonsdatter in Tarna, Vasterbotten, on 10 Apr 1911. The couple then travelled to Hattfjelldal within the week. They appeared childless in Nore, Buskerud at Census 1920 where he was involved in construction work. Torvald incorrectly stated to that census that he was born at Mo i Rana. This slip may indicate he had ongoing contact with his biological father, who actually resided at Mo i Rana at the time.
Her partner, Ole Halvorsen, left Hattfjelldal after Anne Marie’s birth, telling only that he was born in Stjordal, between 1855 and 1860. Peder and Sivert Halvorsen – skovdrivers of good repute – remained in town with lots to add: Ole was born in Hegra, 1857-07-03, the local parish of our ancestors, to Halvor Nilsen and Sigrid Sivertsdatter. Of note, he had spent 1875 on a farm situated between his parents and one Mette Berntine Olausdatter – he wed her in 1883! Still, other aspects of the story are not known. That couple then disappeared from ledgers. Ole and Mette possibly tracked Sivert to Sweden, or emigrated to Minnesota, but it is unlikely that they remained in Norway.
Their daughter, Anne Marie Olsdatter b. 26 Apr 1878 was placed in foster care, certainly by 13 and minimally through 15. Why is not known. Generations crowded homes then, with no external resources for acutely ill, infirm or aged. Households that increased by remarriage had to find best-fit foster situations for some children. Maybe her skills were actually needed at her Varntresk home. It is not known how her wee self felt about mother keeping Ole Torvald home, or if she pined to help her with little half-siblings. Nor that her father had abandoned her, even as Uncle Sivert provided comfort from her Halvorsen side. But Sivert would be off to Sweden as she matured. Her mother too, would be elsewhere by the time she would marry.
Ann Marie was at Ruderaasen in 1900, home of Johan Petter Kastberg Eriksen. They married in 1903 and took Ruderas as surname. Their family was there in 1920.
Ann Marie Olsdatter Ruderas was our only uegte child with known offspring.
Skovdrivers in Hattfjelldal; An Origin Story
Peder Halvorsen (1818-1898) seemed responsible for Sivert Halvorsen (1847-1925) being in Hattfjelldal.8,9 Peder was a generation ahead, but unrelated. Still, he became a principal at Sivert’s wedding. Earlier, the men from different origins, had become neighbors on Saxen Farm in Fosnes Parish of Nord-Trondlag. That was 1865, coincident with the first searchable use of the term “skovdriver”. Peder was already one, with Fosnes an early skovdriver center.
Peder and wife arrived in Hattfjelldal from Fosnes, in 1869. They settled at Vefsnemo Farm right next to Nerli and Branne. They added Albertine Josephine to their several children in 1870. She showed the Halvorsen name was not trashed. In fact, when Peder died in 1898, Albertine and her mother took up residence in Aasen, the home of Anne Marie Hemmingsdatter. Anne Marie must have been a beautiful soul.
Sivert followed Peder to Hattfjelldal, wed there in 1874, then became a skovdriver. Ole followed Sivert after 1875. Sivert and wife, Ingeborg Mikkelsdatter, sponsored Anne Marie at home baptism, and provided the child with age-peer Halvorsen cousins. Widower Sivert emigrated to Frostviken Sweden in 1897, to marry Maria Larsdotter, that year. Those records proved he was Ole’s brother. These Halvorsens added much to Hattfjelldal.
A FINAL SKOVDRIVER SAGA TO END THIS TALE!
Inger Oline’s last chapter may have been in Sweden, home of Jonas Olofson. At Census 1910, the fostered Anne Marie was her only child left in town.
Two sons soon returned. One spun the unsavory saga below. Now, the account of it was written on available records. He came from a responsible family; perhaps he was quietly accountable.
Adolf Teodor was born in 1882 at Gronli. He was first son to Ivar Thomassen, the fleetingly professed skovdriver and third son to our skovdriver-fatigued Inger Oline Olsdatter.
He attested in Hattfjelldal, on 2 Feb 1912, that he had originally emigrated to America in 1903 and was temporarily back in Norway, to marry. His intended bride was not named. That set off a search!
The first result: Adolf Teodor Ivarsen, born 1882 at Gronli i Hattfjelldal, a resident of America, fathered a child in Mo i Rana with Sofie Marie Mikalsdatter on 11 Nov 1912. No marriage record was found; their Ragna Elida was marked uegte. Sofie Marie later married another. The child was with that couple in 1920, as Ragna Hansen Fiskkjønmo. Another search was needed to determine if Adolf Teodor had mislead authorities.
The second result: Adolf Teodor Ivarsen, born 1882 Hattfjelldal, resident of British Columbia, wed Aagot Lovseth, in Gjerpen, Telemark County on 4 Apr 1912. His ship then left Oslo on 17 Apr 1912 with Aagot Ivarsen aboard, destined for Canada. Ragna Elida’s birth was still months away; did he know?
Adolph Teodor did marry in Norway, but had this second result been found first, then his uegte child of 1912 may never have been disclosed. We shall not know if unrecorded mitigating factors underlay his circumstance, nor of his whole-life response to his daughter. She was our worthy ancestor too. It is always about those timeless things, of responsibility of one for another and the ache of a soul to be recognized.
ADDENDUM
Skovdriver was a forestry job that was noticed in family records, particularly during the mid-1870s. “Skovdrivers Come to Hattfjelldal Parish” offers an analysis done for this story and is an attachment clickable at the first paragraph.
Please leave comments and corrections in the Reply Box below notes and sources.
Notes and Sources
Note A; Background for this genealogy comes from the Memoirs of Matt Hemmingsen written in 1954, output of audio of Gina Dahlby Plocker (born Rued), of 1959 and The Family History of John O Hemmingsen, written in 1999, all unpublished, and protected here. Also see Source 1 below and previously published posts on this blog.
Note B: Spelling varies in sources, such as : Groli: sometimes Grorli, Grorlid, Grolia // Nerli; Nerlid // Branna; Brænne
Note C: Lauritz Johnsen and Anne Marie Hemmingsdatter married 20 Nov 1884, had the following children: Ragnvald Mathias 1885- 1956, Johan Ingemann 1893-1927, Paul 1895-1984, George Edvin 1897-1993, Ingaborg Anna 1900-1991, Hjalmar 1903-1984 Orange County, CA. Two children died of diphtheria on 16 June 1895: Gunda Jorgine b. 1887 and Elen Mathilde b. 1890. Church Book (CB) from Hattfjelldal Parish (HP) [CBHP]1878-1898 and 1897-1916.
Note D: Ivar Thomassen and Inger Oline Olsdatter children: Ivarsen/datter Adolf Teodor 1882, Johan Edvin 1885. Ottar Sigurd 1887. Minda Gurine 1890 // After widowhood, Inger Oline wed Jonas Olofson b. 1865, currently then of Hede, Jamtland, Sweden – father. Olof Reinholdtson // CBHP for 1912 recorded the marriage of her son, Johan Edvin Ivarsen. His family remained in town per Census 1920. // See Source 7 for more on son, Adolf Teodor.
Sources
1 Much of this story is sourced at base post https://marileewein.com/2022/06/04/matt-hemmingsen-1876-1967-in-the-beginning-again at https://wp.me/p9ORWJ-3g8 particulary in its attached PDF. Also see Note A
2 Digitalarkivet.no Church Book from Hattfjelldal Parish (CBHP)1865-1878. a) Role: Barn; Event: 1874-10-30 baptism of Ingrid Mathilde (Gustavsdtr), born Oct. 12. and far Gustav Henriksen b) Role: Barn; Event 1877-10-14 baptism of Hemming (Gustavsen), born. July 6. and far Gustav Henriksen.
3 Halsten Torgersen Digitalarkivet.no Census 1875 Vefsn Parish, Nordland, b. 1852 Birid Parish, Oppland. Occupation: Skovdriver. // Birth: 1852-03-28 Halsten of Torger Halstensen and Berte Johansd – CB from Nordre Lands, Torpa 1847-1859 // Marriage Event 1882-07-04 CB from Hemnes Parish, shows Nordre Land, Torpor and Biri are all valid to describe his birthplace // More: source 2a and 5.
4 Amund Andersen and Adolf Marius Amundsen Digitialarkivet.no CBHP 1860-1878, 1865-1878
5 Ole Torvald Halstensen Digitalarkivet.no CBHP 1878-1898 a) Role:far Halstein Thorgersen Hemnaes. Event: 1891-05-10, Confirmation of Ole Torvald Halstensen. // CBHP 1865-1878 a) Role: far Halsten Thorgerson, Event: 1875-07-18 Births and Baptisms for Ole Torvald /// Death 1937 CB from Mo (Nord Rana) 1931-1946. // Census 1910 – widower Halsten; 1920 – remarriage to Olava Maria Hansen, b, 1874. /// Ancestry.com for Sweden, Emigrants Registered in Church Books, 1783-1991 for 1911; Ole Torvald Halsteinssen for 13 Apr 1911 and Sweden Indexed Marriage Records 1860-1947 for 1911.
6 Ole Halvorsen Digitalarkivet.no Census 1865 Ovre-Stjordal for Halvor Nielsen and Sigri Sivertsdtr and son Ole Halvorsen b. 1857 // CB from Stjordal/Hegra local 1850-1862 for Ole b. 1857. // Census 1875 Hegra Local // CB Ovre-Stjordal, Hegra Local Parish 1850-1862 Marriage to Mette Bertine Olausdatter b. 1860 // Hegra Domicile: variations of Kartumplads.
7 Adolp Teodor Ivarsen see Note D and // Ancestry.com a) Norway Church Records 1812-1938, subset Telemark Gjerpen 1905-1919 for marriage to Aagot Lovseth b) Norway Emigration Records, 1867-1960 depart Oslo 17 Apr 1912 to British Columbia and Trondheim 17 Mar 1909 to Winnipeg /// Digitalarkivet.no CB for Mo (Nord-Rana) 1903-1912 for Ragna Elida // CBHP 1899-1919 emigration 1912 // Also see Note D.
8 Peder Halvorsen Digitalarkivet.no Nord-Trondelag Namsos Parish, Overhalla Local Parish 1856 for Peder Halvorsen to Marte Telise Nilsdatter // Census 1865 of Fosnes Parish, Saxen Farm // CBHP 1860-1878,1865-1878, 1878-1898 for Innflyttar, Birth Albertine Josephine 1870 and birth and confirmations of others, Peder death. See also source 9.
9 Sivert Halvorsen Digitalarkivet.no. // Sivert Halvorsen born 04-18, baptized 1847-05-02 Nord-Trondelag, Norway. Church book from Stjørdal/Nedre Stjørdal (Værnes) parish 1845-1858 Parents: Halvar (Halvor) Nillsen and Sigrid Sivertsdatter // 1865 Census Norway for his family: search Halvor Nielsen at Øvre Stjørdal. Nord-Trondelag. (Hegra local parish) // Ole b. 1857 and Sivert 1847 migrated to Hattfjelldal Parish and integrated with our family (story at marileewein.com) around 1870 // Sivert to Sweden 1897: Church Book from Hattfjelldal Parish 1878-1898. /// Ancestry.com for Sweden Indexed Death Records 1840-1947 and Marriage Records 1860-1947: Sivert Halvorsen (1847-1925) died at Frostviken Jamtland. Married Maria Larsdtr 26 Sep 1897.
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