River asks if my ancestor Hans Christian Andersen is the same Hans Christian Andersen who wrote the fairy tales.
And the answer is nope, sorry, I should maybe have said so. But it did not enter my mind to do so ... because Hans Christian and Anders were (and are) extremely common names in Denmark.
My family tree abounds in Hans Chriastians and many of the men are Andersen = son of Anders (which is the meaning of Andersen) So Hans Christian Andersen you'll find in the thousands. And we do not automatically associate this name with the writer.
More on Danish naming tratitions to follow.
Temaet for i år er Resilience som teamet har valgt, og jeg har valgt undertemaet Blomster, træer og forfædre, så lad os se, hvad der falder mig ind til det tema.
A - Z
Every day at noon (except Sundays) a new A-Z post goes live - or no post today.
The theme for this year is Resilience as given by the team, with my subtitle Flowers, Trees and Ancestors.
D for Død
Hans Christian Andersen, der var søn af Mette Nielsdatter og Anders Nielsen (ham fra B for Braaby), blev født den 1. december 1837 og hjemmedøbt dagen efter. Nøste dag døde hans far, og det varede til den 4. februar 1838 før Hans Christian blev fremstillet i kirken, hvor hans farfar Niels Pedersen fra Aalebækshuse var en af fadderne.
Hans Christian og mor Mette, søsteren Maren Kirstine kom under fattigvæsenet. Og man kan følge dem i folketællingerne indtil 1860, hvor de alle er væk.
Hans Christian blev konfirmeret i 1852 med gode vidnesbyrd og rejste i 1865 til Herlufmagle sogn, hvor han giftede sig med Dorthe Madsdatter fra Nygaarde. Brylluppet stod den 1. september 1865 og de fik seks børn (Hans Peter 1866, Dorthe Marie 1868, Mette Sofie 1870, Ane Magrete 1872, Niels Christian 1875, Maren Christine 1876) og Dorte var gravid med det syvende, da Hans Christian pludselig døde.
I kirkebogen står der under den 2. november 1878: Hans Christian Andersen, gift Indsidder i Herlufmagle, 41 Aar, Slaaet ihjel ved Mergel-graven i Fensmark Sogn.
Dette sidste gjorde mig nysgerrig, og Næstved Tidende kunne heldigvis kaste yderligere lys over, hvordan han var kommet af dage.
D for Death
Hans Christian Andersen, who was the som of Mette Nielsdatter and Anders Nielsen (the one from B for Braaby), was born on 1 December 1837 and baptised at home the next day. The very nex day his father died and it was not until 4 February 1838 that Hans Christian was presented in church, where his grandfather Niels Pedersen from Aalebækshuse was one of the godparents.
Hans Christian and his mother Mette and his sister Maren Kirstine went to the poorhouse. And I can follow them in the censuses until 1860, when they are all gone.
Hans Christian was confirmed in 1852 with good testimonies and travelled in 1865 to Herlufmagle parish, where he married Dorthe Madsdatter from Nygaarde The wedding date was September 1st 1865. They had six children (Hans Peter 1866, Dorthe Marie 1868, Mette Sofie 1870, Ane Magrete 1872, Niels Christian 1875, Maren Christine 1876) and Dorte was pregnant with the seventh when Hans Christian suddenly died.
In the church register for 2 November 1878 we can read: Hans Christian Andersen, married landless worker in Herlufmagle, 41 years old, killed at the marl pits in Fensmark Parish. This last made me curious, and fortunately the local paper, Næstved Tidende could shed further light on how he had died.
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| Kilde |
Næstved Tidende (Sydsjællands Folkeblad) 5. November 1878
Nestved, den 5te Novbr. 1878.
Atter Mergelgravene. I Lørdags er paa Gaardeier Jørgen Larsens Mark i Fensmark forefaldet et af de desværre saa hyppige Ulykkestilfælde ved Mergelgravning, idet Indsidder Christian Andersen af Herlufmagle blev ihjelslaaet af de for tidligt nedfaldende jordmasser. Dødsfaldet er saa meget sørgeligere, som den Paagjældende efterlader sig en Enke med sex smaa Børn i trange Kaar.
Nestved, 5th Novbr. 1878.
The marl pits again. Last Saturday, one of the unfortunately so frequent accidents in marl digging occurred on farmer Jørgen Larsen's field in Fensmark, when the farmer Christian Andersen of Herlufmagle was killed by the prematurely falling earth masses. The death is all the sadder as the deceased leaves behind a widow with six small children in dire straits.
D
Hans Cristian og Dortes yngste datter, Maren Kirstine, er min mormors mor.
The youngest daughter of Hans Christian and Dorthe, called Maren Kirstine, is the mother of my grandmother
Kort ~ Map
The distance from Herlufmagle to Fensmark is around 5 kilometers.
Kort: skærmdump fra Google Maps -- Map: screenshots from Google Maps
So you are great great granddaughter of Hans Christian Andersen! Wow. Sad that he has such a poor life.
SvarSletNo, not THAT H.C. Andersen. It is a very common name in Denmark, and the famous H.C. Andersen was born 32 years later in Odense, isle of Fyen, did never marry, nor had any children.
SletI posted a disclaimer to this effect yesterday, I realize now I should have repeated it today. Sorry to have led you astray.
A very sad tale. And very hard for the surviving family too.
SvarSletYes it was tough times ... for poor and rich alike, as the church registers show.
SletThis is a sad story, i'm sure the family had a very difficult time after he was gone.
SvarSletThey had. The children were sent out working for farmers and better off co-villagers as soon as they were of age - 14 years.
Slet