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.
E for Enke
Dorthe Madsdatter - som var gift med den uheldige Hans Christian Andersen - blev født den 16. oktober 1843. Hun var den tredje datter af Ane Hansdatter og Mads Sørensen, der boede i Nygaarde i nærheden af Herlufmagle, som bebyggelsen hørte under, og hun blev døbt i Herlufmagle kirke den 23. november 1843.
I oktober 1857, som knap 14-årig bliver Dorthe konfirmeret, og bedømmes med karakteren mg (højere middelkarakted) i både viden og opførsel. Kort derefter kommer hun ud og tjene, og i folketællingen februar 1860 er hun tjenestepige hos en nabo, hvis kone er død et par dage forinden.
I maj måned 1865, da Dorthe er 22, ankommer Hans Christian Andersen til Herlufmagle, og de to bliver gift den 1. september samme år.
Dorte blev allerede kort efter brylluppet, nemlig den 13. oktober, mor til deres første barn, Hans Peter. Så vi kan roligt sige, at Dorte og Hans Christian kendte hinanden inden han flyttede til Herlufmagle den 1. maj, ja vi kan måske endda gå så langt som til at sige, at han flyttede derhen for at blive gift med sin gravide kæreste. Lille Hans Peter blev døbt 2. juledag.
27. september 1867 får de en datter, Dorthe Marie, der døbes 16. februr næste år
4. februar 1870 følger den næste datter, Mette Sophie, der bliver døbt den 12. juni.
25. januar 1872 følger Ane Magrethe, der bliver døbt i kirken den 26. april
Den 6. juni 1874 fødes Niels Christian, der blev hjemmedøbt den 27. august og først fremstillet i kirken den 11. oktober. Han har måske været syg.
Og endelig 4. september 1876 følger parrets sidste datter, Maren Kirstine.
Ud af denne navngivning konkluderer jeg at ægtefællerne elskede hinanden meget. Børnene er i høj grad opkaldt efter mor og far, i stedet for som det var almindeligt, efter deres bedsteforældre.
Hans Christian var en flittig mand, og gik ofte langt for at arbejde. En dag i efteråret 1878 var han gået til Fensmark godt fem kilometer borte for at grave mergel for gårdejer Jørgen Larsen. Det var så der at mergelgraven skred sammen og slog Hans Christian ihjel.
Dorte var gravid med deres syvnde barn, en søn som hun opkaldte efter faderen, da han blev født den 2. april 1879. Lille Hans Christian levede desværre ikke længe efter sin første fødselsdag. Allerede den 9. maj 1880 finder vi ham i kirkebogen under døde mandfolk. Som dødsårsag er noteret Kramper.
Dorte var enke meget længe og levede på fatighjælp i 29 år. De sidste to folketællinger (1901 og 1906) finder hende som boende i Herlufmagle, men midlertidigt opholdende sig i Brønshøj, København. Hvad hun foretog sig der har jeg ikke kunnet finde ud af. Hun døde den 3. februar 1907 hjemme i Herlufmagle, og blev begravet på kirkegården dér en uge senere.
Dortes lange enkestand er et yderligere bevis for ægtefællernes nære forhold. Normalt giftede enker eller enkemænd med børn sig meget hurtigt igen, oftest indenfor et år, da enlige forsørgere fra samfundets nederste lag var henvist til et liv i fattigdom, på fattiggården, forsørget af almisser fra sognet.
Den yngste datter, Maren Christine Andersen, er min mormors mor, og mormor har fortalt, at hun havde hørt, at hendes mormor - altså Dorthe - boede i en vognport med sine mange børn.
E for Enke / Widow
Dorthe Madsdatter - The wife of the unfortunate Hans Christian Andersen (no, not him!) - was born on 16 October 1843. She was the third daughter of Ane Hansdatter and Mads Sørensen, who lived in Nygaarde near Herlufmagle, to which parish the settlement belonged. She was baptised in the church November 23 1843.
In October 1857, at the age of almost 14, Dorthe was confirmed and was judged over average in both knowledge and behaviour. Shortly afterwards she left home to work, she did not go far, and the census of February 1860 finds her as maid in the household of a near neighbour whose wife had died a few days earlier.
In May 1865 Hans Christian Andersen arrived in Herlufmagle, and the two were married on 1 September that samen year.
A month and a half after the wedding, on 13 October, Dorte gave birth to their first child, Hans Peter. For certain this tells us that Dorte and Hans Christian knew each other intimately even before he moved to Herlufmagle on May 1st, and we might suspect that he moved there to marry his pregnant fiancee. Little Hans Peter was baptised December 26.
On 27 September 1867 they had a daughter, Dorthe Marie, who was baptised on 16 February next year
4 February 1870 the next daughter, Mette Sophie, follows, she was baptised on 12 June.
25 January 1872 Ane Magrethe joind the family, baptised in the church on 26 April
On 6 June 1874 Niels Christian was born. He was baptised at home on 27 August and first presented in church on 11 October. Maybe he fell ill.
And finally on 4 September 1876 the couple's last daughter, Maren Kirstine was born.
From the naming here I tentatively conclude that the spouses loved one another dearly, Many of the children carry their mothers or fathers name in variation, instead of being named after their grandparents, as was normally the practise.
Hans Christian was a good provider and often walked long distances to find work. One day in the autumn of 1878 he was in Fensmark, about five kilometres away, to dig marl for the farmer Jørgen Larsen. It was there that the marl pit collapsed and killed Hans Christian.
Dorte was pregnant with their seventh child, a son, whom she named after his father when he was born on 2 April 1879. Unfortunately, little Hans Christian did not live long after his first bithday. May 9th 1880 we find him in the church register under dead males. The cause of death is noted as cramps.
Dorte was a widow for a very long time, she died on 3 February 1907, after having lived as a widow on alms for 29 years. The last two censuses (1901 and 1906) find her living in Herlufmagle, but temporarily staying in Copenhagen (I never found out why - further studies are necessary). She died at home in Herlufmagle, and was buried in the cemetery there a week later.
A further proof of the spouses' dedication is that Dorte stayed a widow. Normally poor widows and widowers with children remarried within the year, as a single parent was destined to poverty, staying at the poorhouse and living from alms.
The youngest daughter, Maren Christine Andersen, is my grandmother's mother, and my grandmother told that she knew of her grandmother - Dorthe - living in a carriage house with her many children.
Wow. A tragic life, and a fine testament to the power of love.
SvarSletYes tragic, but not essentially differnt from so many other at the same time. The love is extraordinary, though.
SletI’m enjoying your family tales - simple, not too deep yet full of information. Love comes in many forms
SvarSletThank you - this was what I aimed for. I hope to be able to keep it up. If not, please tell me!
SletRaising seven children must have been hard for a widow living only on alms. Even the remaining six children is too hard when in poverty.
SvarSletThis was very hard indeed, and that's the reason I see it as a tribute of love.
SletIt sounds as if she stayed true to her first love, as difficult as it was. I am very much enjoying the stories of your ancestors.
SvarSletThank you I hope my interpretation is right. At least it covers and explains all the facts I can find, and I can find nothing against it - which is probably the best I can do.
Slet