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.
I dag kommer så kun den danske kl.10, den engelske version må vente til kl. 13, for det blev for indviklet at skrive det på to sprog samtidig.
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.
Today the English version goes live at 1 pm. It became too long and convoluted to tell in small bits.
N ~ Næstved
Today we are going to "stalk" one of my ancestors ... I will show how I go about finding them. Of course, I'm working my way from the present back towards the past. And I know that my great-great-grandfather's father was a blacksmith in Remkolde called Hans Christian Larsen - from his name I also know that his father was called Lars.
In the census from 1860 I find this large family under Remkolde (Thanks to Danish Family Search):
Hans Christian Larsen 37 1818 Married, Husband, Blacksmith,
Maren Kirstine Andersen 37 1818 Married, His wife
7 children - we will hear more about them in another post
- Lars Jensen 79 1776 Married, Husband's Parents, supported by him
- Karen Jensdatter 80 1775 Married, Husband's Parents, supported by him
A nice overview with Name, Age, Year of Birth (guesstimate of the typists, can be up to two years wrong both ways), Marital status and Position in the family / profession.
GOTCHA!
Then I go a little further back in time to the census of 1845. In Remkolde it is extra good, as it tells where people were born. I find:
Lars Jensen 69 Married, Blacksmith Nestved
Karen Jensdatter 70 Married, His wife Fodby, Sorø County
- Hans Christian Larsen 27 Married, their son and blacksmith in the parish
- Maren Kirstine Andersen 27 Married, his wife Vordingborg
- Niels Hansen 5 Unmarried in the parish
- Karen Marie Hansen 4 Unmarried, Their children in the parish
- Ole Hansen 1 Unmarried in the parish
This I have copied from the original, and I have not bothered calculating people's year of birth.
Lars Jensen, that is, my grandmothers grandfather's grandfather is according to the census born in Næstved. We go there.
In the 1770s there were about 1,300 inhabitants in Næstved and suburbs. The 1787 census lists 1,684 inhabitants, among them one little boy who had just turned 9. His name was Lars Jensen and his father was of course Jens. Then I thought - naively - that I had found him. But a look in the church registers reveals that there were many children named Lars Jensen in Næstved at that time. In the church registers for the years 1776-8 there are at least four. So I do not know which of the little Lars's is my ancestor. On the other hand, I do know that little Lars and his family soon had enough of city life and left Næstved. Because in the next census, 1801, I find no Lars Jensens in Næstved at all. And the 1801 census is more reliable than the one from1787, where it is estimated that about 10% of the population is missing - in my experience, significantly more are missing, or maybe the poor people I am looking for are precisely the 10% missing in the censuses.
I had more luck locating Lars Jensen's wife. I learn from the census that her name is Karen Jensdatter, that she is 70 years old in 1845 and, last but not least that she is from Fodby, which is thankfully a small town.
Off to Fodby - still only via the computer.
In the census from Fodby 1787 I easily find her and her family - what is to be found.
From this census, we learn that Karen Jensdatter is the daughter of old Jens Madsen in his 3rd marriage to a wife who must have been called Christensdatter like her sister who lives with them now.
In the church register for November 1771 I find the marriage between widower Jens Madsen and the unmarried girl Karen Christensdatter.
On the first of March 1773 Karen Jensdatter is born to the couple.
From there the story takes a sad turn. Karen has a baby brother in 1779, but he only lives a few weeks. The next year the couple have a stillborn girl. The next year again, in 1781, they have another stillborn daughter. In 1783, they have a stillborn son. And finally in 1787 a stillborn son is born on Shrove Sunday, and on the first Sunday of Lent, a week later, Karen Christiansdatter dies aged 26.
I suspect this to be a case of rhesus incompatibility. Poor Karen was probably Rhesus-negative, and in a time without knowledge of blood types, this would lead to the first child surviving, the next being born alive, but sickly and with a high risk of dying. Followed by full-term, but stillborn babies or babies dying immediately after birth. Nor is it safe for the mother, as you can see here.
The past have many of these sad tales to show us, and even worse can be found. I remember one like this from a totally transcribed church register I once saw. After 8 stillbirths to the same couple, the church register ended with their oldest, a 15 years old and only surviving daughter. dying from a fall down the stairs. I could not help crying.
Map of the places mentioned here:
The distance Næstved - Remkolde is less than 10 kilometres.
In the census from 1860 I find this large family under Remkolde (Thanks to Danish Family Search):
Hans Christian Larsen 37 1818 Married, Husband, Blacksmith,
Maren Kirstine Andersen 37 1818 Married, His wife
7 children - we will hear more about them in another post
- Lars Jensen 79 1776 Married, Husband's Parents, supported by him
- Karen Jensdatter 80 1775 Married, Husband's Parents, supported by him
A nice overview with Name, Age, Year of Birth (guesstimate of the typists, can be up to two years wrong both ways), Marital status and Position in the family / profession.
GOTCHA!
Then I go a little further back in time to the census of 1845. In Remkolde it is extra good, as it tells where people were born. I find:
Lars Jensen 69 Married, Blacksmith Nestved
Karen Jensdatter 70 Married, His wife Fodby, Sorø County
- Hans Christian Larsen 27 Married, their son and blacksmith in the parish
- Maren Kirstine Andersen 27 Married, his wife Vordingborg
- Niels Hansen 5 Unmarried in the parish
- Karen Marie Hansen 4 Unmarried, Their children in the parish
- Ole Hansen 1 Unmarried in the parish
This I have copied from the original, and I have not bothered calculating people's year of birth.
Lars Jensen, that is, my grandmothers grandfather's grandfather is according to the census born in Næstved. We go there.
In the 1770s there were about 1,300 inhabitants in Næstved and suburbs. The 1787 census lists 1,684 inhabitants, among them one little boy who had just turned 9. His name was Lars Jensen and his father was of course Jens. Then I thought - naively - that I had found him. But a look in the church registers reveals that there were many children named Lars Jensen in Næstved at that time. In the church registers for the years 1776-8 there are at least four. So I do not know which of the little Lars's is my ancestor. On the other hand, I do know that little Lars and his family soon had enough of city life and left Næstved. Because in the next census, 1801, I find no Lars Jensens in Næstved at all. And the 1801 census is more reliable than the one from1787, where it is estimated that about 10% of the population is missing - in my experience, significantly more are missing, or maybe the poor people I am looking for are precisely the 10% missing in the censuses.
~ N ~
I had more luck locating Lars Jensen's wife. I learn from the census that her name is Karen Jensdatter, that she is 70 years old in 1845 and, last but not least that she is from Fodby, which is thankfully a small town.
Off to Fodby - still only via the computer.
In the census from Fodby 1787 I easily find her and her family - what is to be found.
 |
| Kilde |
From this census, we learn that Karen Jensdatter is the daughter of old Jens Madsen in his 3rd marriage to a wife who must have been called Christensdatter like her sister who lives with them now.
In the church register for November 1771 I find the marriage between widower Jens Madsen and the unmarried girl Karen Christensdatter.
On the first of March 1773 Karen Jensdatter is born to the couple.
From there the story takes a sad turn. Karen has a baby brother in 1779, but he only lives a few weeks. The next year the couple have a stillborn girl. The next year again, in 1781, they have another stillborn daughter. In 1783, they have a stillborn son. And finally in 1787 a stillborn son is born on Shrove Sunday, and on the first Sunday of Lent, a week later, Karen Christiansdatter dies aged 26.
I suspect this to be a case of rhesus incompatibility. Poor Karen was probably Rhesus-negative, and in a time without knowledge of blood types, this would lead to the first child surviving, the next being born alive, but sickly and with a high risk of dying. Followed by full-term, but stillborn babies or babies dying immediately after birth. Nor is it safe for the mother, as you can see here.
~ N ~
The past have many of these sad tales to show us, and even worse can be found. I remember one like this from a totally transcribed church register I once saw. After 8 stillbirths to the same couple, the church register ended with their oldest, a 15 years old and only surviving daughter. dying from a fall down the stairs. I could not help crying.
~ N ~
The distance Næstved - Remkolde is less than 10 kilometres.
Heartrending. And a reminder that my father's donations of blood did a lot to avert similar tragedies (he was of the Rhesus blood group).
SvarSletThere's still rhesus negatives in my family - maybe a heritage from this Karen - but nowadays luckily, and thanks among others to people like your father, a shot in the thigh of the mother during pregnancy and once after birth takes care of this problem.
SletYour research is most painstaking, you go to great lengths to track people down.
SvarSletThe story is a reminder to be thankful for modern medicine.
Thank you. And yes. I am sure many of us are only alive due to modern medicine - I know I am.
SletPS, your first comment was set to spam prison. I won't free it now, as it's literally the same as your second half here ;)
SletMy sister-in-law was Rhesus negative and was closely monitored during her second pregnancy, there were treatments she had but I don't remember what and after the safe delivery of her daughter she decided to have no more children.
SvarSletI hadn't thought about it until now, but it probably explains so many infant deaths and tiny graves in cemeteries from centuries ago.
The treatment has advanced greatly since then. Now two shots of anti-D is all that's needed, and can be repeated as many times as you have babies.
SletRhesus syndrom explains many of the stillbirths I think, mainly the repeating ones. Fevers and malnutrition explains infant mortality, and polluted water too. Cramps was a normal cause of death for infants in the church registers, taking mostly those below five years of age.