Frederik
Fate of a Young Boy in 18th Century Denmark
Book no. 1 of the Franzen-Trilogy
by
Bodil Braendstrup
Smashwords Edition
copyright
2012 Bodil Braendstrup
The Franzen-Trilogy:
1. Frederik
2. Dear Great-Great-Grandfather
3. The Heavens above Borglum
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To my American
Family!
Preface:
”Frederik”
was published in Danish in 2009 followed by “Dear
Great-Great-Grandfather” and “The Heaven Above Borglum” forming
”The Franzen–Trilogy”
which was printed and published in April 2010.
However, when an unknown descendant of Anders Jensen Franzen, the main figure in the books, searched his name on the Internet, up came BB–CULTURE Publishing.
Of course, there must be many descendants living in the United States, since 7 of his grandchildren emigrated to the US - and for their benefit the books are now being re–written in English.
ﾁhFrederik” is the first one. I hope the American part of the family will enjoy it.
Copenhagen, February 2011
Bodil Brændstrup
Contents:
Anders
Franzen, Schoolmaster in Gjeraa
Who is Frederik?
Heavy Days in Gjeraa School
The Secret
A Paternity Case
Frederik Starts his own Diary
August, 1858
Why did Frederik Die?
The Franzen Family Tree
Anders Franzen Schoolmaster in Gjeraa
A Newspaper Clipping
A couple of years ago, in the beginning of a very dreary December, a surprising and fantastic thing happened to me. A friend living in the village of Gjeraa (now Gerå) had helped me in researching my great–great–grandfather, Anders Jensen Franzen. He had in the 19th Century – from 1826–67 – been a teacher and head of school in the small village of Gjeraa in Northern Jutland, where this friend, Thyra, was living.
She sent me a newspaper clipping from their local newspaper with the headline: ”Anders Franzen, Teacher in Gjeraa, was my Great–Great–Grandfather!” From the article I discovered that this other – and utterly unknown – great–great–grandchild was living not 10 minutes from where I live in Greater Copenhagen. I recognized his name as a well–known radio journalist.
I found his number, picked up the phone, and when he answered, I just said: ”Anders Franzen from Gjeraa was also MY great–great–grandfather!”
That lead to a long talk, and we found out that his great–grandmother was the older sister of my great–grandfather.
We had to meet and exchange information, photos etc. And also compare family characteristics, that we were both carrying with us.
The
Real Magic
But the really great adventure occurred when he came to my house and brought with him two thick leather–bound folio–volumes: The diaries of our great–great–grandfather with his astronomical notes, as well as all his personal papers which had been kept and preserved by his family. The diaries were, of course, handwritten in Gothic letters, so my new cousin did not know much of what was written in them. And neither did I.
That became a good motive for me to study the Gothic script and then his handwriting in particular. I spent hours with a magnifying glass under the lamp of the dinner table in order to establish an overview of letters and words. And then began the work of copying by hand the essential passages. It would have ruined the old and fragile books to take photocopies. Writing it into my computer was the least of it. But the contents was so fascinating and dramatic that days and evenings flew by, and my family and friends found that I must be suffering from an attack of acute ”diary–madness”.
It all began in Boerglum
Anders Franzen's full name was Anders Jensen Franzen. Anders after his maternal grandfather, Anders Frantzen, and Jensen (son of Jens) after his father. That he was also called Frantzen*), the last name of his maternal grandfather was unusual. Only much later it became customary to keep a constant family name.
He was born on a small copy–hold farm in the village of Fristrup within the lands of the estate of Boerglum Kloster, a former monastery and later residence of the last catholic bishop of Northern Jutland.
The first information about the family found, was the letter of transfer of the copy-hold on the farm in 1750 from Karen Michelsdatter (Michel's daughter) to her son, Anders Frantzen, born in 1720, father unknown. By that time, the estate of Boerglum had become the private property of various landowners, in 1750 the known Danish architect Lauritz de Thurah. Having no sons, Anders Frantzen transferred the farm to his daughter Kirsten's husband, Jens Jensen.
*)He introduced the spelling ”Franzen” as a young man. See his signature above his seal at the right of the picture!
Who is Frederik?
Anders Jensen Franzen's story is told elsewhere, but I was so puzzled by what gradually became the story of Frederik, that it simply had to be told.
The first time I found the name Frederik in the diary was under the year 1855, where it writes:
ﾁh1st December (1855) I was in Hals with Frederik to get some medicine from the vicar for his head–sores”
The following year he writes:
ﾁhJuly, 10th in the evening I went to Ulsted. On the 11th through Aalborg to Freilev. On the 12th back to Ulsted, and on 13th I went to the church of Dronninglund.
NB: I was in Freilev to seek council for a cure for Frederik's head–sores, and for that I took him to Aalborg on the 18th, when the cure began, and the same on 26th of July, 16th of August, and 27th September. And I was also in Aalborg on 17th October.
Note: Hals and Ulsted are villages not far from Gjeraa, whereas Aalborg is the main city of the region, and Freilev a village close to Aalborg.
Who is this Frederik who is mentioned so often in the diary after these first entries?
I had not seen the name in the diary before, whereas my Great-Great-Grandfather had meticulously entered the names, dates of birth, dates of the christening etc. of each of his children under the heading:
My children
Jens Christian (died two year old)
Kirsten Marie
Jensine (called Sine)
Johanne Methea (called Hanne)
Hans Peter
Jens Christian.
Who is Frederik if not his son?
After my first attempts to decipher Great–Great–Grandfather's handwriting, I asked my new cousin, if he knew anything about someone called Frederik. ”Oh yes, he is Anders Franzen's son. He is mentioned in the estate papers after the death of our Great–Great–Grandmother (who died in 1845), and Frederik is mentioned as the youngest child”.
Then, why is he not mentioned in his own list of their children?
In the typed Census for Gjeraa School in 1845, which I had received from the local archive, Frederik is listed after the other children as Frederik Christian Pedersen – 3 years, whereas the other children all have the second name of Franzen and listed as ”his children”. The Census from 1850 repeats the same list, and Frederik Pedersen, 8 years old.
Something had to turn up to explain, who Frederik Pedersen really was, something that I may not have noticed, or which had not been written down. However, the diary continues with small passages about Frederik:
1857, January. As we discovered sores in Frederik's head again, Hans Peter was on 14th sent with Frederik to the woman in Freilev, and she decided that the cure had to start again and continue, maybe for several months, and the boy have to go there every second week.
On April 29th, Frederik was employed (probably to guard cattle and sheep) at Niels Nielsen's farm here in the village for the wages of 7 Rdl. 3 Sk., and wool and linen for shirts.
On November 1st, Frederik came home from his service and then traveled to the doctor's wife from Aalborg, who had now moved to Freilev. He should stay with her for some time, so that the cure could be completed. This was the 4th period of the cure.
On the 12th I went to Ulsted and on the 13th through Aalborg to Freilev. And the 14th I came back to Ulsted to return home the 15th.
Note: He most likely walked all the way!
Heavy Days in Gjeraa School
Although the year of 1858 became in many ways a fatal year at the School of Gjeraa, the daily life continues with notes in the diary as the following:
On January 15th I took our old cow no. 8 to my son–in–law in Ulstedlund on the condition that he should pay me 12 Rdl.