The
Heavens Above Borglum
3rd Book in 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
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy . Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Contents:
Chapter
1: Goodbye to My Life's Work
Chapter 2: The Heavens Above
Borglum
Chapter 3: A New Generation – A New Century
Chapter
4: Back to the Present
Chapter 5: The Women Around Me
Chapter
6: Time for Reflection
Chapter 7: The Franzen Family
Tree
Chapter 8: About the Author
To my American Family
Preface:
The
Heavens Above Borglum together with “Frederik”
and “Dear
Great-Great-Grandfather”
form a trilogy of the events and human fates as described in the
diaries and other writings by my Great-Great-Grandfather, Anders
Jensen Franzen.
I thank the descendants of Hanne and Berthel Thomsen for having preserved this material throughout generations and for giving me access to it all.
Another big help has been the family-researcher and friend Gregers Nielsen, who has supplied many of the exact data.
The persons and data that have – for obvious reasons - not been registered by Anders Jensen Franzen, have been placed as “Notes” in the text where they naturally belong.
Holte, August, 2011 Bodil Ronholt Braendstrup
Chapter 1: Goodbye
to my Life's Work
Six
Silver-Spoons
On the 31st November, 1867 I held my farewell-speech at the school, giving a short account of the course of my life and specifically of the duration of my service at Gjeraa School, which amounted to 41 years. I ended my speech by asking the children to hold on to the faith in God that I had endeavored to encourage throughout their childhood.
Then I was presented with a gift of 6 silver spoons, which had been acquired through a collection among most of the inhabitants of the school district. That gift gave me much joy as I considered it a tangible proof that my efforts in teaching and instructing the children of this district – even in several generations – had been appreciated.
At the same time I was very aware, that this ending of my work as a teacher could be the beginning of a new era in my life. My health and my mental faculties gave no indication that my life was closing down, so that same evening I decided to concentrate my thoughts around what should be the direction of the last years of my life. Again I thought of the words of Pascal: “The future belongs to those who see it”. I would let my imagination free, trusting myself to sort out realistic from unrealistic ideas.
My previous life had never been limited to my work as a teacher. I had taken part in the life of the village and the surrounding district. I had made speeches at small and bigger events, and pursued my ardent interest in Nature and the wonders of the Universe. After all, only my work as a teacher and as head of the school had ended.
My
own home
The
most obvious change in my life was leaving the school-building, which
had for 41 years been the framework of both my family life and my
work as a teacher.
Being aware of that, I had – naturally in good time – made an effort to prepare my future in Gjeraa and be on the outlook for a place that could be my new home, although I knew that my family preferred that I follow the usual custom and come and live with one of their families.
That solution, however, was not at all attractive to me, as I did not want to be dependent on the mercy of my children, nor to be part of a large family with children in all ages. I had lived among so many children both in the school and in my home, that I was now longing for a quiet and simple life with time to tend my garden, and without interruptions continue my astronomic observations. To have time for reflection over the events of my life, the wellbeing of my children and grandchildren, and how I could still contribute to life around me. I was not yet ready to become a passive old grandfather.
I must admit, that in order to avoid any untimely interference, I had been very quiet about my thoughts. Maybe, the more observant would have noticed that I was more than usually interested to know, who in the village were planning to leave it. I was especially interested in a small place belonging to Jens Christian Larsen, who had talked a great deal of going to America and join the Mormons. It was said, that the Mormons were willing to pay their fare, if they joined them.
This was already in 1861, so it was a long time before I would go on pension, which would only be on 1st of January, 1868. But it was not to know, either, when and if Jens Christian Larsen and his family would be ready to leave their home and country. I had time to wait.
So during the year of 1861 I often walked by the house of Jens Christian. I had had both him, his wife and their children as pupils in the school, so it was natural that we talked about his big plans for the future. His small place could hardly feed the family, so the dream of America and the Mormons was connected to the dream of leaving poverty and the daily toil. Toward Christmas I revealed to them, that I might be interested in buying their house, if we could come to an agreement about the price, and that I would be able to manage a rather large part of the price in cash, which was important for him in view of starting a new life in America.
On the 30th of December, 1861 I made a contract of purchase with Jens Christian Larsen. I would buy his house for 360 Rdl., of which 160 Rdl. in the course of the winter would be paid in cash, and for the remaining 200 Rdl. I would take over the mortgage, he still owed on the house, and I would take on the costs of setting up the deed. Still, on the 31st of December, it was added, that on top of it I would pay another 10 Rdl. for the stove in the house.
The 11th of January, Hans Peter was in Aalborg to give notice of the 100 Rdl. I had in the Savings Bank there, and on the 24th of March I paid the full purchase sum and got the deed on my house. I had become a house-owner! That was a wonderful feeling, and now I could really start imagining, how my new home and garden should be.
Jens Christian Larsen and his family still lived in the house, but on the 3rd of April he traveled to Aalborg with his wife and two children in order to go on to America. But they came back again, and only a week later they got the opportunity to leave.
Finally the house was mine! On the 12th of April Jens Christian's brothers emptied the house of all that he left behind, and the following day I brought Hanne, Berthel and their three-year-old Helene, Hans Peter and Line with me to finally look at my new property. It was not in a very good state, but Hans Peter thought that he would be able to bring it up to a good standard. The garden was not much to look at, but I was sure that Line and I should soon get it into shape. Hanne went into all the corners of the house and already started to imagine where all my things would fit in. She liked my house. I knew that she was longing to have a home of her own with Berthel and their children, so I let her take part in making my house into a home.
When we returned to the school, Hanne thought that we should celebrate my new house with a cup of coffee, and she started making pancakes. Line laid the table and looked after Helene, while Hans Peter and Berthel discussed with me what should be done to my house in the way of bricklaying and carpentry work.
However, there would now be a waiting period, where I had to let out the house, and Hans Peter, Berthel and I discussed what would be the immediate need of repairs, so that I could take a reasonable rent. Hans Peter was eager to start the works at once, and I promised to pay him for it.
These preliminary works were done by the 1st of November, when my first tenant, Dorthe Marie Pedersdaughter, moved in to live there for the winter at a rent of
2 Rdl. 3Sk. On the 1st of May her term ended, but because of illness she could only move out on the 8th of May.
After that Peter Jensen, the tailor, rented the house for a year at a rent of 6 Rdl. 6 Sk. He would use the part of the garden that lay to the West of the house. However, Peter Jensen came to live in my house for 3 ½ years, until 1st of November 1866.
My own part of the garden was taken care of by myself, and I planted an elder and some gooseberry bushes. I still had the garden around the school to take care of, so I did not spend much time in my own garden, till after the tailor had moved out.
On the 1st of April, 1867 Søren Lunden and my daughter Sine came to see me, and they thought I ought to sell or let out my house and come to live with them when I had finished at the school. As I mentioned before, I still preferred having my own home, so I had to kindly reject their well-meant offer.
On the 25th of August, 3000 bricks were delivered to my house by Berthel's brick-yard, and on the 27th I received the answer from the Ministry of Education to my application to terminate my position on 1st January, 1968, which was granted.
Now I could concentrate on my house , and in the beginning of September Hans Peter came to start the carpentry and joining work. There were beams to be replaced, and doors and windows to be repaired or replaced.
Hans Peter took on the responsibility and soon he started the brick-work, but when after some days the weather got dry and sonny, he started on the roofing, which took about 3-4 days, and then he continued the other works that were still to be finished.
When I had time I walked by the house to see how the works were proceeding, and I was really satisfied with Hans Peter's work. He came down to us in the school for his meals, and I was very glad to see him so diligent and so satisfied. He lived with Kirsten Marie and their little daughter with her parents, Svend Andersen and Ingeborg Nielsdaughter. Svend Andersen was a joiner himself and usually Hans Peter helped him, but it was very generous of him to let Hans Peter help me with my new house. Svend was also very competent with regard to buying and selling property, and I had some good advice from him in connection with the purchase of my house.
On the 18th of October Hans Peter's wife, Kirsten Marie, gave birth to a second girl, who was given the name of Andrea Jensine Franzen. I was glad and relieved that Hans Peter had now married well and proved to be stable both in his work and as a family man. Both as a child and as a young man he had really caused me some sleepless nights and great worries. Now he seemed to have grown up, at last.
The
Final Goodbye to the School
On the 1st of January, 1868 I moved my bookcase – made by Hans Peter – out of the school, where it had been standing since the 26th of May 1861, and on the 13th of January I bought a stove in Hals for the sum of 12 Rdl. In return I delivered the old stove, which had been set at a value of 6 Rdl. 3 Sk. The rest I paid in cash, and the following day I had it installed in my bedroom.
Then we began to move our things into my house, and the night before the 16th of January I slept there for the first time. I wanted to sleep there alone the first night, and there was a marvelous stillness around me. I really felt that I would be happy in my new home.
On the 17th my whole family moved in – Hanne, Berthel, their 5 children and Line. There was a commotion and busyness everywhere. Hanne decided and commanded. Line was left to keep an eye on the children and keep them out of the way, and Berthel moved the heavy things. I thought to myself with an inward smile, that this was just what Hanne loved to do – getting everything in order and creating a cozy place for us all, and on top of it all, she had also thought of and prepared something extra nice for us to eat. She made it a feast, and behind her strict and efficient ways she was a very loving person.
Some days later I had a new thatching made on my house, and I had a skilled thatcher to do that.
My time at the school was definitely over, when on the 30th of January, the new teacher and his wife and maid moved in, and on the 1st of February he started teaching at the school.
A couple of days later I went by to welcome the family to Gjeraa, and they invited me in for coffee. It really surprised me, that I did not feel any sting in my heart when seeing a new family in the school. No, my time there was over, and I was already deeply involved in my new phase of life.
Chapter 2: The Heavens above Borglum
Karen
Michelsdaughter
During one of my visits to Fristrup I went to Borglum to look for some exact data about my ancestors in the Parish Register.
The very first name in our family that could be verified as registered was my great grandmother, Karen Michelsdatter* (Michel's daughter). I have no idea when she was born or when she died, for the Borglum Register was not well preserved. The only tangible proof of her existence was this insertion (very badly written) in the Parish Register for Borglum:
* Note: In names I have replaced “datter” with “daughter”, although the Registers say “datter”.
Births:
3rd August, 1720
Karen Michelsdaughter of Wittrup, had her illegitimate child called Anders (Frantzen).
Witnesses: Knud Olufsen, Niels Thordason (Thogersen),
Hans Daltersk/Baltsersen (??), Kirsten Hansdaughter,
Marthe Olufsdaughter.
The father's name must have been Frantz or Frantzen, but there is no documentation.
Whether Karen Michelsdaughter has lived with her parents or married later, I do not know. The next time her name is registered is in the document issued on 13th December 1750 by the famous builder and at that time owner of Borglum Kloster* Lauritz de Thurah. In this deed she passes her copy-hold farm on to her son Anders Frantzen, my maternal grandfather.
*Originally a monastery and residence of the last Catholic bishop of the district.
How she came to possess this farm is unknown. She may have inherited it from her father or from a later husband. As I do not know the full name of her father apart from his first name Michel – or of any possible husband, the preceding deed on the farm cannot be found. But her name on the transfer to my grandfather can clearly be seen in the the middle of the 7th line, and his name in the 5th line of the deed below.
Photo: The deed in translation
Lauritz de Thurah of Borglum Closter, colonel of the Royal Majesty's Infantry, hereby grants the right as copy-holder to Anders Frantzen to take over the house in the village of Fristrup which his mother Karen Michelsdaughter has been holding and lived in has left to him. This house, the mentioned Anders Frantsen shall hereafter enjoy and hold in his lifetime, as long as he pays each day of Sct. Martin the usual house-money (rent) – equaling 20 Sk. And performs one day of work each week for my estate including threshing in the winter and other works in the summer. Improve and keep the house in good repair. To cultivate and use the belonging land.
He will offer his old mother room and board according to his means as long as she lives, and when she dies a Christian burial. In all to live and act according to the laws and rules of his Royal Majesty as a good copy-holder.
Borglum Cloister, 13th December, 1750 - L. de Thurah (signature and seal)
Signed by Anders Frantzen with his initials AF and confirmed by two witnesses, Poul Nielsen, house-builder and Niels Nielsen, carpenter – etc.
Note: Borglum Kloster means Borglum Monastery
Photo: Borglum Abbey Church
Notes:
This is all we know about Karen Michelsdaughter, and as Great-Great-Grandfather did not lose himself in guesswork – in his writings at least – I will take the liberty to make some guesses as to who she really was.
She is the first, but certainly not the only member in the family who has had a child entered into the parish register as “illegitimate”, but she may be the only one, where the alleged child-father is not mentioned. However, that does not mean that her surroundings did not know. Was it a married man? A man who was not willing to commit himself in marriage? Family and friends have nevertheless let themselves register as witnesses of the christening, so the good Karen was not totally abandoned.
I have the advantage, now, that I have known quite a few of Karen's descendants, and from all my experiences with members of her family, myself included, I do not see her as a foolish or pathetic little girl. Depending on her age at the time, she may have been inexperienced or naïve, but she certainly knew how to take care of herself and her son, so that she was able to leave him with a property, however small and poor, but still a property.
Still, on the basis of my knowledge of the temperaments and strong personalities of the family, she could have been a grown-up girl, who followed her passion for a man - who could not or would not marry her - regardless of the consequenses. And at a later time she may have married a maybe less exciting, but stable man, who was willing to take care of her and her son.
That is how I like to see her. There is both strength and solidity in the name of Karen Michelsdaughter, and also in the name she chose to give her son: Anders Frantzen. Maybe some of the sharp brains and the passion go back to Karen and her unknown lover.
Now back to Great-Great-Grandfather's story:
The
Frantzen-Name
Forgive
me for sounding like the school-master again, but in the following I
am telling some historical facts. People may wonder, why the family
have, since 1720 –
in spite of the usual custom till well into the 19th
century –
stuck to the second name of Frantzen. According to custom, the
second name would always be the first name of the father followed by
“son”
or “daughter”.
The spelling of Frantzen was later changed by me, as a young man,
into Franzen. At that age I found Franzen more sophisticated, and I
did not like it spelled Frandsen as is the more usual name.
However, keeping up the family name was not just vanity. According to my mother, who named me both Jensen after my father and Frantzen after her father, she wanted to keep faithful to the Frantzen-name, because of the story that was told about the village of Fristrup:
The name of Fristrup was believed to mean “the settlement of the Frisians”, - “strup” meaning “torp” or “village”. There is no obvious proof that Frisians should in the Middle Ages have come to settle down on the Southern outskirts of the estate of Borglum Kloster. However, it is not unthinkable that one of the earlier bishops of Borglum would call in some Frisian farmers to work some uncultivated lands neighboring to the bishop's estate. He may have needed more good farmers than could be found locally.
One fact that seems to confirm this theory, is that it is usual in the Frisian marches on the West coast of Northern Germany and Holland, to have single farms with their land around the farm, whereas in the rest of Denmark it was usual to have the farmhouses lying close together in the village, and the lands in strips all around them. In Fristrup there were single farms, so it is likely that Frisians had brought their homeland custom with them. The only thing that was kept as common land in Fristrup, were the meadows where their cattle was grazing.
Frantzen is a common Frisian name. My mother believed that her unknown grandfather was of Frisian origin, and she made me feel proud of the name.
Anders
Frantzen, the Copy-Holder
In November 1750, Anders Frantzen was married for the first time to Kirsten Nielsdaughter of Fristrup, and in December the document is signed transferring his mother's farm in Fristrup to him. In 1751 his wife gave birth to a daughter named Kirsten Andersdatter.
In 1773 there are some additions to the original deed made by the owner at that time of Borglum Kloster, Count H. Chr. Rosencrone, according to which Anders Frantzen aquires the right to use the piece of land called the Horsebank together with his neighbor Niels Brick-molder. When Anders Frantzen transfers the farm to his son-in-law in 1798, he too is called Jens Brick-molder, which indicates that the added piece of land contains a clay-pit or clay soil for a brick-yard.
I assume that my grandfather's first wife died as well as their daughter, for in August 1777 – 57 years old – he marries a second time, and the bride, Anne Simonsdaughter is 27 years younger than he is. In May of 1778 they have a daughter named after his first daughter, Kirsten Andersdatter. This would mean that his first daughter is no longer alive. According to the census of 1787, Anne Simonsdatter has an illegitimate daughter, Mette Poulsdaughter of 13 living with them.
Anders Frantzen worked his farm for 48 years, and thus he lived to see the liberation of the peasants from their adscription (dependence) to the landowner in 1788. This became valid for all men under 14 and over 36 years of age. The complete freedom for all came only in the year of 1800. In practical life, it probably made no difference to my grandfather, who was then 68, but personally it must have meant a great deal to be a free man and no longer the servant of the landlord. If he wanted to, he could now leave his village. His farm was not yet his own, but at least he had a deed on it. Complete equality for peasents with other citizens did not occur till the Constitution was introduced in 1849.
The authorities were the kings, the landlords and the men of the church, and Karen Michelsdaughter and Anders Frantzen lived under King Frederik the Fourth, the mad King Christian the Sixth, when pietism was dominant, but from 1746 till 1766 the king was Frederik the Fifth, who took life less seriously. In 1766 he was followed by King Christian the Seventh.
However, I doubt that this had any great influence on everyday life in Fristrup. It was probably more significant who was the landlord at Borglum Kloster, or how severely the local vicar interpreted the rules of pietism.
My grandmother, Grandmother Frantzen, as we called her, was always there. She had her own little room, and when I did not have chores to do as a child, I would sneak into her room. She liked the Frantzen name and told me, that she was the one who had insisted that besides the second name of Jensen after my father, I should also have the name of Frantzen after my maternal grandfather, so that I could be proud of my Frisian ancestors.
My parents never told me about the Frisians, only much later I read about their historical background. My parents did not talk much at all. They worked hard, Mother around the house and looking after the animals, and Father was in the fields or molding bricks, if he was not working for the landlord at Borglum. But Grandmother Frantzen told me lots of stories.
My mother, Kirsten Andersdaughter, died on the 21st of December 1826, just before I was married at Skallerup vicarage on the 27th of December.
Grandmother Frantzen was still with us, and before I had to leave with my wife to travel all the way to Gjeraa on the East Coast, I had a long talk with her, where she revealed some of the family secrets.
This was when I heard about the Frisians. She had never met her mother-in-law, Karen Michelsdaughter, but over the years, she had lured some facts about her from my grandfather. Karen had never revealed who was the father of her son, but he was as a fact christened and named Anders Frantzen. So she could only guess whether he was called Anders after his father, and Frantzen after a father, who would then be called Frantzen or Frantz, a common Frisian name.
“There was in Borglum a farmer called Frantz Jepsen, and many thought that he might be your grandfather. But Karen never told. She maintained that her son was a genuine Frisian, and people should not speculate as to who he was.”
Grandmother also told me that she was Grandfather's second wife. The first wife had died and also his first daughter, named Kirsten Andersdaughter like my mother. Grandfather had been an elderly man when they married. She had been his housekeeper and had her daughter with her. She had – like Karen Michelsdaughter – had her daughter out of wedlock some years before, so she was glad that she could keep her with her.
“Your grandfather was a kind man, and after some time we grew used to and also fond of each other, so that in the summer of 1777 he thought that we should be engaged, which we were on the 17th August, and on October 14th we were married. I was then expecting your mother, and she was christened in Borglum abbey church on the 3rd of May 1778. Oh yes, your grandfather was a descent man and wanted things to be done in a proper way. He would not be like his own father, who never married his mother.”
Grandmother Frantzen died on the 1st of April 1827, three months after her daughter, and I never saw her after my wedding. I was really more sad at the death of Grandmother Frantzen, than I had been when my mother died. My mother never took me into her confidence as did Grandmother Frantzen. She was closer to my sister, I believe.
My
Father, Jens Jensen Sjostrup, a Free-Hand and Farmer
My
father was not like other fathers, for he was not born in Fristrup.
He came all the way from Himmerland, from a village called Sjostrup.
Therefore he was called Jens Jensen Sjostrup, sometimes Jens
Brick-molder. The reason why he was able to travel so far away from
home was, that he lived within and had served on the estate of
Thestrup. The landowner was Count H. Chr. Rosencrone, and he was
also the owner of Borglum Kloster. In such cases, the landlord could
make a good farmhand into a “Free-Hand”,
and in spite of the Adscription of Peasants he was free to move to
another of the landlord's properties.
That was how my father came to Borglum, where he met my mother, Kirsten Andersdaughter, who was at the time a maid at Borglum Kloster. I do not know how keen her parents were on this free-hand from the Estate, who had his home as far away as Himmerland. Nobody knew his family. And they may have preferred a son-in-law from the parish. On the other hand, Jens was eager to take part in the work, which was much needed, as my grandfather was getting on in age. So the wedding was set for the 25th October, 1798. Before that, my grandfather wanted to transfer his farm to his son-in-law, and a new copy-hold deed was written. As mentioned, the count Marcus Gerhard of Rosencrone was now the owner of Borglum. Copy of the deed of transfer is shown below: