Skifter 1972 Bergen?

[Margaret Miller]

I am not sure I have the right place to ask this question. For bygdeboka for Brønnøy i Nordland, might there be probates for: Arvid Leopold Marthinussen f. 02.01.1917 død 05.05.1972 og ogsaa Marta Antonie Marthinussen f. 27.12.1908 d. 20.02.1972.

 

Begge er gravlagt i Nygaard Bergen. De er begge to trolig ugifte og de har søsken vi vet ingenting om.

 

Tusen takk!

[Yngve Nedrebø]

Arvid Leopold Marthinussen f. 02.01.1917 død 05.05.1972. Dødsfallet er registrert i Laksevåg, Sotra skifterett. Han var ugift maskinmann, og etterlot seg søsken Nora Paulsen, Bergen, Marie Heggland, Oslo, mens søsteren Karen Hedby var død i Sverige, men hadde etterlatt seg en datter.

 

Marta Antonie Marthinussen f. 27.12.1908 d. 20.02.1972. Ugift butikkdame, bosatt Laksevåg. Arvinger hennes søsken: Nora Paulsen, Bergen, Marie Heggland, Oslo, søsteren Karen Hedby var død i Sverige, men hadde etterlatt seg en datter, samt bror Arvid L. Marthinussen, Bergen.

[Margaret Miller]

Mange tusen takk Yngve!!!! fra Margaret

[Terje Hatvik]

Dear Margaret:

 

Marie Marthinussen Heggland, b. 1892 in Laksevåg, HORD, d. approximately 1979 (?) in Oslo, OSLO; was the widow of the late Goldsmith employee Nils Johan Olsen Heggland, b. April 1892 in Os (near Bergen), HORD; d. October 1966 in Oslo.

Her spouse Nils was the youngest brother of my great grandfather - he was my grandmothers' paternal uncle.

 

He was alledgedly intended to be a carpenter/ builder or maybe a painter, like his older brothers - my great grandfather became a Master builder. But Nils Johan had a quite different fate: - As a youngster he accidentally fell off the very slippery roof of a tall house when working as an apprentice (probably assisting his brothers), and thus severely damaging one of his legs. He luckily avoided being paralyzed or totally crippled, but unfortunately got a severe Gangrene in one leg.

 

The leg therefore had to be amputated to save his life. So for the rest of his life Nils Johan was left with a wooden leg, or a prosthetic limb as we would call it today. Since his planned carreer as a carpenter clearly went "straight down the drain", he had to choose a different profession. And as the story goes he was admitted as an apprentice at an senior gold smith in Bergen (- they don't need to climb roofs).

 

Nils Johan and Marie Heggland most likely met in Bergen, but soon moved to Oslo, where they settled in the St. Hanshaugen district in Oslo. They had at least one daughter, Alma Heggland. Because of his skills, perserverance, vigour and stamina Nils Johan Heggland did well inspite of his severe handicap - the wooden leg.

 

He evolved into being a dedicated union man and served at least seven years as the chairman of Oslo Gold Empolyee Assosciation or Union (Oslo Guldsmedarbeiderforbund). He probably excelled as a union leader there, because he since advanced to serve as the Deputy Chairman (from 1921 to1934) of Norway's Gold Employee Assosciation for a further fourteen years, before he ended up as the leader (' the union boss') of the very same union for another fourteen years (1935 - 1948).

 

Thus, he also became a board member of the secret branch of LO (i.e. AFL/ CIO) during WW II. Since they dealt with resistance and refused to obey the nazis, they (AFL/ CIO) were subsequently declared illegal by the ruling german occupants and Vidkun Quisling's self-established puppet regime of nazi collaborators. Though they acted with caution and worked guietly under cover, their organization was rolled up, and Nils Johan Heggland were among those arrested in a rather brutal police razzia in his own home on September 10.th 1941.

 

He was of course questioned/ interrogated and sentenced to imprisonment in the notorious norwegian Labor camp at Grini, where the prisoners endured hard and harsh conditions. I believe it was even tougher limping about in prison camp on a prosthetic limb. Nils Johan Heggland spent almost two and half years (twenty-eight months) in the labor camp, he was not released before February 1.st 1944.

 

According to family speculation Nils Johan Heggland's physical appearance may have added to his perils as a prisoner: He was of medium height, his caucasian complexion was darker than most fellow ethnic norwegians, he also had thick, black hair and dark brown eyes; i.e. Nils Johan did not fit the nazi impression of an idealized tall blonde Norwegian with blue eyes. To his contemporaries he definately looked more Mediterranean than Nordic.

 

After the war, when peace and normality was restored in 1945, he kept up his profession as a goldsmith, as well as attending to new union duties and positions, now serving as an efficient and punctual Main Treasurer for the aforementioned union; i.e. Norway's Gold Employee Assosciation.

When he retired he was honored with an life time membership in the union.

 

Nils Johan Heggland died in Oslo in October 1966, aged 74,5 yrs. He was remembered and mourned by family, friends and former colleagues as a clever, kind and gentle man. As initially mentioned above he was survived by his wife, Marie.

 

This information is of course totally "off topic", but I thoght it could be worth sharing the rather unique story with you, anyhow.

 

Best regards, Terje Hatvik from Os.

Endret Januar 27, 2012 av Terje Hatvik - Os i Hordaland