Ole Hansen Snekvik

[Kathleen Hanson]

Ole Hansen Snekvik, d.o.b. 2 April, 1877 was my grandfather Kristoffer Martin Hansen Snekvik’s brother.  Their father was Hans Mathisen Berg.  I’m wondering if there’s a way to determine Ole’s cause of death on 25 October, 1890.  Any information will be deeply appreciated.

 

K. Hanson

[Carl-Henry Geschwind]

1 hour ago, Kathleen Hanson said:

Ole’s cause of death on 25 October, 1890

 He actually died 25 November 1890. Here is his death record from the church book: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/kb20060613080319 (entry # 13 near top of page. Entry reads: Date of death: 25/11 [in Norwegian, day comes before month, so this is 25 November], Date of burial: 5/12 [i.e., 5 December], Date of funeral/memorial service: 1/1/91, Name: Ole Hansen, legitimate [i.e., his parents had been married when he was born], Father: cottager Hans Mathiassen, Birth year: 1877, Birth place: Snekvik, Residence at death: Snekvik, Cause of Death: [blank], Did doctor attend him during his last illness? Yes, Was death reported to civil authorities? Yes).

[Kathleen Hanson]

Thank you so much for the reply, Carl-Henry.  I guess his cause of death will remain a mystery.  It states in the record that his father (my Great-grandfather) was a ‘cottager’.  I am not familiar with that term and wonder if you could explain its meaning.

[Carl-Henry Geschwind]

6 hours ago, Kathleen Hanson said:

I guess his cause of death will remain a mystery.  It states in the record that his father (my Great-grandfather) was a ‘cottager’.  I am not familiar with that term and wonder if you could explain its meaning.

 

"Cottager" (also translated as "cotter", which is more of a British term; the Norwegian term is "husmand" or "husmann") means that he did not have a whole farm to himself, but rather was essentially a sub-tenant with just a cottage and a small portion of land on the farm. For a much more extensive discussion, see http://martinroe.com/blog/index.php/2018/08/23/who-was-the-husmann/

[Kathleen Hanson]

Again, thanks for the very interesting information.  Is it likely my Great-grandfather Hans Mathisen had a ‘husmann’s contract’ of some kind, and if so, is there any way to find that?  Sorry to be so full of questions, but I really am quite new at all this and have little idea where else to look for such information.

 

Thank you,

Kathleen

[Carl-Henry Geschwind]

5 hours ago, Kathleen Hanson said:

Is it likely my Great-grandfather Hans Mathisen had a ‘husmann’s contract’ of some kind, and if so, is there any way to find that?

 

It is likely that there was a contract, and it is possible that such a contract was preserved among the local land records. However, I am not familiar with those records. Perhaps someone else with more local knowledge can help you on this.