Genders and Occupations

When one looks at the occupations of people in the 1801 census – or any other census before the late 20th century – one is always influenced by a sense of which forms of work are associated with women, and which with men. And, if someone is noted as living off “blacksmithing”, the image in one’s mind tends stabilize around the idea of a rather large, quite hairy, bearded or – at the very least – moustachioed, man hammering away at his pieces of red-hot iron until he gets thirsty and visits an inn: in this case, the other part of the occupation given to the census-taker.

One would – one often is – be mistaken, though, for the person who makes a living from “Inn-keeping and smithing-work” is a woman, more precisely, Mrs Maren Sophie Knudsdatter, a 48 year old widow, for the second time, with “housewife” noted as her position in the family[1].

In reality, one imagines, at least one if not both of her husbands – the first called Søren, the second Gjert, judging from the patronymics used Maren Sophie’s children, would have been the black-smith and Maren Sophie has inherited the business and keeps it in order to hand it over to her oldest son, Christen Lorentz Sørensen who, himself, at the age of 24 is a Master Blacksmith.

Another dimension of this little speculation is that Maren Sophie probably looked after the inn-keeping business in a personal manner; the children of the second marriage are on the young side to be useful with anything but the simpler tasks, and any way they are both boys who have been apprenticed to their mother: another somewhat fictional arrangement as one would presume they are learning from their half brother rather than the mother.

The last child is little Berthe Heleene, who is 9 years old at this time. Her christening can be found in the parish records for Sandar, which shows she was baptised[2] on 22 April 1792, daughter of Giert Christiansen Reinert and wife Maren Sophie Knudsdatter. Witnesses included Andrea Henrichsd Sohr (?); Jfr Charlotte Anglia Thue; Sr Jahn Sörensen Töyen, Thor Sörensen; and Giert Jahnsen – all, it seems, from Sandefjord or – as the entry appears to say – “on” (paa) Sandefjord.

In 1801, Maren Sophie and her family lived at 2, Væstre Gade and a few houses away, at number 7, we find one Ole Christansen Reinert, aged 50, and an able-bodied seaman noted as sailing internationally, and his family consisting of a wife (both in the first marriage) and their two small children[3]. This Ole must be the brother of Giert, one presumes.

Intriguingly, there is another blacksmith with an interesting name, Reiner, in Sandefjord at the time: Jeremias Andreasen Reiner and his family live in house 20 in Væstre Gade, and has, as his occupation, Master Blacksmith and Inn-keeper. There is absolutely no evidence f a connection, so far, but it is striking that there are two blacksmiths who also run inns just a few houses apart in a small village that contains no more than 373 souls.

An intriguing possibility:

Looking for a record of Maren Sophie’s baptism, the christening of one Sören-Lorentz was found in the parish records for Sandar for the year 1753, where a boy of that name is noted to have been baptized 29 November, the son of Christen Larsen and Hana Hansd, paa Sandefjord[4].

This child seems to have died young, as he is not included in the 1762 material[5], whereas both parents are there, with three children of their own: Laers, Zyverine, and Johannes, all with Christen as their patronymic, and then a fourth child called Anne Lisbeth Jensdatter, whom they may have fostered or otherwise looked after.

In any case, it is the combination of given names that is of interest here, as Maren Sophie’s two older sons both have the name Lorentz and the eldest even Sören Lorentz, which may or may not be a clue to a relationship.

And with that, today’s speculation endeth.

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[1] http://www.digitalarkivet.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&sidenr=7&filnamn=f18010724&gardpostnr=187&personpostnr=2390&merk=2390#ovre

[2] Kildeinformasjon: Vestfold fylke, Sandar, Ministerialbok nr. 3 (1789-1814), Fødte og døpte 1792, side 24. 
Permanent sidelenke:  http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?idx_kildeid=8225&idx_id=8225&uid=ny&idx_side=-26
Permanent bildelenke: http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20070426650725.jpg

[3] See http://www.digitalarkivet.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&sidenr=40&filnamn=f18010724&gardpostnr=192&personpostnr=2419&merk=2419#ovre

[4] Kildeinformasjon: Vestfold fylke, Sandar, Ministerialbok nr. 2 (1733-1788), Fødte og døpte 1753, side 54. Permanent sidelenke:  http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:kb_read?idx_kildeid=8224&idx_id=8224&uid=ny&idx_side=-57 Permanent bildelenke: http://www.arkivverket.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20070426650463.jpg

[5] Ekstraskatt 1762: Larvik m/Langest. og Sandefj., see www.digitalarkivet.no

Food and drink, anyone?

In 1801, too, there were places where a person could get a drink, some food and a bed for the night, perhaps.

Maren Sophie Knudsdatter in Væstre Gade, having become a widow –possibly for the second time – lived off inn-keeping and blacksmithing: a combination that might have ensured some discipline among younger members of the drinking classes.

Another widow, Elen Maria Christensdatter, also in Væstre Gade, provided quarter to travellers besides her inn-keeping.

Jeremias Andreasen Reiner, who was 39, combined his metier as master blacksmith with innkeeping – again in Væstre Gade – but as he was also married to Andrea Kristine Norr aged 29 and had his own mother – aged 82 – living with him, one might be forgiven for suspecting that much of the work in the inn was done by the womenfolk, not Jeremias himself.

In Østre Gade, Johannes Nielsen Grøn managed to combine fishery with inn-keeping but, again, one might suspect the inn was kept by his wife Anne Knudsdatter Hellevad. Both of them were in their late fifties, and both were married for the second time.

In any case, with 373 inhabitants, four inns is not bad, working out as one for every 91 inhabitants. In today’s municipality – which is not really comparable except for the name – that would imply around 440 pubs in Sandefjord? Somebody really needs to get cracking.

A huge transcription work carried out by Ketil Firing-Hansen makes it possible to have a snapshot of the population of Sandefjord in 1701. Naturally the material has its limitations: there are 78 people listed, of whom 72 are men: women appear to have been included only when they are economic actors – and hence tax subjects – in their own right. Hence the inclusion of four widows.


More intriguingly, there are two more women included: they are described as “huusquinder”. The author of this blog is not at all sure what a “huusquinde” was – but someone else might be able to contribute an explanation.


It is difficult to know what the overall population of Sandefjord might have been, given that women were not registered, but if one uses the ratio found in the 1801 census, there ought to have been 85-90 women in the settlement giving an estimate of the total number of inhabitants in the region of, say, 160 people.


On the other hand, the graph showing the distribution of ages among men seems to display a deficit of men in the ages from 15 to 50 or thereabouts: the most productive years. One might speculate that this represents men who were absent, for one reason or another, and therefore not counted. If so, up to 35-40 men might have to be added; perhaps 45-50 women, and thus the total estimated population would be as high as 240-250 people: not inconsistent with the population in 1762.

Be that as it may – it is highly speculative. What is not speculative, though, is the undoubted chivalry of the census-takers: among the six women they counted, none had her age revealed. Plus ça change.