South African Flemmer Family Site

The Abo Family

 

THE ABO FAMILY

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Notes prepared by Stephen Wilfred Herbert born 6th September 1946, East-London, South Africa on my great great great great grandfather Toger (Von) Abo and of his father and his son Johannes Christian Von Abo who became the stamvader of the South African Von Abo family. These notes were initially prepared whilst living in Holland and with the assistance of a professional researcher, Mr Arne Jensen Knudby of Bispehusene 18, DK 2620 Albertslund, Denmark.

Since first writing these notes in 1996 I have accumulated a lot more information on the Abo family, both in Europe and in South Africa. I will in the end write up the history of this family, but deal here only with my own direct line of descent.

In the South African branch of the family there are many stories about the Abos and von Abos who first came to the Cape Colony. I have not made any attempt at this stage to compare the historical recorded facts to the family story of the Von Abos that has been handed down through the generations. Nor have I attempted to put the story of these amazing Danes into the context of the history of the time although I have done a lot of reading on this period already. That project will have to wait for another day but it is my ultimate intention to write the story of these people against the background of the political, economic and social times in which they lived. In the meantime I set out information on my direct ancestors.

According to the University of Copenhagen the meaning of the name Abo is either "dweller by a river" or a man from Aabo - the medieval name for the current Aabosysssel, where the present town of Aarhus stands. We therefore find:

JONAS HANSEN - born near Aabo about 1585. Obviously at that time Abo was not being used as surname, 'Hansen' denoting 'son of Hans'. Jonas Hansen was a tanner and became a citizen (burger) of Aarhus on 3rd April 1606.

His son was - JOHANNES ABO - born about 1615 and died before 1669, he was a merchant at Aarhus.

He had at least three children of which one was - CHRISTIAN NICOLAI ABO - born about 1647 at Aarhus he became a citizen (burger) of Bergen in present day Norway in 1678 in which year he married Anna Leem.

They had at least four children of which one was - NIELS CHRISTIAN ABO - c1674 - 1744 he was a customs officer at Molde in Sweden and married Birgitte Mechlenberg and they had at least 6 children of which one was -


CHRISTIAN NICOLAI ABO - 1717 - 1789


Christian Nicolai Abo born 1717 was the son of a judge's assistant and gaoler in Bergen in Norway. In 1745 he married Anna Erlandsdatter Fieldberg (1721 - 1812) who was the widow of the curate Lars Werloe.

Whilst obviously the family was not of the nobility they would have been among a small minority of their time who were educated and employed on regular salaries and would I suppose have been considered the middle class of their time. The later records of the arrest of Toger Abo show that there were 8 children in the family and as Christian Nicolai spent his career with the Navy one has to assume that they were not wealthy and this is also referred to at the inquiry of Toger Abo.

We know that in 1743 Christian Nicolai was employed as a "Monthly" Lieutenant on board the man-of-war "Princess Louise" and that in 1744 he was employed as an Enlistment Officer in the district of Bergen.

In 1755 he was promoted to First Lieutenant and transferred to Egersund. It was while based here that complaints were raised against him by the French Envoy in a dispute over some prizes that had been brought into the port of Egersund. The matter was investigated but there is no record of any wrong doing on Abo's part although he was subsequently transferred to Mandel, although this may have had nothing to do with the complaint that was raised.

He remained with the Navy and by 1761 was on the man-of-war "Fyen". 1771 found him as Chief of the Enlistment in the district of Christiansend and 1778 the Enlistment Officer at Stavanger. He was to remain here for the rest of his life and in March 1789 he is recorded as the Chief of Enlistment and First Pilot in the district of Stavanger. Presumably with 8 children he needed to remain employed because by this time he was 72 years old and in fact died on 20th July 1789 while still in service.

I have no other information about the other children of Christian Nicolai and Anna his wife and have concentrated my efforts on our immediate ancestors.

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TOGER ABO - 1747 - 1806


I have used the name shown in Danish records, that is, without the "Von" which appears in the South African records as there is no evidence of its use in any of the documents that I have seen and this includes copies of letters signed by Toger Abo himself. It is possible that his son Christian Johannes adopted its use when he arrived in South Africa years later.

Toger Abo was born 16th February 1747 on the island of Stord in Norway and was baptised on 19th February of that year. There is no way of knowing how he subsequently came to be in Copenhagen where he became involved in the political and court upheavals of the time and which would have a life long impact on his future and his career.

We know that in 1760 he enlisted as a volunteer cadet with the Danish Navy at the age of 13 and in 1763 he became a full cadet. From the later commission of enquiry we can assume that it was during this period of his life that he became known to Count Enevold Brandt, with whom he apparently learned fencing, all of which is detailed into the inquiry that took place.

I will not in these notes go into the political intrigue of the court of King Christian VII as this in itself is a fascinating story which is well recorded in Danish and English history books of the period. King Christian VII was by all accounts an unstable and incompetent King who took a liking to Doctor Johann Strunsee, a German doctor who through skilful political manoeuvring effectively became prime minister of Denmark.

Through a series of decrees changing the established political and social order Strunsee made many enemies in the Court of that time and this together with the fact that he had an affair with he Queen lead to the arrest of Strunsee, Brandt and all of his supporters, but here I am jumping ahead of the story!

In 1771, at the age of 23, Toger Abo was made "General Adjudant" under the patronage of Strunsee and his salary was doubled. In 1772 Strunsee and his followers including Toger Abo were arrested and imprisoned. Toger Abo spent 10 weeks in the "Kastellet" at Copenhagen and his salary of 300 rdl. (presumably rixdollars or rijksdaalders) was stopped. This figure as an annual salary is interesting on its own against the subsequent figures that are in these notes regarding salary and pension.

Toger Abo was of course only a young man and presumably this would have been a good salary. It is recorded that at the time of his arrest he had pawned certain items which were as follows: a gold watch, a gold case, a pair of silver shoe buckles, a buckle for the neck, 7 silver teaspoons, which had been pawned for 90 rdls.

At the end of the 10-week imprisonment he was brought before the commission of inquiry and questioned closely about his association with Count Brandt and with Strunsee. The commission was particularly interested to know why on some occasions when he went to see Brandt the servant of Count Brandt had been sent from the room when normally this servant was completely trusted with confidential information. Obviously the commission was of the view that Abo and Brandt were using these periods in what they considered to be a plot against the Royal Court. Abo explained to the commission that he had sent the servant from the room because he was embarrassed to discuss his poor financial state in front of a servant. He pointed out that the commission was aware that his father was employed in the Navy at a low salary and that as one of 8 children they were not financially well off.

The subsequent evidence of Count Brandt confirmed this evidence and Brandt went on to say that the young Toger Abo was not someone to whom he (Brandt) would have entrusted confidential information. He said also that his meetings with Abo were mainly about Abo's financial situation and the benefit that could be gained by his association with Brandt.

It is difficult at this distance given the translation from German and Danish into English, to form a clear view of the young Toger Abo at this time and whilst some of the evidence appears to be uncomplimentary there is also a view that but for this unfortunate incident Toger Abo would have risen to the highest ranks of the Danish Navy at a very young age. It seems then that here was a young man without money or connections who was trying to improve his lot in the world and by backing the wrong horse he was to live with the stigma of his association with Brandt and Strunsee for the rest of his life.

There is also evidence that in an effort to improve his position he had submitted an application to the Admiralty College and that the commission of Inquiry had considered that he was being impertinent and reaching above his station in life. Toger Abo apologized to the commission for this application. The commission were obviously satisfied with their enquiries and on the 27th May 1772 the King signed the following order:

"Second Lieutenant Abo is hereby acquitted of further charges with respect to his careless, thoughtless, culpable, behaviour and it is recommended and allowed that he go abroad for three years to take foreign service to qualify himself to Our service and to endeavour to acquire the right and proper ambition. He must within 4 weeks leave the capital. For the time he has been arrested he shall have his wage due to him as before, that is 300 rdls. pro anno."


ChristianBorg Castle 25th May 1772
Signed Christian


One can imagine the relief of this young man, still only 22, as this acquittal was granted but the fact was he had effectively been banished from Denmark for 3 years whilst being given the opportunity to regain the favour of the King. It was this turn of events in fact which eventually lead to the "South African connection" as he entered Dutch naval service and during one of his calls at the Cape met Maria van der Spuy and this was of course the start of the South African Von Abo family.

In any event 1773 saw him joining the Dutch naval service and in 1774 there is a letter from the Danish Admiralty expressing its pleasure at a report that it had received from Abo describing his successful activities in the war against England in the defence of the Dutch colonies in the Far East. In effect the Admiralty said that he was doing well in his endeavours to win the grace of the King.

In 1777 he was back in Amsterdam from Bengal on board the ship the "Tempel". In this letter to Denmark he describes how the ship was nearly lost in the Bay of Biscay when it was struck by a terrible storm and the captain being unwell, Abo assumed command. The crew and other officers apparently had no other interest than in saving themselves and it was only through offering to pay extra wages that the crew was persuaded to work to save the ship. The Dutch shareholders had expressed their appreciation at Abo's actions in this case.

In 1779, aged by now 32 and 7 years after leaving Denmark Toger Abo wrote again to apply for an extension to his leave to make another trip to the East Indies as a Commanding Officer and to "bring order to his affairs". Permission was granted and we can only assume that as a Commanding Officer or Captain of this Dutch East Indiaman he was in a far better position to improve his financial situation than as a Danish Navy officer.

On 28th October 1780 he wrote that he was sailing past Texel, an island off the north western coast of Holland as commanding officer of the frigate "Het Hof ter Linde" with a crew of 330 men. He wrote that he intended on his arrival in Cape Town to marry Maria van der Spuy, the daughter of a wealthy town councillor Johannes Cornelius van der Spuy and his wife Magdaleen de Waal. Permission for the marriage was granted by the Danish Navy and on the 5th March 1781 he wrote from Cape Town that he had married Maria on the 18th February 1781 and that he had ordered his representative in Copenhagen to pay a deposit of 1000 rdls. into the Enkekassen, which was in fact a widows pension fund and was a requirement of the time.

We do not know whether he then took Maria with him to the Far East but it was to be 6 years before their son Johannes Christian was born in Copenhagen, so it may be that Maria remained with her parents at the Cape.

We know that in 1781 he was in Batavia where he wrote that he had been promoted to "Captain of the Indian Sea" and Commanding Officer of a man-of-war of 54 canon and a crew of 450 and that he hoped that this promotion would prepare the way for his promotion in Denmark. In 1785, by now aged 38, he was still in the Far East where there was an unfortunate incident when his ship the "Dolphin" exploded and burnt to the waterline at the Straits of Malacca. We don't know whether there was any wrong doing on his part as the record is silent on this point and it should be possible from an investigation of the Dutch records to establish more about this particular incident.

In 1786 he had returned to Amsterdam from the Far East and re-entered Danish naval service as a Captain Lieutenant the same year. In 1787 his son Christian Johannes was baptised at the Holmens church in Copenhagen and it is interesting to look at the list of sponsors of the child as it gives an idea of Toger and Maria Abo's position in Danish society. It is quite probable that after his extended service in the Far East he was a relatively wealthy man and had decided to settle back in Denmark. In 1788 at the age of 41 he was Second in Command of the man-of-war "Princess Louise Augusta" and he had various commissions over the following years. In 1793 he requested permission to go to Norway for 2 or 3 months to sort out his financial affairs and this presumably related to the death of his father Nicolai in 1789. It is recorded that in 1794 he owned his own frigate, the "Friderichsdal" which was carrying grain and hemp between Norway and Denmark.

In 1797 aged 50 he applied to be relieved of his naval commission and requested 2/3 of his salary as pension as he had developed consumption during his last command. The Navy agreed to this request and he was dismissed without salary to re-establish his health. This was subsequently changed to a 2/3 pension until his health had improved when he could re-enter the service.

In 1798 at age 51 there is a record of charges being brought against him and his partner regarding the irregular delivery of timber from Holmen and these charges are withdrawn subsequently on payment of 5000 rdls. in compensation. Given the fact that his pension as recorded is being 600 rdls. a year this is a substantial amount of money and it seems that after this time his finances never recovered. There may be some truth in the family legend that says that he invested all of his money in Danish government "obligations" which would in fact have been government bonds and that these subsequently became valueless, however there is nothing in the official records to confirm this.

In 1799, by now 52 he reported to the Navy that he was well and that he wanted to rejoin the service. This may of course have been for financial reasons, however the Navy did not accept his application on the basis that he was bankrupt and they wanted to know how his debts would be settled. He told the Navy that his creditors would receive 80%, which would be paid on 3rd March 1800. The Admiralty said that it would wait before re-employing him, as apparently his debts still had not been paid.

In 1801 he applied for permission to go to La Rochelle where his ship "Haabet" had been taken as a prize and is being dealt with in the prize court. Permission was granted but it seems that one problem was mounting on another over this period.

In January 1804 by now aged 57 he was officially put on pension of 600 rdls. a year as the Admiralty felt that he had been out of service for sea and land duties for too long. It confirmed that he had paid his debts but nevertheless he could not be accepted back in service.

In 1806 by now aged 59 he went to sea again in merchant service presumably to try and regain his fortune and he died the 22nd November 1806 as captain of a merchant ship on a return trip from Batavia. His place of burial is unknown.

I find this a somewhat sad story, as here was a young man who had obviously showed tremendous promise but that by making a wrong decision early in his life to back the wrong horse found himself despite a long and adventurous life, a relatively poor man having to take once more to the sea in his old age.

The various Copenhagen census records taken at approx. 5 year intervals refer to Toger Abo and his wife living at various addresses in Copenhagen and it is not yet been possible to establish what part of the city they were in. Similarly after his death his wife Maria is recorded as living at various addresses until she subsequently died in 1814 at age 72 at the home of her son in law Michael Naested a lawyer at Holbaek.

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CHRISTIAN JOHANNES VON ABO - 1787 - 1869


Christian Johannes von Abo the son of Toger Abo and Maria van der Spuy was baptised in Holmens church in Copenhagen on 3rd November 1787. His father's rank is listed as Captain in the Navy and the position of his parents can perhaps be judged by the sponsors listed for the christening who included a member of the Privy council, two Admirals, a member of the States Council and various other naval ranks. There were also two Madames Lowe. Nothing is known of his childhood except the 1801 census records that he was aged 13 and a pupil at a training institute at Vesterport. In 1810 he was a Lieutenant and married Miss Louis Dorothea Naested. Although the South African records show her name as Charlotte Maria Louisa Naested we presume that it is the same person.

Three children were born of this marriage, Marie Sophie Frederikke (1811) Toger in Copenhagen 1814, and Betty Camilla Augusta born 1816 in Denmark. Toger followed his father to South Africa and became a successful trader in Cradock, Cape Province. He returned to Denmark in 1852 and persuaded his sister Betty by then married to Dr Christian August Flemmer, to move to Cradock with their 7 children. In the same year, 1852, Toger married Methea Sophia Kjeldberg. She went with him to South Africa, and he died childless in Cradock in 1879.

Christian Johannes arrived at Cape Town in 1820 and it is possible that this was because of the poor economic situation in Denmark at the time and the fact that he would have had family contacts there where he could use his training as a surveyor which he had learned in the Danish Navy.

As far as we know he did not returned Denmark and in 1823 his wife Louis Dorothea died aged 30 in Holbaek at the home of her brother Johannes Hendrik Naested, the same town where her mother in law Maria van der Spuy had died. It seems that he did not see his Danish children again until they moved to South Africa as adults. Betty Camilla Augusta had by then married Christian August Flemmer and as the mother of 7 children, the oldest of whom was 11, arrived at Port Elisabeth after what would have been a 3 months voyage in 1853!

In 1826 Christian Johannes Von Abo married Maria Magdelena Jacoba van Buuren at Graaf Reinet. She was the daughter of Johannes Gerardus van Buuren of Haarlem and Elisabeth Josina Eksteen whose family can be traced back to Germany in 1609. Maria Magdelena Jacoba van Buuren had been born on the ship "Thomas" in 1805 and would have been 21 at the time of her marriage while Johannes Christiaan was by now 39.

This couple had 9 children in Graff Reinet, one of whom, Wilhelmina Johanna Von Abo born in 1833 married Frederick Hurlingh Hopley in 1852. Their daughter Aletta Alida Hopley married the son of Betty Camilla Augusta Von Abo and Christian August Flemmer, -Hans Christian Flemmer- and their son in turn was my grandfather, Marius Toger Flemmer.

At the time of writing this I know about the other decendents of Christian Johannes Von Abo. He worked as a land surveyor in the Cape Colony and died on the 9th November 1869 aged 82 in Burgersdorp and his wife Magdelena died in 1881 age 76.

Steve Herbert

Kalk Bay Cape Town January 2004

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