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1703-1870
Part
I
by
Steve Herbert
PRESENTED AT THE MILLENIUM MEETING APRIL 2001 - KALK BAY
ANDERS FLEMMER | FREDERICH FLEMMER | JOHANNES FLEMMER | HANS CHRISTIAN FLEMMER | CHRISTIAN AUGUST FLEMMER
Always
having had an interest in history, and in our own family, I turned my hand to
doing research when living in Holland in 1994. The building up of a family tree
is in itself interesting- putting together dates of births, deaths and marriages
of people I knew or had heard of while growing up. Of course this led me further
and further back in time and began to show me where we came from and who our ancestors
were. Perhaps being African and cut off from our European roots makes this all
the more important.
But the family tree is in reality only a minor part
of the story. Of far more interest to me is who these people were and how and
where they lived. In this first chapter of the Flemmer Family History I have tried
to put what I have found out against the historical background of the times in
which they lived. I am an amateur historian and having started this task, am filled
with admiration for people who have written and published novels and social histories.
The amount of work and detailed research involved is enormous, as I have found
out even in this modest work.
It is truly like a combination of detective
work and building a jigsaw. Seemingly insignificant pieces of information combine
and slowly the picture begins to emerge. I have been helped along the way by many
people who have given me information, old files, photographs and encouragement
to work on what is a thoroughly enjoyable task. I have been and am in contact
with family members who I would never otherwise have met in countries all over
the world. There are many I would like to thank- my wife Judy, Joan Geyser, Otto
Broholm in Denmark, Joan Merritt in Montana and Dan Flemmer who lent me his own
file of papers and set me on the path! My brother Terry who gave me invaluable
editorial input and most especially Fay Lea who shares my enthusiasm for the Flemmer
history and without whom this chapter would not have been possible.
Some
people reading this may notice that ages quoted are not consistent throughout
and that the spelling of names does not always match family papers that they may
have. A word of explanation. In Denmark and South Africa there are books and other
publications where Flemmers are mentioned and with them dates and ages. Wherever
possible I have used actual records of births, marriages and deaths and this at
times produces apparent inconsistencies. I am satisfied that the information I
have is as accurate as it can be given the circumstances. As far as first names
are concerned, I have again used details found in Denmark.
I have been
asked if I have found out the meaning of the name Flemmer, and the origin of the
name. As you will see they are recorded living near Odense in Denmark as early
as 1461. The name Flemmer according to the Copenhagen University is almost certainly
the same as Flemming: a man from Flanders. In 1991 the Danish census showed that
there were 24 people in Denmark with the name Flemmer.
While this chapter
covers the first four generations of Danish Flemmers, I should set out where I
fit in-
Frederich Flemmer c. 1703-1777 married Anne Pedersdatter 1711-1791
Johannes
Flemmer 1740-1818 married Anna Lindholm 1750-1792
Hans Christian Flemmer 1771-1847
married Christine Rabeholm 1779-1852
Christian August Flemmer 1813-1870 married
Betty Camilla Abo 1816-1896
Hans Christian Flemmer 1847-1896 married Aletta
Alida Hopley 1853-1934
Marius Toger Flemmer 1877-1965 married Kathleen Nolan
Neylan 1884-1948
Kathleen Norah Flemmer1912-1972 married Ronald Harold Herbert
1914-1988
Stephen Wilfred Herbert 1946- married Judith Ann Delbridge 1948-
No history is ever complete as more and more information becomes available.
Perhaps this first chapter will help to prompt memories of people and times past.
Even at the eleventh hour Fay and I were adding pieces to this before the final
proof was complete. Like a family, its history is a story with no beginning and
no end.
Steve Herbert June 2000
Kalk Bay Cape Town
ANDERS FLEMMER | FREDERICH FLEMMER | JOHANNES FLEMMER | HANS CHRISTIAN FLEMMER | CHRISTIAN AUGUST FLEMMER
1.
Odense borgerskabsprotokol Radstue protokol 1720-31 folio 258b
2. Jacobsen
H.S. 'Outline History of Denmark'
3. Odense parykmagerslaug lavsprotokol 1742-1824
4. Odense kobstad skifteprotokol no.27 1772-77 folio 549b
5. Lauring P.
'A History of Denmark'
6. Kirby D. 'The Baltic World 1492-1772,1772-1993'
7.
Given V. 'Old Occuaptions-Perukemakers' Family Tree Magazine Jan 97
8. Author
unknown 'Ships of the Cape'
9. Bruijn and Gaastra ' Ships Sailors and Spices'
10.
Odense parykmager lavs protokol p17b
11. Odense census 1787 p166
12. Odense
kobstad skifteprotokol 1816-19 folio 883a
13. Konsted parish census 1801
14.
Kirke Stillinge parsih census 1834,1845
15. Havrebjerg parish census 1834
16.
Antvorskov birk skifteprotokol 1844-48 folio 338
17. Barford Fr. Denmark's
Clergy 1848
18. Berlingske Tidende no 289 1847
19. Jessen J. 'A look through
Kongsted parish History 1799-1819'
20. Korsor census 1850
21. Flemmer Anna
Louie ' The Little Dane' unpublished
22. Cape Almanacs 1849- National Library
Cape Town
23. Godlonton R. ' Narrative of the Kaffir Wars 1850-52'
24. Gilfillan
M. 'Story of one branch of the Gilfillan Family' AQ 929 .2.GIL
25. Van Riebeck
Tercentenary Book 1652-1952 Nat. Library A968.764
26. Cradock and Tarkastad
Register National Library MP1202
27. State Archives Cape Town ref 6/9/788 1547;
6/9/356 2292
State Archives CT 'Arrivals & Departures PE 1846-' p81
The
only evidence we have of Anders Flemmer is a hand written note apparently from
Denmark and of unknown date. Next to the birth year is written "Vistnok fodt i
Frankrig og fordrevet som Protestant 1685". Translated this means "Probably born
in France and exiled for being a Protestant 1685". There is a further note that
says he probably died in Faaborg, Denmark in 1715.Under the name of Anders Flemmer
follow some of the names of our own descendants.
It is interesting that
this same hand written note shows the 'title' of Anders and his immediate descendants
as Seigneur. There is apparently little significance in this as it was the fashion
of the time to adopt all things French, particularly among the upper classes.
There is even a saying from that time " If you are a man of manners, you speak
French to your wife, German to your dog, and Danish to your servants"!
At
the time of writing none of the Danish research has been able to find any written
evidence of Anders Flemmer. Jorgen Flemmer, a distant relative who I met in Copenhagen
in 1996, told me that he had been told as a boy that the Flemmers were Huguenots
who fled France in the great exodus of the 17th century. The next generation of
Flemmers were wigmakers in Odense (see below) and we know that French wigmakers
moved into the Odense area at about this time. It is tempting to draw the conclusion
that Anders Flemmer was one of them. But having said this, there is no evidence
to support this conclusion. Otto Broholm, who is a Flemmer descendant, and lives
near Odense, has spent many hours at the archives and has found no trace of Anders
Flemmer.
The Flemmer name has been recorded in the area of Odense since
the 1400's when O. Flemmer and Lauris Flemmer were recorded as living northeast
of Odense in 1460. In 1491 near Assens, which is 40 kms. from Odense, a man named
Olof Flemmer, the guardian of the village church, had his name inscribed on the
church bells. Despite the romance of having our Huguenot ancestors fleeing persecution
in France it seems more likely that we are descended from Danish Flemmers who
were in the area from mediaeval times.
Descendants
of Frederich Flemmer c 1703-1777
1 Frederich Flemmer b: c 1703 d:
20th May 1777
+ Anne Pedersdatter b: 20th Dec 1711 d: 2nd July 1791 m: 20th
January 1729
in Vor Frue Church in Odense
2 lngeborg Flemmer b: 15th March
1731 d: 24th February 1772
2 Christian Flemmer b: 28th August 1732
+ Ulrica
Rosina Guldener m: 13th September I766 in Holmens Sogn Copenhagen
2 Anne
Maria Flemmer 15th October I 733
+ Hans Mathiassen Kragh m: in Assens Denmark
2 Peter Flemmer b: c 1735
2 Anna Flemmer b: c 1737 d 20th January l789
2 Johannes Flemmer b: 7th February 1740 d: 1818
+ Anna Lindholm b: I750 d:
I792 m: 2nd July 1769 in Kappendrup north of Odense
2 Martha Flemmer b: 4th
April 1743
+ Christen Hansen m: 11th March 1785 in Odense
2 Daniel Flemmer
b: 15th February 1747 d: 24th August 1783
+ Anna Kirstine Oluffsen b:11th Aug
1749 d:11th Sep 1795 m: 30th Sep 1772 in St Knud's Odense
Frederich
Flemmer is the earliest Flemmer that I have been able to trace in the Danish records.
Despite the fact that Denmark is renowned for the accuracy of its record keeping,
no trace of his birth in Odense on the island of Funen has yet been found. The
earliest record we have is on the 3rd February 1729 when he was aged about 26,
which reads
" In the year 1729 Thursday 3rd February Frederich Flemmer
appeared before the court and stated that he had begun his affairs here in this
town as a wigmaker and he has now asked for citizenship. He therefore swore an
oath according to the law so that from now on he shall enjoy all the rights and
freedom of a citizen (burgher)".
This registration as a burgher was
required by law for anyone who wanted to practice their profession, and was also
a means of registering taxpayers. By this registration Frederich would also have
received his trading licence as a wigmaker.
There were other Flemmers in
Odense at this time as there are burial records of Flemmers who were not Frederich's
children, but probably the children of a brother, Peter.
Wigmaking was
a major industry in Europe at this time and in fact enjoyed its heyday from about
1600-1800 when it went into decline as fashion changed. At its height no man of
any means would be seen in public without a wig and would be considered to be
undressed or of the poor labouring classes if he did so. In the 1730's, court
documents recorded a standard expression for a poor man as having appeared "in
his own hair" so one can assume that Frederich Flemmer would have been part of
a thriving industry and relatively wealthy when his children were young.
Manuals
of wigmaking testify to the painstaking methods used to create the various kinds
of wigs worn. The process varied according to type but was exacting and laborious.
It involved drawing out the hair with combs, frizzing, weaving the hairs into
thick thread or string, measuring the head, weaving the hairs on to the block,
mounting and curling. The art of wigmaking shares many of the qualities of lacemaking
and weaving: deft fingers, fine eyesight, intense concentration and patience.
Excellent light is needed to do this work.
Some of the articles needed
by the wigmaker would have included: a stove, wig blocks, needles, tacks, iron
cards or combs, wooden curlers, a loom, a ruler to measure the hair, ribbons,
a pair of compasses and of course hair, whether human, goat or horse.
Denmark
and Europe were going through immense political and social turmoil during the
lifetime of Frederich Flemmer and it is only possible to give a brief background
to life at this time. Between 1700 and 1730 the Great Northern War was fought
in which 7 000 Danes of a force of 14 000 lost their lives. In 1711 bubonic plague
reached Denmark killing 20 000 in Copenhagen alone. In some towns 40 per cent
of the population was wiped out, and across the countryside farms and farmhouses
lay abandoned.
Although improvements like paving and street lighting had
been introduced in Copenhagen, life for the poorer classes would have been tough
as the following makes clear " the outward appearance of the Danish capital
left a good deal to be desired. The city's canals were clogged with filth, the
quays of the harbour were in such a poor state of repair that ships could not
tie up there, and the many straw-thatched houses were a fire hazard." It is
no surprise to see that a large portion of the capital was destroyed in a fire
in 1728.
Life was hard for people in the provinces too. In 1733 laws were
passed to ensure that peasant males between the ages of 14 and 36 remained on
the estates where they were born. Peasant labourers were described at this time
as " lazy, stubborn, given to smoking tobacco, and drinking spirits, rude to
those in authority over them ... in sum, fear of punishment is the only thing
which drives them to do good...." This description could so easily have been
taken from a pre-1994 South African Government document of the late 20th century!
The
agricultural depression that persisted over this period caused great hardship.
In the small provincial towns like Odense, the livelihood of the citizens would
have been constantly threatened by travelling peddlers and artisans protected
by powerful landowners. The high life of the big city with its coffeehouses, shops
selling exotic and costly foodstuffs and confections, the theatres and assembly
rooms would be a world away.
Against the background of this turmoil, the
government issued laws and decrees aimed at improving the economy and bringing
better order to society. One area which would have directly affected wigmakers
like Frederich Flemmer, was the issue of the formation of guilds. On the one hand
the Danish government saw the guilds as a means of artisans developing closed
shops which also controlled prices, keeping them high. On the other, the government
was anxious to ensure that standards of workmanship were maintained.
In
1742 the wig makers in Copenhagen and Odense were permitted to form guilds and
the five wigmakers of Odense bought a book to record their minutes. The first
meeting was held on 15th January 1743 at the home of Jens Poulsen, the guild master.
In attendance were Frederich Flemmer and the other four members of the guild.
The role of master of the guild was passed to each in rotation and between 1745-1747
this task fell to Frederich Flemmer. His name can still be seen written in gold
on the cover of the guild book at the Odense Archive.
Wigmakers
Guild Book
Established 1742
It
is even possible 250 years later for us to see how he signed his name to the minutes
thus -
He
was married to Anne Pedersdatter (literally Peter's daughter) c.1711-1791, in
the Vor Frue Church in Odense on 20th January 1729. Anne was the daughter of a
burgher (master) butcher, Peder Lauritzen and Ingeborg Hansdatter. They were a
fairly wealthy family as can be seen from their probate record, when their house
in the Nedergade in Odense was valued at 1 000 rigsdalers (also known as rixdollars,
or rijksdalders). It seems he had married well if we compare the value of this
house to that of Frederich Flemmer when he died 48 years later. His house was
then valued at 200 rigsdalers.
Vor Frue Church Odense
I
was able to visit Vor Frue (Our Lady's) Church, the original part of which was
built in 1690. It is typical of other churches we saw, with a brick tower, tiled
floor with baptismal font in the centre and maintained in immaculate order.
Probably
a coincidence, but as in some other churches I saw, there is a model sailing ship
hanging from the ceiling. Presumably this is intended to draw attention to the
perils of the sea and the Danes' close affinity with it and to call on blessings
for those many Danes who would have been at sea. The interesting thing in this
case is that the ship is named "Haabet" which was the name of a ship owned by
Toger Abo, and which was seized as a prize in 1801. [See History of the Abos]
I have no way of knowing whether there is any connection.
Like many of
their time Frederich and Anna had a large family-
Ingeborg 1731-1772
Christian
1732-
Anne Maria 1733- married Hans Mathiassen Kragh
Peter 1735-
Anna
1737-1789
Johannes 1740-1818 our direct ancestor married Anna Lindholm 1750-1792
Martha
1743- married Christen Hansen
Daniel 1747-1783 married Anna Kirstine Oluffsen
1749-1795
I have made no real attempt to research any of the family
other than our direct ancestor Johannes. When I visited Odense in 1996 there were
no Flemmers listed in the telephone directory for the area although there are
several listed in Copenhagen.
St Knud's Church Odense ........................and............................The Clause Berg Altarpiece St Knud's
On
20th May 1777 Frederich Flemmer was buried aged 74 at St. Knud's (Canute's) Church,
Odense and the record states " there was ringing of bells". St. Knud's is the
magnificent cathedral of Odense, the original church having been built 900 years
ago. I assume its use for burials was reserved for prominent burghers as was the
"ringing of bells" on such occasions. He was buried in the "first part" but today
there is no graveyard and I assume that they have all been covered or moved, so
it was not possible to look for any Flemmer gravestones.
On 21st May 1777
the Probate Court met to register the estate of Frederich Flemmer, and the sharing
of his estate between his wife, Anne Pedersdatter, and his children listed as-
1.
Christian, wigmaker of Copenhagen
2. Johannes, wigmaker of Odense (age37)
3.
Daniel, wigmaker of Odense
4 Anne Marie, married to Mathiassen Kragh, living
in Assens
5 Anna, serving as a maid on the manor Toejstrup here in Fyn (Funen)
(age 34)(actually 40)
6. Martha, unmarried and living with her mother in this
house
There is some interesting information in this probate record, if
we compare it to the list of his children shown above. Peter Flemmer born in 1735
had already died by 1777 although he would only have been 42 at this time. Ingeborg
Flemmer had also died and was buried aged 41 on 24th February 1772. The fact that
Anna at age 40 was a serving maid would suggest that the family was not wealthy
and this may well be due to a decline in the wig trade. We know that she did not
marry as will be seen in later census records.
The family house was on
the Norregade (literally North Street) and had been bought by Frederich at an
auction on 1st July 1728. Unfortunately I was not able to find the Norregade when
I was in Odense. Much of this part of the town was demolished and redeveloped
in the 1950's.
16th
Century
Nedergade Odense
The
Nedergade, a nearby street is still largely unaltered today and no doubt the Flemmer
house would have been similar to those still standing. They are double storey,
tiled and built of wattle and daub. Their age now makes them sag in all directions
and they are painted in bright blues, yellows and dark reds, something that is
quite common in Denmark. Most of these buildings are still occupied either as
houses or small shops.
But to get back to the probate record and Frederich's
will. It states that he owned a house on the Norregade between Postmaster Melby's
house and tailor Warberg's house and that it consisted of 8 'bays' (fag
in Danish meaning bay or window), was two storeys high with some land behind it
and a basement. It is not clear what 8 'bays" signifies in terms of size. The
house had an estimated value of 200 rigsdalers. It was to be bought by Daniel
Flemmer "according to an agreement between the widow and the children and even
according to the oft expressed wish of his father before his death".
It
would probably have been similar to the houses still standing in Odense today,
with four lead light windows on the ground and four on the upper floor. One can
get an idea of the relative value of the property when looking at the annual salary
of Toger Abo, who was earning 300 rigsdalers in 1771 at age 23.
In the
estate there was also a "soldiers hut" at the Black Friar (Sortebrode) cemetery
of 7 fag and one storey high valued at 100 rigsdalers of which the estate
owned a third or 33 rigsdalers. There were also effects of little value. Creditors
were the doctor and barber (often the same person) who were owed 3 rdls. From
all of this we can see that Frederich Flemmer did not die a wealthy man. It is
possible that other property had been passed to his other children before his
death. My own theory is that the family were not as well off as they had been,
with the wigmaking trade in decline and Denmark suffering financial problems.
Frederich's
wife, Anne Pedersdatter died aged 80, 14 years later on 2nd July 1791 and was
buried on the 7th, at St. Hans' Church in Odense, in the "second part".
Descendants
of Johannes Flemmer 1740-1818
1 Johannes Flemmer b: 7th February
1740 d: 1818
+Anna Lindholm b: 1750 d: 18th Febraury 1792 m: 2nd July 1769
in Kappendrup north of Odense
2 Hans Christian Flemmer b: 24th November, 1771
d: 26th November 1847
+ Christine Rabeholm b: 13th July 1779 d: 5th October,
1852 m: 24th November 1798 in Christianhavn Copenhagen Denmark
2 Fredricke
Amalie Flemmer b: c 1775
+ Andreas Christian Moller
2 Carl Gustav Flemmer
b: 18th August 1774 d: 2nd November 1845
+ Sara Martine Hammer b: 5th April
1770 d: 31st March 1815 m: 1st February 1797 in Helsinge Denmark
2 Anne Flemmer
b: c 1777
+ Rasmus Hunderup m: 9th January 1813 in Veringe Odense
2 Margarethe
Augustine Flemmer b: I 780
2 Claudina Grubbe Flemmer b: c 1784
+ Jens Rasmussen
2
Rebekke Severine Flemmer b: c 1784
2 Elisabeth Flemmer b: c 1787
+ Niels
Adriansen
Johannes
Flemmer was born in Odense on 7th February1740, one of four sons and four daughters
of Frederich Flemmer, master wigmaker. The first record we have of him is an entry
in the record book of the wigmaker's guild on 16th January 1764. This shows that
he received his appointment as an apprentice to the guild as a journeyman wigmaker
at age 24. The guilds were set up to make sure that quality goods were produced
by master craftsmen, and of course had the double role of controlling both quality
and price. An apprentice in every trade would serve under the masters and would
then request permission to make his own masterpiece for presentation to members
of the guild. If this were of sufficiently high standard, he would be accepted
as a member of the guild and could then earn a living.
On 26th July 1766
Johannes Flemmer asked permission to begin his masterpiece which was to be two
wigs. On 18th August 1766 his father Frederich to whom he was no doubt apprenticed,
presented the masterpiece and Johannes was accepted into the guild at age 26.
On
2nd July 1769 (aged about 29) he married Anna Lindholm by "King's Letter" (Kongbrevet)
at Kappendrup which lies just north of Odense. A Kongbrevet was in effect a special
licence granted by the King to people who wanted to marry at home or in other
special circumstances. Anna was about seven years younger than Johannes and was
the daughter of a baker who owned a large farm at Kappendrup. She was probably
from a relatively wealthy family and we can assume that the Flemmers were also
well off. Presumably Johannes was establishing himself in the three years since
he had become a master wigmaker. Their first son, Hans Christian, was born in
Odense on 24th November 1772.
On the 30th September of this same year,
1772, Johannes' brother Daniel married Anna Kirstine Oluffsen at St. Knud's Cathedral
in Odense. He had been accepted into the wigmakers guild in 1771. In September
1779 there is an entry in the minute book of the guild that is signed by both
Daniel and Johannes.
Daniel and his wife Anna lived two houses away from
his father and mother in the Norregade. They had six children, the last being
born three months after Daniel died in the typhus epidemic of 1783. Anna married
another wigmaker, Anthon Saiset, who also died young after six years of marriage.
She herself died in poverty in 1795 aged 45.
Wigs were suspected of transmitting
disease and wigmakers like the Flemmers were at particular risk during plagues,.
They sometimes handled infected hair that had been cut from corpses. The disease
was considered so contagious that the probate court sealed Daniel's house for
two months after his death. It is from Daniel Flemmer that Otto Broholm, who has
helped me with this history is descended.
I have very little information
about Johannes Flemmer. Like his father and uncles he continued to be an active
member of the wigmakers guild. On 30th December 1779 we see his signature in the
guild minute book-
Ten years after his father had died in 1777 we find an entry in the census of 1787, when the family was living at 108, Vestergade. This street is one of the main thoroughfares of modern Odense and has been almost totally redeveloped. There is still one old house left on the Vestergade which gives us a good idea of what houses of the era looked like.
House on present Vestergade Odense
The
census entries are always interesting and I quote it in full-
Name Age
Johannes
Flemmer Man 47 Married once Wigmaker
Anna Lindholm His wife 41 Married once
Hans
Christian Flemmer 14 In Latin school
Carl Gustav Flemmer 13 In Latin school
Fridericke
Amalie Flemmer 12
Ane Flemmer 10
Margrethe Augustine Flemmer 7
Claudinia
Grubbe Flemmer 3
Rebekke Severine Flemmer 3
Ana Flemmer His sister 50
Spinster Receives money from the hospital
Johan Hansen 17 Apprentice
Jorgen
Hoheid 16 Apprentice
Johanne Amalie Lindholm 71 Widow once Stays with the family
We can see from this census record that there were 13 people in the household,
which would be enough to drain the fortune of even the wealthy! No servants are
mentioned which probably only means that they did not live at the house. Johannes'
sister Anna, working as a maid in 1771, is now living with them, and is a charity
case receiving money from the hospital. Johannes' mother-in-law and two apprentices
are also in the home. Although 7 children are listed, there was a further child
born after 1787, named Elisabeth, making 8 in all, 2 boys and 6 girls.
In
1789, Johannes' sister Anna died aged 51 followed three years later in 1792 by
his wife Anne. Both were buried from St.Knud's. It seems that Johannes did not
remarry and would have been left with 8 children, ranging in age from about 19
to 2 years old at the time of Anne's death. One can imagine how difficult this
was, especially for the young girls. Unlike a lot of other countries, many Danes
of this time lived well into old age, and we have to speculate on Anne's death
at 42. Of course she had had 8 children in about 15 years, but this was not unusual.
Plague was another common killer, frequently sweeping through towns. Whatever
the cause, Johannes was left with eight young children, and it is probable that
some of them were brought up by uncles and aunts, a common practice with the extended
and close families of the era.
Johannes died in Odense in 1818 aged 78,
and there is a probate record dated 30th December of that year, made by his son-in-law,
the wigmaker Andreas Christian Moller (husband of Fridericke Amalie Flemmer).
The heirs were-
1. Carl Gustav Flemmer, district deacon in Allerslev near
Ringsted
2. Hans Christian Flemmer, Ridder af Dannebrog and vicar of
Kongsted parish in the
district of Faxe in Sjelland.
3. Frederiche Amalie,
married to the wigmaker Moller here present.
4. Rebekka Siverine, unmarried,
present whereabouts unknown to Moller
5. Claudiana Grubbe, married to the veterinarian
Jens Rasmussen, in Ringsted
6. Anne Flemmer, married to the merchant Hunderup
in Assens
7. Elisabeth, married to cooper Niels Adriansen in Middelfart
8.
Stine (presumably Margrethe Augustine), dead, who was married in Copenhagen and
has left a child behind, but the name of the husband is not known to Moller, and
he doesn't know if the child still lives.
The tracing of heirs was in any
event academic as it was declared that " the deceased had left nothing apart
from a few pieces of clothes, as he had been an old and weak bedridden man for
a long time"
Of interest here is that Johannes died with no assets.
Although they may have been given to his children before he died, wigmaking as
an industry had virtually ended. The French Revolution of 1789, when aristocrats
and their wigs had tumbled at the guillotine, had seen the beginning of the end
for the wigmaking trade. It is significant that both of Johannes' sons, Carl Gustav
and Hans Christian, had joined the church, and not the wigmaking guild. Only Frederiche
Amalie was still living in Odense at the time of his death, and Anne Flemmer was
living in Assens, possibly having gone there to her aunt, Anne Marie, after her
mother died.
Descendants
of Hans Christian Flemmer 1771 - 1847
I Hans Christian Flemmer
b: 24th November 1771
+Christine Rabeholm b: 13th July 1779 d: 5 October 1852
m: 24 November 1798 in Christianhavn Copenhagen
2 Sophie Charlotte
Flemmer b: 24th October I799
+Christopher Peter Andersen m: 29th December
1835 Kirke Stillinge
2 Carl Adrian Flemmer b: 31st July 1802
+Johanne
Marie Vilelmine Koyen b: c 1825 m: 17th October 1843 Kirke Stillinge
2 WiIhelmina
Frederitte Flemmer b: 22nd August 1810
+Joseph Christoph b: 28th October 1810
m: 22nd August 1843 in Kirke Stillinge
2 Christian August Flemmer b: 9th March
1813 d: 11th November 1870
+Betty Camilla Augusta Abo b: 28th November 1816
d: 19th September 1896
m: 24th September 1839 in Havrebjerg Denmark
Hans Christian Flemmer
Christine Rabeholm
There
is a view that Hans Christian was born in 1772, but the information I have shows
that he was born at Odense on 24th November 1771, and was baptised at the St.
Knud's Cathedral in that town on 27th January 1772. At the baptism he was 'carried'
by Miss Langgreen and his Sponsors were prominent people: the Town Clerk Mr. Langhoff,
Monsr. Lund, Councillor Boring and Mr Jorgen Espe.
In the census of 1787,
his age is given as 14 and he was studying at the 'Latin School' (High School
and also called a Gymnasium). He did not go into the wigmaking trade as had his
father and grandfather. In 1790, aged 18 he was completing his schooling at the
Odense Upper Secondary School. In 1791 he gained a degree in Philosophy cum laude
and in 1794 a degree in Theology cum laude at the university in Copenhagen. His
final graduation at the highest grade (laudabilis) was on 23rd February
1798. His younger brother Carl Gustav was also educated at the Gymnasium and graduated
at Copenhagen University. We might think that their father, Johannes, was a wealthy
man to pay for this, as university education was something of a rarity at this
time in Denmark.
A biography of Danish Clergy by Frederick Barford published
in 1848 paints a somewhat different picture of the means of the young Flemmer
brothers. Because of their financial circumstances they lived a pretty wretched
life in which in mutual love and support they tried to the best of their ability
to make life easier for each other. Both brothers had "regens og kommunitet".
The "Kommunitet" was and still is, a foundation established in 1569 by
King Frederick II to give 100 'poor and diligent' young men the chance to study
at university. In 1618 King Christian IV lent money to the foundation to build
a hostel for these 100 students. The hostel, called "Collegium Regium"
was first used in 1623. It burned down in the great fire of 1728 but was almost
immediately rebuilt and can still be seen today. The brothers would have stayed
at the "Collegium Regium" for at least part of their studies and would
have received a small grant from the foundation.
Probably to help pay his
way, Hans Christian took several jobs while studying. He was a proofreader at
the publisher Gyldendal, still one of the major Danish publishers. He worked as
a teacher at the Borgerdyd School, an establishment with a top class reputation
and also coached private students for university entrance. His obituary notice
in the Berlingske Tidende (a major newspaper to this day) mentions some
of the students he helped. Among them were E.C.Werlauff, who became a famous professor
of history and the Orsted brothers. One brother, H.C.Orsted, became professor
of physics at the university and is famous for his discovery of electro-magnetism.
In
1796 Hans Christian was offered a parish which he unselfishly turned down as he
felt it would be of greater benefit to his brother Carl Gustav who was engaged
to be married.
Two years later, in 1798 aged 27 Hans Christian became vicar
at Vester and Oster Egede parishes in Sjelland. I passed through this very small
farming community when visiting Denmark two hundred years later in 1996. I doubt
that very much has changed! It was in this same year 1798, that he married 19
year old Christine Rabeholm (born 17th July 1779, died Copenhagen 5th October
1852) on 24th November at her home at Christianhavn in Copenhagen. Christine was
also from a prominent family, her father having been Mogens Rabeholm, a Captain
of a Danish ship in the China trade. He had died at the Danish settlement of Tranquebar
on the Coromandel Coast of SouthEast India. Christine's mother was Sophie Charlotte
Nielsen (born 1756,died c.1846).
An aside about the "China Trade". It would
have been a lucrative business to be in as a Captain at this time as the Danish
Asiatic Company was sending only two vessels a year to China. The Danish ships
at 1 000 tons were the biggest of their era although tiny by today's standards,
and the Captains of these vessels would have been famous in Copenhagen.
Detail
of the stern of a
Danish East Indiaman
It
is difficult in this day and age to imagine the life of a 'Chinacaptain'
late in the 18th century. Where we complain about being subject to delays in aircraft
and uncomfortable seats, try to imagine setting out from Copenhagen in the winter
months on a voyage that would see you at sea for a total of about 450 days. Returning
to your home and family, if you survived, after 18 months away!
As I sit
writing this at our house in Kalk Bay the wind is howling outside and the sea
pounding against the harbour wall. What could it have been like far out to sea
in small sailing vessels with no means of communicating with the rest of the world?
And yet shipwrecks were surprisingly infrequent. One can only ponder at these
brave and hardy souls of a bygone era.
Mortality on board would account
for about 32 of the 160 people during the voyage, mainly from dysentery, cholera
and malaria and one can only try to imagine what the medicaltreatment was like!
There is a report of a ship of this time that introduced a competition to help
clean up the ship and while away time on the long Indian Ocean crossing. The reward
was a tot of brandy for every 1 000 cockroaches caught. In little more than five
weeks more than 38 000 of these omnivorous insects had been collected! Add to
this attacks by pirates and frequent wars with local princes in the East and we
can see that it was a life for the strong, brave and adventurous.
The Danish
captains and crews were very experienced and it was normal practice for a navigating
officer to make 9 trips to the East before having a chance of promotion to Captain.
As voyages lasted 18 months, it seems that captains were in their 40's and it
is no surprise to find that the highest mortality rate was among the officers.
While they would have had better food and conditions than the ordinary seamen,
they were older and no doubt the long voyages and tough life made them more susceptible
to disease.
Sadly then, Mogens Rabeholm had died at the Danish base at
Tranquebar before his daughter Christine married Hans Christian Flemmer in November
1798.
The following year Hans Christian was appointed vicar at Kongsted
in Sjelland, a bigger parish than his previous responsibilities. It was here that
Christian August Flemmer, stamvader of the South African Flemmers was born 15
years later on 9th March 1813, but I am getting ahead of the story!
Kongsted Church Sjelland
Kongsted
is set among beautiful rolling farming countryside with villages and hamlets for
miles around, and it is itself only a small village. The church is typical of
many others we saw, built mainly of red brick with a square tower and stepped
gables. The original church was built in about 1425 and the inside is beautiful,
with a unique collection of paintings of the saints and angels on the ceiling.
I doubt if anything has changed, apart from the addition of electricity, in the
200 years since Hans Christian was vicar.
The census of 1801 finds
the following entry for the Kongsted parish -
Hans Christian Flemmer man
29 married once vicar
Kristine Rabeholm his wife 22 married once
Sophia
Charlotte Flemmer their daughter 2
Glaudina Flemmer his sister 17
Servants
Ingeborg
Larsdatter 17
Vilhelmina Baji 22
Ane Larsdatter 21
Peer Peersen 28
Hans
Nielsen 13
We can picture the young vicar and his wife living fairly
comfortably in the church house with their daughter and five servants. They would
not only have worked for the family but also looked after the church, its grounds
and the graveyard. The servants would probably also have farmed a smallholding
growing vegetables for the family. You will see also that the vicar's sister is
living with them after the death of her mother in 1794.
Being a parish
priest was a well paid occupation at this time, as the clergy in effect acted
as employees of the King, making announcements regarding laws and keeping the
records of the parish. They were also expected to play a leading role in schooling,
and the Danish author, Johannes C. Jessen has written a series of books about
the conflict between schoolmasters, deacons and haughty church ministers.
We
are fortunate to have a review of his book 'A Look through Kongsted Parish
History for 20 Years 1799-1819' published in 1948. Much of it covers the friendship
and productive relationship between Hans Christian Flemmer and his Schoolmaster
and Deacon, Niels Schafte who met at Kongsted parish in September of 1799. They
obviously held each other in high esteem, unlike many of the other deacons and
ministers recorded by Jessen.
It is worth quoting the translation of the
review of the book in full as it gives us a good insight into the village world
of 200 years ago.
" We will tell here how these two men put in a lot
of work within the schools. Things that are so far removed from the present day
circumstances and conditions. In 1807 Pastor Flemmer started a Sunday school at
Kongsted Parish, very unlike what we know of a Sunday school now. These were grown
men who were being educated, and it had to be on Sunday as they all had full time
jobs in the area. They needed to learn writing which the Deacon Schafte took upon
himself to teach them.
Count Danneskjold Samso had lent the Pastor electrical
machinery and an air pump, and he taught them physics and natural science and
other things that would help educate them and help them in their daily lives,
and also help them against quacks and other superstitions. It was apparently a
very good school and both pastor and deacon enjoyed the fruits of it. There were
many other tasks taken up as well.
At that time Denmark was a leader in the
world in that it passed laws that provided for and made schooling for children
compulsory. In this situation the old uneducated schoolmasters risked being sacked
as not competent to teach within the new system. Pastor Flemmer then offered to
teach these teachers. It was a special sight to see this "schoolmasters school
" start up. Every Saturday afternoon at 3p.m. promptly, an estate worker who was
schoolmaster at Eskildstrup, a pensioner from Lestrup and a millkeeper who kept
school at Borup, came to the Kongsted vicarage to be educated for teaching. From
3 p.m. until 7 or 8 p.m. the pastor taught them writing and arithmetic, geography
and nature from ' Need and Help Book' for schoolmasters. He also tried to teach
them general knowledge to help them cope with a changing world. On Sundays the
men met at the Church to learn their catechism from the deacon and pastor."
Given this story of selfless dedication to the cause of education it is not surprising
to find in the history handed down by members of the family, that the vicar's
efforts and contribution to education were recognised by the government of the
day. At the age of 43, on 31st July 1815, Hans Christian was awarded the order
of ' Ridder af Dannebrog ', literally, Knight of the Flag, an honour awarded
by the King on the advice of his government
I
know little about the order of Ridder af Dannebrog except that it was awarded
in many different classes. It was used at this time to create a sort of upper
middle class in an effort to lessen the powers of the entrenched nobility. The
award to Hans Christian would have been a considerable honour for him and the
people of Kongsted. In a book recording vicars in Denmark at this time Hans Christian
is noted to be " friendly and helpful, strong, intelligent and very active".
There
were four children born in Kongsted -
Sophie Charlotte b. 24 October 1799
Carl
Adrian b. 31 July 1802
Wilhelmine Frederitte b. 22 August 1810
Christian
August b. 9 March 1813
Joan Merritt of Montana USA who has helped me with
this account is a descendant of Carl Adrian Flemmer.
On 25th November 1825
at age 52 the vicar and his family moved to the parish of Stillinge in Sjelland
and the next information we have is 9 years later when the census of 1834 for
Stillinge records the following -
Hans Christian Flemmer 62 Vicar and Ridder
af Dannebrog
Kirstine Rabeholm 55 His Wife
Sofie Charlotte Flemmer 35
Carl
Adrian Flemmer 33
Vilhelmine Flemmer 25
Nicolai Hansen 29
Jens Andersen
37
Niels Jorgensen 28
Soren Jorgensen 20
Hans Christensen 17
Jorgen
Rasmussen 15
Trine Jacobsdatter 21
Maren Nielsdatter 23
Ane Marie Jensdatter
16
Maren Larsdatter 12
We see that only three children are mentioned.
This is because the youngest, Christian August had started his studies as a doctor
in Copenhagen. He was about 21 at this time.
Once again the Census helps
to give us some interesting information and in the absence of any other records
we can only try to interpret what we have. The three oldest children are still
living at home even though two of them are in their thirties and unmarried. We
can only speculate why this should be so. There is a family story that Hans Christian
gave all the family silver to the Crown, to be melted down for coin because of
the financial crisis facing Denmark at the time.
The story behind this
story is probably a little less romantic. In 1813 the Danish Government and the
Bank of Denmark were bankrupt. At that time a silver tax was introduced which
was payable depending on the area of each farm. There was no alternative to the
tax, it had to be paid in silver or the land would be sold. So rather than handing
the silver over as a noble act, there was little choice in the matter. Perhaps
the late marriages of these children did have something to do with their financial
situation because they did all eventually marry-
Sophie Charlotte 29 December
1835 (aged 36) married Christopher Peter Andersen
Carl Adrian 17 October 1842
(aged 41) married Johanne Koyen (aged 18)
Vilhelmine Frederitte 22 August 1843
(aged 34) married Joseph Christoph (aged 33)
The Census also shows
us that the good vicar had seven servants and farm hands. Whatever financial problems
there were with the Danish economy, he would have been relatively one of the wealthiest
people in the parish.
Although I have not yet been able to find a copy
of the signature of Hans Christian Flemmer it is possible to see his handwriting
in this extract of the 1829 parish register of boys' confirmations-
1829 Parish Register Stillinge
Stillinge
Kirke is marked on maps of Denmark and lies between Stillinge Ostre (East) and
Stillinge Strand. It can hardly be called a village, but is at the centre of the
most beautiful rolling, peaceful farming area. Trees line the public roads, and
lovely sandy beaches are only a few kilometres away. No doubt the family made
picnic trips to the beach in the short Scandinavian summer. How strange and alien
the Eastern Cape, dry, virtually uninhabited and with its wild animals, must have
been to Christian August and his family when they went to live in Africa.
It is hard to think of two more different environments than Stillinge and 19th
century Cradock.
Stillinge Kirke is only about 3kms from Havrebjerg, where
the same Census of 1834 finds Betty Camilla Augusta Abo living, aged 18 with her
uncle, the vicar Andreas Kjeldberg. His wife, who was Betty's aunt, was Charlotte
Henriette Naested. It is obvious from this Census how Christian August Flemmer
came to meet and eventually marry Betty Camilla Augusta Abo!
Stillinge Church
The
church at Stillinge is one of the most beautiful that we saw. Although the style
is typical of many, inside it is painted white and has the most wonderful murals.
The original church was built in the 12th century, although the nave is the only
part of the original remaining. Extensive additions were made in 1400 with the
tower being added in 1807. Born and brought up in Africa, I always find it difficult
to comprehend that buildings this old are still standing and in daily use!
The wonderful frescoes are from different periods starting from 1525 and the
magnificent altarpiece was carved at Roskilde in 1602. While changes and improvements
were made during Hans Christian's time as vicar, the church would have been largely
as we see it today. Next to it is a large 'vicar's house' and here, no doubt the
vicar and his seven servants and family would have lived and farmed the parish
land.
From 1845 we have records of a further Census-
Birthplace
Hans
Christian Flemmer 73 Odense Vicar, Ridder af Dannebrog
Kirstine Rabeholm
66 Christainhavn His Wife
Carl Adrian Flemmer 44 Kongsted Son of Vicar/farm
manager
Johanne Marie Vilelmine Koyen 20 Kalten, Seyeberg His Wife
Hans
Christian Flemmer 1 Here Their Son
Emilie Koyen 17 Kalten, Seyeberg Sister
of Madam Flemmer
Christian Hermansen 31 Housemaid
Maren Nielsen 26 Servant
of Vicar
Maren Jensdatter 20
Anders Andersen 25
Jens Pedersen 28 Flemmer's
Farm Manager
Karen Christiansdatter 24 Servant
Ane Pedersdatter 14
We
see from this Census that Carl Adrian, eldest son, is still living at home, now
with his young wife and the vicar's grandson. There are still six servants recorded,
and far from being the poor shepherd of his flock, he would have been one of the
wealthiest men in the parish. His youngest son, our Christian August Flemmer was
now 32. He was practising as a doctor in nearby Korsor where he lived with his
wife and four children.
Two years after this census, Hans Christian Flemmer
died on 26th November 1847, two days after his 76th birthday. It is worth quoting
in full the record of his death-
" The honourable Hans Christian Flemmer
died 26th November 1847, and was buried 3rd December. Ridder af Dannebrog, vicar
for Stillinge congregation for 22 years, 75 years old (I believe he was 76). Born
in Odense 22nd November 1772; 23rd February 1798 vicar in Vester and Oster Egede
parishes; 1799 in Kongsted and 25th November 1825 in Stillinge; Funeral oration
for him in the Dining Room by Thorvald Leuning vicar of Slagelse; in the Church
by Peder Andreas Fenger of Slots-Bjergbye, at the grave by Andreas Kjeldberg of
Havrebjerg"
The Barford biography gives more detail "he died 26
November 1847 after having been severely ill during the last 8 years. During the
past couple of months he was extremely weak, but despite this continued to carry
out his duties. It was not until the day before his death that he agreed to have
a curate, A.Tielmann, who gave Hans Christian the last Sacrament."
We
are very fortunate to have the translation of the obituary from the newspaper
"Berlingske Tidende" which lets us have a close-up of the moving end of
this grand old man-
Newspaper Extract: Berlingske Tidende
"
On Sunday the 14th the old man preached his last sermon. The following Tuesday
evening he attended the assembly of the municipal council. Up until Friday he
went for his usual evening walk in the garden, but it was on Friday that he called
his youngest son who is a doctor. It was too late. Inflammation in his chest and
abdomen caused him a lot of pain, and no remedy could help his old body. As a
pious and devote Christian he suffered for several days with great patience and
quietly drew his last breath."
I quote
in full too the probate record-
"- 27th November 1847, the death was
reported of the pastor H.C. Flemmer of Kirke Stillinge, 77 years old. The widow
retains undivided possession of the estate according to the testament of the deceased.
There were children of age.
(Signed)
-Acknowledging the good love, care
and diligence of my much beloved wife, Kirstine Flemmer born Rabeholm, during
our long happy marriage of almost 47 years, it is my last will that she,
when
I die, shall have the right to retain all of the estate undivided.
To confirm
this last will of mine I have signed this testament in the presence of two witnesses.
Stillinge
2nd October 1845
Vicar of Stillinge and Ridder af Dannebrog
(Signed) "
That
brings to an end the information I have been able to find from my research into
the life of Hans Christian Flemmer except for one, to me, final matter. On our
visit to the Stillinge Kirke we examined in detail the graveyard surrounding the
church. It is extensive and immaculately maintained with small trees and shrubs
and carefully raked walk ways. Like other graveyards we went into, most of the
graves are of fairly recent origin, usually about 50 years old with a few over
100 years. It seemed that we would be disappointed not to find any Flemmer graves
until right near the end of our search we came across a tablet set into the South
Eastern church wall. Although of some soft stone and somewhat weathered it was
still quite clear-
HER
HVILER
EFTER ET DAADRIGT LIV
HANS CHRISTIAN
FLEMMER
SOGNEPRAEST FOR STILLINGE MENIGHED
RIDDER AF DANNBROGE
HAN
BLEV HJEMKALDT D 26 NOVBR 1847 I SIT 77 AAR
I NAESTEN 50 AAR VAR HAN EN TRO
HYRDE
FOR DE MENIGHEDER HVOR HAN VIRKEDE OG HVILKE
HAN STEDSE MINDES MED
KAERLIGHEID
HANS AANDSERUGTER VARE HANS RIGDOM SALIGT DEL
MENNESKE SOM
ALDRIG FRYGTER
This simple message was translated with the assistance of Jorgen Flemmer, well-known Danish artist of Copenhagen, who is a distant relative of the South African Flemmers. It reads-
HERE
RESTS
AFTER A BLAMELESS LIFE
HANS CHRISTIAN FLEMMER
PARISH PRIEST OF
STILLINGE
KNIGHT OF THE DANISH FLAG
HE WAS CALLED HOME 26 NOVBR 1847 IN
HIS 77TH YEAR
FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS HE WAS A FAITHFUL SHEPHERD FOR THE
CONGREGATION
IN WHICH HE SERVED
FOREVER HE WILL BE REMEMBERED WITH LOVE
HIS SPIRITUAL
ACHIEVEMENTS WERE HIS WEALTH
BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO NEVER FEARS
Memorial
Stone: Hans Christian Flemmer
Stillinge Church
It was a very special for me to be standing in that quiet, peaceful churchyard at Stillinge in the place were this great man had spent so many years serving his community and country.
Descendants
of Christian August Flemmer 1813-1870
1 Christian August Flemmer
b: 9th March, 1813 d: 11th November,1870
+Betty Camilla Augusta Abo b: 28th
November, 1816 d: 19th September,1896
m: 24th September, 1839 in Havrebjerg
Denmark
2 Christian Ludvig Flemmer b: 12th November,1841 d: 14th October,1903
+Anna Distin b: 1849 d l924 m: 8th September,1869 in St Peter's Cradock
2
Camilla Henrietta Flemmer b: 30th November I842 d: 14th October,1922
+Hans
Michael Naested b: 13th March,1827 d: 30th August. 1907
m: l860 in Cradock
Cape
2 Toger Abo August Flemmer b: 15th October. 1843 d: 20th June,1913
+Rosa Caroline Philps b: 10th December, 1852 d: 17th March,1908
m: 16th October,
1873 in St Peter's Cradock
2 Charlotte Marie Louise Flemmer b: 8th April 1845
d: 17th June,1934
+Edward Stockenstrom Lodewicus GiIfilIan b: February 1838
d: 20th July.1908
m: 7th September, 1864 in St Peter's Cradock
2 Cathinca
Christine Flemmer b: 18th January, I846
2 Hans Christian Flemmer b: J20th
January, 1847 d: 8th September,1896
+ Aletta Alida Hopley b: 18th November,1853
d: 26th May ,1934
m: 1st June, 1873
2 Andreas Salvator Flemmer b: 11th
December, 1850
2 Marius Flemmer b: 1st April,1853
+ Aletta Alida Hopley
b: 18th November, 1853 d: 26th May, 1934
m: 1899
2 Sophia WilheImina
Flemmer b: 13th December ,1856
Betty Abo & Christian August Flemmer
Christian
August Flemmer was born in Kongsted on 9th March 1813, and was baptised the next
day at his home. We do not know why- perhaps there were concerns about his health
when he was born- but in any event he was baptised in the church again on the
22nd March. He was 'carried' at the christening by Capt. Sperling's wife from
Copenhagen. His sponsors were Capt. Sperling, the vicar Bjornson from Ronholt
and Mr. Leth at Strandegaard. He was the youngest of Hans Christian and Christine's
four children. At the time of his birth his brother Carl was 11 while his sister
Sophie was 13 and Wilhelmine was 3.
Little is known of his early years
but life in Kongsted would have been pleasant for the son of the well-loved vicar.
There were servants in the house as we have seen from the census, and the Flemmers
were an educated and well-known family.
In 1825, when he was 12 the family
moved to Stillinge, where his father was to be vicar until his death 22 years
later in 1847. We do not know much about Christian August's early education, but
in 1831 after private education he entered medical school aged 18. We assume that
this was in Copenhagen. It would have been a real adventure for young Christian
to leave Stillinge, which is hardly a village even today, and move to the big
bustling city of Copenhagen. The census of 1834 for Stillinge shows that his siblings
were living at home aged 35, 33 and 25, and his older brother, Carl Adrian was
the farm manager. We must assume that Christian August had shown particular promise
and ability for his education to be continued.
In 1837, at age 24, he completed
his surgeon's examination and on 16th May 1838, he was promoted 'bataillion-surgeon'
and went into medical practice in Korsor. It was a little over a year later
that he married Betty Camilla Augusta Abo, who at that time was 22 years old.
Betty
was the granddaughter of Toger Abo 1747-1806 and daughter of Johannes Christian
(von) Abo 1787-1869 and Louise Dorothea Naested 1793-1823. Both the Abos and Naesteds
were prominent families. Johannes Christian Abo and Louise Dorothea Naested, had
married in Copenhagen in 1810, and had three children - Marie Sophie Frederikke,
Toger and Betty Camilla Augusta, born 28 November 1816.
Denmark was lurching
from financial crisis to crisis at this time and it was probably for this reason
that Johannes Christian Abo decided to try to make a new life for his family in
South Africa. He had been trained in surveying in the Danish Navy, and could use
his skills as a surveyor in the new country. We do not know when he left, but
Betty was said to be 6 months old, which would put it at 1817.
As far
as I know he never came back to Denmark, nor apparently made his fortune in South
Africa. In 1823 his wife Louise Dorothea died. Family legend has it that she died
of a broken heart, and this may be so. Life must have been very difficult for
the young mother and her three children, relying on the charity of her own brothers
and sisters. When their mother died the three children, Marie now aged 11, Toger
9 and Betty 7 were split up and brought up by their mothers' brother and sisters.
Betty
went to her aunt Charlotte Henriette Naested who had married the vicar Andreas
Hansen Kjeldberg. They had a daughter of their own, Methea Sophia who was four
years younger than Betty. Kjeldberg was the vicar for the parish of Havrebjerg,
about 3kms. from Stillinge, the home of the Flemmer family. They were obviously
old friends of the Flemmers as the vicar Kjeldberg made the graveside funeral
oration at the burial of Hans Christian Flemmer in 1847. Andreas Kjeldberg's memorial
cross of wrought iron is still to be seen fixed to the wall of the Havrebjerg
church graveyard
Kjeldberg Cross Havrebjerg
Maps of Korsor
And
so it is clear how Betty and Christian Flemmer came to meet. To quote The
Little Dane by Anna Louie Flemmer 1874-1941 " Dr. Christian August Flemmer
was a medical student and a very welcome visitor at the home of Betty's aunt.
Very popular with the two girls, he played his cards so well and hid his feelings
with such success that it came as a great shock when he asked for the hand of
Betty. He carried her off in triumph and they lived very happily for many years
in the little fishing village of Korsor."
The official record of their
marriage reads "Battailion-surgeon Christian August Flemmer of Korsor, 28 years,
vaccinated. Miss Betty Camilla Augusta Abo of Havrebjerg, 23 years, vaccinated.
Sponsors: Vicar Hans Christian Flemmer, "Ridder af Dannebrog" and county-lawyer
Johan Henrich Naested of Holbaek. Date of marriage: 24 Sept 1839 in the church."
'Vaccinated'
in this record would refer to the fact that they had both been inoculated against
smallpox, a relatively new development in medical science.
Eleven years
later the census of 1850 finds them living in Korsor at 'the forehouse', 139 Baggaden-
Age Born Occupation
Christian August Flemmer 39 Kongsted bataillion-surgeon,
doctor
Betty Camilla Augusta 32 Copenhagen his wife
Hans Hansen 16 servant
Frederikke
Susanne Hansen 23 servant
Hanne Dinesen 19 servant
Christian Ludvig Flemmer
10 Korsor
Camilla Henriette Flemmer 9 Korsor
Toger Abo August Flemmer 7
Korsor
Charlotte Maria Louise 5 Korsor
Kirstine Catinka Flemmer 4 Korsor
Hans
Christian Flemmer 1 Korsor
At the time of this census, Betty was pregnant
with the last of our Danes to be born in Denmark. He was Andreas Salvator Flemmer
born 11th December 1850.
Baggaden, Korsor
I
visited Korsor in 1996, and had no difficulty finding the Baggade where the Flemmers
had lived. It is a small quiet street near the church, and although the modern
numbers are different, the street is probably little changed. It is easy to imagine
Dr. Flemmer going on his rounds of the village and the children playing outside
on a summer's evening.
Although we can see that the good doctor had three
servants, life was proving difficult, especially from a financial point of view.
I quote from an account written by Charlotte Maria Louise Flemmer (Gilfillan)
many years later-
" When our grandfather (Hans Christian) was
alive he greatly assisted our father with a monthly allowance, but after he died
(in 1847), the family increasing, father sometimes found it difficult to
make ends meet. Uncle Toger (Betty's brother) then arrived in Korsor from
Cradock, South Africa after an absence of 16 years from Denmark, and having become
very well off and giving such glowing accounts of the chances in South Africa,
our father decided to cast in his lot with Uncle Toger, who meanwhile assisted
with the money needed for such an undertaking. Uncle Toger was eventually paid
back for the outlay if not altogether yet in part."
Betty's brother,
Toger von Abo (as he was known in the Cape Colony) had gone to South Africa in
about 1836 when he would have been 23, to join his father Christian Johannes von
Abo, who as we know was a land surveyor. Toger obviously did well in South Africa
and in 1846, aged 36 he is listed as a Roads Commissioner in Cradock. For many
years he played a leading role in the affairs of the town.
How pleased
the family must have been when Toger returned from Africa and married his cousin
Methea Sophia Kjeldberg, then aged 31, on 30 July 1852. They also went to live
in Cradock, and as far as I have been able to find out had no children. Betty
of course, had lived with the Kjeldbergs after her mother died. Perhaps knowing
that her cousin was going to live in Africa was another factor in the momentous
decision to move. Perhaps the thought of seeing her father again after 35 years
played a part. Whatever the reasons we do know that the Flemmers and von Abos
sailed for the Cape on the same vessel later that year.
And so the decision
was made, the die was cast. Moving to another country is a major undertaking as
I know from personal experience, but how much more final it was in 1852. So much
of our knowledge today comes from newspapers, TV, the Internet, holidays. How
different at that time when Africa was still the Dark Continent, and to the family
almost unknown. They would leave on a long and arduous journey and there would
be no coming back. The only contact with loved ones left behind, was by a very
slow postal service. When families left they left for good and in most cases never
saw their homelands again.
Although we in Africa might think of Denmark
of this time as civilised and Africa as primitive, Denmark was by no means without
its own problems. It fought the First Slesvig War from 1848-1850, and it is quite
possible that Dr. Flemmer saw service in this war. He was a 'battailion-surgeon'
and his letter of application on arrival in the Cape mentions that he had one
year of military service. In 1853, the year after the family left, Copenhagen
itself suffered a cholera epidemic that killed 6 000 of a population of 150 000.
But
to continue with our story, and to quote Charlotte Flemmer again- " My dear
sweet grandmother who was a refined lady, I do not ever remember hearing her maiden
name (it was Christine Rabeholm), was the mother of four children, two
sons and two daughters, my father Christian August being the youngest. I believe
his leaving with wife and 7 children hastened the end of our grandmother, for
she died 10 days after our leaving Korsor, while we were still in Copenhagen waiting
for the steamer which was to take us to London on our way to Africa."
We
know that Christine Rabeholm died on the 5th October 1852 aged 73, so it seems
that the family left Korsor at the end of September of that year. How exciting
it must have been for the children, now aged between 14 and 2, what a tremendous
adventure! First travelling to Copenhagen, then the voyage to London, one of the
centres of the world in terms of trade and culture. The family must have spent
some weeks there as Christian August was admitted as a Member of the Royal College
of Surgeons in London on 5th November 1852. I have not been able to find out what
this qualification entailed, but no doubt he would have had to write an examination
in English to qualify him to practice in the Cape Colony.
Once the
formalities of getting this qualification were out of the way, little time was
wasted and the family sailed from London on the 'Corsairs Bride' on 22nd
November 1852. She is described as a bark of 348 tons under Capt. Crawley and
was a regular on the run from London to Algoa Bay. They arrived on 1st February
1853, after a voyage of two and a half months. One would assume that the ship
had called at Cape Town en route but in the days of sail this was not necessarily
the case. Ships leaving Europe sailed far out into the Atlantic to pick up favourable
winds and then sailed well south of the Cape itself, following the winds. Those
of us who know the Cape will realise what it must have been like on a ship of
this size sailing through the 'south easter' season when winds frequently blow
at over 100kms/hr., and the seas can be very rough.
The 'Corsairs Bride'
was one of 16 ships recorded as having arrived that month at Port Elizabeth. The
smallest was the 46 ton schooner 'Espiegle' from East London, the largest
a 3 500 ton 'screw steamer' from Melbourne. The arrival is noted in the various
newspapers of the day among them the grandly named 'Cape of Good Hope & Port
Natal Shipping & Mercantile Gazette' of 11 February 1852 which says-
"
Arrivals at Algoa Bay from London- Corsairs Bride- Mr. & Mrs. Von Abo, Dr. & Mrs.
Plummer (sic) Messers. Holmes, Nastch, seven children, six in steerage and
two servants."
And so we can see from this entry and others that the
two families had travelled out from London together. Being confined on this tiny
ship with seven nieces and nephews for the long haul out from Europe would be
quite a start to married life for the newly wed von Abos!
There is no doubt
that our ancestors were tough and hardy people. It is hard to imagine in this
day and age what it could have been like to undertake a voyage like this. Cooped
up with 7 children on a ship that was little bigger than a large yacht, without
any means of communicating with the outside world. I suppose the least we can
say is that they were fortunate that Christian August was a doctor and well able
to look after the health of his young family on this voyage.
Their
arrival at Algoa Bay, or Port Elizabeth as it was already called, is described
in various family accounts, the following being from The
Little Dane by Anna Louie Flemmer-
" After a voyage of nearly three
months, the family of Danes together with servants and workmen, landed in Port
Elizabeth during the month of February 1853. Betty's father Christian Johannes
von Abo, who parted from Betty when she was six months old, now beheld his daughter,
a mother of seven fine children, two daughters and five sons. Tents were pitched
to receive the travellers as at this time there was only one house in Port Elizabeth
on the hill. After resting a few days the Danes, with all their possessions, were
packed in to ox wagons and the journey inland commenced."
And from
my own grandfather (Marius Toger Flemmer's) notes - "The family arrived at
Port Elizabeth in December 1852. As there was no landing stage, the children got
the fright of their young lives when they had to be carried through the surf to
the shore by natives. They had never seen black people before."
These
accounts written from memories long handed down, are slightly inaccurate. As we
have seen there were not 'two daughters and five sons' but three daughters and
four sons. While it is quite possible that tents were pitched for them, Port Elizabeth
was already a major port of the Cape Colony by this time, and there would have
been many houses in the area. Similarly, there was a wharf and boats were not
landing through the surf. I suppose the young children would have been frightened
at their first sight of black people. We can see from the newspaper accounts of
the arrival of the Flemmers and Abos that two servants arrived with them. One
wonders what happened to these servants over the years as I have never found any
other reference to them.
Christian August Flemmer: Letter of Application to Cape Government
Christian
August wasted little time in applying for permission to practice in the Colony.
There is a letter dated 7th February 1853 in the Cape Town Archives written by
him a week after arriving in Port Elizabeth. It is addressed to the Secretary
of Government, Cape Town. In it Dr. Flemmer sets out his qualifications and requests
permission to practice "as Physician, Surgeon and Accoucheur within the limits
of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope...." An 'accoucheur' was a male midwife
and in this case would have been the forerunner of our present gynaecologist.
The Colonial Medical Committee wrote back on 23rd February recommending that he
be granted a license.
And so this band of hardy Danes set out on the long
trek inland to Cradock. The trip was made by ox wagon and must have been a tremendous
adventure for the children, especially the boys. Another child, Marius, was born
at Cradock on 1st April of that year which means that Betty not only had the worries
attached to travelling through a foreign and alien land with her children but
also was about seven months pregnant on arrival at Algoa Bay. She then had to
endure what was no doubt a rough and jolting three-week journey by ox wagon up
to Cradock!
Oxwagon
similar to the one used
by the family
When
describing their trip inland, I can do no better than quote again from 'The
Little Dane' -
" After resting a few days the Danes, with all their
possessions, were packed into oxwagons and the journey inland commenced. The wild
unbroken country through which they passed was a mixture of grandeur and monotony,
the ever changing hills a source of constant interest and delight, a great change
from the almost dead level of the Denmark they had left, with trees and water
everywhere and its dense population. Now they would travel a whole day without
passing a single homestead. Weird and wonderful night noises thrilled the travellers.
The furtive eyes and stealthy tread of animals beyond the range of the
campfire were abundant evidence of the presence of denizens of the veld; the call
of the jackals at night and the bark of baboons during the day kept the children
in a state of panic or delight throughout the journey.
Parts of the country
through which they travelled were thickly covered by a wild fruit, the prickly
pear, a fruit that is relished by the Natives. Thinking to please the children,
one old wagon driver 'Windvoel' collected a dish of prickly pear fruit, the cleaning
of which is quite an art as the fruit are covered with minute thorns, almost invisible.
These are brushed off with a bush gathered for the purpose, and then a thin skin
is removed, leaving the luscious fruit the size and shape of a large egg.
Old
Windvoel's efforts were greatly appreciated; the children were delighted and thoroughly
enjoyed the fruit. The following day, as soon as a halt was called and the camp
pitched, the eldest son, Ludvig, full of enterprise, himself made off for the
prickly pear bushes and collected a quantity of the fruit, filling his pockets
and shirt without realising the presence of the millions of minute thorns. The
agony that he suffered can only be realised by those who have handled this unkind
fruit and have found that one thorn is enough to cause great inconvenience. It
was most fortunate that his father was a medical man and was thus able to alleviate
his suffering. The rest of his life was spent in South Africa but nothing would
induce him to eat another prickly pear."
And what exactly were our
intrepid Danes heading for through the wilds of the Eastern Cape in 1853?
The town of Cradock which stands on the banks of the Great Fish River had
been founded in 1814. It was a true 'border town' lying as it did at the very
edge of the Cape Colony with Kaffraria across the river. In 1837 the district
of Cradock was created by Ordinance and William Anderson Gilfillan was appointed
Commissioner. The Gilifillans played a major role in the area over many years
and later married into the Flemmer family, when Edward Gilfillan married Charlotte
Marie Louise Flemmer in 1864.
By 1837 better buildings were going up and
a weekly post was received on Saturdays and delivered on Sundays. The streets
were described at this time as being ill kept, and in a shocking state and the
Square a mass of stones and dust. The 1845 Cape Almanac shows that the district
was improving. William Gilfillan was still much in evidence as the President of
the School Commission, and there was a Municipal Board, a doctor (R.M. Armstrong)
and an apothecary. It had a government school and a private seminary. The Almanac
describes the village thus-
"It is a very thriving village, and for
an inland station is a place of considerable trade. Several of the stores are
large substantial buildings, and well stocked with British manufactures, and indeed
with every article conducive to convenience and comfort. The main street towards
the river is planted with various fruit trees which afford a grateful contrast
to the embrowned and rocky hills."
Main Street: Cradock
The
border area had seen and continued to see conflict and war between the settlers
and the indigenous people, the Bushmen, Khoikhoi (called Hottentots) and the "Kaffirs".
There were numerous wars and in 1846 the War of the Axe had broken out. By this
time the Cradock Mounted Volunteers had been formed in which Gilfillan was to
also play a prominent part.
Between 1850 and 1852 the Eighth Kaffir War
broke out, threatening the whole border district. It was raging as the Flemmers
were making their decision to move to the Colony. One has to wonder whether prospects
in Denmark were seen to be so bleak that immigrating to what we would call a war
zone seemed a better option. Of course there would be little up-to-date news available
in Denmark, but Toger von Abo would have been well aware of the local situation.
He was a member of Cradock's Board of Defence. As we will see below he was involved
in raising finance for the defence of the town. I cannot decide whether it was
on blind faith or blind ignorance that the future of the South African Flemmer
descendants was decided.
Here we have a description of the situation in
the district during the war of 1850-52:
" All hands here have enough
to do-high and low, rich and poor, have to turn out day and night day after day.
The most urgent calls for help, for men and ammunition, come in - this being the
only point from which they can get either. Yesterday we had two expresses from
Baviaan's River, imploring help. The Hottentots in great numbers have assembled
in those parts and with Kaffirs are devastating the country. …. The frontier line
is now in this direction, within thirty miles of Cradock. Numbers have already
fled and the whole of the district is dotted over with houseless farmers wandering
to and fro."
The situation was so severe that a decision was made to
fortify the Town Hall to be used as a fortress in the event of a direct attack
on Cradock itself. A notice was published calling for loans from the local citizens
for this purpose. The loans were guaranteed by none other than Toger von Abo.
Meanwhile the Cradock Volunteers performed sterling service in this and future
conflicts and it was noted at the time that their 80 men had to try to provide
protection and support for the 2000 people spread over the entire district.
Into
the aftermath of this great conflict the oxwagons of the Flemmer family trundled,
late in February 1853, three weeks after having left Port Elizabeth. Much of the
countryside had been laid waste and farms and grazing destroyed. No doubt the
town and district were still in a state of great turmoil. Contemporary reports
tell us that Cradock was already beginning to regain its prosperity. There were
two stone quarries, two lime kilns (an indication that building was booming) four
wool-washers and the Cradock Union Bank opened during 1853.
The family
would have been greatly assisted in settling into their new home by Betty's brother
Toger, but even so life must have been so very different from Denmark. It was
after all a frontier town and although quite developed as we have seen, primitive
by European standards. There would have been a language problem, schooling to
deal with and, no doubt the management of a household with servants who were very
different to what had been left behind. Added to this would be a strange climate,
sicknesses, insects and not least wild animals which freely ranged the area, not
to mention the constant conflict with local tribespeople. Yes, life would have
been a great challenge to these resourceful people.
We can have some idea
of what Cradock was like at this time by quoting from an interview with Edward
Gilfillan 1838-1908 as told to Miss Eliza Butler:
"Cradock was an important
stopping place, and the main road to the interior for traders and travellers.
Their arrival meant an extra market and the Market Bell was rung at one o' clock.
Before leaving Cradock, these travellers replenished their stock of cattle and
provisions. They brought with them lions and other wild beasts, lions' karosses
and curios of all kind to sell. In the early fifties the post was still carried
on horseback, and though due once a week was seldom punctual-full rivers or horses
knocked up, often detained it for days. The English mail arrived once in three
months. [so it would take a minimum of six months for a letter to get from
the Cape to Denmark and back!].
At one time the Postmaster was much addicted
to drink, and it was no uncommon thing for him to be lying incapable in the office,
so people used to sort their own letters, and consequently letters often got mislaid
and turned up weeks afterwards."
As I have mentioned before, Toger
von Abo was already a prominent citizen of Cradock by this time. There are several
letters from him in the Council records, mainly complaining about the state of
the streets of the town. At one stage he was charged with letting his servant
cut wood illegally. He refuted the charge and used the opportunity to once again
complain about the streets! Wool was one of the major industries of the area and
we see from these same records that von Abo was involved in woolwashing,. Again
from the interview with Edward Gilfillan quote:
" Until the railway
came, wool washing was carried out near the Warm Baths. This was to lighten the
wool for carriage by wagon down to the Bay. The water used by the wash girls was
afterward saved, because of the soap in it, which was used to wash the wool. A
strange custom these wash girls used to have, was to throw pins, needles, beads
etc., into the water, before beginning their washing to propitiate the 'water
spirit' or it would pull them in."
The family record says that Dr.
Flemmer was the first doctor in the area, but as we have seen, the 1845 Cape Almanac
recorded a doctor and an apothecary in Cradock. Certainly doctors would be in
short supply and his services welcomed. From the 'Little Dane'
" After
travelling by oxwagon for three weeks, this little company of Danes arrived in
Cradock. Here Dr. Flemmer set up as a medical man. He had a very successful practice
and was much beloved by his patients. He was specially interested in the ailments
of infants and made a powder which he used to say " was as necessary for baby
as the Lord's prayer was to grown up people." It has been handed down from generation
to generation and used by all his descendants with great success.
Dr. Flemmer
and his family were very musical and in spite of her family cares, Betty retained
her interest in the social side of life, and she and her husband would sing Danish
duets and songs, to the delight of their audiences."
Life would have
continued pleasantly enough in Cradock, and I'm sure would have been terrific
for the boys, with the wonderful climate, the outdoor life and opportunities for
hunting. Although here were schools for boys in Cradock a girls school was only
opened in 1875, so it is probable that the girls were educated at home.
In
1855 we see the first mention of Dr. C.A. Flemmer in the Cape Almanac of that
year and subsequently for the years1856-58. He is listed as Medical Practitioner
along with Dr.E.Davies, On the 13th December 1856 the ninth and last child, Sophie
Wilhelmina was born. We presume she did not grow into adulthood as no further
trace of her has been found nor has any record of her death.
In January
1858 there is a mention of Dr. Flemmer in the local newspaper when nine horses
started in the Hack Race, the winner being Princess Royal owned by Dr. Flemmer.
It seems then that the good doctor had interests other than the healing of the
sick!
In 1859, Dr. Flemmer is recorded as District Surgeon of Bedford at
an annual salary of 75 pounds. It has not been possible to find out how long they
actually lived in Bedford which is about 70kms. from Cradock. Bedford itself had
only been founded 5 years before, and would have been a tiny village. It seems
that the stay was short as subsequent years' records show the Dr. Flemmer back
in Cradock. In this same year the eldest son, Christian Ludvig, was the agent
for the Cradock News based in Bedford although only 18 years old at the time.
There
is no mention of Dr. C.A. Flemmer in the Almanacs for 1860-62, although we see
that T. von Abo is head of the Immigration Board and that P. von Abo is storekeeper
of his gunpowder store!
Dr. Flemmer's name reappears in 1865 as Medical
Practitioner in Cradock and then appears continuously until his death in 1870.
But perhaps we should pause at 1860, at which date the Flemmer children would
be as follows-
Christian Ludvig 19
Camilla Henrietta 18 (she married
Hans Micheal Naested this year)
Toger Abo August 17
Charlotte Marie
Louise 15
Cathinca Christine 14 ( have not been able to establish if still
alive)
Hans Christian 13
Andreas Salvator 10
Marius 7
Sophia Wilhelmina
4 ( have not been able to establish if still alive)
The Cape Almanac
of 1860 records that the preceding year had been one of mingled prosperity and
adversity. Certainly no further wars had broken out since the 1850-52 war, and
it records that "All the chiefs have had their power effectively broken, and
the majority of them are now confined on Robben Island in hopeless exile." This
statement will be seen to have been optimistic as a further war broke out on the
border in 1863. The Almanac also notes serious defects in the systems of irrigation
being used and that severe losses had occurred following a devastating drought
the previous year. Towns like Cradock and its surrounding community would have
been badly affected by drought as its economy was almost entirely based on agriculture.
On a positive note the Almanac records continued government investment in roads
and bridges and the installation of the first telegraph on a short line in Cape
Town. We see the Colony on an upward path of development and this would have presented
opportunities for the Flemmer boys which they simply would not have had in Denmark.
I am sure that life for them would have been hard but pleasant in their new country,
riding, hunting and camping out being major activities. In Cradock this same year
Edward Gilfillan who married Charlotte Flemmer in 1864, is recorded as a notary.
In
1856 the "The Cradock News" appeared, soon to change its name to the "Cradock
and Tarkastad Register". From an 1862 edition we see the results of a cricket
match played in Cradock, and that there is a concert in the Town Hall. Hans Michael
Naested, who married Camilla Flemmer in 1860 is advertising his shop as ' Koopman
te Cradock', apples are 2d a pound, butter 1/6d and tobacco 7d a pound. Hans Michael
Naested was another Dane, being the cousin of Toger and Betty von Abo (Flemmer).
I have not found out when he arrived in Cradock, but perhaps he had come to the
Colony with his cousin Toger.
Advertisment from Cradock- Tarkestad Register
In
1863 Dr. Flemmer wrote a letter to the paper on the subject on the high price
of food at the market caused no doubt by another drought. He had been the only
doctor in town at the time of his letter. In five days he had only seen one patient,
a fact which he ascribed partly to the fact that food prices were high and people
were eating less, and partly " to the glorious fact that so many had signed
the pledge as Teetotallers." In the same year a decision was made to build
a new school. The town was divided into four wards, one represented by Dr. Flemmer
and guarantees of 175 pounds were raised. Hans Flemmer, by now 16, is shown to
be no great cricketer. Playing in the Excelsior Cricket Club second team he is
out for a duck in both innings!
Dr. Flemmer was very involved in the Total
Abstinence Society judging by the number of times he and the Society are mentioned
in the paper. Meetings were held at the Town Hall attended by all of the churches
in Cradock. Dr. Flemmer gave a lecture on the 'Social, Domestical and National
advantages derived from Total Abstinence'. The reporter notes 'The Doctor's
discourse was on this occasion, particularly interesting and in his usual happy
manner, he succeeded in enlivening the duller and sadder shades with a few witty
anecdotes.'
These meetings were well attended and entertainment was
provided by the Glee Club, with "vocal entertainment" from Miss Flemmer. This
was probably Charlotte Marie Louise who would have been 18 at the time. She married
Edward Lodewicus Stockenstrom Gilfillan in 1864 and more will be said about them
in the section of this history devoted to Charlotte. Not everyone was totally
supportive of the Total Abstinence Society. Commenting on a heavy rainstorm that
had struck Cradock in October 1863 the editor notes- "Of course rain couldn't
stop the meeting. Strange fish- those fellows- put a damper on them and they are
more cheerful."
While the notion of a Total Abstainers Society may
seem quaint to us today it was a powerful movement both in Europe and in the Cape
Colony at this time. The demon drink was seen as a major cause of violence and
a wasteful consumer of grain products, adversely affecting the peasant classes.
On 1st of January 1864 Dr. Christian August Flemmer became the editor of the
"Teetotaller's Column" in the Cradock and Tarkastad Register. His opening
column could not state the position of the Abstainers more plainly:
Teetotallers column
The
column continues at length and week by week in the same vein. One wonders how
the good doctor came to terms with his son-in-law Hans Naested running a bottle
store in Adderly Street, Cradock at this time!
In October of 1864 the
Total Abstainers held a ball attended by 140 people in the Town Hall. Writing
in his column the good Doctor is exultant ".....not even a boisterous word
or laugh was heard....... Teetotalism in this place has never won a greater victory."
While this description does not make the event sound like a lot of fun, the
Ball did go on from eight thirty until four the next morning!
1864 also
saw Salvator Flemmer's entry on to the crickets fields of Cradock, with about
as much success as his older brother. Playing for the Cradock Boys against the
Grahamstown Boys in December, Salvator is run out for a duck in the first innings
and bowled and caught for 0 in the second!
But to return to 1863 for a
moment. It was a busy year for Dr. Flemmer apart from his work with the Abstinence
Society and his practice. . From the newspaper we see that in October he was elected
to a committee to watch progress of the elections to the Legislative Assembly.
In December he had hosted the visit and a series of lectures and field trips by
a Dr. Brown, a visiting botanist. Dr. Brown had considerably enlightened the town
with his knowledge and the visit seems to have been doubly welcome as it was entirely
fortuitous, Dr. Brown having been trapped in Cradock by floodwaters!
Some
extracts from the Cradock and Tarkastad Register of 1864 give us a flavour of
the times and of Cradock. The "New Butchery" is offering prime beef at 5d. per
lb. and steak at 6d. The telegraph has reached from Cape Town as far as Grahamstown
and was steadily extending towards the Eastern Cape. There is an advertisement
with a 3 pound reward for the missing Bushmen 'Kleinboy' 3ft 10ins., and 'Kievit'
4ft. Although slavery had been banned years before there was a system of indentured
labour which was very close to slavery, and these Bushmen would no doubt have
been confined as labourers by a local farmer. In other news the Turf Club (Secretary
E. Gilfillan) meets regularly. In March the same year Hans Michael Naested, husband
of Camilla Flemmer, applies to renew his bottle store licence in Adderley Street.
In
1870 the Cape Almanac records Dr. C.A. Flemmer as a Justice of the Peace at Cradock
and in the same year the Cradock and Tarkastad Register was recording the first
demonstration of a bicycle in Cradock to 'general merriment'. H.M. Naested
scored 21 out of 25 in a competition organised by the Cradock Rifle Association.
In January 1870 an obituary for Dr. Flemmer appears.
CAFlemmer's Obituary
In the same issue of the newspaper there is a long and emotional letter eulogising the late doctor by his good friend the Rev. R.B. Taylor, of the Independent Church, with whom he had worked so hard in the cause of total abstinence.
His
eldest son Christian Ludvig had married Anna Louie Distin of the prominent Distin
family (see Distin History) in September the previous year. They had been given
the farm where Christian Ludvig was farm manager as a wedding present. He and
Anna were to enjoy this for only the first three months of their married life
as Anna Louie gives this account of Dr. Flemmer's death in The Little Dane-
'
It was Monday morning. Mr. Flemmer (Christian Ludvig) was up with the lark and
on scanning the horizon, he beheld a horseman riding as if for his life. He handed
a letter which he scanned with paling face and trembling hands. He returned to
the house. "Anna" he called, sinking into a chair, " I have very bad news. My
father is dead." He handed her the letter, which she read, tears filling her sweet
blue eyes.
Dr. Flemmer had retired and was living on a farm near Steynsburg.
On Sunday afternoon Betty left her room to attend to the afternoon tea, and in
the midst of her preparations returned to the bedroom for her handkerchief. She
was just in time to see her poor husband breathe his last! He died painlessly
from heart failure. Ludvig had promised his father that should the Doctor be taken,
it would be his, Ludvig's, special care to take charge of his mother. He said
" We must leave at once. I will arrange to let this farm as we must now make our
home with my mother on her farm near Steynsburg."
Poor little Anna shed
bitter tears at giving up her charming little home where she had reigned supreme:
and although she was very fond of her mother in law she did not look forward to
making her home with the Danes, where practically only Danish was spoken and Danish
dishes eaten.'
It certainly would have been difficult for the newly
wed Anna but apparently she accepted with good grace. This arrangement continued
for three years until, according to The Little Dane, Betty and her brother Toger
were given a cottage in Cradock to live in. It is interesting to speculate here
what had happened to Toger's wife Methea. I have found no record of her death
in the Cape. Toger died in Steynsburg on 9th April 1879. His death certificate,
signed by Christian Ludvig Flemmer states that he was unmarried. Perhaps life
in the Cape Colony was too difficult for her and she had returned to Denmark.
There
are some interesting facts in the accounts of Christian August Flemmer's death.
He was 56 years old when he died, and had apparently already retired. Details
of his estate shows that he was by no means wealthy, so it is possible that he
was in poor health and unable to attend to his practice. This is possibly why
he had already arranged that his eldest son, Ludvig, would care for his wife Betty
in the event of his death.
The Death Certificate records he died on the
farm 'Ruigtersvlei' District Cradock. Anna Louie states that he died on
a farm near Steynsburg. A son of Camilla Henriette Naested (Flemmer) was born
on this same farm in 1865, when it is shown as District Steynsburg. The district
boundaries changed from time to time and I believe he died on the farm 'Ruigtevlei'
in the present District of Middelburg. This farm is about 10kms. off the R66 road
from Cradock to Middelburg.
The Death Certificate also records his eight
surviving children. Six had achieved their majority and the youngest two, Andreas
Salvator and Marius were minors. The family finances were in a parlous state,
but these boys would have been aged 20 and 17 respectively and beginning to make
their own way in the world.
The
Estate late Christian August Flemmer M.D.
Paid: Scanlan & Gilfillan
4.08.00
Creditors: H.M.Naested 89.04.09
E. Gilfillan 53.04.00
F. J.
Philps 11.08.06
Burgersdorp Gazette 3.15.00
H.C. Flemmer Funeral Exp.
10.00.09
172.00.09
Proceeds:
Movable property 115.00.00
Book Debts Collected 50.06.00
165.06.00
Amount paid in by H.C. Flemmer
to cover
Deficiency in estate: 6.14.09
172.00.09
Ruigtevlei Divison
of Cradock, July 1870 Signed: C.L. Flemmer Executor
Scanlen Gilfillan Attorneys
10.9.1869
Promissory Note Hans Michael Naested 89.04.09
1.10.1869 Promissory Note E.
Gilfillan 53.04.00
Received from Executordative sum of Ten Pounds being
funeral expenses
Of the Late C.A. Flemmer M.D.
Advanced by me Cradock £5.7.1870
Hans Flemmer
Also £3.15.00 subscription Burghersdorp Gazette Ruigtevlei 27.06.1870
Signed:
Hans Flemmer
Among
the assets were 20 head of cattle, sold for 50/- each and 3 old horses that went
for 30/-, along with old furniture and crockery. There is also a list of creditors
ranging from 2/- to 7 pounds 10/-, presumably patients who had not settled their
accounts.
So the long journey from Denmark had ended, albeit somewhat prematurely.
Although the Doctor did not die a wealthy man in the financial sense, he had given
his family the chance of a new life in a growing Colony where prospects were improving,
and where opportunities for those with courage and skill abounded.
Christian
August Flemmer was buried in the graveyard of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Cradock.
The grave number is 48 and his tombstone fittingly a combination of English and
Danish-
SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF
CHRISTIAN AUGUST FLEMMER
BORN DENMARK 9TH MARCH 1813
DIED IN THE DISTRICT OF CRADOCK
ON THE 11TH JANUARY 1870
LAER MIG,
O SKOV AT VISNE GLAD
SOM SENT I HOEST DIT GULE BLAD
ET BEDRE FORAAR KOMMER!
DER GROENT MIT TRAE SKAL HERLIG STAA
OG SINE DYBE ROEDDER SLAA
I EVIGHEDENS
SOMMER
We
are indebted to Otto Broholm, our distant Danish relative for both the translation
and the source of this verse. It is the first of four verses of an old hymn, sometimes
still used today at funeral services. It was written by Danish poet and author
Adam Oehlenschlaeger 1779-1850.
Translated it reads-
TEACH
ME, OH FOREST, TO WITHER AWAY HAPPILY
AS LATE IN AUTUMN DO YOUR YELLOW LEAVES
A
BETTER SPRING IS TO COME!
WHERE MY TREE WILL BE STANDING GREEN AND LOVELY
AND
WITH IT'S DEEP ROOTS GROWING
INTO ETERNITY'S SUMMER
His wife, Betty lived on another 26 years, dying on 19th September 1896 at the home of her son-in-law and cousin Hans Michael Naested in Cradock. She was 79 years old and the local newspaper records that she was one of the town's oldest inhabitants, and " was greatly esteemed and respected by a large circle of friends and relatives."
St Peter's Church, Cradock
This
then brings to an end the narrative about the 'Danish Flemmers'. Although most
of their children were born in Denmark they became to all intents and purposes,
South African, although of course that term did not exist until much later. The
sections that will follow attempt to trace the families of the children of Christian
August Flemmer and Betty Camilla Augusta Abo. Although my grandfather, Marius
Toger Flemmer, son of Hans Christian, died when I was quite young I can clearly
remember him. There was no doubt that although much to his regret he had never
visited Denmark, he was a Dane and proud of it.
Steve Herbert Kalk
Bay June 2000
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