MICHEL (OR MIKKEL) NAESTED
SOUTH AFRICAN FLEMMER FAMILY SITE
HISTORY OF SA FLEMMERS PART II
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THE DANISH NAESTED FAMILY
MIKKEL
NAESTED (Before 1700)
to
HANS MICHAEL NAESTED 1827-1907
Hans Michael Naested was born in Holbæk on 13th March 1827. He arrived in South
Africa in 1853 with the Flemmers and von Abos and in 1860 he married Camilla Henriette
Flemmer in Cradock. Further details of him and of his descendants can be found
in THE
STORY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN FLEMMERS
To give an idea of how the Naesteds, Flemmers and Abos are connected as families
here is a brief picture of my own direct line of descent-
Mikkel Naested
was born before 1700 in Denmark.
His
son - Niels Michelsen Naested c.1700 married Anne Kirstine Willumsdatter
Berngreen
Their son - Michael Naested 1736-1807 married Anne
Magdalene Sophie Lyders 1752-1804
Their daughter - Louise Dorothea
Naested 1793-1823 married Christian Johannes Abo 1787-1869
Their
daughter - Betty Camilla Abo 1816-1896 married Christian August Flemmer
1813-1870
One of their sons Hans Christian Flemmer 1847-1896
married Aletta Alida Hopley 1853-1934
Of their children one of the sons
- Marius Toger Flemmer 1877-1965 married Kathleen Nolan Neylan 1884-1948
One of thier daughters - Kathleen Norah Flemmer 1912-1972 married
Ronald Harold Herbert 1914-1988
One of their sons - Stephen Wilfred
Herbert 1946- married Judith Ann Delbridge 1948-
There was another
connection as well - this may seem a little confusing, but is interesting:
Christian Johannes Abo (above) married a second time. One of his daughters
from the second marriage was Wilhelmina Johanna von Abo 1833-1893 who married
Frederick Hurlingh Hopley 1828-1895. She was therefore a half sister of Betty
Camilla Flemmer (Abo).
One of the daughters of the von Abo/Hopley
marriage was- Aletta Alida Hopley 1853-1934 who married Hans Christian
Flemmer 1847-1896 [see above] Hans Christian Flemmer and Aletta Alida Hopley
were therefore half first cousins.
Johan Henrik Naested, one of
the sons of Michael Naested1736-1807 [see above], was the direct ancestor
of the South African Naested family:
He, Johan Henrik Naested
1782-1862 married Christine Bertelsen
Their son, Hans Michael Naested
1827-1907 married Camilla Henrietta Flemmer [daughter of Christian
August Flemmer and Betty von Abo]
We can see from this that
the Naested family was connected to the South African Flemmers both through descent
and by marriage.
The
origin of the name is not known but the family was probably originally centred
on Northern Jylland or the town of Næstved in Denmark. The correct form of the
name is in fact Næsted, which has come into common use in South Africa as the
spelling we see today. In the family notes handed down among the South African
family it was said that Hans Michael Naested 1827-1907, stamvader of the
South African Naesteds was descended from the family of a Silesian count. His
obituary, published the 'Midland News' in 1907 is more specific, saying
" He was the direct heir to the estate of a Silecian (sic) nobleman, Count
von Eiksted, which was lost through the burning of the Church of St. Nikolai,
Copenhagen, at the bombardment of that city in 1801, at which the marriage register
of his great-grandfather and mother were kept……. His ancestry can be traced back
to 1006."
There is a certain romance to this story that is intriguing,
but unfortunately it does not seem to be true, as we shall see. Hans Michael Naested's
great-grandfather was not a count called von Eiksted, nor have we found any record
in Denmark of the family dating back to 1006, wonderful though this would be.
What we do know beyond doubt is a line of descent pre-dating 1700
Steve Herbert
Kalk
Bay June 2002
The family members covered by this section are:
He would have been the great-grandfather of Hans Michael Naested. I know
nothing of him, apart from his name and the fact that he was born before 1700.
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NIELS MICHELSEN NAESTED c.1700-
He was born about 1700 and married Anna Kirstine Willumsdatter Berngreen.
We can see from his second name- Michelsen- (literally Michel's son) that he was
the son of Michel Naested and not Count von Eiksted. He and Anna had 11 children
of whom I have traced the following-
Jorgen Nielsen Naested born
1734, he became a burgher of the city of Copenhagen 1772 and married Anne at the
church of St. Nikolai, Copenhagen 1775. There is a record of four children. In
the 1787 census we find the family at 115 Myntergarden, Copenhagen-
Jorgen
Naested man 44 married once sword maker
Anne his wife 36
Frederick 6}
Niels Asmus 1} their children
Brigitte 10}
Elisabeth 8}
Nicolai Christiansen
11 an orphan
Jorgen Mathiasen 22
Maren Tonsberg maid 35
Vilhelm
Naested was born 1746 in Copenhagen, and married Vilhelmine Beate Heglund
1749-84 in Hjørring in 1780. In 1786 he married Margarethe Falck and there is
a record of one son- Niels Michael Naested baptised 1787. Vilhelm Naested was
a surgeon with the Countess Danneskjold Samsoe from 1771-73 and county surgeon
at Hjørring in 1778 where he died aged only 51 in 1797.
Juliane Marie
Naested born 1753 married Hans Jurgen Wangel 1724-1786. A direct descendant
of this marriage, Jorgen Wangel, has supplied me with a lot of information on
this family. Juliane died in 1820.
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He was the brother of the people shown above and is of particular interest as
he is an ancestor of the South African Flemmers. He was probably born in Copenhagen
in about 1736. In 1756 aged 20, he qualified as a lawyer and in 1763 obtained
an Honours degree. University education would have been something of a rarity
at this time. This, and other information indicates that the Naesteds were of
the wealthy upper classes.
Over the next few years he held several positions,
in 1771 becoming a secretary with the Agricultural Commission and in 1775, aged
39 Korrespondence Chef with the Royal lottery. Over these years it seems
that his career was on a fast upward path, in modern parlance, a man on the move.
On the 9th December 1778, aged 42, he married 26 year old Anna Magdalene
Sophie Lyders (1752-1804) at the Vor Frue (Our Lady) Church in Copenhagen. The
record shows that he paid 50 rigsdalers for his marriage license. As the normal
rate was 4 rdls., this tells us he was a wealthy man. Some further idea of his
financial position can be seen from the house he bought in Copenhagen in the following
year. I have a copy of the Deed of Sale which gives a full description of the
property-
I, the undersigned Carl Frederich Hofman, citizen and county
surgeon here in the Royal town of Copenhagen, hereby make public that I have sold
from myself and my heirs to Kancelliraad Michael Naested here in Copenhagen as
well as to his heirs a house, belonging to me in Raadhusstraedet, Snarens Quarter,
new land registration number 42, which said house consists of 10 bays, 2 floors
high with an attic 3 bays broad, built of stone towards the street and towards
the yard, plus a basement under all of the house, and a stone built side house
of 7 bays and 2 floors high and with an attic 3 bays broad with a basement, and
a back house 11 bays broad, built of stone with timber frame and with a thatched
roof 2 floors high and with an attic 3 bays broad, in which the lower floor is
a stable and a garage for 2 wagons. In the yard is a sweet water pump. In the
rooms there are 8 windows and two enclosed stoves…"
The word 'bays'
was used at this time to measure the size of houses. It means window, and gives
a clear idea of the scale of the house, which was huge. It can still be seen today
at 42 Raadhustrade (Town Hall Street) in Copenhagen. We even have a drawing of
the house-
The selling price was 9 000 rigsdalers, an enormous sum
in 1779. A comparison can be made with the house of Fredrich Flemmer (see History
of the South African Flemmers 1703-1870). He died in 1777, two years before Michael
Naested bought his house. In the probate record the Flemmer house in Odense, 8
bays and 2 storeys high, was valued at 200 rigsdalers!
Nine years after
their marriage we find the Naested family in the census of 1787-
Michael Naested man 50 married once 'kancelliraad' and Royal Balance Chief with
the Lottery
Sofie Magdalene wife 34 married once
Kristine Dorthe Naested
8
Henrik Naested 6
Christian Naested 3
Vilhelmine Vinkler 11 the
wife's niece
Niels Erlandsen 29 mercenary/free man/house servant
Karen
Andersdatter 40 married once maid and wet nurse
Abelone Sharlotte Benrod 29
maid
This shows us that Michael Naested is an important and wealthy man.
Copenhagen was the centre of Denmark, with a population of about 100 000, 10%
of the total population of the country. Three children have been born, the youngest
has a wet nurse, although already 3, and there are three servants in the house.
Denmark had been going through a period of immense social and political upheaval
during this period, with many reforms being passed as the old order in Europe
changed. In June 1795, aged 59, Michael Naested was appointed as scribe to a commission
that was to present an acceptable plan for the better use of the property of Copenhagen
and the University. This work seems to have occupied him until his death in 1807.
Fourteen years later after the 1787 census, the family are living at the
same address and the household has expanded considerably. It is interesting to
look at these census returns in full as they show how the family had grown by
1801-
Michael Naested 62 married 'kancelleraad' and lottery administrator
Sophie Magdalene Lyders 47 married
Christine Naested 20
Johan Henrich
Naested 18 student
Michael Christian Naested 14 student
Anne Maria Naested
12
Louise Dorothea Naested 8
Charlotte Henriette Naested 6
Maria Bech
21 maid
Kirstine Jensen 25 maid
Johan Lyders 21 lodging student
Wilhelm
Lyders 23 lodging student
The ages shown for Michael and his wife Anna
Sophie are slightly inaccurate as they would have been 65 and 49 respectively
at this time. Although I believe they had 7 children it seems from this census
that one had died young as only 6 are shown. The two Lyders boys are probably
nephews of Anna Sophie. It is also interesting to see that, although the Naested
boys are 'students' their sisters are not. Presumably at that time girls were
not considered for formal education, rather learning the genteel arts of sewing,
music and art at home from private tutors.
Up until 1795, the Danish
lottery had been drawn at the Town Hall, which was very close to the Naested house.
A devastating fire swept Copenhagen that year, destroying large parts of the city.
One can imagine the terror as the inferno swept towards their home, destroying
the Town Hall and most of the buildings in their street. Fortunately the fire
stopped a few metres away and all was saved.
For the administrators of
the lottery the loss of the Town Hall presented a huge problem. It was solved
by the magistrate offering to buy the Naested's home. After the fire, good buildings
in that part of Copenhagen would have been at an absolute premium, which is shown
by the price negotiated- 14 000 rigsdalers, a comfortable profit given the 9 000
paid for it!
Although the deed of sale said that the house would be handed
over to the Royal Lottery Institute of Copenhagen in September of 1795, the Naested
family continued to live there until the time of Michael's death 12 years later.
I presume that they would have shared the house with the administrative offices
of the lottery. The public draw was made from the house for many decades afterwards,
and this picture shows the lottery being drawn outside the house in about 1840.
On 28th June 1804, at age 52, the mother of the family, Anna Sophie
Magdalene Naested died at her home of 'convulsions'. She was buried from the Helliggeist
(Holy Ghost) Church and buried at Assistens Cemetery. What a great sadness for
the family and especially for the young girls then aged about 17, 10 and 11.
Worse was to follow when three years later, their father Michael died of
'apoplexy' on 27th April 1807. Like his wife he was buried at Assistens Cemetry
from the Helliggeist Church.
Moving with what today may be considered
indecent haste, the probate commission met at the house on the day of death, 27th
April 1807. It may well be that Michael Naested had been ill for some time and
that the children and others felt that it was better to begin the work of the
commission as soon as possible. The purpose of the commission was to list all
property, heirs and creditors of the estate so that fair distribution of assets
could take place. It is worth seeing an extract of this first meeting of the probate
commission-
On 27th April 1807 the probate commission appeared at
the request of Mr. H. Naested, in the house no. 42 Raadhusstraede on the first
floor to make a probate record after cancelliraad Naested, who has died here today.
Present here was the son Michael Christian, who declared that he was 22 years
old and a student, and that he and his brother, candidatus juris Henrk Naested,
26, plus their four sisters, Anne Christine 26, Anne Marie 18, Louise Dorothea
15, and Charlotte Henriette 12, all not married, are the only right heirs after
their deceased parents…. These children were all present as well as the maids
Lene and Anne, and they showed the effects and furniture of the estate to the
probate commission…..
Present also was sword-maker [Jorgen Nielsen] Naested. The heirs declared that
they had shown the commission everything, and that the things concerning his work
as a secretary of the lottery and university, will be in his office, which was
now sealed…Lastly the sons present asked that lawyer Bronlund be appointed curator
of the children.
There seems to have been some concerns about the
property of the university as the commission met the children at the house two
days later. The university and the community "emanded delivery of its
books, documents and maps, which may be here in the house as well as whatever
money belonging to the commission may be here in the house…" A list of property
found is included.
A further meeting took place the following week about
this matter. Michael Christian Naested asked for 10 rigsdalers a week to support
the family and pay the maids. He also wanted to be refunded for the costs of his
father's funeral.
The settlement of the affairs of the estate seems
to have been a problem as it was still being dealt with three years later, in
1810, when a nephew, Niels Naested, a ship's surgeon, demanded payment of his
account. He subsequently renounced his claim, but it is interesting to wonder
whether the account was for attending Michael Naested in his final illness.
Despite the fact that Denmark was heading for very stormy financial waters
at this time we must assume that the children were left with a comfortable living,
although I do not have final details of the estate settlement.
Johan
Henrik and his sister, Louise Dorothea Naested have a special interest
for the South African families and I will deal with them separately below. Some
of the other children of Michael Naested and Anna Sophie Magadelene Naested are
also of interest. Brief details are-
Anne Christine Dorthe Naested
b. 17th December 1779, married the vicar Andreas Hansen Kjeldberg 1790-1848 (see
Flemmer Family History Part 1). She died aged 34, in 1813 leaving a son. Andreas
Hansen Kjeldberg subsequently married his deceased wife's sister-
Charlotte
Henriette Naested 1794-1868. They were married at the Vor Frue Church Copenhagen
on 23rd May 1820 and they had at least one child- Methea Sophia Kjeldberg, born
in 1820. In 1853 this child married her cousin, Toger Abo 1813-1879. The Kjeldbergs
were guardians to Toger's sister, Betty Camilla Augusta Abo-see below.
Michael Christian Naested b. 1784, married Anne Catherine Addit b. 1791, and they
had at least four children. A census in 1834 finds them living in the town of
Næstved, where Michael Christian is a wine dealer and innkeeper. The census list
is long, showing not only the family, but also guests at the inn. There are the
4 children, 8 maids and servants, an Icelandic merchant, a doctor, and a colonel
and men of the Lancers Regiment! Of special interest is that the couple are guardians
to the sister of Betty and Toger Abo, Marie Sophie Frederikke Abo, whose age is
shown as 22-see below.
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LOUISE DOROTHEA NAESTED 1793-1823
She was the second youngest daughter of the family, and as we have seen, was 15
years old when she was orphaned by the death of her father in 1807. It seems to
me that she had a difficult life, having lost both parents at such a young age.
Although she herself died very young, and in unhappy circumstances, she is of
great importance to the South African Flemmer family. As we have seen at the opening
of this section, all of our Flemmer family in South Africa descended from her.
Louise Dorothea Naested married 23-year-old Johannes Christian Abo in Copenhagen
in 1810, when she would have been about 17. He was the son of a famous Danish
naval Captain, Toger Abo 1747-1806 and more details of this family can be found
in my History of the Abos. Louise and Christian
Johannes Abo had three children - Marie Sophie Frederikke b. 1812, Toger b. 1813
and Betty Camilla Augusta, b. 1816.
Denmark was lurching from financial
crisis to crisis in the period after their marriage 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. He would then
have left his young wife aged about 24 with three children the oldest being only
5 years old.
As far as I know he never came back to Denmark, nor apparently
made his fortune in South Africa. On 16th July 1823 six years after he left, his
wife Louise Dorothea died in Holbæk aged 30, at the home of her brother Johan
Henrik. Family legend has it that she died of a broken heart, as she had heard
nothing from her husband in South Africa for several years. It is said that the
day after her funeral, a parcel of 10 letters arrived for her from South Africa,
and this may be so. Life must have been very difficult for the young mother and
her three children. She was apparently living on the charity of her brother and
sharing the home with her mother-in-law, Maria Abo (van der Spuy).
We
have the probate record for Louise Dorothea Naested and as with all translations,
one has to be careful that the real meaning has been understood. I think it makes
for sad reading as there is a certain note of bitterness in it. One has the sense
that this poor young woman had been inflicted on her mother-in-law by the departure
of her husband for South Africa-
On Wednesday 23rd July 1823 the probate
commission came to the house of Generaladjutant Mrs. Abo [her late husband Toger
Abo's title] to register and deal with the estate of her son's wife Mrs. Louise
Dorothea Abo, born Naested. Present were Mrs. Abo and the brother of the deceased
the lawyer [Johan Henrik] Naested, who was supposed to take care of the
children of the deceased, all minors, as their father had been absent at the Cape
for some years. According to the information given the deceased left behind the
following children-
A daughter Maria 11 years old
A son Toger 10 years
old
A daughter Betty 6 and a half years old
Mrs. Abo declared that since
she had undivided estate after the death of her husband and her son therefore
owned nothing here and as he, when he was living here, as well as his wife, contributed
nothing to the home, all the property here belonged to her, apart from the clothes
of the deceased. As the value of these clothes was less than the cost of the funeral
and the expenses of the deceased and her children, she abstained from further
claim on the estate, if the estate could be given to her. Lawyer Naested agreed
with this and the probate was finished.
When their mother died the
three children, Marie now aged 11; Toger 10 and Betty nearly 7 were split up and
brought up by their mother's brother and sisters.
As we have seen above,
Marie, at age 22 was living with her uncle Michael Christian in Næstved
in 1834. I have no other record of her.
I believe Toger grew up
in the home of his uncle Johan Henrik Naested. He went to the Cape in about 1836
aged 23, to join his father Christian Johannes (von) Abo. He settled in Cradock
where he was prominent in town affairs for many years. He also collected wild
animals, skins and plants for export back to Europe. In 1852 he returned to Denmark
and married his cousin Methea Sophia Kjeldberg (see below). He encouraged his
sister Betty, by then the wife of Dr. Christian August Flemmer, to move to the
Cape, partly financing the cost of the voyage. They all sailed together from London
on the 'Corsairs Bride', which arrived at Port Elizabeth after a voyage
of nearly three months, in February 1853. He apparently also persuaded his cousin,
Hans Michael Naested 1827-1907, to emigrate to Cradock at this time. Toger (von)
Abo died in Cradock 9th April 1879. His death certificate notes he is 'unmarried'
so it is possible his wife Methea, had returned to Denmark
After her
mother died, 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. Betty married Dr. Christian August Flemmer in Havrebjerg on 24th September
1839. They emigrated to Cradock, Cape Colony, arriving with their 7 children in
1853. She died in Cradock aged 79 on 19th September 1896.
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JOHAN HENRIK NAESTED 1782-1826
Johan Henrik Naested was born in Copenhagen on the 24th November 1782, and
baptised at the Church of the Holy Ghost. (Helliggeist). In 1800 he started
his studies as a lawyer and was made candidatus juris (lawyer) on 15th
June 1805 aged 23. In 1808 he received very good marks in his examinations as
Forester and Surveyor. In January 1815 he was living in Holbæk aged 33, and was
given permission to act as Procurator in all the courts of Sjaelland, Copenhagen
excepted.
He was clearly a highly intelligent and successful man. On
28th October 1826 at age 44, he married Christiane Berthelsen 1789-1843 at the
St. Nikolai Church in Holbaek. She was 37 at the time, and was the daughter of
distiller Hans Berthelsen and Ingeborg Christiansdatter. Christiane Berthelsen
had been married previously to distiller Jens Jorgensen Roed, but the marriage
was ended by royal permission in 1826.
Their first child was Hans Michael
Naested who was born on the 13th March 1827. It is interesting to look at the
list of witnesses and sponsors of the newborn boy-
Madam Dall, Miss Anne
M. Naested (his aunt), Cancellieraad Bierfrund, Pastor Kjeldberg, Lawyer Arboe
(was this an Abo relative?), Merchants Frandsen, Petersen and Herlov, Dyer Nehammer,
Stadshauptman Godtfredsen. No doubt this represented some very important
people in the local community.
In 1830 a second child, Ingeborg Sophie
Magdalene was born and was baptised at St. Nikolai. As far as I know, there were
no other children.
In 1834, Johan Henrik Naested aged 52, was granted
a great honour and elected to the Estates of the Realm for the towns of Holbaek,
Kalundborg and Nykoebing. In the obituary of his son, Hans Michael, published
in Cradock in 1907 it says Johan Henrik was appointed by King Frederick VII to
a commission to investigate changes to the constitution of Denmark. For this he
was awarded a 'massive silver medal, now in the possession of the family.'
I have no way of finding out whether this is in fact so.
On the 8th July 1843, his wife Christiane died at Holbæk aged 54. Johan Henrik
died nearly 20 years later, on the estate ' Eriksholm' aged 80 on the 23rd August
1862.
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HANS MICHAEL NAESTED 1827-1907
As we have seen, Hans Michael Naested was born in Holbæk on 13th March 1827. He
was baptised at the Church of St. Nikolai where he was confirmed, aged 14 in 1841.
He arrived in South Africa in 1853 with the Flemmers and von Abos and in 1860
he married Camilla Henriette Flemmer in Cradock. Further details of him and of
his descendants can be found in THE
STORY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN FLEMMERS
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