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as Johanne the Bank, made us some fresh coffee. This, in so many ways, signified the end of my apprenticeship. That same morning I had gotten a pint of cream from Trine Hans Jørgens which we had along with our coffee.

It was around New Years in 1857 when I was all set to be able to place my two feet under my very own table in the form of an apartment of my own. It so happened that H. Jørgen had a shed, which as a matter of fact is the same shed as the one depicted in the drawing of the farm on page one and which is labelled as "spare space." It used to be part of one of the barns and now it was given to me to be used as an apartment. The room was six feet in width and sixteen feet in length. At one ned of the room is where I set up my things which consisted of a bed and my trunk. I crafted a table which was one foot wide and two feet long. I mounted it on the wall directly across from the bed so that I could sit on the edge of the bed while eating at the table. The table was fastened to the wall with leather straps so it was therefore possible to either have the table down or up. When it was down and in use I used to put a piece of wood under it as support. At the other end of the room was where I had my work station which was where I usually had 1 1/2 or 3 foot lengths of clog making wood, along with my chopping block, hollowing block, carving bench, tools and much more. My kitchen 

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consisted of a small box which sat under the bed. That is , as long as I had remembered to do the dishes and to put everything away.

My food consisted of an eight pound loaf of rye bread, a one pound sausage, one pound of cheese as well as receiving a cup of coffee from Trine H. Jørgensen every day at the price of four schilling per day. I lived on this diet for sixteen months, except for one day where I was working for one of the peasants. Two young men who were dancing instructors came to town during this time and I, as well as many of the other young people in the area, signed up for lessons. They covered three towns and offered lessons two nights in each town every week, so they were busy seven days a week.

Myself, as well as several others, went even if they were giving lessons out of town which allowed us to get a rather good grasp on it. The entire course cost us each ten Mark and when we were done with the dancing in the evenings we'd play cards for the rest of the night. Upon completing the course, I came upon a guy named Mads who wanted the two of us to hit the open road as dancing instructors. However, I didn't think that Mads was a very good dancer and I managed to talk myself out of that situation. I can only assume that he chose me because he admired my dancing skills.  

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Upon hearing this the other two officers took off and I was left with the one who initially grabbed me. I offered him a dollar if he would let me go and I told him that it was out of sheer ignorance that I got into this situation. However, he said that too many had seen what I had done and that he had to take me to the police station. There I would have to pay five crowns as bail, which of course would have to come out of Frederick's share. This event left Frederick in a rather grumpy mood and he proceeded to say things that made me feel cross. So I quit my job with him and left the first of November. During my time together with Frederick, it so happened that Lars Jensen and Laurenze      were wed and we were all invited. On the first of November I journeyed to Holtegaard where I earned a living as a simple farmhand for one year and got fifty crowns. I was then rehired for an additional year for 70 crowns along with a promotion. I was working for an old widow who had a son who had been married for a few years. It was decided that he ought to return home and take over the farm. He wanted to keep me on but I didn't want to stay and chose to leave instead. So now I had no job and it didn't look good for someone

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to be without a place to live. As a matter of fact, it was against the law and one could receive a fine for vagrancy. However, at that time I had a hard time finding a job that I liked. So I got the idea to learn how to make wooden clogs. I had moved my chest into the house belonging to Hans Jørgen and even lived there temporarily. It so happened that I reached an accord with Johan Eggert Christofer Knudsen, who worked at the Faxe quarry, that he would teach me how to make wooden clogs.

In return for him teaching me how to make them I was to give him five thaler! However, while I was his apprentice I was required to feed myself, as well as a supplying my own wood for working on. I was also responsible for the procurement and upkeep of my own tools because he didn't want his personal tools to get damaged. Everything went really well, and on the 19th day of my apprenticeship I made three pais of wooden clogs. At this point he tells me that if I can manage to make three pairs in one day then I had officially surpassed his own skill level. He himself was unable to produce clogs at such a rate and he suggested that I should be come a journeyman. He seemed unconcerned about actually inspecting the clogs for their degree of craftsmanship. That night Johan and I pooled our money and bought a pint of schnapps for four schilling. We proceeded to drink it until our neighbor and his wife, whom everyone referred to 

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kicked off her clogs, grabbed her skirts with both hands and lifted them up high enough so that we were able to see how skillfully she was able to move her feet. It so happened that she was wearing tights at the time and she ended up stepping on her own toes, after which she fell and broke one of her arms. Needless to say, the dancing quickly came to a halt.

Starting on the first of May 1854 I was supposed to get 30 crowns for one years work and from the first of May 1855 I contracted myself only for another six months in exchange for 17 crowns. I did this because I thought I was getting too old to only be making a boy's wages. So during the summer of 1855 mother let Hans Jørgen have the farm and he also went and got married around the same time.

Also, during the summer of 1855 my youngest sister Maria was wed to a smallholder by the name of Frederick Hansen who had a parcel of land called Vibede. Then in November of the same year I moved in with Frederick and Maria, where I was supposed to earn 40 crowns for one year. His parcel of land was about 10 acres in size and he was known to be a farmer. He also dabbled in the sale of chickens and other small merchandise. In addition he also had two horses and we would both ride around the country side buying the peasant's goods such as eggs, butter, bacon, chickens, geese and hides.

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Pretty much everything that the peasantry had to offer, with the exception of seeds and marten. When ever we had gathered enough for an entire load we would head for Copenhagen where we would sell our entire haul. Every ten to fourteen days, once we had sold everything we bought a lot of general merchandise such as "groceries" which my sister then in turn sold out of her house. One time, when we had sold all of our goods, except for one tub of butter, I took it under my arm and walked down to the market place in order to try and sell it. While I was there, a policeman approached me and inquired as to what exactly I had in my tub? "Butter:" I said, to which he replied; "Are you trying to sell it?" "Yes I was!" "What do you want for it?" I told him and as soon as I had he told me that I was under arrest. "Why;" I asked? "Don't you know that you don't have permission to peddle your goods in this here marketplace. That is a right reserved for the peddling women. You have to sell it from the back of a cart!" He proceeded to grab me by the arm and dragged me away but I resisted him. However, he proceeded to blow into a small whistle and right away two more officers showed up, leaving me with few options but to go along. As it dawned on me that they meant business I changed my demeanor and indicated that I would comply with their demands.

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give him a pair of blue glasses and other matching bumps and bruises. The following day he packed his trunk and left after which Hans Jørgen was put in charge of the farm, a position he held until the day he died. The first of May 1853 is when I started working for a farmer named Jens Nielsen in Vallebo. I was paid 27 crowns a year, and it was here I learned to plough for his son who by the way understood the farm quite well. He was a capable plough driver who would make fun of me when my furrows weren't straight enough. However, besides the plowing and everything else that needed doing, the son and I also needed to transport limestone in order to cover our villenage requirements. The route went from the Faxe limestone quarry to Faxe Ladeplads, a distance of 3/4 of a Danish mile. Each of us brought two loads a day and even though we lived quite a ways off of our delivery route we still went home for lunch each day. However, our snacks we would pack and eat in route. We also had our flasks with us containing a shot for each one of us. We always ended up going through downtown Faxe on our route. On this particular route there was an inn and we

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had to stop there each time we passed for some cognac, which was French moonshine and cost 4 schilling per glass and came with a piece of white ginger on the side. I quickly went through eight schilling a day just for me and that was far more than what my income could support. So I needed to lean on my mother for support and she was nice enough to be of assistance, on top of already supplying me with clothes. Part of my job there was to tend to the horses and clean out the cow barn each day before breakfast. After that I was supposed to cut feed for the four horses, and what I was unable to cut then I had to get back to around mid-day, but the horses always got their feed. The son, who was a musician always practiced at night and he had three sisters who were around my age. We would dance every night down by the kitchen door, so that we could familiarize ourselves with the new dances and songs. We were eager to learn so that we might be able to teach others how to dance when we attended parties. In that capacity we were pretty much professional dance instructors. However, one night when we were practicing for a big dance social, the old lady who sat next to the wood burner running her spinning wheel, put everything aside

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but to work in the blacksmith shop himself. I was thanks to him that I was able to learn a lot in a very short amount of time. He took over swinging the sledgehammer and I was in charge of the fire. Throughout our partnership I learned much in a short period of time, little good it did me though! In the month of January I fell ill with pneumonia and Doctor Marier from Vemmeltofte forbade me to return to work. He told me that my lungs no longer could handle the smoke from the coal fire. Before this I had entered an agreement with the blacksmith that I was to apprentice with him for three years. During that time I was to receive nothing but my meals in exchange for my time. I also had permission to use the master's coal as well as his iron, and I was allowed to smith away to my hearts desire but only on Sundays. By this time I had learned enough to make 10 Mark from my work each Sunday. During my time there I got acquainted with a boy who was around my own age and who was an apprentice to Mr. Grum who was a merchant by trade and our neighbor. After my workday was done, I would go into the store and help the boy peel raisins off of the stalks. We were allowed to eat as many raisins as we wanted or perhaps we merely gave ourselves permission to do so. In the end I got sick of them, probably because I ate way too many. 

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So I ended up apprenticing for 3/4 of a year and then ended up staying home until I got better. It was during the summer, while I was apprenticed with the blacksmith that my sister Sofie got married to our neighbor Ole Gabrielsen.

Back when Hans Jørgen came home, the main farmhand didn't like the lay of the land and the direction everything was headed in so he resigned his post. My mother became very sad upon hearing this because she had gotten to know him as a honest and loyal master of his craft. Therefore she made him the offer of taking over the farm as well has getting my sister Maria's hand in marriage, as long as she would have him. However, he didn't want either one of them and she instead gave him fine linens for a bed. He settled down as a clog maker in Orup.

So my mother contracted an older man named Hans Hansen, who was married to our father's sister Kristen, as the main farm hand. They owned a house with no land attached to it in Vallebo, but he wasn't good for anything other than teaching us how to play cards and hustling us out of our money. However, one night while we were playing cards we got into a fight over the game and he and Hans Jørgen got physical. Hans Jørgen managed to

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I was very interested in learning how to play the violin and my mother was very supportive by giving me opportunities to learn. However, the music teacher, under whom I wanted to study had absolutely no desire of having me as a student. Which was just as well, because since then I've come to realize that I have very little ability when it comes to music.

I then decided to learn more about the profession of blacksmith. So I became an apprentice with H. Danielsen who was a blacksmith in Faxe. I had to work very hard but I received good food and was overall pretty satisfied with the way things went. On the first Sunday during my stay there, his wife asked me to help her chase her ducklings out of the water and into the house. They were swimming in "Vinkjelderen" (the Wine Cellar), which was a large pond near the house and which was also the swimming hole to about 20 other groups of ducklings. The blacksmith's wife showed me which group of ducklings belonged to her. So I gathered a bunch of small pebbles and the first one I threw hits a duckling right in the head dropping it dead on the spot. That was the first and last time she asked me to chase ducklings.

My master was unhealthy, suffering from dropsy and rarely did much of anything. There was another worker  

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who had participated in the Danish-German war during the years 1848-1850. He still had a bullet stuck in one of his thighs which often left him in agony. He had learned his profession in the town of Præstø and was therefore considered a big city journeyman. He also happened to be a rather large individual who continually looked down on me and it didn't help that I kept addressing him in a familiar manner when speaking to him when I was supposed to call him sir, but refused to. Back then it was the custom that the blacksmith's apprentice wasn't allowed to let go of his hammer from morning til evening. So when the iron had grown cold from repeated striking and was put back into the fire you were supposed to stand with the hammer on your shoulder while working the bellows with the other hand until the iron was nice and hot again. Furthermore, it was also the custom back then to roll up your sleeves up over your elbows. So one time, when the apprentice was taking the nails out of the fire, he got the idea to strike the iron so that sparks were sent flying into my folded up shirt sleeve and burned my skin. I couldn't work for a long time after that. The blacksmith and his apprentice fought over this event and the apprentice ended up leaving over the confrontation. So the master had no choice    

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so that they could practice reading the print.

More than anything I do remember one specific piece of paper that we had in school. I had to read it quite often and it went a little like this;

"When I am an old and weak man who no longer sees himself able to work and run his own farm, parcel #6 in Vallebo, I hereby, in the most humblest manner, seek out Count Holk Winterfeldt of Rosendal for his permission for me to transfere my farm over to my son Hemming Jørgensen. 

Dated circa 1820

Jørgen Hemmingsen

It should be said that back then it was of no use to post such public notices because there were only a few people around who were able to read from a book. It was therefore necessary for the county commissioners to come out every Sunday, stand by the church when the sermon ended and as they were filing out he'd read them the news. 

When Hans Jørgen was 14 years of age he was confirmed which was the custom back then. Immediately following that day he got a job and started earning a wage working for his aunt Karen, in whose services he remained for two more years. Meanwhile I also got confirmed and he chose to return home as I now was the one to venture out. 

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In the meantime we had gotten a new priest, or should I say an old used up deacon. He got the idea stuck in his head that he didn't want to confirm someone who hadn't turned 14 yet. Since confirmation time traditionally fell on the first Sunday after Easter, which in turn tended to be in either late April or early May and because my birthday was on the 3rd of June I ended up being almost 15 years old before I got confirmed. 

My outfit that day consisted of a new black silk hat as well as a black homespun shirt and pants that had belonged to Hans Jørgen, and which he had earned through his work for aunt Karen. I had to return them as soon as I was done. During the ceremony we were a total of 30 boys and approximately the same amount of girls. I was number four in line and I was confirmed by Father Neergaard in the church in Faxe at the end of April in the year 1851.

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because we were using wagons for hauling. So he would add a third horse which I was supposed to lead up and out of the hole. However, since the path out of the hole was very narrow and there was the constant danger of me stumbling and falling. There was a constant chance of me getting crushed by either the horses or by the wagon. Therefore I had to ride on the lead horse. Riding him up and out of the pit and then back down to hitch him in front of the next load. At that time I was about 11 years old! Then, during the following winter, he constructed some marl boxes that sat on two wheels and were drawn by a single horse. So the following summer, when we once again where digging for marl we went ahead and used the new boxes. I got to be the driver of one of those carts, but on the very first load that I hauled, the entire operation went south. I chose to put the tailgate down first after which I pulled a pin in the front of the cart. As soon as I had pulled said pin the entire load started dropping out of the back of the cart. Once the load started moving it immediately pulled back the horse and the trace. Due to my lack of familiarity with the equipment I found myself standing too close and pinning my left leg in between the wheel and the trace making it impossible for me to move. I had to call for help and it wasn't long before some of them came to my aid. They motioned for the horse to take a step forward which was enough to release my leg. However, it was quite a while

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Danske Bogstaver

before my knee got better because of how badly it had gotten crushed. There wasn't much to say about my schooling since there was never really enough time to go to school and I was just as happy being able to stay home. As long as I was in what we referred to as the "Small class" we'd go to school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The older children who were in the "Big class" went on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. In the "Small class we had to learn how to write the lower case letters as follows:

 and in  the "Big class" we had to write the upper case letters the following way

These are what we back then called the upper and lower case letters. However, during the final years of my schooling we were also required to learn how to write the Latin letters that we use now. We also had to practice writing words as well as entire sentences, and even letters and the like. Back then it was the norm that all announcements, posters and notices, that were posted on street corners and on the side of houses were collected and brought to the schools for the children 

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On the very same day when we had finished harvesting the hay, there was a party at Peer Jensen at Tranegaard, who was a homesteader who had recently relocated from Vallebo. These people kept bees and brewed mead. My mother gave me four schilling for pocket money and I was supposed to use that to buy a pint of mead. This would go nicely with the slice of bread that mother cut for me and wrapped in a red handkerchief for me.

I remember the first time when we ploughed our own property and as I recall it was a rather short lived affair. Hans Jørgen and I went out into the field to plough, and the larger one of the two of us would handle the plow while the other one would guide the lead horse. We had four horses hitched to the plow and I was now old enough to lead them. However, when we reached the far end of the acre and had to turn around, we ran into a bit of trouble. He spoke to me in a very rough tone and I of course gave it right back to him. He then told me that I was under his command and that I'd better keep quiet while he was speaking. Upon finishing that sentence he slapped me on the side of the head. I of course thought that this was extremely disrespectful! So I threw the reigns to the ground and ran home to tell mother how rude

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he had been to strike me. How he had managed to get the four horses unhitched and brought back home was no concern of mine. My mother could see that this wasn't working out at all. So she made inquiries about hiring a farmhand whose name was Jørgen Petersen and who was the brother to my uncle Christian's wife on my mother's side. He had served in the army and was by all accounts a very capable guy. As I grew older and gained a better understanding of things, I always felt that the reason that my siblings and I received as much of an inheritance as we did, following the passing of our parents, was largely thanks to Jørgen's sense of loyalty to our family. However, he was also a very strict leader and he utterly refused to ask us to do something more than once. He had acquired a bit of money which he lent to my mother for the purchase of better horses that in turn would allow him to plough deeper. He also spent much time fixing and maintaining the farm equipment in order to better work the ground. The harvest that we took in the following year already showed great improvements due to his hard work and ingenuity. He would spread marl to a different parcel of land each year, and during this time all my brothers and sisters were required to lend a hand. Some of us were in the marl pits loading the carts while others were in the field distributing it. As we dug deeper and deeper into the ground we'd get to a point where two horses no longer were able to pull the load out of the hole   

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However, it was an unwritten rule that; "You better hurry home and help bring water to the animals around lunch!" In the afternoon it was always; "Remember to come straight home and move the sheep before mid-evening!" One time, early in my schooling, I ended up being absent from school for a very long time. Then one day I was sent on an errand to see the blacksmith and this trip brought me right past the school. As I passed by, the principal, whose name was Mads Bi Aagesen, came out to see me and to inquire as to why I wasn't in school. I replied that I was unable to attend because I didn't have any pants. He then looked me up and down and became very quiet.

As the family grew (I think that by this time I was seventh in line) we were too many to fit into the two beds and the aforementioned bench (slaugh bænk). We boys were moved to the room that housed the hired farm hands. This room had been built in the barn where the cows were kept. The thinking was that the farm hands should be within the immediate vicinity of the animals in case they got loose

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and sometimes the cattle would be standing there licking my head while I was sleeping. The door to the room lead directly to the courtyard and there was a hook on the inside so that we could lock it when we went to sleep. However, for those who came in late, we had cut a hole in the door allowing them to stick their arm through it and unlatch the door. The door was often allowed to remain open, especially during the summer, when it wasn't uncommon for the chickens to come in and lay eggs in our beds. Not to mention the pigs, the sow would sometimes come in and take a nap, but they lay on the floor and not in our beds.

On August 1st 1845 my father passed away and at this point my family wasn't completely free of our villeinage responsibilities. Once, when we had to plow for our landlord I tagged along. Wearing my clogs, I walked alongside the lead horse because this particular time we had hitched four horses to the plow, and sometimes I might even be allowed to ride on the horse on the left. Another time I was helping gathering buschels of wheat and another time we were spreading cut grass in a meadow that bore the name; "Saltemad." A few days later we raked it all together and that same day we drove it to the Count's estate where it was to be used as animal feed during the winter months.

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\

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some of it out every day. We never thought to look for a bit of wood or a board to roll the wheelbarrow on, even though it would have helped a lot. Then it was time for "davre" and one of the girls would stick their head outside and yell for us to come get our "davre." This "davre" was what most people nowadays refer to as lunch or "Brackfast" if you want to be real English. This Davre-meal consisted of a set menu of salted herring and rye bread. Before the women called us in they had cut a round miller's loaf of bread into slices and placed a slice by each seat at the table. The salted herring had been skinned and cut into four pieces, so a 1/4 piece of herring for each person. Each of the adult men were also given a shot of brandy to accompany the herring and bread. Afterwards the bottle was placed back in the aforementioned corner cabinet. The herring was always served on wooden plates. Some of them were round while others merely consisted of a square piece of wood. It could also be served on "sildeskagler" which were boards that were four feet in length and 3-4 inches in width. On such a "sildeskagle" you'd be able to serve a large number of quarter cut herrings. The bread was always dry because we couldn't

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afford to eat fresh bread. In regards to time it never really made sense since all of the household's baking only took place once every other month, leaving us with little access to fresh baked bread. As a part of lunch we were traditionally served a porridge made from barley left over from the night before. This porridge, that had been left in a big bowl overnight, had solidified and was cut, with a knife into pieces of 2,3 and 4 inches in size. They were then put into the "Davre"-pot and set over the fire. A measure of sour milk was added and it wasn't uncommon for this milk to separate into curds and whey, but we ate it nonetheless.  

Then it was time to go to school and we were handed bread with lard on it in one hand, our books in the other and of to school we went. Once there, we placed our bread on the windowsill for snacktime. We seldom had a chance to wash up, because our mothers weren't there to remind us to wash up. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure that there wasn't actually a law saying we had to wash at all.  

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The villeinage that all peasants had to adhere to prevented them from spending enough time working their own land. This caused widespread poverty until the year 1844 which is when they abolished the laws pertaining to villeinage. However, even after these laws were repealed somehow the peasantry still somehow managed to committing themselves to hauling limestone for the landowners. This limestone had to journey from the Faxe limestone quarry to Faxe Ladeplads. A distance of approximately 3/4 of a Danish mile. Through this work they still managed to fulfill their responsibilities that came with them renting their land. Every peasant back then was a tenant farmer, which meant that they had rented the land that they lived on for the lifetime of the couple. To be precise, the contract was for the duration of the man's life. However, if he died and his widow remarried then the new husband was required to be the new tenant. This was legalized by having all paperwork signed over into his name. Before the widow could wed her new husband she was required to "renegotiate" with her children. The widow, or rather her prospective husband was then required to go with the children down to the probate court, where the courts would determine satisfactory compensation for the children. This money was to be their inheritance from their biological father. Later on, the children would also be able to claim an inheritance from their mother. If she didn't get remarried she'd be granted full guardianship over her children's affairs.  

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My schooling:

Time kept marching on and I was about eight years of age, a time when I was suppose to start school. It was one of the worst experiences ever! I never had enough time to read, not to mention the fact that I also didn't have anything to read in. My parents didn't have money to spend on books and could really only spare four Schilling which were to go towards my catechism. I also never had enough time for my homework because I was supposed to herd the pigs, the sheep and the geese. As well as help bring water to the cows twice a day during both summer and winter. During the summer months they were always tied down and had to be moved five time a day. In the winter my brothers and I had to clean out the stables, which was hard work because we had a wheelbarrow that didn't always have a wheel attached to it. Furthermore, since the harvest often was scarce we didn't have much straw to put down. This left the manure very soft which in turn meant that we couldn't move much of it at a time. We therefore came up with the idea of tying a rope to the front of the wheelbarrow and while two of us were pulling the third would steer. That's how we managed to get  

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Plough

The reason that the ground always was so wet and hard to work with was because it didn't get plowed during the fall like they tend to do nowadays. There simply wasn't enough time to plow during the fall, where the primary concern was to harvest as much as possible and get the threshing done in order to get the crop to market for sale. The motivation was to get enough money to be able to pay the hired help their wages, which were due by November 1st. As well as paying the local merchants for everything that you had bought on credit during the summer months. Plowing during the Spring was always a terrible undertaking, partially because the permafrost was barely gone and partially because water kept pooling everywhere. As the plow cut through the ground water would fill the furrows, forcing people to wear long boots when they were plowing. The plow itself wasn't heavy at all since it was primarily fabricated out of wood, with the exception of the blade which consisted of a small triangular shaped piece of iron. This in turn was attached to the wooden frame in a most ingenious manner via the help of several wooden wedges. The plow was made up of a long pole with the animals attached to the one end and lead to an axel at the other end, the kind you might find on a wagon. The axel had two wheels attached to it, with the left wheel at about 16 inches in height and the right wheel at about 22-24 inches in height.

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Harrow

The right wheel went down into the furrow which made the plough level. On this axel is where the front of this axel rested and it was secured there by an iron bracket. It should be understood that when the plough had to come out of the ground, the worker was required to lift the entire contraption up as well as putting it back when the plow needed to reenter the soil. Either one of these two actions were very cumbersome and took quite a while to accomplish. The harrows were constructed much the same way as the ones the old farmers used to use, but they aren't in use much anymore. They consisted of two half harrows with three points on each one, or six points with four teeth on each. Those teeth were made of wood and couldn't penetrate the ground well, especially when there were a lot of root for them to snag on. Until the years between 1840-1845 such a plough and harrow was the only tool that a peasant had access to when working their soil. It is of course possible that other had access to better equipment, however the abovementioned tools was all I ever knew. I always thought that the reason for my parents' poverty was that my father was a veterinarian and spent so much time away from home

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The aforementioned goose bench was separated into seven or eight compartments where geese would sit on their eggs hatching their goslings. Once every day they were let out in order to give them food and water which they received on the floor of the living room. As each goose finished its business they were lead back into their respective compartment and the next one was allowed to come out. In the corner behind the table there was a corner cabinet where father kept his money, important papers, the moonshine, tobacco etc. He used to put his red cap on top of the grandfather clock, and between the bed and the clock is where he used to keep his whip and his walking stick, while the shoehorn always could be found under the table.

The kitchen was the same size as the previously mentioned living room, but here you'd find the chimney which was 6X6 feet and had a door which could be opened. There was also an open fireplace, as it was called, which was where the pots and kettles stood when they weren't hanging over the fire and being used. On the other side there was a door which lead to the brewing kettle. This kettle could hold about twenty buckets of water and in the oven you could bake one and a half barrels of flour at one time, which was equal to about 336 lbs. of flour

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 This would correspond to about 30 loafs of bread that in turn weighed 16 lbs. each. Next there was the staircase which lead to the attic, as well as a table which was 10-12 feet in overall length. Then came a sink, a window and finally a door which opened out to the garden. Beyond said door there was a well which supplied water to the people who lived there, while the well in the courtyard was used to give water to the animals. It should be mentioned that everything was in bad shape and that the signs of poverty were visible all over the place. The field was practically littered with marsh pits and otherwise covered in thick heather. Arable land was a scarcity not that it really mattered since the six horses that we had didn't possess the combined strength to pull the plough anyway. Even when it was placed at only a depth of a mere three inches below the surface. It was very seldom that the plough actually went that deep since there were a lot of large rocks in the ground that made the plough jump out of the soil and drag on the ground for a ways before going back in. Even when the going was smooth it still took a considerable amount of time for the driver to grab the reins and go; "Prrr."Furthermore, there was no way to move the horses backwards because the ground was always wet and soft. Trying to do so would have knocked all of the horses over and then you'd need to gather all of the townsfolk in order to rectify the situation.   

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As you can see, the farm consisted of four connected buildings that create a completely enclosed square courtyard between them. There was only one entrance which was through the eastern building and it had a great big door in it which we locked each night before we went to bed. 

All of the buildings were set low and narrow, reaching no more than 16-18 feet in width. The building to the East was the main house while the stables were housed in the building to the North. The two other buildings to the South and West were used as barns and for threshing.

In the living room and in the sitting room we had clay floors, where as in the entryway, the kitchen, the pantry and in the maids room, the floor was comprised of small rounded stones. The sitting room which also was used as a guestroom contained a bed, a cabinet and a pair of chairs (sfv) but no curtains. In the living room there were two beds and under the window on the eastern wall there was a storage bench. During the day it looked like a chest of drawers but during the night it was used as a bed for one to four children.

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The living room clock was wound once every eighth day and its mechanism was housed in a case that went from the floor all the way to the ceiling. It was encased so that no one could touch the two large iron weights that hung by ropes and which ran the mechanism. Then there was a table that was made from black oak and which was ten feet long and three feet wide. The table legs were 6x6 inches in width and the table top itself was also out of oak and two inches thick. On one side of the table there was a drawer which contained the breadknife, which was the only knife in the house. It also held the women's spoons as well as the bread that was left over after each meal. At one end of the table, the one facing the kitchen door, you could always find two pairs of his boots hanging, when he wasn't wearing them. At the opposite end of the table you'd find a storage bench which was where father and mother sat when they ate. This bench was divided into two compartments. In the first compartment mother kept her linens such as shirts, sheets, table clothes and spare clothes. In the other compartment she kept pants and woolen socks. At the one end of the table, the one that faced towards the entryway and the western yard, there was a goose bench which is where the farm hands and the boys sat and ate. The girls always stood in front of the table and ate.

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Five thousand seven hundred and eighty five years following the creation of the world, in the year 1836 to be precise, is when I was born. It was the 3rd of June in the town of Vallebo which was in Faxe Parish, Præstø County, Faxe Township. We were under the jurisdiction of the police station in Storehedding which was in Stevns Township and situated on the Rosendal tract which was land in the possession of Count Holk Winterfeldt. He was also bestowed the title of chamberlain and when he was all decked out in his regalia he would wear a coat that bore the insignia of two large gilded keys about 9-10 inches in length and which signified that he was the keeper of the keys to the treasury. My parents were farmers but they didn't own the farm on which they lived, they were as a matter of fact in a life long rental agreement. The property, consisting of buildings and the land also included four horses that were to be returned upon the death of the renter. However, traditionally one of the renter's children would inherit the farm as well as the rental agreement of their parents, with a higher interest rate of course. My father had made a deal with the local lord to deliver

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My parent' farm in Vallebo.

Page 16 and Page 17

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My oldest brother was born on the 13th of July in 1833 and his name was Hans Jørgen Hemmingsen. He was about one inch or so shorter than me, with a heavier build and black hair. Following his confirmation he left home for two years to go and find some work. When he was 21 years of age he went through conscription and joined the light cavalry. The following Spring he was called into active duty. He had no interest in being in the army so mother paid $575 to release him from said active duty. That was also the same year that mother decided to pass on the farm to him. He was married to a 17 year old girl named Trine who was the daughter of farmer Lars Jensen from Ebbeskov and they had nine children together.

He died....

She died on the 22nd of February 1916.

Address: Farmer Hans Jørgen Hemmingsen's widow, Vallebo via Faxe Loading dock, Denmark, Europe.

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My youngest brother was born in 1839 and his name was Lars Hemmingsen. He was both taller and had a more heavier build than myself or my older brother. He remained living at home even after Hans Jørgen took over the farm. When he was 21 years of age he was found to be fit for military service but he drew such a high number during the lottery that he'd never be called into active service. Prior to 1864, when Frederick the 7th had died, the Germans had declared war with Denmark due to their desire to occupy parts of Sønderjylland. Consequently he was forced to suit up for active service with the infantry and he was on the ramparts when the Germans overran them. He returned home with all of his limbs and he even had a bit of money with him since there was no food to spend it on. One year later he was married to a widow who had ten acres of land and two small daughters. She also happened to be the neighbor of his sister Maria, but their properties were on opposite sides of the county line. He had no children himself and died on the 11th of July in 1915. His widow died on the 18th of February in 1915.

Address: Lars Hemmingsen, Taagerup via Faxe, Denmark Europe    

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My sister Sofie

My oldest sister was born on the 4th of October 1827 and her name was Ane Sophie Hemmingsdatter. She wasn't very tall but she did have a very mature appearance. She was heavier set but of good health. She did leave the home for a few year in order to work. In the year 1851, when she was 24 years old she was married to our neighbor, a farmer named Ole Gabrielsen and became stepmother to eight children of whom two were older than her. They had another four children together of which the first three died in infancy. However, the fourth, a son whose name was Niels Jørgen Olsen, survived and prospered. He got married, got himself a farm in Vallebo, had several children and died on the 24th of March in 1905. Sofie's first husband died in 1859. After having been a widow for about a year she got remarried to a 36 year old bachelor. His name was Hans Petersen and hailed from Baarup in Stevns Township. They had three children together and all of them survived. Hans Petersen died in the year 1875.

Address: Farmer Hans Petersen's widow Vallebo via Faxe loading docks Denmark Europe.

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My sister Maria

My second oldest sister was born on the 6th of August in 1830 and her name was Ane Maria Hemmingsdatter. She was of average size, had a portly build and while she wasn't sickly she certainly wasn't in the best health either. This may also have been the reason why she was so quiet and kept to herself and didn't care much for any leisure activities. However, that could also have had something to do with the fact that she was a bit hard of hearing. She never went to work for anyone. When she was 35 years of age she married a widower, a farmer named Frederick Hansen. Thereby becoming stepmother to five children that all had come of age and had left their ancestral home. Her husband died in 1865 and after she had been a widow for a little over a year she married her nephew Hans Jensen who was from Tårøje. They had no children together and she died in 1901. Hans Jensen died on the 12 of October 1915.

Address: Hans Jensen Vibede Overdrev via Faxe Denmark Europe

Page 12 and Page 13

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A homemade green robe that was referred to as a coat, with sleeves that went all the way down to the hands. It was loose around the waist and was tied together with a thick woolen rope with large tassels at the ends. Their everyday footwear was a pair of clogs with brass edgings and when they went to town they would wear a pair exactly like my everyday slippers.

When going to town, they would also wear a bonnet. It would take entirely too much paper to properly describe it but it should be mentioned that it was kept in a box that was two by two feet and was referred to as the bonnet box. Whether or not she had more than one set of the above mentioned pieces of clothing I simply couldn't say. However, I don't recall ever seeing her with anything other than her green, strawberry colored skirt in the 17-18 years that I knew her.

On several occasions she spoke about her youth and about how the Swedes lay siege to the city of Copenhagen in 1807. She also spoke about being on Låland as well as a number of other places. For further reference you could read up on Danish history and the Swedes on Låland. She spoke of how one day, when she was still a child in Orup, the Swedish army came through town pulling

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a canon behind 20 horses. However, when they reached the outside of town it sank so deep into the mud that they were forced to unhitch the horses and leaving the canon right there, where it remained for many years.   

Page 10 and Page 11

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of witchcraft or plain superstition I couldn't say. From what I can figure out, my parents were married in 1825. My mother was of average height and while she wasn't fat she was of a rather heavy build. She had long black hair which she always parted down the middle and tucked behind her ears. Since she always wore a cap it aided in keeping her hair to the back and out of her face. The cap always had a long bow made of silk on it with strands that reached all the way down to her hips. This bow was referred to as a neck bow. In the front she had a bow tied under her chin which had strands reaching down across her chest and it was referred to as the chin bow. However, her night cap had no such bows on it and along with her shirts they were always made from homespun yarn. (there was no such thing as dresses). She, as well as all women of her time, spun and dyed the yarn themselves and had someone else weave it. There were many women who knew how to weave, but most weavers were still men. She also had a home sewn dress made entirely from home spun yarn.(from wool). However, for it to be labeled a dress it needed to be sent to a fabric dyer in the capitol to be sheared. this process entailed dragging the fabric through specialized machinery


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several times where it was scraped and scratched so that at the end it was only half as thick as when it was woven. Then it was officially called cloth. Usually when a young girl was to marry she'd receive such a dress which was referred to as a wedding dress. The dress was never to be worn unless the girl was at the altar which happened about twice a year or if she was having a child baptized. Such a dress would last her for her entire lifetime and when she died she would wear it to the her grave. Along with a white apron which was big enough to be draped all the way around her and was made of fine linen. It was exclusively worn at the same events as the dress. Their shirts had sleeves that never went past the elbows. For everyday use, or for if they went to town they would wear sleeve garters that resembled what bartenders and  the such wore at that time. They were made of wool, came in a variety of colors and were fastened above the elbow with a small white strap or something like that. However, when they wore their black dresses then they also wore gloves made of yellow hide. They were as soft as velvet and so long that they also would be tied off above the elbow.