Tønnes Ingebretsen & Kristin Kristensdatter

image credit: Wikipedia ~ Brevik, Norway

My 5th-great-grandfather, Tønnes Ingebretsen, son of Engelbret Olsen and Anna Dorthea Torbiornsdatter, was born 31 October 1753 in Arendal (Aust Ager) Norway, and died 30 October 1808 in Brevik (Telemark) Norway. He married 8 June 1778 in Arendal, Kristin Kristensdatter, who was born in 1750 in Brevik, and died there 28 January 1831, daughter of Kristen Pedersen and Stine Jeppsdatter.

We visited Brevik, Norway, briefly, in May 2015.

Brevik is regarded as one of the best preserved towns from the sailing ship era. The town is located on the far end of Eidanger peninsula (Eidangerhalvøya), and was a former export centre for ice and timber.
~ Wikipedia

Tønnes was working as a ship’s carpenter in 1801 and owned his own house in Brevik. The 1801 Census for Ejdanger, Brevig County, Brevig Parish, LAdestædet Brevig Sokn (subparish); Farm/house 216 records that Kristin & Tønnes were the parents of five seafaring sons:

1. Ingebrecth Tønnesen, born about 1779 in Brevik.

2. Ole Tønnesen, born about 1781 in Brevik.

3. Nicolaj Tønnesen, born about 1783 in Brevik.

4. Hans Mathias Tønnesen (my 4th-great-grandfather), born in Brevik before 2 April 1786, the date he was baptized, died 4 December 1850 in Flekkefjord (Vest-Agder) Norway. He married 5 July 1810 in Brevik, Dorthea Larsdatter, who was born before 20 April 1786 in Stokkesund, Brunlanes (Vestfold) Norway, and died 7 November 1879 in Brevik, daughter of Lars Kristensen and Maria Olsdatter. Hans & Dorthea were the parents of eight children.

5. Jørgen Tønnesen, born about 1789 in Brevik.

10 thoughts on “Tønnes Ingebretsen & Kristin Kristensdatter”

  1. And the details continue. I wonder if it was the norm to own your own home back in 1801 OR if it was a big deal? Either way, it’s fun that you know this now.

    1. Good question! It must have been of interest to the government if the census took note of it. I suspect skipstømmermand (ship’s carpenter) was a well-paying trade and that home ownership was for those with means, but I am speculating. Sometimes I think I need to slow down and learn more about a few ancestors instead of finding tidbits about so many of them. 😉

  2. Very interesting indeed! My Ancestry test said I had up to 10% of Norwegian/Icelandic DNA. Although so far no one specifically from Norway or Iceland has shown up in our genealogical research, I keep hoping that someday we will find a Norwegian or Icelandic ancestor.

    1. It’s the same with Tim, we both have 2% Norwegian/Icelandic DNA but we don’t know who his ancestor might be. Mine is a 3rd-great-grandfather, I suspect yours would be a great-grandparent having the 10% DNA. Does your brother use Ancestry.com to help with his research?

        1. Please do let me know if you do ask him. I’m curious to know if it led him to any new discoveries.

    1. I’m sorry I didn’t see your comment sooner, Marilee. Googled Vefsn ~ what a breathtakingly scenic place! I’d love to travel farther north in Norway someday…

    1. I’ve been researching family history off and on since I was a child. My sister and brother-in-law lived in Sweden for a year while she was studying for her doctorate and I do regret not having visited them while they were there! My brother-in-law made a train trip to Norway to do research and he discovered my 3rd-great-grandfather’s birthplace of Brevik and photocopied various documents for me. 🙂

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