Christoffer Christensen and Mathea Gulliksdatter
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| Christoffer Christiensen Orhuus |
Christoffer Christensen Orhuus was born on 19 May 1828 in Sande, Vestfold, Norway and was baptized on 22 Jun 1828.
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| Christoffer Christensen Baptism Record from Parish book - Line 27 (1828) |
He was raised on the "Quirk" (or "Quirle", its hard to read) farm in Sande where he was confirmed on 01 Oct 1843 in Sande, Vestfold, Norway.
By the age of 25, Christoffer was most likely living on the Orhus farm, but the pay on the countryside for a farmhand was so poor that he decided to move to the neighboring village of Svelvik & Strommen and take up sailing instead. At this time (1853-1856) the Crimean War had created a lot of shipping jobs that made living in the coastal towns more attractive than farm life.
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| Mathea Gulliksdatter Loe |
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| Mathea Birth Record - Right Page Line 11 (1831) |
Mathea Gulliksdatter Loe was born on 21 Mar 1831 in Skoger, Vestfold, Norway to parents Gullik Petersen Loe and Maren Christensdatter Wear. She was baptized on 09 Apr 1831, also in Skoger. (Skoger was along the border of Vestfold and Buskerud. It became a part of Buskerud county in 1964 when it was incorporated into Drammen).
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| Christoffer & Mathea Marriage Record in Strommen Parish Register - Line 35 (1857) |
On 19 Nov 1857 Christoffer Christensen Orhuus married Mathea Gulliksdatter Loe on in Hurum, Buskerud, Norway. After marriage lived in the town of Myre.
In 1859, Christopher had saved together enough money so he could buy Olaus Hellum’s house in Svelvik for $200 dollars. It was a small, yellow-painted one-story house with a kitchen, chimney, and a living room on one side and a long, narrow, yet small room on the other.
In 1865 the family, consisted of Christopher, Mathea, 3 sons, and a lodger, who possibly sailed with Christoffer. They were living at farm 19a in Svelvik. Christoffer was working as a sailor and son Carl recalls “he was almost always at sea, often on long trips for 2 to 3 years. My father was an ordinary sailor (seaman, boatswain, and to some extent a sailmaker)... ".
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| 1865 Norwegian Census of the Christoffer Christiensen home |
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| Christoffer Christensen Death Record Line 8 (1878) |
Christoffer Christensen died on 25 Oct 1878 at the age of 50. While working aboard the ship “Chatham” headed by ship captain Knudsen, Christoffer contracted yellow fever and never recovered. A telegram of Christopher's death was sent from Brest, France to the family parish priest. He was buried on 26 Oct 1878, the funeral was carried out by his Chatham shipmates on the Atlantic where his body was buried at sea.
In 1887, the great fire of Svelvik blazed through the southern part of the small coastal town. 52 houses were destroyed and more than 80 families lost their houses. One of the houses that burned to the ground was the house that Mathea and family had been living in for the last 18+ years.
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| 1885 Norwegian Census for Mathea and family |
Later in her life, Mathea had her own bakery business and enjoyed baking a unique type of sourdough bread from her house at Stor Gade where she was living with son Gustav Nikolai. Her son Carl said that the bread was very well received and enjoyed by the residents of Svelvik.
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| 1900 Norwegian Census for Mathea and son Gustav |
Mathea died on 06 Apr 1905 in Svelvik, Vestfold, Norway of stomach cancer at the age of 74. She was buried five days later on 11 Apr 1905.
Children of Christoffer Christensen & Mathea Gulliksdatter
1. Gustava Josephine Christoffersdatter, 11 Aug 1858 – 11 Dec 1860
2. Cornelius Christoffersen, 16 Sep 1860 – 28 Sep 1927 (USA)
3. John Emmanuel Christoffersen, 4 May 1863 – 15 May 1928 (Canada)
4. Karl Marinius Christoffersen, 7 Oct 1865 – Jun 1949
5. Gustav Nikolai Christoffersen, 30 Aug 1870 – 5 Apr 1942
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| Mathea's Death Record - Btm Line #4 (1905) |
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| Real Estate Register for Mathea's home - Svelvik house 19a |
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| Mathea Gulliksdatter's Will (1902) |
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