Kjetil Torkildsson Støvern
We have not located a birth year or a death record for Kjetil Torkildsson Støvern and there are no dates listed for him in the Sigdal bygdebok, "Sigdal Og Eggedal", (written in 1953 by Andreas Mørch) under the Haslebråtan, Bjørndalen farm or the Støvern farm. The only record we have for him is his engagement and marriage record in 1749 and unfortunately this record does not mention his age. We know that Kjetil died sometime between 1762 (when his last child ‘Jakob’ was born) and the 1801 Census when his wife Ingebjørg Larsdotter is mentioned as a widow. A listing for him has not been located in death records between these dates. We observe that, most of the times with the bygdebok, if they don`t give any dates, then it could be because there is no mention of ages in any records. Kjetil`s father is also not listed in the death records.
Here is some info from the Støvern farm in Sigdal parish where Kjetil was born. Støvern was divided into north and south Støvern and Kjetil and his family lived on south Støvern. From the Sigdal bygdebok on page 200, on the right side on the page we see Kjetil`s parents and his brothers and sisters are listed.
It states:
Torkild Kristoffersson and Marit Toresdotter (born about 1672) had these children:
1. Astrid Torkildsdotter, born 1701 and died 1739
2. Kristoffer Torkildsson, born 1702, married 1733 to Tora Petersdotter Sund, and they took over the farm.
3. Tore Torkildsson, born 1703, married 1st time in 1733 to Guri Andersdotter, and in 1752 married 2nd time to Inger Nilsdotter, and they lived on a place on the Hunstad farm.
4. Torgun Torkildsdotter, born 1705 and died 1733
5. Kjetil Torkildsson, married 1749 to Ingebjørg Larsdotter Kroken and they lived on Haslebråtan, a part of the Bjørndalen farm.
6. Jakob Torkildsson, died 1761, 45 years old.
7. Jøran Torkildsdotter, married 1st time to Reidar Narveson Skatvet and married 2nd time to Sjur Olson from Torkildsrud, and they lived on the upper part of ‘south’ Støvern.
8. Eli Torkildsdotter, married to Engebret Jonsson Åsen, they lived on the Tovsrud farm.
Torkild Kristoffersson died before 1747. After the distribution of his estate there was only 3 ‘riksdaler’ to divide up. Marit Toresdotter died in 1752. In 1723 it is mentioned that there were 2 ‘husmenn’ (tenant farmers or crofters) on the entire ‘south’ Støvern farm, which they produced 40 loads of hay, kept 4 horses, 18 cows and 26 goats and sheep.
In the fall of 1744 there was a sentencing or judgement on the Støvern farm. Torkild and a couple of fellows had been involved in a fight or a struggle. When it is later mentioned in the court register that Torkild had died before 1738, this cannot be true.
The following excerpt, found at http://www2.hivolda.no/ahf/historie/lesja/engelsk-intr.htm in February of 2013, is helpful in estimating approximately how much Torkild Kristoffersson`s estate was worth in 1747. Under the heading of "The estate registrations", it reads:
The main use of the estate registrations is of course to establish genealogical relationships. In an estate registration all living heirs are listed, and the estate they could divide. The registration of the estate is usually very accurate.
We have used these registrations in one particular, unusual way. In the period from the 1660s until around 1840 the net estate a person left (e.g., 50 riksdaler) has been recalculated into the equivalent value of Norwegian kroner in 1980. This has been done to give the reader a certain perspective of the living conditions on the farm at the time of the registration.
The index for recalculation has been the price of a heifer. In 1980 a heifer cost around Nkr (Norwegian kroner) 10,000. In 1659 the average price was 2.2 riksdaler, in 1685 it was down to 1.79 riksdaler, in 1767 it was 3.26 riksdaler and in 1810 (during the Napoleonic wars) it was 11.48 (!) daler. The index is given as a graph on page 17.Here we see the average price to buy a heifer in riksdalar through the years. So in 1747 when Torkild`s estate was settled, his estate would roughly be worth about 1 heifer. Times must have been a little tough then.
Efforts to locate Torkild`s death record have not been successful and there is no mention in the Sigdal bygdebok of a death date for him.
The probate record for Torkild Kristoffersson is dated June 7, 1747. His wife Marit and their 6 remaining living children are all named along with the 2 girls' spouses and where the 6 kids lived at that time. It looks like Kjetil Torkildsson was still living on the Støvern farm in 1747. Unfortunately this record gives no ages for anybody.
The Sigdal church records begin in the year 1722, so it won`t be possible to find any accurate birth dates for this entire family, but when their ages are mentioned in other records, this of course will help to pin point out a year or time frame.
The burial record of Marit Toresdotter states:
Buried on the 5th November, 1752, was Marit Toresdotter Støvern, age 80 years.
She was buried at the Holmen church graveyard in Sigdal parish. From her age we see that she was born in 1672.