Ollegaard was married twice. First to Gjert Daaes, who died as a reslt of work accident. About a year after Gjert's death, she married again, tbhis time to Kristen Hope.
OLLEGAARD KAHRS was born at Toftegaard in Ostrheim, Norway. When she was 9 months old she became ill and was given up for dead. She was laid out by her mother in an outbuilding on the farm. The house-teacher, the governess and 3 men were sent in a boat to Bergen for a coffin and other things. On the return journey they were shipwrecked and all 5 people died. In the meantime Ollegaard's father, who had been visiting another farm he owned on Fedje, returned and was told what had happened. He went out to see the baby body, held a mirror to her face to check that she was dead, and was amazed to see signs of breath on it. Ollegaard was brought indoors again, nursed and revived.
After her mother's death when she was 7 years old, Ollegaard was sent to Bergen to live with her uncle Wilhelm Friman Meyer, a dyer, and attend Miss Kirchhof School on the corner of Store Markevei and Muralmenning. She stayed there for 6 years.
When she was about 18 years old she was sent to stay with Hans Engel Daae, a friend of her father, and his family, at their farm at Froyseth in Masfjord. She did not enjoy the visit very much and was looking forward to returning home. One Sunday the people returning from church (she had not been herself) started to congratulate her. To her astonishment and dismay she learned that it had been announced from the pulpit that she was to marry Gjert, a son of Hans Engel Daae. (It has been suggested that her marriage, with a handsome dowry, was arranged to pay off a substantial debt, perhaps from gambling, owed by Christopher Kahrs to Hans Engel Daae!).
GJERT DAAE (see 33) was born at Froyseth. He was trained as a shoemaker and repairer. He took over his father's farm by legal conveyance on 5 June 1849. It was a fair-sized farm by West Norway standards, able to feed 25 cattle, 1 horse, 40 sheep and 20 goats. The farmhouse was a wooden building in chalet bungalow form (long since burnt down) with a stone-paved yard, a cottage for the retired parents, cattle-shed, barn, woodshed, and a sawmill jutting out over the fjord.
Gjert and Ollegaard were married in Sandnes Church. The wedding celebrations lasted 8 days. The 70 guests included 25 married couples, each couple according to custom bringing 1 smoked leg of ox, 12 lbs of butter, 10 lbs of white cheese and 8 lbs of red-boiled "dravle". Ollegaard's brothers also brought 36 lbs of smoked salmon. Every couple also had to lay 1 ort (about 1 English shilling) on a plate for the vicar and 2 daler (about 8 shillings) in a bowl for the bride, and were then offered a glass of "Steinborger" wine. 6 barrels of beer and 1 firkin of spirits were consumed during the celebrations.
Ollegaard's dowry, an inheritance from her mother, helped significantly in the managing of the farm. In particular she brought good quality furniture, beds, porcelain and silver cutlery for the house. But in spite of this auspicious start the marriage does not appear to have been too happy.
One day Gjert and two of his men were out at the sawmill at Auster Bay cutting timber. Gjert stepped accidentally on some loose floorboards and fell through on to the rock beneath which was covered with water. The two men did not try to get him up but rowed quickly back to Froyseth for help. When they returned they found him dead. His death was recorded as "accidental", but since Ollegaard was well known as a forceful person who did not get on well with her husband, and it was noted that the men did not go directly to help him even though the water was shallow, the rumour started that she had deliberately encouraged his death.
About a year after her bereavement Ollegaard was married again.
KRISTEN ARNESEN HOPE was born at Hope (Indre), Masfjord. He became a Sergeant in the Army, and was well known as a bear hunter and a good athlete.
When Kristen and Ollegaard married, Kristen took over the running of the farm. He and the children adopted the surname Froyseth.
In 1873 Kristen died after a long illness and Ollegaard was left to run the farm on her own and bring up her 8 children with ages ranging from 16 down to one. She did this for 15 years, until on 21 May 1887 she handed the farm over to her eldest son Christofer. With her strong personality she continued to exercise influence over much of Masfjord.
In 1902 or 1903 when her grandson Kristen Riisnaes was staying with her at Froyseth, she fell into the water as she was about to row him back to Risnes to catch the ferry to Bergen. She climbed out and went home to get dry, postponing their journey to the following day.
Towards the end of her life Ollegaard lived with her widowed daughter Ollegaard Riisnaes at the latter's home in Bergen. In June 1926 she was visited by Kristen Riisnaes and his bride Ethel on their honeymoon. Her skin was by then tightly drawn over her white face making her look like a waxwork. She died 3 months later. Her body was taken to Froyseth and buried in the churchyard which had been set out on land once part of her farm.
SOPHIA trained at Abildso Housekeeping College from 1874 to 1877, and was then employed as a housekeeper in Bergen and in Vaksdal. She married (1883) Arne Gabriel Daae Riisnaes (see 8).
CHRISTOFER KAHRS was educated at Stend Agricultural College in 1886 and then took over the farm from his mother. He married (1887) Henrikke Daae (b 1867) and had 7 children. Henrikke died in 1902.
MATHILDA married Gerhard Monson (b 1855), a teacher who owned a farm at Sleire, and ran the farm while her husband taught, often away from home. They had 7 children.
ARNE GABRIEL trained as a teacher and then emigrated to the United States. He returned to marry (1917) Oline Sophia Kalhovde (b 1887) from Masfjord. They returned to Portland, Oregon, where he was an engineer in charge of the water supply. In later life he injured his legs, they turned gangrene and had to be amputated. He felt that his wife was neglecting him at that time. Arne and Oline had 2 children and their descendents still live in California.
SARA trained as a housekeeper, and eventually became house-keeper of Sandvika Neevengaarden Asylum. She joined the National Socialist Party during the Second World War, in association with her nephew Claus with whom she shared a flat on the corner of Markeveien and Muralmenning in Bergen. After the war most of her flat, except for a single room and use of the kitchen, was taken away from her as a reprisal. She became very unhappy and was never seen to smile. One day she dis-appeared and her body was found in Bergen harbour; it was assumed that she had taken her own life.
KRISTINA emigrated to the United States (Chicago area) before 1900. She married Fredrik Wang (b 3 Sep 1873 in Oslo) and had twin daughters, Myrtle and Nancy (b 12 Aug 1898).
JOHANNA also emigrated to Chicago. She married ... Dick and had one son, Clifford Friman (b 5 May 1900).
