life and time of the Gehard Daae/Martha Marie Brugger and Gehard Daae/Nille Inger Gurine Arensdtr families.
GERHARD DAAE was born at Lindaas. He went to the Cathedral School in Bergen, but did not like studying. He followed his brother Johan to Copenhagen in 1783 to make his fortune, but returned in 1787.
He joined the Army and became a noncommissioned officer, being further promoted to Lieutenant in 1790. In 1791, on the advice of his future father-in-law, he left the Army and settled on a farm at Froyset left to him by his mother. He owned land covering the whole of Froyset and Risnes, together with the church at Sandnes.
MARTHA MARIE BRUGGER was born at Torsvik, between Risnes and Froyset.
During the Napoleonic Wars (1807-1814) Norway and Denmark were blockaded by England and Gerhard rejoined the Army as a Lieutenant and commanded the local militia to help defend against invasion. Hogne Risnes was his second-in-command (see 32).
From 1823 to 1828 Gerhard and Martha looked after their young grandson Erik Riisnaes (see 8).
Martha died at Froyset, and the following year Gerhard married NILLE INGER GURINE ARNESDTR who was born in Bergen. That same year Gerhard divided most of his property among his 4 surviving children (the share-out may also have included property bequeathed by Martha), and then appears to have lived at Risnes where he celebrated his retirement by fathering 2 more children. Later Gerhard and Nille moved to another of his farms, at Haugsdal, where Gerhard died. Nille continued to live with her son Gjert at Haugsdal till she died nearly 30 years later.
HANS ENGEL inherited the lower half of his father's Froyset farm, and adopted the surname Froyset. On 5 July 1816 he married Sygni Hognesdtr Risnes (see 32) the same day that his sister Drude married Sygni's brother Arne (see 16).
In 1844 his farmhouse was destroyed by fire, and being uninsured he never recovered financially.
Sygni died in 1879 and was buried in Sandnes Churchyard with an ornate iron pillar to mark the grave.
Hans and Sygni had 8 children, one of whom (Gjert) married Ollegaard Kahrs (see 9). A grandson, Hans Martin Birkeland, became a seaman and died in the sinking of the "Titanic" in 1912.
LUDVIG married (1825) Elisabeth Jonsdtr Ostguler (b 1802). They lived on a farm at Risnes which Ludvig later (28 Aug 1832) inherited from his father. They had 3 children.
One day he was returning by boat from Lindaas Church when it capsized. Ludvig saved the life of the young farmboy who was with him but died later as a result of the strain.
JONAS inherited the upper half of his father's Froyset farm and adopted the surname Froyset. He was industrious and in later years was known in the village as "the old stamper of Froyset". He married (25 Jun 1830) Dordi Hansdtr Hosteland (see 73) (b 1802) and they had 10 children. Dordi died (3 Jan 1865) at Froyset.
GJERT inherited his father's farm at Haugsdal in 1845. He married (12 Jul 1853) Ragnhild Hansdtr St Sleire (b 1828) and they had one son, Gjert (b 21 Feb 1854). Ragnhild died 2 months later (18 Apr 1854) and Gjert then married (24 Nov 1854) Anna Henriksdtr L Sleire (b 1833) and had 10 more children between 1855 and 1875. Anna died on 22 January 1913.
ANDREA MARTHA married (2 Jul 1858) Ivar Henrikson L Sleire (b 1828), the brother of her brother Gjert's second wife, and went to live at Sleire. They had 9 children between 1861 and 1881. Ivar died on 23 April 1897.
