Clothes from the 1800s
I found a treasure in the attic. And I think I know who it belonged to.
The chimney sweeper (obviously) wanted to have a look at our chimney.
I took him to our very large attic.
"Up a ladder, through a hatch, crawl through a hole in the timber wall - there you shall find a treasure".
I thought I had explored this house!
But then, in a "hidden" room in the attic...
I found blankets, pillows, mattresses, yarn and clothing hanging from the roof.
Storing clothing like this was not unusual.
What is however unusual is that the clothes where left untouched in the attic for over 100 years.
A woolen west with pewter buttons. Patched up and mended.
For a woman.
A black cotton jacket with plissé and linnen lining. Heavy patch work.
For a woman.
A blue woolen jacket with linnen lining with push buttons and loops.
For a woman.
Lining of blue jacket
Mattress
Mattresses, blankets and pillows.
Used by a woman?
Naturally I had to investigate!
In the early 1800s a farmer named Nils lived here with his wife Susanne.
Nils died at the age of 52.
Their heir and son Generius took over the farm in 1856 and married Sofie.
They had five children. Three of them died... (I'll tell you more about that in another post).
Generius (1841-1929) and Sofie (1846-1925) with their sons Ellef, Severin and Nils (the one who took over the farm).
Their eldest son and heir (Also named Nils after his grandfather) married Ingeborg in 1904.
Nils was now the new owner of the farm.
A public record state (a census from 1910) that Generius and Sofie still livet at the farm, in "Kåret", in 1910.
A picture of our farm. Probably taken in 1890.
New owners from a different family took over the farm in 1934.
This means that Generius and Sofie were the last elderly people of family to recite in this part of the house where the clothes were found.
My theory is therefore that these are indeed Sofies clothes!
Lining of black jacket
I e-mailed my old colleagues at the Sverresborg Folk Museum.
I'm hoping they might be able to give me more information.
And maybe even some assistance in the conservation process.
Next task: To make copies! So I can wear the clothes she wore.
