Harrison Genealogy Repository

Notes

Four Newspaper Articles about Nils & Petra Ula

(from a 1916 Newspaper Article translated for Les Harrison by Steinan Tweiten- July 1997)

From a Saga of the Not Mentioned

A Life's description

(A picture of Nils Hanse Ula and wife Petra)

"----It was just God's loving will that if simple positions should not miss well endowed spirits" Elate Sunlit.

Just outside, where the villas ends, lies right at the drop-off against (The South Facing Waterfall) a small gray cabin. But her one experience the life's joys purer and stronger than in the in most sophisticated parlors.

Here lives old Nils Hansen Ula and his wire Petra. Here in their cozy little living rooms they don't have the modern times format not forced itself in with it's self aggrandizing stuff.

I was out there with them one evening.

While the hundred year old "Sandsvaer Clock" counted the quiet evening hours in peaceful tick-tock, Nils told may interesting pieces from his long life's work.

How was it not temptingly healthy to come from these times pursuit driving life with it's many demands and twisted value judgments - and now get to look into modest and satisfied existence grown up with close connection and relationship with times and people, which I could call: "The good ol' days."

Nils was born March 30, 1837 in Naala below the Foss property in Tuft. As a 10-11 year old boy he had to go out and guess. He could recall whether he got new shoes before he earned them himself. As a fun experience from his boyhood he told us about one time he skied down a very steep hill. He took an enormous head over heels fall. He heard flying through the air right by his head one of his old shoes that disappeared in the snow. In high spirited anger, he threw his other shoe - stood in his stocking feet in the ski tracks.

That summer when he studied with the minister to be confirmed, he earned clothes and shoes working on the uppermost of the Tuft farms. In the following years he earned his living on a number of the various farms in the community, among them was the farm of the local constable named Foss in Lie. He was an extra hand and dug ditches during the summer and cut and shaped large tree beams during the winter.

In three years following 1868 he was forest manager for Amund Hvambsal in Etteloet.

One winter, he ran a lathe for a man named Ole Andrissen, Then he bought himself a bench. Many winters he turned tree bowls for milk processing. Nils developed unique skilled and products. He found out that people liked better the thicker bowls than the ones that Ole Andrissen made.

Not only were the bowls stronger and one desired as much cream on the milk as possible, but when the bowl was thicker, the milk would cool off slower. He was in Sandvaer and Laerdal, he was also in Joff and Vaale where he turned bowls. One figured that he turned over 1200 dozen bowls in all. His bowls are now highly sought and gets high bids at auctions. He asked for one Mark per day plus room and meals where he turned his bowls. He worked on the farm during the day, and when the men folks came home from field work, he would change over to his work bench during the evening. It is fun from that days economic thinking, says Nils, as long as the lamps were burning he ought to turn at least ten bowls to make it a worth while evening.

In 1873 Nils was appointed floating foreman for the river timber and he kept that job for 20 years. His area of responsibility was from Jaenes in Valaagen in Efterloet to Pindestad in Lardal.

In addition to timber floating during the summer, he undertook improvement of the floating zone during the winter as Laagens Floating Association deemed necessary. During his year long work on Laagen, he also let show his considerable understanding and practical sense when it came to administration. He was both bookkeeper and manager of the inventory and the workload was big. Nils had not gone more than 9 weeks at the local seasonal school, but he had abilities and energy to learn both math and writing skills on his own. Hans Grette audited his books for him and he found very few mistakes. "I do it just like you do it", Nils said once to Hand Grette, "but I don't know how I can do it better."

In his walk though the Sansvaer forests both during the night and day, Nils Ula had many experiences. One night he had to walk from Jarnaes to Velsaetere, he was followed by a bear who in anger kept hitting the trees and growling menacingly into the forest's quiet and inky blackness. Nils ran on this occasion 2 km. up hill and wound up with a stressed heart which was with him a long time.

His mind was never closed to the forest dark mysticism. One evening as it was getting dark, he stood amongst the cut timber and pointed and counted the logs he had felled during the day, he became aware of an arm that reached out by a black mountain outcropping. This arm moved just like his arm. If it was a bear who sat over there and followed his motions or whatever else strange it could have been, he does not dare explain.

Few people from had better intimate knowledge to the village's families, as Nils. It is a cultural and historical experience to hear him talk about the villages families and it's faits going back in times. This skill which becomes evident has connection to the poetic vein which moves in his mind and which is expressed in many beautiful and happy songs.

May 17, 1875 he was married to Petra Tostensen Bakken from Hoff in Jarlsberg. In her he has had a loyal and good wife and they can look back at a long and happy union. They had 4 children. Two of them, Hanna and Trine, are in America. Their son Martin, runs a business by Brekke in Hoff. All married well. The youngest daughter, Janna, Married Loeken, an engineer working at the Borregaard Factories in Sarpsborg. With quiet parental pride they most willingly show the pictures of the children and their families together with sweet pictures of their grandchildren, everything sent home to the two alone, though not lonely and old. They live with their children, - and their with gladness and gratefulness for what the life has given them.

They are both still well and quick on their feet. In spite of his 80 years, he still walks in the forest during the timber work season. He is often picked up as chief cook for parties and celebrations where she offers her council to the less experienced when the slaughtered animals are to be put away in the fall.

We with them both a happy and quiet life's autumn.

(from a 1925 Newspaper Article translated for Les Harrison by Steinan Tweiten July 1997)

From Vittingfos.

Nils Hansen Ula and wife Petra's golden wedding anniversary May 17th was celebrated with great participation. Family and friends and acquaintances showed up and congratulated them in the afternoon. Many telegrams and gifts was also received by the celebrants.

The May 17th procession (Norway's Independence Day) with several hundred children and adults took a side trip thought the farm yard of the celebrants. This was certainly a convenient way for the whole village and community to show respect to the old couple on their big day. This was certainly a solemn and touching occasion for the old ones. They had seated themselves at the front door to view the procession and all the people who showed up.

After the school children had sung some songs and the marching band played a few pieces. asked the chairman of the celebration, Syver Anderson for everybody's attention:

As a relative and closest neighbor, have Ol' Nils and Petra asked me to read the following note from them to all assembled. I had to write as he dictated. He is 88 years old, sees and hears poorly, but otherwise is of sound mind.

(from a 1925 Newspaper Article translated for Les Harrison by Steinan Tweiten July 1997)

From Vittingfoss

A Golden Wedding Anniversary

(Picture)

Retired timber floating foreman Nils Hansen Ula and wife Petra will celebrated the coming May 17th their Golden Wedding Anniversary. They were married here in Sansvaer May 17, 1875. They lived then at Gulli.

Nils Ula was 88 years old last March 30 and his wife, Petra was 79 March 6th.

They now live at Southern Foss, right by Vttingfossen's (the Vitting River) big waterfall. Here at Foss garden (the Foss Farm) have they lived most of the time. The are both well, sound body and mind. This last year Nils' vision has begun to fail. His wife had to read Bust Blad (the Busk paper) for him. The goings on in the world is strictly followed by him. With his outstanding memory, Nils can tell just about everything that has gone on in the village and its surroundings. Yes, he could also tell what was going on in the world also. Because has subscribed to all the papers and read them all his days.

The golden anniversary couple have 4 children, one boy and 3 daughters, all are alive and are married. Two of the girls live in America. One is a widow.

Nils Ula's main work was a manager of the log floating on Laagen(a river) from Kongsberg to Larvik during the summer and forest manager during the winter. He tells, he started as a timber floater as a 26 year old. He therefore worked at this for about 40 years, 20 as manager. In the forests he as been involved over 80 years.

"He could tell much about the life as a timber floater and as a forester" he said. That he has saved 5 people from drowning should be written in golden text now when he is 88 and is celebrating their golden wedding Anniversary. "Three of them he dragged ashore with his hook", he said, "and the two others, their comrades had given up all hope on saving them." They just had run out of options. Then came Nils with his suggestion, which was followed and the men were saved. Yes, Nils was always quick and a fast thinker. All this happened by Kongsberg.

He could tell of the big flood in 1860 and the even bigger flood in 1879. In 1879, both the hinges and the bridges at Kongsberg went. We understood after a while when everything in Sandsvaer came floating in Laagen (a river) that everything had god bad up there. But the flood in 1879 was known to be bigger. Nils himself had some bad recollections from that flood. The bridge over the Vitting river, the same place as now, was very much threatened by the water mass and the floating timber. The lasted a long time and they worked heroically to save it. The bridge was make of wood and was only 4 years old. Then one day it went and the only man left on the bridge was Nils Ula. "He believed the bridge would go", he said, "but not just then". Yes, everyone who watched this, and he himself also, thought that this was Nils' last journey. But that was not the plan. He saved himself and it was strictly his fast thinking and his endurance, with the help from our Lord, everyone agreed. That he was saved was wonderful.

As mentioned before, Nils has always been interested in reading, but he was also an outstanding singer. He was first tenor in the first (?) community chorus in Tuft and Komnaes. The music director was the church singer Aannestad from Komnaes. The chorus association lived many years. "But," thought Nils, "it ought to be possible to write some lyrics to the some of the melodies they had been taught." And now he started to write. It came very easy for him. It went brilliantly for him. He wrote song and he sang them at performances for the local people. I got to be many songs and they were outstanding. Everybody agreed that Nils Ula was a writer with God's blessings. "The subject matter he found from the lives of the people and from nature", (Paper). It was a beautiful song about spring in 8 verses:

(The prose is almost impossible to translate.)

The Golden Anniversary celebrants will receive many congratulations on their wedding day on May 17.

Vi with them many happy and bright years in the future.

Vittingfos May 11, 1925

(from a 1948 Newspaper Article translated for Les Harrison by Steinan Tweiten July 1997)

Has Jacob the 6th of Scotland relatives in Ytre Sandsvaer?

It was during the winter of 1908 or 1909. We small boys were just released from school and on our way home. However on the Bridge we had to stop and watch the strange happenings going on the ice below. A high scaffold had been built there and 10 or 12 men pulled a very heavy weight up in the air by the help of a rope over the top of the scaffold. The end of the rope had many more ropes tied to it and the men held on to their ropes. The men pulled as hard as they could on the ropes until the weight was high in the air and then let the weight fall on an iron clad post which was sharpened on one end. Every time the weight fell the pole went down a few inches.

All this we understood right away but there was more. While the men pulled on the ropes the foreman, an old guy with white beard and rhythm would say:

"There goes one - up with two - there goes three - hi hooray for four - hi federate Rae - federal la. Let the scaffold stand."

He had a very strong pretty good singing voice even if he was pretty old for all this. The end of the verse was the sign that the the men could take a breather because it was heavy work. While the old man was checking to see that the post was going down as it should he also climbed up on the scaffold to see that the iron clad top had not broken.

We had to go down on the ice to see the strange goings on a little closer. There sat all the men who we all knew, men from the small homes and small farms. They smoked and laughed and told stories and the foreman became also the subject of the jokes. He was very tall as I remember, but he was broad shouldered and straight in stature like an army officer. Both hair and beard was white as can be while his eyes were light blue and sharp in the red face.

He wanted to know who we were sons to and from his comments I understood that he was very well acquainted here.

"Is that right, your are from there? Yes, as a young man I went to dance there many times" "No, are you his grandson? send your grandpa greetings from me Yes, say that my name is Nil Hansen Ula, he will remember me" "Is it there you are from? " I noticed he watched me and mentioned that I was from---" Maybe you are the son of N.N." Oh yes, I sure was. "Well then we are relatives. Your father and I were both named after the same man at Hov" I don't remember what I answered, but I had to send his greeting to my father. "Ja, ja, it all is connected like peas in a pod." Otherwise we all come from old writer and Skott-Jakop just about everybody.

One of the workers joined in the conversation. "You mean Adam, don't you Nils?" "Yes this is the way it is in the old villages, but in their village we all came from the old county official Saammerstaed who was to have been the son of a king called Jacob of Scotland, Old Klokkeaerloekken told me once and remembered that we were direct descendants of the old writer. Klokkaerloekken had knowledge of a lots because he could still read the old Norwegian lettering.

"OK men, back at it.

Up with the weight.

There goes one, up goes two---"

This was the only time I saw that old foreman, Nils Ula. He still lived many years in Hvittingfoss and died when he was well into his 90's. That he was well known if Efteroep is not strange because his old cradle still stands in the old Ulaplassen by Sanar. There he saw daylight in the year 1837 and his years as a child and as a youth was inside the county boundaries. He was foreman from 1872 to 1893, but after that it happened often that Hvittingfoss Bruk used him as project leader. From 1908 and later a few years they had a building project and that is where I heard about the old county official who said that we were descendants from Jacob of Scotland.

That the story is correctly repeated by the old man Ula is quite sure. He was known to have a very sharp memory and this memory was very good even when he became very old. I know very little about his friend Karloekker'n. He belonged to Vines and those house have be razed a long time ago. The county official in Sommerstad is now a very important person when it comes to telling the history. His name was Hans Jenssoen and he was the official in Nummedal and Sandsvaer from 1646 to 1669. The first year he lived in Gunnes, but he did not own the farm. In 1648 he received Tuf as the official county property and was in Sommerstad from 1656. When he left that job as a county ofiicial in 1669, he bought the farm which belonged to Joergen Desan (the following generation call themselves Dees) Sommerstad was then only one farm and the houses where the county official lived were placed on the southern or middle part of the Sommerstad's land.

The farm was in the county official's name until 1681. His widow and her two sons Peder and Rasmus lived there though she died in 1692. However let us in the mean time look a little closer at the county official's life.

at that time were born Danish or at least of Danish Families. His mane indicated that. When he got to Sandsvaer, he married (about 1650) to Mari Rasmusdaughter Vettestad. Her year of birth we know was 1629 and we suppose he was a bit younger than him.

Yes, to have an important county official as husband was probably was probably heavy duty for a common farmers daughter. Also that he was much older than she was another factor, still the union was a satisfying one. Let's say he was born in 1590. He would then be 39 years older than his wife, that being a considerable age difference, but on the other side, he was the important county official. He died in 1676 and would in that case be 86 years old, not a customary age in any case. Mari was at her death 16 years later only 63 years old. We know that Hans Jensson left the county official position because of advanced age. That would make good sense if we take in to account the supposed year of birth. At his resignation would have been 79 years old, a great age to retire and enjoy all the important work in his past.

It is not by chance that I supposed the year 1590 was the county officials year of birth. In 1590 Jacob the 6th of Scotland visited this country to attend the wedding of Anna, the daughter of King Frederik the 2nd of Denmark/Norway. (A sentence that cannot be translated) This wedding was a "common sense" combination arranged by smart politicians in both countries which was not uncommon in those days. They brought respectability to his combination of convenience by draping it in love and romance.

From the natures and history's side are there many things that leads one to believe that the county official's royal blood line could be confirmed as truth.

It is also very reasonable because the story was very important to the county officials succeeding generation. Nils Ula was possibly the last who knew the story even though he was not related to the principal, the old Klokkaerloekken (who was most likely Hans Joergen Rassmussen, a great grandson of the county official). He had good reason to be interested in the story.

The county officials offspring can be found everywhere in Ytre Sandsvaer and it would be interesting to know if there are other details pertaining to this old story. I have asked a number of old persons from the county officials family, but they were not aware of their family tree or any stories about it. Therefore it is little hope to find out any more than what Nils Ula told us.

Education: 9 weeks at the local seasonal school ^[S742]