My "English" Ancestor...

This is Herman Hamborg.

He was born on April 7, 1837 in Toten, Norway.

He was baptized on June 11, 1837

and confirmed in 1851.

It's hard to believe that I have a great uncle

born in 1837 and that his sister, my great grandmother

was born in 1823!

But when my dad was born in 1900,

Herman was "only" 63 at that time.

This is the only photo we have of Herman.

It was copied from the "Royal Oak Magazine"

published in England in 1906.

There was a lot of information about him in

this article, some of which I am sharing:

Herman's father - my great-great grandfather,

was a farmer in Norway.

Herman was the 7th of 13 children

Herman started working at a very young age,

and developed independence and self-support.

Although there were six children older than him in the family,

Herman was the first to leave home at the age of 15.

He went to Christiana (Oslo, Norway) and became attached

to the British Consulate, and at the age of 18

he went to London with Sir John Rice Crowe [who was the

Consul], who had been recalled by the British government

in connection with the ending of the Crimean War.

On January 1, 1856 they left Christiana.

They traveled to England by first going to Sweden

by sledge - a distance of 400 miles.

There, they were entertained at the palace by

King Oscar.

The voyage across the North Sea was very rough.

The main mast was smashed, the cabin

doors burst in, and the decks were

swept clean by the waves.

They arrived in London on February 5, 1856.

Herman did return to Norway for a time

but in 1860 decided to leave and make

Westminster, England his home.

In England, he eventually started a business as

a wholesale tobacconist.

In 1906, he was said to have been the

oldest wholesale tobacconist in London.

For 28 years, Herman served on the old

Westminster Vestry, and was a church warden,

overseer and guardian; he was also chairman of the

Free Libraries and Baths Commissionioners.

He was a member of the school board in London,

and was active in many other organizations.

He must have been a busy, busy man!

Herman had the pleasure of meeting

the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind,

and he knew Charles Dickens.

He served as a constable in the

Fenian Riots and also at the

Trafalgar Square Riots.

Herman did find time to get married.

He had two children with his first wife,

whom he married in 1862.
After the death of his first wife,

Herman married Fannie Cox, age 36

at St. Peter's Church in London

On October 2, 1884.

Herman was 47 years old.

The marriage license states that

Fannie's father was a "gentleman."

Herman became a natural citizen of England

and remained there for the rest of his life.

So that is how I come to have an "English Ancestor"

Now this is one relative that probably would have

been real interesting to visit with!

Note:  For any relatives who are wondering:
Herman was the brother of great-grandma Berte Gaarder,
Berte was the mother of Mina Melby
Mina was the mother of Ralph/