Hans Andersen (1782 - 1816)

Born 14 Dec 1782 in Rørup, Vends, Odense, Danmark

Ancestors

Husband of Anne Marie (Andersdatter) Gundersen — married 2 Feb 1805 (to 26 Apr 1816) in Sct. Knud, Odense, Odense

Died 26 Apr 1816 at age 33 in Sct Knud Sogn, Odense, Danmark

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Biography

Hans Andersen was born before his christening on December 22, 1782 in Rørup, Vends, Odense.^[1] He was the son of Anders Hansen and Anne Catharine Nomensdatter.^[1]

H.C. Andersen remembered his father's birthday as well as the date of his death. One of the earliest manuscripts that we know of has a gently wrapped note of paper on the outside where it reads: "Lyfe and death in H. Andersen's life". And when the paper unfolds: "H: Andersen freelance shoemaker born December 14 1782 and died* April 26 1816 and buried April 30 aged 33 and 3 months 3 weeks and 5 days [below on paper:] *on a Friday at 8 o'clock in the evening"

Though H.C. Andersen had not calculated his father's age correctly, the dates are right. Hans Andersen, an only child, was born in 1782 in Aalsbo, county of Rørup. At the age of six the family moved to Odense, where the grandfather, Anders Hansen, bought a small four-light windowed house in Pogestræde 14. Unfortunately this house no longer exists but it was located near to Magasin, where the couple had been engaged seven years before.

H.C. Andersen's father became shoemaker Chr. Holst's apprentice at the age of twelve. By 1798 he had become a journeyman and later on worked for master Jørgen Pommers' in Skt. Jørgensgade and quite possibly at master Poul Breinebergs in a workshop outside the gates Skt. Jørgen some years later.

In 1805 the poet's Hans Christian Andersen's parents did not have their own roof over their heads. The mother was working in the parish of Skt. Knud where they also got married in February 2 1805 according to the registry. The father served master shoe maker Breineberg outside the gates of Skt. Jørgen - belonging to the parish of Vor Frue. H.C. Andersen was born in the parish of Skt. Hans.

When going through the housing lists in The Royal Archives one may read that the humble lodgings in Hans Jensens Stræde were taken over by Anna Nomens - a widow after Søren Nommensen - brother of Anne Cathrine Nommensdatter, H.C. Andersen's paternal grandmother. Anna Nomens resided in the house with her illegitimate son, Frederich. As great aunt to H.C. Andersen she was the only close family in the parish of Skt. Hans. Andersen was born in the parish of Skt. Hans, and since his parents did not have a home of their own but lived in other parishes, one may assume, that the birth may have taken place in the home of the great aunt. It is very likely that this house indeed was the birthplace of H.C. Andersen.

Hans Christian Andersen's father was "outstandingly bright", Andersen writes, in fact, so bright that the wealthy citizens offered their financial help so that he might continue his studies. But the father of this prodigy child would not hear of it. He "insisted", Andersen continues stressing the verb insisted - for the son to become a shoemaker." A few pages further on it reads that Andersen's father was very kind to his mother, but he could not "forget that the mother never fought against the father so that he, the son, could continue his studies".

The relationship between H.C. Andersen's father and his parents may have been quite reserved, as it is highly remarkable that Andersen was born in the house of his aunt and not in the home of the grandparents. It is even more astonishing that the grandparents did not help Andersen's parents financially, as the paternal grandfather was rather wealthy at some point.

This was quite unusual but Andersen's grandfather was mentally ill. In Andersen's journals, memoirs and literary work the grandfather haunts him like a nightmare. The grandfather is also mentioned in other people's memoirs, people who lived in Odense at that time. Anders Hansen was a journeyman shoemaker who ran away from his master and was fined for it. He had a liking for carving strange wooden figurines, ran about in the streets wearing paper hats and eventually succumbed to insanity.

Sources

Census 1787:

Odense, Vends, Gelsted, Taarup, , 21, FT-1787, B7714

Navn: Alder: Status: Stilling i familien: Erhverv: Fødested:

Anders Hansen 31 Gift mand huusmand og skoemager

Kathrine Marcorsdatter ?? 44 Gift hans kone -

Hans Andersen 5 Ugift deres søn af første egteskab

Niels Hansen 78 Enke - indsidder og betler

Census 1801:

Odense, Odense, Odense Købstad, Odense Kiøbstad, Claregaden, 319, FT-1801, B9037

Navn: Alder: Status: Stilling i familien: Erhverv: Fødested:

Jørgen Pommer 40 Gift huusbonde skoemager

Anne Marie 45 Gift hans kone

Frideriche Pommer 12 Ugift deres børn

Johan Pommer 7 Ugift deres børn

Rasmus Pommer 5 Ugift deres børn

Johan Christian Sudermann 28 Ugift tienestefolk skomagersvende

Mathias Gamradt 25 Ugift tienestefolk skomagersvende

Hans Andersen 18 Ugift tienestefolk læredrenge

Niels Johnsen 13 Ugift tienestefolk læredrenge

Karen Knudsdatter 20 Ugift tienestefolk

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Christening: "Denmark Baptisms, 1618-1923," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYK5-VNL : 6 December 2014), Hans Andersen, 22 Dec 1782; citing RORUP,ODENSE,DENMARK; FHL microfilm 50,220.

https://museum.odense.dk/en/knowledge/knowledge-hans-christian-andersen/publications-on-hca-/the-lineage-of-hca