Wernick Ersson (abt. 1625 - aft. 1695)

Born about 1625 in Hed, Västmanland, Sverige

Ancestors

Husband of Marina Mattsdotter — married 1654 in Skinnskatteberg, Västmanland, Sverige

Descendants

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Biography

The birth year of Wernick Ersson was initially estimated as around 1630, based on the birth of his first known child, daughter Anna, in 1654. However since a court record from 1635 mentions that Erik Fransson's son Wernick was stealing charcoal by the cartload together with his brothers on behalf of his father, he will have been a bit older.

Laga ting Skinnskatteberg 10 april 1635: Olof Nilssons tjänare lade uti rätten en skriftlig berättelse förmälandes att den 8 mars var Erik Franssons son en pojke Mårten benämnd funnen med skrinda häst hacka och skovel vid Olof Nilssons hammar och skulle stjäla kol och föra dädan då de pojken rannsakade och förhört skulle Mårten bekänt för dem att fadern Erik Fransson skulle befallt honom draga dit och bland annat sagt åt honom: vakta dig väl för skrivaren, jag vill icke han skall få veta för allt det jag äger, item skulle han sagt att hans broder Halvar skulle trugat honom draga med, Item skulle han ock bekänt att Torsten och Wernick hans bröder skulle hava stulit i vintras som han kunde minnas till 15 st: på tre resor, då frågades varför de så strax släppte honom lös och icke togo fadern eller någon annan i löfte till nästa ting, Svarade Pär Andersson att han // i löfte till nästa ting Svarade Pär Andersson att han mente sig alltid kunna få igen honom blev avsagt att pojken skall antagas och tingföras. ^[1][2]

• Daughter Anna was born at Nyhammar, Hed, in 1654 (according to her obituary).
• Daughter Kerstin was born at Flohammar, Skinnskatteberg, 1659 (according to her obituary)
• Daughter Margareta was born at Flohammar 1662 (birth record)
• Son Johan was born at Gärdsjöbo, Söderbärke in 1664 (obituary)

We find Master Vernica, the smith in Skinnskatteberg Kyrkby in the first preserved household record for the parish, started 1663 - but Wernick and his family are listed in the second installment. His wife Marina is listed, as are the children Johan, Anna, Kerstin and Frans and a helper. Daughter Margareta is not listed and the chronology is not clear.^[3]

Wernich is also among the smiths in the taxation record for Skinnskatteberg 1659.^[4]

Vernik Ersson seems to have moved back and forth between Skinnskatteberg and Gärdsjöbo in Söderbärke, where we may find him , for example, in 1686 with his wife, two sons and one daughter (younger children were not counted).^[5] In the 1690s he is back in Skinnskatteberg, at Prästhammaren, where Master Wernick, hammersmith appears for the last time in 1695.^[6] By then both his sons are married and working as smiths under their father.

Research note

It seems that a death record for Wernick Ersson has never been found in any of the parishes where he was active. His disappearance from the taxation records may be explained by his superannuation - he had finished his apprenticeship as a smith when he worked at Norrhammar in Hed in 1655 and 40+ years of heavy work must have taken its toll. He may have lived for a few more years - there is a gap in the death records from early summer 1699 to the end of 1701, and Wernick may well have been among these unrecorded dead.

The Wernich Ersson who died in Grangärde in 1670 was a different person, who lived in Sunnansjö, Grangärde already in 1657, when Ersson-300 was a smith in Skinnskatteberg.^[7] The name Wernik was not as unusual as one may think.

Sources

1. ↑ Svea Hovrätt - Advokatfiskalen Västmanlands län (U) EXIe:2256 (1635) Bild 1180 / sid 110 ff (AID: v420658.b1180.s110, NAD: SE/RA/42042202)
2. ↑ Research and transcription by Göran Ekberg
3. ↑ Skinnskatteberg (U) AI:1 (1663) Bild 126 / Sida 122

   Arkiv Digital page info v73999.b126.s122 | To page (paywall) | Riksarkivet

4. ↑ Mantalslängder 1642-1820 Västmanlands län, SE/RA/55203/55203.21/18 (1659), bildid: A0006394_00088 Riksarkivet SVAR
5. ↑ Mantalslängder 1642-1820 Kopparbergs län, SE/RA/55203/55203.23/40 (1686), bildid: A0007229_00133 Riksarkivet SVAR
6. ↑ 1642-1820 Västmanlands län, SE/RA/55203/55203.21/52 (1695), Mantalslängder bildid: A0006428_00136 Riksarkivet SVAR
7. ↑ Mantalslängder 1642-1820, Kopparbergs län, SE/RA/55203/55203.23/11 (1657), bildid: A0007200_00121, right side; Riksarkivet SVAR