Memories from My Life

Refs and half a year with Jens Søndergaard in Helligsø, and a full year with Thøger Petersen in Kobberø where I was well.

My brother Kristian had served several places, until he was lucky to obtain an apprenticeship that he had long wanted at Gundtoft mill.

However, this lasted only ½ a year because he was hurt when a chain broke that he worked with and he was inflicted with wounds on both his legs. He came under medical treatment and was ordered to stay in bed for quite some time. But after a few days and when he no longer felt any pain, he left his bed and began to work again also because his help was needed at the mill.

His legs, however, grew worse again, worse than they had been before and this time they would not heal, no matter what was done, and thus he was forced to leave the place on Nov. 1st, 1865 and he returned to our parents in a rather poor condition.

At this time a few young people from our area wanted to be sailed to the market in Lemvig, and my brother joined them. But a strong wind blew for three days, so they could not return, and my brother was very sad about the situation since he had never been there before and found that he did not know a single soul there – which he did after all, - because on the afternoon of the third day he met a painter’s apprentice, Harz, on the street, who had worked on at the mill the year before. He was a believing man, a reverend’s son, who was born on Greenland.

Harz asked my brother what he was doing in Lemvig, and my brother answered that he was trying to find a place where he could learn a trade, and to the question, which trade, my brother said: Goldsmith, a thing he had thought about, but not found within his reach. This said, it turned out that Harz knew a believing goldsmith, whom he thought was in need of an apprentice, so he went with my brother to goldsmith F.F. Erlandsen and it was decided that my brother was to be taken on as an apprentice, but on trial basis to begin with.

This is what we call one of God’s strange doings, which became a blessing for our whole family. We were considered god-fearing people, since we sisters and brothers were all taught to shy lie and all