A married couple on the healthy ward

In July 1751, parish pastor Bergendal of Hamre parish contacted St. Jørgen’s Hospital to request that Lars Erichsen Flaktveit and his wife Ingebor Bastesdatter be admitted among the healthy residents of the hospital. The two lived on the farm Flaktveit in Åsane north of Bergen. Lars was 41 years old, while Ingebor was considerably older at 71 years of age.

Some years earlier, Lars had fallen from a horse and suffered an incurable internal injury. None of the medications prescribed to him by the city physician of Bergen had any effect. He was growing weaker by the day and was no longer able to farm his land. He therefore asked to be admitted to the hospital with his ‘ancient wife’ in return for such ‘humble means and assets’ that he could raise. The pastor wrote that he knew of nothing unseemly in their circumstances and could therefore recommend both of them without reservation. The pastor also provided two witnesses to confirm that the content of his letter was correct.

Confirmation from two other witnesses, Mons Andersen Hetteland and Ole Nielsen Morvigen, was also enclosed. They confirmed the ages of Lars and Ingebor, that they were both ‘exceedingly frail and infirm’, and that they only had modest assets of 150 riksdaler. Furthermore, they failed to see how they were to make a living for themselves ‘on account of their bodily frailty’.

The local chronicle for Åsane shows that Lars and Ingebor owned farm no 2 at Flaktveit. Lars was originally from Almås and had married Ingebor, who was originally from Jordal in Eidsvåg, in 1735. She was the widow of Tollef Steffensen from Flaktveit. Lars died in 1753, only a few years after he was admitted to the healthy ward, while Ingebor lived until 1762.