Dagmar's Stories - "The Baby Stealer"

remembering one of the many stories my grandmother Dagmar shared with me

                         KIRKEGÅRDSPROSJEKTET, GRENLAND ÆTTEHISTORIELAG.

Nordre Gravlund Cemetery

Avskrift gjort av/Transcribed by Thorbjørn Rogstad sommeren/summer 1997.
Registrert av/Registered by Reidar Ballestad

  H  6  1  Frithjof Gubberud 28.09.1900  25.02.1968
  H  6  1  Hanna M. Gubberud 07.12.1904  22.02.1989
  H  6  1  Roar W. Augestad 29.06.1926  11.01.1987
  H  6  1  Eva Augestad 05.11.1930  25.05.1995
  H  6  2  Olaf Vollen 12.12.1906  22.04.1973
  H  6  2  Solveig Vollen 30.12.1907  22.10.1996

This is a partial listing of those buried in the Nordre Gravlund Cemetery, Skien, Telemark, Norway

I found the listing on the website SKIEN GENEALOGICAL PAGE

***************************

Hanna is my great aunt, grandma Dagmar's sister, and Frithjof is her husband. Solveig is another of grandma Dagmar's sisters and Olaf is her husband. In 1984 I visited my grandmother Dagmar in Norway and one of Solveig's great grandchildren referred to Hanna as "the baby stealer". Questioning my grandmother, she told me this story.

Hanna and her husband were childless and not by choice. Solveig and her husband Olaf had four daughters. Upon the birth of her youngest Solveig was very ill. Hanna took in "temporarily" their oldest girl Eva, to "help out Olaf" who was having a difficult time managing his children alone while Solveig was ill. Hanna spoiled the girl so much she cried when her father came to pick her up to go back home. Hanna refused to give her up and went to her mother, my great grandmother, Gunhild. Gunhild intervened and sided with Hanna. She told Solveig that she should "let Hanna have the girl since she (Solvieg) had three other girls anyway and Hanna had none". To keep peace in the family they let it go awhile and again attempted to bring Eva back home. According to Dagmar, Hanna had "poisoned the girl's mind against her own parents" and she again refused to leave and Hanna refused to give her up.

Hanna kept Eva and raised her as her own. Eva "called her mother" and took on their last name of Gubberud. Feelings were never the same. Solveig abided by her mothers wishes although she was hurt and mad but Olaf would periodically "have a few drinks" and threaten to get his daughter back until the day he died.

Eva was forever estranged from her birth mother and her sisters "by her own choice". I don't understand why Solveig gave up her quest for her daughter, but times were different then, family relationships were different then also. I do know that Solveig loved her daughter and felt a great hurt and void from her loss.

Eva and her husband Roar Augestad were also childless. Hanna and Fritjof left everything ("they were well off")to Eva. Now here they are all buried in adjoining plots! Maybe I am dreaming but I would like to think that this indicates that the story of "the baby stealer" ended with one family or both families regretting the hard feelings and somehow making amends. Or maybe not........Eva was buried with her birth parents on one side and her adoptive parents on the other, although even in death she is in plot 1 with Hanna and Frithjof.

*click on photos to enlarge for easier viewing*