Svenborg Olsdotter (1852–1936)

Summary

During these years, her life passes through its first major upheavals:

• She leaves Blekinge at the age of 27.
  

• She meets Hans Christian Hansen, a farmhand at Valbygaard in Denmark — a relationship repeatedly disrupted by poverty, pregnancy, and deportation.

• At Valbygaard she is registered as a dairy worker, a skilled position requiring experience and competence. This suggests that she was in fact a capable and hardworking woman, not a “vagrant” as the authorities later portrayed her.

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  About the Objection to the Marriage

  The image is the parish register from Saint Michael’s Church in Slagelse from 1882, and the note in the right-hand margin on lines 30–31 reads approximately: “The parish council raises an objection.”

  ⚖️ The most likely reasons for the objection (1880s)

  She was a foreigner without a residence permit.

  – After 1875, foreign women could not marry without police approval.

  – She was a Swedish citizen, while Hans was Danish; this required royal permission.

  The so-called “Swedish Law” of 1875 was introduced in order to “control” Swedish immigrants.

  The picture is from the churchbook Slagelse Sankt Mikkels sogn 1882:

  The parish council raises an objection

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  1. ⚖️ The most likely reasons for the objection (1880s)

     She was a foreigner without a residence permit.

     – After 1875, foreign women could not marry without police approval.

     – She was a Swedish citizen, while Hans was Danish; this required permission.

     The so-called “Swedish Law” of 1875 was introduced in order to “control” Swedish immigrants.

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     So regardless of the specific reason, the marriage became legally impossible — though not necessarily emotionally impossible.

     She most likely still regarded herself as Hans’ wife, because they continued to have children even after the objection.

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     Nyhavn 31

     Del 3: København – fra udvisning til Nyhavn (1888 – 1893)

     År	Sted	Begivenhed	Kilde / kommentar
     1880, 6. juni	Antvorskov Birk	Første registrerede udvisning fra Danmark.	Noteret i de svenske kirkebøger: “Utsänd från Slagelse Köpstad 18/2 1886”.
     1886, 18. februar og 11. december 1888	Slagelse Købstad Antvorskov Birk	Anden udvisning fra Danmark. 3. udvisning fra Danmark	Antvorskov Birk Politiefterretninger 11. december 1888
     1888–1889	–	Arresteret for betleri	Indikation
     ca. 1889 – 1890	København Nyhavn 31	Bosætter sig igen i Danmark under navnet Svenborg Olsen / Olsson.	Folketælling 1890 (København K): Nyhavn 31, kælderen.
     		Levevej: arbeiderske, men i dette kvarter var betegnelsen ofte en dækkende betegnelse for registreret prostitueret.	Folketælling 1890 (Københavns Stadsarkiv).
     1891, 15. juni	Den Kgl. Fødsels- og Plejestiftelse	Føder sønnen Alfred Olsson . Opgiver falsk navn Cecilie Olsdotter og adresse Slotsgade 39 – et nummer der ikke eksisterer.	Fødselsstiftelsens moderjournal nr. 376 (“ikke hemmelig”).
     1893, november	København	Politiets registerblad markerer: “Udtrukket Novbr. 1893” – dvs. udvist.	Politiets registerblade 1892 – 1893.
     Efter 1893	Sverige → Danmark (igen)	Kort ophold i Sverige, men vender tilbage til København inden 1901 under navnet Olsen Svendborg.	Indirekte bekræftet i registerblad 1901.

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     Interpretation

     • The three deportations (1880, 1886, 1888) fit a life marked by recurring poverty and illegal residence.

     • When she returns in 1890, she moves directly to Nyhavn 31, basement level— a well-known area for lodging house keepers and prostitution.

     • Her records at the Maternity Foundation show that she still tried to protect herself (false first name, invented address) — but not to conceal her motherhood. She takes the child with her, although her son was probably only with her for a short period before being placed in foster care in Meløse in North Zealand (census records).

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     The Meaning of the Transition

     Here her life takes a different direction:

     From dairymaid and agricultural worker → to a woman surviving through casual labour, lodging houses, and whatever opportunities remained in the underworld of Nyhavn.

     This was not a “moral downfall,” but a social displacement. She moved from serving others to trying to create her own survival in a city where she no longer officially belonged.

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     The next logical step becomesPart 4: The Registration Cards 1901–1911

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     where she moves through the Borgergade and Adelgade districts and most likely establishes herself as a lodging house keeper. At that time many Russian and Finnish sailors lived as lodgers in Nyhavn.

     Her later husband, the Finnish stoker Viktor, had apparently rented rooms from Svenborg for several years before they married in 1922.

     
     
     

     

     Christianhavns Fængsel

     Del 4: Fra Nyhavn til Adelgade – registerbladene (1892–1911)

     År	Sted	Begivenhed / bopæl	Kommentar
     1892, 5. maj	Nyhavn 31, kælderen	Bor hos Gjeflides Albregts (navnet er svær at tyde, men det ligner en kvindelig logiværtinde).	Kælderlejlighed, registreret som “arbeiderske”.
     1893, maj – november	Nyhavn 31, “hos Johansen”	Flytter internt i huset. Markeret som “Udtrukket Novbr. 1893” – dvs. udvist eller fjernet fra registret.	Det kan også betyde, at der bliver oprettet nyt registerblad.
     1893–1896	Borgergade 74, derefter uklar note “Do. – 16 F.”	Flytter til Borgergade, et område tæt på Nyhavn – kendt for logihuse og bordeller.	Noterne “F.” henviser til Forhuset.
     1896–1901	(Formodet ophold i København, men ikke registreret – sandsynligvis uofficielt eller under andet navn).	Perioden passer med tiden før næste registerblad.
     1898, 21. maj	Svenborg bliver arresteret for overtrædelse af Paragraf 180	Indsat Christianhavns Fængsel	Løslades efter 21 dage, sagen frafaldes
     1901, 11. maj	Borgergade 100, 1. sal	Nyt registerblad udstedt. Angiver hende som “enke / ugift” (feltet blankt) og “Reng.” (rengøringskone).	Her ses begyndelsen på hendes stabilisering i byen efter mange års udvisninger.
     1906–1911	Skiftende adresser i Øster Voldgade, Toldbodgade, Ny Kronprinsessegade, Gothersgade, Sankt Pouls Gade	Hun flytter meget – ofte inden for få måneder. Typisk tegn på logiværtinde eller bordelarbejde.	Disse adresser ligger i det såkaldte “Bordelkvarter” omkring Gothersgade, Adelgade og Borgergade.
     1911–1915	Adelgade 19, 2. sal, senere Sct. Pouls Gade 12, 4. sal	Disse adresser ligger i kvarteret, hvor mange tidligere prostituerede kvinder blev ”logiværtinder” efter 1906, da bordellerne officielt blev forbudt.	Dette stemmer med teorien om, at hun blev logiværtinde.

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     Interpretation

     • She begins as a “female worker” in Nyhavn, but gradually moves into the semi-registered sex trade that existed between lodging house management and prostitution.

     • Her many moves within the same district (Nyhavn – Borgergade – Adelgade – Sankt Pouls Gade) suggest that she did not have permanent employment, but operated lodging houses.

     • From around 1906 she appears to gain a degree of stability and therefore probably control over her own housing — something achieved only by the most experienced women.

     • After 1906, “public immorality” was prohibited in Denmark, and the police “blue registers” gradually began to close. Many formerly registered prostitutes unofficially continued as lodging house keepers, and their addresses — exactly like hers — cover the neighbourhoods into which these environments moved. It is therefore highly likely that Svenborg in the early 1900s was one of the women who continued within this environment, but now independently. She survived where many others died young — that says something about her intelligence and strength.

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       Historical Context

       After 1906, “public immorality” was prohibited in Denmark, and the police “blue registers” gradually began to close. Many formerly registered prostitutes unofficially continued as lodging house keepers, and their addresses — exactly like hers — cover the neighbourhoods into which these environments moved. It is therefore highly likely that Svenborg in the early 1900s was one of the women who continued within this environment, but now independently. She survived where many others died young — that says something about her intelligence and strength.

       Part 5:Marriage and old age (1915–1936)

       År	Sted	Begivenhed	Kommentar
       1915–1921	København K / Adelgade-kvarteret	Boede fortsat i området omkring Adelgade, Sankt Pouls Gade og Borgergade.	Efter 1906-loven lukkede de officielle bordeller, men mange tidligere prostituerede kvinder drev “logihuse”. Svenborg nævnes stadig i registre over logerende.
       1922, 4. august	Danmark (sandsynligvis København)	Vielse med Viktor Alexander Andersson, kaldet Østensø. 21. maj Født 1878	Han var 24 år yngre end hende – født 1878 – og arbejdede som fyrbøder, sandsynligvis i havnen. Dette ægteskab gav hende for første gang en formel borgerlig status.
       			Ved indgåelse af ægteskab kunne prostituerede blive slettet af politiet register, de såkaldte blå blade.

       
       

       
       

       

       Sankt Pauls Gade

       Del 6: Ægteskab, alderdom og død (1922–1936)

       År	Sted	Begivenhed	Kommentar
       1922–1933	København	Ægteparret bor i det indre København – formentlig i eller nær Borgergade/Sankt Pouls Gade.	Viktor Østensø arbejdede som fyrbøder og lagerarbejder.
       1933, 16. november	København	Viktor dør, 55 år gammel. Svenborg overlever ham.	Viktor dør
       1936, 15. marts	København Kommunehospital	Svenborg Østensø, født Olsdotter, dør 83 år gammel.	Svenborg Dør Dødsårsag: Degeneratio myocardii (svækkelse af hjertemusklen).
       1936	Sankt Pouls Gade 12, 4. sal	Hendes sidste adresse.	Samme gade som på hendes registerblade – hun blev altså boende i sit gamle kvarter.
       1936	Bispebjerg Kirkegård	Begravet her, jf. begravelsesprotokol 1935–1936, s. 540, løbenr. 9081.	Kilde: Københavns Stadsarkiv. Svenborg døde som en agtværdig gift kvinde

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        Kilder (uddrag)

       • Jämshögs kyrkoarkiv (Födelse- och dopbok 1852, s. 100)

       • Svenska Emigrantregistret, Jämshög (utfl. 1880/0028)

       • Slagelse Sankt Mikkels Kirkebog (fødsler 1882, nr. 30)

       • Den Kgl. Fødselsstiftelse, Moderjournal nr. 376 (1891)

       • Politiets Registerblad udfærdiget 1. maj 1892   Politiets Registerblad udfærdiget 1. nov. 1901   Politiets Registerblad side 2 udfærdiget 1. nov. 1901   Politiets registerblade 1901 - 1911

       • Københavns Stadsarkiv, Dødsprotokol og Begravelsesprotokol (1936)

       https://sites.google.com/view/betweentwocountries1852-1936/start

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