This was one of the most colorful pairings in our family’s closet.  Hans and Anne were never married.  At the time their son Hans Jr. was born, Anne was 33 and Hans Sr. was only 19!  It was probably just a fling.  To top it all off, Hans Sr. and Anne were 4th cousins.  Who knows if they were aware of this or not.

Illegitimate births are often shrouded in family legend, and this one takes the cake.  The rumor has spread widely among the family that Hans Jr. was fathered by none other than the king of Sweden-Norway!  I have never seen any evidence to support this, and in fact there is ample evidence against it.  Hans Sr. is listed on Hans Jr’s birth record.  Some research about the king’s travels has shown that he was not in the vicinity of Vågå when Hans Jr. was conceived:

“In an article entitled ‘Karl XIV Johan’ in Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (Oslo: H. Aschehour & Co.: 1936), VII:205, it states the king was extremely disinterested in Norwegian politics and visited the Storting 1Norway’s parliament, located in Oslo, which is still 150 miles from Vågå. for only one month during the fall of 1818, and did not return to Oslo until 1821. If Bernadotte was in Oslo in the fall of 1818, it makes it very unlikely that he could have fathered a child that was born in December of the next year.” ¹

By 1823, Hans was married to Joda Eriksdatter, and they had three children together.  Note that he only lived to the age of 29.    We should count our blessings that he had a fling before settling down!  I don’t know why he died so young.

Anne had a son named Tore before Hans.  In 1825, she married Jon Arneson and had two more children.  It’s impossible to know why the king is rumored to be in her past.  Maybe this was a story she told friends and family to explain her pregnancy.  Or maybe she had something of a “reputation”, bearing children by three different men.  If only we had a time machine …

Hans died on Sandboe Farm, and Anne on Randen Farm.  They are both buried at Vågå Kirke.

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