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NORWEGIAN EMIGRATION - THE DEBORA EXPEDITION
A Norwegian Colonisation Undertaking

SUMMARY

The Debora Expedition sailed from Bergen in 1879 to establish a Norwegian colony on an Indian Ocean atoll called Aldabra. The organisers endeavoured to find practical and Christian people to create a settlement based on the teachings of the Norwegian preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771 -1824). The expedition was aborted in Madagascar - a few of the participants remained in Madagascar and the rest settled in the British colony of Port Natal (Durban). They were the first group of Norwegian emigrants to settle in Port Natal.

The forty-seven persons who took part in the Debora Expedition were:- Captain Tobiassen and wife, mate Berentsen and wife, mate Oftedal, A Olsen and wife, I Iversen and wife, O Heidalsvig and wife (Høidalsvig), J Finsen and wife, K Bang and wife with three children (Amanda, Severin and Knut), F Larsen and wife with six children (Angel, Emil, Sigvart, the three sons of the late Sivert Andersen Hordnes, and Petra, Ludvig and Karl), H Johnsen and wife with three children (Sina, Josefine and Karl), A Andreassen and wife with three children (I don't remember their names), R Andersen, R Rasmussen, K Jensen, Hesselberg, H Grung (Grong/Grang), O Fosdal, E Eriksen, P Bang, E Ellingsen, widow Egelandsdal and Miss Serene Larsen. Two children were born on the voyage: a son to Mr and Mrs F Larsen and a son to Mr and Mrs Andreassen.

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Grung (Grang/Grong)

Hans Jacob Elkjær Grung was the only Debora passenger to go to the police in Bergen to register as a passenger of "Debora". He registered on July 18, 1879 at the age of 21 1/2. He called himself a "Machine worker".

In the 1875 census of Bergen we find him as a black-smith's apprentice.

He was born on Jan. 2, 1858 and lived in a house un Bergen in the 7th section, numbers 25 and 26. His father was Johan Georg Grung, born 1828 - a former sea-captain - in 1875 trading in liquor.

His mother was Jusine Marie Thode, nee Magnusen, born 1828. The family consisted of four sisters and three brothers.

Apparently the liquor Business did not og too well for Johan Gruung. He went bankrupt in 1877 and had to sell his home.

It is interesting to note that "Debora" was built in 1878 and owned by "A. Grung". Was he related to Debora passenger Hans Grung?

ref: Michael B. Fisk: Debora Passengers

Tuesday, 13 May, 2003

Shane Grung wrote:    

I have just returned from a trip to Bergen, Norway. I have a birth cert left by my grandfather, for Hans Grung, and I hoped to trace my ancestry in Norway.

However to my surprise at the Bergen Stat Arkivverket I was informed that Hans Grung was a passenger of the Debora.

I have since requested a family tree for my parents in South Africa.

Could anybody shed some light on the registered owner Mr. A Grung?

Shane Grung
Email: Shane.Grung@patrickfarfan.com

Thursday, April 22, 2010    (NB: To download pdf file - CLICK HERE)

Karen Olsen, Glenn Olsen and Megan Ballard wrote:  

Emigration and the Debora Expedition
The Families of Johan Grung and Ole Olsen:
When we first started researching our family history we had very little to go on.  We found this excellent website about the Debora Expedition early on and thought that our families could be connected with the Debora because we suspected that they had spent some time on Madagascar.  In time, and several surprises later, the Grung and Olsen's stories became clearer as well as their association with the Debora. The history of the families of our great grandfathers, Ole Olsen and  Johan Georg Grung, became intertwined after several family members emigrated from Norway in the 1870s.  Although only Hans Jacob Elkjaer Grung, son of Johan, was a passenger on the Debora, several other family members had associations with the expedition.  As an introduction we have briefly outlined the background history of the two families.  More information on the family lines are summarised in charts, below.  Please email Glenn at olsen@axxess.co.za or Karen at krnlsn60@gmail.com for further information or queries. 

Grung family background

Johan Georg Grung, our great grandfather, was born on 26 January 1828 in Bergen, Hordaland, Norway.  Johan came from a line of wealthy rope makers, living and working in Sandvigen, Bergen, dating back to the mid 1700s.   His parents were Arent Henrich Grung and Georgine Christine Grybel.  Johan did not enter the family business.  He first worked as a sailor and ship's captain but from about 1855 he became a store keeper, until at least 1867.  He married Jussine Marie Magnusdatter on 11 August 1841, in Bergen.  Jussine Marie was born on 26 March 1828, in Bergen.  Her family were also from the Bergen area.  Johan and Jussine had nine children, all born in Bergen and christened in the church where their parents were married, Nykirken, Bergen.   The youngest child, Justus Marius, died when he was three years old, from scarlet fever.  Jenny Marie, her brother Hans Jacob Elkjaer and sister Anna were the only children of Johan and Jussine, as far as we know, who married and had children.

Olsen family background

Ole Olsen, our great grandfather, was born on 31 March 1835 on the farm "Finnestad" in Hetland, Rogaland, Norway.  His parents were Ole Hansen and Marte Rasmusdatter.  Ole Hansen was born on the farm "Rode" on the island of Finnoy in Rogaland.  His family had a long history of farming on the island, going back to at least the early 1600s.  Marthe Rasmusdatter was born on Finnestad in Hetland but her grandfather, Rasmus Rasmusen, was also from Finnoy.  Ole Olsen enrolled as a seaman on 7 May 1860.  He married Berthe Marie Sivertdatter on 15 March 1859 in Hetland.  Berthe Marie was born in Haaland, Rogaland, on 23 September 1836.  Her family was from the farm "Myklebust' in Sola, Rogaland.  Ole and Berthe lived on the farm "Tastad" in Rogaland for a while, then moved to Stavanger.  Two of their children were born on Tastad and three in Stavanger.

Emigration and the Debora Expedition

Ole Olsen was among those recruited in Norway by Captain Ludvig Larsen to sail on the Agnes in 1872 to Madagascar and set up trading stations for the English company, Porter, Muir and Lang, along the west coast.  They were given three year contracts but these were cancelled after two years.  Ole Olsen evidently stayed on in Madagascar when many others left.  They lived in difficult circumstances on Madagascar.  Ole set himself up with a few other Norwegians as merchants in Tulear.  In 1876 Ole's wife, Bertha Marie, and five children joined him on Madagascar, traveling on the missionary ship, Elieser.  Two more children were born to them on Madagascar.

When the Debora Expedition was planned some of the traders, remaining on Madagascar after the closing of the trading stations, were supposed to organise supplies for the establishment of the settlement on the Aldabra atoll.  Ole was probably among this group.  When the Debora arrived in Tulear in 1879, according to Erik Ellingsen's article (Norwegian version), O Olsen and two sons of Ludvig Larsen went on board to greet the crew and passengers.  Ole and his family stayed on in Tulear until about 1882, when their daughter, Anna Kristine, was born.  They then left for Durban South Africa where Ole worked as a sail maker.  In a letter written by Berthe Marie in 1885 from Durban, to Pastor Aas in Morondava, Madagascar on the death of his wife, she mentions Hangervig's return to Tulear (in "Seaman James" article he says that Hangervig, one of the traders, was expected to be in Tulear when the Debora arrived but was absent).  She also said that she had lovely memories of her six years on the west coast of Madagascar.  These were indeed remarkable people!   

Lars Jacobson Rostvig was the Norwegian missionary in Tulear who conducted a service for the passengers of the Debora after their arrival.  Lars' first wife, Anne Elisabeth Larsen Figved, came to Madagascar on the Elieser in 1876 at the same time as the wife and children of Ole Olsen.  She was not well during the voyage and was nursed by Marthe Serine Olsdatter, daughter of Ole.  Anne Elisabeth died in 1879.  At that time Marthe Serine was working for the missionaries in Morondava, not far from Tulear.   She was introduced to Lars by a colleague.  They married in Tulear in 1881.  Lars and Marthe spent time in both Norway and Madagascar.  They had nine children, the last were twins, born in Norway.  

Jenny Marie Grung, daughter of Johan Georg, and her brother Johan George, emigrated to South Africa.  From 1888 to 1890 Jenny taught at Umpumulo Mission in South Africa.  In 1991 she married Sivert Olaus Olsen, merchant son of Ole Olsen, in South Africa.  They had one child, Sverre Reidar Fraser Olsen, our father.  Johan George did not marry and had no children. 

Hans Jacob Elkjaer Grung, Jenny's brother, signed up as a passenger of the Debora in 1879.  He later married Ingeborg Kirstine Olsdatter, another daughter of Ole Olsen and settled in South Africa.  They had six children. 

There is some speculation about the identity of "A Grung" and associates in Bergen, who originally owned the Debora.  "A Grung" would definitely have been a member of  Hans Jacob Elkjaer Grung's family.  The Grungs in Bergen were all descendants of Frans Diderich Grung/Grundt who arrived in Bergen in about 1720.  There are not many A Grungs in the line.  Johan Georg's father, Arent Henrich, was named after his maternal grandfather, Arent Henrich Stuvitz.  A Grung and associates could have been a company set up by this Arent Grung.  "A Grung" could also have been the son of Jan Danchert Christian Grung, Arent Henrik Grung, born in 1859 in Bergen and a first cousin of Hans Jacob Elkjaer Grung.  Jan Grung was a sail maker and ship owner in Bergen at the time the Debora was built.  The 1891 census for Bergen gives Arent's occupation as steam ship owner among others.  As members of a wealthy family, they would certainly have had the means to purchase the Debora.  

 

Sources / acknowledgements / Contact Information

Most of the basic information (names, dates, places) was sourced from the Digital Archives of the National Archives of Norway.

Information on the Olsen family line 1600-1700 on Finnoy, is courtesy of Geir-Arne Helgeland

Debora Expedition details are from this Debora Expedition website, thank you, David!.

Information on Jenny Grung's missionary work and the Olsen family emigration are from the Norwegian Missionary Society Archives

Norway-Heritage website volunteers provided additional details about the families.

Documentation in South Africa was obtained by agents, from the South African National Archives and Records Service

Our extended family has also very kindly provided information about their relatives.

Contact Information - E-mail. Glen: <olsen@axxess.co.za>   E-mail. Karen: < krnlsn60@gmail.com>



Jenny Marie GRUNG
(b. 11 Sep 1856, Bergen, Norway, m. 1891, St Olaf Lutheran Church, Durban, South Africa, d. 16 Jul 1897 Mooifontein, Middleburg/Lydenburg District, South Africa, par. Johan Georg GRUNG and Jussine Marie MAGNUSDATTER)
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