Annotations in an 1818 Military Levying Roll

The military levying roll entry for Ole Mogensen in the 1818 main roll is full of annotations.² Distinguishing one annotation from another required meticulous transcription of the entry and an examination of the surrounding entries to determine which annotations belonged to which entry. Only thereafter could the entry be translated.

The numbers in the list of the annotations below refer to the numbers inserted in red in the image above. This demonstrates that annotations were not always written in a logical order on the page, but typically began in the last column and were written elsewhere if more space was needed.

1. 1816 farmer.
2. 1818 in opposition thereto[, he is] unmarried
3. Gunner 30 June 1820 for having received [a] farm below the age required by law. Is farmer after deceased father[,] proven. Session 1820.
4. Can be exempt from service in the standing army and [instead be] employed in the reinforcement battalion against payment of 50 rbd silver per resolution [dated] 14 Dec. 1819. 21/20. In his place "26_89."
5. Session 1821[.] Artillery [unit] 1/6[.] His conscription repealed and paid 50 rbd silver per resolution [dated] 14 Decbr. 1819. In his place "26_89."
6. Session 1821.

The annotations mean that Ole Mogensen had taken over a farm before he had reached the age required by the law. The required age was 28 years. If the father had died, the oldest son could take over the farm or house before reaching the age of 28.³ The first annotation implies that Ole had acquired a farm by the 1816 session, when he was about 21 years old. Correlated with the law, the annotations imply that Ole’s father had not died by the 1816 session.

It was decided that Ole was to be conscripted to the artillery from 30 June 1820 because of his offense. However, he provided evidence for his father’s death at the 1820 session. On 14 December 1819, it was resolved that Ole could be exempt from service if he paid 50 rigsbankdaler. By the 1821 session, Ole had paid and was exempt from service. At the same time, it was noted that he was now married.

The military had to consist of a certain number of soldiers, so someone else had to take Ole’s place. That someone was "26_89," meaning the man listed under entry 89 in lægd 26.

When looking only at the details in yesterday’s post about the 1836 entry for Ole, it appeared that he had acquired the property about 1820. The details in the 1818 entry suggests that he had already acquired a farm by 1816. That shows the importance of examining all entries for a person in the military levying rolls.

In addition to the steps mentioned in yesterday’s post, my next research steps include:

1. Examine records from the military district for the 1819 resolution about Ole Mogensen’s exemption.
2. Identify the man, who was conscripted instead of Ole ("26_89").
3. Document Ole’s marriage, presumably between 1817 and 1820.⁴
4. Document the death of Ole’s father, presumably between 1816 and 1819.

Source references

1. The image at the top of the post is a snippet from “Plakat angaaende Sessionen for Aaret 1892 i 6te Udskrivningskreds,” (Rønne) Bornholms Avis og Amtstidende, 15 August 1891, [third page,] columns 2-3; image copy, Det Kgl. Bibliotek, Mediestream (http://hdl.handle.net/109.3.1/uuid:f13eaafe-ab19-4e1a-9112-23770ce5a77e : accessed 13 May 2020), image 3 of 4; citing Bornholms Avis og Amtstidende (1884-1945), 15 August 1891.
2. Generalkrigskommissariatet [the highest authority of the military levying system] (Denmark), lægdsruller [military levying rolls] 1789-1851, Sorø Amt [county], 1818/D, hovedrulle [main roll] for lægd [district] 1-36, lægd 8, old entry 51 and new entry 39; image copy, Rigsarkivet (https://www.sa.dk/ao-soegesider/da/billedviser?epid=16481031#17364,759952 : accessed 13 May 2020), image 62 of 300; citing Generalkrigskommissariatet angående Udskrivningsvæsenet, lægdsruller, Sorø 1818 D Hovedrulle 1 - Sorø 1818 D 36.
3. The age limit was introduced in 1788, see Forordning om Stavnsbaandets Løsning fra Godserne for Bondestandens Mandkiøn i Danmark [order about the abolishment of stavnsbåndet (serfdom-like institution) from the manors for males of the peasant class in Denmark], 20 June 1788, section 27. This order does not directly state that taking over a farm before the age of 28 was prohibited, but the intentions of the regulations in section 27 of the 1788 law were later clarified to that extent; see Cancellie Promemoriam (til samtlige Landmilice Sessioner districtviis i Danmark, Notits til General=Krigscommissairen), angaaende Reserver, der som hjelpende Sønner forandre Stilling, eller under 28 Aars Alder antage Gaard [chancellor rescript (to all army session districts in Denmark, [and] note to the senior military commissioner), about reserves, who as helping hands change their position, or acquire farm below the age of 28], 18 March 1809.
4. The session labelled 1818 took place in 1817. It was labelled 1818, because the evaluation at the session regarded the service for that year; see for instance this notice about the session for 1855 being held 23 and 24 October 1854: “Landmilice=Sessionen for Aaret 1855,” (Odense) Fyens Stiftstidende: Kongelig ene priviligeret Adresse=, og politiske og Avertisements=Avis, 18 October 1854, [third page,] column 1; image copy, Det Kgl. Bibliotek, Mediestream (http://hdl.handle.net/109.3.1/uuid:36b105a0-0a5d-4208-8c92-61377be99e75 : accessed 13 May 2020), image 3 of 4; citing Fyens Stiftstidende (1852-1993), 18 October 1854.