Hegge Family Tree
The bible was printed in 1633. It is 13 1/2 inches long, 9 1/2 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches thick. The binding is leather and appears to have wood or metal strips under it. The covers are heavy paperboard.
Inside the front cover identifies the bible as belonging to Ole Olson Hegge III who died a bachelor. Dates listed are 13 Feb. 1755 and 22 Nov. 1844
It is possible that this bible passed from father to son from time of publishing, over 100 years before. (See Kinde)
Ole Olson Hegge III named his nephew’s daughter, Ingebord Olsdatter Hegge as his universal heir. She married Fredrik Evenson Krageberg, who changed his name to Hegge when he took over his wife’s farm.
The names and birth dates of their children are written on the first page inside the cover.
Several of these children immigrated to America including Niels Fredrickson Hegge who was a pioneer farmer in Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin and Marthinus F. pioneer merchant in Hatton N.D.
I was once informed that the bible is printed in Old Danish language, for the Danes ruled Norway in 1633.
OTHER DOCUMENTS OF HEGGE
J.R. Christianson (Luther College) said there were two documents on the farm of Hegge that have been transcribed and published. A third document is in the archives of the Realm in Oslo. These documents are dated 1355, 1367 and 1437.
If you know of or have access to other documents of the Hegge family, please contact Thomas or Rita Ann Hegge, P.O. box 477, Whitehall, Wisconsin 54773
email: ritom@triwest.com 715-538-2074
{ Note: Don’t know if this contact information remains valid. }
The Hegge Clock
by Tom Hegge
In June 2003, James Edward Hegge (A-3-3-7-2), son of Nels Hegge and Grandson of Even Hegge, informed me that he had in his possession a clock that had been passed down from Even. Even took over the Hegge farm in Pigeon Falls when N.F. Hegge retired to Whitehall in the spring of 1901. I am assuming the clock was in the house on the Pigeon farm.
Jim tells me he spent a considerable sum of money to get the clock repaired. He also stated that the father and son clock experts who did the repair, felt the clock was very rare and belonged in a museum.
Dorothy Mae (Steig) Larson, daughter of Myrtle (Hegge) Steig and Granddaughter of Even Hegge, found some information on the clock among the possessions and pictures of her mother. This three page, hand written (in pencil) story of the clock is recopied from an article in the Republican (Winona) Herald. Attached to this hand written account, is a type written biography (In Norwegian) of “Urmaker Jens Nielsen Ottestad” from Statasrkivet, in Hamar, Norway. Ottestad made the clock. Notations in pencil, in the margin of this report, indicate it was received in 1936, which would indicate the newspaper article on the clock was printed in about that time frame. This biography indicates the clock was made in 1790.
Whitehall man has 150 year old clock.
Keeps perfect time.
“Whitehall, Wisconsin. A huge grandfathers clock which has tick-tocked through more than 150 years and which has been in the Nels Hegge family for more than 70 years has caused considerable comment when it has been viewed in the Knudt Amble jewelry watch repair shop, where it has been recently repaired.
The clock, with a case of spruce, stands eight feet 2 inches from the floor and has a dial of six by eight inches. (There is a margin note here, that is hard to read, it is written below) The entire clock was hand made in Norway by Jens Ottestad, whose name is engraved on a silver plate on the face of the clock.
The clock is regulated by two huge lead weights, which weigh about 15 pound each. The weights are suspended on steel wire and once a week, in the process of winding the clock, a miniature crank is used to operate the pulley which raises the weights. One of the weights regulates the striking while the other is for the time apparatus. The clock strikes every half hour and each hour with chimes, which are loud and beautiful. A daily calendar is also embodied in the dial, which changes automatically every 24 hours and is turned back at the end of each month. The dial also includes a minute hand and arrows, which point to the “stille” and “slaa” which translated means silent and strike which is to regulate the gongs.
The movement makes one oscillation in a second. The long pendulum is shown through a glass in the case. The numbers on the dial are black on a silver lead background, and surrounding the dial are decorative plates. No nails are used in the framework of the huge case, which is put together with wooden pegs. The clock still keeps perfect time.
Nels Hegge who died in 1912, at the age of 73, while a lad in Biri Norway, attended an auction at the Melby homestead with his father. When the above mentioned clock was being sold, the young lad left his father and elbowed through the crowd toward to front of the auctioneer and bid and overbid until the clock became his possession and his father reluctantly paid for the clock. Mr. Nels Hegge came to America in 1866 and a short time prior to his death returned to his native land following the death of his parents and brought with him to America the grandfathers clock, which he purchased as a boy. The clock is now in the possession of Even Hegge, who received the gift from his mother, Mrs. Lena Hegge, 86 years old, who lives here with her son, Sigvald.” End of article. Lena’s mentioned age dates the article as 1930.
Note: In the margin of page one, is a notation that above the face is a small dial of hammered brass for regulating the tone for loudness of the strike.
Jim Hegge has provided a picture of the clock along with the pencil rubbing of the Jens Ottestad name. It is on the following page.
