Women's Day 2022
Today we're going to give you more insight into how the women at Blaafarveværket lived. We won't be focusing so much on individual women who stood out, as we've done in the past, but rather on how "most women" lived. We will also try to take a closer look at the girls at the mill. The women's childhood is a field that has been little researched, as their brothers, who entered the labour market early, have received more attention.
Workers, wives, daughters, mothers and much, much more
Historian Per R. Mikkelsen argues that the role of women in a functioning mining society should not be underestimated. Mikkelsen writes that women's work in the home laid the foundation for a functioning mining company. Mill workers worked from 12 to 10 hours a day, which minimised their ability to contribute at home. This resulted in increased work pressure on the women, who had many tasks that were critical for the man to be able to function as a "functional worker".[1] In other words, you could say that a functioning mining company was dependent on skilled women.
The role of women has been studied more in recent years, but we still don't know enough. One of the reasons for this is that while archives are often relatively rich in information about workers' labour, injuries, illnesses and the like, they say little about women. Women's everyday lives were lived in the private sphere, within the home, while men's lives were lived in the public sphere, out in the labour market. Even women who were in work often worked as maids, which was also part of the private sphere. What concerned the private sphere was not recorded to any significant extent in archives. That's why we know less about the women than their husbands.
What we know about the role of women in the home comes from a survey conducted in 1845 at Nymoen by the French sociologist F. Le Play. The women at Nymoen worked primarily in the home, but also did some paid work on nearby farms during the autumn and spring seasons. In the home, they worked on processing linen and wool for clothing, weeding, maintaining and harvesting the family's plot of land, feeding livestock and gathering berries and mushrooms.[2]
Work in the home consisted of many chores. Fetching water and preparing food, as well as lighting the fire, were probably the most time-consuming. In addition to the time spent, it was hard work. The women also had an important role as educators. They were responsible for the initial, preparatory education of the children. Mothers were often responsible for a bit of reading and Christianity before the children started school. The women probably did most of the follow-up and childcare. We only have one example of a man being late for work because he had been up all night looking after sick children.[3]
Of course, there were times when women were employed at Blaafarveværket, but this was far from common. Women who received a salary from the works mostly worked on cleaning and repairing the brass sieves used for sifting cobalt pigments.[4] The factory's office buildings were cleaned by widows who benefited from the subsidy they received from the factory's poor fund.
A few women also performed tasks that were not considered "proper women's work" by the men of the time. Mari Eriksdatter Skretteberg was one of these. She appears in the wage list of those who drove cobalt ore from the Cobalt mines to Skuterud crushed stone works in 1837.[5] She is currently the only female ore driver listed in the archive.
No women worked directly in mining, crushing or smelting.
In the early days of Blaafarveværket, attempts were made to set up a spinning mill for the mill's women and girl children.[6] One of the aims of this project was to promote science and combat poverty. The labourers' "poor conditions" made it difficult for their families to survive without women also contributing an income. In 1783, it was therefore proposed to start a spinning school for girls from the age of 8 and adult women where clothes would be made from wool and cotton.
Although funding for a spinning school was granted in 1783, the sources say little about what happened next. In 1811, Nymoen School was extended with a second floor. The argument in favour of the extension was that the building was too small and dark. Among other things, this made it difficult for the girls to have lessons in needlework and spinning.[7] Besides this, we know little about the spinning school. More research is needed in this field.
Sexuality, women's health and poverty support
What we can say for sure is that the women in the community around Blaafarveværket lived in a male-dominated world. For example, few women had the right to vote in the 19th century, but while it was possible for rich men to vote, it was not possible even for the richest women.
However, there were probably other, more obvious things that affected the women at the plant more directly. In theory, both women and men were subject to strict legislation when it came to sexuality. Until 1842, people found guilty of attempting to abort a pregnancy could lose their heads. In the period 1841-1847, we know of two court cases in which a factory woman was charged with attempted abortion. Both cases occurred after 1842, so neither of the defendants risked the death penalty, but fines, chastisement and the subsequent social stigma were still brutal punishments.[8]
Women and men could also be penalised for having sexual intercourse with three different people without entering into a marriage. It should be noted that this was often more difficult for women than men, as pregnancy was an unambiguous sign of sexual activity.
At Blaafarveværket, the plant's doctor considered the sexual morals at the site to be somewhat poor. "Natteløberi", i.e. nocturnal sexual encounters, occurred frequently, at least in the 1860s.[9] However, the GP was not too worried about the problem as the couples got married if the meetings resulted in pregnancy. So there wasn't necessarily much shame associated with extramarital sex, but the problem arose in cases where there was no marriage. In these cases, the woman was left with the shame of raising an "illegitimate" child.
One thing that is important to remember is how dangerous it was to have children at this time. Most families experienced losing a child and some families experienced losing the mother in labour. It was good to have health professionals present at births and the health professional who was present was a woman. The midwife was always a woman, and she appeared at births in the community. In 1835, "Mrs Andersen" was the midwife in charge of the mill and Modum.[10]
Workers at Blaafarveværket enjoyed a number of social benefits through the workplace. Sickness and injury benefits, labour contracts, pension schemes, free medicine and medical care, schooling for children, etc. It's worth noting, however, that the same arrangements also applied to the workers' wives and children. In the mining ordinance of 1683, it was written that mines were obliged to maintain a poor fund for employees, their wives and children. If a woman lost her husband, she received a monthly payment from the poor fund.[11] The fund consisted of contributions from the workers and the owner.
Finally, we'll take a closer look at one of the work's poor widows.
Siri Christiansdatter
Siri was born in 1814 in Modum. She married Erik Olsen and together they had Gunnhild and Eline. Erik was working at the Blaafarveværket when he died, which entitled Siri to poor relief. However, this entitlement meant that Siri's lifestyle was monitored. That's why we can get to know her quite well today.
In 1846, the 32-year-old Siri was living in the same place where she was born, Thoen in Modum. When her husband died, she moved back in with her mother. She had two daughters who lived with her. Sire was considered able to work, but it is not stated that she had any work in 1846. The widow's morals were assessed, and Siri's morals were described as "very praiseworthy". Furthermore, it is stated that Siri was held in high esteem in the work community, without explaining why.
Siri's health was also described as good. She had no mental or physical injuries or illnesses. In terms of possessions, there was little to write down. She had a simple bedstead with poor bed linen. There was also a pot, a chair and a table. She was also described as well-dressed, and that she kept the house clean.
Finally, it should be said that Siri didn't have much to work with. The poverty allowance for the year 1846 was 5 spesidaler and 100 skilling. This corresponds to something like 1/10 of her husband's annual salary, so Siri was probably balancing on the edge of subsistence. Despite this, Siri had never begged.[12]
This text is dedicated to Siri and all her "factory sisters" throughout the 122 years of operation of Blaafarveværket. As Mikkelsen wrote, the mill's women helped to keep the mill running.
Happy birthday to all the women of the world!
The picture shows Ida née Brekke and her two children. She was married to a German employee at Blaafarveværket.
[1] Per R. Mikkelsen, Mining stories. Introduction to Norwegian mining history - A piece of Norwegian history. Montanus forlag, 2018. p. 231-2
[2] De Saint-Leger, A. and Le Play, F. Chapter II Fearsments ffor industrial processing of cobalt. Buskerud (in södra Norge) (Notes made after spontaneous mmeetings) Collected documents upfn 1845, by A. De Saint-Leger and F. Le Play. Translated from French by Rainer Hielle. Blaafarveværket's archive and library.
[3] RA, Modums Blaafarveværk, H/He/L0442: Mulkterings Bog 23 February 1852 to 16 July 1855, p. 7
[4] See among others: RA, Modums Blaafarveværk, G/Gd/Gdb/L0205: Schigt-Bog ved Modums Blaafarveverk (Account of expenses at the dye works), 1842-1847, p. 4.
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/db20120807700004
[5] RA, Modums Blaafarveværk, G/Gd/Gdd/L0263: -, 0001: Regning over gruver pukkverk m.v., 1837, p. 47
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/db20120810620548
[6] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfa/L0005: Resolution protocol with register (labelled RK 54.5), 1783
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907611316
[7] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0010: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.16), 1811-1812
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907640338
[8] See SAKO, Eiker, Modum and Sigdal magistrates' court, F/Fc/L0009: Ekstrarettsprotokoll - Modum, 1841-1847
[9] RA/S-1044 - Ministry of Justice/Medisinalkontoret/F/Buskerud amt/L0065: Medicinalberetning for Aaret 1865 by Heinrich Arnold Thaulow, p. 9
[10] RA/S-1044 - Ministry of Justice/Medical Office/F/Buskerud county/L0036: Medicinal report for Modum parish in the year 1835 by Ludwig Holberg Arentz
[11] RA, Rentekammeret, Renteskriverkontorene, M/Mf/Mfb/L0002: Protocol of relations and resolutions with register (labelled RK 54.8), 1793-1795
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/rk20120907620251
[12] RA, Modums Blaafarveværk, G/Gj/L0383: -, 0001: Protokoll over understøttede personer, og eventuelle fattiglemmer ved MBV, 1847-1849, p. 20
Use link for page view: https://www.digitalarkivet.no/db20120820610020