From the Regional State Archive of Hamar, I received the earliest sentencing document in the case of great-great-grandma Anne Larsdatter. In a way, it is anticlimactic, in that most of the facts have already come out in later documents already uncovered. Still, there may be new clues here, and work is just beginning.
The document was issued by the Sorenskriver (magistrate) of south-Gudbrandsdal, Herman Møinichen, on 01 June 1840. For background, you can read the later appeals court documents, from Høyesterret and Stiftsoverret. With these, you will find transcriptions and translations. To view the “new” Sorenskriver document in its entirety, click here. I am hoping to get some help soon to search it for any new information.
The big questions are these: Why were the other two “thieves,” Kari Olsdatter and Ole Engebretsen, given lesser sentences? And more importantly, what was Anne’s status in the interim between this order, the Stiftsoverret sentence two months later, and the Høyesterret after eight more months?
I am on the trail of one more document, also possibly at the Hamar regional archive. It is the earliest of all, dated 06 May 1840, issued by Christians Amt (the county government), instructing the Sorenskriver to rule on the case. Stay tuned.
