Died in Sør-Fron, Norway, on this date in 1836: Paul Larsen Skurdal, eldest child of Lars Paulsen and Anne Larsdatter. Paul was fifteen years old; the cause of his death unknown.
Beside the emotional loss, Paul’s death must have had a severe economic impact on the family. The firstborn and only son (his birth was followed by five daughters), he was just old enough to begin working to help support the family. This, at the beginning of a devastating four-year famine throughout the Gudbrandsdal region. Before it was over, people were grinding up birch bark and moss for their daily bread, and Anne Larsdatter was arrested, charged with stealing food for her family. Read more …
