:''Should not be confused with Bolette Margrethe Nissen, born 1849, the mother-in-law of Hartvig Johannson.'' Bolette Margrethe Gjør, née Nissen (11 May 1835 – 4 November 1909) was a Norwegian writer and

inner mission The Inner Mission (german: Innere Mission, also translated as Home Mission) was and is a movement of German evangelists, set up by Johann Hinrich Wichern in Wittenberg in 1848 based on a model of Theodor Fliedner. It quickly spread from Germany to ...

ary. She was born in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

as a daughter of merchant Martinus Nissen (1800–1836) and Ida Susanne Amalie Hagerup (1808–85). After her father died when she was only one year old, her mother remarried and they moved to

Romedal Romedal is a former municipality in the old Hedmark county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1964 when it became part of Stange Municipality. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of ...

. She was a sister of Rikke Nissen, niece of

Hartvig Nissen Ole Hartvig Nissen (17 April 1815 – 4 February 1874) was a Norwegian philologist and educator. He founded Nissen's Girls' School in Christiania in 1849. In 1865 he became director-general in the Ministry of Education, while remaining one of t ...

, grandniece of

Henrich Steffens Henrik Steffens (2 May 1773 – 13 February 1845), was a Norwegian philosopher, scientist, and poet. Early life, education, and lectures He was born at Stavanger. At the age of fourteen he went with his parents to Copenhagen, where he studied ...

and a first cousin of Prime Minister

Francis Hagerup George Francis Hagerup (22 January 1853 – 8 February 1921) was a Norwegian law professor, diplomat, politician for the Conservative Party and women's rights advocate. He was the 7th prime minister of Norway from 1895 to 1898 and from 1903 ...

. In October, 1872, she married vicar Julius Gjør (1839–1916), a son of Magnus A. Gjør. She attended her uncle's Nissen Girls School from 1849, and later learnt English. In her early twenties she underwent a Christian awakening in the milieu surrounding

Gisle Johnson Gisle Christian Johnson (10 September 1822 – 17 July 1894) was a leading 19th-century Norwegian theologian and educator. Biography Gisle Christian Johnson was born at Fredrikshald (now Halden) in Østfold, Norway. He grew up at Kristiansand ...

. She dedicated the rest of her life to missionary organizational work for women, inspired by the practical work of

Gustava Kielland Susanne Sophie Catharina Gustava Kielland (née Blom, 6 March 1800 – 28 February 1889) was a Norwegian author and missionary pioneer. Biography She was born in Kongsberg as a daughter of customs officer Gustavus Blom and his wife Karen Petr ...

and the pious ideas of Henriette Gislesen. Her missionary work really started in 1862, having moved back to

where she ran her own school and

sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

, missionary women's association and care for the poor. In 1873, she followed her husband who became vicar in

Stor-Elvdal Stor-Elvdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Koppang. Other villages in the municipality include Atna, Even ...

, in 1878 further to the recently built St. Jacob's Church, Oslo. In Kristiania, she became a teacher at the Christiania Deaconess House (''Diakonissehuset Christiania''), now Lovisenberg Diaconal University College which was founded by

Cathinka Guldberg Cathinka Augusta Guldberg (3 January 1840 – 22 October 1919) was a Norwegian nurse, educator and deaconess. She was associated with the development of nursing education in Norway. Biography Guldberg was born in the city of Christiania (now Os ...

. She founded later women's missionary societies. The number of such societies rose from about 1,700 to 3,500 during Gjør's time. They were not formally connected to the

Norwegian Missionary Society The Norwegian Missionary Society or the Norwegian Mission Society ( no, Det Norske Misjonsselskap, NMS) is the first and oldest missionary organization in Norway. It was started by a group of approximately 180 Stavanger residents in August 1842, ...

(''Det Norske Misjonsselskap''), where women did not have voting rights, but nonetheless contributed with two thirds of the organization's income. Gjør gathered support to grant women elective rights in the Norwegian Missionary Society, an endeavor which became successful in 1904. She was also a member of the discussion Club of 1903, founded by Marie Michelet and Fredrikke Aars, and founded the Missionary Workers' Ring in 1907 together with

Henny Dons Henrike Margrethe "Henny" Dons (25 May 1874 – 14 June 1966) was a Norwegian educator and inner missionary. She was born at Aker in Øvre Eiker as a daughter of hospital manager Johannes Albrecht Dons (1839–1921) and Johanne Marie Fleischer (185 ...

among others. She also led the Mission School for Women from 1900 to 1909. Between 1884 and 1894 she issued fifteen books under the pen name Margrethe. She edited the Norwegian Missionary Society's magazine for women, ''Missionslæsning for Kvindeforeninger'' from its inauguration in 1884 as well as ''Børnebibliotheket'', the magazine issued by the Norwegian Sunday School Association (''Norsk Søndagsskoleforbund'') from 1893 to 1901. She died in November 1909 in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjoer, Bolette 1835 births 1909 deaths People from Stange Writers from Oslo Schoolteachers from Oslo Norwegian Lutheran missionaries Norwegian magazine editors Norwegian women editors Protestant missionaries in Norway 19th-century Norwegian women writers Women magazine editors 19th-century Lutherans