Susanne Sophie Catharina Gustava Kielland (née Blom, 6 March 1800 – 28 February 1889) was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

author and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

pioneer.

Biography

She was born in

Kongsberg Kongsberg () is a historical mining town and municipality in Buskerud, Viken county, Norway. The city is located on the river Numedalslågen at the entrance to the valley of Numedal. Kongsberg has been a centre of silver mining, arms production ...

as a daughter of customs officer Gustavus Blom and his wife Karen Petronelle Stoltenberg. According to ''

Norsk biografisk leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. The first edition (NBL1) was issued between 1921 and 1983, including 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. It was published by Aschehoug with economic support from the state. bought the rights to ...

'' her name was Susanne Sophie Catharina Gustava and not Susanne Sophie Caroline Gustava, as many believe. In May 1824 in

Drammen Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken (county), Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and village ...

she married the minister Gabriel Kirsebom Kielland (1796-1854). Her husband was also a first cousin once removed of

Gabriel Schanche Kielland Gabriel Schanche Kielland (4 March 1760 – 5 March 1821) was a businessman and ship owner in the city of Stavanger in Norway. In 1790 he took control of the family business ''Jacob Kielland & Søn'' and soon became one of the wealthiest and mos ...

and second cousin of Jacob Kielland. She spent most of her life in the parishes of

Finnøy Finnøy is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Stavanger Municipality. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The a ...

and

Lyngdal is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alleen. Some of the main villages in Lyngdal include Austad, Byremo, Fleseland, H� ...

, where her husband was stationed as vicar. She was influenced by the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

, but did not become involved in

activity until 1840. Following a missionary lecture in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

, she regretted her "lukewarm" attitude to mission. Then, back in Lyngdal, she formed a Christian-social women's association consisting of herself, three farmer's wives and one farmer's daughter. With the foundation date 13 November 1840, this is considered the country's first women's association. Her association soon expanded, spreading to Austad and

Kvås Kvås is a village in Lyngdal municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located in the Lyngdalen valley, along the river Lygna, about northeast of the municipal centre of Alleen and about west of the village of Konsmo. The Kvås Chu ...

. Today she is best known for her literary output. Several of the songs she wrote are still well known, in particular the

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

"''O, Jul med din Glæde''", and the children's song "''Liden Ekorn''". Late in her life, she dictated her memoirs ''Erindringer fra mitt liv'' (''Reminiscence from my Life''), printed in manuscript form for her family in 1882. In 1899 an edited version was released for a wider audience. The book was one of the first

autobiographies An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

written by a woman in Norway. She had four sons and four daughters. She suffered from blindness between age 73 and 78, but regained eyesight after an operation. She died in February 1889 in

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

, at the time living with one of her daughters and her son-in-law Andreas Hauge. She was also the paternal grandmother of engineer Nils Vogt Kielland and writer

Eugenia Marie Kielland Eugenia Kielland (23 April 1878 – 7 April 1969) was a Norwegian poet, short story writer, essayist, biographer and literary critic. Biography Eguenia Marie Kielland was born in Skedsmo in Akershus, Norway. She was the daughter of Hjalmar C ...

References

External links

The start of ''Erindringer fra mitt liv''.
*"''O, Jul med din Glæde''" in English translation
Family genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kielland, Gustava 1800 births 1889 deaths Norwegian writers People from Kongsberg Norwegian Protestant missionaries 19th-century Norwegian writers 19th-century Norwegian women writers Protestant missionaries in Norway Moravian Church missionaries Female Christian missionaries Norwegian people of the Moravian Church