Johan Ernst Welhaven (October 30, 1775 – March 10, 1828) was a well-liked priest at St. George's Hospital Church in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He made great efforts to better conditions for the hospital's lepers. He was also the father of the author and poet

Johan Sebastian Welhaven Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven (22 December 1807 – 21 October 1873) was a Norwegian author, poet, critic, and art theorist. He has been considered "one of the greatest figures in Norwegian literature." Background Johan Welhaven was born ...

Ancestry

Welhaven's grandfather, Christopher Welhaven or Welhaver (1725–1783), was a

passementerie Passementerie (, ) or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, ) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings. Styles of passementerie include the tas ...

maker from

Ribnitz Ribnitz-Damgarten () is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated on Lake Ribnitz (''Ribnitzer See''). Ribnitz-Damgarten is in the west of the district Vorpommern-Rügen. The border between the historical regions of Mecklenburg and P ...

near the Hanseatic city of

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

in what is northeastern Germany today. His son, Johan Andreas Welhaven (1748–1811), came to Bergen at the age of 17 as an apprentice at

Bryggen Bryggen (''the dock''), also known as Tyskebryggen (, ''the German dock''), is a series of Hanseatic heritage commercial buildings lining up the eastern side of the Vågen harbour in the city of Bergen, Norway. Bryggen has been on the UNESCO ...

. After six years, he became a journeyman. In time, he became a teacher at the German school for the poor established in 1777 in connection with St. Mary's Church in Bergen. Later he also became an organist and sexton at that church. He married Elisabeth Margrethe Woltmann (died 1814), who was also from northeast Germany. Johan Andreas Welhaven appears to have been a hard-working man that, in addition to acquiring the Norwegian language, paid for higher education for his three sons, including Johan Ernst Welhaven.

Life

Welhaven was ordained a priest in 1801, and he spent his entire working life at St. George's Hospital Church, initially as the curate (1801–1807), and later as the parish priest (1808–1827). In 1806 he married Else Margrethe Cammermeyer (1785–1853). Welhaven's father-in-law, Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer (1730–1819), was a Danish curate at Holy Cross Church in Bergen. His mother-in-law, Maren née Heiberg (1742–1812), was also of Danish descent and thereby the aunt of the Danish poet

Peter Andreas Heiberg Peter Andreas Heiberg (16 November 1758 – 30 April 1841) was a Danish-Norwegian author and philologist. He was born in Vordingborg, Denmark-Norway. The Heiberg ancestry can be traced back to Norway, and has produced a long line of priests, he ...

(the father of Johan Ludvig Heiberg). In 1827/28 Welhaven received a prestigious position at the

Bergen Cathedral Bergen Cathedral ( no, Bergen domkirke) is a cathedral in the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Bjørgvin as well as the seat of the "Bergen domkirke" parish and the seat of the Bergen domprosti ...

, but he died just before he was to begin his duties there.

Descendants

Many central figures in Norwegian culture and society are descendants of Johan Ernst Welhaven and Else Margrethe Cammermeyer. Among their eleven children are the three authors Johan Sebastian Welhaven (1807–1873),

Elisabeth Welhaven Elisabeth Cathrine "Lise" Welhaven (6 March 1815 – 26 July 1901) was a Norwegian writer. Personal life She was born in Bergen as a daughter of the priest Johan Ernst Welhaven (1775–1828) and Else Margrethe Cammermeyer (1785–1853), the daug ...

(1815–1901), and Johan Ernst Welhaven Junior (1818–1883). Through their daughter Maren Welhaven (1811–1889), who married Michael Sars (1805–1869), they were the grandparents of the historian

Ernst Sars Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars (11 October 1835 – 27 January 1917) was a Norwegian professor, historian, author and editor. His main work was ''Udsigt over den norske Historie'', four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines ...

(1835–1917), the singer

Eva Nansen Eva Helene Nansen (née Sars; 17 December 1858 – 9 December 1907) was a celebrated Norwegian mezzo-soprano singer. She was also a pioneer of women's skiing. Personal life Born in Christiania (now Oslo), she was a daughter of priest and profes ...

(1858–1907), and the zoologist

Georg Ossian Sars Prof Georg Ossian Sars HFRSE (20 April 1837 – 9 April 1927) was a Norwegian marine and freshwater biologist. Life Georg Ossian Sars was born on 20 April 1837 in Kinn, Norway (now part of Flora), the son of Pastor Michael Sars and Maren Sa ...

(1837–1927).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welhaven, Johan Ernst 1775 births 1828 deaths Clergy from Bergen 19th-century Norwegian Lutheran clergy