Peter Hanning Motzfeldt
Peter Hanning Motzfeldt (born December 13, 1774 in Skogn , Levanger , † October 7, 1835 in Copenhagen ) was a Norwegian official and inspector of Greenland .
Life
Motzfeldt was already employed as an assistant to a Sorenskriver in Ryfylke when he was 10 or 11 years old . At the age of 19 he had already upgraded himself from clerk to agent . Through his legal and administrative apprenticeship in his childhood and youth, he was able to pass an examination as a lawyer in Copenhagen in 1794. Just a week later, Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel (KGH) sent him to Godhavn, now Qeqertarsuaq , as an assistant . Only one year later he was appointed senior assistant and whaling manager in Kronprinsens Ejlande ( Imerissoq ). From there he had close connections to the North Greenland inspectorate and to the lawyer and businessman Marcus Nissen Myhlenphort , who lived in Egedesminde ( Aasiaat ) and with whom he maintained a close friendship from then on. In 1799 he moved to Ritenbenk ( Appat ) and two years later to the north Greenlandic capital Godhavn, where he was to take over as inspector for the outgoing Claus Bendeke . His friend Myhlenphort had become inspector of South Greenland as early as 1802 . He stood for transparency and information and was very concerned about the legal system in Greenland and the education of the Greenlanders. His plans for the training of teachers and the establishment of schools together with the missionary Eskild Sønnichsen Bram was hampered by the Anglo-Danish gunboat war (1807-1814). In addition, Motzfeldt promoted the "play money" initiated by Bendeke, credits or banknotes from playing cards. Motzfeldt initially stayed in Copenhagen for a few months before he took up his post until 1815. Then he returned to Europe forever, but officially remained an inspector in Greenland. During this time he was represented by Frederik Diderik Sechmann Fleischer , before he was officially replaced by Johannes West in 1817 . He then succeeded Hartvig Marcus Frisch (1754-1816) as director of the KGH. In this position he was appointed to the judiciary in 1824 and remained a member of the management until his death without playing a major role.
family
Peter Hanning Motzfeldt was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Lorentz Marcus Hanning (1739–1817) and Marie Sophie Motzfeldt (1730–1782). With royal approval he took his mother's surname as his surname and his father's surname as his middle name, exactly the other way around. In 1820 he married Emilie Wilhelmine Ernst (1794–1838), daughter of the businessman Hans Jørgen Ernst (1752–1825) and Anna Marie West (~ 1769–1805) in Copenhagen. The couple had four children:
- Anna Marie Sofie (* 1821)
- Thale Caroline Margrethe (* 1822)
- Hanna Augusta Emilie (* 1826)
- Peter Carl (* 1831)
The birth lists in the Greenland church registers also show a large number of children from "Inspector (P.) Motzfeldt". The mother is always Cecilie Dalager (1784–1866), who was the granddaughter of the pioneer Carl Dalager (1726–1799), but otherwise three quarters of the Inuit . The parish registers in Appat (Motzfeldt's place of residence) do not begin until 1831, those from Ilulissat (Dalager's place of residence) in 1840, so that nothing is known about a marriage between the European and the Greenlander. When Motzfeldt returned to Europe in 1815, he obviously left his children and their mother behind. It is possible that his future wife was not even aware that her husband already had eight children thousands of kilometers away. Motzfeldt and Dalager had eight children, through whom Motzfeldt is the progenitor of all Greenlandic Motzfeldts, including the famous politician Jonathan Motzfeldt (1938–2010), who was Prime Minister for 17 years and President of Parliament for five years, and who is the great-great-grandson of Peter's oldest son is.
- Thale Caroline (1802-1809)
- Peter Hanning (1804–1871)
- Karen (* 1806)
- Agathe Amalie (1807-1881)
- Jørgen Jacob (* 1809)
- Thale Caroline (* 1810)
- Maria Sofia Thale Caroline (* 1812)
- Birgitte Charlotte Marie Lovise (* 1814)
He was a cousin of Peter Motzfeldt (1777-1854), Frederik Motzfeldt (1779-1848) and Carl Frederik Motzfeldt (1808-1902). He also came from high and noble Danish circles through his maternal grandmother. He was a great, great, great grandson of Anne Marsvin (1569-1610), a sister of Ellen Marsvin (1572-1649), who was an influential mother-in-law of King Christian IV . One of his great, great-great-grandmothers was Marie Margrethe Ulfeldt (1619–1694), sister of the Danish traitor Corfitz Ulfeldt (1606–1664), who was also the king's son-in-law and the husband of Ellen's granddaughter. One of his great-great-grandmothers was Anne Marie Grubbe (1648–1724), the sister of Marie Grubbe (1643–1717).
Individual evidence
- ↑ List of the rulers of Greenland at worldstatesmen.org
- ↑ Biography in Dansk biografisk leksikon
- ↑ church registers of Qeqertarsuaq and Imerissoq 1792-1833
- ↑ Family at fogsgaard.org
- ↑ The Motzfeldt family in the norske leksikon store
- ↑ Pedigree (12 generations) at finnholbek.dk
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Motzfeldt, Peter Hanning |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Norwegian civil servant and inspector from Greenland |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 13, 1774 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Skogn , Levanger |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 7, 1835 |
| Place of death | Copenhagen |