You may have heard the legend? The legend of the Benkestoks and how our ancestors saved the life of our king. He was fleeing from evil men who wanted to kill him,, but was saved by our ancestor. He opened the bench and let the king hide in it. Such wooden logs were often simply called Benchestok. As thanks for his cleverness, our ancestor was honored with a title of nobility and took the name Benkestok, so that our proud past would never be forgotten. 

My name is Ermegaard Trondsdatter Benkestokk. Born 1610 at Meløygården. The first to use the name Benkestok was Tord Benkestok. He is mentioned in 1399 in Oslo bishop Eystein Aslakson's land register of church property in Oslo. He was my great, great, great great grandfather. 

The Benkestok grew powerful and eventually they owned land in Båhuslen, Herjedalen, Vestlandet, Nordland, Shetland and the Faroe Islands. 

The first Benkestok in Meløy was my great grandfather. Trond Tordsen Benkestok had been Lensmann of Sogn, but in 1528 he lost this right and moved north to Meløy in Nordland. It is said that it was due to a settlement between the Danish king and the power-hungry governor Vincens Lunge.

In Meløy, he eventually owned large properties through marriage with Anna Johnsdotter Haar from the noble family Gyldenløwe. He first received the mediocre title of squire, before later becoming a knight. He also owned land in Bergen, where he was a fut at Bergenhus and officer at the fortress. 
I was only 16 years old when my father, Trond Benkestokk, passed away. As the heir, it meant that the responsibility for the estate now rested on my shoulders. Fortunately, I had a lot of help from my mother, Gjertrud Peitersdatter. 

 

In my time, it was a tradition that the many daughters of a dying Norwegian nobility were taken over with their estates, by more or less noble Danish fortune hunters, but there were few who ventured up to this poor and desolate corner of the realm. 

So I sat and waited . while my youth slipped away like sand between my fingers. It was not until 1640 that the courtship came. His name was Jon Gundersen, and he was somewhat older than me. He didn't have any noble title either, but he was skilled and already the following year he became Lensmann in Meløy. In addition to farming, he also engaged in transport and seafaring. He also gave me children. 3 boys and 2 girls. 

 

Yes, it was a great time, but unfortunately it came to a sudden end when Jon died in 1665. Again, the responsibility for Meløygården fell on my shoulders. Fortunately, age had given me strength to be able to bear the responsibility. My children also grew and was able to help me. Especially Trond. He took over the position after his father. He eventually moved to Gåsvær and built up a rich and large trading postd there. In addition, he owned 14 våg in Meløygården and Meløy-skagen. 1 våg is, as you know, 18kg, but I wasn't talking about 18kg of fish, no, this was a way of calculating how much tax he had to pay. In comparison, a normal farm sat at about ½ våg.

Hehe, yes, even if he couldn't bear the name, he was certainly a real Benkestok. 

 

One dark winter night in 1687, I was again struck by misfortune. A small glow had found its way into the firing wood in the kitchen and soon the whole farm was ablaze. Since Meløygården was a large farm with many houses, bowers, hay and corn fields, barns and stables, this became a fire that could be seen for several miles around. 

Eventually, the villagers came to the farm. There they found me, crying in the ruins. Rumors began to circulate in the village that the old lady on Meløya was in great distress. But you shouldn't listen to them. There will always be those who love other people's misfortune. Besides 12 Våg on Meløya, I still had 2 Våg on Osa, 1 Våg on Bolga and most of the large farm Fjære on Kjerringøy. 

And even though this marked the end of Benkestoks golden age, I was by no means a beaten woman. Already in the same year, with great help and support from my children and the Fogd Peder Broch in Nord-Herøy, we started the reconstruction of the most necessary buildings. We were eventually able to build a lot of the farm, but it was never the same. Still, I can’t complain. I was enriched with many grandchildren, and I never suffered any real hardship. 

After living as a widow for 30 years, in 1695 I finally found rest. Since noble names only follow the men, I was the last official Benkestok. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that the family continued on the female side. And even 300 years after I passed away, you can meet people who, with great pride, say that they originate from Benkestok.

Subject text: Helge Seim

Screenplay: Helge Seim og Jan Ivar Bårtvedt

Voice:  Bente Sørgård

Editing: Helge seim

 

Music ans sounds: freesound.org

Source:

• Normann H. (1986) Årbok 2 Benkestok-familien Meløy Historielag