Henriethe Elisebeth Nolsø (b. Løbner) (1825-1906)

Mistress of Nólsoyarstova and widow after Napoleon Nolsøe, the old doctor. She was known for being well-travelled. Her mother was from Tórshavn and her father was the Danish County Commissioner Løbner. The central Tórshavn area Frúutrøð is named after her.

Henriethe Nolsø. Source: The National Museum of the Faroe Islands

When Henriethe was buried on Sunday 11th November 1906, a large crowd followed the hearse out to the á Svínaryggi Cemetery. She was buried next to her mother, Anna Sophie Løbner (b. Kjelnæs) (1786-1872) the county commissioner’s widow from Tórshavn. Her father, Emilius Løbner (1766-1849) had moved back to Denmark in 1825.

Henriethe was unique among women in Tórshavn, because she was so well travelled. She had visited several European cities and towns, including the spa town Montreux by lake Geneva. She also travelled to Denmark and Edinburgh where she had friends.

Henriethe lived with her mother in Quillingsgarður, until she became mistress of Nólsoyarstova in 1874 when she married Napoleon Nolsøe (1809-1877), known as the old doctor. They had to wait 25 years, because her parents opposed the marriage. Henriethe was already widowed by 1877.

In Nólsoyarstova Henriethe lived with great dignity surrounded by heavy mahogany furniture and rare ornaments in old-fashioned quarters. Carolina Heinesen, mother of the author William Heinesen, mentions in her memoirs the sale of Henriethe’s possessions after her death: ‘When Fru Nolsøe passed, all of her jewellery, and she had an abundance particularly of rings, and all her grand things were auctioned off.’

Frúutrøð, loosely translated as mistress’ parcel, which is located in the heart of town, is named after Henriethe. She inherited the plot of land from her mother, who in turn had inherited it from her late husband. The land was later owned by Poul Kjelnæs.

Sources:

Memoirs by Caroline Heinesen, born 1873 (unpublished manuscript).

Nolsøe, Jens Pauli A. & Jespersen, Kári. Havnar søga III. 2009. Tórshavn.

Nolsøe, Jens Pauli A. & Jespersen, Kári. Havnar søga IV. 2009. Tórshavn.

Patursson, Súsanna Helena. Henrietta Nólsoy 13. apríl † 7. novembir 1906. In: Oyggjarnar, 4^th December 1906. Tórshavn.

South Streymoy Parish Register. Deaths women 1872, pg. 246.

South Streymoy Parish Register. Deaths men 1877, pg. 60.

South Streymoy Parish Register. Marriages 1874, pg. 143.