52 Ancestors - Branching Out - Petra Bordewich

 I struggled this week with what to write for this prompt, but finally my friend Summer gave me the perfect idea. "Maybe [write about] a really peripheral family member? Somebody you've always taken for granted or overlooked." And that's when the idea came to mind, combining with my initial thought, which was to write about Johan Bordewich, who is the first of his family to really record his family members. But instead, I decided to write about someone I don't think I've ever written about here before. Her name was Petra Bordewich, and she was a half sister to my great-great grandmother, one of Johan Bordewich's gigantic brood.

Johan married twice. The first time, he and his wife had eleven children. She died due to complications from the last child, who died soon after her. The two were buried together. And it was this that caused Johan to start writing down all the information on his family. It's because of him that we have as much information on the Bordewich clan as we do. He later married again, and had four more children with his second wife. But...before her, he had an affair.

After his wife's death, he began a relationship with his younger children's nanny or tutor, and before long, she became pregnant. His elder children hardly wanted more kids in their family, or a new "mother" who would try to control things. They were adults, or nearly, and didn't want that. So they convinced their father to send the woman away, and their daughter, Petra, was allowed his surname, but probably little else from him.

I didn't even know of her for many years, until I found a site from the extended Bordewich clan online that showed her there. At first, I thought (as you would when finding a strange child in a family you are sure you have complete) that it was a mistake. A child attached to the family by mistake. But no. Petra was absolutely part of the Bordewich clan, even if a sadly discarded part.

Petra was born Petra Johanna Emalie Bordewich. Her mother's name was Jacobine Hansdatter. Because they are not a major part of my family, I haven't looked much into their lives, only what I've stated above. Petra was born November of 1852 in Johan's little town, Lyngvaer. I have heard that she worked as a servant until her marriage to a man named Solberg, who she was working as a servant for before they married. They had ten children together.

Petra Bordewich Solberg

So I'm glad to have her in my family, even if her father did force her and her mother away from the family. And I am glad to be able to tell at least some of her story.