Marius Jespersen from Faroe Islands

Posts : 5 Join date : 2023-11-22

In 1879 a Danish newspaper had this article:

"A letter has arrived from a Faroese, Marius Jespersen ....... some time ago he ran aground with a steamship that was carrying soldiers to the Zulu War. He then took part in the work on the construction of a railway, but after some time he set out, as he says, without the company of a single friend, with only a six-barreled revover and a pair of knives in his belt, on a journey of 870 English miles up in the country to some diamond mines in the hope of finding his fortune, but he now takes part as a conscript soldier in the war against the Zulus."

I can't find any trace of Marius Jespersen anywhere. If anyone comes across his name I am very interested to hear about it.

Posts : 363 Join date : 2017-02-05 Location : Texas, U.S.A.

Bredo,

Welcome to the forum. You have certainly started with an interesting post.

I have found a Marius Jespersen, born 11 September 1851 in the Faroe Islands to Magnus Jespersen and Maren Sofie Jespersen. So far I have not come up with any connection with the Zulu War, but I will keep searching.

During the Zulu War there were two ships which had been employed by the Admiralty to transport troops and supplies to South Africa and which were known to have run around. The first was the Inman Steamship Company’s “City of Paris” which ran aground while entering Simon’s Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope, on 21 March 1879. The second was the British Colonial Steamship Company / Temperley Line ship “Clyde” which ran aground on 3 April 1879 while proceeding from Simon’s Bay to Natal.

Marius Jespersen may well have been a crew member aboard one of these ships.

Tom

Posts : 5 Join date : 2023-11-22

Thank you Tom.
That is the right Marius you found. In the paper from August 1879 it is stated that he left the islands around 1871 to be a sailor.

Posts : 5 Join date : 2023-11-22

I just had a small breakthrough. Looked in a book about sailors, where it said that Marius had taken part in the Zulu war and was afterwards employed as a quartermaster on the emigrant ship Thingvalla, but fell ill and died in Copenhagen on November 22, 1882. But still no proof that he really was in the Zulu war.
Do you see in the genealogy whether he had children?
As a new member i can not send private messages.

Posts : 363 Join date : 2017-02-05 Location : Texas, U.S.A.

Bredo,

The Geneology did not show any descendants for Marius and there is not any mention of a wife. What was the name of the book about sailors?

Tom

Posts : 5 Join date : 2023-11-22

Føroya Siglingarsøga. Several volumes about the Faroese martime history. It is in Faroese :-)

Posts : 363 Join date : 2017-02-05 Location : Texas, U.S.A.

Too bad I didn't take a class on Faroese when I was in school.

Tom

Posts : 363 Join date : 2017-02-05 Location : Texas, U.S.A.

Bredo,

Here is information from the Denmark Church Records (1812 – 1924)

Name Marius Jespersen
Gender Mandlig (Male)
Death Age 31
Event Type begravelse (Burial)
Birth Date abt 1851
Death Date 22 Nov
Burial Date 1882
Burial Place Det Kgl Frederiks Hospitalskirke, Københavns Amt, Danmark (Denmark)

Tom

Subject: Re: Marius Jespersen from Faroe Islands Sun Nov 26, 2023 3:47 pm

Bredo
I don't speak Faroese but I do speak Swedish, which is similar to Danish/Norwegian, which is similar to Faroese. If you have any passages from the book that you think are pertinent, I would happily have a go at translation for you.

Posts : 5 Join date : 2023-11-22

Thanks Julian. But I speak Faroese and Danish :-) And they are not that similar languages by the way. Not like Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are. Faroese and Icelantic are very similar and closest to the Old Norse language.
I'll try and look for Marius death certificate in Copenhagen to find out what he died of.

Subject: Re: Marius Jespersen from Faroe Islands Mon Nov 27, 2023 10:08 am

All right. Then that's all good!

Subject: Re: Marius Jespersen from Faroe Islands Tue Dec 05, 2023 3:53 pm

There is no record of a Jespersen in angloboerwar.com.
This site covers the "Frontier Wars" which includes the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 as well as the Anglo-Boer War.