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In an interesting twist, I discovered that some of the ancestors of Mary Benson (not related, but a fellow member of Trønderlag of America), were also on same sailing of the bark "Bergen" during Peter's journey to America.  Also, ancestors of John Knutson of Zumbrota, Minnesota were on that same ship.

How much room did they have?

The U.S. Passengers Acts of 1847 required a deck area of 14 square feet per adult or child and 6 1/2 feet between decks with a $50 fine for any captain who exceeded allowable passengers.

As a result, fares doubled and the number of passengers carried on each ship was reduced, but because English laws required only 10 fee of deck area, 110,000 people booked passage for Canadian ports, which were often less expensive, and close to their final destination in the United States.  The largest ports were Quebec and Montreal in the summer.  CR1a.

6-1/2 feet between decks and the ships bound for Quebec possibly with less.  If your living room is 12 X 15 feet, imagine 28 people there.

The "Bergen" - was a bark rigged shipThe ship:
"Bergen"
- a "bark rigged" ship
Ship Owner:

Gott. Thomsen, Bergen, Norway
Built:
1851 in Bath, Main, U.S., U.S.A
Captain:
P. Arnesen from Trondheim
May 14 to Quebec July 6, 1865
Burden:
250 KL* (*Burden - Commercial lasts - Tonnage
"Kommerselester" or "Commercial lasts", is a measurement for the inside volume of the ship. It was recognized as the ships burthen or burden. 1 Norwegian Commercial last = 2,08 register ton = 165 Cu ft of cut board or I30 cu,ft of round timber).   A "barque", or "bark" had at least three masts, fore-and-aft rigged mizzen mast.  Another definition of a bark was: "a sailing ship with from three to five masts, all of them square-rigged except the after mast, which is fore-and-aft rigged". The bark pictured above is NOT known to be the "Bergen", but is included to give an example of this type of ship.

Between Decks

Between Deck - Steerage (Norwegian: Mellomdekk or Mellemdekk)
Between deck, often shortened to 'tween deck, was the deck immediately below the main deck of a ship. It was frequently used for cargo on the homeward journey, given a cursory clean and temporary partitions erected after discharge of cargo and used for steerage accommodation on the outward passage. The origin of the expression "steerage", comes from "steers" (cattle), and indicates that the emigrants traveled on the same decks as was used for transporting livestock. Temporary quarters for passengers were set up in many of the ships. The "steerage" term was used for the lowest price accommodations on ships long time after they stopped using the same quarters for cattle and human passengers. Around the turn of the century it became more common to use the term "3rd class" for the low price accommodation, some ships even had 4th class.

The information on the type and layout of the ship is taken from and can be found at http://www.norwayheritage.com/articles/templates/ships.asp?articleid=22&zoneid=5

PASSENGER LIST OF THE BARK BERGEN
My great grandfather, his wife, and his 2 children (including my father's, father) are listed.

The full passenger list for the sailing of the bark "Bergen" from Trøndheim on May 14, 1865 and arriving in Quebec on July 3,1865 is available at the Norway Heritage web siteFollowing is an extract from their web site showing the section of the list containing my great grandfather Peter Satrum, his wife Sigrid, and his 2 children, Bartinus (my grandfather) and Bartinus' brother, Ole.

Notice the spelling of the names on the manifest. And how it differs from the names they were known by in Norway and later in America.  Also the last name is shown as "Sæthergjerdet".  We do not know why that name was used on the ships passenger list.  Perhaps it is the last farm where they lived before sailing to America.

'-gjerdet' is a suffix that usually indicates a cotter's place.  "Gjerdet" actually means 'the fence', so it could refer to a place beside or next to a fence--perhaps the "Sæther farm next to the fence".

Partial information taken from the ship's passenger list follows showing my grandfather Peter Olsen Satrum and his family. Notice the name used when sailing ("Sæthergjærdet").  This may be a reference to the last place they lived before the emigrated to America.

Partial mainfest including Petter Olesen


 © Jon Satrum