Rasmus Stang

Rasmus Pedersen Stang died in April 1807, at the age of 45. He
died at his farm in Nørre Ørslev on Falster. Rasmus, who was both
the parish bailiff and a freeholder, was a reputable man. When he
died, he left a sizeable farm, his wife, Maren Larsdatter, three
grown children from his first marriage: Niels, aged 24, Birte, aged
18, and Peder, aged 15, as well as five young children from his
second marriage: Hans, aged 9, Ole, aged 7, Maren, aged 5, Jørgen,
aged 4, and Rasmus, aged 3.
Rasmus first married Margrethe Nielsdatter, who was five years
his senior, on 12 June 1782 at Nørre Ørslev Church. Rasmus and
Margrethe had six children in all, of whom only three survived to
adulthood. Margrethe gave birth to the couple's last child, the
girl Maren, on 25 November 1794. Shortly after the birth, the
little girl died, as did Margrethe, in all probability, as on 27
March 1795, Rasmus got married for the second time, this time to
Maren Larsdatter. Together, they had seven children, of which five
survived their father.
In connection with the division of Rasmus' estate after his
death, the household effects and tools were registered. This estate
inventory forms the basis for the interior design of the farm
today.
When Rasmus moved into the farm, it was as a tenant farmer under
the Vestensborg estate. When he died, he owned the farm. The
development in Rasmus' life was a product of the agrarian reforms
that turned farmers' lives upside-down towards the end of the 18th
century. Society and its view of farmers were undergoing change.
This change had an impact on Rasmus' everyday life and his
possibilities.