The eldest child in Grønland
Anton was born in Kristiania on July 24, 1874, the eldest known child of Severin and Gurine Sophie. At his baptism on September 20, the family lived at Grønlandsleiret 21. Marie, Jacob and Cecilie followed over the next thirteen years.
The 1875 census gives number 21 as his usual residence, although he was temporarily present elsewhere when enumerated. By 1891 he was an unmarried son in the family household at Grønlandsleiret 12.
A searchable baptism index gives 1873, but the original page’s 1874 heading and later records support July 24, 1874. The spelling Arstensen in the death index is another search error to watch for.
Anton’s birth and baptism, 1874 · Anton’s usual residence, census of 1875 · Anton in the 1891 census · Anton’s death and burial, Gamle Aker, 1910
Work at the lathe
After Severin’s death in 1897, Anton continued to share a home with his mother. The 1900 census places them at Dovregade 7. Sofie cleaned at Rikshospitalet, Anton worked in a mechanical factory, and sailor Jacob was marked temporarily absent; Cecilie was also listed.
By 1910, records describe Anton as a mechanic and jerndreier, an iron or metal turner working with a lathe. These occupations distinguish his working life from Jacob’s maritime career. The name of his employer and the details of his apprenticeship have not been established.
Anton at Dovregade 7, census of 1900 · Anton’s family notice, Social-Demokraten, June 23, 1910
A notice signed by his mother and siblings
Anton died at Rikshospitalet on June 21, 1910, aged thirty-five. His home was Nordal Bruns gate 3, also his mother’s address. The church register gives Hjertefeil, a historical term for heart defect or heart disease; it does not establish a more specific modern diagnosis.
The notice published in Social-Demokraten on June 23 names his mother Sofie and siblings Jakob, Marie and Sicilie. Those names connect the deceased metalworker to this family. It says he died at eleven o’clock and announces his funeral at Sofienberg cemetery on June 27; the church register confirms that burial date.
Rikshospitalet was also the institution where his mother worked. Whether she was present during his illness is unknown. Anton died four years before his niece Alfhild was born.
Anton’s death and burial, Gamle Aker, 1910 · Anton’s family notice, Social-Demokraten, June 23, 1910
No estate assets, but a benefit for his mother
Sofie reported Anton’s death to the probate court the following day. Entry 781 records an unmarried mechanic, his mother and three adult full siblings, and records no estate assets. Its age of thirty-six is approximate: his birthday was still a month away.
A separate notice in Jern- og metallarbeideren records insurance claim 208. Anton was member 2123 of Kristiania branch 8; the union approved 900 kroner for his mother. The surviving wording establishes approval, not the date she received the money.
The two records describe different things: the property Anton left at death and a benefit approved afterward. The benefit should not be counted as estate assets or assumed to have been divided among his siblings. No wife or children are recorded among his survivors, but these sources cannot establish that he never fathered a child.
Anton’s death notification, entry 781, June 22, 1910 · Union insurance claim 208, Jern- og metallarbeideren, 1910, p. 122
