Barbara Arbuthnott
Barbara Arbuthnott | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Barbara Elrington Douglas 22 September 1822 |
| Died | 28 August 1904 (aged 81) |
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Barbara Elrington Douglas Arbuthnott (12 September 1822 – 28 August 1904) was a Scottish woman who lived in Sunndal, Norway where she engaged in charitable work and wrote about her life.[1]
Biography
Douglas was born into a wealthy Scottish family in
She first married James Allen (1846–1849) who died of
She was renowned, among other things, for driving her sick son with a horse and wagon across the Dovrefjell mountain range, while trying to save his life. After her son's death she bought the farm Løken, which is now a local museum.[4]
She then cleared the land for a new farm, Elverhøy. She taught herself to speak
(1861) and The Henwife – Her own experience in her own Poultry-Yard (1870).She had built Alfheim, the mountain farm high up above the valley of Grødalen, in 1876. Her English bank went bankrupt in 1886. She sold some of its properties, but bankruptcy and forced sales was inevitable. She lived with the local teacher Lars Hoaas. Her board and lodging were paid for by benevolent neighbours. From 1892 to her death she lived in poverty at Einabu near the village of Grøa.[5]
Legacy
- Leikvin Cultural Heritage Park (Leikvin Bygdemuseum) has a collection from Barbara Arbuthnott's estate.[6]
- The musical Lady Arbuthnott – The mistress of Elverhøy (Lady Arbuthnott -Frua på Elverhøy), by Norwegian playwright, Stig Nilsson with music by Lars Ramsøy-Halle, has been performed annually since the Sunndal Cultural Festival (Sunndal Kulturfestival) of 1996.[7]
- The documentary film, Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
References
- ^ Lady Barbara Arbuthnott (Sunndal bygdemuseum)
- ^ Sunndal si ukrona dronning, Lady Arbuthnott (Øyavis) Archived February 22, 2013, at archive.today
- ^ Barbara Arbuthnott av Odd Selmer (Bokpyrens lesedagbok) Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Leikvin kulturminnepark (Aktivum Midt-Norge AS)
- ^ Alfheim – Barbara Arbuthnotts jaktslott i Grødalen (Kristiansund & Nordmøre Museums and Galleries)
- ^ Sunndal municipality (Destination Kristiansund & Nordmøre) Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lady Arbuthnott (Elverhøi) Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine
Other sources
- ISBN 82-91132-06-2
- ISBN 978-82-05-10524-9
