Next to the wharves in Råkvåg you’ll find Stilleberget. It was named after Stille Johansen who lived by the bay around 1700. We know little about individuals and how they lived more than 300 years ago, but in old records and documents, we can find small pieces of information that tell us something about what life in Råkvåg was like.
In 1701, Stille Johansen is listed as a tenant farmer at Høvågen. A tenant farmer is someone who pays a landlord to live and work on his property. He is 46 years old and married to Marit. The census states that he is «poor in another’s house». Two domestic workers live with him: Endre Larsen, age 9 from Meldal and Hans Pedersen, age 90 born in Jämtland.
In 1712, we find that Klaus Henning Lorentsen, most likely a citizen of Trondheim, sued Stille Johansen for failing to pay for a jetty in Stjørna, which he bought in 1708. Stille accepted the debt of 9 daler and 2 ort. Because he was poor, he was exempt from paying court costs.
In 1715, funds were being raised towards the construction of a new clergy house, and Stille contributed sixteen shillings. The following year he was required to attend Ørlandet church to receive public absolution for second time adultery.
In 1719, Setting Johansen and his wife Marit both died, a few months apart. They had a son named Ole, and in the 1767 cadastre, Ole Stillesen is also listed as poor.
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