Brig Brødrene, Jessen, Lorentz & J. Koen

The brig Brødrene ("The Brothers") was built in 1856 and owned by the brothers Jessen Koa and Johan Henrik Koa of Trondhjem. Jessen Koa was a merchant with a store at Bakklandet, while Johan Henrik Koa served as master of the vessel. The Brødrene measured 125 Norwegian commercial lasts (kommerselester).

During the late 1850s and early 1860s, the Brødrene made several voyages from Trondhjem to Quebec carrying Norwegian emigrants. The surviving accounts of these voyages provide unusually detailed information about conditions aboard a relatively small Norwegian sailing vessel engaged in the emigrant trade before regular Norwegian emigration records were introduced.

Emigrant Voyages to Quebec

In 1858, the Brødrene departed from Trondhjem on May 1 with 130 passengers, including 42 children. She arrived at Quebec on June 28 after a crossing of 47 days.

No official passenger list is known to have survived. Canadian passenger lists were not systematically preserved for this period, while the Norwegian police emigration records at Trondhjem did not begin until several years later.

The Brødrene was again advertised for emigrant traffic in January 1859. A newspaper announcement described her as a good sailing vessel, spacious and well fitted for emigrants, and stated that Captain J. H. Koa intended to sail for Quebec in April if a sufficient number of passengers registered. Prospective emigrants were directed to shipbroker Brown or merchant Jessen Koa for information about fares and conditions.

The actual departure took place on May 9, 1859, and the Brødrene arrived at Quebec on July 6.

Fifteen families from the ship, comprising 49 people, subsequently joined other Norwegians at Bury in the Eastern Townships of Canada. Together they purchased more than 1,000 acres of land from the British American Land Company. A. C. Buchanan, Canada's chief emigrant agent, reported that they appeared so satisfied with their situation that two intended to return to Norway during the winter to encourage other countrymen to settle there.

The Brødrene sailed again from Trondhjem on June 8, 1860, carrying approximately 150 emigrants. Most came from Trondhjem and the surrounding Trøndelag region, although there were also passengers from Nordland and Sweden. Johan Henrik Koa was again captain, with Kvidal serving as first mate.

An Emigrant's Account of the 1860 Voyage

One of the passengers in 1860 was twelve-year-old A. O. Alfsen, who later became a minister. His recollections of the voyage were published in the Trønderlaget yearbook for 1914–1915 and provide a rare description of everyday life aboard the Brødrene.

Alfsen was born in Trondhjem in 1848, the son of a master blacksmith. Before the family emigrated, much of their property had to be sold. His father nevertheless intended to continue his trade in America and brought an anvil, two vises, and a considerable quantity of iron. Everything was packed into a large wooden chest fitted with heavy iron handles. Alfsen remembered that its extraordinary weight provoked considerable swearing whenever anyone had to move it.

The departure from Trondhjem was an emotional occasion. Relatives and friends gathered to say farewell, many knowing that they might never meet again. Alfsen remembered both sadness and considerable expectation among the emigrants.

One passenger had hidden in the hold because the authorities were looking for him. Police searched the vessel while the crew was preparing to depart but failed to find him. After the Brødrene had sailed down the Trondhjem Fjord, he was able to emerge from his hiding place.

Life Aboard the Brødrene

The first days at sea were difficult. The brig rolled heavily, and most of the passengers became seasick and remained below deck. Alfsen's mother, who had previously travelled along the Norwegian coast as far as Hammerfest, was the only member of his family who remained on her feet. Passengers from Nordland who were accustomed to the sea reportedly thought the Brødrene sailed well; others found the experience considerably less pleasant.

After several days, the weather improved and the passengers gradually returned to the deck. Favorable winds initially carried the ship rapidly westward, but these were followed by periods of calm in which the brig made little progress. For the children, the calmer weather meant that they could spend their days playing on deck.

Alfsen recalled about 150 emigrants aboard and believed this was approximately the vessel's full passenger capacity. There was even a travelling salesman among those aboard who sold goods to the passengers, although Alfsen remembered that he had little of interest to the children.

Once the initial seasickness had passed, Alfsen considered the general health aboard to have been good. Two passengers nevertheless died during the voyage. One was buried at sea. The other died near the North American coast and was taken ashore for burial. Captain Koa conducted the funeral service and also led religious services aboard, although another man among the passengers held services as well.

The voyage to Quebec lasted approximately seven weeks.

The 1861 Voyage: 171 Emigrants

Conditions aboard attracted considerably more attention when the Brødrene prepared to sail again in 1861. Shortly before departure, a Trondhjem newspaper expressed serious concern about the number of emigrants being carried. There were 171 passengers aboard the brig, and the available space was described as extremely limited.

The lower hold was filled with provisions, water, and other cargo. The between-deck accommodation, where most of the emigrants were to live during the Atlantic crossing, was also crowded with food chests and other belongings. Berths accommodating two or three persons were arranged along both sides, leaving only narrow passages between them. The newspaper warned that the movement of the vessel in heavy seas could create considerable disorder in such confined conditions.

The writer openly questioned whether it was responsible to carry 171 emigrants aboard a vessel of only 125 commercial lasts. Had the law prescribed a maximum number of emigrants according to the vessel's tonnage, the newspaper suggested, such a large number might not have been permitted. It was reported that the Brødrene had previously carried 160 and 168 passengers.

Some additional accommodation had been created in a deckhouse amidships, where several passengers were provided with berths. The city medical officer had also inspected the ship and ordered improvements to the light and ventilation of the between-deck space. Openings were consequently being cut in the deck, some to remain open and others to be fitted with patent glass.

The contrast with the 1859 advertisement is striking. Two years earlier the Brødrene had been promoted as spacious and well fitted for emigrants; in 1861 a newspaper was questioning whether the number being carried aboard the same vessel was defensible.

From Trondhjem to Gaspé and Quebec

The Brødrene departed from Trondhjem on May 19, 1861. Unlike the previous voyages described above, some passengers were landed at Gaspé before the vessel continued toward Quebec.

Among the emigrants was N. C. Brun, who was travelling with his family from Bodø. Brun later recalled that several families from Trøndelag went ashore at Gaspé, while most of the passengers continued to Quebec. He estimated the latter group at about 175 people, although this recollection does not correspond exactly with the contemporary report that 171 emigrants were aboard when the vessel prepared to leave Trondhjem.

The Brødrene reached Quebec sometime in July. No official passenger list from the voyage is known to have survived.

Captain Johan Henrik Koa

Johan Henrik Koa continued his career at sea after the emigrant voyages of the Brødrene. In 1870 he sailed to Rio de Janeiro. It was to be his last voyage. While the vessel was in Rio, Koa and four other members of the crew died from yellow fever.