Født: omkring 1580 Det vides ikke, hvornår han døde, men han levede endnu 2. April 1662 og oplevede altså også for tredje Gang at se Sæby besat af fjender.
I Sæby er der rejst en mindesten for ham
Gift:
1. gang: Hans Nielsen var gift med Katrine Markvorsdatter, der 1623 sammen med flere fornemme kvinder deltog i »Pigemalkning« på Sæby Rådhus. Hun var søster til rådmand Claus Markvorsen i Aalborg og rådmand Johan Markvorsen i Sæby, og de var fra Ditmarsken. Hun døde ca. 1640 uden livsarvinger, og 1641 havde Hans Nielsen en del strid med hendes broder Johan, formodentlig angående hendes efterladenskaber.
2. gang: I 1641 ægtede han Anne Jensdatter (Worm), der 27. august 1686 blev begravet i kirkens kor, en »dydig bedaget Matrone«. Med hende havde han en del
Børn, der dog ikke alle kendes med sikkerhed, hvorfor her kun anføres de sikre; de førte alle navnet Gram, som Hans Nielsen ikke ses at have brugt.
Børn:
A. Niels Hansen Gram, f. Sæby 1642, d. Bjergby, 18. Febr. 1712, Præst i Bjergby-Mygdal og i Ægteskab med Anne Christensdatter Muhle Fader til 10 Børn, blandt hvilke historikeren professor Hans Gram.
B. Frederik Hansen Gram, f. Sæby i Foråret 1644 (Tvilling), begravet Råbjerg 4. Jan. 1697, Student Aalborg 1687, Købmand i Sæby 1691, da han solgte sine 2 Gårde der og flyttede til Skagen, hvorfra han 1694 flyttede til Ålbæk i Råbjerg Sogn. Gift Skagen 1692 med Ingeborg Christensdatter, d. Skagen 1694. Ingen Børn.
C. Niels Hansen Gram, f. Sæby 1646, d. Skibby i Horns Herred, Sjælland 1692, Student Aalborg 1667, Degn i Skibby. Gift 1683 med Dorte Jensdatter Bagge, f. 1663, d. 1732. 2 Sønner.
D. Katrine Hansdatter Gram, f. Sæby o. 1647, d. 1725, gift med Akciseskriver ved Christianshavns Port Christen Sørensen Hornbech, f. 16..., d. 28. Juli 1705. Ingen Børn.
Born: around 1580 It is not known when he died, but he lived another 2. April 1662 and thus also saw Sæby occupied by enemies for the third time.
In Sæby a memorial stone has been erected for him
Married:
1st time: Hans Nielsen was married to Katrine Markvorsdatter, who in 1623, together with several distinguished women, participated in the "Pigemalkning" at Sæby Town Hall. She was the sister of alderman Claus Markvorsen in Aalborg and alderman Johan Markvorsen in Sæby, and they were from Ditmarsken. She died ca. 1640 without any heirs, and in 1641 Hans Nielsen had a dispute with her brother Johan, presumably about her estate.
2nd time: In 1641 he married Anne Jensdatter (Worm), who was buried 27 August 1686 in the church choir, a "virtuous deceived matron". With her he had some
children, not all of whom are known for certain, so only the certain ones are listed here; they all bore the name Gram, which Hans Nielsen is not known to have used.
Children:
A. Niels Hansen Gram, b. Sæby 1642, d. Bjergby, Feb. 18, 1712, priest in Bjergby-Mygdal and in marriage with Anne Christensdatter Muhle father of 10 children, among whom the historian professor Hans Gram.
B. Frederik Hansen Gram, b. Sæby in spring 1644 (twin), buried Råbjerg 4. Jan. 1697, student Aalborg 1687, merchant in Sæby 1691, when he sold his 2 farms there and moved to Skagen, from where he moved 1694 to Ålbæk in Råbjerg parish. Married Skagen 1692 to Ingeborg Christensdatter, d. Skagen 1694. No children.
C. Niels Hansen Gram, b. Sæby 1646, d. Skibby in Horns Herred, Sjælland 1692, student Aalborg 1667, Degn in Skibby. Married 1683 to Dorte Jensdatter Bagge, b. 1663, d. 1732. 2 Sons.
D. Katrine Hansdatter Gram, b. Sæby c. 1647, d. 1725, married to Akciseskriver ved Christianshavns Port Christen Sørensen Hornbech, b. 16..., d. 28. July 1705. No children.
Hans Nielsen Gram siger, at han 1627 af de kejserlige Tropper blev tvunget til at være borgmester, men fast borgmester blev han næppe for 1632, thi der oplyses 1653, at han, da han afgik 1648, havde været borgmester i 15 år.
Hans afstamning er ikke bekendt, men han var måske Vendelbo, da han havde en søster Maren, der døde i Sæby efter at have været gift der 2 gange. Snarest stammer han dog fra Gram i Sønderjylland.
1614 blev han gildebroder i Guds Legems Lav i Aalborg, hvilket forudsatte en vis social position, og han var da borger i Sæby.
Angående sin ungdom fortæller han, at han har henslidt sin bedste tid til hove, både i Kongens Tjeneste og andre godtfolks og er derefter blevet bosat i Sæby, hvor han drev købmandshandel og sejlads i stor stil.
Tillige var han 1623 ridefoged til Asdal, og nævnte år foretog han endvidere stort øksneindkøb i Vendsyssel (79 okser) for Christoffer v. Gersdorff til Sæbygaard
14. marts 1634 blev han tillige tolder og sisemester (opkræver accise, en tillægsafgift på varer) i Sæby og skulle derfor have 20 Rdl. årlig og tages i ed af Lensmanden paa Sejlstrup.
Samme Dag, som Borgmester Hans Gram blev udnævnt til Tolder, bevilgede Kongen, at borgerne i Sæby til reparation af deres Havn måtte få de Pæle og andet Træværk, der fandtes i Skansen ved Byen. Denne Skanse var anlagt af de kejserlige Tropper 1627—29.
Efter de Kejserliges Besættelse af Vendsyssel 1627 lykkedes det ham i en lille Båd selv anden at slippe over til Bohus og give Chr. IV underretning om fjendens anslag, »hvilket var ganske kjær".
På et af de ældste huse i Sæby — Matr. Nr. 35 — paa sydsiden af Algade lidt vest for Kirken, et hus med svære egebindinger og fremstående Bjælkehoveder hvilende på Konsoller, sad tidligere en Porthammer af Egetræ (Museet i Hjørring, hvortil den 1905 blev foræret af en Købmand i Frederikshavn). Herpå står udskåret 3. Juli 1624 samt et skjold med bogstaverne H. N. B. og et bomærke med samme bogstaver sammensat.
Endvidere et Skjold med Jesu initialer I. H. S. og Bogstaverne K. M. D. og midt imellem skjoldene et Kristusmonogramomgivet af en Krans. Til højre for førstnævnte skjold står med latinske begyndelsesbogstaver »Gud bevare din indgang og udgang. Er Gud med os hvem kan da være imod os«. Til venstre for det andet skjold står: "Gud bevaer dite Hus al sin Mre oc alt hvad der indenfor mon vere«.
Det er Hans Gram og hans første Hustrus Initialer, og Huset har altså tilhørt dem, men da B. må formodes at betyde Borgmester og ikke Borger, kan Porthammeren ikke være anbragt 1624, med mindre Hans Gram da er »Fastelavnsborgmester«, men må være anbragt senere.
Datoen kunde vel også være den dag, da han købte Huset. Han ses at have ejet flere Ejendomme i Byen og en Del Jord i Marken.
Under svenskernes Besættelse af Jylland 1644 sørgede han for, at en svensk kaptajn, der skulle til Sverige med brevskaber, blev ført fangen til København; som følge heraf måtte Hans Gram over hals og hoved flygte til Bohus og København og efterlade sin højtfrugtsommelige hustru i Sæby, men det korn til at gå ud over hans ejendomme i Sæby og over hele byen.
Han siger selv, at han ved den lejlighed blev forarmet,og han blev da også af den grund 1649 benådet med Indtægten af en Bondegård i Hov i Sennels Sogn i Thy, hvilken bevilling 1654 også straktes til at gælde hans eventuelle Enke i hendes Livstid, men han havde dog midler til 1646 at opføre en Latinskole bygning i Sæby, på hvis Dørplade stod et Jesu monogram og bogstaverne H. N. S. — K. M. D. 1646 samt en latinsk sætning.
De sidstnævnte bogstaver er hans da afdøde hustrus initialer, og de må sandsynligvis forstås sledes, at hün, der ingen børn havde, havde legeret en kapital til en ny Latinskole i hin tid, da ægteparret var velhavende, og det var vist for at tilvejebringe disse midler, at borgmesteren i 1640 solgte 16 Agre og en hovedager ved østre ende på toften i Sæby Mark for 200 Rdl. til Tolder Jens Christensen Prang, hvilken Jord denne 1650 testamenterede til Sæby Hospital.
Borgmester Hans Nielsen gav også 2 små Agre i Kathaven til Sæby Kirke; tidspunktet kendes ikke, men antagelig var det 1640, idet gaven formodentlig var for hans hustrus begravelsessted i Kirken. Mærkeligt nok omtaler borgmester Chr. Rhuus ikke i sine optegnelser om Sæby Kirke noget Epitafium eller nogen gravsten over Hans Nielsen og hans 2 hustruer, skønt de vistnok alle 3 er begravet i Kirkens Kor og skønt borgmester Hans Nielsens Enke først døde 1686, så Rhuus har kendt hende.
Heller ikke nævnes i Kirkeregnskabet nogen Indtægt for disse Begravelser, men af Kirkebogen ses, at Hans Nielsens Enke blev begravet i Kirkens Kor.
1648 afgik Hans Nielsen som Borgmester, og 1653 fik han en hel del bryderi med byens regnskabsvæsen, idet han ikke i de 15 år, han havde været borgmester, havde aflagt regnskab, og der var en del restancer til kronen m. v. Han tilbød dog at klarere straks, så han har ikke været insolvent på dette tidspunkt.
Hans Nielsen Gram says that in 1627 he was forced by the imperial troops to be mayor, but he hardly became permanent mayor before 1632, for it is stated in 1653 that he, when he resigned in 1648, had been mayor for 15 years.
His ancestry is not known, but he was perhaps Vendelbo, as he had a sister Maren, who died in Sæby after having been married there twice. However, he most likely came from Gram in Southern Jutland.
In 1614 he became a brother of the guild of the Lav of the Legem of God in Aalborg, which presupposed a certain social position, and he was then a citizen of Sæby.
Regarding his youth, he says that he spent his best time in the courts, both in the King's service and other good people, and then settled in Sæby, where he ran a merchant business and sailed on a large scale.
In addition, he was 1623 ridefoged to Asdal, and the same year he also made large oxen purchase in Vendsyssel (79 oxen) for Christoffer v. Gersdorff to Sæbygaard
14 March 1634 he also became toll collector and seisemaster (collects excise, a surcharge on goods) in Sæby and should therefore receive 20 Rdl. yearly and be sworn in by the Lensmanden at Sejlstrup.
On the same day that Mayor Hans Gram was appointed toll collector, the King granted that the citizens of Sæby could have the piles and other wooden works found in the rampart by the town for the repair of their harbour. This rampart had been built by the imperial troops in 1627-29.
After the imperial occupation of Vendsyssel in 1627, he managed in a small boat to escape to Bohus and inform Chr. IV of the enemy's attack, "which was quite dismal".
On one of the oldest houses in Sæby - Matr. No. 35 - on the south side of Algade a little west of the church, a house with heavy oak bindings and protruding beam heads resting on brackets, there used to be a port hammer of oak (the museum in Hjørring, to which it was given in 1905 by a merchant in Frederikshavn). On it are carved 3 July 1624 and a shield with the letters H. N. B. and a tree mark with the same letters composed.
Also a shield with the initials of Jesus I. H. S. and the letters K. M. D., and between the shields a monogram of Christ surrounded by a wreath. To the right of the former shield is written in Latin initial letters "God keep thy entrance and exit. If God be with us, who can be against us". To the left of the second shield is written: "God keep this house in all its glory and all that is within".
These are the initials of Hans Gram and his first wife, and the house thus belonged to them, but since B. must be assumed to mean mayor and not citizen, the door hammer cannot have been placed in 1624, unless Hans Gram is then "mayor of Lent", but must have been placed later.
The date could also be the day when he bought the house. He appears to have owned several properties in the town and some land in the field.
During the Swedish occupation of Jutland in 1644, he arranged for a Swedish captain, who was going to Sweden with letters, to be taken prisoner in Copenhagen; as a result, Hans Gram had to flee headlong to Bohus and Copenhagen, leaving his high-spirited wife in Sæby, but this was to affect his properties in Sæby and throughout the town.
He says himself that he was impoverished by this occasion, and for this reason he was also pardoned in 1649 with the income of a farm in Hov in Sennels parish in Thy, which grant was also extended in 1654 to apply to his eventual widow during her lifetime, but he did have the means in 1646 to build a Latin school building in Sæby, on the doorplate of which was a monogram of Jesus and the letters H. N. S. - K. M. D. 1646 and a Latin phrase.
The latter letters are his then deceased wife's initials, and they must probably be understood as meaning that he, who had no children, had left a capital for a new Latin school at that time, when the couple was wealthy, and it was probably to provide these funds that the mayor in 1640 sold 16 Agre and a header at the east end of the toft in Sæby Mark for 200 Rdl. to Tolder Jens Christensen Prang, which land he bequeathed in 1650 to Sæby Hospital.
Mayor Hans Nielsen also gave 2 small Agre in Kathaven to Sæby Church; the date is not known, but presumably it was 1640, as the gift was probably for his wife's burial place in the church. Strangely enough, the mayor Chr. Rhuus does not mention in his records about Sæby Church any epitaph or any tombstone of Hans Nielsen and his 2 wives, although they are all 3 buried in the church's choir and although the mayor Hans Nielsen's widow did not die until 1686, so Rhuus has known her.
The church accounts do not mention any income for these burials, but the church book shows that Hans Nielsen's widow was buried in the church's choir.
In 1648 Hans Nielsen resigned as mayor, and in 1653 he had a lot of trouble with the town's accounts, as he had not kept accounts for the 15 years he had been mayor, and there were a number of arrears to the crown etc. He offered to clear up immediately, however, so he must not have been insolvent at this time.
Hans Grams Gård, Algade 12 - 12A
Relationer
I.N.R.I.
De latinske initialer, der ofte ses på et indskriftfelt på korsets stamme, står for I (Jesus) N (Nazarenus) R (Rex) I (Judaeorum) – altså: Jesus af Nazareth, Jødernes Konge. Refererer ordret til den hån, spot og latterliggørelse, som de romerske soldater udsatte Jesus for lige inden henrettelsen.
I.H.S
De tre første bogstaver i det græske navn for Jesus
Fastelavnsborgmester
I 1619 indførte kong Christian 4. et princip, hvor man hvert år ved fastelavnstid rykkede den ældste rådmand op til at blive borgmester, medens den ældste borgmester blev nedrykket til at blive rådmand. Heraf opstår den besynderlige titel fastelavnsborgmester. Denne ordning blev atter afskaffet i midten af 1600-tallet.
Hans Grams Gård, Algade 12 - 12A
Relations
I.N.R.I.
The Latin initials, often seen on an inscription field on the trunk of the cross, stand for I (Jesus) N (Nazarenus) R (Rex) I (Judaeorum) - thus: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Literally refers to the mockery, ridicule and ridicule to which the Roman soldiers subjected Jesus just before his execution.
I.H.S
The first three letters of the Greek name for Jesus
"Halloween Mayors"
In 1619 King Christian IV introduced a principle whereby each year at Shrovetide the oldest alderman was promoted to mayor, while the oldest mayor was demoted to alderman. This gave rise to the curious title of mayor of Carnival. This system was abolished again in the mid-1600s.