Thomas Hammond (1630 – April 1681) was an English-born Norwegian merchant and landowner who specialised in the timber trade. He was one of the most prominent businessmen in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

during the 17th century.

Life

Hammond was born in 1630 in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England to landowner Edward Hammond (). Hammond settled in

, following a growing timber trade between Norway and England. Hammond worked with his brother John, a merchant in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in the timber trade. He eventually acquired land properties and forests, and was among the powerful merchants in Trondheim in the 17th century. He ran a lumber trading business and held agriculture and forests in central and northern Norway. He also ran a sawmill with wood from its own forests. In 1659, he married Elisabeth Henriksdatter Sommerschild (1635–1682), who was the daughter of another English immigrant, Henrik Sommerschild (1584–1664). They had seven children including Sara Hammond who married

Albert Angell Albert Angell (4 November 1660 – 13 September 1705) was a Norwegian civil servant, landowner and businessman. He served as Mayor of Trondheim, Norway. Biography Angell was born in Trondheim, Norway. He was the son of merchant and landowne ...

, who were the parents of

Thomas Angell Thomas Angell (c.1616–1694) was one of the four men who wintered with Roger Williams at Seekonk, Plymouth Colony in early 1636, and then joined him in founding the settlement of Providence Plantation in what became the Colony of Rhode Island ...

Death and legacy

Thomas Hammond died during the 1681 Trondheim fire (18–19 April 1681). After his death, Hammond was granted a certificate from a magistrate stating that he was an honest trader. At the time of his death, Hammond was owed money by various debtors, but the fire had destroyed most of the debtor's papers. Disputes between the heirs and the estate's debtors would persist for several years after Hammond's demise. A year after his death, his wife Elisabeth died. It was speculated that she had deliberately thrown herself into a river. She was buried in Trondheim cathedral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Thomas 1630 births 1681 deaths Businesspeople from Suffolk 17th-century English merchants 17th-century Norwegian businesspeople Norwegian landowners Deaths from fire Emigrants from the Kingdom of England Businesspeople from Trondheim 17th-century English landowners Merchants from Denmark–Norway Immigrants to Denmark–Norway