Daniel Barth

1606 - 1656  (49 years)

• Name	Daniel Barth
  Birth	22 Mar 1606	Weissbach, Sachsen, Germany
  Gender	Male
  Death	3 Mar 1656	Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway
  Person ID	I10930	Master
  Last Modified	12 Sep 2013

  
  

  Father	Georg von Barth,   b. 1565   d. 1612 (Age 47 years)
  Family ID	F5386	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Mette Schneberg,   b. 1609, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway d. 12 Mar 1664, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway (Age 55 years)
  Marriage	20 Nov 1631
  Children	+ 1. Johannes Barth,   b. 22 Feb 1633, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway d. 3 Jun 1674, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway (Age 41 years)   2. Christiane Barth,   b. 22 Aug 1634   d. 11 Dec 1668 (Age 34 years) + 3. Magdalene Barth,   b. 29 Jun 1636   d. 1696, Bergen, Hordaland, Norway (Age 59 years)   4. Anna Barth,   b. 29 Jan 1638   d. Yes, date unknown   5. Georg Barth,   b. 19 Jun 1639   d. 17 May 1640 (Age 0 years) + 6. Daniel Barth,   b. 3 May 1641, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway d. 24 Dec 1701, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway (Age 60 years)   7. Helene Barth,   b. 9 Jan 1643, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway d. 27 Aug 1645, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway (Age 2 years)   8. Valburg Barth,   b. 6 Jan 1644   d. 3 Sep 1645 (Age 1 year)   9. Christopher Barth,   b. 2 Aug 1646   d. 23 Aug 1646 (Age 0 years) + 10. Anne Marie Barth,   b. 12 Oct 1647, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway d. 1691, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway (Age 43 years)   11. Balthasar Barth,   b. 19 Oct 1649, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway d. 9 Apr 1701 (Age 51 years) + 12. Caspar Barth,   b. 16 Sep 1651, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway d. 2 Jul 1708, Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway (Age 56 years)
  Family ID	F2997	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 22 Mar 1606 - Weissbach, Sachsen, Germany Death - 3 Mar 1656 - Kongsberg, Buskerud, Norway  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos

  Signet of Daniel Barth (1607-1656) Kilde: Mikael Sundt: "Stamtavle over Familien Barth", Kristiania 1891.

  
  

• Notes

  Daniel Barth was born in Weissbach in Germany March 22. 1607 to Georg Barth and unknown mother. Daniel Bart married Mette Baltzersdatter Schneberg Nov. 20. 1633. Daniel Barth died Feb. 1656, most likley on farm Kjennerud east from Kongsberg. Mette Schneberg (Snow mountain) born to Batzer Hansen Schneberg and unknown mother died March 6. 1664. Daniel came to Kongsberg in 1629 during the 30 Years War in Europe (1618-48). He was employed as "Hytteskriver" and "Skiktmester", Accountant for the Copper mine Smelting Cabin at "Verloner Son" (The Lost Son mine) in Meheia, a small countryside about 2 Miles south of the silver mines. In 1637, after a couple years apprenticeship, he became permanently employed as "Skiktmester" for the Silver Mine, and ended as "Overbergmester", Master of the Silver Mines, August 16 1654, with a yearly salary of 600 Riksdaler. Daniel Barth was also a technical and administrative leader, functioning as judge and the king's local official. He is considered one of the most skilled officials in the history of the Kongsberg Silver Mines. He also wrote diaries that show insight and glimpses of life in the mines. In 1648 King Frederick III of Norway-Denmark, Queen Sophie Malene and their escort visited Kongsberg and were greeted by Daniel Barth. After visiting "Herzog Ulrich" mine Barth invited the group to "Taffel Mucic" (7 musicians from the mining company) and dinner in his residence. The food delivered by local farmers consisted of 4 young cattle, 47 sheep, 27 lamb, 93 chickens, 2 goose, 1200 eggs, 5 pounds butter, 6 and a half loads of hay, 154 gallons of German wine, and 170 gallons of French wine. Outside knocking on the door stood representatives from the miners to appeal to the king about the miserable quality of the food, especially moldy grain the mercants sold them. Their representatives had audience with the king and presented their complaints about low salary, shortages of good grain, and high prices. In 1650 Barth published Hymns and Prayers, which centered on the connection between godliness and richness coming from the rich mountain. In 1651 he secured "Kinderøe" (Kjennerud) for himself and his wife for as long as they lived. He died there 5 years later of sickness. The speech he wrote to his own funeral is kept in the library in the University of Trondheim. Johannes Barth, 1633-74, took over as Director for the Silver Mines after his father Daniel. His grandson Daniel Barth (born to Johannes Barth) took over Kjennerud in 1674, the same year his father died. He then requested permission to marry "i huset" at home to "erlige Matrone" honest Matrone Catarina Gothlenderin. Daniel Barth In his different functions Barth got broad experience and an overview of all aspects of operations at the silver mine. It is preserved in numerous reports from him to the work's owners about the operation and conditions in the town. Barth was active in the introduction of new technology in the full range of mining operations, particularly in the metallurgical and mining machinery. He led the introduction of the water wheel driven pump works in the mines in the 1640s. These water works were the future of the largest computer installations in Norway. Water wheels had a diameter of about 10 feet and could run several hundred yards long mechanisms through the terrain and down the gruvesjaktene. Silver mines were privately owned in Barth's time, the so-called partisipantskapet, where King Christian 4 was a significant part owner. But Mines was also a royal official. As a mining superintendent Barth took not only the role of technical and administrative head of the mining industry, but was the supreme authority of the mining town of Kongsberg. He also served as a judge. Barth is one of the first representatives of the paternalistic society that existed in many places during the industrial age. Daniel Barth was a strict Protestant, and tolerated no slendrian, Skopte and løslevnet. His motto was "an ora labora" (Lat., 'pray and work'). In the 1600s raw and violent society, he fought a constant and often futile struggle against defiance, disobedience, drunkenness, and whoredoms in mining towns of men and women, who sometimes were banished. 1650 he published a collection of rock prayers and hymns. He saw a connection between human piety and wealth of ore in the mountains. The Lord wanted to show the rock work its rich blessing, if "das Böse Hurenleben" (evil bitch life) was abolished. Barth complained of mining town "free and reluctant people," the many "troubled minds," the defiant miners "and" evil women ". As a royal official rock embodied for Daniel Barth a fusion of religion and state power in the Protestant power state, a system on the offensive against the coarse street life, extramarital unions and lack of order and discipline in work and in society. Sources and literature * M. Sundt: Stamtavle over familjen Barth, 1891 M. Sundt: Pedigree of Familjen Barth, 1891 * OA Helleberg: ?Daniel Barth, vår første 'moderne' bedriftsleder?, i Langs Lågen 1996, s. 30?34, 86?90, 125?129 OA Helleberg: "Daniel Barth, our first 'modern' business manager," in Along the River 1996, p. 30-34, 86-90, 125-129 * BI Berg: ?Bergverk og bergmannskultur på Christian 4.s tid?, i FMF Årbok 1988, s. 63?84 BI Berg, "Mining and the miner's culture on Christian 4.s time", the FMF Yearbook 1988, p. 63-84