Lerbæk Estate, Vejle, Denmark Genealogy

Lerbæk is a Danish estate headquartered at Hover parish and was a major land owner in  Vejle county.

History
The first time Lerbæk is mentioned was in 1434, when the farm belonged to Niels Strangeberg. His daughter, Maren Strangeberg, brought the farm into the marriage with Peder Brockenhuus, who owned Lerbæk in 1478. Brockenhuus was at this time incredibly wealthy and as a member of the Reichsrat he combined economic power with political influence.

Lerbæk inherited from father to son until 1664, when Erik Brockenhuus had to sell the farm due to debt. The debt may be due to his own over-consumption, but Lerbæk was also hit hard by the Swedish wars in the first half of the 17th century, and the declining income has probably only hurt worse. An inventory from 1662 thus showed that several farms were empty and others had just been attached away.

Lerbæk then led a tumultuous life, as the manor regularly changed between different owners and families. In 1730, the Crown came into possession of Lerbæk, which, however, was not very profitable. The annual income amounted to less than 5% of the purchase price, and in 1743 they therefore chose to sell the farm.

After another transition with changing owners, Mogens Nellemann bought the farm in 1755. He proved to be a skilled farmer who knew how to exploit the favorable economic conditions to improve the economy and value of the estate considerably.

In 1783, his son Jens Nellemann took over a large and well-functioning estate. He sold almost half of the estate's holdings between 1797 and 1800, but in return bought two remote churches, which gave rise to many complaints from the hovering tenants.

In 1800, Nellemann sold a greatly reduced Lerbæk to Niels Emanuel de Thygeson. Just three years later, however, this sold Lerbæk on - this time to a consortium consisting of Iver Nyboe, P.G. Langballe and Jens Sørensen. Each sale was followed by further divestment of the fixtures, and in 1803 the slaughter of Lerbæk became a reality when the consortium sold the main plot and just 6 tdr. Of hartkorn fixtures to Johan Konrad Stautz.

In 1874, Georg Sass bought Lerbæk. He died in 1924, after which his nephew Anders Runsti Dinesen took over Lerbæk.

Probate Records
Probate records from Lerbæk estate survive from 1730 until 1819. Facsimiles of the originals can be viewed on FamilySearch by clicking here. Erik Brejl has also abstracted these records and they can be accessed by clicking here.

Land Records
Arkivalieronline's database indicates there is a 1743 land registration list (jordebog) for Lerbæk, but it is unpublished and still in paper form at the Nørrejylland (North Jutland) local archive. Although it cannot be viewed online, a link to its source information is provided here.

Estate Owners
The following is a list of estate owners up until 1919. For privacy reasons, owner after this date have not been listed. Sometimes the name of an estate owner is given on a tax list rather than the name of the estate proper. When that happens use this list, to determine if Lerbæk is the estate being referred to.

1434- : Niels Stangeberg 1478-1499: Peder Brockenhuus 1499-1512: Johan Brockenhuus 1512- : Anne Kjeldsdatter (Juel) Brockenhuus 1512-1587: Johan Brockenhuus 1587-1616: Kjeld Brockenhuus 1616-1648: Johan Brockenhuus 1648-1664: Erik Brockenhuus 1664: Lauge Rodsteen  -1665: Knud Urne 1664-1672: Otto Pogwisch 1672-1684: Nicolaj Nissen 1672- 1690: Margrethe Boysen 1690-1695: Nicolaj Nissen 1695-1704: Herman Lorens Nissen 1704-1706: Mathias Moth 1706-1730: Christian Gyldenkrone 1730-1743: The Crown 1743: Emanuel Thygesen 1743: Henrik Ammitzbøll & Clemen Marcussen 1743-1755: Clemen Marcussen 1755: Bonde Simonsen & Mogens Nellemann 1755-1783: Mogens Nellemann 1783-1800: Jens Mogensen Nellemann 1800-1803: Emanuel de Thygeson 1803: Jens Schoutrup 1803: Iver Nyboe, P.G. Langeballe og Jens Sørensen 1803-1818: Johan Conrad Stautz 1818-1828: Margrethe Magdalene (Winckelmann) Stautz 1828-1843: Rasmus Ingwersen 1843-1874: F.A. Søltoft 1874-1924: Georg Sass

Estate Properties
Because estates were private property they do not fit perfectly within any government jurisdiction such as a parish or county. The following is a table of places where Lerbæk estate owned at least some of the property. If your ancestor lived in one of these hamlets you may want to check and see if they belonged to Lerbæk estate.