Anders Knape and Catharina Hegardt

Anders Knape was born in Uddevalla in 1720. His father was a shipmaster who died at an early age, so Anders went to sea while still young. He prospered and returned home a wealthy man.

In 1758, Anders Knape married Thorborg Catharina Hegardt, who came from a prominent Uddevalla family. The couple had no children of their own. In 1772, they bequeathed their property to a foundation for a children’s home. Anders Knape’s own lack of opportunity to receive an education undoubtedly influenced this decision.
Knape wrote to Gustav III to request permission to establish the children’s home, which was granted in 1774. He then renamed the estate from Baggetofta to Gustafsberg. The school opened in 1776, and Knape personally directed it during its first ten years.
Strong women inspired Anders Knape. His mother, Inga Knape (1693-1762), taught him that hard, careful work brought rewards. His wife Catharina is said to have made him a generous man.

A story about Anders Knape’s mother was recorded in the 19th century. When Anders was a child, she fell into the water but managed to stay afloat because her tightly sewn skirt trapped air. Good workmanship pays off. Because she did not sink, she was accused of being a witch. It was later whispered that Anders owed his fortune to his mother’s magic.

Below you can read the full story of Knape’s mother and her skirt.

Extract from Granfelt’s Gustavsberg Children’s Home and Seaside Resort (1926)
Knape and his mother (Anders Knape’s mother: Inga Knape, born 1693, died 1762)

“Regarding the relationship between Knape and his mother, we reproduce here a true story from an old document belonging to an Uddevalla family. It was recorded when a group of former Gustavsberg boys named their steamship Anders Knape.
When the account was written is unknown, but its content and spelling suggest the middle of the 19th century.

The authors themselves note that the event really took place.
The story’s purpose is clearly to highlight certain traits in Knape’s character as an example for later generations.

The story is reproduced here: ‘She floats on the water, she is a witch,’ ordinary people cried on the shore in Uddevalla one day at the beginning of the previous century, when a poor woman had accidentally fallen into the sea. But her stiff camlet skirt had filled with air and kept her above the surface. At that time, anything people could not immediately explain was regarded as sorcery, and people in every age have been inclined to interpret everything in the worst possible way. No one dared help the poor woman from her mortal danger, but fortune intervened, thanks to the camlet skirt. A little weeping boy may have been the only person who prayed to God for her rescue, and soon he could joyfully embrace his mother on the flower-covered shore. ‘You see, my son Anders,’ the woman said, ‘how fortunate it was that I had sewn my skirt so tightly. Otherwise it would not have carried me on the water. Learn from this to do everything well and with proper knowledge, and fortune will stand by you.’
Anders Knape often reflected on his mother’s lesson. He also thought it both enjoyable and useful to be able to float on the waves, and when he grew up strong, he chose a life at sea. He always believed that if a ship was well and tightly joined, like his mother’s skirt, fortune would be with him. And fortune continued to follow the wise man. He sailed from one part of the world to another.”