The Walløes in a nutshell-rather like that famous Norwegian tour which is offered. No easy task with all its intricacies and what follows is only a mere overview.

It has been said that the Walløe history is more like a tangled web than a family tree, but, with the help of many people, it becomes clearer.

The family name, Walløe, came from an island named Hvalø in Tønsberg Fjord which lies near Nøtterøy and Lindholmen. In old Norse hval means whale; it was an island whose waters were frequented by whales.

Our first known ancestor, Anun Hvalø bought half of the island about the year 1590. It is known that in 1607 he fought with Ole Borg; I wonder why of course. His son Anders owned it from 1610 to 1640 and, around 1630, it burned. Ander’s daughter Berte, married a man from Tønsberg, Hans Henriksen, who later took the name Hvalø. He was one of the first Nøtterøy shipmasters that was well known at the end of the 1600’s. Their son, Anun, b.1680, took the name Walløe as it is spelled today.

Anun married Berte Nilsdatter Ulvø- the great-grandmother of the Hauf sisters mentioned below. Anun and Berte’s son, Hans, b. 1723, sold Hvalø and moved to Horten where he built (or bought) Hortensgodset..." the red house" in 1772. This house is one of the oldest in Horten today. His son, Anders, b.1749, later sold the house and moved to Fjugstad just outside of Horten in Borre. Anders and his wife Ingerborg are pictured at the bottom of this page.

The Walløe family were shipbuilders, ships owners, land owners, and merchants in Horten for well over 200 years. They owned Hortensgodset with its shipyards, farm and woodlot around the Horten inner harbor, as well as Sollistrand and Fjugstad in Borre. The family owned and built at least 71 ships over 150 years. One of the most famous was the "Emanuel" which was built in 1799 and which traveled all over the world until it went down in 1860. Many of the Walløes were also ships captains. Whew!

But that is not all. Along the way, the Walløes married the Huaffs, another big shipping and merchant family. Fredrick Torgersen Hauff (1752-1816) started with just his two hands, but soon became one of the richest men in Vestfold. He owned Narverød and many ships. He also was the grandson of Berte Nilsdatter Ulvø Hvalø mentioned above.

Two of Fredrick's daughters, Gjertine and Inger Helen, married two of Anders Walløe's (b.1749) sons, their cousins, Jens and Hans...and their respective offspring, who were also rather close first cousins... Ingeborg Helen Walløe and Nils August Walløe- married each other.

That kind of confusion can make any genealogy program crash (If you really want to follow this, please delve into the online family data contained on this site, starting on the Data page). But luckily, Ingeborg and Nils’ daughter Hanna Helene Walløe married Captain Anders Kristian Bjerke and we can go on to a different story, thank goodness.

Both the brothers Jens and Hans owned large estates. Jens (b.1788) bought Narverød from his father-in-law, Fredrick Huaff. Hans, b.1790 (pictured at top of this page) built Teiengaard in 1717 outside of Tønsberg. He and his wife are buried in the old Walløe graveyard.

Hans was a shipsowner and was the first to build mills and warehouses in Tønsberg, where there was also a maritime school built. He also, together with his cousin, started the saltworks at Valløy (no relation the family island). He had many employees at his shipyards and was called the "Nøtterød Kongen."

He was known as a man of personality and was very astute, managing his affairs with out a lawyer, and in fact, many cases were compared with his in court. Hans’ son Nils also became a captain, ships owner and farmholder.

Most of these families were large and the Walløe descendants today are many and widespread. The Walløe family had a large impact on towns of Tønsberg and Horten, as well as the environs in between.