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A "selveier" (S on the census) is a person who owns the farm land he or she is using and has a registered deed. Back in history, the land of Norway was owned by the church, the crown, or other landowners. By 1660, a fifth of southern Norway had a "selveier". A "Leilending" (leil, or L) is usually translated to Tenant Farmer couples. They didn't own the land. The right to use the land was through a lease contract called a "bygselbrev", hence the term bygselmann. The lease was valid for his or her lifetime. The biggest threat was the death of one of the couple. Since there had to be a couple on the farm, remarriages were common. The "Husmann" or cotter (sometimes crofter) is unique. The farm land they used was never registered as separate units. Their land stood on land that belonged to a "selveier" or was leased from a "Leilending". There lease contracts were limited in time and "husmann" were generally a couple. A "husmann med jord", or husm. M/j (cotter with land) had houses and some land to use. A "husman uten jord", husm. U/j had houses but no land to farm but the couple may have owned a cow or sheep. A "strandsitter", or shore dweller, is more or less the same as "husmann uten jord". The emigration to America was heavily recruited from the husmann group.
"Practically speaking, however, it was virtually impossible socially for a husmand to rise above his station, and it was only the exceptional individual who was able to achieve independence economically. "Qualey, Norwegian Settlement in the United States, p. 11.
Odelsrett, or right to inherit the farm is interesting. The oldest son, the "odelsgutt" inherited the farm. An oldest son could leave, then return to take the farm from his sibling. The younger sons did not inherit the farm so they sought an "odelsjente", the oldest daughter in the family without a son. If they could not find an odelsjente, they had few options but to become a husmann. Husmann were generally poor but many were quite wealthy because they had a trade off the farm. The term "husmannplass" is actually derived from real estate property taxes while the farms were "skyldsatt" i.e., assessed for tax purposes. Thus, a husmann did not pay any real estate property taxes. Taxes were often in terms of products produced on the farm. In the mountain areas, this was often butter. In some cases it was grain, calfskins, goatskins, or fish. You could tell the wealth of one gard versus another by taxes paid which was a better measure than acres owned.
Helen Steele has provided us with a Husmann's contract translated into English:
