Personal life

She was born in Bergen

Bergen

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....

 as a daughter of priest Johan Ernst Welhaven (1775–1828) and Else Margrethe Cammermeyer (1785–1853). She was a sister of Johan Sebastian

Johan Sebastian Welhaven

Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven was a Norwegian author, poet, critic and art theorist.-Background:...

 and Maren Sars

Maren Sars

Maren Cathrine Sars was a Norwegian socialite.-Personal life:She was born in Bergen as a daughter of priest Johan Ernst Welhaven and Else Margrethe Cammermeyer...

.

She did not marry. Through her sister Maren she was a sister-in-law of priest and professor Michael Sars

Michael Sars

Michael Sars was a Norwegian theologian and biologist.-Biography:Sars was born in Bergen, Norway. He studied natural history and theology at Royal Frederick University from 1823 and completed a cand.theol. degree in 1828. For several years he taught at a number of different schools, firstly in...

 and an aunt of Ernst Sars

Ernst Sars

Johan Ernst Welhaven Sars was a Norwegian historian, publicist and editor. His main work was Udsigt over den norske Historie, four volumes issued from 1873 to 1891. He co-edited the magazines Nyt norsk Tidskrift from 1877 to 1878, and Nyt Tidsskrift from 1882 to 1887...

, Georg Ossian Sars

Georg Sars

Georg Ossian Sars was a Norwegian marine biologist.Georg Ossian Sars was born on April 20, 1837, in Kinn, Norway , the son of Michael Sars and Maren Sars; the historian Ernst Sars was his elder brother, and the singer Eva Nansen was his younger sister. He grew up in Manger, Hordaland, where his...

 and Eva Nansen

Eva Nansen

Eva Helene Nansen was a celebrated Norwegian mezzosoprano singer. She was also a pioneer of women's skiing.-Personal life:...

. Through her brother Johan Sebastian she was an aunt of architect Hjalmar Welhaven

Hjalmar Welhaven

Hjalmar Welhaven was a Norwegian architect, palace manager, and sportsman.-Personal life:Welhaven was born in Christiania as the son of writer Johan Sebastian Welhaven and Josephine Angelica Bidoluac. He married painter Margrethe Petersen Backer in 1876...

, and through another brother Johan Andreas she was an aunt of police chief Kristian Welhaven

Kristian Welhaven

Kristian Welhaven was a Norwegian police officer. He was chief of police of Oslo for 27 years, from 1927 to 1954. He was a leading force in establishing an organized Norwegian intelligence service before World War II, and in re-establishing it after the war...

.

Career

She grew up in Bergen, but after her father died when Elisabeth was thirteen, she moved in with Michael and Maren Sars. They first lived in Manger

Manger, Norway

Manger is a former municipality in Hordaland county, Norway.It was created as Manger formannskapsdistrikt in 1837. On 1 January 1871 the district Herdla with 2,484 inhabitants split away to form a municipality of its own, and on 1 January 1910 the same thing happened with Hjelme. The splits left...

 where Michael was a vicar, but in 1854 the family moved to Christiania

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 where Michael had become professor.

The family home in Christiania became a notable meeting place for liberal and intellectual citizens of Norway's capital, and has been called "Christiania's first salon

Salon (gathering)

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...

". Welhaven's role in the salon was that of storyteller, and one of the recurring guests, Hartvig Lassen

Hartvig Lassen

Hartvig Marcus Lassen was a Norwegian editor and literary historian.-Personal life:He was born in Bergen as a son of police chief and burgomaster Albert Lassen and his wife Abigael Vogt Monrad . He was a nephew of Lars Monrad and Christian Lassen...

, encouraged her to write them down. He published them in the magazine Skilling-Magazin, and in 1870 some tales were collected and published as the book Fra Staden og Stranden. In 1871 she released Fra gamle Dage. The books were reissued later; the two under one as Fra Staden og Stranden in 1881 and Fortællinger fra det gamle Bergen in 1897. The tales were largely based on her childhood in Bergen.

She died in July 1901, three years after Maren Sars. She was buried at Vår Frelsers gravlund

Vår Frelsers gravlund

Vår Frelsers gravlund is a cemetery in Oslo, Norway, located north of Hammersborg in Gamle Aker district. It was created in 1808 as a result of the great famine and cholera epidemic of the Napoleonic Wars. Its grounds were extended in 1911. The cemetery has been full since 1952...

.