Tørres Christensen

Tørres Christensen (10 May 1664 – 15 February 1721) was a Norwegian timber merchant, sawmill owner, landowner and ship owner.^[1]

He was born at the village of Nedenes in Øyestad (now Arendal) in Aust-Agder, Norway. He attended the Bergen Cathedral School. By 1682, he was enrolled as skipper in the service of the Danish King. He settled in Mandal in Vest-Agder during 1687, where he married Karen Mortensdatter Als (1666–1743), daughter of Morten Mortensen Als(d. 1691), the leading merchant of the town.^[2]

After the death of his father-in-law in 1691, Christensen took over the business and became the dominant merchant in Mandal. He greatly expanded by establishing himself as a merchant and shipowner in Kristiansand. During the Great Northern War (1700–1721), he controlled large parts of the timber trade from the valley of Mandalen. He also continued in a few more years to sail as skipper on his own ships. As the dominant employer, merchant, creditor and landowner in Mandal, he ran the small town almost like a business. Christensen owned property both in Mandal and Kristiansand. He held several farms, several with salmon fishing rights, including Halshaug gård in Vest-Agder which was located at the mouth of river Mandalselva.^[3]