Tanche family

The Tanche family is not a commercial brand but a name associated with one or more historically documented noble families of German origin connected with Denmark and Norway. The name appears in several forms, including Tanche, Tank, Tanch, Tanke, Tanck, and Tancke. Historical records do not establish that every person using these forms belonged to one unified family. In particular, the relationship between the Danish official Martin Tanche, the Norwegian Tanche and Tank families, and the German Tanck line remains uncertain. A family tradition states that a German named Tanche received ennoblement from Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, whose reign lasted from 1346 to 1378. This tradition cannot by itself demonstrate a continuous genealogical connection among all later Tanche or Tank families. The name was used especially in Denmark and Northern Norway, while Tank became the principal form in Eastern Norway. The Danish line is represented prominently by Martin Tanche. He had served as one of King Christian IV's officials from 1638 and was confirmed as a member of the combined Danish and Norwegian nobility on 23 October 1643. On the same occasion he received a coat of arms. He later served as Danish resident in The Hague and participated in the 1660 meeting of the estates in Copenhagen, an important constitutional and political gathering in Denmark. Toward the end of his life he held the office of Chamber Councillor to the Prince-elector of Saxony. In Norway, Hans Carstensen Tanche became district judge for Østerdalen and Solør after serving as secretary to Christopher Knudsen Urne, the governor-general of Norway. His son Niels Hansen Tanche moved to Northern Norway, where the Tanche spelling continued. A related Eastern Norwegian branch is associated with Niels Carstensen Tank or Tanche, who began as a merchant in Halden. Descendants of this branch became connected with prominent families including Anker and Wedel-Jarlsberg. The branch also held the Rød manor in Halden as part of its extensive estate. Among the better-known descendants and relatives were Carsten Tank the younger, Anne Catharine Tank, and Carsten Tank Anker. Anne Catharine Tank married Erik Ancher, and their sons included Peter Anker, a diplomat and colonial administrator, and Carsten Tank Anker, a government minister and owner of the Eidsvoll estate where the Constitution of Norway was signed in 1814. Peder Anker of Wedel-Jarlsberg, often described as Norway's last count, was also a descendant of this wider family network. Another notable family member was Niels Otto Tank, son of Carsten Tank and Cathrine von Cappelen. He worked as a missionary in South America before immigrating to Green Bay, Wisconsin. He had one daughter and no other descendants. The family is therefore historically significant through noble status, public office, landholding, political connections, missionary activity, and heraldic records rather than through commercial production or brand management.

The Tanche name refers to several historically documented family lines associated with Denmark, Norway, and Germany. The forms Tanche and Tank were not used consistently across all regions: Tanche remained common in Denmark and Northern Norway, whereas Tank became more prevalent in Eastern Norway. Other spellings include Tanch, Tanke, Tanck, and Tancke. Available historical accounts do not prove that all bearers of these names descended from a single ancestor. A tradition holds that a German named Tanche was ennobled by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, during the fourteenth century. The tradition is part of the family's historical presentation, but the connection between this figure and later Danish and Norwegian families is not established. Similarly, no documented family link is known between Martin Tanche of Denmark and the Norwegian Tank families, or between either group and Otto Tanck of Lübeck. Martin Tanche is the principal figure associated with the Danish branch. He served as an official under King Christian IV from 1638. On 23 October 1643, he was confirmed as a member of the Danish and Norwegian nobility and was granted a coat of arms. He later represented Denmark as resident in The Hague and took part in the meeting of the estates held in Copenhagen in 1660. At the end of his career he served as Chamber Councillor to the Prince-elector of Saxony. The Norwegian history begins in part with Hans Carstensen Tanche, who had served as secretary to Christopher Knudsen Urne, Norway's governor-general. Hans later became district judge for Østerdalen and Solør. His son Niels Hansen Tanche moved to Northern Norway, helping establish the name in that region. A further branch, generally known in Eastern Norway as Tank, is linked to Niels Carstensen Tank or Tanche, who started his career as a merchant in Halden. His descendants entered relationships with several prominent Norwegian families, including Anker and Wedel-Jarlsberg. The branch possessed the Rød manor in Halden as part of a large estate. Carsten Tank the younger and Anne Catharine Tank are among the better-known members of this network. Anne Catharine married Erik Ancher; their sons included Peter Anker and Carsten Tank Anker. The latter was a government minister and owned the Eidsvoll estate, where Norway's Constitution was signed in 1814. Peder Anker of Wedel-Jarlsberg, regarded as Norway's last count, was another descendant. Niels Otto Tank, a son of Carsten Tank and Cathrine von Cappelen, pursued missionary work first in South America and later immigrated to Green Bay, Wisconsin. He had one daughter and no other descendants. The family's heraldic history is similarly varied. Different coats of arms were used by people and families bearing Tanche, Tancke, or Tank names. Martin Tanche's 1643 Danish arms included a castle, a bear's paw, and a red double-tailed lion on a yellow field, with the lion repeated as the crest. Carsten Tanche of Haderslev was associated after his death with arms divided between a castle and a bear's paw; these appeared with his wife Anna's arms on chandeliers made for a church in the city in 1605. These heraldic similarities do not establish a genealogical relationship among the separate lines.

• 1814

  Eidsvoll connection

  [1]Tanche familyen.wikipedia.org

  Carsten Tank Anker, identified as a descendant of the Eastern Norwegian Tank branch, owned the estate at Eidsvoll where Norway's Constitution was signed.

• 1660

  Participation in Copenhagen's estates meeting

  [1]Tanche familyen.wikipedia.org

  Martin Tanche participated in the meeting of the estates held in Copenhagen in 1660.

• 1643

  Martin Tanche confirmed among the nobility

  [1]Tanche familyen.wikipedia.org

  On 23 October 1643, Martin Tanche was confirmed as a member of the combined Danish and Norwegian nobility and received a coat of arms.

• 1638

  Martin Tanche enters royal service

  [1]Tanche familyen.wikipedia.org

  Martin Tanche is recorded as one of King Christian IV's officials from 1638.

• 1605

  Carsten Tanche associated with Haderslev heraldry

  [1]Tanche familyen.wikipedia.org

  After Carsten Tanche's death, arms associated with him and his wife Anna appeared on chandeliers made for a church in Haderslev.

• Beginning of Charles IV's reign

  [1]Tanche familyen.wikipedia.org

  A family tradition places the alleged ennoblement of a German named Tanche during the reign of Charles IV of the Holy Roman Empire, which began in 1346. The historical relationship between this tradition and later Tanche families is uncertain.

1. 1Tanche familyen.wikipedia.org